ourjeeps
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Re: SRW vs DRW
larry barnhart wrote: In the resort we are in for the last many winters it looks like the dually trucks are becoming more popular now. chevman Larry - Good to hear that trend. I'd say that's a real good thing (safety and capability). I get to say fewer prayers for other folks... DRG646Views0likes0CommentsRe: SRW vs DRW
Having owned both SRW and DRW 1-ton diesel pickups, we'd say if you're pulling any substantial weight - go with the dually for safety, stability, and towing capacity. Yes, as mentioned city parking is a pain. Yes you eventually have six not four tires to replace, Yes checking air pressure w/o extensions is a pain (so get some, tire pressure is critically important). Yes, as mentioned you can't use standard car washes... between hand washes, we just endure a slightly dirty truck. OK - the story why we prefer dually's (now) for towing now after years of SRW towing - We were pulling a properly loaded wide-body, high capacity, 16-foot enclosed dual-axle trailer with a 1-ton SRW long bed, crew cab, diesel - a 2002 F-350 7.3L that we loved as original owners. At freeway speed, the wife (driving) had a rear-wheel, full (60 degree) tread separation (tire carcass held) on the rear passenger-side BFG tire (Load Range E 80 PSI, properly inflated, not overloaded, not abused, 2-year old tire, nearly full tread) which was enough to throw the truck and trailer into a oscillation that almost caused us to leave the road surface (dual lane, separated freeway with shoulders) the safety chains held but the trailer tongue eventually decoupled from the ball, and the trailer ended up on its side on the road surface. The truck bed and tail pipe were severely damaged between the tire damage and trailer impacts to truck bed sides and tailgate. The trailer body and doors held, but one axle was bent. Any way, several nice semi-truck drivers who saw the accident happening, pro-actively blocked the highway with their rigs to prevent secondary collisions. The wife was not cited by Arizona DPS's finest, who were only concerned about 1) our safety, 2) clearing the road, and 3) getting traffic moving again. If this had happened in the People's Republik to the west... well never mind... Several friends with yes, fat-wide dually's - told us if this had happened with a dually, you'd calmly pull over to the shoulder and change a tire. Well as a result of the near-fatal incident, we now have a diesel dually as a tow vehicle, and personally comparing SRW and DRW, the increased stability is very noticeable, and no real change in ride quality/comfort (we're talking one-ton trucks right?!?! ;-) ). Ford's new "Sound Screen" acoustic glass on the higher-end rigs makes the cab much quieter at freeway speeds. If you ever crack a SS windshield or break a SS side window it's more expensive to replace however... Can't say we love the DEF fluid, occasional city parking, and we're too wide for a standard car wash. But it tows GREAT and we're much safer if something goes wrong. We always say a safety prayer for the drivers/owners/families of large 5-ers and toy haulers with SRW tow vehicles, when they go by, or headed the other way, on the other side of the highway. BTW, a body repair tip - if you ever get your truck bed severely damaged in an accident, look for a local "utility bed" company they usually have or know of, a yard full of new truck beds waiting for a new home. We put a color-matching brand new 2016 steel take-off bed on our 2002 F-350 truck for 25% of what a body shop wanted. On the Ford Super Duty's, the bed bolt pattern/mounts and body lines matched from 1999-2016. The yard we patronized, had new Dodge, Chevy and Ford take-off beds stacked up ready to go. Always best to have a white truck too. Most work trucks are OEM white, hence most take-off beds are OEM white.327Views0likes0CommentsRe: Buying used out of state?
We've bought A LOT stuff out-of-state.but only after after careful, aware research. You have to be smart, astute, and unafraid in this area. If you live in a rural or sparsely populated area (we prefer to stay far away from urban areas/folks) when the time comes for shopping for specialty/classic/rare items of ANY sort (including nice RVs) statistically, locally it's slim pick'ins and you have to cast the line "far and wide" which also requires travel, patience, and research and savvy smarts. Retireds and folks with flexible work schedules have an edge here. Work-a-day folks are largely stuck time-wise. Today's digital technologies allow sharing copious amounts of digital media including photos and videos of prospective RVs/trailers/vehicles. Yes photos can be deceptive, inaccurate, or faked/substituted. So buyer beware. As other posters have recommended, leverage friends and relatives that may be near or within an hour or so of the sale-item-of-interest to put some human eyes/hands on it. I also like the recommendation on using a possible years old Google satellite view of a property, to see what condition it is in and if relevant, shop/storage buildings present. In our experience, generally an owner ether takes good care of all his/her stuff, or they do not - it's a life style choice. The search is best supported by a holistic "all-source intelligence" (military) view of the situation, e.g. a property owner with a poorly maintained property, and without interior storage buildings, won't likely own/maintain, or be able to offer e.g. a pristine RV. Once visiting on-site, you can see a shop, tools, other vehicles etc. that may be indicative of a diligent owner, or a pile of neglected vehicles on blocks... and a likely scam. The ladies also tend to have a degree of "feminine intuition" if the sale doesn't feel/seem right walk away you're just out the fuel and time, and disappointment with in a fellow human. As always be smart, act smart, and be fully aware. Assume little, verify. Look for inconsistencies. There are Eagle Scouts/Boy/Girl Scouts out there - just not enough of them... Good luck - there are always gems to be found - you have to be the hard-working and energetic finder.542Views0likes0CommentsRe: 1999 American Dream purchase
Ro646a congratulations on your new acquisition! We previously has a nice late 90's Winnebago Vectra Grand Tour DP w/Freightliner chassis w/Cummins and Allison World Trans. We just made a pre-retirement/retirement transition to a high-line DP for some "real" RV trips. We have always liked Winnebago from a value, product, and parts-support standpoint. The American Coach products do offer a premium decor and feature level beyond the Winnebago and Fleetwood product lines. The GOOD news is if you shop/search hard, there are many great, low-mileage, inside-stored, well-cared-for, luxury rigs offered at decent prices... ... But the SAD news is many of the sales we came across were health-driven (either serious or worse, terminal), what we'd call unfortunate or premature sales. So the lesson is, as uncertain as health and illness are - Don't wait too long to retire in decent health, or buy and travel in that "rig of your dreams!" Wishing all forum members the best of health, and the safest of travels.359Views0likes0CommentsRe: Ford dually rear center cap removal
Yes that OTC 5758 tool would work, thanks for posting. We created something similar by modifying a pry bar tip by heating it and bending the tip over at 90 degrees. d rocs wrote: ACZL wrote: The center cap posed one heck of a problem for them as they couldn't get it off... So my question is, what tool will work best? This tool: OTC 5758 solved my problem with center cap removal. https://www.otctools.com/products/hub-cap-removal-tool Here's a YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1hTRC6-IHM954Views0likes0CommentsRe: Ford dually rear center cap removal
Getting off F350 dually (decor) center caps is tough. There are 6 very stout/grippy hex-sided steel lug clips attached to the backside of plastic chrome center caps. The OEM lug wrench has a notched end but the deep dish of the dually wheel makes it useless (works fine on SRW trucks). On the backside of the dually center cap are six stout steel hex clips in six of the eight lug positions. I'd post a photo of the centercap back-side but could not determine how to upload it to the forum. We're thinking of removing two of the 6 clips to make center cap removal easier while still having a god amount of retaining grip for the dually center cap. For a removal tool, we heated the flat tip of a medium-sized crowbar and put it in a metal vice and used a 5 lb hammer to bent the top 1/2 inch over at 90 degrees - to use as a center cap removal tool. Using the vinyl covered notched flat tip (also tried the bare tip) of the OEM Ford lug wrench didn't grip the dually center cap for us. SRW center caps are no issue. The deep dish of the dually wheels makes the OEM lug wrench useless but again works fine on SRW F250/F350 SRW trucks. BTW, the center caps "Made in China" as are the aluminum OEM Ford dually wheels. I could not locate a country of origin stamp on the Ford OEM steel dually wheels). Our high-performance 2016 Shelby GT350 wheels are also made in China...950Views0likes0Comments
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