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Subject |
Author |
Date Posted |
Forum
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RE: Can Tow providers mount new tire to wheel ?

Thinking of carrying the spare primarily for long trip to Alaska....
I think your biggest problem will be being able to call anybody in the first place. Even the majority of eastern Oregon, or even the Coast Range, doesn't have cell service. The abandonment of 1x and 3G spectrums will make coverage far worse too, since newer cellular spectrums have less range.
FWIW - you can probably pick up a new take-off wheel and tires for cheap from QuadVan in Portland, since most 4x4 conversion end up with aftermarket wheels.
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carringb
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05/13/22 05:30am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Drivetrain slipping?

Misfire? What's the mileage on the spark-plugs?
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carringb
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02/18/22 05:26am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: E-450 Stuck on Defrost Mode

How do you know the defective parts are under the dash? Did you confirm you have have vacuum before the firewall?
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carringb
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02/04/22 11:20pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Chevy Express 3500 with 6.0

GCWR is 16,000 pounds. Weigh your van and deduct your empty weight and cargo and doggos accordingly. The OEM shocks are complete garbage and towing a heavy trailer is unwieldy on some roads (anything with large umps or dips or frost heaves) but that's also a very easy upgrade. Any aftermarket monotube shock will be an good upgrade.
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carringb
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02/01/22 05:24am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Why consider 12v fridge for boondocking?

Compressor fridges have become almost standard on camper vans, because they rarely stay stationary for many days at a time. Even a short drive will restore much of the battery bank if you have something like a Transit with dual 250-amp alternators or a Sprinter with an aftermarket 2nd alternator.
Trailers tend to be more little stationary when boondocking, because when you leave for the day, you only drive the TV. That's how I use mine. It just becomes "home-base". So absorption fridges still make the most sense, unless the trailer has enough solar and is only parked in sunny locations.
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carringb
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01/15/22 10:47am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: strong winds- tornados

Yup. Leave it hooked up for sure. I had one night in Eastern Oregon with sustained winds of 60 MPH and gusts up to 90. I don't think the trailer would have stayed stationary if it weren't hooked up. I did not sleep much that night.
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carringb
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01/01/22 09:12am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Antifreeze in transmission 2010 Duramax??

How much contamination did you find?
I found strawberry milkshake in my coolant bottle one time. Trans fluid looks ok but since I replaced the radiator just went ahead and did the trans fluid at the same time (I just use the cooler-hose into a bucket method anyways), and it's been fine ever since. I think that happened a bit before 300,000 miles and I have 502,000 miles on it now, and the transmission still hasn't been touched other than a couple more fluid services.
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carringb
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12/14/21 05:36am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Which years of Outdoors RV's had corrugated siding?

They offered the Black Trail with corrugate siding through 2014 I think.
Corrugated aluminum is not lower maintenance. No way would I ever consider getting another trailer with it. Our Jayco had it. My ORV doesn't (my Weekend Warrior was also fiberglass).
The aluminum siding is prone to dents, holes, and tears when dragging it off-road. Caulking doesn't last neat as long because there's so much more body movement. The body isn't near as stiff. The Jayco had to have its curbside wall rebuilt because the framing failed. Composite structures are just stronger and more durable.
The stuff I've put my ORV through is pretty impressive. I don't think ORV has cut any corners design-wise recently, but they've likely has more issues like everybody as they try to crank out as many as possible with a reduced labor-force.
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carringb
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11/30/21 05:18am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Class C - with ability to tow

Any E450 motorhome will pull you jeep.
There is a huge variation in Cargo Carrying Capacity so it might not hurt to start figuring what you might need to pack for long trips, and this might limit the max size unit that will work for you, since larger = less CCC.
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carringb
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11/14/21 08:57am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: TT tires look askew!

Ask them to pull the trailer the forward a little. That should let them settle out. It is normal for TT axles to flex as the tires scrub in tight turns. But definitely make sure that's all it is before signing any paperwork.
BTW - most dealers use forklifts to move units around, so the units tend to get turned a lot tighter than they would when being towed.
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carringb
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11/10/21 05:34am |
Towing
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RE: Wastewater Tote & Fresh Water Containers - Do you use them?

I use a 275 gallon IBC tote for additional freshwater.
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carringb
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10/29/21 06:31pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Four season TT under 28 ft.

Outdoors / Northwoods are 4-season rated.
I've had mine down to -15F
It does use a lot of propane when dry-camping below +15F.
I don't think Lance is 4-season rated?
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carringb
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10/28/21 05:27am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Towing 6,500 pounds with a class C

Start checking yellow stickers. Not all Class Cs are payload-limited. My sisters has 4,500 pounds of carrying capacity, but hers is shorter. Even some of the bigger ones aren't too bad if you skip the full-wall slide (removing an entire load-bearing wall isn't the best idea anyways IMO).
The E450 holds up fine at max GCWR. I haven't driven a new 7.3L yet but it should be even better, since it has more quite a bit more power (more than the number suggest, since they also rated under the newer SAE engine-dyno standard). Just watch that payload.
The Kodiak wasn't a great a chassis new, aside from the Duramax powertrain. The chassis electrical was problematic, due to brittle connectors and poorly-protected wire-mains. My shop pulled ours out of service because the electrical issues became a driving hazard, but the intermittent nature made it hard to pinpoint, and new harnesses were hard to come by at the time. Possibly impossible now. Any other Super C (as long as it doesn't have the Navistar 6.0/6.4L MaxForce) would be better.
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carringb
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10/11/21 05:54am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: 2015 Ford Focus flat tow damage

1) How would a 2015 Focus be "under warranty" when the factory bumper-to-bumper warranty is only 3-years?
2) The baseplate was attached to the bumper assembly, not the chassis aka "unibody". The section affected is part of the crumple-zone.
3) Rust indicates the welds were cracked a long time. Could be from towing stress. Could also be from a low-speed collision that maybe didn't even cause visible external damage. I'd put my money on a tow-bar that wasn't level however. This causes tremendous stresses under braking and accelerating.
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carringb
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10/06/21 06:00am |
Dinghy Towing
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RE: 2021 No Bo 19.5 bent axle

Yup. Small tires over a curb with a light-wieght axle can easily bend it.
It would be good to figure out what you have now. If you only have a 2200# axle, a 3500# should be an easy upgrade.
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carringb
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10/02/21 09:05am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Rear axel ratio for E-450 176" WB?

All E450 gas motors have 4.56 gears. It’s a modified Dana 80 axle, with 10.75” gears since 2007.
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carringb
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09/27/21 02:23pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Trailer Bounce oscillations

Sound like you need more damping (aka better shocks) on the rear of the truck.
When you did the lift, I assume longer shocks were installed? The base shock on most lift kits is tuned for a softer ride, and the base shock usually is just an OEM-grade twin-tube shock. You'll see a huge improvement with a mono-tube shock, especially one spec'd for your heavier load.
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carringb
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09/27/21 05:45am |
Towing
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RE: Smog Test Mystery

CARB certified rigs can be susceptible to a P1000 code…. Which is “not ready for test”. It’s not just warmup that’s required, but meeting all drive cycle parameters. Things like a full warmup cycle, an evap purge cycle, WOT for a minimum amount of seconds. Minimum miles since last reset including low voltage.
Chances are the shop worker understands the parameters required to clear the P1000 code. On the V10, driving it hard for just a mile or two can clear it, assuming is has existing miles since the reset.
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carringb
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09/23/21 10:03am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: 2021 Outback & Mini Max

Subaru is not SAE J2807 compliant, so there's no testing to ensure it can pull long or steep grades or in hot weather. The CVT is susceptible to going into "protect" mode once it starts slipping the drive-belt. I would no way consider pulling a camper trailer any sort of long distance with it, especially in hot weather.
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carringb
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09/21/21 05:33am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Safety Chains Binding Between Hitch Head & Trunnion Bars

It's the under-slung coupler combined with the forward safety-chain mounting. I think moving the safety-chains aft would fix the issue.
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carringb
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09/03/21 11:41am |
Travel Trailers
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