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[SidecarFlip]

LOL, you are so easy!

And BTW, the feeling is mutual regarding life status AND I could care less what you think of me until that day comes.

BUT.....thanks for playing along!

No problem.

[BigRedDog]

No matter what type of camping you're doing make sure you take along plenty of rope!!!

If you're backpacking then scale that back to some paracord but make sure you're carrying something for emergencies. 

I've done some neat 'creations' out in the woods with some rope and a couple of those $2 plastic tarps.  If you don't like the  blue ones or the green ones you can get them in camo too. 

I'm sure you can find it other places but I found some 'cheap' rope at TSC that has a reflective cord woven in with it.  Makes it a lot easier to see or to find in the dark.  It helps if you learn a few basic knots but if you're not a knot person then most any knot is better than no knot. 

[eriemermaid]

Your knot statement reminded me of how my brother put my extra electric cord in the outdoor compartment.  I wish I could remember how he did it.  It is in a bunch of -like - figure 8's and can't get tangled.  It looks so pretty I don't want to use it! 

[blue2]

Before winding up an electric cord one needs to consult an electrician.  They all seem to have a specific wrap that won't damage the cord.  I learned the hard way once helping an electrician clean up after he was done..

[BigRedDog]

Before winding up an electric cord one needs to consult an electrician.  They all seem to have a specific wrap that won't damage the cord.  I learned the hard way once helping an electrician clean up after he was done..

I've seen electricians abuse extension cords too.  Lots of times they're 'do as I say and not as I do' people.


There are plenty of ways an extension cord can get damaged but a big one is just in the way they are stored when not being used.  I've seen them wound into tight little bundles with knots tied in them to keep them from un folding.  That's a good way to ruin a cord.

By far the easiest way to ruin a cord (and whatever you're trying to run) is by overloading it. 

I went over to my neighbor's one day a few months back and he had his table saw out back working on a shed.  He had about 7 or 8 extension cords all strung out from an outlet in the garage to the saw itself.  There were some very light duty cords in the mix. 

Too many plugs in itself isn't good.  They are mechanical and are frequently the first part of the cord to fail. 

I have a couple of 100 foot 20 amp cords.  If I need to go farther than that I take a generator. 

And please don't confuse a 'lamp' cord with an extension cord.  A lamp cord is frequently just two wires and a small flat cord and maybe 6 or 8 feet long.  They're for powering a 'lamp' just as the name implies but some people tend to overload them!

I remember a couple of house fires where they had them run under a rug and them had something more than a lamp plugged into them.  Instant 'no more house'!!!

[BigRedDog]

Your knot statement reminded me of how my brother put my extra electric cord in the outdoor compartment.  I wish I could remember how he did it.  It is in a bunch of -like - figure 8's and can't get tangled.  It looks so pretty I don't want to use it! 

It might have been this one.  This is a fairly popular way to do long cords.  I'm not a big fan of it because of all the 'knots'. 

It's not too bad as long as the knots don't get pulled any tighter than what the are but it's too easy for them to get pulled tighter.

How To: No Tangle Extension Cord Storage

I still usually just make big loops and then either tie a piece of rope around it or they have nicer ones out of velcro or some twisty ones I can't recall the name of.

If the above video doesn't do it just turn on auto play and eventually it will come to the one like your brother did.

[SidecarFlip]

Never did answer my question on tongue weight on your pull behind.  Do you know?

[BigRedDog]

Never did answer my question on tongue weight on your pull behind.  Do you know?

Your interest in everything of mine is starting to get creepy.  Just why are you so interested in what I have and in your mind don't have?  I've asked you several direct questions too over the last few weeks that you've never addressed either.  Apparently you thing you should be held to one standard and I should be held to another? 

CREEPY, CREEPY, CREEPY!!!

One reason I won't answer is if I did you would find some way to put a 'twist' on it and try to tell me how wrong I'm doing things.  That from the guy that has zero idea of what an F-150 is rated at for towing. 

I'll go slow and try to explain this info so maybe (long shot I realize) you'll be able to understand it. 

Our camper is a 'front load' toy hauler so the tongue weight varies with what all is loaded in the toy bay.  An electric golf cart weighs more than a gasoline powered one and therefore creates increased tongue weight.  A large quad weighs more than a small quad so the tongue weight will vary from hook up to hook up depending on what is loaded into the toy bay. 

We were cruising down the road one day last winter down in Florida and I found three tires that would fit my H.  Bought them all and loaded them into the toy bay.  Adjusted the equalizer hitch to compensate for the additional tongue weight and drove 'safely' down the road.  No problems for 1200 miles and now the 'old' H has plenty of spare rubber sitting around.  And before you point out that I should have tied the tires down inside the toy bay you can sleep better tonight knowing that I always restrain my load more than appropriately.  Been doing this since I was 19 and never a real mishap to report.  Amazing what one person can do if they just take things easy and pay attention to what they're doing.

As far as "do I know the tongue weight"...   yes I do.  I have an old platform scales that I can weigh most any object I can get to it.  I'm sure your next question will be "well are your scales certified' for trade and the answer is "they are not".  I'm not selling anything at this point so I don't need them to be certified and sealed.  If I go back to selling something down the road then I will take care of that.  However, they are in great shape and more than accurate for what I'm doing.  I've weighed various combinations so I do have a base line to work from.  Again, properly adjust the weight distribution hitch and drive safely down the road. 

One of the 'off road' features on the F150 is a nice app on the dash that shows you in degrees how much the truck is leaning both side to side and front to rear.  The proper set up of an equalizer (have you ever installed and set one up...   I've done hundreds of them!) requires you to start with both the tow vehicle and the trailer to be towed sitting level on level ground.  When you're done setting it all up everything should still be level.  For years and years we had to measure the before and after heights but with the graphic on the dash I can just set it to 00' and be as close or closer than you can get with a tape measure. 

Ok, let's get this through your head...

my trailer is not overloaded...

my pickup is not overloaded plus the combo of the two has excellent braking capacity.  No problems here...

how about on your end...

can you say the same for your combo?


I guess maybe you should see if you can get a job with the state police as a weighmaster then you could put all your half vast knowledge to good use!

Are there overloaded pickups and trailers out on the road...

yes there are and I see them almost every time we're out on the road.  Maybe you should take to worrying about all of those and forget the fixation you've developed on me and my stuff.  It's unhealthy to say the least.  You really do need to seek the proper medical consultation!!! 

[The Fuzz]

Medical?

[BigRedDog]

Speaking of the various companies and combos of equalizer hitches I remember some 'schooling' I got very early on in my career.  Would have been early summer of '69 before I got drafted.  I think it was a Reese Hitch demo but the main thing is it showed how an equalizer hitch can transfer 100% of the tongue weight to the front wheels of a tow vehicle.  Now, before someone points out that this wouldn't be 'safe' to drive down the road you can be comfortable knowing this was a very low speed demo in a large parking lot.  Again, the objective was only to show how an equalizer could work...  not how it should work. 

They brought in a 1966 Toronado (one of the first 'American' front wheel drives) pulling a boat on a tandem trailer. 

They intentionally overtensioned the equalizer to the point that they could take the rear tires off the car (without needing a jack) and then drive the car and trailer (again, slowly) around the parking lot without any rear tires on the ground.  Nothing else dragging or rubbing...   just a nice smooth roll around. 

I've often wondered what ever happened to that Toronado and if the frame ever distorted.  It belonged to the man that owned the hitch company and it was supposedly his daily driver. 

Here's a picture of what looks like the same Toronado hauling a tandem axle camping trailer.  Probably they took various trailers to demo their hitches depending on what type of products were being sold at the site where the demo was being held.  We sold mostly boats so we got a boat!

[BigRedDog]

Medical?

Medical...   psychological...

he has some kind of sociopathic issues that need to be addressed!!!

[blue2]

Premium gas up to $3.10/gal today T Costco

[The Fuzz]

The differences by region always make me think WTF......Regular in Alabama is 2.41 and Premium running around 2.60.

[SidecarFlip]

Your interest in everything of mine is starting to get creepy.  Just why are you so interested in what I have and in your mind don't have?  I've asked you several direct questions too over the last few weeks that you've never addressed either.  Apparently you thing you should be held to one standard and I should be held to another? 

CREEPY, CREEPY, CREEPY!!!

One reason I won't answer is if I did you would find some way to put a 'twist' on it and try to tell me how wrong I'm doing things.  That from the guy that has zero idea of what an F-150 is rated at for towing. 

I'll go slow and try to explain this info so maybe (long shot I realize) you'll be able to understand it. 

Our camper is a 'front load' toy hauler so the tongue weight varies with what all is loaded in the toy bay.  An electric golf cart weighs more than a gasoline powered one and therefore creates increased tongue weight.  A large quad weighs more than a small quad so the tongue weight will vary from hook up to hook up depending on what is loaded into the toy bay. 

We were cruising down the road one day last winter down in Florida and I found three tires that would fit my H.  Bought them all and loaded them into the toy bay.  Adjusted the equalizer hitch to compensate for the additional tongue weight and drove 'safely' down the road.  No problems for 1200 miles and now the 'old' H has plenty of spare rubber sitting around.  And before you point out that I should have tied the tires down inside the toy bay you can sleep better tonight knowing that I always restrain my load more than appropriately.  Been doing this since I was 19 and never a real mishap to report.  Amazing what one person can do if they just take things easy and pay attention to what they're doing.

As far as "do I know the tongue weight"...   yes I do.  I have an old platform scales that I can weigh most any object I can get to it.  I'm sure your next question will be "well are your scales certified' for trade and the answer is "they are not".  I'm not selling anything at this point so I don't need them to be certified and sealed.  If I go back to selling something down the road then I will take care of that.  However, they are in great shape and more than accurate for what I'm doing.  I've weighed various combinations so I do have a base line to work from.  Again, properly adjust the weight distribution hitch and drive safely down the road. 

One of the 'off road' features on the F150 is a nice app on the dash that shows you in degrees how much the truck is leaning both side to side and front to rear.  The proper set up of an equalizer (have you ever installed and set one up...   I've done hundreds of them!) requires you to start with both the tow vehicle and the trailer to be towed sitting level on level ground.  When you're done setting it all up everything should still be level.  For years and years we had to measure the before and after heights but with the graphic on the dash I can just set it to 00' and be as close or closer than you can get with a tape measure. 

Ok, let's get this through your head...

my trailer is not overloaded...

my pickup is not overloaded plus the combo of the two has excellent braking capacity.  No problems here...

how about on your end...

can you say the same for your combo?


I guess maybe you should see if you can get a job with the state police as a weighmaster then you could put all your half vast knowledge to good use!

Are there overloaded pickups and trailers out on the road...

yes there are and I see them almost every time we're out on the road.  Maybe you should take to worrying about all of those and forget the fixation you've developed on me and my stuff.  It's unhealthy to say the least.  You really do need to seek the proper medical consultation!!!

Fuckoff...  I don't really give a shilt what you do, who you do t to or how many times for that matter.  If you are toting a toyhauler with a 150, you are overloaded simple fact.  Myself, I have a ONE TON, not a grocery getter and my camper loaded and ready to go (water tank full, HWH full, 2 batteries, generator and 2 propane tanks plus our gear weighs a bit less than 2800 pounds, well within the capabilities of my truck.

Guess I'm done with this thread as well.  Have a great day and KMA.

[The Fuzz]

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