Making improvements to my new Kaufman 30ft gooseneck trailer

McMXi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25DLB
Feb 9, 2021
6,745
9,092
113
Montana
Thanks for the post @dirtydeed. I've been using the Peerless for around five years now and they do work well (three out of four at least), but I'm looking forward to trying out these new ones. I'll see if I can figure out why the one is "sticky" and hard to turn the barrel. I don't think that the threaded rods at either end are bent but it's possible.

I had zero issues towing the M-1078 a little over 200 miles. I don't like it when chains loosen up but no issues on this trip.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

McMXi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25DLB
Feb 9, 2021
6,745
9,092
113
Montana
I checked another couple of upgrades off the list this morning. The storage box isn't waterproof, and it would be a fool's errand to try to make it so. My approach is to allow the water out, and to keep valuable chains, binders and shackles out of sitting water as much as possible.

I'm in a 12-step PRA program .... or Pack Rats Anonymous! 😂 If something looks even remotely useful I have a hard time throwing it away, and today's project only serves to validate that genetic disorder. Earlier in the summer while working on boat upgrades I decided that I didn't like the expanded rubber mat in the center console. I put it on a shelf in the garage thinking that it'd be useful somewhere else. It sure was!

For whatever reason, Kaufman doesn't add drain holes in the storage box. The box is built up around the I-beams and C-channel that make up the neck and is more of an afterthought. The bottom of the box isn't fully welded to the C-channel so there is a place for water to get out but it's not a path it naturally wants to take. I used the mag drill to add 1/4" holes in each corner, and then cut up the 3/16" thick rubber mat to fit the box. Now water has a place to drain out and the chains, binders and shackles are sitting off the bottom of the box. I like things to be organized and I'm pleased with this simple upgrade.

09.jpg


10.jpg


11.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

McMXi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25DLB
Feb 9, 2021
6,745
9,092
113
Montana
Holes drilled and mat installed.

12.jpg


13.jpg


14.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users

McMXi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25DLB
Feb 9, 2021
6,745
9,092
113
Montana
Here's the mat that is 3/16" thick. Once again, hard to throw away the offcuts since I'm sure they'll be useful for something. 😂

15.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users

BX25D Rookie

Active member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
2011 BX 25LB-R (dirt work, snow, and brush hogging) & 2013 BX 2370 (mowing lawn)
Mar 21, 2019
208
214
43
upstate, NY USA
When you park that Ford F 450 for the winter, do so with the hood fully up.
If it has an under hood illumination lamp, unplug/disable.

Vehicles with cabin air filters can also benefit from heavy metal screen reinforcement in that location.
Mice can/do chew through cabin air filters for getting inside the vehicle.

Most vehicles with air conditioning also have a cabin air recirculation door. It allows faster/colder cabin air temperatures in extremely hot/humid weather. Be certain (if possible) that the A/C recirculation door is fully closed when parked for the winter. Open, it's easy access for mice to get inside the passenger cabin area. Mice can/will chew through plastic mesh guarding the recirc door, if it even is equipped.

Keeping the A/C recirc door closed with the vehicle off can prove problematic, as the usual default is open unless recirc is activated on the A/C controls head. Disconnect the actuator from the door if needed and if possible without removing the entire dashboard from the vehicle. (some are buried so deeply behind the dashboard, it's impossible to access the recirc door) You might be able to block off the recirc air intake with metalized dryer vent ducting tape if you can't reach the recirc door.

Single battery or dual batteries? Battery tenders as needed. I use Harley Davidson battery tenders on every single piece of equipment here, including my almost daily driver Jeep Wrangler Rubicon.
There are enough H-D battery tenders out in my shop building, that at night in the pitch black, there is a soft green glow in the entire first floor, from the indicator LED's on the tenders.
(two Kubota BX tractors, two motorcycles, one ATV, one side by side, plus the Jeep located at the house)

Go to this website and see/get the plans for building mouse death buckets:

I routinely have several of these in my barn/shop building all winter long and another in my home.
(in the boiler room)
If you add enough RV antifreeze in the bucket of water, it will not freeze.
Using R/V antifreeze, if a pet finds the mouse death bucket, it won't kill them like ethylene glycol will.
Some add a 1/2 cup of birdseed which will float on the top of the water/antifreeze.

These mouse death buckets do not require very much human interaction.
Each one will trap/kill mice over a period of weeks without you having to reset/rebait.
I use an old pasta kitchen tool for fishing the dead mice out of the liquid in the bucket.
In warm weather, I put the deceased mice out on the old stone wall as offerings for the local wildlife.
In the winter, the mice go in the garbage can.

If you build four death buckets, one on each corner of that truck should adequately protect it.
Good luck with your winter truck storage!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

McMXi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25DLB
Feb 9, 2021
6,745
9,092
113
Montana
@BX25D Rookie, thanks for all of the information. I never had mouse problems in the garage until last winter. I had unplugged one of those electronic gizmos that I bought years ago and forgot to plug it back in. Not sure if there's a strong correlation but I'm definitely going to make up those traps with the peanut butter wheel of death.

I do use battery tenders and will leave the hood open for sure. Also, peppermint oil soaked cotton buds all over the place in the engine compartment.
 

The Evil Twin

Well-known member

Equipment
L2501, LA526,
Jul 19, 2022
3,128
3,388
113
Virginia
I want to pick up a couple more binders and I seem to remember @The Evil Twin recommending a particular model. The four I have that are shown above are ok but not great and I'd like to try something different this time. I bought the ones I have at a local heavy equipment dealer, and one of them in particular is getting hard to use, and I don't think it's a lubrication issue. I'm not really sure what the issue is at the moment but it's hard to rotate the barrel without using the lever. The other three seem to work just fine.

If there's a particular make that you'd recommend then I'm all ears.

For the record, when my friend in Hawaii told me that he was going to give me the M-1078 he also mentioned that he found four shackles for it. I decided to keep the shackles and not include them with the sale because I really like them, they're useful, and my friend went out of his way to find them.

View attachment 162944
It might have been CM binders. That is what I have. USA made and been happy thus far!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

McMXi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25DLB
Feb 9, 2021
6,745
9,092
113
Montana
It might have been CM binders. That is what I have. USA made and been happy thus far!
Those binders look like quality stuff for sure! It was the Easy Binders that I was thinking of and that @dirtydeed mentioned.

The two binders showed up this morning via FedEx. They shipped from Ontario, Canada and look to be of high quality and are heavier than I expected. Not sure if they're made in Canada but I couldn't find any "made in China" verbiage on them, just some US patent numbers.

Here's a photo comparing them to the size of the Peerless binders that I have. I now have enough chains (six), binders (six) and moveable D-rings (6) for most situations, and everything fits easily in the storage box with plenty of room to spare.

16.jpg


17.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users