Towing questions...

[leisure]

That's what you call a win-win!!

[wrangler]

Ahead of schedule and under budget...

We just found a little water coming under the wall to the daughter's bedroom this morning which means that the shower/tub on the otherside of the wall is leaking...at least I suspect that is the case...

After hearing my beloved discuss the merits of spending more time on the wrangler home this morning, I understood that she was saying that I need to keep planting seeds...do some of this work to the family wagon on my own...ahead of schedule and under budget and keep circling on the duramax for a few more months!!!

Every good military campaign requires a good strategic plan as well as alternatives to take when something new offensive from the other side crops up. I wasn't prepared for the leaking shower attack... So it goes...

[NICKYPOO]

Ah yes, Spring is just around the corner and it looks like it's time for a new paint job at Nickypoo Place.

55 deg. today, no wind and dollars to donuts no one on the water. Perfect winter boating. Wish I was there. Our personal best at getting the boat out after New Years was Feb. 14, the Valentines Day Massacre. Exact same conditions as today. Just me and the wife and the boat. Beyond glass, it was mirror. We both killed it all day long right in front of the boat ramp.

wrangler- I tried to send you a couple of PM's. Have you cleaned out your box yet?

[Tequilasun]

NICKY,

I feel you pain, we could have had all of Table Rock to ourselves today.....Not a boat in sight all day, and 60 degrees + all day! I shed a little tear today

[wrangler]

Well...it will be a few more weeks before the boat comes out again. I started cleaning up the water issues and before you could say darn that water is destructive, I had a pretty nice four foot long by 18 inches tall section of wallboard and plaster torn out of my daughters room... I've been running the fan to dry everything out and this weekend will be repair time there... So it goes...

[johnbandrews]

Wrangler,

We're way off topic here, but be VERY careful of your water damage. I'm in insurance sales, and have a great contact for you if you'd like an emergency services co to come out and verify that you're all dried up and don't have any mold issues. Once the bad mold gets going, it's hard to stop it.

PM me if you want some more information.

Good luck with your repairs.

[gman]

wrangler,
I feel for you. Broke a line at the washer and it ran all night and flooded the whole first floor. Had to dry for 10 days. What a mess, 10's of thousands of dollars of repairs. Hope you get into your boat real soon.
Good luck..........

[wrangler]

Thanks guys... It's a little bit of a mess...but thankfully it hadn't gone on for long and we are being aggressive about cleaning, fixing it...drying etc... So it goes...

[tobyhaven7]

Reading the postings on this thread has me a little freaked out about our towing setup. Before we knew were were going to buy our '04 Switch i, we unfortunately downsized my car, selling our '97 Expedition (with the larger of the 2 then available engines) that would tow 8,000 lb according to the owner's manual. Never gave a thought to towing capacity at that time since we only had an 18' SeaRay Bowrider on a 400 lb single axle trailer.

Now I'm pulling boat with an '04 Lexus GX470; manual says it'll tow 5,000 lb. BUT it's unclear to me from GX manual, dealer, and hitch store (which dealer uses), whether that's with or without any modifications. Don't think that the boat weighs much less than the car, which is scary. Good thing that trailer has brakes.

The GX seems to have automatic load leveling as sometimes when I unload heavy stuff from back, car will make those load leveling noises. Can also manually adjust high/neutral/low, which is handy to get hitch out from under trailer when trailer's parked nose down perpendicular to crowned road in front of our house.

Only have a weight carrying hitch though and don't know if need weight distribution hitch. Don't have extra tansmission or radiator cooler.

Regular towing not much: to dealer last fall for some repair (30 minutes on freeway) and back, but usually maybe 7-10 miles freeway each way to winterize/de-winterize depending on where I take it + spring launch/fall pullout from moorage 3 miles away. I avoid biggest hills by driving around.

It appears that our Switch i weighs about 3,500 lb and Extreme double axle trailer weighs about 1,000 (or is it 1,200) lb, which puts it awfully close to 5,000 lb towing limit...and that's without gas and stuff. I'd appreciate any input. Thanks.

[NICKYPOO]

Yeah, not exactly the ideal tow vehicle. Given your towing needs the only thing I would make sure of is the load cap. of the hitch. I'm not very familiar with that particular Lexus. It has height adjustment? Do you know if it is hydrolic or nuematic? Either way thats pretty cool and should help the suspension out a lot. You don't want to have the back end sagging to the point where you can bottom out the suspention. You also want to try and maintain a nice level attitude from truck to trailer to ensure that the brakes are going to work properley. You should be alright if your carefull with the few times you do tow with it. No racing.

[dcauthen]

We tow with an '05 Eddie Bauer Expedition with no worries......of course we're in SC, 20 mins. from both our home lakes, so....maybe in a mountainous area, and a longer haul, the Expe would be taking a dump on some long hills! I have pulled the 21V with my Sport Trac....talk about abuse!! I could hear metal shavings flying out of the exhaust!!

Wrangler....I am knee deep in home improvement too bro.....I get the daily reminders that Spring is near!

[wrangler]

DIY!!!

dcauthen - I just finished off my daughter's room last night after a marathon weekend of desk and shelf building, pullilng out the old carpet and cleaning up the hard wood...and of course, the whole room needed to be painted and of course I had to add a border to seperate the two different colors and of course I had to go out and let her pick out new valance and hang it and of course I had to.... You get the idea. I was thinking that a Saturday project would be done by dinner and I could be on to another priority Sunday after church... So it goes.... But hey, her room looks great!!! My goal is to have the major home projects done this month and March is just around the corner!!!

[dcauthen]

I am wrapping up a living room remodel...moldings, remodeling stairs and mantel, plus stonework around the fireplace. Ironically...my next item on the Honeydo is my 2 yr. old twin daughters room expansion. Knocking down a wall into an old bath, and making it into a play area...complete with new flatscreen wall mount TV, a 1' tall by 4' wide by 8' STAGE, complete with spots, and curtains for shows during dress up time! I figure it's a little extravegant....but so are our boats! Home improvement, even simple repairs always lead to more and more. Like the dishwasher leak that wrecked the sub-floor, that lead to a COMPLETE kitchen remodel.....like well, new floor, may as well do new cabinets, and the new dishwasher has to match the other appliances, etc. It's all about negotiating! I am in full DIY mode, so that come April...I'm in free time to ride mode!

I have found that playing wake vids while you work keeps you motivated!

Sorry bout the highjack.....and now back to towing!!

[wrangler]

I guess we did highjack that thread a little... Sorry about that folks. So hey, my Suburban hasn't dropped anything in the middle of the road yet while towing our 24Ve! I serviced the differential and trans and added the oil cooler as suggested in this very thread. So far so good... Still circling on one of the new tow vehicles... All in good time.

[dcauthen]

The only thing I would change if I bought something new, which may happen this summer, is to go to a diesel. The 2005 Expeditions got 50 more HP, but I am liking the way my buddy's F250 Powerstroke blows by me on the way to the lake towing his Moomba XLV....he says with pedal to spare!