boogie_4wheel
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Re: Cheap way to isolate and charge gel cell- relay or diode ?
You'll need an interposing relay that has a 120VAC coil, and a normally closed (N.C.) contact. The relay needs to be rated for the max amperage that you plan on drawing from the battery. Stick the relay inline between the battery connection on the converter and the battery itself. Wire the coil of the relay to any one of the circuit breakers on the converter. When plugged in to shore power, the relay will be energized, opening the contact and isolating the battery. The converter's DC output will power the trailer. Your gel charger would now be charging the battery. When unplugged from shore power, the de-energized relay contact would be closed and the battery would now be powering the lights/fridge/water...706Views0likes0CommentsRe: 05 Ford Escape
I have an 05 V6 AWD. I've towed about 1800lbs (my 800lb VTX, 300lb XR, on a steel deck single axle). Hills required 2nd with not much throttle to spare. The cooling fans ran a lot with that load, and my trailer wasn't catching much wind. Economy was about 15mpg (vs 24 empty running the same route) on a 600mi round trip. I ran 65 towing on the flats and whatever it could manage on the climbs. They have a separate trans cooler stock, but it is still going to get hot; you just can't keep the converter locked enough as you add more pedal. Personally, I wouldn't approach 3k if you were wanting to travel very far from home. The stability was there, the drivetrain just isn't up to the task. Ther nice thing about the 3.0L is that it is overbuilt, it is hard to kill. I think a FWD 5spd man trans would make a better tow vehicle. I sold that trailer and made a really little trailer just to relocate one bike at a time, that was bearable.91Views0likes0CommentsRe: Old 1972 DC light bulb
Incandescent bulbs operate on AC or DC, just as long as they are the correct voltage. In a lot of the substations I work in, there is an emergency lighting circuit that has a bunch of 100W bulbs connected to the 125V battery back (~130V float). In the event of a station outage (loss of station service) we can turn on the emergency lighting powered directly by the battery bank. Nothing special about the bulbs, just your typical 100W 120V.507Views0likes0CommentsRe: SURGING PROBLEM
Sounds like the torque converter is unlocking them locking back up. Most scanners and even free phone apps and using a bluetooth dongle will show torque converter clutch (TCC) status. Watch to see off the command is being lost to lock. If the command is not changing, then tapping the wiring at the trans and adding a light might be needed to prove a weak connection to the solenoid. Unfortunately most mechanics will not pursue without a CEL as a starting point. And at $100+/hr it can get costly for a shop to try to track down an intermittent problem. I had a TCC lockup solenoid fail on a 4L60E that resulted in weak and no lock conditions. It was easy to access requiring only dropping the pan. I don't know where it is on the 1000.1KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Coil vs leaf springs for off-road.
On the pre-coil sprung rear Dodge, er Ram, the 2500 would flex better than the 3500 simply because of the lack of upper overload springs. On the current design, I would still expect the 2500 to flex better than the 3500 because of the same reason. For better durability, I would choose the 3500 with the leaf pack. Less moving parts, less bushings. I disconnected the front on my '05 and was surprised at how much the stock 4-link will articulate (we're planning a family truck trip to Moab in April, vs our typical biannual dirt bike trip of just the guys). At 7900lbs and open differentials, I'm going to need all the help I can get.1.6KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Ghost Towns
Utah: 1. Stateline, located north of Modena. 2. Frisco 3. Eureka Montana: 1. Coolidge Colorado: 1. Leadville area. Gilman and Red Cliff area on hwy 24. The moly mine that is active again north of Leadville on hwy 91. There are a bunch of structures just east and SE if Leadville (go east on 7th right out of town). If you make it to Nevada... Gold Hill, south of wendover (it's technically in utah). A few sights if you make it west of elko (just south of Crescent Valley).163Views0likes0CommentsRe: Camping near Moab, Utah
We go there twice a year to dirt bike; early May and early October. If you can, boondock! Town is busy in the afternoon, near gridlock busy. Being a single lane on the north end of town makes it nearly impossible to get into/out of the campgrounds on the north end of town. You have to force your way in because the majority of us Utah'ns drive like jerks. Sorry for my soapbox. We stayed at the Slickrock Campground twice. It was decent; busy (full) but a nice place. We boondock north of town a little ways down Dalton Well Rd. Accessible by 2wd, plenty of room, good views, and pretty quiet too.497Views0likes0CommentsRe: retained fumes in garage?
I've learned that I never have a fuel odor problem as long as I don't load the toys hot. On the bikes and wheelers, the engine heats the fuel tank and pushes fumes out of the breather. Load them cooled/cold and there isn't a problem. My dirt bike can sit in there over a week without issue. Load my FI street bike when hot and it'll stink... On our last day of riding, we shower and clean up, then load the bikes last right before we leave.407Views0likes0Comments
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