RE: RV Stolen From Forest River - help please
I've thought it might an inside job from the get go as well. How else would the "thief" have known that the repairs were finished and the family would be there the next day?
Sounds like someone at the repair center has a little cottage industry on the side.
Could be totally wrong, but there's plenty of reason for suspicion.
...
I am with you there! This is just screaming 'inside job'.
- How did the thief know this unit was repaired and ready to go?
- How did the thief know this unit was unsecured out of zillions on the lot?
- How did the thief know the owners were from out of the country and may have challenges with the US law enforcement / legal / insurance system?
- How did the thief know where the cameras were (and were not) in order to facilitate the theft?
No comment on the various reactions post-theft, just on the theft itself. No way this was a smash-n-grab job. Someone either knew the operation, or put significant effort into the reconosisance of the factory.
-Eric
RE: Help me Take a Leak... out of my roof...
...I need to replace some of the rotten OSB (with CDX ply) that is under the rubber roof...
How bad is it? Does it still have structure, but it is simply soft? Or, is it completely gone - falling apart in little pieces?
I used a "Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer" to repair the wings on my Lance. See this thread. I have been very impressed with the stuff.
It might be possible (depending on the extent of the damage) to inject the CPES into your damaged wood and restore the strength. It would be easier than removing the roof.
HTH!
-Eric
RE: Extended Warranties
I wasted $1400 on an extended warranty for my truck camper. When I had a problem, the fine print made it mine to fix. The dealer was no help - would not even return my emails. Read all about it in the Truck Camper forum.
-Eric
RE: I 90 through south dakota
I have done the Pacific NW to Minnesota drive on I-90 across South Dakota several times. My random thoughts...
- The SD rest areas are really tourist marketing centers. Find out all you need to know about any tourist trap in the state.
- Wall Drug... You have got to stop at least once. After all, you have been seeing the signs for the past thousand miles or so. Besides, you probably were due for a restroom break anyway.
- Badlands. Beautiful. Don't let the rest stop tourist guides skew you though... There are some step roads which are not to be attempted by the marginal tow rig.... like my old 1976 Plymouth with a U-haul trailer behind it.
- Mount Rushmore. DO NOT MISS! The all new visitor center really expands on the monument. Be sure to go through some of the exhibits. You will quickly realize you are literally and figuratively standing in the shadow of giants.
- Devil's Tower. Okay, so this is in Wyoming. Also worth the trip if you are in any way a sci-fi or Spielberg fan.
-Eric
RE: Removing Lance Fresh Water Tank
There was a post, here in the tc forum, a while back that dealt with killing the dry rot in wood that had been exposed to water long enough to become blackened, but was still solid. Anyway, the treatment used a concoction made of borax and anti-freeze.
When I repaired the skirts on my Lance, I used 'Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer' from The Rot Doctor. Good stuff. I only had to replace the worst of the wood. The stuff which was wet, but still had strength, I was able to dry and then apply this product. It is absolutely amazing how the wood will soak this stuff up. It will follow the grain several inches into the wood.
I recently used it on some of the wood in my new-to-me '83 Glastron boat. The plywood was very dry, but dark as it had been wet from time to time. The dryer & older the wood, the more this stuff soaks in. I highly recommend it for dry rot repair in marginal, but not complete loss, wood.
-Eric
RE: TC's & Boat Launching - Is it a problem?
If you can, for any of a number of your reasons, put a front hitch on. Then when the day comes you need it is there, they don't eat much just sitting up there.
Just a thought on front hitches & boat launches...
A front hitch means you would be backing up the boat ramp with the boat in tow. The transmission reverse gear is not the same ratio as the 1st forward gear. A lot of people mistakenly believe they make a lot of power in reverse because the engine rev's a lot. This is just the torque converter slipping. When the torque converter slips it generates heat - a LOT of heat.
Heat is what kills transmissions (read: short service life, rebuild at 100k miles, etc). GM did a study on transmissions temps at a high stall (in gear, foot on gas, wheels not turning). The tranny builds around 200 degrees of temperature every 7 seconds!
It is always fun to watch campers in big rigs drive over hill & dale, arrive at their campsite, and then back up on to their leveling blocks. Their transmission is completely heat soaked from the drive and they just threw another big amount of heat at it - just before shutting everything down and opening a beer. Now it is not only extra hot, but the ATF is not circulating through the cooler to bring it back down to a low temp. Always put the leveling blocks in front of the wheels and drive forward on to them.
But back to boat launching... I would be careful about a front hitch unless you put it in 4WD low before backing up the boat ramp.
-Eric
TC Insurance
I have Allstate for insurance and they have been good to work with. However, I always draw blank looks when asking about insurance for my TC. The saga is not yet resolved, and here is the story thus far...
I bought my TC two years ago. When I approached my agent, he indicated it was not a problem to cover the camper as part of my truck's insurance policy. I discussed a number of scenarios - on truck, off truck, camping, stored, etc - and confirmed it is covered in all cases. I followed this up with a written letter just so we had a record of the conversation.
Fast forward two years. My agent retires & sells his business to another Allstate agent in the area. No worries, I set up a meeting with the new agent and go introduce myself. I have always been a little worried about the coverage as my truck's policy simply said, "Coverage includes camper unit". No mention of make, model, value, serial number, etc. The new agent tells me the policy was in fact wrong and I should be charged a premium of $78 every 6-months. I pay some money for the partial policy period, and wait until my renewal comes up.
Now it is time for my renewal. So I read through the policy. The rating information for my TC states "This vehicle is used as a trailer". Ummmm.... yeah. So I call the new agent back and speak with the assistant. I explain it does not have wheels, sits in the bed of the truck, and how Lance doesn't even make travel trailers. Now it turns out the TC was insured just fine by the old agent and the new agent did it wrong.
Anyway, I am waiting on a call back from the agent to sort this out. Either way, I will ask for something written from the agent to back me up just in case I ever have a claim.
-Eric
RE: What happens when you ignore your Exterior Cauking Duties...
Sounds like a similar saga to my Lance dry rot issue (see the whole story posted in the Truck Camper University on this forum).
I am forced to agree with a number of posters on this thread - these things should hold up much longer than they do. Reading this thread just fortifies my resolve to keep my TC in the garage and only take it out when in use.
For the original poster, you may want to bulletproof the repairs and have the shop treat the exposed wood with a preservative like I used (see the thread). I did an unscientific test of that product, and the results are not yet finalized. I treated some of the OSB wood removed from my Lance with the preservative. I applied the product to some of the worst pieces and left some of the not-so-rotted pieces untreated. I tossed it all outside my shop door last fall. So far the treated pieces are holding up just fine and the untreated pieces are starting to fall apart. YMMV, but it is cheap insurance while the sides are off your Lance.
-Eric
RE: Skanky water
That fancy bottled spring water tastes just like shower water to me.
Granted, we get our water from a natural spring on our property. :) Shortly after buying the house 5 years ago, I added a 3-phase filter. Sediment string filter, chemical charcol filter, and ultra-violet biologic filter.
That said, for the camper I add a capful of the RV tank chlorine whenever I fill the tank. I empty & fill the tank before a weekend of camping. Since the camper stays in a heated shop during the winter, I leave the tank full all winter too - just in case we lose power for an extended period of time. The water still tastes good in the spring.
-Eric
RE: remember your height!!!!
gettin tired of this one.....been posted at least 7 times today...You gotta feel sorry for the guy...
Hmmm... I saw it on www.break.com too. Given how many times it has been posted here, it is an interesting correlation within the RV.net user base. Granted, I did not spot this 5th wheel video until I had reviewed the most recent NSFW gallery.... ;) ;) ;)
RE: Tried to drop camper for weekend. Did NOT go well.
...I have attempted 6 inches off the ground with a 1181 and found problems hooking up and leaving the sewer slinky hose attached to let the gray water drain throughout an extended stay...
If I was in that situation... I would simply disconnect the slinky and use my tanks. When one the tanks is full, I would raise the camper do the dump. We can ration ourselves to at least 4 days of true dry camping. With hookups, we fill the grey tank in about 2 days.
Yes, campgrounds don't like rigs dumping their tanks into the campsite hookups all at once. I suspect the problems arise more with large class A rigs than with a TC and its notoriously small tanks.
-Eric
RE: big day..the rig is pd off..
I sold some company stock in May and paid mine off as well.
Funny thing was when I went to the bank and talked to the teller to close out the loans (I had a HELOC too). She told me 'a lot of people have been coming in to do that lately'. I found that interesting as I thought we were in some sort of nationwide banking / financial crisis...
RE: jacks raise/lower at different speed
My rear driver's side jack is always the race winner. Dealer told me it is normal due to the wire length, and not to worry about it. So, I don't worry. Once the jacks are touching (up or down) I adjust them all to match. No biggie.
I used to constantly try and keep all four on the ground. This kept shifting the weight back and forth across the rear jacks. I figured all that creaking couldn't be good. So I let it creak once and then let it stand on three jacks until I have the height I want.
-Eric
RE: My propane monitor is buzzing away
...Our house is being remodeled and the grandkids, wife and I are moving into our guest house...
Big clue here!
My Lance lives inside the shop with the propane disconnected when not in use. Because it is a shop, I occasionally fire up other vehicles or play with noxious chemicals. Inevitably, the propane detector will go off.
So if you are doing a remodel...check for vapors from the work being done - paint, glues, adhesives, etc.
-Eric
RE: Is Ore. Wash, the best on the west coast.
The State Parks in Oregon are by far the best!
We tried to stay at a Washington State Park, but ran into a schedule conflict one week prior to camping. Even with plenty of advance notice, we still lost most of our reservation money ($85 on a three night reservation). That made us so mad we have yet to try another Washington State Park.
Point being... Beware the Washington State Park reservation system. "Inflexible" would be a very good description. Besides, the Oregon State Parks are great - stay here!
-Eric
P.S. I have never had a problem getting into an Oregon State Park, even on short notice summer weekends. Cancelations happen all the time and they update the web site every morning at 8am (double check their site to be sure). Just keep looking and pretty soon a site will become available to grab.
RE: Killed my batteries for the last time - need advice
I put a Trojan J150 battery in my Lance 18 months ago. Nothing but good things to say about it.
We just got done with 4 days of dry camping out in the pucker berries east of Mount Hood. The battery indicator never dropped below 3 of 4 bars on the meter. We had some sun, so the solar put a few amps in during the day. My wife ran the generator a couple times for a few minutes (microwave), but no extended charging periods. We ran the heat at night, the usual lights & fans, and had the radio going late into the night for a little dancing around the campfire.
The J150 fits a group 30 battery base, but is a bit taller. It slid into my Lance battery compartment with about 1/4" to spare.
Highly recommended in my book.
RE: Expansion tank air pressure
I ended up setting the tank for 20 PSI. It may or may not have been an exact science, but it sure does work fine. I get about 40 seconds of water on the sink faucet before the pump kicks in.
The biggest improvement is not getting the pulsing of the water as the pump cycled on/off when a faucet was partially open. This will help save water, especially showers, as I usually spent half my alloted shower water trying to get the darn thing adjusted!
Thanks,
-Eric
Expansion tank air pressure
I decided to install a pressure / expansion tank in my Lance. I bought the $35 Home Depot tank which fits perfectly under the sink. I have yet to mount it and hook it up though.
I recall reading on a different thread that someone else set the pre-charge on their pressure tank to 20 PSI. I looked at the Sure-flow pump under the sink and the label indicates 45 PSI.
On my home well water system, I recall the plumber telling me to set my pressure tank 2 PSI below the cut off for the well pump.
So, what should I set the pre-charge on this tank to? Too much and it won't provide any benefit (no or little water will ever go into the tank). Too little and it will over stretch the internal tank diaphragm - possibly causing it to rupture.
Thanks,
-Eric
RE: KUDOOS to Verizon -- and bye-bye!
Verizon is the Evil Empire!!!
At one time we had 5 (count 'em) accounts with Verizon. Two cell phones, local phone service, long distance phone service, and DSL. We have been Verizon free for 4 years and couldn't be happier.
Let me try a short synopsis... When I called to clear up a double billing error (charging the same $2 item twice on the bill), it generated an automatic disconnect of my DSL. (Found out later the double item on the bill was necessary for Verizon's internal systems to know I was a legacy GTE customer.)
Anyway DSL got disconnected a week later. I was **FOUR** hours on hold trying to resolve the problem before their phone system disconnected me as it determined I was calling 'after hours'. True, it was after hours, but my call started four hours before they closed.
Billing finally took responsibility for the problem. I asked to have my DSL re-connected (it was working 24 hours earlier). They could not. I had to wait **THREE WEEKS** for them to ship me new equipment.
It turns out I had an old legacy DSL box which they would not re-connect with. I guess an old legacy DSL box is also the sign of a "Long Term Customer", but they couldn't see that far beyond their own internal policies.
So yeah, I am a Verzion hater who will bash them every chance I get. We ended up moving outside of Verizon's area and are now with a different phone company.
