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Date Posted |
Forum
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RE: Aluminum vs Steel flatbed
be sure and ground the aluminum well with a good bond to the cab. Use all stainless mounting bolts. I recounted the years with my aluminum and it's actually almost 26 yrs now. Been on two different trucks. If it was steel it would look like 26 years are on it. It still looks good but, has scratches like your old pots and pans. no corrosion
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covered wagon
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02/04/23 11:22pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Broken Frame on a RAM 3500
I hear you all. My source said it was a short bed. So looked at it and thought it was a short also. The rear axle appears to be too close to the back end for some reason all the weight and mass of the camper seems to be too far to the rear of the axle.
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covered wagon
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01/02/23 04:00pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Broken Frame on a RAM 3500
I found out that it's a short bed truck with a camper for a long bed. Radically changing the dynamics. Then compound that with the extended hitch and motorbike. Wow what a risk!
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covered wagon
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01/01/23 09:24pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Levelling blocks for camper on driveway with 2 degree grade
Depending on how high your truck bed is sometimes it's easy to over extend the jacks and cause damage to them so putting wood 2x6's under the foot adds some lea way making it less likely to over extend them.
My 15 year old plastic ones, two packages of them, sometimes don't go high enough for level. They do get damaged sometimes without a pad or sink without a pad. If I was to do it over I would appreciate the wood blocks more since they have greater leveling ability/ more lift with each block.
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covered wagon
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12/25/22 05:18pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Overloaded or wrong truck?
Center of gravity may be too far back, not forward enough but, the failed frame is the hydroformed modern day engineered frame. My first generation dodge had a real frame like that of the big rigs. First thing I noticed going to the newer dodge was the flexing I could feel in the frame while running gravel roads, you could feel a solid difference by comparison. When comparing frame thickness there was a noticeble difference in the thickness of the steel
Yes the camper is too much for that truck. Still can't understand why the front went up rather than down because proper center of gravity location would mean the front failing in the downward position. However, wind and road dynamics may play a roll no pun intended.
This thread would be more effective having been posted in the Truck Campers forum.
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covered wagon
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12/16/22 09:06am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Any Ideas to RepaIr Loose Ceiling on NLcamper?
Thank you HMSBeagle, I will do the testing and find some flexible XPS. I will need to cut the headliner along two lines because one edge of the loose panel will fold down giving the access needed and the other is at the outside wall. The headliner is boat headliner, stretches both directions, is available at West Marine and will allow me to make hemmed trim that will get hot glued to hide the cut line in the headliner.
This will be a great learning experience and may find some areas that will benefit from some spray foam between panels as they feel like there are some small gaps where the loose panel doesn't fit snug to the one next to it. Spray foam itself has an adhesive quality as long as you use it sparingly so as to not distort anything during it's expansion time frame.
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covered wagon
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12/06/22 06:56pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Any Ideas to RepaIr Loose Ceiling on NLcamper?
As warning/advice to others, need to ask did water entry from roof (lack of Dicor or other sealing on roof penetrations lead up to this? Understand delamination can occur for other reasons.
No leaks camper is tight but was camped in very cold weather for 2 months. Condesation began to build and show deterioration in other areas and various areas. Vents are serviced every 2/3 years and nothing let go.
HMSBeagle, I wasn't going to say it but, since you did I thank you. Also very good suggestion on the XPS.
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covered wagon
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12/05/22 07:24pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Any Ideas to RepaIr Loose Ceiling on NLcamper?
what is bead board?
It is foam board or rigid foam insulation made of small round balls or beads of various sizes, usually around 1/8 inch in size that are formed together into sheets of various thicknesses of rigid foam board. Northern lite uses this for insulation because it is less rigid and will glue and flex onto compounded curves and shapes to insulate and strengthen the fiberglass shell. Keeping it lightweight.
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covered wagon
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12/04/22 03:58pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Any Ideas to RepaIr Loose Ceiling on NLcamper?
Thank you HMS Beagle. Your thoughts on removing that section means cutting the headliner fabric to remove the panel for access and gain a full spread of glue to both surfaces, is best. Esp. since bead board would not hold well with only spots of glue, would tend to break away versus fully spread glue.
I suppose one could apply a length of 2 inch wide hemmed matching headliner fabric to the cut seam. Sort of like trim hot glued to cover the seam of the headliner
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covered wagon
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12/04/22 01:09pm |
Truck Campers
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Any Ideas to RepaIr Loose Ceiling on NLcamper?
My Northern Lite is 20 years old and still looks good inside and out with plenty of maintenance over the years. Some problems exist but, I have camped in some real cold weather and condensation build up caused the glue to fail, holding the bead board to the fiberglass shell on the ceiling. A full bead board panel behind the headliner fabric is coming down, now held only by the fabric. You can push it up back into place and the old glue wants to hold for a split second but just drops back down.
Would anyone have some powerful thoughts on how to solve this problem?
Can you get glue that will go thru a syringe and needle to inject thru the headliner & beadboard? I could then use temporary supports till the glue cures.
Welcome to my world of RV solutions... thank you in advance
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covered wagon
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12/03/22 07:11pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Help with Roadside Assistance
They make a 'cut' off the proceeds is why. Ever see those tow away zones? They are there to make money for the tow company and the property owner who gets a portion of the proceeds. That's just one of the ways a towing company gets the jobs. Even those towing hotlines get a cut where they find one to help you supposedly right away. If you want a better deal just pay cash and call the various towing companies yourself. You can even find the right type of tow rig without confusion or a mix up.
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covered wagon
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11/29/22 09:16am |
Good Sam Roadside Assistance
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RE: Southern Utah with kids
Have always done the interstate through idaho and salt lake but have always wondered about going through Nevada...
89 will take you an extra day and the end of it will overheat an automatic trans since it's a very long steep grade before you get to 395.
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covered wagon
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11/20/22 12:22pm |
RV Parks, Campgrounds and Attractions
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RE: Aluminum vs Steel flatbed
I think the weight of the aluminum is worth more than I paid for my flatbed 25 years ago. The aluminum still looks real good used every business day. A bit scratched up but still looks good.
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covered wagon
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11/19/22 11:59am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Alternative to bumper sewer hose carrier
Mine is always connected ready to go. It has a box covering the connection with a door for access. The box has a long tube attached in the rear for the hose to slide and go into which leaves room for fittings in the box.
I open the door, pull out the hose, attach the 90 degree fitting and dump the grey water last to rinse the hose.
When done the hose stays attached and slide the hose back into it's tube and close the watertight door.
I never need to connect nor disconnect the hose this way also eliminating the need to R and R the cap.
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covered wagon
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11/19/22 11:32am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Truck Camper Adventure Rally
Would they perhaps turn you away if you happen to show up, say as the 450th attendee and drove a thousand miles to get there? Just asking.
Trust that without rally issued identification (worn at all times), you’ll be disallowed…
3 tons
Oh well There are lots of other places to see around there like Zion and go Bicycling. Wonderful place.
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covered wagon
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11/17/22 07:35pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Odd Experience While Camping - Lesson Learned
I don't let this kind of thing bother me at all because I tell them right away what I want to do rather than put up with it for any length of time. I've seen it a lot and think nothing of it whatsoever. just tell them like it is in a polite way and leave it at that. Sometimes it gets to the point that I say I am sorry, I don't want to be impolite but, I need to do this or that right now.
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covered wagon
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11/17/22 07:30pm |
Family Camping
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RE: Truck Camper Adventure Rally
Would they perhaps turn you away if you happen to show up, say as the 450th attendee and drove a thousand miles to get there? Just asking.
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covered wagon
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11/16/22 08:37am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Bracket to relocate jack
If the bolts are just ripped out of the wood, and the wood is not actually broken, get yourself some hardwood dowel that's larger than the ripped out hole. Drill the holes out to the size of the dowel. Glue the dowel in with plain old wood glue. Then you can re-drill the holes and reinstall the original bracket in its original location.
I would use epoxy well slathered in each hole with a small applicator. If you apply the epoxy only to the dowel it will not get enough perhaps inside. Best to apply to both damaged hole and to the dowel.
Regular wood glue will break down in moist conditions.
Do you have access to the inside where the bolts go? I ask because there is even a better option to repair and make stronger than ever.
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covered wagon
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11/16/22 07:43am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Done!
Good Luck Mountain Cowboy, we like living out in a rural area and all our neighbors are great neighbors. We all look out for each other keep a good eye on everything.
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covered wagon
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11/11/22 11:54pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Carpet vs laminate or planking
Have someone activate each slide while you observe/measure the carpet to bottom of the slide for adequate clearance. If any drag across the carpet close enough to the subfloor, you'll likely drag across any vinyl or plank flooring.
The solution is to get the flooring farther under the slideout portion of the floor where the 2 floors overlap. I saw where an RV tech failed to do that properly and the slide would drag on the flooring and wrinkle it up for a distance while dragging it with the slide action.
The trick is to get it far enough underneath the slide floor so it has something to 'ride/ glide on and not create a pressure point of pushing the flooring. I always glue LVT/LVP in key areas and I have never had a problem. I have Laid a lot of it.
Be careful of what you buy as some if it does not lock together very well. I remember having to glue all the edge pieces because it came apart too easily. They got a good price but, paid more for the installation problems it caused.
To do a job correctly will often take extra effort. If your always looking for the easy way there may be some problems that arise as there is really no such thing as a free lunch but extra hard work always pays off where it counts.
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covered wagon
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11/03/22 09:03am |
General RVing Issues
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