CrazyCooter

How many miles and time?

Looks almost new/low hours, but a cheaper off the shelf conventional judging by the lack of contamination and lower TBN?

5 minutes ago, rickeieio said:

And 2.4 miles won't even get the motor warm on an i/c vehicle.  I would consider one, if I didn't need my tool box.  I've tried several times to use a motorcycle to commute, but found that the pick-up with tools is always at the wrong place.

That said, for the past two months, the "real car" has hardly moved, and we take the smart everywhere, unless it's a long ride, then we take the little truck.

When the weather is good, I ride a motorcycle to work. This week it's raining and my Jeep has the top off, so I'm driving my Cummins Ram which I hate. I leave the Jeep at the shop in case I need to run for some bigger parts or I now have a trailer that tows behind any of the three dual sport bikes.

The Smart would give me instant A/C/heat on the short commute and we also have solar at the house which was sized before we were energy efficient, so we have excess energy that I could put to work.....That said, it would never pay for itself before the battery failed. We had considered exploring more urban locations, so charging stations would be plentiful and I could charge at the RV park for free at night so long as nobody noticed?

1 hour ago, GlennWest said:

They only have like a 50mile battery in them. 

Yes, may not work for everyone, but my commute is 2.4 miles each way. For touring the country like many of you do, It would not work

1 hour ago, Nigel said:

Link doesn’t work

Thanks! Fixed it

Came across this ad on another forum and thought I'd p[ass it along. Price by KBB is a little on the high side, but it does only have 65 miles on it. If I had the space, I'd consider it as it would make a cool daily commuter for me!

 https://advrider.com/f/threads/price-drop-7000-2015-smart-car-100-electric-less-than-50-miles.1426507/

5 minutes ago, mr. cob said:

Howdy Tony,

Like I mentioned in my first post to this thread, I am holding YOU partially responsible for this, our campsite was as quite as a desert ghost town until I needed power for something.

Dave

Wouldn't be the first time I have been blamed for a lighter wallet! Just wait till you get to use it boondocking noise and trouble free.

Chad and I were talking about how nice your system came out at dinner last night. Just looked over you photo album....Clean install!

Now we wont know when you are awake in the morning without genny run time!

^^^^This^^^^

This whole thing was blown way out and the guy who owns that repeater is a bit on the eccentric side. While I'd like to see it stay up for my own use as I camp in that area a lot, dude needs to play by the rules. Last I heard they were working on an agreement. Funny how people go nuts and make everything worse than it really is.......

Just read the repeater in the within Whiskeytown NP will be staying up and running.

We boondock 95%+ of the time and don't worry about what we can't control. Obviously if an area looks sketch, we'll continue on to another location.

In my mind..... which seems to be backward to most here, I don't park where others are around. More people and close proximity to a city brings more opportunity to a thief or wrong doer. Being parked out in the desert where is quiet and no lights is most peaceful. Other than our trip to Canukisan a few years back, we're always heavily armed and prepared for things that could pop up.

All the facts aren't out on this incident, but there had to be a reason these poor folks were targeted. Lets be sure to look uninviting so the bad guys move on.....If we all look like this they will never pick one of us out?

24 minutes ago, GlennWest said:

We sure got way off the topic. 

How bout them Dodgers? They going to make the super bowl this year? Oh look, squirrel!🤣

Very nice home build!

Good luck with the sale.

8 minutes ago, Alie&Jim's Carrilite said:

Sailun's were not available 10 years ago.

Yes, we were stuck with one choice........overpriced Goodyear$

Or.........Sailun S637 16" as a super reliable step in between 17.5s.

I own a Dezl 760 that I have never been all that impressed with. I have been moving away from standard gps units in favor of android tablets for navigation unless I need a water/dust proof solution.

I installed a new USA made Borg Warner turbo on my Cat that was actually for a 12.7 Detroit up to 500hp. $750ish delivered from Turbo Resouce in AZ. Tom is well known in the performance light truck diesel world.

I couldn't trust a cheap Chinese turbo on something that would cost so much to repair if it scattered. Figured this was in the middle cost wise and was quality.

Edit: Part number was 172743.

One obvious fact I'm surprised has not been pointed out here is that there appears to not be a Sidewinder rated for the GVWR of the towed unit? DRV lists the GVWR of the tri-axle models as TBD, but the larger tandems models are well north of the 19K.....The rating of the heaviest Sidewinder I see listed on Reese's site. Then add the weight of the swivel trailer with whatever was on it........

Lots of factors to consider here!

I guess the question will be whether or not the failure was defective parts or excessive forces that the hitch couldn't handle?

I have wondered how our 5th would hold up if my foot were to slip off the clutch on an uphill launch..........

That's a major bummer right there....the stuff that nightmares are made of! Hopefully nobody got hurt. A friend sent me the that pic a few days ago and I wondered is it could have been prevented by a better understanding and inspection of the equipment.

Had a client a couple of months ago drop his 5th in my shop hooking up after I made repairs to the axles. I walked away to allow him to do his thing without me distracting him, but I did note he DID NOT do a tug test. I didn't say anything at the time as I'm really getting sick of the blow off I get from people when making suggestions regarding safety practices and proper equipment. Didn't even make it out of the before the 5th dropped on his aluminum bed........ I think it's safe to say he will add this to his hitching ritual.

I was thinking about just making my own bracket too......I'd normally just pay it, but $500 seems a bit steep for a $100 bag and a 10ga bracket.

Congrats on your new ride and thanks for the story on the trip home! Pretty cool to read these stories that bring back memories of our buying experience.

I am however bummed about loosing another hauler with an RV title out of CA though. Unless we find another way to make that happen again, we may just have to go outlaw to own an HDT.

My dad had a local do his 20 year old Bounder and from 5' away it looked better than new. Our rig is showing it's age and was thinking about doing this.

Stole this from the net.....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This process is for older RVs that have lost their shine and no longer respond to conventional wax.

Restoring the finish of an older RV using ZWLFF:

Materials:

-Zep Wet Look Floor finish (Step 3) (available at Home Depot)

-Bar Keeper’s Friend (powdered)

-TSP (Trisodium Phosphate, powdered)

-3M scrubbies (white, fine)

-Microfiber rags (white or laundered)

-Latex gloves

Preparing the surface is the most important part, since anything left on the surface will be sealed under the ZWLFF acrylic coating, and improper prep can also result in peeling/flaking later. I repeat: The prep-work is the most important part! Do not try to cut corners here. The cleaner your RV is, the better your final results will be.

Step 1: Start by washing your RV well as you normally would, making sure to include the roof, and rinsing well from the top down.

Step 2: You now want to remove any and all stains, soiling, oxidation, and chalkiness from the surface. Dip a white 3M scrubbie into water and then liberally sprinkle Bar Keeper’s Friend (BKF) on it. Scrub the surface of the motorhome, rinsing the scrubbie and re-applying the BKF often. Do small areas at a time, rinsing well with water and a sponge as you go (Rinsing well is important to remove all BKF residue. I used a "flow-thru" brush attached to a hose to rinse the BKF residue thoroughly).

Step 3: Next you want to make sure that there is absolutely no remaining wax on the RV, since any residual wax can cause the ZWLFF to peel and flake. Mix up a bucket of TSP (1/2 cup) in water (2 gal), and use it to wash the entire RV again. You can use it with a carwash brush, a sponge, a pressure washer…anything you would normally use to wash your RV. Rinse well as you go, then rinse again and let it dry completely (again, rinsing well is important to remove all TSP residue). You should now be left with a clean and smooth (although dull) wax-free surface. Congrats, the hard part is done!

Step 4: Now comes the easy part. Shake the ZWLFF well, and pour some into a shallow container (a pie pan works well). Fold a microfiber rag to about hand-sized, dip it into the ZWLFF (trust me, use gloves!), and squeeze out the excess. How much/how wet? You want it more than damp, but less than dripping. Now simply wipe down the surface of the RV with the wet microfiber rag. Don’t try to apply a heavy coat or try to “rub it in”; just wet the surface (imagine wiping off a layer of dust with a damp rag). It really doesn’t matter whether you wipe horizontally, vertically, or in circles, and don’t worry about overlaps; ZWLFF is very thin/watery and you are just trying to “moisten” the surface. Work your way all the way around the RV. The thin coat of ZWLFF will dry very quickly; long before you’ve gone all the way around it will be dry and you can immediately start on the next coat.

That first coat will likely look really bad; streaky, blotchy, shiny in some places, dull in others…don’t panic. Each additional coat will start to even it out and build up a deep layer of shine. By coat 3, you will be grinning ear to ear. And coat 4 (or 5?) will be the icing on the cake. Not only will your RV shine like it hasn’t shined in years, it will be a deeper color as well*. Even old, faded graphics will have a new lease on life! All for less than $30 total!

*Note: This procedure will slightly change/darken the color/shade of your RV.

Things (I learned) to keep in mind:

-Don’t use new colored microfiber rags until they have been laundered, as the color may bleed.

-Don’t try to “over-apply”, or try for a heavy coat, or you will get runs. The thinner, the better. Remember, you’re just trying to “moisten” the surface with each thin coat, nothing more. If you are getting a lot of runs, you’re applying it too heavily.

-Be careful around window frames, locks, latches, etc., as the ZWLFF is very watery and will have a tendency to gather and cause runs. ZWLFF dries fast, so keep an eye out for any runs and give them a quick wipe before they start to “set up”.

-Some older, deteriorated graphics may “bleed” color onto the rag and surrounding areas. If you notice any bleeding during the BKF or TSP stage (steps 2 and 3), then give a quick wipe of ZWLFF across the graphics prior to step 4, which will seal them up. Then go ahead and apply the ZWLFF to the entire RV (including the now sealed graphics) as per step 4 of the tutorial.

-After each coat, go around and open/operate all hatches, locks, catches, etc. The ZWLFF acrylic coating can sort of “glue” them closed.

Definitely need to get on the solar! The last week long trip out, I killed the batteries by leaving the refer on. Wouldn't have been a huge deal if I had gotten around to installing the inverter that has a nice charger built in........

Thinking about the flexible panels so they could be glued down flat. Concerned with possible wind noise generated by a standard aluminum framed panel mounted to a fiberglass sleeper roof.

After a year of trying different combos and measuring with the Cyclone front cap design, we finally gave in and purchased a different 5er. I originally wanted to go one year without using the garage in the toyhauler before making the decision.......the time came and the right rig came along. This weekend was the first trip with the Jeep on the deck and it worked out great!

Thanks man!

Joe gave me the boxes with the truck purchase. I have been shopping/searching for door kits for the rear boxes as they will have to be custom for what I have in mind.