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It was last used in Nevada, and as I recall from photos that came with it, also in the Eisenhower tunnel on I-70.

The oldest diesel I use was bought about 13 years ago. A few years ago I learned about Star Tron, but while it works wonders on gas I can't really tell if there's a difference with the diesel version.

Of course the two leads need to be connected, but that doesn't mean they cant be put together on an isolated post. At least I'd rather have them secured that just bolted together and free floating behind the dash. Modern induction amp meter? Like on Sixties British cars? And why would anyone...

Yep, it's a tunnel washer. Or was. I bought it, for cheap, as it had the working gears (2,000:1), front and rear PTOs and hydraulics. The washing apparatus itself is a lot like a backhoe, except that it has a break-away feature halfway on the dipper. Thought about swapping the brush for a...

This particular trip, from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and into the Rockies, was a smidgen over the 39,000 lb. CGVWR. As usual, the Ram 3500 pulled it off without any issues. My toy hauler may not weigh a lot, but does put close to 5,000 on the drive axle. Which is rated for almost...

I might have to keep that in mind when it's time to retire the Ram. Those Toyotas are good for a CGVWR of some 40,000 lbs. aren't they?

A BX25 should fit through the front door. Park it in a corner of the living room.

None of the four PJ trailers I have has had any issues with the powder coat, so maybe this is more of an eastern thing?

At the fifth roundabout on a quaint little street (suburban New Orleans) I gave up and drove straight, right over all the pretty little flowers. Between vertical clearance issues caused by low tree branches and pulling doubles, there was no way to keep the second trailer off of them on the very...

For me it's not that I forget (I wish I could), but there are only so many hours in a day.

It probably does in many vehicles. For example, distilled water supposedly works fine in '16 and earlier Rams. I tried in my '17, but it didn't like it.

No inspections of any kind here, but where I grew up in Europe there was. Finding an abandoned Russian car on the side of the road should've been the strongest hint to that it didn't happen in the USA.

Found an abandoned Russian car of some sort and swiped the shift knob from it. It had a basic 4-speed pattern, except upside down. That became interesting when taking my Autobianchi (basically a Fiat 500) in for its annual inspection. Keep in mind that it was an 18.5 hp car with a non-synchro...

Yes, but put them on some sort of isolated post to be on the safe side.

I have all the stuff to delete my '17 Ram, bought shortly after buying it, but it's all still in the boxes since it runs just fine as is.

It'd be nice if they removed some emission laws for vehicles and tractors retroactively, but I seriously doubt that'll happen. And is that talk really from D.C.? Facebook or Tik Tok sounds more likely.

One thing many fall for is bypassing a stubborn nut, loosening all but that one. Well, if it was hard to turn before, now it really is when the two next to it aren't helping push the wheel center in.

I have put both thinwall and impact sockets in the lathe. Sometimes you do what you gotta do to be able to keep working.

I obviously meant less torque needed on a fastener that isn't dry. I can blame it on sleep deprivation. Anyway, there was a time when I could fasten 1/2" lug nuts to within 2 ft.-lbs. since I did it so often. And the beauty of using an impact wrench is that all the force is strictly...

I use either a thread chaser or wire wheel on corroded bolts. If I'm worried about corrosion, I'll use paint.

The problem with using anti seize, or any lubricating product, on wheel studs is that it changes the torque values needed. They'll now need more torque to achieve the same clamping force...but how much more?

I'm still trying to picture 24 mm nuts on a tractor. Even the Pete I'm getting has "only" 22 mm studs. Different type of tractor, but still. Anyway, if a 3/4" impact won't do the job I'd get out my 1". It's good for 2,500 ft.-lbs. Basically, either the fastener comes loose, it breaks, or I go...

Okay, took a quick look at the loader on the M6040 and there are five (per side) places where it'd be easy to run a strap to keep the bucket from curling out. Only counted places that have favorable geometry. Simplest would be a single strap going around the center of the tube between the...

True. But unfortunately it wasn't a work truck. Pulling a 28' pup converted to a toy hauler isn't exactly work for a Class 8 tractor.

If those legs would be able to buckle, the set bolts would've seriously deformed them first.

I've never worried about hydraulic failures when working on things while standing in the bucket or on a pallet (on pallet forks), so I haven't looked for suitable anchor points. I'll check tomorrow, but seriously doubt that there aren't already useable places to hook straps or chains...

Being down by San Antonio on business I took the opportunity to stop by at their Denton factory on the way home. I was fortunate enough to get a private tour of the entire plant, which was great. But then I walked out to my 359 and now its paint looked even more faded than before.

When looking around for a good used Pete I came across a very nice looking Western Star. I briefly considered it since the price was quite low. Don't know anything about them, and it might have had an engine I didn't care for.

Bought tires, nearly $3,000 for six of them, and they're far from top of the line. Okay, they're supposedly very good for cheap imports.

I regret selling my Pete, so I'm getting another one - also with an 18-speed. Which makes me wonder, of those who really want stick shifts how many would like a non-syncro version?

Two straps or chains?

Once the fuel is out of there and the tank has had enough time for the last of it to evaporate, I would be comfortable with using a shop vac to get the crud out.

Why wouldn't siphoning work?? Or pulling a hose downstream of the tank?

And hopefully several good fire extinguishers.

Well, in reality it means that the tires are at the correct pressure for the load. And they're not operating at 100%. Unless you mean 100% efficiency, longevity, handling, etc. Otherwise whatever the max inflation as stated on the tire is would be the answer to all tire issues.

Aside from the other advantages of AGM batteries, I really like not having to check if regular wet batteries need water. Not even on the ones that are easy to get to. On the other hand, corrosion has never been a problem for me with the wet ones. Well, except when I was belted in in my Jeep...

Okay, it supposedly weighs 3,100 and has a DGVW of 9,899. It's an 18 footer (for now). Anyway, here's an example of a low breakover angle and using the hydraulic dove tail to get a vehicle loaded.

Thanks! I'll have to look at the registration, can't remember the weight, but it's surprisingly light. With 5,200-lb. axles it holds enough load, yet lets the suspension work even with small cars or tractors. The small size is handy in cramped locations, but I wish it was about two feet...

A basic flatbed with a 2-3' beavertail and longer ramps (I much prefer aluminum over heavy steel ones) works well for me.

I tend to buy mowers in the winter and snowblowers in the summer. I can't be the only one who likes paying less.

A low hp (New Holland L218) low flow runs a 72" snowblower just fine. No idea how it'd do with a mower or brush hog.

Just don't leave the two hooked up longer than necessary, about 30 minutes at the most I've been told. And do check that the discharged battery doesn't get hot.

Wheel centering sleeves, a GPS, a stereo, rear fenders and brackets, some lighting, a step toolbox, and a few other things. All in preparation for picking up the new-to-me Pete next month.

I suspect it was because of the tire being about 10 years old, not so much from overloading/underinflation. Besides, trailer tires are just like normal vehicle tires in that they should be inflated according to the load. There's no way I'll run my trailer tires at 110 psi for no reason - not...

Put the lug nuts back on and some TireJect in the tire. Done. Well, at least until the tire is worn out, but by then a good penetrant should've made its way in between the wheel and spacer.

This trailer tire did indeed die from old age, but depending on construction and quality, some can last for well over six years.

That's the drawback with the Pipe Finder. Yes, there's something down there, but what? An unused PVC pipe, a main electrical cable, or old fence wire? Of course, if one end of it is known then it's just a matter of following its path.

Surely somebody has already suggested an inexpensive Pipe Finder. So far mine's been more accurate than what the power company has managed.

I cut a section of pipe down to the length of what the T-post will be above ground, that keeps the post from bending and me from guessing the correct depth. It's definitely much quicker with a helper, but I've set quite a few posts by myself that way.

I'd try a good vulcanizing fluid, like what's used for patches.

My dislike for the so-called monster ramps is that their distance to the ground when folded out is set. They happened to have a new trailer with those ramps on the lot when I picked up my ordered PJ with a hydraulic dove tail. Asked them to fold one ramp down to confirm my suspicion - sure...

I've had very good luck with Sun Energise solar chargers in 10 and 15 Watt versions. At this point there's at least seven of them doing their thing. A couple also paired with PulseTech desulfators.

It also matters where those plies are. A radial may have several in the tread area but only a few in the sidewalls. That's one reason I like bias ply tires - a stouter tire and generally for a lower price. That they don't tend to experience tread separation because of age is another plus.

I think we agree on that for every action there's an opposite and equal reaction. So when applying the (only) brakes on the rear axle of a leaf sprung trailer it makes the axle itself want to rotate "forward". Since the balance beam allows more axle rotation than a fixed single axle spring does...

Spea Brakes on only one axle is obviously not as good as having them on both, but on a typical leaf sprung trailer, if there's only brakes on one axle it should be the rear one. I've bought one trailer with the braked axle in the wrong (front) position, and before the ordered axle arrived I...

Brakes on the front axle only would actually be the best case in that scenario. Much like with a tandem axle trailer with brakes only on the rear axle going forwards. With a typical spring suspension, hitting the brakes makes the rear axle plant itself while lifting the front axle.

Here it is...without the extension. An old trailer axle and some scrap metal put to use. Had to buy the cylinder since I didn't have one the right size.

Even if it is, they should work for my application. After a few decades I have yet to have to winch a vehicle up on a trailer, but if I ever do I sure wouldn't want to have to rely on the 30 A fused charge wire from the tow vehicle. Heck, I even put a switch on that circuit so the winch...

For that usage I'd definitely go with a bias ply tire. They tend to be cheaper, stronger, and it really won't matter how much out of round they are.

Don't remember the brand, but I got some 1 ga jumper cables, 25 or maybe 30', from Amazon for about $50. In my case to connect the trailer's Group 31 to the 3500's battery for long and/or heavy pulls with an 8K winch. For a little MGA, and especially if it isn't a deckover trailer, you...

When creating my first towable I expected to set the height with the hydraulics for the axle behind the blade. Wrong. That's more of a rough setting, then the height can be fine tuned to perfection with the pintle hook on the 3-point. It worked so well that I started to use an extension...

Still using the same pencil gauge I've used for 15 years on loaded tires, not worrying about where the valve stem is when it's used. Occasionally I grab it to check regular tires...and it works just fine on those, too.

Smell it, and try lighting it. Should narrow it down some.

For it to work correctly the upper link should be removed, or replaced with a chain or cable. Or something with some give. A big drawback in my mind is the short distance between the rear axle and the cutting blade. That's why I welded up an extension on mine, pinned to the 3-point holes on the...

Thankfully, besides 87 that cuts through the very northeast corner of NM, there are several other roads in NM that can be used.

It's not so much intuition as experience, from many years of driving through those states.

Hey, your 50% success rate is twice as good as mine.

I'll be going past several scales in NM, AZ, and CA, in a month or two with my 14K GVWR 3500 (which has a flatbed) and an empty 25K rated 35' trailer. I no longer have a CDL, and won't stop at any scales. In CA I really should because of the flatbed, but won't worry about NM or AZ. Just like...

I'd pass on the "Not for hire" signs. No sense in advertising that you feel a bit guilty towing your own stuff around.

That's what they told me, too. And I also said "Thanks, but no thanks." And all my other maintainers also have logical indicators.

Did you by any chance get them from Amazon? If so you could've ended up with one that I returned after it killed a previously perfectly good H7 AGM battery. Like you, I started with it fully charged, but after a couple of days that battery was down to 7 or 8 volts, and could not be saved.

Bought a '90 Pete 379 yesterday. Now waiting for a rebuilt 3406B and an 18 speed to be installed, getting it converted to a single axle, the cab and sleeper getting sound proofed, new paint, and a few other odds and ends. All for about $10K more than a new Chevy Silverado 1500 2WD WT.

The M6040 lives indoors, the small ones in the carport. Keeping the UV off of them is the main goal.

Or feel it.

So the tractor forces the operator to do the correct thing? Normally I'm against nannies, but this one seems like a good idea. For all I know my tractor may have the same feature, but I would never notice it.

Then I'd try adding some more anti-gel, keeping in mind that it needs to get circulated through the system before it can do any good.

I wouldn't dare setting the throttle to max after starting a tractor on a hot summer day, in case it would actually try to reach such high rpm without getting warmed up first. Have you tried using just a little throttle in normal fashion? Maybe the computer is completely confused by the max rpm...

I wouldn't leave them on a charger unattended. Heck, I don't do that with my (real) Milwaukee batteries.

I went to look at a used (ex rental) M6040 at the local dealer. The inside looked like a New York subway car, and the rear tires were 2/3 gone. In 300 hours. Ended up buying a new one for about 10% more, one that hadn't been repeatedly cold started and revved up. Now, after 1,400 hrs the rears...

Reminds me of when a friend had put a small (and dark) steering wheel in his RHD VW bug. I'd hold the light colored original steering wheel and would look at everything but forward while we were going through city traffic. Freaked a lot of people out.

This "winter" has saved lots of hours on my tractors. Normally about half their annual time is spent on snow removal, but since we still haven't got any...

That's what I thought, until realizing that I could avoid the sales tax by not buying from Amazon.

I leave the hood open. Easy to see, hard to forget if anything is plugged in.

I'm not concerned with them freezing, but when the case cracks and the acid leaks out would be a problem.

Supposedly yes. I keep my discharged/dead ones inside.

That looks similar to the Weize batteries I've been buying lately. Good specs and definitely less money than most other AGMs. Putting the 6th one purchased, an H7, in the girlfriend's new car today (new battery in a new car? It's a story in itself) and am in the process of making the cables for...

So did most of the the MGs I had. But when needing batteries, they only got one. A 12 V, to eliminate the issues with two in series, and lose some weight.

That holds true for any batteries, two or more, that are hooked together. The weak one(s) will draw the good one(s) down to their level.

I had one lower itself during a 300-mile drive with a new trailer. It was the kind where the tube is set to the desired height by a clamp, in addition to the normal crank mechanism. Well, it decided to unclamp itself.

Realistically, how much more stress do the stabilizers, or anything else, see from filled tires when compared to the backhoe's break-out force? Also, it's not uncommon that I have a rear wheel above the ditch I'm working on, so having the tires on the ground isn't always an option.

Whenever we get a substitute or new driver it takes a while for things to smooth out. Can't really blame the driver since many roads don't have names, and consequently no house numbers. Add to that the often hopelessly off GPS locations. I don't envy them.

FedEx is normally good here, and today a package is supposedly out for delivery. But, according to an email yesterday it was out for deliver the day before, which would've been physically impossible. Sometimes no tracking can be better than bad tracking.

The '10 M6040 is just shy of 100/year, the '13 L3800 about 50, and the '24 Kioti CX2620 just turned to seven hours after nine months. If I remember the numbers correctly, the '15 (?) BX25D averages 12.5 hrs per year. Much of them because I start it out of pity, plus it takes a small eternity...

Apparently they can stretch the definition of "every address". Around here they have large outdoor boxes, similar to a wall of PO boxes at the office. I think those are free, but in my case I'd have to go about two miles down the road to ours. If there are any packages (which is generally what...

If it looks like a longish wait at road work, I shut the engine off. Wouldn't even dream about keeping the clutch pedal depressed if it was a manual. Changing throw out bearings isn't hard, but it's not particularly fun, either.

Yes, things can break in manuals, but I've driven several hundreds of miles with clutches that didn't work, and some other transmission ailments. As have others according to earlier posts. But the one time a transmission failed to get me home it was an automatic. Specifically, broken welds on a...

At least 99% is Prime, and maybe 5% from 3rd parties. Things that are coming from Korea, China, etc. I obviously don't expect to arrive quickly, but they tend to show up sooner than predicted. Occasionally I get things sent by SurePost, but since we don't have mail delivery here it's easier to...

Many modern ones lock up in most gears, if not all. And some "automatics" (like Porsche's PDK) are really auto-shifted manuals without converters. I didn't say that I like lubed-for-life things, just pointed out that they exist. Of the eight "sealed" ZF 8-speeds we have, one is coming up on 95K...

One reason we get Amazon deliveries (which used to be quick) in a week or so these days is that the 2-day shipping applies only to the actual shipping. When it takes Amazon several days to get around to shipping an order, well, it's still 2-day shipping, but takes over a week to receive.

It seems like almost all modern autos have lock-up converters, so in that sense there should be no loss of efficiency. Also, some late model autos are supposedly filled for life. There's n easy way to change the fluid, and the manufacturer feels it's not necessary.

Having been dumb enough to go to New Orleans in late July, I think I know what you're trying to say. Had no A/C in the trailer, and the A/C in the tow vehicle crapped out in AZ on the way there. Drank gallons of water, yet never needed to undrink.

Having about as many manual as automatic transmissions I don't have a clear favorite. It depends on the application. If I end up buying another Peterbilt it'll definitely have a 13 or 18-speed. But I wouldn't want a manual in my 3500 Cummins, it being used only as a tow vehicle. In the...

What's that "air conditioning" you speak of? Some sort of oil bath air cleaner?

This vehicle automation and widespread dependence on nannies makes me wonder how people go about driving a stick shift. Do they just stay in 1st gear, or cuss and moan every time they need to shift?

And that's what prompted auto-on headlights. You shouldn't have to be bothered with driving and having to be aware of the conditions.

I think you missed my point. The lights will turn off automatically, but as mentioned, how long that takes depends on the size of the battery.

Supposedly a lengthy charge time with 1 or 2 A is the preferred method for starting to revive a low/dead battery. Smart maintainers can be fooled into charging by momentarily hooking up a good battery to the discharged one.

A maintainer may show green after a mere 28 hours because the voltage is up, but it's unlikely that that battery is actually charged. With such low amperage it may take weeks to charge the battery. If it even truly accepts a charge after being drawn down that much. A load test, or using the...

That's not really an issue. If you don't turn them on bad things can happen. If you don't turn them off they'll turn off by themselves. How long that takes depends on the size of the battery, but they will turn off.

I dunno. I don't even wear a watch and can still tell when it's getting dark. To me, if I didn't turn something on, it's off. And vice versa.

I learned not to lend trailers to people. Never knew if a sidewall had been compromised, or if it had been subjected to other hard to see issues. When asked, I pulled out $20 (enough at the time) and said "Here, go rent one". A puzzled look generally followed, at which point I said "It's...

You expect drivers to endure the hardship of manually activating turn signals?!? They're used to not having to deal with turning on headlights or wipers as needed. Besides, it's probably hard to text and activate the blinkers.

Speaking od running over stuff, in that same little MGB I wondered about hitting a moose with I ran over a badger. Could feel and hear it getting rolled under the floorboards. More exciting was getting a snake caught in the spokes of the front wheel of my first bike. It went around and around...

Grew up where moose was the main thing one didn't want to hit. Drove a low little sports car, which technically would fit under an average size moose, if barely, so I calculated how fast I'd have to drive to get underneath one before the body would drop about two inches. What I didn't know...

Bought a small (3,500W) generator from Harbor Freight recently. Does it suck? I have no idea. It's only been about a week since I ordered it. Now they say Monday.

I've given up on 3,500-lb. axles, and whatever steel ramps a trailer comes with gets replaced with aluminum ramps. My bad back doesn't get along with heavy and structurally inferior ramps.

Yup, I recently bought a 3' longer one, and saved about 10K by driving 850 miles to a dealer near the Diamond C factory. This summer my 16' PJ will likely get an extra two feet added.

Actually, intercoolers are used between two power adders, be they turbos or superchargers, but usually its a turbo followed by a supercharger. Bottom line, as the name strongly suggests, an intercooler goes between the two. Otherwise it's a charge air cooler.

My vehicles also lose a few mpg in the winter, but I strongly suspect that it's because the fluids just don't flow as well when it's zero degrees. After 20 miles or so the mileage tends to increase as things warm up. The engine itself? I don't think the ambient temp can be too cool for a gas...

I'd have no problem with using ethanol free gas, but driving some 200 miles to fill up the 200 gallon tank I can do without. And it takes a while to load the tank on a trailer and then set it back in its place when returning. So far it seems like regular 86 octane and Star Tron works just as...

An electric UTV would be ideal for our usage, which is short drives only, but... As I recall they don't like being charged when it's cold. Okay, that could be worked around, but I wouldn't want it parked in the barn. Not in general, and especially not when it's charging. And it's a moot point...

Horsepower is a non-issue for what she uses these things for. Originally she got a Gator 6X4, which was fine in SoCal and with fewer horses producing manure. Next was the Kubota RTV110C which was nice with its cab and heater here in the Rockies. Not nice was the small bed (more horses now) and...

My girlfriend had an RTV1100C for a while, but practically gave it away and bought a Defender "single cab longbed". It was primarily the diesel that made her not want the Kubota.

This one is OE on my backhoes. Have seen it at nearly 25, which didn't feel good with soft suspension, squishy tires, and a high center of gravity. Heck, I even put the seatbelt on for that one. Either way, a gauge has to be of the damped fluid filled kind to be useful in a vehicle. The HF one...

Took the easy way out and ordered four H8 AGM batteries for the M936. If I can revive the two ailing 6TL batteries over time, great. If not there will be two good ones left over to use in something else.

Oh, you don't like it when they say like?

I learned about BioBor (and a lot about bacteria in diesel tanks) after buying a machine that had sat for years without a cap on the tank. There was water all the way up to the edge of the filler neck. The bottom three inches of the tank looked like it was covered with a spray-in bedliner. It...

Oh, now you tell me. Wish I'd known that when comparing 60-120s (707 vs. 797 hp) with a cop driving the other car...on a road with a 55 mph limit. Thankfully, around here not even the cops are playing cop. Live and let live.

No, it was a couple of years ago. My fault that it ended up being a somewhat fast drive. Started a bit too late, so the place was closed by the time I got there. Had planned on loading the machine that day, then drive as far back as possible that night. Instead, spent the night at the yard...

Your math might be correct, but what makes you think I'm on Interstates? If you look it up, U.S. 50 is not an Interstate. It's a mostly straight 2-laner with nothing around. Including traffic. Of course, there's a definite lack of traffic around here, too, but the roads are anything but...

I had a CDL while in California, but losing it wouldn't have affected my livelihood. I had it because I chose to drive a Class 8 tractor as an RV, and to be able to pull doubles. As for how the backhoe was loaded, was there any reason not to have it on there the opposite way, with the heaviest...

There's a bit of a difference between a 70 mile drive and a 1,000+ mile one. Going, for example, 20% over on average results in a 20% time saving. That's meaningful over 1,000 miles.

I can explain the first two. 1) With a typical trailer he put the load too far forward, like people often do. 2) That should mean at least a 25K load rating on the trailer, so about a 16K load would be fine. 3) I'm rarely on multi-lane roads, but if so I always use the third lane, second if...

For the old stationary toolbox, even the normally pesky steel socket holders work - since they're riveted in place.

I may be guilty of exceeding the speed limit at times. Like when driving. But while going faster (or much faster) than the limit it's rarely at a constant speed. Slowing down for curves, when meeting other vehicles, when catching up with another vehicle and unable to pass, etc. Also, I do the...

That's when a good radar detector helps. Just got my 5th one. Of course, it really helps to be an alert driver. And as an actual driver I don't use cruise control or any other driving aids.

And here I thought that it was fully possible to drive the speed limit without using cruise control.

Or a Chevy Kingswood wagon from the early to mid '70s.

And enjoy 20+ pages about child seats in the manual.

That's only about 2.5 feet longer than what I have now, although it's a crew cab with a 9' bed. Since I never use the bed anyway I'd build something to hold taillights, fenders, and toolboxes, plus a spare and an auxiliary tank. And obviously a gooseneck hitch. Been meaning to build a "bed"...

I must be older than I thought. My next Ram will likely be a 2-door with the 204.5" wheelbase.

Meanwhile, the outriggers especially and the bucket on our BX25D drop somewhat quickly, while the Kioti CX2610's bucket stays put for months. On the Kioti there are locks for the outriggers so I don't know if those would leak down, too. Also, the loader on our L3800 starts lowering itself...

Yes, it has the active setup, but for whatever reason my '18 is much louder than my girlfriend's '19. She doesn't like that. Not that her's is quiet by any means. I've been behind her when she was passing cars.

That's something I've been meaning to do for years. And the next time the flatbed comes off and I can get to the wiring, it'll happen. There's already a factory ignition only wire back there. Added the switch to the trailer because of the winch I installed on it. Didn't want that puny charge...

I've had some close calls like that. Try to do a Marty Feldman and look ahead for opposing traffic while also keeping an eye on the next car I'm about to go past. That's where the loud exhaust comes in handy...but that doesn't work with the 3500 or the other cars.

My record is five tightly packed cars. Was out of patience by the time we got to a reasonably straight section of road. And I have also wondered about the sound effects when passing. The Challenger is LOUD when getting on it. When passing horse trailers I always let off when going by them.

Thanks! Not as impressive as you may think, they were two of four that got trailered back to California to have friend sell them for me. Not much of a market around here. Anyway, the 7 was a replica (had a real one before that) and the MGB GT was a beater that I'd paid $1,000 for. Also had a...

Intermittent problems sucks. Maybe you can pull a couple of fuses at a time and over time find out what circuit the issue is in? Yes, it could take months to isolate it that way, and I don't envy your situation.

Sorry, misunderstood. Unfortunately, many late model pickups (and cars) have enough battery draw not to start after a week or two, even without being equipped with brake controls.

It's not just brake controls. Whether it's a simple trailer with only a break-away battery or something with other and larger batteries, as long as the trailer is plugged in without the engine running the batteries are fighting each other. Then the weaker battery, especially the brake-away...

I've never said that all NOCO products are bad, but it sure looks like I got a bum one. Now, I could call NOCO and whine, explaining how the Genius 1 ruined a battery, and maybe get a free new one. Or just not ever use the one I have on a good battery again. Either way I'm out half of a good...

Okay, by that logic the Harbor Freight ones should be great. At least I guess that they sell in larger numbers than the NOCO does. And maybe the manufacturers that use the high frequency method rely on crappy coil potting, but if so, at least that technology seems to work. Way too early to...

That's how I've been charging 6-volt batteries. Until recently I didn't have anything with a 6 V setting.

Checked the formerly good battery - a measly 10.9 volts. Hooked up the latest PulseTech purchase and immediately noticed a faint high pitched noise. Checked the voltage and it was slowly climbing in the 13.2 range. No wild voltage swings, just indications of high frequency at work. Can this...

Got curious enough about the high frequency desulfation I'm used to, versus pulsing voltage, to search a bit and found the following. "BatteryMINDer® Model 1510 features a SmarTECHnology™ plug 'n run 1.5 Amp battery charger/maintainer with full-time automatic high frequency pulse desulfator...

Okay, maybe that one battery was bad, and no other maintainers or load tests had noticed that. Or, it got sucked down by a cheap NOCO that then declared it bad. Time will tell as I'll do my best to resurrect it. Wish it was a single battery, not one of a pair. Will try that NOCO on other...

I've always thought that Canadus, BatteryMINDer and PulseTech use high frequency pulses instead of pulsing the voltage. At least that's what they claim. This is my first (and likely last) NOCO maintainer, which could explain why I've never seen voltage fluctuations like this before.

Whoa! Whoda thunk the Harbor Freight ones aren't the best technology possible?!? Well, I strongly suspected that they aren't good maintainers, but didn't expect them to be simple power supplies.

Yeah, I'm feeding the two "end" batteries gently, with low amp maintainers. It's not really for the desulfation, but I have very few maintainers without that feature, and it can't hurt anything.

Checked the well aged Predator battery, and (not surprisingly) the NOCO had quit and showed "Bad battery", just like it did with the formerly good battery. Well, this time it was at least correct. Started it again and checked the voltage. Now it fluctuated between 7.80 (about what the battery...

I have used the cruise control on my '17 Ram a couple of times, years ago, to activate the high idle. Once driving, I prefer to drive rather than being driven.

Yes, it's a Genius 1, says 1914 on the box, and there were no instructions. Found them by typing "noco 1914" into Google. It's typical for me it seems, and the new welder didn't come with instructions, either. Well, they're on a thumb drive that was included, but that's not overly practical for...

That "forced" tongue weight can be good or bad, I think. I prefer having the trailer axles farther forward than on a typical flatbed, giving me the option to place the load in the correct spot instead of ending up with excessive weight on the tow vehicle. That's one reason I really liked...

It wasn't a high frequency fluctuation by a long shot, rather about 1.5 to 2 second "waves". Being used to high frequency desulfation but not the high voltage version it was a complete surprise to me. Noticed it when checking if the little NOCO 1914 was doing anything, and will check again in a...

With a simple voltmeter. And I doubt that there are any electronics in that old battery.

Eventually I noticed that shaking the can for a lot longer than I used to helps quite a bit.

Interestingly enough, when taking the 24 V solar charger off this afternoon I checked the voltages on all four batteries. The two "dead" ones (with desufation) had about a 1/10 V higher voltage than the two good ones. Still not good specific gravity, though. Somehow I've never heard of a...

Before this problem occurred I had a single 24 V PulseTech connected at the "end" positive and negative terminals. Now I wanted to favor the two that tested bad. So far the solar panel, and maybe the desulfation, has already helped a bit. Now the specific gravity is still in the red, but only...

Sorry, it's the upper right and lower left that are bad. I'll have to think about adding that cable.

That's the kind I use. It works. Also, I do have a larger wheeled charger, but use that one maybe every five years or so. Despite taking care of 80+ batteries there's rarely a need for it. Frankly, I keep forgetting that I have it. That's partially because bringing a battery back to life is...

Speaking of battery issues, yesterday I found one that puzzles me. These batteries have been flawless for about two years, always maintaining a good charge for months. Don't know if it's related, but recently decided to be nice to them and add some water. They didn't need much, some cells none...

I'd get at least a load tester, and they're cheap. Next a quality maintainer with desulfation, which can be anywhere from $20 to $200. If PusleTech still has them on sale an Xtreme Charge XC450 is $70.

No, I'm sure it hasn't killed it, just wounded it. It'll never be quite as good again after having been drawn down that far. In this case it won't be hard to tell as it's one of a pair. I'll mark that one so it's possible to tell their performance apart in the future.

Yes, but I've found that a battery is noticeably happier after several hundred miles of driving - and that's starting with a battery that's already at 12.5 V or better, and a 220 A alternator. With a typical maintainer (1.5 to 5 A) it seems to take about two weeks to get the same result. And...

Four hours is not long enough to fully charge a completely discharged battery. But it's hard on the alternator to try doing it that way.

Posting this here because this is where the ad popped up after reading WinterDeere's post. "Kia's for sale" it said. Not Kias, but Kia's. You'd think someone responsible for placing even irritating ads would have a better command of the English language. Okay, immigrant's rant over, back to...

I don't think it was stupid to put the batteries there. Just look at them as (permanent) cargo and shift the loads back a bit on the trailer accordingly. Unless you're running out of load capacity, I'd leave them where they are.

Back when I did less towing, and with bumper pull trailers, I got a Sherline scale. They're affordable, and also useful for weighing other things. Still using bumper pulls, but now towing a lot, I eventually got used to judging the weight by the sag of the tow vehicle's suspension. Plus if it...

I wouldn't consider 14.8 volts a "burst of high voltage". Not when I frequently see higher voltages in stock vehicles when they're just charging from the alternator.

Recently bought a used Durango with that stop/start nonsense. Disconnected the puny and expensive battery for that system, then pulled a fuse. No more pushing a button every time to prevent the stop/start crap.

By now I have at least eight solar chargers from Amazon, mostly 10 W but recently got a couple of 15 W ones, too. They're called "Sun Energise" (yes, wrong spelling) and easily recognizable by their green borders. Usually $55 or so for the 10W version. The built in charge control seems to work...

And here I've been told that to resurrect a battery it should be charged at a low amperage (about 1-2 A) for a day or two before stepping up to 10 A or so. Of course, I suppose it depends on if the goal is to save the battery or start the vehicle.

Had a solenoid give up in the M936's power control box. Before: After: Result: It all still works, without the electronic wizardry.

I'm happy with my Dannmar, and have been for about 12 years now. Just wish I'd bought a wider 10K instead of the 9K.

Dannmar comes from the same company as Bendpak, and at a lower price.

There, I fixed it for you. Buttons are hopelessly outdated.

It was for either one, as my post was about stored gasoline. Some of that gas goes into vehicles with carburetors, some with EFI. And some gets used for other purposes, once my experiments fail and the gas is no longer usable in vehicles or other engines.

I have got longer usable life out of regular gas with ethanol treated with Star Tron than I did with ethanol free 91 octane and StaBil. In retrospect, the 200-mile drive and to pay more for the ethanol free gas was a waste of both time and money. So far my findings point to that storing gas in...

Fortunately, here there doesn't seem to be any condensation issues. At least I have yet to see any traces of water in any tanks of filters. That includes half full metal storage tanks subjected to sun and cool nights, up to 50 degree swings at times. When putting my car back in the garage for...

Based on my experience, StaBil does work. At least for up to two years. When draining about 100 gallons from a 200-gallon tank with gas that had lost its potency, there was no stratification. Later I found out about Star Tron, which seems to work a whole lot better. For example, six year old...

You should clock the projectors correctly before resealing the housing. Then again, I had three sets of $1,600 headlights that had at least one projector each clocked wrong. That's when I decided to try a retrofit myself.

Fog lights are not high beams by a long shot. There's a reason the factory ones only work with the low beams. I suspect that you're reading vehicle codes from when quad headlights came out, when four bulbs being activated meant it was on high beam.

Now that you mention it, so does my girlfriend's Daihatsu HiJet. And I think all Citroen 2CVs had a knob under the dash for the purpose.

Well,all the water on the Challenger came back. Unfortunately.

I use reflective signs and such along the road for initial adjustments. No need for snow.

You can have projector HID retrofits done by a few companies, or do it yourself. About the only tricky part is taking the housing apart and sealing it back up. Just be aware that there are very good HID projectors out there, as well as ones you really shouldn't use.

Are you saying that the astronauts don't get to bring any with them, unless they bring it back?

I wouldn't want to salt the driveway here, even though I could. Unlike spreading some sand on it. There is no sand anywhere nearby, the closest we have available is crusher fines.

They're all adjustable, I'm guessing that you mean self adjusting? If I remember correctly, my '23 Durango had automatically adjusted headlights.

You could spread some salt on your driveway, right?