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Date Posted |
Forum
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RE: Truck was totaled, looking at GM 6.6 Gasser
...and before you squawk about all those body panels being replaced rather than pounded out by the body shop, remember the body shop charges well in excess of $100 an hour for labor.
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mkirsch
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09/21/23 08:04am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: 2024 F150 Reveal
It's however they define the claim. Or maybe it's just trademarked now and it doesn't really matter...
Seems like this tired old argument gets dredged up every time someone posts Ford's F150 tagline. You know what would be refreshing? People refusing to take the bait.
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mkirsch
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09/13/23 09:47am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: batteries dead
So are you saying you DROVE it 10 miles and back, and the batteries were dead?
OR
You are saying you left, drove 10 miles, and came back to where it was stored, and the batteries were dead?
There is no way the batteries went dead in that amount of time without starting a fire. They had to have been very nearly dead. I agree that they had to have been dead or nearly so when you started out, AND your alternator is not working.
The alternator may not have fully charged the batteries in 10 miles out-and-back but for sure you wouldn't have lost any ground.
That or the batteries are just fine but have become disconnected from the vehicle due to a bad ground or other bad connection.
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mkirsch
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09/11/23 06:59am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Help! Lance 850 isn’t getting power from truck battery
Flipped the switch, it worked. Flipped the switch again, and it didn't work...
I would suspect the switch.
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mkirsch
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09/11/23 06:45am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Beach Roamer Campers
Another pipe dream "coming soon" BS operation... If you can't put units on dealer lots, you should not be advertising. People see something and want it NOW. If you can't at least facilitate SOME sales, get some units out there in the hands of the general public, NOBODY is going to place an order for "spring 2024."
Businesses that operate on pipe dreams and empty promises rarely succeed.
"Prices start at $17.500" but the least expensive model they list is $40,000... What does the $17.500 buy you, a door?
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mkirsch
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09/06/23 09:35am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Ford files trademark for F200 pickup.
...because Ford has NEVER had a failed vehicle ever before in its 100+ year history...
Edsel. Pinto. Bronco II. Those are just off the top of my head.
Frankly I'm surprised they didn't already own the trademark to F-(all numbers).
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mkirsch
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09/06/23 05:48am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Towing
Mkirsch, you’re getting too practical again….
I'm sorry. I'll try harder next time.
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mkirsch
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09/01/23 12:06pm |
Towing
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RE: How bad is it really? TC on a Ram 2500 w/coils.
No no no no no... You of all people should know that if you put any sort of load in a pickup with coil springs that it is instantly going to flop over on its top, catch fire, and explode, wiping out a square mile of the nearest civilization even if you're 1000 miles from nowhere.
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mkirsch
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09/01/23 12:04pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Towing
Why the secrets? Toy hauler make and model is secret. SxS make and model is secret.
At least with the make and model of the TH, we could see what the manufacturer thinks the empty tongue weight is, which would help some with the advice.
The toy hauler manufacturer should also provide some guidance on cargo capacity for the toybox area, but again, since that's such a closely guarded secret, that's something else we're left guessing at.
Reality is probably closer to Grit Dog's comment, and the SxS just fits in the trailer with very little wiggle room. So it boils down to you haul it or you don't.
Load up and see what happens. It's going to be obvious sitting in the driveway that it's not going to work, and if not there, it will be obvious within a few miles of home. It's not going to feel "just fine" until you're 1000 miles from home, then suddenly become a problem.
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mkirsch
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08/31/23 06:32am |
Towing
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RE: 2024 Chevy HD DRW and SRW Fuel Economy Test
And at the end of the day it actually matters, why?
You drive the speed and style that you drive and unless you’re already drivin miss daisy, you drive slower if you want to use less fuel. And you drive faster if you don’t care and want to get there sooner.
Because you want to know if driving miss daisy is saving you enough money to make the extra time, aggravation, and road rage incidents worth it. If it's only saving you $10/month, stomp on the skinny pedal and keep up with traffic.
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mkirsch
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08/30/23 07:48am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: hauling capability
In 2015 there should be a yellow sticker on the driver's door post stating the payload capacity of the truck as built.
The reality is, folks usually have a hard time finding what they want and staying within the truck's "rated" hauling capability. Seems no matter how big of a truck they have, they always fall in love with the bigger camper.
This is where you start picking and choosing which ratings to acknowledge and which to ignore. First one to ignore is GVWR. If you read further on your truck's weight ratings sticker(s) there will be ratings for each axle with a certain size tire at a certain PSI. Those combined front and rear axle ratings usually add up to around 2000lbs more than the GVWR of the truck in a 350/3500 SRW.
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mkirsch
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08/24/23 10:06am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: 1991 Lance 900 11.3’ weight
Thanks @big_jeff. Ya I found that as well. I did notice they vary slightly year to year (1993 2698lbs std cab and 2838lbs ext cab) every year. Lance has the 1993 and 1995 brochures but nothing before 1993. You’d think they would have kept some kind of documentation on their own camper designs pre 1993. Maybe a disgruntled employee walked off with it :)
Who says they didn't? Just because they didn't make it available on the internet, doesn't mean they don't have the information.
Even if they didn't they're not obligated to have it. How many 1991 campers are still out there, and not rotted into the ground by now? Not many. Not much reason or incentive to keep such information around taking up space cluttering up the office.
We've got 20 year old computers in our data centers that have less technical information available on them than your 30-odd year old truck camper.
At least you can find data on models made a couple of years later and extrapolate. Given campers tend to get heavier year over year, you have a good educated guess as to the advertised dry weight of your camper based on what later models only a couple years later weighed.
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mkirsch
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08/23/23 10:49am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Truck in front of the camper
Having had a lawn service for 39 years I found out that getting a truck big enough to handle anything I wanted to do with it plus what I didn't know I wanted to do with it was a lesson learned. I've decided that a 3500 of some sort with either a Chevy 6.0 or 8.1 is a good choice. The Allison is good as I've had them w/ the Duramax. A Dodge w/ a Cummins is a good choice but I've found that Dodges seem to rust too much. I've had a Ford 6.0 and don't like all the things that can go wrong w/ the engine. Diesel vs gas isn't such a big issue when carrying a heavy load. With the price difference between diesel and gas they end up about equal. Thanks for the input.
I've had a 2002 Chevy 3500 with the 8.1L and Allison since about 2010. Started out with 38000 miles on it, have 58000 on it now. Only run it April through October. It's my "toy" that can tow or haul just about anything I need it to.
I also have a 2015 Chevy 2500HD with the 6.0L and 6-speed from my Dad. There is no comparison. The '02 will run circles around the newer truck any day, any time, any load, any trailer.
8.1L's produce a lot of heat and do use oil, up to a quart every 1000 miles. Mobil 1 5W30 seems to hold up the best.
The problem is they're getting long in the tooth. It's not like you can just walk on to any dealer lot and get a nice low mileage example. More likely you're going to find something that's got a bajillion miles on it, rusty, clapped out. You're not going to find one like mine just every day, and unless you wave a LOT of $100 bills in front of my face, it's not for sale.
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mkirsch
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08/22/23 06:54am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Air conditioner for my 11 foot truck camper?
Our windows are crank-out jalousies with attached interior screens so using a window is out of the question: we do not want to remove the whole window unit for a retro. The issue of draining the moisture from the A/C won't work with the window. Perhaps a bucket with a cover that has been cut for a hole to fit the drain hose. This works for us to drain gray water out to an enclosed bucket when necessary. We also have a portable dehumidifier but it is ineffective.
Modern portable ACs don't need to be drained very often if at all. The moisture is vaporized and sent out the exhaust tube.
I drained mine a sum total of TWICE in all the years I owned it.
You do you, though.
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mkirsch
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08/21/23 01:28pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Ford F-250 Hitch compatibilty
IMHO etrailer does their homework and the information they provide can be trusted. You can also never go wrong with Reese (Cequent) products. I got the Reese Titan for my 2002 Chevy almost 14 years ago now and it was a perfect fit, has "YES" capacity...
Etrailer has a draw-tite (also Cequent) 2-1/2" hitch that looks and mounts very much like my Reese Titan.
Not a huge market out there for receivers for 21-year-old pickups anymore, so your choices are pretty limited. I would fork over the $403.24 and not look back, except to hitch up.
I just don't know where you'd go to find a good used take-off anyway. Nobody takes them off. You could be months or years looking.
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mkirsch
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08/18/23 07:29am |
Towing
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RE: Slide Out Storage Capacity
my slide houses a 4 person dinette so at 200 pounds per person it should easily support 800 pounds. only 2 of us ever sit in the dinette so if there were space (there isn't) I could stuff 400 pounds in and not worry about it. Don't over think stuff
The question wasn't "support." It's what the slide mechanism will move in and out.
Unless you get bored and everyone jumps in the dinette and rides the slide in and out for fun... Wheeeeeee! LOL :)
Don't these slide mechanisms have overload clutches? So if you put too much in the slide, it will simply click angrily at you instead of moving.
I'm betting you'd have to fill the storage compartments with lead to get enough weight to stop the slide mechanism. Unless you make your living as a traveling leadsmith, anything you could feasibly put in the compartments will be fine.
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mkirsch
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08/18/23 07:00am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Extension Hitch Question
We've already gone down the torklift rabbit hole in the previous thread. OP doesn't want to spend the money, and really, probably doesn't need to for what they want to tow NOW. That is, pulling a 3500lb trailer with a 600lb tongue weight.
That's fine. If there was a RATED extension available for their 2" receiver, that's probably all they need. No such thing exists. No 2" extensions on the market are rated for more than 3500lbs, period.
Upgrading to a 2-1/2" receiver and getting the RATED extension is a good middle of the road solution.
OP doesn't trust their own engineering ability and wants to keep within ratings. There is nothing wrong with that. Throwing caution to the wind isn't for everyone.
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mkirsch
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08/17/23 11:00am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Air conditioner for my 11 foot truck camper?
You're not going to find any non-RV options that don't involve some modification for installation, or at the very least, building something to make it work.
I still think your best bet will be an 8000BTU portable air conditioner. Maybe you just don't understand what one is. It is a free-standing appliance, sits on the floor like a skinny R2-D2. It is NOT a window unit, which sticks through the window. There's one hose that goes to the nearest window, and a cord that plugs into a wall outlet.
You will need to come up with a way to hang the hose in a window, and block off airflow to the rest of the window. That's the minimum amount of work you can expect to try to adapt a non-RV air conditioner to your camper.
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mkirsch
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08/17/23 10:32am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Extension Hitch Question
One of the most important factors is confidence in your rig. If you're not confident in your fabrication skills or confident that you know more than the manufacturers of the accessories, you won't be confident in your rig, and you won't want to drive it.
Lots of folks ignore ratings, do whatever suits their fancy, and get away with it. God bless 'em because sooner or later they're going to need it.
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mkirsch
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08/16/23 06:15am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Extension Hitch Question
The other option is something custom built. Before Torklift that was pretty much the only option.
There are prefabricated 2" weld on receiver tubes up to 48" long. To fit your 2x2 receiver you'd need to reduce it down with either some 2x2 square tube or better yet a solid bar. Nice thing about the prefabricated receiver tubes is the receiver end is already cross drilled and reinforced.
This solution involves a whole lot of "that looks about right" engineering, because most people simply have no idea how to go about designing such a thing. It also leaves you hanging in the wind for everything. There is no manufacturer to tell you what your contraption is rated for, or to stand behind it if it fails. You're just guessing that this extension won't fold in half the first time you cross a set of train tracks, or won't launch the trailer into the oncoming lane the first time you swerve slightly on the highway.
It is the solution I took, but I went into it knowing I was using material that was as good or better than what commercially available extensions were made from. There are also no welds on my extension to call into question, as my receiver is 2-1/2" and the receiver tube fits directly into it with no need to weld in a reduction. The only welds are for D-rings which transfer the safety chains from the truck receiver to the trailer. I was also only extending 12" so the forces were greatly reduced.
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mkirsch
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08/15/23 02:03pm |
Truck Campers
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