RE: Cold vs. hot tire pressure
I follow the tire mfg's recommendation... and fill the tire to the max on the sidewall of the tire... the tire has less rolling resistance at 80psi than at 65 psi.. that translates into better MPG at 80 psi
I know better than to be measuring hot tires... the reading would be meaningless...
If the tire is flat... the temperature won't mean anything unless you don't have road service....
....if you have road service... then the service guy has to worry about getting burnt
:S
RE: Stolen Camper
Our 2006 mess again... there was a max that the other guys insurance would cover... he had the minimum. My truck insurance made up the difference.
We were on a trip west and our truck was bruised but still ran and hauled. We continued west, the TC was livebble... it took us a couple of months to get to Lancaster.
Our insurance would have paid to ship the caamper... they treated us very well to make up for our doing the haul.
The other guy had Progressive... they were polite... but held up their payment for 2 years because Janet wouldn't sign a medical release. (She was in a trauma center in Tupelo, MS caused by the wreck)... Our insurance paid for everything... then they collected from Progressive. Our insurance ended up paying all of the bills, medical, truck, and TC... and gave Janet everything they collected from Progressive without us asking for it. OUr insurance also went after the guy that hit us... he owned nothing but a pack of cigerettes and a flip phone.
Joe will know where his compensation comes from... but satisfaction will come when the robbers are caught and given their pink underware at the Sheriffs hotel.
It's going to work out... no one was hurt yet (but with any justice the robbers will look really cute in pink.
RE: Stolen Camper
Joe... sorry... and I hope the following will help
we had a lot of TC damage to our 1161 in 2006 when someone hit is in Mississippi.
We took it to The Lance Factory in Lancaster, CA... they have a customer service center that did a very good job fixing it... they upgraded some of the components be cause they had made upgrade changes in the materials on the assembly line next door in the factory.
We ended up with a TPO roof (instead of metal) and a Phat ladder (nice) they put a metal structure under the slide room.... on, and on.
The insurance company even put us up in a Holiday Inn Express for 16 days...
I hope this helps... if you need to talk PM me for my phone number.
Sleepy
RE: Short trips in East Tennessee?
45 minutes from op's home...kayakers love this river... this is a gentle portion
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c35/glasscrew/2009%20PJ%20Visit/DSC01334.jpg
RE: Short trips in East Tennessee?
I talked with brian by phone today... told him about 15 places,,, National Parks, State parks, Forests, Wild and Scenic River, Water falls, dams, and many more... all within an hour from his house.... and many, many more inside a 2 hour radius.
We have take a lot of people to these sites when they come to vist from as far away as California and Washington State. I think all have gone home impressed with this area.
An open invatation... if you visit our area contact us... we'll show you around too. And you can do the Smokies by your self.
sleepy
RE: What Are The Upsides & Downsides To Driving A DRW Truck?
My TC is 12' in the bed... two Lance 1161 campers weigh as much as three 8 foot TC's... and I have a slide out and 6'8" ceiling that adds weight
I have a full 1/2 of an 8 foot camper behind my rear bumper
I need a real truck, a 1 ton dually... not a tricked out grocery getter
Do you have any idea how many 1161's were sold.
Add the heavier Lance 1191's replaced the 1161's in 2005... they are almost a foot taller. There are thousands on ther road.
And the lance 1181's are huge... their slide have nearly as many cubic feet as an 8 ' TC... they need a ton dually or bigger.
Host has a three slide... haul it on what? Its really huge.
There are many other brands out their that have huge TC's, multiply slides...
The big TC's are needed for large familys or people like me and Janet that travel for months at a time. We couldn't do it in a "starter" TC
The place we go in our 12' TC's require engines that will take us to 12,000 feet or higher, up hill and down... not parked along the road with the radiator boiling over like we see when people who try to use hobby trucks to do big dog work. We never see MH's or trailers up there.
We can pull a trailer or a boat with the TC loaded... no problem... a 1 ton dually is designed to work, and play... without over working the engine, transmission, or suspension...
It's nice to remove the TC at home... use the truck for our projects... and they'll still get the groceries if we happen to be at the grocery store.
And do you know what is best? Watching others look of envy as our rigs goes by.... and you know that they dream about their future big dog trucks every night when they go to sleep.
Sleepy
RE: What Are The Upsides & Downsides To Driving A DRW Truck?
sleepy,
Hmmm .... is that the rear end of a TC or motorhome in your tree photo above?
In either case, what is the width of the TC or motorhome? I'm betting it's around 96 inches??
My DRW Class C on the E450 is 101.5 inches across the back and the duals come out very close to the edges of the coach walls - the spacing of just my duals themselves is easily 96 inches or slightly more. It makes for great lateral stability but lousy travel in forests!
Hmmmmm ... thanks for taking an interest
I read the post ... went away for a while and decided that maybe I should answer.
I know that the author could see the jacks on the RV in my picture... he knows that it's a truck camper. He was pulling my leg.
And I'll bet that he read where I posted earlier that the TC was 98" wide... the widest gap is from the outside of one of the jack base's... to the outside of the opposeing jack base....105.0625" (1' 1/16")
My dually tires are 98" outside to outside.
I don't seem to have any trouble going anywhere as long as there is an 1" to 2' clearence at the sides.
But then my truck and slide in truck camper are only a little more than 27 feet long.
I worry more about all of my solar panels... I can't see them as easily... I wouldnt want to strike a limb or over pass...
You really did see the jacks... didn't you? Hmmmm just kiddin'
Sleepy
RE: RV Net Forums & Other Forums
Truth is... why would I need anything but the TC forum?
The day you break down with maybe an electrical or water problem and none of your TC friends have had that problem and a person with a "different but most definitely does have the same guts" type of RV or 'snobs' as you call them 'has' had that problem and could of helped you. :R
After building a full sized cabover TC, and owning TCs since 1970 I've aquired enough experience to be able to add, repair, or replace anything in a truck camper. As I mentioned in my earlier post... I also know who the experts are... and within the TC forum I know who knows and who is guessing.... I can take their advice without sorting out the bad or unqualified advice. (I really don't want to sort the "answers" from the 100's of thousands of possible answers looking for a correct one.) I feel safe with those and what I already know.
I don't need to have someone it a 5th wheel or MH ask me, "How can you stand to live in that little thing?" And We've actually been asked. We've had MH people tell us, "We never see canpers like your's in our Resort Parks." If that doesn't seem snobbish to you then you and I definately think differently.
I don't need to know how to cook in our TC... our refridgerator has icecrean, wine, and Lean Cusine... and milk for cereal... just like at home. If I should need to know how to prepare a dish... I have the internet and my iPhone 5... I don't need to read a forum every day to eat.
I don't need awning lights or flagpoles... I'm trying to blend in... which should probably be the first rule of boondocking. I don't want to read about them either.
In the TC forum I learn where to travel in my camper... places to go.
... in other forums I can learn where to park my camper for weeks or months... about doggie row, or how to walk round and round the campground roads checking out the neighbors. Thats not for me, I want to go - go -go there are new places to see.... As Mark Twain might have commented, "Company, fish, or staying in one place for more that 3 days stinks!"
So, as you can see... I think that I have some things in common with the truck camper owners forum... and not much in common with the other forums.
Trucks with TC's are the true recreation vehicles... totally self contained... no need to plug in, park in one spot for weeks or months, no need for reservations... no schedule... no noisy neighbors...
Most TC owners return you wave when you meet on the road.....
by the way rock hill manor... I looked at your profile. What kind of RV do you have? Are you contimplating a TC?
RE: RV Net Forums & Other Forums
I stay on the TC forum... seldom ever look anywhere else.
TC's are unique, I seldom run across technology questions that aren't TC specific or that my experieces won't solve, if I need more specific information I know who to pm that has real answers
I avoid campgrounds (smoke bothers my asthma),
I'm not interested in flag poles, or cooking scrambled eggs in in boiling water in a sandwich baggie,
and I don't have pets (not even tropical fish on the computer screen.)
I don't care learn about other types of RV's or listen to people brag about their mobile manors
TC people are what we are.... most are friendly, helpful, interesting, kind, generous, technically tallented...
the "snobs" that might visit tend to move on.... thank goodness. (A few snobs have pm'd me to tell me that my trip reports are incorrectly done or that I should blog. I know that I don't do it correctly... but some people seem to like it anyway.
I enjoy the TC forums trip reports... they suite most of us... I enjoy every one of them... what I like best is the ability to get or give feedback... to read the hints and suggestions from others
Truth is... why would I need anything but the TC forum?
I peek at the TC pictures at "Truck Camping" on Facebook sometimes... blush!
RE: Tighten up your Hitch Extension < $5
Hedge and GMT830 are both correct... by by putting the nuts up you'll pull the hitch extension down. The U bolt wont carry any load, thehitch will be slightly lower... do it their way for trailers, boats, etc,
The way I have it shown it pulls the extension up againest the campers bumper... I don't haul anything heavy, never more than 100 pounds,
With a 4' extension the ball will move up or down a couple of inches.
Note... you can make it tighter with a weld... and work your tail off getting the extension out of the reciever if it rusts up. Been there and done that.
RE: What Are The Upsides & Downsides To Driving A DRW Truck?
Sleepy, Great picture & commentary.
Just need to settle my weight issues, Eagle Cap 1160 is 4281 lb dry plus personals, fluids, groceries, etc, will be 6,000 lb, will that work on 2012 Ram 3500 diesel crew longbed, was going to add Super Spring 1700 model and upgrade shocks to Rancho 9000xl's.
What do you think? I think it will work, and yes it will be 700-100 lb overweight.
Knowing how regulators believe that everything should be rated at only half the actual capacity I personally think that your rig will be fine if it's half again as much as rated.
This is only an example:
Meaning if a truck is rated for a 4000 pound pay load it would probably haul up to 8000 pounds... of course you wouldn't want to do that...
But: If it were mine at the 4000 rating I personally wouldn't worry about an extra 2000 pounds.
And I think the the truck would haul the extra 2000 pounds without aftermarket devices.
Choosing where the weakest point in the truck is is the trick... is it really the springs? or the shocks, or the brakes, maybe the tires...
How will you decide what and why to beef up something.... after all about everyone that has added "stuff" to beef up their trucks were guessing... often very expensive guessing.
Thats why I started with independantly controlled air bags... I guessed! I knew that the independantly controlled air bags could be easily pumped up with a bicycle pump and be useful to balance the load.
It turns out I didn't need anything else... my truck handled the Lance 1161 easily (and it was the biggest TC made at the time)
BTW... how did I know that the airbags helped the trucks ability to haul the Lance 1161? I let the air out of the Air Bags... well down to about 5 pounds... they were assisting the spings... and the caper wallowed slightly on crooked, uneven roads.... I pumped them back up... the T/TC combo settled down.
It's been 10 years... and I still have the original Airbags... with anywhere from 85 psi to 100 psi in them. NO other aftermarket devices have been added.
When you figure out why and what you are going to add I hope you'll explain your decision with us.
RE: What Are The Upsides & Downsides To Driving A DRW Truck?
I think that some folks wouldn't have followed us on this side road in the Avenue of the Giants... Northern California.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c35/glasscrew/tightsqueeze5-3.jpg
Going between these Redwood trees wasn't as hard as making the turn to the right before the camper quite cleared these two.
Sheriff Doug... Duallys Rock... you'll be comfortable in situations like this in no time.
Co-pilot Janet wasn't driving at this time... you can see here observing... well OK!, maybe training me :E
Sleepy
RE: Tighten up your Hitch Extension < $5
Less than $5 total... easy to install... makes the connection rigid. I use lockwashers too.
Take measurements with you... some of the U bolts are almost big enough but not quite.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c35/glasscrew/DSC07527.jpg
