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Forum
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RE: I Winterized ............. but then this happened.
I don't recall where I read that Vasoline was suggested by Dometic--it was on a prior trailer. It could have been in the installation instructions for the replacement seal. It's just an easy thing to try, and readily available.
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lenr
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12/29/21 06:25pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: I Winterized ............. but then this happened.
Put on plastic gloves and wipe Vasoline all over the seal. This is approved and recommended by Dometic. Dometic is also an easy seal change.
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lenr
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12/28/21 04:53pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Are chips coming available?
Ford and Toyota in particular were also hit by a fire at the chip factory that they depended on (Japan I think). That factory did come back on line this last summer, but the sales backlog will take a while to work out. The whole "just in time" auto assembly business is based on parts constantly arriving on time. Ya, it's inexpensive. Ford revenues are only down 5%--amazing. Remember GM's Saturn startup? The original concept was that customers would go into the dealer and order the exact car that they wanted receiving it a few weeks later. Well, that's now how Ford Super Duty purchasing works, except that it's more than a few weeks.
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lenr
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12/15/21 07:41pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: The RV Demand Continues
So, it's clear that the RV dealer demand continues. Our Camping World dealer is plugged to over-flowing with units. My favorite dealer who is a zero hassle, wholesale price, dealer can't keep more than 10 units on the lot. He usually has 200 at this time. So, I agree with the above that dealers are reacting to the 2020 demand in their factory orders. It's capitalism--they get to take a guess at being right or wrong. One more year may show a little settling out in the RV industry. As said, not only Thor's competitors are thrilled at the Airxcel acquisition, but as a satisfied Coleman customer, and a dissatisfied Dometic (prior) customer, I'm a little jaded as well.
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lenr
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12/14/21 09:15pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Additional fuel carrying capacity on pickup
Re-reading my 2012 Super Duty brochure, only the the long bed Super cab and crew cab diesel trucks got 37.5 gallon tanks; all other diesel combinations got 26 gallons; and, all the gas trucks got 35 gallon tanks. I believe those were the configurations from 2011 through 2017 when all the diesel tanks got larger. On a long day we would end up stopping for fuel 2 to 3 times at the one fourth point of 18 to 19 gallons. After switching up to a larger fifth wheel and getting tired of stopping that many times a day, we had a Ford dealer replace the OEM tank with a Titan 50 gallon tank. Already having a short bed we didn't want to give up the bed space. We love it! We only stop once a day (or not at all) with the big tank. The Ford dealer changed the truck programing so the fuel gauge and the miles to empty work correctly. It's a hoot to see 689 miles to empty when we're not towing and the mpg are higher.
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lenr
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12/05/21 04:46pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Ford Gas 6.2 vs 7.3
Hate when I make a mistake: above post should have said "TorqueShift-G transmission which is a beefed up F-150 6 speed", not 10 speed. Thanks for not flaming me. Yes, as stated in the 3/15/21 Super Duty Order Guide, all 6.2 6 speed combinations, even in a 350 dually, use the -G transmission. While that's all you can get in a 250, a 6.2 in a 350 (SRW or DRW) comes with the choice of 6 speed -G or 10 speed. The 7.3 only comes with 10 speed. If I were the OP towing 13K twice a year, I would absolutely get the F-350, 10 speed, 3.73 since it is rated for about 4,000 lb. more towing than the 6.2. The 7.3 with 10 speed would likely get close to the same mileage as a 6.2 6 speed (and there are reports as such on line.)
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lenr
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11/28/21 12:29pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Ford Gas 6.2 vs 7.3
For exact axle availability download the Ford Super Duty Order Guide and Tow Ratings. As I read it the 3.55 axle is available only in an F-250 7.3 10 speed. All other gas engine combinations are 3.73/4.30. In an F-350 the 6.2 is available with 6 or 10 speed, but in the F-250, only the 6 speed is offered. Also, noteworthy is that the all the 6 speed combinations are the TorqueShift-G transmission which is a beefed up F-150 10 speed; not the 6R140 used behind the larger engines in earlier years. If it were my money I would definitely get the 7.3 (only comes with a 10 speed) with its great, flat, torque curve and a 3.73 axle (tow rating of 16,000 lb.) in an F-350 (for a VIN sticker and springs rated for the higher weight.)
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lenr
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11/27/21 07:02pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: MorRyde IS is finally happening
Air in the lines certainly can be a problem but it wasn't mine. My problem was that the Dexter actuator installed with the disc brakes didn't even turn on until greater than 3 volts. That made for no light or light- medium braking with a sudden application when it did finally turn on. Hydrastar and BrakeRite are popular in the RV world and there may be little difference between them. But when I was researching a replacement actuator, Hydrastar technical could not tell me what their minimum turn on voltage was which spooked me. BrakeRite said their voltage was 1.0 volts and my unit actually starts at .9 volts. With the P3 I get good balanced braking at all speeds, light or heavy.
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lenr
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11/22/21 12:28pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: MorRyde IS is finally happening
Agree that disk brakes take a little getting used to. In my experience there are two issues: The first problem is that all disc brake actuators have some delay while they build pressure. Secondly, I have found that the braking response isn’t linear. As said above, they work great (for me) on hard breaking or high speed braking. It’s the light, slow, braking that drove me crazy. Depending on the controller and/or actuator a light push on the brake petal may not send out enough voltage to even start up the actuator--thus no trailer braking. While Hydrastar is supposed to be one of the quickest, my biggest concern was a low startup voltage. I found with BrakeRite (now owned by Dexter) to have good, low, startup voltage. Not sure what MORRyde is currently using for an actuator—they used to use BrakeRite. One solution if using a 2015 or later Ford is to set up the brake “Aggressiveness” to Med or High. Since my older Ford doesn’t offer this setting, the only other option that I found was to install a Prodigy P3 set to Boost level B3. At that boost, a light touch on the petal gets the BrakeRite pumping with slight slowing. Once pumping it is very responsive to more aggressive deceleration. As with any controller it is important to set gain at a point where the wheels do not lock up. The B3 setting will show you right quick if you have too much gain. Full discussion of my experience: Google for my thread "Disappointed in Disc Brakes." https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29930221.cfm
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lenr
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11/21/21 05:29pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: MorRyde IS is finally happening
When we were at MORRyde in 2018 they had a bunch of DRV fifth wheels sitting around. DRV installed the IS at the factory then sent them to MORRyde for aligment.
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lenr
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11/17/21 08:35pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: MorRyde IS is finally happening
In 2018 I inquired about IS on our small fifth wheel. MORRyde service said they didn't recommend IS on less than 7K axles and suggested the SRE4000 rubberized equalizer. We had riser tubes, the SRE4000, and an X-Factor brace installed. It worked so well with the MORRyde rubber pin box that I had previously installed that chucking was all but gone. We noticed that the microwave plate started staying in place. In conversation at that time, they mentioned that they had to lay off half of their staff during the 2008 Great Recession. Perhaps they are now concerned about increasing the size of their service department so that they don't get caught having to layoff again.
In late winter 2019 we ordered a trailer that came with totally inadequate axles (5100 on a trailer that weighed 10750 empty with a 12000 GVWR.) Knowing that the situation would be inadequate I called MORRyde to inquire about improvements thinking I would beat the summer rush. They were backed up 3 months (and they don't do axle work other than IS.) I found an axle shop and had them install Kodiak disk brakes, an SRE4000, 6000 lb axles, and 3 X-Factor braces. I ended up rebuilding my MORRyde pin box myself because I didn't want to wait 3 months. Results are great.
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lenr
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11/17/21 01:19pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: st augustine fl
X2 on Stagecoach. Not fancy but perfectly acceptable.
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lenr
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11/10/21 11:57am |
RV Parks, Campgrounds and Attractions
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RE: Furnace flames cycles off before temp is reached
We have owned a 27' bumper pull, a 27' fifth wheel with one slide, and a 37' fifth wheel with 3 slides. Every one of them had 4 heating registers. My point is that the 37' fifth wheel needs more but the industry is too cheap to put them in. The 37' was the only one to cycle like the OP. I absolutely believe that it is an issue of inadequate air flow through the furnace. It has not been an issue when the furnace is cycling to maintain a temperature. It only does it when the furnace runs for long periods such as raising the temperature in the trailer. I haven't decided if I'm going to try to improve the airflow. If it quits cycling the flame on a long run I will be concerned that the temperature switch is not protecting from an over heat situation.
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lenr
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11/07/21 09:08am |
General RVing Issues
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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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