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RE: Travel Trailer Water Filtration?
I have been concerned about the safety of the water when in campgrounds. I'm sure that every campground owner or government official will say that their water is safe, but the truth is that there is a lot of bad water out there. After some research, I found that most filters take out the big stuff and the bad taste. However, water purification is another matter, and only a few systems provide pure water as defined by the EPA and CDC.
I have settled on the General Ecology system called Nature Pure. It mounts under your sink and "Ts" into the general water system after the pump. It has its own faucet spout and provides safe drinking water (plus it takes out chlorine taste). When filling the main water tank from a questionable source I have been using a Doulton ceramic filter.
See
http://www.general-ecology.com/
http://www.doulton.ca/rv_dilem.html
http://doultonusa.com/HTML%20pages/Boats%20and%20RV.htm#outdoor
http://www.rvwaterfilterstore.com/
What kind of campgrounds do you go to. I would bet that campgrounds get their water from the local municipality which has a water treatment plant. The days of getting water out of a well or stream served straight to a consumer is long gone. All water has been run thru a treatment plant before it hits a campground.
Do you treat your water at home? Probably not.
I would like to hear from someone that can prove they got sick from drinking campground water.
Gotta agree with that one. You've got a lot better chance of being killed on the highway on the way to the campground, then you do getting bad water once you are there (unless you are camping in 3rd world countries).
I use a simple PUR faucet mounted filter at home. Mainly to get rid of chlorine taste.
However, the state park where I camp has the sweetest tasting water you can find. Better than anything you can get in a bottle. Wouldn't think of using a filter on it.
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Mousefart
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01/04/09 12:56pm |
Beginning RVing
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RE: Battery box full of water
Put holes in the plastic box and then I put some screen in to keep the mice out.
My God, how big a hole did you drill?!?! :E
Think I used something like a 3/16" drill on mine, hardly big enough for a mouse to get through.
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Mousefart
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01/04/09 12:28pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: How to test a couple of 6v batteries
Don't just put a load on and "walk away". Lead acid batteries will be permanently damaged if discharged completely. Don't draw thw battery down more than 50%.
Load testers are pretty useless for testing deep cycle batteries. They show if a battery is capable of starting a car, but not the longevity of a load over time. In fact, you can actually damage a deep cycle battery with a load tester if too much amperage is drawn.
how do you know when you have drawn a battery down 50% do you use voltage reading..
The question I originally asked almost is mute since yesterday I got a free electric golf cart and was able to by the 2 month old batteries 6 for $80.00 The trailer gets the new batteries 2 for back up and 2 for my boys trailer. will sell of the golf cart without the batteries for cheap.
I am still very interested in battery maintenance and testing. also picked up some large very large diesel start batteries 1.5 times the size of normal big rig batteries. They seem perfect from the get go not sure what I will be doing with them. All of a sudden it looks like a battery factory at my house. keep the info coming for all that can use this information. thanks ED
Rather than try to explain it all here, go the this site...
The 12v side of life
Everything you need to know about maintaining your batteries. :B
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Mousefart
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01/04/09 12:24pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Anyone else notice?
Last week, Walmart by me was still out of Mobil 1 oil.
But they had a great deal on RV antifreeze...
$12 a gallon!!! :E :E :E
Huge sign advertizing it as a "special savings" too! :R
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Mousefart
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01/03/09 08:47am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: How to test a couple of 6v batteries
Don't just put a load on and "walk away". Lead acid batteries will be permanently damaged if discharged completely. Don't draw thw battery down more than 50%.
Load testers are pretty useless for testing deep cycle batteries. They show if a battery is capable of starting a car, but not the longevity of a load over time. In fact, you can actually damage a deep cycle battery with a load tester if too much amperage is drawn.
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Mousefart
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01/03/09 08:37am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Cold weather cracks
Ya want real fun? Run out to your truck with wet hair when it is -30 out.
Did that once on a skiing trip in Canada. Took all of 60 seconds, but I had an ice helmet by the time I got back into the lodge! :E
FYI, my truck was the ONLY one that started the next morning. I had Mobil 1 synthetic in the crankcase. The towing companies made a fortune that morning giving jumpstarts.
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Mousefart
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01/03/09 08:31am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Battery box full of water
Drilled two holes in the bottom of each and have never had a problem since.
Word of caution...
Remove battery BEFORE drilling holes! :E
Ya know how drill bits like to grab and pull through just as they break through the hole! :S
(And no, I don't know this from "experience". At least, not with a battery. :R)
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Mousefart
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01/03/09 08:22am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: When to put in chemicals?
I use a half gallon of ammonia and a half gallon of bleach followed by two gallons of water. Haven't had any odor problem yet.
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Mousefart
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01/01/09 08:04am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Which RV surplus places are still open in Elkhart area?
With the present economy, all the RV manufactuers in Indiana are now "surplus places". The all have a surplus of brand new units! :E
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Mousefart
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01/01/09 07:24am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Yellowstone Volcano (Here We Go Again)!
We're all gonna DIE!!! :E :E :E
Calm down, the Yellowstone Cauldera is on a very specific schedule. It is not going to blow until December 21, 2012 (the official end of the world). :B
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Mousefart
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01/01/09 07:21am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: How bad was your RVing hit in 2008?
Didn't affect me at all. In fact, I spent money this year on everything the same as I do any other year. If everyone did that, there wouldn't be an "economic crisis".
The stock market is one big self fulfilling prophecy. All it takes is one person up high in the chain to say "I predect there is going to be a recession", and everyone panics, sells like mad, and that is exactly what happens. Self fulfilling. If the guy had kept his big mouth shut, everything would be fine.
(Very simplified, but I'll skip the diatribe. :B)
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Mousefart
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01/01/09 07:15am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: They don't want our pickups down there.
Their pickups might be small, but you ever see their OTR trucks? They are HUGE by NA standards, often towing triples or even more! :E
But I have to agree on the size issue. My Dakota is small and easy to park, maneuver, etc. Yet it has the same drivetrain as a full sized RAM 1500 and actually a MORE powerful engine than the standard RAM engine. Tows like a dream and suits my needs perfectly even though it isn't a testosterone oozing, souper dooty, diesel, dually, macho, man-hauler. :B
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Mousefart
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12/30/08 03:42pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Wiring Clearance Lights (12v) Shock Hazard?
Double post...
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Mousefart
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12/30/08 03:22pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Wiring Clearance Lights (12v) Shock Hazard?
You will never feel 12V. You can put grab both posts on a battery and never feel a thing. You can cause sparks and get burned by them, but it is a shock.
Keep the ends away from each other and away from metal and you shouldnt have any problems.
Tell you what, Get your arms wet (this simulates sweat). Have a watch with a metal band. Put your left hand on a good frame ground. THEN LET YOUR WATCH BAND TOUCH THE POSITIVE POST OF A FULLY CHARGED BATTERY. AFTER you get your burns healed, please respond "That you never feel 12 volts":B Doug
But you are getting BURNED, not a SHOCK from the 12 volts.
12v is capable of heating up something hot enough to BURN you, but not to SHOCK you.
If you are dumb enough to take the 12v cigarette lighter and stick it on your arm, you will get 3rd degree burns, but it is not a shock. You can accomplish the same thing with a lit cigarette which has ZERO volts.
WELL. That First and LAST time what I posted happened to me, I felt the SHOCK just a millisecond before the BURN. TRY IT and then post your results. Doug
I am just clarifying a common misconception that a lot of people have about burn vs shock. Why are you getting so bent out of shape?
You can get seriously injured when weoking with 12v becuase it has a lot of available amperage. This can cause arcing that can produce high temperatures and severe burns. However, the biggest shock hazard from 12v is a slight tingle. The OP asked about SHOCK hazard, which there is NONE.
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Mousefart
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12/30/08 03:22pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Air bag suspension kits and Superglide hitch
I would have thought that the air bags would have to be vertically in line, but maybe 1/2" out is acceptable? Anyone else with input here?
My AirLift airbags lean towards the back of the truck quite a bit. Installed as per the instructions using the supplied template. It all depends on the geometry of the suspension. I don't believe a half inch either way will have any detrimental effect. Too much however will cause the bag to rub on itself causing early failure.
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Mousefart
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12/30/08 05:13am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Pampering my genset
Synthetic oil is a good step towards pampering. Sta-Bil in the gas is another.
If you generator is a brush type, then running it once a month under load is important (not sure what the various Onan models are). This keeps the brushes and commutator clean.
With a brushless generator (as most of the inverter models are), this is not an issue. Running up to full operating temperature (no load required) a few time a year helps drive condensation out of the engine (the electronics are usually sealed).
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Mousefart
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12/29/08 06:02pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Wiring Clearance Lights (12v) Shock Hazard?
You will never feel 12V. You can put grab both posts on a battery and never feel a thing. You can cause sparks and get burned by them, but it is a shock.
Keep the ends away from each other and away from metal and you shouldnt have any problems.
Tell you what, Get your arms wet (this simulates sweat). Have a watch with a metal band. Put your left hand on a good frame ground. THEN LET YOUR WATCH BAND TOUCH THE POSITIVE POST OF A FULLY CHARGED BATTERY. AFTER you get your burns healed, please respond "That you never feel 12 volts":B Doug
But you are getting BURNED, not a SHOCK from the 12 volts.
12v is capable of heating up something hot enough to BURN you, but not to SHOCK you.
If you are dumb enough to take the 12v cigarette lighter and stick it on your arm, you will get 3rd degree burns, but it is not a shock. You can accomplish the same thing with a lit cigarette which has ZERO volts.
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Mousefart
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12/29/08 05:54pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Where did the water tank go? Shamrock 23SS
I'll tell ya what, it's a shame the RV manufacturers don't put those kinds of pictures on their websites. Usually it is 4 or 5 pictures from just one model in and entire series. Not enough to do any kind of comprehensive "online shopping".
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Mousefart
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12/29/08 05:14am |
Hybrid Travel Trailers
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RE: Yet another winter camping mod... Wheel wells!
Well, I finished it up today. What a PITA!!!
I ended up cutting my nice foam inner wheel well to pieces to fit it in. Patched it together with small blocks of foam and foam-in-a-can to seal it all up. It was the tub butting up against the wheel well that mucked things up. :R
One other mod I did today was to cut openings between the various cabinet components to provide flow through ventilation. I put a vent at the farthest pint so that return air to the furnace gets pulled through all the cabinets on the right side, and heated output air gets pushed through holes in the ductwork on the left side cabinets.
With warm air circulating through ALL the cabinets that contain plumbing, without having to open any cabinet doors, freezups should be a thing of the past.
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Mousefart
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12/28/08 08:40pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Yet another winter camping mod... Wheel wells!
In my situation, there was absolutely no access from inside so the only way to insulate was by pulling the plastic wheel well and doing it from the outside.
I made the foam shell last night, will be installing it today. We'll see how it goes.
One thing to keep in mind though, the 1" extruded foam that I am using has an R-value of 5. Reflectix only has an R-value of 1.1.
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Mousefart
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12/28/08 08:14am |
Tech Issues
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