RE: A cure for dry-rot psychosis?
Yikes! I need to watch for that! Can you share any techniques that you use to determine that your Bigfoot basement is, indeed, dry? Thanks for your post, wasilla rod.
RE: Battery Diagnosis
Have you been checking the water level in the battery? Constant charging of the battery will, over time, boil off water by electrolysis.
Low water level will severly impact battery performance.
RE: A cure for dry-rot psychosis?
Appreciate you sharing your experience, wasilla rod. I was just starting to relax -- thinking maybe my caulking days were done -- Ha! Excellent thread reference, I'll look over these areas before the summertime bliss ends sometime next month. It really helps to know what to look for and how to look for it.
If a camper has a single seam and a single stick of wood in it, that stick can dry-rot.
RE: A cure for dry-rot psychosis?
So I did a little homework and found a few posts that relate.
This one talks about the ease of interior repairs (should they be required). And, a post showing the basement construction -- there is nothing down there to rot.
Could not find any posts about serious water damage in a clam-shell TC. :) I'll caulk up anyway, just to make sure we keep it that way...
RE: A cure for dry-rot psychosis?
This is similar to a "bulge" I observed on my old Hallmark. How can you tell you "don't" have a leak? You can't really, unless it peculates inside camper and you see/feel/smell it. I never did. Thus the psychosis and the need for infinite re-caulking...
To that point, and per Budster's comment a few entries back, from what I can tell so far, there is a removable 1/8" plastic sheet attached in a non-water tight fashion to the bottom of the clam-shell basement. I wonder if water intrusion into the clam-shell that does not pool inside the camper (and thus not observable) would flow down to the basement and then on out via the bottom sheet attachment gaps. So I'm not sure then, how a CS TC floor could rot out from water in the basement unless the camper actualy sat in a pool of water.
Still waiting for a bona fide clam-shell TC dry-rot post...
RE: A cure for dry-rot psychosis?
No wings or joints on a clam-shell TC (CSTC). Cut-outs and and screw holes, yes. Joints -- only one -- like a clam :-)
RE: A cure for dry-rot psychosis?
To Silver's point, can anyone with a clam-shell TC (CSTC) post a "severe water infiltration" damage experience? Reviewing littlebigbar's post one might surmise it is easier, at least, to "detect" a leak in CSTC and then to get it plugged -- perhaps that alone makes severe damage less likely.
I'm still learning about my CSTC but would like to hear about the dry-rot experience of other CSTC owners. Maybe there just are no issues to report? Fine with me :-)
Regrettably, Furnace Creek is not a winter-long option for me (it does sound like a nice "getaway" though) but thanks anyway fordsooperdootydieselsmoker...
A cure for dry-rot psychosis?
Reading Mike Tassinari's thread "ignore your Exterior Caulking Duties" was painful. We are all fond of our TC's and seeing any TC suffer water damage is enough to get anyone running to grab a tube of caulk. We all suffer from a dry-rot psychosis.
After I moved here to the PNW (from Colo) it was evident that my trusty 90's Hallmark camper was doomed to rot without major investments in caulk and fiberglass. Winter trips were out too -- road splash was going to get at the wings and the soft underbelly in time as things never dry out here.
I must confess that after reading the lengths folks are going to prevent water damage I felt like a wimp. Out here, with what seems like nearly 200 days of rain, there were just too many seams and too few sunny days. I felt powerless. Then I upgraded to a clam-shell type camper. Last spring, no problems, no worries.
I do know, as all TC folks know, that dry-rot stalks us all. Culling out the weak and the unprepared -- clam-shell TC or not.
But what is the clam-shell TC's experience with water damage and water damage prevention? Fewer seams, less wood and full fiberglass coverage should be some insurance I would think. Clam-shells, what say?
RE: Another vote for 60mph
With fuel pushing $5, my TC dashboard has been looking like this:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3044/2659917976_7bd061e811.jpg?v=0
If I keep it at 60, I can count on a solid 13-14 in a wide range of conditions (wind, terrain, rain, etc.). When I'm lucky -- and unfortunately that is not very often, 15 mpg.
If fuel goes higher, expect my needles to be leaning further left. I'm in no hurry to go broke:R
On the interstate, the only thing I pass on the flats are old gasser C's.
RE: scissor stairs left on?
I leave mine on. Bolted to the bracket and snugged with bungies.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3107/2654264873_d72d5aca9c.jpg?v=0
RE: Fire
Up here in the PNW its only now getting much into the 80's.
Last weekend, the wife and I camped in Southern Oregon (Steens Mountains) and the California fires smoke was noticeable there. Could not really smell it, over the dust and all, but it was really killing the mountain views.
The lower atmosphere layer, closest to the ground, was brownish from the smoke:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3158/2654793582_f09bb7c274.jpg?v=0
And the "long views" obscurred:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3147/2653958615_9d61111c34.jpg?v=0
We hope you get the rain you need and soon!
RE: rock and roll (sway) on a dodge
I have a similar issue on my 3500 DRW. I am considering adding the timbrems(sp?) as a means to better engage the factory springs in sway dampening. Right now, with the cost of fuel bearing down on my prime camping season, I'm just living with the sway.
RE: How to carry an extra propane cylinder
Interesting tread :-)
I have done a good bit of winter camping in my prior camper (a Hallmark). That camper had the dreaded "horizontal" LP tanks. As I explored new country I would periodically be refused a refill as horizontal tanks don't have OFPs. Although specifically exempted by law from being required to have an OFP, many attendants would dismiss them as unfillable -- period. Point being, I learned to always carry a spare tank in the winter. Two in the camper and one spare. Better to risk a fast death by explosion rather than slow death at the hands of my cold and unhappy DW.
I kept my spare in the extended cab, positioned snugly behind the driver seat as low as possible and well tied to the seat-belt anchors. In the cab, you will smell any vapors quick and can take action. I never had any issues.
RE: Owyhee Canyonlands in SW Idaho
Thanks for sharing the trip, DJ. Looks like perfect "camper country". I have had that area on my radar and your report just moved it up the priority list by several notches.
RE: Would you buy a diesel again (second time)
Not exactly sure why the differential in cost is so great with diesel fuel, and if anyone knows for sure I would like to hear it.3+ is on to it:Look to Europe where diesel is $9.50-10.50 per gallon. The engine of choice is (and has been) diesel, and lots more are on the way both there and here in America. Why? Because diesel is a denser, more efficient, higher BTU content, lower carbon footprint fuel when compared to gasoline.Europe is dumping gas on the US right now as it has become a "waste product" of making diesel. A very strong conversion to diesel has occurred in Europe. For many of the reasons noted already. 1/3 more efficient....does anyone think todays complex diesel engines are better than those from the past ? Absolutely! Less noise, no stink, no particulates, more power and it is only going to get better :-) Sell you gasser now, while you can.
RE: Using a dedicated hose for the Black Tank Flush?
I suppose another consideration is the quality of the water source hookup available at the dump connection. Sometimes, I have noticed the water tap marked "potable" is located on a separate service island altogether. This could lead one to suspect the water quality of any tap near the dump island.
Since you are limited to the dump station tap while connected to the sewer you are using a riskier water source and potentially putting your fresh water at risk by using the same hose at the next "potable" tap.
I'll just go and get another hose, better safe then sorry.
Thanks again, everyone.
RE: Using a dedicated hose for the Black Tank Flush?
I appreciate the input. I have the Swan Industries, San-T-Flush SFS-250 system. While the camper documentation included an installation diagram and a paragraph regarding how to flush the tanks it does not address the hose sanitation, per se.
However, the installation diagram includes a vacuum breaker and a check valve, which I presume, is intended to guard against backflow. In addition, the plumbing installation keeps the vacuum breaker and check valve at a high point, well above the maximum BT water line. It looks installed that way in my camper, although I can't see everything from the access door.
The hose connection is exposed outside but it is capped to protect the threading. Space is an issue in the camper and if I don't need another hose I would prefer that solution. Others?
Using a dedicated hose for the Black Tank Flush?
I finally used the black tank flush (BTF) feature on my camper. I used my RV drinking water hose as the service bay hose lacked the threaded connector. Now, I'm wondering, should the BTF drinking water hose be dedicated to this function and a non-BTF drinking water hose acquired?
Is there any chance of contamination from hooking up to the BTF? I'm sure others have considered this. My old camper did not have such a system so this is new to me. Thanks for any advice.
RE: Driving in the rain good or bad
My experience out here in the PNW is that driving in rain really does test your camper. You will find leaks you didn't know you had. In fact, it was a prime reason I had to change campers from my old Hallmark to what I have today. You gotta be tight to travel in the rain, real, sustained rain.
Over time, the over pressure will drive water into the most minor tiny defects in any fiberglass or seal. Out here, wet is sustained and there is no "drying" recovery for months at a time. Only the hardiest of the TC's get out, most just cower under blue tarps, praying for the sunshine that never comes...
RE: Carbon Footprint of traveling by TC
The topic is right-on and yeah, its going to come to push and shove. There are now enough people, with access to enough technology to essentially kill the planet just by using it.
Question is, who is going to tell who what has to stop? And, when?
The fossil fuel binge has been great but its starting to end (in 10, 20, 50 or 100 years -- who knows?).
When filling up your truck means knocking someone off the planet, one should consider the karma. For me, I figure as long as I can afford it ($10 fuel by year-end could be a problem) and no one is getting pushed off, I'm going. Do it while you can.
