Hints, Tricks and Gadgets/Tools --- small ones.

[bigb56]

Did the same with my Rig... Worked well.

It's amazing to watch the supply temp and the amps both drop significantly as soon as the water hits the condenser.

 

[bigb56]

New here and I have read this entire thread and picked up a few tips. I also have a few to offer which I will post soon. Meanwhile I am working on an idea to make solo toad hookup easier. On another forum a guy made a dot on the toad windshield and a dot on the rear of the MH, then he pulls forward till both dots are lined up with each other and with the top center of the steering wheel. I'll be working on this soon and will report back, meanwhile has anyone tried it?

I asked this in Feb and got no replies, today I spent some time and got it all figured out. I posted this on another forum and I'm going to copy and paste it here:


Unhooking a Ready Brute solo

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If you own a Ready Brute you know that the release handles will not lift unless the hookup is either relaxed or in tension. If one or both arms are in compression the handle won't lift. Also, as with any tow bar, it is very difficult to remove the pins when there is any tension or compression on the hookup. Since the release handles are spring loaded they won't stay in the up position while you attempt to jockey the vehicles around to relieve tension or compression unless a helper stands in between the 2 vehicles holding them up which isn't an ideal situation. It's also not always possible to find that perfect spot to hook up and unhook.

So I made 2 shims out of 1/2" plywood to hold the release handles up. I tried them today, I went to unhook and one arm was in tension and one in compression, and both hitch pins were jammed up tight. I slipped a shim under the side in tension and moved the MH forward a foot or so while turning slightly. This allowed the free arm to recess into the socket and allowed the other arm to go from compression to tension so I could now lift that handle and shove in the second shim. Then it was a matter of inching the toad forward which relaxed both sides then setting the brake. This made both pins easy to remove, and no chance of the toad rolling away.

As a side note I also used some red pinstriping tape to mark the tubes so that when they are in the vertical position and I am pulling the toad up I know when I am at the right distance as it is right when the red stripes become even with the hood, just before they disappear.

Since I'll be doing a solo trip with the Jeep for the first time this year I wanted to do something about making the hookup and disconnect a bit easier. I think now I'll be able to leave the hammer and drift home

Do you have any toad tips to share?

 

[bigb56]

This tip is pretty simple. Initially I had purchased one of those little battery powered water meters that you put on your hose. I found it to be off by 10%. I don't have a lot of payload so I don't put a lot of water in my tank when I'll be driving. The meter was a hassle especially with the 10% discrepancy, and it finally dawned on me to just use a bucket and time the water flow. It just so happens that it came to almost exactly 5 gallons per minute coming out of the hose where I always fill at home, with the filter and pressure regulator hooked up. So now all I have to do is use the stopwatch on my phone knowing every minute is 5 gal and every 12 seconds is 1 gal. This is also handy when you want to fill the tank all the way but not have it over flow, which for me would mean water in the garage.
My tank level indicators are horribly inaccurate so I made a chart and taped it inside the closet door that shows the different tank level readings and how much is really in the tank written next to each one.

You folks with big rigs where a few hundred lbs here and there won't matter probably don't have a use for a tip like this but in a Sprinter motorhome where payload is only around 1,000 lbs it matters.