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RE: My WW Prophalactic Fix
Looks like a good preventative fix! :)
I admire the bravery of showing close-ups of the welding!
A few tips- It appears you may have been moving the torch too fast. Hold up your torch movement at the start of the weld untill your puddle forms, then proceed slowly so the weld gets a chance to wet in and fill. Watch your toe lines (edges of the puddle) that you're getting both sides of the joint equally in the weld. Point the tip of the wire right into the root of the weld (bottom of the joint). If you need to oscillate, only move a little, either in small circles or a slight weave, but stay within the puddle. Dont do circles with flux-core though, you can get slag inclusions. Also looks like you may have been holding the torch a bit far from the work. With any kind of gas sheilded welding, holding the torch too far away can result in loss of sheilding, which cause porosity in the weld. Mostly, just relax, have fun and practice moving the torch smoothly at a constant speed and holding a steady position. Using two hands on the torch helps steady it and the extra hand can also help guide it along the joint. Horizontal welds are also some of the most difficult to do since the upper toe line wants to undercut and the lower toe wants to roll out. Pointing the torch tip up a bit, holding the upper toe more and alternately whipping down to the lower toe helps alleviate that.
One secret you probly found out already- never start your first weld of the project in the one area that will be most readily visible. :) Also, practice tuning in your wire speed and voltage settings on some scrap cuttings before doing the actual job. And yeah, the grinder is your best friend, most mistakes can be easily fixed, just takes time and patience.
MIG, GMAW (Gas Metal Arc Welding) is wire feed welding with gas sheild and solid wire. DC-positive polarity (torch on the positive terminal), constant-voltage power source. Pure argon, argon/co2 mix and pure co2 are the most common mig gases. Most common wire is ER70S-6. Mig is best used indoors or on very calm days when the wind won't blow the gas away. Most volume production welding inside shops is done with mig.
FCAW (Flux-Cored Arc Welding) is wire welding with self-shielding cored wire (no gas). DC-negative polarity (torch on the negative terminal), constant-voltage power source. The flux in the center of the wire provides the sheild for the arc as it burns off. This is best used outside, where wind may blow away the sheilding gas, and on thicker sections of metal, as it burns hotter and penetrated better. Flux-core wire welding is commonly used in place of stick welding (SMAW, common arc welding) for getting the job done faster and at less cost. I use stick and flux core primarily on the welding truck and usually reserve mig and tig for the shop.
There is also Dual-Sheild, which is flux-cored wire, with a gas sheild too.
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SoCalDesertRider
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11/29/08 01:39pm |
Toy Haulers
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RE: Rancho 'My Ride' air compressor install
Nice install. :)
What's up with the coiled-up wire on the core support?
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SoCalDesertRider
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11/29/08 12:52pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Northstar Debuts U.S. Escape Pod
I like that ute bed ^^. It's pretty, as well as functional. I think its prettier than a regular truck bed, all shiny aluminum. :)
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SoCalDesertRider
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11/29/08 12:26pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: How are you powering your TC?
Wow, sounds like a very elaborate system!
I just used a generator hooked up to the shore power cord. Worked fine for us doing desert camping / dirt bike riding.
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SoCalDesertRider
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11/29/08 12:23pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Who is a four season TC'er?
Dan, I lived in northern AZ for several years. Sedona is indeed beautiful, all year round too, if you don't mind some cold and occasional snow. Nearby Jerome (old mining town) is a great place to visit too. Prescott is another great place nearby to Sedona to visit, alot of history in that town (used to be the AZ capitol city once upon a time). There is great exploring along the 'Senator Highway' (which is really just a graded dirt road) in the Bradshaw mountains immediately southeast of Prescott. Crown King (another old mining town) is the primary attraction there. There are tons of old mines in all directions to check out while hiking (I dont advise entering them though). Of course there is Flagstaff, with Meteor Crater not far to the east and oh yeah can't forget the Grand Canyon a couple hours north of Flag. If you like skiing, maybe you'll get lucky and there will be snow on the San Francisco Peaks (Snow Bowl resort), immediately above Flag. The hike to the top (some 13,000 feet elev) in the summer is great! Wouldn't try it in the winter though.
Have fun on the trip!
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SoCalDesertRider
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11/29/08 12:19pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: What kind of bed do you sleep on?
What kind of bed do you sleep on?
A (relatively) flat thing, with something (relatively) soft in the middle of it. :)
But seriously, I agree those foam mattersses I had in my 2 truck campers were really the pits. I just lived with it though, as it was still better than sleeping in a sleeping bag on the dirt with rocks poking you in the back all night! :B
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SoCalDesertRider
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11/29/08 12:06pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: How wide and long is the PU bed?
Serpa:
I am PMing you the factory drawing with dimensions in imperial/metric for your specific truck (top, side, front, back technical drawing)...
Cheers,
Silver-I nominate Silversand for an RV.net Excellent Customer Service award! Do we have one of those?? :)
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SoCalDesertRider
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11/29/08 12:02pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: How wide and long is the PU bed?
Alright guys... no need to start a war about it... play nice. :)
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SoCalDesertRider
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11/29/08 10:35am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Should I do it
Interesting bit about the door sticker. I had an old Dodge pickup with a different driver side door from a different year Dodge. There was a sticker on the door jamb of the truck, and another sticker on the door, from the other truck. Both stickers had the same information, except different years, vin numbers and weights. The truck was a D150. I think the truck the door came from may have been a D250. It's been awhile to remember that.
When I brought the truck into California, the DMV had an issue with there being 2 different vin numbers on the truck. They had to verify which one was the the correct one by comparing it to the vin number that was stamped into the truck frame, which meant I had to take the truck for a special inspection. At that point, they removed the vin sticker on the door and left the one on the door jam. I should have done that myself to begin with, but had forgotten about the extra vin sticker before I took it to change the reg/title.
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SoCalDesertRider
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11/29/08 10:30am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Stupid Question - Manual Locking Hubs - 4WD
On my Ford, which is alot older, I have the regular lock/free manual hubs. I like not having the auto hubs because I can use the transfer case in the 4-low postion with the hubs un-locked. This enables me to use the low gearing of the transfer case with the truck in 2wd, similar to using the compound low ratio first gear of a 'granny gear' manual tranny on a 2wd truck.
This is very useful for manuevering the trailer on steep slopes without heating up the auto tranny. It is also useful for work purposes, where I sometimes need to pull something heavy into postion or bend something by hooking a chain to it and pulling with the truck in a slow, controlled manner but don't need or want the extra traction of having the front axle engaged (like when doing these things on pavement).
Having lock/auto hubs precludes using the truck in 2wd-Low. I think this is something the manufacturers should give the buyer a choice on. I have never liked 4wd trucks that come available only with auto hubs. When I was searching for my truck, I specificaly searched for one with true manual lock/free hubs. I've had manual lock/free hubs on every 4wd I've owned and like them alot.
Now if the hubs were made to be auto/free instead of lock/auto, then they would be more useful. Auto/free makes more sense than lock/auto. Free position for when you don't want any hub locking at all and auto position for when you want to be able to go into 4wd without having to get out to lock the hubs. On mine, if I think I might be needing 4wd, I lock the hubs ahead of time and leave the t-case in 2wd, so I don't have to get out in the mud/etc to lock them later when needed, then just shift the t-case to 4wd and go.
I just don't see what's the point of having the 'lock' position if the auto position is going to engage the hubs when the transfer case goes into 4wd anyways, may as well just make them auto-only, like the old auto hubs used to be, no knob on the outside at all. I'm thinking the reason why they put the manual lock position in the auto hubs though is that they're probly more reliable operating them in lock than in auto. Sometimes auto hubs don't want to engage or disengage, or end up breaking when really torqued on.
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SoCalDesertRider
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11/29/08 10:06am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: New GMC 2005, never titeled. Is that a problem??
I see more Ford F450/550's and the Japanese cab-over medium duty trucks (Mitsu-Fuso, UD, Hino, Nissan) than anything else around here. Not that many GM 4500/5500's.
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SoCalDesertRider
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11/29/08 09:44am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Dodge 3/4 ton, 4x4 or 2x4 ??
I also heard that most accidents occur within 10 miles of your home, so I moved!
I always like that one! :B
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SoCalDesertRider
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11/29/08 09:39am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: RVIA Promotes Improved Trailer Design
That ATC thing sounds pretty cool. Appears to be some kind of motion sensor that can sense sway and once sway is sensed, it activates the trailer brakes on it's own to help straighten out the sway. Probly reacts faster than the driver manually operating the brake controller. Neat idea. :)
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SoCalDesertRider
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11/29/08 09:29am |
Towing
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RE: Our TT has been stolen!
I'm imagining a 1" or so diameter solid steel round bar with a 3/8" thick plate flange, cut in about a 3" diameter, welded to one end of the bar. The bar would be long enough to slide through the spaces between the 'spokes' of one wheel, accross the bottom of the trailer, above the springs and below the frame, and through the other wheel, sticking out a few inches. The bar would have a 1/2" hole cross-drilled through the other end of it, in the area of the bar that sticks out just beyond the other wheel.
Between the hole and the wheel, a short length (maybe an inch or 2 long) of 1" i.d. schedule 80 pipe would slide over the end of the bar. Welded around the outside of the pipe would be a 3/8" thick flange, cut to about 3" o.d. Then, a 1/2" class II locking reciever hitch pin, made for use with class II, 1-1/4" sq. i.d. reciever hitches, would insert into the hole in the end of the bar to lock the pipe/flange assembly to the bar.
This pipe/flange assembly locked to one end of the bar, together with the flange welded to the other end of the bar, would render the bar not able to be removed from the wheels and the wheels not able to be removed from the trailer, even if all the lug nuts are removed. With the bar passing between the frame and leaf springs and passing through the holes in the wheels, the wheels would not be able to be turned more than about 1/8 of a turn and the trailer could not be towed without dragging both tires along the ground. If 2 of these bars were used, one for each trailer axle, the trailer would be rendered completely immobile, but easily defeated by the owner who has the keys to the locking pins.
The bars, being long but relatively skinny even with the flanges, could be stored easily in the back of the truck when towing the trailer so they could be used anywhere the trailer goes, or just leave them at home if they won't be needed during the trip.
As an added measure of security, so the locking pins cannot be easily cut, the pin holes could be drilled through both the pipe/flange assembly that slides over the bar. The pipe/flange assembly could be installed with the flange on the outside, so the pin is protected from cutting with a hacksaw or sawzall by the flange covering it from easy access from the outside side. The confined space inside the normal dish shape of the wheel center, together with the bar/pipe flanges, would help protect the bar from being cut on either end, due to difficulty accessing the bar in the small space between the flange and wheel center.
Issues I see with the idea-
The cutting of pins or ends of the bar would be addressed with the above design, but the center of the bar is left vulnerable to cutting from beneath the trailer. A larger diameter thick wall pipe, which would increase the difficulty of the cutting operation, could be slide over the bar under the trailer as the bar is being slid through the wheels, but that would be a real pain the *** for the owner to deal with every time and would require 2 people, or one person and a pair of jackstands, to accomplish.
This bar idea would work only with certain wheels, as the wheels would have to have at least 1" holes or spaces between spokes for the bar to pass through. It could not be used at all with wheels with no center holes or spokes.
The bar may not be able to be used with some braking axles if the drums are large diameter or the wheels are small diameter or have the holes/spaces too close the center of the wheel, as the brake drums might not allow the bar to pass through. They should work great on any non-braking axle though.
Anyone have any thoughts on this?
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SoCalDesertRider
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11/29/08 09:02am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Adding Overdive
The other alternative would be to swap the transmission for the later model 4-speed overdrive trans. There was one that came out in the mid or late 80's I think it was. The name 4L80E seems to ring a bell, though not sure if that is right. It replaced the TH350 and TH400. Yours is probly a TH400, being behind a 400 small block in a motorhome.
A TH700R4, 4-speed auto non-electronic overdrive trans could also be a swap candidate, provided it is rebuilt with heavy duty parts to take the stress of use in a motorhome and towing. The 700R4 was not made as a truck transmission, but has been used in some heavy duty applications with some modification.
I have wanted a Gear Vendors OD unit for a long time for my F350, which as a C6 3-speed auto and 4.56 gears. I put in the 4.56's cause the little 351 engine just didn't have the oomph to tow anything with the stock 3.55 gears and even worse with the 33" tires I have on the truck now. The 4.56's definately fixed the lack of towing power problem, big improvement. The trade-off was no more cruising on the freeway at 70 mph.
The rpms are just too high be driving that fast with no overdrive gear. I keep the speed down to 55-60 mph and that is fine for me most of the time, especially when towing. It would be nice though to be able to just cruise at a higher speed when the truck is not pulling anything and I need to get somewhere, especially in this speed-demon California!
The Gear Vendors would be a great solution for me. I could keep the reliable C6 tranny (instead of swapping to the ever-problematic E4OD, and dealing with having to swap the wiring harness too) while still having an overdrive gear. Another benefit would be the extra gear between 2nd and 3rd. I would like to have one more gear there. For some grades, 2nd is too slow and 3rd is lugging it. I could re-build the C6 with one of the low-ratio gear kits that give a lower first and second gear, leaving a bit wider space between 2nd and 3rd, which would make nice use of the extra gear available running the Gear Vendors in OD and the tranny in 2nd.
Oh if I could only afford the $2500 for the GV plus $250 for new driveshaft... Or if I could find a good used Gear Vendors for $1000... Untill then, I poke along in the right lane and enjoy the scenery.
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SoCalDesertRider
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11/29/08 07:42am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: New GMC 2005, never titeled. Is that a problem??
That truck is probly not anywhere near as bad some here are making it out to be. Trucks don't self-destruct from sitting for awhile either. That said, I would want a better deal on it than what the dealer is offering. Sounds like a better deal can be had on a newer one from some other source. Expecting it to sell for 60% off the new price is a bit unrealistic though.
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SoCalDesertRider
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11/29/08 07:16am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Another Dodge question
...and by coincidence....
Ha Ha, maybe it was a Dodge with a bad WCM that kept sounding the alarm every 5 minutes for about 2 hours somewhere in the neighborhood tonight! Grrrrr....
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SoCalDesertRider
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11/29/08 07:04am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: "Set screw" to reduce slop in hitch receiver?
Just a note on the Drawtite hitch pin option, it did not fit in the Toyota Tundra well enough to work for more than a few tows. The thickness of the receiver tube prevented me from being able to catch enough threads on the adjustment for it to last. It seemed like there was plenty of distance, but I think it was the second tow (maybe the third) when I noticed some play in the hitch again. Stopped and checked - the threads were stripped and the pin was ruined.
I will probably try having a local welder add some thickness to the male end of the hitch and just be sure to keep the rust off the sides, keep taking the hitch out.I'm sorry your J-Pin got ruined. They are not exactly cheap either.
I had to do some grinding on my J-Pin. My Curt class V hitch didn't have the extra hole for the end of the J-Pin to go into. The hitch has a thick wall tube too. Most pins fit like they're almost too short.
I think Reese/Draw-Tite/Hidden-Hitch are the only ones that have the hole. So, I drilled my own hole, but, I drilled it just a hair too small. I did this a long time ago, so hard to remember, but guess I didn't feel like re-drilling the hole, and I guess the grinder must have been sitting right there, so I just ground down the diameter of the tip of the pin that goes into the extra hole a little bit to fit the slightly undersized hole.
I can see from looking at the pin now how I ground it, that I also ground some legth off the end of the tip of the pin and it also looks like I ground the reduced diameter part to be longer than it was. That might have been to cause the pin to fit deeper into the hitch so more thread could be exposed. I think I remember some issue with the threads not being long enough for the nut to go on all the way.
I do so much grinding/cutting/drilling/welding on metal daily in my job that I can't remember everything I do and I installed the hitch and the pin a few years ago. Anyhow, I apparently fixed the problem and the pin has been working fine for quite some time.
Again, sorry about your bad experience with the J-Pin. Maybe an E-mail or call to the Draw-Tite/Reese/Hidden-Hitch customer service dept might alert them to the problem so they can modify the pin design to account for those of us with thicker tube hitches. For me, when stuff doesn't fit, I just break out the (add appropriate metal working tool here) and 'work it till it fits'. :)
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SoCalDesertRider
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11/29/08 06:58am |
Towing
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RE: Dodge 3/4 ton, 4x4 or 2x4 ??
Keep searching, I'm sure you'll find that one special truck that meets all the requirements. :)
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SoCalDesertRider
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11/29/08 05:55am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Dodge 2500 Diesel or Gas for me?
Great!
Good luck in your search for the new truck!
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SoCalDesertRider
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11/29/08 05:52am |
Tow Vehicles
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