(no subject) October 27, 2010, 11:31:29 am Yahoo Message Number: 117809Ok, LazyDaze drivers seem to be more aware...of course, they have the best rv! What I'm actually talking about are places where there ARE pull offs, or pull overs, but the guys driving the big rigs will not move over. They just keep putzing along not really paying attention. In most states it's illegal to drive in the left lane unless passing. Yeah, I've actually asked people if they knew that. Most Californians don't. But that's, ok, they can't make left turns, either. Noticed that while out in the Northridge area...interesting.... right turns are ok, left turns take up half the opposite lane.... In Texas, because most of the country roads have shoulders wide enuf to drive a military tank on, so drivers will pull over to left faster traffic pass. In California lane splitting is considere as legal. To get a European driver's license, part of the test is riding thru traffic, it's called "filtering" rather than lane splitting. The only requirement is to be going faster than the traffic. Yeah, some bikers are inconsiderate morons. So are some rver's. However, while some rvers are happily motoring up a steep grade at 5 mph, I'm way back pulled over to the side of the road waiting for them to get out of the way... I don't have a radiator (old fashioned bike, only 2 cylinders and no fuel injection), but I do get 45-50 mpg depending on what grade of gas I can get... but that old Harley engine gets some parts (pipes, tranny, oil pan) hot enuf to burn my skin right thru my jeans. It needs moving air! Those little potholes that rvers so easily see because you're sitting up high... I may not see until I'm practically in them. And yes, they can pop a front wheel and trash me and the bike. For me the worst thing is the wind. The same wind that rocks your rv a little, can totally blow me into the other lane or off the road. That's the reason you see bikes that look like they're leaning to one side. I not only have to keep my bike up on two wheels, but also avoid rocks, gravel, debris, and everything else on the road. Including whatever your tires are throwing back at me. (The reason there's bras on toads..)I need LD to make a toy hauler! Take care. Mary[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: (unknown) Reply #1 – October 27, 2010, 01:36:34 pm Yahoo Message Number: 117811Mary, I can relate to what you are saying. In my twenties I rode dirt bikes. I did as little as possible on pavement because of some of the things you brought up. Now in my 60's, what bothers me are the loud pipes of Harley riders. They seem to concentrate in National Parks.
Re: (unknown) Reply #2 – October 27, 2010, 02:48:40 pm Yahoo Message Number: 117815"Now in my 60's, what bothers me are the loud pipes of Harley riders. They seem to concentrate in National Parks."Don Once upon a time, California's police used to cite bikers for removing their mufflers. That ended when Harley-riding Arnold was elected governor. It seems like every time we visit a new scenic place, a group of fifty or more bikers will come rumbling through, sharing their 'rolling thunder' bliss with everyone within a half mile radius. Thanks for sharing. As for a poor Harley's air cooled engine over-heating when moving at low speeds, they can be easily replaced with a quiet, water-cooled bike, that will neither overheat or inflict excessively loud noises on the public.Larry
(no subject) Reply #3 – October 28, 2010, 12:34:27 pm Yahoo Message Number: 117820"As for a poor Harley's air cooled engine over-heating when moving at low speeds, they can be easily replaced with a quiet, water-cooled bike, that will neither overheat or inflict excessively loud noises on the public."Ummmm. Easily? Not really..... My Harley is paid for. A few years ago I had 4 bikes, the Harley, a Yamaha FJR1300 (radiator), a Suzuki Bandit (air cooled) and a Triumph, 2 cyl, no rad. Because I had to move, and with no storage, had to sell 3 of them. The bike that did not sell was the Harley ( too many peeps think they're worth their weight in gold!)... So I'm basically stuck with it. The engine can overheat, but more often, I'm overheating... those pipes get hot...as does any bike with a reasonable sized engine..to include the Yamaha, Honda and Kawasaki touring bikes. However, Harleys are rebuildable, and will outlast the other three, as much as I loved them. I have aftermarket pipes, with pretty big baffles. You can hear the bike, but it's not loud. Not loud enough for anyone talking on a cell phone or having their sound system on to hear me... ( Way quieter than the kids running Flowmaster exhausts on their 4 cyl street rods. (cars) Also, I too hate the sit at the stoplight engine revving idiot RUB's (Rich Urban Bikers aka more money than brains)... as do the other people I ride with. Still wish I could make a toy box from a LD... I've been looking at 5th wheel ones, nothing is build even close that I've found so far. Take care. Mary[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
(no subject0 now Motorcycles Reply #4 – October 28, 2010, 07:47:08 pm Yahoo Message Number: 117823"I have aftermarket pipes, with pretty big baffles. You can hear the bike, but it's not loud. Not loud enough for anyone talking on a cell phone or having their sound system on to hear me... ( Way quieter than the kids running Flowmaster exhausts on their 4 cyl street rods. (cars)"Mary If your bike is reasonably muffled, I'm fine. It's the super-loud bikes, both two and four-cylinders models, that gets to me, even more so when they pass in a huge pack. SoCal has many large rides that go on through most of the year. Now don't get me going about the neighbor's kid Honda with a muffler the size of a small trash can. As a teenager, I was pulled over, on one of my motorcycles or VWs, a few times for excessive noise. It was then I started to research things and found out a properly designed exhaust didn't need to produce excessive sound levels. I also learned that if your car did not stand out by being too loud, too colorful or by having too much bling, you could get away with a lot more, a good thing since I have always liked ah...spirited driving. Running in stealth mode has its advantages. Now, for building a cargo-box LD, I think you are out of luck unless a Kodiak becomes available.Larry
Re: (no subject0 now Motorcycles Reply #5 – October 28, 2010, 08:03:24 pm Yahoo Message Number: 117827"Larry" wrote: Now don't get me going about the neighbor's kid Honda with a muffler the size of a small trash can. --- How about a large potato stuffed in the pipe of the "small trash can"? ;-) I also learned that if your car did not stand out by being too loud, too colorful or by having too much bling, you could get away with a lot more, a good thing since I have always liked ah...spirited driving. --- Ahh, that "spirited driving" thing must have been why I accrued quite a few tickets back in the day! But, driving whatever was the latest incarnation of my mother's "the more bling, the better" cars didn't help; pretty hard to stay under the radar in one of those big boats!Joan
Re: (no subject0 now Motorcycles Reply #6 – October 28, 2010, 08:19:32 pm Yahoo Message Number: 117828"How about a large potato stuffed in the pipe of the "small trash can"? ;-)"Joan The "large potato stuffed in the pipe" is a time proven method for silencing after-hour RV generators, after the owner has declined polite requests to shut it down. Works on boat generators too. It usually take 30 seconds or so for the generator to stall, just enough time for the perpetrator to get back to his/her rig.Larry
(no subject) Reply #7 – October 29, 2010, 11:53:30 am Yahoo Message Number: 117845What's really funny... the guys/gals I ride with all have good baffles... we only get together once or twice a year... because most of them build bikes, they know that a wide open unbaffled muffler will decrease in power in proportion to the idiocity of the owner... Baffles = more power...something those "bikers" hanging out in the woods loudly revving their engines haven't figured out yet... We did ride up thru the redwoods a few years ago... but the loudest noise we made was at the campfire having a few brews and telling lies... ! However, those tree toting trucks hauling down the mountain using Jake brakes did make a ton of noise! If anyone know of a decently built toybox brand, I'd appreciate any info. Thanks Mary[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
(no subject) Reply #8 – October 29, 2010, 12:35:21 pm Yahoo Message Number: 117846Of course, from an engineering perspective, this is not a blanket truth. Exhaust back pressure must be maintained in proportion to breathing intake capacity and combustion dynamics. More OR less pressure than is ideal will result in less power and poorer driving dynamics, and poorer emissions. Although stock is typically a good (and legal) compromise, opening up the exhaust accompanied by adjusting other operating parameters WILL result in more power. That is why a 2 liter passenger car engine can produce 130 hp, while the same engine in racing trim may exceed 300 hp (earplugs suggested).Steve
(no subject) Reply #9 – November 07, 2010, 01:51:16 am Yahoo Message Number: 118059I have an idea about the gas refer's. Pull it out and take it to the gun range. Ventilate it full of holes, I hate gas refer's. They are nothing but exspensive piecies of junk. A refer with a compressor is a far better choice.Will Shure
Re: Refrigerator types Reply #10 – November 07, 2010, 09:24:33 am Yahoo Message Number: 118064"my first LD's refrigerator last nineteen years before dying. The present one is eight years old and has not required any special attention." And Consumers Union reports that the average lifespan of a compressor refrigerator is ten years.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Refrigerator types Reply #11 – November 07, 2010, 09:43:40 am Yahoo Message Number: 118066wrote: And Consumers Union reports that the average lifespan of a compressor refrigerator is ten years. --- I think there has been a *significant decline in overall quality* in "newer" appliances, household and RV; obsolescence seems to be programmed into the failure timetable a lot more quickly than it used to be! The Amana refrigerator in my house is 24 years old, and the furnace is the original Lennox from 1973; both are well-maintained and working fine. (Well, today, anyway; they'll problably both blow up as soon as I finish this post!)As ever, YMMV.Joan
Re: Refrigerator types Reply #12 – November 07, 2010, 10:18:59 am Yahoo Message Number: 118068"A refer with a compressor is a far better choice."Will Shure Compressor refrigerators are common in boats where a engine or generator is run daily. For a solar powered RV, a compressor refrigerator isn't going to work well when boondocking in the winter and will require extended daily generator run times nomatter how many solar panels you can squeeze on the roof of your LD. I would guess most full-timers cannot totally satisfy their winter electrical needs just with solar as it is. A propane powered refrigerator is an efficient and economic way of providing refrigeration. They use very little electrical power, a commodity RVs have in short supply. Absorbtion refrigerators do have problems but are not necessarily any worse than a compressor refrigerator. Compressor refrigerators do not have a RV track record for comparison to marine usage AFAIK. BTW, my first LD's refrigerator last nineteen years before dying. The present one is eight years old and has not required any special attention.Larry
compressor fridges... Reply #13 – November 07, 2010, 11:31:20 am Yahoo Message Number: 118070Quote I have an idea about the gas refer's. Pull it out and take it to the gun range. Ventilate it full of holes, I hate gas refer's. They are nothing but exspensive piecies of junk. A refer with a compressor is a far better choice. To be fair, the choices of compressor fridges for RV use is limited to a few models with unimpressive reliability records of their own, and of course require a beefy upgrade to the 12V system to make them a reasonable alternative. Also, to be fair, unless an RV is kept parked full-time in one spot, ANY RV fridge is subjected to wear and tear that home refrigerators never are.Steve
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