rdickinson

I'd keep the 730, D13 485 I shift with the Premium shifter I had them install 'cus I couldn't depress the little button with the side of my thumb with the pin in it.

229 wb may have to be stretched,  singled mid like this one, scrap the hanging locker and it's mate on the other side, lose the bunks and go with a crew cab with 4 doors.  I'd go with the 630 but it ihas a shorter and narrower cab than the 700's. 

Fridge somewhere.

Still go with a Herrin bed.

Storage in the Fairings area.

Heavier front axle, locker rear end, Jotto drop down chains, 8 0r 10kw onan between the frame rails or under the passengers seating area or on a slide pulling out the back from between the frame rails under the hitch.

I'd get a different hitch from the Trailersaver.  LED lights.

This for starters.

Well, I guess I'll chime in on this.  4 years ago, 5 Jan I headed out from Victoria to wind my way down to Florida. That day I-5 was frozen, closed with several accidents.  So I headed over to the Coast road.  Weather wasn't too bad, above freezing, maybe some rain.

Linda Sand made reference to driving a shorter day, I'd agree with that.  Days are shorter.  I'd be inclined to drive between 10 am and 4 pm before it gets dark.  There are very few white lines to use a  visual reference, no roadside lighting and there are climbing and descending curves.  Add to that as you climb in altitude, temps drop, roughly 3.5 f or 2 c per 1000 ft.  So what at sea level is rain, may change to sleet, freezing rain or snow as you climb.  Now you don't know if the road is wet or icy.  Add to that up and down curves, no white lines or lights. 

When living in Calgary, we would generally wait for 3 days after a weather event for the roads to clear.  The main roads in Canada and the US get the most attention due to being used for Commerce.  But they still may require chains and there is no room on my rig for chains unless I go to snow socks or Jotto drop down chains and new winter tires, 2k$ ish.

Give lots of space between you and the vehicle in front, at least 7 seconds, more if needed and don't take on the mindset that has killed a lot of pilots that, ' I have to get home'.  Use your superior intellect to keep you out of situations where you have to use your superior skills....Another flying saying. 

Put mine on 5 yrs ago in Florida, no issues.  Only need one TPMS sensor instead of 2.

Here is what I was told in Calgary where it gets plenty cold.  Firstly, I put in a frost plug heater and added a magnetic pan heater.

The pan heater fell off so maybe the epoxy method would be better.  The block heater was marginal as it only heated the water in the general area of where it was installed. 

I found the answer was a water circulator/heater.  It was installed in the lower rad hose.  It not only heated the water but circulated it as well and I'm told that would heat the water enough to open the thermostat allowing water to go thru the whole engine.

I also put in a small cabin heater behind the seat on the floor.  All this was controlled by a 120 v garden time which was set to come on in the early am.  

I'd go out to a warm truck cab and a truck with a warm engine.

 1 - Question, where is the block heater on my D13?  I've looked at the schematic but still can't find it.

2 - Question, where can I get a D13 oil dipstick?  The plastic hand broke off mine.  I have to replace the whole thing including the tube for over 100$.  Volvo no longer shows the individual parts available.

Thanks

That seems more inline.  Was that from a US supplier?

8 hours ago, TXiceman said:

The stuff is not cheap.  

 

Ken

The guy on 'Love your RV' said the package for his was about 2500ca$ for about a 30 ft trailer. Yeah, its more expensive than I figured.

If the snaps could be bought, I'm wondering about slide topper material.  I have some left from when mine were replaced earlier in the Lockdown.

Figured I'd post this for those who may be interested.

On ‎9‎/‎3‎/‎2020 at 3:46 AM, griffinmike said:

If it bothers you why dont you check  with the tire dealer/manufacturer and find out what the increase should be instead of stirring up the tire expert wannabes>

It doesn't matter if he does.  Years ago there were 2 expert contributors from major tire firms.  One I met in Calgary, the other I contacted by e-mail.  When they posted information, members here told them they were F.O.S., so both left.  Who needs it?

So here is what the experts told me 10 yrs ago.  In my case, I'm running Hankook 17.5's with a 4800 lb rating.  Run them full pressure and you shake the heck out of the trailer.  So by the time you take the trailer gross, subtract the pin wt and divide by 6, I'm running at about 75% of the capacity so the tires run at 90 psi not 110.  Same with the Volvo.  Rear and front tires run at 90 psi.  The rear duals are connected by a connector called 'Crossover' as I recall.  It's a braided hose going from 1 tire to the other.

The whole system is monitored by a TPMS.  All sensors are set for 90 psi. 1 sensor on the pair of duals 'cus they are connected.  I set high and low pressure limits along with high temp limit.

Yes running E>W, temps will be higher on the South side or side facing the sun.

Years ago there was a woman with a dark or black RV.  She couldn't open the door to get in or out, can't remember.  Dark side was facing the sun and expanded causing it to jam.  I told her to hang a white sheet over the door.  It worked, that's all it took.

This is what I do and it's worked for about 10 years.  I ask the experts.

4 hours ago, GlennWest said:

I just had not charged it long enough. On 75 per cent now. Was only 50 per cent yesterday.

Go to a battery place have them do a draw test.  They'll charge them and test them.  The test will tell you the condition of each battery.

Also like others have said put in a battery switch.  Solar charger is a good idea.

18 hours ago, COFLTravler said:

From the pic it looks like this is part of your toilet water valve - your better off just to replace the valve, you can't buy individual parts.  Grab your model # off your toilet and look up the replacement valve - local RV place should carry one for you.

Mark

Agreed, it is an RV application, check the manual, get the model from the pedestal and call your RV parts supplier.  Works for me.  Mine has been repaired X2.

Peterbilt has made a stretched cab seating 7 including the driver.  Look on horsetrailer world I think.

Not sure if you are looking for a firm in LA, but Herrin in Livingston Texas did mine plus a number of others.

Go to RDO Trucks in Fargo, talk to John Stearns if he's still there. Several others have purchased there.  D16 had injector cup issues.  Go with the D13.  You can expect the injector harness to need replacing, at least on years prior unless they've fixed that issue.

They will do a complete printout and cleanup and checkout of the truck.  I was also told they could single it as well.

Bring up their site, location, used trucks, make, year. Mine is an 09 and still running strong, a tad over 500k miles.

Roger

On ‎7‎/‎16‎/‎2020 at 5:56 AM, Nigel said:

Roger

Did a google search for a wheel torque chart and this is one that came up https://www.jegs.com/images/photos/300/326/326-wheelnuttorquespecs.pdf  
 

I have one of the Motomaster electric impact guns and it works well for the seasonal tire changes on our cars and the trailer wheels.  I see their best one (Up to 400 foot pounds) is on sale for $99 this week.  You need something much heavier for your Volvo wheels but I think you already know that.

Covid-19.  I think you guys are about a month ahead of us but it is getting pretty good here.  Mostly the same protocols as you and most jurisdictions require masks for indoor public spaces.  I think we had 102 new cases in the province yesterday.

 

Stay safe my friends

Nigel

Nigel,

It's a tossup b/w 110v or battery impacts.  Air isn't doable with 1/4" line coming off the trailer supply.  So, re impacts, Can tire when they come on sale?  They also sell Dewalt or plus a couple of other brands. This is not something that's going to get a lot of use.   Electric or air would mean cords from the truck to probably behind the trailer plus to a car with a flat. . I may not have enough time to stop behind them.

I can get a Milwaukee .5" big one for 360$ plus tax, no battery from Lordco.

Jet has a set of torque sticks, 60 to 140 ft lbs in 20 ft lbs increments for 100$.  So what would a car or an suv need in ft lbs.  I think the trailer needs 135 ft lbs as per Dexter 12"x 3" - 8 stud drums.

The dolley can be disassembled and stored easily in the truck and I could use detent pins instead of bolts to put it together.

I may need  a scissor lift if my 25 ton bottle jack won't fit under whatever it is I'm trying to fix.  Maybe modify it to allow for the ratchet to lift it up.

Any thoughts?

BTW, the RV park has a lot of empty spaces.  Cam from Ontario is stuck here without his wife.  She was going to fly out but now that Airlines are filling the plane she won't fly.

No winter trips to the US in the future.  I'm making a Covid mask for the car from a Can flag and add some cartoon eyes for inside the windshield....should get a laugh or two.

6 hours ago, Big5er said:

Mine was the 2nd smart bed that Larry Herrin built. I don't "know" about the 1st one but he built mine, like you said, with 2 bolts per ramp. The man knows what he is doing. I changed the bolts out with detent pins many years ago. But in 10 years, neither ramp has moved at all. 

I switched the bolts out for the detent pins 2 years ago,  The ramp foot still sits on the deck but the angle iron bolted to the foot sits in a stainless build out on the side of the deck.

Snap on Torque sticks and very deep sockets on line. Look em up.  Gotta go and stop people from standing on the top of step ladders and get them to wash their hands.

Well, I'm going to push ahead with this scheme before going on the road again.  That is if 163 miles can be considered a trip.

The Motomaster 25 ton air assist air jack is about 9+ high.  The question is will it fit under most vehicles with a flat?  I'm going to order the tire lifter.  If the offending wheel is on gravel, I'll get a couple of pieces of 3/16" steel plate to run the wheels on.  Next is the impact gun, electric or battery. Cambodian Tire has electric Motomaster guns on sale from time to time for about 60 bucks.  Not sure of the ft lbs.  I could run the generator to power it.  Or I could go cordless, not sure of the brand.

Trailer wheel nuts are about 135 ft lbs as I recall.  The guys SUV, I just cranked them down with the flex head ratchet, it was going to be replaced later anyway.

What is an average ft lbs for a car or SUV?

So different topic, I saw something on UTube, it was a socket on an extension that was pre set to a ft lbs setting.  So I guess you could use the impact gun with this socket and it would click off at 90 ft lbs for instance.  It would save having to go around 48 studs torqueing them. 

Anyone had experience with them?  It would be handy for doing up the metric concrete anchors on this condo job.  There must be thousands of them.

Nigel, our dollar may increase in value if things keep going as they are.  Construction is going full blast here in Victoria.

Re how we deal with Covid 19.  I'm run of my feet on this job cleaning and sanitizing anything and everything people touch.  That and dealing workers standing on the top of a 6' stepladder and not wearing their brain buckets.

The shops stores and food markets still have plastic screens up and sanitize the buggy handles for customers.  Burger King, Mc d's and the Dub are still drive thru only.

A lot of stores are tap cc only and those that don't have tap wipe the screen.  They even have the machine on a stick.

BC Ferries, I'm told is only running half loads.

Costco and Wallmart only let in so many at a time.  Rows or aisles alternate, up one way and down the other.  Tape on the sidewalk to keep people socially distant outside.

Aside from that we are back to normal.

Her'Bolting down front chocks was time consuming as well as sometimes a problem with threads getting messed up.  So this is how it's done now.

Instead of bolting the chocks on the front, I use 2" ratchet strap with a hook to hook onto the truck mounted bar with the pin in it.  Less grief.

I had the same issue  few years ago.  It turned out to be a coolant leak.  Do0n't recall the specific location or what was replaced if anything.  It was a simple fix though, so not too spendy.

On ‎7‎/‎10‎/‎2020 at 4:32 AM, jenandjon said:

Those wheel dollies are nice until it gets stuck on a rock. The trick is not jacking it up too high. Get the wheel in place and lean it over on the studs. Get a couple nuts started and if you have to jack it up an inch or so to get the rest no big deal. I have the beginnings of real bad back. I have to sit on a stool when I do truck tires. I cant even hold an impact bending over. Like maybe 3 or 4 lug nuts and I'm done.  If I do have to lift the tire I get 2 bars on the bottom and I use my head to push on the top. Slides right on. But I am 47 now and Ive been doing truck tires since before I was in Jr high. My dad would buy trucks at auction for resale in Mexico. They would bring them to the "shop" A drafty wood shed with a dirt floor.  My brothers and I would take the good tires off and save them for his trucks then throw scabs on and send them on their way south.

That may work for you but not  for me, I tried every position possible.  Granted the small wheels won't work so great on 3/4" crushed rock.  Prying the wheels up or twisting them was awkward and so was lining up holes with studs.

On ‎7‎/‎9‎/‎2020 at 5:55 AM, sclord2002 said:

Roger, I have used everything imaginable over the years to lift/align heavy tire/wheel assemblys.  When I replaced all 8 drive tires on my truck, this tool would have come in really handy.  I used a large crowbar for the lifting/alignment and it worked well...but not as well as this tire lifter would have. I usually figure that if a tool will  mostly pay for itself by allowing me to do something that I would otherwise have to pay to have done, them it merits consideration for my tool inventory.  I still have my labor in the job but that doesn't change the equation much if you are a tool junkie. I do have a Milwaukee M-18 one inch impact wrench that didn't pay for itself on my 8 tire change but made it much easier.   Maybe my wife won't read this, so it doesn't matter....it's a beast.  I can relate to Tim the tool man Taylor.  Like several others on this forum, I like tools.

At this time in my life, saving some money or having concerns about it paying for itself is rapidly becoming secondary to bein physical able and or not giving myself a heart attack.  The guy I helped was overweight and very flushed.  It was fairly warm as well.

With my setup the most difficult part would be lifting and carrying the 20 ton jack to the other vehicle that broke down.  The jack is a pig.

It's not just for me but for some Joe or Jill broken down on the side of the road.  Invariably on the traffic side of the vehicle.  As well as generally being as old or older than me some are just not prepared to deal with a flat. 

With the air assist 20 ton bottle jack running off the truck air, electric impact running off the generator and the tire dolley of some sort, it would be a doable task.

This was sparked by a gent pulled off the road with a vehicle flat...traffic side of course.  He was laying on the ground partially under the suv as it sat on the jack. trying to crank it up.  Overweight, sweating profusely...a recipe for disaster, heart attack, dehydration leading to heat exhaustion.

The lugnuts must have been metric 'cus none of my sockets would fit exactly.  Not sure which size it was,

So I have to get some more triangles as mine have disappeared.  Stick a hi vis vest in the drivers storage compartment and maybe an led sequential arrow to get the attention of oncoming drivers.

What would be an average ft lbs of tq to do cars and suv's?  I think I did my trailer to 135 lbs on  12" x 3.5 Dexters.  I'm guessing something less than 100.

https://ca-jbtools.glopalstore.com/esco-equipment-70134-hd-adjustable-wheel-dolly/

After having to manually remove and replace all 17.5's plus 12" x 3.5" drums, I came across this later.  Too late for me but it would have made things a lot easier.  This one is adjustable so latest version of Smart car tires, 24"  would fit.  This plus an air assist bottle jack and an air, battery or electric impact gun.

FYI, flats always happen on the traffic side of the vehicle or the inside dual.

This could be posted on any forum.

Lonestar trucks or haulers made them.  This is going back a few years.  Made on a Peterbilt frame. A 300 and 384 model as I recall.  They did have a 4 door with 4 bucket seats and a bench across the back.  Pretty fancy upholstery, lots of gadgets.

The used ones were on a trailer sales site.  The name escapes me.

https://horsetrailerworld.com/home/searchtrucks.asp

Found it.

I called Hensley on this and they had no plans or interest in such a modification.  The way it is currently, it has a built in life expectantly.  What bugs me is owners of these hitches may not be aware of this issue.  Like I said, I had a look at one at the WCR and it had some slap or slop already.

Someone told me to try to get some lubricant into that area with a spray lube and the red straw they come with.

Other than that, I'm happy with the hitch.  It held onto the trailer even though bent when I was in a crash 10 yrs ago.  Someone cut in front of me and put on the brakes on a wet road cutting my stopping distance in half.  I still have pics.

I have a Trailersaver, forgot what model it is.  Best to call Trailersave and speak to Aaron.  He is or was one of the bosses.   The main problem from my standpoint is there is no lubrication points on the main shaft that runs crosswise.  So the pin wears the hole into an oblong so you get 'piston slap'.  So to speak.  I'd check it out first or have someone check it for you. 

You can try to shoot some lube in and under the jaws.  I've had 3 or 4 of them in 15 yrs with different trucks.

There may be a way of drilling in for a couple of grease fittings.

There is another post running currently at this time which I brought up that question.