RE: Shower in RV [survey]
For me, trying to take a shower in an RV that does not have a full size shower to begin with is way too much work to make it worth it.. Again, for me... :)
The shower in my trailer is so small, my head hits the ceiling and I'm touching the wall and the curtain and with a 6 gallon HW tank, it's not like I can take a long hot shower that I can at home...
No, when I'm "camping", I take sponge baths and clean the major parts and that's good enough for me.. Or, if I really need that hot shower, I'll buy some tokens and visit the camps facilities.. Nothing wrong with them, as long as they are clean.. I do wear my water shoes however.. ;)
Anyway, for me, the need for a full on hot shower is not that important to me while I'm supposed to be 'ruffing' it... ;)
I can take a shower anytime I want, but when I'm out 'camping' for the 4 days I'm doing that, it's kinda nice to not deal with it..
To each their own and if you need to shower a couple times a day... Do it! :)
Happy camping to all, no matter how you choose to do it!
Mitch
RE: Water hookup question...
What happens is you get a bit more flow.. Well, at least in my trailer that's what happens... ;)
The check valve in the city water connection keeps you from pumping out water when it's not hooked up to the hose if you turn on the pump.
In the old days, you had to screw in a PLUG to the city water connection to block the water pump flow..
Today, the check valve does that for you..
If you are connected to city water and have the proper pressure valve attached you should only have around 40-45 lbs of pressure to the trailer. That's about all the pump provides too.
If you run 'both', you won't be pumping 90 lbs of pressure thru the system... ;)
It'll still be the 40-45 lbs as always, but you'll be pulling from the tank and the city water too..
Again, at least that's how it works in my trailer... :)
Mitch
RE: fridge
Everyone takes their own risks based on their own experiences in life everyday...
If you really think about it, why would anyone in their right mind even drive a car on the hwy?? Isn't it still around 50,000 people die every year in car crashes each year??
Do whatever you feel comfortable with doing.. Either way, you'll be fine I'm sure... ;)
Good luck!
Mitch
RE: Help with the math???
What trim package do you have on the F150? XL, XLT, Lariat, Platinum??
All of that adds weight depending on what the "shipping weight" is based on..
My trucks registration shows a 'base weight' of #4500.... ha, ha!! It really weighs around #5500 as it sits in the garage.. It's only an XLT, but is a SuperCab, 4x4 and I'm pretty sure that 'base weight' does not take that into account.... ;) Oh, it's only got a GVWR of #6250, so I don't have much payload...
Anyway, 'shipping weights', 'yellow sticker weights' only count for so much and what YOUR truck actually weighs can be very different... I know I pack way too much stuff than I need, but like having it, so there you go... :)
Once you get an ACTUAL weight ticket, you don't really know what your truck weighs... ;)
Good luck!
Mitch
RE: Electric trailer tongue jack?
I've got a #650 TW trailer and have a #3000 electric jack (Ultra Fab).
You want the additional capacity when you lift the tongue and the TRUCK when you set your WD bars.. ;)
All I can say is my jack works great for the last 8+ years and expect it to go forever.. :)
I don't even remember what I paid for it, but I think I paid around $175 for it?? Well worth it for me! Don't regret the purchase one single bit..
Mitch
RE: Got stuck.....
Hey Jeremiah,
Don't know if you tried this or not, but it's worked for me on occasions when I got a 2wd open diff vehicle stuck before.... ;)
Try applying the parking brake at the same time you are giving it some gas... Yes, this works... What happens is it slows down the spinning wheel, allowing the other wheel to get some power to it and if it does happen to have better traction than the other wheel, which is likely the case, because the wheel with LESS traction will always spin first, you might just have enough traction to get some forward momentum and get free..
I've used this to get me out of an empty farmers field I found myself in one time during my youth! Took my old 1971 Ford LTD for some off road fun! Well, got stuck trying to leave out another gate on the other side of the field!! Buried that sucker deep too..
Applied the parking brake and eased it out of there! No witnesses either!!
Except I had one dirty car and my Dad asking why I was washing my car at 8am on a Sunday morning!! The mud trail was a give a way regardless and all my Dad said was "did you get caught?".. "No"... He just turned around and left and said, "I don't want to know anything!"...
Good luck and yes, you'll have to take the abuse like a Man, but it will make for fun times and stories around the campfire! :)
Mitch
RE: Tow vehicle upgrade
I know what I did to my 1997 F150 when it had around 70,000 miles on it and I just bought a #5000 TT about 11 years ago..
Most of what I did gets a big "poo-poo" here and many other boards, but that's fine... ;)
What you need to do is find mods that keep or increase torque in the lower rpm range.
I went with the option to feed the large air pump more air.. I didn't swap gears and I'm running 3.55's with a LT265/75/16 tire!
I did it with an exhaust mod and an air filter mod.. For the exhaust, I went with a aftermarket 3" 'cat back' setup. Get the muffler of your choice for the kind of sound you are interested in. I got a straight thru style, yet it does not drone you out of the cab, but it does provide that nice V8 sound I do love to hear... :)
For the air filter, lets just say it's not a very popular brand on this site and others.... I've not had the issues that's always stated with the use of this type of filter, but that's just my opinion and experience and I'm not saying the other folks didn't have issues... I just have not been one of them..
That being said, my F150 now has 246,000 miles on it. I tow the same #5000 GVWR TT from 11 years ago and I'm still running the same cat back exhaust and air filter.
When I first got my TT, I had the cat back and air filter, but the original muffler that came with the cat back was essentially a POS baffle type of muffler that really didn't live up to it's hype.. But, it was better than the OEM muffler it replaced... ;)
When towing with the POS muffler, I could not hold OD for nothing... It would downshift on any rise in the road (over passes for example). I was so close to doing the gear swap at this point....
But, the POS muffler developed a rattle and I replaced it with the straight thru muffler it still has to this day.
The first tow over the SAME route with just the new muffler allowed me to run OD when the conditions were right. It did NOT downshift on every rise in the road. I got about 1-2 mpgs better towing (I get around 10 mpg now) and the truck drove and had a lot better throttle response all the way around..
I know I have no 'proof' of this and I'll be called out on it, as it is just my own seat - O - the pants meter and my own performance comparisons I'm going by...
But, I know what I had and I know what I have and even when I have to swap out my air filter for a paper one when it's being cleaned, I can tell a difference with just a different air filter... Yes, I'll be called out on that too, but again, it's just my own SOTP feel and I can't prove any of it... ;)
Maybe it's all my own perceptions or false feelings because I spent money for the mods and really 'want' them to make a difference?? Dunno, but whatever, the results for me was positive and I'm happy, so there you go!
I'm not saying you will get the same results.... I'm just saying what worked for me...
Good luck!
Mitch
RE: Re-packing bearings
Personally, I do my own bearing service and my current TT is on it's 11th camping season.. I do them every other year..
I don't have the zerks to add grease, but the axle is setup to have them.. There is a huge area where you have to pump grease into so it fills the void and I've never felt that was necessary... Just the bearings greased up as I've done to vehicles since I was a kid and my Dad showed me how... :)
Anyway, I think the only good the zerks are for is for boat trailers that get submerged in water and all that grease in the void probably helps keep water out of the actual bearings...
But, I see a lot more boat trailers on the side of the road with a missing wheel than I do TT's, so there you go.. ;)
Good luck!
Mitch
RE: Cats????
I just noticed you are from the Country up North, so I don't know about papers for cats, but I'd think you should have papers showing they have had their shots and such, just like dogs and other considerations IF they do like to travel, is to keep them watered and feed as well as relief stops if you have them in the cab with you.. (my folks cat didn't like the cab of the truck, but loved the trailer... Go figure..)
Mitch
RE: Cats????
There is no general 'rule' about cats... They are as individual as people are, so some travel very well, some don't.. How does your cat like to travel in the car? Have you ever taken your cat for a drive?? Even a short trip?
We had one cat that would love to ride in the car... We had another cat that would not... We had yet another that started out okay, but after the 3rd trip didn't want anything to do with traveling..
Our current cats do not like to travel, so they stay home and we have a 'cat sitter' for them..
My folks had a cat that loved to travel however.. Would ride in the trailer (yes, I know you folks don't condone that, but that's where the cat liked it!!) He'd just lay on the bed and as long as he knew where his box and water was, he was fine... Yes, if an accident occurred, we know what happens to a trailer, so don't go there please... ;) They never had an accident, BTW... :)
Anyway, it's up to your cat... Not you.... ;)
Find out what your cat likes and that'll be what you can do..
Good luck!
Mitch
RE: T.T. tounge jack
Been using my Ultra Fab for over 8 years now and never an issue.. I've only got the #3000 unit, but that's all I need for a #650 tongue weight..
I carry the manual crank with me on every trip, but it's never been used! :)
I've never killed the battery, or been in a situation where the battery didn't do it's job.. It's an old battery too...
Very easy swap and worth every penny!
Just my experience with mine.. YMMV.. ;)
Mitch
RE: 1982 lindy refrigerator
Sounds like you have to manually light the pilot on that one... There should be instructions behind the lower panel that you remove to see all the knobs.. It's been over 30 years since I last used one of those, but I remember you have to hold down a button and have to press the igniter button or use a long match.
Once the pilot lights, you have to keep holding the button for about 30 more seconds before letting it go or the pilot goes out and you have to start over...
Depending on how long the gas has been off, you might have to purge the air out of the lines first...
Good luck with it!
Mitch
RE: EAZ-LIFT WD bar adjustment
That block of wood in the pic with no bars is what I use under the jack.. Actually, I use 2 of them! I can just get both blocks under the jack. Lift up, put the bars on and lower. I have several more inches of clearance after the bars are on... ;)
Mitch
RE: EAZ-LIFT WD bar adjustment
I've got an EAZ-Lift too. It's hard to know if you have enough or too much tilt to your hitch head by your description?
Here is how my rig looks before the bars are on.
http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x358/MitchF150/4b3c160a-bba8-44d5-80e9-aed521f1e449_zpsc6992efb.jpg
Note that the hitch head has a tilt to it.
When it's hitched up, I have 3 links hanging. I can go to 4 links hanging if I want, but it's too much tension at 4...
http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x358/MitchF150/0f2fe999-3b8a-48e8-b36d-d5e17c343113_zps63b3af8c.jpg
I raise the rear of the truck several inches above it's unloaded height to put my bars on. I still need a cheater bar to snap up the brackets. When I lower, it levels me out pretty good and it handles very well towing.
Good luck!
Mitch
RE: Towing Shouldn't Be This Difficult - Help Needed
It sounds like you are not lifting the tongue high enough when you put the bars on... I lift my trucks rear end up several inches once the original TW comes off the ball... Electric tongue jack is great! :)
I still need the 'cheater bar' to put snap up my bars (I have chains, so I can adjust tension on the fly..). With you Equalizer setup, you have to raise the L brackets a bit more IMO so you can put more tension on your bars..
I used an EQ brand hitch many moons ago and we had to raise the tongue quite high to get the bars on. We didn't have a cheater bar, so had to rely on the lift to get the bars to clear the L brackets. Worked great and towed great too..
Anyway, get the trucks front end fixed up and run more tension on the bars and you should notice a difference! :)
Good luck!
Mitch
RE: looking for switch to change hot water tank to electric
I think it also depends if your HW tank is setup to run on electric?? Not all of them are and when they do, the switch is usually around where the switch is to run it on gas...
Have you verified that you indeed have a 120v optioned HW tank?
Good luck!
Mitch
RE: Backing up
I've found that if you can see the trailer tires, that's where the trailer is going to go... Sure, you have to make sure the rest of it is not going to hit anything, but if you watch the tires, that's the track it's going to follow..
Do this by looking out the window or the mirrors..
Practice is the main thing. Sounds like you have the backing down, just need to learn a new perspective..
Good luck!
Mitch
RE: Homemade Backup Cam
I just backup and get my FA out and look... ;) I got it down to only about one or two looks and I'm hitched... :) Keeps my FA from getting bigger! ha, ha! :)
Or have the wife direct me and it still takes one or two tries!
But really, nice score and if it works for you, that's great and enjoy! :)
Mitch
RE: Moving a small TT with this..
It says it's rated for #1500 tongue weight... I don't think it'll work too well on anything but a paved surface IMO.. Ever try running a hard wheeled wheelbarrow over grass with a load in it?? Not fun... ;)
Good luck!
Mitch
