RE: CHEVY SHORTBED/SLIDER HITCH
If you are really talking about the short, short bed, then it really needs the Pullrite auto slider. Your friend should contact Pullrite directly to see if they have the correct hardware for his truck. It won't be cheap. The fiver should also have an extended pin box.
With a standard 6-1/2 ft short bed, then an extended pin box is the first priority, then a manual slider.
RE: 90 degree turn not possible while driving forward??
As someone already stated, the truck's steering angle is about 37 degrees. With a little math, wheelbase and curb-to-curb turning radius, anyone can verify this for their own vehicle. Motorhomes, MDTs and above have 55 to 60 degree steering cuts. Everything else is less than 40 degrees.
If the pin to fiver axle distance is roughly the same distance as the tv's wheelbase, then the fiver will pretty much track the tv thru a complete 180 degree U-turn. However the fiver will turn slightly inside the tv due to tire slip of the tandem axles and the wider axle of the fiver. If the fiver has an extended pin box, then a cab to fiver angle of about 60 degrees is pretty typical and even if the fiver distance is longer than the tv's wheelbase a 180 U-turn can safely be done. If the fiver does not have an extended pin box, then it's a different ball game with a shortbed tv.
Semi's have a much shorter tractor wheelbase compared to the trailer length and therefore significantly different U-turn characteristics.
So to #1, it is true, with a typical pickups wheelbase and the typical length of a fiver, you cannot get the fiver at 90 degrees to the truck while executing a 180 degree U-turn. Without an extended pin box (or a slider hitch) you might get cab to fiver contact, but the combo will NOT be at 90 degrees.
RE: They're trying to talk me down to a 1/2 ton...
We have a 2005 Jayco 29 FBS and it runs some 8500 lbs fully loaded, and we fully load it often.
I was happy towing 6500 lbs with a 2wd 1/2 ton, but no way would I ever add 2000 lbs more and then hit the road. Safety, reliability and fuel mpg will all be in the toilet.
RE: Electric Awning
Do you have a Carefree Colorado?
Carefree sent the whole motor unit.
btw there is no way to manually roll it up....we tried...Carefree said 'nope'
Not exactly true, at least on mine. Even if the motor fails, after removing the plastic cover, there are 4 bolts that hold the motor to the gear set (which is attached to the roller tube). With the motor removed, the gear set and roller tube can be manually turned to roll up the awning. But it will involve several people working on ladders.
RE: Automatic awning w/wind-sensor
Kinda off topic here....but I met a couple last Summer with a brand new 5er. and they said that their "Auto-Awning" had been wired 'backwards' so that everytime they got up to the awning pre-set wind-speed when driving, the awning would open!:E
Happened several times B-4 they figured things out.
(don't know if this could happen....but it did make for a good story)...:@
The simple solution is always turn off the main power switch at the awning control before hitting the road, just part of the pre-flight check list. That way, no wireless remote, 'backwards' wind sensor or other problem can cause the awning to open on the road.
RE: Grey water disposal revisited
My unit has 3 tanks, the galley tank and dump valve is totally seperate from the other 2, so how is this different from a tent camper dishpan??
Makes sense, but do you think a ranger or whatever would buy it?
Yes, I have discharged grey water on a hand full of occasions. In National Forest campgrounds where the NFS considered the extra moisture more beneficial to the forest than the negative costs associated with expanding or repairing an overloaded dump station since grey water is generated in a much higher volume than black water. And on volunteer projects with 12-15 other rigs where again, the available septic system could not have handled the extra volume of grey water.
I agree with several posters that noted many houseboats and large pleasure craft lack grey tanks. Last I heard, even places like Lake Shasta was having problems forcing conversions on the boats and providing onshore facilities to accept the grey water. Also saw a new building code document for Flagstaff, Az requiring dedicated grey and black sewer lines for new construction, I'm guessing to reduce water consumption thru reuse and to reduce sewage treatment plant loading.
Regarding the toxicity of grey water standing for more than 3 hours needing bleach, what about every P-trap in every RV and home in the country? Seen any plumbers using full toxic waste outfits while working? Even latex gloves? I worry less about a few gallons of grey water next to a tree than what gets sprayed on tomatoes, spinach and other vegetables/fruit around the world that we all consume.
A few months ago my neighbor had a raw sewage spill a few hundred feet from both his well and my well, so I called the county health dept. Should a backhoe and dump truck be used to haul the contaminated soil away? Should the ground be saturated with 20 gallons of bleach? No, No and Mother nature will take care of the problem were the answers.
RE: Grey water disposal revisited
RV grey water is not the same as home washing machine grey water. Home grey water systems used to irrigate gardens are run in pipes EXCLUSIVELY for said grey water, never mixed with pipes that also handle human waste. Most RVs have a single discharge pipe for both grey and black water. You may think you rinsed the black water away, but did you? Not unless you heavily bleached it in between (please don't as the bleach you drip all over ain't good for grass or asphalt!).
Think the tiny remnants of black water waste are no big deal? google 'fecal coliforms' or perhaps 'cholera.' We are spoiled in America not to worry much about these things precisely BECAUSE we have implemented good sanitation practices. Go visit rural South America sometime for some motivation to keep things that way. Cholera KILLS people. Lots of them. Let's keep it away, shall we?
All the above has to do with the potential for fecal coliform contamination. A free standing shower, tent camper dishpans and popup drains with no toilets have none of these issues. The rules are established the way they are because people are too dumb to understand the difference between a grey water drain with the potential to spread fecal coliforms and and one that doesn't. So they ban 'em all.
My unit has 3 tanks, the galley tank and dump valve is totally seperate from the other 2, so how is this different from a tent camper dishpan??
RE: Adjusting Mor-Ryde Suspension on 08 Jayco
Is it the IS suspension or the RS? With the IS, it should be just a little more work than changing a tire. Once the tire is removed, put a jack or other support under the end of the swing arm before removing the bolts that secure the rubber suspension. On mine, there is just one additional set of holes available that would raise the trailer 1 inch.
RE: Automatic awning w/wind-sensor
EZ, don't travel so fast:B Really, what brand do you have? The switch panel on my Carefree includes a 3 position switch for different wind speeds.
RE: Installing a second AC unit
I love your idea of the cooler. We need something like that for the back of the 5ver. We have a full den in the back but it never gets very cool as I think most of the ducks are directed to the center and front of the rv. I am going to beg my hubby for one. We can use it in one of our back bedrooms at home that has the same problem as the 5ver.
Now I can prove to hubby these coolers really work.:)
I have the exact same plan to use the portable cooler both at home and in the fiver. Mine just arrived today and it is already running in the bedroom. I got a similiar Amcor unit with the same 7.9A load, except 12k BTU with a 7k BTU heater as well. In a few minutes it dropped the bedroom temp from 81 to 78, so it should work fine.
RE: Carefree of CO awning adjustments
If you have the Eclipse or similiar scissors type awning from Carefree, then each arm can use different adjustment holes w/o affecting operation. I keep the door side high for clearance, but the other side low for water runoff. If you don't have clearance issues with the door, then there should be no problem with using the lowest setting on both.
RE: Honda eu 2000i @8400'
I run my eu1000i at 9000 ft all the time w/o rejetting. The reduced output will not handle the full load of the converter (about 950w) when my single battery is low. But I can flip the battery disconnect switch, hook up a seperate 20 amp battery charger directly to the battery and charge the battery that way. The dedicated battery charger is probably more efficient than the one in the converter since I can still run the frig and LCD TV on 115v AC thru the AC power center at the same time. If you have multiple batteries, the eu 2000i may have a similiar issue depending on the converters maximum power consumption.
RE: Your opinions on purchasing this used Ford please
There should be better deals, keep looking. My son just picked up a 2002 F250 XLT extended cab, 2wd, 7.3/auto with 104k miles for $10500. It does look in very good shape and runs fine.
RE: Parking on treated wood will it hurt our tires?
For 10 yrs, my RV storage has had gravel under one side of the tandem axles and treated boards under the other. My last fiver had two tires fail at different times, one on each side. Also haven't noticed any difference in tire wear, so my experience tells me it makes no difference.
RE: Slider hitch needed with extended pin box?
From very rough estimations (I haven't measured anything), and using these numbers:
width of trailer: 96"
truck cab width: 72"
distance from pin center to cab: 35" (taken from a Reese installation guide for Dodge pickups)
Pin extention: 15"
Without the extended pin box, one can manage around a 44 degree turn before havoc ensues. With the extended pin box, this increases to around 60 degrees. Does anyone use a turn sharper than 60 degrees?
-steve
The steerable wheels of your truck can only turn about 36 degrees. MDTs and motorhomes and the optional front axle on the new F450/550 allow 54 to 60 degree wheel cuts. But for your truck, backing up is the only way to get a 60 degree angle between truck and fiver, so pay attention and you can get by for yrs w/o a slider. BTW, TT owners don't have any kind of slider option and yet they typically can't turn any sharper than a short bed/extended pin setup.
RE: Best Electric Awning
I like my Carefree Eclipse with the wind sensor. The front and rear arms can be adjusted to different heights for rain runoff and yet there is no impact on operation. In addition, gas struts keep it open, but will not allow excess weight to accumulate on the awning.
RE: Crossroads cruiser
Our Cruiser is 4 yrs old, we are in it about 50% of the year and very happy with the product and Crossroads. Our last big trip was over 10k miles, now we are doing volunteer work and the Cruiser is parked for weeks at a camp just 15 miles from home.
When it comes to major components like water heaters, inverters, frigs, A/Cs, ovens, axles etc., there are typically only two sources of those components and all the manufacturers use one or the other. So, if a source has a problem, then any RV brand can be affected, like the Dometic frig recall that is frig model specific, not RV manufacturer specific.
RE: Trying to plan a trip to Nova Scotia
Dayle1 - Thanks for sharing those pics.
Curious about what was better about Blomidon than the others. Mira River and Battery are on our itinerary.
- Ceril
Blomidon had both wide open and secluded sites and at 600ft above the Minas Basin (highest tidal change) part of the Bay of Fundy, the views were great. Yet there is still access to the tidal flats. Nice hiking trails that were better marked than any other park. One warning, the short park road from the boundary to the entrance gate is narrow, steep with a few hairpin turns that is a challenge if another RV is encountered.
RE: Trying to plan a trip to Nova Scotia
We spent 6 wks in NB and NS last summer, mostly at Provincial and National Parks, and mostly w/o any reservations. This summer there may be even fewer visitors. When I did make reservations it was only one or two days in advance. Caribou was the only PP that I didn't get a site (on a Saturday) since it is so close to the PEI ferry. Mira River, TH Raddall and Battery PP were excellent parks, but the absolute best was Blomidon PP. Five Islands PP was not a good stop, bad roads, park constructions and closed trails. The entrance to Battery is a tight turn adjacent to the single lane bridge over the sea locks. Don't miss the Fortress of Louisbourg or the Hopewell Rocks (NB) or Fundy NP (NB). The west side of the Cabot Trail is much more impressive than the east side. The link in my sig. includes a few pics from NB and NS including the Provincial Parks.
RE: Remove carpet/change flooring in Cougar?
I removed the carpet and underlying vinyl and then installed new vinyl. Mine has been in place for almost 4 yrs and the s/o has not damaged the vinyl. Laminate, being thicker may be more of an issue. The vinyl I used is 1/8 inch thick and requires no adhesive, I have just 2 floor registers and a small bead of caulk around the edge holding it in place. It lays flat without curling or distorting so you can use trial and error to get a good fit, trimming it outside or inside the RV. By using a compatiable color caulk, there was no need for bulky trim or base moldings.
