What did you do to your truck today?

[AKSuperDually]

I love cruising through the "what did you do to your camper today" thread, I figured I'd add a "what did you do to your truck today".

I'm sure that many of you are like me....and your truck that you use to haul your camper gets a lot of special attention to make sure it's in tip-top shape for your adventures.

I'll start out.....


Today I mounted 2 PIAA 520 Fog lights and 2 PIAA Driving lights to my winch bumper, and aimed them.



This evening, I received a box containing torklift stableload bumpstops. Those will have to wait for another day....we've got a blizzard going on here.

[markowwes]

Ski Pro 3 wrote:
That's a hell of an underbite on that truck with the new winch. Looks like the truck is a foot longer!

Ha Ha Ya the picture does it no justice, actually it only extended it out another 5 inches. That plastic on top goes a long way out to begin with, I think Ford wanted to save money on the chrome and replaced it with a molding. Add 5" to that and this is what you get. It grows on you after a while.

Side view, see the bumper extension

[Ski_Pro_3]

That's a hell of an underbite on that truck with the new winch. Looks like the truck is a foot longer!

[mountainkowboy]

Dropped Red off for a new clutch this morning, throw out noise and a little chatter starting. Still has the original clutch it was born with....132K+

[markowwes]

Installed a Warn winch on the 2018 F550



Way more nuts bolts and parts then the kit on the 2008



Bumper off ready to start install



All done

[Bedlam]

Sadly, my work at bicycle shops was pre-suspension days with solid forks and tails and cable activated calipers were just being introduced on discs. I saw enough failures with the skewers in my time, maybe I have skewed view of them. I stepped away from the bicycle shops just as mountain bikes were being introduced into the market by the BMX builders.

[ajriding]

Bedlam wrote:
I think I would mount the forks down with the rear wheels up. Gravity would push the forks into the skewers rather than trying to pull away from them and only held by friction.

Thinking is good, this idea happens to be a bad one. I am a pro, I know all about mounting bikes…

The fork mount, when used properly, is very very very strong and no gravity anywhere on this earth will make a difference compared to the clamping forces that the fork mount provides.

The photo is showing a correct mounted bicycle, mount it up. Also, if you have a oil suspension fork or hydraulic brakes then mounting upside down will create even more problems.

Take extra care and mount the bike properly and secure.

A quality bicycle shop should be able to get you set up with a QR lever that has a way to put a padlock through it to help secure it a little better. This will never come loose for one, and makes it one step more difficult for a thief.

or this one that has a built in lock
https://www.cracksandracks.com/yakima-2080-locking-skewer.html

[GeoBoy]

How do the ladder mounts hold up to the rough roads and the winds buffeting the bikes back and forth?

[deltabravo]

High amp charging cables added to the truck

[joeshmoe]

That's an excellent point about mounting forks down. Although, I personally only witnessed one quick-release come undone in my time riding, it was completely user error.

The likely-hood of it coming loose is pretty low, if ever. But things happen anyway.

[Bedlam]

The closest we have traveled to Sawtooth is routes on US-20 and I-84. Full time work still keeps me from too much back road travel and until recently we needed constant reliable cell connections due to family.

[ggadwa]

Bedlam,
Thanks again for your wise comments. I'm going to switch to Forks down. Hey if you have never been to the Sawtooth/ Salmon River Country you should visit.
This webcam is right next door to my home.
Web Cam
sawtoothcamera.com

GARY

[Ste7of1]

I mount our bikes in similar fashion and I have had the skewer release once; either I didn’t tighten it securely or road vibration loosened it enough, however I always loop cable locks through the frame of each bike and then through each other and the ladder. The cable lock acts as a security/safety measure and prevented the bike from moving much after the skewer came loose. I will say I have hauled our bikes for over 30000 miles this way and that one time was the only issue.

[Bedlam]

I've seen skewers fail on touring bikes and the rider didn't know until he came to a stop because the wheel was held in by the weight of the bike and rider. If the the fork lets go from the top the bike will flip backwards onto the road - Flipping it should allow it to hang by the rear wheel even if it starts to bounce out of the mount.

We'll be rolling through ID next weekend and I'd give you a honk, but my horn isn't loud enough so you could hear it from I-90...

[ggadwa]

Bedlam,
You might have a really good idea there......My wife and I both looked at that and wondered if the BLOCKHEAD Mount would hold. I think I might just reverse things it won't be that tough to do.

Thanks for your wise thoughts!!!!!
Still 36 inches of snow here and getting anxious to hit the road to almost anywhere.

GARY

[Bedlam]

I think I would mount the forks down with the rear wheels up. Gravity would push the forks into the skewers rather than trying to pull away from them and only held by friction.