RE: Any one else into dinosaur museums & attractions?
Although not in the US,two of the best are the Tyrell Museum in DrumhellerAlbertaand Dinosaur Provincial Park just north of Brooks, Alberta.
Vic
RE: Propane lantern: monoxide hazard or not??
Don't forget that your stove/oven is LP gas. It is just as big a CO/low O2 and burn hazard as anything else. You would not operate it without a vent open or the range fan on, why would a coleman lantern be any different. Having said that, a stove is designed for indoor use, and is somewhat set up to limit those problems.
I have used, and will continue to use a coleman lantern in my trailer.
1. One of the first things you learn is to put the wire handle down, it really gets Hot!
2. There is a great deal of heat generated in a small space, good for mountain or non-summer camping.
3. Opening a vent is a must.
4. Consider a propane 1-lb bottle lantern over one using coleman fuel. Spilled coleman fuel is one heck of a danger, and has quite the odour.
5. Finally, if I had children around, I would never do it. Unless they grew up with lanterns as a way of life, they would never fully appreciate the danger until too late.
Vic
RE: Can one get a key for this door lock?
These locks are RV standard, only Type A or Type B, unless you've had it changed by a locksmith. That's why the previous owner put in a deadbolt. Don't believe me? Go to an RV dealer and see how many doors and luggage compartments you can open.
Vic
RE: Motel it to and thru Alaska
One other thing to consider inmy neck of the woods (Alberta). The current surge in oil prices has created a mini-boom in oilfield work, and in many locations outside major centers, there are no motel/hotel rooms to be had! When I was working in Edson, I needed to reserve the room at least 3 weeks in advance to have one for the week. Prices were $100 to $150 per night.
Vic
RE: Calgary to Winnipeg - scenic route, sights, campspots?
Done this trip several times. A couple of "don't miss" spots are:
- Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park (both provinces, but more choice on the Alberta side)
- Sherwood Forest Campground SE of Regina. Grear spot to spend a couple of days and see the area.
- Riding Mountain Provincial Park north of Brandon.
Vic
RE: Is Big Horn Highway #40 open?
Road is in great condition, open all the time. There are some steep grades, notably the climb out of the river valley just outside Hinton.
If you are going that way, make sure to stop and visit William A Switzer Provincial Park.
http://gateway.cd.gov.ab.ca/siteinformation.aspx?id=159
Other stops are Rock Lake and the Berland River.
Vic
RE: WHAT am I doing WRONG?
The date code is CRITICAL to assessing the problem. The date code is a 4 digit number stamped on each tire, in the form wwyy such as 4607. This means the tire was produced in the 46th week of 2007. According to the independent tire shop I use (also agrees with others on trailer forums such as this), one should not count on more than 6 years life from a tire, FROM THE DATE OF MANUFACTURE; regardless of whether it has been used or even installed. Unknowing or unscrupulous tire dealers have been doing this for years. I was caught on my car's tires a few years ago. What I do now is have the date code of the tires entered on my sales invoice, indicating I know what that is and what it means.
Vic
RE: Purchase Canada Nat'l park pass for Banff, Lake Louise etc?
Banff and Jasper are the two connected mountain National Parks in Alberta. The Icefields parkway runs between the towns of Banff and Jasper, through both parks.
Lake Louise is In Banff National Park.
If you are either using the Icefield Parkway or staying overnight in either park, you need a park pass. Various combinations of passes are possible, depending on where you want to visit. Check out:
http://canadagazette.gc.ca/partI/2008/20080209/html/supplcontent-e.html#passes
Vic
RE: Burro Camper Renovatrions
Is that a camper or a travel trailer? Either case, I believe it is a fiberglass unit. Try this website; it's for the fiberglass foolks lioke me.
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/
Vic
RE: How do you store your sewer hose ?
On my first trailer, I found the sewer hose wore away where it rubbed inside my square rear bumper. I attached a section of PVC pipe with end caps to my bumper, and used the original square bumper to store extending tent poles for my emergency tarp. On my current trailer, the frame is tubular steel. I replaced the rear bumper with home-fabricated fittings to hold two lengths of PVC pipe, the upper une for the poles, the lower one for the sewer hose. I drilled 1 inch holes in the bottom of the pipe about every foot for drainage. See the photos.
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/551123968ABqdPX?start=132
Vic
RE: Weight police
I admit that I didn't pay a lot of attention to this at first. A popular wintertime passtime here is to put your skidoo in the back of your long box half ton and take it to the mountains for several days. In the late 1990s, many domestic manufacturers were "de-rating" their half-tons by making them lighter and more fuel efficient to have their fleet meet specifically California guidelines. This was not generally well communicated.
Our neighbouring province, British Columbia, began pulling vehicles over at the border between Alberta and BC and checking them for weight. A number of my friends had to leave their skiddoos by the highway, drive to the nearest place they could buy a trailer, purchase it, and return for their skiddoo!!
At the time (1998) I was looking for a new tow vehicle. I had an 1990 F150 SuperCab long box. When I checked the current models; I realized that I would have to upgrade to a 3/4 ton to get the same towing capacity as my 1990!! Needless to say, I restored the F150.
In Canada, I now see the real "weight police" checking both recreational and commercial trailers regularly. Therefore, here it pays to know where you fit.
Vic
RE: funny smell when hot water heater is on(Suburban 6G)PICS**
At the start of each season I inspect and blow out all flash tubes (hot water heater, BBQ, etc)
I have had insect type creatures set up in the flash tube (the section from the propane/air mixing point to the burner within the heater). What i have done is taken a piece of metal window screening about 1" x 3", pulled out the extra 1" lengths at both ends, crimped over the 3" sides, wrapped it around the air inlet, and twisted the ends tightly together to create an anti-insect screen.
This seems to take care of most problems.
Vic
RE: Stick & Tin vs. Aluminum - YIKES
By siting the trailer and not moving it, many of the issues and concerns should be lessened, but not eliminated. Trailers require maintenance. The degree of maintenance required is a function of usage, and of off-season storage.
I started with a stickie. Roof maintenance a regular application of a complete roof sealant was a fact of life if I did not want leaks. Some people say 2 years, some say up to four years, but it has to be done.
Winterizing in my area is a must. The quality of winterizing has a great deal to do with the ultimate repair requirements.
Rather than focussing on construction, because every type has its pros and cons, ask questions on regular maintenance required.
I now have a fiberglass egg, but that is almost completely a function of smaller vehicles and engines coupled with spiralling fuel costs.
Vic
RE: Does propane feeze?
Just a few comments from an "old chemical engineer". Agree with the comments on water and butane. Water can particularly be a factor in older bottles that have been frequently filled. Water may be present in very small quantities, but it just accumulates over time in the tank, much like water in a gas tank. But there is another explanation.
Yes, propane will boil at -44 deg F, but that is at atmospheric pressure. Our trailer LPG systems are designed to maintain the propane we are carrying as liquid at normal outside temperatures, much higher pressure than atmospheric pressure. I could give you a number, but I don't have my books here. The result is the boiling point is also significantly raised. Another factor is that any liquid cools as it evaporates. Just put a few drops of liquid rubbing alcohol on your hand and you will see what i mean.
Having done a great deal of winter camping, this is what has happened. The liquid propane in the LPG container has cooled(equalized) with the outside temperature of very cold. At this point, the rate that the propane will evapourate to pass through the regulator is reduced sustantially. When there is a significant demand for propane (all stove burners, etc) not only does the propane have trouble keeping up, but the propane cools due to the evaporation for the demand, and even further reduces evaporation rate. What we have seen is that we must limit the propane use to what is critical, such as the furnace, and keep the temperature set point low enough that the furnace actually cycles. If the furnace stays on for a long time in a cold spell, the propane flow starves for the above reasons.
RE: new canuck still having problems with weight determination
I stand by the cautionary comments in this thread, and have one more to add. In perfect weather, sunsihine, level ground, little traffic on a new highway, you could problably pull a bus with a volkswagen bug! However, rain headwinds, and hills change that rather quickly. Just talk to a few buddies who have lost transmissions, blown tires, or overtaxed their brakes because they disregarded the known limits. Whatever you do, stay within the posted limits.
Victor
RE: new canuck still having problems with weight determination
Towing capacity defines the weight maximum allowed behind the vehicle, but that is only part of the story.
There is another factor. Open your drivers side door, and on the door pillar, you will find the maximum weight allowed per axle.
Then check the tires that you have on the vehicle, and make sure they equal or exceed the allowable weight per axle "at maximum inflation pressure".
Now load the vehicle as you would expect it to be loaded on a trip, including full gas and people. Take it to an area truck stop with a government weigh station, and weigh both vehicle axles.
I'm assuming that in this loaded condition, you still have not exceeded the allowable weight per axle as on the door pillar.
Essentially, the difference between the maximum rear axle loading and the value from the truck stop is the maximum you can add as "tongue weight" of the trailer.
Start with the assumtion that 15% of the trailer weight will be tongue weight. Multiply the difference in weight that you calculated by 6.5, and that is the maximum fully loaded trailer weight you can add to your axles. I suspect it will be much less than your 3500 poiunds of towing capacity. If this number is greater than 3500 pounds, you are limited to a maximum fully loaded trailer weight of 3500 pounds based on frame and hitch limits. You now have a target maximum fully loaded trailer weight.
Now it is time to calculate the dry weight.
-subtract 10 pounds x the fresh water capacity in Imperial gallons
- subtract 1.25 pounds x the total pounds of propane carried (eg sutract 50 lbs for 2 20 lb bottles)
- subtract about 100-150 pounds for outfitting the trailer (cutlery, bedding, toiletries, etc)
- subtract the weight of luggage you expect to carry in the trailer.
- and subtract any other items you expect to carry in the trailer. They do not seem to have much storage, but boy, do they fill up quickly!
Now you have a target dry weight to chase while shopping. Don't forget to ask about typical tongue weight percentage for each trailer model. They can differ significantly.
Once you have selected a trailer, see if you can hook it up and get weighed to correct the estimates. Note that the trailer hitch angle will have a lot to do with tongue weight. ALL trailers are best towed in as horizontal a position as possible. This includes the tow vehicle (horizontal as possible) Pointing up at the hitch leaves not enough yongue weight and the trailer will we difficult to handle and may pop off the trailer ball at big bumps. Pointing down at the hitch will put too much weight on the tongue, and begin to lift the front wheels of the tow vehicle off the ground, affecting steering!
If you notice the front wheels of the tow vehicle coming up even with the trailer level, a weight distributing hitch may be in order.
As well, I would never tow anything other than a simple utility trailer without properly installed and operating trailer brakes.
All in all, I would stay well within all limits. WIth your vehicle, under a 3000 pound trailer fully loaded, and not exceed 90% of any axle rating. Also note that these axle ratings only apply at the stated tire pressures!. Less pressure, less rating.
Good luck!
Vic
RE: new to this- help!
Sounds like you are an ideal candidate for a fiberglass egg travell trailer like I have. Check out this website.
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/
Vic
RE: Colter Bay, Grand Tetons
We stayed at Colter Bay in 2006. Your rig will fit, depending on the loop and on the site. When we were there in September, there were many bus-sized rigs.
Vic
