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Forum
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RE: over on RAWR occassionally
I have a very good hitch on the back of the trailer and a Hitchhauler rated at 500 lbs. maybe I could put some stuff that I carry in front of the wheels in the storage area back on the Hitchhauler. If I'm thinking correctly I'd only half to shift around two hundred to two hundred fifty pounds to take off 400 lbs. of pin weight.
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howardwheeler
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05/13/13 12:56pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: over on RAWR occassionally
I am under on the tire rating. Each is 3750 at 80 psi, which I run always. So I'll not sweat it since that puts the rear axle at 7500 lbs per the tires. I've been doing this for a year and a half with zero problems. No heat on the tires. I check them.
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howardwheeler
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05/13/13 12:10pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: over on RAWR occassionally
I have a 2012 F 350 Powerstroke SRW.
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howardwheeler
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05/13/13 11:48am |
Tow Vehicles
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over on RAWR occassionally
I have reweighed my truck and fifth wheel setup fully loaded to the max of what I could reasonably expect to carry. I am not over my GVWR but am over by 400 lbs. on my rear axle. What remedial action could I take or, if I am stubborn, what would the long term effect be on the rear axle? We are talking about twice a year being in this situation for a few thousand miles.
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howardwheeler
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05/13/13 10:32am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Thinking about a new solar setup for my 5th wheel
Thanks. This really seems within reach.
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howardwheeler
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05/07/13 10:01pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Thinking about a new solar setup for my 5th wheel
You're right about trees. Our favorite spot has trees all around but the roof does get probably three to four hours of midday high country sun. We are up about 10000 feet. We also need our furnace a little at night.
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howardwheeler
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05/07/13 05:27pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Thinking about a new solar setup for my 5th wheel
Sorry. While I was responding a couple of other posts came through. We like to camp in Colorado high country. I have a Linklite battery monitor that says I draw around 21 amps while the frig is running and a few lights on. Does that help?
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howardwheeler
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05/07/13 05:16pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Thinking about a new solar setup for my 5th wheel
Seems if I need to, I could use the existing 10 gauge wires to pull a larger wire through the ceiling cavities if I need to but don't really know where it runs. The reply before last indicates I might want 500 plus watts. I have a lot of clear roof space on my Alpenlite. If I do it I'd like to have sufficient power to run the frig and normal florescent bulbs ( we don't watch TV either) for a week or so not hooked up. We like national forests. Is this possible or am I caught up in an impractical idea?
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howardwheeler
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05/07/13 05:12pm |
Tech Issues
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Thinking about a new solar setup for my 5th wheel
I might be getting some unexpected extra money and am considering adding solar panels to my fifth wheel. I currently have a factory installed 50 watt panel that has 10 gauge wire going down through the roof to the controller. I have 4 125 amphours batteries that function mostly to run a 2500 watt modified sine wave Xantrex inverter charger that runs a residential side by side. I've always imagined that if I got 400 to 500 watts on my roof I could travel and camp more like I use to when I had little electrical draw with the old gas frig in my previous trailer. My wife loves the residential's performance and size. Me too! Could one you guys who knows what you're doing (I don't ) give some suggestions as to panels, wiring and controller needs? I'll have between two and three thousand to do the whole thing but would like to do it at the best value point as I have other things I'd like to do with any money left over. Thanks
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howardwheeler
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05/07/13 04:54pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Plugging in a 50 amp cord. Is there a right way? Wrong way?
Anybody enough of an Xantrex expert to hazard a guess as to what may have smoked? It is the 2500 watt, 130 amp charger version, modified sign wave. About four years old. It all happen very quickly. But all functions seem good. It charges and inverts. I may borrow an oscilloscope because when I bought the trailer the original Xantrex 2000 watt unit had a bad power transitor. It made for a very dirty wave form that caused my RMS meter to read odd Hz. Instead of 60 it would bounce all over the place. My meter reads fine now.
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howardwheeler
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03/27/13 05:45pm |
Tech Issues
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Plugging in a 50 amp cord. Is there a right way? Wrong way?
I had something happen while plugging in my fifty amp power plug. I guess I hadn't shut off the breakers though I've probably done it hundreds of time before. Anyway, when I plugged it in, the neutral leg at the middle bottom arced. I even had a small amount of smoke from my Xantrex inverter/charger. I quickly pulled it back out and I could see arc residue on the neutral leg. I noticed that in pushing the plug in I had put it in at a very small angle with the ground going in first then the two hot leads and last the neutral leg. I've never even thought of it before and there appears to be no damage to anything. Everything has worked great for the last couple of weeks since I did it. But what could cause the arcing? What are the consequences of having the two hot leads momentarily connected before the neutral connects?
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howardwheeler
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03/27/13 11:48am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Tripod brace for 5th wheel...really necessary?
Those ratcheting bars are what the new BAL Fastjack has and all put together in a compact unit for just $89. I don't think you can beat it. Again, I don't understand why someone hadn't already come up with a long time ago. Hanging on the kingpin really is revolutionary advance in ease.
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howardwheeler
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03/26/13 07:22am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Tripod brace for 5th wheel...really necessary?
Not exactly what you're asking for, but relevant: I just got the new BAL Fastjack tripod and it is so much easier to use and so much lighter than my old steel one that I will use it. I had abandoned using the other one most of the time. The new Fastjack is more compact and can just store in the basement. The way it hangs on the kingpin during setting up is so simple and ingenious that I don't see why no one thought of it before. Build quality is good also. For those of you who've stopped using a tripod just because of the hassle, take a look I am really impressed.
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howardwheeler
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03/17/13 09:43pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Do I have a bad solar panel?
All back to normal. I think I am going to look for a 130 watt panel to replace this old 50 watt. Or can I add a second panel that would be wired together to get 180 watts? I guess I'd need a new controller then. But for now everything is working as before. I wrapped the new wires in aluminum foil tape to keep the rodents from chewing again. Hope it works.
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howardwheeler
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03/14/13 02:49pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Do I have a bad solar panel?
Yes. I've checked at the terminals on the panel and it showed 19.8 volts in a somewhat well lit area. So I think the panel is still good. I can replace the wires because they go into a box that has screw terminals. Tomorrow I'll rewire it.
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howardwheeler
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03/12/13 08:32pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Do I have a bad solar panel?
Well, I got my solar panel loose from the roof of my 5th wheel, and the wires coming from the panel through the roof were shredded and eaten through by a rat or a squirrel! The wires were completely shredded for probably 4 feet. One wire was eaten completely through. I guess the rat had a copper deficiency. It's the most damage I've ever seen from a rat or squirrel on a wire. I don't know how long it's been going on but he was hungry.
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howardwheeler
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03/12/13 05:11pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Do I have a bad solar panel?
I did go on the roof to make sure the panel wasn't covered in leaves or something. All clear. I did check voltage with the wires unhooked from the controller but not at the panel itself. I can't see any wires at the panel. They are all under the mount of the panel. I'll have to unmount the panel. I did notice that in the afternoon the front 30% of the panel is shaded by the AC. What is the effect?
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howardwheeler
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03/09/13 12:45pm |
Tech Issues
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Do I have a bad solar panel?
Yesterday I noticed that my 10 amp solar controller had no lights on it. Usually when the sun is up it had a bright blue light on it. I wound up checking the two 10 guage wires that come down from the roof mounted panel. It registered just a few volts. The sun was bright and it seems it should have been well over 14 volts. The panel was original to my Alpenlite trailer. It is a 50 watt panel. If it is bad I'd like to replace it with a bigger wattage panel. If I can find one that will fit, what is the biggest wattage my ten amp controller can handle
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howardwheeler
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03/08/13 11:36pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Charging w/Honda going down the road.
I have run a 4 gauge wire from my alternator (a 200 amp high performance alternator on a 2012 F 350) back to the bed with wench connectors joining to 4 gauge from my trailer batteries. I have a continuous duty solenoid controlled by one of my upfitter switches to control the charging. I have 500 amp hour battery bank and on a full day of driving with my residential frig running off the inverter I arrive with full batteries. Others have suggested running an inverter off the truck batteries and sending 120volts back to the trailer as there's a lot less line loss at high voltage. I like my setup.
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howardwheeler
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02/12/13 04:54pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Solar panel sizing and type?
What about if in the future he would want to put in a small 200 or 400 watt inverter to temporarily run a tool or something. Would it make sense to get the 80 watt with future expansion in mind?
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howardwheeler
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02/07/13 02:45pm |
Tech Issues
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