AH64ID

His DPF is what is plugging, not the cat. How long is he running on the highway for? The exhaust brake keeps the vanes free in the turbo, towing or not. He needs to find a way to verify he has the latest software in the ECM, or things could get expensive.

Have a safe journey. Sounds like a heavy trailer... It's not a 6.0 or 6.4 is it?

No it's not sticky, there is no amp increase so the motor isn't trying. Must have been a bad, or BIG ARSE toaster!!

I am starting to lean towards it being the juicer (not broken just needing something different?), as on shore power there are 0 issues on the same outlets. They live in Seattle so until we meet up for camping I won't have a 2nd one to compare with. I tried again last night and all seems to be working, really bizarre.

I don't think the NV4500 is a stronger transmission, it's just lighter. If you look the GCWR is the same, the difference in tow rating will be the curb weight difference. It's the same reason my truck is rated to tow more than a DRW of the same engine/trans.

So I went out to the TT this morning to use the inverter to grind coffee (forgot to last night and it's LOUD). When I was done I plugged the Juicer into the same outlet (the one that buzzed yesterday) and it worked. I cycled the inverter and it worked.. WTF?? The only electrical difference is that I wasn't plugged into shore power as well, but the only thing that should effect is the ground and the juicer uses a 2 prong plug.. .and not to mention it worked on 1 of the outlets while on shore power (breakers for general circuits where off which puts the load on the inverter). Now I am really confused. Yes, verified with a multimeter. The motor is 850w peak, and the inverter is 1500w continuous and 3000w surge. I am no where near maxing it out, especially with the juicer on low even with start-up requirements (The 2000w peak generator, 1600w continuous, starts it without issue, and there is usually 600-1200w of demand already on it). On low the amp draw was ~4A DC, so about 45W of power to spin it. On high it was ~23A DC or 270w. That's no load, the 850w is a not to exceed amount not the constant draw. It would only come close to 850w while on high and juicing a very hard vegetable. I am going to guess, that like an a/c motor, those are the locked motor watts. There is also no increase, not even 0.1, in DC amps when the motor is buzzing. To me that right there isn't a supply issue. If the inverter wasn't enough power it would go into over-current shutdown and the DC amps would go well above 150. Voltage is 117-118 depending on load. I haven't checked phase yet, but nothing else complains (TV, chargers, 5.5hp peak vacuum). I haven't ran it on the generator since the inverter was installed, but since it works on shore power and inverter power close to the inverter (and now at other plugs) I don't think the transfer relays are having issues.

Yes all NV5600 trucks where HO's.

The amps are DC amps, and it's not a 10:1, closer to 11:1. What is 8.3 amps? Are you talking inverter output? The inverter is rated for 1500w continuous and is 90% efficient. Meaning to output 1500w of AC it needs 1666w of DC power. At 12.5V that is 133A of DC power, drop that to 11.6 (more realistic with a draw that size on a 300AH bank) and it's 144A draw. So using 120V and 12.5V it's a 10.65:1, at the actual 118V and 11.6V it's 11.33:1.

My wife has a Juicer that was sometimes take camping, it's has a simple low-off-high switch and a 850W motor, and runs fine off the Honda 2000 Generator and shore power. My mom has the same juicer and it wouldn't run on my dad's Honda 3000 or Honda 5500 generators so he installed a Xantrex 1500w inverter and it works flawlessly. This week I tried running our juicer off of our inverter, same model Xantrex 1500w that my dad has. It only works on the outlet closest to the inline transfer relay/inverter. On any of the other 110V outlets it just buzzes when you turn the switch on (and there is no amp draw). If I hook up shore power the juicer works flawless off any of the 110V outlets, so I don't think I have a wiring issue. There are 2 15A circuits, it doesn't work on either. The inverter hasn't gone to sleep mode with the low draw becuase the TV still has power. Why would the inverter only be able to power the juicer on 1 outlet?

I don't think it's anything to worry about. Enjoy that you have a no mess change.

Even that number seems to be fairly gray, especially with motor mods. Max towing and GCWR are almost solely based on acceleration and the ability to maintain speed with a load. If you look at the SAE specs for GCWR it's all about acceleration and minimum speed on certain grades. Just don't exceed hitch and axle (tire) ratings, or get too crazy on the GVW. It will be fine.

It all depends on how fast you change it. If I change right away I get spillage, if I want 60-90 minutes I don't. It's normal for a Cummins to drain back a little, they don't have an anti-siphon in the filter. The Donaldson ELF7349 and Amsoil EaO80 are the same filter, different label. I use the Donaldson as it's cheaper, espeiclaly from www.filterspro.com

I took the new battery setup for a trial this weekend and I have to say I am impressed!! We camped 2 nights, and both nights where in the high 20's. Thermostat was set to 55° (normally 50°, but I packed the wrong comforter for the wife and I). When we went to bed Friday night voltage was 12.95, the residual amp draw is about 0.7 for the fridge/stereo. I also had the inverter on all night power in a LED night light (because I can). Amp draw was 1.1 going to bed. The heater draws about 7A. At 8 Saturday morning the voltage was 12.75, and there was no shortage of heater operation throughout the night. We got the camper up to temp and kept the heater on until the sun hit it around 10-11. When the water pump and heater are running the amp draw is around 15-16, and I only get ~0.2V drop at that load. I did have the solar panel turned on for about 6 hours of good sun on Sat, but I only ever saw a 0.3A shift in usage. Not enough to add anything, just slow the use. With the stereo/XM turned on the amp draw is 2.2. Going to bed Sat night the voltage was 12.55. Sunday morning the wife was cold so the heater ran until around 10:30 again, plenty of water pump operation for cleaning and the stereo was also on. When I hooked up the truck the voltage was 12.45. I also ran the inverter all night for the kids' night light. The lowest I ever saw the voltage with a load was 12.35, and the water pump and heater sounded much better than the old 11.6-11.8V under load. The heater also seemed more efficient at the higher voltage (as in more airflow). I would have been at 55-60% max after just one night on the old setup, and this time I was at 60-65% after 2 nights of decent use. I am quite happy with the operation of the batteries. We did the ~2 hour drive home and then plugged the camper in a few hours later, after 2 hours the converter was still pushing 30 amps into the batteries, I guess it takes a while to recharge them :-)

As you mentioned many people ignore the GVWR of the truck, myself included. My dad's 06 2500 has a GVWR of 9,000 that is less than 1K lbs of useful payload how I am loaded up (our trucks will be ± 250lbs). In a 3rd gen the frame is the same from a 2500 Hemi to a 3500 DRW CTD, so I personally use the DRW GVWR of 12,200 as my safety margin for max. Do 2nd gen's do the same? You wont get a ticket for GVWR, but you can for tires. The front axle is the closest hard limit, it's based on axle strength for spindles, BJ's, and wheel bearings. You are over on your trailer GVWR, unless you only have 6% tongue weight, as tongue weight does count towards trailer GVW.. don't worry I am over too. Here are my numbers from this weekend. Truck had a little fire wood in the bed, and small 4 wheeler. Camper was full of water (56 gallons), black/gray were empty, not quite full on all the normal stuff but 90%. I also only had 1 of my 2 Honda Gen's. Truck FAW: 4,900# (54% of tire rating) FAWR: 5,200# RAW: 5,940# (66% of tire rating) RAWR: 6,200# GVW: 10,840# GVWR: 9,900# Trailer GAW: 7,160# (71% of tire rating) GAWR: 10,200# GVWR: 7,900# GVW: EST 8,250# Tongue: UKN, estimated at 1,100 this trip. I need to see how the tandems are split with the batteries relocated. Last time I checked it was about 55/45. GCW: 18,000# GCWR: 21,000# Total additional payload (to include people) GVW Increase: 2,410# GCW Increase: 9,570# Seems like a lot of weight just to go play in the mountains, but it's worth it. We did a good job last year of cleaning out the stuff we don't use, but I think I can drop another 20 or 30lbs.

I figure I paid for it and I might as well use it. Then it leaves me with a worn down tire for a 2nd spare in the future. I carry two spares to some places for the mentioned reasons.. long way from nowhere....

They can be, I get them at dealer cost/wholesale... and one of them was a gift. There is a lot of markup on the MSRP.

Alright, so I stuck some in the freezer at about -5°F. It turned solid (learned something new). It did expand, but not very much.

I got the inverter and inline transfer relay's all hooked up last night!! I also added a 120V oultet right next to the converter, the top plug is shore power only and the bottom plug is inverter power. This gives me a place to plug in things like a aux heater and not worry about inverter draw, but I also have a central 120V plug on the inverter if needed. I might have to lengthen one or two of the wires to get it to tuck away cleaner, but it's ready to be hard mounted. Directly above the converter is the fridge, and the floor to the fridge area is very thin. My plan is to remove the fridge and screw/liquid nail a piece of plywood on the bottom (screw thru the top) to attach the relay's and junction boxes to. I didn't have much time to play with the setup but with it appears the TV/DVD player draws about 8A of power (around 100w for both, DVD player is 12V). I tested the inline transfer relays and the TV blanks but does not turn off when going from shore to inverter, and you cannot even tell when going from inverter to shore (other than the amps fall off). The no load draw is about 0.2A DC from the inverter, pretty low. So far so good. I also cleaned up the area around the stereo. Both the TV power cord and coax had pigtails come out of the wall and then plug in 6" later, ugly and lazy IMHO. I added a 120V plug behind the stereo and that's where the TV is now plugged in. I also noticed that the antenna amp had a TV2 output on the back, so I plugged TV1 into TV2 and the coax is hidden. I also replaced the exposed 120V plug with one that has a single 120V receptacle and 2 5V USB ports.

It will not cause leaks, but it will clean the sludge off of the seals that may have been sealing the seals. It's because conventional oil doesn't clean the motor as well.

I am currently running LRG tires on my pickup and as long as the air pressure is adjusted properly they ride great. You do "feel" the road more, but not in a rough manner, I actually think they might be the smoothest tire I have run. When I need to replace my trailer tires I am not sure what I will do. I might get 2 more seasons out of them (2 so far, with 2 spares rotated in annually, and 7K miles with lots of dirt). I haven't had a flat yet, and only have them about 70% loaded at the highest. But it would be nice to have a little nicer tire, but buying 6 gets pricey. I spend too much time in remote areas for 1 spare, or mismatched spares.

Looks like a lot of fun!

Happy Birthday!!

I agree, we go camping to get away. There are those rare times when it would be nice to charge and use an ipad, or the TV.. but they are rare. I told the wife we could probably run the TV for 12 hours on the batteries and she said that was more than we have used it in the 2 years we have owned it.

I read thru most of it. Good info, and goes to show why I do my wiring myself. It's amazing what wire size does on both the charging and using side of things. It's also very important to check with your battery manufacturer on charging specs, mine are not what he recommends. I am not currently in the solar mode, but based on that article it would be nice... But I already own the generator(s)..... What I did find interesting was his comment on UL watt ratings. I would have presumed that they were closer. My TV is rated at 125w so we will see soon enough. I did the math on my electric tea kettle. It was drawing 128A DC at 11.65V of DC power, that's 1491W of DC power, which works out to about 1340W of AC output at the advertised 90% efficiency. So either the inverter is much more efficient, or the heating element isn't 1500W.

Unless it was stored indoors the entire time the tires have been damaged by UV and age, just not worth it... even if new tires will cost as much as the TT did :-)