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RE: Installing rails for 5th wheel hitch
JIMNLIN: Might want to check your warrenty, some mfg's will void it on the frame if it is welded.
if your refereing to the Dodge hydroformed boxed frame its a weld assy also and we can weld on it per Dodge TSB 13-001-03 dated 2-7-03. Welding on any of the trucks in question here doesn't void the trucks warranty.
If the weld or bolt or clamp causes a problem with the frame then a manufacture may void warranty work.
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JIMNLIN
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12/01/08 06:33pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Six vs. 4 and 5-speed gassers- Any experiences to share.
lets hope they don't go back with either. The NV5600 is a GM thing and I think its not in production anymore.
The G56 has been regeared for the '07.5 new 6.7 trucks. Looking in on commercial haulers webs they prefere the G56 with the new gear spacing and a better OD ratio for lower rpm at crusin' speeds.
Haven't seen the issues that was mentiond with the G56 on any of the Dodge diesel webs other than the normal breakage with bombed rigs/boggers/morons/etc.
My neighbor has a '07.5 3500 DRW with custom bed for commercial hauling. She is plated for 32k combined. She has about 110-120k on the rig now and her G56 shifts smoother tham my '03 NV5600 with about the same miles on the odo.
I'm waiting on the '09 models at my area dealers, with the Cummins of course, and with the G56 3.73 4x4.
Looks like a Ford V-10 with the ZF6 six speed or even the old reliable NV4500 five speed would be a gassers dream for heavy loads.
Were any of the older F250 trucks with the 5.4 engines ever offered with the NV4500 tranny ??
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JIMNLIN
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12/01/08 03:06pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Installing rails for 5th wheel hitch
all of our truck frames are a "weld assembly". I've had many different trucks and weld on brkts is all I'll use. I've seen a few issues with elongated holes caused from loose bolts. Most chassis mount upfitters in my area has had frame rail clamp chaff problems from commercial users so he recomends welded brkts over clamping or bolting unless the customer is just towing a RV.
All frames can be fixed (welded) even if they have cracked all the way through.
Why bolt/clamp when its stronger and longer lasting when welded.
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JIMNLIN
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12/01/08 02:24pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Can anyone beat my record?
I'm retired and use the net to keep current in the areas that I have worked in over the years. I've been a member of severel hotshot/commercial hauling type webs/OOIDA member still from when I hauled for a living.
I keep up with the latest contract work in the aircraft tooling world using some of the head hunter webs. Some even have forums for members.
I also am a member on several tractor/ag equipment webs. It helps to stay current and what better way to do it than the net.
Congrats on the new RV and record.
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JIMNLIN
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12/01/08 06:40am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: What do you DO?
we fish. The camper was just a place to eat and sleep and get away from suburbia. We've done the camping thing when the kids were home in the '60/'70s/early '80s. That was before barking dogs and folks with attitudes.
I live in the middle of 40 acres with trees and fields and no neighbors in sight. Why in the world would we go to a campground with other people. I realize many folks use their campers as a social event thing but thats not our gig. I have a campfire every nite if I want, any time of the year, lots of wildlife/lots of stars out/no barking dogs or other folks stiring around/etc.
The RV is used for traveling on occasion and for the younger grandkids to use when they want to sleep out anytime of the year.
Jim
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JIMNLIN
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12/01/08 06:19am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: How much did you pay?
all your showing is a invoice. Probably a dealers invoice that may have many price add ons. Its not easy to find The real factory invoice price as that usually is only know by the dealer owner/mgr and the factory floor plan finance group.
My nephew is in sales and even he doesn't know that info. Each unit has a working price range that the sales staff is given. About the best a consumer can do is price the unit with the exact same options and equipment and compare area dealers and the net.
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JIMNLIN
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12/01/08 05:45am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Chinese Tire Story
I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
We've done over 180,000 blowout free miles on various non-Chinese ST tires so far. I choose not to use Chinese tires. You may choose differently. I'm glad we all have the freedom to choose.
I've got two different utility trailers that is heavier than your little TT and use nothing but P metric radials. Both trailers have 3500 lb axle and haul more weight and at legal 75 mph speeds on the interstate near me. One set is going on 8 years and has close to 60k miles. Yeah, freedom of choice is great.
This is a good example of oranges to apples when discussing ST tire problems on our heavy trailers which is where the ST is problematic.
The big majority of folks that get bit by ST tire probs don't have a small under 5k trailer. Just the opposite.
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JIMNLIN
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11/30/08 06:11pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Stupid question of the month......
advantage or disadvantagees ?? they are apples to oranges for comparasions BUT its all about axle/tire capacities + payloads. The bigger trailer simply require bigger trucks. How much bigger will be determined by the size of the trailers GVW and pin weight.
Our 2500 Dodge trucks have a 6000 RAWR and the 3500 DRW has a 9350 RAWR. Big difference .
The pin load on our trucks are 95 percent on the rear axles.
Your 2500 4x4 truck has a empty rear weight of approx 2900 lbs which leaves approx 3100 for its max axle payload.
A 3500 DRW Dodge trucks rear when empty weighs approx 3500 which leaves approx 5850 lbs for its payload. These are just a estimate numbers. Your actual scaled weight numbers will vary.
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JIMNLIN
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11/30/08 06:17am |
Toy Haulers
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RE: Chinese Tire Story
your assumming that we have ST tire problems just since china made tire came on the market. Not so. Even American made ST tires were very problematic long time before this web or even the net.
By the way china made LTs and some P's have had recalls. China manufactors were leaving out a filler, between the tread and sidewall, internally that lead to internal seperations. A google shows much info on the recalls.
Your also assumming folks that pull trailers abuse their tires. I'm sure some do but not all.
Years ago we had several of our major USA tire manufactors making ST tires. They all stopped production. BFG passed a internal letter to their dealers simply stating they had better tires for trailer use. Trailers were getting bigger and heavier which made the ST design suspect.
The biggest problem is the ST tires design and Goodyears Marathons old web site adds explained it well. Their new web dropped those differences from other tire types.
Better use of web site space on ST tire problems would better be put to use in finding out those differences and why BFG/Firestone/Cooper/Delta US manufactors stopped producing a ST tire. And at what weight/speed do most ST tires fail.
ST tire technology and reliability have spoken for itself even before the radial tire came on the market which was a vast improvement over the bias ply tire age. It wasn't good back then for the same reasons we see now.
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JIMNLIN
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11/30/08 05:40am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Diesel Prices vs Gas Prices
Jim:
My post was only to illustrate how the market is made, and the difference between traded product. However, your post goes far more in depth on the manufacture of diesel (efficiencies/deficiencies), and global distribution.
I'd like to read more about this. Can you make a link to some interesting articles on this?
Thanks!
Silver-
I'm a retired member of OOIDA and still get their online news and member emails especially news about diesel fuel supply.
Also Transportation Topics (TT) has guest writers from the American Oil Institute/etc on ocassion and other fuel related industry spokespersons as article writers or just a Q and A with their topics writers. Lots of info through outlets like TT/OOIDA/many other industry related concerns that Fox/CNN/MSNBC/etc never give us. Were just fed what big oil wants us to "think".
Al Mannato is a fuel issues mgr at API and had those comments last spring on TT. Not sure if TT online will have the article in their files or not.
EDIT; just saw this on a google;diesel fuelgoogle
Jim
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JIMNLIN
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11/29/08 09:23pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Six vs. 4 and 5-speed gassers- Any experiences to share.
(snip)
If a 1:1 gear ratio is where you need to be then whether that ratio happens to be third gear of a 4-speed and also just happens to be third gear on a 6-speed then the extra gears of the 6-speed are doning essentially nothing to help out!
(Edit) - Ok, a post snuck in just before this one- It shows two transmissions with some fairly different gear ratios that probably do help the engine stay in the sweet spot. The trouble is that it is possible to have a transmissions where first through 4th are identical and fith and sixth are higher and higher gears. If your tow makes you stay in third- the higher gears do not help- so again, you can't fault those who say, "it depends".
(snip)
lets add some of the current great manual trannies such as the ZF6 that was used with the 8.1 GM and the Ford V-10 gassers. Sixth gear was od/5th gear was 1:1 with gear splits on down. And don't forget the NV4500 5 speed manual also.
Dodge has the best of the best from a commercial haulers tranny standpoint in the NV5600 and the G56 six speed manuals. Not sure if the G56 is available with the Hemi but the NV5600 and the old Dodge 488ci V10 were a great combo in keeping the power to the ground.
Just a point on a big 5 or a 6 speed auto like the Allison/Fords torqueshift/Dodges 68Rfe which takes around 45-50 hp to operate. The 8.1/ Ford V10/Dodges old V10 had the big torque numbers to operate the big autos. A smallblock doesn't make a good match for those big auto's.
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JIMNLIN
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11/29/08 08:33pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: RV park restrictions on older motor homes
Keep your stuff clean and in good repair and don't offer up the date it was built and you will be okay. If they press the issue for a date tell them is only 9 years old. Few people can't tell what year an RV is.
bingo.
The last campground asked, (ABC, two weeks ago) what year the 5er was. I told her it was a '97. She could see it outside the window and commented no problem as it looks new.
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JIMNLIN
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11/29/08 06:43am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: camper lean to one side while on the truck
my first TC was a brand new '68 9.5' Idle time by Allen campers. Had it put on a '67 3/4 ton chev. It sat with the right side lower. The fix back then was to cut up a old tire and add between the spring leaves at the ends. Add as required to level the loaded truck.
I had two other truck/TC combo's after that. Instead of adding cut up tires I added adjustable overload helper springs. Leaving a TC on a truck for several years usually will have one spring or both start to sag. ....Jim
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JIMNLIN
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11/29/08 06:29am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Diesel Prices vs Gas Prices
Why is diesel higher than gas ??
According to the API (American Petroleum Ind), one reason is in America our refereries use the catalytic cracking process which gets only 15 percent diesel and 50 percent gas from a barrel of crude.
In Europe they use the hydrcracking process that gets 25/25 percent gas/diesel fuel. Europe at this time sells the US diesel fuel and about one in eight gallons of gas.
Add other factors such as politics/government still buying crude at record prices to fill our national reserves/supply and demand/why are we shipping crude to other non oil producing countries and the biggest is 50 percent of our refineries have been closed. Doesn't take a rocket expert to see who benifits from closing so many refineries that pushes the price of fuel up at the pump. Just look at who has made the record profits.
As with any problem there's more than one answer.
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JIMNLIN
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11/29/08 06:18am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Laminated build vs Stick & Tin
I've had both and if I could order a trailer it will be a wood frame with aluminum siding. Stick and tin were built in the '30/'40 as the siding back then was painted galvanized steel (tin) with wood frame on most units.
Wood can rot and the new bonded/laminated core sidewalls delam from a leak. One is much cheaper to repair than the other.
Don't be fooled into thinking just because you don't have wood sidewall studs the rest of the interior wood won't rot.
One problem is viberation transmission through out the unit from aluminum framming (roof/sidewalls).
We toured the HH II plant when they switched to aluminum frames the factory rep said they were reluctent to switch because of noise transmission/viberation problems and heat/cold transfere problems that RVIA noted with aluminum framed units. They noted most newbys just accepted it as part of the trailering experience but many that have trailered for several years found the viberation annoying.
They were right. .........Jim
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JIMNLIN
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11/29/08 05:52am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: When & what was the last 3 on the tree built?
my last three on the tree was a '58 3/4 ton GMC with the old 258ci babit bearin' rod slappin' inline six. It was my first truck that I made a run pulling a tandam axle flatbed trailer from Newton, KS to tulsa, OK hauling materials for area "house trailer" manufactors three times a week. That was in '63. The shift linkage was constantly getting out of adjustment.
Glad them good old days are over with.
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JIMNLIN
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11/28/08 07:24pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: How does a Cat Back Exhaust
catback systems advertized in the performance catalogs I see do not include the cat.
I installed the Flowmaster big block series catback on a '90 chev 2500 5.7 4.10 gears to help it breath easier towing 11k and max axle loads. It picked up a good 1 to 1.5 on average mpgs and leveled out the rough TB idle. ...Jim
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JIMNLIN
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11/28/08 06:42pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Towing questions
get the trailer and hook up and go. Your numbers sound like a match with that small 21' trailer and your small truck. Many folks tow with simular combo's. If it tows to your satified with the performance you expect, your ahead. If the combo doesn't meet your performance expectations then time to change the combo.
jim
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JIMNLIN
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11/28/08 06:06pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: axel weight?
real weight limit on a axle ??
If your thinking of legal meaning your state DPS can give you your answer. Fed law (CFR's) says it the vehicle manufactures determination and in your trucks case its 6064 RAWR. How your state interpets/enforces fed regs is fairly simple to find out if you ask the right questions from the right folks.
Changing to 19.5 wheels/tires won't change the vehicle manufacture numbers but will change the trucks ability to carry the weight safer from the tires standpoint.
There are 16" tires that can give you more capacity instead of going to the rougher riding 19.5 tires on your little 2500 truck.
Search the truck campers forum as they use 19.5 on their 3500 trucks for safer tire capacities packing some of those 4-5k TC's.............Jim
see GM axles
edit to add clickie and truck campers....Jim
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JIMNLIN
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11/28/08 06:37am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: REAL LT snow tires
snow tires ?
I like a good agressive AT type tread with lots of sipes for highway snow/ice/snow pack when I had a 600 mile a week commute. But for off highway deep snow/river bottom mud I use the BFG Mud Terrains (or simular tread) for busting wet heavy drifts and hauling wood out of the river bottoms.
The big lugs and big voids on a MT don'T work well with snow pack roads or ice or even just wet road surfaces.
On the flip side a AT packs up in deep snow and mud.
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JIMNLIN
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11/27/08 09:19am |
Tow Vehicles
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