RE: A knocking while driving ....
What about an exhaust pipe of muffler having a loose hanger and vibrating upwards to hit the floorboards?
Does it make any difference if you are on or off the throttle? That is, does backing off or stepping on it change the condition?
RE: How can I ID my TT wheel bearings?
Bob, if you have Dexter axles you can also call their customer service department and they can tell you what the bearing is if you supply them with axle specs and/or # of wheel lugs and tire size...
Les
Thanks Les, How do I tell the brand of axles? Is there a stamp or tag on them somewhere? After 13 years and some dusty trails and lots of west coast water, no doubt they are a tad rusty!
Bob
RE: How can I ID my TT wheel bearings?
Thanks for the help everyone.
I hadn't thought about pulling the numbers off the old bearing. I knew they were stamped but didn't think about that when I posted this. I was thinking I had to ID the axle or something to get the parts.
As for changing the bearings and seals, I have done so many over the years that it for me it is as easy as changing my socks. I've been turning wrenches since I was a teenager and have a garage full of tools. I have rebuilt engines, transmissions, rearends, electrical and so on. Done bodywork and paint too and still have all the tools. Changing a few bearings is simple for me. I was blessed at a young age with a mechanical aptitude!
I'll pull one apart and get my numbers. I actually have never done trailer brakes before, but have done many dozens of regular car brake jobs. Should be easy enough to figure out. All I need to know is where to source the brake parts if I need any.
Thanks,
Bob
How can I ID my TT wheel bearings?
I have a 95 Sportsmen 25.5' TT and need to identify my wheel bearings so I can replace them.
On a fishing trip last weekend I stopped for a dinner break off the highway and heard a bizarre gronking sound when I stood inside the TT doorway. It sounded like a very erratic water pump. Closer examination revealed the noise coming from my axle area. I grabbed one wheel at the top and pulled hard on it, noticing excessive side play. It clunked back and forth. One other was similar while 2 had minimal play.
Oops! Should have paid more attention to them!
Anyhow, made it home without issues but before I take it out again I want to replace the wheel bearings and while I'm in there service the brakes.
I have not got the faintest idea on what application to use when I go to an auto parts store to order bearings.
Can anyone suggest how I go about ID'ing them and ordering parts? Or where is the best place to look? I always hesitate to go to my local RV dealer as the prices are always excessively high.
I'm sure there must be some "off the shelf" bearing that will do the job. As for the brakes? Well, I don't know.
Thanks,
Bob
RE: Seeking Alsaska destination info for trip
I have lengthy reviews and photo albums of 4 of our Alaska cruises and lots of excursions posted at http://www.youralaskacruise.com/reviews/ (I work on the ships occasionally as a Destination Speaker).
Murray
(I lived in Surrey for 30 years or so, Bob)
Great! Thanks for posting the link. My wifes name is Cathie too! Spelled different but thats OK. I will forward your excellent information to her so she can read it too. She spends more time reading things than I do because I just don't have time.
So you moved away from Surrey! Good choice - I want to do the same. It is unbelievable how built up it is getting and how busy everything is here. I liked it better when I moved here in 85.
All the info posted here has been a big help for us to make the most of our visit to Alaska. We are really looking forward to it.
Thanks again,
Bob
RE: Seeking Alsaska destination info for trip
Thanks for the updates. This info really helps.
This time we are on the Celebrity Mercury. We cruised on that ship a year ago and my wife really liked the Thessolonian Pool (sp?)
This will be our 7th cruise.
Seeking Alsaska destination info for trip
Hi all you fine Alaska folks!!
Wife and I have booked an Alaska cruise from Sept. 14th to Sept. 22nd and I have a few questions. We have never been to Alaska so we know nothing!!
First of all, what kind of weather and temperature should I expect in mid-September. We want to travel light, but bring the proper clothing. Also, how is the insect population and should we prepare for that?
For those that don't know how the cruise ships work, they sail all night and arrive at various ports before breakfast, spend most of the day there and set sail in the early evening.
We are leaving from Vancouver BC and will be visiting Ketchikan, the Hubbard Glacier, Juneau and Sitka before we sail to Seattle where the trip ends.
We have the option of doing shore excursions in the various ports of call. I was wondering what you resident experts or other travelers could recommend at the locations listed. Being unfamiliar with the area, we don't know what would be a good excursion to experience there. Or just something interesting to walk ashore and do ourselves.
Any information you could throw my way would be vastly appreciated!!
Thanks,
Bob :)
RE: Wasn't paying ATTENTION
Couldn't get the slide to go out once - no matter how hard I tried, it just would not go out.
So I called in 6 of my biggest, strongest friends and 1 - 2 - 3 - we shoulderchecked the wall like a football player and it did indeed move out 3 feet!
And then it occurred to me . I don't have a slide . . . . . .
:B:B
RE: Whislter BC
Whistler truly is a beautiful place!
One suggestion for you is to allow a bit of extra travel time. They are working extensively on the highway and there could be some delays. Relax, enjoy the drive - it is very scenic.
RE: Burnaby BC - Warning
It is rather unfortunate that a number of RV parks cause some people to make the decision to NEVER use a park again. They are causing their petty complaint and lies to backfire on themselves.
After a negative experience I had with an RV park in Grande Prairie Alberta, I swore I would never NEVER ever use an RV park again. That was about 5 years ago and so far so good! I became an avid boondocker and love it!
RV park owners should seriously consider the impact they cause to themselves with their selfish complaints, especially when they lie and fabricate information in the manner you described.
I live close to Burnaby - I wonder which park it was - maybe I should go overnight close to them!!! No, I wouldn't do that!
2 Serious Wrecks with RV's today
Coming home from work today, as I headed west on Hwy 1 at Abbotsford BC, I saw the traffic eastbound was at a dead standstill for many miles. My wife called me and told me to detour as the highway was closed eastbound. I was going west - traffic OK.
I did some digging to see what happened and discovered that not one but 2 of our RV'ing family had been involved in 2 separate wrecks. One was local here and the other a few hundred miles north of Vancouver BC.
Both accidents were caused by a driver crossing the centerline on one and a median on the other and slamming head-on into trucks pulling trailers.
I saw pictures of the one near Chilliwack BC and the SUV and travel trailer were demolished, upside down off the side of the road. The car that caused the crash sent a woman and 3 small children to hospital, but thank God, they are alive. The driver of the SUV escaped with minor injuries.
The other crash, unfortunately, killed 3 people, 2 at the scene and one later at the hospital.
Here's a link to one of the stories - it covers both accidents:
2 RV Wrecks
I post this as yet another reminder for all of us to really take our time and travel safely. Sure, both RV'rs here were not at fault, but rather victims of other errant drivers, but we have to exercise caution anyways as we travel down the highways. We have to beware that something could suddenly put our lives in jeopardy and always be prepared to take evasive action should something happen.
Travel safely everyone.
RE: Removing interior walls
I have removed ALL the walls in my travel trailer!! But thats another story!
Before removing the wall, check first to be sure there is nothing inside it. Check to make sure the vent for one of your tanks does not go through it. Also, check for electrical. Some wires may pass through the wall. Or maybe some plumbing too.
How big is the wall? Walls are used for stability of the unit. The more things they create going from floor to ceiling, the less it flexes going down the road.
Lets say nothing is in the way - vents, wires etc. Then removal can be done without too much effort. If you have something screwed to the wall such as a bedframe or other piece of furniture, you will have to provide alternate support for this item.
The floor is built first as a unit, so your flooring will likely be underneath the wall. If lino, yes it will be. If carpet, perhaps not.
Same thing on the ceiling. The walls and partitions are installed after the floor, but before the ceiling. Typically the roof is lowered in one piece on top of the walls etc. so your ceiling panels will continue through.
Now one consideration is that the roof is likely screwed down into the top of the wall from above so you cannot take these screws out without removing your roof. You will have to dis-assemble the wall one piece at a time and the wood framing will have to be split around the screws and removed without damaging the ceiling. Then you have to get rid of the screw hanging down by cutting it off flush and covering the cut end. Perhaps a decorative nail of some kind can be used.
The same thing applies to the outside wall. If the removed wall goes against an outside wall, it is very likely screwed in from the outside before the siding goes on. Once you split the wood off, you will have the screws to get rid of. There will be damage on the inside panels from the wall being fastened.
You can likely get creative with disguising the damaged area where the wall was removed.
Hope this helps.
RE: Fax while full timing.
I have a personal 1-800 number that offers a huge variety of services including fax. It has voice mail and email too. The service is completely voice activated as well, but I prefer to use my computer as I don't have enough grey matter to remember all the different commands and numbers to push for keypad shortcuts. So if you have more capacity to remember stuff than I do, you can tell it what to do through your cell phone as you travel. Because it is 1-800, it is a free call for you or anyone who faxes or calls you.
People can send faxes to the number and I can retrieve and print anywhere I have an internet connection.
I bring up the service on my computer where I can view all settings, change what I want, forward calls, review and print faxes etc.
It costs me about $50. a month. I am quite sure there is a "lite" version of these types of services that offer a trimmed down basic service without all the extras.
I can send a fax from this number, but it has to be a document already on my computer or a fax that I get in electronic format. There is likely a way you could send a paper fax to your own number from somewhere and then forward it to the recipient from the 800 number, to avoid the toll charges. Perhaps carry a small fax machine with you and have it rigged to send via the cell phone or internet connection. Or carry a scanner and then you just save it on the computer to send in electronic format. I think this would be easier.
This may be an option for you.
RE: SMALL TRAILER CATEGORY ADDED
And, what is the definition of a "Small TT"?
I think this one qualifies!
I spent 6 weeks in this thing 3 years ago. No bathroom, no running water, nothing worked except one light, Thats it!
http://www.hanover1.net/files/miscfiles/Estavilla1.JPG
RE: SMALL TRAILER CATEGORY ADDED
?????????????????????????????????????? Someone please try the explanation as to where the small trailer forum is CLEARLY this time!
J
Click on the "Open Roads Forum" link
Click on "Travel Trailers"
In the header bar close to the top of the topics is a horizontal list of the categories.
Click on Small TT's
Topic Categories: Show All | General Q&A | Modifications and Accessories | Vintage TT's | Pictures of our TT's | Small TT's
RE: Backing up an infected HDD
I agree with the enclosure approach.
Don't try to boot from it - depending on the virus, you can get nowhere and just make things worse. It is likely that your data is OK and the system files are the ones infected.
The enclosure in the picture below is made for laptop hard drives. It is very simple to use and requires no external power supply. Power comes from the USB cable. I forget what I paid for it, but it was cheap - maybe around 25 bucks or something.
Open the case, plug the HD in, close it, and plug it into a USB port. It is hot pluggable, meaning you don't have to turn the computer off before plugging it in.
Whatever you plug it into will find it as a USB drive, similar to a flash card or memory stick. No drivers are needed if you have XP or Vista.
MAKE SURE your second computer, as mentioned, is up to date with the anti-virus! Chances are that the virus is set to run on a booted hard drive, not a slave or storage drive. It is important that the drive is not running the computer when you attempt to clean it. The virus likely is waiting for important system files to be used before it executes. But there is a possibility that it will try to infect anything it is plugged into. I suggest a total backup of the computer you are going to use for this.
Run your AV program on that drive. It may or may not be able to repair the infected files. If it does, great! If not, delete the offending files, even if they are important system files or your own data. Also, there are some AV programs that will not find certain virii while others will. I have used AVG for years with great success. Another that works well is Avast. I have recently heard a lot of good reports about Kaspersky - good enough that today I just ordered a 3 site licence for the product. Also, there are a number of online virus checking sites, but many times they will find it, but you have to pay to eradicate it. If you are lucky, you can clean the drive and still be able to boot from it again. If not, well, you were planning on formatting it anyways.
Now, as for the other part of your question, if the above method won't clean the drive, you will still be able to read it and pull your data off if it is plugged in via the enclosure. The exception to this would be if the virus has wiped out your partition info and boot sector. Probably not though.
When you read the drive like a flash card or memory stick, use Windows Explorer (Windows Explorer, not Internet Explorer) - it will work fine. Make a new directory and call it backup or whatever you want. Make subfolders that correspond with your data so you can keep it in order. Then you can start dragging your data from the infected drive over to the computer it is plugged into. You will have to know where everything is, such as your email file. That one is buried deep in documents and settings.
You could try running a backup program and then restore it in a alternate location to the disk after it is formatted and the OS re-installed for plucking your files off afterwards, but you still need to find all the files. Better to just pluck what you need off, but you still have to MAKE SURE you get everything. Don't forget anything, as once you format it and reinstall, it's gone forever. The advantage to having a complete backup file is that if you forget something, you have a copy of it. If you have a gob of computers and hard drives laying around like I do, I would do that to a spare drive plugged in as a slave. Then yo don't need to have an OS installed on it - just run it as an extra drive.
Anyhow, didn't mean to write a short novel here, but it takes lots of words to explain something thoroughly.
Hope this helps.
http://www.hanover1.net/files/miscfiles/LaptopEnclosure.JPG
RE: Getting rig out of yard
I have done this many times over the years with various types of trailers, both for construction and pleasure trailers.
All I ever do is put down some minimum 5/8" plywood and then put 2 X 12's on top of the plywood to run the wheels on. It requires a fair bit of lumber, but is well worth it to avoid tearing up somebodies lawn. (Or my own)
It takes a little time because you have to move a few feet, get out and move the wood, check to make sure you are on the 2X12's, but it works good.
Just make sure the wood is under the TV too.
