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Had a conversation with a "Trucker" today about Bio Fuel. He refuses to use it because they have started putting "Animal Fat's" as part of the Bio. He remarked it adds an acidity to the fuel and lot's more bacteria and such causing the "Black Mold" you may be experiencing. His solution is straight #2 diesel and he adds a quart of non detergent 30 wt motor oil to every 100 gallons of fuel. Burns hotter, cleaner and lubricates better. Said it even quieted down a noisy Detroit motor causing the owner to have a concern that it was too quiet. The guy has a story for everything so I'm taking it with a grain of salt. Rod

Not all trailers are made the same. The regular 5th wheels have the pin in front of the trailer or just under the front. Most semi trailers have the pin 2 to 3 feet back (My Guess). My Semi trailer was built when I still had a 14 foot box, long stinger on the frame and an ET Senior hitch way at the back. There was ALMOST enough room, but the first real test proved that things were too close. Several things happened between 2013 and now and one more (and hopefully the last) hitch placement is up in the air. 55 inches from the center of the pin opening has been the suggested setting and I think I believe it's sort of a "standard". The issue I'm thinking of is my pin placement on the trailer is just 12 inches from the front of the trailer. A foot or almost two feet from the usual Semi Placement. While I "Think" I might try and put the new to me truck to work, will I really??? Doubt it. Too many hoops to jump through or regulations to learn. My hitch is a slider so it has almost 2 1/2 foot of movement I think. On my Gold truck it was all the way to the front of the slide and I had ZERO Clearance Issues, I sometimes think it's too far back. I could jack knife and still have plenty of room. I don't like to get into that situation, but it happens. As I said I want this to be the last time I think about the hitch placement. I don't think I'll ever have another Semi Trailer built, so the pin will stay where it is. Removal of the 7 foot drom box would I'm sure allow the truck to hook up to any semi trailer on the road and be fine, but a "Farmer Friend" of mine indicated I might have a little trouble loading the front axle if I wanted to haul scale at 80,000 of grain hauling capacity. Don't know have never tried. He does it for a living so I'm sure he's correct. I know I've seen the diagrams and such, but never really understood them and hence having the previous trial and error. Suggestions, comments, and criticisms appreciated. Rod

I'm not in the market nor have I ever seriously looked at one, but one thing I wouldn't do is believe anything from Camping World. Just my opinion and not from personal experience, just the stories. Rod

I am Rod, but spell check sometimes changes it to Rob. Mine is a Residential style Mini Split retrofit installed in my 2013 Spacecraft. The RV Coleman Mach didn't last very long. It was a "Basement" model and was a bit more quiet than the roof top, but not near as quiet at the Mini Split is now (most of the time.) I've sort of inquired about the issue, but some have recommended having the person who charged it after install be the one to evaluate it. I never seemed to have enough time or lead time to spend the time in Concordia at Space Craft. Maybe this fall or next spring. I was happy with the performance during the dehumidifying cycles. And NO I'm not Canadian. Rod

I finally turned on the A/C today. I've had my Mini Split set on "Dehumidification" for a while now and it's kept the temperature at a comfortable level except for a few of the cooler days when I should have just turned it off at night. The Fan keeps running, same as with the A/C. Wish there was a setting to cool that had interminetant fan use as it does when in heat mode. I swear when I first started using it and tried the AI setting it would heat or cool, but now it only seems to want to cool. Ok if it's hot and only slightly cool, but when it gets to 30 outside and it's still blowing cold air it's not so good. Rod

If fuel is coming out of the hand pump it's for sure time to change. Anyway that's what my mechanic said several years ago. Didn't fix my issue, but I didn't pump it anymore because I could almost always get it to start and run the second time. Rod

I did that for a few trips. Had some "Crawl Space jacks" that were almost perfect. Placed them under the frame rails and used the adjustment screw to bring them almost tight and then dropped the air and lowered my trailer jacks. (it was with my first toyhauler). Don't really have to do it anymore. Or do I??? Rod

I have a couple with WiFi capabilities and use one of them that way. If it's just a camera with a card and you only view the info on the card while not connected to an internet source I feel I'm safe. Not sure how you will feel though. Rod

Another Generator update. When I arrived in Iowa earlier this year I drove through a snow storm and then had falling temps and high winds. Unfortunately it had rained on my destination and there was no more frost in the ground so I couldn't pull into the grass spot where the 50 AMP plugs were and I didn't know where the one I'm currently using was until the next day. Thankfully the Generator fired right up and so did the Minisplit and started putting out some good heat. Didn't last long, it was too cold for the 20lb propane tank to keep up with the needs of the motor. It would run for 15 minutes and then die. It would start back up, but not for long unless it let it set for 30. It was a long night. Next day I filled it with Gasoline and it was good for several hours. I'll either need to get a larger tank for propane or I'll have to keep some treated gas handy during the winter time. Today I finally tried to fit it into one of my trailer compartment. It went in pretty easy, but I had to take the wheels and rubber pads off. I won't be able to run it there, but it's no longer sitting outside in the elements. I will further secure it and build some rubber pads So it can ride there once I get it moved a few miles to the Shop.

Did you try and start it again after the spits and sputters? If I left my 2001 set too long it would loose prime. I'd have to crank the starter for a bit, it would catch run for a bit and then die, repeat a couple times and then it was good to go until the next time it sat for too long. Of course the other problem with the Volvo motor is the oil in the wiring harness. That's what toasted my ecm. Have you had it looked at? Rod ps don't remember if your motor is blue, read or whatever color a Detroit is. rl

If the miles are annual trips North to South and then back North with little starting in between you might be lucky. If the miles are very short trips once a week or once a month then I would not consider it being an option for putting many more miles on it. That's just my opinion though. You are the one seeing and talking to the owners. Good luck with your potential endeavor. Rod

Welcome to the forum. Venting frustrations are some of the most common posts for me. Hopefully the act gives you a little relief, it usually does for me. I'm a semi retired travel nurse who thought in 1989 I'd travel for two years, visit Hawaii and then settle in the place I liked the best from the prior two years. Well, that didn't happen. I did everything including the Hawaii, but stayed too long on the island and got a big case of Island Fever. Wound up getting married and then tried to live in Michigan for a while. That didn't work so I started traveling again in Florida and tried to stay there for almost 9 years. Never got used the heat and it being "Crowded" all the time, so off to Kansas I went to what I though was my "retirement job". No again, while I was there though I traveled to Florida in the winter (could tolerate that) and the first year did the "Rent a room" thing. Previously I'd packed and unpacked in the housing supplied by the company I was working for. That was the only part I really disliked about traveling all the time. The packing and unpacking. I'd checked into RV's in the late 90's but didn't have the budget for one, my younger brother bought a new "Toyhauler" and I talked him into allowing me to pull it to Florida for a winter. Found out I could live in the smaller space and thought I'd found out the things I would need to pay attention to before I purchased my own. Again another life lesson. First was the "Big Truck" (not the one in the profile photo) I'd purchased to pull my brothers trailer lost it's transmission fluid on a large thoroughfare in South Florida. While I could live in the space, I needed to upgrade the towing unit. That's when I found this forum and the HDT Group (Now you can see the truck I bought in the profile photo). I'd purchased my own trailer by the time I got the Gold truck and it has been a work in progress ever since. The progress currently is moving stuff from it to another similar unit. Now to the frustration you are having. As I mentioned, when I used my brothers Toyhauler I determined some things I didn't like about it and hoped to get a higher quality used trailer vs buying a new one like he did. I'd looked at a lot of Motorhomes prior to this, but never actually purchased one. My first RV purchase was a "Weekend Warrior" Toy hauler. I should have known with the name it was not suited for "Full Time" travel, but I'd looked at several of and they seemed to be well made. It was good for a couple year, but things went down hill pretty quickly and I started looking for a replacement. In 2013 I decided to have a home on wheels built by a company in Missouri. The trailer is what I'm still living in and while I wish I'd done some things different with the build, it will last me the rest of my life and many more. At this time I can't afford to do a "Rebuild" and finding one that will fit my needs was impossible in 2013 (used) and most likely not that much better now. Trailers are still being built by the company, but the prices have risen quite a bit. So the answer to your question. Is No, the RV industry is no more a scam than any other industry. It's just harder to find the real quality and you may have to wait for a quality unit to be built to your desires. I have loved the travel life and hope to continue traveling more and working less for many years to come. Rod Tahlequah, OK. a few years ago.

Depending on the mechanic, but most (that I know) figure in their labor costs with any money made on parts sold at "Retail". If you bring in your parts, you will pay a higher labor cost per hour. That could be real bad if the parts you brought were not exactly right and the install was almost finished when something didn't look quite right.......... Lots of people buy tires at "The cheap place" and then have to bring them to a local "Tire Shop" to have them properly mounted and balanced. The shop will happily do it, but at a higher price than if the person had bought the tires at the "Shop". The customer usually winds up in the long run having to more for the "Discount" (Not "Discount tire" which I'm sure is trademarked) tires than if they just paid the reasonable price at the tire shop in the first place. If I bring the parts I am happy to pay the installer a higher rate for their expertise.

Ok, I started this and was not offended by the "Weekend Warrior" comment. I have thought more about the initial post and how some term a "Weekend Warrior". I live full time in my home on wheels. I do NOT travel full time, at least not yet. I would travel to a place, set up and live there for at least 3 months and usually 6 to 9 months, before heading off to the next location. USUALLY ON A WEEKEND. I think I might just fit into the category of the "Weekend Warrior". It's true, at times I was in a hurry to get to the place so I could get set up before heading to work on Monday. Sometimes (actually most times) my last day at work would be the longest one ever on the assignment and instead of taking a week to get to my new location I would plan to have everything ready the night before my last day and I could just pull out after work or the next morning and get to my location in plenty of time, but I'm a bit of a procrastinator and I like to do things only once. I need to fix that, but so far it's not happened. I understand the 300 foot rule and try to abide by it especially in my "Big Rig", but it infuriates me when I'm coming up behind a truck and suddenly it pulls out into the left lane and I see another truck a half mile ahead of it. There is no way in the next 5 miles that the truck is going to make a pass, yet there it is in the passing lane. Some of you may have seen the decal on my truck. Believe it or not it seems to work some times. All I'm asking is for people to Keep Right unless actively passing a significantly slower vehicle. Pass with a purpose and get out of the left lane. Look in your mirrors before you pull into the left lane to pass. If there seems to be someone coming up behind you quickly wait for them to pass on the left before blocking that lane. If you are thinking about passing the vehicle in front of you use your turn signal well ahead of putting yourself in the left lane. If you are traveling in the right lane and see a vehicle stopped on the shoulder. Again signal and move left to give the potential person in that vehicle space and safety. If the left lane is full of traffic you MUST SLOW DOWN to a speed where you could safely stop if needed. That's my soap box for today. I will seek help for my procrastination and will try to be a better "Weekend Warrior". I was never in the military and really think the term "Weekend Warrior" is a compliment to those who do serve in that capacity. THANK YOU. Rod

yea!

It's been a bit, but did manage to secure a new "Verizon" account and chose the Fold 4 for my new phone. Had noticed people using it instead of the "Android Auto or Car Play" with the existing infotainment systems and with the trouble I've been having with my 2022 Jeep and it's system it seemed like a no brainer. I was thinking of updating the systems in my 1999 Isuzu and the HDT. I don't drive them often, but do miss the "Waze" activities a lot and using it on the Note 9 just didn't work well. I haven't found the best mount yet for the fold, mostly because the Isuzu currently needs a new water pump and timing belt. The parts should be her next Tuesday, but not sure when the mechanic will be able to install them. My truck's are both hundreds of miles away so I don't need to find the holders yet. I've been less than pleased with the "Data" abilities with the new plan and phone. In the past I've (and still do) use PDA net to link my phone data to my PC. I watch major network TV programs (at times when I have the time to watch) and several YouTube channels (Big Truck Big Travels shout out). The bad part is PDA net doesn't seem to work the same on the new phone, so I used the WIFI hot spot, but in 9 days I started getting a warning that I was about to run out of Data. I contacted my representative and of course the answer is "You will never run out of data, but the speeds will be diminished". My response was if the data is no longer usable, then it's not there and therefore has run out. I've been met by silence so far to that comment. I do like the new phone. It is expensive and of course as soon as I ordered it the new Fold 5 was leaked and the Pixel Fold was released. I'll hate to turn it back in next week, but if I don't get a satisfactory answer by Wednesday the phone will be taken back to the nearest Verizon place and surrendered. Not paying for something that's worse than what I've had for almost 15 years. Thankfully I still have my old plan and can continue using it for the time being. Rod

I posted a comment about the crash I found on Yahoo news this morning. Didn't see anywhere to share the video. I'm sure there is more to the story. Rod

I had a similar problem with my 2001 many years ago and found the connection at the starter to be the problem at that time. More recently I have had multiple issues again, but I'm pretty sure it's the wiring harness to the Transmission. Thought I had a place to fix, but they instead replaced my batteries and said it was fixed. Not the case, because I needed to use it a week ago Friday and it wouldn't start again. (Didn't find neutral and flashed a "Check Transmission next stop" message.) Made the trip after a bit and actually got there near my planned time. The 2001 will have a new home one of these days. Have a 2000 to replace it once all the things from the 2001 get moved over. The big box is off the 2000 and I'm waiting to see a photo of the smaller drom placed on the frame. Sorry for the hijack at the end there. PM me if you want some additional info. Rod

Scrolling through the news today (May 13,2023) and see a video of a Class C attempting to pass a Semi in the right lane IN front of another semi in the left lane. The Class C looses the slight rubbing event in news worthy fashion it appears. For sure the RV'ers were at fault for the attempt, but what do you think the rest of the story may be? My experience shows a lot of times the two semi's are traveling at almost the same speed, maybe the left lane is 1/4 to 1/2 a MPH faster, but can't seem to make the pass. The Class C on the other hand could of and would have made the pass easily, if the trucker had given the room and there wouldn't be the news worthy crash. Really now who was at fault? The Guy hogging the left lane with no real ability to pass or the guy trying to get rid of the huge line of traffic behind both of the semi's? I was not there, have not seen any additional footage from other parties, but it came to mine when I watched the event. I found it on Yahoo News in an article published by USA Today with the date on the video of Thursday May 11, 2023. I know I have said and written it before, but if you cannot pass with a purpose, then don't attempt until there is no one behind you and you have a likelihood of being able to make a successful pass within a short distance. I feel sorry for the drivers of all vehicles involved. A bit of common courtesy may have prevented this. JMHO, Rod

Sorry for your situation. I'm in Iowa too about 90 miles South and a little West of Iowa City. Good luck with your sale. Rod

Don't recall seeing that rig in any photos or at the HDT Rally's I attended. Maybe someone else has a better memory. Rod

Jay you will be the second person called if they become available and the first person turns down. Rod

Congrats. Photos please!! Rod

Me too. It had a rebuild of the XY shifter a few years ago, after the reman engine and new clutch was put in I think. Rod

They are good as far as I can tell. I am not close to the truck right now and won't be for several weeks and maybe a few months. I told the shop to do the work when they don't have anything else to do. You will be the first person I contact when I visit the truck. The biggest issue is getting them from where they are (or maybe after it's done) to the location a person needs them. My thought is to bring a load to the National Rally for those who want something, but that's still up in the air, as is the actual parting out. Will keep everyone informed on this post. Don't plan to advertise, except may move it to the "For sale" section if there is a need to do that. Rod