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PostPosted: Thu Feb 23, 2017 1:54 pm 
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Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2014 10:48 am
Posts: 55
Location: Omahe, NE
I tow a Hobie Tandem island in an aluminum trailer with a 900cc Triumph Scrambler motorcycle.

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Crazy Joe
Captain of the LIC. Landlocked Island Club, Omaha Ne.

2016 Tandem Island on a Trailex Aluminum trailer being towed by a
Triumph Scrambler Motorcycle..


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PostPosted: Thu Feb 23, 2017 4:10 pm 
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Joined: Tue May 18, 2010 2:31 pm
Posts: 3068
Location: Kailua 96734
:shock: Now that deserves a photo spread. (Hint)

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The Wind Is Your Friend...


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PostPosted: Thu Feb 23, 2017 4:38 pm 
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Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2014 10:40 am
Posts: 927
Location: Blacklick, Ohio
NOHUHU wrote:
:shock: Now that deserves a photo spread. (Hint)

I'm sure he can dig one up. He's got an Ural that he'll probably tow with too.

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk

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2015 Hobie Tandem Island Hibiscus
"Third Normal Form"

  • Trampolines
  • Hobie cover
  • Davis Spar Fly
  • Kayakbob's Sprayskirts
  • Spine Board Hakas


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PostPosted: Sat Feb 25, 2017 12:45 pm 
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Joined: Sat Aug 09, 2014 12:49 pm
Posts: 267
Location: Bethany, OK
PeteCress wrote:
V-8 or six-cylinder?

Most seem to be focusing on the perceived load when cruising at speed.

I am thinking more about acceleration on on-ramps into 70-mph traffic.


What exactly are you looking for? Just how short are your on-ramps?!?

My '98 S-10 with a normally-aspirated 6-cyl and manual transmission (that I never knew the max RPM of so wound up driving like my old VW - I was shifting before I even made it to the power band!) hauled my TI just fine and I never had any problem merging into traffic.

My big Transit van (high-roof - I can stand and stretch inside, and long enough for my Outback to sit on the floor with room to spare) has the EcoBoost V6 and it can smoke most cars on the road! :mrgreen: Merging into traffic with my TI in tow isn't even a consideration - heck, I have to keep reminding myself it's back there, since I can't see the trailer in the rearview mirrors...! (First-world problems... I added a 3rd-brake light camera so I could keep an eye on it!)

I think even the NA 3.7L V6 that I could have gotten for the Transit would do just fine as well, it just has to rev higher. That's the main reason I went EcoBoost, I don't like "screamers".

Modern engines are far more powerful than just a decade ago, let alone two. I was at first a bit worried that I could only get a 6-cyl in a large van but when I started looking at the specs I realized I was worrying about nothing. Even the 3.7L (non-turbo) has roughly the same HP and just a slight bit less torque than the 5.4L Triton I had in my Econoline work vans. The EcoBoost handily beats the Triton's numbers. (Only reason I focus on Ford numbers is that's what I researched the most when I was looking at vans last year. There is a very limited range of options in that category right now.)


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PostPosted: Mon Apr 10, 2017 10:30 am 
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Joined: Sat May 09, 2015 8:53 am
Posts: 717
Location: Paoli Pennsylvania - East Coast USA
Quote:
=V-8 or six-cylinder?

Well, I took a deep breath and went with the 6: 2015 4wd Silverado w/full crew cab and 6.5' bed. .. .. 4.3L IIRC.

Geeze! .. .. Onboard electronics and ergonomics have come a looong way since 2005: imagine..an easily-readable speedo that actually tells the correct speed... And the BlueTooth feature on the radio is da bomb

The diff between this V6 and my F-150's V8 is easily noticible, but the V6 has gotten us up to 65 mph lane speed on all the on-ramps I have tried so far. ...

The six makes up for the dimished torque with higher RPMs. .... Punch it, and you will see 4,000 just like that. .. Also, on cruise control, speed will drop sooner/more frequently on slight upgrades; triggering a downshift, 3,000+ RPM, and a few seconds of the lower speed until it catches up.

I am looking forward to finding a relatively-short uphill ramp where right lane speed is 70 MPH. .. .. That will be the acid test.

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2015 AI in "Dune" - "The Grey Pig"
2017 Trailex 450 Trailer
Pre-September 2015 cradles
(anybody want to buy a slightly-used AI SpinKit?)
eMail: [email protected]


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PostPosted: Sat Jun 03, 2017 12:44 pm 
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Joined: Sat May 09, 2015 8:53 am
Posts: 717
Location: Paoli Pennsylvania - East Coast USA
This is a follow-up for the benefit of anybody else on this little journey.

I went and bought a 2015 Chevy Silverado 4-door, 6' bed with a V-6.

So far, it seems adequate to merge with traffic pulling my Trailex 450 loaded with 250# of AI.

"Seems" because I still have not had occasion to test it on a short on-ramp going uphill.

It's easy to feel the reduced torque of the V-6 compared to the V-8 in my 2005 F-150, but they make up for it with RPMs.... this thing will spin up to 3,000 in a heartbeat and I've seen 5,000 a few times.

On cruise control, it does tend to drop a couple of mph as the wind or grade changes and take a minute or two to get back to the set speed - vs the V-8 which never dropped off of set speed.

All-in-all, I find the vehicle more pleasant to drive than the F-150: better gas-pedal modulation, vastly-better brake modulation... a speedometer that one can read and which actually gives the correct speed... BlueTooth automagically connects to the cell phone and starts playing a podcast where it last left off.... and so-on and so-forth.

_________________
2015 AI in "Dune" - "The Grey Pig"
2017 Trailex 450 Trailer
Pre-September 2015 cradles
(anybody want to buy a slightly-used AI SpinKit?)
eMail: [email protected]


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