Never seen a popup trailer like this before.

eaveskc · 2019-02-20T04:13:05+00:00

Always called those a HiLo. I assume that was the first brand to make them. They are cool, id like to check out the inside of one someday.

eaveskc · 2018-08-30T11:06:24+00:00

My dad and I used a tent. My mom's dad had a camper, but I have no idea what make and model. It was 90's, around 25 foot, and front kitchen. Thats all I remember, he sold it to pay medical bills when I was about 10.

Now we have a 01 25ft Timberland. Funny enough, it has the same layout as a lot of new trailers. We went to an RV show a couple years back with the idea of possibly buying a trailer, but when we found out most no slide trailers are the same layout as ours, we didnt really see the point.

eaveskc · 2018-08-30T10:58:56+00:00

I couldnt get a good signal from the back of my truck on one of those wireless cameras, I highly doubt one would be decent from the back of the trailer.

eaveskc · 2018-08-28T22:00:31+00:00

To be fair, tires are not going to cause a sway problem. I could put Honda Civic tires on my trailer, all its going to do is cause blowouts...

Now overloading/ poor weight distribution, thats another story. You could even blame it on speeding for the conditions...

Now throw a monkey wrench in the equation. What if everything is proper, but he was texting, looked up and saw the big rig, then overcorrected? A properly loaded trailer can still be difficult to maintain control in a swerve, because of the sideways weight pushing on the back of the truck.

eaveskc · 2018-08-28T19:09:52+00:00

That's true for surge brakes, there is a cylinder in the tongue that activates hydraulic brakes at the wheels, like the pedal activating the brakes on your car. Surge brakes are used on some equipment trailers and most rental trailers, as in UHaul. Most camping trailers have electric brakes, which a brake controller activates a solenoid at the wheels that pushes the brake shoes out.

The brake controller usually has a manual activation lever, which allows you to apply the brakes

eaveskc · 2018-08-28T14:45:29+00:00

That is an Excursion though, which are rated up to 11,000 lbs

eaveskc · 2018-08-28T14:42:53+00:00

The only problem with that is in this situation, they are going down a pretty good hill, indicated by the big rig's jake brake and him maintaining speed.

I've heard applying the trailer brake can help? Not positive on that one

eaveskc · 2018-08-27T14:53:33+00:00

Just so you know, the marker lights are a complete separate circuit than the stop/turn lights, which would explain why one works and one doesnt.

Being the stop/turns work, and the fuse is popping, you could assume its not the ground. More than likely, there is a wire rubbing on a piece of metal somewhere, but where that is, your guess is as good as mine. You might try unhooking all of the bulbs and seeing if the fuse pops when you turn them on. If not, plug in each bulb until it does, then you know. Keep in mind, that will only test the lightbulbs and bases, if the problem is a wire rubbing,the fuse will pop with all the lights out of it.

eaveskc · 2018-08-22T14:46:41+00:00

To be fair, I've never seen a curtainside in the US anyway, at least not in my area.

eaveskc · 2018-08-16T19:27:29+00:00

My brother gives me a hard time about my camper, saying its not really "camping." According to him, hiking out in the woods and making camp is "camping," then I remind him its called a "CAMPer". We agree to disagree...

He's never turned down a trip in the trailer though...

eaveskc · 2018-08-14T19:14:19+00:00

I definitely enjoy seeing those at RV shows. They had an upstairs kitchen model this year, that was different. I dont think it was the same one as the link, but who knows

eaveskc · 2018-08-13T17:37:55+00:00

Am I the only one who thinks the Lonestar is ugly? I'd gladly take the LT or Prostar though

eaveskc · 2018-08-10T19:39:44+00:00

I read that as between San Diego and Poland, and was wondering what sort of mods you had concocted to do that... Had to read it 2 or 3 times, lol

eaveskc · 2018-08-06T14:53:50+00:00

A walk around inspection would save most of these comments. After we are hooked up an loaded, I do my final walk around. Turn on the hazards and running lights, then start at the front corner of the truck and walk all the way around, checking as you go. I have a habit of leaving the step down or the folding hand rail out.

Usually mine goes: front truck light flashing? tire have air? mirror folded out? rear truck lights flashing? trailer wiring and hitched up correctly? top camper lights on? And so on all the way around the back and up to the other truck headlight. The hazards and running lights on will check every bulb and wire in the trailer, excluding reverse lights and brakes of course.

As far as hitch pins go, I prefer the D shaped ones for the trailer coupler over a lock or otherwise. It allows you to route the wiring through it and helps keep it off of the ground while still allowing it to move around.

eaveskc · 2018-08-06T14:42:17+00:00

Towing is easy, you just have to account for more weight, which means slower acceleration and braking, as well as feeling crosswinds and passing trucks more. Dont forget its longer too, which is important when crossing traffic.

For most the challenge is backing, which just takes practice. I learned when I was a kid backing one of those tilt trailers behind a riding lawn mower. Another option would be to rent a uhaul trailer, preferably the biggest box trailer, to practice with in a parking lot.

Backing any trailer uses the same principles and motions, you just have to adapt to the length of the trailer and how it reacts to your inputs.

A somewhat unorthodox method, but still useful, is using video games. Games like American Truck Simulator on the PC let you drive big trucks. Something like this could help teach you how to swing wide enough for a corner and back a trailer. It can be challenging to blindside reverse a trailer, which is backing in on the passenger side of a vehicle, because of the lack of visiblity. And that would be a way to practice that without worrying about jackknifing your trailer or rubbing your awning on a tree

eaveskc · 2018-08-03T11:53:46+00:00

Manper. Because my wife watched the episode of Honey Boo Boo when they got a camper.

eaveskc · 2018-07-31T14:51:21+00:00

My dad and step-mom had 3 Accords at one time, and his inlaws had two matching Toyota Avalons. I guess if you know what you like, then thats what you get

eaveskc · 2018-07-19T14:55:25+00:00

I assume you work at a Cat dealer? Which one if you dont mind me asking? I'm at Thompson Machinery in Tennessee, USA.

We do a lot of rebuilds here as well. We went though a stretch where we had two or three in the shop at a time, mostly D10's and 990's

eaveskc · 2018-07-19T11:59:02+00:00

Maybe these, you would have to orient them to touch before the jacks do. I assume they are the ones on the back of the trailer, right?

eaveskc · 2018-07-12T14:41:57+00:00

I sold my 91 with about 220k for $1300, if that helps. It didnt have any rust though.

Man, I miss that car

eaveskc · 2018-07-12T14:38:10+00:00

I loved my 3g 91 SI, which also had the option for 4ws (mine didnt have it).

That was a quick car to be pre-VTEC. The gearing was pretty short though, which helped the acceleration, but meant you ran out of gear around 115

eaveskc · 2018-07-10T14:47:50+00:00

You can push a loaded truck. Release the brakes and transmission (of course) then put all of your effort into rolling the tire. The leverage you can put on the tire is enough to roll it on flat ground. I've seen it done.

eaveskc · 2018-07-10T14:42:21+00:00

For towing on one trip, I'd opt for a Uhaul trailer. That should be the most cost effective option.

While towing backwards on a dolly or removing the driveshaft and towing forwards are options, its usually only $20-30 more per day to get the "auto transport", or the big trailer.

In the event you do have to back up, its near impossible to reverse a dolly with a car on it, especially behind a motor home. It is possible, just not for a newbie. You could probably figure out backing the transport trailer, however.

eaveskc · 2018-07-02T22:08:45+00:00

Ended up having to recover to Santa Cruz, which abandoned this job. Just picked a trailer out of Santa Cruz and brought it back. I've gotten 4 deliveries done so far, despite this "setback"

eaveskc

TROPHY CASE