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Be happy to share. Just PM me an email address. We live right outside Knoxville.

Larry, First congratulations and very nice looking truck. Just a word of advice. I used to give a seminar at the ECR concerning that very issue and you will be surprised on how easy it is to unload/overload the front axle or rear axle based simply on lever arms and fulcrums. Please, please don’t just take someone’s word for it that it will be okay. Do the math yourself, it’s pretty simple and in fact if you have any aviator friends it’s a simple weight and balance. The worst thing to do is remove the second drive axle then find you are marginal for doing the things you want to do now or later. Heck, when we started in 2009, no one gave a thought to singling because everyone was carrying Smart cars at 1600 lbs. was hard to impossible to cause an axle problem. Lots of difference between that and a vehicle that weighs 4-5X that weight, a drom and other things you will find you don’t want to live without. That’s why I remained tandem…for future needs. I’ve even seen some folks are considering “stackers” on their vehicles. As a community, our safety record is pretty good and the regulators/Leo’s are not too concerned with us. If the safety record declines, guarantee that will change. You have gone about this the right way and I applaud you. I’m getting old so please take this as some fatherly advice and my hope is you don’t find it meddlesome or offensive. BTW that talk is in a PowerPoint format that I could send to you if you would like it. Talks about how to calculate effects of singling short, mid, or long and other tid bits. I will say I stole the talk from Mark Shelby with his permission so he did all the legwork, lol.

You’re right Dan. I should have said possible rate increases or cancellation. I mentioned it because Miller Insurance (where we have our Progressive policy) wanted me to be aware of the possibility.

Neither Good Sam nor Coachnet will tow tandem axle. Saying that some folks with one or the other will tell you they have been towed with those services. I have a long thread discussing towing insurance if you search this forum. Discusses my less than satisfactory responses from these companies. I now have Progressive Insurance on truck and trailer and added towing through Progressive. Not ideal as Progressive will find a company that accepts their payment but it is filed as a claim which subjects me to rate increases or cancellation. Remember Coachnet and Good Sams are “service contracts” NOT insurance and are not bound by the same rules as insurance contracts.

So sorry to hear this. Glad everyone is ok. Prayers are with you.

Yep. All I ever use.

Ok got my switch changed out. Turns out the 0 ring on the plunger was hard and had glued itself to the housing. Took a lot of effort to get the plunger to pull out but it was in good shape and not melted. Would probably be a good idea to periodically lubricate the O ring to keep it supple. I’m not so sure that it would not have broken the cable from the plunger if suddenly jerked.

My Progressive through Miller insurance.

Interesting Jim. I just changed to Progressive from National General through Miller Insurance. My contact was Roxanne Sutton. I specifically asked her about bob tail coverage and was told there were no restrictions. They did have to cover the trailer also but it is a separate policy. Wonder why a difference? I did also speak with Grace Street at Lazy Days in Florida (same company Rick is using) and she was quoting me a Progressive policy but it was the same rate and coverage Miller quoted so I stayed where I had been for the past 14 years.

Thanks Chet. Always a teaching/learning experience with you. I so much appreciate it.

Happy Birthday 🎁

I am electric over hydraulic. Interesting finding on your forensics. Makes sense though. I’ve ordered a new switch and when installed will tear apart the old to see if what you describe might be a reoccurring issue. If so two solutions come to mind. 1. Slip a pared down popsicle stick between the contacts to let them cool for awhile, then quickly change with the plastic plunger. OR 2. Put an on/off switch on the 12 volt wire. (Not ideal but should work).

Chet, Reason for replacement is the “plug” connected to the lanyard has become fused to the body of the switch so I can’t pull on the lanyard and remove it. Going to probably have to put vice grips on it to get it out. Want to have a new one available cause I’m sure it’s probably going to break. If so couldn’t I just cut and connect the two wires to complete the circuit, reconnect the battery and test with the clamp on meter?

Thanks Jim.

I have a 2017 DRV trailer that has a two wire emergency breakaway switch for the brakes. It’s the one that has the lanyard that activates the brakes if the trailer becomes disconnected from the hitch. The present factory one is ESCO and I’m wondering if a generic, Curt, or Hobbs replacement should work (I can get those locally)?