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RE: New to RVing and In Need Of Advice! :)
RVs get heavy quick and small vehicle run out of payload. It's a lot more about the payload capacity than the tow rating. Further, tow rating is a generic rating apply to all types of trailers but trailers aren't all created equal. There are many types of trailers: flat bed, horse, boat, dump, travel trailers, etc.
I would say by far the most difficult to tow is a hard sided travel trailer. Their large percentage of tongue weight, inability to shift the tongue weight, huge frontal area and large side sail area make them difficult to tow. A tow vehicle that might do a great job towing a 6,000 pound boat might be a struggling handful with a 5,000 pound RV.
If you want an SUV you will be limited to rather small trailers not well suited to living in. Good picks would be anything with an actual frame (not uni-body). This would include: Suburban, Tahoe, Expedition, Sequoia, Armada, etc. My particular favorite here would be a 2500 series (3/4 ton) Suburban.
A truck makes a better tow vehicle for a travel trailer because the bed allows for hauling: firewood, generator, gas cans, bikes, etc. A fifth wheel will generally be a lot easier to tow and shorter overall. If you plan to tow a lot of miles I'd get a FW. If you plan to be stationary most of the time a travel trailer would be fine.
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KD4UPL
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05/29/23 03:22pm |
Beginning RVing
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RE: F250 upgrades
There is a lot of things flat out wrong in that article. I stopped reading about half way thru. Whoever wrote it either doesn't know much about trucks or was writing it for an audience that doesn't know much about trucks.
Forget the suspension block, that gains you nothing but lift. Airbags will help or just getting replacement stronger springs.
You will need to make sure you don't exceed the weight rating of your rear tires regardless of what badge is on the truck. Also, you don't want to exceed the rear axle weight rating. However, Ford often just makes the rear axle weight rating the same number as the factory tire weights. A little research should get you the actual weight capacity of the axle, not just the tire or truck rating.
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KD4UPL
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05/27/23 03:41pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Will Air bags make a big difference?
Do you have P or LT tires in the truck? 35 pounds of air can't be enough. You should have LT tires inflated to I'd guess 40 to 50 psi depending on weight.
You are very likely over your trucks GVWR. You are quite likely over your tire weights if the are P tires.
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KD4UPL
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05/19/23 06:57pm |
Towing
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RE: Does Generator wattage size effect battery charge time?
I believe your math is correct. Either generator should be capable of powering your converter to it's maximum output. You would have to consider what over AC loads were on at the same time to stay withing the generator's rating.
I believe the Honda rating of 2200 is the surge rating and it's continuous rating is actually 2,000. The WEN is probably rated on it's surge as well. I don't know it's continuous rating.
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KD4UPL
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05/12/23 07:44am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Generator Question
Plugging into the portable should have worked. It's no diffetent than shore power. Have you verified the portable has output with a meter, light, tool, or so.ething?
If you have an EMS or surge guard you may need to make a bonding plug for the portable.
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KD4UPL
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05/04/23 08:31am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Battery drain over winter
I leave my batteries in my boat all winter with no charging from about October to April. I just replaced one of them because it was starting to crank the engine kind of slow. It was 9 years old.
I certainly wouldn't want to wrestle those 2 heavy batteries out of the boat and back in every year. I don't know why people think they need a trickle charger all winter.
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KD4UPL
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05/02/23 01:23pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Tire pressures
Your tires do not say "run at 80 psi." They likely say that 80 psi is the maximum cold tire pressure. You can run them at any pressure you like up to 80 but don't exceed 80 cold.
Your trailer manufacturer must have known the weight of the trailer and how much pressure the tires would need to support that weight and thus they have the 65 psi sticker.
To know anything for sure you would need to weigh the trailer, look up the tire inflation tables, and see how much inflation pressure is necessary for that weight. I suspect if you do that it will be around 65 psi, not 80 psi.
You can run 80 if you want but it will result in a harsher, more bouncy ride for the trailer.
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KD4UPL
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05/01/23 06:00am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Weight question
That's very strange. Usually the sum of the axle weights is equal to or greater than the GVWR.
The answer to your question is your not supposed to exceed axle or GVW ratings. If the don't match DOT looks at axles on commercial vehicles. No one will ever check you. I think you're sticker is wrong or you read it wrong.
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KD4UPL
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04/25/23 05:49pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Refrigerator Question
How long is a meal stop? A Dimetic 8cu foot 12v fridge pulls about 13 amps. Even if you only have one little G24 battery it should run for several hours continuously. And, it shouldn't be running continuously. Get an extra battery if you're worried.
Unplug the trailer cord from the truck if you have a GM vehicle as their 12v pin stays on all the time. I'm nkt sure on the other makes.
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KD4UPL
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04/21/23 07:40pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Square wave inverter to LFP battery?
MSW inverters are known to damage some electronics. Apple devices, electric blankets, and gas ranges to name a few. If you haven't burned up anything yet yoh're lucky.
MSW inverters are like black amd white TV's. Yeah, they work, but is anybody really that cheap?
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KD4UPL
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04/21/23 07:33pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Truck 12VDC to Trailer Battery - Really Needed?
Hook the loads to the RV battery with a voltage controlled switch set to around 13 volts. When the batteries are charging it will be on, when not charging it will be off.
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KD4UPL
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04/19/23 12:27pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: MPPT Volts to Current Conversion
Where did you get the 30 volts open circuit and 8 amps numbers? They don't add up. The open circuit voltage of a panel is always higher than it's maximum power voltage. The maximum power voltage multiplied by the maximum power current should equal their rated wattage.
Most 300 watt panels will probably have a Vmp of around 30 and a Voc of around 37. They will usually have a Imp of around 10 amps.
Either way, Vmp x Imp = rated watts. Rated watts / battery charging voltage = potential charging amps. If you really have 6 300 watt panels for a total of 1,800 watts / 12 volts (if the batteries are very low) you could see 150 amps of charge current. I'm really curious what charge controller you have that can handle that much power.
To treat a battery well and make it have a long happy life a charge current of about 10% of capacity is usually recommended. Most people will go up to about 20% of capacity as a good compromise between battery life and quicker recharges. Going up to 25% won't really hurt anything except overall long term battery lifespan and even then it's not that much difference.
I don't think 100 Ah GC batteries exist. They are likely at least 200 Ah if not 225. You'll never be able to get 150 amps to flow into them even if the controller will output that much. The voltage will rise the set point really fast and controller will back off. That's the whole point of a charge controller.
So, I wouldn't worry about hurting the batteries but for the most part that big solar array is going to waste because the batteries (and likely the controller) can't handle it's output.
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KD4UPL
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04/16/23 11:32am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Question on switching to LiFePO4 batteries.
Hard to know since you don't specify the battery. Generally Li batteries warn you to only parallel them when the voltages are very close.
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KD4UPL
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04/15/23 06:52pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Batteries in Parallel
If you need a large bank wiring larger AH 6v or 2v batteries in series is simpler. They will charge and discharge evenly. It's hard to get multiple batteries to charge and discharge evenly even when wired properly.
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KD4UPL
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04/09/23 06:35pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Securing a Regular Microwave in an RV: Affordable Solutions?
There are tons of brackets, straps, hardware, etc in a hardware store or home center that will work. Spend some time looking and see what will work. It's like a big erector set.
I fastened my $30 walmart microwave with B-line strut and bolts.
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KD4UPL
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04/09/23 06:32pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Truck Camper interior lights
You can't run 12 volt interior lights from a 4 pin as there is no 12 volt feed. You have to have a proper 7 pin on your truck for that 7 pin cord to plug into.
If there's no converter then the 120 volt male plug likely just powers some interior outlets.
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KD4UPL
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04/09/23 06:28pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Calculating voltage drop
50 amp, 240 volt. Don't make it complicated.
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KD4UPL
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04/07/23 03:50pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: solar pre-wired questions
#10 is a fine size if not overkill. Using an 100 amp Outback FM100 or Magnum PT-100 as an example you could hook up well over 1,000 watts of solar panels.
Sorry, not practical…
3 tons
What are you talking about? I probably install one of these a month on average.
Nobody doing any serious solar work even thinks about using a charge controller that isn't an MPPT model. PWM controllers are like black and white TVs and floppy disks.
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KD4UPL
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04/03/23 10:17am |
Tech Issues
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RE: solar pre-wired questions
#10 is a fine size if not overkill. Using an 100 amp Outback FM100 or Magnum PT-100 as an example you could hook up well over 1,000 watts of solar panels.
Sorry, not practical…
3 tons
What are you talking about? I probably install one of these a month on average.
Nobody doing any serious solar work even thinks about using a charge controller that isn't an MPPT model. PWM controllers are like black and white TVs and floppy disks.
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KD4UPL
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04/03/23 07:23am |
Tech Issues
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RE: solar pre-wired questions
#10 is a fine size if not overkill. Using an 100 amp Outback FM100 or Magnum PT-100 as an example you could hook up well over 1,000 watts of solar panels.
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KD4UPL
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04/02/23 12:52pm |
Tech Issues
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