5th wheel trailers are among the biggest, most luxurious, and expensive RVs. They can sleep up to 8 folks, and have a number of slide outs – some as many as 5. This, needless to say, adds tremendously to the weight, which affects gas mileage. They are recognizable from the downward pointing king pin that’s mounted under the front overhang. This hitch pin connects in the bed of a pickup truck on top of the rear axle.

The 5th wheel trailers are set up and equipped with options and gear just like a common travel trailer. They can be unhitched also – while parked and not in use. Many models can be large, which makes them first-class travel trailers and so are in essence a home away from home.

Layout

Fifth Wheel Trailers are primarily made with a raised forward area which is often stretched over the bed of a sport utility or pickup truck. The overall length of the fifth wheel setup can consequently be 6-feet less than other trailer setups. This makes for a significantly better driving experience: First off, the turning radius is way better, with less need to ‘swing wide’ on turns.

How The 5th Wheel Trailer Is Coupled To The Tow Truck

A “kingpin” points downward from the bottom of the forward area of trailer. It is engaged with a special trailer hitch – typically located in the bed of a pickup truck. This fifth wheel hitch (the ‘female’ part of the hitch) is usually attached directly above or slightly forward of the rear axle of the pickup truck. The piece of the hookup hardware which will be installed to the pickup truck is called the fifth wheel hitch.

The design of the 5th wheel keeps a weight distribution that gives optimal ride traits and fuel economy. They tend to be easy to tow as compared to classic travel trailers, given that the load lies on the towing vehicle instead of behind it. The downward weight on the towing vehicle isn’t on the back bumper, as with standard hitches.

Note that the more substantial weight of the average fifth wheel would make towing one using a traditional ball hitch hazardous and generally impossible. For one thing, the back wheels of the tow vehicle probably wouldn’t take the added weight. Furthermore, the front wheels of the towing vehicle could virtually be off the road, because of all that weight pressing down in back of the rear axle.

So the design of the fifth wheel trailer is advantageous for a variety of reasons. Besides tracking well behind the tow vehicle, gas mileage is as decent as possible for the heavier weight.

Sometimes Airbrakes Have To Be Added

Air brakes are needed on all trailers above 12,000 lbs. GTW (Gross Trailer Weight). The tow vehicle itself is required to be furnished with airbrakes. Electric brakes or electric over hydraulic brakes is usually allowed on a few special fifth wheel trailers over twelve thousand GTW where up to 50% of the weight stays in the towing vehicle.

Why 8-Foot Pickup Beds Are Necessary

Pickups built with conventional 8′ long beds offer appropriate clearance between the cab of the truck and the forward end of the trailer through sharp turns. But trucks built with 6 foot long “short-beds” would make the front end of the trailer hit the pickup’s cab in sharp turns.

So the fifth wheel trailer is a superb option if you are researching buying a travel trailer for camping, sightseeing trips, and/or even living in it. Some come with washing machine rooms, including all the appliances that you would expect to see in a your home. You can experience the luxuries of a pricey motor home, yet for a great deal less dough.

Koss PortaPro Headphones with Case

• Dynamic-element design for deep bass performance
• Comfort Zone setting on temporal pad for comfortable, secure fit
• Collapsible for maximum portability when listening on the go
• Multipivoting ear plates and adjustable headband for added comfort
• Includes convenient carrying case

Dynamic element design for deep bass performance; Comfort zone setting on temporal pad for comfortable, secure fit; Multi-pivoting earplates and adjustable headband for added comfort; Collapsible for maximum portability when listening on the go; Includes convenient carrying case; Includes 1/8″ and 1/4″ stereo plugs for home and portable use; Straight, dual entry 4 foot cord; Frequency response: 15-25,000 Hz.The Koss PortaPro collapsible stereophone combines high-quality sound reproduction with a unique design for the ultimate in convenience and comfort. These over-the-head headphones have a dynamic element design for deep bass performance and a frequency response of 15 to 25,000 Hz to ensure the music comes through clear and bright. Also designed for comfort, these headphones have two adjustable temporal-comfort zone pads to shift the pressure and perfectly balance the ear plates on your ear. The open-earphone ear plates are multipivoting and, together with the adjustable headband, a

Rating: (out of 646 reviews)

List Price: $ 49.99

Price: $ 29.90

Bracketron UFM-100-BX Nav-Mat GPS Friction Dash Pad [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging]

• Ships in Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging
• Easy to Install and Remove
• Advanced Weight Distribution Technology Prevents Sliding and Promotes Stability
• Non-Skid Base
• Keeps a Low Profile

Bracketron and Amazon.com have teamed up to offer this item in Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging, a recyclable, easy-to-open alternative to traditional packaging. Products in Frustration-Free Packaging are exactly the same–we’ve just streamlined the packaging. A Frustration-Free Package comes without excess packaging materials such as wire ties, hard plastic “clamshell” casings, and plastic bindings. It’s designed to be opened without the use of a box cutter or knife and will protect your product just as well as traditional packaging. This item ships in its own box, without the need for an additional shipping box. The Nav-Mat is an extremely convenient mounting accessory for your portable GPS. Using the physics of weight distribution along with high tech anti-skid materials, it creates a solid mounting base to turn your windshield-mounted GPS into a dash-mounted GPS. The Nav-Mat conforms to the contours of your dashboard, allowing it to work on uneven or textured surfaces while the a

Rating: (out of 967 reviews)

List Price: $ 29.95

Price: $ 6.88

In this article we are going to look up some new golf gadgets, some special items that can make your golf game a little easier and a bit more pleasant.

For $20 you can buy the Check-Go Sweet Spot Finder. This gizmo will help you find the equator of your golf balls. This means that you can now determine the weight distribution axis which is going to guarantee a better hit. This Check Go gizmo can determine the best alignment direction for your ball to fly better. This spot is marked on the golf ball and it will indicate where the ball needs to be hit in order for the golf player to achieve the best results. The ball equator is one gadget which is very simple to use and it will work with any golf ball brand.

Another gizmo from the new golf gadgets is the Medicus Golf Power Meter will tell you how hard you are supposed to hit the golf ball. It basically tells you what your golf swing speed has to be in order to get an accurate shot. You get instant feedback so it’s easier to improve you consistency and control. It basically gives you instructions on how to hit you ball better in order to get a hole in one! It’s easy to switch it from one golf club to another. You can set up the Medicus Golf Power Meter according to your own golf club as you can dial up the specifications. The Medicus Golf Power Meter has a large LCD which is very easy to read. It can also read swing speeds up to 233 KPH.

If you are a real golf passionate but you are stuck inside your home on a Sunday afternoon because of a rainy weather, you can always try the Real World Golf game for the PlayStation 2. You can now enjoy a golf game right from the comfort of your own home on you big plasma TV. The gaming experience is really intense so you can enjoy this game as if it were a real golf game. The plastic club is attaches to one motion capture unit and the swing will be shown on a screen.

You can choose from quite a large range of golf clubs, dedicated from amateur and professionals. The professional clubs will require skillful players as the ball is harder to control than it is in the case of the amateur player. The game has 5 different courses and you can choose from different play modes. You can also choose to play in tournament mode and you can even play with other human players. We don’t have details about the price of this game but it cannot be too expensive.

There is quite a range of new golf gadgets which can help even the pros improve their game. You can choose between different other items that help you control the speed of your swing and you can even buy solar golf carts to help you move around the golf course faster.

Mercedes has an electric SLS AMG in development that will probably take the title away from Tesla as the must have plug-in sports car. The new SLS AMG recalls past iconic Mercs with a sweeping body and gullwing doors. Plus, the performance and power output is on par with a current generation SLS AMG 6.3-liter V8 but this puppy doesn’t make Al Gore cry.

We all knew that Mercedes had electric car intentions when Damiler purchased a stake in Tesla a few months back. However it’s doubtful that this SLS has seen significant Tesla development just yet. Mercedes did buy that stake to gain access to the quick development cycle that inherently come with small companies. This car has probably been in the works for a while now.

The design is purely Mercedes Benz, but underneath is more Moon Rover meets Tesla. There are four electric motors placed just inside the suspension system that propels the car to 60 mph in 4.0 seconds. (The Roadster does it 3.9 seconds, btw) A row of batteries extends down the center of the vehicle’s frame in a Chevy Volt-fashion that doesn’t interfere with the car’s weight distribution and helps keep the center of gravity sports car-low.

We’re curious to hear what the cars range will be. The presser didn’t mention anything, but the four, smaller motors might translate into a similar range as the Tesla Roadster which has a higher capacity lithium-ion pack, but one large motor.

HP freaks should be content with the 392 kW output which translates into 525 HP. With that much horsepower, it seems like the 0-60 time should be a tad better, but we’re all slowly learning that electric cars are tuned differently than their gasoline counterparts. For instance, the new Tesla Roadster Sport features a hand-wound stator which increases the amount of current that passes through the motor and decreases the 0-60 speed from 3.9 seconds to 3.7 seconds.

Still, performance is measured differently by everyone and we’re curious to see how this car whips around the track with the batteries down the center, motors at each wheel and no transmission thanks to the electric drive. This SLS AMG is likely going to set the bar very high for electric supercars for sometime. It’s just a shame that the everyday man will not be able to enjoy this zero-emissions sports car as it’s likely going to be priced up in the stratosphere. It’s probably not that hard to develop a viable electric car when price is no object.

PRESS RELEASE:

New swing-wing model with purely electric high-tech drive system: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG with electric drive – the exciting future of the super sports car

Affalterbach – Mercedes-AMG is paving the way ahead: with the new SLS AMG with electric drive, the performance brand within Mercedes-Benz Cars is developing an exciting super sports car with zero-emission high-tech drive. This model sees Mercedes-Benz and AMG displaying their expertise in the development of alternative drive solutions for high-performance super sports cars, delivering further proof of their pioneering status in this market segment.

The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMGwith electric drive transforms the vision of powerful and locally emission-free super sports cars into reality thanks to an innovative drive system: powerful forwards thrust is provided by four electric motors with a combined peak output of 392 kW and a maximum torque of 880 Nm. The four electric motors are positioned near the wheels, substantially reducing the unsprung masses compared to wheel-hub motors. One transmission per axle transmits the power. This intelligent all-wheel-drive system allows dynamically optimised power transmission without any losses by means of Torque Vectoring – in other words the specifically targeted acceleration of individual wheels. In its first pilot phase, the SLS AMG with electric drive incorporates a liquid-cooled high-voltage lithium-ion battery of modular design with an energy content of 48 kWh and a capacity of 40 Ah. The 400-volt battery is charged by means of targeted recuperation during braking whilst the car is being driven.

Acceleration from zero to 100 km/h in around 4 seconds

When it comes to dynamics, the electrically driven SLS AMGdelivers an unequivocal statement: the swing-wing model accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in around 4 seconds – putting it on the same high level as the SLS AMG with a 6.3-litre V8 engine developing 420 kW/571 hp.

“With the SLS AMG with electric drive, we wanted to redefine the super sports car. For us, it is not just about responsibility. We attach just as much importance to excitement and classic AMGperformance,” says Volker Mornhinweg, Chief Executive Officer of Mercedes-AMG GmbH.

Optimum weight distribution and low centre of gravity

The purely electric drive system was factored into the equation as early as the concept phase when the new swing-wing model was being developed by Mercedes-Benz and AMG. It is ideally packaged for the integration of the high-performance, zero-emission technology: by way of example, the four electric motors and the two transmissions can be positioned near the wheels and very low down in the vehicle. The same applies to the modular high-current battery, whose modules are located in front of the firewall, in the centre tunnel and behind the seats. Advantages of this solution include the vehicle’s low centre of gravity and the balanced weight distribution – ideal conditions for optimum handling, which the electrically powered SLS AMG shares with its petrol-driven sister model.

Key data at a glance:

	Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG with electric drive
Max. output	392 kW
Torque	880 Nm
0-100 km/h	Approx. 4 s
Rated capacity	40 Ah (at 400 V)
Energy content	3x 16 kWh = 48 kWh

The installation of the drive components required no changes whatsoever to the swing-wing model’s aluminium spaceframe body. And there were just as few constraints when it came to maintaining the excellent level of passive safety and high degree of long-distance comfort that are hallmarks of Mercedes cars.

Strategic alliance for fast electrification of the car

The electrically powered SLS AMG sees Mercedes-Benz and AMGcontinuing to pursue their aim of minimising the amount of time it takes to bring about the electrification of the car. Their strategic involvement in Deutsche Accumotive GmbH & Co. KG, a joint venture between Daimler AG and Evonik Industries AG, will provide the battery technology required in future. Daimler has the leading role in this joint venture for the development and production of batteries and battery systems for automotive applications.