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Author |
Date Posted |
Forum
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RE: Hwys closed and wild fires in BC & Alberta
Planning a trip from our home on Vancouver Island to the Banff and Rockies in general in Late August-early September, and returning via the Okanagan. I've already reserved a few spots in the busier areas, but I'm beginning to think I may have to cancel and stay on the Island. I'll be keeping a careful eye on the long range forecasts as I don't want to leave it too late to cancel and lose my deposits.
making rash decisions in May on what things will be like in September will drive you crazy. I would book your sites and plan your trip you can always cancel in Aug. if you feel like it. By September everything is good anyways its July mid Aug. when we get a lot of smoke but that has only been about 4 of the last 10 years so you never know what's going to happen.
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StirCrazy
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05/17/23 07:09am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Better/brighter interior bulbs?
use double sided tape to attach it to the fixture base.
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StirCrazy
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05/17/23 07:04am |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Are RV sewer hose supports necessary?
I use one, it takes 3 seconds to set up and only costs about 30 bucks. dumping is much easier as you gave a gradual slope. When I am camping with the 5th wheel and have hookups, I leave the dump valves for the gray open all the time, so I don't have to worry about the shower filling stuff up and then only dump the black when it needs it.
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StirCrazy
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05/17/23 07:00am |
Beginning RVing
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RE: Help me with current best manufacturers
the best thing to do is look at a bunch of different brands, start going to rv shows, different dealers and so on, and look through the units.
Look at the little things and decide what matters to you. I can tell you, you can have the best made unit in the world and if the floor plan doesn't work for you, you'll never like it.
for me they are all garbage built, ya there the odd stand out but normal people can't afford those anyways. You just have to decide what you can live with and what you can't. for me it came down too little things like cabinet drawer construction, fit and finish to pick one over the other once I found the layout I wanted.
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StirCrazy
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05/17/23 06:55am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: What's your mileage?
Can't say anything about an 80kph speed, but I tend to do 95kph and I am in the mountains and Alberta so pretty mixed driving.... get the hills in the mountians and the prairie winds in Alberta.
if I stay driving nice (95kph) I can get as low as 18L/100km (13MPG US/ 15.6MPG CDN) when I am in a strong headwind and try to do the speed limit in Alberta, that can drop down to 22L/100km (10.6MPG US / 12.8MPG CDN.
I did just tune my truck a bot better so I will see at the end of June what I get going to Alberta and back now. It sure improved my empty fuel milage.
Steve
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StirCrazy
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05/15/23 06:41pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: 2023 Super Duty 6.7PSD HO Review
Here's a review from a Ram/Cummins fan on the 2023 Super Duty 6.7PSD HO. Don't agree with some of his analysis including it doesn't require cab off to replace the turbo. The 6.7 HO does have a couple of extra cooling lines for the turbo.
Enjoy...
Link
I don't know why everyone thinks the new trucks are a cab off design like the 6.4 was..
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StirCrazy
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05/11/23 06:30am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Hwys closed and wild fires in BC & Alberta
Just a heads up:
BC Hwy 37 ( Cassiar Hwy) is closed between Bob Quinn Lake and Dease Lake because of Washout. Crews are working on it and next update is at 10:am May 8, 2023.
Scroll down to Hwy 37.
Also there are Wildfires near the Alaska Hwy from around Dawson Creek to north of Fort St. John.
BC Wildfires
There are also huge wildfires in Alberta from east of Jasper all the way north to east of Fort St.John BC, even one up to the Yukon boarder.
Alberta wild fires
DriveBC indicates visibility issues on the Alaska hwy ( BC hwy 97) north of Dawson Creek, earlier today, however that warning has been lifted as of the typing of this.
Keep an eye on the News for theses areas if you’re headed north through BC and Alberta.
Safe travels.
Soup.
miss read east for west lol
Steve
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StirCrazy
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05/09/23 08:25am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Fuel Ecomony - Towing
Thanks to all for your replies. The concern with fuel economy is not cost, but range. Trying to gain some confidence that a new gas 3/4 ton (probably Ford or GM) and leaning toward a Silverado w/ 6.6L and 3.73 rear end will go farther on a 34 gallon (or so) tank than the current truck takes me on a 25 gallon tank.
if your worried about range, go with the diesel. better MPG directly relates to more range. empty the gassers might get decent milage but loaded up they fall far short of the diesel
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StirCrazy
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05/09/23 08:22am |
Towing
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RE: telcom battery bank
Hi all,
I got a chance to load test the battery bank.
one set (each 139 amp-hours) was doing 350 amps
the other pair did 550 amps.
I think it is safe to say they survived.
sounds like one didn't do as good eh. What should they pull new?
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StirCrazy
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05/09/23 08:19am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Solar Panel Mounts
Personally, I would never rely just on those, especially on a rv roof. people have put them down with two-sided tape, but I say just screw in. make sure your on studs, squirt roof sealant into the holes before you drive the screw in then use a self-leveling sealant over top and it won't be an issue
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StirCrazy
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05/09/23 08:17am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: New to me used camper questions and thoughts
I may or may not have a different opinion, I would need to know what the solar panels are first, as well as what kind of controller. I may tell you to leave them on the camper to get more value for the camper overall if they are 12V panels and a PWM controller. If they are 24V panels and a MPPT controler then it's a tougher choice. stuff is worth a lot less than it was 5 years ago. I can get two 350 watt 24V panels for 500 bucks and a MPPT controler for 230 bucks CDN so its not a crazy value. where I find the value comes in a lot more is the new owner not having to put them on the unit himself. the number of people that are willing to install there own solar is actualy quite small. so if it was me selling it and you think the value of the solar system would be about 500 bucks add 600 to 700 to what you think the camper is work and then use it as a bargaining chip. let's say you're asking 2500 for the camper and add 800 for the solar system, that's 3300. If someone offers 3000 then you can say well, I can do that without the solar system, 9 out of 10 times they will figure the system is worth the 300, but it gives you a bargining chip and you make what it would cost to get a new system.
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StirCrazy
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05/09/23 08:14am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Airxcel Skymaxx 97000
No accident. It was broke the first day of ownership. I just did not catch it till we were heading for home from Tom's camperland where I purchased it from. For a whole year the parts Dept gave me the run around. Now I'm past warranty. I will never replace it with another airmax product. It is a real shame the company want sell parts needed for repair. I just thought I'd ask here before ordering a replacement hatch. It will be an arctic tern if I can't find parts. Barry
As long as you originally filed before the warranty was over you should be good to keep it under warranty. Tell them to give you a whole unit and take the parts you need off it and keep the rest as spare parts. If they only sell it as a whole unit then that's what you get.
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StirCrazy
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05/09/23 07:59am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Air Bags Necessary?
I would never get air bags again myself, there are plenty of other ways to make up 3/4 of an inch, and it really isn't that big of a deal unless it bugs you like was mentioned. were you sitting in the truck, and did it have a full tank of gas when it was measured. or were you out of the truck. Considering you and the diesel/gas are all on the driver's side it could be equal when you are driving.
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StirCrazy
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05/09/23 07:56am |
Truck Campers
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RE: I Bought Too Much Truck
I've read people say "No one ever complained about having too much truck when towing a travel trailer." That may be true, but I'm not towing my trailer yet, and I feel like I bought too much truck. I bought a Ford F-250 with crew cab and a long bed. I didn't really want the long bed, but stock is limited across the country right now.
The truck rides nice and it's probably going to pull my trailer comfortably. I have a 37 foot trailer that will run about 9,000 pounds loaded up. So I felt that it would be pushing an F-150, even if if was max towing. And I asked the salesman about that and he said an F-150 with max towing will cost more than the F-250 model I wanted. I believe that may be true based on the initial shopping I did. There wasn't much price difference between the two.
The problem for me is parking it and driving it down the road. My research says it's about 10 inches wider than an F-150, and about a foot longer, plus it rides a lot higher so I have to avoid any parking garages. I'm retired so I don't have to park it at work every day, but I can barely get it in my covered parking spot at home and when I went to the gym last night it took all of the parking space. I don't think I could get the doors open if someone parks next to me. They are huge doors, too.
Has anyone else with a "work truck" lived this nightmare? Is it just a matter of parking at the back of the parking lots and taking up 2 spaces? I'm in good health so I can walk. I don't think I can park it in a regular spot like a normal vehicle. I don't think my dealer will let me swap it for an F-150 now, so I have to make the best of this.
I went from a 98 f150 supercab short box, to a 99 f250 diesel supercab short box, and that was nothing , then I went to a 2014 f350 crew cab long box and it took a few days or weeks to get used to parking yes they are a beast,, but you will appreciate the smoother towing with the longer wheel base.
there not much wider at all than a f150 even the 2023 f150 can be much wider than the 2022. it all depends on the types of mirrors installed . the only parking issue I have is the crew cab and long box combo is longer than most parking spots but I still have room on the sides to get in and out.
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StirCrazy
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05/07/23 06:43pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: How 4-season are 4 seasons Lances?
We didn't buy our TC to hang out in it all day. If we are going in/out, we have appropriate weather for the outside. So, we don't need it to be that warm inside.
Also, if we use our TC in really cold weather after winter, we don't use freshwater. Instead, we use RV antifreeze to flush. When we are winterized, we only need to bring it up to a minimal temperature just in time for sleep which takes barely any battery.
Finally, if we have at least power and winterized, we use our small electric heater, or our Air Conditioners heater element, and don't use battery or propane, obviously.
I'm not saying diesel is a bad option, but it's just one. We need propane in any case with a fridge, stovetop, and generator that runs on propane.
great, that's how you use it but it's not what the OP is looking to do.
personally, when I upgrade, I want tanks in the basement with the furnace heating the basement so I can use the tanks. Right now, I have been looking at the diesel heater option, only so I can extend my time out in early spring or late fall, when the night time temps are getting down to well below freezing. With my two 20lb tanks I can safely last 5 or 6 days. With an espar type heater that has twice the BTU output than my furnace I could extend that to over 10 days by carrying one 5-gal container of diesel, or indefinitely by plumbing it into my trucks diesel system. I don't camp with either of my units winterized, if I want to go camping I want to have full use of everything.
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StirCrazy
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05/07/23 06:33pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: How 4-season are 4 seasons Lances?
Power Consumption 6 - 31W
Rated Voltage 12V"
So, it is quite feasible that I could cut my power usage in half with an espar unit...
So let us assume a 20W power consumption. That would be 1.7 amps @ 12 volts. My small truck camper furnace pulls 7 amps. That is a very substantial difference. The difference in fuel consumption is also massive.
Ya, I have a old furnace, only pulls 3.5amps when running so I wouldn't save as much as others, but would still save.
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StirCrazy
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05/06/23 06:23pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: How 4-season are 4 seasons Lances?
It is my understanding that much like a propane furnace a "diesel heater" (read - actually a furnace) draws combustion air from the outside and vents its exhaust to the outside.
The "flame" heats one side of a "heat exchanger" where cabin air is drawn in and blown out on the other side of it.
The CLAIMED current draw of some of the models available are less than the stock OEM Atwood/Suburban/?? propane furnaces.
- Mark0.
The 5KW model I was looking at (still am) uses 36 watts at full power. that's about 0.5 amp less than my furnace that has 1/2 the BTU. so not a huge reduction when it's running full out. here is the espar rating for a similar output as my furnace.
my furnace is 7800BTU
" Fuel Type Diesel
Heat Output 2200W (7500BTU)
Fuel Consumption 0.02 - 0.1 gal/h (0.06 - 0.28 l/h)
Power Consumption 6 - 31W
Rated Voltage 12V"
So, it is quite feasible that I could cut my power usage in half with an espar unit and make my propane last a lot longer in the heating seasons. Also, diesel is a lot easier to find than propane in a lot of the places I go. but I am also looking at Hydronic systems and trying to figure out how hard it would be to retrofit one in.
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StirCrazy
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05/05/23 06:47pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: How 4-season are 4 seasons Lances?
What exactly is a diesel heater?
HERE is the top brand names website.
there are others but Espar is the leading brand, there's also Wabasso (might have spelt that wrong) and you have 500 buck Chinese clones that a lot of people get, and they work fine also.
Steve
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StirCrazy
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05/05/23 06:20pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Feedback on 12V water heater element as solar diversion load
I have never run the element dry. There were instances where I had it in a cup of water when on and a bit of water evaporated. But element was always >90% submerged I would say.
Multimeter ohm reading on the element is 1.5 ohms.
What is the math for how you came up with what the resistance should be? I only took one circuits course in college and I remember
V = I * R
and
P = V * I = I^2 * R
But with R = 1.5, if I saw 21A from panels at one point and assume 19A was going to element, I was pushing 19^2 * 1.5 = 542 watts. Way over rating. ****, do I have too much solar for this?! Ironic...
Another element was only $15. I'll take a resistance reading on it before doing anything and see what it says. But it will be weeks before it makes it across the sea to my door.
1.5 Ohm doesn't really make since for a 300-watt element @12V.
at 12V with that resistance it will be using 8amps (which confirms your reading) but only consuming 98 watts. Remember with a resistive element you only control the voltage it will set the amperage due to its resistance. I'm starting to think you got a defective heater, or overpowering it (feeding it over 12V) has toasted it.
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StirCrazy
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05/04/23 06:29pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Question on switching to LiFePO4 batteries.
Follow-up to WarrenS65:
When it comes to accurate SOC’s, I kinda see the Bluetooth feature mostly as marketing gimmickry, while their real utility is for checking individual cell status…Further, it remains to be seen how the Bluetooth will respond to two batteries in parallel or series connection…My view is there’s no substitute for the credibility of a Victron shunt based meter..
Of all possible features, the Bluetooth feature wouldn’t be high on my ‘must have’ list - JMO
3 tons
The biggest issue here is different companies use different BMS, and sometimes even the same company will change their BMS if they are not in stock and are running out. Hopefully if this happens the company will list a different model number and let you know if it is compatible with the other BMS they have used. Most are not. It goes the same for mixing different sized batteries or exceeding their limits in series or parallel.
Then you must throw in the fact that some BMS' are better than others. but all of them should be decent at SOC as that's what they base their protection on, so that would never be one of my concerns. a cell drifting out of spec because of partial charging and lack of top balancing would be more concerning to me.
I like my Bluetooth in my camper, do I used it for looking at the capacity remaining, not really, as my phone is pretty must put away when I am in the bush, but I do use the Bluetooth and my phone to look at it once and a while and when I need to change the charging profile. for that it has been a godsend as when I want to do a cell balance, I just switch user profiles in the BMS by Bluetooth, then when it is done balancing, I put it back to the 90% cap. same with the day before I leave for camping, I always take it from the storage voltage to 100% to make sure everything is balanced before I leave. I can do that from my chair in the morning while I am watching the news.
Steve
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StirCrazy
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05/04/23 06:07pm |
Truck Campers
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