Tires

Quote: AZDuffman

Because it is near 40 years old?

Probably a good reason they got rid of it.

Quote: petroglyph

It's so easy to do, and once you've had them you will always want them. It's so easy, it's silly not to have them. Even moreso on a boat trailer.

You do know about cross contamination of grease, I presume?.

No but I do now :-)

Quote: petroglyph

The bb brand has one downfall,,,,that is flinging grease, but the caps stop that from splaying it all over the place when spinning. There is a better brand that doesn't fling the grease if I can think of it. They aren't expensive and easy to install if you want to do it. It just takes a big set of channel lock pliers and a rubber mallet.

Don't believe any of these youtube video's that recommended putting in twenty pumps. There is a "full" indicator to tell you when to stop pumping. If done regularly, it only takes 3-7 pumps. Simple.

I know some mechanic shops rip customers off on packing.

I think its that mechanics don't really do this because cars don't require this. They're sealed on a car
I was thinking a better place to get them repacked is a trailer place or a RV place
I plan on a long tow this summer, Tampa to the Lockn' festival in Virginia

Quote: terapined

No but I do now :-)

I'm not positive about it, but I've heard it enough places to try not to do it ? Like what do you do if you buy a used vehicle and don't know what kind was used? The purple or lithium is easy to spot. I kept dedicated grease guns for my shop, that was different than the gun for my boat trailer.

Quote:

I think its that mechanics don't really do this because cars don't require this. They're sealed on a car

I don't know if Ford's changed, but mine still has to be packed in the front end. Manual locking hubs used to always need manual packing .

Quote:

I was thinking a better place to get them repacked is a trailer place or a RV place

Any independent mechanic that can fit the rig into his shop, is probably glad to do it. Trailers are easy compared to the front end on 4wd Ford pu's, which still isn't hard if a person has enough desire to do it themselves. I suggested why not put grease zerc's on the locking hubs, so it didn't have to be taken apart ? Could be done. If someone was enough motor head and cared to.

Quote:

I plan on a long tow this summer, Tampa to the Lockn' festival in Virginia

That's why I mentioned it earlier, some folk don't know they need the bearings lubed on trailers.

Quote: petroglyph

Cool hack.

I had a 80 VW pickup. It was amazing. Transverse engine [gas] front wheel drive , couldn't hardly get it stuck,

I had a 81 Rabbit and it was
easy to work on. My first
front wheel drive car. I
drove it into the ground.
Got great gas mileage,
almost felt like a sports
car.

Quote: petroglyph

Probably a good reason they got rid of it.

Diesels have a weird history. My dad was a master diesel mechanic and swore it was a better design than gas. But it does have a few flaws that make it not as good for American roads. They are bad in cold weather and need to be hot to do their best. They do pollute more.

GM killed the market in the 1980s with their crap attempts.

When I look and consider them now, I see the extra cost of the engine and fuel and decide against. Other drawback for me is people who buy one run them into the ground, meaning in 3 years there will be none to choose from on the used lot.

As to that little VW pickup, I keep saying that a maker needs to do that again. Ford may make a truck based on the Focus. Being Ford, they will not sell it in the USA of course. But someone should sell one as IMHO many people buying small cars might well prefer something with a bed vs a back seat they never use.

Quote: AZDuffman

Diesels have a weird history. My dad was a master diesel mechanic and swore it was a better design than gas. But it does have a few flaws that make it not as good for American roads. They are bad in cold weather and need to be hot to do their best.

They handle the hot weather better it seems ? It concerns me every year running out across this desert about overheating, especially when I have the camper on. My diesel runs better the hotter it gets, just have to make sure about belts and hoses.

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When I look and consider them now, I see the extra cost of the engine and fuel and decide against. Other drawback for me is people who buy one run them into the ground, meaning in 3 years there will be none to choose from on the used lot.

What a rip off on the fuel ! When I worked in Cal. my boss had a new 4wd diesel ford pu. He destroyed a transfer case per month with his constant "jackrabbit" driving. From light to light he always had it floored. For his driving a small gas engine would have been much better.

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As to that little VW pickup, I keep saying that a maker needs to do that again. Ford may make a truck based on the Focus. Being Ford, they will not sell it in the USA of course. But someone should sell one as IMHO many people buying small cars might well prefer something with a bed vs a back seat they never use.

That style just works the best for us. Either a small pick up that has short side rails on it, so we can put stuff in and out of the back all the time without my forearm touching the top of the bed during summer, when the metal will burn skin from touching it, or something like an El camino. Which seem to have made a comeback around Havasu.

Since I'm not hauling much these days, my wife's tiny Toyota Tundra does all our service, it can almost turn around in a parking space. It is perfect for zipping around town. But on the open road the turbo 7.3 is hard to beat.

Her Tundra also seldom goes over 45 mph, so something like that small vw works great in that environment. I see all the Napa/car Quest delivery trucks have the same tiny Tundra that my wife has.

No car company is going to build what I think would be a perfect electric vehicle, which would be a little pick up, where the battery is flat and would lay in the bed. I've seen some "redneck" homemade electric tiny pickups that are neat, but not neat enough to mass produce? So far only stylish Roadsters and such. If the thinking in ev's were the utility of them, a small pu makes sense, at least to me.

I was watching a show in Oz, and it seemed most of the vehicles were diesel? There was a 4 seat Toyota diesel pickup that I really liked.

Why don't auto manufacturers offer the same diesel high mpg vehicles in the US, that they offer in Europe of Oz? The way the engines get loaded down here is different than up north, especially using the ac about 8 months of the year.

Quote: petroglyph

They handle the hot weather better it seems ? It concerns me every year running out across this desert about overheating, especially when I have the camper on. My diesel runs better the hotter it gets, just have to make sure about belts and hoses.

Can't say on the hot, but do know on the cold. Diesel fuel does not like the cold. Thickens. Harder to ignite. Gasoline, OTOH, wants to vaporize when it gets real hot outside.

Quote:

That style just works the best for us. Either a small pick up that has short side rails on it, so we can put stuff in and out of the back all the time without my forearm touching the top of the bed during summer, when the metal will burn skin from touching it, or something like an El camino. Which seem to have made a comeback around Havasu.

No car company is going to build what I think would be a perfect electric vehicle, which would be a little pick up, where the battery is flat and would lay in the bed. I've seen some "redneck" homemade electric tiny pickups that are neat, but not neat enough to mass produce? So far only stylish Roadsters and such. If the thinking in ev's were the utility of them, a small pu makes sense, at least to me.

Utes sold well in Oz. There is likely a market for a truck body but a car platform, in a small vehicle. Problem is Detroit sees every little truck taking sales from the big ones. The battery-in-the-bed is interesting but I wonder how it would hold up. Won't matter to me, I cannot see buying an EV at this time.

Quote:

Why don't auto manufacturers offer the same diesel high mpg vehicles in the US, that they offer in Europe of Oz? The way the engines get loaded down here is different than up north, especially using the ac about 8 months of the year.

A big part is emissions. Another is that Americans do not trust diesels.

Quote: AZDuffman

... The battery-in-the-bed is interesting but I wonder how it would hold up.

At least it would keep the explosion outside the cab. lol

Space and weight so far, continue to be obstacles, a pick up IMO is a possible solution for that . I've thought about ways to do a quick swap out, using big electrical contacts like a monster SD card. If what users desired mainly were just utility and transport, a small pickup does that. Something similar is used in power stations, where banks of relays are "racked" in and out on rollers.

We both know that using coal generated electric to charge electric vehicles is -ev for the environment. Until the greens can accept the safety of nuclear power, that will remain a factor. But on a home garage basis, many things are possible.

I don't plan on buying one either. jus/sayin

Quote: petroglyph

No car company is going to build what I think would be a perfect electric vehicle, which would be a little pick up, where the battery is flat and would lay in the bed. I've seen some "redneck" homemade electric tiny pickups that are neat, but not neat enough to mass produce? So far only stylish Roadsters and such. If the thinking in ev's were the utility of them, a small pu makes sense, at least to me.

https://qz.com/1541380/the-cheapest-chinese-electric-cars-are-coming-to-the-us-and-europe/ "China already sells more electric vehicles than the rest of the world combined. And there’s a long list of the categories you can choose from—including large buses, sports cars, two-wheeled motorcycles, and zippy scooters.

One of the hottest categories in that list is “tiny cars.” These mini-vehicles can cost as little as $1,000 and, in China at least, you don’t even need a driver’s license to use them. The catch? Their top speed is less than 40 miles per hour, they run on cheap lead-acid batteries, and they have little to no crash protection."