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Old 12-09-2013, 01:04 AM   #41
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Quote:
Originally Posted by arlan in arizona View Post
I think his question was to Moto4play and the tow vehicle upgrades he mentioned.
I have an 05 Chevy 3500 Silverado 4wd DRW crew cab with 8' bed Duramax. B&W Goose neck that I will be using a B&W 20k companion hitch with it. Currently have 24" wheels with Big Rig adaptors. Made arrangements for the dealer to swap out for a set of 20" wheels with std. 8 lug pattern and Nitto Dura Grapplers.
Truck only has 87k on it but it is new to me so this is why I am going through all the fluids. The brakes I am upgrading the front to the 14.5" SSBC kit 3 piston calipers (as a precaution) adding the BD Diesel Exhaust brake and a set of helper air bags over rear axel.

The truck will pull the load and stop with the trailer brakes. I like to be prepared for the worst like loosing trailer brakes completely. The On Board air system is more for convenience, need to repair a tire or just add air, run the air horn and control the ride height of the air bags. Also it will just be cool to be able to hook an air line to it at anytime. Air tools or inflatables or just to blow the garage floor out!

I know there are a lot of opinions out there about the GVWR and several posts. Tongue weight of the 3950 is 3071, less then the payload of the truck is. I do like having the option to level the rear of the truck if needed.
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Old 12-09-2013, 01:06 AM   #42
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Originally Posted by slb5146 View Post
It would be good if you could get them to install "Never Fail" bushings on the shackles and wet bolts on the Equa-Flex Equalizers. The Never Fail Bushings would not fit the hole on the Equa-Flex Equalizers. Here is a picture of mine after about 5000 miles. We brought the Voltage July 22, 2014 and replaced the bushings myself and a friend in October. I found that the factory forgot to put bushings in two of the shackles.

See also the Forum Topic I started on Never Fail Bushings:
http://www.dutchmenowners.org/forums...ings-1185.html
I have sent an email to the Dealer asking about Never Fail bushings and actual details on whats coming on the trailer. Also want to know what my options are to upgrade or have them install before i pick it up.

I let you know what they say!
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Old 12-09-2013, 04:07 AM   #43
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On the truck thread... mine's a 2011 F350 diesel dually. I put airbags on it... and don't need them. All they do is raise the rear of the truck 1.5 inches when inflated. Stone stock my truck pulls the 2013 3950 just fine. The trailer brakes work great, all six of them. I can and have stopped the truck using only the trailer brakes. Not recommended, but I've done it just to test things. Point is, if everything is working together, and is built to handle the load, you'll have no problems.

Upgrades can be done for any reason. Just be sure your truck can handle about 19,000 pounds of trailer. Your gross combined weight rating may be close to 30,000 pounds when all is said and done. Can you handle the weight?
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Old 12-09-2013, 11:19 AM   #44
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Originally Posted by VoltageGuy View Post
On the truck thread... mine's a 2011 F350 diesel dually. I put airbags on it... and don't need them. All they do is raise the rear of the truck 1.5 inches when inflated. Stone stock my truck pulls the 2013 3950 just fine. The trailer brakes work great, all six of them. I can and have stopped the truck using only the trailer brakes. Not recommended, but I've done it just to test things. Point is, if everything is working together, and is built to handle the load, you'll have no problems.

Upgrades can be done for any reason. Just be sure your truck can handle about 19,000 pounds of trailer. Your gross combined weight rating may be close to 30,000 pounds when all is said and done. Can you handle the weight?
I have not seen anyone that is pulling with a Chevy 3500 Dually Duramax complain that they do not have enough truck. I have pulled a lot of heavy equipment with both Ford and Chevy and i will put the 3500 Duramax Dually against anything in its class.

Anytime you increase the Wheel size on a vehicle you put more stress on the braking system. Especially when you get up over 20". But some some of the Big Rig packages can give you upwards of 200K miles on your tires. The larger rotor and increased pistons will not only give me more stopping power but less wear and maintenance. Same with the Air Bags, needed or not it will put some of the weight directly on the axel and take some off the suspension system.

The less stress you put on anything the less wear you will have. I have the time and the ability to do it before I have the Trailer. If the Voltage 3950 being my first Toy Hauler does not tell you, I do like the biggest and the best!


On the Ladder everyone was discussing. I use the Xtend & Climb almost on a daily basis, the 12'6" model which has a 300lb rating instead of the 250lb on the 15' model. This is a great Ladder! All of my guys carry one in their trucks or cars. I would not buy anything less and expect it to last, we have tried many and I have seen some give out under guys before.
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Old 12-09-2013, 09:32 PM   #45
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VoltageGuy View Post
Just be sure your truck can handle about 19,000 pounds of trailer. Your gross combined weight rating may be close to 30,000 pounds when all is said and done. Can you handle the weight?
Amen to that. Take care when loading your coach and perhaps go to a scale. I weighed my truck (2013 F350 Dually) before I hooked up and weighed it after. You can figure your pin weight if you know the weight of your tow vehicle. My wife and I went to Utah for 3 months. I was 28,860 lbs when we left home. I hit a scale on the way home and was up to 29,600 lbs. I did have more water in the unit than when we started though. And I bought a backup generator as ours took a dump midway through out trip.

Here is something I can't live with out these days. It is a digital water meter that allows you to see how much water are putting into your tank. You can only tell starting with an empty tank but what the heck. My 3905 holds 190 gallons of water not counting the water heater.

Link......

P3 P0550 Water Meter - Amazon.com
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Old 12-09-2013, 11:06 PM   #46
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Here is something I can't live with out these days. It is a digital water meter that allows you to see how much water are putting into your tank. You can only tell starting with an empty tank but what the heck. My 3905 holds 190 gallons of water not counting the water heater.

Link......

P3 P0550 Water Meter - Amazon.com[/QUOTE]


Thanks for the tip. I just ordered one. I always wonder how much water I'm putting in for different trips, because of the weight.

Does your 3905 hold that much water (190 gallons) ? My 3895 only holds 160 gallons according to the website stats.
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Old 12-09-2013, 11:30 PM   #47
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Originally Posted by waytoogood View Post
Here is something I can't live with out these days. It is a digital water meter that allows you to see how much water are putting into your tank. You can only tell starting with an empty tank but what the heck. My 3905 holds 190 gallons of water not counting the water heater.

Link......

P3 P0550 Water Meter - Amazon.com

Quote:
Thanks for the tip. I just ordered one. I always wonder how much water I'm putting in for different trips, because of the weight.

Does your 3905 hold that much water (190 gallons) ? My 3895 only holds 160 gallons according to the website stats.
According to the website stats it does hold 160 gallons. Here is what I did. I carry a 35 gallon water tank so I can add water when dry camping. It requires a trip to find water but I do it.

Last trip out I had the 35 gallon tank and two 5 gallons jugs. That is equal to (duh) 45 gallons. I emptied my tank as I had access to water and did 4 fills of 45 gallons. That was a visual 180 gallons it pumped in there and it did not overflow. After I bought the meter I emptied the fresh and it took right at 190 gallons.

That's a lot of water. When I filled from the water containers I was worried that the tank might fall out on the ground. Then I decided I was good to go. I can't imagine going down the highway with that amount of water though. Perhaps the last 20 miles with a full load of water?

I like my water tank setup. I have pumped from my pickup now several time and at a distance of about 40'.

Here is the pump......

Amazon.com: Rule IL500P 12 V 500 GHP Inline Submersible Marine Pump: Sports & Outdoors
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Old 12-12-2013, 10:13 PM   #48
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Moto4Play, I have also spent much time and money on making my truck better. Some know why, for those that can't understand the reason, there is no use explaining it, they don't get it.

http://www.dutchmenowners.org/forums...ruck-89-9.html

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Old 12-14-2013, 09:02 PM   #49
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Originally Posted by Moto4play View Post
Hello all,

We just ordered our new 3950 about 3 weeks ago. They are saying it will be Feb. when it is delivered to the Dealer. We ordered every option including the two Voltage recliners but we did not order the double pain windows because we are not full timing it and the dealer also stated that there was an issue with them fogging up. We also ordered the unit with the Full Paint option in Black base and Blue graphics. Needless to say we are very anxious! Wife is buying things for the inside and I am researching every possible weak link! lol

Upgrading the truck and making sure all fluids are changed and ready to tow this beast. This is our very first 5th wheel of any kind. We are happy to read that most everyone has had good experiences with the Voltage Toy Hauler, some of the reading I have been doing about other manufactures has really worried us!

The only thing we have been disappointed with thus far is the lack of specifics from the Manufacture on what is being used for things like the Brakes, Axels, tires, etc. It is like pulling teeth to find out what they are. The Dealer sent us a link to LCI and said they are putting on 12" electric brakes but did not say if they are on all 3 axels and are they the self adjusting type? Has anyone had any issues with the brakes on these units or have you upgraded to the disc brakes?


Things we are doing thus far;

Toppers over 2 bump outs on left side. Dealer to install when it arrives
14.5" brake upgrade on front brakes of truck.
Onboard air compressor and tank
B&W 20K Companion hitch
Back up camera with 7" screen (hope to tie to Camera on back of RV)
Oh yea, BIG AIR HORN!

Looking into exhaust brake.

Look forward to being a part of the RV'ing world and the future adventures, also reading about all the adventures that are posted on here.

Are you getting a wireless camera? Sounds like you already have a camera on the back of the RV?

Are you looking for a camera to back the truck up to the trailer?

I have a 2013 Denali HD 3500 with Nav. I bought a camera and mounted it to my toolbox pointing at the 5th wheel (I'm using a gooseneck)

I also removed the wireless camera on the trailer and used the identical camera on the back of the trailer (same as on the toolbox).

In order to view all these (including the factory camera in the tailgate), I bought a Lock Pic setup.

It utilizes the factory DIC.

I'll post pics later.

Mark
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Old 12-14-2013, 09:11 PM   #50
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Originally Posted by orangecrush View Post
Are you getting a wireless camera? Sounds like you already have a camera on the back of the RV?

Are you looking for a camera to back the truck up to the trailer?

I have a 2013 Denali HD 3500 with Nav. I bought a camera and mounted it to my toolbox pointing at the 5th wheel (I'm using a gooseneck)

I also removed the wireless camera on the trailer and used the identical camera on the back of the trailer (same as on the toolbox).

In order to view all these (including the factory camera in the tailgate), I bought a Lock Pic setup.

It utilizes the factory DIC.

I'll post pics later.

Mark


I am hoping I can hook the wireless camera on back of the RV to the screen on my Nav. I do have a back up camera mounted under the bumper. Did not think about putting one in the bed for the 5th wheel. Would like to see the pics.
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Old 12-14-2013, 09:24 PM   #51
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Originally Posted by Moto4play View Post
I am hoping I can hook the wireless camera on back of the RV to the screen on my Nav. I do have a back up camera mounted under the bumper. Did not think about putting one in the bed for the 5th wheel. Would like to see the pics.

I can't speak for the wireless cam you have but the one that came with my 3950 could not be hardwired into my screen.

You can see pics here…


http://www.dutchmenowners.org/forums...html#post10351
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Old 12-15-2013, 05:05 AM   #52
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That is sweet! Nice job!
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