norsea
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Re: Day 3 of full timing & what we've learned so far....
TomB. wrote: Our S&B home is being emptied as we speak. We have our 32ft Winnebago sitting in our local campground, and DW is nearly stress free. The first thing we learned was a 3BR home will not fit into a 32ft class a. Nope, not even close. #2. The next coach must have slide-outs. #3. The next coach must have 2 bathrooms. #4. Keep a foot FIRMLY planted on the connection to the sewer when dumping the black tank... Don't ask me how I know this. :o #5. Be open to new adventures, & great times. Repeat after me: "Less is More". After 7 years in a 31 foot travel trailer we were ready for a change. Definitely. So, this spring we upgraded to a 27 foot travel trailer. 31 feet was just too big to get into many of the places we want(ed) to go. Even this is larger than we wanted but we compromised; it has an on-board 3K generator. "Less is More". We have even less external storage than we had previously. OK - cannot haul so much excess "stuff" with us. Somehow we manage to survive. "Less is More". This still gives us much more than we had for the previous 7 years when we were traveling on two motorcycles; you know, like a bathroom! To each his own. I understand why some folks want a 45 foot motor home with a Lexus in tow or a heavy duty truck with a 5th wheel. "Less is More". Regards, Jim362Views0likes0CommentsRe: Small TT towing with Manual Transmission
VTR wrote: Who is towing with a manual transmission? I ask because of a clutch replacement on our F150, I know when we roughed up the clutch and it seemed to go down from there. However, it occurred to me backing up any slight bump or hill forces you to ride the clutch some. Forward I see not problem. Is a Manual not a good idea for towing. Never occurred to me till now. I thought it would be very favorable way. Thoughts: I have been towing 10,000 lbs of travel trailer with a F-250 diesel for the past 7 years (100,000 miles; 90% of which has the trailer behind the truck). And yes, this was the last of the manual gear boxes that Ford put into their trucks; had to order the darn thing because I could not locate anything within 1,000 mile radius. Worst case basis, when your clutch decides its time to be replaced install something a tad more "heavy duty". Frankly, if driving a manual gear box there are two positions for the clutch pedal; all the way to the floor, and all the way out. If it is properly geared there is no reason to "ride the clutch"; do that and your clutch will be ruined in no time at all. Sitting on a slight incline and "slipping the clutch" to hold your position while waiting for traffic to clear so you can pull forward and onto the highway will definitely shorten the life of your clutch. This is different from what one encounters when backing up; this is done for a very short "burst" and then it is over. And, I cannot think of being in a position where I have to do this all that often. The real advantage of the manual gear box is descending steep grades. Get into a lower gear and slowly move down the road in total control while all the guys with automatics ride their brakes constantly. An example. Going up the road to the top of Pikes Peak in the Rocky Mountains is easy. Coming back down is another story. I do not know if they are still doing it but many years ago they had someone stop each vehicle about half way down who physically reached down and felt the brake drum/disk to assess temperature. We had a manual four speed and the guy came up and looked into the car. He could not believe the brake drum could be cold. If hot, a vehicle would be moved to the side of the road into the penalty box so the brakes could cool off. This way they just might do some good on the latter half of the downhill journey. Regards, Jim422Views0likes0CommentsRe: Travel Trailer (Park Model) in Florida - Tie Downs - Help!
We were in Florida for one winter season in 2008. Watched park models being installed in one of the parks where we spent many weeks. An interesting process watching them use a large drill to quite literally screw large metal auger bits into the ground (sand really) that were about 4 feet in length. They then used metal straps to attach these to the frame of the trailer. I looked at this and scratched my head. I finally decided that I had to ask, "Riddle me this: What will doing this accomplish?". They told me that the local code required that all manufactured homes in Florida be securely attached to the ground. "This way", he said, "when you return to your trailer after the hurricane the frame will be sitting here waiting for you because the rest of the trailer will be gone.". "Ah, ha!", says I. Makes sense to me. :-) Regards, Jim1.2KViews0likes0Comments
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