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Old 12-28-2019, 02:55 AM   #1
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Turn on the battery, dummy

Well, we got nothing going on in this forum so I might as well cop out to my screw up last week. We took the Voltage to a Christmas party at a large ranch so we wouldn't have to drive home. I had the trailer plugged in to autolevel and to put out the slides. Except the leveling system kept making that grinding sound that I know is the result of a low battery.

The next morning I barely got the jacks up to go home. At home I realized that I never turned on the battery disconnect switch. Duh. I'm the guy that works at an RV dealership and sets up 60-80 trailers at our monthly RV shows. Yet I forgot to turn on the battery. In my defense, if there is any such thing, everything in the trailer worked just fine because we were plugged in so I didn't suspect the battery disconnect.
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Old 12-28-2019, 03:21 AM   #2
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Ha.... well, we all have those brain-fart moments. Just think of it this way:

You ain't the first, and you won't be the last...merely the most recent.
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Old 01-05-2020, 06:07 PM   #3
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Been there, done that!
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Old 01-09-2020, 04:59 PM   #4
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I am thinking there might have been refreshments involved.
Ho Ho Ho
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Old 01-09-2020, 10:01 PM   #5
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Back at cha.
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Old 01-10-2020, 03:00 PM   #6
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Back at cha.

F4 Phantoms?
I loved watching those land and takeoff.
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Old 01-10-2020, 03:27 PM   #7
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F4 Phantoms?
I loved watching those land and takeoff.
An F-4... the exact definition of a "flying brick".
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Old 01-10-2020, 04:15 PM   #8
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An F-4... the exact definition of a "flying brick".
Yea......but can can fly 2x + the speed of sound with 1950s technology.

I would give the proverbial "right one" for a ride in the back:-)
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Old 01-10-2020, 08:03 PM   #9
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Yea......but can can fly 2x + the speed of sound with 1950s technology.

I would give the proverbial "right one" for a ride in the back:-)
"left one"
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Old 01-10-2020, 08:24 PM   #10
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"left one"
Potatoe potato😁
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Old 01-12-2020, 12:45 PM   #11
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Potatoe potato😁

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Old 01-12-2020, 07:41 PM   #12
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An F-4... the exact definition of a "flying brick".
I was told the same thing by an A-10 jockey. He told me if you flamed out both engines to look straight down because that was where you were going to end up.

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Old 01-12-2020, 08:31 PM   #13
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I was told the same thing by an A-10 jockey. He told me if you flamed out both engines to look straight down because that was where you were going to end up.

Aaron
Yeah, it doesn't have any glide-ratio at all...

Not only is it kinda boxy, but it's extremely heavy. Proof positive that if you strap strong enough engines on any object, that it will fly. And those 2 GE J-79's were VERY powerful.

Funny story:

I remember my first time ever working one with an emergency when I was a young trainee. I'd been working the morning shift in the tower... and as it was nearing lunchtime, was getting towards the end of my shift. I already had 3 or 4 planes in the pattern, and another 2 on the radar approaches. Then an F-4 pilot checks in with me, saying he had a "BLT failure". Well at certain times of the day, it was kinda common practice for pilots to hint that they wanted to get on the ground in a hurry for various reasons, and lunchtime was one of them.

Anyway he checks in over one of the visual reporting points about 10 miles out with a "B-L-T failure", and that's all he says. So I give him the standard spiel of runway, wind & altimeter... told him to enter the downwind... and at the end added something like, "...and I copy the lunchtime request".

Next thing I know my instructor is grabbing the mic out of my hand, and telling him he was #1 for the runway... and then issuing instructions for the other aircraft to make room for the Phantom jockey.

Turns out what the pilot really said was B-L-C (SEE) failure, which stands for Boundary Layer Control. These are the big "board-like" panels you see in an F-4's intake... and they control the flow of air into the engine. So the pilot had an emergency situation which he was managing to keep the plane in the air.

Story has a happy ending as the pilot made an uneventful landing, and I got an education.

Just another 'fun' day on the job for a young PFC learning the ATC biz.
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Old 01-13-2020, 04:21 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by ATCguy View Post
Yeah, it doesn't have any glide-ratio at all...

Not only is it kinda boxy, but it's extremely heavy. Proof positive that if you strap strong enough engines on any object, that it will fly. And those 2 GE J-79's were VERY powerful.

Funny story:

I remember my first time ever working one with an emergency when I was a young trainee. I'd been working the morning shift in the tower... and as it was nearing lunchtime, was getting towards the end of my shift. I already had 3 or 4 planes in the pattern, and another 2 on the radar approaches. Then an F-4 pilot checks in with me, saying he had a "BLT failure". Well at certain times of the day, it was kinda common practice for pilots to hint that they wanted to get on the ground in a hurry for various reasons, and lunchtime was one of them.

Anyway he checks in over one of the visual reporting points about 10 miles out with a "B-L-T failure", and that's all he says. So I give him the standard spiel of runway, wind & altimeter... told him to enter the downwind... and at the end added something like, "...and I copy the lunchtime request".

Next thing I know my instructor is grabbing the mic out of my hand, and telling him he was #1 for the runway... and then issuing instructions for the other aircraft to make room for the Phantom jockey.

Turns out what the pilot really said was B-L-C (SEE) failure, which stands for Boundary Layer Control. These are the big "board-like" panels you see in an F-4's intake... and they control the flow of air into the engine. So the pilot had an emergency situation which he was managing to keep the plane in the air.

Story has a happy ending as the pilot made an uneventful landing, and I got an education.

Just another 'fun' day on the job for a young PFC learning the ATC biz.



You would not have that problem at an Army Field. Army food was not worth landing for.


First time I ate at an Air Force Base I was in shock! Real china and real silver ware! Real napkins and table cloths. And Center Pieces


Thank You for your Service!
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Old 01-13-2020, 05:22 PM   #15
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You would not have that problem at an Army Field. Army food was not worth landing for.


First time I ate at an Air Force Base I was in shock! Real china and real silver ware! Real napkins and table cloths. And Center Pieces


Thank You for your Service!
Yeah, chow in the Marine Corps wasn't much better... though it had its moments. But speaking of the USAF, I remember my first trip to the PX at Kadena AFB on Okinawa. We drove by boarded-up buildings that were marked "condemned" that we jarheads would have been more than happy to have as barracks.
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Old 01-14-2020, 04:42 PM   #16
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Yeah, chow in the Marine Corps wasn't much better... though it had its moments. But speaking of the USAF, I remember my first trip to the PX at Kadena AFB on Okinawa. We drove by boarded-up buildings that were marked "condemned" that we jarheads would have been more than happy to have as barracks.

You are right there were moments. My first Thanksgiving. I was truly amazed. The quantity of food! Turkey all the fixings. DessertS!!!
I can't imagine what the Air Force had Caviar. Champagne. Truffles.



Barracks. Ha! pre WWII 2 story shacks with coal heaters.



Anyway, I hijacked this thread long enough.
Thanks to all Veterans for your Service!
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Old 01-23-2020, 08:57 PM   #17
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Hey guys, I'm new here and a new second owner of a '94 Dutchmen 5th wheel. Where is the battery disconnect switch usually located? Curious because I have a couple of switches that I don't know what they are for. One is by the entry door on the inside with a red light on it when on, could this be the battery disconnect? When the light is on does that mean the battery is removed from the circuit?

My other switch is a 3 way switch that looks like a household light switch and it's located in the kitchen. I think this one may be electric/gas switch for the water heater, but staying on topic of this thread though, I'm more curious what and where the battery disconnect is.
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