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RE: 3rd vehicle strictly for towing? Need advice.
69 cylinders for me-
Ford 302 V8
Ford 351 V8
Int'l 7.3 V8
Int'l 6.0 V8
Ford 2.5 I4
Ford 2.4 I4
Honda 500 single
Honda 250 single
Honda GXxxx single
Kohler CH20 v-twin
Kohler 12hp v-twin
S&W .357 mag 6 shot
S&W .357 mag 6 shot
S&W .38 spl 5 shot
S&W .38 spl 5 shot
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SoCalDesertRider
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05/24/12 06:50pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: extend frame instead of hitch?
I've seen some old trucks around here With the frame extension setup. It's possible. Still not as strong as my off the shelf SuperHitch with extension.Depends on how they're designed and built. They can certainly be made to be much stronger than a Superhitch, if needed.
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SoCalDesertRider
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05/24/12 06:29pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: did the anti sway bar make the difference?
I've always said that any truck carrying a truck camper should automatically have sway bars front and rear. My truck came with both front and rear sway bars from the factory. Just changing out the spongy factory rubber sway bar bushings for both bars with stiffer polyurethane bushings made a very noticeable difference in the effectiveness of the sway bars, even with my fairly light 2500 lb camper that I had at that time. I couldn't imagine not having a rear sway bar at all while carrying any kind of very heavy load in the bed of the truck, let alone a high profile load such as a large truck camper.
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SoCalDesertRider
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05/24/12 06:25pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: extend frame instead of hitch?
Don't mean to hijack the post, but it fits right into trying to solve this problem. Just a thought after looking at my boat trailer..... it has a extra long tung on it. I just picked up a Tractor Supply 5x6 utility trailer and it looks like it would be simplicity itself, to just get a 2' longer piece of 2x2 hd channel to add in for the tung. What are the downsides to thisThat can work, depending on the details. If the camper is very long and also hangs down low, the extended trailer tongue under the camper can come up and hit the bottom of the camper when going through a dip. A shorter camper, or one that doesn't hang down much, may not have a problem with that.
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SoCalDesertRider
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05/24/12 01:49pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Would you push it?
I don't see a problem with it. Enjoy your weekend boating. :)
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SoCalDesertRider
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05/24/12 01:46pm |
Towing
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RE: Disconnect battery before arc welding on frame?
IMO DISCONNECT BATTERY at battery itself unless POSITIVE that disconnect switch removes ALL connections. A battery is pretty much a short for high freq pulses. You do NOT want those to get to a control board.Yes, definitely need to take extra precaution when tig welding aluminum with AC and high frequency, wherever there are electronics connected to the structure being welded. HF can wipe out computer electronics easily.
Common arc welding or wire feed welding is much less of a risk, but precaution is still always a good idea.
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SoCalDesertRider
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05/24/12 01:44pm |
Towing
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RE: Disconnect battery before arc welding on frame?
As a welder, I would make a point to unhook any batterys. Both sides just to be safe. Far easier and cheaper than replacing things. Murphys law seems to always kick in on these things.Ditto on unhooking BOTH cables! Sometimes not everything shuts off with the batt disconnect. CO/Propane detector comes to mind.As a welder, I also agree with both of the above posts.
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SoCalDesertRider
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05/24/12 01:41pm |
Towing
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RE: California Registration Cost?
Yeah, she's in for a rude awakening once she gets out here, especially with that kind of poor planning, no real job skills and lack of resources to fall back on. Good luck to her.
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SoCalDesertRider
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05/24/12 01:38pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: How to sell my 99 Ford
Craigs List is a good way to buy or sell a vehicle. Previous to that, Auto Trader was the best way and previous to that, parking it on a busy street corner with a sign on it was the best way. How times change....
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SoCalDesertRider
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05/24/12 01:34pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: F-250 Truck with 5.4L gas engine
5.4 with 4.10 gears should pull respectably. Less so with 3.73 gears, but still should be able to handle a trailer that's not too heavy. This is provided the tires are the stock diameter.
The spark plug problem was in the '99-'02 V10 and 5.4, I believe.
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SoCalDesertRider
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05/24/12 01:31pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Where to buy 2x2 steel tubing
x2 on buying from a local metal supply yard. Most metal suppliers sell 2x2x1/4 sq tube in 20' sticks and some will sell half-sticks at 10'. Most metal suppliers also have a scrap yard out back where they sell descent used metal too, so check there first for smaller pieces of the tube before going inside to buy a new one. Most suppliers will also cut the tube on their chop saw for a minimal fee, usually $1-$5 per cut.
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SoCalDesertRider
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05/24/12 01:16pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: extend frame instead of hitch?
If ya search around you may be able to find one of the old sliding channel bumper assemblies that used to be common on pickups for campers and towing before the days of the standard receiver hitch.That sounds like exactly what he's trying to build and that's what I was thinking when I started reading his post.
Easy enough to fabricate one from scratch. Don't know how long it would take searching for a used one from so many years ago.
I did have one of those for my old dually when I had the 10.5' camper on it, several years ago. Worked just like a receiver hitch extension bar, except it had 2 receivers and 2 tubes sticking out, with a sort of 'bumper' at the rear and another receiver in the middle, like a normal hitch.
Someone else here on the forum built a very nice v-shaped version of the double-tube receiver hitch. It's in a sticky post in the TCU section of the forum, in the hitch section. He did a very nice job on it. I forget who it was... maybe Matthew-B ?
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SoCalDesertRider
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05/24/12 01:11pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: California Registration Cost?
Yeah I wouldn't use personalized plates as a way to circumvent the law. May get away with it a few times, but eventually, they'll catch up with you....
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SoCalDesertRider
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05/23/12 10:10pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Matching Tire/Wheel Size to 19.5 inch Visions?
245-G 19.5's will have plenty of load rating and be about the same diameter as the 285/75-16's you have now.
285/70-19.5's are way too tall to run without quite a bit of suspension lift and I doubt anyone even makes a wheel wide enough to run them on regular 8-lug pickup hubs. Plus, you don't need anywhere near that much load weight rating anyways.
For what it's worth, I run custom made heavy duty steel 16x8 wheels with my 285/75-16E BFG's. The wheels are rated 4000 lbs. My axle weight is 6500-7000 without trailer and up to 7500 with trailer. The tires and wheels perform great and no problems in 5 years, loaded miles almost all the time. Truck is rarely empty.
Hmmmm. Another alternative! I browsed through your pics and couldn't find pictures of the stocktons. Are they polished aluminum ones? Do they offer that? If not, how much were the wheels you ended up going with?My Stockton wheels are powdercoated heavy duty steel. They look nice and the powdercoat silver color reasonably matches the color of the American Racing aluminum wheels I had on the truck before. They also offer chrome, though I was not willing to pay extra for chrome. The wheels were about $250 each, if I remember correctly.
Here is a pic.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn7/desertrider33/0608081113.jpg?t=1242078146
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SoCalDesertRider
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05/23/12 09:15pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Can I put a reveiver on the campers bumper
Put a heavy duty receiver hitch on the truck, suitable for use with a hitch extension bar, such as a Torklift Superhitch or Reese Titan hitch, and use an appropriately rated and sized hitch extension bar to tow the trailer from. Do not involve the structure of the camper at all in the hitch system. The trailer should connect only to the truck, directly through the truck's hitch and no other way.
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SoCalDesertRider
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05/23/12 09:02pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Need a Lance 845 Moved
I'm sure any member of the truck camper forum who lives in that area could move the camper for you for a fee, if they're interested. Otherwise, just about any towing company with a medium duty flatbed carrier could move the camper.
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SoCalDesertRider
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05/23/12 08:57pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Steering problem
This is a very easy adjustment that can be done by anyone with a reasonable amount of mechanical ability and basic tools.
All you have to do is lengthen or shorten the drag link (the link that goes between the pittman arm an the center tie rod), until the steering wheel is straight when the wheels are straight.
No reason the factory shouldn't have been able to get this right and no reason the dealer shouldn't have been able to correct it for you easily and without charge. Saying that it should be crooked is a lame cop-out.
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SoCalDesertRider
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05/22/12 02:59pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: 3rd vehicle strictly for towing? Need advice.
2500 Suburban or an Excursion would be my choice. 6.0/4.10, 8.1/3.73, 7.3 diesel/3.73, V10/3.73, V10/4.30, 5.4/4.10 are all descent engine/axle choices.
Gas mileage difference between a 1500 Suburban or Expedition and a 2500 Sub or Excursion is very little. Payload capacity and towing capacity is quite significantly more with the 2500 class SUV's. You will be fine using them as a daily driver.
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SoCalDesertRider
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05/22/12 02:52pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: 2011 Chev Dually Tire Pressure
65 psi on a dually pickup's rear tires is plenty enough to carry the full rated capacity of the rear axle.
80 psi is needed on single rear wheel trucks to carry the full rated capacity of the axle, because the full rated capacity of the axle is based on the combined max weight rating of the 2 rear tires, at max pressure, which is 80 psi on an E-rated 3/4-ton or 1-ton SRW truck tire.
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SoCalDesertRider
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05/22/12 01:18pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Did I choose the wrong gear ratio 3.73?
The only people who say you should need the 4.10 axle are the ones who do not understand gearing and torque multiplication or towed with a modern 6-spd.APT, I take offense at that statement. I think you'll have to agree that I have a VERY CLEAR understanding of gearing and torque multiplication, from my thousands of very in-depth posts on the subject, over several years here on the forum.
The fact remains that, regardless of the transmission ratios, the 4.10 ratio OVERALL provides greater towing power through greater torque multiplication and higher rpms, in ALL transmission gears, at ALL road speeds, regardless of how many gears are in the transmission, than the 3.73's do.
With today's engines spinning higher and higher rpm's to get into their power bands, and with the advent of double overdrive gearing in the 6 speed trannys, that is actually all the MORE reason to go with lower ratio (higher number) axle gearing, since the extra high overdrive gearing can handle the lower axle gearing and the engine is allowed to spin higher into it's power band at a lower, more useful road speed for towing.
Also, with today's trucks being equipped with taller and taller factory tire sizes, that is even more reason to go with lower overall axle ratio gearing.
The primary reasons for increasing the number of transmission gears from 3 to 4 to 5 to 6 and soon to 7 or 8 is two-fold.
One is to provide much smaller gear spread steps, so the engine can operate in a tighter rpm range as you shift up and down through the gears. This allows the engine to operate it it's most efficient rpm for fuel mileage and power.
The other reason is to widen the overall ratio spread from low to high, which allows a wider range of driving conditions, terrain and loaded weights that the engine can motivate in a more efficent manner.
The purpose of greater number of gears in the transmission is not to raise (lower number) the needed axle gear ratio. The axle gear ratio is the final deciding factor in how the vehicle will perform when the type of terrain, loaded weight and tire diameter are considered. Match axle ratio to actual vehicle use and happiness will occur. :)
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SoCalDesertRider
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05/22/12 01:04pm |
Tow Vehicles
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