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Forum
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RE: Class C rear end sag and banging!
The "banging" is almost certainly the airbags bottomming out. What PSI are you running? They should go up to 100 psi.
And yes, new leaf spring will do wonders. Your cheapest option would be take offs from a salvage yard E450. The 3-leaf setup normally was only used on E350s with an under 6,000# RAWR, and your rear axle weight I bet is at least 8,000 pounds.
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carringb
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07/16/19 11:22am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Gas TV for a year long trip
I wouldn't delete a truck until it's out of warranty. Ford's official policy is that dealers are not supposed to perform any warranty work on a non-compliant truck, until said truck is restored to a compliant state. The emissions package on these trucks isn't the problem anyways. It's the CP4 fuel pump. And even that's extremely rare, just $$$ if it does go out.
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carringb
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07/12/19 02:07pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Dolly towing
Jeep transfer cases have a tendency to slip from neutral into gear, when towed front wheels up. Some models can be towed rear wheels up, but I certainly don't recommend that on a dolly.
When they are towed 4-down, the transfer case stays in neutral.
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carringb
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07/12/19 10:52am |
Dinghy Towing
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RE: 2017 Ford Explorer mass flow indicator code
We just purchased a 2017 Ford Explorer V6 FWD and had a tow kit installed. We have conflicting information from Remco vs. the owners manual regarding flat towing. Remco says we can and the manual says we cannot. As we have just installed the tow kit, we are of course hoping to find answers. We came across your post from 2 years ago and are wondering if you can tell us if your Explorer is also a V6 FWD (not ecoboost), and what your towing experience has been?
Thanks so much!
V6 Explorers (regular and EcoBoost) can be flat towed. The EcoBoost 4-cylinder cannot be.
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carringb
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07/11/19 03:36pm |
Dinghy Towing
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RE: Need to find an anwser or help please
Looks like the Titan XD is only approved to be trailered. Flat and dolly towing are not supported.
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carringb
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07/11/19 02:22pm |
Dinghy Towing
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RE: Should I get a 2020 GM 3500 DRW or a 4500?
Here's the main reason I'd avoid the 4500 for now: Service
This truck being a joint venture, will have some parts designed and/or supplied by Navistar that won't be in the regular GM pipeline. Or might not be covered in the GM repair guides yet. And GM has a history of rolling out other joint venture vehicles without having enough techs trained initially.
Ford was formerly in the same boat with the F650, before pulling it away from Navistar. Getting work done wasn't always a pleasant experience, and Oregon only has one dealer certified to work on the "Blue Diamond" (the joint venture name) F650/750 trucks.
Also, it probably won't ride as well, since the 3500 likely has a much stiffer frame, especially torsionally. While the MDT frame are strong, they tend to be a little floppy so you feel more judder.
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carringb
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07/10/19 07:15pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Trailer length restrictions
The only real limit is whether you can make it fit. The measurements are typically curb to street, so you can usuallybe a little longer since there's often some clear space behind the curb.
My trailer is 38' overall. When booking I always looks at pics when available, to make sure the table or fire pit isn't directly behind the curb. Or trees. I've been in space spec'd as 24'. I make it work, and it can take a little extra time to squeeze it into said site.
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carringb
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07/10/19 03:19pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Location & Changing fuel filter Ford E 450 V10
When Ford moved to returnless-variable-flow fuel systems (2012 I think), inline fuel filters were eliminated. So there's no fuel filter to service. And since the fuel system is returnless, less filtering is needed. The newer rigs all utilize a long-life in-tank filter instead, which is integral to the fuel pump.
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carringb
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07/10/19 10:59am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Will I kill my mini-van?
X2 on hitch weight. They NEVER weight what the brochure says. Once the dealer adds a battery or 2 and fills the propane, that's easily 100+ pounds more right there, before you even pack the groceries, much less add water.
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carringb
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07/09/19 02:20pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Subaru Ascent, VW Atlas, or Rav4 Adventure for light towing?
Now knowing that you have 7 large passengers, that will definitely be the constraint for you. Even pulling a Scamp, that's still likely to have 150-200 pounds of tongue weight. Most 7-pax SUVs have about 1400 pounds of payload, so if your passengers with luggage average 200 pounds each, you're already maxed out before hooking up even the lightest trailer.
How big of a hurry are you in? The new Explorers are just now rolling out, but unfortunately to fleets first before retail customers. The big benefit is they dropped 200 pounds of curb weight, while also moving to a RWD architecture with a longer wheelbase. This means some models up over 1,800 pounds of payload!
Have you thought about a van? Most minivans will still have a little more payload than a 7-pax SUV, and have a 3500# tow rating so you'd still be ok there.
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carringb
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07/09/19 10:47am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Subaru Ascent, VW Atlas, or Rav4 Adventure for light towing?
Do you know the total weight and tongue weight of the Scamp? Actual weights, not published dry weights.
Start there. As mentioned, payload will be your enemy.
For 3-row SUVs, neither of those would be my my pick. The Atlas has a pretty mediocre powertrain, and the Ascent has a CVT. CVTs have a general inability to reject heat generated by the belt riding inside the pulleys, so it only takes a little low-speed-heavy-throttle driving to put it into fail-safe mode, and not much more to earn a replacement (Subaru has been very good about replacements, no questions asked). A traditional torque-converter automatic is still the most robust transmission for towing. Direct Injection Turbo motors make towing enjoyable, because they have lots of low-end torque and don't lost as much power with elevation.
Since you threw in the Rav-4... I'd suggest also looking at other 2-row SUVs, many of which offer more towing capacity and power.
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carringb
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07/09/19 08:36am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Weight Distributing Hitch BENT
When I look at the pic I see near the small ball a mark in the bent plate. Bet if you look at tongue of trailer you will have a matching mark. At some point cutting the trailer to the right side you jackknifed to tight...
Yup. This^
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carringb
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07/02/19 01:50pm |
Towing
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RE: What Fuel Do You Use in Your EcoBoost?
My sister also has an Explorer Sport, with almost 70,000 miles. She runs premium too.She tows occasionally (17' ski boat) but mostly she likes the better performance. There is a noticeable reduction in throttle response lag, especially in warmer weather.
I've pretty much found the same in my Focus EcoBoost.Fuel economy benefit is there but slight (about 3 MPG in mountain driving, not much different in town), but also a noticeable performance benefit. In hot weather, it noticeably pulls timing at low and mid RPMs at WOT. Plus I tow a utility trailer on occasion as well, and the Focus EcoBoost requires Premium when towing. It's not just recommended like the 3.5L.
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carringb
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07/02/19 08:55am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Weight Distributing Hitch BENT
Which part it bent? The hitch head? Or the bars? Or the shank?
Pretty unlikely to bend anything besides the bars from overloading, but interference certainly will do it. Definitely should figure it out before replacing it, so you don't end up with the same scenario.
I had trouble with my old hitch binding in tight turns, which was the primary reason I changed brands.
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carringb
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07/02/19 08:45am |
Towing
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RE: 3.5 Ecoboost Feels Like a V6
So I have a 2017 F150 with 3.5 Ecoboost and 3.55 gears. I rented a 6x10 dual axle dump trailer and loaded it with 2.5 yards of landscape rock. I'm thinking maybe 8000-9000lbs total.
Gman
Landscaping rock is generally 3,200-4,000 pounds per yard. Your total trailer weight was probably a lot more than you thought.
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carringb
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06/30/19 09:26pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: G.M.'s in line 3.0 diesel video.
Is this engine life a life under load?
That is what I heard when I saw the video.
I have a question for the cummins fan club. What is the validated engine life of a cummins and please provide some type of documentation and not a guess or that you know of one that has gone over 500,000 miles.
Not what you were asking, but hopefully another useful data point:
The Ford 6.7L in MDT applications is 500,000 miles B10 life. Based on the 330 HP version.
https://www.ford.com/commercial-trucks/f650-f750/features/power/
I'm sure the F250/350 have a shorter life. Potentially much shorter with its higher output. But I've never seen that number.
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carringb
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06/29/19 07:03pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: G.M.'s in line 3.0 diesel video.
I'm interested in this. It isn't that I don't trust you, but where do you find documentation that all vehicles under 8500 pounds are validated to 150k miles? Is that the "medium duty" spec comes in?
It's not an SAE standard. From what I've been able to piece together, CARB was the organization that originally designated a 150,000 validated-design life. As CARB emissions were generally adopted for all 50 states, it meant all automakers had to validate their vehicles to that lifespan. It's not just coincidence that every light car has a maintenance schedule that goes to 150,000 miles. Can an automaker design for longer? Sure. But there's not widespread validation beyond that number (validation doesn't necessary equal design life). Ford went way longer with the EcoBoost validation tests, but it was mostly for proof-of-concept as it was a dramatic departure from traditional powertrains.
For some of the other poster's questions... Yes, they do validate under extreme conditions. Doing things like simulating a full load at -40F, then shocking the system to extreme hot ambient environments. Many of the specific test they perform are well beyond what the typical buyer would ever encounter. I watched an F150 driveline on a dyno, where it was started up, then suddenly stopped. Over and over for weeks. To simulated a "life-time" of somebody throwing it into park while rolling. Or having a driver to a figure 8 with curbs across each quadrant, to simulate a lifetime of sidewalk hopping (commercial and EMS vehicles only for this test). Of course, some of those extreme validation tests miss real world conditions, like super short grocery store runs causing condensation buildup in the original EcoBoost's intercooler, causing hiccups when it finally got enough boost to ingest that condensate.
When they publish maintenance schedules, it's developed using these validation tests (developed with computer simulations), based on failures experienced, combined with some statistics and wizardry. If a component is listed needing replacement in the maintenance schedule, it's been validated to that mileage. If its not listed (timing chain, for example) it means they did not experience a statistically valid failure during validation. Of course, that doesn't mean infinite lift either. But you're own your own to figure it out. Besides costs, extending validation testing would increase model development time, which for light vehicles tends to be very short.
Medium-Duty test cycles are longer. The OEMs each decide what their design life will be, designated as B(x), where x is the number of vehicles experiencing a major failure. The numbers are generally available to fleet buyers, but rarely published in consumer material.
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carringb
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06/29/19 07:00pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: G.M.'s in line 3.0 diesel video.
Pretty much all vehicles under 8,500 pounds are validated to 150,000 miles.
What's different here is that major components (oil pump belt mainly) will need service at that point, and it does not appear easy to get to. Timing chains rarely fail without warning, so you can just keep on running them until you start getting telltale timing chain slap or valve clatter.
Just because an engine is "only" validated to 150,000 miles does not mean it can't last much, much longer.
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carringb
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06/29/19 01:34pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: I asked for trouble and I got it.
I thought those lines were stainless or aluminum. I have never heard of this happening before. I would go to a Duramax Forum site and see if anyone has had this happen or knows of it. You might get an idea of what it should cost if they in fact do need to be replaced.
i don't think he has a diesel
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carringb
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06/28/19 04:05pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: A/C on 20 amp
I turn off the breakers for the microwave and electric water heater, so they don't get accidentally used. My extension cord is short and 10 gauge. Works fine.
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carringb
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06/28/19 04:03pm |
Travel Trailers
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