mickeyobe
Lifetime Member
Resident President
Posts: 7,280
|
Post by mickeyobe on Jul 26, 2011 13:56:02 GMT -5
Mine is a 1976 model, and it's in pretty good shape considering the age. We haven't used it since I got struck down with this diabetic neuropathy, because I can hardly walk. I sit sometimes and look out the window, wondering if I'll ever go camping again. Randy, I am a type 2 diabetic. I am just beginning to encounter the effects of neuropathy. The following article which I saw last week in one of the publications to which I subscribe gives me some hope for a not very distant relief if not a total cure. I do not know how it might effect neuropathy. I am taking a copy to my endocrinologist on my next visit although, knowing him, he is probably already aware of it. Not having to stab myself seven or more times per day would make it a blessing to me. I had asked about a pump but they are relatively scarce yet and those with juvenile onset (type one) diabetes must be served first. I have to agree with that. israel21c.org/health/metacure-treats-diabetes-without-medsMickey
|
|
daveh
Lifetime Member
Posts: 4,696
|
Post by daveh on Jul 26, 2011 17:58:25 GMT -5
Randy & Mickey, there are some awful diseases out there and for all the improvements in its treatment diabetes is still one of them I wish I could wave a magic wand and have you both free of your problems.
Dave.
|
|
mickeyobe
Lifetime Member
Resident President
Posts: 7,280
|
Post by mickeyobe on Jul 26, 2011 19:37:42 GMT -5
Dave,
I guess we owe our lives to doctors Banting and Best who discovered insulin and to the poor dog that died during their experiments.
Mickey
|
|
daveh
Lifetime Member
Posts: 4,696
|
Post by daveh on Jul 30, 2011 22:39:22 GMT -5
Car and Caravan, taken at the end of March this year: Mickey, everyone remembers Banting and Best as it was they who were awarded the Nobel prize. It was actually a Romanian who first discovered it, but he is largely forgotten: in fact that I can't recall his name. Perhaps I shall look it up later (probably about number 374 on the list of things I must do). Dave. Just looked it up: Nicolae Paulescu en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolae_PaulescuI see too that the Nobel Prize went to Banting and Macloed who shared it with Best and Collip.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2011 23:02:16 GMT -5
Pretty amazing you can pull something that large with a car. I can tell its a good deal lighter than U.S. trailers by the wheel on the tongue. Ours has between 600 and 700 lbs tongue weight and one doesn't move it until it is attached to a vehicle.
W
|
|
|
Post by nikonbob on Jul 31, 2011 7:04:37 GMT -5
You don't see too many trailers/caravans that length with single a axle here either, most are dual axle. I guess there is more of a trend here to produce light weight trailers now than before. I always had a phobia about pulling a trailer that was significantly heavier than the tow vehicle.
Bob
|
|
mickeyobe
Lifetime Member
Resident President
Posts: 7,280
|
Post by mickeyobe on Jul 31, 2011 10:26:37 GMT -5
Dave,
How do you balance that thing so it doesn't either lift your car's rear wheels in the air or drag the rear bumper on the road?
I used to have difficulty with our tent trailer.
Mickey
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2011 10:35:58 GMT -5
Yep, the single axle travel trailer is seldom seen on the roads here--except for some older models. The main problem is they sometimes get a little "squirrely" in windy conditions at freeway speeds. The tandem axles tend to be more stable BUT add weight which translates in more fuel consumption. Our trailer, loaded, weighs in at about 4,300 lbs, (about 1,954 kgs.) The truck is probably around the same weight. I have a friend with a similar trailer who gets about 3 mpg better mileage than I do--the primarily reason being his truck is two-wheel-drive. Mine is four-wheel-drive which translates to more weight and more drive train friction. But in the winter the four-wheel-dive is worth it IMO. My only regret is that I didn't get (really couldn't afford) a 3/4-ton diesel pickup rather than our 1/2-ton gas model. The diesels get better mileage even when pulling trailers two or three times the weight and size of ours. Some of the new pickups get 20 miles per gallon or better (when not pulling a load). That's rather remarkable for a vehicle so large. Smaller vehicles are starting to catch on here because of increasing fuel prices. But it has been a tough sell. I remember back in the 1950s and '60s when the European car makers first starter trying to sell over here. The only company with any real success was Volkswagen and that was because they were smart enough to set up a national network of dealerships with German-trained service shops. The first Fiats, Renaults, Volvos and British cars, couldn't handle the high number of miles American put on then and when they broke (and they did on a regular basis) it was difficult to get them repaired. The pickup trucks is one of the most uniquely American vehicles and one of the most difficult for us to give up even with rising fuel prices. In many portions of the American West dealers sell more pickups than cars. The advent of the expanded pickup cab has made it even more popular as that turned the truck into a true family vehicle. There aren't many two-door pickups sold anymore. I only put five to eight thousand miles a year on our pickup but I can't imagine not having it. Wayne
|
|
daveh
Lifetime Member
Posts: 4,696
|
Post by daveh on Jul 31, 2011 12:22:49 GMT -5
The photo makes the car look a little smaller than it actually is. The engine is 2.4 litre 5 cylinder turbo-diesel, 202 bhp, 317 ft-lb torque, coupled to a 6-speed automatic gearbox. It weighs in at 1626kg (3577lb). The caravan fully laden weighs 1403kg (3093lb). Tongue weight, or nose weight, is in the order of 100lbs. There is a damping mechanism in the hitch (the red handle that is at right angles is pulled down when the car is in place: the ball is clamped). This cuts out most of the tendency to sway when being towed. There's no problem towing at the maximum speed permitted in Britain for caravans - 50 mph on ordinary roads 60 mph on motorway type.
|
|
|
Post by nikonbob on Jul 31, 2011 16:31:30 GMT -5
Dave now that you have given the weights it seems like a good match, your car and caravan. You can add about 10 mph onto what you haul at on motorways here. I think here you haul at whatever the speed limit is and slightly more to keep up with the flow of traffic. I found that the torque of the diesel is more useful than raw horsepower and it's high compression a real help braking a trailer on long downhill runs. I would never buy a non turbo charged diesel again.
Bob
|
|
daveh
Lifetime Member
Posts: 4,696
|
Post by daveh on Jul 31, 2011 17:01:35 GMT -5
Mickey, "how do I balance it?" Some people have scales and balance the nose weight accurately. I just tend to lift the hitch on the caravan and if it feels about right it is about right. One of the main things is to get anything heavy as near the 'axle' as possible. If the van has been well designed this almost takes care of itself.
Bob, going back to the 1960s we used to have an Austin Gypsy (like the Land Rover) that had a non-turbo diesel. Because if its weight and (for the time) reasonable power it used to tow fairly well as long as speed could be maintained. If you had to slow down while going up a hill progress would be pretty slow, but unlike a petrol engine at least it wouldn't stall if the hill were steep. Turbo diesel is a different beast altogether. I agree with you on not wanting to go back to a non-turbo.
I hadn't towed with an automatic before I got this car, and I wondered how it would go. Suffice it to say that I have never used the manual capability of the gearbox (geartronic) for towing.
Dave.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2011 19:59:23 GMT -5
The general rule here is you should have 10 to 15 percent of the total weight of the loaded trailer on the tongue. That keeps the trailer from wandering. Dave, the damping makes a big difference. Mine is just a friction device but keeps the front of the trailer from going off at odd angles in an instant. Didn't realize the car and you trailer were that heavy. Is the car front wheel or rear wheel drive. Over here the general attitude is front wheel drive vehicles are suitable for serious towing.
Most trucks here have a transmission mode used primarily for towing--makes the engine rev higher before shifting. They recommend using it whenever towing but I tend to switch back to overdrive mode when out on the flat. One would think the lower revs would save fuel but I haven't run any tests.
Our truck has a 5.4 liter V8 that produces about 255 horsepower at 4500 rpms and 350 lbs torque at 2500 rpms. It can pull the trailer up just about any grade as fast as I want to go but I would trade it in a heartbeat for a diesel. A lot of the motorhomes over here have used the Ford V10 engine since about 2000. The V10 has lots of power and torque but tends to guzzle gas. The early ones also had a nasty habit of spitting out one or more spark plugs when the vehicle was in motion.
We're heading off Tuesday for a two-night stay in the mountains. Our 8-year-old granddaughter, Grace, is a veteran of many trips with us. This will the first trip for 3-year-old Ella. Ella can best be described as a "pistol" so it should be an interesting trip.
W.
|
|
daveh
Lifetime Member
Posts: 4,696
|
Post by daveh on Jul 31, 2011 22:54:28 GMT -5
We head off next Saturday for four nights. James, age 6, is coming with us. It'll be a different proposition entirely when Daniel, age 2, starts coming. It sounds as though they mirror Grace and Ella in how they conduct themselves. Daniel can usually be found trying to get into mischief whenever and wherever he can.
The car is front wheel drive. That Austin Gypsy we had in the 1960s was able to be set to rear, front or 4-wheel drive. It could also be set to high or low ratio. In low ratio it's top speed was only just over 30 mph, so it wasn't used too often. In those days an additional oil-cooler had to be fitted to (all?) diesel-engined vehicles for towing. We also had a air brake system on the caravan, operated by a hand lever in the Gypsy. (The normal over-run brake was also present.) It was amazing how effective it was: pulling it on would force the vehicle to a stop.
I suppose each 'style' of towing has grown up to suit the conditions. Really big units, whether towed caravan or motorhome, aren't best suited to much of our road system.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2011 11:36:45 GMT -5
Sounds like the Austin Gypsy was a car far ahead it it's time. I wish we had all those options today.
I remember back in the '60s my buddy's dad had to use a lever under the dash to apply the brakes on their trailer(electric). They weren't synchronized with the vehicle brakes like today. On a down grade, in a vehicle with a manual transmission, you kept one hand on the steering wheel, a hand on the trailer brake, one foot on the truck brake and the other for gas and clutch. Then if you had to shift. . . . . . .. The original definition of multitasking.
|
|
daveh
Lifetime Member
Posts: 4,696
|
Post by daveh on Aug 1, 2011 16:13:24 GMT -5
The Gypsy was BMC's answer to the Land Rover which in turn was, I believe, spawned by your Jeep. The Gypsy was more road friendly having all round independent suspension, rather than the two live axles and leaf springs of the Land Rover. However it had one bad point: steel bodywork which rusted away especially with the salt used on our roads in winter. The Land Rover was aluminium and didn't suffer the same fate, although quite often the paint would flake off.
Did your mate's dad have to double de-clutch too? Certainly, as you say, multitasking.
|
|