RE: 135 mpg, 0 to 60 in 4 sec., and Jay Leno has one?
If it is all electric what does it consume in 134 miles? I gallon of battery acid?
I heard it is a litium ion battery pack, so comparing it to how many miles you can go on a gallon of gasoline or diesel is like saying how much apple juice you can get out of an orange tree. Electric cars don't use gasoline or diesel. You could say that 55% of their "Fuel" comes from coal and 22% hydroelectricity, some from wind and other types of fuel.
Fred.
RE: Anna's Journey (Ga to Wa) (We call her Tia now)
Three more days and it will be one year since I turned Tia over to her new owners.
All I can say is Great Job in getting her from there to here.
Fred.
RE: Can I Brag? Gonna be on TV! UPDATE pg. 4
UPDATE! I received an e-mail today from Tony . . . we're going to do the segment on May 6th. Oh, and it's going to be LIVE
HOLY COW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :E :E :E :E :E :E
I'd use another term, but it'd be *poofed!*
Tony told me not to worry . . . we'll "practice" a bit before-hand and he'll lead me through it by asking questions, etc.
He's going to stop in our store on May 2 or 3 so we can go over a bit of Dutch oven cooking to figure out what we'll all need to do on that Tuesday. He said he has a nice fire pit in the backyard, so we'll use that with my tripod to show the cooking.
As we only have about three & a half minutes, we need to be quick. He said we can cut that into two segments if I want, which I think will work best.
I'm planning on a simple cobbler (I'll make one earlier in the day to show the "finished" cobbler and have everything ready to show how to make one (quick & easy), and be able to spend a short bit of time on using charcoal for cooking the cobbler.
For the second segment, I'm thinking an easy BBQ chicken recipe . . . 1 cut up chicken, a bottle of BBQ sauce and a can of coke. Bake at 350 for 1 hour and it's falling off the bone delicious.
With each of those recipes, we can very quickly talk about how easy they are to make, and yet still have time to talk about the charcoals needed AND show how easy it is to do in your backyard fire pit.
I just have to obtain another Dutch oven, because I only have three and I think I know just the place to get one . . . :B :W
My heart is palpitating just at the thought of being LIVE! OMG!
YOUR thoughts? Any suggestions? I'm definitely going to have to bone up on my B-Complex to help with stress prior to this show! Maybe a tranquilizer is in order, too! LOL (just kidding, folks!) ;)
Julie
PS, we'll be taping it so that I can upload it to Youtube and ya'll can watch me stutter and stammer and sweat my way through this! :B
Well
How did it go? :B
Fred.
RE: RVing in Australia and New Zealand
What is that stick coming out of the floor, next to the steering wheel for?
Looks like a nice RV!
By the way, what are you paying for diesel nowday? How much more do you pay than 1 year ago? We are paying about double for fuel compared to 1 year ago.
Fred.
RE: Hot water coming out of both hot and cold faucet
When our hot water heater is on I will get about 5-10 seconds of hot water through the cold, then it will flow cold.
Your water heater is supposed to have a check valve at the inlet to the hot water tank to prevent water from leaving the tank when it expands (due to heating the water). This check valve will cause the hot water to be a slightly higher pressure when it heats up cold water to 130F. But after the first heating, when it goes from 100 - 130, the pressure barely changes.
The check valve causes the water pressure in the cold water line to be a slightly lower water pressure, that is why the shower only has cold water going into it when the hand valve is shut off for a few seconds.
If you are getting hot water into both the hot and cold water lines, then perhaps the winterizing bypass valves are in the wrong position. Try running some more hot water, then run the cold water for about 10 seconds to see that you have cleared out the warm water from the cold water lines.
If the problem continues, write back. If it is solved, please post what it took to fix the problem, so others that search for this post will know how to fix their RV too.
Thanks,
Fred.
RE: how much can an F-350 push backwards uphill?
Hi,
With 4 wheel drive and low range, you are much better off than someone without 4 WD. The problem is how many horsepower the engine can make at only 900 RPM. It is actually very limiting. With a manual transmission, there is even higher limits, because the engine can not rev up while sitting still, like with a automatic transmission.
If you don't succeed on the first try, try it at a slightly higher speed, and the increased engine RPM should provide enough power!
If you don't have a transmission temperature gauge, get one! The transmission can heat up a lot when moving very slowly, especially when a lot of horsepower is going through the engine.
Fred.
RE: Why'd you buy Coke? Said my daughter . . .
Hey all! This is funny! I guess my Dutch oven cooking and cleaning and classes, etc. has really rubbed off on the kids!
I'm preparing for my TV debut on Tony's Cooking & Gardening Tips on our local TV News tomorrow night and went shopping yesterday for the ingredients that I need for the two items that we'll be cooking. For one of the recipes, I need a can of Coca Cola. Now mind you, we RARELY buy soda and when we do, you can bet it's not a name brand! :B
When Erica saw that I bought Coke, we had the following conversation:
Erica: What has rust on it?
Me: Huh?
Erica: You bought Coke . . . what cast iron has rust on it that you need to soak in Coke?
Me: :B :B :B WOW! That's funny! I need the Coke for one of the recipes I'm making with Tony on Tuesday!
What's really funny is that I had almost the EXACT same conversation with Abby later in the night! :B :B
Have my kids learned a bit about cast iron, or what?! That just really tickled my funny bone (and gave me a warm fuzzy, to boot!)!
Julie
So how did you TV show go?
Do you have a link to the TV show?
Everything turn out yummy?
Are you going to reprint the resipes for us? Please!
Thanks,
Fred.
RE: Alfa 5th wheels
Do you have a link to that news story?
What newspaper?
Thanks,
Fred.
A search brought up this story too:
http://www.rv.net/FORUM/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/21352806.cfm Alfa closed it's doors and laid off all employees 4-30-2008.
While I liked the Alfa fifth wheels, the difficulty to get to the basement air conditioner told me I would never buy one until that was improved!
Fred.
RE: HWY 101 in California
Hi,
199 might seem a bit skinny, as it is two lanes all the way with a few passing lanes - say 8-10 passing areas in the 70 miles between Crescent City and the outskirt of Grants Pass where it is 4 lanes.
199 goes through some great forests, and has a couple of short grades, but otherwise is a great road. Rememmber that when there are more than 5 vehicles behind you, then using a turnout to allow passing is required. And for goodness sakes, don't speed up in the passing lanes, let the crowd go by. (This happened to me many times, where a slow moving truck will suddenly speed up while 10-12 vehicles are behind it - in a passing lane). I have taken my 30' Bounder towing a car on this road a couple of times.
Just outside Grants Pass is Wilderville, and there is a weigh station. While you don't have to stop there, if you do, you can check the weight on your truck. The scale is left on all the time, just pull through slowly, stop when only the front axle is on the scale, then truck, then check the weight of the whole thing. It will be in the right hand lane. If they ask any questions, tell them insently enough "I was letting the cars pass me" as you write down the weights! I stopped at the scale last year, and asked the person manning the scale (usually nobody is there, they must have neen checking the weight of logging trucks coming off the mountains to know their value) and was given the OK to use it, but not delay on the scale. I was pretty quick.
I used to live in Grants Pass. I really enjoyed camping at Schroder Park the last couple of times I visited there. I also took the jet boat ride on the Rouge River. It is a lot of fun!
Hellgate.com
I took a day drive from Schroder Park to Crater Lake. Those roads are a little steeper, and twist a lot. I guess your return plans are going south on I5? That road is un-eventful. Just that fuel is less expensive in Oregon than in California. It could have something to do with the 8% tax in California that is not in Oregon. I filled up at a Cheveron today at $3.59. Diesel was 4.19.
Fred.
RE: Lifting TV 8" (F250) + 29ft. trailer..questions re: receiver
I have a 4" lift now and everything is OK regarding hitch/receiver height. After I mod my truck again it will be about 4" too high for the receiver to line up and I will be needing a drop of somekind. Keep in mind I use weight distribution. I did find some units like this:
Clickable link
But, these say they can't be used with weight distribution...why?
Please advise and thanks in advance.
Hi,
There are hitches that have the receiver at the same hieght as the square tubing - like the one that you have now, and they have receivers that have the receiver mounted 4" lower than stock location, for trucks that have been raised.
Here is a link to JcWhitney where they show a receiver that is extra tall, to compensate for taller springs.
http://www.jcwhitney.com/CURT-10-000-12-000-LB-CLASS-IV-RECEIVERS/GP_2011895_N_111+10201+600002360_10101.jcw
You can also adjust the hitch shank to go up or down, and get an extra tall shank, so the ball mount can be up to 8" below the square tube opening in the hitch receiver.
You might want to call the 800 number here, and ask if they have a drop weight distribution shank that is the length that you want. They should sell them or tell you that can not be made!
http://www.southwestwheel.com/store/c-156-weight-dist-hitch.aspx
And you could also look into the Torklift hitches that have twin receivers on the hitch, are rated for a tremendous amount of weight, and you could use the lower receiver in your application.
Fred.
RE: Where to practice backing up?
Three Dog Night,
Backing is one of those tasks that only gets easier with practice. You've gotten some very good suggestions about where and how to practice.
DW and I have worked out a perfect system, it works for us, but may not work for everyone. Here's our system:
When backing, to keep the confusion down about which way to turn the wheel, put your hands down at the bottom of the wheel. If you want the rear of the trailer to go to your left, then you turn the wheel to the left (with your hands at the bottom).
We also use a set of FRS (Family Radio Service) 2-way radios. They are invaluable in communicating instructions. DW is my spotter and my "eyes" at the back of the trailer.
When backing, DW is the "boss". I only listen and don't talk. I only move the trailer when she tells me to do so. (If I have any doubts about what is going on, I stop the truck, get out and go take a look.) It's a lot less confusing when there is only one party talking.
I've also had to learn a new "lingo". When DW is talking to me when we're backing into a site, "My side" (passenger's side) means "right" and "Your side" (driver's side) means left.
I hope these suggestions help. I know they've worked for us.
Happy RVing and safe travels.
The secret to parking a trailer is keeping your hand at the bottom of the steering wheel, and having your partner point their arms in the direction that you want the rear of the trailer to go.
The helper MUST know that their whole arm is only 1/4" on your mirror!
I will add this. When you are close to the parking spot, have them hold their arms together as you get to the stopping point. When their hands are together, you will stop!
Also tell them when they can not see your mirrors, you will stop.
Yes it is nice to start backing into the space, then get out and hae a look around.
My sister lives near Ridgefield, and I see that you don't have any large parking lots nearby. Wal Mart is even over 15 miles! The only parking lot I know of it the fairgrounds at 179th street, and go west a little bit, then south. There is a stadium and fairground parking lot. I don't know if the lots are open all the time, I know they are all fenced and they charge for parking at events.
Perhaps a local school or high school has a large enough parking lot. Remember that when you use the practice parking spaces, that the lines are the "Trees" that you don't want to touch.
I also like to aproach backing into a parking space by thinking about how the tires will move when I leave the parking space. So if the truck will cross the road and the trailer will be on the right hand side of the campground road as I pull out, that is where I will place them when I pull up to the campsite. Then with my hand at the bottom of the steering wheel, I turn to the right (because back of trailer needs to go right) then back up a bit.
With just the bumper in the campsite, get out and have a look around. Low Trees? High rocks? Parking bumper that will take out the rear stabilizer jacks? You helper can walk back there, position themselves where you can see them in the passenger side mirror, and get ready.
Now you are ready to back up some more. Look for arms straight up (keep going in the same direction) to the left or right (start turning that way) or swinging (STOP!) As you get really close, hold your arms out to the sides, and bring them together over your head or to one side until you have your hands almost together. The driver will stop at that point.
Get out, look around. Is there enough room to get out the slides? Some cut a rope to 3' or whatever length the slides come out. Is the sewer and electrical within the limits? Do you need to pull the trailer over 1' either direction?
Do you need leveling blocks?
After a while, it will become routine.
Fred.
RE: Spring bars, too much tension???
Hi,
Congratulations on the new trailer!
With your truck, it would be possible to tow without the WD bars, but it is not recommended. Yes you do have the bars way to tight. When you use an electric jack to raise the trailer hitch to tighten the bars, you can put the bars on with hand pressure, and then lowering it will tighten the bars the correct amount.
What I would do is hitch the trailer to the truck and put on the spring bars as tight as I could with hand pressure (with all hitch weight sitting on the hitch). Then decide if you want to tighten it with 2 links (or 1 link or 3). Paint that link or color it with a perminate marker. Now you can use the hitch jack to raise the back of the truck about 4-5" and then tighten up 2 links, lower and see what you have.
It is a good thing you did not go down a long mountain road with curves in it, jackknifing the trailer comes to mind with the hitch set-up so tight!
Fred.
RE: 110 volt draw. what am I overlooking?
Hi,
I was thinking it might be tank heaters or the engine block heater.
There is a tiny heater on the refrigerator, that prevents frost build-up on the freezer door gasket. There is a tiny switch on my RV that can only be seen with the freezer door open, and is black. It will draw about 1 amp at 12 volts.
10 amps at 120 volts is about 1,200 watts? That is a lot of power to be used up.
Fred.
