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Date Posted |
Forum
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RE: awning advice
I remember my first beer! Just kidding! Need to hang same tacky ornaments on the arms. So tacky you can’t avoid seeing them every time you walk around them. :B
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Hannibal
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06/23/19 10:05am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Slide Chatter
I use this on the rack and pinion
https://rvmusthaves.com/liquid-wrench-rv-slide-lubricant/
And this on the seals.
https://rvmusthaves.com/rv-slide-out-seal-conditioner/
Ours actually stalled on one trip while bringing the slide in. It just needed some lube.
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Hannibal
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06/21/19 05:18pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Which Weight Distribution Hitch To Purchase
It appears the 1,000 lb tongue weight Steadyflex is recommended for tongue weights of 500 lbs to 1,000 lbs. If it were me, I'd go that route.
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Hannibal
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06/10/19 04:11pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Propane tanks
Not too long ago my neighbor came over to tell me my TT was hissing and smelled strongly of propane. The auto switchover regulator was leaking. I shut off both tank cylinder thingies and ran drove 44 miles to the nearest Camping World for a new one. Oddly, they didn't have the yellow tape thread sealant for gas connections. Had to find a Home Depot for that. We got lucky that day as the fridge was on gas and the wind was blowing the leaking gas toward it. No gas smell now. The new regulator works great. I have both cylindrical shaped portable tanks on and rely on the red flag to refill, checking every three or four days. Get that leak fixed. A propane explosion can obliterate a TT and it's occupants.
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Hannibal
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06/10/19 03:57pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Rear-Living TTs: Likes, dislikes, features, models...
We have a Jayco 28RLS. The thing I like best about a RL is, it’s easy to load the weight over and forward of the axles. Ours tows great with no sway. Inside, we can access the fridge and bathroom with the slide in. However, we have to enter the rear door to turn the water pump on to use the bathroom through the front entrance. Can’t pass through with the slide in. I knew this when we bought it. Not a problem as I like to take a walk at rest areas anyhow. My main concern is how it tows and it must have a rack and pinion slide mechanism.
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Hannibal
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06/09/19 06:54pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: New Tires For A Brand New Trailer
Going on season three with our OEM Rainier Chinese tires on our Jayco TT. So far they’re doing very well. Keep them covered, aired up, off the curbs and out of the gutters.
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Hannibal
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06/07/19 11:21am |
Towing
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RE: F150 Ecoboost vs F250 Diesel mileage
Thanks for posting this Groover. I find these honest comparisons interesting as I did the same when I went from a 2003 Cummins powered 2500HD Ram to a duplicate Hemi powered 2500HD towing the same 10,400 lb 5th wheel. The diesel gave 2~mpg better towing the same speeds and routes and 5~mpg better city empty. The 5.7L Hemi actually towed faster up those 3~* rolling hills around the southeast but at 30% higher rpm. Gear reduction is a wonderful torque multiplier but most folks erroneously believe higher rpm hurts an engine. Gear reduction and higher rpm actually allows an engine to run cooler and easier. Not harder.
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Hannibal
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06/01/19 05:16am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: towing without a weight distribution
If its tongue weight is within the rating of the hitch without WD, I wouldn’t even bother with WD. Our travel trailers are delivered new all over the country by one ton pickups using a simple ball mount. Just my humble non professional non advisory opinion.
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Hannibal
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05/31/19 05:36pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Sway issues
If it’s wallering around, I’ll agree on soft tires or suspension. If it starts a rhythmic fishtail around 60 mph, that’s light tongue weight or more accurately, too much weight aft of the axles. Rear kitchens or rear cargo carriers can quickly throw things out of range. Our travel trailer barely have enough tongue weight empty so they can be advertised as towable by lighter tow vehicles. On some smaller trailers, as little as 100 lbs added behind the axle can create that kind of oscillating sway. I like to set up my hitch so the trailer is slightly nose down. Never nose up. My loading rule is, load anything you can carry as long as it’s placed over or forward of the axles. This rules out a rear kitchen for us. I use as little tension on the WD bars as I can to bring the front about halfway back down to unhitched height. Too much tension on WD bars can cause steering disturbances as well. Minus passing vehicles or strong crosswinds, you should feel no sway even without sway control.
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Hannibal
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05/31/19 05:24pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Equal-I-zer Hitch issues
Not telling anyone else what to do but if I didn’t have a torque wrench but a 12 point 15/16” box end wrench were handy or available at Lowe’s, I would back off on the socket bolts underneath until the bars moved easily, then re tighten until the bars felt equal and as stiff as I could make them while still being able to move them without pulling a muscle. The goal would be the same whether the actual torque reading was available or not.
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Hannibal
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05/29/19 02:54pm |
Towing
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RE: Equal-I-zer Hitch issues
When I set up my Equalizer 4 pt, I tightened the sockets to the recommended 65ft/lbs. The bars were pretty hard to move I'll agree. I had towed our 32' travel trailer for a year with our F250 with no sway control so I knew I didn't need much if any. I backed the socket bolts off to 45ft/lbs and while still stiff, they're much easier to move for hitching and unhitching. Depending on how squirrely your setup is, you might be able to back off on the socket bolts a little.
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Hannibal
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05/28/19 07:53pm |
Towing
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RE: Keyless vehicles
No wonder it’s complicated! :B
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Hannibal
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05/26/19 05:36pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Keyless vehicles
My iPhone XR has a “Do not disturb while driving” much like our Garmin GPS unit. I use it. We have satellite radio but very seldom change the station or volume. Takes discipline but well worth the effort. The only real distraction in our rig is the constant chatter from somewhere in my truck. :B
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Hannibal
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05/26/19 04:10pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Keyless vehicles
If you all like them I don't really care. To me they are a "convenience", and one I can easily live without. Complexity in all things is not necessarily a good thing. Free country, don'cha know.
I'm the opposite. I like to evolve with the latest technology. In the '80s, solid state was hit or miss. Now, most of it is far more reliable and longer lasting than mechanical devices. Microprocessor control is the best thing going for our vehicles. If Ford would offer a hybrid F250 with a variable frequency drive like the Prius but capable of towing a TT or 5th wheel, I'd be first in line.
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Hannibal
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05/26/19 05:42am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: single or dually
A 69 Comet wasn't a full size car it was an intermediate. My CC dually isn't over 22' long it's just under that and just over 2' longer than a 69 Caddy. Some people shouldn't drive anything bigger than a Prius as they aren't comfortable doing so to others it's no big deal. Just like mountain driving some are fine others aren't.
One day in 2013 my DW told me I was spending over $700 a month on gas for the truck using it on my service route. I joked with her that I was going to buy a Prius. She started looking online and within a month, I loaded over 200 lbs of tools and parts into my new Prius Xsp. Not only did I go from 12-14mpg to 53~mpg, it fit in places the F250 didn’t. It’s not the smallest car out there by far at 15ft long and 6ft wide and 3100 lbs but it works for a lot of apps. Wife drove the F250 to work until I retired and we traded back. At almost 100k miles, the Prius has been a good car.
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Hannibal
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05/26/19 05:14am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: single or dually
I wonder how many of the comments about length of CC are due to the younger people knowing only the smaller cars of today. For us older ones who remember and drove the cars of the late 50's thru 70's especially Buick, Olds, Pontiac and Caddy they really aren't much different in size. Plus back then you needed to know how to parallel park which now for many is a thing of the past
My first car was a ‘69 Mercury Comet Sport Coupe. What car from that era was over 22’ long and over 8’ wide? I have a Harley that’s older than some members here. I have no problem parallel parking, backing a trailer or driving a standard trans vehicle. That doesn’t remove the fact that a CC long bed dually is cumbersome in a tight parking lot. :B
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Hannibal
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05/25/19 01:13pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: single or dually
The length of a crew cab long bed makes it far more cumbersome in tight places than the hips of a dually.
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Hannibal
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05/25/19 05:34am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Diesel vs gas......................
I bought my first 2018 duramax, always pulled our 13k 5er with a 6.0 gasser, no real issues other then it was always at about 3k rpm now with the duramax its always around 1800-2000rpm. I am Very dissapointed in the mpg tho, the gasser would always get 7mpg and the duramax only gets 9 mpg, I was expecting far more then a 2 mpg gain for the additional $10k I spent
That was my experience as well with my four Cummins powered 2500 Rams and then going to a 5.7L Hemi powered 2500HD Ram rowing the same 5th wheel. 30% higher rpm and 2 mpg less with the Hemi. Where the diesel did much better was around town on my service route. The Cummins Rams gave 18.5~mpg where the Hemi Ram gave 12-14~mpg.
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Hannibal
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05/25/19 05:13am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Selecting new TT Tires
Interesting article. One line caught my attention though.
“He says trailer overloading, not tire quality, leads to ST tire failures.“
Either he doesn’t know what he’s talking about, or the masses here on RV.net don’t. I’d like to see some numbers though. The difference in damage done between bias ply and radial when they do blow is undeniable. Radial damage is often very extensive. Bias ply blowout damage is none. But if bias plies blow far more than radials, there may be something to it. I’ll be staying with bias ply on my boat trailer. I do not want steel belts whipping my boat in case of a blow out.
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Hannibal
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05/23/19 05:48pm |
Towing
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RE: 5th wheel or TT?
Backing a Ball mount/TT is "EASIER" but that's where the advantage ENDS!
TT's are prone to sway unless you have PLENTY of truck. 5er's tow like they are not back there.
MUCH more storage in a 5er. OH, TT people will say OMG there are stairs inside! What the HE!! do ya think you are climbing into each one???
List goes on and on.
Lol! You couldn’t be more wrong on all accounts but please, go on and on and enlighten us. I’ve owned four 5th wheels. Never have had a problem with sway, stairs, backing or lack of enough truck with a TT or 5th wheel. Maybe you’re doing it wrong. :)
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Hannibal
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05/23/19 02:36pm |
Towing
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