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What about when there are two rear axles?


bobblefrog

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Hey all I was looking at this ad today:

http://denver.craigslist.org/rvs/5516029652.html

And I've seen these before where there are two rear tires rather than duallies. What's the story with these?  It seems they would be a lot easier to work with to air up, change etc....and that they wouldn't necessitate the 6 lug axle?

Any thoughts?  I don't see too many of them, but I wonder if this would be something to add to my wish list.

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There were several RVs made with tag axles. Also some truck campers.  I don't want an extra axle in the back.  Just makes my tolls higher when crossing bridges.  The one that Jeep sold is pretty odd.

dolphin6_81.jpg

jeep-cj5-campre-front-three-quarter.jpg

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damn...that jeep thing is as ugly as a Pontiac aztek.  Looks homebuilt, and like it belongs in a photo essay on "why we love the Deep South".....or maybe one on "The Dangers of methamphetamine psychosis".....

bobblefrog, you make some good points.  I suspect it would get rid of the axle issues, altho JD is right that it gets you into a new legal realm, where you may be treated as a truck rather than a car....think, stopping at truck weigh stations and ports of entry.  not sure if this would be an issue but i'd research it for states where you'd be driving it before buying one.

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I fell down laughing at that... "why we love the Deep south".  I'm allowed to, being born and bred there :-)

Hmm, I hadn't considered about the legal hits you might get running between states and on toll roads...weigh stations...that would be seriously be a PIA.  Here's a AAA list - not much about # of axles (as you said, if they are considered trucks).

http://drivinglaws.aaa.com/tag/weigh-stations/

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1 hour ago, jdemaris said:

 I don't want an extra axle in the back.  Just makes my tolls higher when crossing bridges. 

 

I already pay the higher rate for the dual rear wheels and was curious what the difference would be so I went on the MA DOT site and calculated the same route with both 3 axle or 2 axle with dual wheels.  Dual wheels was 2.70 and 3 axles was 1.85  My motorhome transponder is programmed for the dual wheels.  Don't know the differences in other states.

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Tag axle or not, that thing's still got foolies. But at least it supposedly has 8 new tires. Hopefully the spare didn't need replacing.

I've never seen any tag-axles outside '79 - '81. They stopped making them so it must have been one of those 'better ideas' that wasn't!

There's also no mention in the axle recall documentation excluding 'homes with foolies installed.

Extra tires, extra weight, extra rolling resistance, extra tolls. I don't see the point. I guess the buying public didn't either.

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12 minutes ago, Derek up North said:

Tag axle or not, that thing's still got foolies. But at least it supposedly has 8 new tires. Hopefully the spare didn't need replacing.

I've never seen any tag-axles outside '79 - '81. They stopped making them so it must have been one of those 'better ideas' that wasn't!

There's also no mention in the axle recall documentation excluding 'homes with foolies installed.

Extra tires, extra weight, extra rolling resistance, extra tolls. I don't see the point. I guess the buying public didn't either.

According to the guy that owned National RV at the time the Dolphin had the tag-axle - he said near all net gain was lost shortly after they started installing the tag-axles. .That because the company supplying the tax axles cut the max weight rating in half- and that along with the weight the axle actually added to the RV - there was little net gain in max weight capacity.

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  • 4 weeks later...

00D0D_6ryuFLID5e_600x450.jpg

http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/rvs/5554968793.html

another one for sale locally.  this thing looks grossly tail heavy even with the tag axle.....as in, put 2 jerrycans on rear bumper and pop a wheelie  :P

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1 hour ago, jdemaris said:

Looks like it needs training wheels like this Dodgen camper.

DodgenWDLS77_2.jpg

JD.

You should make a book showing all these odd ball motor homes..

 

 

 

I bet you would find alot of interest.

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In a way, I've been working on one (digital book). I've been buying up all the camper and motorhome related publications I can find from 1960 to 1990. Got over 800 of them here and about half read and scanned.  Problem is - picking WHAT to save and scan. I started out just saving articles and tests on micro-minis.  Then started over to save info on "minis" which are a lot bigger.  Then old generators, then just "odd-ball RVs of any size, and my list of stuff I want to scan keeps growing.  I've got a 4 terrabyte hard-drive 1/4 full as it is with digital info and over 100 brand names of RVs and accessories.  Kind of amazing how many different makers there were and seems many came and went fast. The magazines from the 60s and 70s are huge with often over 200 pages.  Nothing like today with maybe 20 pages of info and the rest just ads.

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seems to be the trend on magazines generally these days.

you actually might find some interest in such a book, esp on the small ones, given the # of folks who drop more than my house cost on a Sprinter conversion.  apparently not everyone wants a 40' diesel pusher.  fortunately.  (my buddy with one doesn't understand why I'm not as moved as he is by the onboard washer and dryer....)

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Guess I'm just old. If you could format the information into a readable publication without infringing on any copyright laws, I think it would sell.

Something like "The History of Micro Mini Motorhomes and odd ball campers".

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I'm with you Fred. I like something in print that I can hold in my hand. Nice thing about a book is you can look at it whenever you want and not wait for it to "boot up."  At some point - I'd like to print this all. I just have to keep reminding myself that just because I am interested, along with a few here - that may not reflect what people in the rest of the world care about. I think I have just about every book in print that in some way has tried to chronicle RV history.  I'd like to try it too, in my own way.  I'm not real far from Motorhome/RV Hall of Fame and research library in Elkhark, Indiana.  We are going to camp there later this Spring and search through their paper archives.

http://www.rvmhhalloffame.org/rvhall.cfm

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" Nice thing about a book is you can look at it whenever you want and not wait for it to "boot up." "

this is so true I cannot stress it enough. Every RV owner should have a set of emergency Atlas for there nearest 3 states in case of emergency where the toy becomes the BOV; there will be no GPS there will be no phones. Have your route carefully planned. avoid highways, freeways etc; plot routes to your camp through the least populous cities and regions and have 2 backup routes in case. Sorry for the James Wesley Rawless lesson for the day but it reminded me so much of it; love his stuff.

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no, good point.  the thing you mostly need to carry is an attitude of being able to manage without your lectronic crutches and the knowledge of how to do it, all too often lost these daze.  did you see the news item where the folks blindly following their GPS were driving across the runway of the Anchorage airport?

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I am so amazed that some people blindly follow google directions. Recently jumped out of my car at a stop light to catch some people who were following google instead of the directions I gave them. Google was taking them back to the freeway at rush hour instead of the side street that would take them to their destination in 2 miles. 5 minute drive that would have taken them 35 minutes the Google way. I like maps

Linda S

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I've never had a GPS. When I travel I have a cell phone with texting. That's it. Maps have always worked for me. But I have often travelled about without a decent map, with crappy directions. I have fond memories of times past when I've gotten hopelessly lost and it turned into an adventure. GPS can definitely lead you to routes that might not be the best for traffic but unless it conks out completely you'll never get lost. Being connected all the time has taken a lot of adventure out of travel.

"...it's all logic and reason now. Science, progress, laws of hydraulics, laws of social dynamics, laws of this, that, and the other. No place for three-legged cyclops in the South Seas. No place for cucumber trees and oceans of wine. No place for me."

 

Now what the heck was this thread about?

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I use a GPS for land surveying and even then just as a general guide.  Never used one yet inside a motor vehicle. I like paper maps.  Better yet - I like using my eyes.

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I use my gps app on iphone to read speed approximated to .5 meters; helps me tell if my spedometer is working ok...

comes in handy when i need to reprogram my dodge for rim size changes to the CPU

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23 hours ago, linda s said:

I am so amazed that some people blindly follow google directions. Recently jumped out of my car at a stop light to catch some people who were following google instead of the directions I gave them. Google was taking them back to the freeway at rush hour instead of the side street that would take them to their destination in 2 miles. 5 minute drive that would have taken them 35 minutes the Google way. I like maps

Linda S

They should have been using the app Waze when in a city, it will reroute you for the fastest time to the destination as it is based on real time road conditions in that location. What is happening is that everyone who is logged onto has their device actively reporting back speed of movement and the passengers in the vehicle might also be reporting back things like stalled cars, wrecks, and other congestion issues. Plus the software is also pulling in active reports from the police, city, DOT etc.

Waze does work out in the country side but it does visually it does not show a road map when away from metropolitan areas. However it will give you voice directions for what turns to make and tell you how far you will be traveling before the next change in the road or how far to your destination. It also announced things such as watch out pot hole ahead.

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Waze does work out in the country side but it does visually it does not show a road map when away from metropolitan areas.

it may be different in your state, but I use Waze all the time in rural areas of New MExico, and it shows even tiny roads.  one of the things I like about it is that it allows people to report stuff like speed traps and checkpoints....the digital version of flashing your lights at oncoming traffic to warn em.  or was that the digital version of Paul Revere? 

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On 4/25/2016 at 4:47 PM, jdemaris said:

In a way, I've been working on one (digital book). I've been buying up all the camper and motorhome related publications I can find from 1960 to 1990. Got over 800 of them here and about half read and scanned.  Problem is - picking WHAT to save and scan. I started out just saving articles and tests on micro-minis.  Then started over to save info on "minis" which are a lot bigger.  Then old generators, then just "odd-ball RVs of any size, and my list of stuff I want to scan keeps growing.  I've got a 4 terrabyte hard-drive 1/4 full as it is with digital info and over 100 brand names of RVs and accessories.  Kind of amazing how many different makers there were and seems many came and went fast. The magazines from the 60s and 70s are huge with often over 200 pages.  Nothing like today with maybe 20 pages of info and the rest just ads.

Just. In. Awe. Just sayin'.

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  • 2 years later...
On 4/25/2016 at 1:47 PM, zero said:

In a way, I've been working on one (digital book). I've been buying up all the camper and motorhome related publications I can find from 1960 to 1990. Got over 800 of them here and about half read and scanned.  Problem is - picking WHAT to save and scan. I started out just saving articles and tests on micro-minis.  Then started over to save info on "minis" which are a lot bigger.  Then old generators, then just "odd-ball RVs of any size, and my list of stuff I want to scan keeps growing.  I've got a 4 terrabyte hard-drive 1/4 full as it is with digital info and over 100 brand names of RVs and accessories.  Kind of amazing how many different makers there were and seems many came and went fast. The magazines from the 60s and 70s are huge with often over 200 pages.  Nothing like today with maybe 20 pages of info and the rest just ads.

I might be interested!

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