Post your tow vehicle pics here
hello all I figure that I would start this thread so we can all show off our TV's that do the burden work and then are forgoten once you get where you are going. so here is my 1996 Dodge Ram 2500 LB, EC, 2WD Note from moderator, Please keep pics to a max 640 width as a favor to those with smaller screens and dial up. "IF" you can not figure out how to make the pics smaller, post them, PM me or hit 'notify moderator' button, say you can not resize pics, and I aka blt2ski/Marty will go in and edit/fix. Enjoy everyones pics Marty >
Diesel vs gas......................
OK folks, there have been a few to many diesel vs gas threads that have shall we say gone to "Hell and a hand basket"! So if all of you would put in you BEST, no flaming reasons for going gas vs diesel, pro and con, I will either leave your thread, or copy and paste pertinant info to the 4 posts of pro and con of diesel or gas. This can include the GM 8.1 vs Dmax or Ford V-8/10 vs PSD etc too. Be real and honest in you answers, not hear say, flaming etc PLEASE! If posts are good ones, I will leave, if inflamatory or trolling in nature, they will be deleted! I will get this stick'd to the top for future parusing for those that need this type of info. Added 6-23-04 We are getting closer to answers I am looking for etc. Stuff like Ken's - T-Bone posts are good. There are a few others of you that have not posted, some with a 9 point question and answer type to figure out how you went with one or the other. If you are one of those, PLEASE repost in this thread. I may have to look up whom has done this and PM you, but if you think this is you, you now know what to do. Also, for those of you with $ per gallon for either fuel right now, I would prefer to see a post with ...."in my area, diesel is typically .10 less than unleaded" then explain your numbers. As currently in the Seattle area, diesel and unleaded are any where from 2.05 -2.30 per gallon, with mid test .10 more and premium about .20 more, with equal high low splits. Two weeks ago those prices were upwards of .30 -.40 per gallon more. people were posting $ per gallon that were for me. "I wish" If someone is reading your post a year from now, they may want to know where your paying 1.65, when the price of fuel is over $3 per gallon. Let's keep prices out of it if possible. Bert and tin tipi, got into a good discusion on the pros and cons of RPM's, drive train etc. I would prefer to NOT see the quote of the other in responding threads, maybe just write a quick wording of re tranny gearing, instead of the whole 40 words or so in that paragragh, so the repsonse is shorter if possible quicker and easier to read etc. I have deleted some 15+/- posts, that were off topic etc. Please note, I am trying to keep this at the top, as the ONLY gas/diesel thread in this area. So if one is trying to decide, we do not have to go thru this BS any more. As such, I will be deleting ANY future posts close to resembling this type of topic. I may have to change "this" title to a better one, if one has a better sounding title, to be more positive, better claification, let me know here, or in a PM/e-mail, what ever you feel most comfortible with. Again thank you for all of you that are keeping responses positive, etc. Also we could use a few more positive reasons to go gas, as many can see I have both gas and diesel, both have a place! Both have positive reasons to buy that fuel, lets keep the threads etc to that purpose only! Marty
Actual federal weight law rules, some questions and answers
I have per the request of a few members, stickied this post. Please note, this is not a place to argue whether a law makes sense or not, just what the laws are. If you have a question about wt laws, that appears to be NOT answered in some way shape or form, please ask, and hopefully some of the ACTUAL weights and measures LEO's will answer, or those with some actual knowledge. In the mean time, I do thank the OP for starting this thread, altho I have taken the liberty to change the title to one I think and hope will be a bit more informative in name. marty TV moderator Some on this forum suggests that RAWR per the door sticker is legally binding by federal law. Specifically by para f of FMCSA: (f) Except as provided herein, States may not enforce on the Interstate System vehicle weight limits of less than 20,000 pounds on a single axle, 34,000 pounds on a tandem axle, or the weights derived from the Bridge Formula, up to a maximum of 80,000 pounds, including all enforcement tolerances. States may not limit tire loads to less than 500 pounds per inch of tire or tread width, except that such limits may not be applied to tires on the steering axle. States may not limit steering axle weights to less than 20,000 pounds or the axle rating established by the manufacturer, whichever is lower. The argument is that the last half of the last sentence "the axle rating established by the manufacturer, whichever is lower." is referring to the door sticker RAWR. It is my contention that this actually refers to the "steering axle" which according to my English classes is the subject of the sentence. My contention is to find a standard relating to the rear axle in para f you have to refer back to the first sentence: "States may not enforce on the Interstate System vehicle weight limits of less than 20,000 pounds on a single axle" I would like to hear from LEO's who might have a comment on this subject. I would also love to hear from anyone who can post a copy of a citation issued for exceeding door sticker weight ratings. A link to the violated code would be nice also. My only agenda here is to find out what really is and what really is not. I have intentionally omitted the names of those who make these claims because I want this to be about the law not people's claims. Thanks.
Ford's answers to the NHTSA 6.7 Investigation
There was a request for a link to Ford's answer's to the NHTSA investigation posted on a previous thread, since closed. Here is the link: Ford's NHTSA Answers to the 6.7 investigation This PDF is over 20 pages long. There are some interesting statements contained in the documents. My favorite is the one where Ford says they buy the pump from Bosch as a "black box" and do no testing of the component. It is closely followed by the tantamount admission that the pump will not provide a long service life when exposed to the poor lubricity fuel found in the US. You will have to do the math using the sales versus failure tables for the US and Canadian trucks. Eye opening difference to say the least... RegardsPhotos and Video now available on RV.Net's new Community
RV.net is proud to announce the release a new beta RV Community application that allows RVers everywhere to create a profile, upload photos and videos, and share them with their friends. This is a great place to host any photos or videos you’d like to use here in the forums. The beta RV Community also allows you to create groups and communicate to all members of that group simultaneously. To learn more, there is a helpful video on the blog about it or you can check out the beta application yourself directly at blog.rv.net/community. Note that while this new beta application can be used in conjunction with the forums to host photos and videos, it is a separate application and therefore you will need to join the RV Community and create a profile in order to take advantage of its features. It is free to join, and requires only an email address, birth date, and the creation of a username and password to join. To see the new members of the RV Community click here. You get your own homepage at RV.Net that you can share with anybody. Watch the video we link to above to see how to set it up.UPDATE! Picking up the 2015 Eco-Diesel Friday/Saturday! :)
Canceled the order today! So went to the dealer in Blowing Green to day and placed the order for the following truck :):):):):) 2015 Ram Crew Cab SLT/Outdoorsman. 3.0 diesel 8 speed auto, 3:92 limited slip, with the, following packages, protection, convenience, luxury, tow mirrors and brake control, 8.4Nav, Prairie pearl coat paint with canyon brown/light frost beige interior, block heater and 9 speakers with subwoofer. Now I can thump with the best of them :W. Let the wait begin Don :C Outdoorsman in prairie pearlcoat with the canyon brown/light frost beige interior Bucket seats Tow group Protection group 3.0 Eco-diesel 8HP70 auto transmission 3:55 axle ratio Anti-spin rear diff Wheel to wheel side steps Air suspension 8.4 NAV Parksense front/rear Rear window defrost 26 gallon tankIs my Ford Escape worthless for fullfilling my dream? :-(
I've had this dream to live in an RV (travel trailer, specifically) for about 5 or 6 years now. I was drawn to the Ford Escape and was happy to learn they can tow up to 3500 pounds. I bought one last year. Step one complete! Now i've run into a problem...people are telling me my Escape shouldn't tow that much, it's not safe. I heard horror stories about Escapes not being able to handle it. They recommend I stick to 2000 pounds or less, but what trailers weigh that little?! I want to live in this thing which means it needs to be self sustainable, with a full kitchen, bathroom, and at least a full size bed. All the trailers I found with that stuff are at least 3000 pounds. And then you have to figure the weight of the fluids and cargo, which would be a lot since i'd be living in it. I cannot live in a pop up camper or a teardrop camper. Are there any decent trailers I can safely tow? Is my Escape worthless for what I wanted to do with it? I bought it specifically for this reason! By the way, it's a 2008 6-cylinder automatic transmission, front wheel drive. There is no towing package on it yet but I was planning on having one put on, IF I can even find a trailer I can tow! Any advice?
Bought a second truck.
Last week I bought this 1976 Ford F-250 4-wd, gratefully it isn't a highboy. I really think I stole it after searching for another truck. Body and paint a bit rough but very little to almost no rust. Once I put my camper on my other truck I no longer have a PU. I've only taken the camper off of my truck once since March and I'll be using thru the end of November. The truck needs a lot. Its been sitting outside for nearly 20 years. Started and driven a few miles about once a year. It has a 390 2-bbl out of 1966 Mercury Monterey. Runs pretty good after giving it a tuneup. Replaced a bunch of stuff like the grill, battery tray, dash pad, seat cover, brake/clutch pedal pads and some other misc stuff. Still have lots to go. My new tires arrived Monday so I took some steel wool to the Dodge chrome wheels and then had the tires mounted and balanced. I like it. :B
The continuing Saga waiting for my new Ram 3500
I am not sure what is happening with one ton Ram production but I know that my estimated ship date is today, the problem is that they have not started building it yet. Like so many others mine has gone from status D to D1 then back to C which was explained to me to be a soft scheduled status.. Sure would like my new truck. On the bright side my F-350 is still running very well and B&W has not released the new hitch for the new Ram so I would not be able to use it yet even if it was here.. Would like to hear when anyone actually sees a 2013 Ram 3500 at a dealership.