Interesting Uber ride
 

On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 17:17:27 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

John H. wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 12:38:51 -0500, Justan Olphart wrote:

On 12/2/2015 4:58 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 2 Dec 2015 08:09:12 -0500, Justan Olphart
wrote:

Did you drive the Honda 90 MPH down US 75?

===

On occasion, more often 80 to 85. The car was always very solid at
that kind of speed - good tires of course, and everything in balance.

Europeans drive that fast all the time even faster in Germany. The
US, particularly the eastern states, has always been more sedate. I
see signs of change however. At one time anything over 70 would get
you a guaranteed ticket on the New York State Thruway. Nowadays a lot
of people are running 75+.


I trained my petal foot to think about safety and fuel economy. That
usually means at or under the speed limit.

That's the way I've gotten with the truck. The motorcycle likes about 75mph.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


I love speed. My brother has a Chevy van, diesel. Says he gets 22 mpg,
but never drives over 55. I do not want to spend all day going a short
distance.

I set my cruise control for about 68 when not towing, and I get about the same
mileage. A bit less than 70 is a very comfortable speed. Of course, I'm probably a
lot more senile and laid back than you are! :)
--

Ban idiots, not guns!

Interesting Uber ride
 

On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 17:17:28 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

John H. wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 12:57:26 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 12/3/2015 12:38 PM, Justan Olphart wrote:
On 12/2/2015 4:58 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 2 Dec 2015 08:09:12 -0500, Justan Olphart
wrote:

Did you drive the Honda 90 MPH down US 75?

===

On occasion, more often 80 to 85. The car was always very solid at
that kind of speed - good tires of course, and everything in balance.

Europeans drive that fast all the time even faster in Germany. The
US, particularly the eastern states, has always been more sedate. I
see signs of change however. At one time anything over 70 would get
you a guaranteed ticket on the New York State Thruway. Nowadays a lot
of people are running 75+.


I trained my petal foot to think about safety and fuel economy. That
usually means at or under the speed limit.

I've driven on the Autobahn in Germany and also on the Autostrata in
Italy. You can't compare Rt I-95 anywhere to either one. This was
back in the 70's though, so maybe things have changed.

German drivers are very disciplined. Italian drivers are more like the fools on I-95
- haul ass and bypass. I think maybe we're letting too many Italians into the
country.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


I love driving in Europe except for the road signs. They drivers stay in
the right lane, unless passing. Cops will ticket if you don't.

Passing on the right is illegal everywhere over there. And it isn't done. Makes
driving much less hazardous.

--

Ban idiots, not guns!

Interesting Uber ride
 

John H. wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 17:17:27 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

John H. wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 12:38:51 -0500, Justan Olphart wrote:

On 12/2/2015 4:58 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 2 Dec 2015 08:09:12 -0500, Justan Olphart
wrote:

Did you drive the Honda 90 MPH down US 75?

===

On occasion, more often 80 to 85. The car was always very solid at
that kind of speed - good tires of course, and everything in balance.

Europeans drive that fast all the time even faster in Germany. The
US, particularly the eastern states, has always been more sedate. I
see signs of change however. At one time anything over 70 would get
you a guaranteed ticket on the New York State Thruway. Nowadays a lot
of people are running 75+.


I trained my petal foot to think about safety and fuel economy. That
usually means at or under the speed limit.

That's the way I've gotten with the truck. The motorcycle likes about 75mph.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


I love speed. My brother has a Chevy van, diesel. Says he gets 22 mpg,
but never drives over 55. I do not want to spend all day going a short
distance.

I set my cruise control for about 68 when not towing, and I get about the same
mileage. A bit less than 70 is a very comfortable speed. Of course, I'm probably a
lot more senile and laid back than you are! :)
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


You have a newer truck. They brought out the extra transmission gear after
my 2004. Bette mileage. I am laid back. But love speed. Drag raced in
high school, and later ran a 1964 vetted coupe in SCCA racing. Me and m
Corvette are in the original Herbie movie. He Laguna Seca segment. Silver
car. I run about 80 on the open freeway. Speed limit is 70.

Interesting Uber ride
 

John H. wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 17:17:28 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

John H. wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 12:57:26 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 12/3/2015 12:38 PM, Justan Olphart wrote:
On 12/2/2015 4:58 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 2 Dec 2015 08:09:12 -0500, Justan Olphart
wrote:

Did you drive the Honda 90 MPH down US 75?

===

On occasion, more often 80 to 85. The car was always very solid at
that kind of speed - good tires of course, and everything in balance.

Europeans drive that fast all the time even faster in Germany. The
US, particularly the eastern states, has always been more sedate. I
see signs of change however. At one time anything over 70 would get
you a guaranteed ticket on the New York State Thruway. Nowadays a lot
of people are running 75+.


I trained my petal foot to think about safety and fuel economy. That
usually means at or under the speed limit.

I've driven on the Autobahn in Germany and also on the Autostrata in
Italy. You can't compare Rt I-95 anywhere to either one. This was
back in the 70's though, so maybe things have changed.

German drivers are very disciplined. Italian drivers are more like the fools on I-95
- haul ass and bypass. I think maybe we're letting too many Italians into the
country.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


I love driving in Europe except for the road signs. They drivers stay in
the right lane, unless passing. Cops will ticket if you don't.

Passing on the right is illegal everywhere over there. And it isn't done. Makes
driving much less hazardous.

--

Ban idiots, not guns!


People stay to he right except when passing.

Interesting Uber ride
 

On 12/4/2015 2:36 PM, John H. wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 17:10:20 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/3/2015 1:12 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 12/3/15 1:04 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 12:38:51 -0500, Justan Olphart
wrote:

On 12/2/2015 4:58 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 2 Dec 2015 08:09:12 -0500, Justan Olphart
wrote:

Did you drive the Honda 90 MPH down US 75?

===

On occasion, more often 80 to 85. The car was always very solid at
that kind of speed - good tires of course, and everything in balance.

Europeans drive that fast all the time even faster in Germany. The
US, particularly the eastern states, has always been more sedate. I
see signs of change however. At one time anything over 70 would get
you a guaranteed ticket on the New York State Thruway. Nowadays a lot
of people are running 75+.


I trained my petal foot to think about safety and fuel economy. That
usually means at or under the speed limit.

Little old ladies in Kias are telling you that you are #1 if you drive
around here.


I do 70 when possible on the interstates, but no more. I-95, the last
time I drove to Florida, was crowded. I take a special delight after
some yahoo blasts past me at more than 80 and see the guy pulled over a
few miles down the road by the police. My wife's new car gets 30+ mpg at
70 mph. I like that.


My Ford F-250 gets better gas mileage at 75 mph than it does at 60-65
mph. Weird, but it has to do with the gearing and when the torque
converter locks and unlocks. If I keep the RPM's up high enough
so it can climb steep hills without the TC unlocking (or downshifting
out of overdrive), my gas mileage goes up to a whopping 15 mpg from
about 13. :-) Fortunately, I don't drive much or very far in it.
Last long distance trip was to SC, last December.

The adult day care center that I drive for has a fleet of high top,
handicapped equipped (power lift and strap-downs for wheelchairs) vans.
They are all Ford F-350 SuperDuties. Mileage is horrible ... I have
to fill mine 3 times a week sometimes ... but they are rugged. He used
to have GM and Chevy vans but gave up on them. They just didn't last,
usually having transmission failures and engine problems.




I do like my Chevy diesel. Got 20 mpg going to Williams, Az for
thanksgiving. Normal around town is 14.5

On pure interstate to and from NC, without the trailer, mine gets a tad over 22.
Around town about 15-17. With the trailer, about 12-13. Can't complain. Most of the
around town stuff is done with the motorcycle, which gets about 40, around town.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


You guys with the GM diesels have the Allison transmission which is
probably about the best one made. The gas powered GM and Chevy vans
have a regular GM transmission. Those are the ones that the
transportation company had a lot of problems with.

They still have one GM van that I've used a couple of times. Definitely
has a nicer, softer ride compared to the Fords which ride like ... well
... trucks. They live a hard life though.

Interesting Uber ride
 

On Thu, 03 Dec 2015 20:29:23 -0500, wrote:

On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 16:56:31 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I am not into the RV thing either but I can appreciate the reasons that
many are. The term "camper" or even "RV" is a misnomer for some of the
rigs people have. The larger, high quality ones are really rolling
homes and those who are into it enjoy traveling all over the country in
them. Certainly no more expensive (probably less) than a similar sized
boat to own, maintain and purchase fuel for and it's not restricted to
waterways only.


... But you are not going to the Bahamas or the West Indies in your
motor home ;-)

Bull****!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za63ltkMGGE

:)
--

Ban idiots, not guns!

Interesting Uber ride
 

On Fri, 04 Dec 2015 16:42:40 -0500, John H.
wrote:

On Thu, 03 Dec 2015 20:29:23 -0500, wrote:

On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 16:56:31 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I am not into the RV thing either but I can appreciate the reasons that
many are. The term "camper" or even "RV" is a misnomer for some of the
rigs people have. The larger, high quality ones are really rolling
homes and those who are into it enjoy traveling all over the country in
them. Certainly no more expensive (probably less) than a similar sized
boat to own, maintain and purchase fuel for and it's not restricted to
waterways only.


... But you are not going to the Bahamas or the West Indies in your
motor home ;-)

Bull****!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za63ltkMGGE

:)

===

Interesting but they specify fresh water only. Sounds like good
advice based on my experiences with salted roads.

Probably not the ideal vessel for waves over 6 inches or so. :-)

Interesting Uber ride
 

On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 16:22:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

They still have one GM van that I've used a couple of times. Definitely
has a nicer, softer ride compared to the Fords which ride like ... well
.. trucks. They live a hard life though.

An E150 is a truck. A Chevy Van is a van box on a "C" body car
chassis. There is no reason why it shouldn't be able to ride like a
1974 Sedan De Ville. They just had to beef up the springs to get the
half ton rating.

Interesting Uber ride
 

On Fri, 04 Dec 2015 16:42:40 -0500, John H.
wrote:

On Thu, 03 Dec 2015 20:29:23 -0500, wrote:

On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 16:56:31 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I am not into the RV thing either but I can appreciate the reasons that
many are. The term "camper" or even "RV" is a misnomer for some of the
rigs people have. The larger, high quality ones are really rolling
homes and those who are into it enjoy traveling all over the country in
them. Certainly no more expensive (probably less) than a similar sized
boat to own, maintain and purchase fuel for and it's not restricted to
waterways only.


... But you are not going to the Bahamas or the West Indies in your
motor home ;-)

Bull****!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za63ltkMGGE

:)

I notice they opened the video with a graphic that said "the lake".

You get that out in blue water and they will be looking for it next to
El Faro.

There was a thread going on one of the real boat boards about a guy
who modified his pontoon so he could park his camping trailer on it
and go out on the lake. I saw some early experiments and then I lost
track of the project. I seem to remember he launched the boat, then
nosed it up to the ramp and rolled the trailer on (using ramp ramps).

I don't know if he went happily on with his life or it failed.

Interesting Uber ride
 

wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 16:22:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

They still have one GM van that I've used a couple of times. Definitely
has a nicer, softer ride compared to the Fords which ride like ... well
.. trucks. They live a hard life though.

An E150 is a truck. A Chevy Van is a van box on a "C" body car
chassis. There is no reason why it shouldn't be able to ride like a
1974 Sedan De Ville. They just had to beef up the springs to get the
half ton rating.


Van does not have the long overhang from the axles in the back or front, so
will never ride as smooth as a 74 caddie.

Interesting Uber ride
 

On Fri, 04 Dec 2015 21:57:23 -0500, wrote:

... But you are not going to the Bahamas or the West Indies in your
motor home ;-)

Bull****!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za63ltkMGGE

:)

I notice they opened the video with a graphic that said "the lake".

You get that out in blue water and they will be looking for it next to
El Faro.

There was a thread going on one of the real boat boards about a guy
who modified his pontoon so he could park his camping trailer on it
and go out on the lake. I saw some early experiments and then I lost
track of the project. I seem to remember he launched the boat, then
nosed it up to the ramp and rolled the trailer on (using ramp ramps).

I don't know if he went happily on with his life or it failed.

===

If you do that kind of project without some knowledge of naval
architecture, you are asking for a whole boat load of trouble. Red
neck engineering will only get you so far.

Interesting Uber ride
 

On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 18:59:36 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 16:22:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

They still have one GM van that I've used a couple of times. Definitely
has a nicer, softer ride compared to the Fords which ride like ... well
.. trucks. They live a hard life though.

An E150 is a truck. A Chevy Van is a van box on a "C" body car
chassis. There is no reason why it shouldn't be able to ride like a
1974 Sedan De Ville. They just had to beef up the springs to get the
half ton rating.


Van does not have the long overhang from the axles in the back or front, so
will never ride as smooth as a 74 caddie.

The main difference there is just the seating position. The caddy
driver is centered between the wheels and the van driver is almost
over the front wheels. The best ride in a conversion van is in the
seats behind the driver. They called my stretch E150 (AKA Moby Dick)
the limo if you were in the back.

Interesting Uber ride
 

On Fri, 04 Dec 2015 23:54:57 -0500,
wrote:

On Fri, 04 Dec 2015 21:57:23 -0500, wrote:

... But you are not going to the Bahamas or the West Indies in your
motor home ;-)

Bull****!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za63ltkMGGE

:)

I notice they opened the video with a graphic that said "the lake".

You get that out in blue water and they will be looking for it next to
El Faro.

There was a thread going on one of the real boat boards about a guy
who modified his pontoon so he could park his camping trailer on it
and go out on the lake. I saw some early experiments and then I lost
track of the project. I seem to remember he launched the boat, then
nosed it up to the ramp and rolled the trailer on (using ramp ramps).

I don't know if he went happily on with his life or it failed.

===

If you do that kind of project without some knowledge of naval
architecture, you are asking for a whole boat load of trouble. Red
neck engineering will only get you so far.

I see a lot of factory boats that look pretty tippy to me. ;-)

Interesting Uber ride
 

On Sat, 05 Dec 2015 00:25:46 -0500, wrote:

On Fri, 04 Dec 2015 23:54:57 -0500,
wrote:

On Fri, 04 Dec 2015 21:57:23 -0500, wrote:

... But you are not going to the Bahamas or the West Indies in your
motor home ;-)

Bull****!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za63ltkMGGE

:)

I notice they opened the video with a graphic that said "the lake".

You get that out in blue water and they will be looking for it next to
El Faro.

There was a thread going on one of the real boat boards about a guy
who modified his pontoon so he could park his camping trailer on it
and go out on the lake. I saw some early experiments and then I lost
track of the project. I seem to remember he launched the boat, then
nosed it up to the ramp and rolled the trailer on (using ramp ramps).

I don't know if he went happily on with his life or it failed.

===

If you do that kind of project without some knowledge of naval
architecture, you are asking for a whole boat load of trouble. Red
neck engineering will only get you so far.

I see a lot of factory boats that look pretty tippy to me. ;-)

===

I agree but it really all depends on whether they carry their weight
down low or not. If a production boat develops a reputation for
stability problems the class action lawyers will be all over it. You
might recall the infamous flybridge cruiser that Bayliner built back
in the 80 or 90s. People would cram onto the flybridge just because
there was room up there, and everyone liked the view of course.
Unfortunately when you put the boat into a turn when loaded like that,
it would flop over in the water and dump everybody. Bayliner's first
engineering fix was a warning sign to not overload the flybridge, but
then they ended up with massive lawsuits. The old Bertram's of that
era intentionally limitied flybridge seating to 2 or 3 people for just
that reason.

Interesting Uber ride
 

On Sat, 05 Dec 2015 01:03:23 -0500,
wrote:

On Sat, 05 Dec 2015 00:25:46 -0500, wrote:

On Fri, 04 Dec 2015 23:54:57 -0500,
wrote:

On Fri, 04 Dec 2015 21:57:23 -0500, wrote:

... But you are not going to the Bahamas or the West Indies in your
motor home ;-)

Bull****!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za63ltkMGGE

:)

I notice they opened the video with a graphic that said "the lake".

You get that out in blue water and they will be looking for it next to
El Faro.

There was a thread going on one of the real boat boards about a guy
who modified his pontoon so he could park his camping trailer on it
and go out on the lake. I saw some early experiments and then I lost
track of the project. I seem to remember he launched the boat, then
nosed it up to the ramp and rolled the trailer on (using ramp ramps).

I don't know if he went happily on with his life or it failed.

===

If you do that kind of project without some knowledge of naval
architecture, you are asking for a whole boat load of trouble. Red
neck engineering will only get you so far.

I see a lot of factory boats that look pretty tippy to me. ;-)

===

I agree but it really all depends on whether they carry their weight
down low or not. If a production boat develops a reputation for
stability problems the class action lawyers will be all over it. You
might recall the infamous flybridge cruiser that Bayliner built back
in the 80 or 90s. People would cram onto the flybridge just because
there was room up there, and everyone liked the view of course.
Unfortunately when you put the boat into a turn when loaded like that,
it would flop over in the water and dump everybody. Bayliner's first
engineering fix was a warning sign to not overload the flybridge, but
then they ended up with massive lawsuits. The old Bertram's of that
era intentionally limitied flybridge seating to 2 or 3 people for just
that reason.


I didn't really pay much attention to the camper on the pontoon build
but I seem to remember it was a 8-9 foot beam and the camper was more
like 6. He had room to walk around it on both sides. Since the heavy
part is the frame, it may not have really been that unstable.
Pontoons are not really known for capsizing. Tracker makes one with a
full width cabin and a "ride on" roof.
On a lake, I doubt it was that bad.
I see a huge 2 story pontoon boat in big carlos pass from time to
time. I think I have a picture but it is not on my web site

Interesting Uber ride
 

On 12/4/2015 9:49 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 16:22:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

They still have one GM van that I've used a couple of times. Definitely
has a nicer, softer ride compared to the Fords which ride like ... well
.. trucks. They live a hard life though.

An E150 is a truck. A Chevy Van is a van box on a "C" body car
chassis. There is no reason why it shouldn't be able to ride like a
1974 Sedan De Ville. They just had to beef up the springs to get the
half ton rating.


These are not E-150's. They are E-350's. Big difference. Same with
the pickups. A F-150 is a totally different truck than the SuperDuty
F-250 and F-350 series. Different frame, springs, brakes, transmission,
etc. The F-150 rides like a car. The F-250/F-350 series rides like a
truck.

If I ever replace the pickup I have, I'll probably go for the F-150. I
no longer need the extra capacity. But, at the low rate that I am
accumulating miles on it, I'll probably have it for a long, long time.

Interesting Uber ride
 

On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 16:22:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 12/4/2015 2:36 PM, John H. wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 17:10:20 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/3/2015 1:12 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 12/3/15 1:04 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 12:38:51 -0500, Justan Olphart
wrote:

On 12/2/2015 4:58 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 2 Dec 2015 08:09:12 -0500, Justan Olphart
wrote:

Did you drive the Honda 90 MPH down US 75?

===

On occasion, more often 80 to 85. The car was always very solid at
that kind of speed - good tires of course, and everything in balance.

Europeans drive that fast all the time even faster in Germany. The
US, particularly the eastern states, has always been more sedate. I
see signs of change however. At one time anything over 70 would get
you a guaranteed ticket on the New York State Thruway. Nowadays a lot
of people are running 75+.


I trained my petal foot to think about safety and fuel economy. That
usually means at or under the speed limit.

Little old ladies in Kias are telling you that you are #1 if you drive
around here.


I do 70 when possible on the interstates, but no more. I-95, the last
time I drove to Florida, was crowded. I take a special delight after
some yahoo blasts past me at more than 80 and see the guy pulled over a
few miles down the road by the police. My wife's new car gets 30+ mpg at
70 mph. I like that.


My Ford F-250 gets better gas mileage at 75 mph than it does at 60-65
mph. Weird, but it has to do with the gearing and when the torque
converter locks and unlocks. If I keep the RPM's up high enough
so it can climb steep hills without the TC unlocking (or downshifting
out of overdrive), my gas mileage goes up to a whopping 15 mpg from
about 13. :-) Fortunately, I don't drive much or very far in it.
Last long distance trip was to SC, last December.

The adult day care center that I drive for has a fleet of high top,
handicapped equipped (power lift and strap-downs for wheelchairs) vans.
They are all Ford F-350 SuperDuties. Mileage is horrible ... I have
to fill mine 3 times a week sometimes ... but they are rugged. He used
to have GM and Chevy vans but gave up on them. They just didn't last,
usually having transmission failures and engine problems.




I do like my Chevy diesel. Got 20 mpg going to Williams, Az for
thanksgiving. Normal around town is 14.5

On pure interstate to and from NC, without the trailer, mine gets a tad over 22.
Around town about 15-17. With the trailer, about 12-13. Can't complain. Most of the
around town stuff is done with the motorcycle, which gets about 40, around town.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


You guys with the GM diesels have the Allison transmission which is
probably about the best one made. The gas powered GM and Chevy vans
have a regular GM transmission. Those are the ones that the
transportation company had a lot of problems with.

They still have one GM van that I've used a couple of times. Definitely
has a nicer, softer ride compared to the Fords which ride like ... well
.. trucks. They live a hard life though.

My Silverado rides like a big Cadillac. The Allison transmission does a great job,
especially with the tow/haul mode enabled.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!

Interesting Uber ride
 

On Fri, 04 Dec 2015 21:57:23 -0500, wrote:

On Fri, 04 Dec 2015 16:42:40 -0500, John H.
wrote:

On Thu, 03 Dec 2015 20:29:23 -0500, wrote:

On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 16:56:31 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I am not into the RV thing either but I can appreciate the reasons that
many are. The term "camper" or even "RV" is a misnomer for some of the
rigs people have. The larger, high quality ones are really rolling
homes and those who are into it enjoy traveling all over the country in
them. Certainly no more expensive (probably less) than a similar sized
boat to own, maintain and purchase fuel for and it's not restricted to
waterways only.


... But you are not going to the Bahamas or the West Indies in your
motor home ;-)

Bull****!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za63ltkMGGE

:)

I notice they opened the video with a graphic that said "the lake".

You get that out in blue water and they will be looking for it next to
El Faro.

There was a thread going on one of the real boat boards about a guy
who modified his pontoon so he could park his camping trailer on it
and go out on the lake. I saw some early experiments and then I lost
track of the project. I seem to remember he launched the boat, then
nosed it up to the ramp and rolled the trailer on (using ramp ramps).

I don't know if he went happily on with his life or it failed.

I know, I know.

:)
--

Ban idiots, not guns!

Interesting Uber ride
 

On 12/5/2015 9:24 AM, John H. wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 16:22:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 12/4/2015 2:36 PM, John H. wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 17:10:20 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/3/2015 1:12 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 12/3/15 1:04 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 12:38:51 -0500, Justan Olphart
wrote:

On 12/2/2015 4:58 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 2 Dec 2015 08:09:12 -0500, Justan Olphart
wrote:

Did you drive the Honda 90 MPH down US 75?

===

On occasion, more often 80 to 85. The car was always very solid at
that kind of speed - good tires of course, and everything in balance.

Europeans drive that fast all the time even faster in Germany. The
US, particularly the eastern states, has always been more sedate. I
see signs of change however. At one time anything over 70 would get
you a guaranteed ticket on the New York State Thruway. Nowadays a lot
of people are running 75+.


I trained my petal foot to think about safety and fuel economy. That
usually means at or under the speed limit.

Little old ladies in Kias are telling you that you are #1 if you drive
around here.


I do 70 when possible on the interstates, but no more. I-95, the last
time I drove to Florida, was crowded. I take a special delight after
some yahoo blasts past me at more than 80 and see the guy pulled over a
few miles down the road by the police. My wife's new car gets 30+ mpg at
70 mph. I like that.


My Ford F-250 gets better gas mileage at 75 mph than it does at 60-65
mph. Weird, but it has to do with the gearing and when the torque
converter locks and unlocks. If I keep the RPM's up high enough
so it can climb steep hills without the TC unlocking (or downshifting
out of overdrive), my gas mileage goes up to a whopping 15 mpg from
about 13. :-) Fortunately, I don't drive much or very far in it.
Last long distance trip was to SC, last December.

The adult day care center that I drive for has a fleet of high top,
handicapped equipped (power lift and strap-downs for wheelchairs) vans.
They are all Ford F-350 SuperDuties. Mileage is horrible ... I have
to fill mine 3 times a week sometimes ... but they are rugged. He used
to have GM and Chevy vans but gave up on them. They just didn't last,
usually having transmission failures and engine problems.




I do like my Chevy diesel. Got 20 mpg going to Williams, Az for
thanksgiving. Normal around town is 14.5

On pure interstate to and from NC, without the trailer, mine gets a tad over 22.
Around town about 15-17. With the trailer, about 12-13. Can't complain. Most of the
around town stuff is done with the motorcycle, which gets about 40, around town.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


You guys with the GM diesels have the Allison transmission which is
probably about the best one made. The gas powered GM and Chevy vans
have a regular GM transmission. Those are the ones that the
transportation company had a lot of problems with.

They still have one GM van that I've used a couple of times. Definitely
has a nicer, softer ride compared to the Fords which ride like ... well
.. trucks. They live a hard life though.

My Silverado rides like a big Cadillac. The Allison transmission does a great job,
especially with the tow/haul mode enabled.

The Allison transmission is great. It was the only thing I liked about
the POS Pace Arrow motorhome I had. Ford came out with a transmission
called a "TorqueShift" that is used in the F-250, F-350 (and up)
SuperDuty series of pickups and trucks. It behaves in a very similar
fashion to the Allison in tow/haul mode. Jury is still out on
reliability although you don't hear about many problems.

Is your Silverado a 2500HD or a 3500HD model? The Ford diesel I had
(that had all kinds of engine problems) was a F-350 which is comparable
to the 3500 series produced by GM. The one I have now is a F-250 which
is comparable to the 2500 GM series. In both cases, the Fords ride a
lot "stiffer" than the GM's. I almost bought a Silverado 2500 but,
because I was so used to Fords, it felt *too* soft to my liking. But,
that was a few years ago when I was doing a lot more with trucks
(hauling and towing) than I do now.

Interesting Uber ride
 

On 12/5/2015 9:46 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/5/2015 9:24 AM, John H. wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 16:22:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/4/2015 2:36 PM, John H. wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 17:10:20 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/3/2015 1:12 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 12/3/15 1:04 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 12:38:51 -0500, Justan Olphart

wrote:

On 12/2/2015 4:58 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 2 Dec 2015 08:09:12 -0500, Justan Olphart

wrote:

Did you drive the Honda 90 MPH down US 75?

===

On occasion, more often 80 to 85. The car was always very
solid at
that kind of speed - good tires of course, and everything in
balance.

Europeans drive that fast all the time even faster in
Germany. The
US, particularly the eastern states, has always been more
sedate. I
see signs of change however. At one time anything over 70
would get
you a guaranteed ticket on the New York State Thruway.
Nowadays a lot
of people are running 75+.


I trained my petal foot to think about safety and fuel economy.
That
usually means at or under the speed limit.

Little old ladies in Kias are telling you that you are #1 if you
drive
around here.


I do 70 when possible on the interstates, but no more. I-95, the
last
time I drove to Florida, was crowded. I take a special delight after
some yahoo blasts past me at more than 80 and see the guy pulled
over a
few miles down the road by the police. My wife's new car gets 30+
mpg at
70 mph. I like that.


My Ford F-250 gets better gas mileage at 75 mph than it does at
60-65
mph. Weird, but it has to do with the gearing and when the torque
converter locks and unlocks. If I keep the RPM's up high enough
so it can climb steep hills without the TC unlocking (or downshifting
out of overdrive), my gas mileage goes up to a whopping 15 mpg from
about 13. :-) Fortunately, I don't drive much or very far in it.
Last long distance trip was to SC, last December.

The adult day care center that I drive for has a fleet of high top,
handicapped equipped (power lift and strap-downs for wheelchairs)
vans.
They are all Ford F-350 SuperDuties. Mileage is horrible ... I
have
to fill mine 3 times a week sometimes ... but they are rugged. He
used
to have GM and Chevy vans but gave up on them. They just didn't
last,
usually having transmission failures and engine problems.




I do like my Chevy diesel. Got 20 mpg going to Williams, Az for
thanksgiving. Normal around town is 14.5

On pure interstate to and from NC, without the trailer, mine gets a
tad over 22.
Around town about 15-17. With the trailer, about 12-13. Can't
complain. Most of the
around town stuff is done with the motorcycle, which gets about 40,
around town.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


You guys with the GM diesels have the Allison transmission which is
probably about the best one made. The gas powered GM and Chevy vans
have a regular GM transmission. Those are the ones that the
transportation company had a lot of problems with.

They still have one GM van that I've used a couple of times. Definitely
has a nicer, softer ride compared to the Fords which ride like ... well
.. trucks. They live a hard life though.

My Silverado rides like a big Cadillac. The Allison transmission does
a great job,
especially with the tow/haul mode enabled.

The Allison transmission is great. It was the only thing I liked about
the POS Pace Arrow motorhome I had. Ford came out with a transmission
called a "TorqueShift" that is used in the F-250, F-350 (and up)
SuperDuty series of pickups and trucks. It behaves in a very similar
fashion to the Allison in tow/haul mode. Jury is still out on
reliability although you don't hear about many problems.

Is your Silverado a 2500HD or a 3500HD model? The Ford diesel I had
(that had all kinds of engine problems) was a F-350 which is comparable
to the 3500 series produced by GM. The one I have now is a F-250 which
is comparable to the 2500 GM series. In both cases, the Fords ride a
lot "stiffer" than the GM's. I almost bought a Silverado 2500 but,
because I was so used to Fords, it felt *too* soft to my liking. But,
that was a few years ago when I was doing a lot more with trucks
(hauling and towing) than I do now.

The Ford transmission was designed by Allison. I don't know who actually
builds it.

Interesting Uber ride
 

On Sat, 5 Dec 2015 09:46:51 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 12/5/2015 9:24 AM, John H. wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 16:22:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 12/4/2015 2:36 PM, John H. wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 17:10:20 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/3/2015 1:12 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 12/3/15 1:04 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 12:38:51 -0500, Justan Olphart
wrote:

On 12/2/2015 4:58 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 2 Dec 2015 08:09:12 -0500, Justan Olphart
wrote:

Did you drive the Honda 90 MPH down US 75?

===

On occasion, more often 80 to 85. The car was always very solid at
that kind of speed - good tires of course, and everything in balance.

Europeans drive that fast all the time even faster in Germany. The
US, particularly the eastern states, has always been more sedate. I
see signs of change however. At one time anything over 70 would get
you a guaranteed ticket on the New York State Thruway. Nowadays a lot
of people are running 75+.


I trained my petal foot to think about safety and fuel economy. That
usually means at or under the speed limit.

Little old ladies in Kias are telling you that you are #1 if you drive
around here.


I do 70 when possible on the interstates, but no more. I-95, the last
time I drove to Florida, was crowded. I take a special delight after
some yahoo blasts past me at more than 80 and see the guy pulled over a
few miles down the road by the police. My wife's new car gets 30+ mpg at
70 mph. I like that.


My Ford F-250 gets better gas mileage at 75 mph than it does at 60-65
mph. Weird, but it has to do with the gearing and when the torque
converter locks and unlocks. If I keep the RPM's up high enough
so it can climb steep hills without the TC unlocking (or downshifting
out of overdrive), my gas mileage goes up to a whopping 15 mpg from
about 13. :-) Fortunately, I don't drive much or very far in it.
Last long distance trip was to SC, last December.

The adult day care center that I drive for has a fleet of high top,
handicapped equipped (power lift and strap-downs for wheelchairs) vans.
They are all Ford F-350 SuperDuties. Mileage is horrible ... I have
to fill mine 3 times a week sometimes ... but they are rugged. He used
to have GM and Chevy vans but gave up on them. They just didn't last,
usually having transmission failures and engine problems.




I do like my Chevy diesel. Got 20 mpg going to Williams, Az for
thanksgiving. Normal around town is 14.5

On pure interstate to and from NC, without the trailer, mine gets a tad over 22.
Around town about 15-17. With the trailer, about 12-13. Can't complain. Most of the
around town stuff is done with the motorcycle, which gets about 40, around town.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


You guys with the GM diesels have the Allison transmission which is
probably about the best one made. The gas powered GM and Chevy vans
have a regular GM transmission. Those are the ones that the
transportation company had a lot of problems with.

They still have one GM van that I've used a couple of times. Definitely
has a nicer, softer ride compared to the Fords which ride like ... well
.. trucks. They live a hard life though.

My Silverado rides like a big Cadillac. The Allison transmission does a great job,
especially with the tow/haul mode enabled.

The Allison transmission is great. It was the only thing I liked about
the POS Pace Arrow motorhome I had. Ford came out with a transmission
called a "TorqueShift" that is used in the F-250, F-350 (and up)
SuperDuty series of pickups and trucks. It behaves in a very similar
fashion to the Allison in tow/haul mode. Jury is still out on
reliability although you don't hear about many problems.

Is your Silverado a 2500HD or a 3500HD model? The Ford diesel I had
(that had all kinds of engine problems) was a F-350 which is comparable
to the 3500 series produced by GM. The one I have now is a F-250 which
is comparable to the 2500 GM series. In both cases, the Fords ride a
lot "stiffer" than the GM's. I almost bought a Silverado 2500 but,
because I was so used to Fords, it felt *too* soft to my liking. But,
that was a few years ago when I was doing a lot more with trucks
(hauling and towing) than I do now.

Mine's a 2500HD. If you think that Ford's bad, you should try a Dodge Ram 1500. All
it took was a ride around a couple blocks. My wife said there's no way she'd ever
ride in the damn thing. Unsprung farm wagons gave a smoother ride.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!

Interesting Uber ride
 

On 12/5/2015 10:31 AM, John H. wrote:
On Sat, 5 Dec 2015 09:46:51 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 12/5/2015 9:24 AM, John H. wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 16:22:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 12/4/2015 2:36 PM, John H. wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 17:10:20 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/3/2015 1:12 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 12/3/15 1:04 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 12:38:51 -0500, Justan Olphart
wrote:

On 12/2/2015 4:58 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 2 Dec 2015 08:09:12 -0500, Justan Olphart
wrote:

Did you drive the Honda 90 MPH down US 75?

===

On occasion, more often 80 to 85. The car was always very solid at
that kind of speed - good tires of course, and everything in balance.

Europeans drive that fast all the time even faster in Germany. The
US, particularly the eastern states, has always been more sedate. I
see signs of change however. At one time anything over 70 would get
you a guaranteed ticket on the New York State Thruway. Nowadays a lot
of people are running 75+.


I trained my petal foot to think about safety and fuel economy. That
usually means at or under the speed limit.

Little old ladies in Kias are telling you that you are #1 if you drive
around here.


I do 70 when possible on the interstates, but no more. I-95, the last
time I drove to Florida, was crowded. I take a special delight after
some yahoo blasts past me at more than 80 and see the guy pulled over a
few miles down the road by the police. My wife's new car gets 30+ mpg at
70 mph. I like that.


My Ford F-250 gets better gas mileage at 75 mph than it does at 60-65
mph. Weird, but it has to do with the gearing and when the torque
converter locks and unlocks. If I keep the RPM's up high enough
so it can climb steep hills without the TC unlocking (or downshifting
out of overdrive), my gas mileage goes up to a whopping 15 mpg from
about 13. :-) Fortunately, I don't drive much or very far in it.
Last long distance trip was to SC, last December.

The adult day care center that I drive for has a fleet of high top,
handicapped equipped (power lift and strap-downs for wheelchairs) vans.
They are all Ford F-350 SuperDuties. Mileage is horrible ... I have
to fill mine 3 times a week sometimes ... but they are rugged. He used
to have GM and Chevy vans but gave up on them. They just didn't last,
usually having transmission failures and engine problems.




I do like my Chevy diesel. Got 20 mpg going to Williams, Az for
thanksgiving. Normal around town is 14.5

On pure interstate to and from NC, without the trailer, mine gets a tad over 22.
Around town about 15-17. With the trailer, about 12-13. Can't complain. Most of the
around town stuff is done with the motorcycle, which gets about 40, around town.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


You guys with the GM diesels have the Allison transmission which is
probably about the best one made. The gas powered GM and Chevy vans
have a regular GM transmission. Those are the ones that the
transportation company had a lot of problems with.

They still have one GM van that I've used a couple of times. Definitely
has a nicer, softer ride compared to the Fords which ride like ... well
.. trucks. They live a hard life though.

My Silverado rides like a big Cadillac. The Allison transmission does a great job,
especially with the tow/haul mode enabled.

The Allison transmission is great. It was the only thing I liked about
the POS Pace Arrow motorhome I had. Ford came out with a transmission
called a "TorqueShift" that is used in the F-250, F-350 (and up)
SuperDuty series of pickups and trucks. It behaves in a very similar
fashion to the Allison in tow/haul mode. Jury is still out on
reliability although you don't hear about many problems.

Is your Silverado a 2500HD or a 3500HD model? The Ford diesel I had
(that had all kinds of engine problems) was a F-350 which is comparable
to the 3500 series produced by GM. The one I have now is a F-250 which
is comparable to the 2500 GM series. In both cases, the Fords ride a
lot "stiffer" than the GM's. I almost bought a Silverado 2500 but,
because I was so used to Fords, it felt *too* soft to my liking. But,
that was a few years ago when I was doing a lot more with trucks
(hauling and towing) than I do now.

Mine's a 2500HD. If you think that Ford's bad, you should try a Dodge Ram 1500. All
it took was a ride around a couple blocks. My wife said there's no way she'd ever
ride in the damn thing. Unsprung farm wagons gave a smoother ride.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!

Fiat Ram 1500. Now that's a real truck. If Donnie is ever inclined to
get a real truck, he should get one of those. ;-)

Interesting Uber ride
 

On Sat, 5 Dec 2015 09:46:51 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:


that was a few years ago when I was doing a lot more with trucks
(hauling and towing) than I do now.

I have always had X150s except for the Suburban and the SUVs (not
really trucks anyway).
I loaded them like they were bigger though occasionally
I really had my first E150 heavy a number of times. The most often was
when I was running the paper recycling for IBM. I have had it pretty
much stuffed with boxes of used computer paper. One time it was almost
a ton and a half of paper.

The guy running the scales was shocked. I walked away with about $150
They had "coffee money" for quite a while

I brought home 7 squares of roofing once too. That was a pretty good
load. I carried it all up the steps, through the house, up a ladder on
the back deck and up to the roof. I was younger then ;-)

This little Explorer we have now gets a workout now and then too, like
a pallet of sod, a pallet of mulch or a pallet of tile.
Just go slow and be sure there is nothing in front of you too close so
you can stop.

I brought 14 80 pound bags of concrete and 10 2x4s home in my LeBaron
once tho. I punched up "low rider" on my MP3 player and got a laugh
out of the Mexicans at Home Depot.

Interesting Uber ride
 

On 12/5/2015 10:24 AM, Justan Olphart wrote:
On 12/5/2015 9:46 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/5/2015 9:24 AM, John H. wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 16:22:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/4/2015 2:36 PM, John H. wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 17:10:20 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/3/2015 1:12 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 12/3/15 1:04 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 12:38:51 -0500, Justan Olphart

wrote:

On 12/2/2015 4:58 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 2 Dec 2015 08:09:12 -0500, Justan Olphart

wrote:

Did you drive the Honda 90 MPH down US 75?

===

On occasion, more often 80 to 85. The car was always very
solid at
that kind of speed - good tires of course, and everything in
balance.

Europeans drive that fast all the time even faster in
Germany. The
US, particularly the eastern states, has always been more
sedate. I
see signs of change however. At one time anything over 70
would get
you a guaranteed ticket on the New York State Thruway.
Nowadays a lot
of people are running 75+.


I trained my petal foot to think about safety and fuel economy.
That
usually means at or under the speed limit.

Little old ladies in Kias are telling you that you are #1 if you
drive
around here.


I do 70 when possible on the interstates, but no more. I-95, the
last
time I drove to Florida, was crowded. I take a special delight
after
some yahoo blasts past me at more than 80 and see the guy pulled
over a
few miles down the road by the police. My wife's new car gets 30+
mpg at
70 mph. I like that.


My Ford F-250 gets better gas mileage at 75 mph than it does at
60-65
mph. Weird, but it has to do with the gearing and when the torque
converter locks and unlocks. If I keep the RPM's up high enough
so it can climb steep hills without the TC unlocking (or
downshifting
out of overdrive), my gas mileage goes up to a whopping 15 mpg from
about 13. :-) Fortunately, I don't drive much or very far in it.
Last long distance trip was to SC, last December.

The adult day care center that I drive for has a fleet of high top,
handicapped equipped (power lift and strap-downs for wheelchairs)
vans.
They are all Ford F-350 SuperDuties. Mileage is horrible ... I
have
to fill mine 3 times a week sometimes ... but they are rugged. He
used
to have GM and Chevy vans but gave up on them. They just didn't
last,
usually having transmission failures and engine problems.




I do like my Chevy diesel. Got 20 mpg going to Williams, Az for
thanksgiving. Normal around town is 14.5

On pure interstate to and from NC, without the trailer, mine gets a
tad over 22.
Around town about 15-17. With the trailer, about 12-13. Can't
complain. Most of the
around town stuff is done with the motorcycle, which gets about 40,
around town.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


You guys with the GM diesels have the Allison transmission which is
probably about the best one made. The gas powered GM and Chevy vans
have a regular GM transmission. Those are the ones that the
transportation company had a lot of problems with.

They still have one GM van that I've used a couple of times.
Definitely
has a nicer, softer ride compared to the Fords which ride like ... well
.. trucks. They live a hard life though.

My Silverado rides like a big Cadillac. The Allison transmission does
a great job,
especially with the tow/haul mode enabled.

The Allison transmission is great. It was the only thing I liked about
the POS Pace Arrow motorhome I had. Ford came out with a transmission
called a "TorqueShift" that is used in the F-250, F-350 (and up)
SuperDuty series of pickups and trucks. It behaves in a very similar
fashion to the Allison in tow/haul mode. Jury is still out on
reliability although you don't hear about many problems.

Is your Silverado a 2500HD or a 3500HD model? The Ford diesel I had
(that had all kinds of engine problems) was a F-350 which is comparable
to the 3500 series produced by GM. The one I have now is a F-250 which
is comparable to the 2500 GM series. In both cases, the Fords ride a
lot "stiffer" than the GM's. I almost bought a Silverado 2500 but,
because I was so used to Fords, it felt *too* soft to my liking. But,
that was a few years ago when I was doing a lot more with trucks
(hauling and towing) than I do now.


The Ford transmission was designed by Allison. I don't know who actually
builds it.

Ah, didn't know that. I knew Ford came out with it to compete with the
Allison but didn't know it was designed by Allison. That's probably why
it reminds me so much of the transmission in the Pace Arrow.

Interesting Uber ride
 

On 12/5/2015 10:31 AM, John H. wrote:
On Sat, 5 Dec 2015 09:46:51 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 12/5/2015 9:24 AM, John H. wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 16:22:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 12/4/2015 2:36 PM, John H. wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 17:10:20 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/3/2015 1:12 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 12/3/15 1:04 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 12:38:51 -0500, Justan Olphart
wrote:

On 12/2/2015 4:58 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 2 Dec 2015 08:09:12 -0500, Justan Olphart
wrote:

Did you drive the Honda 90 MPH down US 75?

===

On occasion, more often 80 to 85. The car was always very solid at
that kind of speed - good tires of course, and everything in balance.

Europeans drive that fast all the time even faster in Germany. The
US, particularly the eastern states, has always been more sedate. I
see signs of change however. At one time anything over 70 would get
you a guaranteed ticket on the New York State Thruway. Nowadays a lot
of people are running 75+.


I trained my petal foot to think about safety and fuel economy. That
usually means at or under the speed limit.

Little old ladies in Kias are telling you that you are #1 if you drive
around here.


I do 70 when possible on the interstates, but no more. I-95, the last
time I drove to Florida, was crowded. I take a special delight after
some yahoo blasts past me at more than 80 and see the guy pulled over a
few miles down the road by the police. My wife's new car gets 30+ mpg at
70 mph. I like that.


My Ford F-250 gets better gas mileage at 75 mph than it does at 60-65
mph. Weird, but it has to do with the gearing and when the torque
converter locks and unlocks. If I keep the RPM's up high enough
so it can climb steep hills without the TC unlocking (or downshifting
out of overdrive), my gas mileage goes up to a whopping 15 mpg from
about 13. :-) Fortunately, I don't drive much or very far in it.
Last long distance trip was to SC, last December.

The adult day care center that I drive for has a fleet of high top,
handicapped equipped (power lift and strap-downs for wheelchairs) vans.
They are all Ford F-350 SuperDuties. Mileage is horrible ... I have
to fill mine 3 times a week sometimes ... but they are rugged. He used
to have GM and Chevy vans but gave up on them. They just didn't last,
usually having transmission failures and engine problems.




I do like my Chevy diesel. Got 20 mpg going to Williams, Az for
thanksgiving. Normal around town is 14.5

On pure interstate to and from NC, without the trailer, mine gets a tad over 22.
Around town about 15-17. With the trailer, about 12-13. Can't complain. Most of the
around town stuff is done with the motorcycle, which gets about 40, around town.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


You guys with the GM diesels have the Allison transmission which is
probably about the best one made. The gas powered GM and Chevy vans
have a regular GM transmission. Those are the ones that the
transportation company had a lot of problems with.

They still have one GM van that I've used a couple of times. Definitely
has a nicer, softer ride compared to the Fords which ride like ... well
.. trucks. They live a hard life though.

My Silverado rides like a big Cadillac. The Allison transmission does a great job,
especially with the tow/haul mode enabled.

The Allison transmission is great. It was the only thing I liked about
the POS Pace Arrow motorhome I had. Ford came out with a transmission
called a "TorqueShift" that is used in the F-250, F-350 (and up)
SuperDuty series of pickups and trucks. It behaves in a very similar
fashion to the Allison in tow/haul mode. Jury is still out on
reliability although you don't hear about many problems.

Is your Silverado a 2500HD or a 3500HD model? The Ford diesel I had
(that had all kinds of engine problems) was a F-350 which is comparable
to the 3500 series produced by GM. The one I have now is a F-250 which
is comparable to the 2500 GM series. In both cases, the Fords ride a
lot "stiffer" than the GM's. I almost bought a Silverado 2500 but,
because I was so used to Fords, it felt *too* soft to my liking. But,
that was a few years ago when I was doing a lot more with trucks
(hauling and towing) than I do now.

Mine's a 2500HD. If you think that Ford's bad, you should try a Dodge Ram 1500. All
it took was a ride around a couple blocks. My wife said there's no way she'd ever
ride in the damn thing. Unsprung farm wagons gave a smoother ride.

I had a Ram 2500 when we first bought the place in Florida. You're
right, it was like riding with no springs at all. I ended up giving it
to my nephew who was doing construction in Florida for three or four
years. It was perfect for him. I also had a Ram 1500 for a while ...
bought it new in 1997. Dodge almost had to buy it back from me. It
had a "pulsing" at a certain speed that felt like you were pulling a
trailer that was alternately pushing and then pulling at the truck.
Dealership torn the engine down, thinking that was the problem. It
wasn't. They finally had the regional manager for Dodge visit and he
and I went for a ride. I demonstrated the "pulsing" and he didn't argue
at all. He could feel it. On the way back to the dealership
he suggested that I walk around the lot and pick out a replacement truck
while he filed the report and paperwork.

Then, they asked if they could try one more thing. I liked the truck,
so I said, "Sure". They replaced the whole rear end, axle and all.
No more pulsations. Bad differential from the factory.

Interesting Uber ride
 

On 12/5/2015 10:36 AM, Justan Olphart wrote:
On 12/5/2015 10:31 AM, John H. wrote:
On Sat, 5 Dec 2015 09:46:51 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/5/2015 9:24 AM, John H. wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 16:22:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/4/2015 2:36 PM, John H. wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 17:10:20 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/3/2015 1:12 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 12/3/15 1:04 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 12:38:51 -0500, Justan Olphart

wrote:

On 12/2/2015 4:58 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 2 Dec 2015 08:09:12 -0500, Justan Olphart

wrote:

Did you drive the Honda 90 MPH down US 75?

===

On occasion, more often 80 to 85. The car was always very
solid at
that kind of speed - good tires of course, and everything in
balance.

Europeans drive that fast all the time even faster in
Germany. The
US, particularly the eastern states, has always been more
sedate. I
see signs of change however. At one time anything over 70
would get
you a guaranteed ticket on the New York State Thruway.
Nowadays a lot
of people are running 75+.


I trained my petal foot to think about safety and fuel
economy. That
usually means at or under the speed limit.

Little old ladies in Kias are telling you that you are #1 if
you drive
around here.


I do 70 when possible on the interstates, but no more. I-95,
the last
time I drove to Florida, was crowded. I take a special delight
after
some yahoo blasts past me at more than 80 and see the guy
pulled over a
few miles down the road by the police. My wife's new car gets
30+ mpg at
70 mph. I like that.


My Ford F-250 gets better gas mileage at 75 mph than it does at
60-65
mph. Weird, but it has to do with the gearing and when the torque
converter locks and unlocks. If I keep the RPM's up high enough
so it can climb steep hills without the TC unlocking (or
downshifting
out of overdrive), my gas mileage goes up to a whopping 15 mpg from
about 13. :-) Fortunately, I don't drive much or very far in it.
Last long distance trip was to SC, last December.

The adult day care center that I drive for has a fleet of high top,
handicapped equipped (power lift and strap-downs for
wheelchairs) vans.
They are all Ford F-350 SuperDuties. Mileage is horrible
... I have
to fill mine 3 times a week sometimes ... but they are rugged.
He used
to have GM and Chevy vans but gave up on them. They just didn't
last,
usually having transmission failures and engine problems.




I do like my Chevy diesel. Got 20 mpg going to Williams, Az for
thanksgiving. Normal around town is 14.5

On pure interstate to and from NC, without the trailer, mine gets
a tad over 22.
Around town about 15-17. With the trailer, about 12-13. Can't
complain. Most of the
around town stuff is done with the motorcycle, which gets about
40, around town.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


You guys with the GM diesels have the Allison transmission which is
probably about the best one made. The gas powered GM and Chevy vans
have a regular GM transmission. Those are the ones that the
transportation company had a lot of problems with.

They still have one GM van that I've used a couple of times.
Definitely
has a nicer, softer ride compared to the Fords which ride like ...
well
.. trucks. They live a hard life though.

My Silverado rides like a big Cadillac. The Allison transmission
does a great job,
especially with the tow/haul mode enabled.

The Allison transmission is great. It was the only thing I liked about
the POS Pace Arrow motorhome I had. Ford came out with a transmission
called a "TorqueShift" that is used in the F-250, F-350 (and up)
SuperDuty series of pickups and trucks. It behaves in a very similar
fashion to the Allison in tow/haul mode. Jury is still out on
reliability although you don't hear about many problems.

Is your Silverado a 2500HD or a 3500HD model? The Ford diesel I had
(that had all kinds of engine problems) was a F-350 which is comparable
to the 3500 series produced by GM. The one I have now is a F-250 which
is comparable to the 2500 GM series. In both cases, the Fords ride a
lot "stiffer" than the GM's. I almost bought a Silverado 2500 but,
because I was so used to Fords, it felt *too* soft to my liking. But,
that was a few years ago when I was doing a lot more with trucks
(hauling and towing) than I do now.

Mine's a 2500HD. If you think that Ford's bad, you should try a Dodge
Ram 1500. All
it took was a ride around a couple blocks. My wife said there's no way
she'd ever
ride in the damn thing. Unsprung farm wagons gave a smoother ride.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!

Fiat Ram 1500. Now that's a real truck. If Donnie is ever inclined to
get a real truck, he should get one of those. ;-)


One smart decision Fiat made was to not mess with the Ram trucks. They
spun it off as it's own division. They are considered very good trucks.

Interesting Uber ride
 

On 12/5/2015 11:08 AM, wrote:
On Sat, 5 Dec 2015 09:46:51 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:


that was a few years ago when I was doing a lot more with trucks
(hauling and towing) than I do now.

I have always had X150s except for the Suburban and the SUVs (not
really trucks anyway).
I loaded them like they were bigger though occasionally
I really had my first E150 heavy a number of times. The most often was
when I was running the paper recycling for IBM. I have had it pretty
much stuffed with boxes of used computer paper. One time it was almost
a ton and a half of paper.

The guy running the scales was shocked. I walked away with about $150
They had "coffee money" for quite a while

I brought home 7 squares of roofing once too. That was a pretty good
load. I carried it all up the steps, through the house, up a ladder on
the back deck and up to the roof. I was younger then ;-)

This little Explorer we have now gets a workout now and then too, like
a pallet of sod, a pallet of mulch or a pallet of tile.
Just go slow and be sure there is nothing in front of you too close so
you can stop.

I brought 14 80 pound bags of concrete and 10 2x4s home in my LeBaron
once tho. I punched up "low rider" on my MP3 player and got a laugh
out of the Mexicans at Home Depot.



I think the "X150" series of Fords are sufficient for most applications
and users. The SuperDuty series are probably mostly underused ... (like
me) in terms of their capacities. The company I drive for has one E-150
and several E-350's. The E-150 is used for special runs
of maybe 4-6 people who do not require wheelchair capabilities.
All the E-350's are equipped with power lifts for wheelchairs and can
seat 10-12 people, not including the driver (me). You can tell they
are designed for heavy duty use.

I am not looking forward to winter though. I am told that they
are horrible in the snow. I am going to get a big bucket of sand
or a couple of bags of kitty litter and carry them with me.

Interesting Uber ride
 

On Sat, 5 Dec 2015 11:49:50 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/5/2015 10:36 AM, Justan Olphart wrote:
On 12/5/2015 10:31 AM, John H. wrote:
On Sat, 5 Dec 2015 09:46:51 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/5/2015 9:24 AM, John H. wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 16:22:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/4/2015 2:36 PM, John H. wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 17:10:20 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/3/2015 1:12 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 12/3/15 1:04 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 12:38:51 -0500, Justan Olphart

wrote:

On 12/2/2015 4:58 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 2 Dec 2015 08:09:12 -0500, Justan Olphart

wrote:

Did you drive the Honda 90 MPH down US 75?

===

On occasion, more often 80 to 85. The car was always very
solid at
that kind of speed - good tires of course, and everything in
balance.

Europeans drive that fast all the time even faster in
Germany. The
US, particularly the eastern states, has always been more
sedate. I
see signs of change however. At one time anything over 70
would get
you a guaranteed ticket on the New York State Thruway.
Nowadays a lot
of people are running 75+.


I trained my petal foot to think about safety and fuel
economy. That
usually means at or under the speed limit.

Little old ladies in Kias are telling you that you are #1 if
you drive
around here.


I do 70 when possible on the interstates, but no more. I-95,
the last
time I drove to Florida, was crowded. I take a special delight
after
some yahoo blasts past me at more than 80 and see the guy
pulled over a
few miles down the road by the police. My wife's new car gets
30+ mpg at
70 mph. I like that.


My Ford F-250 gets better gas mileage at 75 mph than it does at
60-65
mph. Weird, but it has to do with the gearing and when the torque
converter locks and unlocks. If I keep the RPM's up high enough
so it can climb steep hills without the TC unlocking (or
downshifting
out of overdrive), my gas mileage goes up to a whopping 15 mpg from
about 13. :-) Fortunately, I don't drive much or very far in it.
Last long distance trip was to SC, last December.

The adult day care center that I drive for has a fleet of high top,
handicapped equipped (power lift and strap-downs for
wheelchairs) vans.
They are all Ford F-350 SuperDuties. Mileage is horrible
... I have
to fill mine 3 times a week sometimes ... but they are rugged.
He used
to have GM and Chevy vans but gave up on them. They just didn't
last,
usually having transmission failures and engine problems.




I do like my Chevy diesel. Got 20 mpg going to Williams, Az for
thanksgiving. Normal around town is 14.5

On pure interstate to and from NC, without the trailer, mine gets
a tad over 22.
Around town about 15-17. With the trailer, about 12-13. Can't
complain. Most of the
around town stuff is done with the motorcycle, which gets about
40, around town.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


You guys with the GM diesels have the Allison transmission which is
probably about the best one made. The gas powered GM and Chevy vans
have a regular GM transmission. Those are the ones that the
transportation company had a lot of problems with.

They still have one GM van that I've used a couple of times.
Definitely
has a nicer, softer ride compared to the Fords which ride like ...
well
.. trucks. They live a hard life though.

My Silverado rides like a big Cadillac. The Allison transmission
does a great job,
especially with the tow/haul mode enabled.

The Allison transmission is great. It was the only thing I liked about
the POS Pace Arrow motorhome I had. Ford came out with a transmission
called a "TorqueShift" that is used in the F-250, F-350 (and up)
SuperDuty series of pickups and trucks. It behaves in a very similar
fashion to the Allison in tow/haul mode. Jury is still out on
reliability although you don't hear about many problems.

Is your Silverado a 2500HD or a 3500HD model? The Ford diesel I had
(that had all kinds of engine problems) was a F-350 which is comparable
to the 3500 series produced by GM. The one I have now is a F-250 which
is comparable to the 2500 GM series. In both cases, the Fords ride a
lot "stiffer" than the GM's. I almost bought a Silverado 2500 but,
because I was so used to Fords, it felt *too* soft to my liking. But,
that was a few years ago when I was doing a lot more with trucks
(hauling and towing) than I do now.

Mine's a 2500HD. If you think that Ford's bad, you should try a Dodge
Ram 1500. All
it took was a ride around a couple blocks. My wife said there's no way
she'd ever
ride in the damn thing. Unsprung farm wagons gave a smoother ride.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!

Fiat Ram 1500. Now that's a real truck. If Donnie is ever inclined to
get a real truck, he should get one of those. ;-)


One smart decision Fiat made was to not mess with the Ram trucks. They
spun it off as it's own division. They are considered very good trucks.


===

I believe that's mostly because of the Cummins diesel that they use. I
once asked a guy in the boat hauling business who makes the best truck
for that work. He said that he regarded the Rams as the worst truck
with the best engine. If I remember correctly he was using a Chevy
2500 at the time. His engine had just blown a head gasket while
making a cross country haul but he had close to 200,000 miles on it.

Interesting Uber ride
 

On 12/5/2015 12:16 PM, wrote:
On Sat, 5 Dec 2015 11:49:50 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/5/2015 10:36 AM, Justan Olphart wrote:
On 12/5/2015 10:31 AM, John H. wrote:
On Sat, 5 Dec 2015 09:46:51 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/5/2015 9:24 AM, John H. wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 16:22:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/4/2015 2:36 PM, John H. wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 17:10:20 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/3/2015 1:12 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 12/3/15 1:04 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 12:38:51 -0500, Justan Olphart

wrote:

On 12/2/2015 4:58 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 2 Dec 2015 08:09:12 -0500, Justan Olphart

wrote:

Did you drive the Honda 90 MPH down US 75?

===

On occasion, more often 80 to 85. The car was always very
solid at
that kind of speed - good tires of course, and everything in
balance.

Europeans drive that fast all the time even faster in
Germany. The
US, particularly the eastern states, has always been more
sedate. I
see signs of change however. At one time anything over 70
would get
you a guaranteed ticket on the New York State Thruway.
Nowadays a lot
of people are running 75+.


I trained my petal foot to think about safety and fuel
economy. That
usually means at or under the speed limit.

Little old ladies in Kias are telling you that you are #1 if
you drive
around here.


I do 70 when possible on the interstates, but no more. I-95,
the last
time I drove to Florida, was crowded. I take a special delight
after
some yahoo blasts past me at more than 80 and see the guy
pulled over a
few miles down the road by the police. My wife's new car gets
30+ mpg at
70 mph. I like that.


My Ford F-250 gets better gas mileage at 75 mph than it does at
60-65
mph. Weird, but it has to do with the gearing and when the torque
converter locks and unlocks. If I keep the RPM's up high enough
so it can climb steep hills without the TC unlocking (or
downshifting
out of overdrive), my gas mileage goes up to a whopping 15 mpg from
about 13. :-) Fortunately, I don't drive much or very far in it.
Last long distance trip was to SC, last December.

The adult day care center that I drive for has a fleet of high top,
handicapped equipped (power lift and strap-downs for
wheelchairs) vans.
They are all Ford F-350 SuperDuties. Mileage is horrible
... I have
to fill mine 3 times a week sometimes ... but they are rugged.
He used
to have GM and Chevy vans but gave up on them. They just didn't
last,
usually having transmission failures and engine problems.




I do like my Chevy diesel. Got 20 mpg going to Williams, Az for
thanksgiving. Normal around town is 14.5

On pure interstate to and from NC, without the trailer, mine gets
a tad over 22.
Around town about 15-17. With the trailer, about 12-13. Can't
complain. Most of the
around town stuff is done with the motorcycle, which gets about
40, around town.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


You guys with the GM diesels have the Allison transmission which is
probably about the best one made. The gas powered GM and Chevy vans
have a regular GM transmission. Those are the ones that the
transportation company had a lot of problems with.

They still have one GM van that I've used a couple of times.
Definitely
has a nicer, softer ride compared to the Fords which ride like ...
well
.. trucks. They live a hard life though.

My Silverado rides like a big Cadillac. The Allison transmission
does a great job,
especially with the tow/haul mode enabled.

The Allison transmission is great. It was the only thing I liked about
the POS Pace Arrow motorhome I had. Ford came out with a transmission
called a "TorqueShift" that is used in the F-250, F-350 (and up)
SuperDuty series of pickups and trucks. It behaves in a very similar
fashion to the Allison in tow/haul mode. Jury is still out on
reliability although you don't hear about many problems.

Is your Silverado a 2500HD or a 3500HD model? The Ford diesel I had
(that had all kinds of engine problems) was a F-350 which is comparable
to the 3500 series produced by GM. The one I have now is a F-250 which
is comparable to the 2500 GM series. In both cases, the Fords ride a
lot "stiffer" than the GM's. I almost bought a Silverado 2500 but,
because I was so used to Fords, it felt *too* soft to my liking. But,
that was a few years ago when I was doing a lot more with trucks
(hauling and towing) than I do now.

Mine's a 2500HD. If you think that Ford's bad, you should try a Dodge
Ram 1500. All
it took was a ride around a couple blocks. My wife said there's no way
she'd ever
ride in the damn thing. Unsprung farm wagons gave a smoother ride.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!

Fiat Ram 1500. Now that's a real truck. If Donnie is ever inclined to
get a real truck, he should get one of those. ;-)


One smart decision Fiat made was to not mess with the Ram trucks. They
spun it off as it's own division. They are considered very good trucks.


===

I believe that's mostly because of the Cummins diesel that they use. I
once asked a guy in the boat hauling business who makes the best truck
for that work. He said that he regarded the Rams as the worst truck
with the best engine. If I remember correctly he was using a Chevy
2500 at the time. His engine had just blown a head gasket while
making a cross country haul but he had close to 200,000 miles on it.


The earlier Rams were known for having premature transmission failures.
That may have changed over the years though.

Interesting Uber ride
 

On Sat, 5 Dec 2015 11:49:50 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 12/5/2015 10:36 AM, Justan Olphart wrote:
On 12/5/2015 10:31 AM, John H. wrote:
On Sat, 5 Dec 2015 09:46:51 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/5/2015 9:24 AM, John H. wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 16:22:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/4/2015 2:36 PM, John H. wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 17:10:20 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/3/2015 1:12 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 12/3/15 1:04 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 12:38:51 -0500, Justan Olphart

wrote:

On 12/2/2015 4:58 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 2 Dec 2015 08:09:12 -0500, Justan Olphart

wrote:

Did you drive the Honda 90 MPH down US 75?

===

On occasion, more often 80 to 85. The car was always very
solid at
that kind of speed - good tires of course, and everything in
balance.

Europeans drive that fast all the time even faster in
Germany. The
US, particularly the eastern states, has always been more
sedate. I
see signs of change however. At one time anything over 70
would get
you a guaranteed ticket on the New York State Thruway.
Nowadays a lot
of people are running 75+.


I trained my petal foot to think about safety and fuel
economy. That
usually means at or under the speed limit.

Little old ladies in Kias are telling you that you are #1 if
you drive
around here.


I do 70 when possible on the interstates, but no more. I-95,
the last
time I drove to Florida, was crowded. I take a special delight
after
some yahoo blasts past me at more than 80 and see the guy
pulled over a
few miles down the road by the police. My wife's new car gets
30+ mpg at
70 mph. I like that.


My Ford F-250 gets better gas mileage at 75 mph than it does at
60-65
mph. Weird, but it has to do with the gearing and when the torque
converter locks and unlocks. If I keep the RPM's up high enough
so it can climb steep hills without the TC unlocking (or
downshifting
out of overdrive), my gas mileage goes up to a whopping 15 mpg from
about 13. :-) Fortunately, I don't drive much or very far in it.
Last long distance trip was to SC, last December.

The adult day care center that I drive for has a fleet of high top,
handicapped equipped (power lift and strap-downs for
wheelchairs) vans.
They are all Ford F-350 SuperDuties. Mileage is horrible
... I have
to fill mine 3 times a week sometimes ... but they are rugged.
He used
to have GM and Chevy vans but gave up on them. They just didn't
last,
usually having transmission failures and engine problems.




I do like my Chevy diesel. Got 20 mpg going to Williams, Az for
thanksgiving. Normal around town is 14.5

On pure interstate to and from NC, without the trailer, mine gets
a tad over 22.
Around town about 15-17. With the trailer, about 12-13. Can't
complain. Most of the
around town stuff is done with the motorcycle, which gets about
40, around town.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


You guys with the GM diesels have the Allison transmission which is
probably about the best one made. The gas powered GM and Chevy vans
have a regular GM transmission. Those are the ones that the
transportation company had a lot of problems with.

They still have one GM van that I've used a couple of times.
Definitely
has a nicer, softer ride compared to the Fords which ride like ...
well
.. trucks. They live a hard life though.

My Silverado rides like a big Cadillac. The Allison transmission
does a great job,
especially with the tow/haul mode enabled.

The Allison transmission is great. It was the only thing I liked about
the POS Pace Arrow motorhome I had. Ford came out with a transmission
called a "TorqueShift" that is used in the F-250, F-350 (and up)
SuperDuty series of pickups and trucks. It behaves in a very similar
fashion to the Allison in tow/haul mode. Jury is still out on
reliability although you don't hear about many problems.

Is your Silverado a 2500HD or a 3500HD model? The Ford diesel I had
(that had all kinds of engine problems) was a F-350 which is comparable
to the 3500 series produced by GM. The one I have now is a F-250 which
is comparable to the 2500 GM series. In both cases, the Fords ride a
lot "stiffer" than the GM's. I almost bought a Silverado 2500 but,
because I was so used to Fords, it felt *too* soft to my liking. But,
that was a few years ago when I was doing a lot more with trucks
(hauling and towing) than I do now.

Mine's a 2500HD. If you think that Ford's bad, you should try a Dodge
Ram 1500. All
it took was a ride around a couple blocks. My wife said there's no way
she'd ever
ride in the damn thing. Unsprung farm wagons gave a smoother ride.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!

Fiat Ram 1500. Now that's a real truck. If Donnie is ever inclined to
get a real truck, he should get one of those. ;-)


One smart decision Fiat made was to not mess with the Ram trucks. They
spun it off as it's own division. They are considered very good trucks.


On the Open Range (RV) forum, one guy mentioned he'd just bought a new Ram something
or other. The next comment was someone telling him to start saving $8000 for a new
transmission. There wasn't much argument there.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!

Interesting Uber ride
 

On 12/5/2015 1:01 PM, John H. wrote:
On Sat, 5 Dec 2015 11:49:50 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 12/5/2015 10:36 AM, Justan Olphart wrote:
On 12/5/2015 10:31 AM, John H. wrote:
On Sat, 5 Dec 2015 09:46:51 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/5/2015 9:24 AM, John H. wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 16:22:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/4/2015 2:36 PM, John H. wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 17:10:20 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/3/2015 1:12 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 12/3/15 1:04 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 12:38:51 -0500, Justan Olphart

wrote:

On 12/2/2015 4:58 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 2 Dec 2015 08:09:12 -0500, Justan Olphart

wrote:

Did you drive the Honda 90 MPH down US 75?

===

On occasion, more often 80 to 85. The car was always very
solid at
that kind of speed - good tires of course, and everything in
balance.

Europeans drive that fast all the time even faster in
Germany. The
US, particularly the eastern states, has always been more
sedate. I
see signs of change however. At one time anything over 70
would get
you a guaranteed ticket on the New York State Thruway.
Nowadays a lot
of people are running 75+.


I trained my petal foot to think about safety and fuel
economy. That
usually means at or under the speed limit.

Little old ladies in Kias are telling you that you are #1 if
you drive
around here.


I do 70 when possible on the interstates, but no more. I-95,
the last
time I drove to Florida, was crowded. I take a special delight
after
some yahoo blasts past me at more than 80 and see the guy
pulled over a
few miles down the road by the police. My wife's new car gets
30+ mpg at
70 mph. I like that.


My Ford F-250 gets better gas mileage at 75 mph than it does at
60-65
mph. Weird, but it has to do with the gearing and when the torque
converter locks and unlocks. If I keep the RPM's up high enough
so it can climb steep hills without the TC unlocking (or
downshifting
out of overdrive), my gas mileage goes up to a whopping 15 mpg from
about 13. :-) Fortunately, I don't drive much or very far in it.
Last long distance trip was to SC, last December.

The adult day care center that I drive for has a fleet of high top,
handicapped equipped (power lift and strap-downs for
wheelchairs) vans.
They are all Ford F-350 SuperDuties. Mileage is horrible
... I have
to fill mine 3 times a week sometimes ... but they are rugged.
He used
to have GM and Chevy vans but gave up on them. They just didn't
last,
usually having transmission failures and engine problems.




I do like my Chevy diesel. Got 20 mpg going to Williams, Az for
thanksgiving. Normal around town is 14.5

On pure interstate to and from NC, without the trailer, mine gets
a tad over 22.
Around town about 15-17. With the trailer, about 12-13. Can't
complain. Most of the
around town stuff is done with the motorcycle, which gets about
40, around town.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


You guys with the GM diesels have the Allison transmission which is
probably about the best one made. The gas powered GM and Chevy vans
have a regular GM transmission. Those are the ones that the
transportation company had a lot of problems with.

They still have one GM van that I've used a couple of times.
Definitely
has a nicer, softer ride compared to the Fords which ride like ...
well
.. trucks. They live a hard life though.

My Silverado rides like a big Cadillac. The Allison transmission
does a great job,
especially with the tow/haul mode enabled.

The Allison transmission is great. It was the only thing I liked about
the POS Pace Arrow motorhome I had. Ford came out with a transmission
called a "TorqueShift" that is used in the F-250, F-350 (and up)
SuperDuty series of pickups and trucks. It behaves in a very similar
fashion to the Allison in tow/haul mode. Jury is still out on
reliability although you don't hear about many problems.

Is your Silverado a 2500HD or a 3500HD model? The Ford diesel I had
(that had all kinds of engine problems) was a F-350 which is comparable
to the 3500 series produced by GM. The one I have now is a F-250 which
is comparable to the 2500 GM series. In both cases, the Fords ride a
lot "stiffer" than the GM's. I almost bought a Silverado 2500 but,
because I was so used to Fords, it felt *too* soft to my liking. But,
that was a few years ago when I was doing a lot more with trucks
(hauling and towing) than I do now.

Mine's a 2500HD. If you think that Ford's bad, you should try a Dodge
Ram 1500. All
it took was a ride around a couple blocks. My wife said there's no way
she'd ever
ride in the damn thing. Unsprung farm wagons gave a smoother ride.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!

Fiat Ram 1500. Now that's a real truck. If Donnie is ever inclined to
get a real truck, he should get one of those. ;-)


One smart decision Fiat made was to not mess with the Ram trucks. They
spun it off as it's own division. They are considered very good trucks.


On the Open Range (RV) forum, one guy mentioned he'd just bought a new Ram something
or other. The next comment was someone telling him to start saving $8000 for a new
transmission. There wasn't much argument there.

Transmission problems in Rams were "the buzz" back in 1997 when I bought
one. I towed a few boats with the 1500 that were technically too heavy
for the truck but I never had a problem. Then again, I never towed them
*that* far with it. Usually it was the big old Century arc I had to
Jim's place to have the outdrive or some other problem fixed. I hauled
the boat owned by a former poster in this newsgroup ("Wavelength")
several times with it as well.

I think once a reputation starts, it remains forever, regardless of what
the real story is or if the original problem was solved. I don't know
though because I don't own a Ram anymore.

Interesting Uber ride
 

On 12/5/2015 11:49 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/5/2015 10:36 AM, Justan Olphart wrote:
On 12/5/2015 10:31 AM, John H. wrote:
On Sat, 5 Dec 2015 09:46:51 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/5/2015 9:24 AM, John H. wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 16:22:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/4/2015 2:36 PM, John H. wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 17:10:20 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/3/2015 1:12 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 12/3/15 1:04 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 12:38:51 -0500, Justan Olphart

wrote:

On 12/2/2015 4:58 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 2 Dec 2015 08:09:12 -0500, Justan Olphart

wrote:

Did you drive the Honda 90 MPH down US 75?

===

On occasion, more often 80 to 85. The car was always very
solid at
that kind of speed - good tires of course, and everything in
balance.

Europeans drive that fast all the time even faster in
Germany. The
US, particularly the eastern states, has always been more
sedate. I
see signs of change however. At one time anything over 70
would get
you a guaranteed ticket on the New York State Thruway.
Nowadays a lot
of people are running 75+.


I trained my petal foot to think about safety and fuel
economy. That
usually means at or under the speed limit.

Little old ladies in Kias are telling you that you are #1 if
you drive
around here.


I do 70 when possible on the interstates, but no more. I-95,
the last
time I drove to Florida, was crowded. I take a special delight
after
some yahoo blasts past me at more than 80 and see the guy
pulled over a
few miles down the road by the police. My wife's new car gets
30+ mpg at
70 mph. I like that.


My Ford F-250 gets better gas mileage at 75 mph than it does at
60-65
mph. Weird, but it has to do with the gearing and when the torque
converter locks and unlocks. If I keep the RPM's up high enough
so it can climb steep hills without the TC unlocking (or
downshifting
out of overdrive), my gas mileage goes up to a whopping 15 mpg
from
about 13. :-) Fortunately, I don't drive much or very far in
it.
Last long distance trip was to SC, last December.

The adult day care center that I drive for has a fleet of high
top,
handicapped equipped (power lift and strap-downs for
wheelchairs) vans.
They are all Ford F-350 SuperDuties. Mileage is horrible
... I have
to fill mine 3 times a week sometimes ... but they are rugged.
He used
to have GM and Chevy vans but gave up on them. They just didn't
last,
usually having transmission failures and engine problems.




I do like my Chevy diesel. Got 20 mpg going to Williams, Az for
thanksgiving. Normal around town is 14.5

On pure interstate to and from NC, without the trailer, mine gets
a tad over 22.
Around town about 15-17. With the trailer, about 12-13. Can't
complain. Most of the
around town stuff is done with the motorcycle, which gets about
40, around town.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


You guys with the GM diesels have the Allison transmission which is
probably about the best one made. The gas powered GM and Chevy vans
have a regular GM transmission. Those are the ones that the
transportation company had a lot of problems with.

They still have one GM van that I've used a couple of times.
Definitely
has a nicer, softer ride compared to the Fords which ride like ...
well
.. trucks. They live a hard life though.

My Silverado rides like a big Cadillac. The Allison transmission
does a great job,
especially with the tow/haul mode enabled.

The Allison transmission is great. It was the only thing I liked about
the POS Pace Arrow motorhome I had. Ford came out with a transmission
called a "TorqueShift" that is used in the F-250, F-350 (and up)
SuperDuty series of pickups and trucks. It behaves in a very similar
fashion to the Allison in tow/haul mode. Jury is still out on
reliability although you don't hear about many problems.

Is your Silverado a 2500HD or a 3500HD model? The Ford diesel I had
(that had all kinds of engine problems) was a F-350 which is comparable
to the 3500 series produced by GM. The one I have now is a F-250 which
is comparable to the 2500 GM series. In both cases, the Fords ride a
lot "stiffer" than the GM's. I almost bought a Silverado 2500 but,
because I was so used to Fords, it felt *too* soft to my liking. But,
that was a few years ago when I was doing a lot more with trucks
(hauling and towing) than I do now.

Mine's a 2500HD. If you think that Ford's bad, you should try a Dodge
Ram 1500. All
it took was a ride around a couple blocks. My wife said there's no way
she'd ever
ride in the damn thing. Unsprung farm wagons gave a smoother ride.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!

Fiat Ram 1500. Now that's a real truck. If Donnie is ever inclined to
get a real truck, he should get one of those. ;-)


One smart decision Fiat made was to not mess with the Ram trucks. They
spun it off as it's own division. They are considered very good trucks.


Would you recommend one for Donnie's boat hauling adventures?
I remember one of your Rams being pushed down the road by your boat. :-)

Interesting Uber ride
 

On 12/5/2015 1:18 PM, Justan Olphart wrote:
On 12/5/2015 11:49 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/5/2015 10:36 AM, Justan Olphart wrote:
On 12/5/2015 10:31 AM, John H. wrote:
On Sat, 5 Dec 2015 09:46:51 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/5/2015 9:24 AM, John H. wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 16:22:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 12/4/2015 2:36 PM, John H. wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 17:10:20 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/3/2015 1:12 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 12/3/15 1:04 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 12:38:51 -0500, Justan Olphart

wrote:

On 12/2/2015 4:58 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 2 Dec 2015 08:09:12 -0500, Justan Olphart

wrote:

Did you drive the Honda 90 MPH down US 75?

===

On occasion, more often 80 to 85. The car was always very
solid at
that kind of speed - good tires of course, and everything in
balance.

Europeans drive that fast all the time even faster in
Germany. The
US, particularly the eastern states, has always been more
sedate. I
see signs of change however. At one time anything over 70
would get
you a guaranteed ticket on the New York State Thruway.
Nowadays a lot
of people are running 75+.


I trained my petal foot to think about safety and fuel
economy. That
usually means at or under the speed limit.

Little old ladies in Kias are telling you that you are #1 if
you drive
around here.


I do 70 when possible on the interstates, but no more. I-95,
the last
time I drove to Florida, was crowded. I take a special delight
after
some yahoo blasts past me at more than 80 and see the guy
pulled over a
few miles down the road by the police. My wife's new car gets
30+ mpg at
70 mph. I like that.


My Ford F-250 gets better gas mileage at 75 mph than it does at
60-65
mph. Weird, but it has to do with the gearing and when the
torque
converter locks and unlocks. If I keep the RPM's up high enough
so it can climb steep hills without the TC unlocking (or
downshifting
out of overdrive), my gas mileage goes up to a whopping 15 mpg
from
about 13. :-) Fortunately, I don't drive much or very far in
it.
Last long distance trip was to SC, last December.

The adult day care center that I drive for has a fleet of high
top,
handicapped equipped (power lift and strap-downs for
wheelchairs) vans.
They are all Ford F-350 SuperDuties. Mileage is horrible
... I have
to fill mine 3 times a week sometimes ... but they are rugged.
He used
to have GM and Chevy vans but gave up on them. They just didn't
last,
usually having transmission failures and engine problems.




I do like my Chevy diesel. Got 20 mpg going to Williams, Az for
thanksgiving. Normal around town is 14.5

On pure interstate to and from NC, without the trailer, mine gets
a tad over 22.
Around town about 15-17. With the trailer, about 12-13. Can't
complain. Most of the
around town stuff is done with the motorcycle, which gets about
40, around town.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


You guys with the GM diesels have the Allison transmission which is
probably about the best one made. The gas powered GM and Chevy vans
have a regular GM transmission. Those are the ones that the
transportation company had a lot of problems with.

They still have one GM van that I've used a couple of times.
Definitely
has a nicer, softer ride compared to the Fords which ride like ...
well
.. trucks. They live a hard life though.

My Silverado rides like a big Cadillac. The Allison transmission
does a great job,
especially with the tow/haul mode enabled.

The Allison transmission is great. It was the only thing I liked
about
the POS Pace Arrow motorhome I had. Ford came out with a transmission
called a "TorqueShift" that is used in the F-250, F-350 (and up)
SuperDuty series of pickups and trucks. It behaves in a very similar
fashion to the Allison in tow/haul mode. Jury is still out on
reliability although you don't hear about many problems.

Is your Silverado a 2500HD or a 3500HD model? The Ford diesel I had
(that had all kinds of engine problems) was a F-350 which is
comparable
to the 3500 series produced by GM. The one I have now is a F-250
which
is comparable to the 2500 GM series. In both cases, the Fords ride a
lot "stiffer" than the GM's. I almost bought a Silverado 2500 but,
because I was so used to Fords, it felt *too* soft to my liking. But,
that was a few years ago when I was doing a lot more with trucks
(hauling and towing) than I do now.

Mine's a 2500HD. If you think that Ford's bad, you should try a Dodge
Ram 1500. All
it took was a ride around a couple blocks. My wife said there's no way
she'd ever
ride in the damn thing. Unsprung farm wagons gave a smoother ride.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!

Fiat Ram 1500. Now that's a real truck. If Donnie is ever inclined to
get a real truck, he should get one of those. ;-)


One smart decision Fiat made was to not mess with the Ram trucks. They
spun it off as it's own division. They are considered very good trucks.


Would you recommend one for Donnie's boat hauling adventures?
I remember one of your Rams being pushed down the road by your boat. :-)


That was the Century ... likely on it's way to your house for repairs. :-)

That thing was a heavy boat. Probably water logged. The trailer had
surge brakes that didn't work. I was leaving Scituate, coming down to
the stop sign at the end of the Driftway (before they put to rotary in)
and tried to stop. Fortunately I wasn't going fast because the stupid
boat pushed the Ram halfway out into the intersection.

Interesting Uber ride
 

Mr. Luddite
- show quoted text -
"That was the Century ... likely on it's way to your house for repairs. :-)

That thing was a heavy boat. Probably water logged. *The trailer had
surge brakes that didn't work. *I was leaving Scituate, coming down to
the stop sign at the end of the Driftway (before they put to rotary in)
and tried to stop. *Fortunately I wasn't going fast because the stupid
boat pushed the Ram halfway out into the intersection."


A couple of years ago when I was towing my new boat, which was 500 pounds over the RAV4's rating, I was attacked and ridiculed by a number of the motley crew in here. One especially short one threatened to kill me if I injured one of his family members, even though I lived over a thousand miles from him and hadn't been over the border in at least 25 years.
Quite the bunch of dandies we suffer in this group.

Interesting Uber ride
 

On 12/5/2015 3:33 PM, True North wrote:
Mr. Luddite
- show quoted text -
"That was the Century ... likely on it's way to your house for repairs. :-)

That thing was a heavy boat. Probably water logged. The trailer had
surge brakes that didn't work. I was leaving Scituate, coming down to
the stop sign at the end of the Driftway (before they put to rotary in)
and tried to stop. Fortunately I wasn't going fast because the stupid
boat pushed the Ram halfway out into the intersection."


A couple of years ago when I was towing my new boat, which was 500 pounds over the RAV4's rating, I was attacked and ridiculed by a number of the motley crew in here. One especially short one threatened to kill me if I injured one of his family members, even though I lived over a thousand miles from him and hadn't been over the border in at least 25 years.
Quite the bunch of dandies we suffer in this group.


I don't know of anyone who hasn't broken some rules once in a while in life.

In the situation I described (above), I had no clue the
surge brakes weren't working. They don't actuate without the weight of
the boat on it, so I didn't notice anything was wrong on the drive to
the marina to pick up the boat. Even if I had known though, I probably
would have still taken a chance to get it home or where ever I was
taking it. It's not like I was towing it a hundred miles.

Interesting Uber ride
 

wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 18:59:36 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 16:22:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

They still have one GM van that I've used a couple of times. Definitely
has a nicer, softer ride compared to the Fords which ride like ... well
.. trucks. They live a hard life though.

An E150 is a truck. A Chevy Van is a van box on a "C" body car
chassis. There is no reason why it shouldn't be able to ride like a
1974 Sedan De Ville. They just had to beef up the springs to get the
half ton rating.


Van does not have the long overhang from the axles in the back or front, so
will never ride as smooth as a 74 caddie.

The main difference there is just the seating position. The caddy
driver is centered between the wheels and the van driver is almost
over the front wheels. The best ride in a conversion van is in the
seats behind the driver. They called my stretch E150 (AKA Moby Dick)
the limo if you were in the back.


Not the seating but the polar moments of the weight away from the axle.
Harder to move that pendulum of a rear bumper will give a much smoother
ride.

Interesting Uber ride
 

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/5/2015 9:24 AM, John H. wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 16:22:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 12/4/2015 2:36 PM, John H. wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 17:10:20 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/3/2015 1:12 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 12/3/15 1:04 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 3 Dec 2015 12:38:51 -0500, Justan Olphart
wrote:

On 12/2/2015 4:58 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 2 Dec 2015 08:09:12 -0500, Justan Olphart
wrote:

Did you drive the Honda 90 MPH down US 75?

===

On occasion, more often 80 to 85. The car was always very solid at
that kind of speed - good tires of course, and everything in balance.

Europeans drive that fast all the time even faster in Germany. The
US, particularly the eastern states, has always been more sedate. I
see signs of change however. At one time anything over 70 would get
you a guaranteed ticket on the New York State Thruway. Nowadays a lot
of people are running 75+.


I trained my petal foot to think about safety and fuel economy. That
usually means at or under the speed limit.

Little old ladies in Kias are telling you that you are #1 if you drive
around here.


I do 70 when possible on the interstates, but no more. I-95, the last
time I drove to Florida, was crowded. I take a special delight after
some yahoo blasts past me at more than 80 and see the guy pulled over a
few miles down the road by the police. My wife's new car gets 30+ mpg at
70 mph. I like that.


My Ford F-250 gets better gas mileage at 75 mph than it does at 60-65
mph. Weird, but it has to do with the gearing and when the torque
converter locks and unlocks. If I keep the RPM's up high enough
so it can climb steep hills without the TC unlocking (or downshifting
out of overdrive), my gas mileage goes up to a whopping 15 mpg from
about 13. :-) Fortunately, I don't drive much or very far in it.
Last long distance trip was to SC, last December.

The adult day care center that I drive for has a fleet of high top,
handicapped equipped (power lift and strap-downs for wheelchairs) vans.
They are all Ford F-350 SuperDuties. Mileage is horrible ... I have
to fill mine 3 times a week sometimes ... but they are rugged. He used
to have GM and Chevy vans but gave up on them. They just didn't last,
usually having transmission failures and engine problems.




I do like my Chevy diesel. Got 20 mpg going to Williams, Az for
thanksgiving. Normal around town is 14.5

On pure interstate to and from NC, without the trailer, mine gets a tad over 22.
Around town about 15-17. With the trailer, about 12-13. Can't complain. Most of the
around town stuff is done with the motorcycle, which gets about 40, around town.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!


You guys with the GM diesels have the Allison transmission which is
probably about the best one made. The gas powered GM and Chevy vans
have a regular GM transmission. Those are the ones that the
transportation company had a lot of problems with.

They still have one GM van that I've used a couple of times. Definitely
has a nicer, softer ride compared to the Fords which ride like ... well
.. trucks. They live a hard life though.

My Silverado rides like a big Cadillac. The Allison transmission does a great job,
especially with the tow/haul mode enabled.

The Allison transmission is great. It was the only thing I liked about
the POS Pace Arrow motorhome I had. Ford came out with a transmission
called a "TorqueShift" that is used in the F-250, F-350 (and up)
SuperDuty series of pickups and trucks. It behaves in a very similar
fashion to the Allison in tow/haul mode. Jury is still out on
reliability although you don't hear about many problems.

Is your Silverado a 2500HD or a 3500HD model? The Ford diesel I had
(that had all kinds of engine problems) was a F-350 which is comparable
to the 3500 series produced by GM. The one I have now is a F-250 which
is comparable to the 2500 GM series. In both cases, the Fords ride a
lot "stiffer" than the GM's. I almost bought a Silverado 2500 but,
because I was so used to Fords, it felt *too* soft to my liking. But,
that was a few years ago when I was doing a lot more with trucks
(hauling and towing) than I do now.



My truck rides very smooth with 1600# of camper in the back. On rough
freeway with empty bed, is not a smooth ride.

Interesting Uber ride
 

Ooops...I may have exaggerated slightly. Forgot that I took a day trip to Maine around Labour Day 2007 to purchase the Princecraft Yukon from big Tom of Connecticut.

Interesting Uber ride
 

On Sat, 5 Dec 2015 13:19:58 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 18:59:36 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 16:22:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

They still have one GM van that I've used a couple of times. Definitely
has a nicer, softer ride compared to the Fords which ride like ... well
.. trucks. They live a hard life though.

An E150 is a truck. A Chevy Van is a van box on a "C" body car
chassis. There is no reason why it shouldn't be able to ride like a
1974 Sedan De Ville. They just had to beef up the springs to get the
half ton rating.


Van does not have the long overhang from the axles in the back or front, so
will never ride as smooth as a 74 caddie.

The main difference there is just the seating position. The caddy
driver is centered between the wheels and the van driver is almost
over the front wheels. The best ride in a conversion van is in the
seats behind the driver. They called my stretch E150 (AKA Moby Dick)
the limo if you were in the back.


Not the seating but the polar moments of the weight away from the axle.
Harder to move that pendulum of a rear bumper will give a much smoother
ride.

My stretch E150 had as much or more ass out behind the rear axle as a
caddy

Interesting Uber ride
 

On 12/5/2015 7:58 PM, wrote:
On Sat, 5 Dec 2015 13:19:58 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 18:59:36 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

wrote:
On Fri, 4 Dec 2015 16:22:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

They still have one GM van that I've used a couple of times. Definitely
has a nicer, softer ride compared to the Fords which ride like ... well
.. trucks. They live a hard life though.

An E150 is a truck. A Chevy Van is a van box on a "C" body car
chassis. There is no reason why it shouldn't be able to ride like a
1974 Sedan De Ville. They just had to beef up the springs to get the
half ton rating.


Van does not have the long overhang from the axles in the back or front, so
will never ride as smooth as a 74 caddie.

The main difference there is just the seating position. The caddy
driver is centered between the wheels and the van driver is almost
over the front wheels. The best ride in a conversion van is in the
seats behind the driver. They called my stretch E150 (AKA Moby Dick)
the limo if you were in the back.


Not the seating but the polar moments of the weight away from the axle.
Harder to move that pendulum of a rear bumper will give a much smoother
ride.

My stretch E150 had as much or more ass out behind the rear axle as a
caddy


Same thing with the E-350 I drive. It's a l o n g ass van.
Still rides like a brick though.

This conversation prompted me to look at the build sheet on my F-250
and I discovered why it may be a bit stiffer than others. It has the
factory "plow prep" package. I looked up what that is and it includes
heavier front end springs along with a couple of other things like a 200
amp alternator. It's rated for a plow weighing up to 750 lbs and
a fixed, plow mount assembly of up to 100 lbs. That's a lot of extra
weight hanging on the front of the truck. That prompted me to check
the weight of the plow I have. It's a stainless, medium duty "Snow
Dog". The mount assembly bolted to the frame is 80 lbs and the plow
itself is 450 lbs. So, I am well within the truck's rated capacity.

Hopefully I won't have to use it much this winter ... unlike last winter.