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Forum
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RE: 4th of July at Ft Pickens
We are making our third trip to Ft Pickens... leaving this evening. We love the CG and the area. We really like Loop A.
There are lots of really good restaraunts... Landry's, Hemmingway's, Crab's, The Fish House, Flounder's. We'll have to look for Joe Patti's next week. ;)
We've been to the Naval Aviation Museum a few times... it's a really big place with lots of stuff to see. The lighthouse is just down the road... another great place to visit.
Unfortunately, the Blue Angels' practice sessions are cancelled this season... we were really looking forward to seeing them this year since last year we visited during Memorial Day week and discovered they do not practice that week.
Happy Camping!
John.
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MegaJohn
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06/12/13 12:50pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Looking for CG in Georgia
We prefer state and COE parks and have visited quite a few in the area.
Lake Lanier is south of Gainsville and has several COE parks... which offer a really nice discount (50%) to senior pass holders (if you qualify).
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Unicoi (Helen, GA) & Vogel (Blairsville, GA) State Parks. Both are really nice. There are several private parks in the area also.
I don't think you would like driving the MH up to the Amicalola Falls SP campground... it's a bit steap and the sites are small. The park is great and worth the trip... just not in the MH.
Enjoy your stay in our great state... We're traveling to yours this week. ;)
Happy Camping!
John.
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MegaJohn
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06/12/13 12:41pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Need help identifying an electrical part
Painting your tongue . . .will that be latex or oil base?
Rust-Oleum Professional enamel spray paint.
Painting your tongue? Say "aaahhhhh....."
Glad folks were able to help you identify the part.
Happy Camping!
John.
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MegaJohn
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06/12/13 12:19pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Water tank fell out.
What makes and models are people having issues with?
I expect there are many makes & models with similar setups. It would probably be best to crawl under your camper and have a look at what is under there. Then make changes as needed.
Our camper (2006 Pilgrim International) has a support frame made from angled steel. Then there's a sheet of OSB covered with a vapor barrier type fabric between the tank & support to protect the bottom of the tank from damage and distribute the weight. The support frame is attached to the trailer frame rails over our axles.
Our support frame was fastened together with relatively small self-tapping screws which snapped over time. The screws were really not a good choice for the stress applied to the structure. I removed all the screws, drilled out the holes, and installed galvanized 3/8" carriage bolts. Some of the carriage bolts were a pain to get in place, but with a little grunting they are in there. I also used the same carriage bolts to attach the support to the camper's frame rails.
I don't think any modification would be fail-proof... that's a lot of weight to support. Inspecting the structure should be part of everyone’s regularly inspection.
Happy Camping!
John.
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MegaJohn
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06/11/13 08:58am |
Tech Issues
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RE: FORT PICKENS NATIONAL PARK STORM CLOSING
Does the Walmart on Blue Angel Blvd and the road to Perdido Key still permit overnights?
I don't know about the one on Blue Angel Blvd, but we've overnighted at the WalMart Supercenter on Gulf Breeze Pkwy (Gulf Breeze Marketplace) once and had no problems... of course we arrived after mid-night and pulled out before 9 the next morning.
The parking lot at the Walmart Neighborhood Market on Gulf Breeze Pkwy seemed kind of small for us to overnight.
Happy Camping!
John.
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MegaJohn
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06/10/13 02:27pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Water tank fell out.
I noticed last spring our rails/support were fastened with self tapping screws. Many of the screws had broken and the rails were bowed... some of the crossmembers were held in by only the weight of the tank!
Before ours was dropped, I removed all the self tapping screws, drilled holes and installed 3/8" galvanized bolts to hold the supports/rails together. Some locations were a bit tough to get into, but in the end all were replaced. This seems to have taken care of our problems.
We don't usually travel with fresh water on board. When we do, I keep an eye on it now.
Happy Camping!
John.
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MegaJohn
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06/07/13 03:04pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Vent crank not working
I'm not sure I follow what you're describing or having trouble with, but I'll try to help.
From the inside, our vents have a plastic frame held by 4 screws... pretty straightforward to remove.
As I recall, the screen is held in place by two recessed screws which are accessed from the inside. A long philips screwdriver is required. Of course the handle needs to be removed also.
It sounds like your gear mechanism is not functioning correctly... you should be able to find replacement parts if needed. After removing the frame & screen, you should be able to reach everything. You should not have to go up top to access the crank.
Happy Camping!
John.
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MegaJohn
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06/06/13 12:20pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Brake Controller Showing Short in the System
After much frustration and checking the wires in each hub (no issues found), we purchased another controller. About 450 miles later, we've had no problems with shorts.
Thank you to all who responded.
Happy Camping!
John.
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MegaJohn
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06/05/13 04:58pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: FORT PICKENS NATIONAL PARK STORM CLOSING
We'll be watching the weather for sure and hopefully all will be past in a day or two.
Happy Camping!
John.
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MegaJohn
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06/05/13 04:46pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: FORT PICKENS NATIONAL PARK STORM CLOSING
Norm,
Is there any indication that this closing will be in effect for several days... or a week... or more?
My DW & I have reservations at Ft Pickens next Thursday night... for 9 nights. We're really looking forward to this trip and hope the closure will be only until this storm clears the gulf... hopefully it won't cause damages.
Happy Camping!
John.
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MegaJohn
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06/05/13 02:21pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: straight line winds moved camper, must have twisted jack
If you can meet or are only a short distance away, I'll give you our old manual tongue jack.
I sent you a PM... let me know if you want it.
Happy Camping!
John.
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MegaJohn
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06/04/13 08:15am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Under-chassis storage
We store our Thetford dump tank on a platform built under our camper. It's been there for a year... and still doing fine. I included photos in this thread... link.
Approaching our home there's a steep drop-off onto another road (in a curve even). We've not had any issues with it dragging. The platform is no lower than the steps and is in the same area of the camper.
I've read where others have considered installing additional batteries under the camper. I've not done this... yet. ;)
Happy Camping!
John.
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MegaJohn
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05/23/13 02:23pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Lippert axle bearings
It doesn't really help much with your camper being stored so far away. Our Dexter axles had a label or were stamped with part number information. You may be able to get the information you need without pulling the rotors... but will have to crawl under and likely have to do some research online.
I did have a bit of a challenge getting the right seal for our Dexters... the part number on them was the Dexter part. The first auto parts store I visited could not find the correct cross reference to their stock items. The second parts store dug a little deeper online and found the right seals. Bearings may be the same.
Happy Camping!
John.
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MegaJohn
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05/19/13 08:55am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Rearranging FW pump
Our pump is also installed on the floor in a cabinet under our kitchen sink. Last year I used a plyboard-foam-plyboard platform to isolate our pump from the floor and installed a homemade accumulator tank made from 3" PVC. I looked into options to relocate or change the configuration to allow us to better use the space, but could not find anything that worked better than the factory location.
Our pump is MUCH quieter now (not silent) and the accumulator has reduced the pump's cycling.
Ditto on using the Shark Bite PEX connectors. They're easy to use, no special tools needed, and the price is reasonable. As I understand, typical hose clamps will not work.
Happy Camping!
John.
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MegaJohn
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05/19/13 07:35am |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Looking for pics of car audio conversion
I don't have any photos of our install, but our original setup sounds similar. Our 120v setup had a wire antenna that hung off the back of the unit and output to speakers in the ceiling. The original unit was located in a book shelf area between two cabinets above our dinette... it also had the controls on top, which made it difficult to see and operate.
I installed an amplified automobile antenna through the roof (from AutoZone) using a flat washer and plenty of Dicor on the roof. I had to bring 12v into the area. I considered tapping in to the existing 12v lights above the dinette, but decided it would be best to run a new line to avoid noise and run a heavier wire. The positive lead (#14 wire) was run from a fuse block I installed in the front pass through... I could have used the camper's factory fuse block, but this option allowed me to bypass my battery disconnect switch. The negative lead was grounded to the camper's frame. I utilized our existing in the ceiling speakers and a set of outdoor speakers ran into our bunk area and out a storage door (we already had the outside speakers with our previous setup).
To install the auto unit, I framed the shelf between the cabinets to make a flat "dashboard" with a small piece of 1/4" plyboard. Then cut a hole to mount the radio. I included a switch for the positive lead to the radio and antenna amplifier (from AutoZone, similar to Roy's above). At first I included the radio's memory power on the switch, but later removed it from the switch... it does not have a significant impact to my battery storage, even over the winter months.
I then added framing & plyboard to hide all the wiring above the radio. This created a nice shelf/nook to store stuff. All the plyboard was painted to match our camper's decor.
I really wish I had photos to share... I think the install turned out really good. It has been in place for 2 years now with no issues or problems. Our radio's reception is MUCH improved, the controls are all located on the front face, our preset stations are not lost, we have radio even when we do not have 120v, and my DW is happy with it. It was a win-win upgrade!
Happy Camping!
John.
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MegaJohn
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05/19/13 07:13am |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Ideas for a adding main battery shutoff
I purchased a cut-off switch at an auto supply store and mounted it in a shallow electrical box in the wall above our converter... Previous post with photo.
It works well for us and keeps everything inside.
Happy Camping!
John.
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MegaJohn
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05/16/13 10:40am |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Converter upgrade question
Veering off a bit here...
Does the PD go into Battery Charge leading eventually to Storage Mode whenever the trailer is plugged into 110VAC? Ideally it would, as the battery is not needed when plugged into 110VAC.
The PD manual says:
STORAGE MODE: When the converter senses that there has been no significant battery usage for 30 hours the output voltage is
reduced to 13.2 volts DC for minimal water usage.
But my WFCO does NOT. Only if I remove all the DC fuses will it drop the battery charge voltage below 13.7V.
I'm not sure about the OP's PD converter, but I added PD's "charge wizard" to ours... PD Charge Wizard Info.
This upgrade allows us to have 3-mode charging capability... Boost (14.4v), Normal (13.6v), Storage (13.2v).
Happy Camping!
John.
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MegaJohn
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05/16/13 10:19am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Shower advice please!
We attached a shower caddy to the shower wall like this one... Shower Caddy. I used a coat hook above the shower wall and a couple strategically placed nylon cable clamps and small stainless steel screws to mount it to the shower wall.
It's been in place for 5+ years with no real issues. Ours has a few voids in the rails... while traveling bottles would fall through the voids. A few plastic zip ties between the voids has taken care of that problem.
Happy Camping!
John.
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MegaJohn
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05/16/13 10:06am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Converting standard overhead light
Replace the fixture or buy an appropriate switch and install it in the existing fixture.
If you're not comfortable finding and installing a switch, a new fixture is an easy swap and would likely look more finished/professional.
Happy Camping!
John.
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MegaJohn
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04/30/13 11:39am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: First Trip in New TT, Already Hit a Fence...ugh
Well, your camper now has it's first dent... you've got that over with (sorry), now enjoy it.
I probably would straighten the molding a bit with a hammer, seal it up, and fasten it down... or go ahead and buy a new replacement piece of moulding, clean the old sealant, and seal it up properly. It's a relatively simple fix. ;)
It's a learning experience... Fixing the small things that happen yourself will give you confidence & experience to take on the bigger projects down the road.
Happy Camping!
John.
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MegaJohn
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04/30/13 11:09am |
Travel Trailers
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