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Forum
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RE: Prepping a tow vehicle
For me, if you have an adjustable hitch head, no trips to the store at all - but I have way too much stuff in my shop...
Have fun, that's the kind of job that's very enjoyable with a good buddy.
Brian
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VintageRacer
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08/28/08 07:27am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Sold on Dodge Mega Cab...
Depending on options, the Megacab 2500 CTD 4WD has a payload of about 1450 lbs. If you have passengers, some stuff in the bed, you basically may have nothing left for tongue weight, per the tags. May or may not bother you. Quad cab gets you about another 1000 lbs of payload, if you can live with the room.
Brian
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VintageRacer
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08/26/08 08:23am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: anyone towing with a dodge 2500HD Hemi
I echo the comments above - IF it actually weights 9500 on the road, you'll be at the top of the envelope for the Hemi if it isn't a Megacab, and you'll be happier if you have a 4.1 diff than a 3.7 diff. You'll also want to be careful about what else you put in the truck like passengers, firewood, etc. In other words, you're close but not over what the truck will do. I tow up to about 8000 and carry about 2000 worth of truck camper with my 2500 Hemi, as you can see I have the 3.7 diff, and I'm over on the recommended GCW, but right on the bubble with GVWR and all the rest of it. Third gear (manual trans) up the hills at 55 mph and way less than full throttle.
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VintageRacer
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08/25/08 02:58pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: I-77 South thru WV and VA ?? Good/Bad or Ugly??
For me it's typical interstate mountains, very very pretty and interesting. I go along at 55 mph in 3rd gear on the steepest bits, but with the Hemi and 16K total I feel fine, not overly bogged down, But I'm not usually in a hurry. I get great gas mileage on the run into NC, that's for sure!
Brian
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VintageRacer
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08/23/08 01:38pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Old weight distribution/anti-sway system
Depends on what it is...
I see old Reese non dual cam systems for $25 at flea markets, a DC system would catch my eye at $100. No-name I typically give away.
Brian
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VintageRacer
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08/21/08 07:10am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Dodge 2500 and a fifth wheel
I have a Dodge Ram 2500 with the Hemi. The combined weight rating is either 15k with the 3.7 diff ratio or 17K with the 4.1 diff ratio. I have the 3.7 and I run at or a little over 16K - so pulling power matches the ratings pretty well.
My truck is a stripper version and weighs 5900 lbs or thereabouts. if you have a Mega, or an automatic, or 4wd it will weigh more. Figure 6500. Add 1,000 for a hitch, a couple of passengers, some firewood in the bed - you're at 7500. Subtract that from say 17K if you have the 4.1 diff, you get a trailer weight of 9,500 lbs.
Of that 9500 lbs, figure 2,200 or so as the pin weight (between 20% and 25%). Add the 2,200 lbs to your 7500 for your truck, you get 9,700 - OOPS - 900 lbs over the truck's GVWR! On a practical basis, 900 lbs over is within the bounds of reason for a lot of people - that's why you see people pulling 5vers with 2500's. But you are really stretching what the truck is intended to do. You'll probably be happier with more truck or less trailer.
Pin weight is the first thing that max's out on a 2500 with a 5ver. The Hemi will move it, the truck will pull it - it just is more weight in the bed than Dodge wants you to put there.
Brian
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VintageRacer
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08/19/08 01:57pm |
Towing
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RE: Phiilly/Allentown Pa Area to Orlando
If you like mountains, 81 to 75 would be OK but for me it's an awful long way west instead of south. I would personally take 95 even with Washington in the way. Or go around washington and pick up 95 around Richmond.
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VintageRacer
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08/19/08 01:38pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Tips on setting up Prodigy controller...
I find the boost setting is only really good at highway speeds. If it works well there, it's too strong for stop and go driving. I either reduce the setting or set boost a zero once I get off the highway, particularly if the brakes are hot. I think this is part of running a heavy trailer, and I just work with it. Still like the Prodigy a lot, by far and away the best controller I've used.
Edit: If you're running with brand new brakes - adjust them. Even if the trailer is new, you may need to dial them in a bit, and they may need a few hundred miles to bed in a bit.
Brian
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VintageRacer
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08/15/08 04:49pm |
Toy Haulers
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RE: Be Careful Driving Through PA
Ha! I thought that excerpt was clear and easy to read, which probably says more about the contracts I have to read on a daily basis than anything else...
Ontario Canada has had these same laws on the books, with some differences, and they from time to time enforce them. Lots of racers get caught. We don't have CDL's, just license classifications, the rules on GVW are about the same. We have to add the weight of the trailer to the truck if the trailer is over roughly 6200 lbs, and then the truck has to stop at all weigh stations, driver has to do daily inspections and log books, just like a commercial driver, but there are some exemptions for personal use pickup trucks (which don't include DRW, as I understand it, or over class 3).
Anyway - the loop hole is if your "truck" or trailer is an RV, you can be exempt. A truck with a truck camper is classed as an RV, so it's exempt. I went out and bought a TC just so that I didn't have to register my truck as a commercial vehicle and do all the inspection/log books stuff, because my trailer is usually over the weight limit. Good reason to RV in a TC, I say!
Brian
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VintageRacer
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08/14/08 02:33pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Engine Oil Weight
The correct weight of oil is influenced more than anything else by clearances in the engine - bearing clearances and the clearances in the oil pump. Modern engines have very tight clearances and so they can use thinner oil - which has a benefit that directly relates to fuel mileage, so it's a good thing. Thicker oil doesn't particularly give better protection, but better oil does. Using thicker oil in an engine that isn't designed for it can certainly harm the engine and result in a shorter engine life, so why do it?
Now, when it has a zillion miles on it and it's all worn out - then thicker oil might help prevent the inevitable...
Brian
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VintageRacer
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08/14/08 11:54am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Suspend Ontario auto ins. while in Mexico?
I've asked and the answer was that the cost for 6 months will be the same as the cost for 12 so no opportunity to save. I have three or four vehicles that only get driven in the summer.
Brian
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VintageRacer
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08/14/08 11:48am |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Airtabs...any experience out there?
Ditto to Airstreamer67's comments. I use them on a 28' car hauler, they added a lot to stability and sway reduction. I did see a worthwhile improvement in gas mileage, about 1 mpg which is about 10% or a bit more.
Brian
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VintageRacer
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08/14/08 08:49am |
Towing
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RE: What does YOUR tow vehicle ACTUALLY weigh?
5750 with about a half tank of fuel and me, truck in sig. Almost exactly what Dodge said it would weigh, which surprised the heck out of me.
Brian
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VintageRacer
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08/13/08 09:14am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Buying Diesel in Mexico... make sure you have a permit
Sounds to me like the Mexican Government is subsidizing the price of fuel either with low taxes or direct subsidization and wants to see that benefit go to it's citizens, not to "tourists" who pop over for an hour or so to fill up not only the stock tank but also large auxiliary tanks with fuel and leave, with no benefit of any sort to Mexico and it's citizens. I have no problem with that. They could offer the choice of a fine to equalize the taxes, rather than seize the truck, mind you - that would be a bit more polite.
Brian
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VintageRacer
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08/11/08 03:37pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Driving a MH is still the cheapest way to travel.
$200 for gas at $3.00 a gallon = under 70 gallons for 8424 miles = 150 mpg?
I'd check my math. or was that 842 miles in which case you were getting 15mpg? a little high unless you have a sprinter van.
bumpy
Umm - "daily average" - the OP spent $116 per day for gas and camping, and didn't do many miles a day - Rodlyle drove farther each day and spent more - $150 - $200 per day for gas and $40 for a campsite.
All this sounds really good! I'd have to learn how to NOT drive my normal 8 - 10 hours and 500 miles per day, and really slow down - but I think that's part of the point of being retired and not having to get back to work!
Brian
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VintageRacer
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08/11/08 06:04am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: 45 yr old TV.... can it work?
A friend of mine towed a 1957 Morgan race car that he had owned from new, with a 1963ish muscle car (4 speed on floor, big V8, no power steering...compact sized Pontiac as I recall) that he'd also owned from new... He didn't buy many cars but the ones he did buy were worth keeping! Anyway,a 60's full size sedan would be a really good tow vehicle for a low trailer like a PUp. Or a race car on an open trailer. Peter Egan (Road and Track) used to claim that the full sized station wagon was the best tow vehicle ever invented. You'd want the right rear end gears, tranny in good shape, maybe an economy tune on the engine.
Brian
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VintageRacer
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08/08/08 12:44pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Dodge heating up when towing
I would change the coolant, flush the system and perhaps change the thermostat, since it's done some miles and it's due anyway. I would clean the rad and all the other coolers up there front and back with a high pressure sprayer. - an amazing amount of stuff gets in there. Then, with all systems checked and ready to go, you'll know that if it heats up a bit it's just telling you it's working hard.
Brian
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VintageRacer
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08/05/08 02:06pm |
Towing
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RE: What will jumpstart the baby boomers into buying again.
I'll predict that 18 to 24 months from now, this "issue" will have resolved itself and there will be a new "normal" that will feel a lot like the old "normal". The issue right now is transitional - no one knows if the problems are all known, so they have to be cautious - and many people have seen large chunks of wealth erode. House values are what many people use to fund their retirement activities, either with mortgages, reverse mortgages or simply selling and going. If your house has lost 15% to 30% of it's value, you can't make a decision that locks in that loss, you have to wait and see...
Brian
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VintageRacer
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07/30/08 02:16pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: A/C for camper shell?
The Honda EU2000i is generally considered the best small, quiet generator that is capable of running up to a 10K BTU AC unit.
Brian
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VintageRacer
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07/28/08 10:29am |
Truck Campers
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RE: HELP! Trailer Tougue snapped off on highway today!
What is the GVWR of the trailer, and what did it weigh? I had an aluminium chassis trailer, and after a friend had the tongue crack I reinforced it with steel beams U-bolted to the aluminium frame members. Common 6061-T6 aluminium is strong, but prone to fatigue cracking. You may have over-loaded it, you may have had too much tongue weight bias, it would probably ride better with a WD system, and so on. I would not weld the cracks, the HAZ will always be a stress riser for new cracks. You ideally need to cut out the damaged tongue and replace it, perhaps with larger size tubes or sistering on additional support. Plating the damaged section may work as well. Someone who understands the engineering elements of using aluminium as frame members and aluminium welding needs to actually look at what you have.
Brian
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VintageRacer
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07/27/08 05:22am |
Tech Issues
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