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Date Posted |
Forum
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RE: I need help with my P3 Controller
Well something is wrong because I can hardly feel the TT pulling with the level up to 8.6 and boost level three. I have contacted Tekonsha, I will let you know what they say.
NCH
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NCHornet1
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07/21/08 07:07am |
Towing
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I need help with my P3 Controller
Moderators not sure if this should be here or in Tech section, feel free to move if needed.
Okay I bought my P3 last year at the end of the season and used it once. I could hardly feel the trailer pulling when I hit the manual slide all the way over. I figured my brakes just needed to be adjusted. So before my trip last week I adjusted the brakes and tightened them up. I was sure this would cure the problem. While pulling out last Sunday I hit the manual and was shocked, no difference, I felt a slight drag, but certainly not even close to a lock up. I was at 6.0 power on boost level 2. Even turned up to lever 8.6 and boost three would noty lock the brakes up. My brakes are adjusted very tight and should lock up easily. I thought maube it was because my 1 ton dually is so heavy it can't lock them up. But during the week I talked to another guy in the cg and he had a similar truck and said his would lock them up and really yank the truck back. So where do I start looking? I went to the troubleshooting section and Battery voltage is 13.64 at idle, stoplight was 12.94 at idle, Output voltage with brake pedal depressed was only 1.6 volts and the output current was only 1 amp. This seems very low but my manual that came with the P3 controller doesn't say what these parameters should be. If you can tell me where to look now I would appreciate it. I have the Tekonsha Sentinel before this and it worked great. I wonder if I should have just stayed with it. Thanks for the help.
NCH
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NCHornet1
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07/20/08 01:26pm |
Towing
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RE: offer on WAAY to much coach
I really don't understand the reason for this post either? They make high end unit for those that can afford them, just like they make lower end units, something for everyone!! You certainly can't call it camping in one of those fancy things!! I have a hard time calling it camping in our trailer.
NCH
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NCHornet1
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07/12/08 02:38pm |
Beginning RVing
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RE: Rockwood Black Tank FLush
I have been reporting this issue with the tank rinsers for years, all it does is get people mad at me. But common sense should tell you that a spray device at one point in out tanks can clean all areas, the average tank is 8 ft long, 6-8" tall and several feet wide, there is no way a rinser can reach all areas of the tank. I suppose if you had 4 to 6 of these they would work as advertised, but one isn't going to do much to clean the tank. I suggest using a Flush King to back fill the tank, you won't believe what will come out of your tanks, even though clear water was coming out with the rinser!! The FK isn't the end of all tank cleaners though. Sometimes the old wand down the commode needs to be used. Remember all it takes is a very small piec of TP to be on the sensor to make it read full.
NCH
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NCHornet1
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07/12/08 02:13pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Hot water tank
Not galvanized but I believe they are aluminum, depending on models, bleach won't hurt them.
NCH
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NCHornet1
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07/12/08 02:03pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Plastic Waterproofing - torn when tire blown
You are rght, you cut the sheets to fit between the lips on the beams and support pieces. You may have to add some of your own, but I did this on my 02 and worked really weel. Before you close it up, pack insulation in there and it will make a huge difference in your trailer.
NCH
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NCHornet1
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07/12/08 02:01pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Thermostat fan switch
I too advise doing it this way. I went through all the hassle of installing the micro switch with large hands and was very disappointed. There is little difference between high and low speeds, than I thought to myself, in all the years I have been RVing I couldn't remember ever using the low setting!! Boy did I feel dumb, now I have a switch that will never get switched.
Live and learn.
NCH
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NCHornet1
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07/12/08 01:58pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Which to buy
What is right for one person isn't right for another. You need to do your own shopping to see what is best for you. Also use website like www.rvreviews.com
NCH
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NCHornet1
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07/12/08 01:50pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Trailer Damage Cost of repair
My folks had this happen to them twice in a storage lot. They finally moved to a lot with 24 hr cameras so if someone else hits it at least they will have it on film. If I were you I would be doing some looking to see if you can find out who did this. can't give you a estimate on repairs without seeing it. But I sure wouldn't be buying diamond plate from the dealer $$$$$$$$$$
NCH
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NCHornet1
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07/12/08 01:44pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: RV Brakes/Controller
You don't want them to lock up, good way to loose control of your rig. Your controller should have a slide on it for manual application of just the trailer brakes, at full power it will probably lock the TT brakes up, but then turn it down for normal towing. Mine were hardly pulling my truck back, so I found the drum brakes way out of adjustment, now she will lock up at full power. Most people don't realize you have to adjust the drum brakes to keep them working properly.
NCH
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NCHornet1
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07/12/08 01:38pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Leaky Walls
The above is good advice. Don't use silicone that you buy at Lowe's get the self leveling stuff for the roof. Tell your husband to stick with it, once the leak is fixed it will be fun putting it all back together. As far as materials go basically any 1/8-1/4" paneling can be used. There is a wide variety of colors and textures to choose from. If you have a builders discount or builders surplus you can get some great deals.
Keep it up and post some pics as you go. If you were closer I would volunteer my help.
NCH
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NCHornet1
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07/12/08 01:31pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Can I tow a 2008 Cougar Lite 29 foot trailer
Can I tow a 2008 Cougar Lite 29 foot trailer 6140 dry weight with my 2003 Expedition?
I am rated at 8650 with the 5.4 engine and 4x4.
I am a little concerned about the weight of the trailer.
Dry weight is meaningless (unless you plan on carying NOTHING inside the trailer). It is the GROSS weight (GVWR) of the trailer that is most important when selecting a tow vehcile.
The "weight police" crowd want you to have a Ford F350 Super Duty (diesel, of course) to pull your 2000 lb pop-up "safely". :R
The other extreme crowd thinks it is perfectly safe to tow a fifth wheel with a Chevy S10 pickup as long as you put HD shocks in it. :R
In the middle of the two extemes is the 80% rule and is used by most people.
The 80% rule says that the GROSS weight of your trailer, should be no more than 80% of the maximum tow rating of your tow vehicle.
This is because the tow rating on most vehicles is with a SINGLE, 150 LB, DRIVER! That's it. By using the 80% rule, this allows you to load up the trailer, and actually BRING YOU FAMILY with you and put other cargo in the tow vehicle while still TOWING SAFELY.
My truck is rated to tow 6800 lbs. Going by the 80% rule means the maximum GROSS trailer weight that I could tow safely and still have decent towing performance with is 5440 lbs. This still allows me to carry passengers and throw a load of firewood and the grill in the bed of the pickup. Now my actual trailer GVWR is 3800 lbs so towing is a breeze for me even in the mountains, but I could go to a 24 to 26 ft trailer with no problem. :B
Also remember that the perception of what is acceptable towing performance is different to different people. To some, if thier tranny downshifts at 70 mph while climbing a 10% grade, it is unacceptable (the testosterone crowd). To others, as long as they can make it to the top at 40 mph, that is acceptable.
For me, as long as I can maintain at least 55 mph on any Interstate grade (and yes, with the engine downshifted and reving up), that is acceptable to me.
So how do you advise someone shopping for a TT to determine what the trailer will weigh "gross" with all their gear in it? 'Excuse me Mr dealer, but can we take this TT home and load it up with all of our camping gear so we can take it to the scales to determine wether our TV can handle it?" I don't think so. As I said in a prior post, in a perfect world we would all be able to do this, but it isn't reality.
The bottom line is we use the numbers we are given by the manufacturer. If you only use the GVWR of the TT you will count out many trailers you could easily pull as many of the trailers today have cargo capacities of 3K+, I know mine does, and it is unlikely a person would use 1/2 of that, so I totally disagree with using this number to determine go or no go. This leaves us with the dry weight. Many of us who have been doing this a long time have come up with numbers that work for the vast majority of folks. For a family of two I use 1,000lbs of gear, a family of four + I use 1500lbs, as for dealer add ons, propane tanks etc... I use 500lbs this also allows for the dry weight being off a couple hundred lbs which they always are. I believe a experienced RVer can determine a go or no go situation just fine by using these numbers, I have been giving advice based on these for years. We are not dealing with parameters of +/- 50lbs here, more like +/- 300-500lbs and if you are this close I highly suggest moving up in your TV.
I do agree with you the 80% rule is a good rule to follow, as well as using the GCWR and not the tow rating. 95%+ of the combos on the road today will reach the GCWR long before the Tow rating so that is why I prefer to use it over a tow rating.
Good Day
NCH
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NCHornet1
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07/12/08 07:07am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Suburban 97 ??? pull 07 keystone tt
Hi,
Ya the reply of should have checked this out first really sucks ! The trailer was used 2 times from a friend ... it's very new ...tires and all. The friend towed it out for us with his truck.
Anyway what I have found out on the trailer is that there are 2 weights .. which Im confused on ... shipping weight and carrying capacity.. Shipping is 8140 and capacity is3045 .
The suburban is a 1500 not sure if its a 1/2 ton or more . I will find out . The reason I ask is that it comes with a new motor and engine with warranty for only 4,000 obo . The body is in great shape , tires etc. will have my mechanic check out more in the am.
So I will continue to check out whether it can tow this puppy or not .. Thanks for all the help .
trishie
I didn't mean to offend you, lighten up. We see a lot of people that buy a TT and then realize they can't tow it, so I stand by my comment, the time to figure out if your TV can tow a TT is before you sign on the dotted line. You should have been more clear that you are shopping for a TV. But whatever, you are not going to be able to pull that trailer with any 1500 Burb, heck a 2500 Burb would be near it's limits to pull that load. This trailer is far to large for that vehicle. Keep looking.
NCH
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NCHornet1
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07/12/08 06:35am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Suburban 97 ??? pull 07 keystone tt
Probably should have checked this out before you bought it. But anyway you need to post the numbers of the TT, we need the dry weight. No we need the GVWR. Dry weight is some hypothetical number that happens before the trailer is fitted with options.It should be on a label inside one of the cabinet doors or it will be on the outside, drivers side down low. Then you need to determine the GCWR of your TV. You will exceed this number before the tow rating. No, you can't exceed this value.The last thing you need to do is weigh your TV. The GCWR is the most your trailer and TV can weigh combined, with all cargo, passengers and a full tank of fuel. Get these numbers and get back to us. If this TT has been sitting for a long time you will need to do some maintenance before you can tow it. Chances are the tires are dry rotted and flat spotted, I am sure the bearings need cleaning and repacking, as well as the brakes need to be inspected and adjusted.
NCH
Sorry but you need to know the actual weight of the trailer and the actual weight of the tow vehicle as they will be loaded for the trip. As Hornet said you can't exceed the gross combined weight rating GCWR, and you also should watch the TV rear axle rating (RAWR), which is affected by the tongue weight.
My guess is the Sub might not be enough unless it's a Suburban 2500.
Sure in a perfect world everyone would haul their RV to a certified scale and have them weighed, but we don't live in a perfect world. We are not dealing with +/- 50lbs here, I feel totally comfortable giving solid advice on what folks can safely tow by using the manufacturers dry weight and adding in averages I have found to be accurate over the years. I have been doing this for years on this forum and can't remember ever giving anyone advice that turned out to be not valid. I would rather help the 95% of people who won't go to the scales, but will look on a sticker, than to only help the 5% that will actually go to the scales. As I said before it would be nice to have a scale weight, it just isn't practical. Most people are trying to determine wether or not they can tow a TT prior to the sale, so hauling a TT that isn't yours, let alone with all your camping gear in it can be rather difficult. The manufacturers dry weight is just fine to determine wether or not you are within your TV capabilities.
Also I never recommended exceeding the GCWR, I simply said most will exceed this number long before the tow rating that so many want to go by.
NCH
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NCHornet1
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07/12/08 06:29am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Bad Day
C'mon what is the reason to keep posting this video? There are easier ways to get your post count up.
NCH
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NCHornet1
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07/12/08 06:19am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Plastic Waterproofing - torn when tire blown
I wouldn't use that plastic. I would use that thin plastic sheeting they use on bathroom walls. This sheeting is much thicker than the plastic and you can run it from beam to beam.
NCH
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NCHornet1
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07/12/08 06:17am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Awning Lights..Do You Leave Them Plugged In All Night?
I just use the rope lights and I have a timer, it senses when it's getting dark and I can select how many hours for them to stay on. I have it set at 4 hours.
NCH
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NCHornet1
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07/12/08 06:13am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Rockwood black tank flush
Let me say whatever you did wasn't your fault!!! There is no reason for this to happen. Even if your tank was full it would simply push out the vent on the roof, ask me how I know this!!! Something isn't right as where it got wet isn't near the toilet, why would a vent line blow off on a empty tank? I assume you had the hose attatched to some type of tank rinser? What would cause the water to penetrate the sub floor? March this trailer back to the dealer ASAP, hopefully while still wet and let them deal with it!! Sorry for your misfortune, but please keep us posted, it may help someone else.
NCH
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NCHornet1
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07/11/08 05:50pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Suburban 97 ??? pull 07 keystone tt
Probably should have checked this out before you bought it. But anyway you need to post the numbers of the TT, we need the dry weight. It should be on a label inside one of the cabinet doors or it will be on the outside, drivers side down low. Then you need to determine the GCWR of your TV. You will exceed this number before the tow rating. The last thing you need to do is weigh your TV. The GCWR is the most your trailer and TV can weigh combined, with all cargo, passengers and a full tank of fuel. Get these numbers and get back to us. If this TT has been sitting for a long time you will need to do some maintenance before you can tow it. Chances are the tires are dry rotted and flat spotted, I am sure the bearings need cleaning and repacking, as well as the brakes need to be inspected and adjusted.
NCH
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NCHornet1
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07/11/08 05:36pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Weight
I am guessing the dry weight will be around 8,000lbs and loaded 9,500lbs +/- . As far as your van goes, WHO KNOWS??? You don't give us any info on it, what engine, what gearing, tow package, etc..... You need to look at your GCWR as this is the number you will exceed long before the tow rating. If you can get to the TT the weight should be on a label on the drivers side front panel down low.
NCH
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NCHornet1
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07/11/08 05:31pm |
Travel Trailers
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