RE: TAIL DRAG SOLUTION? E-450
Yea I don't think that will give you what you are looking for in lift. I have a 03 Chateau 26Q with a good overhang and when my bags are inflated to 60 or 70 pounds it doesn't lift it that much. From 0 to 70 is maybe and inch different. I would look at a different shock or adding springs. Not my area.
x2. I don't get anywhere near 3-4" of lift. My drivers side rear was riding about an inch and half lower than the passenger side and I need 90 lbs in the driver side bag to level
RE: Best places to camp in Vermont and New Hamphire
DD, DSIL & family will be traveling through Maine (Acadia Nat'l Park) Vermont (Montpelier area0 and New Hampshire (Meredith area). Is there a website any of you have used to look up campgrounds, or do any of you have suggestions for campgrounds that you have liked. They would like electric but can do w/out full hook-ups.
Thanks for any help.
We use rvparkreviews.com for research on campgrounds. I recommend Bar Harbour Campground for doing Acadia, Its cash only and no reservations. Make sure you plan enough time here to do the town of Bar Harbour as well as the national park. Our favourite place in NH is Lost River campground west of woodstock and north of the Meredith area.
RE: Towing a Ford Escape Hybrid Auto-Trans, 2WD
If I recall the Hybrid Escape does not need a dolly. It willtow 4 down. If I have to use a dolly again I give up RVing.
I agree with bsinmich, I don't have a alot of tolerance for things like this. We towed with a dolly for the first couple of years and won't do that again.
The issues we had with the dollay are
1. its bulky and has to be stored somewhere at every stop
2. its another set of tires, axles, brakes to maintain
3. by far our biggest problem was the dolly itself. It was a new mastertow and it completely fell apart. Search my previous posts about this, there wasn't a single piece of that dolly that didn't break down.
RE: recaulking seams on the roof
Just curious, what is wrong with using silicone on the roof?
I wouldn't use silicon anywhere on an RV. I use dicor self leveling on the roof and Wurth Bond and Seal on vertical surfaces
RE: hitch blocked by another trailer
Are you sure it's legally parked? Up here (and it maybe different), but in order to park a trailer on the street, you must be hooked up to the Tow vehicle.
This is common in many places. The trailer tag is different from a vehicle tag and is only permitted on public streets when connected to a plated vehicle.
Parking anything with a trailer plate on a public street is not legal.
RE: Sewer Hose
I have a setup like this. I never unhook the slinky and never go through the cleaning ritual I see so often when waiting at a dump station. When finished dumping I pull a couple feet of hose from the top and coil it in the tray, I have a screw on cap that goes into the pipe, I push the hose back in with the cap and screw in it in. Total time about 30 seconds.
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb253/oninthree/DSC_0674.jpg
RE: Tow Dolly Sales in NY near Buffalo
These guys make car haulers for sure and are local. Not sure if they make a dolly.
http://www.nandotrailers.com/index.php
RE: Refilling fresh water tank when dry camping
Use your winterizer suction hose on your original pump.
x2, I don't have a gravity fill either. I fill the tanks using a short hose in a bucket and setting the valves to the "sanitize tank" setting which simply pumps straight to the tank.
RE: More things equal more problems
Rather than cleaning the carpet, maybe it should be removed? It doesn't sound like a good place to have carpet installed.
Billx2. I wouldn't put carpet back into that location.
I just commented on another thread about using a sanicon vs and slinky. I believe the KISS rule applies here.
RE: Claiming a first come campsite
I wouldn't recommending claiming a site like this with just a chair and other stuff left over like leveling blocks. We went sight seeing for a day with our MH and left a chair and leveling blocks and everything was gone when we got back.
RE: Bike rack suggestions requested..
I have tried just about every combination of bike racks over the years and have settled on a Yakima 4 bike rack that fits a 1 1/4" receiver and has an adapter for a 2" receiver. I can put the rack on my MH, toad, or use a dual receiver.
I've had the Yakima rack for about 5 years and it still looks like new. I had a Ford Edge with the 1/4" receiver for the first 3 years and replaced that car with a Flex with the 2" receiver.
There are many comments in this thread regarding the 4 bike racks and a 1 1/4" receiver. I actually took my bikes and rack to a local guy that weighed it and confirmed no problem with weights. I had a class II hitch that was rated for 3500 lbs trailer weight and 300lbs tongue weight.
My advice would be to make sure the hitch you install is a class II and not a class I. Also the 4 bikes PLUS rack will weigh more than the 150 lbs you mentioned. The thule bike rack you referenced above isn't as nice as the yakima in my opinion. I like the Yakima tie downs much better.
Yes, it is a Class II hitch I had installed, rated at 3500 lbs towing, 350 lbs tongue weight. That was/is the only thing available for the Fusion. Would not have done this if it was not.
I admit, I was estimating that 150 lbs. No doubt it may be more than that, but it will not come anywhere even remotely close to the 350 lb limit of the hitch receiver. Also, as noted above, I use a stabilizer strap that goes from the trunk to the top of the bike rack. That takes some of the stress off of the hitch receiver.
The Thule I have has the adapter to let it fit in either a 2" receiver or 1.25". And, like I alluded to above, I have used it in both - 2" receiver on MH and DW's minivan, and 1.25" on the Fusion. Works great in either case, realy like the versatility that gives you.
I looked at several Yakima racks as well, super_camper. They look very nice also, may well be nicer than the Thule I have. However, at nearly TWICE the price, I just was not convinced the Yakima was THAT much better (not to mention, the Thule was a bit more readily available here). :)
WillI've never seen the strap you're describing, it may not have been available when I bought my rack. Where does it attach? I agree on the weight, more than 150 but definitely less than 350 even if the bikes are heavy. At the time I bought my rack Yakima actually had a 5 bike rack with an 1 1/4" receiver.
I've bought all of my racks off eBay, I actually had 5 king cobras and cross bars and locks on my popup and loved that setup, I think the retail cost was well of $1500 but of course actually affordable if you're selective on eBay - the trick is to find something without shipping, especially with heavy items like bike racks.
RE: C Max Question
...On the Fusion, when the key is back as far as it will go towards "OFF",and the tranmission is in Neutral, the brakes are not powered and I set the pressure on the Brake Buddy as I normally would (about 70#).
If the Brake Buddy is set properly and one drives in a normal manner, the Brake Buddy never engages (it's only set to engage in a near panic stop situation), therefore there is no drain on the battery.
If you feel more comfortable using a charge line, then by all means do it. I'm just telling you that I've towed these 2 hybrids over 30,000 miles and never had a "dead" battery problem. "To each his own."
Yeah, I think this is another example that shows there is no 'one size fits all' for hardly anything.
You have your brake buddy set to only engage brakes in a near 'panic stop' situation. Soo, basically, your toad brakes rarely if ever are engaged. Between that, and putting the ignition in that 'almost OFF' position...Yep, you're right, your toad battery is probably not going to get run down much at all.
However, most folks prefer to have a bit more toad braking than that, so your approach could lead to a dead battery pretty quickly if that was the case. Hence the need for a charge line.
You have chosen not to use Ford's recommendation about keeping key in ACC position.
I, as well as I believe many other folks, are a bit too 'paranoid' to try that, and would prefer to stick to the manufacturer's recommended procedure as much as possible.
With your 2012 Fusion hybrid, active braking is turned off when you turn key to that 'almost OFF' position.
That is NOT the case on my 2013 Fusion. With mine, active braking stays on regardless of ignition switch position, so without a charge line on a 2013 model, you WILL run the battery down when towing long distances, regardless what position you leave key in (unless you set your brake system to only come on during 'panic stops', something I don't think many folks do).
Will
I've towed an Edge and Flex for 5 years and looking at what to replace with the Flex with and considering a hybrid so interested in this topic.
Every ford vehicle I have ever had has 4 positions for the key; off; acc; on; start. Do the hybrids have another position?
I have always left the key in the acc position and never had a problem with a dead battery so never had the need for a charge wire. It sounds as though I will need the charge wire if I buy a 2013 or later hybrid, is this correct?
The comment about toad braking only during emergency stops probably isn't accurate. Brake buddy and others introduced proportional braking systems around 2007 so most systems older than that will not have proportional capability.
I have towed for 10's of thousands of miles and only recall the brake buddy engaging once. Based on my experience I really don't see a need for proportional braking and would prefer not to have it if it means charging requirements for the toad.
RE: Bike rack suggestions requested..
Update: Hitch receiver (for the Fusion) is on the way (ordered from Uhaul), supposed to be here Wednesday, at which time UHaul will install it. Or, I may install myself, the installation looks pretty simple.
Was still 'thinking' on which bike rack to get, when one that was at the top of my short list went on sale today. Soo, I went ahead and ordered this Thule 4 bike rack today from Dick's Sporting Goods. Won't be here until next week, we'll see then how the bikes fit on it, etc.
Now, to address some of the specific, recent comments:
Before you buy any bike rack it is IMPORTANT to make sure your Ford can handle the weight of the rack plus 4 bikes. Your owners manual may give you that information
Owner's manual says nothing about that, just says that the hybrid drive train is not designed for towing, so towing a trailer is not an option (already knew that, and don't ever plan to). However, I'm not seeing why a Class II hitch receiver with a 350 lb tongue rating designed specifically for a Ford Fusion, shouldnt be able to handle a bike rack and 4 bikes that weigh a total of around 150 lbs?
Two of the bikes are adult bikes, two are children's bikes (much smaller). As noted above, the weight of the bikes plus the rack, will be nowhere near the tongue weight limit of the hitch receiver itself.
I would agree that 4 bikes on an 1 1/4" hitch is going to be a problem even tho Swagmen sells them.
..Not just Swagman, but Yakima, and Thule also make them, and they are two of the most well known, respected brands that make bike racks. If it was a 'problem', I seriously doubt Yakima or Thule would be making, selling them. :)
Another thing you may consider is to take your Fusion to a shop that installs trailer hitches
I did, U-Haul. They're installing the hitch, and they said it would work fine, when I explained what I was going to do with it. Told me towing would be a bad idea, but as I said previously, already knew that. :)
How about a 2" receiver on the front of the MH then you could take the bikes with/without the car?
..That presents the same issue I had with using a dual receiver and putting bike rack on back of MH: No way to take bikes with us, when we want to go somewhere with the toad that we can't or don't want to bring the MH. I doubt you'd be able to mount a receiver on the front of the MH, anyway.
I have tried just about every combination of bike racks over the years and have settled on a Yakima 4 bike rack that fits a 1 1/4" receiver and has an adapter for a 2" receiver. I can put the rack on my MH, toad, or use a dual receiver.
I've had the Yakima rack for about 5 years and it still looks like new. I had a Ford Edge with the 1/4" receiver for the first 3 years and replaced that car with a Flex with the 2" receiver.
There are many comments in this thread regarding the 4 bike racks and a 1 1/4" receiver. I actually took my bikes and rack to a local guy that weighed it and confirmed no problem with weights. I had a class II hitch that was rated for 3500 lbs trailer weight and 300lbs tongue weight.
My advice would be to make sure the hitch you install is a class II and not a class I. Also the 4 bikes PLUS rack will weigh more than the 150 lbs you mentioned. The thule bike rack you referenced above isn't as nice as the yakima in my opinion. I like the Yakima tie downs much better.
RE: Lock your gas tank
Where the heck do you all live that property protection is such a major portion of your lives?
I couldn't lay my hands on the keys to my house without a days notice. Right know here are 3 tractors 3 vehicle and a motorcycle on my property with the keys in them. I go to town, chainsaw shovels,picks generator trash pump or whatever remain in the back of the truck, never have had anything bothered and have been living like this for better than 50 years.
hmmm, pretty much any urban area in north america. Although I don't go out of my way really to protect myself I do recognize crime is just about everywhere and concentrated in urban areas where there are more people - simple crime statistics will verify this.
Google gas tank punching for some interesting reading. On mid and large sized trucks with larger tanks (which would include many MHs) punching the tank with a brass spike is simple, efficient, and fast if you want the fuel.
RE: Automatic steps
You don't state the brand of steps but if they are Kwikee there is no manual use of them. They do not have enough oomph to hold them in either position without the motor. When you put any weight on them they will slide all over the place. The motor is usually from a Ford power window. Mine is 3 steps and is from a '79 Lincoln LF. Others have found Taurus motors work. Be very careful when working on them. They have enough torque to break or remove fingers or anything else in their way.
I think Kwikee moved away from window motors several years ago. My 2006 steps use a DC motor available from AM equipment. You can order directly from them at a lower cost then Kwikee.
RE: Entry steps
I have had enough problems with my steps that I have actually learned enough about them to fix several problems. What you're experiencing is similar to a problem I had.
The steps are basically made up of a control system, gear assembly, and motor. The control systems sets direction and the motor runs until it senses force.
If you're steps are stuck at the halfway point and they're not making any noise at all (clicking or humming) I would start with checking power, grounds, and switches. Next I would check the motor. You already know there is power to the steps because of the light so you just need to get a meter and check in that area.
The only way I know of to move the steps manually is to unhook the gear assembly (its quite easy to do) and you then simply move them back and forth with your hand and temporarily wire them up for travel.
When working around the steps you need to take precautions as you don't want them moving when you're under there. There is quite alot of force from that little motor when run through the gearing mechanism that could cause injury.
RE: House battery question
Thanks so much I guess I should have researched this sooner we have had the RV for years now LOL. I think we have gone through at least three maybe four or more house batteries in 8 years. I am reading those posted threads too.
I am curious though, why don't we have this problem with the Engine battery? Because we let the RV sit several months over the winter and it starts up just fine in the spring no problem. Is there a difference between the two in terms of wiring etc?
I am assuming that the main engine battery does not have parasitic loading problem that a house battery has that Dakzuki mentions?
Our Ontario winters are the same as yours and we don't have any problems with storage for the winter. We do have a battery disconnect though and I usually make it the RV at least 2 or 3 times during storage to check on it, start it up and run the generator.
The comment about checking levels in the battery is important too, this could be a root cause for so many battery problems if you're charger is boiling the batteries.
RE: Used Winnebago or New Sunseeker?
The Winnebago is overpriced. .
that's what I thought when I bought my first two MHs, fleetwoods, when I bought for a price point. my third MH was a winnebago however. not knowing the original MSRP etc. on the winnie we can't really make a judgement on its value.
bumpy
My comment on MSRP was simply that there isn't enough difference between the two when both new to justify a similar price when comparing the winnebago at 3 years old.
Yikes! $3850 for a 5 day rental
I think this helps put RVing into perspective. Airstream2Go.com seems like a great idea but is very expensive. When factoring in the cost to travel to/from their rental locations, fuel, insurance, food, park passes, etc this makes a Disney vacation look like a bargain.
today.com article
RE: Sewer solution - worth it?
There are an endless number of trinkets and toys to "solve" all sorts of problems for RVr's, and dumping tanks seems to be a big area.
After trying several I think the problem is way over complicated. Another member "Golfknut" posted this picture of his setup, mine is almost identical.
I never unhook the slinky and never go through the cleaning ritual I see so often when waiting at a dump station. This setup is clean, efficient, quick, and fail safe with no mechanical parts to fail. I have a 10 foot hose hooked up and carry another 10 feet if needed. When finished dumping I pull a couple feet of hose from the top and coil it in the tray, I have a screw on cap that goes into the pipe, I push the hose back in with the cap and screw in it in. Total time about 30 seconds.
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb253/oninthree/DSC_0674.jpg
