RE: 07 ford cab clearance
i have an '07 ford and found that 3" foam is best to keep the cabover from impacting the truck when offroading.
The way i did it:
i used monster 2" velcro to attach 3" extruded polystryene (XPS) foam to the underside of the camper (1 less thing to deal w/ as its attached to the camper). Velcro makes removal easy (if i ever need to do it). I water-proofed using eternabond double sided tape (between foam and camper) and finished edges with 3" lexan corner guard (to protect the edges). An aluminum sheet protects the bottom side of the foam.
I plan on custom fabricating some low profile toolboxes that will act as centering guides (wheel-well and forward) and provide useful storage.
RE: 5000 pound truck camper???
what does an earthroamer weigh? Its gotta be 5k+ on SRW (converted) 450/550, but i am sure its E+ tires on custom wheels.
my 2 cents: less is more. Simple and light, thats how we role
RE: Shidders Full :)
the scotts "extra soft" is the 2 ply that folks are talking about.
the single ply scotts does not break up as well and should be avoided.
something not mentioned.. and you are going to learn this lesson the hard way.. is that you *must* make sure the dump hose going into the ground is held securely in place because when you open the waste gate the black water rushes out w/ great force and if the hose is just casually stuck into the pipe in the ground, it *will* pop out and leave a big mess everywhere.
many times around a dump station you will see a large rock used just for this purpose. Use it. People place the rock on the end of the hose where it goes into the down pipe just to keep it in place when you open the flood gates.
i like to get paper towels and lysol-type spray ready before dumping.
That way i can disinfect hands, bottom of shoes and dump tube w/out tracking anything into the camper/truck.
i use the Aqua-Kem blue liquid in the black tank.. its the best (no probs w/ smells at all)
after ea trip, i use a wand, spinning-type thingy hooked up to a garden hose and placed down the toilet to pressure wash the inside of the black tank.
between trips, i pour a little drain valve lubricant into the toilet to keep its (the toilet's) rubber seal in good shape.
i also add a little water softener to the ~5 gallons of water placed in the black tank when the TC is not in use. I have heard this keeps the inside of the tank slick so nothing clings to the walls.
dump station etiquette: dump quickly leaving no mess, hose out the inside of your dump hose (w/ the other end still in the ground), do a quick disinfect and then move the TC forward before finalizing the put-away, disinfection. The people in the line behind you will thank you for it.
before you know it, you will be a pro at this.. able to get in/out of the dump station in just a very few minutes w/ a well orchestrated routine.
RE: How to attach solar panels to a Bigfoot fiberglass roof?
i custom fabricated a roof rack for my NLite:
- 3/16" aluminum, radiused to match top outer edge of camper with a channel welded on top to which i bolted thule tracker mounts.
- pair of thule 96" load bars finish the install
- solar panels bolt to channels bolted to the roof rack
this puts the load at the camper's edge, carried by the vertical walls instead of loading the flat roof.
besides 3M 5200 adhesive under the base plates, i drilled the fiberglass w/ 15/64" pilot holes (countersunk to avoid gelcoat chipping) for #14 stainless buttonhead lag bolts.
prior to installing the lag bolts i injected locTite fixmaster fiberglass reinforced epoxy into the 15/16" holes.
This created a "balloon" of epoxy under the fiberglass that spreads the load wider, holds the bolts and aids waterproofing.
i found that the outer skin of the NLite campers are just too thin to hold a lag bolt w/ any degree of strength. Although the adhesive is enough to hold the rack, the bolts mostly helped "cinch" the assembly tight to the roof when installing.
VHB tape is another great option instead of the 5200 adhesive.
finished w/ 5200 caulk at edges and eternabond tape over bolts/edges
thru-bolting is not recommended as the ~1" expanded polystryene insulation that will keep the inner wall from collapsing toward the outer wall is both too easily compressed and often missing at the corners.
would be nice if NLite added, at the factory, roof rack flush mounts bolted w/ a backing plate behind the fiberglass for those wishing to add a roof rack.
RE: Recommended Shock Absorbers
both king and fox make adjustable remote reservoir shocks for stock/lifted super duties.
better quality than the ranchos, rebuildable.
fox shocks are "reasonably priced" while the kings are pricey.
i like the adjustable to adjust ride for unloaded/fully loaded
RE: First camping trip in the new Lance camper
".. it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces."
- James Earl Jones (field of dreams)
not sure if this is your first Mike, but people say: "They grow up so fast". Don't believe it. Seems like i have been a dad for 20 years.
20 busy, sometimes scatterbrained, always enjoyable, seemingly never-ending years.. that we would not trade for anything.
great post.
