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RE: Soldering instead of crimping
I have a Schumacher charger that I thought was going bad because charge rate jumps up and down. Noticed a spark from postive clamp handle and on closer inspection,the cripmed connection is bad. No corosion,no broken wires and no crack in crimp but gentely moving the handle or wire causes continuity to come and go. Who should know crimping technique better than Schumacher? I say crimp it then solder it. I believe corosion at soldered joints are the result of wrong flux,filler and/or failure to clean flux residue from completed joint.
I say buy a better charger that was crimped properly. Consumer goods (especially Chinese) are not a good example of manufacturing to last.
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Dakzuki
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05/25/13 12:38pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Soldering instead of crimping
Soldering is always preferred over just crimping.
Not true. One must be very careful soldering as wire can fatigue and fail right next to the rigid solder joint. This is especially true in higher vibration environments.
In aerospace virtually all joints are crimped. The difference is the terminals are good quality (as are the crimping tools). Both can be had by the consumer (I have them) and it doesn't cost much more to do it right. Finding good wire is more problematic.
A crimper that looks like this is what you want.
This is what you want to avoid...both the el cheapo terminals AND the crimper.
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Dakzuki
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05/25/13 12:35pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Driving with Hazards On!
Francesca,
Don't need to look again. I got it right the first time. Pay attention. hazard lights are not to be used while vehicle is in motion in Florida and all but about 7 of the other states. It is clear from the replies that nothing posted here will change anyone's mind.
I said my piece. The situation I described was ,IMHO and that of the law, made more dangerous by use of flashers while still moving. It scared me and I don't scare easily.
Looks like Fla needs to get their act together as they are in conflict with federal law. LINK
There should be a national standard for things like this. The federal CDL rules should trump.
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Dakzuki
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05/25/13 12:17pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Driving with Hazards On!
In Europe rear fog lights on cars are used in inclement weather. You see see them sometimes here but not often. Look for a tali light that is extra bright, usually the left one.
Many states advise using flashers when you are a slower vehicle (like climbing). There are advisory signs posted indicating as much.
A "disabled" vehicle is not necessarily a stopped vehicle. One can easily make an argument it is one that cannot perform normally for any number of reasons. If I am forced to climb slowly I have the flashers on.
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Dakzuki
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05/25/13 11:30am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Paranoid!
I do confess the price of fuel is influential on how far we go and how often. But not the only factor either.
Not us. Once we factor in the fuel cost to the overall costs of the trip it becomes much less significant.
Our last big trip (month long) we took time off work without pay. THAT was the biggest financial factor but boy was it worth it.
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Dakzuki
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05/25/13 10:56am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Parking Surface can effect an RV
My real life experience is parking in Western Washington State the entire thing will be damp for months at a time. The rare occasions it is not it is either a) August, or b) below freezing.
I don't worry about it, have never worried about it, and have never experienced an issue. If you park on grass here you are more likely to have problems with a) your grass ruined with an RV sunk in it, or b) Your RV stuck sunk in grass.
In addition, if you leave it sitting still long enough you will have green stuff growing on it beginning with the north side. It will ultimately become moss. If you stand still long enough the same will happen to you.
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Dakzuki
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05/25/13 10:52am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Parking Surface can effect an RV
I've lived in places where it didn't matter, overnight everything outside will get covered with condensation, underneath, on top, inside if you leave a window cracked. Coastal South Carolina, central Florida (where temperature was often below dew point from about midnight to 10 AM).
Even here in Oklahoma, where a daytime RH above 20% gets called "muggy" we get overnight condensation, even inside my below ground level garage. This happens more often when inside a warm air mass and having only 15-20 F temperature swings, than when we are in clear air and having 30-40 F daily changes.
This suggests, to prevent rust from condensation, best place to park might be the desert.
We call 20% "dry" :D
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Dakzuki
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05/25/13 10:49am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Parking Surface can effect an RV
My real life experience is parking in Western Washington State the entire thing will be damp for months at a time. The rare occasions it is not it is either a) August, or b) below freezing.
I don't worry about it, have never worried about it, and have never experienced an issue. If you park on grass here you are more likely to have problems with a) your grass ruined with an RV sunk in it, or b) Your RV stuck sunk in grass.
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Dakzuki
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05/25/13 10:48am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: smelly galley tank
Keep the P traps full and you should not smell it.
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Dakzuki
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05/24/13 05:12pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: dumping gray water in forest
I've read about a boondocking trick, finding a place well away from any water, then digging a hole about 4-5 feet deep, size depending on tanks, letting fly with both black and grey, then covering it back up. I can't see any circumstance where that would be usable by me, but at least it wouldn't stink unless animals dug it up.
You pulling a backhoe for a toad?
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Dakzuki
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05/24/13 04:58pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: dumping fresh water question
I was wondering if there was a proper way to dump the fresh water left in the tank before leaving a campsite. I usually drain on site, but the father in law says not to do that. And he usually takes what is left home and dumps it. So question is what do you guys do with your fresh water when the stay is over?
Yes, that is bad form. One will be leaving a sloppy site for somebody if they show up that day and of course they will wonder what tank it came from. I won't jump into the dumping it on the road thing. I seldom have enough to worry about. I haul it home and dump it there. I want some in the tank for the trip in case I need it anyway.
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Dakzuki
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05/24/13 04:56pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: electric power in canada 120v ac or different
That was fun.
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Dakzuki
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05/24/13 04:42pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Failed Smog Test
Well put !!! I am going to try to check for leaks. If anything is found then i will fix. If not I will tune the mixture a bit, take it for the air check. If it does not pass then it goes to the pros. Oregon air law gives a cut off year not the age. I believe the year was 1975 for Oregon.
Rubber vacuum hoses are a common culprit. Hose is cheap so it's often better to be on the safe side and replace anything questionable.
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Dakzuki
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05/24/13 04:17pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Upgrading stock Winnebago power converter
More good tips, Thanks!
I like the trickle charger on the vehicle battery idea too. I have those on our regular vehicles too. We have block heaters to pre-warm the engine when it is cold. Some people put pad or blanket heaters on their batteries to warm them as well but a local battery guy convinced me years ago to use a trickle charger instead. It warms the battery from the inside and always ensures we have a full charge to start.
Works like a charm at -40ยบ!
I just have to figure out where I should tap into the rig's 110 system.
The Trick-L-Start doesn't run on 110. It is connected to the house 12 volt side. If the house batteries are maintaining so will the chassis battery.
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Dakzuki
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05/24/13 04:13pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Paranoid!
I know of a 95 with about 50K on it. Great shape too.
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Dakzuki
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05/24/13 04:09pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Failed Smog Test
If the HC is too high you are too lean. High CO is too rich. You may have an intake leak causing the lean condition. Check for bad vacuum hoses and anything that was disconnected. I presume the vehicle wasn't hooked up to a sniffer after the carb was put back. It should have been to at least validate the idle mixture.
High HydroCarbons is unburned fuel meaning too rich. CO means incomplete combustion, which could be form many reasons. Too lean shoots the NOx up.
I used to do this for a living back in the day before OBD and much in the way of EFI. You can put a car on a sniffer and watch the results as you tweak the mixture. Lean out the idle, and HC goes up as CO goes down. Unscrew the jet and watch the opposite. Intake leaks will lean the mixture and raise HC.
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Dakzuki
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05/24/13 08:34am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: electric power in canada 120v ac or different
Canadian power is however metric.
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Dakzuki
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05/24/13 08:00am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: BBQ table/stand
I use one of those roll up aluminum tables OR my camp kitchen (when traveling heavy and setting up for a time).
I am going to figure out a table that rigs to the side of the RV near an externa bin for traveling light.
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Dakzuki
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05/24/13 07:56am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: I-5 bridge collapse
Seems an oversize load was crossing and impacted the bride structure. Bridge came down not long after. 3 people were pulled from water. No news on any fatalities. This is going to be a mess for a while. Right now southbound traffic is backed up to Canada.
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Dakzuki
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05/23/13 10:38pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Picture From Last Saturday Night....
Here's a picture from our site last weekend.
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e191/yourbasicdj/FBFA9037-794F-423B-8F79-62F2AF01E1B6-5081-0000055212369D2C_zps3c0849c0.jpg height=400
Does anyone else do something like this?
Not me. I don't even use the TV.
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Dakzuki
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05/23/13 04:58pm |
General RVing Issues
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