RE: Eternabond on aluminum
My cargo trailer's roof is sealed along all seams with Eternabond. The entire exo is smooth painted aluminum. It's on there to stay.
RE: Do you need cabover struts?
Struts are like icecream
Apple pie is good, apple pie with ice cream is unbelieveably good.
My first thought was to use an analagy about s*x
s*x is good by yourself... much, much better with your partner :B
Sometimes first class is worth it, this is one of those times.
Now that you are of the respected elder class, you probably don't get to enjoy any of those analogies anymore, huh? :B
RE: Do you need cabover struts?
Are cabover struts really needed? I have seen some with and some without. I have a F450 Crew Cab and the TC will not come past the roof of the truck so the struts would be very short if only going from the roof to the TC.
Nope. My camper and truck combo were matched properly to avoid the issue of oscillation in the first place.
RE: Yamaha generator gas cap venting
One way to find out if it is vented is to purchase a second cap and go for it. If it won't pull a vacuum, then the tank is vented elsewhere.
Shorter way to the answer would be to call Yamaha and ask them directly.
RE: BATTERY CHARING WHEN DRY CAMPING??
Back to the original poster's question.
What we do is this.
During the bustle of the day when I am just dinking around camp, I throw my batteries on the charger. I have them connected to the camper via quick disconnect. Start up the Honda and let it get a head start warming up. Plug the camper to the Honda so that we continue to have power. Then disconnect the batteries from the camper and hook them up to the charger. Of course the charger is also running off the Honda at the same time. We do this off and on maybe an hour here, two hours there depending on how much time we are actually at camp.
Ohhh, and this is only in the winter. In the summer, we don't hardly ever need to do anything with the batteries for at least 4 to 5 days, as we never run anything that pulls much power like a heater would.
My stand alone charger is a VEC1097A Vector Smart Charger, 30/10/02 amp charge rate with an 80 Amp Engine Start option. Also has a battery reconditioning feature for bringing a sick battery back to life. This feature alone has recovered several weak batteries back to solid ground for my buddies.
RE: Snow Camping?
The wife and I get up to Diamond Lake on Superbowl Weekend to avoid EVERYONE else. Started camping off the grid after up there after showing up in 2008 with a blizzard going on. They couldn't get the roads cleared fast enough, so they didn't bother plowing out the campground. That year and this year we decided to just dry camp in the boat launch parking lot. Had the place completely to ourselves, with lake and mountain views.
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt128/INSAYN_BCR/Diamond%20Lake%202009/1-29-09%20Thursday/IMG_4625.jpg
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt128/INSAYN_BCR/Diamond%20Lake%202009/1-29-09%20Thursday/IMG_4567.jpg
It got down to about 11ºF at night and up to nearly 45ºF during the day. Our routine was to use the batteries during the night, and while we were out riding, or walking in the snow. But while we were just fart'n around camp, we ran the generator. We never had any issues with anything freezing on us, as the basement is heated with the first outlet duct from the heater. We keep the cab passthru window cracked half way to give us fresh air at night, and let the humidity controlled Fantastic Fan do it's thing throughout the night as well. We actually had to open another window to keep the camper cool during the day time this year as it was so dang sunny. The camper would climb to 70ºF from just the UV, if we didn't crack the window.
We locked the Honda up under the truck, and hooked it up to a sippy cup (boat fuel tank), so that I never had to pull it out to refill it. Just start it up and let it run.
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt128/INSAYN_BCR/Diamond%20Lake%202009/1-29-09%20Thursday/IMG_4634.jpg
It is definitely worth camping in the snow.
Got some great nature/snow pics from 2009 trip, as it was clear all 4 days we were up there. Not a drop of precip while there. Unlike 2008 which dumped nearly 4 feet in 24 hours. That cut our trip short as they had to close all the dang highways for a week, once we got out of there.
These pics were all done on a cheap 3 Megapickle camera. We now have a nice compact waterproof, rugged 10 Megapickle camera for next year.
:C
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt128/INSAYN_BCR/Diamond%20Lake%202009/1-29-09%20Thursday/IMG_4581.jpg
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt128/INSAYN_BCR/Diamond%20Lake%202009/1-29-09%20Thursday/IMG_4592.jpg
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt128/INSAYN_BCR/Diamond%20Lake%202009/1-29-09%20Thursday/IMG_4609.jpg
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt128/INSAYN_BCR/Diamond%20Lake%202009/1-30-09%20Friday/IMG_4650.jpg
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt128/INSAYN_BCR/Diamond%20Lake%202009/1-31-09%20Saturday/IMG_4670.jpg
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt128/INSAYN_BCR/Diamond%20Lake%202009/1-31-09%20Saturday/IMG_4673.jpg
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt128/INSAYN_BCR/Diamond%20Lake%202009/1-31-09%20Saturday/IMG_4677.jpg
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt128/INSAYN_BCR/Diamond%20Lake%202009/1-31-09%20Saturday/IMG_4687.jpg
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt128/INSAYN_BCR/Diamond%20Lake%202009/1-31-09%20Saturday/IMG_4689.jpg
RE: Brake Pads and a dealer quote for them....
In my house regarding automotive care.
Rule #1 is to never take it to a dealer (or any other shop for that matter) for any reason.
Rule #2 Refer to Rule #1.
I have only purchased 1 new vehicle in my life, all the rest have been preowned from 3 years old to over 35 years old before I picked them up. The one vehicle that I purchased new (Toyota 4x4) was back in 1997, has 152K+ miles on it now, and still running factory brakes, clutch, and spark plugs. Only changed the tires once so far, and current tires are over 7 years old with 72K miles on them.
My preowned 1997 Ford that has been carrying around my 4000lb camper for 4 years now, is still rolling on factory rotors, drums and once replaced pads and shoes. Currently has 102k miles on it. Been a solid truck.
RE: i got a new toad/toy
Nice toy. Unfortunately to be legal out here in Oreeegun, you would have to start with a new Jeep and maybe be able to take off the emblems, and doors. :S
RE: Ran Out of Water
Guess we didnt conserve as much as I am seeing here.
I thought I filled the hot water tank but now am questioning myself on how its properly done....
One of two ways but first...
Make sure that your HW heater is set for normal water inlet/outlet flow, and isn't still winterized with a bypass valve setup having the water bypassing the tank.
1. While at home or access to spigot of fresh water, attach to your "city" inlet, not your fresh holding tank fill. Turn on and let it fill. It will pressurize your tank as it goes. Once you no longer hear or feel water moving through the hose, you can now burp the line. Open the faucet to the "hot" side, and you will hear hissing, some spit, some more hissing, some more spit, and eventually water. Allow this flow a few more seconds as this purges the air in the water line. Close the faucet, turn off the water, and then move the hose to fill your water tank (if you haven't already done so.
2. If you have water in the holding tank, but in the HW heater, just turn on your water pump and let it pump to fill. Burp purge the air in the HW line to the faucet as described in the previous step, and then go about topping off your fresh water holding tank again.
RE: Ran Out of Water
We have really cut back on our water usage to the point it amazes me that we come home with nearly half what we started with. 30gal fresh, 6 gallon hot water heater, after 4-6 days.
We don't use the water for toilet flushes. For going #2, we just open the hatch and aim to please. I do put a few gallons of water in the black tank before we hit the road, so it's not a dry hole to start with.
With wife and two kids, we use unscented Costco baby wipes stored in one of those o-ring sealed plastic containers with extra water added. One or two wipes will take care of a days worth of normal funk. Anything more, and it may require redipping it in a cup of water with a drop of body wash mixed in. My son and I have REALLY short hair, so we can get away with the baby wipes there too. Wife and daughter get to do their hair (outside in the summer) every other day, or plan accordingly if we are swimming in a lake, river or creek.
Dishes are done once a day, and 99% of the food leftover is scraped out as leftovers, or trash. Biggest pot usually is the dish pan, but if no pot was used, we have a Sterlite container that we do dishes in. Boil 2-4 cups of water on the stove, add to dish pan. Add 2-8 cups of additional water to get it to working temperature. Add 2 drops of dish soap, it's all ya need. Go about washing, but there is no need to rinse as there was very little soap to leave a film. Wipe dry with a Sham-Wow and we're good to go. Again, our dishes don't add up to much more than a bowl, serving utensil, cutting knife and maybe a pot. Everything else is disposable, recyclable, or burnable.
RE: Highest rated front mount hitch.
What are you wanting to put there that would require more than 500# tongue weight?
If you carry 50 gallon ex water ?
that would = 417 lb +
the heavy support rack needed....
...just sayin.......
Who carries 50 gallons of water on the front rack, and why? :E
RE: Snowriver Slide Adjustment
On occasion my 2005 has done the same. Usually it is caused when the camper is not sitting square to the ground and running the slide either in or out. This gives the gear a chance to jump a tooth. The quick fix I use is to lift up on the side that is going to hit first as it is traveling in. Usually you can get it to hop back over a tooth somewhere half way back in, and be in good shape again.
If your 2005 did have the update installed, then "owner adjustable" won't happen for ya. There is a definite false floor under the dinette
seats that you'll have to access if your's has the updated adjustable unit in it.
RE: The Dog: Where does s/he sleep?
Dogs are social animals with a distinct hierarchy. Letting a dog sleep on your bed is an open invitation to other behavioral problems. Dogs have to be taught they are not pack leaders, letting them on your bed is telling them they are.
How do you figure?
As for our dogs, we have 3 Schipperkes, 15#s, 21#s, and 22#s. All of them sleep up on the TC bed with the wife and I. They are like natural heaters in the winter months. :B
RE: Hurrican Prediction:
Quakes over hurricanes? Hurricanes are predictable and affords prudent residents plenty of time to evacuate. I went through Floyd in '99 and only lost a few trees and my Florida room screens. During the season, we kept a tracking map. I have never seen an earthquake tracking map.
In the south east, hurricanes are inevitable and happen pretty much every year. In the PNW we get earth quakes, and a good one every so often, but not any that do damage on the same scale as one good hurricane. I'll take my chances with the earth quake for now.
However, Kalifornia is a different story. I don't trust that shelf.
RE: Utility Trailer Question - narrowing down the choices
If the trailer with the truck axle is actually under a trailer frame, and not a hacked truck frame, you can do this to save money.
Purchase the trailer with the truck axle. Order up a 3500lb trailer axle that can be mounted in place of the truck axle. Then sell the truck axle. If your lucky the bolt pattern may end up being the same, so you could use the wheels and tires that came with the trailer.
RE: Aluminum Roof
My TC gets really mild black streaks, but I just chock it up to the dirty roof. Once I clean the roof with mild solution of Simple Green, it takes nearly 6 months to get dirty enough again to create the black streaks. With a good wax job on the sides, the black streaks just wipe off with a dry terry cloth towel.
My toy hauler that we had for 8 years before the truck camper, had aluminum roof, and sideing. Along with exposed butyl tape to seal the windows and any other wall mounted accessories. This stuff really caused some nasty black streaks.
