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Desert Rat Posted on: Dec 24 2009, 12:53 PM





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[quote=Myaj,Dec 18 2009, 11:38 AM]
So my questions...

1. How long of a charge can I expect from a marine battery, if all I want to run is the furnace and maybe the ceiling lights? Will it last me a weekend? Most of the places I camp (with my horses) do not allow generators. Some of them do have electric hookups, which was very nice, but most of the time I'll have nothing. Luckily most of the time it will be warm enough that I don't need the furnace, and when its not, I'll camp places that do have electric, but its still nice to have that option, and I'd like to know if I can make it through a few nights or if I'll need to recharge at some point.

There's a lot of open space here. First, how is the capacity of your battery--measured in amp hours. And what shape is it in? Our camper furnace is a fairly small unit with ducts going off to keep the tanks warm; with the small space alocated to the battery, we have a fairly small deep cycle battery--er had, I've plumbed in another battery now, in the dead space between the camper sidewall and the truck bed wall. A weekend in cold weather, needing the furnace at night and at times in the day even can chew up a battery in no time.

Living successfully with a deep cycle battery, that is not sending it to a premature death, means never letting it get below half charge. If you have a digital volt meter (multimeter), with nothing running on the battery and not charging, a half-full battery reads 12.2 volts. Fully charged, 12.63 volts. Best advice: Take your rig out, use it, and stop and read it often. If it starts getting to the 12.2 level, start up your truck engine. If the wiring from the alternator is fairly good sized, you should get a bit of a charge on the battery--just make sure you don't get killed by your truck exhaust!

If you do a lot of this, and camp in sunlight country, consider adding solar power to your rig.
  Forum: General Discussion · Post Preview: #1933 · Replies: 3 · Views: 13,656

Desert Rat Posted on: Nov 21 2009, 07:42 PM





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QUOTE(lmbabs @ Oct 23 2009, 08:06 AM)
I bought a used truck camper and much to my demise after purchasing I found rotted wood in the front bunk. I plan to replace it, but a little worried about what I may find.

This is a Viking Pop-up so the crank and rail are attache to the bed so I plan to build a support wall to keep the roof up while repairing.

Has anyone ever done this before, am I making a big mistake taking on this project?
Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
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I had a really old rig with rot in the cabover, all over under the bunk. When I opened it up I actually found some standing water. I removed the bunk flooring over this framing area and piece by piece, repaced the bad wood; I also reinforced some other framing by bolting angle iron to it. Take your time and think your way through the process. My current project is a different camper with most of the roof rotted out--the EPDM rubber deteriorated and the last owner "just let it go." I've been at it for nearly a month, and had to replace some roof framing, and all the decking. No more EPDM for this chicken, I've replaced it all with Peel and Seal roofing. Should have it done this week (i hope, i hope) so I can take it out for the first weekend in December. I think I spend a fourth of my time on the project just sitting and looking, thinking my way through the process. Helps you make fewer mistakes, but I make plenty anyway.
  Forum: General Discussion · Post Preview: #1733 · Replies: 2 · Views: 13,263

Desert Rat Posted on: Nov 21 2009, 07:34 PM





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I've been helping a buddy shop for a travel trailer; the NADA prices we've been looking at are super low compared to the asking prices for rigs we're seeing in the Phoenix, Yuma, Quartzsite area. He's looking to spend roughly $3,000 for a trailer to live in, and we're seeing some in that range, while NADA is suggesting the values are less than $1,000. Of course, comparing similar units on dealer lots--forget it! These guys will highjack you all the way to the bank.
  Forum: General Discussion · Post Preview: #1731 · Replies: 2 · Views: 10,699

Desert Rat Posted on: Nov 21 2009, 07:30 PM





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QUOTE(Dan-O @ Nov 16 2009, 02:20 PM)
So now it is time to start working on caulking the side around the windows and edges. Can anyone please tell me what they use? Will regular caulk work like what people use on thier house? I'm also getting close to start some wood repair. I was just going to clean up the rotted stuff and coat it with fiberglass and resin. Any feedback on this idea and these questions would be helpful. Take it easy.

Dan-O
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If you're talking about resealing the windows (which should be done every few years anyway), you need to pop the windows out (take out mounting screws, possibly a staple or two as well), scrape them down thoroughly, then use butyl putty tape along the window flange. Pop the window back in place, tighten down the screws, and then run a bead of acrylic caulking around the outside of the window. If you use silicone containing caulk, nothing will ever stick again, and you'll never get it loose.

I dealt with small areas of wood rot with a special anti-rot liquid I bought at Home Depot or Lowes. Comes in a big plastic bottle--might be made by Elmers (the glue people). I have also used fiberglass resin in larger areas where I couldn't remove the damaged wood. In those instances I drilled small holes through the wood, then did my best to "inject" the liquid resin into the holes and impregnate the rot areas. The old camper held up for another 3 years before I sold it off.
  Forum: General Discussion · Post Preview: #1729 · Replies: 2 · Views: 12,460

Desert Rat Posted on: Sep 19 2009, 09:30 AM





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QUOTE(tructa arundo @ Jul 28 2009, 12:04 AM)
I'm using a 9.5 Bigfoot with a fridge on my Ford 250.  Sometimes, due to terrain, etc. it's very difficult to get the whole rig level when camping.  Normally, I don't worry about it too much, but some friends claim that not having the rig level can cause problems with the fridge, especially when it's being run on propane?  Is this true, or just an old wive's tale?  Thanks for the info.....
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Run with your refrigerator "off level" and you run a significant risk of shortening the life of the cooling unit, a very expensive part of the 'fridge.' While it is true that some of the newer units have a bit more tolerance for being run out of level, the safest thing to do for your fridge and your pocketbook:

Put a level on the freeze plate of the fridge--the part that gets cold the fastest inside the freezer. You should be no more than a third of a bubble outside of the rings indicating level.

Why is this important? Because as the cooling liquid comes out of the areas where cold should be in the refrigerator, it travels through a network of curved pipes. If the refir is off level, the coolant will tend to "hang up" in the pipes, and begin to condense, leaving solids behind in the curves. Eventually those solids will build up and prevent any further movement of the coolant--and Hey Presto!--no coolant movement, no cooling. No fix, either, other than replacing the cooling unit or the entire refrigerator. Had it happen. NOT a happy experiene.
  Forum: Support Equipment · Post Preview: #1375 · Replies: 5 · Views: 19,841

Desert Rat Posted on: Sep 18 2009, 03:30 PM





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We spend our time beating a path from Sonora Desert Arizona to Washington state, often through Nevada, Idaho, and Oregon; into western Colorado a couple of weeks ago, and exploring Utah's Canyon Country. Wound up in the national forest outside of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon:
  Forum: General Discussion · Post Preview: #1367 · Replies: 55 · Views: 140,750

Desert Rat Posted on: Sep 18 2009, 03:06 PM





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QUOTE(Dan-O @ Sep 18 2009, 07:34 AM)
Hey, I appreciate the feedback and good advice. What do you think about a futon mattress. I was going to look into those.

Dan-O
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Depends on what your back can tolerate. We tried sleeping on somebody's futon for a couple of nights and found it was really hard as a rock. Wondered if this was just the particular futon; after doing more looking into it, found this is a common complaint wth futons. Some sugest a couple of layers of egg carton foam shoved on top of the futon (inside the cover). Never tried it, but it stil sounds like a tough job to me.
  Forum: General Discussion · Post Preview: #1365 · Replies: 5 · Views: 16,175

Desert Rat Posted on: Sep 18 2009, 03:01 PM





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QUOTE(garbinator @ Sep 17 2009, 03:24 PM)
Its part of meal [planning. Non-metalic means burn in the campfire. The rest I wait till the hours of darkness then stuff cans etc etc into my buds garbage can as he always has enough room to carry out both of our garbage. laugh.gif  But seriously, we always limit out cans to plastic (Reusable w/lids) or Styrofoam. It may-not be in accordance with the EPA, but then They ain't around when empties get tossed into the fire. Aluminum cans can be stuffed in an old cotton or potato sack and tied to the ladder.
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Well, I can see that, but often we don't have a fire to burn stuff in. I suppose we could shove garbage in a gunnysack and tie it to the ladder, but I daresay it might be a bit attractive to some wildlife we might not want in camp!
  Forum: Boon Docking · Post Preview: #1363 · Replies: 12 · Views: 103,263

Desert Rat Posted on: Sep 17 2009, 03:23 PM





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While we never got mice, our OEM mattress was moldy from water leakage issue of prior owner. In our case, simply moved in a new air mattress--the big, boxy ones. I've had to patch it a couple of times in the last two years, but it sure has been comfortable, once I added a couple of inches of memory foam.

In an earlier rig, we ordered a custom cut chunk of 4" high density foam. It's not an inexpensive proposition, but it does beat the daylights out of a "custom RV mattress." If you go this route, don't go cheap, but the best density foam you can afford, and do the memory foam trick on top. We once bought the less expensive foam and wound up "sleeping in a trough" when the foam broke down where the bodies lay.
  Forum: General Discussion · Post Preview: #1357 · Replies: 5 · Views: 16,175

Desert Rat Posted on: Sep 17 2009, 03:17 PM





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Our rig is a wee bit heavier--pushing 3500 pounds, but here's our take on it:

I cut two 4x4s (doug fir), their length matching the width of the camper floor box. After I have the camper lowered close to the ground, I put the two 4x4s under the camper, one close to the front of the box, the other near the rear. Then using travel trailer stabilizer jacks--the kind that "stack" into one another and have screw driven caps, I place a jack about a foot or so in from each end of the 4x4.

The result is, the jacks are supporting the 4x4s, and the 4x4s are supporting the camper. I cinch the jacks up fairly tight for security, and leave the camper corner jacks right where they are. At that rate you have support on all four corners, but in a broad space under the floor as well.

In an earlier camper incarnation, we actually had the floor collase out from under the rig while were sitting down at the dinette, having a nice meal. That put a quick end to a warm dinner, I'll add.
  Forum: General Discussion · Post Preview: #1355 · Replies: 10 · Views: 27,693

Desert Rat Posted on: Sep 17 2009, 03:09 PM





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As we find ourselves taking longer and longer boondocking trips, where to "put the garbage" until we return to civilization is becoming a bit of an issue. After a few days in the forests near the Grand Canyon, we had to air out the truck cab before we could get in, as we put our bagged (and tied, but not tagged) garbage up there to keep it out of the way.

Where does everybody put their trash until they can stash it in the roadside barrel?
  Forum: Boon Docking · Post Preview: #1353 · Replies: 12 · Views: 103,263

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