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  1. Malamute

    Carla's Camper

    The slider on the ones Ive used was to manually apply the trailer brakes, such as when it starts to sway, or on steep downhills where you may want more trailer braking than normal. There may be a small wheel on the side to adjust the brake force to desired level, thats what all the ones Ive had...
  2. Malamute

    Solving my tire problems

    Ive never been particularly impressed with the 4 way lug wrenches, they never seemed like they had all that much go to me. A 1/2" drive breaker bar and correct socket work better. A cheater pipe can help but the breaker bar can usually get it. I go find them relatively cheaply at pawn shops with...
  3. Malamute

    Buying Land

    I forgot to mention, in my area, pre-existing outhouses are grandfathered in, new construction allows them, but they have to be on a tank or vault, basically a septic tank with no baffle. I had the top cast with a hole for a 5 gal bucket to use as a riser, a 3 or 4" vent, and offset it so the...
  4. Malamute

    Buying Land

    All of the costs associated with developing land have gone up, it may depend on where as to how much. The septics I had done when i was building were in the $3500 to 5k range, I know they are more now here but dont know how much. Regs changes since the last time I did one. My contractor...
  5. Malamute

    Buying Land

    States vary on how they do real estate transactions, but using a realtor because of title insurance I dont believe is needed. The states Ive done transactions in, anyone can walk into the title company and have the title work done. realtors can be beneficial, they also will often deal on their...
  6. Malamute

    Just For Fun

    I may have posted this before, if so, apologies for a repeat. Great story.
  7. Malamute

    When it's time to stop.

    I live in the N Rockies and am tired of winter. Im going to at least snow bird to the Verde for winters, hopefully by next winter. Id like to find a place id be happy in there, though with the real estate price explosion after Covid hit it doubled and tripled most real estate in Az. Its starting...
  8. Malamute

    When it's time to stop.

    A large part of my extreme dislike of winter now is after a disabling injury on ice, its a permanent condition. I turned into a broken down old geezer in a relatively short period of time after the injury. At this point I have absolutely zero interest in being where theres snow or having to...
  9. Malamute

    When it's time to stop.

    I dont care much for Phx in the summer, but the Verde area is my main interest, it breaks over 100 off and on through the summer, cools off nicely for the most part at night, gets minor amounts of snow in the winter, has a good monsoon season most years that cool it off in the summer heat for a...
  10. Malamute

    When it's time to stop.

    Its my opinion that staying cool is easier than staying warm. Cooling down in a dry environment isnt that difficult, a swamp cooler takes relatively little power, if you have solar or grid power and water you can cool down. In that elevation and climate it cools significantly at night. 105 isnt...
  11. Malamute

    Carla's Camper

    The ones Ive messed with had what was called a sail switch. The fan comes on first to disperse any possible leaked propane before the igniter will fire. The fan will run a minute or two or whatever before it ignites. The fan moves the sail switch, if it doesnt move it (meaning the fan isnt...
  12. Malamute

    Question About Showering on BLM Land

    The place I mentioned that the grey water went on the ground had a simple barrel septic system with a couple sections of perforated pipe and gravel on the outlet side. It was high perk soil, sandy and gravelly. With the bathtub and grey water hooked to it it overloaded and backup up in a week...
  13. Malamute

    alternator drive belt

    Something you can do to learn is find good youtube vids specific to your vehicle with certain problems, many of which may be titlted with figuring out that issue or fixing it. Online forums often give clues also. I was raised messing with vehicles and tearing motors apart, but theres enough...
  14. Malamute

    alternator drive belt

    One thing to consider, once they are working on it to fix the leak, they probably had to remove the belt, and at least spend time cleaning it. Even if it wasnt at the end of its useful life, replacing it now is basically free as regards the labor for the belt itself. Having the old one for an...
  15. Malamute

    24/7 Chat About Anything

    Plan A for me hasnt been to be full time nomad. Its a part time seasonal plan for me to escape winter, so semi-nomadic seasonally. A friend that sold his place in the Rockies is now full time nomad and currently in Quartzite. When I mention how much I dislike winter now he keeps telling me to...
  16. Malamute

    Cargo trailer + truck advice

    Its certainly not a fragile and delicate flower of a vehicle.
  17. Malamute

    Cargo trailer + truck advice

    A 351 should be fine, thats what the 79 Bronco had. Ford fans will say theres a difference between the 351 Windsor and 351 Cleveland motors, but I dont recall what th difference was, or if it still had any meaning in the 90s. That referred to the location the motors were built, Windsor Ontario...
  18. Malamute

    Cargo trailer + truck advice

    If it was used successfully to tow a large camper, it should when empty strongly accelerate up any grade in Illinois without any real effort, AC or no AC. I dont recall if you mentioned the motor size, its probably either a 351 or 460. If its a 460 it will probably strongly accelerate up any...
  19. Malamute

    Cargo trailer + truck advice

    What Maki said is good advice, particularly in her smaller vehicle, though in your case with a 3/4 ton with V-8 youre not going to have issues running empty and using the AC. Pulling the camper up a long grade, if the temp starts going up and you can actually feel the difference in pulling power...
  20. Malamute

    Cargo trailer + truck advice

    Ive discovered Matts Offroad Recovery youtube channel. (hugely fun to watch) They interact with a couple other people doing similar stuff like Fab Rats and Trail Mater. They all have several specially built offroad rigs and pretty much all run stock junkyard motors. If one goes bad for some...
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