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Old 11-19-2020, 08:43 AM   #1
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Tools???

After 18 years on our cruising sailboat I had accumulated north of 200 pounds of tools. The boat was sold and we have an Escape 19 on order. Does anyone have suggestions for the tools I might need to have on board the new RV? Obviously, I want to take what I might need, but nothing that isn't likely to be used.
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Old 11-19-2020, 09:07 AM   #2
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Originally Posted by Doug in NC View Post
After 18 years on our cruising sailboat I had accumulated north of 200 pounds of tools. The boat was sold and we have an Escape 19 on order. Does anyone have suggestions for the tools I might need to have on board the new RV? Obviously, I want to take what I might need, but nothing that isn't likely to be used.
I carry a small number of tools in a tool bag - voltmeter, pliers, wire cutter /stripper, Escape screwdriver set, spare fuses, air pump, tire patch kit, etc.

No need to carry a lot of tools as you're not out in the middle of the water where there are no hardware stores - you can buy tools that you need for the rare times you need them rather than carrying them for the majority of the time that you don't.
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Old 11-19-2020, 09:37 AM   #3
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Old 11-19-2020, 11:06 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug in NC View Post
After 18 years on our cruising sailboat I had accumulated north of 200 pounds of tools. The boat was sold and we have an Escape 19 on order. Does anyone have suggestions for the tools I might need to have on board the new RV? Obviously, I want to take what I might need, but nothing that isn't likely to be used.
I have a very similar background. Heck, when I got my boat back to Vancouver I took off 4 pickup loads of "stuff" and my repainted waterline was way above the water.

It's true, it's not the same situation as cruising a boat in foreign waters where you learn to be completely self-sufficient and see a potential use for all sorts of items as repair materials whereas at home they might be regarded as junk.

Here's my take on tools and trailering. I see all sorts of folks asking what tools they should have. My belief is that those who would use tools at home to repair things know what to take and what they want to take. If you've never packed a wheel bearing, no sense taking tools to do so. I tend to go a bit overboard and have a really comprehensive amount of tools and spares. There's not always a hardware store close at hand.

In the overall weight of the trailer a few extra tools aren't much and you never know.

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Old 11-19-2020, 11:12 AM   #5
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You know it. Like on a boat, you're out there on your own. In addition to a great tool bag, keeping a 12v air pump in the trailer can easily become the smartest move.
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Old 11-19-2020, 01:48 PM   #6
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Having a cordless drill with socket drive to put down and bring up the stabilizers has been the most help for me. Saves me at least 10 minutes each time I use it and a whole lotta frustration.
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Old 11-19-2020, 06:13 PM   #7
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Whatever you take with you...........

The danged thing you need, often isn't there.
And so it goes.


Take what you need. Leave the rest. Basic tools are a starting point.
And a tube or 2 of J.B. Weld and a roll of duct tape can fix most things, except for a broken heart .
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Old 11-19-2020, 06:32 PM   #8
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Yup, with a Robertson #2 bit you can pretty much take the whole trailer apart and duct tape will hold those things that have come apart. Throw in some vice grips and what the heck else could you possibly need?

The quickest way to find out is to clean up some clutter and stuff already in the trailer. "Do I really need this, I've never used it?" is the quickest way to need that tool on your next trip. At least that's my excuse for carrying lots of tools.

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Old 11-19-2020, 08:26 PM   #9
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The danged thing you need, often isn't there.
And so it goes.


Take what you need. Leave the rest. Basic tools are a starting point.
And a tube or 2 of J.B. Weld and a roll of duct tape can fix most things, except for a broken heart .
Gene Pitney sang Only love can break a heart and only love can mend it again. Check out the whistling in this song.
And have a great weekend.
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Old 11-19-2020, 08:29 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron in BC View Post
Yup, with a Robertson #2 bit you can pretty much take the whole trailer apart and duct tape will hold those things that have come apart. Throw in some vice grips and what the heck else could you possibly need?

The quickest way to find out is to clean up some clutter and stuff already in the trailer. "Do I really need this, I've never used it?" is the quickest way to need that tool on your next trip. At least that's my excuse for carrying lots of tools.

Ron
I have found that if you are camped near any old guys who are basically people watchers who happen to have a camper they will have what you need to fix your problem about 90% of the time. Be friendly and people will befriend you.
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Old 11-19-2020, 09:16 PM   #11
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'Tis true

A retired tool & die fellow from Detroit camping next to us helped me put back my "shaken to Hadies" Casita some years ago, back In Pensacola Fl, one winter trip. All manner of things broke loose from frost heaved roads on the trip down to the South.

Stellar fellow, and he was a connoisseur of what...........Honey, of all things. He had scads of samples, and maybe even some of that Tupelo Honey.



There be dragons out there, and thankfully, angels too.


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Old 11-19-2020, 09:39 PM   #12
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A friend of mine in SW Iowa has bee hives. In the fall they truck them to Texas to pollinate fruit trees then to California and in the mid spring back to southern Iowa . I see him about once a year and I usually get some honey from him. He sells comb honey too as well as bee pollen.
His name is Mike “Red” O’Hearn. He’s from Northboro, Iowa.
Once I got a bottle of honey from a nursery owner in Ohio. It was very good. It was from the bloom of a product they called Tallhedge. It was a cultivar of glossy buckthorn. One of the sweetest honey products I’ve ever tasted. I like honey on pancakes or waffles. Love to see the pollinators on my apples in the spring.
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Old 11-19-2020, 11:29 PM   #13
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I know the subject has been discussed on numerous occasions but I’ll give you my take. A small tool box with pliers adjustable wrench diagonal cutters, a half inch ratchet with a six inch extension a 1 & 1/16 socket a 3/4 & 13/16 socket a screwdriver that takes the 5/16 bits with an assortment of bits from philips to Robertson and torex. Small set of 1/4 & 3/8 inch sockets with 3 & 6 inch extension and ratchets. An 18 inch 1/2 inch breaker bar. Electrical & Duck tape. Cheap torque wrench. Assortment of ATO fuses both regular and mini. Crimping pliers with an assortment of heat shrink crimp connectors (yellow, blue, & pink). A lighter for the heat shrinking connectors although I carry a heat gun. Maybe a few of the std. size wrenches in metric and American say (10,12, 13, 14, 15 mm) (3/8, 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 5/8, 11/16, 3/4 inch) 12 volt test light. An inexpensive DVOM. A set of jumper cables never hurts......Maybe you should make that a medium size tool box. Actually I carry a small and medium size myself.

Did I forget anything? Probably.
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Old 11-19-2020, 11:41 PM   #14
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IN the Escape, I carry a 8-in-1 screwdriver that has small and large square bits as well as small and large flat and phillips bits... The Escape has a lot of square ("Robertson") drive screws in its interior. I carry a small DVM, a pair of needlenose pliers with wire cutters, and a larger pair of regular pliers (which I've hardly ever used). all this lives in the top drawer on the street side.

In the escapes front cargo bin, I carry my electric drill driver, with an adapter and socket that fits the BAL stabilizers, I carry a large 1/2" breaker bar with 6-point sockets that fit A) the lug nuts, B) the water heater anode, and C) the really big one that fits the hitch ball (had one come lose once, that socket got added to the kit). I also carry both a large claw hammer, and a 'engineers' hammer (to drive stakes into hard ground), and a nail puller thats been widened to fit said large tent stakes to get them back out.

in the truck, behind the drivers seat, I generally carry a very heavy duty long set of jumper cables, a 5 ton recovery strap and shackle, and two 'truck box' toolboxes, one with electrical and small tools, the other with a set of metric and SAE 3/8" sockets and combo wrenches and some assorted stuff like some bicycle tools, a set of metric and SAE ball-end allen keys, and so forth. Oh, and a Viair 88p tire compressor, and a bicycle pump since we often bring bikes (I prefer hand pumping my bike tires). The 88P can handle inflating the 70 PSI 265/75R18's on my F250.

I'm probably forgetting some things... oh yeah, theres a pair of funky old Channellock pliers behind the drivers seat, that live in my truck, universal tool!
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Old 11-20-2020, 01:02 AM   #15
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Nothing more useless than cheap jumper cables that are incapable of doing the job.
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Old 11-20-2020, 01:18 AM   #16
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Nothing more useless than cheap jumper cables that are incapable of doing the job.
yeah, I paid a pretty penny for some pure copper heavy gauge cables that are long enough that you can park behind the vehicle you're jumping, and they can start a diesel truck. I think they are 2 gauge, and 20 feet long, and cost about $80 10 years ago.

the pair I'd been carrying in my car before these came out of one of those cheap car safety kits, and when I tried to jump some ladies honda-car with my volvo 740 (nice big battery), and they melted down. worthless.

I remember finding my kid trying to jump our ancient Ford 8N tractor with his pickup and some cheap cables, and just getting wheeze, I dug up the good ones and it fired right up. he didn't believe me til I did it.

they just barely fit if carefully wound flat in one of these,
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GK4U24Y
which keeps them neat and untangled when stowed under the drivers seat of the truck. I use them to jump other people, not sure I've needed a jump on the road yet. if one of our cars has a dead battery due to weeks of not driving, its always in the driveway at home, and I put it on a NOCO charger overnight rather than jumpstart it.
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Old 11-20-2020, 07:04 AM   #17
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Having a cordless drill with socket drive to put down and bring up the stabilizers has been the most help for me. Saves me at least 10 minutes each time I use it and a whole lotta frustration.
Interesting and confusing. I can lower both of my stabilizers using the hand crank within two minutes and I have much better “feel” as to when they are where they should be. A drill can easily apply too much “lift” on them and they are not designed/intended to raise the trailer.

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I have found that if you are camped near any old guys who are basically people watchers who happen to have a camper they will have what you need to fix your problem about 90% of the time. Be friendly and people will befriend you.
Iowa Dave
I agree Dave. I have on a couple of occasions found the folks with the large motor homes have an all encompassing assortment of tools.
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Old 11-20-2020, 08:27 AM   #18
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After 18 years cruising with our sailboat, we sold the tools with the boat. We had been building a house in the AZ mountains during hurricane season, while the boat enjoyed a vacation in Antigua. So we basically replaced most tools onboard while building over 10 years. We carry wrenches, hammer, and channel locks in the jeep's tool tray. In a box in the jeep we have an air compressor and jumper cables, not great ones but not cheap either. In the front box we have an electric torque wrench and sockets, plus a long straight blade screw driver. In the trailer we have the Escape 8 in 1 screw driver, a couple other 6 in 1 screw driver's, wiring stuff (strippers, fuses, crimpers, wire, etc), an everything tool, and a volt-ohm meter.
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Old 11-20-2020, 10:29 AM   #19
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Interesting and confusing. I can lower both of my stabilizers using the hand crank within two minutes and I have much better “feel” as to when they are where they should be. A drill can easily apply too much “lift” on them and they are not designed/intended to raise the trailer.
my E21 has 4 stabilizers, and if I'm on uneven ground, sometimes I have to really crank them all the way out to reach the ground. I used to stuff a bunch of 'lego blocks' under them so I wouldn't have to crank them so far, but I've found they are more stable if they are fully extended in the almost vertical position. if the ground is really sloped (typically under a rear corner), I might still use the lego blocks on that one.

my drill driver is one of those 2-speed styles with the ratchet 'clutch', I leave that clutch set so it ratchets before cranking down too hard.

with my knees and back, bending down to use the hand crank for minutes per jack is painful.
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Old 11-20-2020, 10:34 AM   #20
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Interesting and confusing. I can lower both of my stabilizers using the hand crank within two minutes and I have much better “feel” as to when they are where they should be. A drill can easily apply too much “lift” on them and they are not designed/intended to raise the trailer.

Absolutely. The difference in time saving is negligible. And if an extra couple of minutes is that important, are we really on holiday.

I absolutely hate hearing folks use an impact drill. And it disguises stabilizers that are long overdue for service. Turning them manually you can feel when the lead screw is caked with crud and they need cleaning.

Full disclosure: I use both. I carry my non-impact drill in one hand and the crank in the other. I use the drill as a fast up or down, but don't put a load on it. If the stabilizer lead screw needs service you can feel the drill wanting to rotate. An impact drill will whack away and force it to move. Not good.

I finish manually which gives me much better feedback on how much load I'm putting on the stabilizers.

Impact drills, hate em.

Ron
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