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RE: Travel Trailers vs Motor Home
One of the things I appreciate most about RVing with a TT is the relative ease of self-repairs. Things tend to be smaller (which makes them easier to handle), and more standardized (which means less scavenging for repair parts).
Here's an example: Changing a flat tire.
Motorhome tires tend to be big, heavy, and secured with big, highly-torqued lug nuts. The nuts on my Class A required a 6 foot breaker bar to loosen or tighten to specs.
Having 19.5 inch tires meant that replacements were relatively scarce and expensive (and almost non-existent in Mexico).
Many of the automotive centers that cater to passenger vehicles don't stock them, and won't mount or balance them.
That's not much of an issue with travel trailer tires, and almost unheard of with tires on the pickups and SUVs commonly used as tow vehicles.
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Skibane
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09/28/22 07:22pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Rotten egg smell, again???
House battery burning up-check water level.
If they're low on water, also check the voltage they're being maintained ("floated") at - If it's more than 13.8, you've got a problem with the house battery charger.
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Skibane
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09/27/22 01:52pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Travel Trailers vs Motor Home
On the other hand, in August we were camping on Newfoundland island in Canada. The guy next to us had been there for 5 weeks in his travel trailer. He was supposed to be there for 3 or 4 days, but blew the engine in his truck and was stuck. He had been waiting for a crate engine to be shipped there that whole time. Vehicle problems can happen to any vehicle, not just a motorhome.
At least he was able to continue staying in his trailer while repairs were being made.
Typically, when a motorhome is in the shop for repairs, you stay in a motel - or go home.
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Skibane
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09/25/22 02:25pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: New smartphone direct-to-Starlink satellite service
Its simple. Set phone to wifi calling and it goes over starlink wifi router.
Eventually, some passenger vehicles will offer a built-in Starlink terminal as a factory option - which will make what you're describing commonplace.
No need for a smartphone-to-satellite direct connection, when you can just tether your smartphone to the satellite terminal in your vehicle instead.
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Skibane
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09/25/22 12:07am |
Technology Corner
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RE: Travel Trailers vs Motor Home
I had a 28 foot Class A before doing a significant "downsize" to a 17 foot TT.
The Class A was roomier, but some of that additional space was inefficiently used in the driving area - which really can't be used for much else except seating.
The driver's area was also cold and drafty in the winter time, due to the difficulty of installing adequate insulation and gasketing in all the surfaces around the engine compartment immediately below it.
The TT is definitely more airtight, even though it is single-wall molded fiberglass, without a separate layer of insulation.
For ease of maintenance and repair, there is absolutely no comparison - Keeping the running gear working on the TT is a trivial job.
A pair of top-quality 15" tires for the trailer is under $300.
A set of 6 top-quality 19.5" tires for the MH is well over $3K.
Fuel economy of the Class A (towing a compact pickup) was 5-8 MPG.
Fuel economy of the TT (being towed by a mid-size pickup) is 15-17 MPG.
I will never own another Class A.
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Skibane
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09/24/22 11:51pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Best quality: Micro Minni, R-POD, E PRO
Any Forest River product can be of dubious quality.
So can any Thor product, Winnebago/Grand Design Product, the list goes on and on. Please tell us what brand can not be or is never of dubious quality.
Never say never - but...
Escape, Bigfoot, Casita and Oliver all have relatively few complaints about build quality.
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Skibane
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09/24/22 09:06pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: New smartphone direct-to-Starlink satellite service
Not sure I'd count on being able to access a satellite that's only used under extraordinary conditions.
the satellite service used will be starlink internet service that is used daily by those who have it.
don't know if there will be a way to test it we will see
I was referring to the Globalstar satellites used by the Apple iPhone 14 - not the Starlink satellites.
Apparently, the iPhone 14 doesn't use them for anything other than "SOS" service - which means that iPhone 14 users don't know if their Globalstar satellite access is actually working until they need it in an emergency.
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Skibane
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09/23/22 10:59pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: Smaller Propane Tanks
Well yes 40# tanks are heavy so step down to 30#. I am a little lost on how hard many find to get propane. Around here about 1/3 of gas stations fill cylinders.
You live in a state where only gas station attendants are allowed to pump gasoline.
Gotta give those employees something to do when they're not pumping gas...
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Skibane
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09/21/22 07:19pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Running portable generator off vehicle fuel tank.
Another option would be to install a propane conversion kit on your portable generator, and plumb it into one of the RV's existing low-pressure propane lines.
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Skibane
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09/21/22 07:15pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: New smartphone direct-to-Starlink satellite service
this shows how it should work starting in November
https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/apple-emergency-sos-app.jpg
satellite sos for emergencies
Do they provide any way of testing it, other than having an actual emergency?
Not sure I'd count on being able to access a satellite that's only used under extraordinary conditions.
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Skibane
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09/21/22 01:37pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: Running portable generator off vehicle fuel tank.
With most makes of generator you are correct.
With a HONDA. they put on on the generator at the factory.
As someone posted up thread the HONDA is designed to suck fuel from an external "Extended run" tank.
Drawing fuel from a tank sitting right next to the generator isn't the same as drawing it through several dozen feet of fuel line to a tank mounted somewhere else on the RV.
Depending on the particular RV, there may also be some additional restriction from a fuel filter.
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Skibane
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09/20/22 12:16pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Smaller Propane Tanks
Guys, I don't look to spend more money than I have to but I also don't look to spend more of my time. There is a trade off. By my calculations, its roughly $7 more per tank to exchange when you correct the volume. I'll use 3 tanks per year, tops. That's not much money and saves me a LOT of time considering I'm at the grocery store every week anyway.
The folks at my grocery store have a hard time keeping the full and empty tanks separate.
Typically, they'll just pick one up, and then say "Yep! That feels full!", and put it in my shopping cart.
I have gotten tanks that way which weren't anywhere near full, even after taking into account that fact that exchange tanks are never more than 75% full to begin with.
I like supporting my local propane guy, rather than some large corporation like AmeriGas or Blue Rhino.
He puts the tank on a scale while refilling it, right there where we can both see it - No concerns about underfilling.
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Skibane
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09/20/22 12:08pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Running portable generator off vehicle fuel tank.
You'll need a low-pressure electric fuel pump (to replace the one on the Onan you yanked out of the RV), along with an adjustable fuel pressure regulator to reduce the fuel pump's 4-5 PSI output to just a small fraction of a PSI (which is what the pressure coming out of a gravity-fed fuel tank would normally be).
This prevents the generator engine from running rich or flooding out, due to excessive fuel pressure.
For safety's sake, the electric fuel pump will need to be connected so that it shuts off if the generator engine dies for any reason.
Many portable generators have a 12 volt DC "battery charger" output that can be used for this purpose - basically, the battery charger output powers the fuel pump whenever the engine is running.
You'll also need to add a "prime" bypass switch that allows the fuel pump to be manually turned on for a few seconds while starting the generator.
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Skibane
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09/19/22 10:36pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Smaller Propane Tanks
The only issue I've had with them is often the tanks are quite old, and I assume the valves are too.
Yep - You're never sure if the tank they just gave you is going to actually work.
I've had a couple that were leakers whenever they were hooked up for use.
My own tanks are like-new, in perfect condition - Which is why I won't exchange them.
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Skibane
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09/19/22 04:41pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Electric tongue Jack blows fuses
Like others have said, you need a backup - and the manual crank is that backup.
You'd be using that crank a lot less after installing a self-resetting circuit breaker.
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Skibane
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09/19/22 01:14am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Electric tongue Jack blows fuses
If you get tired of replacing fuses, you could install a 30 amp self-resetting DC circuit breaker instead.
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Skibane
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09/17/22 11:37pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Recommendations? Good value inexpensive travel trailers.
If inexpensive is a $40k trailer, thats fine. I'm just not wanting to spend more than necessary.
Casita still builds a small, lightweight trailer with good fit and finish. The 2-piece molded fiberglass construction holds up very well over time - which helps explain why they hold their resale value better than most other brands.
Until their price bump with the introduction of the 2023 models several weeks ago, their shower/bathroom-equipped "Deluxe" models were selling for around $26K, decently-equipped.
Escape also builds a very solid small trailer with molded fiberglass construction - has a lot of customization options.
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Skibane
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09/17/22 11:31pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: New smartphone direct-to-Starlink satellite service
SpaceX is also reportedly in talks with Apple to use Starlink with iPhones.
Apple is currently using Globalstar (a competitor to SpaceX's Starlink) for "Emergency SOS" service on its iPhone 14 models.
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Skibane
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09/17/22 11:47am |
Technology Corner
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RE: Compressor refrigerator opinons
Basically, you're trading one set of compromises for another set.
You gain faster cool-down and better hot weather cooling performance.
You lose the ability to boondock in shaded campsites or rainy weather without running a generator to keep your food from spoiling.
Cost considerations:
1. Cost of 12V compressor fridge
2. Cost of extra solar panels to run it
3. Cost of extra batteries to run it
4. Cost of generator and battery charger to keep it running under sunless conditions
There's also a convenience consideration: Whenever sunlight isn't available, you have to set aside some time to run the generator - You can't just leave it running unattended.
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Skibane
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09/17/22 11:31am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Battery charging question.
If you're using a 12 volt charger, you'll need to charge them one at a time.
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Skibane
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09/10/22 04:32pm |
Tech Issues
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