jenandjon

Harbor freight 1/2-inch drive impact sockets are actually really good. We literally have doubles of every size scattered between the shop and service truck. They do not get used lightly. The braker bar is not very good. It flexes too much. We also have the one-inch Milwaukee impact. That thing is awesome. However, when we are traveling, I just take the torque amplifier, I got at a farm show for $75. It works so well my 5-year-old could crank it to bust lug nuts loose. All my wrenches are either craftsman or China. No brand name just says China. My personal toolbox is full of chrome craftsman sockets. When sears shut down, I bought their ultimate socket set. It included every size available for 1/4 3/8 and 1/2 drive. 6- and 12-point deep and short. I just throw a good assortment in the truck along with a few screw drivers. Electric tape, Teflon tape, duct tape, Tire plug kit, Hose clamp assortment. wire splice and plugs, plenty of wire ties, torx drivers, 20-ton bottle jack from harbor freight and when I don't forget it, I have my Ryobi tool kit. Drill, saws all, impact driver etc. It's not near as good as the Milwaukee stuff we have but it does the job. It's just slower and it was cheap, I figure if they grew legs and walk away, I'm not out much. I paid the same for the whole Ryobi kit as one Milwaukee drill cost. Lastly, I have an Ingersoll rand air impact. I run off the truck air. It's just good enough after I use the torque amplifier to bust the lugs loose then the little impact will spin them off. When I tighten them down, I have an inch drive breaker bar and 3-foot cheater bar with my 250 lbs. on the end. Gets them tight enough to get me to the next shop to torque. I haven't had to do that on the road yet. But I did it at home to see if it could be done. In summery I have enough tools to fix what I know how to fix and to get out of a jam.

If I could do it again, I would not have a singled truck. I like it just fine but after having it a while I wish I had bought a tandem. Here are some of the problems I had with a truck that was singled by someone who didn't know what they were doing. The rear end is a bigger rear out of an older truck. That is good its heavy duty and I had new bearings put in it so it will last my lifetime. But it's an older rear so ABS is deleted. Second is the driveline. I've been chasing a vibration. He had the driveshaft angles all wrong. It took me 2 years to figure that out. I had to change the pitch of the rear end by a lot. I had to get saddles for a front rear. This is how far I had to drop the rear carrier bearing. The front carrier only had to be dropped a few inches. So, singling a truck is a heck of a lot more involved then oh, let's just pull the front out rear and extend the drive line. That don't work. The only thing this guy did right was using a bigger rear with a locker. I know you are going to ask me how big the rear end is. Honestly, I am having a brain fart right now and can't remember. I didn't write it down. It's big. 3 guys could not pick it up. It came out of a single axle semi. I want to say it a 30 something thousand lb. rear end.

You better get the wife one too!

Just wrap it with Teflon tape and then duct tape. It will hold for a while.

It depends. We have one truck that we just throw in 2 cans of freon a year. But that's our old truck. We know it leaks slowly. Any other truck that just quits working goes to the shop.

You may be disappointed in the Facebook page. There is a reason why I still come here with serious questions. There is a lot of misinformation on FB. There is a lot of good stuff too, but you wave to wade through a bunch of garbage to get it.

What did you use for USB? Installing some more outlets is on my to do list.

Put everything back together and test drove again. I think I finally got it. I couldn't get a vibration even at 90 mph. Before it was steady at 75+. It was windy so I couldn't get it to freewheel very much. That is where it was the most annoying. When towing I only drive 68 so it didn't vibrate except on the backside of long hills.

I'm not too worried about it. I just seen on the Omaha news people are not sucking gas out anyway. They are just drilling holes in the fuel tanks.

That is what is called a runaway.

Finally got around to taking it for a test drive yesterday. After new bearings in the rear end and changing some drive shaft angles, I still have a little bit of a vibration. I am going to make another adjustment today.

In Nebraska we don't need a bed, but we need a toilet. I assume its implied that its an RV and it will have one.

I have a porta potty in my truck. I don't know about Michigan but in Nebraska they didn't even check. Actually, I went to the DMV to see what I needed. They asked me a bunch of questions if I have this, and do you have that and on and on I just kept saying yes. She gave me a plate and we walked out. Got in the car and I looked at my wife and said now we have to go get all the stuff I just said we had.

I had to call a couple times and we really appreciate that you walk us through things.

$39.95 a quart. No thanks I will get bleach at dollar general.

You need a different agent. I've had State Farm for 5 years now. It did go up a little bit this year but still around $70 a month.

I second double J We have stayed there a few times. Before we had the HDT.

It never ends does it. I feel like I'm in the middle of a full restoration project with mine.

I haven't driven it yet. I suspect I won't notice anything until I do the rest of the cab. However, there is a noticeable sound difference when I shut the door compared to the driver's door.

I'm going to try that. Thanks!

Hey Trim, are you talking about putting something like this in the walls? I was going to put kilmat everywhere, but this does look like it would be better for walls. I don't think it would work in the doors though. Too thick to get behind the window on my freightliner. Maybe Volvo has more room? Amazon.com: Design Engineering 050130 Boom Mat Under-Hood Thermal Acoustic Lining, 32" x 54" x .75" (12 sq. feet) : Automotive

We survived $5 fuel before we can do it again. Except before I had an Explorer with small trailer getting 8 mpg. Now I have a freightliner with a big trailer averaging 9. I am in the same boat as in 08-09 but more comfortable.

The screws in the side of the door can be a pain. I guess my torx driver must be magnetic. I never drooped any.

I put this R-tech stuff down on the floor in the sleeper. It seems pretty good. I use what I had left over under my sleeping bag on winter campouts. Over that I put 1/4-inch plywood with peel and stick carpet squares. Don't do that. They don't stick very well. I am going to go back over it with household carpet. I put house carpet in my work truck. Huge difference. Quieter and keeps warmer in winter and cooler in summer. Before you go tearing everything up go, I suggest you get some carpet and cut to fit one piece to go in the cab. If you don't like it, you are not out much. Just leave the seats in cut the carpet to fit around them.

The door handle on the passenger side quit working soon after purchasing the truck. It was cheap enough, so I got one and replaced it. When I got the panel off, I knew I would have to replace the entire panel sooner or later. That time came. Freightliner made the door panels out of a very hard plastic that got brittle with age. So many screw holes were broken. 2 of the 4 screws for the door handle were just gone. Only one holding the window track. But I got it pieced together good enough to last another couple years. I decided that while I had it apart, I was going to add some sound deadening. I did a little research online and found this product called Killmat. They make 50 mill 80 mill and 100 mill. I got the 80 and doubled it up. It's a butyl-based product vs. the asphalt based. Not the most expensive but not the cheap stuff. According to the reviews and you tube videos this is supposedly the best bang for the buck. There are better products out there, but they are way more costly. Then I started looking for a door panel. Vander Haages has used for $220. Complete door panels. Pull your old one off slap this one in and done. But they were dirty, and some were cracked. I already had a dirty cracked one. Don't need another. Freightliner had them for $308 brand new no freight cost. So, I get it home and start transferring parts over to the new panel and I find out that the arm rest screws were all messed up. That is a big deal because they also hold the interior door handle in place. Back to Freightliner I go. Arm rest cost me another $100 but they actually had it in stock. While I'm in town I know I need a few screws because some of the holes were busted out and screws gone. Just a couple machine screws. Not a big deal. Stop at Fastenall they should have them. Yes, indeed they do have them. I need 4. They come in packs of 100. 🤦‍♂️ Ok fine. $6 for 100 screws that I only need 4 of. I get home and with help from my nephew I get it all put back together. All the interior pieces cleaned up real nice. The dark grey inserts in the picture. But the speaker grills were ugly and rusty. I had to do something. I hit them with a little flat black to match the grab bar and door handle. I think it turned out nice. I am pretty impressed with the Kilmat. The door shuts with a thud like a car door now instead of a rattle. Here is a like to where I got it. There is enough in the box to do a double layer on both doors. Some of you may ask why I didn't replace the speaker while it was apart. The old speakers in the doors are unhooked. It only put it back in to fill the hole. We ran new wire and put bigger speakers in above the doors. Amazon.com: KILMAT 80 mil 18 sqft Car Sound Deadening Mat, Butyl Automotive Sound Deadener, Audio Noise Insulation and dampening : Automotive