*Truck and Towing thread........ask your questions here.*

[jbrostek]

Sounds like you are settling into the Sequoia just fine there Ed! I know you'll sort out the bike rack needs.

I just had a higher then expected repair on the truck. Took it in for the Spring oil change and service. Found out needed rear brake pads, which was about right for the mileage since last set. However, the expensive one was all my cab mounts the rubber was rotting out after 13 years. Not cheap, but not horrible and bonus the rattle I could not find after the tow home from Dismeet has been corrected. The total bill was still less then even a down payment on a newer DRW, though slight unplanned ding to the budget.

Someday ill trade up, likely to be the truck ill keep through retirement, so no rush right now.

 

[bama_ed]

PS - last thing to do is determine if I need a front hitch on this truck like I had in the YXL. The receiver on the back of the Aliner will take my lighter, smaller 2-bike rack I used on the front so I plan to put the rack and bikes on the back of the Aliner and go for a test drive to see if any wiggle/waggle crops up like it had with the YXL.

Just a follow-up here. I did get a front hitch for the Sequoia (like I had on the YukonXL) and got it installed this week. The hitch itself I bought in advance from eTrailer (which is up near @Teamubr 's direction) and paid for the labor to install (which wasn't bad IMO). They also drilled the 4-inch hole in the skid plate of the Sequoia (per the instructions) to allow a hand to get through to remove the oil filter and drain out the oil (normally the skid plate is removed for each oil change and then replaced at the end).

The test tow showed at certain speeds in certain configurations I still had a waggle with the bikes on the rear of the Aliner (my original bike location). Oddly, the waggle sweet spot seemed to be 65-70mph when heading very gently/slightly downhill. Level or uphill, not an issue. Faster or slower, not an issue. But to remove doubt and K.I.S.S. for me the driver, IMO this was an inexpensive peace-of-mind procedure.

Headed to Gulf State Park with the bikes for the DISMeet in about 3 weeks. Can't wait.

Bama Ed

 

[jaredjohn4]

I'm at the Fort now, but it hasn't been an easy trip. Three days before leaving the Chicago area I took my camper for a test pull. Coming back, I found the bracket holding the rear suspension shackle had broken loose. I took it to my local welder and put it back into place. After a few days in Nashville for a wedding, we continued south. 2 miles north of Jennings Florida, we blew a tire on the fifth wheel. Also the left turn signal and brake light weren't working. I mounted the spare on the side of the Interstate and stayed at Jennings KOA. Called a mobile RV tech and he determined the power converter was bad so he swapped it out. We got to Thousand Oaks north of Disney and replace the other 3 tires since we bought all 4 Goodyear Endurance tires together last time. We headed to Fort Wilderness and called another RV tech to repack Wheel bearings that I had tried to have done before we left. We saw the other side frame mounted shackle bracket had cracked also, so a mobile welder came out braced it up. So far we have only spent $2,400 on repairs on this trip. We're getting ready to make the 1,100 mile back home this next weekend. Hoping all goes well.