Covered in Dust 163 Posted November 17, 2011 Thank you again everyone for the comments/suggestions. I really do appreciate them and have always felt that a second set of eyes or another opinion is always valuable. I will keep my eyes peeled for the January 2012 meeting info. I would like to try and attend that, if possible. I may have to offer a "platform" to widen the footprint for truck use, or a board might work just fine, like bikeslut suggests (I'll get back to you on the address/testing offer!). And I agree with your concern about having the rear secured, Spyder (I kind of took it for granted that folks would do that, but I think adding to the site makes good sense. Thank you). Big bike chocks are coming next, but it will be a while yet. We would like to get through the holidays and desert season before moving on to the road bikes, so hang in there! The challenge of the dirt bikes was designing the load of the bike/wheel and distributing it across the footprint of the chock, as much as it was design. Once we had the perfect combination and angle to maximize the load, we could work on design. That will hold true with the bigger/heavier bikes as well. I can't believe that you guys let dirt dame have a truck with bad ball joints, and then give her grief on top of it! You all should be ashamed of yourselves I'm thinking we should form a work party and go take care of that for her! Thanks again for all of the comments and suggestions (and keep them coming)! We are making these here in the good ol' USA, so we want to make them the best we can and keep the jobs on our own soil! Input like this helps us to do the best we can! Bruce don't worry to much about Mimi she is a better mechanic than 99% of us here. Covered in Dust Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bikeslut 1 Posted November 17, 2011 she has the truck, a jeep and the durango, plus a stable of able-bodied bikes... no tears Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
simicrintz 177 Posted November 17, 2011 I'm sure I would fall in that 99%, Chris! I'll do the work, but I won't like it! I haven't been a newbie to a page for a long time (I am a Mod on another page-unrelated to bikes) and a Site Administrator/owner on another page (also unrelated). As I'm sure you know, after a while you get to know who people are and what they do. Starting out "green" like this means I have no idea who anyone is or what they are capable of! I guess I'll have to enjoy getting to learn who's here and who does what for as long as it lasts. Soon you'll all be people I "know"! I've been pretty busy, but I'm really looking forward to spending time here and exploring the site. So far it seems like a lot of nice folks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
simicrintz 177 Posted November 17, 2011 she has the truck, a jeep and the durango, plus a stable of able-bodied bikes... no tears I liked her before, and I like her even more now! I have a couple Jeeps (Jeepsters actually) as well, and bike, truck and Jeep people are some of the best on the planet! I love your "signature", bikeslut! I think the Dos Equis ads are some of the best ever, and your twist on them is awesome! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bikeslut 1 Posted November 17, 2011 she has the truck, a jeep and the durango, plus a stable of able-bodied bikes... no tears I liked her before, and I like her even more now! I have a couple Jeeps (Jeepsters actually) as well, and bike, truck and Jeep people are some of the best on the planet! I love your "signature", bikeslut! I think the Dos Equis ads are some of the best ever, and your twist on them is awesome! thanks! dirtdiva was telling me how much she loved those ads recently, but I couldn't find a picture of the guy... so I substituted a picture of my son! seriously... she LOVES that guy! Wouldn't shut up about it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirt dame 561 Posted November 17, 2011 Bruce don't worry to much about Mimi she is a better mechanic than 99% of us here. On bikes maybe....autos, not so much. I had to go on-line to find out what a ball joint was, what it looked like and what was entailed in replacing them. Yuck, not a pleasant task. she has the truck, a jeep and the durango, plus a stable of able-bodied bikes... no tears I was almost down to only the Durango (and "Smokey The Camry" ) for a day, after the transmission on the Jeep suddenly quit transmishing. I poured a ten dollar bottle of Lucas Transmission Fix in the car yesterday morning and was absolutely amazed at the results! I wish somebody made instant ball joint repair in a bottle that I could pour on the Ranger! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bikeslut 1 Posted November 17, 2011 Mimi- is it just the ball joints for the steering? I replaced mine on my Ranger without anything except a hammer, some wrenches and a ball joint seperator (which I have) I "aligned" it in the street (after taking careful before and after measurements) and it drove great... took it to an alignment place, and it was close enough they didn't need to do anything to it (I will accept that this is a freak chance) so- if that's all it is, maybe we can throw some wrenches around after I get back from Vegas Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirt dame 561 Posted November 17, 2011 Mimi- is it just the ball joints for the steering? I replaced mine on my Ranger without anything except a hammer, some wrenches and a ball joint seperator (which I have) so- if that's all it is, maybe we can throw some wrenches around after I get back from Vegas It wrecks the alignment and makes the front end impossible to align. Eventually, it can lock up a wheel or something like that. It has already ruined my front tires, as well as causing the truck to want to steer to the right all the time. The ball joints are not all that expensive (less than 100 dollars for all four of them), so I accept your offer to help out (or anybody's offer, for that matter). We'll make a plan and I'll order the parts. Well....that was a nice hijack of my own thread. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bikeslut 1 Posted November 17, 2011 yeah... mine would "shake" violently whenever there was no side load on them... so, I would give it a yank to add side load, and the shaking would stop... I put up with that for 2 months... sorry... back on the original subject- Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
simicrintz 177 Posted November 18, 2011 I've never done ball joints, but keep me posted on the "work party". I just might learn something! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirt dame 561 Posted November 18, 2011 I've never done ball joints, but keep me posted on the "work party". I just might learn something! I'm sure that we'll learn that bad ball joints are not our friend. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bbg.will 0 Posted November 18, 2011 I've never done ball joints, but keep me posted on the "work party". I just might learn something! I'm sure that we'll learn that bad ball joints are not our friend. Bad ball joint... Pretty easy to change... Either pressed in w/ a snap ring, or bolted in... Some say the entire a-arm needs to be replaced, usually the upper, pressed in type. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
simicrintz 177 Posted November 19, 2011 Looking forward to loosing the Noob tag ASAP But it does keep me humble! Thank you for the welcome, dsfox! welcome... I read the link, but this will stay put in a regular truck bed without a rhino lining, etc? It wont slide even with the corrugated bed? I am about 3 weeks from installing a drill-in chock to the bed of my truck for the proverbial 3rd wheel (uh... that would be YOU Aaron) anyway- i'd love to hear some first hand experience on this from somebody Played with the design for a truck bed a bit today and am designing a piece that can be added to the standard chock to drop in between the grooves. This will keep the chock from having to hit a ridge to get traction. Should be no problem on a bed with or without rhino lining/Line-X. I'll keep you all posted....... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
