| |
Subject |
Author |
Date Posted |
Forum
|
 |
RE: Front seems like it is drifting, went to CAT scales
And, on a side note, here's a way to verify your alignment AT HOME. :-)
http://forums.corral.net/forums/handling/931155-how-do-your-own-alignments-low-cost-effective.html
Thanks for adding some info that demonstrates how simple the principle of alignment is. The early Fox-body Mustangs are fairly easy to align. They have a simple modified MacPherson strut suspension with a single lower a-frame in front. I used to have a little black 1990 5.0 notchback 5 speed.
I've only ever set toe-in on any vehicle, not caster, not camber. I never used the board trick.
One of the tricks I did use was to slightly raise each front tire and wipe the dust off with a rag. Then by spinning the tire and holding a ball point pen steadily against the rubber, a fine visible line is drawn around the tire circumference. This even works with knobby tires, but you only get a line on a knob every so often. Most highway tires have a complete strip of rubber somewhere near center. The line does not have to be centered, just evenly drawn. The line is there to compare the front and back distances only.
It is then possible, best with help, to just hold a tape measure in the front and back of the tire and check for toe settings. As an example, if the toe setting is zero, the ink lines will be the same distance apart. Since the frame is somewhat in the way, it is only possible to measure the tire lines below frame level, but the gist of the setting remains. The vehicle needs to be back on the ground and rolled back-and-forth a bit to settle the rest point of the alignment.
When the toe setting is off, it is possible to judge this by a sightline down the sidewall. It is so quick and simple, it is worth checking when it is obvious the alignment cannot be correct because of handling or tire wear.
Wes
...
|
Wes Tausend
|
05/23/12 03:19pm |
Towing
|
|
RE: Would you push it?
...
I think traction will be the only problem, too.
Besides the dribbled wetness of the ramp all the way up, the angular ramp will shift vehicle weight towards the rear, cheating the front wheel drive of decent traction. It'll work but you might need a couple of heavy people to stand on your front bumper on some days.
Wes
...
|
Wes Tausend
|
05/23/12 02:32am |
Towing
|
|
RE: electric tongue jack stopped working
Ok, I have a weird situation with my LCI tongue jack.
I have an LCI tongue jack that most of the time does not work - until I tap the shaft of the jack with a hunk of metal - then it works every single time.
I usually tap it with the safety chain hook or the pipe for raising the load distributing bars. Hitting it with my hand, knuckles or shoe does not work.
I wonder if this is a symptom of a loose ground connection. The trailer is 2 years old and has had this problem since before I bought it 8 months ago. The guy I bought it from said that was just the way it worked for him.
Or could it be a bad switch? or a stuck gear?
Any simple suggestions about how I could diagnose the root cause?
I guess I could just run a ground wire to figure out if it was a ground issue. Or maybe use my ohm meter to check the resistance between the internal jack ground and the trailer ground.
Suggestions based on experience, knowledge or intuition are appreciated.
Ed
It might be a ground connection. I am not familar with the LCI brand.
But another thought is, does the jack have stop switches in it? In other words does it have an internal switch that keeps it from going too far? This would be in close proximity to the shaft and a jarring blow may make it intermittent. This owners manual indicates a jack with clutches in it, so if that matches yours, it would have no internal switches. Unfortunately, it has no troubleshooting guide included.
All jacks have some mechanism to keep them from breaking something when they reach the end of their travel. A common Barker has an over-running clutch that clicks loudly when it slips for instance. But other Barkers have internal switches, I believe.
The fuse holder was the culprit on a couple of these jacks. The stories sound promising.
The LCI jack doesn't have a very good rep on this RV.NET thread. Maybe their fuses were corroded?
Wes
...
|
Wes Tausend
|
05/22/12 11:47pm |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: Front seems like it is drifting, went to CAT scales
I have to disagree about alignment problems caused by machines being inacurate. An alignment machine in the late 70's would have been a guy with a level and a measuring stick. The machines today are very accurate pieces of equipment. If the operator has any intelegence what-so-ever the alignment will be right. The manufacturer sets the specifications to make the vehicle handle the way they want. Sometimes this is at the expense of the tires. Nissan Z cars for example will tear the front tires off even though the alignment is correct, it is however set to make the car steer very quickly(like a race car). Many of the late model solid axle vehicles use tie rod setups that cause toe variation as the suspension moves. This variation causes wandering issues.
It is possible to have a poor alignment from the factory though, so I would agree that that should be checked. I will also conceed that to problems will cause wandering. I will strongly advise against sighting down the sidewalls of the tires and setting toe by lining up to the rear tires at many vehicles are not the same track width front and rear, I know the 76 chevy wasnt. Let a competent pro work on it and tell them exactly what your concerns are and discuss if varying from the factory specs may help. Lastly never use a shop that would put P tires on a truck that is supposed to have LT tires. It is not legal, not safe, and shows how they feel about things being correct.
I agree with most of what you say.
If I remember correctly, an alignment machine in the '70's was a highly touted mechanical drive-on rack that was suppose to quickly determine settings and make quick money for the shop. Something about this set-up did not work correctly particularily for live axle 4X4's. Not much has changed in the profit and marketing department. I am still seeing vehicles with mystery wandering/drifting problems after they have been pro aligned. Why do you think this is?
You are quite correct about wheel track differences on the K10:
"K-10s had a front track width of 65.75 inches and a rear track width of 62.7 inches." I did compensate for this on my K10 so many years ago. I used sighting including the rear tires because it established the centerline of my truck.
I had Helms manuals for the truck in the '70's and I still own the manuals. The truck calls for 0 degrees on the K10-20's and 3/16" on the two wheelers. But years ago, my truck was obviously toed out, left this way by three alignment shops, and I corrected this by eyeball. This can be done on any vehicle because it is certainly not the high dollar rocket science that marketing would like us to believe.
Believe it or not, "Rifle sighting" down the sidewall is an extremely accurate method, to within hairs of perfect, as long as one knows what the target is. And I am an expert rifle marksman with open sights and feel I know this; the principle is the same. Tires are made in molds that are within 1000'ths of an inch, very, very accurate. Accuracy does depend on the tire bead being installed straight and centered on a good rim (another gripe of mine) but can be checked by merely rotating the wheel while off the ground. If the sidewall tracks correctly, and they usually do, the sidewall is logically good enough for an accurate sight picture. With rifles, shots may be placed within a half inch at targets 100's of yards away, just a tiny fraction of angular variance. It may be independent thought on my part, but the similarity just makes logical sense when a man truely thinks about it.
Your remark "The machines today are very accurate pieces of equipment. If the operator has any intelegence what-so-ever the alignment will be right" indicates that you expect the operator to just accept the readout and that is what I have a problem with.
...In spite of strange tire wear, vehicles were coming out of shops in the late 1970's incorrectly aligned (check my earlier posts), and they apparently are still coming out incorrect today. By all means, get an alignment from a pro shop you trust. Then doublecheck them with another shop if need be. But, in persistent poor handling, it makes the most sense to know yourself, and it can be done by simply sighting the sidewalls. Camber and castor would not be so easy, but they don't matter much anyway. They are very seldom off far enough to even be noticable unless the vehicle has been in an accident. But this is not true for toe-in. Toe-in is sensitive by just a few degrees.
You stated, "Many of the late model solid axle vehicles use tie rod setups that cause toe variation as the suspension moves. This variation causes wandering issues."
...I fully agree. The correct term for suspension movement is called "bump" and "droop". The toe-change effect is called "bump steer". Because of it, a truck that normally drives ok empty, may drift or wander when loaded. And we can bet that Nissan Z cars, Corvettes and other high performance cars have minimized this flaw. Todays trucks are still crude by comparison.
In the case of wandering, unusual tire wear, I would discuss this with a pro shop. I might suggest checking alignment when loaded, if their machine will handle it. But the operator better not give me a vacant look or I'm gone. Too much toe-in and the tires wear on the outside, or just began to feather if the miles are just a few. Too little toe-in (as in toed out) and the tires will wear, or feather, on the inside. Both errors cause drifting/wandering, but too much toe-out is worse. The operator better appear to already know this on his or her own from just a description of tire wear.
In the end, if the vehicle doesn't steer right, check it yourself.
Thanks for discussing this with me, and agreeing with part of what I said earlier.
Wes
...
|
Wes Tausend
|
05/22/12 11:03pm |
Towing
|
|
RE: Travel trailer leak question ?
...
I would let it dry naturally, maybe a bit of heat inside the trailer to encourage moisture to seek a cooler area if it is still cool at night where you are. If there are wallcovering pimples, they may mash down by pricking them with a pin and putting pressure against such as the back of a slightly rounded screwdriver handle. The good thing about aluminum sided trailers is that the aluminum breathes through gaps in the siding joints. If the luan backing is soft (wet), it may harden back up after it dries.
If you wish to take the aluminum off, you may find that it is put on top section (12-18 inches) first, then the next section was slid up into a stapled bottom top-section groove, then on down etc. To take it off is the reverse by first taking the bottom section off and working your way up. Since this is rather intense, you might be better off taking only the bottom section loose and blowing warm air up the newly opened wall cavity. A suggested blower is a hairdryer on low heat, low speed. But ambiant temperature air blown by a fan is much handier and almost as effective.
If it were my trailer I wouldn't worry too much about mold at this point. The press has overblown the problem lately. There is minute amounts of mold everywhere but no serious damage occurs unless someone is quite allergic or vast amounts overwhelm air quality. If you don't notice a problem down the road, the problem has solved itself. We are, by nature, mostly resistent to mold because we have always lived with some for 100's of thousands of years.
Wes
...
|
Wes Tausend
|
05/22/12 08:55pm |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: electric tongue jack stopped working
I am having the same problem with my electric tonque jack. I have checked the battery, replaced the fuse, etc, but I am a newbie at all this. If any of you can further describe how to go about fixing the ground or other trouble shooting with the jack, I would greatly appreciate it.
The ground for these jacks is one of the three bolts that mechanically hold it on the tongue. The only difference between that bolt and the other two is a toothy star washer that gouges through the paint into the metal to complete the ground through the frame and save running an extra ground wire back to the battery.
The disadvantage is that gouging the paint encourages the frame to rust right where contact is made. Rainwater tends to collect in the tiny gaps left by fitment. This can be aleviated by embedding the washer with a small gob of grease when installing it, and filling all the tiny gaps with something other than air/water. Dielectric grease is made for this task but ordinary axle grease works fine. Even such a protected joint will eventually need cleaning and fresh grease as even axle grease slowly evaporates. Dielectric grease may last a little longer.
Grounds are the most common electrical problem in older automobiles because water can infiltrate, and then corrode, connected frame pathways so easily. Newer cars usually wire a separate ground wire directly to devices. As a matter of fact most bulbs on newer vehicles now have a full 12 volts all the time and the device is then turned on/off by interrupting the ground path. It has the advantage of only few total hot wires needed and any short in the ground merely turns a device on although the switch is off. This is much better than a short that gets red hot and starts a fire.
Wes
...
|
Wes Tausend
|
05/22/12 08:17pm |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: Front seems like it is drifting, went to CAT scales
Ok, so today I went to the trailer expert. He took it for a ride and agreed that it was really bad towing. We did all the measurements, he even weighed the tongue, 1000 lbs. Went over everything on the trailer and truck. He could not figure it out either. His only advice was that maybe there was a hitch. He had an equalizer that he said I could try and if he didn't work any better he would take it back and not charge me. He put it on, it fixed about 60 percent of my problems. I am tempted to return it and just get a hensley hitch that may fix most of my problems. This has been a long hard road.
Sorry to hear it is such a difficult-to-find obscure problem.
I almost hate to say it, yet again, but that is exactly the symptoms of incorrect (insufficient) toe settings. I do apologise for being so stubborn.
Reading your first post and a few later, I assumed early on that if it were a hitch problem you would have solved it in the first hour like most lucky people. Hitch problems just aren't that persistent.
Toe-out, when it appears because of loading or whatever, never goes away until an accurate alignment turns the front wheels just a little bit inward. Once in a great while toe settings are too far in, but that is less likely and the effect is not as prominent. In such a case, the wear will be on the outside of the front tread. Just for the record, correctly set toe-in settings tend to run true (toe-neutral) when going down the highway because of inherent give (from drag) in suspension components. That is why the factory settings on rear drive always call for toe-in, to compensate for "give". That is also why front wheel drive cars are set the opposite... toed-out. The darn front drive wheels tend to pull, or steer, inward from the wheels pulling the car forward.
As an example of toe-out problems, some Excursions and early F-250's just don't steer right seemingly no matter what. Most have had multiple pro alignments, like I did years ago in sheer futility. If you don't believe the extent of the problem, check the Ford forums out for Excursion "wandering". One forum even offers a type of traction bar, and folks literally buy all sorts of expensive gizmos to correct their tow vehicle from wandering, often concentrating on the rear axle which is simply not the problem, or they would all be that way. Some of these owners correct worn ball joints or steering sectors which may need to be replaced anyway. On the other hand most identical Excursions, and identical F-250's steer just fine, even with semi-worn parts. Why do you suppose that is? The mystery is not so mysterious.
As an example, my particular Excursion accidentally steers just fine, steady one finger down the road with either of our 30 foot campers (barring excessive wind), and that was with the cheapest WD on the market, the original WD Eaz-Lift. I finally recently installed a Hensley, but that was only because I bought it out of fear a couple of years ago, originally for towing a huge camper with a tiny Ford Ranger sized truck, and I just sold the marvelous Eaz-Lift with our previous camper. The simple Eaz-Lift installs from scratch in 5 minutes; not so the Hensley, and I'm a lazy guy. Hitching time thereafter is about the same though.
But, concerning Excursions, the last camper I talked to last year on Memorial Day, with a mysterious chronic wander, drove a beautiful Excursion diesel. The campground is about 100 miles away. Anyway, his truck steered terrible while towing when it was stock, and he had since installed a proper lift kit (springs, not blocks), replaced ball joints and steering sector, had added a Helwig sway bar and had it pro aligned more than once. Still steered like heck. I should have offered him a low price for it. But I looked at his fairly new tires and they were slightly worn on the inside front tread.
He replaced tires not that long ago when he bought "big meats". The old front tires had been badly worn on the inside. I told him that the pro alignment machines were unreliable and to simply "rifle sight" down the sidewalls, when all hitched up, because his front wheels were most certainly toed-out under those conditions. I hope to see him again this year to get the rest of the story. If he was convinced, and the self-commenced eyeball alignment finally solved his problem, I might let him buy me a beer or two.
I have to admit that most of the problems I have seen are on trucks with a live front axle, no independent suspension. But not all. I think the alignment machines fail the Hotchkiss live axle more often for some reason, which accounts for the 4X4 Excursions and other 4X4 3/4 ton trucks.
Good luck, and have a great Memorial Day, in spite of whatever is causing your steering grief.
Wes
...
|
Wes Tausend
|
05/22/12 05:07pm |
Towing
|
|
RE: Do you use cell phones while backing into campsite?
...
Get out, stretch, yawn, scratch yourself, survey the lay of the site, wave to the on-lookers, git back in and back up until it sounds expensive.
At that point, the TT is far enough back that it can easily be driven forward to the perfect spot. Don't need no stinkin' mirrors either. And the broken branches are good for free firewood.
Wes
...
|
Wes Tausend
|
05/22/12 06:11am |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: dirt coming weep holes
If you have a reversible ceiling fan, how about turning it on during transit to pressurize the interior to keep the dust out?
Pretty good idea! Thanks.
|
Wes Tausend
|
05/22/12 05:27am |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: crossing border to canada
...
The way I see it there are two problems.
First Mad Lamb Disease.:E
Then atrocious prices for easy-to-fake, rinky-dink passports. ;)
Wes
...
|
Wes Tausend
|
05/20/12 05:42pm |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: KZ Spree
Glad to hear that you have been enjoying your unit. The one we are looking at is a 2009 used travel trailer. We plan to use it for about 6 years and trade up to a motor home once Steve retires.
Looking at the floorplan for the KZ Spree 323 RLS yields this on a 2011 newer model:
http://www.uvsconsole.com/manager/admin/cp-floorplans/large/130382540315896.jpg
Our 2004 Keystone 294RLS Keystone has an identical floorplan to the KZ Spree 323 RLS, with a slightly different walk-through bath fixture layout. Very comfy plan.
While we didn't buy a KZ Spree, we seriously considered the smaller 2010 KZ Spree 261RKS before we bought our present Keystone.
A tour of the KZ Spree 261RKS floorplan reveals it is very roomy, just missing the chairs, if you decide you need an easier-to-pull camper. We went with a larger camper because we already had a very large SUV.
http://www.uvsconsole.com/manager/admin/cp-floorplans/large/124587119792868.jpg
Wes
...
|
Wes Tausend
|
05/20/12 04:54pm |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: Camper started 7,600 acre Colorado fire
...
Maybe a partial solution in some areas would be to announce that, because of temporary dry conditions, fines will be much larger for accidently starting a fire. People are welcome to have a fire but it will cost them dearly if it gets away. The law might also require that a rated fire exstinguisher be no further than 10 feet away. I know, one more thing to backpack.
Since fires are a chemical action, maybe there is room for a relatively harmless chemical invention that heats to, say, 250 degrees max. Or, alternatively, any chemical reaction that starts with, and requires, the addition of water would self limit to about 212 degrees. These temperatures would prevent reaching the point if ignition for dry vegetation, yet would be high enough to cook with. A light backpack unit would be nice while I'm dreaming. Hey, wait...
Actually, a Google search indicates these heaters already exist. One, a flameless ration heater contains finely powdered iron and magnesium metals, and table salt, only needs the addition of water.
Wes
...
|
Wes Tausend
|
05/20/12 03:05pm |
General RVing Issues
|
|
RE: Lance 1575 WD hitch
While I don't discount that a WD hitch shifts the weight off the rear axel (which is one of the main reason to get a WD hitch), you can't discount what the WD hitch weighs or that you still need 10-15 percent of the trailer weight on the ball. Those 2 weights still count against the overall Gross Vehicle Weight of the tow vehicle.
My main point was that many of todays modern 3.0L cross over vehicles that claim to be able to tow 3500# lack enough cargo capacity to safely accommodate the 10 percent tongue weight, the WD hitch weight, people and cargo. The maximum gross vehicle weight is often disappointingly low.
My reason for trying to tow the 1575 without a WD hitch was, if you don't really need a WD to begin with, you are simply adding the additional weight of the WD hitch without reason.
I agree with most of your post.
But... "you still need 10-15 percent of the trailer weight on the ball".
Actually not.
While the TT started to have 10-15 percent on the truck without WD, it no longer does after WD is incorporated. Adding WD can lessen the overall tongue assembly weight previously assigned to the truck. Of course the real weights still remain the same along any cross-section of the rig but they are leveraged differently amongst axles. The trick is the gain on the TT axle(s) is taken from the truck.
This may be hard to visualize, but weighing the axles tells the story. That is why I suggested that weighing the axles in a more normal WD situation in my above post:"A person might have to weigh such a rig, axle by axle, to fully realize this fact". Checking these axle weights is likely to reveal a situation where WD has removed both some tongue weight and part of it's own WD assembly weight from the load capacity of the truck.
The 10-15 percent figure has more to do with splitting side-to-side momentum favorably than the neccessity of pushing down more on the hitch ball. When we load front heavy, we are really placing momentum where the swing is short and slow compared to the faster, more widely swinging TT tail.
Commercial truck/trailers gain stability by having the trailer axles way to the back. The unfortunate result is the need for a huge greased flat plate (5th wheel) to pivot the resultant heavy tongue weight. TT's could benefit from more of this rearward axle placement except the tongue weight would become unwieldy. But 5th wheel campers do place the trailer axles back slightly further resulting in greater tongue weight and associated pivot pressure. 5vrs are less likely to sway because of it.
Wes
...
|
Wes Tausend
|
05/20/12 12:57pm |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: air compressor question
It is also a great unit to use with the Camco 36153 Brass Blow Out Plug adapter to blow out the water lines as well.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41JjZ9BsviL._SL500_AA300_.jpg height=200
Not to change the topic but the previous owner of my 5ver told me he used something like this to blow out the water lines.... Where can I get one? My local Rv supply does not have them.
Your RV supply should have them, probably in a blister pac. If not, Walmart has them near their camping plumbing and electrical dept. They will be plastic, not brass, but for the use, just fine.
Wes
...
For the OP:
The most reliable, versatile, air pump is this :B :
http://www.gemplers.com/img/heavy-duty-tire-G64442.jpg
Use this "handle helper" to get the last few stubborn pounds into a high pressure tire :B :
http://phoenixwoman.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/big-hammer.jpg
Just kidding. :B
Wes
...
...
|
Wes Tausend
|
05/20/12 12:21am |
General RVing Issues
|
|
RE: Update...Never too experienced to not be stupid
...
I've completely solved that potential problem. I installed extended length red and black cables because (1) I put my batteries in a box, and (2) couldn't find heavy duty white wire in a store.
The only thing that could go wrong is that I could have hooked these new cables up to the camper backwards...
Darn, it's dark, wet and cold outside right now...
Wes
...
|
Wes Tausend
|
05/19/12 11:45pm |
General RVing Issues
|
|
RE: Please....Tell me where to go!
...
Up from TN, visit the northeast, then move west, up to I-94 through the Dakotas, the Badlands of Teddy Roosevelt, Mt Rushmore in the Black Hills etc.
Wes
...
|
Wes Tausend
|
05/19/12 11:30pm |
General RVing Issues
|
|
RE: New Mattress
...
We bought a Short Queen from our local Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Company store.
http://furniturerow27.reachlocal.net/images/prodImages/MA-DMMFRVQ_MED.JPG
It's comfy, about a foot thick with hi-count innersprings + foam and cost around $400 on sale. I don't know what all regions have Denver Mattress Company stores, though.
We gave away our original, like new, RV 6 inch mattress to friends who plan to double up with their original RV mattress for extra depth luxury comfort.
Wes
...
|
Wes Tausend
|
05/19/12 11:18pm |
General RVing Issues
|
|
RE: Lance 1575 WD hitch
I just purchased a 1575 and I pull it with a Ford Ranger 4L 4x4. I was going to get a WD hitch myself but was asked to wait by the dealer and Lance to see if I actually needed one. If I did need a WD hitch a EQ90 by equalizer was what was recommended by Lance. That hitch has the special brackets for the Frame that Lance uses.
Even though I run my tongue at 400# and my camper loaded is about 3200# I find I do not need a WD hitch. It tows great.
The problem I found with the WD hitch is it added about 80# to the gross weight of my truck. Add another 400# for the camper on the hitch, the weight of me and my girlfriend and our gear, and I nearly maxed out the Rangers Gross Weight Limit. Even though my Ranger is setup to tow 5600# I realistically cannot do it because of the trucks gross weight limit.
Many vehicles may say they can tow 3500#, but the limits of the tow vehicles Gross Vehicle Weight is often exceeded when they try. That is why it is a bit of a misconception that a small vehicle can realistically and safely tow 3500#.
The WD hitch, while it adds (or replaces) weight to the front truck axle, should remove some of the 400 tongue #'s, plus part of it's own weight, off the rear axle. Considering that the WD hitch spreads the removed portion of the 400+ # tongue weight between the TT axle(s) and front steering axle, the overall weight on the truck (or other vehicle) should be less than that without a WD setup. The reason is the trailer axle(s) end up carrying part of the original tongue weight. A person might have to weigh such a rig, axle by axle, to fully realize this fact.
The Ford Ranger truck should make a good tow vehicle. My 1994 4L Mazda (same as Ranger) weighs about 4-4100 #'s, but I found the truck still a bit small for our heavier 30 footer, especially highway hill-power. Still, I think the Ford Ranger is actually built heavier duty than some minivans and passenger cars that are safely used as tow vehicles in Canada.
Some Canadian users have quite a different, and apparently successful, view from the U.S. on how light, or heavy a tow vehicle need be with proper WD. My philosophy is... hey, if works, more power to them.
Wes
...
|
Wes Tausend
|
05/19/12 07:59pm |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: conspicuity tape
...
I work for a railroad now so I'm more aware, but some years before, on a dark night, I came up upon what looked like a steel fence-post going across a two-lane paved highway. Steel fence posts have a dark post with a white top. I kept thinking the highway was going to turn away from the fence but it didn't... ran right up to it braking hard at the last minute.
Only at about 30 feet, I could see that a very slow moving train was pulling soot black rusty cars across the road. Sort of the black cat in a coal bin scenario. If not for the short periodic conspicuity tape tab reminents, I would have run smack into the side of that train at highway speed. It wasn't even foggy, and I had completely forgotten there was a gateless crossing for a seldom used rail there. It just didn't register.
I fully agree with others regarding the appearance of sudden fog or smoke (or even blizzard/snow flurries). A lot of accidents happen when the front guy slows way down because of sudden poor visibility. There are those times when a huge red braking strobe would be appropriate. It is not always so obvious when approaching poor visibilty to slow down early, but quite common to nearly panic-brake when one enters the "wall".
I'm not so sure that at least some white conspicuity tabs along the bottom of a TT would be so obvious, or ugly, in clear daylight, but they sure would show better on a dark night while pulling out of a sideroad for instance. Visibilty would be a bigger problem if TT's came in black.
I think traffic accidents are high on the list of deaths and injuries. If it was war related, we wouldn't put up with it.
Wes
...
|
Wes Tausend
|
05/19/12 10:57am |
General RVing Issues
|
|
RE: outdoor kitchen sink modifications- update w/pics
...
Good job!
Also, because of your description of what you use the outside sink for, I think I might like one now. It hadn't fully dawned on me that such an outside kitchen sink would be handier for serious grime and usually be worth much more than an outside shower.
Back in our tenting days we had an entire "suitcase type" sink/counter/cookstove set-up, and it was quite handy once set up, but it was so heavy and large we didn't normally take it with unless we planned an extended stay and didn't have to carry it far. It drained into a marked plastic jerry-can where the drain hose fit pretty snuggly (bugs etc) and it could be closed up for spill-free disposal. I suppose a sink could also go directly into a tote through the small vent.
Wes
...
|
Wes Tausend
|
05/19/12 10:25am |
General RVing Issues
|
|
