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RE: Tonneau Cover
I have a folding hardtop from a different company. I don't know how they compare to Paragon but it folds up against the back window if you want almost full bed access. So far I have never felt the need to remove it no matter what I am hauling, from boxes to overfilled wood chips. The tonneau just lays over the chips and keeps them from blowing too much while it is still attached at the front. The downsides mostly are that it does leak a little around the edges and and it cost $1000 5 years ago. I have never had anything actually damaged by too much water intrusion.
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Groover
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10/08/21 07:39am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Tesla Semi truck unveil & test ride set for Oct 26th !
where is the semi?I'm listening, but hearing nothing but crickets. But after all it's only been 4 years. :)That is because those crickets are busy building the factory in TX. And Semi seems to have been pushed to come after ModelY & CT at the plant under construction.Maybe they could have been upfront from the beginning, and explained it will be several years before the semi is available. But I don't remember ever hearing that. What I heard was Next Year, Next Year, ad infinitum. And of course "It's just around the corner".
Delays in new projects are common. Just look at anything done by Boeing or led by the military. Tesla also seems to have underestimated the demand for the Models S and Y and is pouring resources into making more of them. In the past year Tesla has nearly doubled their market share at the expense of nearly every other automaker on the planet. Nobody can do everything at once.
We all know that nobody on this forum has a Tesla semi on order and this entire thread is just about satisfying our personal interests in new technology. So, most of the griping about delays with the semi are really just people using any excuse to criticize Tesla. There are a multitude of reasons for people not employed by Tesla to fear for their jobs as Tesla disrupts a lot of industries around the globe. This could be the motivation for the griping. Jobs in jeopardy go beyond manufacturing. Since Tesla doesn't advertise most media jobs are threatened, dealerships are threatened, car parts businesses are threatened and some people are just emotionally attached to ICE vehicles.
Now, there are several people on this forum that have orders in for the Cybertruck and they have valid reason to complain about the delays. But they don't seem to feel the need to complain about it here. I think that on both the Semi and the Cybertruck the delays will help us see more developed technology and overall better packages than if they had been rushed through.
I am not taking a side, I am going to see where the technology goes. I do have a little bit of personal interest in that I live near a highway and am looking forward to not hearing ICE powered trucks going by. I wonder if people buying the new Harley electric motorcycles are going to find a way to make them as loud and obnoxious as the ICE powered ones.
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Groover
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10/06/21 07:32am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Ford Super Duty 6.2 Super Ike Gauntlet Pull
^You revived a 4 year old thread to try n start an argument about an engine that is now replaced by a newer one?
Slow day in your world? Lol
X2
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Groover
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10/01/21 10:31am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Tesla Semi truck unveil & test ride set for Oct 26th !
While we wait for Tesla lets check
Rivian review and test drive of road in Colorado.
https://youtu.be/KGqexebCcUo
Does anyone know how many Rivians have actually been made or what the production rate is? I can't find anything more current than the photos of the first one coming off of the assembly line.
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Groover
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09/29/21 02:20pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Tesla Semi truck unveil & test ride set for Oct 26th !
I'm no expert either. But in an exchange among techies, I gathered that full self driving cannot be achieved unless;
1. All other cars are similarly equipped (and ideally, communicating with each other);
2. National (or even global) infrastructure is build up so that road network has clear markers that an FSD can "read'". Analogy given, if I recall correctly, are modern planes that now has capability to take off, fly to destinations and land without a pilot. It is able to do it because of multiple redundant system that constantly communicate with markers for minute maneuvers and course correction.
Relevant to us RVers is that an FSD equipped vehicle will have to assume control to our campsite and over our unbeaten paths. I see Elon's Starlink guiding my Cybertruck on these tasks.
NTSB is telling Tesla to drop the "full" in the FSD for it being a mis-representation of its capabilities and a cause for confusion.
Either what you said or just accept reasonable expectations for FSD, lets say 1/2 the average death rate of human piloted cars, at least for the first 5 years.
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Groover
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09/29/21 02:18pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Tesla Semi truck unveil & test ride set for Oct 26th !
And true FSD, as we thought it would be, is stilll a pipe dream -- calling our Cybertruck to fetch us in our campsite or go to one campsite to the next with us napping at the back seat. We will always have to be on the steering wheel.
I'm no expert, but I've often said that the transition to autonomous cars is going to be messy. The problem is not the technology, it's human nature. People only pay as much attention as they need to. If the car pretty much drives itself but gets confused when it snows or encounters emergency lights on the side of the road, the human behind the wheel will not be prepared to take action when needed. This has been the cause of many aircraft crashes, when an autopilot malfunctions and the pilot doesn't have the necessary skill to fly the aircraft in a manner necessary to avoid the crash. With a car, these situations unfold in fractions of a second and if the car has been driving itself for the last 30 miles, the driver's mind and body will not be prepared to "take the wheel" with 1/10th of a second's notice.
The problem is also legal implications. If the problem was just "the human wasn't paying attention" FSD would have a good chance of succeeding. And for the most part that is the way autopilot in airplanes is treated. But, it is apparent that many want to hold FSD responsible anytime a human makes a mistake. And the main driver for that it simply that Elon Musk especially but also every other producer of self driving cars on the road has much deeper pockets than the typical human and a lot of people are trying to figure ways to get into those pockets.
Back when Elon and Tesla were on the edge of bankruptcy and had nothing to lose they didn't have to worry much about getting sued. Now there are are schools of legal sharks circling just looking for opportunities to get rich off of someone else's work.
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Groover
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09/29/21 06:09am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Tow hall mode
I would like to think that any transmission put in a MH has programming specific for motorhomes and you could make a good case for not using it when lightly loaded, for a motorhome. So using tow/haul on a motorhome may come down to your personal preference on how the vehicle drives.
As down home experienced though, in some vehicles ABS does not override tow/haul engine braking so in slippery conditions you may want to be sure that tow/haul is disabled.
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Groover
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09/28/21 03:58pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Onan’s New Inverter Based Generators - Mike Mas
"Regretfully, since you don’t own one of these newer generators, so you’re speaking “off the cuff” without any real "User" experience. In retrospect, I had both my old coach (standard set) and new coach (new protocol) in my garage for 3 months parked side by side for comparison of the generators."
It is very hard for me to believe that Cummins made major improvements to their quiet diesel generators and you are the only person that they told about it. I have been searching for news releases or reviews about these improvements and the only news that I can find from Cummins is about the new gas generators.
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Groover
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09/22/21 11:16am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Onan’s New Inverter Based Generators - Mike Mas
My 2013 QD 6000 looks just like the one in the picture. The manual for it covers the series up to the QD 7500. And it does speed up and slow down with load just as the "new one" does.
I wish that my coach had offered the 7500 had as an option, I really could use the extra power at times. The catch on the 7500 is that it has the same motor as the 6000 and being naturally aspirated it may not produce rated load at higher elevations. The saving grace is that you rarely need all of the air conditioners running at those elevations.
Incidentally, the engine came with a Kubota oil filter on it. That is fine with me, Kubota makes some great engines.
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Groover
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09/20/21 03:16pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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Diesel exhaust fluid sensor failure
Apparently the latest shortage for us to worry about is the exhaust fluid sensor in our diesel powered items failing.
sensor failures
It seems that when the sensor fails EPA dictates that the vehicle go into a barely get off the highway limp mode and sit there until you get a new sensor. The huge catch is that there are not nearly enough sensors available. I saw another article about some people with motorhomes rigging an imitation sensor that fools the main computer so that it will let you keep driving but I forgot where I saw that.
All of the current engine builders are aware of the bind this can put drivers into but currently it is illegal for them to provide a work around. Another example of our government providing valuable service to the taxpayers.
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Groover
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09/16/21 08:58am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Tesla Semi truck unveil & test ride set for Oct 26th !
Wow- - Where is the Tesla Semi? Where is their pickup?"Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Cybertruck production won't begin until late 2022, with volume production not until late 2023."
https://www.investors.com/news/rivian-ev-startup-beats-tesla
By that statement I could see another two years minimum. Semi could be three years out. Disappointing.
One thing to remember is that right now Tesla has all of their production lines running full speed but still can't keep up, even after raising the price on the Model Y by $5k in the past 6 months. Most competitors have lines and employees sitting around doing nothing. It is a lot easier to justify changing over production facilities that are idle than those that are bringing in millions of dollars every day.
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Groover
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09/15/21 01:13pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Chasing No left turn Signal on Trailer With Ram Truck
Now you should check your utility trailer for a short circuit. Wiring on trailers is often done very poorly.
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Groover
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09/15/21 06:26am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: 2023 GM HD 505hp/1085tq
Personally I would be more excited by a 400hp diesel with a 100hp hybrid electric drive generator combo like Ford is offering in the F150. Just bigger and with a much larger battery so that the electric motor can make a significant difference while pulling a heavy trailer.
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Groover
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09/13/21 03:16pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Tesla Semi truck unveil & test ride set for Oct 26th !
If EV's are going to be a success, all charging stations will need to be available to all vehicles, just like gas stations.
Tell that to GM Ford Rivian etc.
Musk did invite other manufacturers to pitch in with paying for building Tesla SCharger network but no one cared.
Tesla buyers paid for this,why should they wait for other slower charging cars ?
There has been some talk from the Whitehouse about subsidizing charging systems that are open to the general public. If that comes about Tesla is going to open theirs to the general public and use the money to greatly expand the system. I expect that Tesla will charge non-Tesla vehicles about what they would pay at Electrify America, which is about double what Tesla owners get charged. But, as you pointed out, Tesla owners paid for the fixed cost of the Tesla system up front and now just have to pay for the energy they use.
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Groover
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09/13/21 06:33am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: 2022 HD trucks delivery date
"Unless I am mistaken ,adaptive steering is a vibrating steering wheel when wandering out of your lane"
You are thinking of lane keeping assist.
Adaptive steering turns the front wheels more for each turn of the steering wheel so that you don't have to turn the wheel so much while parking but still have good control at high speed.
Ford adaptive steering
Got it ,no experience when I drove the 2021 ford Superduty with adaptive cruise nor steering , it was the lane keeping assist I didn't care for.
I find lane keeping to be annoying most of the time but use it for some extra help when I am tired or have a distraction like reaching a snack on a long trip. Mine is from 2016, I am hoping that the newer versions are more useful.
Sometimes mine will trigger an alarm when driving on a straight road just because I haven't had to turn the wheel in a while and it thinks that I have gone to sleep.
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Groover
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09/13/21 06:25am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Tesla Semi truck unveil & test ride set for Oct 26th !
"Tusk is doing an excellent job of farming the government just as I said he would. I give him an A+."
How is Elon doing that? Biden's proposed EV incentives deliberately exclude Tesla and Biden is trying to coerce Tesla into sharing their charging network so that other brands have a good place to charge the cars.
"Where is that semi by the way? It was 2018 and then 2019 and then for sure 2020 and now I'm sure you will say for sure at the end of 2021!!"
Show me a lot from any brand with any new trucks on it. What is to you anyway?
"Do you want to do another prediction?"
No
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Groover
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09/10/21 07:17am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Towing with a 2022 Ford 150 3.5 EcoBoost
My 2018 F350 3.5L did a wonderful job towing a 6k trailer. I noticed a HUGE improvement when I upgraded to LT "E" tires.
What size wheels do you have. I had my 2016 F150 with 18" wheels factory equipped with LT tires which are still on it and have been pleased with them. However, to get the highest tow ratings Ford now requires 20" wheels and P series tires. With the larger rims the P series 20" tires may be more stable than the 18" LT tires.
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Groover
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09/09/21 06:32am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: 2022 HD trucks delivery date
Not only are these vehicles sitting for months on end with no chips, I had heard that they are having some issues with the new chips they are getting. A truck shop around here won't tune any new diesels with these new chips as they said they few they did had nothing but problems.
And how does every single vehicle manufacturer not only become so dependent one one supplier, it amazes me no one has stepped up to start producing these chips? Seems like some tech company out there would start making these. I smell a startup.
It sounds like few startups could afford to build a new semiconductor plant. However, Samsung is talking seriously about building a $17 billion dollar plant in Texas. If I had to guess it will be about 2 years before we see much production from it though.
Samsung's new plant
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Groover
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09/08/21 11:48am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: 2022 HD trucks delivery date
"As far as adaptive cruise goes, its okay"
I really like mine though I do use it more when not trailer pulling. Mine is a 2016 model but the newer ones that work in stop and go traffic are terrific when traffic gets backed up on the interstate. I really like the idea of having a continuous watch on the car in front of me with nearly instantaneous braking in braking situations. I do wish that Ford could make it a little smoother though.
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Groover
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09/08/21 11:40am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: 2022 HD trucks delivery date
"Unless I am mistaken ,adaptive steering is a vibrating steering wheel when wandering out of your lane"
You are thinking of lane keeping assist.
Adaptive steering turns the front wheels more for each turn of the steering wheel so that you don't have to turn the wheel so much while parking but still have good control at high speed.
Ford adaptive steering
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Groover
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09/08/21 11:32am |
Tow Vehicles
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