War Eagle

I've been told buying lotto tickets is a valid retirement strategy so I don't know why it can't be a valid truck repair strategy also.

LOTTO TIME

The camper frame is welded aluminum and the jacks are bolted into the frame so it appears pretty solid. I have seen the jacks bolted into a wood frame campers and the anchor screws have pulled out because of some sort of accident. I don't have any trouble unloading in the garage because the floor is solid and flat. When I unload out in the field you have to have a flat area and I put something like a piece of 2x12 or 3/4 plywood under each jack pad so there is no sinking into the ground. I think if the camper was to tip because you had one jack sink into the ground you would put a huge stress load on the jack and it would likely bend, break the jack or break the anchor bolts. Many people will put a support under the camper body when they unload out in the field (something like short sawhorses or auto jack stands at each corner of the body portion that sets in the bed of the truck). I just lower the whole camper down close to the ground when I unload in the field. When I unload it for the season I set it on some timbers that form a box (the same size of the truck bed) so the camper doesn't set on the jacks all during the off season. When it's time to load the camper on the truck it takes me about 20 minutes or so to jack it up, remove the timber support then back the truck under and get it lined up then drop the camper down and then connect the tie downs and then pull out of the garage.

Ya, and fishing trips where I am taking the boat with me etc. If you need to live in it then it will be tight. But sleeping, eating, rest room etc. it is very handy. I've been known to drop the camper off at fishing or hunting camp and make a trip with the truck to take the boat to another spot or make a grocery run etc. My longest trip was to Florida and back and I found it is very handy to get into parks or visitor sites alone the way.

Sitting on the toilet with the lid closed can work very well for scrubbing down the feet and legs. You can stand full height at the sink with shoulder and body room but you can't bend over very well to scrub down the lower torso. The camper has some advantages like getting off the road and if pulling the boat or ATV's. But clearly TT or 5vers can be significantly larger with more room to live in daily and more conveniences. The camper can handle two people pretty well and having the slide opens up the floor space so 2 people can be standing in the kitchen at the same time, but it is too small if you have to live in it all day everyday.

I have a son that has an 89 Honda Civic and one that has a 90 Honda Civic and they both eat up the distributor cap and rotor on a regular basis. You can sand down the cap contacts and the rotor end and keep it running for awhile. But they take a new cap and rotor nearly every year or two.

It has a bathroom and shower inside as well as an outside shower. Fresh water tank is 40 gal and black water tank is the same. It has a slide out and full size queen with frig/freezer, stove/oven and 2 on board batteries, 2 propane tanks, hot water heater and furnace. Also has an A/C and generator. Has 4 season insulation and double pane windows. - - - Updated - - - There is a significant change in 'cg' when you set the camper on the truck. It is nearly 11" feet high at the top of the A/C. Of course the camper is tied to the truck frame but I have added the Hellwig Big Wig sway bar in the rear and I have my Rancho 9000 XL shocks cranked up to max. I don't use airbags but use a device called 'stabil load' which allows engagement of the overloads without the truck having to squat down any. It will sway in a heavy wind so you have to watch the weather conditions. But normal driving doesn't seem much worse than driving a high box van. It does feel more solid on my 3500 than on my 2500. - - - Updated - - - Dry weight is just a shade over 2500 pounds. It is made with an aluminum frame. Loading with water a food etc. adds another 600-800 pounds depending on where I am going and what I am going to be doing. When I used this on my 2500 I was usually over GVW about 500 pounds. On the 3500 I am under GVW.

The berry "transplanter" tool is a slick idea. I have just dug them with a shovel but I am going try this idea out on the next project.

Haven't gotten very far on my lists of "want to do's" yet. Have done the injector upgrade and that is working pretty good for me. I went with "new" Bosch marine injectors with the 50 HP DDP nozzles. Been working through the tunes on the Smarty to increase my mpgs and so far I have achieved 22.05 (hand calculated) on SW5 with torque on 1 and timing on 3. I also did some in town testing and my best setting so far was SW7 with torque on 1 and timing on 3. The mpgs are at 18.7 for in town driving. I am still planning to try SW9 ( for in town mpgs) but that will need to wait until I get the camper off the truck. I am saving my coin for the spyn tech hubs next. I am watching the mpg reports for users and would like to see another 1+ mpg from that mod. I am getting giddy just thinking about possibly getting my mpgs up to 23 or 24.

Took the slide in camper off my gen 2 truck and got it installed on my gen 3. Getting ready to head out to the mountains and have some fun.

Sounds like you had a great time. Now penniless and back to the grindstone! :cry:

I can't say I understand or know the difference between tax rate and tax levy but I am surprised to see the tax comparison you are quoting. I haven't lived in Virginia but I have lived in Illinois. When I moved to Idaho my cost of living went down. Property taxes, energy costs, food, housing etc. I live in Canyon County (Nampa which is the 2nd largest city in Idaho) and people have been moving out of Ada County (Boise area) to Canyon County because property taxes are lower. I think I have read somewhere that Boise and Spokane have similar cost of living. Now since the economy has tanked we have seen property values decrease but I just read in the paper last week that the real estate values are coming back pretty quickly in the Boise area and it is in the top 10 areas across the US. There is also a fair amount of hiring going on but I can't say anything about wages (just don't know). Idaho is a conservative state while Washington and Oregon are liberal states. Eastern side of Washington and Oregon are conservative compared to the western sides. If there is anything about the NW that would be useful to you then let me know and I'll see if I can help out.

Ya, it takes a special glue. Most auto part suppliers carry a little kit for the job. The first thing I do is mark the outside of the windshield with a felt tip pen. Mark where the mirror was set. Then you scrape all the old glue off with a single edge razor blade and then clean it with alcohol then glue away. If you don't mark the location on the outside of the windshield it will be difficult to put the mirror in the exact location after you have scraped off the old glue and cleaned it with alcohol. You'll have to hold it in place for a minute or so for the glue to set. It's a pretty easy process.

That's without the 5'ver in tow, correct?

I am saving my pennies to buy a free-spin setup for me. Just haven't got there yet.Just think if you added new injectors to your rig now. Another 2 mpg would probably get your attention.

Found On Road Dead Fix Or Repair Daily

Wow, this is not good!Hope it is nothing that is major. :pray:

I am not a native of Florida but one of may daughters lives there so I have been there several times. The last time I was there was in 2011. I went to visit my daughter and attend Sun-n-Fun at Lakeland Florida. I got caught in a tornado while I was there and thought I was going to get killed. I am not a huge fan of the South do to their weather extremes so be on the lookout when you're there. One place that is very interesting to me is the Coral Castle and Museum down near Miami. Pretty cool to see all the work that went into it. This is pretty much a non-traditional tourist attraction. http://coralcastle.com/ Have fun what ever you do, but watch the weather.

No dyno runs. I am gated and I see about 30-32.I can't burn the tires off but I can leave a two stripped patch when I take off in a hurry.Never was able to do that on a good day with the stock HX35 with the ZXT+ and 4" exhaust.

My 2000 4x4 Ram with auto came with the HX35 turbo. It had the 12cm2 exhaust housing. I run a 4" exhaust (turbo back) and the ZXT+ chip. There was no lag in this setup at all.I think the HY turbo comes with a 9cm2 exhaust housing.I lost the oil seal on my HX35 so I replaced the turbo with an HX35/40 hybrid with a 14cm2 exhaust housing. This setup produced a small lag when you accelerated hard from a stop but it pulled much harder than than the HX35 when passing.I then installed RV275 injectors and the lag completely disappeared. In fact for the first time ever I was able to spins the tires (with positrack rear end) from a dead stop in a non-boosted launch.This setup worked very well for my truck. So well in fact, that every time some drives my truck they ask me if I am interested in selling it.:think:So it is not really clear to me why an HX35 in an '02 would produce lag while an HX35 in an '00 does not.Could it be installed in an larger exhaust housing than a 12cm2?

Thanks for the info!

X2

Got home last night and traveled my last 500 mile leg with the cruise set on 65 and SW5 on the smarty (TM=3, TQ=stock, RP=2, WG=on). Got 22.05mpg (hand calculated). The mpg has been inching up as I change the tunes and I am still looking for the best combo of tunes with the new injectors to see what level I can get to.So far, I am up from my previous (prior to new injectors) all time best of 20.8.Hmmm... what other things can I do to keep pushing the mpg results? (drive slower than 65, free spin hubs, propane or menthanol injection ??)Got plenty of power but those mpg's are addictive!

I am thinking of doing this mod on my gen 3 also. It will probably be a little while down the road but I like what you are saying about the results.On another thread I talk about my injector upgrade and on my last 500 mile trip I got over 22mpg (hand calculated) with the cruise control set on 65. I am just imagining reaching 23mpg and maybe beyond with the addition of the 'free spin hubs'. :pray: