atperci
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Re: Parking strips or driveway?
We live in Benicia and have the same climate as the OP. In the wet season, he will most likely have problems if he tries to move it, obviously. But if he just leaves it on the dirt/grass, the moisture will shorten the life of the tires. The original owner of our house poured drive strips about 30' up from the sidewalk to the fence/gate to the side yard. The strips stop there, which is kind of odd, but is fine as that part is about 3' higher than the street. We placed only wood chips in the parking area behind the gate at first. This worked fine for the TT we originally had. However when we bought our current MH, even a little bit of rain caused a major problem. I almost ended up calling a tow truck when it got stuck. When we returned home from that trip, I pulled the chips aside and placed 3 - 4" of gravel in the ruts and then covered it back up. Where the tires and jacks always end up, I left the gravel exposed and made the "pads" level with each other. This will hopefully keep the tires a little drier than sitting right in the wood chips or even the ground.856Views0likes0CommentsRe: First time happening
Coming back from seeing the eclipse in Oregon last year, we were in far Eastern Oregon trying to avoid all the post-eclipse drive home craziness (friends of ours were stuck in a traffic jam for almost 12 hours.) We were some of few that went way out of the way (at least 150 miles, by my guess) to avoid that traffic. On one stretch of two lane highway a 30'ish foot fifth wheeler past us, as he did we noticed his A/C shroud flapping in the wind. About 5 minutes later we come across the remains of that shroud strewn across the highway. Well, we got to the only gas station within a hundred miles or so and that same fifth wheel is in line in front of us. As he's having his gas pumped I get out to let him know what happened and hear him talking in a rather annoyed tone to the pump attendant. Needless to say, he didn't take the news of his lost shroud very well, muttering some profanity under his breath. I didn't care, I could tell it wasn't directed at me, as I walked away I said "You're welcome" and I hear a mumbled, straining to be as pleasant as he could possibly muster, "Thanks." I would at least like to think that maybe my courtesy helped change his attitude from that point forward. Maybe. Oh, by the way, our friends stuck in traffic jam arrived home about 30 minutes before we did, having left about the same time. They slept in their car on the side of the highway for 3 hours, while had about 7 hours of sleep in our motorhome. The joys of RVing!702Views0likes0CommentsRe: 2008 f53 class A v10 getting hot. You?
We have a 2010 Fleetwood Encounter on 2009 F53 chassis. I only have the idiot guage on the dash, but it rarely if ever moves, even in 100°+ temps, even going up demanding grades. It will move, but only a fraction of its range, it does move as normal as the engine comes up to temp. One thing of interest is that normally the cooling fan will not engage until after we are up the grade and the transmission downshifts. As mentioned when it does engage you know it, it has a very different (and loud) sound from the engine and/or wind noise.675Views0likes0CommentsRe: First time happening
We were driving North from San Diego a few years ago going through L.A., my wife had taken the road to make a run by Randy's Donuts (a favorite stop the kids love to make) and I was heading up I-5. We had disconnected the car before the 5/405 split and I stowed everything, or so I thought. About half way to Calabasas, a just past Disneyland, I noticed a young girl staring at us in a car as it past the MH. She made a motion that I didn't quite get at the time. When we stopped to hook the car back up, I found out that I never securely attached the safety cables after I disconnected them from car. I had been dragging them behind me for over 60 miles and the only person that bothered to even try to tell me this? An elementary aged girl riding in the backseat of her parent's car. I wasn't surprised, after all it is L.A.! I did wonder if she actually noticed it or did her parents. In which case they must have said thing, but didn't bother to let me know. Oh well, the cables are still useable, the road rash just made them nice and shiny.702Views0likes0CommentsRe: Comparing Solar Systems
We have a 32 ft Fleetwood Encounter with 6 of us. With kids, everything gets more use, lights are left on, water is used more, more than one tv is on at a time (running off one 300 watt inverter), electronic devices that have to be charged, etc. We have 400 watts of solar and only 2-6 volt batteries. We've gone 5 days with no generator usage in summer time at the beach and only running out of fresh water and waste water space. We live near Silicon Valley where there is no shortage of cheap supplies of solar panels, I think you can find similar deals down in your area, too. I pieced together and installed the system myself for under $500. The Tracer MPPT 30A controller I'm using is not perfect, but it gets the job done, it's reported up to 24 amps into the at and has them topped off by early afternoon in most instances. I would say that if you don't have any really large draws on your batteries, such as a big inverter, you should be fine with just your 2-6 volt batteries. Especially considering you're already getting 2 to 3 days out them as it is.523Views0likes0CommentsRe: GMC 3500HD with Gooseneck hitch but want to use BW Companion
Thanks for all the help! The FW we are looking at is about 16.5k GVWR and a dry pin of 2.4k, loaded I could see it being at least 4k, so I don't want to get near the limits of the gooseneck B&W. Seems there are more than a few instances of problems when the B&W gets to close to its limit. We're just going to wait it out and keep looking for a GM/Ford factory FW puck system to come up. Thanks again, Tom1.3KViews0likes0CommentsRe: GMC 3500HD with Gooseneck hitch but want to use BW Companion
laknox wrote: Any decent machine shop could build you an adapter that would fit the round Curt-style base and that the B&W Companion would bolt down to. Frankly, it's always surprised me a bit that B&W doesn't make an adapter for this. Lyle Thanks for the idea, Lyle. However, I would rather go with a tried and true method. Especially if something unthinkable were to go wrong, that it would be backed and warranted by someplace that would have deeper pockets or at least greater liability insurance. I just read that last year Andersen increased their warranty to Limited Lifetime, and added what they call a $5 million supplemental warranty. Whatever that means. I am surprised too that B&W doesn't offer an adapter, but I suspect Reese would probably try to sue them for some type of infringement. What surprises me even more is that Reese hasn't made they're own hitch/adapter that is compatible with it! Thanks again, Tom1.2KViews0likes0CommentsRe: GMC 3500HD with Gooseneck hitch but want to use BW Companion
kennethwooster wrote: I really thought the B&lW would fit on any ball. I've talked to people that had that setup. I'm using a B&W that fits on factory puck system. After 4 other hitches non of them compared to the B&W. Thanks for the reply Kenneth, I had hoped to use a B&W hitch because of all the great reviews. But it looks like the Andersen gets just a high marks, so I don't think I can go wrong either way. I searched for a B&W adapter for the GMC gooseneck and found out it is a Reese product they use that is welded to the truck frame. It is not the four puck system that is used for the fifth wheel hitch attachment. I would have thought GMC would sell it as a combination package where it includes both the FW and GN puck attachment points. I think that's the only way Ford does it. Also, it is a completely different shaped attachment than the B&W. It will fit but apparently there is a lot of play in it. As I said in my OP, the Reese is shank is round and uses a double pin system to secure the ball in place. Regards, Tom1.2KViews0likes0CommentsRe: GMC 3500HD with Gooseneck hitch but want to use BW Companion
Thanks for the replies! We don't have the truck or the hitch, yet. Just trying to figure out how it could work. I didn't know the Andersen Ultimate would work with a gooseneck hitch (like I said, I'm still trying to grasp all the concepts involved with a FW.) I have read good things about Andersen, but also B&W. All the trucks I had been looking at (Ford and GM) had the fifth wheel puck system, which is why I was thinking only about B&W. Then I found this one, which meets all our criteria at a good price, but had the gooseneck instead, so I was stuck not knowing how a FW hitch would work without major modifications. I'm going to do some more research on the Andersen, to get a better grasp of its features and usage. Thanks again for the help! Tom1.2KViews0likes0Comments
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