The Nomadic Life

[PaMtbRider]

Just an fyi, a common misconception is that dielectric grease improves the conductivity of an electrical connection. Dielectric grease is an insulator. Its main purpose is to prevent corrosion by sealing out moisture. It can also help prevent fretting, a pitting of the contact surface due to vibration.

If the connection being made is a loose sloppy fit dielectric grease won't help, it will actually make it worse. The blades of your plug need to fit tight enough in the socket to displace the grease from the contact area.

If you look closely at the blades of an rv plug some of them are not solid but made of layers of thin metal. Take a small screwdriver and spread these layers apart. This can help the plug fit a little tighter in a worn out pedestal socket.

I agree with Josh that using a dielectric grease is a good preventive measure. Go ahead and smear it all over your battery terminals, but use it sparingly in a plug and socket application.

[Too Tall]

Tell us more about the new trailer.

And the tow vehicle...still got the Tundra?

SPP

We have been looking for a 28 International Serenity RBT with manual awnings and dark fabric for ages. This one popped up from a private seller and we grabbed it! As with all things used there are many small things I'm fixing but hey I love doing that. Picked it up in Chandler, AZ slapped new tires on it and went to visit some yahoo framebuilder near Austin. This one has a Blue Ox hitch that needed some fiddling to get it right but now tows well. We sailed over the San Gabriels at 65 mph and downshifted for the steep up/down stuff. The Tundra's small block is the high mark for these gas engines and it's got some sack ;) Four Hundred HP is no joke if you know how to use it. This trailer's ball weight is almost exactly same as our prior trailer. In all honesty I feel that a 1500 pulling this 28 is safe yet I do want some more lead in my arse for the inevitable so yes I think a 2500 is in our future...but not a must have. We towed over 2000 miles across W. Texas and terrible wind storms and felt safe. The Tundra is "enough" but not more than enough get me? Helps?

*Thanks Dan, helps.

[bigbill]

I get it, I like my heavy truck, especially in heavy crosswinds and descending on steep roadways. Gas or diesel, 3/4 ton trucks are great tow vehicles. I would get a Ford or GM because of the Allison 10 speed transmission, both manufacturers use the same transmission. I like it for engine braking on descents with smaller increments. Without a trailer, it is like a seven speed with three overdrives, and helps your mileage. For the most part, unless I'm climbing, my truck with be in tenth gear with the trailer.

Chandler to Austin, I assume you drove I-10 between PHX and Tucson. When it is windy, that stretch is horrible because it's always a crosswind. I've been in a caravan of travel trailers in the right lane doing 50 mph because any faster made it too hard to keep straight. On flat roads, I like to use cruise control, but the anti-sway constantly turns it off on that section.

I'm making my fuel strategery plan. Knowing I can comfortably go 350 miles between fueling and 400 miles in a cold sweat in rural NE Arizona. I leave the Kingman area with a full tank, this time I'll top off in Williams and fuel again in Monticello, Utah. Fuel is stupid expensive between Flagstaff and Blanding, UT. The gas stations on the Navajo/Hopi Reservation are tough with a travel trailer. Monticello has a nice station with pull-throughs with gas and diesel. Easy peasy. I could take more interstates, but pulling a trailer at less than 70 in an 80 mph zone is not my favorite thing. The back roads are nicer.

[PaMtbRider]

We are leaving tomorrow morning for Delaware. This will be the first trip towing with the new truck. The route is pretty much flat so I don't expect any problems. We did do a short tow to our local campground for a shakedown.

I want to run the truck and trailer across scales to check my weight distribution. It did fine but I don't think my hitch is currently transferring much weight to the front tires. I added a washer to the EQ- Lizer hitch to transfer more weight.

This will also be the first time using RV trip wizard for navigation. It's a subscription based program that lets you create an RV safe route ahead of time and then use with Apple CarPlay or download to a gps.

Josh, I like to give you a hard time about the Tundra but it really is a good truck. My Chevy has similar horsepower and probably a little more torque. The big difference is the weight of the truck and the suspension. What little I have driven it I really like it. It is a BIG truck when trying to maneuver in a parking lot.

Tell us more about the caravan. When are you going?

[bigbill]

I had more squat than I wanted, so I swapped out the rubber snubbers between the axle and frame and replaced them with these: https://timbren.com/ It put more weight over my front wheels.

[Too Tall]

Good call Bill, those are the right stuff. For the Tundra there are leaf spring shock absorbers that slow the modulation down. I'm not tempted to do this as I hate messing with the OEM setup.

LOL Dan I know I know and trust me I get alot of kidding about the Tundra "You Tow With That???".

Here are the tentative stops. We'll stay a few nights or more at most places:
- Calgary Stampede
- Banff
- Jasper
- Somewhere near the Columbia Icefield, Alberta
- Lake Louise
- Fairmont Hot Springs
- Bar U Historic Site
- Drumheller, Alberta (last chance saloon). Bill, meet me at the saloon in case of trouble.

As for the (future) truck. I'm a GM kinda of fool and I've got a pal with a dealership in Charlottesville for when I'm feeling flush.

[bigbill]

Yup, the Kimbrel rubber shocks are just hanging out when you're not towing. I have a little more than an inch between the rubber shock and the strike plate on the axle without a trailer. You still have to observe payload limits.