| |
Subject |
Author |
Date Posted |
Forum
|
 |
RE: How much solar?
I have a small compressor fridge that pulls about 2.5 amps. On a hot day it can run almost full time during the day and maybe 2/3rd at night. Top consumption is probably about 48 AH/day. My wife also uses a CPAP that pulls about 25 AH/day. My lighting is all LED but I do have a 12 v charger for my laptop. Anyway, all together I probably use about twice the power that you plan to use. I have two type 31 HT AGM batteries for a total of 300 AH. I have 270 watts of solar. I would not want to have anything less. On sunny, summer days I have no problem keeping my batteries charged, but that changes in the winter months when the sun is low. It also changes on cloudy days and whenever I camp in the shade. As long as you are going through the expenses of installation and wiring and a controller don't skimp on the size of the panel. Also don't skimp on the gauge of the wiring. Use at least 8, or preferrably 6 gauge, wiring.
|
JimK-NY
|
06/13/13 08:01am |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Any Advice On This?
Traveling with a pet can be a major issue. I had close to a 200 mile round trip to get to a vet and then had to repeat that process a week later. Many campgrounds, including national parks, do not allow you to leave a pet alone. Often dogs left alone spend the day barking. Then there can be issues with temperatures. RVs can get really hot and I have been in plenty of places without hookups. BTW, I don't have a dog, but traveled with a cat.
|
JimK-NY
|
06/10/13 02:53pm |
General RVing Issues
|
|
RE: Biting midges or cedar gnats or no-see-ums
Last year I discovered a new torment. I was camping along the Colorado above Moab when some sort of Spring hatch occurred. Little gnats came through the screening by the thousands. I could not turn on any lights in the camper including a cell phone or computer screen. Fortunately they were gone in a week or so.
The southwestern gnats are nothing compared with black flies. I used to canoe in southern Ontario...it was headnets only for the month of June.
|
JimK-NY
|
05/26/13 01:37pm |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Cold vs. hot tire pressure
I have a TPMS in my truck and was really surprised to see the magnitude of increases in pressure. I originally set my tires to 80 psi at ambient temps (about 70 degrees). After driving on the highway on an 80 degree day, I checked and found my rear tires were at 254 psi. It turns out that the TPMS only goes to 92 psi and after that the pressure reads at 254. I often go over the 92 psi limit on my rear tires. There is a lot less weight on the front tires and they are always under 90 psi. Actually now they are well under. I have the pressure set at 60 psi on the front tires and they end up at about 70 psi for highway driving.
|
JimK-NY
|
05/24/13 06:23pm |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: S & S Manufaturing ?
I was also visited S&S last summer and actually had some repair work done on one of my Northstar happijacks. They really helped me. I was in Glacier when I damaged my jack. They had a new motor within 48 hrs and very promptly completed the repair. I am not sure they are doing any builds. There were a couple of campers in the parking lot, but the shop was empty except for a small repair area at the back of the store. It looked like there were maybe 3 or 4 employees working that day and only one was working in the shop. I think I was the only repair customer for the day. I think they built good units so it was sad to see another casualty of our bad economy.
|
JimK-NY
|
05/24/13 06:13pm |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Thinking about a Truck Fridge.
I have a NovaKool which I believe has a capacity of a little over 4 cuft. These and most other 12 v compressor fridges or freezers use the German built Danfoss compressors. The Engels uses a Japanese equivalent. With the Danfoss, the manufacturers can select the compressor size and they can alter the power consumption and output needed for the specific model. Most of the smaller units will run at about 2.5 amps @ 12 volts. On cool days most units are set to run about 30% of the time. Since the small units have a freezer compartment within the main unit, it is necessary for the unit to run frequently to keep the frozen food actually frozen. On a hot day the run time and power consumption increases rapidly and @ 90 oF the unit is likely to run constantly. That would result in power consumption of about 60 AH per day. Opening and closing the unit and adding warm beer to be cooled will also have a large effect on the efficiency. Plan on a couple of high capacity RV batteries and at least two solar panels in the 100 watt range.
Note also that the proper installation is essential. The fridge will not run efficiently unless there is a lot of air flow around the compressor. The wiring is also very important. My fridge is on the opposite side of the camper in relation to the batteries. I needed close to 40' of wiring to reach the fridge and return to the battery bank. The dealer had installed 10 gauge wiring. The voltage drop and losses due to resistance were huge. I needed to go to 6 gauge wiring.
|
JimK-NY
|
05/10/13 08:48am |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: In-Line Charcoal Water Filter for Under Sink
Over the years I bought several of those Pur filters that attach to the faucet. Never again. The quality is horrible. Everything is plastic and the housing tends to split after the filters are changed a few times. I switched at home and in the camper to a simple Brita filter. The cartridge lasts for a long time and is very efficient.
|
JimK-NY
|
05/10/13 08:19am |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Roof clearance
You want to keep the camper and center of gravity as low as possible without having the camper hit the truck. My bed mat must have compressed because the clearance dropped to about 1 1/4" and I started to bang the truck roof. I added 3/4" and am ok. So for me 2 1/2 is about right.
|
JimK-NY
|
05/03/13 01:09pm |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: NorthStar 8.5 Adventure.
I also have a Northstar Igloo which I highly recommend. Northstar campers are intentionally a bit small than some of the other choices. Also no slideouts. The units are well built. Mine is a 2004 and it has logged a lot of miles and bad roads. I had one window leak which was easily repair, just a caulk problem. I am finally replacing the water pump due to a slow leak. I have not had any other issues.
I only have one complaint. I have two solar panels and these were hooked up to a factory installed electric line. I am losing some efficiency because the electric line was only 10 gauge. It should be about 6 gauge. I guess I am a bit unusual with 270 watts of solar. I have a 30 gal tank and would not want anything small since I do a lot of remote desert camping. BTW, I love the cassette toilet and no way would I want a black tank.
|
JimK-NY
|
04/10/13 05:14pm |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Leaf Helper Vesus AirBag
If you have a choice, I would recommend an extra spring leaf rather than air bags. If I pump up the bags, I get lots of sway. I have to use mine at low pressure (about 15-30 psi).
|
JimK-NY
|
04/05/13 07:39am |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Mattress and Insulation Upgrade
I am not sure about the bubble insulation layer. It seems that the foam mattress already provides a lot of insulation.
I found a similar mattress made by Serta. The mattress is 8" thick with a bottom 6" layer of dense foam and a top of softer foam. I got mine a couple of years ago from Overstock.com at about $350 delivered. Very, very comfortable.
Just one word of warning. In very cold weather, condensation can form and get trapped under the mattress. Eventually the mattress will get moldy. I waited too long before I discovered this and had to wash the cover and have the mattress treated. Just stick you hand under the mattress periodically and check for dampness. I lift up the mattress every few weeks in cold, damp weather and dry it out. I usually slide a small folding step stool under the mattress and set up my 12v fan to dry out the area.
|
JimK-NY
|
03/20/13 09:38pm |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Carbon Monoxide detector
You said CO detector but could it actually be a propane detector? Propane detectors are usually mounted in a low place and CO detectors in a high place. Propane detectors often fail every few years. They start to alarm for no apparent reason. Mine went off a couple of times in one year and that gradually became once or twice a week. It was very loud and no fun the few times it went off in the middle of the night. I had a dealer replace it and no problems in the past half year since the replacement.
CO detectors should also be replaced every 5-7 years. They are typically battery operated. If the unit is relatively new, try a new battery. Otherwise just replace the unit.
|
JimK-NY
|
03/17/13 10:19am |
General RVing Issues
|
|
RE: Shower fixtures - why are they so bad?
I would agree that RV plumbing fixtures are cheap. I suppose many RVs are not used that much and so cheap fixtures seem acceptable.
I also have to say that I think household plumbing fixtures are also poorly made. Everytime there is a problem I start cursing the plumbing industry back to the time of the Romans. Every house I have lived in has had shutoff valves that leak instead of shutting off the flow of water completely. I have replaced numerous faucets. I did three sets of kitchen faucets in my house over a 20 year time period. All were expensive brand name units. Shutoff valves and garden faucets often still have waxy rope packing to seal from leaks around the valve. There has to be some better engineering available.
There should be lawsuits over the poorly made toilet supply lines. Many have plastic threaded connections and with time and vibrations they let go. We had a bathroom floor, kitchen ceiling and kitchen floor destroyed for this reason. It would have been worse had my wife not just stepped out of the house for a few minutes. I know of friends who have had much worse damage.
While I am thinking about it, go check the supply line to your clothes washer. These are often plain neoprene and eventually they burst especially the hot water line.
|
JimK-NY
|
03/16/13 02:23pm |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Crock pot cooking with out hook ups
Some ideas are not worth the effort...except of course those my wife has and I need to at least pretend those are worth it.
Most crockpots consume around 100 watts on the lowest setting. You have a 95 watt solar panel and will be lucky to get half of that output. I have 270 watts of solar and would not attempt your cooking project.
|
JimK-NY
|
03/15/13 02:30pm |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: SRW diesel truck choices
You might want to reconsider the choice of a diesel engine. You will save quite a bit of weight going with a gasser, not to mention many thousands of dollars cheaper. You mentioned using the truck as a daily commuter. In that case, the diesel makes even less sense. I love my diesel and my camper is always on the truck, but the diesel is not good for short distance driving. The fuel economy seems to be really bad when the motor has not warmed up. It takes quite a 10 miles for the engine to get to operating temps. In addition diesels do not like stop and go and short distance travel. A few days of driving under those conditions can set off the emission control warning light and I will need to get out on the highway for 20-30 miles to blow out the system.
Well said...
Thanks, and this is great advice for some, but I ran the numbers and gas doesn't make sense for me:
12,000 annual miles (VERY conservative)
Annual fuel cost with Diesel at $4.19 and Gas at $4.03 (current prices around here)
Gas 10MPG = $4836
Diesel 15MPG = $3352
Difference = $1484 / year
Up-front price difference = $7,500
Residual price difference after 7-years / 12,000 miles per year = $5,500
Net Difference = $2,000
So the payback is about 1.5 years. Here is where most people say "diesel maintenance costs way more", which is true I suppose, but even at $1,000 more per year (very unlikely) the payoff is still there, or it's at least neutral.
The increased payload for the gasser is only about 250 lbs (Ford F350).
My commute is 17-miles each way 4X / week and takes about 25-mins. 3/4 of it is on the freeway doing 70+. Every other weekend we drive up to Tahoe, which is 200-miles each way.
Since you will be driving longer distances, then I would agree the diesel makes sense. I love mine. I bought in 2010 so I decided on a Dodge with the Cummins diesel. Both Ford and Chevy were introducing new diesels with no reliability history and with urea injectors. My Cummins is a proven workhorse and met the emission standards without urea.
Buy the diesel, but don't expect 50% better mileage...maybe 30% so the payback will be a bit longer. I would not be concerned about the maintenance costs. I have averaged about $80 every 7000 miles for oil changes. I also need a fuel filter every other change and there are other fluid changes due including the differentials and transmission. With the all the oil and fluid and air cleaner changes I probably average about $150-200 for each 7000 miles of driving. I could cut those costs by shopping around or doing oil changes myself but I have been on the road fulltime and have used only Dodge dealers for service. There are almost no other major maintenance costs until the recommended rebuild at 300,000. I don't expect to keep the truck that long.
|
JimK-NY
|
03/15/13 02:18pm |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: SRW diesel truck choices
You might want to reconsider the choice of a diesel engine. You will save quite a bit of weight going with a gasser, not to mention many thousands of dollars cheaper. You mentioned using the truck as a daily commuter. In that case, the diesel makes even less sense. I love my diesel and my camper is always on the truck, but the diesel is not good for short distance driving. The fuel economy seems to be really bad when the motor has not warmed up. It takes quite a 10 miles for the engine to get to operating temps. In addition diesels do not like stop and go and short distance travel. A few days of driving under those conditions can set off the emission control warning light and I will need to get out on the highway for 20-30 miles to blow out the system.
|
JimK-NY
|
03/15/13 07:05am |
Truck Campers
|
 |
RE: good place to avoid
I can understand the idea that you need to follow the law or you deserve your ticket. Unfortunately there are some serious issues with speed traps when small communities use enforcement as a means of generating a large percentage of the money needed to fund the local government. Abuses can occur when the salaries of the police officers and other local government officials are dependent on the revenues from the speed traps. I used to drive thru a speed trap area on a frequent basis. I often saw the second car pulled over for exceeding the speed limit by a slim margin. The first car was a local resident with a big yellow resident sticker on the front bumper. Somehow that did not seem fair since both cars were exceeding the speed limit by the same small amount. I was eventually also pulled over. I was not speeding, but was pulled over because in the officer's words I "did not stop long enough at the stop sign." That was a new one for me since I thought stopping and looking before proceeding was sufficient. Anyway I decided to fight the ticket at the traffic court. After several hours of waiting I was told I could wait for my hearing at about 11 at night or accept a deal.. $100 fine and no points. I took the fine. Then there was a similar incident with my daughter. The legal fees only cost about $700 and she only had to pay an additional $200 in fines and got no points. It seems that the construction area was not marked and the previous signs were covered and moved on the grass past the apron area. The officer decided that was still a construction area subject to a low speed limit. Sorry but I no longer have much respect for the legal system or those who enforce it. I would like to see traffic fines turned over to the State and then redistributed based on a set formula. That would end a lot of abuse.
|
JimK-NY
|
03/10/13 08:29pm |
General RVing Issues
|
|
RE: Keeping a Honda Generator running till fuel runs out?
You should not have a problem storing your generator with fuel in the tank. Judging from my experience with a lawn mower, I believe that storing with stabilized fuel is better than trying to run the carb dry. Also I believe it is recommended to run the generator every month or so. That helps to keep the jets clean and heating up the generator for 15-30 minutes will also help keep moisture out of the unit. Also it can be a real bit.h to try to start a generator without fuel in the system. I know the dealer complained he always had problems getting new units primed and working. He must have pulled the starter cord 50 times before it finally caught. It is rare that I need to pull more than once or twice.
|
JimK-NY
|
03/10/13 07:59pm |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: MPG question
I would also agree on the 12-13 mpg average. I also agree that wind resistance is the big issue. I once got 16-18 mpg at highway speeds (about 65 mph) with a strong tail wind. I have also been in the 10 mph range with a strong head wind. Mountain driving will also take a toll on mileage. I have not found much difference in mileage with different highway speeds. I seem to get about the same when driving at any speed between 55 and 65 or so. I rarely drive much over 65 so I don't know if that would also kill my mileage.
Short trips are also really hard on mileage. My worst mileage has been in national parks when driving a few miles at a time. I think that big diesel takes a lot of fuel just getting the engine up to efficient operating temperature.
I believe 12-13 is about my overall average with 13-14 being more the average for long distant highway driving. Without the camper I averaged close to 20 mpg on the highway.
|
JimK-NY
|
03/10/13 07:47pm |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: DOES THIS BUDGET SOUND REASONABLE?
I have a golden age pass and spent most of the last two years as a fulltime traveler. I averaged about $7/night for camping. Obviously I mostly stayed in forest service and national parks. Traveling, I stopped at Walmart, etc. In order to keep your camping costs low, you need to avoid the need for hookups and expensive RV parks. I have two solar panels and rarely need a generator or electric. I have a cassette toilet so I don't need an RV dump. Any outhouse or toilet will do. I conserve water and can go for quite a few days without water -- unless it is hot and I need daily showers.
Food costs can be really low provided you avoid eating out. I eat pretty plain and my costs are low but I really don't have a guess. I know I saved money compared with what I spent when living in a regular house.
Fuel costs are the big item. I travel a lot. On the road that is about $100/day. Of course I don't drive long distances everyday. You really do need to consider how much you will drive in order to plan a budget.
Finally if you want to camp and save a bundle of money consider campground hosting. That will curtail your driving for sure. At a minimum you will have a free place to stay usually with hookups provided. You might also get a tax free stipend of about $15/day worked.
|
JimK-NY
|
03/07/13 06:55pm |
General RVing Issues
|
