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Date Posted |
Forum
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RE: Braking: TV or trailer ? How fast can you stop ?
I think this is just as much an issue of properly adjusting the break controller as it is anything else.
...adjust my brake controller so that the trailer is pulling slightly more on the truck
I change boost on the highway... but not religiously. Please say more about this.
If I crank my controller too much I am dragging my back axle and I'd say that's not good. I try to make sure my trailer has enough braking to stay behind me... but it does seem like the front wheels of the truck are going to do the most work no matter what?
Facts helpful here.
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davelinde
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03/14/10 07:59pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Braking: TV or trailer ? How fast can you stop ?
Davelinde: have you indeed tried to stop the combo, truck only? The one time I had not noticed the trailer connector was loose, it pushed me through an intersection
Yes, I've stopped a trailer with truck brakes only - not on purpose. I had a short and my prodigy will just shut down instead of trying to drive an overload condition. The truck does amazingly well alone.
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davelinde
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03/13/10 07:22pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Braking: TV or trailer ? How fast can you stop ?
Honestly, how fast can you stop your combination in a panic situation and what percentage of that is coming from the trailer ?
Would your trailer have enough braking power to stop it and the truck ?
I've got 10 wheels on the ground to provide braking. If I turn the brake control too hot I will drag the pair of tires on the rear axle. I'd guess that the majority of the braking is from the front axle of my truck (based on brake wear), but all the brakes are working.
My trailer brakes alone can stop truck plus trailer and my truck brakes alone can stop truck plus trailer. Under normal braking my stopping distances are the same. However I try to leave twice as much room when towing.
I've only done two panic stops - one clueless deer and one clueless Honda. Both times the truck ABS kicked in and both times I was able to avoid collision without coming to a full stop. If I'd needed to ride the brakes all the way to a full panic stop I'd be more concerned about jackknifing then stopping distance - in both cases the FW was starting to come around the side...
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davelinde
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03/13/10 09:06am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Seperating Slideouts control
The manual crank only turns the pump by hand.
That's how mine works too. It does kind of concern me that in the event of a fluid leak I could end up stuck open...
to the OP, I've seen factory installed systems with valves that will shut off a slide - allowing the other one to operate. If it's really useful in your application I think it could be retrofit. The parts are probably not expensive, the installation would require some experience with hydraulics... Not sure how hard it is to access the reservoir and pump or what is required to bleed the system once it's been opened.
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davelinde
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03/13/10 08:17am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Manufactures that install quality tires, offer upgrades.
I'll wager he won't let you walk away because of a set of tires.
Does this work? It would never have dawned on me.
I would think that if the sales guy can agree, then you were about to pay too much prior to adding requirements to the sale.
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davelinde
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03/13/10 08:09am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: air-card on or off when not using?
We have a Verizon air plugged into a Cradle Point router that is on 27/7 and as long as the green light on the card is not flashing we are not using air time, have not got close to the 5 GB limit
I also have a VZ aircard in a Cradlepoint 24/7.
I HAVE blown through the 5G limit and regularly come close to it.
BUT... it had nothing to do with the card being on. Data usage is driven be actual use, not any keep-alives or other signaling.
...and to the OP - just being powered does not activate, authenticate, connect and run the card.
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davelinde
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03/12/10 07:42pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: Weighing my 5vr tomorrow, need a little aqdvice.
x2, too much duplicated weights.
Minimum needed is truck solo for drive and steer axles.
Then truck w/ trailer for drive/steer and trailer axles.
from this you can calculate truck gross, trailer gross, combined gross, and pin.
some people like to know trailer by axle, I guess you can get that with a third weigh with the trailer pulled up to the split for truck drive/steer... not sure it's very critical unless you are right on the hairy edge for your trailer gross?
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davelinde
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03/04/10 01:29pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Best place/cheapest to buy LCD TV mount
some more link
x2 - I bought several from monoprice - even with shipping they are MUCH less than any retailer (HD, WM, etc) and from a skim look like the cheapest anyone posted here.
I bought several types since I'm sure I'll use them all over... still haven't decided which one to try where.
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davelinde
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02/27/10 06:20pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: Wheel Bearings
heck the only expense is for grease & seals plus a little gas to rinse 'em in.
Last time I got seals they were something like $8 maybe even $10 each...
On my rig that's $60... still a far cry from the $300 CW wants to do it.
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davelinde
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02/27/10 10:18am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Hooking up a wireless network in RV to RV park wi-fi
You should try DD-WRT in Universal repeater mode. Gets rid of the need for the bridge.
I was going to look into the DD-WRT idea before I made the bridge work.
A question - doesn't the repeater cut bandwidth in half on the link?
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davelinde
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02/25/10 06:41pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: Hooking up a wireless network in RV to RV park wi-fi
I use a wifi bridge (linksys) into a wifi router and do exactly what you described.
As noted, the pesky part is setting up the bridge... on mine I must reset it to the default IP, change my PC to a static IP, connect to the bridge and search for Wifi. Once I find a network to join it will... but then it DHCP's and changes IP address and disconnects itself from my PC. I can then connect it to the router and connect to my router over the bridge. If you followed all that... Maybe there are better bridges out there now, but this one was clunky IMO.
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davelinde
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02/24/10 07:52pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: Fulltiming in Toyhaulers
We snowbird in a Cyclone. (this year that will mean 8 months living FT)
I find the TH floorplan excellent for what we do - there are 4 separated living/working areas which is a help. I use the garage as an office in the day and bedroom at night. The garage also gives us plenty of storage.
I'll second the issue of condensation/mold... fighting that one now. Our garage is not so well insulated and not well served by the heat or AC - making it harder to use as living space.
I can't think of any other TH specific issues w/FT... we think it's a great choice for us.
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davelinde
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02/24/10 04:03pm |
Toy Haulers
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RE: 5er towing requirements
Well... first NOTHING is free. Trust me, you pay for all of it.
I'll repeat the other (good) advice. Pick it up and tow it for a while stock. I've never had issues with smooth ride on my FW's. You can always swap out parts later if you have a problem with the setup (I doubt you will).
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davelinde
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02/22/10 05:18pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Dodge Mega Cab 2500 for 12,000 GVWR 5th Wheel
If you place the 1200# cargo in the very back of the box, then drive up a steep hill, you can exceed the truck's rear axle rating without exceeding its GVWR
Seems like that would need to be a pretty steep hill? Is the static weight shift due to grade REALLY ever more than a few percent? Unless I flubbed the statics and trig it varies as the cosine of the grade? So a 10% grade would shift the balance something like 1 1/2% on a static basis. Did I mess up the free-body diagram?
As already noted, dynamic loads and balance changes are a lot more.
I always thought you could not just add up the axle ratings to get a gross because things other than the axle loading were the limiting factor.
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davelinde
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02/22/10 02:04pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Wear & Tear on Camper- Full Time Use?
...assuming that the average RV gets used about 80 or 90 nights per year
I'd say that's a high assumption actually. When we started we camped a LOT more than others we knew and only managed 50-60 nights/year.
to the OP. I don't know for sure - our rig is only one year old so our experience is limited. We've had several problems with plumbing leaks, but that would have happened no matter. We've had some mold issues due to condensation which might not have happened for weekend camping (eg not enough time for mold to develop). We are seeing the dinette cushions wear out fast - I attribute that to full time living and we will likely replace them early. So far, nothing else.
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davelinde
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02/22/10 12:15pm |
Full-time RVing
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RE: what's up with propane tank pricing?
I'm running my grill from a 30# tank now - too big.
Here I get propane by the gallon.
I might just bite the bullet and see if I can find a place to stow a 20#er.
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davelinde
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02/20/10 06:19pm |
Tech Issues
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what's up with propane tank pricing?
I'd like a 5 or 10 pound propane tank to run my grill and cannot figure out what's up with the prices. The more common 20# tank is $30 but the less common smaller tanks are $60 or $70? I guess I can see paying a premium for the less common (but more convenient) size... but more than double? Just seems wrong... :(
anyone know of a good source for these specialty items?
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davelinde
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02/20/10 11:40am |
Tech Issues
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two 6V for one 12V
So I've finally gotten around to replacing my flaky 12V "marine deep cycle" battery. Thanks to all here who have offered advice AND web links to info and discount suppliers.
Yesterday the battery box arrived. Saturday I can run to Sam's Club and get two 6V golf cart batteries.
What else will I need? Anything to watch out for? Any tips for not ruining these batteries?
I think I'll need a strap to hook the 6's in series to make 12V. I've seen pre-terminated battery cables in various lengths and gauges in the hardware section of WM. Once I know a good length - what gauge wire do I need?
I've seen cutoff switches online and hear they are in autoparts stores too. Do you put that on the positive or negative side?
THANKS. Hope to have this all set up soon.
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davelinde
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02/18/10 12:10pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Towing with a 6'6" box
With the 88 degree turning radius of our rig, we have not needed the slider.
btw - I also have an 88 degree radius rig. That means it hits my truck in the pillar instead of the window. About $1100 in damage...
I was going forward (slow) and my truck jumped a curb on one side and the rig jumped a curb on the other side - sort of pushing the truck/FW closer if you can visualize that. Still makes me shudder...
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davelinde
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02/16/10 09:48am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Help- Furnace will operate only on 110V
measure the voltage at the furnace with and w/o shore power connected.
if it's the same you have a head scratcher... likely w/o shore power it will be low, that will need to be corrected.
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davelinde
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02/15/10 08:25am |
Fifth-Wheels
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