flagmanruss

My truck came with the 265s that are still on it... barely legal now... I'm seeing the pitman arm nut (lock washer retained) is removed & a extension nut/shaft put in it's place which engages the brace with it's bearing.

How do you know that the LEDs are voltage regulated? Does this only apply to replacement lamps or are DOT approved units voltage regulated? Or are the sellers just guessing you'll not use the trailers enough to have the lights fail or won't bother to return if they do?

Are these just a bolt on? Does the steerng arm need to be removed to install?

DDS? means what? Dentists need not apply?

I don't intend to go LED on the truck. It wasn't designed for LEDs & I don't feel inclined to mess with the correct loads to make it work. On the trailers, I feel different. Simpler system for one. I am swapping assemblies as they need replacing. The bulb/socket system on trailers is troublesome with corrosion / oxidation on bulbs that test good with a meter. Even if they are working, the lenses are UV faded so as to be clear. The LEDs inside the housing are not serviceable... especially if my darling wife bumps a hard object like stone wall or steel welding table. Hopefully we have learned that lesson. The LED assemblies I am buying are lifetime guarenteed (except for breakage) and DOT approved. For occasionally used trailers, where I just need the thing to work when I need it without screwing with the lights after I hook up... I expect this to be a plus. Might it not work, well, yes. The weak link is the trailer plug but with only a single connection, I'm confident I can get on the road quicker. I recognize this is a theory... we'll see. BTW. I read that "cheap" LEDs were not voltage regulated & could encounter problems because of it... but size & cost were the links. More of an issue installing conversions into bulb type sockets. I'd like to know more.

Thanks. Scraping the paint is the least re-work & how the maker intended it to be done. I'll try that first. Putting the wire under the screw head, as the OEM did, only uses the threads for grounding as the rest is plastic.

The steering is much tighter but after finding the rear axle walking around, hard to tell how much difference the track bar made. There is still more looseness in the steering than I am happy with. The good part is that it is upgraded & will not need to be done (aggain & again) in the future. There's no more lurching!

I've bought new oval LED clearance/marker lights for the camper. The old bulb lights have the ground wire under the cover, with a ring connector under the mounting screw... the lights all work, so i guess this is fine. The new LED lights look the same or close but the ground wire is threaded through the back & has a ring terminal. Can I just screw through the plastic body & this ring terminal with the mounting screw... Will it ground through the skin finish? Or should I cut off all the new ring terminals, pull the wire back, & install a new terminal & make it like the one that's coming off. Please don't tell me I need a separate ground screw under each light.

The previous owner showed us the switch... we'd not have found it except when buying batteries! The battery box is on the V trailer tongue, through the box bottom, inside the V. Gotta get down on knees to reach it, on the side away from the door. I being a salvage unit... certainly not a virgin... (been f***ed with before). Can not be sure of anything. I'm thinking of having a session of pulling fuses & throwing breakers to see what is really on them. It would be pretty easy to install another battery switch just above the panel, inside the door... or maybe through the side of the cabinette (gotta talk to the wife). Just need 1 short jumper to connect from the switch to the panel.

What do you use the inside battery ON / OFF switch for? When do you shut it off or is it just for emergency? The switch than came with my rig is at the batteries, on the tongue... Inside the frames... no one would find it unless they knew it was there. Mike, your shut off looks like the one Dad had on his boat (auxillary sloop) many years ago. Good solid swiitch... never had trouble with it.

https://bestconverter.3dcartstores.com/MagnetekParallax-to-Ultra-III_ep_8-1.html cost is 207.50 (45 amp) 213 (55 amp) + shipping. The wife & I agreed that in view of the units structural problems, we're going to try to use it with only minor repairs... opening it up for anything major would certainly be the end of it. I'm on the fence about this job.

I went out & noted my AC / DC panel is a MagneTek Model 6345... with an old style one stage charger. I found an ungrade kit for it... price unknown... but it seems to be quite complete & designed to fit. http://ourelkhorn.itgo.com/convert.htm Note: the new digital readout & toggle right side above the door... You'd think with this big a trailer, they'd not have to crowd things. There's a big inverter inside the door on the right... I don't know if it works... we don't need it for anything. To use it, there's a 'high tech' 3 prong plug to plug into it.

I snaked the little wires from my installed digital DC volt meter... The display is under the sink on a toggle. The circuit breaker (AC) & fuse (DC) converter is in the kick space below this. I wired it to an open fuse (why is it open... only a few of the 9 slits are in use?) It didn't work. I unfastened my connections, clip lead to the DC mains, it works. Whew! I didn't toast the unit. Yes, same unit with salvage title. We are not RVing with it, we stick to the basics. Lights, fridge, stove, furnace, water. I shut the AC breakers off when I was working... DC shut off is on the bottom of the box on the tongue (3 group 24 RV batteries). I am thinking that was it Mike's idea on an inside DC switch is a good one. Where to put it? Needs more looking. Maybe though the shelf that separates the electric compartment from under sink. More later

I drove the car out front to the camper during a squall to watch the water run off. She has a tarp on the roof over the ladder as that Left front corner is still iffy. This style of rig has a normal height nose but a long ramping to the rear raised section... so water pours over the front. There is an OEM "rain gutter" on the side with a spout... which you wouldn't think would get much water but it does & it runs down over the front compartment hatch. The J gutter I put in the other day works good... water running forward & out of the gutter & down that front corner seam. (Best keep that one up!) I watched the water run off the roof & over the upper clearance light & then a lower walkway light (came with bulb removed so no one can turn it on & forget.) Not much water running off the Left side as is sits now but it has the same clearance light & several ladder standoffs (questionable, mounded with dumdum or putty of some kind). Since the ladder ends on a roof rail & just had rood done... I want to unscrew the ladder, flex it enough to clean the caulk & reseat with life caulk. After the rain, I measured all the openings to figure J gutters... less those on hand. I suspect the wndow gliders are shot, blocking full drain water flow... compartment door frames need recaulking (some body damage / old repairs may make this impossible). I will try to recaulk compartment hatch frames without full removal... Replacing everything would total the trailer... oh, yes, there is some rot at the entry door... Steps sagging... where wood has failed... It's unwise to spend too much on this. I am planning to replace the clearance lights with similar LEDs, and to caulk them with marine 'life caulk' which is underwater capable.

With the monsoons we are experiencing, I added another piece of the vinyl siding J trim inverted as rain gutter over the side compartment access hatch. The sealing of frame to body looks 'OK' but this is a repaired area (salvage unit) so I'm not real happy with it. This is my first attempt at pushing the J piece into the siding seam. I had to first slide a flat bar in there, then the vinyl went in pretty easy. I couldn't find the flat bar I wanted... I will find it or replace before the next one. I cut the gutter 2" longer than the hatch it protects, once started, it tapped in with a block of wood & rubber mallet. We've not had troubles with the ones the shop installed... I think this is a winner. The one over the big windows isn't as long as I'd like so I plan to replace that with longer & reuse that piece somewhere else.

I haven't fixed / replaced the water systems circuit board yet... needed the water system running. I installed the rocker switch I got from the RV dealer in the panel & after solder splicing /heat shrink tubing the extensions & installing new F/M spade lugs on the ends, I have a working water pump. The steel panel screws were just through the wall paneling & when I removed them, the rust stripped out the holes. I installed plastic wall anchors & found SS Self Tapping screws... screwed the panel to the wall. The control panel had feet the screws passed through & the flanges on the wall anchor interfere by a fraction so it doesn't quite sit tight to the wall. I don't care. I installed the fuse... the pump runs & the water comes out. I kept the circuit board out in case I decide to work on it, so the rest of the features are non-functional. At least we can flush! I have more things to work on...

Yes, it's all about tongue weight (hitch weight). When I worked for a boat / trailer dealer, on of my jobs was to set up trailers for the boat (load). Once the boat was positioned, we'd put a scale under the tongue. If the weight was off, we'd loosen the U bolts & move the axle assemblies forward & backward. Now, with other trailers, the axles are pretty much not moveable but the loads are... With a stock trailer, I had trouble with a light tongue weight with 2 horses in the rear. I added weight to the front. With camping gear in the front, I didn't need the ballast weight. My present toy hauler the axles are quite a bit closer to the rear... 1/3 - 2/3. I think I am over the cap of the weight distributing hitch bars because my 300# mobility scooter is less than the weight of 3 ATVs that there is tie downs for... plus internal cabinetry has been gutted from the rear. So I am tongue heavy. I don't really like WD hitches. I we have added ballast to the rear, re-arranged the load... need more. Now, the amount of tongue weight your truck can handle depends on the tow vehicle... so trailer mfg really don't know what will be used. You might not need the WD hitch bars with a real truck to tow with... or if you pack differently.

Head gaskets are possible but always trouble shoot in order. Inspecting the radiator should be early. Might want to check the thermostat because even a new one can be NG. Cleaning & flush is probably a good idea at this point so you know what you've got. There's instructions here for the clutch fan test. It's often hard to see water pump weep because of belts & it's under tension. History unknown... Starting & running the engine with the cap off will often show bubbles in the coolant (head gasket problem) as would testing with a pressure tester. Also possible PO put stop leak in & sold the truck... 5.9 V8... is 360 small block LA engine. (273 bored to 318 bored to 340 bored to 360) I wouldn't be surprised if a head gasket has worn out... not a lot of sealing surface in those decks.

I trust my mechanic or I would not go there... and if they f*ck it up OR screw me over... all they'll see is my taillights as I move on. One shop... screwed up my installed radar system's rear sensor when they fixed my heater core... undoubtably yanked the wires. Same shop kept charging me for a front brake job & missed the warped rear disc. BYE! A different shop did head gaskets on wife's Subaru (known for this)... when the job failed they claimed a cracked head & wanted me to pay to tear it down. Wife gave the car to her sister whose finance' runs an auto machine shop in Stetson, Maine. Trailered the car up there & had his guys tear it down. Head was warped & not planed which we'd been charged for. BYE! I did my own front brakes on the Cirrus, last time. pretty easy job.

Remind me... my recollection is there's a certain amount of lash adjustment in the steering box... and that's about it.

61,000 Cummins miles... my OEM tires are the 265s which I imagine puts more strain/wear on the front. I want to get someone to work the wheel while it's on the lift & check the lower steering shaft bearing & yes, the steering box. Yes, I know about the steering box lash... when I got my (Jap) Challenger back from my ex in the divorce, the adjusting strew was stripped out & dealer said it couldn't be repaired. I should have taken it to a real garage & gotten it fixed. I miss that car. Ended up driving a VW rabbit to work... that belonged to my finance / later wife... until the timing belt broke & wiped out the engine.

I'm really glad this didn't result in crash... my best estimate is the steering at highway speeds is back & forth an inch very constantly... not too bad to drive but still one must stay one your toes. My 97 Cirrus, on the other hand... is reasonably tight with +/- 1/4" of working at highway speeds. I don't know where to go next. The shop is Closed on vacation this week... they are a long established front end shop & seem very competent. But I wonder what more can be done?

So sorry to hear about the accident. It is going to be a struggle for him & your family. A long road back. I wish him all the best.

OK, I replaced the Left LED tail light with one I'd tested on the bench. The LED had long leads so I cut the old off between the light & my solder splices saving the Y splice to the working center clearance lights. I used crimp connectors this time. Hooked up to the truck & it works nice... nothing like bright tail lights. Sooo, I brought the light in that I'd just removed... tested on the bench with a battery, clip leads... it works fine. So I'm not going to return it & look stupid. I always plug the trailer in the same way & wiggle the plug around to help the connection. But that is the only difference. I think I had multiple problems chasing... I didn't like the way the socket was on the Explorer but wife claimed it was doing it on my truck too. Last year, inlaws replaced bulbs when they used the trailer, claimed they were bad... I'm sick of fussing with bulbs where I don't have to. Anyrate, I have all lights working on the trailer now.

The running 'tail light' & turn, use the same ground... so I have a good ground now. Yes, a wire ground is an option for that type of fault... we tend to forget. I should have tested the lights before installing... should not have to test new products.