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- Опубликовано: 17 окт 2024
- In early March, (pre-pandemic) we were still in Phoenix. We explore Papago Park and see the Hole in the Rock from a distance while Olive embarks on her very first hike (where she walks). The girls meet a new friend named Taylor, a knowledgeable and generous park steward, who has lots of stories and activities for them to enjoy. Olive is so brave when she gets her cast off! Papa discovers that the trailer towing safety chains for the Airstream has almost completely worn out, so they need to be replaced right away. The whole family is eager to get back in the Airstream.
Editor: John Alexander
#RVLife #Airstream #FulltimeFamilies
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Hi Lisa! Glad to see you here!
Enjoy all your videos. Very real, and just so adorable.
Thanks so much for sharing that with us Catherine! Glad you're here.
What most people don't realize about "safety chains" is they are suppose to be set up so if the trailer comes off the ball it holds the tongue from hitting the ground. That's where the trouble comes in to play. Once your tongue hits the ground it digs in and can then cause all kinds of other issue including enough force to break your chains and totally loose the trailer. You only want the chains hanging down several inches from the tongue/ball so there's enough slack for max turning but still tight enough for it to make a cradle if the trailer comes off the ball. Also I would not suggest twisting your chains. You are able to adjust them with the setup you have now so adjust the correctly. You also want to test your emergency brake regularly too.
Great tips! Thanks for thinking of us. Now that we have the quick links, we should be able to do more fine tuning of the length adjustment, without needing to twist. Thanks again for helping to clear up the way those chains are meant to work!
Regarding the chains - I shorten mine by twisting them once or twice. Works well. No need to remove any links. I pull a 30 ft. Airstream as well.
Great video!
Thank you Alicia P!
Stay safe! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Three sweet little girls you have! They are getting so big. 💕💕💕
They’re growing too fast! Where’s the pause button?
Your vloging skills are growing so exponentially and Papa now has a starring role that I have advocated for a long time. The Three Trees remain precious. One day they will know how precious Mama and Papa are. Ron
We sure appreciate your kindness and support, as always Ron, thank you!!
Can I make another suggestion? Your umbilical cable to the van needs to be secured better. I run mine through the safety clasp for the hitch lever, so that it stays off the ground and is centered over the ball, more or less. Where you have a padlock, I use something called a "safety pin 1/4", two wire snap". Basically a large safety pin with a round bail. As I turn, the wire stays centered.
This was so beautiful. Your girls were curious about the stewards leg but kind and loving. Great parenting. So happy Olive got her cast off!!
Thank you Marilyn! Funny how Olive having a cast on her arm didn't slow her down one bit. She just kept right on being herself. :)
Sweet baby Olive she was so brave, Hello Linden and Maple. You all have 3 sweet little souls.🙏💖🤗
We sure do love 'em! Thanks for being here with us galemakutty!
Lots of good advice about chains, and to not twist them. Also, you should be inspecting them before every trip just to make sure everything is still in place etc., if so they'd never get to be that thin! Happy traveling!
Thanks Sue! We’ll be shortening them as suggested. And now chain inspection has been added to the preflight checklist! 👍
Happy Easter you all!! Olive is so big now! She’s a toddler now & so independent. Good luck on the next adventure!
How did we end up with no more babies all of the sudden?!
Three Little Trees you can still change that!
We always love seeing the Little Trees. Also enjoy your figuring out full time rving. Keep up the wonderful videos
So nice of you to share that, We Were Snowed In!
You should shorten each chain by 1 or 2 links and test again. Any dragging will throw sparks, which is a brushfire hazard. As has been mentioned, the chains need to be short enough to hold up the tongue and long enough to not bind on turns. Until you can get rid of the old chains, loop them over the tongue and secure them so they don't drag.
Thanks for those chain tips, Ernie! Very much appreciated!
Well done on your first hike Olive. Thank you Three Little Trees for sharing your journey. Continue to stay safe. ❤❤🇬🇧
Thanks for your encouragement, Donna!
Joe Wolters and Mike Miller make great comments below and they are correct. However, as Joe said, the chains should be crossed so as to catch the trailer hitch in case of failure. Do not twist the chains. Make everything is installed professionally and correctly. Your lives and the lives of others may depend on it someday. I had a trailer hitch break due to metal fatigue in the middle of St. George, Utah one time. That taught me how important it is take safety very seriously. You think it wont happen to you, but it might.
The gils are getting so big. They’re just adorable.
Thanks for being here with us, Elena!
🌼 I, too, like to make that one last check whether staying at a hotel or friends/family's house.
Isn’t it funny - I pretty much always find at least one thing that would have been left behind.
@@ThreeLittleTrees Me too! If staying with friends or family, I have them check with me - they seem to notice something of mine quicker than I would.
I love Olive’s laugh at the end of the video. She’s just sooo cute!
Always look forward to your videos! Precious family. Happy Easter!
Happy Easter to you as well HaulandCo!
Happy Easter everyone, wherever you are haha. God bless you all.
Thank you Janice! Happy Easter to you as well! So glad you're here with us!
You need a shelter with a heat system, like a Mr Buddy so you can eat outside the airstream in the winter and hang out there before going to bed, like a large clam or Easy Up with sides. We always have an enclosure when we go in our RV and have the grands.
That’s a great idea. I’ll have to do some research on those. Thanks for sharing that Gayle! Glad you’re here!
Looking at your combination when it was sitting on level ground, it looks like you are not level. Check the height and if you have to, put air bags on the van. I would definitely go one more link up. It won't hurt, I don't think you would ever make that sharp of a turn, or jackknife that sharp. Happy Easter and happy trails.
Happy Easter!
Happy Easter Brenda!
I also go back and check after we "leave" to make sure we don't loose anything and usually leave it better than we found it. I clean and leave the dirty towels and sheets in a nice pile for the housekeeper. I also take the trash if I know where the dumpster is. I know it's weird...LOL
Love that story Danielle. We do the same. Thanks for sharing!
Nice plate.
Hope you are having a good Easter.
Thank you Kelly! Happy Easter to you as well!
You could tighten them uo a couple of links. The trailer company factory that I used to work for used cables for safety chains because they coil and keep sufficient tension so that they don't drag or bind. They can be connected in the same fashion as you're chains.
On the threaded link that you attach the chain to the trailer with, I would have the threaded end on the bottom so road vibration doesn't unscrew the nut and open the link. Good luck!
Love it! That’s a very simple adjustment to make! Thank you for sharing the tip Dancin Bear!
I'm a fan of doing a last once over check just in case!!!
I enjoyed watching your video!!!
Hi fam!
Olive is sooo cute! 🤩 But I bet that when she is in a bad mood, nobody want's to mess with her! 🙈
I've no idea what the purpose of those chains is, I thought they should keep the Airstream and the van connected if the hook breaks.
I would put the chains in something flexible and expanable like one of those expandable garden hoses. So they won't hang down, but are still long enough when needed.
Also I have no idea if this idea is doable or those hoses big enough.
You see, I have no idea, but looots of it. 🤪
Stay healthy!
Wow that is a brilliant idea! I think I can visualize what you described, in my mind. Something like a spring/tube that normally stays short, but can expand or break to get longer when needed to allow the chains inside do their job in an emergency. I don't think that product exists yet -- maybe you can be the first to invent it!
@@ThreeLittleTrees
You described exactly what I mean!
The purpose of the chain is to keep the trailer from taking off and killing someone if it becomes detached from the vehicles hitch.
Oedipal (I have no idea what word I used here! Apparently neither did Siri! Lol) this adventure!!! Olive was so good getting her cast off!!!! Yay for your “staycation”!!!!
Use a “bolt cutter” to free the old chains from the hitch. Firehouses typically have bolt cutters. You can buy a decent set of bolt cutters from Harbor Freight. Happy Easter!!
Thanks for the chain-removing tips, Lee! Thanks for being here and Happy Easter!
As others have said, your chains are still too long. Also, I agree with Earl down below. I noticed that your van is sitting too low in the rear. Both the trailer and tow vehicle should be level. You can probably correct that by increasing tension on the equalizing bars. Important to get this right because its a safety issue. Might also need beefier rear suspension.
You can also use a bungie to hold up the chains. In the event of a catastrophic event the bungie will break allowing the chains to do their job.
Very much appreciate you sharing that tip, Steel Traveling!
Happy Easter to you and your sweet adorable family. I hope all is well with you all. I love to see how much the girls are growing and changing each week. Stay safe and well. I hope you and your family have a great day.
Happy Easter Caroline! Have a wonderful day, and so glad you stopped by!
You should be able to stop by some automotive shop and they should have a bolt cutter that can cut your old chains off for you. You should not have to deal with them any more. They should not charge you either. I would take probably two more links out of the chain lengths because you don't want them hitting uneven ground and sparking as you drive. If your chains do not pull up approaching being tight in a jack knife and hang three inches off of level ground when you are straight, you are in good shape. Some people say to twist the chains until they are short enough. Don't do it. There are all kinds of warnings out there saying that a twisted chain does not pull lineally and can cause a problem!
Thank you W Carl Hepker for the thoughtful advice! That sounds like just what we'll do. For some reason I thought they would get more taught in the jack knife, but it looks like a couple less links of slack would be perfect as you mentioned. Thanks for helping us confirm that!
Just take one more link out of that chain, and you will be great. I had the same problem. If you have a grinder, cut the old chain off. You probably have done that. I forgot that this was a month ago.
Where are you thinking about going next and where to Winter?
How long are you going to be on the road? Are you ever going back to Chicago?
Don’t take short cuts with safety. 1. Get the new chains welded onto the trailer. 2. Make sure they are the correct length. They should be a minimum of 4” off the ground. Crossing them is not necessary, but if you like doing it, it shouldn’t hurt.
3. Grease the ball on the bitch. Always keep it greased.
The screw on link is actually illegal, but it works in a bind. Any muffler shop can weld on a new chain. They can also cut off the excess chain links.
To make your chains shorter twist the chain several times before hooking the hook on the hitch.
Thanks for sharing the chain tip, Rick L -- Glad you're here!
@@ThreeLittleTrees chains should not be dragging, a twist or two will fix that issue, without having to take any links out.
I noticed several recommendations to twist the chain, DO NOT do this. This will weaken the chain. Since you have the connector links you can just shorten the chain there. Speaking of shortening the chain, when you are siting flat and level and straight ahead if the chains are properly crossed (which I noticed you do) If they can reach to a vertical line of the center of the ball they will never bind.
You can cross them a few times to shorten them from dragging should not drag on road and should not bind
Thanks for sharing the chain tips Ed!
2 Inches from the bottom of the ball is fine
I must have missed the video about your little one's arm!
Me too
I think it was the one three weeks ago where we went to the Airstream dealer to try to get service. Thanks for being here at our channel!
Im sorry, but I’ve been reading the comments below. I have to say this.
DO NOT TWISTS CHAINS TO MAKE THEM SHORTER. THEY ARE NOT DESIGNED TO BE TWISTED!!! STOP MAKING SHORT CUTS IN SAFETY, YOU PUT ALL AT RISK.
I'll add to this.
1. The chains only need to be long enough to where they don't become taunt in the sharpest of turns. The length will vary depending on the height of your hitch, and how far it sticks out of the receiver. In your situation, I'm thinking your chains should be 2"-3" off the ground. They do need to be crossed to prevent the trailer from hitting the ground if/when it becomes disconnected from the tow vehicle. It also looks like you need airbags or something to bring the back of your van up a bit. Long Long Honeymoon and KYD have great videos on this.
2. I use graphite on all of my friction points and not grease. Grease attracts sand and dirt which will wear things out quickly.
Your chains our way longer then mine mine out about 3 or 4 inches off ground
As you twist Michael the chains will come off the ground slowly, distribute the twist throughout the chain. Leave enough chain to turn. Good luck
I’m no expert, but I’ve heard beware of shiny chain. It might not be as sturdy as advertised
Thanks for the heads up, Betsy! I’ll keep an eye out for any more info about that.
Betsy, shiny has nothing to do with that.
IMO, your new safety chains are still too long. I shorten mine at the hook since it has a pin and cotter pin.
Too loooonnnnggggg-shorten
Be careful with hiking in Arizona with the girls. Lots of rattlesnakes in those areas.
Hi Maria! Thank you for thinking of us and for reaching out!
I have not been getting notifications of your uploads. I had to unsubscribe and re-subscribe in order to get notifications just an FYI.
Hi Becky! That’s so nice of you to go through that effort just to be notified of our videos. For anyone who wants to be notified: try clicking the “bell” icon, and also choose “all notifications” otherwise RUclips might just give some for the channel. One other thing is to make sure that the RUclips app is even enabled to provide any notifications at all (usually found in the phone’s settings).
Three Little Trees Another RUclipsr suggested that it’s the setting “for kids” or “not for kids” and a lot of people are set one way and because The video is set in a different way they don’t get the notification. I am not sure how true that is but unsubscribing and resubscribing seems to have worked.
Aren’t you guys afraid of being around all those people? The virus?
Hi Mary! So good to hear from you. Nowadays we are isolated. Our videos that come out are usually filmed about 1-2 months before they get published to RUclips. So all of our videos until just recently were before everything changed. In our newest video this week (social distancing in the campground), we mentioned some dates as they were happening, so it is a bit more clear when things were unfolding.