Are you saying that you have no 12v power coming out of your converter/charger? If so, check to see that the power supply to the converter/charger is hot or not. It may be plugged into a GFI that may be tripped from the water leak and all you have to do is hit the reset button that.

Have you ever heard of Geocaching? If not, or if you want to know more about it, go to geocaching.com and read how it works and what it's all about. We have discovered that many geocaches are hidden in some very cool places to camp and the description of the geocache on the website and the "logs" from previous geocachers' visits, often tells you what to expect. Some of the best boondocking campsites we have visited were found by following our GPS's directions to make a geocache find. Follow this link to one of our favorites of all favorites that we logged back in 2011:

http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCJ74E_...s-hells-kitchen

If you have a smart phone you can make it a "hot spot", at least if you're on Verizon's network. It's a very small fee and you can have it turned on or off at will to reduce the overall cost.

We have a 2012 Host Everest that we haul around with our '08 F450. The camper usually weighs in around 5000 lbs and we're usually towing a boat or an enclosed trailer full of snowmobiles. We did have an extra leaf added to the rear springs on the truck and we mounted it with 12 ply Michelin truck tires, both of which increase our payload limits. We're at the limits, or a bit over, on both payload and towing capacity but the truck handles well, stops well and feels safe and capable. Like Skyhammer, we got to participate in the building of our camper and tricked it our pretty good. The one thing that I'd do different is ditch the propane generator and just go with a Honda carry out instead. The propane is too noisy and it doesn't start in cold weather when we're snow camping. I will probably remodel the generator compartment to carry my Honda EU200 and a gas container and ditch the Onan propane unit sometime in the near future. If I had it to do over, I would probably not put the satellite dish on it either. It seems we are always parked in the trees and a self-aiming carry out would make much more sense. We went with recessed LED lighting which is awesome and the solar panel battery charging system is worth it's weight in gold. The manufacturer is only 30 miles up the road form our house but we've never had any reason to take it in to them other than the initial punch list after delivery. We love our Host, we take good care of it and it has taken good car of us.

Thanks Mayday .... that definitely explains why the refer and furnace wouldn't work with the truck running after draining the camper battery so low. Somewhere in the back of my head I knew that there was some built-in protection so that I couldn't draw down the truck battery but that certainly puts it into laymen's terms.

Thanks Aqualung!

Thanks all, you are a wealth of information. Skyhammer, I too have come to rely on my 2KW Honda rather than my onboard propane generator but I only have it along when I have a trailer because of storage space issues. My onboard propane generator usually will start in the summertime but I can rarely get it started on winter camping trips. I too have LED lights throughout but our sattelite TV system probably eats up anything that we save from the LED lights. I usually don't have any battery problems until the 2nd or 3ed night out and when the monitor finally hits the "one light" status, it's late at night and I don't know it till I start getting cold. I do a lot of snowpark camping with my sleds so it gets pretty cold sometimes. Another question that this all brings up is how long should the batteries last? Considering the fact that I have run them down close to nothing several times during cold weather nights, how long would you expect two 6v Interstate RV batteries to last? Also, please clarify the remark about not running the camper jacks while plugged into shore power. I have always done just the opposite ... if I have shore power available I plug in until I am finished running the jacks so that I am not utilizing my stored battery power. What would be the difference between runnign the jacks while plugged into shore power and running the jacks while the generator is on? Either way you would be using 120v through the converter to power the jacks instead of draining your batteries of stored power, wouldn't you? Thanks you guys, it's awesome to have a place to ask these questions and get these answers!

I have several questions regarding my Host camper's electrical system that I am hoping that someone out there can answer for me. Many of these questions came up during a recent cold weather trip where we were experiencing battery issues:

When the battery finally ran out of enough juice to power the furnace blower in the middle of the night ... why wouldn't the furnace blower operate from the truck's alternator while the truck engine was running?

Same question with the refer but with also why does the refer need power at all when it's operating on propane?

My Host is equipped with a Progressive Power Inc., Intellipower Charger/Converter (725w output). With the battery disconnected at the battery terminals but the camper plugged into shore power, I was unable to operate the camper jacks without reconnecting the battery? Would this mean that if my battery was completely depleted while remote camping that I would be unable to load the camper back up even under generator power?

Does anybody have any suggestions to make starting my propane generator in cold temps more reliable? I have heard that an oversized propane line directly from the storage tank might help. Is there any such thing as some sort of primer that could be installed on the existing line instead??

Thanks in advance for any input that might have!

I second Skyhammer's reply .... A Host is way too heavy for a 350. Host has discontinued making everything except their Everest model and like all other manufacturers, they estimate the weight of their dry unit lower than the actual weight. My Everest weighs in at 5300-5500 pounds when we're ready to pull out of the driveway and it takes every bit of my 450 to lug it around. I strongly reccomend to NOT put a Host Everest on a 350.

Thanks Skyhammer, not the response I expected so I guess I'll just mind my own business. How do you like your Host?

There is a 2012 Arctic Fox camper for sale in my area on Craigslist. The owner is selling it at about a $10k loss because he thinks it is too heavy for his 3/4 ton truck. I would buy it in a hot second if I didn't already have a fantastic camper but I don't agree with the current owner about it being too heavy for his TV. He says the stocked up camper weighs 4300 pounds and I think that with some air bags and good tires he would be fine. I want to call him up and convince him that he has not made such a terrible mistake in buying this camper, what do you all think???

I too have a propane generator and if I had it to do over again I would go with a portable gas instead. What I have learned is that you stand a much better chance of getting the propane generator to start if the tank is full or close to full, the weather is warm and the elevation is under about 3500 feet. I usually get mine started but it's always a challange.

I have a 2008 F450, diesel 4x4 with a 5000 pound camper. My milage goes from 12-13 down to 9-10 with the camper on.

We had a "Maggie Rack" installed on our roof. It's similar to what comes stock on a Suburban and other SUV's. Then you can add Yakima's or Thule's towers, crossbars and thier assortment of specialized gear brackets.

I have a 2008 Ford F-450 and a Host (triple slide) Everest camper that weighs about 5000#. I also want to pull a trailer that has about 2-300 pounds of tongue weight. I am getting conflicting stories from the pros about whether or not air bags will work to level out my truck. Some say that's it's too much weight for air bags and to install more leafs in the springs but that will make for a bouncy ride when not loaded. Some say (including Firestone) that air bags will work just fine and that makes the suspension adjustable for when the truck is not loaded. Anybody out there have any experience with this?