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RE: 1/2 ton vs. 3/4 ton
To answer your question, I can see no reason a 1/2 ton PU could NOT handle a 2000 lb trailer. I don't have an idea what kind of boat you have but I have seen more boats pulled with half tons than anything else. All this other talk is from guys that don't get out enough.
His question had nothing to do with a 2000 lb trailer. Re-read the post.
According to him, his truck can handle a 10000 lb trailer. It's the 2000 lb camper (hence the TC forum this is in) combined with the trailer he's asking about.
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wnjj
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01/07/09 06:06pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Still wrestling between Honda gennies
The difference is the connector. The "A" has a twist lock that with the use of an adapter, can more sucurely connect itself to an RV.
It's a built in 30A plug in the "A" model.
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wnjj
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01/07/09 10:01am |
Truck Campers
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RE: CHAINS---Diamond, Round, Square, V-Bar
Cam style chains here. They are heavy duty and durable.
I second that advice. With cams, you don't need to put the rubber snubbers on. They run tight, and are the quietest and smoothest running chains out there.
Just make sure you get chains with swing link fasteners on one side, not ones with J-hooks on both sides. If you have J-hooks, the chain starts out looser, and the cams can't make up all the difference.
I have a set of cam style chains for 3 different vehicles and can vouch for their durability. I've used them for everything from chewing hard breaking trail off road in a couple feet of snow to near highway speeds on packed snow. I've also run them with a TC on.
They're the J-hooks on both sides and I've found that if the cams don't make up the difference, you can loosen them all and always get another link tighter. The 4 cams together tighten more than a link.
I try to leave only 1 or no links extra on the inside and use carabiners to attached the extra chain back to the circle on the outside. No rubber bands ever needed.
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wnjj
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01/01/09 05:38pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Weight distribution hitch and extensions?
Add the extention to the trailer tongue itself (or lengthen the tongue), rather than the truck hitch. Changing or extending the trailer tongue, shouldn't effect the truck hitch or the truck.
Doing this may make the tongue weight too low, unless you do something to rebalance or move the trailer axles. You can potentially run into clearance issues between the camper and tongue when dropping through dips. I know you've said yours hasn't been a problem but others may differ.
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wnjj
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12/27/08 12:32pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Confused about batteries and electric system
Gotcha...My camper does have an isolator but not the truck. I was thinking you were referring to the battery charge as per your wording of "trailer charge". And again I'll say that I don't understand a system without an isolator, it's not new technology. Must be the extra cost the manufacturer doesn't want.
Cost is probably the reason. Keeping the system simpler may be another. If 2 of 3 brands of truck provide isolators, why should the camper?
As for having the factory truck isolator standard, I think it should be up to the user to decide what they want. For example, what if I want to run a light inside a cargo or horse trailer without having an on-board battery. With an isolated system it won't work without the key on. GM's thinking must be that the AUX power wire is for whatever you choose, including but not limited to battery charging.
Pulling the fuse can be a hassle but I'm either on short enough trips, have hookups or use the genny anyway. I've never put the fuse back in. The charging through the truck doesn't provide much current anyway. If I were boondocking and moving sites every day, I'd probably just leave it in for the whole trip.
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wnjj
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12/26/08 11:47pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Confused about batteries and electric system
I could be wrong...again! But I sure never take that fuse out as it does indeed charge the house batteries. The camper charge system should only take what it needs when the motor is running. Otherwise it should kick out the truck batteries when they deplete to a certain level so as to not run them down completely. At least that's how my system works.
You may have a fancier charging system than most. Mine will drain the truck and camper batteries in parallel if I leave that fuse in. If I need charging while on the road, I put it back in. That's why most people need an isolator on their charge wires. I've heard some mfg's build a smart isolater into their campers that will disconnect when the voltage from the truck is below a certain level (when the truck is not running). Mine does not do that. When I disconnect the camper battery, my (GM, like OP) truck battery powers the 12V in the camper, even with the engine off.
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wnjj
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12/26/08 05:23pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Weight distribution hitch and extensions?
08/29/08 thread
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wnjj
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12/26/08 05:14pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Confused about batteries and electric system
I have received some advice on the forum but I am still not understanding the problem. I bought a used 2005 Host DS and when it comes to recharging the battery, I have been told just to plug it with the kill switch on and inverter on. The owner person who sold it to me told me just to plug it in. Maybe I am reading the battery monitor wrong but nothing seems to be working.
Just a shot from the hip, but I think maybe your truck does not have a charge wire going to the TC, or it is disconnected. It appears the previous owner's truck had a charge wire. I suggest you have someone knowledgeable in wiring check it for you. If you post what your truck is, you might get input from forum members.
Your GMC should have a 40A fuse in the under hood fusebox labeled stud#1. That one powers the trailer & camper aux power pin assuming it's all wired up through to the camper. It connects directly to the truck battery so it will run your truck dead if you leave that fuse in.
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wnjj
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12/26/08 12:46pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Confused about batteries and electric system
My monitor system for the tanks and battery are combined. On the battery side, from top to bottom, what does C G F L stand for? Someone help me understand all this! Thanks.
Charging, Good, Fair, Low?
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wnjj
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12/26/08 12:38pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Generator question??
Ditto what others have said about plugged jets. I had a similar problem when I got out my Honda 2000 when my house power went out a few days ago. I could only get it to run without loping with the choke half on, full throttle or idle. I ended up taking the carb off, removing the float bowl and pulling the main jet and metering tube out and cleaning them with carberator cleaner and compressed air. Fortuneately this is only a 5 minute job. It was my fault for not putting gas stabilizer in. Modern gasoline has a terrible shelf life.
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wnjj
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12/26/08 10:35am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Weight distribution hitch and extensions?
What effect does a weight distribution hitch have on an extension, as it pertains to tongue weight?
Does it lesson the amount of tongue weight?
Yes.
What happens to that tongue weight?
It gets transferred to the front axle of the truck and to the trailer axle(s). Think of the weight distribution bars as "prying" the front end of the truck back down and "hanging" down on the trailer frame.
Have I put less tongue weight on the extension, by transferring some to the front of the truck?
Yes, and some to the trailer.
Without a Weight distribution hitch, the pressure is down, on the hitch/truck mounting points. With the Weight distribution hitch, is the pressure up?
No. The "up" pressure that the hitch provides is still much less than the original tongue weight so you end up with a net pressure down except in extreme cases where you suspend you rear wheels over a ditch.
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wnjj
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12/26/08 10:28am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Generator
45 Amps @ 12V is 540W. There will be some loss meaning the input will take a little more power than that. I don't see why you need more than a 1000W generator if all you want to do is keep batteries charged.
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wnjj
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12/23/08 10:02pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: If replacing your truck would you buy a diesel again?
For example, for me to say that "my duramax makes 365 HP and 660 lb-ft of torque" and somebody saying "well my Tundra makes 381 HP and 401 lb-ft of tourqe" does tell you something, but it's just a snapshot. It doesn't tell the whole story. What it does tell you is that yes, at WOT the Tundra 5.7 could out-pull the d-max, provided you keep it wound up to 5600 RPM!
This is exactly right! What I've been saying all along is that a high HP gas motor can pull a hill just as well so long as you are willing to rev it up (except at high elevations where a non-turboed engine loses HP). With more and more gears available in these modern transmissions you can keep the motor at or near its peak output when you need to (hills, passing, accelerating). The obvious tradeoff is more transmission shifting and worse mileage. The more shifting & rev'ing with gassers is why people say their diesels are easier to drive and feel effortless. This is important to many people and with good reason. Who wants to run their engine near redline all day? Fortunately most of the time only a fraction of the max HP is needed to keep a load moving at highway speeds and that lessens the difference.
If I found my engine running near max HP for the majority of my trip, common sense would say a diesel would be a better choice because running any engine at a lower RPM for long periods of time has to make it last longer.
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wnjj
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12/18/08 11:50am |
Truck Campers
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RE: anyone tow like this?
mudmovers, a flipped-axle (high clearance) trailer is def an option (and prob the best as to save wear/tear on U/ATV(s)). although, as hunkydory mentioned, turning around is almost always a concern.
Are you referring to turning around often with ease? If not, you can always just unload the ATV/UTE and use it to move the trailer around. Obviously takes a bit of work but if turning around is a rare requirement I would think it would be an ok option.
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wnjj
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12/17/08 03:15pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: If replacing your truck would you buy a diesel again?
However a turbo diesel with EASILY >200 more torque AND a TURBO pushing that air to the engine will always pull way ahead of the V10.
As was discussed almost to death previously, the >200 more torque means nothing. Torque just determines the operating RPM where the power is. The turbo on the other hand is everything. That will produce far more HP than a non-turboed engine at elevation. That is probably the single bigest seat-of-the-pants difference that I forgot to include in my prior post.
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wnjj
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12/16/08 10:20am |
Truck Campers
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RE: New to TC
My Ford 07 F350 SRW has the identical GVWR as the same year Chevy DRW (11,400lbs).
GVWR yes but not rear axle capacity where it matters for truck campers. Isn't the Chevy DRW 8200# and your Ford SRW 7280#?
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wnjj
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12/14/08 01:00am |
Truck Campers
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RE: If replacing your truck would you buy a diesel again?
Save the science, it is all about personal preference.
Hence the "feels" part of my post. People go with what they feel works best. Science behind it doesn't matter to most, just like "facts" about needing torque for pulling. ;)
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wnjj
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12/13/08 09:54pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: If replacing your truck would you buy a diesel again?
Finally some sense on this topic. I've been put down for daring to suggest that HP is what does the work. HP is by definition a measure of work (in the physics sense).
All the torque in the world doesn't mean anything if there isn't RPM to go with it. Applying a torque at a certain speed is the definition of HP. So if one engine makes 1/2 of the torque of another but at 2x the RPM, they both will output the exact same power. The higher RPM one can simply use a 2:1 gearbox to make the final drive speed match the lower RPM engine. In going through that gearbox, the torque gets doubled so that the torque (and HP) at the output is exactly the same in both cases.
Enough of the physics. There's plenty of people who say diesels pull harder based upon real world experience. IMHO, there are two reasons for this:
1) The diesel produces closer to its max HP for a wider range of its operating RPM (flatter HP curve). At the relatively lower RPM it runs at, there are less losses getting air/fuel in and exhaust out which tends to take the peakiness away. Since there are a fixed number of gears in the tranny, the engine has to produce good power over a range of RPM to pull a load well. When a gasser makes high HP at high RPM it tends to not make good HP at a lower one. When the intake, valves, heads, exhaust, etc. are designed to operate efficiently for a higher RPM they won't work together as well at a lower one. A small displacement gasser suffers the most from this problem since the high RPM optimization is what makes the high HP rating.
2) Working a gasser hard means keeping the RPM's up. To most people it feels like the engine is "stuggling" to do this. There's also a gas mileage penalty for leaving the truck in a lower gear. This doesn't mean there is a power shortage. When you really put on a load, the diesel is "stuggling" too, just at a lower RPM so the perception is less.
The more gears available in the transmission, the less this difference matters. Keeping the engine in its HP sweet spot determines how fast/hard you will pull. With enough gear choices, a gas or diesel engine of the same HP rating would pull the same. The gasser will always burn more fuel doing it though :(. That is the #1 reason diesels are the commercial engine of choice.
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wnjj
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12/13/08 08:21pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: If replacing your truck would you buy a diesel again?
When we purchased our 2500HD 4x4 we went with the gas 6.0L because it was cheaper and didn't believe that the difference would validate the cost of a diesel.
WRONG!
After three years of traveling with our TC I can tell you that my thinking was all wrong. Sure on paper the math seems to add up with no savings but that isn't true.
First of all unless I am empty and with a tail wind I can't get better than 11.5mpg. Fully loaded the best mileage I have every achieved was 9.5mpg. On our last trip from the SF Bay Area to Tillamook, Oregon our average fuel for the trip was 8.25mpg.
I had bicycles passing us on the hills and in Oregon they have some long hills.
On the flats it was difficult to find a speed that I could stay in OD. Instead the trans kept dropping down a gear regularly.
Additionally, with the loads that we as TC'ers haul there is a substantial stain on every part of the truck; Brakes, driveline, axles, transmission, engine, etc. This heavy load will have a life shortening effect on every part.
If we look at only the engine, most gas engines have a reasonable life expectancy of approximately 200K miles. While it is not unusual for a diesel to reach 400K. I have friends with trucks approaching 500K and are still going strong.
I know that there are many points on this subject but I can tell you for me as long as I am carrying a TC, I will replace my gas unit with a diesel the next time around.
Regards,
PJ
Ouch! For that kind of mileage you could have been running an 8.1L which has no problem with Oregon hills.
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wnjj
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12/12/08 04:47pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: If replacing your truck would you buy a diesel again?
A lot of good facts, but I think personal preference is the main factor outside of pure pulling power for the diesel. For me I like diesel. I like the sound and they way they perform. There also has to be some reason that more than half the vehicles, cars and trucks, sold in Europe are diesel. Diesel is also sold at a premium price over gas there too.
I've read just the opposite: European governments tax gasoline higher to discourage its use. That would make it the reason, not personal preference. Check out this link from a recent thread here: link
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wnjj
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12/12/08 04:43pm |
Truck Campers
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