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RE: Tire Wear Pattern-Tandem Axle TT (Pic's) Where to look next
FWIW. Sears (and many others) have a remote reading InfraRed Thermometer for about $30. Tow at highway speeds and then check and record all the readings. Higher temps mean more load and more wear. Suspect your temps will differ left to right on both axles.
The suggestion of trailer alignment was spot on.
We tow about 10,000 miles a year, so the tread life and the UV damage to the sidewalls is about the same. But tires are tires and need replacing about every 6 to 7 years. If you drive less than 10,000 miles towing, just rotate to even the wear. Or spend some $$$ to fine tune the suspension. You will still need new tires every 6 to 7 years.
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Tee Jay
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10/22/08 09:11pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Interesting Comarison Ford PSD 6.0 Vs. 08 Ram 6.7 CTD
This is not about Ford or Chevy or Dodge. The engines are built by International, Cummins and Isuzu.
The Cummins has a very flat torque profile and quite decent fuel economy. I see around 19 mpg combined city and highway hand calculated. I see as much as 17 mpg towing (Oceanside to Barstow) and an average over 13. Ford may be a better truck but the local dealer service is horrid. Chevy or GM may be a better truck but locally they are way too proud of their wares even after the employee discount.
Maybe the ideal truck has a Cummins engine, Allison transmission and a Ford nameplate.
If your truck meets your expectations and does what you got it for, what is the issue? If not, why do you still have it?
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Tee Jay
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10/22/08 08:43pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Tell me about Alaska.......
Huck BB62
You forgot to mention that the real estate market gets real liquid every spring as the igloos melt.
Alaska in the winter is Alaska at its best. Hoar frost on the spruce. Northern Lights (but maybe less this year). And it isn't really DARK due to the snow and the stars. Out near Lake Louise in 1972 you could see the caribou at 500 yds at 11pm. The mountains shine a raspberry sherbet color in the morning sunrise. Too cool.
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Tee Jay
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10/17/08 09:33pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: If you went without an RV
The cruise tours cover SE Alaska where you can't drive. Take a cruise. Some will go one way with a transfer at Seward. Then a bus tour and as flight home. Or you can take the bus tour first and the cruise last.
Save the driving tour for when you can enjoy it.
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Tee Jay
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10/17/08 09:13pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Weight dist hitch vs no Weight dist hitch
Ever see WD on a boat trailer, equipment trailer, trash trailer, utility trailer, and so on? How about an a trailer with a pintle hitch?
However, most (maybe all) trucks come with a Class IV hitch. May need to upgrade to a Class V for tongue weight issues. Check your documentation.
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Tee Jay
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10/17/08 08:59pm |
Towing
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RE: Calgon water softener for the Geo method
The Kroger chains including Fred Meyer and Albertsons also carry Calgon.
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Tee Jay
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10/14/08 12:09am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Tell me about Alaska.......
Rhonda:
The Anchorage Daily News (ADN) had a lot of job ads over the summer for a lot of different skills. Providence Hospital (Anchorage) has hired travel nurses on contract in the past. Good luck.
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Tee Jay
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10/05/08 08:33pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: "Who's Going to Alaska in 2009?"
fullmoonoversalem:
Kind of addictive, isn't it. The frost on the spruce. Northern Lights. Sun thru the north window at 11 in the evening May thru July. Raspberry color on the mountain snow at sunrise. Belugas in Turnagain Arm. Tidal bores. Moose on the porch.
Try a snow machine or ski trip over Resurrection Pass and use the Forest Service cabins.
Also, take a look at Moose River RV and Auto in Sterling. A lot closer than Anchorage and some of the same capabilities. The RV Parts lady south of Soldotna about 10 miles knows her stuff and has a lot in stock or can get it quick. Dan's Mobile RV goes south for the winter to Arizona, but he does know what he is about.
Enjoy the winter and all it has to offer.
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Tee Jay
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09/25/08 12:55am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Trip to Alaska..........?
Visalia is about 900 miles south, the Kenai peninsula is 2700 miles north.
Met some guys from Texas who just had to have a Moose hunt back in the '70's. They drove a truck camper 24hrs a day for 5 days so they could hunt for 3 days and drive back. They got a moose.
The roads are better but still more like county roads and the average speed is likely to be about 50 mph after taking account of rest stops and road conditions.
Three weeks might really mean 23 to 25 days. Allow 14 days for travel to and from and you still get some time to spend.
Might just be the greatest adventure the kids ever have. And if the company allows a bit of carry-over you might make that 5 weeks in another year.
Hope you have a great time.
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Tee Jay
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09/25/08 12:33am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Alaska Travel Caravan/by yourself
CARAVAN - quick way to drop $5,000
They favor motorhomes. The leaders are clueless about trailers. Watching a Caravan pull in to a RV park is better than a circus. The motorhomes get pull-thrus and the trailers get back-ins, without regard to size. I've watched 'em for most of a summer in Alaska, mostly Fantasy.
May be worth it if you meet and like the people on the tour, but the tour may have people you prefer to avoid.
Try the Visitor/Tourism sites for Alberta, BC, Yukon and Alaska. Get the Milepost . Look at the older Trip to Alaska threads here. Lots of free information.
I'm prejudiced. I own property in Alaska, I've lived there in the '60's and 70's, and I return frequently. But I would not pay a premium for an RV tour of the Southeast, or any other area of the country.
For info, a Verizon phone works as far as Ft Nelson, and again from Tok. Don't know if anyone else offers better coverage. Lots of dead areas, no matter the provider. Also, Satellite radio quits around Kluane Lake.
Whatever your decision, hope you have a good time.
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Tee Jay
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09/18/08 09:35pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Alaska bears when and where
Russian River on the Kenai Peninsula at Cooper Landing in July and August. Easy hiway access and not to far a walk from the campground.
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Tee Jay
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09/02/08 12:15am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Rusty Frame
If you are going to paint, look at POR paint over rust. Pricey, but perhaps better.
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Tee Jay
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08/28/08 12:07am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Reliability and maintenance costs of MDTs
Lots of possibilities here, and I really know little about either the Kodiak or the Ford, but at least can move your post up.
If the engines are from Cummins or Cat or Detroit, and the transmissions are Eaton or Spicer or Meritor you may have a long lived truck. Or not. If the engine is a V8 rather than a Inline6, probably not.
On the other hand, how much will you drive them? Just for grins, say they have 100,000 miles on them and the B50 (half require major repair,rebuild/replace) is 300,000, and you log 10,000 per year....you will get really tired of the truck before it fails. But this is just for grins, as I have no clue how these are equipped.
Maybe you can tease something out of BLT2SKI the moderator. He has a lot of personal experience with MDT. Check out Escapees.com and their MDT and HDT sections. They also have a For Sale section and a number of HDT and a few MDT for sale starting about $28,000 and up.
Best wishes for success.
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Tee Jay
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08/26/08 12:51am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Brake lights problems on the WW
Check the grounds at the back of the trailer. Mine did the same and more weird stuff, found it was the common ground. Looked OK visually, but undid the nut and cleaned everything and reassembled and it solved the problem.
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Tee Jay
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08/22/08 10:09pm |
Toy Haulers
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RE: How Do You Level this Thing?
Most National and State parks (at least out West) have gravel pads. Use a shovel to excavate the high side and fill the low side. Trust you have a sense of humor, but it does work.
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Tee Jay
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08/21/08 10:26pm |
Beginning RVing
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RE: WD or sway control needed?
Well, gentlemen, do we assume that you also put WD and Sway on the trash trailer and the trailer for the golf cart and the 14' Jon boat? Size does matter.
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Tee Jay
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08/21/08 09:28pm |
Towing
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RE: WD or sway control needed?
WD is meant to make small trucks haul big trailers. Look at the contractors hauling excavators and such on either ball or pintle hitches. How many are using WD or Sway? Just sayin...
For a 1/2 ton you need WD. For a 3/4 ton, maybe. 1 Ton and up, probably not.
Sway is a function of trailer design and loading. More tongue weight produces less sway. It also increases the need for WD.
Measure the height of your fender wells front and back, hook up the fully loaded trailer, then measure the fender wells again. WD should keep the measurements the same, so if you have rear sink and front rise, you need WD. Or ask the friendly contractor towing his 18,000lb backhoe down the freeway in the left lane what he thinks.
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Tee Jay
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08/21/08 12:37am |
Towing
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RE: Real world MPG for MDT's?
Ken:
'98 Freightliner FL50, Spicer 6+1 manual, .373 rear end, 19.5R70-285 rib tires at 110lbs and Cat 3126-B flashed to 300hp gets 8.5 towing and 12+ empty at 55 mph and 1500 rpm. Gross weight at 31,000 and light about 13,000. This is for travel in the mountain western Canada and US, including Alaska. There are a lot of 1,000 to 4,000 foot grades, usually at or below 6%, occasionally over 10%. We haul a TT at 13,000 and put DW car on the deck (4,000).
As Marty points out, balancing the weight of the Tow vehicle and trailer has a lot to recommend it, both for curve control and braking.
An MDT or HDT is slower off the line and won't win the acceleration race.
Take a look at the Escapees forum. They have a lot for full-timers,
including MDT and HDT sections.
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Tee Jay
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08/16/08 11:42pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Help us plan our Canada (BC) trip
Just for reference:
Vancouver - Watson Lake 3 days
Vancouver = San Francisco 2 days
This assumes you drive 500mi (800km) per day.
Expect some snow in October.
Try Vancouver to Kamloops, then either 1)north to the Yellowhead Hwy, East to Jasper, or 3) east to Lake Louise. Spend a few days at Jasper/Banff/Lake Louise. Exit Jasper East and then North to Grand Cache and Grand Praire, then Northwest to Dawson Creek, then back to Prince George, then out to the Coast at Prince Rupert and Ferry to Vancouver Island. From the Victoria area you can return to Vancouver or take the Ferry to Port Angeles. That would get you on the Olympic Peninsula and down the Washington, Oregon and California coasts on Hwy 101.
BC has some loop tours so look at their sites.
Expect a lot of variation in weather. Heavy winter storms usually hold off to November but to warranty offered.
Best wishes for a wonderful trip.
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Tee Jay
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08/14/08 11:39pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Buying a 2007 Weekend Warrior 30FS
With all the weighing, also try this...
Add as much water to the tank as you think you will need for the outing. Weigh. Move that water to the holding tanks to simulate your actual water use for the outing and weigh again. The waste tanks are well ahead of the axles, the water tanks only a bit ahead.
Just so you know what you are dealing with. Best wishes for a wonderful time.
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Tee Jay
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08/14/08 08:08pm |
Toy Haulers
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