RE: Insulation Projects
Started the day with a cold 6 mile kayak paddle down the Edisto River then warmed up with a nice lunch with DW. After a few more errands, I managed to take care of making the foam boards for the bed windows. This is the third camper I've done this to and have a simple process to get a great fit.
First, measure and cut the foam board square for the flange of the window I plan to slide the foam into.
http://kohldad.home.comcast.net/~kohldad/04lance/091227e.jpg
Then somewhat install the foam letting it bend slightly to make sure it is square and aligned. At each corner, apply pressure to mark the round corners.
http://kohldad.home.comcast.net/~kohldad/04lance/091227f.jpg
Cut the round corner at or just outside the marks. I use a hacksaw blade minus the handle as I have found it works better than a sheetrock knife because of the curve.
http://kohldad.home.comcast.net/~kohldad/04lance/091227g.jpg
Using some mild sandpaper sand the area smooth. You will find that with some 120 sandpaper, it doesn't take much force or effort to get it smoothed.
http://kohldad.home.comcast.net/~kohldad/04lance/091227h.jpg
After a few trials, you should end up with a snug fit that will greatly help keeping the cold out. If you notice that the piece wants to bow into the camper but you don't think it is too tight, flip the piece over (inside-outside) and see if it is uneven ends causing the bow.
http://kohldad.home.comcast.net/~kohldad/04lance/091227i.jpg
RE: New Ram not recommended for slide in?
I had heard the same thing when I bought my 2004.5 Quad Cab 4x4 LB CTD Manual. However, my truck came with the sticker showing proper loading. The funny thing is the sticker specifies a max camper weight of 1340 pounds. Yes, one thousand, three hundred forty pounds.
RE: Insulation Projects
Pics fixed, sorry about that. Copied and pasted the link from the wrong window.
Surprisingly, the camper is alrready extremely air tight. Not so tight I'm worried about suffocating, but tight enough that I haven't felt any drafts. It helps that there isn't even a stove exhaust vent as that was an option on the 815.
I also crack the pass thru window and rear over head vent to create a very small draft for removing the moisture. Usually don't have any condensation buildup on the windows so must be moving enough air.
Insulation Projects
With 10 days of forced vacation and not wanting to travel for the holidays, I decided to bring the camper home so I can do a few little projects.
From a recent snow run, I found out that the walls are much better insulated than I thought they would be for only being 1" thick. While it was 28* outside and 70* inside, I was surprised to find ice on the outside of camper.
This encourage me to work on the "holes" in the camper insulation.
Easiest was the escape hatch. using some scrap 3/4" foam board I had removed from my fifth wheel I sold a few months ago, I cut a piece to fit snugly in the escape hatch. Before installing, I put on two pieces of tape to use as pull handles for when I want to remove it.
http://kohldad.home.comcast.net/~kohldad/04lance/091227a.jpg
Next was to insulate the propane tank enclosure. Since it is vented to the outside yet doesn't have any insulation, it is a huge leak. Because of the propane line, location, and bulged side, foam board wasn't going to work.
http://kohldad.home.comcast.net/~kohldad/04lance/091227b.jpg
I decided to use a hot water heater blanket. It's big enough, cheap enough at $20, easy to cut and best of all, flexible to get in the tight space. After carefully taking the dimension, I added about 1-1/2 for the overlaps, marked it out and then cut the piece. The top section is ready for installation.
http://kohldad.home.comcast.net/~kohldad/04lance/091227c.jpg
I had planned on the tongue folding over to cover the back of the compartment, but because of the tight space and propane line, I was not able to install it in one piece. Instead, I had to cut the tongue off and have the extra seem. For taping the seams shut, I use the blue painters tape. Have found it to work very well and like it's easy release when working in tight spaces.
http://kohldad.home.comcast.net/~kohldad/04lance/091227d.jpg
I had originally planned on taping the cover to the outside wall where I could reach, but after seeing how well it sealed without tape, I'm not going to worry about it til I notice a problem.
I hope to work on a few more holes later this week and will add to this thread when I do.
RE: Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all my fellow RVers. May your stockings be filled with a smorgasboard of campfire snacks and your presents full of camper upgrades.
RE: December Hunting in Nebraska-Trip Report
Great trip report. The quality of writing made the report wiz by and the story was interesting, even for a non-hunter.
Hopefully, we don't have to wait til next year to see another great TR from you.
RE: TC Insulation for winter use
More important would be to cut foam for the windows, seal off the a/c, insulate the vents, and seal the other holes. Your propane compartment is probably not insulated, nor your electrical coord box, nor your battery box.
For the battery box, I would insulate the majority of the outside door leaving just a little vent hole, then leave the inside un-insulated. You want to keep the battery warm to help with power capacity.
If you plan on having electric, buy an electric heater and electric blanket. They will help take the load off of the gas furnace.
RE: In the Dog House now!
The only one you really need to convince is your wife. As long as she understands and is okay with you decision, you will survive the storm.
However, just like with teenagers, you can't just keep saying "no", you need to justify your explanation.
If he has tie downs, the two of you haul it to the scale and weight the truck. If not, haul it to the scale and transfer it to his truck in the yard. If he's over, that will help validate your arguement that it is to much weight.
Until you prove your side of arguement, your wiser in-law will always have a sore spot with you.
RE: Union S.C. Campground
Crooked River will be a long drive to Union since it is about 80 miles away. West Union and Union are two different towns in different counties.
In addition to the two state parks mentioned above, there is camping near Carlisle in the Sumter National Forest (Woods Ferry). No hookups and not much of a campground, but it is cheap at $7 and surrounded by woods.
Other than that, I'm not away of anything in the area.
RE: Truck Camper Trip Reports (Closed)
Silversand and other moderators were having an issue with updating the thread. It seems they were working on a few back door tricks to try and figure out the problem.
It's back up today but doesn't look like it wasn't updated. So guess they are still having issues.
RE: Atwood Jack stuck Please Help need truck
You can only unload the camper with three jacks if one of the missing jacks is on the rear, you must have two front jacks.
My jacks are manual, but could be the same thing. One jack has a bad internal piece which lets the post to drop down allowing the post gear to jump off the cross pin. As a temporarily fix, I take the plastic cap off and hold down the post gear onto the cross pin with a screwdriver. Once the jack has weight on it, the weight keeps the post pushed up keeping the cross pin engaged to the post gear.
RE: Furnace safety w/kids
The furnace is safe for the kids as the parts exposed to little fingers should not get too hot. However, as a parent, you may want to double check the temps of the exposed metal after it runs for a few minutes just to be sure.
RE: Mt. Rushmore to Yellowstone - Which Route to follow?
x3 or was the x4 on the I90 to 191 to West Yellowstone. Definitely the easiest on the vehicle.
To save your brakes, remember to downshift the transmission. There is no such thing as being in to low of a gear, alsway better to be too low and have to shift up a gear. Just remember, using the engine as a brake will heat up the transmission too.
To help the the tranny on the way up hill, don't rely on the transmission to select the best gear. On long runs, it will be better to drop down an extra gear so you are only using 1/2 throttle instead of having your foot to the floor.
And don't worry about the mountains out west. The grades may be longer and the drop offs taller, but the grades aren't any steeper than on the east coast and they have no idea what a tight switchback actually is. If you have driven the BRP, Hwy 276, or Hwy 411 over the Smokies, you won't have any problems out west. And this is based on towing a 35' fifth wheel, not my tiny TC.
RE: Snow Run!
Luckily for the locals, we ended up only getting about 5" inches. Right after the initial post, the snow turned to a light sleet/freezing rain and only lasted for about an hour.
We got up in the morning, did a little sledding and then headed home. Instead of just jumping on I77, we took Hwy 70 south west for about 30 miles then grabbed Hwy 321 back down to Charlotte. In all, it was 500 miles in 36 hours, but a great trip, lots of fun, lots of snow, and no problems.
Here's the pics:
By the time we ate, the traffic at I40 & I77 junction had everything headed for the junction at a stand still, so we headed back to the KOA via back roads.
http://kohldad.home.comcast.net/~kohldad/albums/2009/snow/image (8).jpg
Then our sledding before going to bed.
http://kohldad.home.comcast.net/~kohldad/albums/2009/snow/image (9).jpg
http://kohldad.home.comcast.net/~kohldad/albums/2009/snow/image (10).jpg
In the morning the sun was out shining on a winter wonderland.
http://kohldad.home.comcast.net/~kohldad/albums/2009/snow/image (15).jpg
http://kohldad.home.comcast.net/~kohldad/albums/2009/snow/image (17).jpg
http://kohldad.home.comcast.net/~kohldad/albums/2009/snow/image (19).jpg
http://kohldad.home.comcast.net/~kohldad/albums/2009/snow/image (21).jpg
After we got tired climbing back up the hill, we had the fun of removing all the snow and ice off the truck before heading out. Instead of just grabbing the interstate and being out of the snow in quick order, we took the backroads Hwy 70 west to Hwy 321 before heading east and out of the snow. In some places, the roads were plowed clean, in other counties, they were only two ruts.
http://kohldad.home.comcast.net/~kohldad/albums/2009/snow/image (30).jpg
http://kohldad.home.comcast.net/~kohldad/albums/2009/snow/image (31).jpg
http://kohldad.home.comcast.net/~kohldad/albums/2009/snow/image (37).jpg
I think this is the first snow plow I've ever seen actually plowing snow.
http://kohldad.home.comcast.net/~kohldad/albums/2009/snow/image (39).jpg
http://kohldad.home.comcast.net/~kohldad/albums/2009/snow/image (43).jpg
http://kohldad.home.comcast.net/~kohldad/albums/2009/snow/image (44).jpg
http://kohldad.home.comcast.net/~kohldad/albums/2009/snow/image (45).jpg
http://kohldad.home.comcast.net/~kohldad/albums/2009/snow/image (49).jpg
Several things I learned this trip.
1. The walls of the Lance 815 are well insulated. It is only the holes in the wall such as propane compartment, windows, etc that let the cold in. With it only being 28* outside with a slight wind, the freezing rain froze to the camper despite the inside being a nice and toastie 70*. I feel confident that with a few minor insulating details, the camper will easily handle temps in the upper teens.
2. The weight of the camper is about right to give the truck lots of traction, expesially in 4wd. On hills where RWD vehicles were getting stuck and FWD were having a very hard time, I easily made it up without slipping a tire.
3. Last minute quick trips are a blast and made easy with the TC.
Snow Run!
Thanks to the TC and 4wd, my oldest DD and I made it to Statesville tonight to enjoy some snow. We decided to wimp out and splurge on a KOA so we would have wi-fi and electricty for plenty of heat.
Have already enjoyed some sledding and will do some more before we settle in for the night. Can't wait to see what 10" of snow looks like in the morning.
Will have a more details and pics later.
RE: 4x4 vs 4x2?
Thanks to 4wd, I'm now sitting 240 miles from home in Statesville, NC with 3" of snow on the ground and another 6-10" possible by morning. Had to use 4wd a few times on the roads to make it up some slick spots coming back from a nice dinner. No way would I have even thought about coming up to these conditions in a 2wd.
It all depends on how adventurous you want to be.
RE: OK, the guy lied to me!!
I also believe the COG is behind the rear axle as the center line of the camper is behind it. Also of it's 1600# the rear axle took 1530# of it while the front only 70#.
Since the front took 4.4% (70/1600) of the weight, the COG is 4.4% of the way towards the front axle. With a 144.5" wheelbase, this means your COG is about 6-1/4" in front of the axle (144.5 x 0.044).
