get your rigs ready: Q, A, and tips.

[ygmir]

so, in seeing some great mechanical and driving advice, scattered about this forum, I though maybe try a thread just for questions and answers, ideas and such, for getting peoples vehicles and trailers ready, checked, and or modified, for the trip to and from TTITD. Some are travelling huge distances, and it sure seems some of the pure genius that resides on eplaya, could help many.

Anything from driving tips for getting up and down long,steep grades:
don't bury the throttle, shift down, watch temps on the way up, shift down, don't ride the brakes, don't be afraid to go too slow and make it to the bottom, on the way down.

to tips about adding transmission coolers, electric fans, tire pressures, trailer brakes, loading, hitches,

To emergency driving/stopping techniques, roadside repairs, and such.

GO!

[Elderberry]

How's this for starters?

The purpose of getting water later in the trip is less about cost and more about reducing strain on your heavily loaded vehicle on those uphill grades - thereby reducing the chance of a failure that stops you from getting there at all and ruining your BM trip.
I'm a general gearhead... I have built cars all my life and I work with trucks and machines; my been-there-done-that advice is to try your best NOT to floor it, especially with an automatic transmission, all the way up grades like Donner. If the transmission is going to overheat and fail, or the motor is gonna break, that's what will bring it on. Shift down to a lower gear, ease a little off the floor, go slow and piss everyone off behind you, and you'll greatly reduce your chances of a failure. That's how I drive mine on the way there, and if you put trans and oil temp gauges in, you'll do it too when you see what's going on!

Making it without breaking it is all about cooling. Your transmission's torque converter makes a lot of heat under a sustained hard load, and so does the motor. The transmission oil cooler is in the radiator, which is already getting heated by the motor... vicious cycle...
There are good spend-money things to do, like putting in a new, 4-core radiator (radiators can look fine and not leak, but as they age they get clogged tubes and don't cool as well as they used to - you can't tell by looking at them), a good strong electric fan (in addition to the original fan) and an auxiliarly trans cooler. After all the experience I've had with the BM trip, I absolutely won't hit the road without all three of those things - it's CHEAPER and better than breaking.

However, driving style has a huge impact, and that's FREE!!

I'm rambling on and on because over the last decade-and-a-half, I have been that guy broken down on the trip a few times. Even with NEW transmissions and radiators and other proper preparations. I'd rather see you make it and have a margarita with me on the playa.

[ygmir]

How's this for starters?

The purpose of getting water later in the trip is less about cost and more about reducing strain on your heavily loaded vehicle on those uphill grades - thereby reducing the chance of a failure that stops you from getting there at all and ruining your BM trip.
I'm a general gearhead... I have built cars all my life and I work with trucks and machines; my been-there-done-that advice is to try your best NOT to floor it, especially with an automatic transmission, all the way up grades like Donner. If the transmission is going to overheat and fail, or the motor is gonna break, that's what will bring it on. Shift down to a lower gear, ease a little off the floor, go slow and piss everyone off behind you, and you'll greatly reduce your chances of a failure. That's how I drive mine on the way there, and if you put trans and oil temp gauges in, you'll do it too when you see what's going on!

Making it without breaking it is all about cooling. Your transmission's torque converter makes a lot of heat under a sustained hard load, and so does the motor. The transmission oil cooler is in the radiator, which is already getting heated by the motor... vicious cycle...
There are good spend-money things to do, like putting in a new, 4-core radiator (radiators can look fine and not leak, but as they age they get clogged tubes and don't cool as well as they used to - you can't tell by looking at them), a good strong electric fan (in addition to the original fan) and an auxiliarly trans cooler. After all the experience I've had with the BM trip, I absolutely won't hit the road without all three of those things - it's CHEAPER and better than breaking.

However, driving style has a huge impact, and that's FREE!!

I'm rambling on and on because over the last decade-and-a-half, I have been that guy broken down on the trip a few times. Even with NEW transmissions and radiators and other proper preparations. I'd rather see you make it and have a margarita with me on the playa.

that's what made me think of it. just trying to get a lot of this great info into one place, and specific to the task of to and from the event, easier, faster, better, and safer .

[motskyroonmatick]

This is a heavy truck inspection report and a guide to proper pre trip inspection that is easily adaptable to vehicles that don't have air brakes. It's copyrighted so please respect that. Everything on it is important to be safe and keep smoky off your tail.

Always inspect and test drive your vehicle setup prior to leaving for the burn. This is a great time to fuel up and get a good feel for how the rig reacts. When traffic conditions allow perform a controlled emergency braking exercise so that you know what you can get out of the rig and judge what kind of following distance is appropriate.

Do a quick walk around at every stop looking for loosening tie downs, shifting loads, low tires and nothing wrong with your trailer hitch connections.

Several weeks before setting off to the burn check your tire pressure with a reliable gauge and set it to the manufacturers recommendations on the inside of the door or the maximum pressure indicated on the sidewall of the tire. I prefer to run tires at their maximum pressure since they are designed to run at that pressure. Recheck pressures a week out from departure to identify tires loosing pressure and repair or replace them. Tires have an unexpectedly short life so don't be surprised if you need to replace all your trailer or RV tires to avoid blowouts. Carry spares for each tire size. I carry 2 spares for my trailer so that if I loose one tire I still have a spare and don't have to spend time waiting for a tire shop to equip me with an appropriately expensive spare tire.

Taking an hour or several hours to make sure things are in top working order can save you hours or days of lost time on the road and huge expenses to get back on the road in a timely manner.

[ygmir]

loading a trailer properly, is very important, too.
plenty of tongue weight, will keep it straight and not fishtailing behind you.
even loading left and right.
trailer brakes on any trailer carrying significant weight (significant weight is very debatable, and can relate to the size and weight of the towing vehicle).
Good tires, good and lubed bearings, good lighting. well secured load items.

knowing, if if you have electric brakes, that if the trailer starts "fish tailing" badly, applying those brakes manually, for a short time, will straighten it out........but if it continues something is wrong. either not enough tongue weight, or tire/wheel issues.

Don't overload the trailer: usually, the limiting factor is the tires. Know how they are rated and fairly accurately know how much your stuff and the trailer itself, weigh.

[The Rod]

If you're buying or renting a trailer, they come with (mainly) two different kinds of brakes: surge brakes and electric brakes.

Surge brakes are actuated by a cylinder in the tongue, when the towing vehicle slows, the weight of the trailer pushes forward on the tongue and compresses the cylinder, this pressurizes the booster and actuates the brakes.

Electric brakes are controlled electronically by an adjustable controller installed in the tow vehicle. Most 'tow packages' include one of these. When the brakes are applied in the tow vehicle a signal is sent to the trailer to electronically actuate the brakes.

Surge brakes become problematic on long down-grades, like the ones you will encounter on the roads to BRC from just about anywhere. Any time the tow vehicle slows going down a hill through either the wheel brakes, down shifting or engine brakes the trailer will want to brake. What ends up happening is the trailer brakes will drag the whole way down and overheat.

This happened to us last year. I have a transmission temp gauge in my truck, we had some slow uphill climbs, followed by a rest at the top to allow the trans to cool. Then rest at the bottom and sometimes halfway down to allow the trailer brakes to cool. Made for some excruciatingly slow travel time, but eventually we got there.

Moral of the story: If you are traveling to BRC you want a trailer with electric brakes.

Also, when picking out a trailer, the trailers with two axles are much easier to maneuver then a single axle trailer. More stability going down the road and easier to back up.

Another tip: once you're loaded, roll through a closed weigh-station. They usually leave the scales on and the screen visible so you can check your weight. Truck stops will also weigh your rig but usually have to pay a few bucks. Don't try an open weigh station unless you want your paperwork inspected.

[The Rod]

A quick word on gauges: If you're going to be pushing your vehicle to the limits it is strongly recommended to get aftermarket gauges for water, transmission and oil temperatures. The stock gauges in most vehicles and trucks might give you an idea, but generally are not very accurate.

When pulling that heavy trailer up the pass, if what stands between you and burnt tranny is a gauge, it's worth the investment.

[ygmir]

I'd suggest tongue length has more of an effect in backing up, than axle number. and it's nice, if your trailer is too narrow to see in your mirrors, to put markers on the rear corners, that stick up or out like an antennae flexible and all.

[GreyCoyote]

Wheel bearings: freshly packed with new seals. Use moly-based or synthetic grease. If you dont need water resistance (ie, its not a boat trailer) dont use a water-resistant grease. Wheel bearings need to be snugged by hand to the point of friction, and then backed-out until the wheel moves freely. There should be 1/16th to 1/8th of an inch of play measured at the tread/road interface. Run the trailer around a few miles, then jack it up and readjust if necessary.

Best advice ever: install grease caps with a zerk fitting on each wheel. Take a grease gun with you and once a day shoot a little squirt into each.