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Date Posted |
Forum
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RE: Anyone Going Camping for (Canadian) Thanksgiving ?
When is Thanksgiving celebrated in Canada?
It would give us a good excuse to go camping down here!
I don't mind going camping twice to celebrate two Thanksgivings!
Canadian Thanksgiving is always the second Monday in October and we'll have the 5vr at our local provincial campgroud.
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Hamops
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09/28/08 08:08am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Proud new Cruiser owner
Congrats on the CF30SK. You made a great choice. We've had ours just over 2 years now and love it. We bought it for the spacious floorplan.
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Hamops
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09/27/08 07:43am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Fuel additive
According to my DMax manual, the only additive that GM recommends is Stabil. That means that the fuel you buy at the pumps from reputable dealer is all that you need. The only way to save on your fuel bill is to buy from the cheapest reputable dealer and slow down.
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Hamops
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09/23/08 02:40pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: average weight of GMC
You better have the truck weighed. My '06 weighs a bit over 7000# with fuel and 2 passengers.
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Hamops
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09/09/08 06:18pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Towing in 3rd gear
I had an '03 Silverado with the same engine and rear axle combination. I pulled a small 5vr that grossed at 6500#. I towed it using T/H and 3rd all the time. Never had a problem with it.
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Hamops
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09/09/08 06:15pm |
Towing
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RE: Inverter in TV
A 1 KW inverter means that you're going to be pulling 80 amps from the battery/altenator so you'll need to feed the inverter with pretty heavy cables, therefore it would be best to mount the inverter as close to the battery as possible. Ofcourse, this'll mean that you won't be able to mount it inside the cab of your truck. You can mount a single outlet 120 receptacle in the truck cab for your computer or other small appliances. The cord for the receptacle can be a more manageable 14-3 cabtire.
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Hamops
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09/07/08 02:13pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Tripods. Yes? No.
As for steel or aluminum. I chose Aluminum because of it's weight.
Hope this helps.
Is that for the hardhat? :W
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Hamops
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09/05/08 11:28am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Increasing FM reception
To get a better FM signal, I used the Batwing antenna for the TV. I took the output from the Batwing amplifier and split the signals with a signal spitter. It works great. Improved the reception on the FM by about 10dB. I have a satellite dish for our TV so I hardly used the Batwing. Using it for FM radio reception seemed like a logical choice, since the Batwing receives TV signals below and above the FM band.
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Hamops
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09/01/08 07:24pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: DirecTv in Canada?
Great! I guess I didn't think I could setup because of zip codes being letters instead of numbers. How do you setup in Canada? Thanks again!
If you're taking along a laptop, then download "satfinder" and use it. It's free and it works. All you need are long. & lat. coordinates. Never have to worry about zip or postal codes again.
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Hamops
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09/01/08 07:15pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: Satellite guide for elevations & azimuth
Download Satfinder, its free, and it has worked well for me.
I downloaded it about 4 years ago and have used it ever since. Don't know why more don't use it. Works for any satellite, any place in North America.
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Hamops
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08/29/08 12:00pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: Need help with backing
One particular occasion, I put the slider hitch in "manuever" and attempted to back into a campsite. An old retired transport driver(I later learned) was watching me try to back into the spot. After a number of frustrating trys, he offered to back it in for me. I turned the rig over to him and he slipped our trailer into the spot in one try. When he was finished, I asked him what was his secret and he told me experience but he also said that he watched me and noted that I was doing an awful lot of steering and not enough driving. He said that I was making too many corrections with the steering wheel. He said to start the turn and follow the trailer, making slight steering corrections to get it into the position that you want. I've since used his advice and it works. I still get caught but not as often as I have. The more of that I back the 5vr the easier it gets.
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Hamops
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08/29/08 11:04am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: I let the wife drive home - pulling the fiver!
We went camping several years ago and the DH ended up in the emergency room and was "out of it" the entire trip and for a week or two after we got back home. I HAD to tow it back, good thing I usually drove and could break camp, hook up and tow the thing. If not, we would have been there for several weeks. If you are going to use it, you need to know how to setup, break it down, then drive it. One of you may be better at going forward, going backward, etc., but you should at least know how to do it.
This is exactly the kind of situation why my DW wanted to pull our 5vr. It sure helps to have my DW spell me when we're rolling down the road. She was never intimidated about the size of the rig, and learned how to back up as well. She finds it quite funny when co-workers at her workplace are amazed to hear that she drives the rig.
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Hamops
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08/27/08 04:21pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Towing in Ontario
Actually MTO may not be your problem. My insurance came back with fine print....
"Does not cover trailers over 4500kg" or words to that effect.
You can bet the insurance company will use the sticker and NOT road weights if there is a claim.
Are you saying that the insurance company won't cover your truck if you're towing a trailer over 4500Kg?
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Hamops
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08/25/08 09:12pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Towing in Ontario
The best way to determine if your "G" class license is legal for towing your trailer, is to go to a CAT Scale and weigh your truck and trailer connected together. If your trailer axle weight is less than 4600Kg then a "G" licence will meet the standard. The MTO is only concerned about the weight that the trailer axles impress on the road surface. The tongue or kingpin weight is part of the trucks front and rear axle weights.
As a rough rule of thumb, if your 5vr has a GVWR of 12000#, then you're probably close to a the limit. You can guestimate your kingpin weight at 12000 X 20% = 2400#, therefore your trailer weight (axle weight) would be 12000 - 2400 = 9600#. This is why it's important to weigh your truck/trailer combination.
I had this issue resolved for me by the MTO after I had weighed my truck and trailer. The information was sent to the St Catherines office of the MTO and the officials there determined that my Class G license met the standard and class A was not necessary.
My concern about the licensing matter had to do with travelling out of province, especially the U.S. Reciprocity rules apply but If something were to happen, down there, then my license would automatically be called into question. I don't need to have that added to my problems.
I have the name of the MTO contact who worked with me about my issue and if you would like that contact's name, send me a PM and I'll send it to you.
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Hamops
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08/25/08 03:06pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Lowering axles on 5th wheel
Trying to visualize your problem, I think that the best thing to do is to jack the trailer on one side and mount a jack stand under the I-beam on each side of the spring hangers. Remove the tires to reduce the weight and gain better access to the springs. Use the jack to lift the springs to remove the spring weight off of the spring bolts. Remove a spring bolt, and lower the spring with the jack until the second hole is aligned and insert and loosely tighten the spring bolt. Repeat this exercise with the other spring and then the spring yoke. Tighten all the spring bolts, remount the tires and raise the trailer to remove the jack stands. Repeat the procedure on the other side of the trailer. I don't know if it'll work for you but that is what I would try.
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Hamops
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08/24/08 07:54am |
Tech Issues
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RE: How high is your bed?
I don't really see the need for airbags on a 1 ton dually unless you installed them as a replacement for the stock springs. If that's the case, you may have to deflate the airbags. The idea is to get your 5vr to stand level when coupled to the truck. You want about 6 to 8 inches of clearance between the trucks bedrails and the overhang of your 5vr.
Our 5vr has about 7 inches of clearance over the rails with stock springs. When unloaded it's about 39 inches from the ground to the top of the bedrail through the centerline of the rear tire. When the trailer is hitched it drops about an inch.
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Hamops
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08/24/08 07:10am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Pulled the trigger on new FW
Gloat all you want. We all do it in some form or other here on the forum. Enjoy your 5vr. You'll definitely find it easier to tow but be sure to use the slider hitch when you're making tight turns. We've blown out 2 back windows and are counting; it's a tie, 1 for me and 1 for the DW. :S
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Hamops
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08/24/08 06:50am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Rear view Cameras
I looked into all the wireless camera systems because of the lower cost but eventually bit the bullet and bought a hardwired system. It cost a bundle but it was worth the expense. I now can actually see what is happening behind our 5vr when were travelling. The system is wired up so that you can disconnect it in truck box. If you're really interested in having a rearview camera system, bite the bullet and put out the 4 or 5 hundred bucks for it. You won't regret it.
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Hamops
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08/24/08 06:43am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: DURAMAX DIESEL QUESTION - K&N FILTER KIT
It seems to me that putting on an after-market air filter on the intake of a diesel, makes no sense. The reason that I say that, is because the turbo compresses the air in the intake chamber so there is allows positive air pressure to feed to the engine. The turbo is quite capable of sucking all the air it needs to provide that pressurized air.
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Hamops
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08/23/08 03:11pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: DONT DO THIS WHEN TOWING!
How does Forrest Gump put it....???????:h But eh, I've done dumb things as well.
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Hamops
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08/20/08 04:43pm |
Towing
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