BigBrother-84 Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 It makes no sense, but it doesn't have to make sense to still get you in trouble. Isn’t this the case for a lot of rules and laws? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 In some states, Minnesota included*, you can't legally pull a trailer AND tow a vehicle. So I'm limited to a motorhome that can tow Pluto, or a BIG toy-hauler fifth-wheel that could carry Pluto inside. I guess those exist, but even the biggest ones I've seen, that are still too small to carry Pluto, need at least an F-450 to tow them. So I'm back to needing another truck that's just used on vacations. Well, OK, I could go the redneck toy-hauler route: get a big gooseneck trailer and strap a slide-in camper to the front and park Pluto on the back. But Lesley vetoes that idea! * Minnesota's laws about towing multiple trailers are weird. You can tow a trailer behind a fith-wheel behind a pickup. But the second trailer needs to be carrying a limited number of things. Boats, motorcycles and ATVs are allowed, but a car (or Bronco) isn't. The really odd thing about the law is that if you have an ATV on the second trailer you're legal, but if you unload the ATV and put something else on the same trailer you're not legal. It makes no sense, but it doesn't have to make sense to still get you in trouble. I would never want to have two trailers. I'm "ok" at backing one trailer. Not good, but I get by. However, two trailers looks like a jack knife waiting to happen. As for the laws, my very limited understanding is that most laws of this kind are a bandaid on a previous law to fix part of a problem. So someone may have wanted to pull an ATV on the 2nd trailer and lobbied for that to be allowed, but someone else said we have to limit it to that because this could get out of hand. So I think the motorhome to pull Pluto is the best approach, even though it comes with extra maintenance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted May 8 Author Share Posted May 8 Isn’t this the case for a lot of rules and laws? A guy I used to work with said "there's a reason we call it "the legal system" rather than "the justice system"" I would never want to have two trailers. I'm "ok" at backing one trailer. Not good, but I get by. However, two trailers looks like a jack knife waiting to happen.... I used to have a friend who was a truck driver. I asked him how you back up a "double-bottom" (three trailers, really, with a small trailer with a fifth-wheel between the two semi trailers). He said you back it up like you don't have any trailers at all. That gives you the best chance of getting the truck in a position you can drive out of forward, and that's the best you can hope for when backing a double-bottom! I think it'd be the same with two trailers. Plan on never being able to back up, and if you do, just try to do it a little as possible so you can drive out forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted May 9 Author Share Posted May 9 As I said in mat's "opinions on a motorhome" thread, while I like traveling in a motorhome, if I didn't need it to bring Pluto I'd prefer to pull a travel trailer with my truck and not have to deal with another truck that only gets driven a few times a year. The van battery was rather low after a month (~12.2V), but it cranked over the engine fine, and it started as quickly as ever. That's the good news. But the radio didn't come on. No lights on the face. Nothing. Lesley tells me that it's going to be a long drive (for me!) out to Utah if she doesn't have a radio to sing along to! So last night I checked fuses (all good), and then pulled it out and tried checking the power. Removing the dash to remove the radio is a pain. But I got the radio out. I couldn't figure the rats nest of wiring out, so I left it apart while I found the wiring diagram. But by then it was dark out. So this evening I went out to try again. But now it's stone dead. The battery reads about 6V and nothing lights up on the dash when I turn the key on. There was something clicking when I opened the door. I couldn't figure out what it was, it's somewhere in front of the driver. Anyway, it's on a battery charger now. I need to figure out what's causing the drain. And now that this battery's been drained at least twice it needs to be replaced. Ah, the fun of another truck that never gets used! Well, Lesley has her radio to sing along with! Turns out there was nothing wrong with the radio, just two people who didn't know what they were doing. The first person was the guy who installed the radio in the first place. When I bought the motorhome the radio in the dash came on when you turned on the main battery switch for the camper. I suppose that makes some sense if you want to use the radio while you're in camp (which we never do), but it's not so great when you're driving. So one of the first things I did was rewire it to get ignition switched power from the van battery. But this is where the second person came in. I didn't also change where the radio got it's unswitched power. I hadn't even realized that there was an unswitched power line on the camper system. But evidently there is, because when I removed the camper battery the radio didn't work. Now the radio is getting both switched and unswitched power from the van! I haven't tried to make any more progress on the drain in the van's electrical system. The clicking I heard last night was gone today. I still should try to track it down, but right now all I'm doing is let the freshly charged battery sit over night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted May 9 Share Posted May 9 Well, Lesley has her radio to sing along with! Turns out there was nothing wrong with the radio, just two people who didn't know what they were doing. The first person was the guy who installed the radio in the first place. When I bought the motorhome the radio in the dash came on when you turned on the main battery switch for the camper. I suppose that makes some sense if you want to use the radio while you're in camp (which we never do), but it's not so great when you're driving. So one of the first things I did was rewire it to get ignition switched power from the van battery. But this is where the second person came in. I didn't also change where the radio got it's unswitched power. I hadn't even realized that there was an unswitched power line on the camper system. But evidently there is, because when I removed the camper battery the radio didn't work. Now the radio is getting both switched and unswitched power from the van! I haven't tried to make any more progress on the drain in the van's electrical system. The clicking I heard last night was gone today. I still should try to track it down, but right now all I'm doing is let the freshly charged battery sit over night. Progress! That's a win, for sure! As for the clicking, that's going to be hard to find if it won't click. I'm guessing it was something that was turning off as the battery voltage got too low, but when it turned off the battery came back up just enough to turn it on. But no idea what that would be. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted May 9 Author Share Posted May 9 Progress! That's a win, for sure! As for the clicking, that's going to be hard to find if it won't click. I'm guessing it was something that was turning off as the battery voltage got too low, but when it turned off the battery came back up just enough to turn it on. But no idea what that would be. Good luck! My thoughts too, both on what the clicking was and how hard it will be to find now. Well, time will tell... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted May 14 Author Share Posted May 14 My thoughts too, both on what the clicking was and how hard it will be to find now. Well, time will tell... Part of the battery project is done! Having found out that shutting off the camper battery doesn't completely shut off the camper battery, I wanted to add a real shut-off switch. Also I usually only have one camper battery in, but there's room for two. However the cables required the one battery to be in the rear of the battery compartment, and if you wanted to put two batteries you have to put the front one in first. So you had to take out the first battery, put the second battery in and then put the first battery back in. Finally I wanted a way to hook up my air compressor, or to be able to jump to the camper battery more easily. I don't have a "before" picture, and it's hard to tell what you're seeing in the "after" picture below. This is looking in the camper entry, at the steps. The camper battery is under one of the steps. To the left in the picture I added a shut-off switch and extended the positive cable to reach the battery in the forward position (to the right). So now there's room to put the second battery in behind the first, without having to move anything! Also I hooked an Anderson plug to the battery. Not only can I plug my air compressor in or use it to jump to or from the battery. But also I wired up another Anderson plug for the second battery, so when I put it in I can just plug it in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 Part of the battery project is done! Having found out that shutting off the camper battery doesn't completely shut off the camper battery, I wanted to add a real shut-off switch. Also I usually only have one camper battery in, but there's room for two. However the cables required the one battery to be in the rear of the battery compartment, and if you wanted to put two batteries you have to put the front one in first. So you had to take out the first battery, put the second battery in and then put the first battery back in. Finally I wanted a way to hook up my air compressor, or to be able to jump to the camper battery more easily. I don't have a "before" picture, and it's hard to tell what you're seeing in the "after" picture below. This is looking in the camper entry, at the steps. The camper battery is under one of the steps. To the left in the picture I added a shut-off switch and extended the positive cable to reach the battery in the forward position (to the right). So now there's room to put the second battery in behind the first, without having to move anything! Also I hooked an Anderson plug to the battery. Not only can I plug my air compressor in or use it to jump to or from the battery. But also I wired up another Anderson plug for the second battery, so when I put it in I can just plug it in! Now THAT is good thinking! I really like that. And I'll bet that switch makes a big difference on how long the battery lasts. It is amazing how many things bleed power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpin Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 Part of the battery project is done! Having found out that shutting off the camper battery doesn't completely shut off the camper battery, I wanted to add a real shut-off switch. Also I usually only have one camper battery in, but there's room for two. However the cables required the one battery to be in the rear of the battery compartment, and if you wanted to put two batteries you have to put the front one in first. So you had to take out the first battery, put the second battery in and then put the first battery back in. Finally I wanted a way to hook up my air compressor, or to be able to jump to the camper battery more easily. I don't have a "before" picture, and it's hard to tell what you're seeing in the "after" picture below. This is looking in the camper entry, at the steps. The camper battery is under one of the steps. To the left in the picture I added a shut-off switch and extended the positive cable to reach the battery in the forward position (to the right). So now there's room to put the second battery in behind the first, without having to move anything! Also I hooked an Anderson plug to the battery. Not only can I plug my air compressor in or use it to jump to or from the battery. But also I wired up another Anderson plug for the second battery, so when I put it in I can just plug it in! Nice! I agree, good thinking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted May 19 Author Share Posted May 19 Part of the battery project is done!.... And now the rest of it is too! This part wasn't as helpful as the first part, because Ford didn't do as bad a job of mounting their battery as Thor did mounting theirs. But I decided a shut-off switch and an Anderson plug would be nice to have on the van battery too. I'm now declaring the motorhome ready for the trip to Moab! (Pluto's been ready for a while now). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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