AHA! Moments: What Have You Learned Lately?

[ROBERT CROSS]

I've always thought the breakaway cable should not be attached to the receiver, if a failure occurs the assembly could end up on the road with the cable still attached.


I attach ours to the lift gate latch.

Bob

[dznf0g]

I attach mine to the spare tire under the truck. When I buy my own truck (I use company trucks now) I'll fab something inside the bed, so I don't have to crawl underneath.

[m.hony]

Hmm...
I can't imagine the whole receiver falling out. That thing has lots of bolts and welds.
I guess I will look for other options.


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[Fly at Night]

Had a few "Helen Keller" moments when hooking up grey/black water tank connections in the dark.

Aha! moment was when I discovered there is a little light switch in said area.

And...it goes without saying...and am only saying it because my trailer does not have many miles on it.....but these things were built to move. When we do hit the road and I look in the rear-view mirror and the FaN is happily bobbing along, it truly is in its element. Aha! I really should try to get out more.

[Foiled Again]

When camped with water and electric only find a way to lock the black and gray drains. I removed the cover at the dump and got a gallon of black on shoes, legs, etc. Kids playing opened valves on several trailers.

[Drathaar]

Originally Posted by Foiled Again

When camped with water and electric only find a way to lock the black and gray drains. I removed the cover at the dump and got a gallon of black on shoes, legs, etc. Kids playing opened valves on several trailers.

That just stinks! Figuratively and literally!

[SteveSueMac]

Little creeps....

Thinking a thin cable lock running through the clips? Will have to take a closer look....

[Thiatt55]

Originally Posted by Foiled Again

When camped with water and electric only find a way to lock the black and gray drains. I removed the cover at the dump and got a gallon of black on shoes, legs, etc. Kids playing opened valves on several trailers.

For whatever reason I added a 6 inch section of sewer drain line to my AS that is made of clear plastic. This way you can see if there is anything behind the cap before you unleash it. Also helpful to let you know when the drain process is over or when the back-flush has cleaned out the tank. It came in helpful to me when I first bought my 25 FC and right out of the gate there was a paper towel in the black tank that got hung up in the drain valve and would not let it close completely so it leaked a little. I could see this in the clear pipe section and allowed me to prepare before opening the drain line.

[TCwheels]

I learned to add "look under trailer and vehicle" to my "before driving away" checklist. My round AS jack post foot got left at the Minnesota Airstream Park after it somehow rolled under the trailer...

[TCwheels]

Originally Posted by richw46

Toyota taught me quite a bit about 'visual control', hence the antenna monkey. It's not used only for the vehicles, also used for safety and other areas. It can be a sign, a flag, a pop-up on a computer, almost anything. It's just supposed to call out to you to prevent/remind you of something.

Now a poka-yoke is something entirely different.

As a TPS guy myself, maybe we should start a visual controls + poka-yoke topic?

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by TCwheels

As a TPS guy myself, maybe we should start a visual controls + poka-yoke topic?

Ah! TCwheels, you probably drive a Scion then, eh

I really like visual controls, very helpful. Of course, if my wife thinks they're out of place, she moves them on me. Like yesterday, I got the ketchup and mustard out of the beer fridge and put them on the kitchen counter by the trailer keys. I come back later and they're gone, she's put them in the kitchen fridge because they don't belong on the counter.

Maybe I need some tags that say 'put in trailer' for all that stuff.

Now for a poka-yoke, I'd have to find some way of making the ketchup and mustard not fit in the kitchen fridge, only the beer or trailer fridge.

By the way, have you taken the AS tour in Jackson Center. Speaking of TPS, the Japanese would have a fit about all the stuff laying around. Still, a very interesting tour if you're into manufacturing.

[TCwheels]

Originally Posted by richw46

Ah! TCwheels, you probably drive a Scion then, eh

I really like visual controls, very helpful. Of course, if my wife thinks they're out of place, she moves them on me. Like yesterday, I got the ketchup and mustard out of the beer fridge and put them on the kitchen counter by the trailer keys. I come back later and they're gone, she's put them in the kitchen fridge because they don't belong on the counter.

Maybe I need some tags that say 'put in trailer' for all that stuff.

Now for a poka-yoke, I'd have to find some way of making the ketchup and mustard not fit in the kitchen fridge, only the beer or trailer fridge.

By the way, have you taken the AS tour in Jackson Center. Speaking of TPS, the Japanese would have a fit about all the stuff laying around. Still, a very interesting tour if you're into manufacturing.

I have not taken the tour yet. We were in JC in March but the timing didn't work. I have watched the videos and I agree, serious sort and set-in-order needed! It's evident they're trying to implement CI, and we know that's a long journey.

[Hans627]

Originally Posted by TCwheels

As a TPS guy myself, maybe we should start a visual controls + poka-yoke topic?

...and maybe a little kan-ban could be added to make sure we don't run out of supplies.

I love this stuff (TPS) as well!

[TCwheels]

Originally Posted by Hans627

...and maybe a little kan-ban could be added to make sure we don't run out of supplies.



I love this stuff (TPS) as well!

OK, sounds like we've got the makings of a new topic! Something like "Streaming with TPS"? It all, of course, applies!

[m.hony]

Those "key rings" on the safety chains are to take of the slack-
Twisting is NOT recommended-






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[Rich W]

Someone suggested using tie-wraps instead of twisting. I've switched from twisting to using 2 tie-wraps (zip ties) on each side and it looks much better and now they are a little easier to work with. The tie-wraps are plastic and won't rust but should probably be replaced from time to time when they start weathering.

[DavidsonOverlander]

Originally Posted by richw46

Someone suggested using tie-wraps instead of twisting. I've switched from twisting to using 2 tie-wraps (zip ties) on each side and it looks much better and now they are a little easier to work with. The tie-wraps are plastic and won't rust but should probably be replaced from time to time when they start weathering.

Why not just shorten the chains?

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by DavidsonOverlander

Why not just shorten the chains?

I might do that, mostly just lazy. It took less than a minute for 4 zip ties and I was off on the road.

[switz]

After all the futzing with extra chain pieces and links, we found the stock length worked just fine with the ProPride hitch head.

[m.hony]

If you shorten the chains and then get a different truck or hitch...