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Picked up a new trailer yesterday, it's a TPD 24 foot triple axle. I've been looking for one of these for a while, so when one showed up on Craigslist in San Diego I had a buddy down there give him a deposit and then jumped in the truck for a lightning trip down there.
--Ian
That's really nice! Is it just the perspective, or is it not 8.5 wide?
2008 2500HD 4x4 LY6 6.0 gasser with rear bags (that we never need) and Bilstein HDs all around. Hauls a 40ft aluminum Optima with two Nasa PTE Miatas. 8 mpg. Hauls fine in the Midwest.
Added a four camera wireless video system a while back. Way easier to park and navigate. I would not want to drive this thing without them.
Something like this is going on my TPD, getting it into the side yard for storage last week took two people and 45 minutes, extra visibility would be very very useful.
Yup. I usually get back around Midnight Sunday after a long tow. 200' back into a driveway with a 90° about halfway down then angle into a slot about 18' x 60', in complete darkness. The cameras also have IR emitters so it's like batman vision.
Usually takes me only 2-3x tries to get it centered, maybe 5 minutes. It would be a half hour of getting in and out the cab and probably 10 tries without the cameras.
I know that pain. Try a 44ft semi-stacker backed through a 15ft gate into a spot that is ~12' wide and 50ft deep. Oh, and you must start at a 90deg angle to the gate, and the street is standard residential width, and at a 5% gradient, so you cannot attack from the left (the side you could actually see from your driver's window). After a while, it only took two of us ~10 minutes each time (driver + spotter, spotter making all directional decisions, driver just turning the wheel). We deemed it impossible to do solo.
I thought I had some kind of trailer backing disability. Apparently it's a bear to maneuver 50-60 foot long rigs for other people too. Dad and I work well as a team with him driving and me running around making hand gestures and yelling commands. it looks like the cameras are a must-have going forward, especially for my solo race weekends.
I had a class A for years and can handle a rig well. Doing reverse 270's with a 2T tractor and 48'. Sliding into loading dock slots between two other rigs and the like. That is in daylight when I know there is nothing on my blind side to hit. In the dark with trees, parked cars, building overhangs, other open trailers that are unlit and painted black. Whole nother challenge and the reason I knew I wanted IR cameras all over the damn thing. Worth every penny. As a bonus, you can get a better view of your trailer tires while rolling if you think you have a problem.
Cell phones. Have the driver use speakerphone or bluetooth through the stereo. Makes it so much easier.
I was trying to be more humorous than anything. We actually have a decent system worked out without the BT stuff, as we don't have that in our poor-man gasser work truck, The cellphones/BT do work well for in-car and spotter coms.
Emilio... curious if you're still happy with this system now that you've been running it a while? Would you buy the same one again, or do anything different?
I just got my tax refund in. I need a new tow vehicle before April 7th. Currently looking between Suburbans 2500 and my diesel e350's. Suburban's I think will have cheaper maintenance costs, but half the mileage when towing and less tow rating. So it will be interesting to see what I can find before then and purchase.
I just got my tax refund in. I need a new tow vehicle before April 7th. Currently looking between Suburbans 2500 and my diesel e350's. Suburban's I think will have cheaper maintenance costs, but half the mileage when towing and less tow rating. So it will be interesting to see what I can find before then and purchase.
Um 4-5k max price. Looking at 95-03 burbans with the 454 over the 350. 97-03 for diesel e-350s. Have absolutely no desire to deal with another Triton motor again in my life, so no gas vans.
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