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Date Posted |
Forum
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RE: Used Winnebago or New Sunseeker?
Plus one for the Sunseeker
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BozemanTrail
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05/18/13 11:08am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Home-made wireless TOAD brake indicator system
They have told me that the reason for their standard setup is to cover every situation, since so many disconnect their batteries for one reason or the other.
Yup, just a note, my setup uses power from the TOAD for both flipping the relay when the brake is pressed and also powering the transmitter. I have an 08 Grand Cherokee, so I don't have to disconnect the battery and I did hook up a battery charger from motorhome to Jeep.
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BozemanTrail
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02/24/13 08:45am |
Dinghy Towing
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RE: Home-made wireless TOAD brake indicator system
Big picture how it works:
Basically, the two units automatically talk to each other when in range. On the transmitter unit in the TOAD, you close a connection when the brake is depressed. In turn, the relay on the receiver in the motorhome simultaneously closes a relay that can then be wired to turn on an LED. I will try to fill in pictures maybe tomorrow
Definitely read the quickstart guide available:
http://assets.controlanything.com/QSG/MirX_Quick_Start_Guide.pdf
Parts for receiver unit in motorhome:
1) MirC Reciever 1 relay receiver or MirX 1 relay receiver:
.....a. http://www.controlanything.com/Relay/Device/MirCR110&Category_Code=WIRELESS_MIRC&CpField=relays&CpValue=1
.....b. http://www.controlanything.com/Relay/Device/MirXR110&Category_Code=WIRELESS_MIRX&CpField=relays&CpValue=1
2) Project box:
.....a. http://www.controlanything.com/Relay/Device/ENC-CFL
.....b. Some small screws to mount #1 in project box.
3) 6” of wire
4) Cigarette lighter adapter
.....a. Make sure you find one that fits the plug on the circuit board. I ended up buying two from eBay but I can’t remember exactly from who.
5) LED indicator light
.....a. Picked up a small one at O’Reilly’s.
Building the receiver unit:
A) Take the receiver (#1) and mount in the project box (#2a).
B) Wire #3 from the power-side to the C (common) location on the relay.
.....a. See quickstart guide linked above, page 6, the relay is labeled as A
C) Wire the LED (#5) from the NO (normally open) location on the relay back to the other side of the power. Check your polarity since the LED has to be facing the right direction.
.....a. See quickstart guide linked above, page 6, the relay is labeled as A, power is labeled as D.
D) Drill a hole in top of the project box and mount the LED.
E) Drill a hole in the side of the project box so the cigarette lighter adapter (#4) can plug in.
.....a. See quickstart guide linked above, page 6, the relay is labeled as A, power is labeled as D.
Parts for transmitter unit in toad:
6) MirC Reciever 1 relay transmitter or MirX 1 relay transmitter:
.....a. http://www.controlanything.com/Relay/Device/MirCR110&Category_Code=WIRELESS_MIRC&CpField=relays&CpValue=1
.....b. http://www.controlanything.com/Relay/Device/MirXR110&Category_Code=WIRELESS_MIRX&CpField=relays&CpValue=1
7) Project box:
.....a. http://www.controlanything.com/Relay/Device/ENC-CFL
.....b. Some small screws to mount #1 in project box.
8) Cigarette lighter adapter
.....a. Make sure you find one that fits the plug on the circuit board. I ended up buying two from eBay but I can’t remember exactly from who.
9) Paired wired (about 3 feet)
10) Automotive relay (85,86,30,87 type)
11) Wire splicers
Building the transmitter unit:
F) Take the transmitter (#6) and mount in the project box (#7a).
G) Drill a hole in the side of the project box so the cigarette lighter adapter (#8) can plug in.
.....a. See quickstart guide linked above, page 6, power is labeled as D.
H) Hook up the paired wires (#9)to the transmitter input
.....a. See quickstart guide linked above, page 6, inputs are labeled as C.
I) In your vehicle, find the brake indicator wire (normally you can find it near your brake pedal somewhere). In my case, I already had a brake controller installed, so I tapped into that.
J) Hook up the input side of the automotive relay (#10) to this brake indicator wire and a ground wire using wire slicers (#11).
K) Hook up the paired wires from the transmitter to the output side of the relay.
.....a. This is important because you cannot apply power to the inputs, but rather a open/closed circuit.
Once you’ve done all this, and if I didn’t miss any steps, you can test everything out and hopefully it will work. When the brake in the TOAD is depressed, the indicator LED in the motorhome will light up.
Hope that helps, we’ll see if I can get some pictures posted. -BozemanTrail
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BozemanTrail
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02/23/13 08:46pm |
Dinghy Towing
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Home-made wireless TOAD brake indicator system
Blue Ox used to make a wireless indicator system that would let you know when your TOAD was actually braking. Unfortunately, they seemed to stop making it a few years ago.
So, for my ReadyBrake setup, I wanted to do something the same. I ordered two wireless relays boards from
Nation Control Devices: Wireless MIRX relays
and built my own setup.
If you have reasonable understanding of analog electronics (relays, switches, power, etc), you can get a nice system setup. They state the range is 300' with the cheapest setup.
If people are interested in this, I can detail more about what I did, but basically think about this as a wireless way to make sure your TOAD is braking when you expect it to brake. Yup, I likely could have done it cheaper with real wires, but this was a fun little project.
-BozemanTrail
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BozemanTrail
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02/23/13 07:30pm |
Dinghy Towing
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RE: Bigfoot Automatic Leveling Jacks
Get them. We have them on our Forester 3171DS and they make it so easy to use coming and going from a campsite.
Factory install if at all possible.
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BozemanTrail
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02/21/13 10:06pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: MI - Grand Tetons - Yellowstone - Badlands - Dells - MI
I'd suggest looking into other places to spend your 7 days in Yellowstone other than Fishing Bridge. Yellowstone is a great place -- Fishing Bridge leaves a lot to be desired -- there are a lot nicer places to stay in/around the park.
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BozemanTrail
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11/03/12 11:25pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Zion for a week, where should I stay?
Zion River Resort if you need things like a pool, etc.
Watchman CG if you don't.
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BozemanTrail
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09/09/12 12:23am |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: transporting pine firewood from Idaho to Utah and Arizona
http://www.dontmovefirewood.org/
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BozemanTrail
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09/08/12 05:04pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: planning an upgrade to my solar "farm"
If you want to stay with Unisolar panels, I see some for sale on eBay...
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BozemanTrail
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09/06/12 02:31pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: New window in door The best !
to any one who has installed on of the Edwin Windows. I want to put one on my cargo/bunk door to get some air in there. Is there a screen? If not does it look like you could add one. And does it look like it could be rotated 90 degrees for installation?
Thanks
I have one of these windows in my door. It does have a screen, but it's setup to work up and down, not side to side. But the company who makes this windows makes different windows for different purposes.
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BozemanTrail
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07/14/12 11:35pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Ladder Block 2000
Why not go to HD/Lowes and get either some galvanized pipe or pvc pipe and extend the posts down then paint to match the ladder......
Oh yup, I had all sorts of grand plans -- even thought of having a threaded rod so that I could tighten it up as needed etc. But in the end, I went for the wooden block... :B
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BozemanTrail
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07/09/12 09:52am |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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Ladder Block 2000
So, I was getting a little bit tired of the rear ladder flexing a bit when I climb it. Even tightening things up, etc., there was still a little flex that I didn't like. I came up with all sorts of expensive ideas, etc., but I ended up with the following, works great!
http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q552/BozemanTrail/20120708-00149.jpg width=600
The other side says "DO NOT BURN". They are stowed when traveling of course.
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BozemanTrail
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07/08/12 07:23pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Unisolar Flexible Solar Panels "Self Stick"
I have 4 68W panels on my roof. Installed a few months ago. Can't tell you long term, but so far so good.
BTW -- a company seems to take the 68W unisolar panels and sells them with a little extra edging, etc.
http://www.flexenergydelsol.com/
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BozemanTrail
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07/08/12 03:30pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Wanting to add a fan to a roof vent
Make sure to get the new multispeed Vortex fan. I have had both. The original is too loud to use if you want to stay in the room long.
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BozemanTrail
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06/23/12 06:48pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: RV Direct?
Same here. Bought a 2011 Forester 3171DS from RVDirect. Price was a lot better than any one else. Financing was a little better from them as well. Worked out to be a good tranaction. ~Two years now and I haven't had to get my Forester fixed at all -- a few small things (adjusting cabinet door alignment, and the door window seal letting water in) were easier to fix myself than to bring to anyone.
One thing is that once you order it and put money down it is yours. You likely won't be able to show up when you pick it up and say "I don't like it" and walk away. By the time that is happened, you've already signed all the paperwork.
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BozemanTrail
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06/23/12 12:28pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Quieter pump
I upgraded to a FloJet Sensor VSD Pump, and while not silent, it is a lot nicer than the original Surflo pump we had.
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BozemanTrail
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06/21/12 09:52am |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Jeep Cherokee
I have a 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland -- it's been great as a daily driver and as a toad.
Still have my 99 Cherokee -- wish I had more time to play with it.
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BozemanTrail
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06/04/12 07:53pm |
Dinghy Towing
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RE: Battery Draining
Keep in mind that some rigs may have a BIRD installed that keeps batteries charged in either direction when the other battery is charging. My Forester has one. Here is a brief description from the mfgr:
"The BIRD (BI-DIRECTIONAL ISOLATOR RELAY DELAY) performs two important functions. It provides a method of charging the coach battery from the engine alternator and charges the chassis battery from the converter when the coach is plugged into shore power. When neither battery is being charged, the batteries are isolated from each other to prevent the loads of one battery from inadvertently discharging the other battery."
So, if you have a BIRD and your chassis battery is dieing in a week and you are plugged into shore power, make sure it is working.
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BozemanTrail
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05/28/12 04:32pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: New window in door The best !
Yup, at night people can see in.
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BozemanTrail
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05/27/12 02:00pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Ready Brute Elite with integrated brake--brake cable
RVerDiane,
If it is the verticle alignment, make sure you have the hitch attachment to the rv and the attachment to the car within 2 inches (if I recall correctly from the instructions). You can use a drop receiver hitch to get things aligned better.
See the "0"- 10" Drop Trailer Hitch Receivers" section in accessories...
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BozemanTrail
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05/27/12 10:20am |
Dinghy Towing
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