March chat and general BS thread
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Logistics Pro
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,604
Likes: 4
From: Claremore, OK
Got stuck working the passenger train yesterday. It's not hard, just boring since we spend time sitting while folks enjoy dinner. Anyway, sat on the Arkansas River bridge for an hour last night. Watching all the crap flowing down river...pretty sure I saw two ricks worth of what could be firewood when it dries out...float down the river over an hour time frame. Haven't seen anything crazy like refrigerators in this minor flood yet.I bet that's rough on short people....getting in/out of the truck that is.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,644
Likes: 55
From: Moro Bay, AR
Lots of wood floating by here, one dock over on the river has close to a football field of driftwood piled upstream. The only time I have to deal with major current and driftwood is during major floods like this. I wouldn't want a place on the river.
We built the vehicle ramp 20 something years ago just for this reason, its easy to miss the window of opportunity for getting out of here, only takes a 3 ft. rise from normal to cut our road off. As for access, either play monkey and crawl in from the bed or grab the ladder. :-)
We built the vehicle ramp 20 something years ago just for this reason, its easy to miss the window of opportunity for getting out of here, only takes a 3 ft. rise from normal to cut our road off. As for access, either play monkey and crawl in from the bed or grab the ladder. :-)
Mountain Pass
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 122
Likes: 0
From: McRae, AR
I took my son and our pastor ans asst. pastor camping friday and saturday. Was happy when the rain stopped an hour after we arrived and set up camp. It didn't rain again until we were ready to leave. We were able to make several short hikes in the Flatside Wilderness Area without getting rained on.
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Logistics Pro
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,604
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From: Claremore, OK
I was hoping this weekend's forecast for the greater LR area would improve...not degrade as the week ground on. So much for that plan, according to the weather guessers...cloudy with a chance of rain off & on most of the weekend. While I like for it to rain while towing the trailer (figure it helps keep the tires cooler)...it's my days off, I would like to enjoy some good ole sun shine. Mark my words, come Monday morning when most of us are back at work..it'll be crystal clear blue skies out there.
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Logistics Pro
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,604
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From: Claremore, OK
On a serous note, I know what the rear-end ratio means as far as related to pulling abilities and fuel efficiency. My question is, if I put one of those gearvender under/overdrives in the truck...I wonder if it would help with my fuel consumption while towing. When the man cave is tacked on, anything above 12mpg is a pipe dream. Normally it's in the 10mpg range. While it's better than what the V10 guys get...I sure would like to save where/when I can. I've got a 3.73LS; unloaded average is 19-21mpg...so I don't want to swap out the pumpkin for a 4.10; thus why I'm thinking about the gearvendor.Woke up in NLR to rain on the camper...was sprinkling as we packed up. By the time we got back to the western frontier...you guessed it, blue skies and sun shine. I can't say I hate mother nature, that's just too harsh. But I have a very VERY strong dislike for her....she's off my Christmas card list, that's how bad it has gotten to. 
Logistics Pro
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,644
Likes: 55
From: Moro Bay, AR
Sitting in Margaritaville in Nashville TN, sipping a margarita and waiting on a burger. Headed over to Bridge stone Arena for Kenny Chesneys birthday concert shortly. Gonna be a crazy time in music city tonight.
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FTE Leadership Emeritus
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 13,653
Likes: 6
From: Cabot, Arkansas
On a serous note, I know what the rear-end ratio means as far as related to pulling abilities and fuel efficiency. My question is, if I put one of those gearvender under/overdrives in the truck...I wonder if it would help with my fuel consumption while towing. When the man cave is tacked on, anything above 12mpg is a pipe dream. Normally it's in the 10mpg range. While it's better than what the V10 guys get...I sure would like to save where/when I can. I've got a 3.73LS; unloaded average is 19-21mpg...so I don't want to swap out the pumpkin for a 4.10; thus why I'm thinking about the gear vendor.
What's your "normal" towing RPM on the freeway? O/D on or off generally?
Fantastic! Get your ankles out of the water for a while. Have a great time mano!
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Logistics Pro
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,604
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From: Claremore, OK
Well it appears we survived the first thunder-boomer of the season. Got some nickel-ish sized hail here at the house last night. No damage that I can find, but I'm sure the singles on the house didn't like that. None of the Fords in the front yard showed damage. And it's only March, can't wait to see what the psychopath sends next.
I tow with the O/D on...the 5R110W goes through all six gears; even with the tow/haul mode on...you can't turn it off. Depending on what I'm towing will be the difference with the fuel mileage. The heaviest I tow is the man-cave (5th wheel, 8900# dry) best case is 12mpg at 70mph; usually it's in the 10-11 mpg range. I'm sure I could get better if I backed off the skinny pedal, but at 70mph I'm spinning 2k rpm on the little motor which is the point at which it makes it's max torque (560 Ft/Ib). And most places it's no effort to keep up with the big trucks at that speed...climbing the hill to Fayetteville; well that's a different story. That 8% grade is tough on the little motor dragging the parachute.
Guess it could be worse, could be a V10...I hear they get 9mpg PERIOD.
Guess it could be worse, could be a V10...I hear they get 9mpg PERIOD.
Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 3,162
Likes: 1
From: Vilonia Arkansas
Well it appears we survived the first thunder-boomer of the season. Got some nickel-ish sized hail here at the house last night. No damage that I can find, but I'm sure the singles on the house didn't like that. None of the Fords in the front yard showed damage. And it's only March, can't wait to see what the psychopath sends next.I tow with the O/D on...the 5R110W goes through all six gears; even with the tow/haul mode on...you can't turn it off. Depending on what I'm towing will be the difference with the fuel mileage. The heaviest I tow is the man-cave (5th wheel, 8900# dry) best case is 12mpg at 70mph; usually it's in the 10-11 mpg range. I'm sure I could get better if I backed off the skinny pedal, but at 70mph I'm spinning 2k rpm on the little motor which is the point at which it makes it's max torque (560 Ft/Ib). And most places it's no effort to keep up with the big trucks at that speed...climbing the hill to Fayetteville; well that's a different story. That 8% grade is tough on the little motor dragging the parachute.
Guess it could be worse, could be a V10...I hear they get 9mpg PERIOD.
Guess it could be worse, could be a V10...I hear they get 9mpg PERIOD.
FTE Leadership Emeritus
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 13,653
Likes: 6
From: Cabot, Arkansas
I tow with the O/D on...the 5R110W goes through all six gears; even with the tow/haul mode on...you can't turn it off. Depending on what I'm towing will be the difference with the fuel mileage. The heaviest I tow is the man-cave (5th wheel, 8900# dry) best case is 12mpg at 70mph; usually it's in the 10-11 mpg range. I'm sure I could get better if I backed off the skinny pedal, but at 70mph I'm spinning 2k rpm on the little motor which is the point at which it makes it's max torque (560 Ft/Ib). And most places it's no effort to keep up with the big trucks at that speed...climbing the hill to Fayetteville; well that's a different story. That 8% grade is tough on the little motor dragging the parachute.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,644
Likes: 55
From: Moro Bay, AR
Had so much fun last night we decided to buy tickets and join in for the second night of the party! Concert was great, but when Joe Walsh came out and rocked the house, it couldn't get any better.
FTE Leadership Emeritus
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 13,653
Likes: 6
From: Cabot, Arkansas
My crew is at Verizon tonight at winter jam. Soaking up a bunch of Christian rock.
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Logistics Pro
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,604
Likes: 4
From: Claremore, OK
Well I guess the psychopath has heard my rants, while it's still cool out there...it sure is a beautiful day out there. Hey Jeff, as the water uncovered the flower beds yet?Well...back about five years ago when I was commuting to Hot Springs I was able to squeeze 24mpg out of the truck. But that was running 55-60, no trailer and the a/c off (it was winter). I know those GV aren't cheap ($3200), and the reality is it would take a bunch of mileage trailer pulling to recoup the cost...the truck would be worn out before I recovered the expense. Guess it just boils down to this...I get 10mpg and I should be happy with that; if I want better mileage...stay in a motel.