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RE: It's supposed to be down in the 20°'s
I agree, and was going to post the same thing. It takes several nights of below freezing with the daytime temps never getting above 38 to make a difference.
That is exactly what is forecast in the PNW. For the next 5 days or so we're supposed to have lows in the mid-20s with highs in the mid-30s. Time to winterize.
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rjstractor
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12/04/09 07:58pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Help with 12 speed Meritor Trany And Mercedes 450Hp motor
This transmission is an "automated manual" transmission, meaning that it is mechanically similar to a manual transmission, as opposed to the more common (at least in RVs) Allison automatic. However, both clutching and shifting are fully automated, with computers and servos doing the work that your brain, left foot and right hand used to do. I've never driven the Meritor, but I've driven some Eaton automated manuals and they work very well. The automated manuals do not accelerate in traffic as fast as a similar Allison-equipped rig, but they seem to be the automatic of choice in OTR trucks, which tells me they are both more economical and durable.
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rjstractor
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12/01/09 08:08pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Is this your truck? Rd2
Whataya suppose the tongue weight limit is on that bad boy???
100 or 200 pounds?
Actually, 200 pounds is it's payload limit, including passengers...
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rjstractor
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11/30/09 06:06pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: 06 HR Endeavor with fire dammage
Since it was stored with a boat was storage on/near saltwater and was saltwater used to put out the fire? This might account for the metal corrosion. Or was some kind of chemical used to fight the fire?
Saltwater is rarely used to fight fires unless it's a "surround and drown" operation using fireboats. My thoughts are that the corrosion was caused by byproducts of combustion mixing with the water used to fight the fire, similar to acid rain. Either way the corrosion is cause for concern. My main concern would be delamination of the walls and/or roof because of the dissimilar expansion rates of the various wall and roof materials when they were heated.
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rjstractor
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11/28/09 08:39pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: New Hemi coming for HD RAM...6.4L and 450 - 500hp
Yes, I get about the same number, confirming that it's physically impossible for a stock 6.7 to pull 20,000lbs up a 10% grade @ 55 mph.
I came up with similar numbers. Gradeability of a truck is a lot like fuel mileage, it's real easy to exaggerate. Also, hills often seem much steeper than they really are. For example, Vantage hill in Eastern Wa. seems really steep but it's actually only 4% at its steepest.
I crack up at guys who claim that "my diesel Dodge/Ford/Chevy will move 30,000 lbs. at 60 mph up a 6% grade", when a truck I drive with a 14 liter engine and over 500 hp will barely do that.
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rjstractor
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11/23/09 10:52pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Wireless back-up Camera
I've got one of the $75 wireless cameras. I mounted the transmitter in a wiring access compartment about in the middle of the coach, which gets it as close to the monitor as possible. The only tricky part was getting power back to the transmitter, since I wanted the camera to have power whenever the ignition is on. I would prefer to have the camera mounted high in the center, but it works fine mounted on the license plate bracket.
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rjstractor
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11/22/09 10:47am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Lighter vs heavier toads?
I have pulled cars ranging from 2400 to 3200 pounds with my class C, and I was hard pressed to tell the difference in either stopping or going. In fact, the difference between towing and not towing is not very dramatic, even though the drivetrain in my coach is basically that of a pickup truck. Your drivetrain is more similar to that of a class 8 heavy truck, so as long as your toad is under 20,000 pounds it won't slow you down a whole lot. ;)
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rjstractor
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11/20/09 10:11pm |
Dinghy Towing
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RE: replacing RV refrigerator with household frig
If someone thinks that a residential fridge will work for them, then by all means do it. However, if you are at all concerned with resale, you're money ahead to just replace the OEM fridge. If I were shopping for a used motorhome, if I came across one with a home fridge in it I would turn around and walk away. Not only would the fridge be useless unless plugged in, it tells me that the previous owner looked for the cheap way to fix problems rather than spending the money to fix them the right way.
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rjstractor
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11/20/09 09:58pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: New RAM Van
I've been seeing quite a few of those little new cars, the KIA Cube?, the one with the hampsters driving? Anyway several around town lately. Wonder if they are any fun?
If they made one with AWD and a 200+ hp turbo motor ala Subaru WRX or Lancer EVO you can bet they would be a lot of fun!
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rjstractor
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11/19/09 10:29pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Thinking of selling my coach...Am I stupid?
1. You will never have as much space in an RV as in a stick home of equal price.
What?? Are you telling me I can't buy a 2,200 square foot RV for $250,000??
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rjstractor
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11/19/09 08:50am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Police cars
CV's are used a lot as police cars up here, but as a previous poster said, that has a lot to do with which manufacturer submits the lowest bid that meets government specifications.
It's the same deal whether it's government pickups, dump trucks, tractors or police cars.
A spec list is issued, manufacturers try to low ball each other price wise. Up here, we have local municipalities, larger cities, provincial departments, federal agencies all submit together...the idea is volume = lower prices for vehicles that meet pre determined specifications.
I don't know what they do in the USA, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's something similar.
It's generally purchasing department policy.
Government purchasing is very similar here in the states. Here in Washington government agencies can buy vehicles on "state bid" which takes advantage of bulk buying power. For example our fire department bought an F550 diesel crew cab and chassis for around $30K.
Having said that, if a police department decides they want a Dodge Charger or any other car instead of the "low bid" CV, all they have to do is tailor the specs when they go out to bid to ensure they get the vehicle they want. For example, if they wanted Chargers instead of Crown Vics they could add into the specs that the engine must have a minimum displacement of, say, 5.5 liters.
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rjstractor
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11/17/09 06:38pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Police cars
Well, according to my internet searches this evening, the only reason a police Charger would have spent much time in the shop was due to brake pads wearing out quickly. And, the reason for that is, is that Dodge wanted to get the most stopping ability possible and used pads with a softer material that was great for stopping, but not so great for long term wear. They have since dialed back the stopping ability just a bit by using harder pads, still stops better than the CV though, and are getting longer service life out of the brakes. I could find no other common issues with the Charger police package. I wish our local PD would give them a try, but they only use the CVs. They also have an Explorer, an Expedition, and an F250. Most likely they are locked into Fords right now due to the low bid I'm guessing.
Your local PD probably uses the CV because it is the industry standard in police cars. The other two posters are police officers who actually have experience in using the two cars and are probably not biased to one or the other. The local cops I have talked to have said pretty much the same things, that while the Charger is faster, the CV is more durable, reliable and comfortable, and therefore preferred by most of the guys I have talked to.
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rjstractor
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11/16/09 07:50pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Advise for renting a tow dolly
Your rig may be an E350, but there is no Ford 350 engine. You likely have a V10, which will have more than adequate power to tow your CR-V. Hitch rating may be a concern as a previous poster stated, as many Cs only have a 3500 lb. rated hitch.
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rjstractor
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11/13/09 06:46pm |
Dinghy Towing
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RE: Stock 8.1 pulling 15k pounds without damage ?
For crying out loud, it is an Allison!!!!
If a transmision is good enough for an army tank, it certainly will hold up to the weight of a camper !!!
The only part the 1000 series Allison shares with the big truck transmissions is the name plate. It was designed and intended for light and low end medium duty truck usage.
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rjstractor
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11/12/09 09:08pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Survey: New Rear Coil Spring 1/2 T Ram Owners: Towing
Coil springs don't necessarily equate to weak suspension. The military Humvee uses independant suspension front and rear with coil springs, and those vehicles are subject to hellacious loads and conditions.
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rjstractor
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11/09/09 07:12pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: "What can I tow" question you probably have never seen.
That's a beautiful car. :) If it's any help at all, I still remember the owner's manual from my high school car, a '72 Dodge Coronet with a 318 V8. This car was similar to yours in terms of power and weight, and the owner's manual said it could tow 4000 pounds, with no mention of frontal area or GCWR.
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rjstractor
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11/09/09 07:05pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: DW is real nervous
With a class A in particular the passenger sits closer to the edge of the lane than in a C or regular passenger vehicle. It just takes getting used to. When I first moved from the driver's seat to the officer's seat in a fire engine I thought we were going to smack every sign and mailbox that we passed.
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rjstractor
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11/08/09 07:39pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Anemic Dash Heat
To me it sounds like a design issue. I don't have a DP motorhome, but have driven lots of 40 foot diesel pushers of the yellow variety (school buses) and once warmed up they seemed to produce plenty of heat at the front.
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rjstractor
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11/08/09 10:36am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Catastrophic oil pump failure on my TV
How was your rig towed away? I've never had to be towed. I dread the thought of how a 5th wheel is towed from the scene in BFE at 2200 hours.
IIRC many tow trucks and roll-back trucks have the ability to receive a 5er's kingpin in their lift assemblies.
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rjstractor
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11/02/09 07:55am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: added overdrive transmissions
Your coach already has an overdrive. If you add another one, chances are under most driving conditions your motor will not have enough power to run at lower rpm. This will make the transmission downshift, so you won't gain anything. It takes a given amount of horsepower to move your rig down the road, adding another overdrive won't change that.
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rjstractor
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11/01/09 11:44am |
Class A Motorhomes
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