huasnaian
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Re: Front hitch to carry motorcycle
I have been carrying my drz-400 (about 300 lbs) on a front hitch rack for a few years and about 10k miles. No issues at all. I just drove from CA to WY last week and had to go through Utah with 108F heat and my truck was not overheating with the bike on the front. It does block the headlights slightly but it still illuminates the road ahead. Personally, I like the front better because I can see what the bike is doing if I hit a hard bump. Also, I find it easier to park when I can hang the bike over vegetation or into a bush. Can't do that with the back mount and still use your door! I would suggest that your tie-downs have carabiners (not hooks) at the end of the strap. I had one time that I hit a hard bump and one of my 4 tiedowns got enough slack for the hook to slip out of the hold on the carrier. If the bike wasn't on the front I would not have quickly seen a strap loose tension. Hope this helps2.2KViews0likes0CommentsRe: What percent of the time do you leave your TC on your truck?
I leave my camper on about 75% of the time. I am a last-minute weekend warrior so having it already loaded makes it easy to leave on short notice. Also being in California it will be my fire escape vehicle if I ever need it. It might just be paranoia, but its an older 1989 Lance camper and I am trying to limit the chances of a wood frame failure from loading. She definitely creeks each time I jack her up.581Views0likes0CommentsRe: Onan Generator
deltabravo wrote: Kayteg1 wrote: Than for smaller loads, the $150 inverter generator from Home Depot will run whole day on couple cups of gasoline it takes. What is the model of this $150 inverter/generator that Home Depot sells? I've never seen one that cheap. This is on sale right now for $149 with free shipping, just bought one. I have missed this sale previously. Internet item #300792167 on homedepot.com edit: short sale ending in 7 hours (11:59pm PST 03/06/2019)570Views0likes0CommentsRe: Maps of ranger district boundaries? (Yes -- see below!)
Barry- Thank you for a link to this map, this will be very helpful in the future. Profdant- I agree it is very cumbersome to cross-reference multiple maps. Here is my method and a few things that might be helpful. I have a truck camper and when I go out I am looking for areas to ride my motorcycle (street legal dual sport) and frequently use MVUMs. I know you are more of a hiker and might be seeking slightly different locations. I start in a different direction from you. I first locate an area that I know has a large forest service road system and hopefully some true motorcycle single track. Since forest service websites can be hit and miss depending on district I start with google searching 2 phrases. "MVUM + the general area of interest", and "recreational opportunities guide + area of interest". Once I find an area that has legal motor access to the forest I then go to google maps/earth and start exploring from above. Some districts will post a Map Index which will show the relation of the different maps. If the district doesn't offer the map index, I find where a forest service road meets the regular road on the MVUM and search for the intersection on google maps. If you only have a pin dropped on google maps I find that the quickest way to match up the two areas is using publiclands.org in a second tab, locate an easy to find area on both maps, and then use publiclands.org to follow the road of interest to make sure it does not cross over any private property. There is an area near me in the los padres nf that is listed on the MVUM as open but it crosses private property and the owner never opens his gate to allow access. Luckily I did not drive a long distance to discover this blocked path. One really handy app is Avenza Maps ( I use it on android, not sure if it is for iphone too). The free version of this app will allow you to have 3 maps loaded into it. If you download the MVUMs to your android phone and then import them into Avenza Maps, the app uses the gps on your phone to put a marker on the MVUM of your location and allows you to drop a pin to mark a location directly on the MVUM. I find this helpful once I am exploring the area to see exactly where I am within the forest service road system. I have also been able to load hiking and mountain biking maps into the app which was a nice surprise. I am sure you are aware of most of these tools but that is how I use them together to find my way around the forest. Am I missing any cool tools that you use? I just got back from the High Sierra Ranger District this last weekend. This district has a very well put together website with lots of maps and relevant info. The Tamarack area just below Huntington lake was not very crowded where Shaver Lake was a madhouse. Also, out Dinkey creek road, to the Courtright reservoir was a very nice drive on paved roads with plenty of forest service roads to explore. Here is a pic from standing on the Courtright dam.444Views0likes0CommentsRe: Pismo Beach - Driving on sand, need advice.
I am lucky that the dunes are in my backyard, with that said I do not drive my truck on the beach. I enjoy the beach by foot or in the passenger seat of a friend's rusted truck. I see truck campers out there, and only a couple have been stuck. Like others have said, bring a strap, lots of locals that like to help. Do not blaze your own trail. Once on the beach, watch where heavier rigs are driving and follow their tracks. Stay on the hardpack. The creek is very passable this time of year. I would still air down a dually. The Pismo/Oceano dunes have 2 entrances, if you are camping I would suggest entering the dunes at the southern entrance at Pier st. in Oceano, this will reduce the sand driving by about 3/4 of a mile. Camping begins past mile marker 2 which is past the creek. Until the end of September your camping spot will be between mile 2 and 6. Oceano dunes map There are no quiet hours on the dunes. Expect to hear OHV's all night in addition to loud music. If that would bother you, North Beach state campground in Pismo Beach is a very nice campground near the dune entrance. You still need to trailer OHVs to the beach. Hope you have a good trip. Vids: Good Drone footage of camping area on dunes from November 2017 Creek when it's high in winter. The best show all winter is to park next to the creek and watch people cross. Be sure to park above the high tide line. Also, check how high the tides will be when you are there.1.4KViews0likes0CommentsCamper jacks on large casters
This popped up during a craigslist search and got me thinking. What do you guys think about wheels/casters on the bottom of the jacks? Does anyone have this on their rig? I am assuming you would lock the wheels during loading? Or leave them unlocked so the camper can move if it bumps a wheel well?3.5KViews0likes10CommentsRe: How to carry motorcycle
There was a post about this a little more than a month ago with lots of good photos here: https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29609536.cfm My Curt front hitch is rated at 500lbs. My hitch motorcycle carrier states it is rated to 600lbs (100 more than the front hitch). I carry a 300ish lb drz400 and the rack is probably another 50lbs. It feels heavy. If your bike is going to weigh more than that I would get a front hitch that has 2 box receivers similar to Travel Ram's rack on the previous post. Mine rocks as I am driving, but nothing to worry about. No problems with wind or heat. I drive thru the California valley in summer when it is over 100F to get to the Sierra Nevadas with no overheating issues. I would look for a motorcycle carrier that has a storage basket or space to hold a fuel bottle on the rack if I bought another one.414Views0likes0CommentsRe: Motor cycle on front receiver
skipro3 wrote: well, I don't know why one can see the pic and the other cannot. I think I need to find another site to host photos. Any suggestions? It is odd. All I see is a large blank area with a small grey circle with a horizontal line thru it. I use this site to format pics posted here. You can't drag and drop directly from google photos. You must download a copy first and then drag and drop to the site. Then paste the link it provides in the message. http://photoposting.is-great.net/?i=2531Views0likes0CommentsRe: Motor cycle on front receiver
I have a 2001 Ramm 3500 diesel that I carry a drz400 on a CycleGear hitch rack on the front. Bike and rack weigh around 400lbs. If I go over a bump hard I get a little slap but it is rare. Visibility is reduced but still safe to drive. Night driving is harder because the bike blocks a lot of the light. I removed the relay that only turns the fog lights on when low-beam is selected and jumped the terminals with a wire so fog lights work when high beams are on too. This helps but is still not perfect. My plan is to add LED spotlights to the front of the bike carrier and wire in a plug that connects to the fog light circuit. In hindsight, I would have purchased a carrier that can easily hold a gas can too. I need to weld a platform to hold a gas can on the carrier securely enough for me to trust it on the road. I really like this setup and recommend it to anyone with a camper and a single bike. Skipro3- I can't see your pic92Views0likes0CommentsRe: Thinking of upgrading to a bigfoot. Too big?
54suds wrote: check out google pix of bf 10.6 side shot /rear they have a very good departure angle because the rear is at truck bed level have had 2, 10.6"s and a 10.5 I agree departure angle is good with BFs. Has your height been a limiting factor with any of your Bigfoot(s)? Looks like you have had a lot of them. What is your favorite model? Why did you stick with a 1999 when you have had newer ones?587Views0likes0Comments
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