Williebago
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Re: Best itinerary for Alaska
OK - The first thing you need to do is quit thinking about Alaska being a destination and begin thinking about planning a voyage. Milepost is a must. Starting in Arizona, think about things to see and stops to make in the lower 48 as well. For instance, much of the drive will be mountainous so we planned ours by starting in New Mexico and driving the Rockies from there to where you drive out of them 3,000 miles to the north when you hit the Yukon. Used a different route back than the way up so we could see even more of BC and western US national parks etc. Plan on no more than 250 to 300 miles per day and that leaves some time for stopping along the way since many sites are really take only an hour or two then time to move on. Twelve weeks is a good time frame for this type of journey. We have done it twice, in 2013 and 2019. Denali starts going into fall coloration the last week in August and you can drive the fall coloration line all the way back to the US. The northern birch trees are just as beautiful as our aspens. Do plan on heading home from Fairbanks by Sept. 1 as many campgrounds that can handle a rig your size are seasonal and start closing down mid September. Have fun planning and enjoy the trip (voyage).654Views0likes0CommentsRe: Residential refrigerator door shelf failures
Thank you for the tip on the JB Quick. Never used that product before. I am thinking about shaping a wooden peg to insert into the door insulation as well as inside the plastic tab as more substantial reinforcement. We will see how that works.1.1KViews0likes0CommentsResidential refrigerator door shelf failures
We have a 3 year old Whirlpool 10 cu ft fridge that keeps having the tabs which are molded into the door to hold the door shelf fail as we drive down the road. The door is made with a SS outer metal skin and a 1/32 molded inner liner with the door shelf tabs. The door is then blown with a foam insulation. The molded tabs are supposed to be the anchor points for the clear plastic door shelves. After only 9 months, and 9,000 miles the first tab broke and the Newmar dealer arranged to have Whirlpool replace the door (only fix possible) under warranty. Due to Covid and the fact that they won't make a door until one is ordered, the replacement door took 6 months to get and 30 minutes to install. Last weekend after 15 more months and another 9,000 miles the same tab ripped out again. No warranty help this time from Whirlpool or Newmar. Got a price check today on a replacement door and it confirmed what I suspected and the cost of the door at $575 is more than the cost of the entire refrigerator. It is a very poor design to put that type of unreinforced tab on a door, but it probably works on a fixed unit in an apartment, but not in a rolling earthquake like an RV. Anyone else had this type of a problem and if so, what did you do to resolve it?4.6KViews0likes15CommentsRe: Is 4x4 F150 Hybrid towable 4 down
Grit Dog you are right if you look at it like that. But if you wanted a 4x4 pickup to tow and could get one that was a Swiss Army knife of electric toy possibilities away from the rig that 7KW power center looks mighty handy. It could silently run a remote deer camp for hours off the hybrid battery pac. Or an ice fishing hut. Or a construction site as Ford shows in its TV ad.403Views0likes0CommentsRe: Possible CCC Upgrade
"Might be smart to weigh your rig loaded the way you want to run it. If the front axle is over with that load, what do you gain dicking around with the back?" My apologies JRscooby, I really need to learn how to do the "Quote function" on this board. The reason for increasing the rear axle load is on an extended length gas coach, 37ft in my case, there is considerable rear overhang and I have a lot of behind the rear axle basement storage. If I load all of the tailgate stuff as far back as I can and put the 100 lb charcoal grill on the 2" receiver hitch it unloads the front axle due to the principle of lever and fulcrum. Does not change anything with regard to the maximum CCC I have to work with however. And based on the same physics it starts rapidly adding weight to the rear axle. I am pretty conscious about weight, axle overloading, tire pressure and capacity, balance, etc. not only for safety, but handling as well. We use our coach a lot and in a wide variety of ways. Not really practical to weigh all the time so the goal is to know my best loading strategies and know I have plenty of left over capacity on each axle. But, in doing some more research and analysis, I believe the best solution for me will be to add rear axle air bags and an on board compressor so I can adjust the pressure from the cockpit. I can use them to add the weight capacity if needed and also to jack up the rear end if I see a gas station or shopping mall driveway approach that looks iffy on dragging the tail. This would avoid the stiff spring when running unloaded and give me easy on demand flexibility. Since every other component is exactly the same I am pretty sure the chassis can handle the few times I need the other pounds of CCC.581Views0likes0CommentsRe: Possible CCC Upgrade
Williebago, Can you post a picture of the CCC sticker Newmar put in the unit? It would help us all understand better. Bruce, Have not gone thru the process to post a picture here, but here is what the label in the cabinet says: "Cargo Carrying Capacity (CCC) Computation" GVWR = 24,000 pounds Minus UVW = 21,922 pounds Minus Propane (25 gal.) = 105 pounds CCC for this motorhome = 1,973 pounds Combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed CCC. A full load of water equals 674 pounds of cargo. (8.3 lb/gal) Dealer installed equipment and towed vehicle tongue weight will reduce CCC This is pretty much verbatim what the label says along with definitions of GVWR, GCWR, UVW, and CCC and the necessary liability warnings, etc.582Views0likes0Comments
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