Jaydrvr

1 hour ago, homelesshartshorns said:

You seem to know the topic and are a very skilled with the English language. But I am not, Im not really sure what the question is! But I find when running down the road for a few hours my house batteries will take care of my needs for an afternoon and over night with out falling much below 12.1 but after a week of boondocking I find charging with the generator does not bring up the batteries like the first day. And infact each day seems to make them even less effictive. I would like to know how to bring up the house batteries with out using the alternator? Or if this is even possiable. 

If your inverter has a smart charger, it'll fill with bulk charging for most of the battery capacity, then switch to absorption to finish filling the battery. However, it takes a long time to top off a lead acid battery, but it's quite important to do that regularly. Not fully topping off your lead acid batteries will reduce the total capacity available and shorten their life. It makes a good case for switching to lithium, which is actually happier not being topped off. Jay

P.S. I get the impression you don't have a state of charge monitor. That would be a valuable addition to your system, as then you would be able to see exactly what is going on and how much your batteries are actually getting charged.

1999 Volvo VNL610. When I lost a right steer tire, the only real damage was to the liner. When I lost the left steer, the damage was significantly more severe. A good bit of damage to the hood and bumper, of course the liner was gone, a couple wiring harnesses, the rear fender extension, etc. Came in at about $6,000.00 worth. Jay

1 hour ago, Wrknrvr said:

   If you drive like a truck driver with a full load on his trailer, you should be fine. When there is a hill to clime, following the trucks at there speed. it should help with your equipment.

    When going do downhill follow the trucks. The ones that are loaded should be going at a respectable speed. Use the appropriate gear for doing the speed you need. If your brakes get hot, then apparently your were going too fast and using your brakes to much.

 

  Make sure your trailer brakes area working. Stop at the pull offs at the top of inclines, leave the engine cool down. Do not turn it off. Just let it idle. 

   Then when you start again  test your trailer brakes. Activate you trailer brakes separately from your truck brakes. To make sure they are working properly.

   Also make sure the trailer brakes are adjusted properly for there amount of braking. 

 

    Also a inferred thermometer would be of great help to determine your wheel bearing, tire and brake temperatures. This should be done at every stop. It may catch a minor problem before it turns into a big problem.

 

  

Although this is generally great advice, I would caution against following trucks downhill. Since the adoption of Jake brakes, most truck drivers fly down hills at rather crazy speeds, leaving no margin for error. I've seen the results of that, with multiple trucks piled into each other. The old school way is to go downhill in about the same gear as you want up. Regardless, it's important to slow down and be careful. Jay

Finally that perpetual motion machine we've all been waiting for.. It's about time! Jay

I90 is certainly easier with better roads, but also quite expensive. If cost is no object, that's an option. You can also drop down from Albany to Binghamton, where you would pick up Rt. 17, or the new I86. It's lightly traveled and very pleasant, although I88 has historically had absolutely brutal road surfaces. Both routes through NY will generally have lighter traffic than I81. Jay

Where in MA? Easiest would be I81 to I40. If from eastern MA, take I84 to I81. Jay

Just FYI, I was reminded by another thread, kinda related.. Air leaks are temperature sensitive. I've always been more aggressive about chasing leaks in cold weather. When the seals are cold, they shrink and leak more, so they're easier to find. Successful leak chasing in the winter makes for a pleasant summer driving season. Jay

If you're going to zero in eight hours, that's really good for some of us. My 1999 Volvo is lucky to go an hour or two before arriving at zero. That's perfectly okay with the DOT, so it's okay with me. You can drive yourself crazy hunting down phantom air leaks. I would suggest being a bit more relaxed about it. Jay

While I am truly also annoyed by the concept of paying taxes on Social Security benefits after working and paying taxes for decades, the far worse offense to me, is that I still have to pay 17% taxes (self employment taxes plus Medicare) on any earned income,  even though I'm drawing Social Security. I paid into it, involuntarily, my entire life and now it's as though I'm required to pay my own paycheck. It never ends. Jay 

2 hours ago, Darryl&Rita said:

Good call, Jay. Mixing in the wrong blend can also create mud in the cooling system, I'm thinking of the early Dex-Cool blend being topped with green, and absolute chaos resulting.

I don't think silicate dropout is any longer much of a problem. My understanding is the newer formulations are designed to avoid that. As I recall, it typically occurred by over treating with additive packs. Jay

1 hour ago, hemsteadc said:

It looks kinda reddish.

What's the trick to getting the metal cap off?  I've twisted it open but I can't pull it off.  Looks like some kind of rubber thing in the middle of the cap may be stuck.  I've seen youtubes using a wrench but I don't want to twist it too far.

 

Is it maybe a quarter turn cap? Push down while turning?

Also, if you don't know the age of the coolant and it doesn't look clean, you might consider just flushing and refilling. Cheap preventative maintenance. Jay

Find out if you're running conventional coolant or extended life. Conventional is typically green, while extended is often red. You can use the green to top off the extended, but then you loose the extended life properties. Jay

4 hours ago, Av8r3400 said:

Some sad photos…

 

https://i.imgur.com/0RwZXBtl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/FF8840El.jpg

 

 

It sure would be nice if this garbage forum software allowed for attaching photos.  The button below doesn't work.  The link provided in Jack's (2018) pinned post doesn't work.  Direct HTML coding an image link doesn't work.  Garbage.

 

Just click the links above to see them, I guess.

Are you sure it wasn't gravel getting into the works and grinding around? I once was on a back TN road in heavy fresh gravel and thought I lost a wheel bearing, so I stopped and changed it. Turns out, all that happened was gravel getting in the wheel/brake area and grinding around, making noise. Nothing actually wrong. Jay

Viair compressors are great, if you prefer 12vdc. I use the Fortress Ultra Quiet from Harbor Freight, which uses 120 vac. It's compact, not too heavy and reasonably quiet. I'm really satisfied with it. Jay

That's obviously a personal question, but my take is to always replace or repair before it becomes a problem. That's likely in some measure due to my lifestyle of working on the road, where waiting until failure can be disastrous. I prefer in almost every instance to repair early and not attempt to squeeze every last ounce of life from the offending part. Jay

4 minutes ago, Kirk W said:

A good point. I was referencing a connection to the RV's shore power cord. Using a battery charger would get around that issue. 

Yes, I understand. We've all had to get creative sometimes to find solutions.. Jay

2 minutes ago, Kirk W said:

Mine was bigger as ours was a Honda 2000. A 1000 probably has a maximum constant supply of about 800/900 watts so it should be able to supply 6-8a of power. If you let the battery get too low your converter may draw more than the generator can supply and trip the breaker on the generator. 

You can get around that issue by using a charger matched to your generator, so that is all the generator ever sees. A quality one is less than a $100.00. Jay

10 minutes ago, homelesshartshorns said:

Has anyone experence with using the 1000 to maintain there rigs electrial system? I understand it is too small! But want to simply use it to keep my computers and phones charged and keep the house batterys up with out having to run the main generator? My question is has anyone tried this?

That obviously depends on your electrical load, but depending on the size of your battery bank and charger, it can easily be done. I used the 2000I for years for that purpose and it was more than enough, but I had a small system. In my case, I simply set the input of my inverter/charger to 15 amps to match the modest output of the generator. Jay

Since commercial trucks are allowed to be 13' 6" legally, it won't be a problem. In some jurisdictions, they "fudge" the overhead clearance notices, likely to reduce liability. That may be what Maine is doing. When you see all the 13' 6" trucks flying through without a care, you'll know it's okay to just go and not worry about it. Good luck. Jay

There's no way I would take social security before age 70 unless I was wealthy and didn't rely on social security alone. The penalty is too much. The calculation is, of course, about your life span. If you think it'll be short, go ahead and take it. I would personally get another job to get me through. There are jobs unfilled everywhere. I would think it'd be fairly easy to get something to transition to a better retirement age. Jay

In my 1999 Volvo VNL, I'm using an OBD Y harness so I can have all the wiring hidden inside the dash, but still have access to the port below the dash for a tech to connect up. It's worked just fine for several years, no hiccups at all. Jay

This is how mine is mounted. Easy to remove and reattach, as needed. Jay

Start with this..

The Jackalopee is great and easy to set up.  Many of us use them. I didn't connect the backup lights on mine.  It's completely optional.  Jay