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Date Posted |
Forum
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RE: 1st night camping in our yard, 2023.01.24
As for the water meter, I'm just curious as to how much water we are using. I want see how much we're using, so I'll know for any boondocking. Like how many gallons for 3 days and 2 showers...
You can use as much or as little water as you like. When I am in the desert SW away from amenities, I get by with 3 gallons of water a day. That is cooking, drinking, and a daily shower. When my wife is along the daily is about 5 gallons a day. Instead of a gallon of water for a shower, she needs to rinse out long hair and uses another half gallon for that. If you try to continue to live as you do at home, the consumption can easily be 30 gallons a day.
Regarding all the misc items, I leave my RV stocked with misc at all times. That includes items such as cleaning supplies, basic cooking staples, bedding, spare bedding, towels, toothbrushes/paste, laundry soap, etc, etc. My permanent RV stuff includes basic 3 seasons clothing, raingear, flip flops, swimsuit, hats, extra boots, charging cables, bug repellent, sunscreen, basic tools, extension cord, etc, etc. I supplement based on the season and specific trip that is planned but I always have the basics. If you do not keep the basics in the RV, for each trip you will need a huge checklist, lots of time to plan and load and lots to carry to the RV. Regardless of experience, you will always forget some essentials and most of those will be inconvenient or difficult to replace.
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JimK-NY
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01/26/23 01:41pm |
Beginning RVing
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RE: Frame Stiffing to reduce Porpoising?
De Nile. It always seems to flow fast and endlessly.
Before considering which shock, which suspension upgrade or in this case welding more metal to the frame, begin with the facts. What is the CCC for your actual truck and what is the actual, measured weight for your rig? When we speculate and use wishful thinking, it seems we think the truck should be able to carry more and the camper weighs less than the actual condition.
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JimK-NY
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01/24/23 05:05am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Rickson contact problem
Yup out of business even though their old website is still active.
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JimK-NY
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01/23/23 08:14pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Frame Stiffing to reduce Porpoising?
Have you checked the CCC for your truck? If not you are likely to need more than just stiffening the frame and that 4WD conversion is just going to add more weight.
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JimK-NY
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01/22/23 05:12pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Frame Stiffing to reduce Porpoising?
You might have more load and less CCC than you think. I would weight the loaded rig and check the door sticker for the CCC.
I am not sure why you "probably could move the camper an inch or two forward". The camper should be loaded all the way forward and touching the front bed rail. Also be sure to load your gear to also help with a forward COG.
If you are within specs and your COG is acceptably forward of the rear axle, then some flexing on rough roads should not be a concern. A small amount of flexing on rough roads is normal when carrying a heavy load.
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JimK-NY
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01/21/23 03:08pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Generator Gas Storage
We've been securing our 2 gal container with velcro straps on our rear ladder for years. As you mentioned previously, with the OEM spout stored inside the container it will eventually leak gas everywhere. We travel with the spout on the outside and secure the end with a pin-hole, vented cap. It's never leaked, expanded or collapsed even in temps as high as 105 deg or temps as low as 0f. Also, we never fill above the "fill" line on the side of the container.
Thanks, I think this suggestion on a vented cap is the way to go. Just a pinhole should be enough to handle temperature and pressure changes.
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JimK-NY
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01/13/23 11:22am |
Truck Campers
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RE: fan/vent cover binding
What the hell is "caddy wopus"?
The word has various spellings including caddywampus, cattywampus, catawampus. It is usually written as one word. It has various meanings. The most typical is "askew".
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JimK-NY
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01/11/23 06:22am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Park pet peeves, Park owner’s turn
Heck, police officers have discretion over varying degrees of infractions, certainly the business owner can as well.
I don't want to steer the discussion off course, but we have seen more than enough biased and arbitrary behavior from the police. This can lead to lack of respect for the police and for the laws.
Back to campgrounds, certainly the owner has the right to set the rules and to enforce them or not. In the past I have found that owners who have and enforce reasonable rules are likely to have the best parks that I would want to return to. Behavior of some campers can get out of hand quickly if the owner is not willing to act.
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JimK-NY
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01/09/23 03:14pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: What roof vent covers for Fantastic Fans
Several years ago I decided to try a vent cover. I got a cheap $25 Camco and affixed it with Dicor sealant. It keeps rain and debris from blowing under the simple fantastic fan cover. I can also leave the vent open when I am driving. Previously the wind would make the plain cover flap back and forth harshly. At this point, I am happy with the Camco and it seems to be holding up well.
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JimK-NY
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01/09/23 08:23am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Park pet peeves, Park owner’s turn
Anyone who has ever been a campground host can sympathize with RV park owners.
The majority of campers will respond appropriately when they are making too much noise, running a generator after hours or breaking posted rules. Unfortunately there is a minority who are difficult to deal with and don't care about the rules. Even worse are domestic disputes. This can involve loud fights which can become physical. More than once I have seen campers left behind while the fellow camper drives off in the RV. Alcohol or drugs is often involved and can turn a situation nasty in a hurry.
Although I sympathize with the park staff, it is part of the job. It is essential to be firm, enforce rules, and if necessary call oust the campers and/or call for police backup.
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JimK-NY
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01/07/23 06:07pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Camping off the truck
I routinely use wood blocks even when storing my camper on an asphalt driveway. Also check to be sure your camper is rated for use off the truck bed. Even if it is I would consider some additional support. A few stacked pallets work well. This will support the floor, reduce sway and take some of the weight off the jacks.
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JimK-NY
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01/05/23 12:47pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Broken Frame on a RAM 3500
Take a look at specs on trailers. The weight problem is major for many models. Axles, suspension components, frame and tires are often so undersized that the units can barely handle carrying a few hundred pounds.
Most manufacturers and dealers just try to avoid the issue. At least the Eagle Cap truck camper brochures warn buyers it is their responsibility to be sure their truck has sufficient capacity and the loading follows proper COG requirements.
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JimK-NY
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01/03/23 07:14pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Generator Gas Storage
Thanks for the suggestions. I believe what I need is a better gas tank and mount it on the ladder. I could not find details on the Mountain Addiction possibilities. Rotopax initially looked really good until I read about the need to vent the can every 10 degree temp change or 1000 ft change in elevation.
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JimK-NY
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01/03/23 06:55pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Broken Frame on a RAM 3500
Now all of a sudden everybody's a weight police. "Oh he was 10lbs over GVWR! That's why his frame broke!"
Did you notice the post from someone with the same truck? CCC is 4738#. The owner of the broken truck had a camper with a base weight of 5000#. Water and propane bring that to 5500#. Accessories are not included. We can see solar, awnings and a roof rack. I can't see if there is an A/C unit or a generator neither are in the base weight. At a minimum the weight will be 6000#. That does not include the bikes or rack, tools, kitchen gear, food, bedding, air compressor and personal items very likely totally well over 1000#. Best guess is this unit was in the range of 7000-7500# or roughly 2500-3000# over the CCC. In addition there is clearly an issue with center of gravity.
Sadly beginners and often experienced truck camper users often fail to realize how heavy their rigs are.
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JimK-NY
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01/03/23 02:31pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Generator Gas Storage
Opnspaces, thanks for the suggestion on using gloves. I always have a good supply for use in dumping the toilet cassette.
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JimK-NY
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01/03/23 10:07am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Generator Gas Storage
Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately the way my camper is constructed, that might be a less safe location than even my compartment. I would need to bring the storage can into the camper and a leak in the wheel well area would be a disaster with the camper sitting on gas and fumes entering. There has to be a better way.
I wonder if any of the truck camper manufacturers have given this any thought. It is difficult to find a suitable exterior location on my Northstar. The area above the back bumper would be ideal but it is well occupied with a lighted license plate, stop lights, a ladder, door and a compartment for my generator. The poor construction of gas cans and the spouts does not help.
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JimK-NY
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01/03/23 10:04am |
Truck Campers
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Generator Gas Storage
I have never found a good way to carry gas for my generator. I would welcome some suggestions. I rarely use a lot of gas, so a few gallons can last for weeks even in moderately high temps when I run the A/C and generator for an hour or so a day.
Currently I have a 2 gallon plastic container which just fits between the rungs of my ladder. This is for emergency only. I have only been able to find one container that fits the space and this one has a poor seal and spout. The spout is carried inside the container and every time I use it I get gas on my hands and dripping down the sides of the can. My go to can is 1 gallon that I store in a compartment. If it ever leaks the gas will flow under the shower pan and come out into the camper. I also need to leave the can outside for quite a while after I use it otherwise the fumes from gas in the spout or on the can will enter the RV.
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JimK-NY
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01/03/23 08:24am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Broken Frame on a RAM 3500
It seems whenever there is a discussion of camper weights on this forum, there are lots of derogatory comments about the "weight police". This might be an extreme example but it shows the importance of matching the actual camper weight. As pointed out in the video it is impossible to know the exact CCC for this truck. Based on the tables from Ram, it seems that the CCC was likely about 6000#. The weight of the camper can only be estimated but certainly was much higher than the CCC. The base camper is 4900#. With water and propane that jumps to 5500#. The base camper weight does not include accessories which are highly likely such as an A/C unit, extra battery, awnings, generator, and the solar panels which we can see. Best guess is the basic camper weight was in the 6000# range. Unfortunately that does not include personal items which would include that heavy rack and one or two electric bikes, all the food and drink, kitchen plates, pans, etc, bedding, towels, tools, air compressor, BBQ grill, other hobby and personal items and the weight of the passengers. Based on my experience those items can easily add up to 1500# or more plus the weight of the rack and bikes. I think it is likely that the CCC was exceeded by a couple thousand pounds. In addition there was clearly an issue with the center of gravity and way too much weight behind the rear wheels.
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JimK-NY
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01/03/23 06:42am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Levelling blocks for camper on driveway with 2 degree grade
Has anyone read the title of this thread in a while? Or do some of you just enjoy over complicating this?
Absolutely. This whole thread is just absurd. There is something seriously wrong when it seems difficult to store a camper on a hard surface which is just slightly out of true level.
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JimK-NY
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12/30/22 06:58am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Broken Frame on a RAM 3500
In spite of the owner's claims, it seems very likely that the truck was grossly overloaded. Most Ram 3500 diesel crew cab pickups are going to have a CCC roughly in the 4000# range. The camper itself has a dry weight of 4500#. Loaded and carrying a motorcycle it is likely to be well over 6000#.
There is another warning here for all of us. The CCC is based on that weight in the bed of the truck. Hanging a lot of weight well behind the rear axle is beyond what the truck was designed for.
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JimK-NY
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12/30/22 06:49am |
Truck Campers
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