I just checked out all 83 pictures of your trailer mods. WOW thats some great stuff! I'm going to do many of them. Tell us about the 50amp to dual 30amp. And then you installed a second elec box to run additional 30amp service? Excellent!
Thank you for sharing!
Rocky
"Everydayz a Holiday"
2001 Ford F250 2WD Lariat Super Cab 7.3
2003 Outback 28' fiver 527RLS
1972 Ford F350 22' Beaver C Class!
Pool/Spa steps to replace factory pull out step
X-pens connect directly to trailer so no escaped Greyhound
Made access door under sofa for easy access to bypass valve to WH, no more lifiting sofa
Here is a link to my mods, they start on page 3 Kittys mods
2005 F350 PSD, 4x4, Lariat Crewcab, FX4, Camper pkg, Line-X 2006 Sunline T-2499 custom ordered with 24 options incl. aluminum roof & Onan CampPower 3600 LP Genny, Proud member of: Sunlineclub.com Single? check out MSN Groups Open Roads Singles,
Put this in the Handy Hints category. A a page or so back, I mentioned sliding a small diameter piece of tubing inside an old seal on the front of my popup truck camper to get a better seal. The seal was better but the center still didn't pull as tight as I was hoping for.
I bought my Palomino used and it had some damage in the front that I thought would be easy to fix. It wasn't. After fixing the rotted wood and reenforcing things the front still didn't seal well. After fighting it for 3 summers now, here is my latest attempt. I added 2 new clamps to the front.
They are available online for around $12 plus shipping and match the old ones accept they went to a different style upper clip. I can reach the camps by standing in the open door or using the plastic step we usually carry with us. Has not been road tested in the rain yet but it looks like a good seal now.
I subscribe to the emails...so always glad to see new ideas. I keep a bottle of "skin so soft" oil in the sink in the bathroom, and when I once had ants from the outside into the cabinets, wiped some "skin so soft" on the cabinets and I've never had a problem, even though my motorhome is stored in an area where I often see ants on the ground!
For those that were interested in my Hubcap Fire Bowl that I posted back in April, I wanted to give an update after a Summer of use.
It has worked great. I got a little kidding a few times when I got it out but everyone enjoyed it after I fired it up and even requested on nights that I didn't get it out soon enough.
I have added a small poker that I made out of an old wrought iron plant hanger, it is small enough to store inside the hubcap. Since I such small fires you don't need a log poker, but is nice to have to stir up the fire and poke it once in awhile. I also added 4 small holes just outside the chrome part of the hubcap to add a little more air for better wood fires.
On the fuel front, I gave up on alcohol, even though it made a nice clean fire. I made a small burner which helped the burn time but it still was to short a burn for the cost.
The cheapest fuel was the scraps from under my radial arm saw. Since it is a small fire I discovered early you need really small firewood. I finally settled on no bigger than 1.5"X1.5"X4", larger pieces tend to smolder to much in such small fire. A 5 gallon pail of scrapts will give you 8-12 hours of fire. I used a small piece of wax log as a starter under the wood fires. The wood is nice because you don't use the lava rocks and can add a couple of small chunks at a time to extend your burn time without a large commitment of how much longer you want to sit by the fire. Using scrap lumber gets you out of any problems transporting firewood from outside the area which is prohibited many places.
The wax log chunks with lava rocks dumped over them still makes the fastest and most controlled fire. I started off the season using chunks of fire starter logs. A block about 4"X4"X3" would give about 45-60 minute fire, to extend the time I would mix more wax chucks in or throws some wood on top. I wanted a longer burn so I have tried 2 different wax log products and they burn longer than the fire starters. I tried Java-Logs made from coffee grounds and Pine Mountain brand. Both I sawed off slices on the radial arm saw. My test chunks were only around 2-3" (about 1/2 lb) long by the diameter of the log and they gave me a 90 minute burn. I plan to increase the size of the chunks next season to see if I can get the burn up to 2+ hours. At $3-5/5lb log which could be cut up into 5 or more chunks it should make an economic alternative and easy to carry extra along. The wax logs are less smokey than wood. An added feature of the wax logs is when they are done burning they go out very fast, from when you notice the fire getting weak and you stir them up a little, to out in about 5 minutes (still very hot but no open flame).
I have also attempted to make my own fuel molded to the shape of the hubcap. I have tried both soy wax and regular wax with a variety of stuff mixed in: coffee grounds, sawdust, pine shavings, and cedar shavings. My favorite combination was coffee and cedar in soy wax. It gave a good burn length and a nice smell, but unless you can get the wax cheap it is cheaper to buy the wax logs. The best prices I could find on wax was $2-3/lb and to make a reasonable burn length would take a 1/2 lb of wax, so even with everything else free why bother.
So that's my first full season of use report. The fire cap, poker, a long lighter and some fuel all fits in a denim bag my wife made. The lava rocks go in the coffee can base. The bag, a 5 gal bucket of wood, lava rock can/base and another coffee can full of wax log chunks fit nicely in my truck wheel well with the slide in camper in, with room to spare, and gives us a weeks worth of evening fires.
Jim...
* This post was
edited 10/04/08 05:13pm by JimBollman *
Good idea, but don't most parks and campgrounds have leash rules? I mean that would be good for dry camping out away from everyone but if you go to a park or CG your dog shouldn't need GPS.
Maybe you can put the same idea on a belt for kids though!
"There's no such thing as too much tow vehicle!"
Wes, Linda, & kids
"Tow Twuck" - 2008 Ford F350 DRW CC LB 6.4 Powerstroke
"Cougar" - 2006 Keystone Cougar 289EFS Fifth Wheel Our Website
We have a fiver and I can never remember the hieght when pulling into gas stations. I measured the hieght and used a small label maker. I then placed it on the dashboard. I just have to glance down when ever I am not sure and don't have to worry about losing the top of my fiver. Also wanted to caution about the 3m command hooks. The walls of the trailers are made of a laminated board. We had a couple of hooks pull the top coat (like wallpaper) off and it left a big bubble. Luckily it didn't tear and I could repair it. Just a word of caution.
I posted the details on the Truck Camper Forum but thought some of you would like to see my latest project. Here is a picture of the final product and a link to the story and more photos.
I got the box for free with the truck when I bought it used last year. I built the carry box so I could still use it across the bed of the truck if I wanted to.
JimBollman wrote: I posted the details on the Truck Camper Forum but thought some of you would like to see my latest project. Here is a picture of the final product and a link to the story and more photos.
I got the box for free with the truck when I bought it used last year. I built the carry box so I could still use it across the bed of the truck if I wanted to.
Jim
Awesome install! I guess there are no legal constraints concerning having it in the front?
1976 Dodge Sportsman/Travel Mate (16 Ft.)
Purchased 9/11/2008 for $1800
Came with an external Champion 3500 Generator
* See picture of this SHORTY in my profile
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