Spring Cleaning

Raised the Hi- Lo today after working an hour or so over the weekend to chip away ice and free the cover where it was frozen in snow drifts (over hang). Used jack's method of jumping from my truck battery to the main cables I left conveniently located last fall when I pulled the batteries. Works good (thanks, jack). But, when I got inside I smelled something dead. Looked everywhere but could not locate dead mouse carcass and I was thinking the worse in terms of locating it in a wall or something......then I opened the fridg and freezer to air them out and discovered a leftover steak. I think (hope) THAT was the rotting flesh. Dumb me, as I did the final winterization.

Went to Costco and bought two new group 27 batteries. It will be tight but I measured and they should fit. Old ones were only holding 12.42-12.35 volts after an extensive charge (in basement) which means they were do-able but not great---so I will keep them in reserve and for other purposes.

However, I was disappointed to see that the CHAMPION generator/inverter I bought last fall for about $450.00 is now being sold for $299.00. Thats cheap if anybody is looking for a 2000/1600 light weight generator! Get em while you can.

The rv dealer where I am storing the trailer is going to do the bearings and check brakes for me. I just don't have a decent place to do it right now--so I'll have to bite the bullet but at least It will be ready to go in a week or two once I get the smell of dead steak out. How are the rest of you doing who live in places with four REAL seasons??

Rick

Rick, once you clean the fridge with whatever you want to try to get rid of most of the smell, try putting a sock full of fresh coffee grounds (unused) in there and close the door back up. Open it after a week and see if things smell better.

When I was in the Air Force, we used to put a couple socks of coffee in our fridge before any move. It kept odors from building up in there while the door was closed and the power was off. It also seemed to act a bit like a dehumidifier too.

After a long time in storage, the socks would be moldy, but the refrigerator would be fine.

Baking soda is also a deodorizer too, as I recall, but I like the coffee smell.

- Jack

Dang Jack, I never heard of using coffee grounds even after 26 years in the Air Force. I've used charcoal, but it didn't really work that well. BTW, I retired a D-M in 2002.

Philthy said:

Dang Jack, I never heard of using coffee grounds even after 26 years in the Air Force. I've used charcoal, but it didn't really work that well. BTW, I retired a D-M in 2002.

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You're just a young'n then. I retired in 1984. I don't remember where or when we learned about coffee, but it seemed to work, especially when refrigerators were in storage during TDYs.

- Jack

Well-

Went this morning and cleaned with sprayclorox/bleach stuff. Forgot the sock but bought coffee/ wrapped the coffee grounds in paper towel on a paper plate and put inside freezer. Put a carton of baking soda in fridge and filled a measuring cup thing-a-ma-jig with coffee and set that in fridge,too. Closed the doors ( debated doing this but wife said that is how she'd do it). We'll see.

Trailer seemed to raise slow- temperature of hydraulics ? battery was charged but connected by Jumper cables.

Crawled under to have a look see in general and noticed that inside tread on front axle - drivers side tire was worn significantly more than rest of tire. Stopped by dealer office on way out and asked them to look at that when they do the bearings/brakes inspection. He said likely "alighnment" and though they don't do em there is a semi-trailer place down the road they refer folks to. I hope this does not turn into a major ordeal----but I can't help thinking of jack's axle issues. Any thoughts on other things that may need checking I'm all ears. Still, it IS Spring (kinda......)

Rick

I can't think how you'd "align" a torsion axle. I wonder if somehow, it's gotten "bent"?

Hope the deodorizing suggestion works out. You DO want to put the coffee into some kind of closed bag, like a sock, though, before you try to move the trailer.

- Jack

Good point on the sock and moving the trailer. I'll go take care of that.....

On the axle issue- he said that some of the torsion axles have a sort of slot in the plate where the axle is attached and I remembered seeing something like that when I was looking. He said, also, maybe the wheel got angled out some way. I suggested the alignment issue was maybe germaine to Hi-Los and he suggested it was an issue across all brands. I'll try to take a photo of the axle next time I'm over there. i also talked about raising the axle by putting another tubular piece of steel in there and he said I would want to do that before I had it "aligned". Jack, I'm a little curious what you spent on all that work you had done. If you are comfortable giving me a ball-park figure send me a PM. Or not....I do respect people wanting to keep financial matters confidential.

Rick

Rick, I don't mind posting it here. It was $400.00 to dismount the axle, weld in the 1 1/2" spacer and then reattach everything. I may be oversimplifying slightly, I know he was very careful to align the axle 90 degrees to the long axis of the trailer. And, he told me it had been installed slightly cockeyed at the factory (but it was actually too far back on the driver's side, which was not the side with the clearance issues).

Now, this is a welding shop in Tucson, so I have no idea what it would cost elsewhere and, there was only one axle involved. I was a bit nervous about the whole process, but Ivan, the guy at the shop spent a lot of time with me making sure what I was wanting made sense and making a few suggestions of his own.

But, I can tell you it's been worth every penny! With the additional clearance, I could mount bigger tires and wheels, adding another 1/2 inch to the road clearance. And, I'm now operating at about 80% of the load rating of the tires, as opposed to the almost 100% with the original ones.

And, I've had no further problems! Last summer I drove the trailer from Tucson to Glacier National Park and back with stops at Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Cedar Breaks. The trip was nothing but pure enjoyment.

- Jack

JackandJanet said:

Rick, And, he told me it had been installed slightly cockeyed at the factory (but it was actually too far back on the driver's side, which was not the side with the clearance issues).



But, I can tell you it's been worth every penny! With the additional clearance, I could mount bigger tires and wheels, adding another 1/2 inch to the road clearance. And, I'm now operating at about 80% of the load rating of the tires, as opposed to the almost 100% with the original ones.



- Jack

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Well- thats handy to know, about mounting the things crooked. And, increasing the tire size would be great. I'm running 13 inch tires and if I could get it to 15 inchers I'd be estatic.

Madison WI lies along the confluence of three interstates so there are a number of truck/trailer/ and RV dealers in the area and it is still a major agricultural area so there is a good chance i can find folks with the skill set. Thanks for the cost infor, as well. That gives me a a general ball park figure to compare to as a starting point. I'll keep folks posted as this continues.

Rick