What was your worst backup ..........

[Dollytrolley]

What was your worst backup while your HDT is hitched to your RV?????

 

Our old shop in Central Oregon has a narrow twisty alley that leads to a fairly steep up-hill driveway to the main shop doors.......pretty tight and twisty with very little to turn around so it it great practice for backing-up.........

 

After our shop approach most other places seem to be a slam-dunk......

 

Back in the stone-stone age...........Grumps got caught in a pretty grim backup job while hauling a load of logs out of a dense Lodgepole Pine forest.......

 

Gyppo-loggers hated lodgepole pine logs because they are miserable small often crooked poles that take a long time to load and loggers make very little money with the small logs.......

 

The Lodgepole sale had been a loser from the start and a late fire season delayed logging the sale until late in the year ( about 1962 or 63 as I recall) so of course the late logging pushed the final hauling out of the woods until late December with pretty bad snow storms and the timber had to be completely removed before New Years day.

Try as he could Grumps was delayed several times with heavy snows and that involved a lot of dozer work to keep the 9 miles of secondary narrow one-lane-crooked logging road open just enough to haul the last few loads of logs out to close out the timber sale contract.......

Loggers-luck would have it that a big storm dumped a couple feet of additional snow on a two foot base a couple days before Christmas so the plan was to take three dozer's to open the road and then between storms haul the last several loads of logs out before the next big snow..........great plan and the only chance was a small break in the storms on Christmas day.........

 

The plan was that a D-8 dozer and the jammer (truck mounted Log-loading-crane) would start at the low end of the 9 mile loop road and then just would load one truck out from the small log landings and then just move a half mile to the next clean-up landing and then load the next truck out and the loaded trucks just continued around the loop until coming out on the main two-lane log road and back 28 miles back to the mill.........great plan..... with plenty to go wrong.......

 

Three cat skinners started opening the road at midnite and by 04:30 Christmas the first truck was loaded all drivers and one axle of the trailer were chained up and off around the loop it went.............all went fairly well till about noon and the weather was pretty nice with broken blue patches of sky and some gusty winds before the next storm was to arrive......Grumps plan was that he would take the last load of logs and the the jammer operator would let Grumps pass and I would use the last dozer to help push the jammer back into the road and then I would hi-gear run the dozer out following the jammer out of the loop and meet Grumps back at the main road and then load the dozer on the lowboy for the final trip to town........

 

All was looking fair and Grumps got his load on and one wrapper on then moved forward to let the jammer out to start out on the way out of the loop ..........as soon as the jammer started down the loop Grumps told me to be careful and don't fool around with the dozer just keep the blade up a "walk" the cat the 6 miles back down the loop road and he would meet me at the lowboy.........good plan.......

 

I was really making pretty good speed (maybe 6 mph) for the first half mile or so but I noticed that the temp gage was getting pretty close to the yellow-range so I stopped and noticed that in my haste to blast thru the high snow berm to push the jammer out onto the road that I had the blade too high and had loaded the radiator screen full of hard-pack snow that then turned to ice......bummer........so I shut the dozer down and took a heel bar and started chipping ice and hoping that without the fan turning the heat of the radiator would help melt the ice.......

about a half a hour goes by and between gusts of wind I hear what sound like a truck behind me in the distance.....No it could be a truck because the only truck left in the woods was Grumps and he was headed the other way around the loop............So imagine my surprise that the longer I chipped ice the louder the truck sounds got..........finally around the corner here come Grumps BACKING-UP the loaded log truck with his arm resting in the open window sill with a Camel cig hanging out of his mouth..........he stopped about 25 feet from the Cat and swung down to the ground and walked back to where I was chipping ice.........I said "Why did you back all the way back to here"...........He smiled and said well the lazy cat-skinner did not doze out a nice 5 acre level spot for me to turn around this wreck.........then he said he had come to rescue me from what ever "pickle" is was in.......

 

He knew about the ice so he just stepped up in the cat, started it, raised the blade, and and then reached over and grabbed the fire axe and in about two minutes hacked the rest of the ice off the radiator screen........he handed me the ax and said now quit screwing around and get this Cat down the road before I run over you with this load of poles..........I looked at him amazed and said "you gotta be kidding me your backing that thing all these miles back to the main road?"............He said, "well it looks like I will be backing this wreck up unless your a good enough driver to somehow turn around a 75 ft load in a 15 ft high-bermed bob-sled track"..........he said get that Cat going and maybe I might not run you down......... I started down the road and he lit up another Camel and hung his elbow out the window and backed the six miles back to the main road..........All that time I was bouncing down that pig-trail thinking ......that crazy old coot has finally lost it for sure.............what Grumps failed to mention was that about a mile ahead of the last landing that a avalanche had slid down the mountain and blocked the road so the only way out .....was to back out..........

 

Ya gotta love logging....and truckin.........

 

Ok so maybe Grumps held the record for backing up on that Christmas day ....... but jot your story down it's likely pretty good............

 

Grumps used to say backing-up is just........... another direction......

 

Drive on...........(Keep the mirrors clean........)

[rickeieio]

Well, I fer sure can't top that, but my worst backing experience only involved a pick-up and pop-up...........

 

Years ago (1988), we took our Apache pop-up to Maine. Somewhere in northern NY state, we stopped for the night in in a little campground on the side of a mountain. Owner said to just pick any spot. We started up the lane past other campers, and soon noticed that as we climbed the grade, there were fewer, and smaller units. Soon there were just folks with a car and tents, then no one. Did I mention that people were pointing and laughing as we passed?

 

After a little bit more driving, we found out why. The road got steep, trees got real close, and the rocks on the edges got large, as in VW Beetle large. Finally the road ended. No campsites, no pull outs, just ended. Susan and I got out, walked the area, and mapped out a plan. Nose in here, swing back of trailer between that rock and this tree, ect. Did I mention I had a 2wd F-250 Super-Cab, and that an Apache is pretty long, for a pop-up? Any-hoo, a half hour later, we come back down the mountain and the finger pointers are now looking at us in dis-belief.

 

Now I walk my route first. And still have my same spotter. I think I'll keep her another 41 years.

[sclord2002]

Dollytrolley, if I told you my worst back-up story, "GRUMPS" would spin in his grave mumbling something about " He thinks that's a back-up story ? That young whipper snapper ain't never done what I had to do every day. He needs to quit sniveling, wipe his nose and get to work on learning to back up." So I ain't even gonna tell my "worst" back up story. Thanks for yours, though. Rest in peace, Grumps. Charlie

[noteven]

Grumps probly "backed 'em up more miles than most people have drove 'em ahead..."

[whatsnext]

My first time with the full rig. We arrived at the campground at night in a rain storm. Due to length (30 ft 780 & 45 ft fifth wheel) we could not pull in to the "pull through" site. Had to back down the curving campground single lane road with sites on each side into our site.

 

Had about 5 "helpers" who added about 45 mins to the process. Got it in and hooked up. Quite an "inauguration" of the set up!!

 

David

[Exile]

Dollytrolly, i'm surprised your grumps didn't have a burnt out transmission by the time he was done. I hear the manufacturers have a nasty habit of not lubricating the reverse gear.

 

My mother once backed straight up with a trailer behind. Until it jacknifed and broke the hitch. I guess she didn't back up quite perfectly straight.

 

I will admit to tearing off a mudflap backing up, but nothing else, i swear. I usually save my "experiences" for the forward gears.

[rickeieio]

Worst is when you have an audience. We got into a campground in Fairbanks last summer around 10:30 pm. Place was packed, mostly with a caravan of Newmar motorhomes. Our site was about 15' wide, 90 degrees to the road and only 50' deep. road was full of 'toads".

 

As we pulled up, we could see folks peering out their windows. Susan hopped out and started directing. Folks across the road raise the shades and slid into their seats to watch. One neighbor started to offer to help and told Susan she really didn't need him. When we got finished, he told her he was a truck driver, and he would not have attempted that maneuver.

 

Grow up driving weird stuff all the time and you learn to just do whatever needs done. Yes, I had a "grumps" too, though he prolly wasn't as "colorful" as some........and he smoked cigarillos, not Camels.

[Phil D]

Worst is when you have an audience. We got into a campground in Fairbanks last summer around 10:30 pm. Place was packed, mostly with a caravan of Newmar motorhomes. Our site was about 15' wide, 90 degrees to the road and only 50' deep. road was full of 'toads".

 

As we pulled up, we could see folks peering out their windows. Susan hopped out and started directing. Folks across the road raise the shades and slid into their seats to watch.

 

You can't arrive late enough anywhere to avoid it, Rick.

 

When I finished up my last temporary work assignment last year, we pulled up in front of the house at exactly 10:00 PM. I considered parking on the street and backing into the RV Port of our home by daylight, which I was doing for the first time, but decided that since our subdivision is still rather lightly populated in September, and it being 10:00 in a neighborhood where even "in season" they roll up the sidewalks about 8:30, that was a chance to back in without an audience., so I turned on every light that I could find and set out on my maiden voyage into my RV Port. It went remarkably well, and when I went into the house, I sat down and congratulated myself on the decision to not wait until morning, and having avoided being watched.

 

I thought that I'd gotten away with it until that week's Men's Breakfast, when the guy that lives directly across from us on the next street over (the lots across from us on our street -- which otherwise would have had homes that would have blocked the view from his bedroom window -- remain unsold) said "I got up to use the bathroom around ten on Sunday night and saw some light through the slats in our bedroom blind. I looked out and saw you backing your trailer into your port. I couldn't believe that you didn't just park on the street and wait until morning. I even had my wife get out of bed so that we could both watch you back in."

It must be a curse on trailer-towing RVers.

 

 

 

[Dollytrolley]

 

You can't arrive late enough anywhere to avoid it, Rick.

 

When I finished up my last temporary work assignment last year, we pulled up in front of the house at exactly 10:00 PM. I considered parking on the street and backing into the RV Port of our home by daylight, which I was doing for the first time, but decided that since our subdivision is still rather lightly populated in September, and it being 10:00 in a neighborhood where even "in season" they roll up the sidewalks about 8:30, that was a chance to back in without an audience., so I turned on every light that I could find and set out on my maiden voyage into my RV Port. It went remarkably well, and when I went into the house, I sat down and congratulated myself on the decision to not wait until morning, and having avoided being watched.

 

I thought that I'd gotten away with it until that week's Men's Breakfast, when the guy that lives directly across from us on the next street over (the lots across from us on our street -- which otherwise would have had homes that would have blocked the view from his bedroom window -- remain unsold) said "I got up to use the bathroom around ten on Sunday night and saw some light through the slats in our bedroom blind. I looked out and saw you backing your trailer into your port. I couldn't believe that you didn't just park on the street and wait until morning. I even had my wife get out of bed so that we could both watch you back in."

It must be a curse on trailer-towing RVers.

 

 

 

 

Phil,

 

I had to chuckle when I considered your post.......your right about late-nite backing up spying but did you know that early morning back-ups can be just as bad.............

 

In the stone age Grumps had come up with a new method of child / slave-abuse by making me drive the old WWII Army Surplus Powerwagon Ambulance-converted-to-logging-service-rig out on a service call to the woods during school Christmas vacation......

 

The plan was........ for the slave (me) to hitch up the old powerwagon to the OLD Army Surplus cable-reel trailer and take the wreck out to the woods and install a couple hundred feet of 1" wire-rope (cable) on a old D8 Cat that had a rear mount Carco-Winch.........not much fun......

 

So at 04:30 Grumps drags me out of bed and kicks me out the door to my new "job"..........

 

I unplug the block heater on the old powerwagon and back-up to the old cable spool trailer and hitched up.......but of course the light plug had froze since some dummy me had left it angled up and rain and snow had filled it up.........no problem just take my gloves off and take my WARM hands to transfer my body to the frozen plug ........in a minute the plug was un-frozen but now my hands was frozen........

 

OK so down unplowed street I go with a plan to stop at the little truck-stop to grab a cup of hot-something and a donut........I arrive at the truck stop but the snow berms were huge and the log trucks and "crummies" (what Chev-Surburbans were called by the timber-crews used to get to the woods) had every inch of parking taken.........no problem down the street a block was the fire-hall / police dept building and the alley was plowed clean........so....... I pulled up in front of the alley and jackknifed the old short cable trailer around the corner into the alley and then skidded it down the alley a hundred feet then pulled it forward to be even with the front of the fire hall .....but the trailer was still about a foot into the edge of the back roll-up-door at the chief of police used in the fire hall..........no problem.........who's looking at 05:00 in a snowiy morning..........ya right....... anyhow I trot down to the truck-stop cafe and right off the bat the timber-fallers and truck drivers start ribbing me about my "chick-magnet-rig' and they were asking me if I was just getting in from a all-nite-date..........more-child-abuse........

 

I was in a hurry but it took several minutes to get a cup of hot choc and a greasy donut..........so I trot back to my "Chick-rig" and guess what.......some numbskull had taken one of the old tire chains off the front bumper of the rig and ran a end through the front wheel spoke-hole and PADDLE-LOCKED it around the front bumper.........great fun.......I was already running late and Grumps would be........really Grumpy if I did not get going right away.........so......no problem....... just put the old powerwagon into granny gear pull forward and break the chain.......no problem........oh ya.......so I break the chain and get out and throw the broken chain over the front bumper then I see it...........IT, was a note tucked under the only windshield wiper blade............The note said "You parked in front of my door!! You have to find me to get the key to unlock the chain!! ..........signed 'CHIEF"............I wadded up the "note" and laughed that the damn loggers were playing a joke on me......

 

I finally get the wreck out in the woods and get the cat started and pulled the old cable off the winch and just started winding the new cable on the winch when up drives Grumps...........he shakes his head and says .........".what has taken you so long.......where have you been, in jail"...... I smiled and thought so.......Grumps was in on the "joke".........

 

So fast forward to about noon and Grumps show up just as I was done greasing the Cats and said " take the "Teddy" (his nickname for the powerwagon ....referring to Teddy Roosevelt, the Rough-Rider) back to town for some more welding rod that he needed.......

 

So........I just pull into the center of town and ...........all of a sudden the BIG-RED-LIGHT of the law starts flashing behind me............I pulled over.........looking in the mirror guess who gets out of the cop-car.........THE CHIEF.........

 

I think ok so this is the next chapter in the joke............ so I open the door and get out of the wreck ( back in the stone-age they did not tazer folks that got out in a traffic stop) and ambled back the CHIEF's car.........I got out my wallet to show him my license but he held up his hand and did not say a word...........he just walked to the front of the wreck.......paused.......reached into is pocket and with a key in hand, UNLOCKED the LOCK on the chain on the front bumper..............I think.........uh-oh .......this does not look good...........the CHIEF reaches into his back pocket and gets out his handkerchief and started wiping off the mud and snow from the lock while shaking his head.........still not a word.........It seemed like forever so I finally said ......"here is my license"......... he looked up in disgust and said......."sonny put your license back in your pocket, I already know that you do NOT know how to drive AND I also know that you do NOT know how to read since you did not come to get the key to the lock from me so.............he smiled and said so now I will teach you about breaking-the-law.........my-law"......... I gulped......this is going to hurt......

the CHIEF turned and walked a few steps and then turned around and said jail-time is too good for the crimes you have committed........so here is your fine..........Every morning at 06:00 for the next week you will make sure that the courthouse steps are clear of snow and swept clean AND .......that the snow berm is clear in front of my roll-up-door".........then he smiled and said......."don't complain to Grumps about this.....he thinks this is a great idea"..............

 

Even doing my "time" I did not learn the "lesson" very well since I have had a fairly long-life-of-low-level-pettyy-criminal-activity.........

 

The one lesson I did learn Phil is, that your correct no matter how much you try to have a "private-back-up.......someone will watch you"...........

 

Drive on..........,(Smile as you back-up.......)

[Star Dreamer]

We have had two bad backups so far. First one was when we still had our 4wd dually. We went to put our trailer away for the winter at our storage location at a farm a few miles out of town after a late Thanksgiving trip.

 

It had gotten cold out and we had some rain and snow but the roads were clear so figured there would be no problem. We have to pull down their driveway and then do a 90 degree turn down hill slightly and back uphill into our spot. Simple, I have done many times before. Unfortunately the driveway was gravel and the rain and snow had frozen it up and the dually even in 4wd could not get traction. Going forward was not an option as all it did was go more downhill to their barn with no way out.

 

Luckily we had a machine called a Dingo in the back of the trailer to help us dig the trailer if it got snowed in. adingo is a small tracked unit like a bobcat but you walk behind it. My son had to use the dingo pushing on the front of the truck bumper while I drove the truck in 4wd low back words to get into our spot. A few times all the wheels on the truck were spinning and the dingos tracks were spinning. He would have to get a running start with the dingo and hit the front bumper yo get us past the slick spots. After an hour or so we managed to back it up the 50' into place. we bought chains after that and the next time we pit them on and it went right up with no issues.

 

Second time was this summer going to a van show at a fairgrounds were it had been raining all week.

 

We pulled down a street about two blocks long to get to the Fairgrounds entry only to find out it was way to muddy to pull in. Now the street we just came down had vehicles all parked on one side on the pavement and soft wet grass on the other side basically leaving us one lane to back up. Then we would have to back out into the main highway going into town.Luckily the DW and I have used our walkie talkies alot in backing so off she went behind me and we slowly backed up the 2 blocks and only had to move forward once to adjust the trailer around a slight bend. Had some help stopping traffic when we got to the highway but it all worked out and we spent the night in the high school parking lot.

 

Dave

[Dollytrolley]

Dollytrolly, i'm surprised your grumps didn't have a burnt out transmission by the time he was done. I hear the manufacturers have a nasty habit of not lubricating the reverse gear.

 

My mother once backed straight up with a trailer behind. Until it jacknifed and broke the hitch. I guess she didn't back up quite perfectly straight.

 

I will admit to tearing off a mudflap backing up, but nothing else, i swear. I usually save my "experiences" for the forward gears.

 

Ex,

 

I am not sure that the burned-out-reverse gear is all that true in that a lot of Railroad support trucks crawl up on the tracks and then backup for days on end in normal use...........many of the RR trucks spend nearly half of their total mileage running backwards........I have ridden for too many miles running 20 mph backwards while the crew chews the fat and not much looking out the windows......takes some getting used to.......

 

Grumps was never very lucky so if anyone would burn out a tranny it would have been him........and........ of course his boy-slave (me) would have had to pull and install the tranny.........

 

It's likely that in most cases the driver burns out before reverse gear..........some days I am backwards all day long even when I am traveling forward.....LOL..

 

Drive on.........(Back with care........)

[phoenix2013]

Backup went OK, just challenging. about 300 feet around couple curves, pool, big oak tree, etc.

Walk the "challenge" first, tree needs to go.

 

Owner agreed.

 

Nasty turn around the pool to the left, then around that big oak tree, straight on, the actual parking spot is on the right side of the garage behind that oak three. The fifth is a 40 footer.

 

Starting point, way down the street.

 

Got a pretty good cut going, without going over the grass, no joy

 

We start following the fifth.

 

We got it now, going into "easy section".

 

Spotters are helpful.

 

Remaining trees still a bit of a challenge on the driver's side.

 

Progress, but the pool is coming up.

 

Starting a turn around the fenced pool and shrubbery around the fence.

 

Time to get out of the cab and examine the "situation", it sucks!

 

Twisting those tires on those triple axles pretty hard.

 

Got it around the pool, now we need to reverse the turn hard to get around the oak tree.

 

Not looking too good, here.

 

Couple of back and forths and we got it to here. The trailer is past the tree.

 

Boy, this really sucks!

 

Almost got it angled into the final "parking destination"

 

No choice here, the owner will have to modify the "future landscaping" scheme around the pool or cut the friggin' oak tree.

 

We are good now.

 

Oh yeah! Those Volvo mirrors are awesome!

 

Almost there.

 

Mission accomplished.

 

Left calf still trembling, from the clutching, it was a 10 speed manual.

[Nolan]

Worse back in ever. Spring of 2006. Going to workamp at a campground near Gunnison, CO. "T" back in. No angle. One lane road on a hill. Lot of trailers around the site. Backing down the hill over going up the hill the other way might have been a better idea. I can't remember how many times it took before I was able to get the trailer into that site. Now do so much better. But still far from perfect.

[Dollytrolley]

Backup went OK, just challenging. about 300 feet around couple curves, pool, big oak tree, etc.

Walk the "challenge" first, tree needs to go.

 

Owner agreed.

 

Nasty turn around the pool to the left, then around that big oak tree, straight on, the actual parking spot is on the right side of the garage behind that oak three. The fifth is a 40 footer.

 

Starting point, way down the street.

 

Got a pretty good cut going, without going over the grass, no joy

 

We start following the fifth.

 

We got it now, going into "easy section".

 

Spotters are helpful.

 

Remaining trees still a bit of a challenge on the driver's side.

 

Progress, but the pool is coming up.

 

Starting a turn around the fenced pool and shrubbery around the fence.

 

Time to get out of the cab and examine the "situation", it sucks!

 

Twisting those tires on those triple axles pretty hard.

 

Got it around the pool, now we need to reverse the turn hard to get around the oak tree.

 

Not looking too good, here.

 

Couple of back and forths and we got it to here. The trailer is past the tree.

 

Boy, this really sucks!

 

Almost got it angled into the final "parking destination"

 

No choice here, the owner will have to modify the "future landscaping" scheme around the pool or cut the friggin' oak tree.

 

We are good now.

 

Oh yeah! Those Volvo mirrors are awesome!

 

Almost there.

 

Mission accomplished.

 

Left calf still trembling, from the clutching, it was a 10 speed manual.

 

Whew Henry...............half way through your post ...........I had to take a nap I was so stressed out...........

 

You know it';s a good thing Grumps was not helping you........... first thing Grumps would do is have you shut down your truck..........then he would go load the Super D8 Cat on the old low-boy and hop in the 6 X 6 Oshkosh and rumble into your street and then unload the Cat............next he would lit-up a Camel and then start ..........a little re-land-scraping-job..............and then in a couple of hours you would have a .............drive-through-parking-spot............enough logs decked to sell to buy beer and Camels for a year............and............never have to maintain that darn pool ever again...............

 

Like Grumps used to say ....." with a little Cat work.........maybe you don't need to back-up............"

 

Drive on............ (takes time to park a Henry's place...........)

[phoenix2013]

 

Whew Henry...............half way through your post ...........I had to take a nap I was so stressed out...........

 

You know it';s a good thing Grumps was not helping you........... first thing Grumps would do is have you shut down your truck..........then he would go load the Super D8 Cat on the old low-boy and hop in the 6 X 6 Oshkosh and rumble into your street and then unload the Cat............next he would lit-up a Camel and then start ..........a little re-land-scraping-job..............and then in a couple of hours you would have a .............drive-through-parking-spot............enough logs decked to sell to buy beer and Camels for a year............and............never have to maintain that darn pool ever again...............

 

Like Grumps used to say ....." with a little Cat work.........maybe you don't need to back-up............"

 

Drive on............ (takes time to park a Henry's place...........)

 

This was not my rig, an acquaintance purchased it in Nevada and asked me to help him ferry it across country to Massachusetts (over 3,000 miles), seen some beautiful country along the way.

 

 

 

That was the last 300 feet of the trip, backing it into my buddy's driveway. Also my first experience with Super 10, although I learned how to "float shift (some)" towards the end of the trip, me and that Super 10 never became friends.

[Dollytrolley]

Henry remarks:....

 

That was the last 300 feet of the trip, backing it into my buddy's driveway. Also my first experience with Super 10, although I learned how to "float shift (some)" towards the end of the trip, me and that Super 10 never became friends.

 

Henry.........anyone that can shoehorn the ole 5er up that last 300 feet with only one tree down is a very calm-dude......

 

You did a fine job in the back-up in spite of your long trip............as for your quivering-left-clutch-leg.......that is just the clutch getting even for all the clutch-abuse you did before you gave-in and started "floating" along............

 

Of course if you think about it....... your Ishift is just a computer and shifter that try to get along..........sometimes............once in a while the driver tries to "help" and that is not very Helpful at times...........

 

In my original post on this thread it seems that Grumps 6 mile backup with a load of logs would make him some kind of super-trucker but thats not the real story.....Grumps had a huge advantage over your back-up-rig.........conventional long-logger-trucks actually have load-hitched-stinger-steered-trailers that self-steer when loaded and the trailer tends to very closely track the tractor so backing up a 75 ft load of logs up that driveway would likely be far easier that your chore of backing up that 40 ft RV 5er........

 

I have been thinking about composing a thread that proposes a stinger-steered 5er RV that would be a HUGE improvement in tracking AND could allow a far close-coupled rig....... in that a 55 ft stinger-steer trailer could have the same total combo-rig length as a current 45 ft 5er RV.........

 

Henry you would be the perfect "father-of-the-stinger-steer-RV" since the unit actually uses TWO fifth-wheel-type-hitches-per-trailer..........imagine.......every trailer......you sell TWO "hitches".............

 

OK we are a couple geezers so............we just "infect" BmZero with the concept and...........he would just shorten his sleep-time to 2 hours per day and he would have a prototype stinger-steer-trailer about the time you had the TWO hitches painted..............I just hover in the background and chuckle...........

 

Heck Zero just about his modular-bed-project in the bag so........why not get his welder warmed-up and drop off a truck-load-of-hiem-joints and let him rip............after a couple of prototypes he could make me a trailer out of ..........jeweled-stainless........... skip the paint......

 

Drive on...........(Backing-up is........still moving )

[Dollytrolley]

Henry..........in that last image in your last post (#15)...........you know, where you are standing and holding up that tree..........by chance......did you plant that tree when you was a young whipper-snapper.............

 

Some days as a geezer I feel about as old as that tree..........

 

Drive on...........(Enjoy the view.......)

[phoenix2013]

Dolly, met BmZero at the Rally, fine young man, with boundless energy that comes with youth and commitment to what you do. Reminded me of myself at the same stage when there was nothing I couldn't conquer, imagine, or do while holding the world by its private parts. These day the only private parts I hold in the morning is when I take out a pair eggs to make myself a scrambled breakfast, but we trudge along with the help of a cane.

 

That picture I think was taken someplace in Utah,

 

driving along I-70, they have these roadside areas from which to admire the landscape.

 

As far as the tree, I don't think I was holding it, I think the tree was holding me up. it was a long trip.

[Dollytrolley]

Henry said:

 

Dolly, met BmZero at the Rally, fine young man, with boundless energy that comes with youth and commitment to what you do. Reminded me of myself at the same stage when there was nothing I couldn't conquer, imagine, or do while holding the world by its private parts. These day the only private parts I hold in the morning is when I take out a pair eggs to make myself a scrambled breakfast, but we trudge along with the help of a cane.

 

Henry ........X10 at least......

 

Your so right about "Zero" you gotta smile when you recall when you (and me)were "in-charge-of-fixing-the-world"..........

 

Once I was flying some with a old Capt. that almost needed a cane to hobble into the aircraft...........he was pretty grumpy at times and sometimes I was not very happy having him keeping a evil-eye on me........but he let me fly a lot so that was sorta ok..........one night he was a bit grumpy and I held my lip but I was a bit grumpy inside...........after a while old Capt said......"ya know sonny I know I sometimes get on your nerves.........thats my job..........you are out to show the world the way "things" need to be done......my job is to keep everyone alive while you are showing off......IF I do my job correctly you will likely live long enough to take over my job of helping some buck live long enough to show-off"...........

 

He did......I am still trying.......sorta.......

 

"Zero" is a BIG 'number.............I get a real kick out of watching his projects...........

 

Drive on................(Save the world.......smile)

[Exile]

I think the best gear to have on a transmission is LL.

 

A thirteen speed with a LL would be the perfect transmission for me. I have never said, wow, i wish this thing would back up a lot faster. But then i havent gone 20 miles in reverse down a railroad. And i hope to keep it that way.

[Dollytrolley]

I think the best gear to have on a transmission is LL.

 

A thirteen speed with a LL would be the perfect transmission for me. I have never said, wow, i wish this thing would back up a lot faster. But then i havent gone 20 miles in reverse down a railroad. And i hope to keep it that way.

 

Exile, I agree ...........and I am sure only the railroad crews are the only folks that have any real use for the reverse-high-gear-trannys......,,

 

Our old Freightshaker has a 10 speed Road-Rager that has a odd set of gear ratios.......granny is really a bit too high to be a real good-granny and then 2 thru 4 are so close that it is almost silly.........5 thru 10 are ok and comprise about 80% of the total speed range of the truck.......

 

Just to make things interesting our rear-ends are fairly high 3:08 this is pretty high gears for a tiny M11 370 HP/ 1350 lb engine but overall it works pretty well for our RV adventures .............Except.........REVERSE is pretty high in low-range and it is insanely high in high-range (don't ask how I know.......) in high-range-reverse even the rail road guys would chicken out.........

 

Drive on...........(Reverse is ..........backwards)

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

Our Rockwell 10sp is just about like Dolly's with the exception that Low reverse is actually slooooooow. Forward gears, 1-3 are tight, 4-5 are spaced just enough, and the top 5 are actually useful. High reverse though would be better if you could swivel the whole drivers compartment around and drive it like a forklift.