Load Trail Gooseneck Dump Time.

[NIsaacs]

Delivered a load of hay for the local farmer this morning and brought back 6 ton of rock, since I went right by the pit. In fact, I stopped and weighed the hay, 23580# gross for 12 bales. That works out to 693# each, I thought they would be more. They dumped out pretty good.

 

[NIsaacs]

Gaining on the sewing room RV. Dang, what struggle. I consider myself a fair hand with automotive 12v power and can get by with 110/220. But the combo stressed me out and tossed me some curves. You old hands at this, know what I am talking about. Maybe some of my learned newbie trials will help others new to RV's.

After dead batteries, battery chargers, volt meters and test lights, I am gaining. After two days, I confirmed the converter was not working. I have an old, 40 year old, 40 amp unit I saved from a salvage deal. My brother advised me to just step up and get a replacement, modern unit. That some old junk might burn down the RV and the shop it sets next to. The old one is about 20#, the new one is 4#.

So, I do some research and find that a new exact replacement was very affordable, 55 amp. That I didn't have to buy the whole power panel and converter. I was dreading the wiring nightmare and plumbing that surrounded the system. I was within minutes of ordering one up, then decided to take the front panel off to see how difficult it would be to come out the front. It was un-plugged from the power source. It works perfect, 13.8 volts. No clue why they did that.

Then I went after the lighting. Only three, 110 wall lights that were dangling by the wires and all bulbs gone. I fixed them, Lol, just need to find some shades. There must be at least 20+, 12 volt lights. Some single bulb, some double, two with push in bulbs, some 1141's with single contacts, some double, jeez. Two 18" fluorescent 12v. Afraid to upgrade to the standard 1156 bulbs, 290 lumens (1141) v/s 400 for the 1156 I decided on LED's. I think the standard 1156 will melt the lenses.

Wanting to make them brighter, I picked up a few LED'S from ACE, that was a mistake. Napa and Camper World are about half of ACE, still way too expensive. So, I go on line and find 20 packs for $13 or about 50 cents each. I went ahead and ordered 3, 20 packs.

 

[GAmes]

Those old Hitch Hikers are solid, heavy units. The weak point is the roof coverings. If it starts leaking into the walls you have unrepairable dry rot. Once you have mastered the electric I suggest you do a good exam on that roof looking for weak, saggy spots and tears. I wouldn't be afraid to cover it with DIY bedliner since you don't plan to travel with it. I would also fashion some covers for the slideouts. Nothing fancy, just something to keep dust, sand, and snow from accumulating on the tops.

 

[bcbender]

If I remember correctly Wiredawg posted about some roof coating he used that sealed everything up, if you need to go that route.

I bookmarked is so I could find it if I needed it....

https://www.turbodieselregister.com...rotective-coating-to-my-rv-roof.269671/page-3

 

[NIsaacs]

Those old Hitch Hikers are solid, heavy units. The weak point is the roof coverings. If it starts leaking into the walls you have unrepairable dry rot. Once you have mastered the electric I suggest you do a good exam on that roof looking for weak, saggy spots and tears. I wouldn't be afraid to cover it with DIY bedliner since you don't plan to travel with it. I would also fashion some covers for the slideouts. Nothing fancy, just something to keep dust, sand, and snow from accumulating on the tops.

Good advice, thanks. This one has the rubber roof, is that the one you are talking about? I have not been up there yet. I read up on some archives on them and they tout one piece fiberglass end caps with 2x4 truss, rubber roof "walk anywhere"

The slide seals appear to be in great shape as are the actual outer walls. It is like, they were slid in most of its life. I think H Barlow had one and liked it, if I recall. The bedroom slides in like a garage door, electric motor and chain drive. The other two are hydraulic, all work good.

 

[NIsaacs]

If I remember correctly Wiredawg posted about some roof coating he used that sealed everything up, if you need to go that route.

I bookmarked is so I could find it if I needed it....

https://www.turbodieselregister.com...rotective-coating-to-my-rv-roof.269671/page-3

Thanks, that looks like what we use on the house. 5 gallon buckets of white liquid rubber or something. We have had it done twice, with no leaks so far, 27 years.

 

[Cummins12V98]

If the frame is painted white Young’s made it and they were top cabin.

 

[NIsaacs]

If the frame is painted white Young’s made it and they were top cabin.

This one is black, about 8" I-beam. So maybe an economy model. It is the LS model or "light series".

Still have converter trouble. The battery was dead this morning and no converter, 12 volt power at all. I was busy today so all I did was disconnect the neg cable and hooked up the charger and unplugged the power cord. I will have time tomorrow to see what the heck...

 

[NIsaacs]

Montana online auction I am bidding on. Seems crazy, but it is near my brothers home town and we are not getting any younger. I kinda want both or none, sometimes based on what and when something sells, you don't always get it your way. Since they are both really ugly, it might work out I can see past the first glance and can see the potential. They are both way better than they look. I just posted a couple of pictures to see what the comments are feel free.

If I get them, we will probably keep the stock trailer. We don't have one and I always worry in an emergency, we might need to haul a horse or a pig. Since it will be parked for years on end, I don't want to park a high quality unit. The flat bed, I will probably fix and sell, or keep it

 

[Topzide]

I think if you can get for the price you want, they'd be a good choice for your needs! Flat deck's are always in demand and as long as the bearings are good, the rest is just decking and paint. The livestock appears to need some TLC and paint. If you get it and only need for those what if's, park it off the ground to keep tire and suspension in good shape. As we should all know, keep the tires covered to protect from the SUN! Are you sure you want to take on some more projects?

 

[bcbender]

I bought my GN flat deck cheap.. new deck and axles and for less than 5k I had a new trailer... For all the reason you stated that's why I bought used... No need to feel bad for it sitting in the woods, no worries about bending or scratching.. its used, been used and will get used....

Go for it!

 

[endoscott]

Keep us posted on how much you get these for. I don't think that flatbed trailer will cost that much to replace the decking. I just did my little flatbed trailer with 2x12 pressure treated planks and it should be good for another 15 years. At which time my son or grandson will have to replace the decking again. I also did new tires and wheel bearings and replaced wiring (twice). First time I bought cheap HF fake Chinese copper wire that lasted 2 years, LOL. Got the real stuff 2nd time. About done with HF stuff.

 

[NIsaacs]

Little more info: The flatbed is 16k and the stock trailer is 12k, both have 16.5 tires

Kind of a cool story behind this farm auction. The guy has a huge Allis Chalmers vintage tractor collection, includes garden tractors, about 75 of them total.

Fresh out of high school, I went to work for the local Allis Chalmers dealer, so I knew this guy. I also knew and worked for his brother who had a small construction company. One time, he had a local job for the Forest Service and he hired me to drive dump truck. Ended up myself, my brother and two of my close friends worked that job.

To top it off, there was no place to eat in this little town, so my wife fed his crew (3) breakfast and dinner, in our 35' park model

If you click on the trailers, you can see my bid and more pictures.

https://www.mbauction.com/auctions/24589-joe-w-curran-estate-large-allis-chalmers-collection

 

[bcbender]

Cool stuff on that auction.....

 

[crispyboy]

Especially like the 1968 Jeep CJ5. It's rare to see one in our neck of the woods with an original body that's not all rusted out.

 

[NIsaacs]

Now we have to figure out how to get everything on one load I ended up with both trailers and 3 garden tractors, all of the 900 series. My son ended up with a 3 bottom plow (yard art).

I just gotta squeal on my son. even tho he is a good mechanic, welder, truck driver and concrete contractor, he is so not a farmer I asked him if he knew why the left wheel had knobs and the right wheel was smooth. I wont post his guesses but I am still on the ground, dying

If you are interested, the link I posted, will have the complete auction results.

 

[bcbender]

I asked him if he knew why the left wheel had knobs and the right wheel was smooth.

HAHAHAHAH... Kids these days...

I have a whole slew of young engineers that probably wouldn't know either... theyd be taking pictures and googling it! I simply laugh since most of them never had to go look anything up in a library.. never read a news paper, never "wrote" a term paper and don't know how to survive without the internet. ( My son included )

 

[JR]

I asked him if he knew why the left wheel had knobs and the right wheel was smooth. I wont post his guesses but I am still on the ground, dying

That's easy. No positraction - She was a one tire fire and wore the "treads" down on that side

Will you be headed up north to pick up your trailers?

 

[NIsaacs]

That's easy. No positraction - She was a one tire fire and wore the "treads" down on that side

Will you be headed up north to pick up your trailers?

Yes, but not until about 10-3, my son can't get away until then, he is going to help me with his Ford My brother will get them off site for us.

I would like to keep the flatbed but my son has already expressed interest. To help offset the cost he has offered to haul it down here for $5 a loaded mile I said okay but you have to tow the plow

His Load Trail that I picked up for him in 2016, broke down this summer with a big job in New Mexico scheduled so I sold him my new D/C so right now I have no way to haul the Case loader. It is too heavy for my equipment trailer. My dump has the capacity but it attracts attention with the bucket on the gooseneck, I would like to avoid that.

My brother bought this little guy, 11 hp, 1 liter, 4 cylinder, flat head Continental. It was promoted as a better way to farm V/S horses. Most of the farm tools were mounted under the belly, so it was called a mounted tool carrier.

 

[crispyboy]

A lot of those little tractors were used in Kentucky for cultivating tobacco. The International Harvester Cub, Super A and Super C were the most popular. My brother and I used a 1937 John Deere B we rescued out of the weeds for cultivating.