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RE: Cost to install apparatus for Flat-towing
Been made aware of another issue I need to address... my current Ford Edge has LED brake lights & signals, and I've been told they're difficult to wire to a typical wiring harness.If that's the case, what about alternatives?
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obiwancanoli
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06/06/20 12:39pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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Will Your Next Tow Vehicle be Electric?
This topic has been moved to another forum.
You can read it here: 30086376
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obiwancanoli
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05/23/20 08:13am |
Around the Campfire
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Will Your Next Tow Vehicle be Electric?
This topic has been moved to another forum.
You can read it here: 30086376
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obiwancanoli
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05/23/20 08:13am |
Class A Motorhomes
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Will Your Next Tow Vehicle be Electric?
Trailer Life EV Article
Interesting article on EV's as a tow vehicle
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obiwancanoli
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05/23/20 08:13am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Cost to install apparatus for Flat-towing
By the way, the current Tow Dolly has electric braking system, so I have a brake controller in the RV cockpit. A friend who's installed these systems asked if I'd looked into a Road Master Stinger for the tow bar, and an Air Force One brake controller...
Anyone with experience here, or an opinion as to how they might compare?
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obiwancanoli
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04/23/20 11:41am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Cost to install apparatus for Flat-towing
Thank you all so much for your input! It seems clear that I can do this effectively at a lower cost than CW quoted... so, I know what to do, just not sure how...
I have a friend who's installed these, so I need only to gather the necessary parts. Ford says my Edge is flat-towable, so, I can do the research and look for parts on Craig's List and elsewhere...
Of course, I'll need a baseplate for my car, the towing mechanism for the RV, and a wiring harness to connect the two... I like the idea of the ReadyBrute, but what else do I need to complete the task?
I suppose what I need is a list, and will review the posts to see if I can compile one myself...
By the way, the MH is a Newmar Ventana LE DP (2017), the toad is a 2017 Ford Edge 3.5L, FWD
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obiwancanoli
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04/18/20 08:53am |
Class A Motorhomes
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Cost to install apparatus for Flat-towing
While I've had and used a Tow Dolly for a couple years, I've always found it inconvenient, requiring me to have storage when not in use. As a result, been considering replacing this with a towing apparatus for my Class A, and called Camping World to research, and get an estimate...
WHOA!
At $5,400+, it was quite a bit more than I anticipated... but is it accurate? Looking for input, experience, and anything else that will help me decide if this is an option I should consider...
At this price, I think I'd continue with the dolly...
Your thoughts?
Thanks, MIchael
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obiwancanoli
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04/16/20 11:11am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Charging electric car
We got a little off-topic here, but I've learned a lot... appears charging EV while being towed isn't a sensible option... thus, if one anticipates a lot of use while situated at chosen location, best to use ICE vehicle. EV charging while on the road appears less reliable...
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obiwancanoli
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11/25/19 07:24am |
Tech Issues
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Charging electric car
With the continued proliferation of electric cars, I wonder if RV manufacturers are working toward a way my RV can charge a Tesla, or other electric vehicle, while plugged into shore power, or on the road while being towed...?
Alternatively, can my current RV be modified to allow for this?
I wonder if there's anything on the horizon, or that has been published that you lnow of, that speaks to this eventual advance?
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obiwancanoli
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11/22/19 05:35pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Alternative satellite option?
I have a dome on my RV I don’t even bother to connect anymore.
We camp Fl state parks often and they are mostly heavily treed.
I use a Winegard Pathway X2. It lets you select eastern or western arc which gives you options when here are trees. DISH is more RV friendly than Dtv IMHO.
We have dome also and its in motion. We have found over a decade that trees block the signal. Is there some new tech?
Yup... chainsaws
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obiwancanoli
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11/03/19 08:53am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Air Conditioning Malfunction?
Just a quick update for you... turns out both a/c units on top weren't working at full power... tech said they were operating at about half capacity, and thus, required replacement. Also turns out Dometic has a 2 year warranty on these, so their replacement was covered without cost to me.
Happy to note both units working chillingly! Heard compressor come on within a minute of turning on the a/c ("Cool" on the Dometic control panel), and shortly thereafter, it got really cold, really fast.
Of course, now that the season is cooling off, I have no need for the a/c until next summer, but it's no longer an issue. Thanks to everyone for your help, insight, and advice.
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obiwancanoli
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10/22/19 12:48pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Keeping ice cream frozen
I had a similar question on a different forum earlier this summer. None of the advice that I received seemed to help so my solution for next summer is to bring along a small 120v chest freezer.
I considered that, but the darn things aren't cheap! Before re-considering, I'm going to try storing the ice cream in the ice maker compartment... along with more deeply freezing the ice cream at home first.
I have several of those freezable gel packs, and a few large cuts of meat and fowl that I can wrap around it... if it works, great. If not... will keep looking for a solution.
Thanks to all who offered their ideas and observations!
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obiwancanoli
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10/19/19 07:09pm |
Camp Cooks and Connoisseurs
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Keeping ice cream frozen
I have a Dometic 4-door refrigerator/freezer, with an ice maker. Until now, I'd always kept ice cream in the compartment without the ice maker, surrounded by other frozen items, gel packs, etc. try to freeze it at lower temps at home to prepare it, otherwise, ice cream simply gets soft, and messy to eat..
But I've recently read someplace that I'd do better to follow my same routine, but to store the ice cream in the same compartment the ice maker is housed...
I keep the fridge/freezer on the coldest possible setting, and the idea above seems to make sense... anyone care to chime in on this?
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obiwancanoli
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10/18/19 07:26pm |
Camp Cooks and Connoisseurs
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RE: Class A electrical system setup - no dealer guidance
Thank you all... this has been an illuminating experience... will keep you posted
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obiwancanoli
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10/15/19 12:57pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Class A electrical system setup - no dealer guidance
Yes, Doug, that's the instruction manual I have... I understand a little more, a little better, each time I read it....
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obiwancanoli
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10/15/19 07:18am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Class A electrical system setup - no dealer guidance
While you have not specifically stated such, it sounds like you might have a residential frig rather than an RV type frig. If that is the case, then yes, you need the inverter on to keep the frig cold.
It also might help if you tell us more about the system such as type of inverter and inverter remote control.
Lot's of good advice here.
I have an RV style fridge - shore powered or propane - a Magnum Standard Remote Control, and a Magnum ME Series Modified Sine Wave Inverter
The magnum can be conveniently wired to your Onan Quiet Diesel Generator to operate in "auto gen start" mode which will start your genny automatically if your batteries get low. You have the option of setting the "low" voltage where it starts. This is all done on the magnum operator panel, the one with the rotating know.
I believe I can set the AGS from inside the RV, though there is also an Auto-Gen unit/control box inside one of the external bays... need to investigate that better...
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obiwancanoli
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10/14/19 02:32pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Class A electrical system setup - no dealer guidance
While you have not specifically stated such, it sounds like you might have a residential frig rather than an RV type frig. If that is the case, then yes, you need the inverter on to keep the frig cold.
It also might help if you tell us more about the system such as type of inverter and inverter remote control.
Lot's of good advice here.
I have an RV style fridge - shore powered or propane - a Magnum Standard Remote Control, and a Magnum ME Series Modified Sine Wave Inverter
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obiwancanoli
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10/13/19 08:46am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Class A electrical system setup - no dealer guidance
You did not say what brand/model/year your camper is, nor what kind of solar system you have. However, YouTube has everything.
A very simple search on YouTube.com for "electrical systems in RVs" returned this: Click here
Refine the search in YouTube use the hourglass by putting in your make-model-year of RV, pertinent info regarding anything you may know about the electric system, solar panels, anything, and you'll get more videos than you can imagine that will walk you through absolutely everything. Weed past the obvious not related videos, and some you watch may not have relevance at all. But, YouTube is your friend.
RV noted in last post. My solar system is 3-160 Watt Zamp Solar panels, generating 8.7 Amps each
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obiwancanoli
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10/12/19 12:08pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Class A electrical system setup - no dealer guidance
Seems you were running on inverter for your 120v needs and that ran the batteries down enough so the inverter shut down. There would still be enough battery to run the usual 12v things -lights, fans, etc.
When off-grid, you need to "power manage" what the inverter is running so the batteries can keep up. Put the fridge on propane, WH on propane, limit use of 120v appliances. When not watching it, unplug the TV set, don't just turn it "off", which leaves it on. All kinds of tricks to get by longer before you need to recharge the batteries.
At some stage you do need to recharge them, no big deal, but best if they can be done during the day instead of at 3am! :)
My rig is a 2017 Newmar Ventana LE.
My understanding was that if I needed to run ANYTHING - i.e., my lights, tv, clock radio, microwave display - that the inverter needed to be "on"... the fridge does run on propane when not plugged into shore power, as does the WH.
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obiwancanoli
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10/12/19 11:30am |
Tech Issues
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Class A electrical system setup - no dealer guidance
When I bought my first RV, a Class A Diesel MH, I received no guidance or instruction on using, setting up, or understanding the meters and display for setting up the electrical system. While I did receive manuals for various systems, real-life application and understanding just didn't relate well, and I simply had to guess, or ignore things I still did not understand.
I'm speaking of the solar & internal systems set up controls, housed (in my rig) behind a cabinet door at the front of my RV.
A recent power outage forced me to stay the night in my rig, and though it was not plugged in to power, the batteries, charged during the day by 480 watts of solar, generating about 26A, appeared to have enough voltage, at 14.2V, to easily last through the night. They did not.
Sometime in the night, about 4 hours later, the internal power shut down, the only things requiring power being the microwave display, and the clock radio in the bedroom, both of which went black. Checking the display up front, the meter read 11.6V, the red "fault" light was on, and the inverter would not come back on. Fired up the generator, and soon noted the meter showed 12.2-12.4V and rising.
As the manual isn't well written (IMO), I could only surmise the system setup included a setting that automatically shuts down power, to save the batteries, when voltage sinks to a given level. But there are other settings, the nature of which remain foreign to me, which likely also have some bearing on what happens, how, and when. And I'm baffled as to how they relate, and what my needs would require, when it comes to adjusting the settings properly.
A recent suspicion had been that my batteries don't seem to be lasting as long as they ought to, for it seems to me that they should easily provide power throughout the night, with such minimal amperage needs as noted above. Because I had recently neglected monitoring them, the batteries, while not completely dry, were damp, and all cells needed fresh distilled water. A month later, i had them checked, and the service tech noted they are in good shape. I still have suspicions that the batteries are not, as I was informed, in good condition (my rig is a 2017, bought off a dealer at the end of the 2017 calendar year, original batteries).
I remain baffled by the system, ignorant of proper setup, having had much frustration in managing it, and setting it up properly, so that it works as well as it is designed to do. The manual is less than clear to me, and I feel like I need a knowledgeable experienced tech to walk me through each step, setting, and consequence, impractical though that may be.
I'm not sure the help I need can be found here, but needed to vent, with perhaps a small hope someone might offer perspective, if not guidance, on how to proceed.
Thanks!
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obiwancanoli
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10/12/19 09:26am |
Tech Issues
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