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Diesels all have 2 batteries. It's been that way since the '80s. They are BOTH starting batteries. They are in parallel. It takes 2 to start a diesel when it's cold. Any additional house loads you add will need to come from a third battery somewhere.

I just read an article in an older QST magazine, I think it was from late 2015. It was about a group of hams who set up a test for spurious emissions at a hamfest every year. Anyone who wanted to could stop by with their hand held radio and they would test it to see if it met the FCC spec...

For towing 10,000 pounds there's no way 4.10 is overkill. You might even want lower gears than that. I'll guess you're looking at GM gas trucks. You can't buy a factory GM diesel with anything but 3.73. Most of the factory GM gas trucks will be 4.10. My truck at work is a 2015 Chevy 3500 with...

I recently purchased a Yaesu FT1X Fusion radio. I can see it having some good features for use talking between vehicles on the trail. Using the built in GPS the radio will transmit position, distance, and speed information along with your audio. This makes it very easy to keep track of how far...

K40 or Wilson would be my choice over a Firestick any day.

I think for your purpose a gas truck is the way to go. I've had excellent service from GM trucks for many years so I keep buying them. If they didn't perform well I wouldn't own them any longer. GM made huge upgrades in the HD trucks in 2001. If you can stay that year or newer you will get a...

It's the sad truth of truck campers. They are heavy, trucks are heavy, stuff is heavy. My 11' hardside truck camper has my dually over the GVWR by 1,600 pounds when fully loaded with the family on board. My camper doesn't even have a basement or slides like some of the huge ones do. I used to...

I recently got a Mobilinkd Bluetooth TNC. It's is about matchbook size. I connect it to my HT with a short cable. I use APRSdroid on my phone. It connects with bluetooth to the little TNC. This uses the phone's GPS, screen, keyboard, etc. It works pretty well on 2 meter APRS. I would think it...

I have an '03 Fleetwood Elkhord 11x. It's an 11' camper with a side entry and a dry bath but no slide. I think Fleetwood's Caribou line had a slide. I've owned it for 8 years and it has served my family well. Lance 1161 is a side entry dry bath with a slide.

Likely that truck doesn't have a factory isolator. I'd install an Automatic Charge Relay (ARC) like one from Blue Sea. This will allow your truck to charge your battery or your solar to keep your truck battery topped up. If neither charge source is available it will isolate the batteries. I...

I've bought a few radios at hamfests. Mostly I go there to buy parts, cable, adapters, etc. If I'm looking at a handheld radio I'd like to be able to try it out. If the battery isn't charged and they don't have a charger I might steer clear. Mobile rigs are a bit harder. Sometimes you can find a...

My first 2 meter hand held radio (a Yaesu FT-411E) I bought in 1992. I think it was around $250. My first 2 meter mobile rig (a Kenwood TM-241A) I bought new in 1993. I paid $300 for it and everyone told me what a great deal I got on it. Right now you can get a new Yaesu dual band hand held new...

I commend you for trying to make a video about a subject that you admit not having much understanding of. There is some useful information. However, I see some major problems. The radios your are using are not legal for the FRS band. You are not allowed to run more than 1/2 watt on the FRS band...

Using your truck's starting battery as a deep cycle for your camper is a sure way to not be able to start the truck and to ruin the battery. Starting batteries don't like to be deeply discharged. Also, they don't have very much capacity as compared to a deep cycle battery of similar size. A...

I don't know how crazy your wheelin' gets but I'm guessing not that much with a TC on a fullsize truck. I really don't think the Optima's are worth the money versus other deep cycle batteries. You would probably get more AH for your dollar with other brands like Deka or Lifeline. Have you priced...

Your plan will work. However, if you're going to be taking the top one on and off and installing caps I think I'd just swap between antennas. I'd get something like a rubber 1/4 wave for on the roof for trail work and then something like a Diamond Super Gainer for going down the highway. You...

You've found the main problem with truck campers, they're really heavy compared to the payload abilities of many trucks. As crazy as it sounds that little camper when fully loaded with gear, water, propane, etc. would be too much even for some 2500 trucks if going by GVWR. If you have a 2500...

aearless, My first mobile rig ever back in 1993 was a Kenwood TM-241A. It went back to the factory for a repair, I made a repair myself, it had another problem I was just living with. This was all in less than a year. Fast forward to a few years ago. Someone donated a Kenwood TS-2000 to our...

Yaesu Ft-7800 or 7900 (nearly identical) would be great dual band radios but they are "one band at a time" so no dual receive or cross band repeat. I have the Ft-7800 and it's a great radio, no complaints. It has a very easy to read screen and nice large well illuminated buttons. For a dual band...

If you just want 1 cheap radio then get a 2 meter. If you want a radio that has a removable face to make for an easy and clean installation you'll have to get a dual band since no single band radio offers that. If you want to be able to listen to public safety on the 450 Mhz band you'll need a...