trimster

All my Sailun tires have delaminated and exploded. Switched to Hercules. Love them. Ya, tires...ugh.

We found toyhauler that might replace the one we have, near us. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1074181410118342/?ref=browse_tab&referral_code=marketplace_top_picks&referral_story_type=top_picks Any thoughts from those who have owned a Dutchman Voltage. Problems? things to look for when inspecting? Thanks

Here's the thread on my bed build. There's other on the forum so lots of info. I built my own wheel wells. Way to expensive if you buy pre-made but... off the shelf are easier to install. I fabricated the brackets and purchased the actual wheel wells (window wells for houses) from Home Depot. $22 per. Star Dreamer mentioned 'build/use goals'. That's important. Maybe the most important to define. On my bed I valued: - the ability to removed the deck plates for service access to stuff under the bed. That meant aluminum plates instead of steel. - Ramps under the bed. - Overall truck length could not exceed 30' to fit in our driveway legally. So the frame extension was 25" for the hitch. But then the truck wheel base started at 210" so this was possible. - I wanted a generator on board with extra gas storage, and tool/stuff storage. There's more of course. I did not know how to weld when I started (I'm a woodworker at heart) but learned quickly. The storage boxes I had built. Way past my tool and skill set. It was a rewarding project to undertake. Not a perfect bed build but it works for me and I can say..."I did that".

So this trip just gets better...maybe now. Truck injector problems Bedroom slide sheared both gear roll pins. Smart car #1 cylinder misfiring. Changed all three plugs. Seems happy now. In Sheridan, Wy a micro burst hit and tore up the awning fabric and came close to sending the wife to the hospital. Now, I've tested positive for Covid. Crap. Hunkered down in a park outside Hill, City until the 20th. Getting drugs tomorrow. After that, headed home. Of course this was a fishing focused trip and all the rivers we targeted are blown out. Yellowstone, Wind, Big Horn, etc. Best laid plans.

Thanks for the input. I'll be back home on the 22nd. 3 one-night hops. About 800 miles total. Temps did climb to around 210 when pulling a steep (7%) grade in 11th gear @ 55mph. Held up by a class C in front of us. Otherwise, 180 when cruzing at speed.

Fuel in the oil. Did an oil change to get us home. Monitoring the rise in oil level daily. So far...good.

Running to our next destination, I'm noticing the water temp gage rarely gets to 200 even laboring up hills. In the flats...170. Seems low compared too the past. Where should I start troubleshooting?

4 wires. Not sure what they are using inside but tech support at the factory said that the rheostat was "old stuff". Mine works flawlessly now.

So, rest of the story. Smart has a problem as well. Plug or coil on #1. Replaced all plugs. Have not run it enough to see if that solved the problem. We do have the CanAm trike, but we have 'stuff that exceeds the capacity of both to take with us. Yes. Boxed in on all sides. And we have packages being shipped to our next 2 destinations that are important.

Stuck out. None of them do mobile injection work. Tri-state does volvo. But can't get to diagnose until Friday with the requirement that it be there until Monday. In otherwords, they can't get to until Monday...maybe. Then the whole rv spot rears its ugly head. Crap.

There are. Had not thought of that. On the phone now....

I don't. I'd need to arrange shop time for them to test. Here, that's weeks out I've been told. I'm kinda screwed on all fronts.

I might be. Not sure if I could determine the smell of fuel. But then it didn't have that typical engine oil smell I'm use to. And it was noticeably thinner. I do feel better with fresh oil in there and a known amount reading on the stick. Going to monitor it closely now. Did notice on the 60 mile run into Billings that the engine temp was running cooler than normal. Just above 170 with peaks around 200 on hills. Noticeably lower than in the past.

Bit out of level. Towards the drivers side. My decision was to change the oil and leave it a few quarts low. 850 miles to home. No rv spots available in Billings for the required 3 weeks to get injectors replaced.

Wouldn't water create a gray foam? Discoloration of the oil? I don't see that.

Just checked the dipstick again. Whew... it's just an inch over the full mark. I do have a problem but it's not as bad as it appeared at first. So, somewhat over 2000 miles since the oil change and it's up an inch on the 'Bayonet gauge' (love the trivia by the way). I have 1200 miles left in our trip. Decisions, decisions. I can get the oil changed in Billings and continue on with the trip (1200 miles remaining) knowing what I am up against. OR...do the oil change in Billings and head directly home...578 miles. Thoughts and suggestions needed.

That's the third pull and wipe. I'll be checking it again in a few minutes. Just woke up. Need a cup of Joe first. If it reads that high again, my plan is to: - locate some tubing and siphon it down. - add some new oil. - billings, mt. is 60 miles away. Run in there and have the oil changed. - then beat-feet the 500 miles back to Salt Lake. I'm concerned about getting repairs/service in Billings. We're a month into our 3 month trip. This sucks big time.

Now have around 2k miles since oil change. Here's a photo of the dipstick... What I am concerned about is A: the oil looks thin and less dirty than I expected. And B: it goes way above the full mark in the dipstick. Could this be a sign that I have a leaking injector? If it's really this full, what do I need to do at this point? I'm going to check the oil level in the morning after it has set for the night.

Had a Volvo dlr wrench turner in the RV spot next to us this week. He's in Wisconsin, medium size dealership. They have had orders standing for over 400 trucks since mid Oct 2021. They get 5 here, 10 there from the factory. Trickle. The sales people are having to call the customers and inform them that the price on their orders are going up $2500 to $11k per truck depending on the configuration and still can't give them a precise delivery date. We've seen that across the board with other things. CanAm (Polaris, Spyder trikes, etc) won't be delivering the 2021 models ordered in Sept of last year until the end of July. The popularity of their products has seen exponential demand. The trikes are hot. Their side-by-sides are in demand. Nice to be in a position as a manufacturer where demand outstrips your ability to deliver.... but frustrating for us consumers. Kinda curbs ones enthusiasm. But, maybe, it brings some reality to our need for immediate gratification we've been accustom. Maybe more like the early days of the Sears catalogs where you'd order by mail and it would take months to get what you ordered. If you were rural, it might just come by horse drawn wagon. Ahhh, the slower pace of life back then almost seems romantic... until your grand parents tell you they took the Sears and Robucks catalog to the outhouse for toilet paper. Ya. Kinda takes the warm, fuzzy feeling right out of that dream. But I digress.

No issues.

Fortuitous meeting in the RV park here in Thermopolus, Wy. The guy next to us is a 25 yr Volvo wrench turner for a dealership in Michigan. His take: great possibility that it's an injector....but, run it a couple of thousand miles and do another oil sample. Send it to the lab you (I) used and to another lab for a second opinion. Then wait another 1000 miles and do it again. See if there's a trend. He felt strongly, knowing injectors on D13's are not the longest lasting, that it might be caused by an injector but symptomatic of a lack of use. He said their process it to put a die in the fuel...run the motor...then pull the valve cover and UV the inside and see where the die/leak is. He also suggested to bite the bullet and replace all while in there. Question... are injectors a DIY project? I built drag cars so wrench turning is not a problem. Age and climbing around on that beast might warrant some Advil however. UPDATE: just found a video on how to do the injectors and cups. Special tools alone are $1700. Woowza. That's 10 hrs of shop labor. Now sure what this job books at for labor.

I've had this newer revision of the Hayse Air controlled brake controller for 2 yrs now. The older model with a rheostat instead of a solid state module, failed. The updated version seems to be working as advertised. Available cheaper through resalers: https://www.hayesbc.com/product/air-actuated-controller/ The systems that plug into the port under the dash are easier to install, and smarter. This one requires a bit of under dash and feeding an airline through the firewall. Not all that hard. Took about an hour.

Found a weight ticket for just the tractor: Steer: 10840 Drive: 8400 Gross= 19240 with the trailer and Smart on the back... Steering: 10020 lbs Drive: 16740 lbs Tandem: 12040 lbs

According to the receipt they put in Lucas 15-40 oil. I'll run another test in a couple of months and see if it's a trend. Thanks all.

Right with you. Depreciate that inheritance. Slipping into the ground with a net worth of zero is a goal. Our current trip will be aprox. 3000 miles. Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, northern Colorado and back to Utah. Not sure what the fall & winter will bring, but it will be on the road to warmer areas. Just an aside, headed east on I-80 from Salt Lake last week with a 40mph tailwind, was nice on MPG. We gave all that back heading north west in Wy. with 35-40 mph head and side winds. Wyoming does not suck...it blows. Watching that fuel gauge go down was shocking. So I might just put put a bit of tape over it.😆