flagmanruss

My toyhauler came (very used & certainly not stock) with 3 (12v) Marine/RV batteries banked in a V shaped tongue box. The shut off is hidden underneath inside the frame rail. I have a small dash-top solar panel... when we have camped remote from the truck, I've locked & set the alarm & plugged the solar into the always-on lighter socket. The camper has a couple of always-on lighter sockets... The easy way to do solar would be to park so a window faces South, put panel in window & plug it in!

The stock system to the muffler is 3", smaller out. My tailpipe rotted out, then the back of the muffler. Eventually I bought a 4"SS system (lesser grade of SS) of ebay. I could have done with 3" but it was not offered. The "muffler" was a louvered interor glass pack in bright SS (better grade). I've left the "muffler" on for show but the drone towing had the wifee using ear plugs (we didn't want to talk for 6 hours anyway! LOL!!)I think a 3" full length SS system would be the way to go with the FTE spiral resonator, as far forward as you can get it. (Preferably, on the bottom of the down pipe.) Lacking the neck down tailpipe, it will flow better than stock.

It could be the motor... but it could also be a off balance mouse nest... HA HA! In the mouse cage, not bird cage, blower. You'll know as soon as you drop it.

I don't text... don't know how & my fingers don't work well enough anyway. I have (rarely) made a call to find an address & being guided in... low speed only & no traffic. Traffic = stop. I don't "converse on the phone". Other than that, I will not initiate a will not initiate a call.I will take a call... and pull over... if the traffic is not bad. I hate driving in traffic. This is with my CAR. I would be even more cautious with the truck just because of the size. Towing? No way! Now when the wife & I are out together (rare in itself), wife likes to make calls while I drive.

Mouse habitat!! Heated no less.

I try to leave plenty of time. I'm into getting the best mpg... I just listen to the turbo. On the highway, I try to run 55... 65 if I must but it hurts mpg and as you say makes little difference in arrival timie.

The bronze tube was cast in a foundry, of course. The original owner turned it & bored it oversize. I've done some work to correct the OO's error in the chamber only.The steel tube was commisioned by me recently... but upon reciept, I'm not satisfied with the unauthentic way he did the breech... so I've cut it off & is now on the lathe. After I get done, my son-in-law (recently retired from Electric Boat) will weld it back together. Normally cannon are made in one piece but because of the interchangeable chambers, the front & back sections are joined. I took the mortar as far as I could... now it is with a friend with a CNC mill who will machine for the trunions. He has so much more capability than I have with a 1940's manual machine. I have another swivel cannon replica 1600's "Murderer". 3/4" bore. Also 3 interchangeable chambers. Aboard ship, from a station aloft, with a 3 man crew these swivels would sweap the enemy's upper decks. John Paul Jones mentions this in his 1779 battle against the Serapis, and also the 1812 battles of the Constitution. A tribute to the Marines! Once I get the tubes set, I'll help my friend blacksmith the swivel mount for the steel tube & forge adjust the swivel for the murderer. I'm looking forward to our re-enactments this year & the 4th of July will certainly be noisy. Russ

Not mine, I wish... a friend's 2 of mine Rear: brz 1.25" swivel gun Front: steel 1.75" (golf ball is ~1.72) swivel gun with interchangeable chambers. Turning a mortar on the South Bend 2" Bronze formerly propeller-shaft, now 1.25 bore I fit right into the neighborhood: My neighbors... legally state militia. One of the state's "chartered commands" (Battery B, First RI Light Artillery)

Welcome aboard!In reading this through... I'm thinking the OP does not own a Cummins truck yet. If this is the case, I'd try to find a good late model 12V Cummins truck. They are out there. They have all the right parts already on them. I see take out 12Vs pretty often too. Just a technicallity but PPumping a 24 valve violates smog laws. If they require a computer scan based on year... as some do... you're out of luck. That said, a lot of 24 valve troubles are because novice diesel owners like me... were clueless about the fuel pressure issue. Heck, Dodge still is! Russ

Low thermostat likely has other applications. I'm familiar with marine engines, particularly Raw water cooled... salt / seawater would salt up at higher temps. I F'ed up a plow jeep with a marine thermostat... The next owner replaced the T-stat & all was well. Duhh!

My truck has squeeked on shut down since it was new. Still does. I wonder about the idler pully, I had one fail on a Ford Ranger (2.2 natural diesel (no turbo). Not sure if the pivot wore first or the ball bearings but both were junk when it came out.

If front axle oil coming out the vent... why? Over filled? Water in axle (deep water crossing)? I would check the axle oil... as cheap as I am... the front diff is way more costly.

Certain CDs in my OEM radio/CD player... will lock up my TomTom GPS, mounted to the airvent. Sometimes, it takes a bit of CPR to get the GPS working again... I was pretty bummed, thought I'd fried the CPS.

The 195 is what generally comes in them. All the settings and calibrations are based on that. I don't know about The newer trucks. I am still running the 195 that came in it. That is what I would get again.

http://www.heatertreater.net/ Be careful not to lose the orientation of the motor as it will drop out & is not marked. Wipe the grease off the gears, The bottom gear has a casting nub, which you align with the edge of the gear above. If you have the motor in right, the computer will relearn the travel limits. Be sure the connector link is not cracked between the blend door motor assembly & the shaft.

Definately change the thermostat to the stock 190*. The electronics are built around that spec. A cold engine will run in the rich warm up mode & get crappy mpgs. Several of us here are using winter fronts to block the grill (not the radiator, intercooler, oil cooler) to keep the warm air under the hood in winter. Check your air cleaner, clean, undamaged. A good paper filter will do. Are the brakes dragging? If the truck has sat around... It happened to me, dealer didn't find anything, I drove it for a year until a different mechanic found it. (It drove fine & I even towed heavy... truck has plenty of power so I only noticed the mpg).

iThanks for the added info. A heater is a heater is a heater... the components are all similar & none of it rocket science. Let's try to eliminate the easy stuff before taking things apart. If the engine warms up properly then the coolant has enough heat. The vents blow air so the suction & bird case (I mean "dizzy mouse cage") are not likely problems. Locate the heater hoses under the hood... can you put your hand on them? After warmed up, is one hotter than the other? Is there a control valve in the hose like some vehicles? If there is a control valve, does it move when you change the controls? If nothing external can be found... then likely the blend door.

Still not complicated 6 bolt dual axles... brakes on both... The real issue is the weight of the trailer. I used to set up boat trailers at a previous employment. We'd put the boat on & move the axles to get the tonge weight correct. My older horse trailers had dropped axles & springs. The current one has rubber torsion axles.

Thanks Mike. I didn't remember the center bolts, so not sure. I was too beat to do more today. Wife put the tools inside while I got myself into the house. I'm thinking to measure the spring to the backer plate on each side. I'll check for the center bolts at the same time.

I have to get this trailer repair complete... I started all the nuts & then finished jacking the tire off the ground. It took a few pumps but that 20 T jack wasn't bothered & the big base was nice & stable on a hunk of 2 x 10. I had test fitted the improvized repair piece, but when I removed the tire, I lost my base I wedged off. (It's been wedged in place and no more mice once we got them cleaned out.) I started in the inside corner & screwed into the wood framing. I used self-drilling, self-counter-sinking cement board screws & my trusty screw gun. The outter fender flair is still removed. This is the plastic mason's cement mixing tray I cut the piece from. Then we put the tire back on. (SIL, came in from hunting out back & lent a hand). The tire is almost touching the inner fender. 1/8" clearance... maybe... I took the tire back off. There was about an inch below the wood... It was buckling slightly. I trimmed in flush with the saber-saw. Really not much change. I'm looking at the other side & there is much more clearance. I'm wondering if the axle if off center. I think it is. (Remember the trailer is NOT a virgin. Trailed from Calif to East coast... this tire is a replacement... actually both on this axle are... blow out on the road the seller said. Salvage title.) I'm going to need help. At least the inner fender is repaired/patched.

This is going to be tough to test eletrically. My lift pump only runs a few seconds... maybe 5... when the key switched to 'on'. Since it runs after starting, my conclusion is the pump & wiring is good. My AD kit runs the power off the batteries through a relay which came with the kit (now screwed to the firewall). The ECM must be the trigger. I'd have to guess that it's not triggering for some reason. If it's in the electronics... Codes?

Engine temperature? A stuck open thermostat will not have heat to bring into the cab. If there is one good warm hose, then blend door or ?? Can you drop the blower motor & check for heater core obstruction with leaves or mouse nest?

Some of you already know, I have Multiple Sclerosis... in the later Progressive Phase... I would give anything to be "whole" again. It's never going to happen. Even it a cure is found, it would take a miracle to reverse the nerve damage which I have accumulated. Impairment s*cks. I get very frustrated trying to do a simple job that requires 2 good hands. We have to live our lives as best we can, with what ever impairments & limitation we have. (If I feel sorry for myself, there are always others in worse shape than me.) That said, I would have a heart to heart with the best doctor you can find... work hard, do everything possible for maximum recovery. You do not want to accept a limitation that could have been reversed if X was done. Sometimes, there is a stratigy to delaying if better techniques are in the works.Best Wishes,Russ

Several years ago, I had occasion to use a new farrier while my regular guy was in Florida... the guy arrives very late. He's driving a big old box truck where he has his forge & his bench... Most farriers around here use a pickup with a work cap or a cab & chassis with a farrier's body. Any rate, the new farrier has the ratty looking box truck. He says looks like crap but mechanically excellant. Stopped by the truck cops 3 times in one day in different parts of the state. He was not overweight, load insignificant for this truck. He got the full inspection before he was sent on his way. He got paper work showing he'd been inspected. He showed it the next stop... they did it all again! Nuts!! Very strange... I think a lot of farriers pickups are likely over weight: anvil, forge, steel horse shoes. My regular guy was driving a 1/2 ton Ford... and he told me he was considerably over weight. Never been stopped! Talk about profiling...