| |
Subject |
Author |
Date Posted |
Forum
|
 |
RE: Wish I'd had my video camera ready.
HAHAHA had to edit the "H" word out of my post???? too funny and I can't even see which mod it is that needs to get out a ALOT more.....
I guess he/she missed my "G" word reference...
see you on Sunday :)
|
MaddogBC
|
04/17/09 12:37am |
General RVing Issues
|
|
RE: Drinking around the fire
I'm 35 and drank enough in the old days to carry me through :)
With precious few days off the last way I want to spend them is hung-over!
DW and I found out a couple years ago during an annual outing with the "old crew" that we don't have to drink to have fun. I was up at 6 mountain biking my heart out and full of energy. Most the rest of 'em rolled out of bed at or after nine looking terrible! They were the ones missing out.
We enjoy strong coffee in the mornings and tea in the evenings. My wife makes a cold mocha drink for around the campfire with whip cream and cinnamon that always leaves everyone raving for more.
|
MaddogBC
|
04/14/09 03:38pm |
RV Lifestyle
|
 |
RE: Turning off fridge while fueling?
Is it even safe to drive with a propane fridge lit?
I do not like that idea at all.
Even my 57 year old TC fridge was designed with baffles to accomodate burning while traveling. I would think if it was unsafe it wouldn't be a standard design feature of every LPG fridge I've ever seen.
I would say it's all about comfort levels, if it makes you uncomfortable then by all means shut it off and leave the fridge closed. Let's hope spoiled food doesn't ruin any vacations. :)
|
MaddogBC
|
04/14/09 01:08pm |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: lighting gas hot water heater
Forgive me if this question insults but your holding down the button right? All my manual lighting appliances had to be primed for 10 seconds or so to heat up the sensor.
Just a thought :)
|
MaddogBC
|
04/13/09 11:27pm |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: disposable eating ware, versus washing dishes
We try to recycle most everything. So we use corrian dishes and wash them.
Ditto
|
MaddogBC
|
04/13/09 11:22pm |
General RVing Issues
|
|
RE: Turning off fridge while fueling?
Modern propane tanks have OPD valves that will close at any sudden and or large discharge. Slow draws work fine but if you crank it open too fast they lock. This will prevent them from "adding fuel to the fire". It has been said that statistically LPG is one of the safest fuels to work with.
|
MaddogBC
|
04/13/09 10:07pm |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: Norton
Personally I will never install Norton or McAfee
Ditto been there done that and sometimes I felt I'd prefer the virus's
IMO Kaspersky is the only way to go, The total control I have is astounding and I feel it is nearly bulletproof. Definitions get updated hourly at times. When researching it I found a site that compared response times to new threats. Kaspersky had solutions and protections in place within minutes of new virus's being found. Norton was days for some.
Potential risks are found and dealt with instantly and I don't find it obtrusive. Certainly a learning curve involved if you plan to delve into it and take full use of it's capabilities but as far as all in one package it is the industry leader.
|
MaddogBC
|
04/13/09 08:39pm |
Technology Corner
|
|
RE: *
I can tell the difference between 720p and 1080p on my 52" bravia, but I agree on a 26" the difference won't be enough to worry about. I have no experience with built in's and their upscaling abilities but I do know that there is a broad range in quality when it comes to upscaling. Would have to see it for myself, sorry.
|
MaddogBC
|
04/13/09 08:17pm |
Technology Corner
|
|
RE: Water Damage from - ???
I would call your local RV dealer and see if they have a Sealtech leak test system link. Takes all the guess work out of locating the leak source.
Turk2500
Good advice! Many methods to do a pressure test, you need to find the source of the leak because it could be coming from almost anywhere. The membrane under your floor system not only keeps water out, it also traps it which can have horrible consequences. I would get to the bottom of it right now before it does anymore damage. I can link what my floor used to look like if your interested.
Good luck
|
MaddogBC
|
04/13/09 07:57pm |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: Wish I'd had my video camera ready.
....Where to begin...
Had been working at a feverish pace all week preparing for a long weekend with friends at a local lake. I had "inherited" Grampa's '73 camper special and a custom 14' camper built locally back in '52. Well built but heavier than sin. I had bit off way more than I could chew in projects on the truck and was late getting them done. My buddies waited long enough to help me put on a new box for the pickup because the old one was in sad shape. This is about 9 pm Fri night. So an hour later I realized I had no camper jacks. An hour after that I had retrieved them and had my first taste of loading a camper alone in the dark with only 3 jacks. started to rain about this time. Fortunately the DW is a very patient woman and understood my stubborn streak because we were camping that night no matter the cost! Loading went slow but fortunately I didn't break anything. I was worse in those days but still pack alot of gear camping, I had an 8'x8' flatdeck utility trailer that I proceeded to pack in the pouring rain. Fearfull about all the new untried work I had alot of tools as well as the BBQ the 12' aluminum boat the dog and almost everything else but the kitchen sink. I foolishly loaded all the heavy stuff at the front of the trailer to keep it under a tarp. It was getting light out by the time I finished fueling and watering and otherwise prepping the rig at a local facility. By the time I actually turned onto this one lane twisted dirt road the rain had turned it into a slick mess. I only had a 2wd in those days....
Long story short I made it about 2 miles before I spun out on a hill. Trying to lift this trailer with about 500lbs of tongue weight was a battle of epic proportions but I managed to get it off and out of the way enough to reverse past. With the soft shoulders and tight road, turning around was not an option, I reversed to within sight of the turnoff before I caught an edge and slid into the ditch somewhere's around 6 AM. So we all piled into the camper and I got a couple hours sleep before some kind fishermen happened along and pulled me out. Worrying about the stuff on the trailer I couldn't leave it and all my buddies hadn't come looking yet so I turned around and reversed all the way back to the trailer luckily without any mishaps. An hour of messing with the jackall got my trailer pivoted around to a point where I could hitch up and we went home. Had enough you ask? NO WAY! I borrowed my Dad's brand spankin new service truck(belonged to his employers) with 4wd to head out and tell me bro's it was a no go. In hindsight alcohol was likely a poor choice at this point but in the tiny little town we grew up in it was a way of life and my Dad was the first to offer. Talked the boys into finding a different lake and one of them says "I know the perfect spot, 15 minutes off the road EASY to get into with your truck" WOOT! we roar out of there but not before I took out the rear quarter panel of the old man's new truck on the edge of a buddies flat deck. Buddy was so proud of the individual chain links he had welded there for tie downs. They worked just like a good can opener...
So after getting reemed out in front of a lawn full of my old man's buddies we headed off to this "easy" spot....
I won't go on but suffice it to say after 4 hours of road building and burning out the transfer case of another friends toyota pulling me through some of the godawfullest mudholes you've seen I just pushed a flat spot into thick bush with my rig and said to hell with it we parked in the middle of the road and proceeded to enjoy what was left of the weekend. That poor old camper still has the "idiot marks" I put there on that crazy road.
The wife had started to walk hours before that and refused to ride through the mess of that goat trail. She still refers to it as one of our "darkest hours" but we made it and damned if I didn't learn some valuable lessons on that trip.
Did I mention I'm a little bit stubborn?
Looking back at it now it's idiotic, but we were small town kids that did stuff like that for fun. (shrug)
|
MaddogBC
|
04/13/09 06:34pm |
General RVing Issues
|
|
RE: Best Memory?
Too many to pick a favourite but one that stands out is 2 years ago tent camping near Wasa Lake. There was an abundance of large baseball sized pine cones everywhere. My three DD's started to get competitive about collecting them as fuel for the campfire. I got involved and wound up using my mountain bike and trailer. LOL we ended up with about a dozen clean campsites and a pile of cones 4' high and 8' across. Was great fun and made for some great pictures. Took us days to burn them all! The girls still talk about it :)
|
MaddogBC
|
04/13/09 04:51pm |
General RVing Issues
|
|
RE: Calling all firefighters.............
Volunteer rural 8 years. Level 2 First responder. Moved to the "big city". Miss it alot but at least I get more time with the kids now :)
|
MaddogBC
|
04/13/09 04:31pm |
General RVing Issues
|
|
RE: Leaking Propane Tanks
I was told by a fellow with a license to pump propane that the valves are designed to be fully open or fully closed only. Not sure how accurate that info is but is the way I've always done it.
|
MaddogBC
|
04/13/09 03:07pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
RE: Turning off fridge while fueling?
I would think that the proximity of nearby vehicles pulling in and leaving poses a greater risk than the fridge which is usually at least 10+' away. I have never heard of an RV caused explosion at the pumps. Now static discharge is a serious concern which few people seem to take seriously. If these things were truly a life and death risk they wouldn't allow self serve IMO. Your far more likely to ruin your rig out on the highway, lifes too short to obsess over the little things. Never fuel in an enclosed area and you'll be fine just like the rest of us. :)
|
MaddogBC
|
04/13/09 02:27pm |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: Is it really camping?
The older I get the less I enjoy dirt. To be able to "clean up" with proper facilities makes the experience a whole lot more enjoyable IMO. Makes it worth suffering through the litany of tenters attitudes. I take alot more fun and enjoy tinkering with my trailer FAR more than I enjoy doing it with my tent. We still will tent it when the site demands. It's nice to have a choice. My kids enjoy every minute of time spent camping and do not miss out on the experience. Also our trips rarely get cut short because of rain. Tenters cannot say the same.
99% of the time my comeback is "Why, are you jealous?"
|
MaddogBC
|
04/12/09 06:18pm |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: Adding bike carrier
Here's mine
I'll second the advice here about being able to keep an eye on things in the mirror. Peace of mind. I'm able to haul 7 bikes this way with a rack in the truckbed. I keep the smaller less expensive bikes on the tongue. Normally haul 6 in this way with minimal bounce.
|
MaddogBC
|
04/12/09 02:58pm |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: Why not a wind mill generator for trailers while towing?
Didn't railroad cars once use generators on the axles to supply lighting and electrical service to the cars? I recall reading the generators supplied batteries in each car to cover for periods when the cars were stopped or moving slowly.
If I was trying to accomplish the same thing with a trailer-getting substantial power back to the trailer when underway-I'd use an inverter at the alternator and supply 120 volt back to the trailer's power converter.
I mounted an 800/1600 watt coleman converter in my engine compartment. I carefully ran and protected a heavily shielded extension cord to my rear bumper with standard weatherproof 120v plugs. I am building an electrical box on my tongue which will contain a 40 amp smartcharger and all my fuses and battery switches. For 800 watts I get 40 amps of charge for less than 150$. Because of voltage drop and the expense of another alternator I decided against running inefficient 12V the 20+ ft back to my trailer batteries.
Wind is a great idea but with the current technology not very practical. Local paper this morning has an article about 6 local proposals for large scale wind turbine "farms" being scrapped because of feasibility. The article states that wind speed must be between 7-9 metres per second (23-29.5 ft)for at least 100 days of the year. Any less will produce insufficient power, anything more will "tax" the turbines and I would assume shorten their lifespan. Pretty narrow criteria IMO.
Dollars could be represented by the amount of energy consumed to produce those dollars, for someone to spend thousands on an inefficient wind system when they could spend a couple hundred on a much more efficient method using vehicle alternator is laughable IMO. While parked I'm betting the actual days where you see sufficient wind speed will be few and far between. Only retail system I've seen in a store so far was the Local Rona and the tag on a 400w was 3000$. I would assume getting a steady 400w out of that unit would require a fairly windy day unless you mounted it 100' off the ground.
The whole concept strikes me as wastefull. While driving you already have a good source of relatively cheap power, why not conserve and simply use what you have? I would think that 400w unit would be almost useless in a campground. My 2 cents :)
|
MaddogBC
|
04/12/09 01:07pm |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: NEW BATTERY VOLTAGE ?
I printed off that table from the 12v side of life and taped it on the wall beside my voltmeter. 12.6 after resting with no load for a few hours is great.
|
MaddogBC
|
04/12/09 01:05am |
Tech Issues
|
|
RE: Battery disconnect device
Depends on what the other ends of that wire are hooked to. Was it just a loose piece?
|
MaddogBC
|
04/12/09 01:00am |
Tech Issues
|
|
RE: 30 Amp or 50 Amp?
Labor being the biggest factor typically means that this job won't be significantly cheaper to go with 30 amp. The wire will be larger with another strand but the time to run it will be similar. As suggested trying to upgrade later is basically redoing the same job. For a qualified electrician the added complexity is nil. I'd spend a few extra bucks to upsize wire, breakers, and sub-panel.FWIW
|
MaddogBC
|
04/12/09 12:41am |
Travel Trailers
|
