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RE: dual pane windows & weight
Probably depends on where and when you do your camping. In the Great North Wet, now that we have had them, we wouldn't be without dual panes. Condensation is a real issue with single pane windows in this part of the world and the dual panes eliminate it. They also make the unit more comfortable when camping in cooler weather, particularly if you are sitting beside a window but I doubt they make much difference when it comes to noise.
All dual panes suffer from delamination eventually. That wouldn't stop me from installing them in a home (they're code anyway) so why wouldn't I put them in my RV.
Eleven years ago when we bought our present fifth wheel, perhaps 20% of the new units we looked at in this area had dual pane windows and only in the higher end models, now it is probably closer to 70%.
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wilber1
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05/19/13 06:22pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: NASCAR at it finest ........huh?
As far as excitement, I say shorten all the races, there too long.... put more emphasis on qualifying! If they trash an engine qualifying let them put a new one in penalty free! Shouldn't have to go to the back for busting your tail in practice and qualifying.
Qualifying is about the car and the driver. A replacement engine could be a little faster or slower than the first engine. It could be enough to have changed your qualifying position for the better or worse.
I agree, then you would be back to qualifying engines and race engines. A lot of rule changes have to do with reducing costs. Even megabuck F1 limits teams to eight engines per season per driver and the same engine must be used on two consecutive race weekends. Not doing so results in a ten place grid penalty which pretty much puts a stopper on winning most F1 races.
All mandatory cautions do is penalize the best teams. OK if you want a show but not if you want a race.
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wilber1
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05/17/13 05:25pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: DEF, even dumber and blind too.
It might not be you.
When it comes to the diesel vs gas pumps.
There are NO color standards for what color the handles on the pump are for diesel and gas.
There is one station that bright green means diesel and visually you KNOW which one that is and there really is no chance of mistakenly grabbing it.
Then there is another station where the green handled ones are gas. :R
So if you've been fueling up at BP for the past week on the road and then pull into another gas station it's really easy to just grab the wrong pump handle.
Does DEF colored cabs vary from station to station?
I dunno. I never seem to hear gasser owners complaining because they put diesel in their tank by mistake. Maybe people should just pay more attention. In my part of Canada, most diesel handles are yellow.
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wilber1
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05/17/13 12:01pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: DEF, even dumber and blind too.
I once grabbed the wrong container and put power steering fluid in a brake master cylinder. Ruined all the seals. Expensive. There's no substitute for paying attention.
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wilber1
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05/16/13 02:14pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: can someone please explaing this
I've always tightened the nut and spun the wheel to seat the bearings then backed off the nut, tightened to finger tight then backed off until the pin would go in. Always worked for me, never had a wheel bearing failure after using this procedure.
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wilber1
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05/11/13 12:31pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: 2000 Dodge Cummins with 3.55 gears
Towed a 10K fiver in the mountains with a stock 01.5, 2wd auto for ten years. Had 3:55's originally but switched it to 4:10's after towing in the hills for a year. With only one differential to change over, the expense is worth it. Towing under 1700 RPM isn't very good for the 47RE. Staying above 1700 will keep you in third most of the time if you have 3:55's. With 4:10's you will be able to use OD a lot more. 4:10's will also have you spending less time in 2nd gear on steep hills with the torque converter unlocked. Transmission temperatures increase rapidly under load with when unlocked and the lower gearing gives the transmission a greater mechanical advantage which also helps keep temperatures down when the torque converter is unlocked.
Unless you are planning on beefing up the tranny and adding some power, I would say go for 4:10's if you plan on towing in mountains and definitely get a transmission temperature gauge.
The independent front suspension 2wd's don't have the same steering issues as the solid axle 4wd's
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wilber1
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05/10/13 11:15am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: DW won't drive
My wife won't tow the 5th wheel either. I can't even talk her into trying it on some of the easier stretches of road. She used to tow a horse trailer all the time but won't believe me when I tell her hauling the 5er is no more difficult or even easier. Oh well, she does know how to hook it up so I guess (hope) she could make out all right if she had to.
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wilber1
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05/07/13 01:37pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Backing up...
For blind backing nothing beats a spotter and a pair of walkie talkies. I agree bigger is easier. I find my 5er easier to back than my utility trailer.
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wilber1
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04/18/13 08:54am |
Towing
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RE: Advantages of a manual transmission
Another nice feature of the Cummins in the Dodge trucks is something called Zero Throttle Launch. I can back up with a trailer and never have to use the accelerator. Same thing going forward. When not towing I can start off in 2nd gear at idle.
Yup same here with the 05 CTD we tow with.
From what I read zero throttle has been around for a while.
Found this on a diesel forum "That low speed governor is a nice thing ...... until you find yourself in bumper to bumper traffic with light foot on the brake rolling along gently behind the guy in front of you, when the engine senses that it may stall, then WAKES up/revs up and charges forward towards that stack of cars in front of you." I will take my Allison over that. All I have to do to get my trailer going is let off the brake with no throttle and it will creep until I give it some throttle. Never have had an engine stall with an automatic.
That's what the clutch is for.
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wilber1
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04/18/13 07:59am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Breaker keeps triping
Is your rig 30 amp or 50 amp?
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wilber1
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04/18/13 07:56am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: royal purple oil
Make sure any oil you use meets your manufacturers spec for your vehicle. Some are quite particular and may void engine warranty if there is damage and you are using the wrong spec oil.
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wilber1
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04/17/13 01:49pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: How close to GCWR can you get?
I disagree completely that GCWR is "purely" a performance rating."The GCWR is a function of the torque output of the engine, the capacity and ratios of the transmission, the capacity of the driving axles and tyres, and the ability of the chassis to withstand that powertrain torque."Sounds like a performance rating to me. No mention of braking, control, safety or even tow rating.
What do you mean by performance because it looks like durability to me. It refers the the capacity of components to deal with the forces involved, not vehicle performance.
In the example I gave (numbers straight from the vehicle operating manual) why would the GCWR be different for the auto depending on ratio but the same for the manual? The clearly the limiting factor is the automatic transmission, not vehicle performance. The manual equipped vehicle will not perform the same with different rear end ratios yet the GCWR is the same with either ratio, so again it is clearly not a vehicle performance issue that is limiting GCWR in this case.
I'm not saying vehicle performance is not a factor in determining GCWR but the weakest link in the power train definately is.
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wilber1
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04/17/13 01:02pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: How close to GCWR can you get?
I disagree completely that GCWR is "purely" a performance rating. It is mostly a durability rating. Example: I used to own a 2001 Dodge CDT auto. GCWR for the auto was 16K with 3:55 gears and 18K with 4:10's. The five speed manual had a GCWR of 20K with either 3:55's or 4:10's. The reason for the difference in GCWR was obviously transmission durability not performance. A higher numerical final drive ratio puts less stress on the rest of the driveline.
I also think the 80% rule is a number someone pulled out of their backside and somehow made it urban "fact".. Every part for every vehicle has a built in safety margin and only the people who designed and engineered that part know what that margin is for every part that went into it. The weakest part will set the limit for every other part.
I bet at least 80% of people towing fivers with pickups are over 80% of the GVWR.
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wilber1
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04/17/13 10:45am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Manual Transmission? Yea or Nay?
Newer autos have torque converters that lock in every gear but first and reverse so running them in a lower gear does not cause them to heat up.
I also owned a few Brit cars with non syncro 1st gears, including a couple of 60's Mini Coopers. Loved those cars but at 6'1" don't know if I am still flexible enough to get in and out of them.
When I got my first DL in British Columbia, if you took your test on an auto, your license was restricted to automatic transmissions only. Not any more.
I understand why people like manual gear boxes for fun but vehicles evolve and for most purposes, autos have evolved to the point where manuals are redundant. Manufacturers are going to multi speed autos and CVT's because they are fuel efficient and for that reason alone, this is where future R&D will be directed, not to manuals. I think a very small minority would enjoy rowing a eight or ten speed manual in city traffic every day, even those who otherwise enjoy manuals. Call them a herd for it but I think it is perfectly understandable.
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wilber1
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04/16/13 01:52pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Manual Transmission? Yea or Nay?
I never had a desire to drive a truck manual on a daily basis although I did enjoy them in a car, except in traffic. I drove manuals for most of my life but no longer have one and I wonder how long it will take to lose the ability to heal and toe that took so long to learn well. That said, the ZF eight speed auto in my Audi is amazing. Always seems to be in the right gear. Shifts in 200 milliseconds. Can do non sequential shifts (can go from 8th to 2nd if necessary). In manual mode it will hold whatever gear you put it in until it basically decides the RPM is so low it has to shift down because you are to stupid to do it yourself. There really isn't much it can't do better than a manual. On top of that, manually shifting an eight or ten speed in daily traffic is not my idea of fun.
This type of transmission is the future for most vehicles. Almost all exotics now come with autos or twin clutch manumatics standard or as an option. The new Jaguar F Type doesn't even offer a manual option.
Those who say that anyone who favours autos is just a member of a herd, just aren't paying attention.
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wilber1
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04/16/13 08:03am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Brands of Diesel fuel?
Last year about 20 miles after filling up a pre common rail VW TDI, it started running really rough. Took it to a good shop I know, they drained the tank and found a bunch of crud, flushed the fuel system and injectors, changed the filter, threw in some Stanadyne and it ran great. Haven't been back to that station since. Wouldn't want that to happen with a trick new common rail diesel.
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wilber1
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04/15/13 06:13pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Brands of Diesel fuel?
All gasolines are not equal so good question about diesel.
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wilber1
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04/15/13 01:36pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: fuel economy
Once you get it up to speed a few hundred pounds won't make much difference. Drag will be a much bigger factor. Weight will make more difference in stop and go traffic and dragging it up hills.
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wilber1
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04/15/13 10:54am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Merging onto an Interstate
It's up to everyone to make it work but push comes to shove, the littlest guy will give in the end.
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wilber1
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04/14/13 05:34pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Length saved by 5W?
none ..........
:h
I think he's talkin' usable space.
When you've got a bumper pull the whole truck bed is available for use.
You lose ALL that space when you put a fifth wheel on/in it, thereby negating any gains you think you've made by having a fiver..
It's a wash!
Of course you can get more in the bed with a travel trailer, particularly if you have a canopy, plus you can lock it up, but certainly not ALL. All the space around a 5er hitch is available below the top of the bed rails. I have a 22" by 60" lockable box in front of my 5th wheel hitch and have room for my 11 ft inflatable boat in its bag behind it, propane bottle, sattelite dish stand and a few other things placed around it, plus I am still able to slide the hitch if necessary. So definately not ALL. That's with a SB Ram with 6'3" bed.
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wilber1
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04/13/13 06:15pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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