RollinFreenEasy
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Joined 13 years ago
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Re: Canada - Alaska Theft Concerns
Over the years we have camped in a lot of different places, private, state, national and Corps of Engineers and never had anything stolen. Having said that, I want to express that I take security very seriously and don't leave anything of value exposed, unless it is secured by chain or cable. Last December I found out how vulnerable our 5er is. We have a double lot about a mile from where we live in a small town of about 11,000. I went to the trailer right before Christmas to start preparing it to leave for Gulf Shores Alabama at the end of the month and found the door pried open, both tv's and a few other small things gone. After talking to a Keystone service center I would guess the thief was in the locked door in less than 5 minutes,I've probably put more time and effort into opening a jar of pickles. A thousand dollar plus door damaged, (we are not going to replace it) so somebody could steal 2 tvs worth less tha $400. Ironically, the thief or thieves missed an $800 metal detector in the front closet and had looked at the $900 RaceMe programer for the diesel tow truck, I guess they didn't know what it worked on. We had left a spare set of trailer keys on a hook and they took those and tried to get into a friends trailer that was next to ours. Thank God they broke our baggage door key off in the door lock as I had hundreds of dollars of tools in the bay,although they could have popped the bay doors open just as easily as the main door, but I still had to change the door lock because they had the key. Oddly, our lot sets right across the street from two leaders of the neighborhood watch. Lots of lessons learned here, I had the utility company put up a high pressure sodium flood light that shines on the trailers. When we got to Gulf Shores I put on a Starlights motion sensing led porch light that is very bright and because it also is equipped with a dusk to dawn sensor can be left on all the time, I also drilled about a 5/16 hole in the door handle on the inside and wrapped a small link chain around an assist handle and use a small padlock through the hole and chain (not locked in case we have to escape quickly), I sleep a lot better. We are back home now and the trailer is cleaned out, no spare keys, nothing of value and more security in place.661Views0likes0CommentsRe: universal sealant/caulk?
I was washing our 2013 Mountaineer yesterday and found several places where the caulk on top of the gutters was coming loose. It appears this seals the top of the gutters to the rubber roof, so it is touching the rubber roof membrane. I have a couple of questions. Should I try to remove all the caulking on top of the gutters or just the places that are coming loose and run a bead of caulk down the top of the whole gutter? Also, I have a tube of Dicor 501 self-leveling caulk, when using this on a vertical surface will this product sag? I'll be near a Camping World by Thursday and can get a different type of caulk.444Views0likes0CommentsRe: Dealer ???
we had found a trailer with a floorplan we liked, but Montana was phasing it out and all I could find was a few holdovers and none of them close. I finally found one at a (gasp!) Camping World in Arkansas, further than I wanted to go. BUT, I called a Camping World in Columbia, Mo. three hours away and ask them if they have the model and year we were looking for. Of course they said no, but could probably find one, which they did, but they wouldn't tell me where. I asked for pictures and compared them to the ones on the CW lot in Arkansas, surprise they are the same. Started talking numbers with CW in Missourri and found out they match any other dealers price, but it has to be apples to apples, same model, equipment, etc. While beating the internet I found a trailer in Western Iowa that was identical, but had a hideous color scheme inside and they wanted to sell it bad and the price reflected that. After CW in Columbia verified the dealer really had the trailer for the price I told them they had to agree to match it. I will say they lowballed me on the old trade but the money they had to take off the top of their unit more than evened things out. I've seen a lot of complaints about CW, but overall we are happy. They are only 3 hours away and we did take the trailer back for a few small warranty repairs, and their shop guys seem to be pretty good. Maybe we just got lucky?295Views0likes0CommentsRe: Good ole BlowMax tires
That all looks very familiar, except the J panel and plastic fender are still on the trailer. Last winter we were eastbound about 40 miles out of Fredericksburg Texas and blew out the left front Goodyear Marathon. Sounded like a grenade. I looked back and all I could see was parts flying. The tire acted like a giant weed whacker and shredded the material under the kitchen slide, ripped off the J panel and fender. I had the Goodyear shop in Fredericksburg put on a Maxxis and then found a bubble on the inside of the right front tire. Called the shop and had them mount up 3 more Maxxis tires. At least Goodyear corporate stood the damage $1600.00. Less than $400 in parts and a couple of hours and the trailer is good as new. An older gentleman I was parked next to in Fredericksburg said not to feel bad, he had blown out four tires and was getting really good at replacing panels, fenders and other stuff. No more Goodyears for me, I might look into the Sailun tires.387Views0likes0CommentsRe: Post your tow vehicle pics here
Cummins12V98 wrote: The problem with the 68RFE is that it's a trans that leads your driving habits. When you suddenly add HP and use it right away the trans can suffer until it re learns. This is right from the Chrysler guys. I really was not after more hp, just wanted to delete the EGR so the engine was not eating it's own soot and the DPF so I can idle the truck as much as I want and not have to worry about regens and the oil stays much cleaner. I hope the trans holds up, but if it doesn't we'll put in an ATS, they aren't cheap, but they are bulletproof, and guaranteed for 5 years or 500,000 miles. I deal with a shop that builds some seriously high horsepower cummins and they use the ATS transmissions. I like this truck, it is set up the way I want and I hope it is the last truck I have to buy.490Views0likes0CommentsRe: Your Rig
bbaker2001 wrote: are they easy to install Don't know. I had a shop that put the running boards on do the install because I did not want to tear into the dash. I do know they used a relay because of the wattage and did a nice, neat job. I'm an old farm boy so neat is not one of my best traits.525Views0likes0CommentsRe: Your Rig
bbaker2001 wrote: with those lights you can see forever. mine did not come with fog lamps, might add them if I can We used to fish lakes in Northeast Missouri and would be running back to Iowa in the dark on remote two lane blacktops. One night we counted 23 deer (these are BIG corn fed Missouri deer, not the bambis you see in Texas and they will do some serious damage if you hit one) on the edge of the blacktops and in the grader ditches. So rather than add one of those huge Texas style bumpers and bull-rack guard I thought the best bet would be to see them early and take evasive action. The big lights shine more than a quarter of a mile down the road while the smaller outside lights are angled toward the ditches and all are controled by rocker switches on the lower dash. Put all the lights on at once and the roosters think the sun is coming up and start crowing.:B369Views0likes0CommentsRe: Post your tow vehicle pics here
Cummins12V98 wrote: RollinFreenEasy wrote: 2010 Ram 3500, cummins with total deletes, RaceME tuner,Quad driving lights, Maghytech rearend covers, Rancho adjustable shocks, full length Luverne stainless steel running boards/mudflaps, B&W gooseneck and companion hitch, aluminum tool box, 35 gallon auxillary fuel tank with pump and Jeg's fuel filter/water seperator, air bagged, Husky aluminum 5th wheel louvered tailgate VERY nice! But use extreme caution the 68RFE and head gasket can be short lived with mods. Roger that, we only put 40 horse extra in the tune, I was trying to increase mileage. Didn't work too good though,picked up 1 or 2 MPG, 9 to 11 loaded, usually, and around 16 to 18 running empty. My understanding is anything over 40 hp and you need to go to head studs. As for the trans we keep an eye on temps and I just changed the fluid and filters (about 49,000 miles) and everything looked ok. I couldn't believe how clean the engine oil stays, up to around 400 or 500 miles before it really starts getting black, after we ripped all that pollution **** off. No smog check in Iowa. :B489Views0likes0CommentsRe: Post your tow vehicle pics here
2010 Ram 3500, cummins with total deletes, RaceME tuner,Quad driving lights, Maghytech rearend covers, Rancho adjustable shocks, full length Luverne stainless steel running boards/mudflaps, B&W gooseneck and companion hitch, aluminum tool box, 35 gallon auxillary fuel tank with pump and Jeg's fuel filter/water seperator, air bagged, Husky aluminum 5th wheel louvered tailgate489Views0likes0CommentsRe: Question 3 - equipment/supplies that are MUST have
Since this is our home when we are on the road, we pretty much replicated the things we have in our home, albeit in an abreviated fashion. Even though we have a fifth wheel mechanics play a huge part of our trips, so tools make up a large portion of what we carry. We've been very fortunate and only had one breakdown on the road and that involved a blowout that did extensive damage to the underside of a slideout. Our insurance company required that we make the underside water proof to mitigate any further damage in case of rain. We had enough tools on board to do the job ourselves without taking the trailer to a shop. BUT, it's easy to get carried away and take stuff you may never use. I go through the storage bays every spring and sort out the stuff that I have not used. Having said that, I'll probably get bit in the rear. :S496Views0likes0Comments
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