OldBlackWater
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Re: E350 MH with potential Ford C-Max Energi Toad
Saint Augustine wrote: j-d wrote: I'd see if I could build my towing plan around Ready Brute Elite which has an integrated braking system. Then find a baseplate that offers quick disconnect WITHOUT the Cross Bar that's typical in most Roadmaster applications. Popular baseplates are Blue Ox, Roadmaster and DEMCO. Ready Brute can connect to any of them. Pick the most convenient. Roadmaster is very rugged stuff but heavy and time consuming to totally remove from the toad. That's why so many toads run around looking like they have a snow plow frame on them. Does the brute mean you don't need a brake buddy? That's correct. The Ready Brake part of the Ready Brute tow bar is a cable system that pulls on your brake pedal from behind the pedal and requires a small hole in the firewall. I installed the Ready Brake system on my 2013 C-Max Energi and it seems to work just fine. I also installed the Blue Ox base plate and am using a Blue Ox tow bar that I already had from a previous toad. If I didn't already have it I would have been all about that Ready Brute Elite tow bar.404Views0likes0CommentsRe: Hwy 139, "Douglas Pass" from Rangley to Fruita, Colorado
We went through there heading north in early July with our 31' MH with toad. A few miles of it was a bit bumpy from the crumbling pavement, but not to the point of being dangerous in my opinion. Just bumpy enough that my kids complained that I was hitting too many bumps while they were trying to draw pictures.712Views0likes0CommentsRe: Overheating Toad!
Well, this is embarrassing. When I did a quick subtraction of odometer readings after noticing there was even a difference, I got 12 miles, but after looking at my iPhone photos (I took pictures of the dash display since I didn't have a pen handy), I see that it's actually 312 miles, which is about how far I drove that day. So it must have been in "Ready to Drive" mode the entire time and didn't get enough airflow to keep cool. Fortunately, no damage was done. I might just leave it off altogether (i.e. not in Acc mode) to help avoid this in the future. The manuals for the 2014 and 2015 C-Max both indicate this in the Recreational Towing section, so it's probably the same for the 2013, whose manual hasn't been revised in the last year. By the way, I did install a charge line. It works great, with and without the engine running!659Views0likes0CommentsRe: Overheating Toad!
Dropped my C-Max off at the Ford dealer this morning and explained what happened. The service advisor called later to say that the engineer he talked to explained that the only way the fan motor would come on is if the car was on -- no way it would come on in Acc mode. It's certainly possible that I could have left it on, forgetting to power off then back into Acc mode. I forgot to mention to him that only 12 miles were added to the odometer, so there's still a bit of a mystery there. I do have the remote start feature. The key fob was in the lower pocket of my cargo shorts, and it's not easy to double-click the button to activate it, but I can't rule that possibility out 100%. I'll update again if I learn anything new. If anyone has any other theories or their own experiences, please share.659Views0likes0CommentsRe: Fishing Bridge rv park
I was there last week and didn't notice much for mosquitos, at least not in the D loop. We were one of the lucky few to have a decent-sized tree in our site, but with some crafty angling of the motor home and toad, we were able to fit both with just enough room to get the awning up. They give you a punch card with two showers per day. We just used our RV shower and kept the card as a souvenir. The water is free, just note that you'll need to fire up your water heater ASAP. Unlike the rest of the park, the water coming out of the ground is COLD! Regarding electrical service, we were seeing about 110-112 volts most of the time on 30A service, so be aware of that as you use your more sensitive appliances. If you plan to use the laundry facility there, go before 4pm to avoid waiting in line for a machine. There were a few that were out of order when we were there.617Views0likes0CommentsRe: gray water tank
I had a similar issue with mine. When I complained to my dealer when it was still under warranty, they checked it out for me. It turned out that the tank is a bit of a wedge shape, with the back side of it a couple of inches shorter than the side where it drains out. They shimmed up the back side a couple of inches with a block of styrofoam so that it would drain out more completely when dumping, and so that the top of the tank was more level, instead of the bottom, creating more usable space (depends on where your shower drain is). They also suggested using the leveling jacks to lean it toward the dump station, which I do now.310Views0likes0CommentsRe: Palo Duro canyon area campground
Don't get concerned when you hear what sounds like a bomb exploding in the canyon at dusk. From what I understand, it's just a black powder cannon that they fire as part of the evening show. I swear I could feel the impact of the sonic wave on my body all the way into the back of the campground.411Views0likes0CommentsRe: Excessive battery corrosion
tratterboy1 wrote: Put one or two pennies close to each battery post & they will keep the posts clean.They will soak it all up.Yes really!!Could get kind of pricy tho,could use up 5 or six pennies a year. I'm pretty sure I have a bad cell in the battery that is getting all the corrosion. My hypothesis is that the good battery is constantly trying to charge the bad one to bring it into equilibrium, and the excessive "charging" is causing the gassing. So far I have spent eight cents preventing the terminal nuts from getting too corroded (the penny trick works great, BTW).505Views0likes0Comments
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