Alternative fuel generators
I subscribe to the British motor home forum and in the August online issue was an advertisement for fuel cell generators..I was checking them out and they are as quiet as a computer,run on methane and the only by-product is water and carbon dioxide.. They do seem to be a tad bit expensive,but I guess they're working on bringing the price down.. Here is the link to the manufacurer Efoy and a place to buy them and the forum..
www.efoy.de
www.premierworldofoutdoors.com/product_details.asp?prod=258
www.motorhomefacts.com
I really enjoy getting this newsletter as it has some really cool pix,articles and where else will you find a caravan in Morrocco for motorhomes.. Well,most of them are what we call Class B's..
RE: Towing with the 06 Tundra DC
The Tundra will not have any tranny problems, in fact I've never seen a Toyota or a Nissan broken down beside the road towing, wish I could say the same for the big three..hmmm. As for stopping the Tundra has the biggest front disc brakes of any 1500 truck and in fact the front rotors on it are as big as some of the other guys HD truck brakes, like Ford's F250 which has smaller rotors...
Tow vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9jaOROeYII
If there isn't a tranny guage you can buy a scanguage or another similar device and watch the temp.
I have seen a couple,one in particular was at the Turtle Bay rest area just north of Lake Shasta on I-5 northbound and he was sitting in a puddle of tranny fluid.He was pulling a loaded toy-hauler with a couple of quads in it and a full load of fluids and had his wife and two little kids there.Oh and the kids two little battery jeeps were in the bed along with their big BBQ and a couple of fuel tanks.Both rigs were brand new and in talking to him,it turned out that both salesmen told him it would be no problem to tow it with the Tundra as after all doesn't Toyota advertise that you can pull 10K with no problems.He said that he had had some problems coming up past Redding andf then climbing out from the lake the tranny started not wanting to stay in gear and finally just kind of gave up in top gear and he had to downshift and slowly pull into the rest area..Oh,and he didn't have roadside insurance...I think that he had a pretty good chance at getting his rig repaired and the bill paid by the salesman that told him "No problem"
RE: Northwest Spring Rally, May 15-17, 2009
that's it...probably have my usual,a philly cheese steak with MOP (mushrooms,onions and pepperocinis) bleu cheese and a bleu cheese sauce and it's called the Z-Bomb...Of course there's always the Italian Stallion sub and several others of wonderful combinations of meats,etc..
RE: Northwest Spring Rally, May 15-17, 2009
sounds good....I really need it....
On edit...Oppsss,I gotta take Jeanne to woork,sooo how about lunch at Kate's about 11:45 - 12:00....
RE: Question on hitch weight
According to Forest Rivers website RV USA in Everett and Tacoma RV in Tacoma both handle Surveyor Trailers and that comes from Google..Sunset Trails are available at both Lifestyles RV in MT Vernon and at Clear Creek RV in Silverdale which is a bit farther but is a really good dealer..A bit farther,?, oh well,I live in Silverdale and bought my Cougar from Foley's in Burlington and had to pull it home the first time thru Seattle in rush hour.. It was two + hours from Everett to Tacoma..
RE: Brakes are locked
Like someone else said this is a good case to require a CDL with an air brake endorsement that shows that you really know something about airbrakes.There must be a whole bunch of people out there driving around not knowing their systems.I just can't see anyone taking a hammer and chisel to a brake pad and then driving it that way..If it has had the problem several times before,then it seems that there must be something wrong..Drive it straight to the nearest repair shop or have a mobile repair guy look at it...
I drive a 40' school bus and average 60 children per age group on three trips in the am and three trips in the pm and I really want to be able to get them to and from school as safely as possible..
1.Every AM,I pump the service brake pedal,with the Ebrake set, to draw down the air pressure in the system to make sure that the alarm works and to make sure that the air pressure builds back up in a prescribed length of time.
2. Every PM I am required to bleed the pressure down in the air tanks to make sure there's no water in the tank and then close the valve again.
3.I am required to check the cans every AM visually to make sure they are also working correctly.(takes two for this)
4.I make a walk around before leaving the yard and check all the lights,Edoors,lugnuts and tires and do the same on return to the yard both AM and PM.
5.After the last stop on EVERY run,I check the interior for items left on the bus and MOST especially to make sure that there are no students left behind..
RE: CDL
It should be a national thing,just like for busses and commercial carriers AND it should also require a DOT physical every two years...If you're driving a MH,a trailer,fifth wheel,boat trailer ,or even a animal trailer over a certain length and weight.I also think that there ought to be a state patrol safety check on the same vehicles once every two years no matter where they are so that they can be licensed.I have seen a lot of rigs out there that have major mechanical safety problems and they don't have to get them fixed to be on the road.
Several years ago,I was helping an older guy who was having problems figguring out why his air brakes on his40' MH weren't working to well and the light kept coming on and the pressure was major dropping at every tap.I asked him if he was blowing his air on a regular basis and he told me that it was an automatic thing and he never had to do it and you could hear it every so often.Wellll,I asked him where the manual dump was and HE DIDN'T KNOW. I found it and popped it and there was the biggest puddle of rusty water on the ground that you have ever seen.I told him thyat he had best headf for the nearest diesel and brake shop and have them go over his system..My point here is that no-one had ever told him anything about airbrakes and if he had been required to take CDL test,he would have had to have had an air-brake endorsement also....
RE: Camping World RV Sales talking the talk...
I just got a sales email from CW the other day and some of the prices at different places around the country were almost low enuff to make me want to give up my TT and Excursion and move into a MH..Notice almost enuff,not quite,but almost renuff.I have never had the pleasure of taking one out for a drive,but after sitting in one of those seats a couple of times,I'd sure like to get one for my school bus..I'm not sure about driving with those smaller mirrors though as I'm used to the new drop-down bassett ears.
RE: 8.1 Liter Suburban Performance
Hey engineer9860,Had a great flight on the Aluminum Overcast this last May out the the Boeing Museum of Flight..The flight after ours had an 85 year old guy that had just finished his pilot training at WSU as the war was ending and since he was 5'6" they made him a belly gunner...Also got a full walk-thru in the one at McMinnville...
RE: Towing with the 06 Tundra DC
I have seen a couple of Tundra's and the Nissan large p/u with tranny problems alongside the road,but they all seemed to be caused by that old phrase"the salewsman told me there wouldn't be a problem pulling this rig".
I'm not saying that they don't hold up,just that you really have to be careful with what you put on the back.. Sure Toyota says it has a 10K towing weight on a level track and will stop the same weight,BUTTTTt,what happens to the tranny when you're pulling that weight up and down hills and up and down in gears.. Also,how well does it stop when you're going down a mtn side or in heavy traffic in a panic stop and your trailer brakes aren't set quite right...
I mean,holy cow,I've been there a couple of times in my "EX" and was glad that it weighed as much as it does and has VERY large brakes..
RE: 8.1 Liter Suburban Performance
I had a '98 3/4 'Burb when I bought this trailer and was only getting 6.5 mpg when towing,but was getting as much as 15 solo. I had a K&N,which I changed back to OEM inside of 6 months,and a Flowmaster 50 muffler.I looked at both the 8.1 and V10 "burbs and "EX"s and finally decided on the 7.3L PSD "EX".A friend of mine has the same trailer and a 8.1L 'Burb and he is averging 8.5 MPG and it handles his trailer,with the same towing setup as me,really well.The big difference is that I am averging 17 mpg solo and 10+ towing and the towing on a 4K trip like ours this summer makes a world of difference.
IMHO,the biggest difference that I found ,is that the Suburban is ready to tow when you get it and the "EX" isn't. Ford built it for the soccer mom's,not the towing business.My burb would turn around inside the "X" and was easier to get in and out of. I had to put airbags,new shocks,a Hellwig sway bar and load range "E" tires on it.(The previous owner didn't tow,so only had them put on "D" on the recall and those tires were a piece of junk.)
I did put air bags on the burb as soon as I got it and then discovered that I really didn't need them.I put 35# in them as compared to the 80# to tow the same trailer.I have also put an AFE stage 1 intake,going to change to the 6637 soon,and a MBRP 4" turbo back exhaust and that helped the power a lot..
I would still,with all the changes,suggest the diesel Excursion as it is bigger,heavier and with several expensive additions a heck of a tow vehicle..It's a lot cheaper to operate in the long run and should last longer. OOppss,I put $4K into 4 injectors this summer...
RE: Using water pump to drain water.... bad idea?
Gee,I'm glad I don't have to winterize my rig.. Living up here in the beautiful Pacific NW all we have to do is make sure we're rust and rain-proofed. I just roll in after a trip,hook-up to my shore power,clean the inside,drain the water and rinse the tt.Before we head out again,I reload the TT (actually we have some clothes and towels that get washed and returned to the TT so that we can leave at any time.),wash it and fill the on board tank 1/2 full and I'm ready to go...
No,I don't blow it out and I DON'T use the water pump to pump it out as it got left on once and burned up.:(
RE: Northwest Spring Rally, May 15-17, 2009
I just got a new one from Big 5 and have set my new Traeger BBQ up under it..I can come home from work,turn it on,go get the meat and BBQ will be ready in the same amount of time that the regular meal would..Since I won it thru Papa Murphy's,I got pizza friday PM from them and the canopy and had the canopy set up over the bbq by the time the Treager was ready and they tasted just like wood oven pizzas..It sure was raining and that's possibly where I got this cold.Sure gets nice and warm under there with the bbq putting out a couple of hundred degrees..
Man,those canopies weigh a ton when you're worried about weight,50#,so it'll be going on the rear pull-out bike rack when I get a couple of new holes drilled in the rack bracket.As it is now,it only pulls all the way out the full two feet and I can't get out of the driveway that way.
Tradewinds,wadda you mean lurkers?? We bein' stalked or something..Oh well,they'll find out that if they lurk too long,there won't be any place to stay at the rally...
RE: Northwest Spring Rally, May 15-17, 2009
You old folks are wimps.
Um, Tom, if I remember correctly, you're older than I am, so that puts you in that "old folks" category from my perspective. :B
TOM is older than you, David, but Laura is not and LAURA is the one who posts here, so THERE. :p :B
Whoa, did Tom rob the cradle or what?!? :E :B
:? :h C'mon folks this is just getting too confusing and I've got a horrible cold and I just called in sick and I'm going back to bed.....
RE: ATTENTION ALL MEMBERS - NEW DOMETIC RECALL
Thanks...Just put differently in the letter.. It would seem to me that the rv dealers would be sending the serial #s of the ones they've done and then we wouldn't get all this mail.. But then,on the other hand,it's nice to get something besides bills and all that junk mail from Good Sam and AARP and all those people trying to give you all those credit cards when you don't have any credit....No wonder this country is in a financial mess...
RE: running lights on travel trailer
Hummmh,how about a paintball gun with black balls.I have to admit that the DW asked me to get her one of those awning rope lites,which I used to just roll up in the awning when traveling. However,now that I had to get a new awning (long story,don't ask),they don't fit 'cuz the awning is on a different roller and is tighter..She has also had me get a set of pumpkins,American Flags and trailers,but I drew the line at the pink flamingo hanging lites and the lite-up palm trees.OOppppssss,that was me that wanted the birds and trees and she said no..Gotta keep those DWs happy.
