One of the more enjoyable duties that has to be done is to remove all the bugs from the front of your rig when you return from a trip. OK, we all know that really isn't enjoyable but it is something that has to be done or soon that nice white front cap would soon be black with bug juice. I've tried many different methods and finally hit on something that works for me.

The first thing you should do is to put a good coat of wax on the front cap. The wax helps to keep the bugs from sticking to the surface. It can never hurt to put on a couple of coats as this is one area that will get scrubbed often. A safe bet is a good quality auto wax.

Now as soon as possible you should get to removing those bugs. Out of all the methods I've tried, I've found that using Bounce Dryer Sheets is the easiest thing to use. Just wet down the surface and wipe with the dryer sheets. Not sure what is in the sheets but you'll get a lotion type liquid out of them when they get wet and you start wiping. The textured surface of the sheets makes for a nice soft scrubbing cloth and with just a little bit of elbow grease the bugs will be gone. Once done, just rinse off with fresh water.

In the year or so I have used this method I haven't seen any damage to the decals. Depending on the amount that needs to be removed, I've used anywhere from 2 to 4 dryer sheets. Give it a try the next time it's time to get rid of the bugs on the front of your rig.

I went out to start the truck on Friday and the battery was  deader then a doornail. Since it is the original battery I guess it was time for it to meet it's maker. I had the choice of just going to Wallyworld and getting one there or stepping up to something better. I went with a Sears Diehard Platinum AGM battery.

They are expensive but the Platinum AGM battery (made by Odyssey) can supply more amperage for starting and take the abuse of heavy discharge better then a wet cell battery so figured I might as well spend the money now then risk later problems. I have two 100 Ah Platinum deep cycle batteries in the trailer and have been very happy with them so I feel it is money well spent.

I got word that the modifications to my coach is complete. It is not all put back together yet but I do have some pictures of the work that was done. While I have not seen it yet Randy claims the changes reduced the movement from 1 1/4" at the front of the pin box down to 3/8" or less. If that is the case I'll be happy. Here are some pictures.

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When to Crossroads and met with the Lippert rep. They had removed the bottom skin and the front cap. There are no broken welds, all the welds looked good and could see no physical damage. Once that was all removed and the trailer was lifted you could see where the frame was flexing. This is not some lightweight frame, the walls are 4 gauge steel making the walls of the frame tubes about 1/4" thick and from what I was told is heavier then most manufacturers use. The side walls bolt to the frame in two places behind the rear pin box crossmembers. The walls do not attach in front of this crossmember because of the frame design is not a box but an angled or notched design so there is nothing to bolt to. The frame flex starts just about where the forward most sidewall bolt is. Front of the trailer is on the left on the above picture.

The frame is designed like this because the front cap is curved or rounded so a square front frame would not work. As you can see from the above picture there is about 9" of wall in front of the frame rail. To reduce the flex they are going to extend the frame rails as far forward as possible and then run a new crossmember to the pin box area plus add a couple extra braces and gussets between the new framing and existing framing. The side wall will then be bolted to this new framing. I should get the rig back late next week.

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I took the trailer back to the factory today to get the frame and pin box inspected. The trip to Topeka (Indiana that is) took about 1 1/2 hours. It was an easy trip except for a bit of construction on the road leading to the repair facility. I finally got to meet Randy after talking with him a number of times on the phone.

Once I got there I unhooked and they brought over a forklift fittest with a hitch on the forks so they could have a closer look at the pin box flex. After lifting it a few times and measuring about 1 1/4" flex at the end of the pin box they took the trailer into the shop. At this point Randy didn't want to say if the amount of flex was too much or not until the rep. from Lippert got there to look at it. It sure looks lonely sitting all alone in the repair bay!

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Tomorrow I take the trailer back to the Crossroads factory to have the frame checked out. It appears there is excess flex in the frame where the trailer's pin box (hitch) attaches to the trailer frame. I first noticed a problem on my drive home last weekend. As I pulled off the highway near the fairgrounds where I dump my holding tanks, I had quite a bit of brake chatter. Once I got to the fairgrounds I checked the trailer brakes and suspension and all looked good. Once I emptied the tans I headed home.

It happened again twice on the way home. Once I had the trailer unloaded I parked it and started to unhook it from the trailer. As I watched the trailer unhook I noticed the pin box mounting brackets were moving. The mounting brackets are attached to the trialer frame and there should be very little flex in this mount. As you can see in the picture above, two holes are showing in the mount below the overhang skin.

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