Morning Cup Of Coffee And Weather

I've never been to the 500, but a long time ago -- 2009? -- I got to go to the carb day events. I was invited by a vendor that had their name prominantly displayed on Rayhall/Lettermans car. It was a lot of fun, especially being allowed in the garage with the car.

Andy, the Indiana Chapter Director works Dryer & Reinbold. Be sure to look him up, I'm sure he'll have time to chat :D

ON a sad note,Kurt Schlesselman our former director friend to all tearjerkers went to his eternal reward yesterday. He brought us the famous Crossroads of America Gatherings --- especially the one that nearly filled McCormicks Creek State park ...it was amazing. I think we had 90% of the park? T'was fun....

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon his face. May the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen
 
Prayers up for the folks in Indiana


Howgozit @Sweeney ?
Hoping you are ok.

Goes good here. Carmel (45 minutes northwest) just north of Indy and the white river has removed a road I used to drive every day. Go east of here about an hour and Centerville (a cute little town) is flooded out -- up to school bus windows flood.

We got 3-4 inches in one of the storms, centerville got like 11.

It looks like we'll get a little break - gloomy today. Some scattered stuff this week with warmer temperatures and hopefully some sun.

On a personal note, the wrist is doing much better. but my opposite shoulder is torn up. Way too many jobs requiring me to work at angles that are anything but ergonomically sound. I honestly don't see me being able to keep it up. I've sustained 2 injuries this summer now that are purly working at odd angles and without access....laying on your back, working on a pump 2 feet further back in a wall cavity that is inaccessible on either side. As a friend of mine would have siad "The only worst position would be upside down in a hammock" Then the fall which was entirely a dumb move my part.

I am considering a pivot again. Ironically had I done what I was suggested to do a couple years ago by Drew the whole situation may be different.

IYKYK, and if you do -- I'd love to pick your brain for a few minutes...DM me.

Serenity -- having problems. I think Dexter redesigned the brake system. More on that when I get it figured out.
 
Yesterday I noticed all the leaves on the smaller trees were getting wilted. After last night’s rain they look much better today. It’s been so dry the leaves were drying up and falling

I may actually fire up the lawn mower…. It’s only been since Late June on the last cut!
 
Yesterday I noticed all the leaves on the smaller trees were getting wilted. After last night’s rain they look much better today. It’s been so dry the leaves were drying up and falling

I may actually fire up the lawn mower…. It’s only been since Late June on the last cut!

I havn't stopped yet! We've had a growing season farmers love here in Indiana -- the hover flies are everywhere! I keep waiting, hoping...The absolute worst part is, weeds have taken over! Scotts really let me down this year :( A lot of it too is that I don't put as much work into the yard as I should -- Frankly, I don't mind cutting grass and fertillzing etc. But I HATE yard work - flower beds are the bane of my existence.

The biggest penalty I'm payin gthis year, is that years ago, I kept bees. We set up a "bee yard" with the intention fo wildflowers. But the weeds moved in :D --- lots of pickly and sharp blades....tall "more like tree" than anything low growth. I'm getting the stihl gas weed wacker out trying to knock it down so in september I can nuke it, then plant grass seed again.
 
When we built our home over 40 yrs ago, the lawn was completely covered with Kentucky Blue Grass sod.....that was the best it ever looked.

With 50ft deciduous trees surrounding the place, once they leafed out in the spring, that was the end of the all day sun that grass wants to have. I tried over seeding with Red Fescue for several years running, to replace the blue grass, and aerated to open the soil for the new grass to germinate. After several more years of fertilizing, seeding, weed killing, aerating, watering, and spending a lot of time trying to make things grow that didn't want to be there, I decided to let things grow that did want to be there,...... without any assistance from me. Now it's a mixture of moss, various wild grasses, creeping Charlie, and other weeds. I mow when it starts looking a little shaggy, which can vary from weekly, to several weeks or more depending on the rain totals, but it's green, and when it's mowed to the same height, it looks just fine...to us anyway. It won't win any Yard & Garden competitions, but it looks fine to us, and we can spend the time and money saved with the "natural" yard on something else we enjoy more.
 
Tire time! Rav4 and Serenity needed 'em.

I've had a heck of a time lately. The bearings are fine, replaced them a few months ago. But for some unknown reason the brakes starting giving me all kinds of trouble! After a thousand miles without a hitch, the street-side brake overheated --- I mean hot. When I was leaninig under the camper to see what was going, I touched the wheel and found myself with a bad second degree burn.

The brakes stuck, wearing into the drum badly, so I had no choice but to replace them. When I did, I replaced both sides, including the bearings, brakes, races, whole shootin match. I even put new baby-moons on it.

I'm really not happy with Dexter -- they seem to have redesigned things a little since the last time I had to replace brakes. The magnet is now clipped onto the arm using a spring clip -- and the little extension where the clip lies interferes with the brake hub. When i turned the wheel 5 times per revolution it would tick and pull the arm, engaging the brake. @Cary Winch - have you seen this? 10 seconds and a cutting wheel removed that problem --- but I still was struggling with the brakes engaging, even with power cut to them at the magnet. But even after this, the brakes would partially engage getting hwarm.

I was getting so frustrated working on this I almost took the brake assembly off the trailer and drove up to Wisconsin :D

I'm not sure what I could be doing wrong --- these are all designed to be bolt-on replacements...love to know what the core issue is. I'm keeping the brakes backed off and the gain turned down to build some trust. I'm not as expert as the Trailer Smith, or people that work on these every day --- but I certainly know enough to do the job. But pride before the fall, I assume it was me.

Anyone else see anything like this?
 
Tire time! Rav4 and Serenity needed 'em.

I've had a heck of a time lately. The bearings are fine, replaced them a few months ago. But for some unknown reason the brakes starting giving me all kinds of trouble! After a thousand miles without a hitch, the street-side brake overheated --- I mean hot. When I was leaninig under the camper to see what was going, I touched the wheel and found myself with a bad second degree burn.

The brakes stuck, wearing into the drum badly, so I had no choice but to replace them. When I did, I replaced both sides, including the bearings, brakes, races, whole shootin match. I even put new baby-moons on it.

I'm really not happy with Dexter -- they seem to have redesigned things a little since the last time I had to replace brakes. The magnet is now clipped onto the arm using a spring clip -- and the little extension where the clip lies interferes with the brake hub. When i turned the wheel 5 times per revolution it would tick and pull the arm, engaging the brake. @Cary Winch - have you seen this? 10 seconds and a cutting wheel removed that problem --- but I still was struggling with the brakes engaging, even with power cut to them at the magnet. But even after this, the brakes would partially engage getting hwarm.

I was getting so frustrated working on this I almost took the brake assembly off the trailer and drove up to Wisconsin :D

I'm not sure what I could be doing wrong --- these are all designed to be bolt-on replacements...love to know what the core issue is. I'm keeping the brakes backed off and the gain turned down to build some trust. I'm not as expert as the Trailer Smith, or people that work on these every day --- but I certainly know enough to do the job. But pride before the fall, I assume it was me.

Anyone else see anything like this?
That sounds like a visit to CI is in order to me. This shouldn't be that hard, should it? JMHO...
 
Sweeney,

We cut that tip off of the magnet arm on all of the brakes we install for the very reason you ran into. That is why your old brakes you replaced did not have this problem, because they had been modified by us. There is a bit of a trick to holding the magnet in place while sliding the drum on that involves thread after the tip is cut off that arm. I second your opinion that someone at Dexter was not thinking it through on that design.

Cary
 
Sweeney,

We cut that tip off of the magnet arm on all of the brakes we install for the very reason you ran into. That is why your old brakes you replaced did not have this problem, because they had been modified by us. There is a bit of a trick to holding the magnet in place while sliding the drum on that involves thread after the tip is cut off that arm. I second your opinion that someone at Dexter was not thinking it through on that design.

Cary

good to know...what a bunch of id10ts. I can't believe something like this would even remotely make it to production. But I suppose this is where 'our' distain for the industry crosses...

I may turn this into them as a warranty claim because I bought a brake, I didn’t intend to do the mechanical failure of a bad design.

I took mine for about a 20 miles drive today and the wheel was "cool" - just barely warm to the touch -- so I hope I got it. I have never seen this 'feature" before and it does not exists on the 7,000 LB or 3500 for that matter.

Tomorrow, probably a 3 Hour Dive. I’m trying to make it to the Hoosier gathering versailles State Park. Maybe I’ll see someone I know.

If I can think of a good topic, I may even try to shoot a video. Is that a clue to something else? It could be.


At least they assist you, once again...the next is ahead in the game :)!

In the common five weeks, got three trips planned. Mostly family stuff in the camp camping camp out. Honestly, I’m looking forward to all of them as family events. I can’t wait to see old friends and hope to make a few new ones
 
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Sweeney,

We cut that tip off of the magnet arm on all of the brakes we install for the very reason you ran into. That is why your old brakes you replaced did not have this problem, because they had been modified by us. There is a bit of a trick to holding the magnet in place while sliding the drum on that involves thread after the tip is cut off that arm. I second your opinion that someone at Dexter was not thinking it through on that design.

Cary
how far back are you trimming them? I never had a problem -- they just slip on and the magnet balances precariously :)


Its funny, in my tech forum I've now seen this exact question coming from another tech -- that was a 7k axle I believe...

Have to say, this is looking better and better - I'm fed up with it. Of course, I'm sure this will have its own excitement -- like placing the pump somewhere.


Interestingly enough, this company is located about 20 minutes from whre I am right now :)
 
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I havn't stopped yet! We've had a growing season farmers love here in Indiana -- the hover flies are everywhere! I keep waiting, hoping...The absolute worst part is, weeds have taken over! Scotts really let me down this year :( A lot of it too is that I don't put as much work into the yard as I should -- Frankly, I don't mind cutting grass and fertillzing etc. But I HATE yard work - flower beds are the bane of my existence.

The biggest penalty I'm payin gthis year, is that years ago, I kept bees. We set up a "bee yard" with the intention fo wildflowers. But the weeds moved in :D --- lots of pickly and sharp blades....tall "more like tree" than anything low growth. I'm getting the stihl gas weed wacker out trying to knock it down so in september I can nuke it, then plant grass seed again.
Ya those invasives are hella work to get rid of once established...go radical...KISS!
why not nuke EVERYTHING

Then spread wild flower mix for your own prairie? A liitle mulch and save on water too.
Its still gonna take a couple years to pull invasives until the seed base on those is empty but wild prairie is easier and cheaper than grass...rolling out sod, irrigation lines, or moving sprinklers to water, fertilizer, push mowing/running the power mulcher...jeez brother my back hurts thinking about the years I was a slave to convention...

Do you have HOA Karens to answer to?

Plus...more time to go camping!
Good for bugs, bees, and teh kittehs...
Go wild man! Save the butterflies!
 
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Ya those invasives are hella work to get rid of once established...go radical...KISS!
why not nuke EVERYTHING

Then spread wild flower mix for your own prairie? A liitle mulch and save on water too.
Its still gonna take a couple years to pull invasives until the seed base on those is empty but wild prairie is easier and cheaper than grass...rolling out sod, irrigation lines, or moving sprinklers to water, fertilizer, push mowing/running the power mulcher...jeez brother my back hurts thinking about the years I was a slave to convention...

Do you have HOA Karens to answer to?

Plus...more time to go camping!
Good for bugs, bees, and teh kittehs...
Go wild man! Save the butterflies!

Invaives - so I've noticed!!! Thinking about buying a tiller yikes, its bad. Probably going to invest in a jug of chemicals I hate using, but they've got their purpose. Mulberry and poke week are the big offenders at this point, with some nettle showing up for the fun of it.

No HOA! That was the first requirement we had when buying a house. The one we owned before had one -- and the HOA president stood there giving me the riot act while ignoring the house next to us that went rental --- screens falling out, chipping paint, smoke alarm beeping every 30 seconds --- and the kid was throwing rocks at my dog. I can say that conversation was not the proudest moment of my life. But, he stopped talking and left. 3 days later the for-sale sign was up.
 
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