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Subject |
Author |
Date Posted |
Forum
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RE: Battery Issue?
Oh, and bad converters have been known to boil out batteries ruining them--so, both converter and battery could be bad.
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lenr
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10/09/21 06:41pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Battery Issue?
It's hard to tell the difference between battery problems and charger problems. Because RV converters (chargers) are strong enough to run the trailer when the battery is discharged, my bet is on the charger especially if it is a WFCO. Progressive Dynamics makes a great converter for replacement when using lead acid batteries.
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lenr
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10/09/21 02:14pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Nowhere to go
It's not just CA. We gave up traveling in the fall in the midwest because everything is booked on weekends. Traveling for a month or two at a time requires weekends. I'm going to schedule next spring soon.
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lenr
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10/01/21 03:01pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: 2010 ram 3500 steering upgrade?
Some tires have better on center than others. Red-Head steering gear box. Ram fixed the weak support problem, but if that was after 2010, then there are after market braces that can be added to the steering gear. I'd find an independant alignment shop with a good local reputation.
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lenr
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09/08/21 12:29pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Work-anywhere towing assistance?
My experience--yours may vary:
In the last 10 years I've had 4 incidents of needing road side service. In 3 cases the service company (different ones each time) could not find someone to come out. So, I'm not wasting any more money on road side service premiums. I'm getting equipped to change a truck or trailer tire and limp somewhere with a broken trailer spring. Those are the vast majority of problems likely to happen to us using only trailers, as long as we keep up on maintenance. A few years of premium savings will pay for even high priced tow service. I think I'll have to give up RVing when I can't take care of simple problems. We are only in a trailer so a motorized unit might have different feelings. Insurance is for rare events, but if it makes you feel better, pay the premiums. Each policy will vary so while one might get your trailer home, the next one might just go to a campground nearby, and some might get the people home while others won't.
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lenr
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09/07/21 01:54pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: 2011 F250 Steering
You've got a worn suspension part for sure or a binding U joint if 4 wheel drive. Even with Ford spec of not a lot of caster it will center if everything is healthy. Son's 2012 350 6.2 started not returning at 200,000. $2000 later it works great. Take it to a reliable alignment shop that you trust to do repair. (I don't trust tire store alignment, generally.)
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lenr
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07/31/21 01:53pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Least expensive EZ-Pass
Interesting. Just a few years ago most of the states above were charging monthly maintenance fees, which is why I didn't get any of those. As mentioned above Central Florida Expressway has issued the Uni pass good in 19 states East of the Mississippi on all toll roads and most bridges. You set the refill points and I use a credit card with a 2% rebate. They have a good cell phone app to keep tabs on your account and use. Get the transponder from where else--Amazon. I'm quite satisfied with it.
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lenr
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07/30/21 12:21pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Black tank treatments.
Unique Camping + Marine RV Holding Tank Treatment. Works great. It's good bacteria that breaks down poop and paper. We use Charmin with no trouble. They also make a poop pyramid breakdown product and a black tank sensor cleaner. Most of the other products kill the bacteria that makes the odor. This stuff keeps that kind from developing in the first place. You can't mix it with bacteria killing products. We use nothing else and have no odor.
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lenr
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07/28/21 01:26pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Exhuast Gas sensor on F350 6.7
As said this was a common problem with 11s and 12s. About 13 or 14 Ford came out with an improved B version. I paid Ford to change out all 4 to the B version at the same time as the free reprogram. Kept the A sensors for spares. Never had a failure.
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lenr
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07/25/21 04:00pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Brakes for 2017 F350 DRW
My 2012 F-350 SRW has the best brakes that I've experienced in 56 years of driving in brake feel, performance, and longevity. So, I had the first brake job done with Ford OEM parts (not MotorCraft--they are made cheaper to sell cheaper), and I'm getting about 95K miles on those brakes. They are so good, I'll do nothing but Ford OEM until they're not available. OP should definitely have the pads inspected for wear before making any decision. When pads last 95K miles, I would definitely replace the rotors as well.
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lenr
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07/14/21 03:07pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Using a roku while camping
We love our Roku connected to a Winegard Connect 2.0 4g which in turn will connect to park Wifi or cellular 4g (currently using 100 gig ATT plan.) If neither works then we mirror from a cell phone to the Roku. The Roku still likes to be connected to some WiFi, but a slow one will do. When mirroring it draws the streaming data from the phone not the WiFi connection. I never could get the ChromeCast to not draw from the WiFi when mirroring--maybe better folks can figure that out. The RoKu is just simple. Cast the Chrome away and bought another Roku.
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lenr
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06/28/21 07:36pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: Electric over hydraulic - anyone using them ?
In RVs electric over hydraulic usually means hydraulic disk brakes on the trailer controlled by the brake electric wire from the tow vehicle. OP, is that what your asking? There are often some kinks to work out, but once things are smoothed out disk brakes are very strong.
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lenr
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06/28/21 02:46pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: AT&T 100 Gig plan on Winegard Connect 2.0 4g
According to the Internet experts: streaming Netflix at Standard Definition uses about 1 gig of data per hour. HD-> 3 gigs; 4K-> 7 gigs. YouTube uses about .5 gig per hour probably because of the smaller screen size. I believe that Netflix SD is equivalent to 480p. The original DVDs were either 480p or 480i so it is about the same, and plenty good for me. I feed our TV via a Roku which I have set to 480p to force the data rates down. I also configure the media such as Sling or Netflix down to 480p.
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lenr
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06/12/21 02:31pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: AT&T 100 Gig plan on Winegard Connect 2.0 4g
For those wondering about the Windgard Connect 2.0 4g: this device has both a WiFi antenna and a cellular 4g antenna. You configure it to do one or the other. We got it to (hopefully) amplify park WiFi to make it strong enough to use inside the trailer. It creates its own WiFi from the roof where it is mounted that will be strong in the RV. If the park WiFi isn't strong enough, it can then be switched to cellular 4g (assuming that is strong enough.) You need a corresponding data plan from a cellular carrier. We started with a 15 gig Verison plan--only enough for data, not TV streaming. With the 100 gig plan we expect to be able to TV stream a little at low resolution, probably 480p. We also use a Roku on the TV which lets us mirror from a cell phone either streaming from the cell phone app or playing a previously downloaded video. The Roku really likes to be connected to a WiFi signal even when mirroring so the Winegard keeps it happy.
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lenr
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06/12/21 08:10am |
Technology Corner
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RE: AT&T 100 Gig plan on Winegard Connect 2.0 4g
Wanderingaimlessly: Maybe--it would be right on the edge due to distance and walls reducing the signal strength. In the case of the TV, streaming would use up the 100 gigs of data allowance amazingly fast. We once used up 15 gigs in a day (higher resolution uses faster, obviously.) Tablets would probably be acceptable as long as you're not streaming video. Depending on how much you are in the house for cost justification, there would be much better solutions. Most of the major cellular carriers offer home programs with a non-mobile 4g antenna.
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lenr
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06/12/21 07:53am |
Technology Corner
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RE: AT&T 100 Gig plan on Winegard Connect 2.0 4g
Plan is $55 per month prepaid--don't pay they'll shut you off. It is also 100 gig fixed--not an "unlimited" where they slow you down when they feel like it. You can't set it up online--it is an in store program only. It costs me $15 to initiate and $5 for the SIM card. They charged me local sales tax on the whole purchase. I'll see if the monthly renewal charges any tax. The store folks new of the plan but didn't know about implementing on a device not in their hands. This is an experiment for me to see how I like it on the Winegard Connect 2.0 4g.
https://www.att.com/prepaid/mobile-hotspot-tablet/
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lenr
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06/11/21 05:33pm |
Technology Corner
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AT&T 100 Gig plan on Winegard Connect 2.0 4g
After 5 minutes of experience, it looks like the AT&T 100 Gig plan prepay for $55 works just fine with my Winegard Connect 2.0 4g. I had been running it on Verizon with 15 gigs for $20. My local AT&T store knew of the 100 gig plan but they were quite sure that it would not work with the Winegard since I couldn't bring it into the store for configuration. We also had a Catch 22 for a while when they refused to sell me a SIM since they couldn't have the device in hand. After my insistence that it would work they set up a new account (not previously an AT&T customer). I think they were surprised when I could provide an IMEI number from the sticker on my owner's manual (be sure to take your manual to the store.) Initial cost was $55 prepay, $15 activation, and $5 SIM card.
The next day I configured the Winegard:
1) Configured it to connect to my home WiFi.
2) Turned the power off.
3) Went to the RV Roof to remove the Verizon SIM and insert the AT&T SIM.
4) Turned the power back on.
5) Connected to Winegard with my tablet.
6) Logged in as admin.
7) Checked that Winegard was still connected to home WiFi.
8) Migrated to the Change Provider menu and changed to AT&T.
9) It will take a few seconds to download to the modem--click Continue and Proceed buttons as needed.
10) When the program configuration is done, migrated back to the Admin home page and select 4G/LTE instead of WiFi for the Winegard connection.
11) Wait for the switch, and then check your tablet of other device connect to make sure it is still connected to the Winegard (the Winegard will go dead while switching; then my tablet will switch to an alternate WiFi; then, the Admin page will complain that it can't connect, and the whole problem is I have to connect my table to Winegard again.)
I was very impressed that it configured quickly and took right off and ran fine. No messing with PINs or chatting with online support. I was also able to create a "Prepaid" account and set up a credit card hit for the monthly bill.
Feel free to post questions--I'll monitor for a while.
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lenr
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06/11/21 12:18pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: 2021 Ford E-Series No V-10
The 7.3 gas engine has been in pickups since the 2020 model year. So, what are the known problems? By the way, this engine has a crazy flat torque curve which will be very nice for Class C RVs and other towing. The torque curve also looks like Ford is holding back a little as they get start bugs fixed. If they goose the torque just a little it will have as much as the vaunted 7.3 diesel.
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lenr
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06/11/21 11:26am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Screws backing out
Glad I posted--I hope ideas keep coming. I try to stay away from mentioning the manufacturer when posting to stay away from brand shaming. I would guess that there are a bazillion trailers made with this type of construction, so I agree that I need to figure out why they are backing out and what the best fix is. We are going to a manufacturer's rally in a week (so inquiring minds can figure out the brand if they work at it), and there will be factory folks to consult there. I'll keep digging.
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lenr
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06/11/21 08:02am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Screws backing out
Wood glue?
Thought about Hard as nails, but wondered if it would be too hard, especially if the screws needed to be removed someday. Also, though of silicone, except maybe it's too soft. I haven't had time to check out larger screws. Toothpicks were suggested by my wood worker son, but I've probably got a hundred screws to strengthen--that's a lot of toothpicks!
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lenr
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06/10/21 06:39pm |
Tech Issues
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