diesel4life

I'm a fan of OEM wheels also. They can be had at a similar price of aftermarket and in most cases last longer. Mine came off a 2012.

Like was mentioned already locate a scan tool and see if any codes come up. If you have the EXACT same symptoms before and after I'd suspect the PCM or possibly a wiring/ground issue. When the PCM went bad on my truck it would not shift properly at all and also started in 2nd gear every time.

Being winch motors are designed as intermittent duty, how long can you run that system before you have to allow it to cool down? I'm sure the load is substantially less but I imagine being direct coupled (vs gear reduction on a winch) there is some work involved. I know my 12k pounder is plenty warm after 2-3 minutes of a good pull. Sounds like you have plenty of capacity, it sounds like a good system.

Why you pulling the engine?

They do the same thing to underground gas lines as well.

Laramie is a nice little town although it has grown quite a bit over the years as well. My moms got a nice little cabin off of 230 a few miles north of the Colorado border. It sits up against National Forest land so they'll never have to worry about anybody else moving in on them. Summers are beautiful up there but winters can get long and nasty being they are right around 10k feet. It can be sunny and 30 in Laramie and below zero and a white out at the cabin. The first several years they owned it they had to snowmobile in the last 1/4 mile but now my step dads got an old 60 horse tractor with a snow blower so they can now drive all the way in. Its like their own slice of heaven up there. My cousin also went to Wyo Tech to get ASE certified. Bill, when you went do you remember a concrete batch plant that sat across the highway and up the road a little ways from the school? My step dad managed Western Mobile for many years before moving on to Mountain Cement. What a small world we live in.

CSM or CSU? My aunt works in the Ag dept at CSU in Ft Collins. UWyo is my old stompin grounds, where my mom, brother and sister live (Laramie). 2 of my aunts and my sister all went to the university and my mom works in the Deans office.

But you run Maxxis tires, no? Its certainly not required to switch to LT tires. If your OK with trusting a Chinese tire with very few safety requirements and either changing them out every 3-4 years or are comfortable ignoring the manufacturers replacement recommendation then ST tires are fine to use. The fact that your speeds are substantially under 65 have also probably contributed to the longevity and good track record you've had. The heavy sidewalls of ST tires appears to be the main contributing factor to the increase in temperature they run, combine that with highway speeds and its a recipe for disaster.

Correct that is what I was referring to. I've had decent service out of my current set of Chinese ST tires but the treads are starting to check in a few spots. I dont like the fact that I have to replace them going into their 4th year of service. If I stayed close to home and didn't travel the freeway I might try another year but I'm too paranoid to try it. I don't like the idea of having a blow out on the freeway loaded down. So for peace of mind they're getting replaced.

The construction and materials of sidewalls are much different as well as ST tires have a fraction of the safety standards of an LT tire because they are not a passenger tire. ST tires have a very short lifespan, I bet if you get on the website of the tire manufacturer of your tires you will find the recommendation for replacement every 3-4 years. This is a relatively universal standard among ST tires. For example, here is a link to Maxxis tires recommendation on trailer tire replacement. "Trailer tires are not designed to “wear out” like a conventional tire. “The life of a trailer tire is limited by time and duty cycles,” Maxxis says. “Industry standards suggest that trailer tires should be replaced after three to four years of service regardless of tread depth or tire appearance. On average, the mileage expectation of a trailer tire is typically between 5,000 to 12,000 miles.” "http://www.tirereview.com/trailer-tire-segment-begins-to-pull-forward-after-downturn/ So being Mike is running on 5 year old Maxxis tires they are at the end of their life without risking a blowout. ST tires are quite well known for blow outs for various reasons including improper air pressure and people assuming because they have plenty of tread left their ST tire is safe to use.

The problem is ST tires just dont have the quality control or the safety standards that LT tires do. They're almost all cheap Chinese made (the ones in your link included). LT tires typically carry a slightly lesser load rating because they are a passenger tire and are derated for safety reasons. Then like your tires that are 5 years old I've seen ST tire manufacturers claim every 3 years the weight capacity of an ST tire should be reduced by 1/3, so that leaves your tires almost 2/3 less than their original capacity. I will never put enough miles on my trailer in 3-4 years to actually wear a set of tires out (still have 60% tread or more) so it makes sense to me to use an LT tire where at least I won't feel nervous about keeping them past 3-4 years without having a major blow out at freeway speeds.

I didn't take any pictures but here is some footage of a freighter stuck on the ice just outside of Conneaut Harbor last month. This is near where I live. http://fox8.com/2015/02/20/coast-guard-struggles-to-help-ship-stuck-in-lake-erie-ice-near-conneaut/ http://www.wkbw.com/news/coast-guard-attempting-to-rescue-freighter-stuck-in-lake-erie-off-coast-of-conneaut

I'm using a G rated tire so I'll have the capacity. Its going to be more costly but I should get longer service out of them, not to mention I do long distance road trips every year and it sucks being limited to 65ish on a wide open freeway for hours at a time. I'm not looking to break any land speed records but want to at least keep up with traffic and not be a hazard. At 65 I'm getting passed consistently by semis and regular traffic blows by me like Im standing still. I don't like it, so LT tires it is.

Ours are still young so I can't relate to that, but I'm sure it is a monumental change in life. Hopefully positive activities can be found to help fill the void that is being felt. This has actually been a concern of mine for a few years now for the wife, outside of work she literally consumes herself with the children to the point she never makes time for herself. She's lost any social life she ever had. I used to try to get her to break away once in a while to make time for herself but it caused tension so I dropped it altogether. It still worries me, one has to make time for yourself to unwind even if its only an hour or two once a week. A mental break from the daily grind is important.

Joe, my best wishes to you and your family. I think all relationships have highs and lows. Getting through the lows can be difficult and trying for sure. I hope things work out for the best. Good luck to you.

Its been a strange winter for sure looking across the country. All the typical cold regions were unseasonably warm and the Midwest and northeast got hammered. February was the coldest on record here. I've still got several inches of snow on my roof on the north side of the house. Was down at the lake the other day and there is several FEET of ice in the form of windrows. Its quite the site to see.

My question would be how old are the old tires and are they ST? ST tires lose 1/3 of their capacity after 3 years and should be replaced. Not only that, they are only rated to 65mph. I've got ST tires on my 14k lb tilt trailer and have had good luck with them but they are getting replaced before summer with a set of LT tires for the above reasons.

The nearest town to me is roughly 5000 people. Very quiet peaceful town from Labor Day to Memorial Day, after that the retard campers pulling giant 5th wheels with undersized tow rigs are out in full force. They come from the big cities (Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Akron/Canton, etc) to camp at the State Park and fish the lake. There is a campground north of town that is literally double the size of Andover at peak times in the summer. Andover is not built to handle such an influx of people yet they come year after year. Traffic is horrible even for such a small town, there is not one traffic light in the entire town and the streets can get very congested. We stay away as much as possible during the summer months and do our shopping early in the morning if we must go. Aside from that it is a sleepy little town largely surrounded by agriculture. There aren't as many small family farms as there used to be but the successful farms have been able to buy up most of the old farms and keep it agricultural. Our county has remained relatively unchanged in the 35 years I've been alive, which is just fine with me.

I'm guessing you dont have a family to think about for things like this! I've got 2 boys so it is a lot easier than girls but even so we pack more than I care to. I have yet to buy a camper for this reason, growing up in Wyoming my best friend and I would pack what we could carry and hike in and primitive camp in remote areas. We spent days at a time in the back cointry with little more than our tent, sleeping bags, break away fishing rods and a hatchet. This is really the only way I've ever known camping and is all we do as a family. There are some beautiful places in NY and the Alleghenies where you can still get off the grid. Even so, its a real challenge doing so as a family especially with young children who can't "carry their weight" so to speak. The wife is a good sport about it even though it was something she had never done before we met and would not be possible to do as a group if not for her willingness to help out. As much fun and enjoyment as I get out of it, a TT looks better and better every year and is something that is in our near future.

You dont have to buy new, Larry sells armatures, bearings, plunger, brushes, essentially everything you need to build a quality starter. If I had a reman starter that crapped out on me I'd rebuild it with his parts over cashing it in for another reman, even if it was under warranty and free. Its worth the peace of mind to me knowing what I've got. It seems like they go at the worst times, either that -30 morning when you really need it or when your 500 miles from home and blocking up the entire fuel island with your truck and trailer.

HA! That will do the trick! What are your plans for on board air?

You should use the ones that have to be hammered on to the lip of the rim. They are really the only ones that will last on a vehicle in my experiences. Also, the balance machine will tell the guy doing the balancing where they need placed (inside or outside of the wheel) I highly HIGHLY recommend buying Centramatics. I run them on my truck with 285/75/17s (34" tall) and was able to knock all the weights off my wheels. They run perfect down the road all the way up to 110. (Only did it once on a wide open freshly paved stretch on the freeway). Zero shimmy or shakes. You'll never have to pay to have a set of tires balanced again and no more weights screwing up the finish of the wheels.

Do you have the cab welded back together? Are you priming it once it gets back from being sand blasted? Not sure how humid it is up there, but here even during the winter in an enclosed shop if its not heated 24/7 bare metal will develop some surface rust if left exposed long enough.

If there was no structural damage I wouldn't be concerned about it. Seems like you've covered all your bases, if you can get it at a price you feel comfortable with, go for it! I would wager you can beat them up on the price a little, as green as everything in the "after" pictures is I'd wager they have been sitting on this thing since last year. A lot of people will be scared away from the salvage title, so you've got some leverage here. The price is right, Bob! Er, I mean Drew!

A little off subject, but Llamas are some smart critters. I've sat and watched them play soccer with ground hogs several times. They dont stomp on them (unless they get pissed off) but they will literally boot them with their hooves enough to roll them around. Its a big game that the 3 of them like to play with each other, and its the most comical thing you've ever seen. They will also try to fill any holes in that the ground hogs try to dig. They caught one in the act one day while we were out there and they put the hurt to that poor ground hog. They were literally trying to stomp him out. He eventually made it under the fence but by the time he got there he was really hurtin'. They're some tough ol critters for sure, he took some serious stompin abuse.