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RE: Moving over to the dark side...
Sounds like a good fit as long as your truck is the one rated at 8500 lbs. (4.10 gears 4x4)
In your area you would still fine with a slightly lower (3.73) rating. The towing might be a little hard if your truck had only 3.42 gearing for eg.
Are you sure you have the 8500 lb rating?
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dougsee3
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05/25/12 07:23am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Water Heater Check Valves??
I think the problem is that the lower on does not drain proper (check valve) for the winter, and even the top one is holding water and some years freezing and distorting the fittings as well.
I am going to have to start to open the valves and push some antifreeze into that area and or disconnect the lines at tank when I winterize.
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dougsee3
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05/14/12 07:51am |
Tech Issues
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Water Heater Check Valves??
My water heater has 2 one way check valves that I am thinking of removing as they seem to make annoying humming noises and have started to leak again. Thinking of just putting in nipples and one extra shut off valve for winterizing. I do not remember any check valves in my older trailers from years ago.
The question is are the check valves necessary?
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dougsee3
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05/13/12 09:57pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Whats your towing RPM?
Recommended Towing RPM
By Randys ring and piñion
4 cl 2200-3200
6 cl 2000-3000
Big Block 1600-2600
Small Block 1800-2800
Ford 6.0L 1900-2400
Ford Diesel (Non-Turbo) 1600-2500
Ford Diesel (Turbo) 1400-2200
Dodge Diesel 1400-2200
GM Diesel 6.2L 1800-2800
GM Duramax Diesel 1800-2400
Randys ring and pinion
As you see it varies but you can flat tow at the lower RPM,s but with some headwind or some mild uphill you will shift down much sooner or more often( losing MPG) than at a higher cruse RPM. From my experience over the years 2200 to 2800 RPM cruising with gas engines the MPG is the same or so close I could not calculate a major difference.
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dougsee3
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04/01/12 10:50am |
Towing
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RE: New vehicle buying - RANT
This video is pro Subaru but it shows what a CRV cannot do. I like AWD have had a Astro, GMC C3, and a Buick Rainier. The Rainier did not have a awesome transfer case and sold it. It would probably pass this test but not smoothly like the Astro or the C3.
AWD Test?
More 4 AWD
Suburu
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dougsee3
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03/18/12 10:30am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: TT Dry weight add ons?
On another note It used to be easy to use the GVWR in the past 15 to 20 years as most trailers had only a 800 to 1500 lb Cargo capacity only the high end units had the big cargo ratings. Today they seem to have got the hint and or they are using the same axles and tires across there lines and covering the gross rating better.
At least the new stickers do not have any fine print giving you any disclaimers on options and such and should take away some or all the guesswork.
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dougsee3
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02/20/12 10:51pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: TT Dry weight add ons?
In theory chosing a trailer and TV should be easier today than in years past. As Ron has said
there is personal opinions there is also personal experiences and expectations from people that have towed with various units over the years.
The paper sticker that is posted in usually a cupboard door that LarryJM posted was mandated by the Government for road safety in the early 90's It was found that a lot of trailers GVWR rating were not rated to or allowed any cargo capaciity for gear let alone water. A lot of axle,spring and tire failures.
It was mandated that they show that the unit was capable to carry some amount of cargo and how many pounds of propane and water. This was also a big problem with motorhomes at the time.
Now in the 2000's it was found that similar problems with minimal suspension and tires supplied by the manufactures and that people could not figure what a unit would weigh or if it would meet the specs they were after. Around 2008 the outside sticker was mandated showing the tire size and weight of the unit as well as a true cargo capacity. Part of this is if a dealer changes or adds weight he has to amend the sticker to read the new weight if it changes by something like 100 lbs ?? or more.
Cargo capacity have certinaly grown a lot in the past few years and the manufactures of Tow Vehicles and Trailers seem to stretch the facts in there advertising to get an edge on the market.
All of it still makes it hard for people who want stay in a budget and get the best unit possible for there situation.
The one good thing on the newer RV's is if you can get to a Unit and read the sticker It does level the playing field and enable you to compare units and there suitability to your TV.
Some of most of the rest comes from experince I already know how much I put in a trailer and the margins in towing I am looking for In a TV to tow it. Even then I still want to push or go past my limits due to budget and or personal needs when thinking of a newer unit.
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dougsee3
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02/20/12 10:35pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Very Good Price on Pure Sine Wave Inverter
Picked one up today anyone know a approximate amp draw for a laptop and 26" LCD TV and or a DVD /VCR player and the 26' LCD TV. I know it depends on the manufacture but I am wondering if I would be under 5 amps or 5 TO 10 amps or more. Trying to decide on how much I could use it for TV on a rainy or cold night.
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dougsee3
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02/19/12 04:40pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Ford F150 7650 lb GVWR
I have a 2010 maxttow with a 7675 gvw. XLT, SuperCrew, 5.5 bed, 4x4, 5.4, 3.73. I wish I could give you that info. But I can tell you that it has an 1857lb cargo rating. I have a Snugtop canopy and a sliding bed tray on it. My TT's tongue weight is around 900lbs + or -. I put two bikes, a 2000W gen, some (not much) firewood, 2 lawn chairs in the truck bed. I am near max on rear axle rating of 4050. I use an EQ 4 pt sway hitch with 1200lb spring bars. Have ran thru some scales when out camping and come in a couple 1000lbs under GCVWR. I see in your sig that you have a 6700 dry weight TT. If thats correct, I guessing your around 78-8000lb loaded. With out the HD package (8200lb) you will be pushing your rear axle load as well as max cargo rating. Sorry I cant help you on empty weights.
Yes I am at 8200 lbs with my TT with about 1100 lbs hitch weight.
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dougsee3
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02/19/12 01:53pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Ford F150 7650 lb GVWR
I can get and read and find all the ratings I want but none give the unloaded weight of the front axle plus what the rear axle weighs. For example Supercrew sticker shows a 1593 lbs cargo
7650 GVWR minus 1593 = 6057 lbs this is what the truck should weigh? How much of this is on the front axle and how much is on the rear. No I do not have a truck to find out.
Hopefully a few on here have been to a scale.
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dougsee3
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02/19/12 01:44pm |
Tow Vehicles
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Ford F150 7650 lb GVWR
I would like to here from owners what the real weight or scaled weight is on your 7650 GVWR Ford Truck.
The info would be what does the front axle weigh and what is the rear weight.
And if it is a SuperCrew or Ext cab, and or what motor and if 2wd or 4X4.
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dougsee3
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02/19/12 09:59am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Max Payload?
I have a 2012 GMC Sierra CrewCab SLE 2wd 5.3 liter with the 6-speed transmission. Im a bit confused on the payload of the truck. GMC's website gives a different amount compared to GMC's Brochure. Im in search of a trailer, and would like to know exactly what Im looking at before I buy...
GMC's Website
GMC's Brochure
These weights are all the "max payloads" on the lightest (base) truck with no options to which very few people order a truck like this. They cannot possibly list all the payloads
for every truck with every possible combination of options on the Website or in a Brochure.
Your truck should have the "tire and loading Information sticker" posted by "APT" This sticker was mandated by the Goverment for just this purpose to inform you of the actual payload
This sticker is most likely with in a few lbs. of payload with options as your truck was delivered.
This Sticker has been around since 2005 I think.
It is also on Newer Trailers since 2008 or 2009
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dougsee3
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02/19/12 09:44am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: TT Dry weight add ons?
It can be hard to figure out with so much information and difference in weight advertising.
Up to now there have been dry weights that the manufactures advertises to compete with each other with some including or not including options. The new yellow sticker is now better than before to help you with your weight calculations as you are doing now. If you can access the yellow sticker you can compare units better than in the previous years.
Your truck does have a little more payload than the average 1500 truck. The TT you are looking at Is completely towable with your truck. Although the TT is going to be in the weight where a person should pay attention to the loading. You might want to take care on how much gear you load in the truck and I would advise you weigh your unit loaded and ready for a trip. This will give you an idea if you need to shift any weight around. This also lets you think and watch for or know when things change like bringing extra people or gear( water and holding tanks) with you.
If the trailer has a high cargo capacity all the better as the running gear and tires are not marginal.
There are three basic or more weights out there.
Dry advertised
The new sticker weight.
Wet weight
And the weight you add and find at a scale. (gear and people)
Most people will add 900 to 1000 lbs to the new sticker You have room for a little more and if you can get less as some can, all the better.
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dougsee3
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02/19/12 08:04am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: TT Dry weight add ons?
I don't believe all yellow tags include the weight of the propane or the battery as these items are typically installed at the dealer's shop. The tag probably didn't list an accurate hitch weight either and more often than not, hitch weight is the real limiting factor for the tow vehicle. The yellow tag is certainly more useful than the "dry weight" listed in the sales brochure but you still have to do some educated guesstimating.
My yellow tags says it includes the weight of 2 full 30lb propane tanks and 1 battery.
Here is a photo of that actual label inside the cabinet of my trailer
http://inlinethumb29.webshots.com/31580/2547417760035848260S600x600Q85.jpg
Notice is does include the propane in the CCC, but no battery and it doesn't mention any effects on tongue wt. for items above the base dry wt.
Also, dry wts. are listed in brochures and almost always have the caveat that info is subject to change so using "brochure" dry wts. IMO are still fairly useless for the most part.
Folks often now refer to these "yellow" stickers that are on individual trailers and might be more accurate, but what we see are the advertised "brochure" dry wts. which can often be very misleading or inaccurate.
To be save I would choose a trailer with a GVWR and a tongue wt. base on that of around 12% to determine if the TV I have is up to the task under all potential loading situations.
Larry
This is not the yellow sticker that is on the newer Trailers. The new one is smaller and includes tire size as it came from factory as well as the weight including options. It is also on the outside of the Trailer. Your sticker is the old system and as in the bottom note does not include or might not include all options.
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dougsee3
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02/19/12 07:16am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Ego Boost Engine
4X4 you are correct that torque alone can't create horsepower. The formula for horsepower is HP=(torque*RPM)/5252.
So at any given RPM the engine that produces more torque will generate more HP, and it is HP that gets you up the hill.
I am having trouble trying to understand what your point is. Are you agreeing or disagreeing that the higher horsepower engine should get to the top of the hill first?
You were arguing (with some else) way back when that 650ft lbs of torque had nothing to do with getting to the top of the hill first. I'm arguing with that statement, assuming I understood it correctly cause it makes no sense.
I don't want this to blow up into another big fur flying episode but here is an scenario where the mighty Cummins would get left in the dust by an overloaded F150 pulling a 14000 lb trailer up a steep hill.
Assume the F150 is using all its power runnning up the hill at 54 mph in second gear at 5000 rpm. At 5000 rpm the ecoboost is said to make 365 horsepower. This would be 383 ft lbs of torque at 5000 rpm. Multiply 383 by the 2nd gear ratio (2.34) and the rear end ratio (3,55) and you find it would be putting 3200 ft lbs of torque on the rear axle.
In order for the Dodge to keep up, its trailer would need to be considerably lighter because at 54 mph the Dodge would be in 3 rd gear (1:1 ratio) running at 2250 rpm. At 2250 rpm the Cummins is likely producing about 580 ft lbs of torque. Multiply 580 X 3rd gear ratio of 1 x the final drive ratio of 3.73 and you discover that the Dodge is only putting 2163 ft lbs of torque to the rear axle.
The advantages that the F150 has is more gears (easier to keep the engine revs up) and more Hp which can be made into torque by running through the transmission.
One must think about how advertised Hp is determined, It is tested at full throttle at a known load as it is accelerating for for approximately may be 10 sec?
With the load of a 14000 lb TT which would be way more of a load than a dyno run and for a way longer period and might not be able or be unable to accelerate.
The computer would be pulling timing, turbo boost, and fuel rates trying to keep the motor in check to make it survive and resulting in lost HP if you will. As the motor gets hotter and the intercooler is not keeping up, the HP production gets to be less, and possibly at a point the engine computer just shuts it down.
Yes the Ecoboost has plenty of power but would need a more conservative throttle input and RPM and cool weather temps temps to possibly make it all the way to the top of a long
climb at full throttle. At any thing less than full throttle, perfect timing, fuel, and not at full throttle the motor is not making its advertised 365 Hp. or torque spec.
There would be some point with a lighter trailer or the perfect weight that you could maintain that rpm without a problem up a long hill at that rpm. Or as in there advertising
pulling a trailer on a basic flat track but the load or Hp needed is in the design perimeters of the engine.
The same thing happens to a diesel but to a lesser degree as they are more able to sustain full throttle and heavy towing part throttle loading for a longer period of time in the 1800 to 3000? operating range.
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dougsee3
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02/11/12 09:42am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Equalizer hitch question
Remove grease and also torque the bar sockets to spec.
There is a revised torque spec. from Equal-i-zer?
I do not remember the new spec. The old spec was on a sticker on the sockets.
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dougsee3
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01/26/12 12:16pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: New Andersen WD hitch
I can not post a pic. from my phone.
If you look at the TT hitch were the ball fits into the top of the ball socket.
The trailer TT hitch would have to rise up away from the ball to put excessive force (or all of the force) against the coupler latch.
What the latch is really doing normally is preventing the hitch from lifting off the ball rather than taking all pressure from braking and in this case the chains forcing the latch against the ball.
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dougsee3
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01/24/12 08:23am |
Towing
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RE: stupid question about drop shanks
I have found the shank mounting holes are different with most or some manufactures.
To be safe and not to have return one get a Reese again if needed.
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dougsee3
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01/23/12 09:12am |
Towing
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RE: 2004 Fleetwood Wilderness 260BHS Travel Trailer
Thanks folks! I'll let the relatives know.
dougsee3; Any chance of emailing me a copy of that pdf?
Yes I will check your P M
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dougsee3
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01/10/12 03:53pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: 2004 Fleetwood Wilderness 260BHS Travel Trailer
From a 2004 Terry pdf file from Fleetwood saved a few years ago
260BHS
GVWR 7700
Dry 5636
cargo cap. 2064
Dry hitch 836
length 27' 11" (add 10" for spare tire)
height 9' 9"
St205/75-15 (C)
fresh water 40 gal.
gray 40
black 40
propane 60 lbs
Note the two Fleetwood TT's I have owed have been appox. 475 to 500 lbs more than dry weight with a battery propane and the standard options.
Prowler's and the Wilderness are all with in 20 to 30lbs dry if not the same
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dougsee3
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01/08/12 09:37pm |
Travel Trailers
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