rickeieio

Good thing I bought the big pack of bacon and we had extra butter in the freezer. Went to the local roadside stand and bought another gallon jug of popcorn. Oh, and Vern, don't forget all those ground wires too.

I'm just watching the popcorn bag get close to empty. Vern, hold on until I get back with more.

We pulled in to Larry and Julie Wenning's (AV8R3400) place yesterday on our way home from the UP. Had a pleasant evening with them and planned for a morning departure towards home (Cincinnati-ish). This morning, I raised the hood to check the oil and wash the windshield. I noticed fluid stains down the right side of the motor. Not good. Somehow, we lost the cap off the coolant expansion tank. Larry called the local KW dealer, and they had one for the trivial price of $51.xx. Yikes. Larry loaned us his car so we wouldn't need to unload the smart, (thanks, Larry), and we fetched the part, plus the windshield washer pump and a gallon of pre-mix anti-freeze. $185.xx total. Ouch. Installation of the cap is the limit of my pay grade, but I prevailed. I'll wait until we're home to swap out the fluid pump. The old one works for a bit if you whack it with a hard object, so I'm guessing the brushes are bound up. So, a BIG THANKS to Julie and Larry for their hospitality and help. The folks on this forum are the best.

I've met Vern. I know better than to fall for "finish your popcorn". Maybe finish this bowl and go pop another bushel.

Vern, just sit down and close your eyes. Now dream of popcorn made in a real old timey popcorn popper, using a little bacon grease and butter instead of veggie oil. Sprinkle on just a little fine salt, not too much. Everything is gonna be okay.

Popcorn was getting cold so I ate it. I'll pop more later......

Vern, I don't want to spoil the suspense, so I'll just say, we had a similar issue with our ISX (random mis-fires). Many $$$$ later, we found the problem. I'll wait until the end of your story before saying what ours turned out to be.

To me, state of registration is not the issue. We drive very little in the truck's home state, and trave across many. Pulling into a repair facility and having the service dep't refuse to work on it because it's deleted has become a very real concern. It's just not worth the risk, to me. If I were looking to buy a second truck for use in bad weather, I'd go south and try to find something clean and pre 2003.

Whether a "deleted" truck will be a problem is anybody's guess. And ONLY a guess. No one really knows, yet. My philosophy is to buy a late enough truck to have emission system that has the bugs out of it. As mentioned above, 2016 or later. That said, the original question was whether to buy a particular truck. I would investigate what it would cost to put the truck back to original before making the final decision.

Welcome to the Nut House!!!! Upon providing pictures of your truck and a bit of background info, (just make something up, we'll never know), we'll send you your decoder ring and temporary tattoos.

And don't forget, the wire running to your plug is likely a limiting factor too. Trying to maximize the power out of your alternator may shorten it's life considerably. We're up against a similar problem, and it's worse if the truck is parked far away from the camper. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. A small genny may be in your future.

That's my tongue-in-cheek way of saying, not every moment has been smooth. We have faults, there have been compromises, and through it all, we remain best friends.

I tried to use Google translate but it said "no results found". But, knowing Georgia, I figgered it was sump'n like that.

Ten years ago, I wouldn't have considered Chinese origin tires. Having friends who trade with the Chinese and have products manufactured there has taught me that the Chinese are just building what the market asks for. Want cheap? They will do it. Want quality? They're happy to show what they can do. That said, I've bought about 20ish Sailun tires in the past few years. I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again. And of course, none of this addresses the o/p question..........

One problem is, we all think we're young, until the day we wake up and realize we're old.

Welcome!!! First thing is identify the Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating (GCVWR) of your tow vehicle. Next, weigh said vehicle with full fuel, any passengers (inc. pets), expected gear etc. The difference in actual weight and GCVWR is what you can safely tow. NOTE: this will certainly be much less than the published tow rating, because you are now using real figures, not some advertising guys' wish numbers. Now compare your real world numbers with what your desired trailer weight ratings are. Hopefully, you'll be in a safe range. I like your idea of wanting tandem axles. They tow much nicer than single axles.

Another happy ending!!! Good to hear it was fairly simple, though not likely cheap. BTW, thanks for stopping back and letting us know the outcome. So often, someone starts a thread, gets suggestions, and never lets us know how it turned out.

I would think as long as the tray under the wipers drains properly, little water would make it over the lip in front.

Link worked fine for me.

Oh my. This could get fun. I need those spray nozzles on the back bumper.... I think my favorite mod so far has to be the BluDot brake system, which converts electric/hydraulic brakes to air/hydraulic. Obviously, they don't work for most folks, but they were a lot of bang for the buck. A close second would be adding a bunch of d-rings to the walls of the garage area. I put them every 16", on the studs, and near the floor, and at 1' and 2' above, on the wall. Great for tying down chairs, step ladder, etc. One more thing, extra mud flaps. I made oversize mud flaps from horse stall mats, plus added a full width "hula skirt" under the rear bumper. It's nearly eliminated stone chips on the trailer.

First of all, Kirk, let me congratulate you and Pam on 60 years of putting up with each other. Tomorrow is our 49th anniversary, so I commend you both. Reading between the lines, it appears Clay asked his question of full timers. That said, we'll never full time, but since I retired, we've gradually spent more of each year on the road. Shooting from the hip, I hope to keep going with a big rig until we're 80ish, (10 more years), then downsize as needed. We've talked about trading to a non-toyhauler trailer, but we enjoy having the motorcycles for exploring.

Having had a "no tow" situation, I will add: DO NOT say your big truck, road tractor, semi, etc. is broke down. You can say motor home, or tow vehicle, and request as big tow truck. Tell them what it weighs and give them truthful information, but don't use words that might make them think you're commercial. Cross that line, and it's game over, as we found 60 miles north of Destruction Bay.

Get it in writing that they will tow an hdt. I'm sure Suite Success will fill in more of the story.

Hey!!!! Lawrence is back!!!! Where ya been? You were missed.

Somewhere in a box of childhood stuff, I have an oversized eraser that says, "I NEVER MAKE BIG MISTEAKS'.