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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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RE: Who Tows a VAN 4 down ?
QuadVan builds new Transit with a flat-towable Transfer Case. Blue Ox has a baseplate available for it as well.
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carringb
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08/23/21 10:03pm |
Dinghy Towing
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RE: Sending a TT back to the factory
Mine was sent back to the factory by dealer request twice, because neither dealer had the equipment to remove my mega-slide to replace the Schwintek system. ORV had zero qualms about it. Once they picked it up from the dealer, the other other time from my house because that's where it failed. The factory did some some cosmetic repairs and did some upgrades at no charge, so I was very happy with. Once of those trips I had to pick it up myself due to snow-chains requirements (transport company policy not to transport when chains are required) and ORV covered all of my expenses.
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carringb
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08/21/21 05:43pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Jeep Gladiator Overland Tow vehicle
1083# max payload
The manual lists base specs. You should check your door sticker where it lists your actual as-equipped payload. It's likely a couple hundred pounds less. Payload is probably your effective limit (besides frontal area, but that's more of a performance & cooling spec), especially if you bought a pickup to carry anything in the bed.
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carringb
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08/14/21 09:38pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Buying a new 25ft, 4 season TT - Are these high quality?
There is no such thing as a 4 season trailer. .
I’ve been in extended sub-zero temps for weeks, no skirting, some nights down to to -10F. I also regularly use it as my ski lodge, fully equipped with hot showers. I blew out my lines the first winter then quickly realized it’s not necessary. I initially got trouble with lines freezing over night until I realized it was happening at the outside shower. A little reflectix in the door and hasn’t been an issue since.
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carringb
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08/12/21 07:43pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Buying a new 25ft, 4 season TT - Are these high quality?
Maybe I missed it, but what makes Cruiser "4-season"? I see their claims to "extended season" camping by having ducted heat to the underbelly, but I don't see any insulation values. Do they keep all plumbing out of exterior walls? At the dump valves enclosed?
Don't get me wrong, it looks like a nice product. I'm just not convinced it's all-season capability is the same as Northwoods/ORV.
BTW - It looks like maybe AF finally has modernized their interiors a bit?
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carringb
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08/09/21 06:50pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: 2018 Expedition - Rear spring upgrade
Why do you want to bring the rear end up to the unloaded height? Springs are supposed to to compress with load. Kinda how they work.
Follow the owners manual. You setup the WD bars based on partial front-axle ride-height restoration.
If they are filling all the seats and towing that 28' trailer, they might be overloading the rear tires... Adding ride-height won't fix that.
Does her Expedition have the Max Trailer tow package? This comes with better shocks. It won't change the ride-height but it'll feel more controlled with a heavy load.
That all said... SuperSprings makes a coil Sumo-spring for the Expedition.
https://www.superspringsinternational.com/shop/css-1168/
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carringb
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07/03/21 10:34pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: expedition or tahoe for 33' TT
What’s the trailer loaded weight? Length alone doesn’t mean much.
Chances are neither have anywhere near enough payload for that large of a trailer plus passengers. But some long TTs are surprisingly light. Real issue is tongue weight eating into payload.
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carringb
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06/22/21 10:36am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Anyone using a Curt Echo brake controller?
I didn't like that there was no emergency brake lever. They've now addressed this, and offer a wireless emergency brake button (it is an option however... not standard). I personally prefer a lever, but having the button should still work for controlling sway if something happens like a blow-out.
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carringb
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06/19/21 05:45am |
Towing
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RE: 1 month old TT totaled?
My understanding is there shouldn't be too much to the damage to the bottom frame and wheel? Plus TT doesn't have all these power chain like TV, so safty wise should I worry about too much?
Other than that I can live with scrtches and potential junk it in two years or three if the buy back price is <5k.
No, stick it fork in it. It's done. Rollover recoveries of TTs are nearly impossible to do without causing additional damage. The walls simply bolt to the end of each frame outrigger, probably 24 or 36 on center. And probably only a 3/8" bolt. Your trailer appears to have wood framing under the skin? If this is the case, or even with most light-gauge aluminum framing, the bolts just pull through. Even just partial separation will mean the frame isn't true anymore, and things will come apart more in the future.
About the only thing you can do with the chassis is pull the body, part out the appliances, and turn it into a flatbed.
FWIW - My own trailer rolled after the A-frame broke (after I hit a guardrail), and one entire side separated from the chassis. It was a Weekend warrior so it was also wood framing under the composite skin, but it was bolted far better than any TT since it was a toy hauler.
I also ran ran wreckers in Corvallis to pay for grad-school. Not a single RV rollover we ever did had a salvageable body.
I take one old TT and turn it into a nice rafting trailer!
The good news is Oregon insurance requirements are very favorable to the policy holder. Your policy will cover your trailer's full like-replacement model. And 1-year old TTs are worth just as much as new ones at the moment. The upgraded policy pays full MSRP for a new-equivalent model for the first 5 years if you have a total loss. But you should be able to effectively replace yours with little out of pocket. If you can't find an equivalent replacement for their settlement value, don't take it. They'll have to make good.
Last note on insurance... on the recovery side... I never really had any customers that had to fight with Geico. I can't say the same about other carriers.
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carringb
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05/29/21 07:15am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: 7 pin traditional versus SAE
Sounds like it has a 7-pin round pin connector and this is the adapter you need.
They don't really work though, since the pinouts are different, not just the shapes. Of course... the trailer in question may not have been wired to SAE spec to start with so maybe it would work...
I've built my own previously, to tow RV combinations with a heavy wrecker (which had the SAE 7-way and pinouts). I used a waterproof splice box to house a house a "separate to combination" turn signal brake light adapter, then had to run through a Tekonsha wireless brake controller since the SAE pinouts don't include a brake controller circuit.
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carringb
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05/22/21 04:42pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: 7 pin traditional versus SAE
Sounds like it's time to put a regular 7-pin RV plug on that trailer. The 7-pin SAE plug is typically on commercial plugs.
Note that the SAE version doesn't have all the same pins, besides the pins being round. Brake and turn circuits are separate (not a big deal... just reuse the brake light circuit as the trailer brake circuit, run the turn signals as combination stop/tail lights swapping to red lenses if it already doesn't have them), there's no backup-light circuit, and there's 2 running light circuits one for tail-lights one for clearance lights.
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carringb
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05/22/21 04:38pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Rubber bumper suspension stops
They basically act as overload springs, but without the spring slap or excess rebound. They can be fully engaged.
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carringb
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05/13/21 06:05pm |
Tow Vehicles
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