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Forum
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RE: Think your're good at backing? Think again.......
My first impression was the tape was run at 2-3 times normal speed.
But then I noticed people walking in the background and other cars and decided the tape was run at normal speed.
Very impressive.
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RCMAN46
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08/08/20 08:56am |
Towing
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RE: Will my trailer fit in this space?
If your garage is attached to the main house I would recommend checking with zoning.
There is usually a minimum distance that has to be maintained between the garage and trailer. If the trailer is inhabited by a relative or anyone in the family the required distance increases. The zoning inspectors look for a sewer, water or power hooked up.
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RCMAN46
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07/28/20 11:12am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Tesla Model X Towing 5,000-lb Camper: 600-Mile Road Trip
I did my post as I was impressed with the Tesla.
I compared it to my Outback to show the Tesla was getting about the equivalent of 22 mpg towing a 5000 lb trailer at 60-70 mph average.
Not sure if a diesel pick-up will do any better with a 5000 lb trailer.
Range is the major problem but as they put in larger batteries the economy will suffer due to the extra weight. Unlike diesel or gas the weight does not decrease as the miles add up on a trip.
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RCMAN46
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07/25/20 02:36pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Tesla Model X Towing 5,000-lb Camper: 600-Mile Road Trip
I did some math and for the first 510 miles of their trip they used 400 kWh of electricity. Average cost of electricity in USA is $0.1331 per kWh.
That works out to a cost of $0.103 per mile.
I have a 2012 Outback with the 3.6R engine. I tow a small utility trailer which probably weighs a little less than the one towed in this article. But after close to 10,000 miles of towing and hand calculated mpg I got an overall mpg of 22 mpg towing.
At $2.25 which is the price in my area right now my cost is $0.102 per mile.
That’s a stout little car. Towing 4000 ponds at 22 mpg. Impressive. What is the mileage when not towing?
My statement a little less was misleading. The trailer I tow comes in at 2500 lbs so about 1/2 of the Tesla. Towing is at 65 mph but most of my non towing is at 75-80 mph at 28 mpg. Speed makes a big difference as we find towing our 12,000 lb 5th wheels.
The major item when towing is wind resistance. My current 5th wheel is about 3000 lbs heavier than the previous but the mpg is very close to the same towing at the same speeds with the same diesel pick-up. The old trailer had a flat front the new one is more curved for wind resistance.
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RCMAN46
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07/25/20 02:08pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Tesla Model X Towing 5,000-lb Camper: 600-Mile Road Trip
I did some math and for the first 510 miles of their trip they used 400 kWh of electricity. Average cost of electricity in USA is $0.1331 per kWh.
That works out to a cost of $0.103 per mile.
I have a 2012 Outback with the 3.6R engine. I tow a small utility trailer which probably weighs a little less than the one towed in this article. But after close to 10,000 miles of towing and hand calculated mpg I got an overall mpg of 22 mpg towing.
At $2.25 which is the price in my area right now my cost is $0.102 per mile.
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RCMAN46
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07/25/20 12:04pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: EU2000i starts, then imediately quits..
I have found my EU2000i when it is very cold like 30 F my oil level has to be at the full mark or it will shut down on oil level until there is a little heat in the engine.
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RCMAN46
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07/24/20 08:57am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Where to connect brake break away cable on Patriot Hitch
The stuff about a hitch pulling out is non-sense.
Really it has happened.
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RCMAN46
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07/23/20 11:14am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Front hitch to carry motorcycle
Have you considered something like this?
Roadmaster Hi-Low Hitch Riser
I use one of these on my truck.
My hitch is low which works great for the motorcycle. I never travel at night so headlights is not a problem. Bugs on the motorcycle is the only problem I have.
I also tow a boat and use the hi low adapter to raise my hitch when I use the front hitch to launch a boat. Makes it much easier when you have a camper on board.
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RCMAN46
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07/22/20 08:03am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Autoformer issue
I have wired a buck (As I recall) transformer not an auto-transformer (Though I have small ones for device testing)
The transformer had two windings ONe wired "In phase" with the primary transformer in the device and the other (The buck coil) out of phase .
Hughs is saying that is how they are doing it.. I won't argue. There is a very good reason to do it this way But without opening it up and taking measurements I can't be sure what they did. Thus I will take their word for it for now since they make the thign.
IF you have an internal schematic I can look at then I can tell you for sure.
But I'm not opening the case.
I will settle for a wiring schematic of your two winding transformer that is not an auto-transformer.
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RCMAN46
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07/21/20 08:20am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Autoformer issue
The Hughes Autoformer I have has triacs that determine which transformer tap is active. As such measuring dc resistance between hot input and the hot output may be something much higher than expected as you are going through a triac.
There will be some resistance between the neutral and hot due to the voltage sensing circuit in the Autoformer.
The neutral lead goes direct from the input to the output so it should measure very low in dc resistance.
When I first received my Autoformer Hughes had reversed the output leads which resulted in the hot lead being on the neutral of the output. Also my trailer was wired wrong in that the ground and neutral had been bonded. This resulted in the trailer frame connected to the hot lead. Thus you will receive a shock if you touch the trailer while standing on the ground outside the trailer.
This can be checked on the Autoformer. As stated above the neutral goes direct through the Autoformer. Thus input neutral to output neutral should be a very low dc resistance. The hot goes through the transformer and because of the triacs there will be some resistance measured between input and output hot leads.
There should be infinate resistance between ground on the Autoformer and either the hot or neutral lead.
I discovered my problem when my Hughes was new and Hughes replaced my Autoformer under warranty.
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RCMAN46
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07/20/20 10:44am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Autoformer issue
How long has it been since the plug you had heating problems was disconnected.
If a plug is left for a long time corrosion will build up and cause a high resistance connection.
I have a Hughes Autoformer that was permanently mounted in my trailer. I had used the plug connectors and they were never disconnected as I always used the Autoformer. After about 5 years I discovered the same heating and melting problem you described.
I removed the plugs and made a permanent connection with wire crimps which I soldered after crimping. This required opening the case of the Autoformer which I did not mind as the Autoformer was way out of warranty.
If you do not want to wire direct I would recommend disconnecting and reconnecting the plugs after each trip. This will break the corrosion that forms.
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RCMAN46
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07/19/20 09:06pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Unleaded vs. Premium gas, does it make a differnce?
I also drive a 3.5 EB and when we are in low octane states, I will always pay for at least 87 octane. I do it because the owners manual says to run at least 87. At high elevation most regular gas is 85 octane because a not turbo engine can't use the higher octane. My turbo does not care is I am at sea level or 11,000 ft, it always thinks it is at sea level because the engine just kicks up the boost to make up the difference. That is why my little 3.5 turbo can run comfortably going up the steep grades at high elevation. And contrary to popular opinion, I do not have to wind the engine up. It makes full HP and torque from about 1800 rpms unlike some engines that have to be run at 4000 plus roms to get power and torque.
At 1800 rpm you make about 140 hp not the rated 350+ hp at 5000 rpm.
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RCMAN46
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07/17/20 06:55pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Unleaded vs. Premium gas, does it make a differnce?
Most gas stations in my area the premium gas is also ethanol free.
Not sure if it gives my 1999 Cadillac SLS more power but my Honda 2000 generator definitely runs much smoother with the ethanol free fuel.
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RCMAN46
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07/17/20 06:37am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Fifth Wheel hitch question
You don't state what your truck is, but does your it have the factory installed puck system for a fifth wheel hitch? BTW, that hitch looks like a piece of junk to me. Maybe usable, but a newer one would perform better.
And with that front end, you are more than likely to have contact with the cab if you don't have and use a slider - you state you have a short bed.
I'd look into a B&W Companion slider - heavy, but no chucking. Yes it is manual, but doesn't come with a lot of the issues with an auto slider - do your research. Or you can look into the Anderson hitch which places the trailer almost a foot back and is very light weight.
And people who say that they never used the slider function don't have a tight radius to make when backing. I don't use mine when backing into my storage space - but only because it a straight shot into it, and I only have to maneuver slightly. Good luck
The hitch looks much like this one.
Pro Series hitch
Just because the hitch is not a B&W does not necessarily mean it is a piece of junk.
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RCMAN46
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07/16/20 05:55pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Fifth Wheel hitch question
https://i.imgur.com/RmFXSlyl.jpg "border=0"
https://i.imgur.com/m3zZPvb.pngClick For Full-Size Image.
My guess it is a slider. The blue line points to what appears to be rollers. The white line points to the slider operating arm.
The yellow line points to what is the center pivot rod which gives the hitch side to side articulation.
Also it appears the hitch is slid back and not rotated. The arm used to release the king pin is on the left side. I have never seen a release arm on the right (passenger) side of a hitch.
I do not see how the type of jaws can be determined.
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RCMAN46
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07/16/20 12:52pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Is anyone towing with a Chevy/GMC 1/2 ton 3.0L Diesel?
The 3.0 l diesel makes 277 hp and the 6.2 l gas makes 420 hp.
You probably will not be happy with the small diesel when towing.
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RCMAN46
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06/23/20 07:57pm |
Towing
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RE: Slide out doesn't work
Look under the slide.
https://i.imgur.com/y73ikxfl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/vPKdi9Vl.jpg
you should see two large gear racks and a tube that has what looks like a beer can on the end. That is the lineal actuator for the slide. On the end which will be inside the trailer frame is the gear box. It will be almost on the other side of the trailer inline with this tube. That is where you cut a small slit and reach up a feel around and you should feel the gear box and motor. The actuator is about 6 feet or so long when not extended.
you should see two large gear racks and a tube that has what looks like a beer can on the end. That is the lineal actuator for the slide. On the end which will be inside the trailer frame is the gear box. It will be almost on the other side of the trailer inline with this tube.
That is where you cut a small slit and reach up a feel around and you should feel the gear box and motor.
The actuator is about 6 feet or so long when not extended.
This assumes you have a Lippert slide.
Sounds like you have stripped a gear. You can get a steel gear replacement or buy the motor and gear box.
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RCMAN46
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06/15/20 03:33pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: CAT Scale results - advice needed
I think I found the OP's trailer..
SE 301BHSE
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RCMAN46
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06/15/20 03:17pm |
Towing
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RE: Sulastic spring shackles
The Sulastic has a mechanical stop when a heavy load is applied.
I have found that my fifth wheel has enough load that the Sulastic is on the mechanical stop.
But the Sulastic works fantastic when the trailer is not attached.
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RCMAN46
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06/09/20 10:34am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Generic questions about 5-ers
A consideration not mentioned. There will be some stair climbing in a fifth wheel as opposed to a flat floor in a motor home. This is a deal killer for some.
The distance from the ground to the floor is about the same for a 5th wheel and motor home.
But there is the climb from the floor to the front of the 5th wheel that the motor home does not have.
There are 5th wheels with a additional bathroom at main floor level. This will reduce the trip to the upper floor once a day to go to bed.
2 bath 5th Wheel
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RCMAN46
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06/05/20 07:20am |
Fifth-Wheels
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