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RE: Full hookup at home
We did much the same set-up and the reason was due to the prolonged procedure of shutting down the house when leaving it for the winter.
Our drive way was long enough for us to park the rig all hooked up at 65' and actually move into the thing for a night before leaving so I could shut all the water off in the house and blow down the lines, dose the biffy bowls with RV antifreeze etc., for a 5 to 6 month absence over winter.
It was great just to set the alarm for an early wake up, shower, fire up the toter and let it warm up a bit while we had our morning coffee and toast, curl up the electric cord, then beat feet out of Canada.
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bstark
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05/20/12 04:17pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Poor quality construction
You're getting cheaply built RV's for the same reason Walmart is so successful. DEMAND!
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bstark
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05/17/12 05:26pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Can you bear to part with your "man toys"?
Oh brother; is this one close to home!
When we were snowbirding with our custom toter with storage drawers and cabinets up the kazoo, I purchased all sorts of duplicate tools and stuff pertinent to maintenance of the truck and trailer while on the road, enough stuff to tip the scales of the truck itself at 17,600lbs.
Now that we are no longer snowbirding my shop out back is "stuffed" and my neighbours have taken to hanging around the end of the property to see what I'm currently giving away today.
It get's comical seeing them arguing over who gets a 20ton, air operated hydraulic jack or a 1" drive torque wrench when NONE of them have anything bigger than a Chevy Duramax.
I refuse to have a garage sale or e-bay this stuff as I just don't want anything to do with strangers pawing over stuff and nickle and diming me; sooner give it to friends
I use the rule: if I've tripped over it twice without it being moved then it needs to go!
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bstark
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05/13/12 02:23pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Are You Glad to be Home Again
And you don't have to spread mulch all over it!
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bstark
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05/07/12 07:50pm |
Snowbirds
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RE: Are You Glad to be Home Again
I'm having second thoughts now after D/W ordered 12 cubic yards of Canadian Red for the flower/shrub beds and all new furntiture for the guest room which she declared yesterdy needs freshening up with a paint job. Breakfast this morning it was "I'm tired of the master bathroom and was looking at the new vanity units with the granite tops and double sinks".
I told her I was heading on back down to Florida if she keeps up this nonsense. The weather hasn't been good enough to get her out golfing to keep her mind off this stuff. Came back far too early!
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bstark
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05/07/12 04:50pm |
Snowbirds
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RE: Yuma 2011 winter visitors, numbers down...
Folks we spent many winters with in Del Pueblo are moving on now to places like Apache Junction and Casa Grande.
Some have even hung up the spurs and joined us buying property in Fla to access cheaper airfare and direct flight abilities out of Ontario.
Boomers bring all sorts of checks and balances to the equation with their disposable income allowing travel but aging also causing an aversion to continued interstate battle.
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bstark
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04/30/12 08:39am |
Snowbirds
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RE: Front Of Fifth Wheel Very High While Driving
Oh brother did you hit on the biggie! Frames of "I" beam are subject to twist of that lower flange and the "C" channel and modified "Z" are subject to compression upward of the lower section with subsequent fractures of the vertical section. C****y steel exacerbates this to a large degree.
The "I" beams need gusseting to prevent that twist and can even require an entire web be added vertically to both sides of the beam above each and every hanger to prevent that twist, whereas the "Z" and "C" channel benefti from "boxing" the frame for the entire length of the frame section above the hangers and sometimes even beyond.
I have seen trailers dog tracking down the highway and followed them into rest stops to look underneath and the horror stories are beyond belief of folks who have no idea that their frame is toast.
Splayed hangers with cracks emanating vertically to almost the top flange of I-beams is a common sight. I followed one that was smoking on one side and waved them into a scale house to find his front and rear hangers had spread along the longitudinal axis of the trailer to allow both the front and the rear spring set to actually reverse their curve which let the flooring of the slidout above the wheel set to drop onto the tires. He was slowly burning his way through the floor of the trailer with the tires on that side and would have had a fire if not for me waving him in.
I was required to have a fire extinguisher in my truck due to CDL requirements in Canada to tow my heavier fiver and it took a few blasts of that to finally stop the smoldering.
You were wise to "allow" them to perform the work and then "dress it up" after without them knowing as they will play a dangerous game indeed trying to deny recompense should you later have a problem.
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bstark
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04/30/12 08:32am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Another Lippert Frame Failure
To answer a few questions that have been asked.... No Lipert has not offered anything other than confirming that they only warranty the frame for 2 years. The pinbox was angled upward and the big bubble level was rubbing the front cap. I noticed this when I stopped to get the kids some food. There was approximately 1 1/2 inches from the trailer resting entirely on the bed rails. There was interior damage to the luan board up front. The repairs were completed with my labor for $500 because I had a caring welder who wanted to help my family get back on the road and was not interested in gauging me. I filed a complaint with NHTSA who is now investigating the matter. The welder who did the repairs routinely builds horse trailers and other goose neck trailers and said he could not sleep at night putting that light weight thin walled steel tubing that had been used on my trailer on anything he built. And to the one who asked about me using a gooseneck adapter, the answer is no. My hitch is a Reese 16k fifth wheel hitch that articulates side to side and forward and aft to minimize stress on the pin box.
Just tuned into this thread and over the past few years of many miles of snowbirding all over the southwest; I've seen far too many of these failures.
Your hitch, your set-up, your truck, your trucks suspension, your trailers suspension have nothing whatsoever to do with these failures. Plain and simple they originate right in those cold welds and inferior metal along with poor redundancy design.
Lippert has spec'd these frames to be built at the absolute minimum cost to them and sells them to the RV industry who are demanding ever more cheaper overheads.
They do not plan on the cascade effect of the first joint or weld failing by adding addtional gussets and crossmembers. Once that first rip from a failing cold weld with poor penetration happens the remaining joints and structure are not adequate to maintain strength integrity so they fail one after the other.
The combination of poor steel, really poor mig welding, minimum members make each one of those joints critical whereas looking at the repair work done and the addtional members and gussets. the reverse is now true. That framing will now withstand the failure of any one joint without it causing a "house of cards" cascade failure of them all.
You are very lucky to have found the problem before your front cap was crushed and also to have found a good welder who knew a lttle something about the design of pin box support framework.
Now you can move further back and address the crappy work usually found in the area of the frame hangers that are the sole supports for your entire suspension and get someone to perform equal magic back there. Especially if the frame is of a modified "Z" or a "C" channel frame.
Well done.
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bstark
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04/29/12 06:13pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Frank Spence
One of the sadder parts of aging is people you have never met but come to respect and even admire through reading their posts pass on and you realize one day that will also be your footnote.
Godspeed Frank; it's fair weather and full sails for you now.
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bstark
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04/27/12 02:11pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: How to make diamond plate trim shiney again?
The trick is to seal the surface after polishing and brightening it. Also don't ever take your trailer through a Blue Beacon commercial wash and let them use what they call "brightener" as it is a mild acid and will forever etch the aluminum making it prone to surface oxidation.
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bstark
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04/22/12 07:12pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Are You Glad to be Home Again
Anyone heading north to Ontario, Canada should hold off for a few more days as we're expecting SNOW now. Yep; the white stuff is returning tomorrow.
Sure was a culture shock to return a week ago and have to hunker in front of the fireplaces with the cozy rug wrapped around us while drinking our morning java!
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bstark
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04/22/12 07:06pm |
Snowbirds
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RE: Just Plain Gross
I was fueling at a Flying J and a lady in a Class C with a couple of kids pulls up to the dump station. She pulls a trash bag out from a compartment, reaches in and pulls a white water hose out. She hooks up the hose and starts filling her water tank. Then she reaches into the bag again and pulls out the sewer hose, hooks it up and dumps her tanks.
She finished, put the sewer hose back in the bag, then the white water hose, then stowed it into the basement compartment and drove away.
She probably wonders why she and her kids always get sick when they use the MH.
Best Regards!
But hey; because she's using the trash bag, the inside of her storage compartment is clean, right? There's logic in there somewhere.
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bstark
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04/13/12 06:26pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Just Plain Gross
My pet peeve were the guys who put the end of their sstinky slinky over the HOSE BIB of the fresh water supply at their site after packing up to leave a full service site.
Now the next person arrives and unknowingly treats himself and family to a bunch of the last folks bacteria.
I always carried a spray bottle full of bleach mixture to give that bib a good rinse down before going anywhere neat it with my fresh hose.
Another pet peeve, although not as frequently seen, is using the site's picnic table to either drape the sewer hose over or curl it up before stowing it away.
There are all manner of ill-born out there and you gotta think ahead of them constantly.
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bstark
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04/10/12 04:53pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Would you consider this truck if it was built?
I am actually curious why Mack and Cat haven't thrown their hats in the ring.
I'm sure both have looked into the possibility but the loudest voices in the boardroom didn't think it'd be feasible/profitable enough, hence, no hats in the ring.
Don't know about Mack but Cat was having trouble meeting emissions requirements and simply said it ain't worth the bother so no more OTR trucks or MoHo's with Cats in them.
After saying bye bye to the big three back in 03 with my purchase and build of an Int'l 4400 to perform towing of my heavier fiver, I'd definitely consider an alternate offering to the little guys after that experience.
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bstark
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04/06/12 03:46pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: A GIANT awaits...what's your guess
Someone mentioned a '57' and the Crown (perhaps custom royal?) Royal had the scrolling speedomometer; a round cylinder painted with a spiral red line with numbers on the faceplate so the faster you went the further along the scale the sprial red line would scroll.
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bstark
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04/05/12 05:47pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: RV wreck Hard to understand
The "operating in commerce" rules may also come into play if they were in a sanctioned motocross competition for trophies.
If the rig is operated so that the fuel tax is reimbursed or fuel is charged through a business account from the families previous endeavour as an auto parts supplier could also bring more scrutiney along with the CDL now being required through commercial laws.
There are many, many, people who flirt with "in commerce" rules when accepting sponsorship for their sons/daughters competing in events such as horse shows etc., then plastering maufacturer's decals on the side of their RV's. Use the RV to transport crafts to shows where they are making an income from sale of those crafts etc..
The really sad part of all of this is; two of the adults in the rig who would have been part of the decision making as to who would drive are now dead, leaving the mother who has already suffered the loss of her husband earlier and now a large segment of her family to answer a bunch of questions via a full court press from the relevant LEO's.
A tragedy any way you care to look at it.
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bstark
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04/03/12 07:13pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: RV wreck Hard to understand
Those trucks are very commonly converted to motorhome reg's. They start with a long chassis class 7 and build an RV on the frame rails. Kibbi, Crew chief, are two that build them but there are many.
*****On review of the attached photo I noticed that it is a long wheelbase full class 8 chassis with tandem axles so it is certainly capable of carrying and towing all the equipment as configured.*****
The problem comes in with the RV, motorhome designation exempting the driver from the normal CDL license and training that goes with it. Then you add a toyhauler trailer with living quarters AND add to the mix, the law in some states that allow passengers in the trailer as long as there is a communication system with driver, a fire extinguisher and the trailer doors aren't locked, with no mention of seat restraints for those same passengers and you have a recipe for a disaster.
The very same catastrophy could happen at any time with just one of those schoolbusses with 45 or so students all sitting with no belts required going over the same ravine with the occupants all tumbling about inside like gemstones in a media polishing drum.
It would seem that a few bad choices were made and now this family will never look at a family "quality time together" in the same way ever again.
My heart goes out to them.
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bstark
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04/03/12 06:36pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Arrogant
Good post Marty. Caught your comment about International's engineering restriction and my experience. Whew! That was a walk over hot coals for sure.
Commercial truck build sheets are based on their mission requirements and projected loads so when someone sits opposite a salesguy and plugs into their database to spec a truck to perform relatively light service duty pulling an RV with no loads over the frame to speak of, well, let's just say it gives the computer on the salesguy's desk a severe case of "heartburn".
Those gradability charts figured prominantly in the allowed options selection of gearbox, rear axle ratio, selected engine hp, torque, etc., Lotsa fun.
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bstark
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04/03/12 06:07pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Broken leaf spring bracket
Here's the deal. Because the plastic bushings wear through quickly, the spring loops tend to rust and freeze to the bolts. Then the bolts turn in the bracket. And the holes in the brackets wear out.
Best to install the wet bolt kit, to allow the bolts to float in the spring loops and to stay stationary in the brackets.
Also best to have each of the remaining spring hangers checked for wear.
What he said.:B
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bstark
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04/03/12 05:46pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Arrogant
This thread has certainly been informative and some of the points made by posters are spot on the money.
I have watched with great interest over the last few years how the spec's of pick-up trucks have steadily climbed with changes to drivetrain and frame config. while the overall footprint of the vehicle changed very little in it's UVWR.
This improvement to spec's has induced some of the crowd who became devotees of the class 7/8 conversion to RV status for purposes of towing larger fivers to move back to the more convenient pick-ups. There are now 3500's out there hooked to the same trailer I found towing with my class 6 optimal. These folks I've known for years and respected their ability to determine "safe" as opposed to marginal and "iffy". A significant number are fulltimers who tow over many miles per year.
Your average hot-shotter delivering these heavy things racks up significant safe miles with few recorded accidents. Heavy trailers arrive on dealers lots all over the country somehow and it would be my bet it would be rare indeed to see them being towed by classes above 5.
It needs be said that advancements to trailer equipment also plays a part in this discussion as some folks might make the move to a larger trailer based on that trailer having hydraulic disc brakes rather than the 10/12" magnetic variety.
In short; if we go by "feel" and feel alone; I will be one who would "feel" safer towing with a class 6/7/8 over any pick-up based on my experience with the breed and ability to drive it competently with a thorough knowledge of all it's systems and behaviours.
This is not to say I would feel "unsafe" towing a heavy trailer with any properly "combined weight rated" pick-up truck. I would simply adjust my driving habits vis-a-vis hill descents etc., accordingly, as would the rest of you.
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bstark
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04/03/12 07:09am |
Tow Vehicles
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