| |
Subject |
Author |
Date Posted |
Forum
|
 |
RE: What do you use for rear door awning?? Pics??
I was not so much thinking of using it for shade (we have an awning on the curb side that we use for shade) I was mainly thinking it would be great to have for entering the camper in bad weather - rain mainly!
sounds great in theory but just remember if using in the rain you will get wet extending the awning and there will be some sag possibly trapping you inside as the weight of a wet awning could prevent you from opening the door without destroying the awning.YMMV.
That's never been a problem. If you deploy it right, the awning doesn't sag enough to notice and even so the top edge of the door would just push it out of the way.
A rear awning is great when you camp in the rain. It's much easier to climb the rear steps and open the door when you aren't getting soaked. A portable pop-up canopy wouldn't work over the door unless it's 11-12' tall.
|
wnjj
|
05/24/12 08:27pm |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Slide out problem
When the slide is fully extended, much of the weight is supported by the top of the slide room "hanging" against the TC frame.
In other words: In order for the outer edge of the slide room to drop, the top must try to tip out.
Is yours bending down while it's partially out or does it sag when all the way out? Can you post photos?
|
wnjj
|
05/24/12 08:12pm |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Replacing the truck due to cell phones
Not to take anything away from the OP's situation, but I disagree with the cell phone laws and bashing of using cell phones while driving.
The bottom line for me is distracted drivers who are not focused on the task at hand. It doesn't matter whether that distraction is a cell phone, car radio, MP3 player, kids in the back seat, drive-thru food, or the pretty girl on the sidewalk. They are all potential distractions to driving.
I believe there are MANY people out there who are wise enough to put down the cell phone while driving, in particular during tough traffic situations. The few boneheads who are not smart enough to put the phone down have resulted in these laws being foisted upon everyone.
The government likes it as the laws have become yet another source of 'revenue' for the coffers. However, I do not believe the laws really solve anything. A driver who is prone to distractions WILL be distracted no matter what. And the government cannot legislate that out of society.
My point... Blame the distracted drivers, not the cell phones.
X2
Driving already requires a person to multitask, handle interrupts and process lots of information. If you can't handle an extra one, you probably are already a danger to others. It's about being prepared. If I grab a sip of pop while driving and something comes up that really needs my hands, it's going to get thrown on the floor. Same goes for talking on my phone, even with the hands-free. If I'm busy driving my conversion includes, "uh", "hold on" and "what was that again?" Focusing on driving is a choice, not an impossibility and that is a big difference between distracted and drunk.
|
wnjj
|
05/23/12 05:19pm |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Charging question
Check the fuse panel and the converter itself for any blown fuses. If the battery leads ever got shorted out when then power was on it will blow a fuse.
|
wnjj
|
05/22/12 09:53am |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: need new truck
Passing with a 3500# load in the bed is also a lot faster and safer with the diesel engine providing twice the torque to the wheels.
At the wheels, it's horsepower that matters. The diesel engine produces twice the crankshaft torque but a gas engine with equal horsepower will produce the same wheel torque in the proper gear. It will just have to spin much faster to do it (due to its lower crankshaft torque) and burn tons of gas!
|
wnjj
|
05/18/12 03:11pm |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Shopping for Truck...
Forget a 3/4 ton from anybody! Get a 1 ton SRW. That 1800 "dry" number will blossom to 24-2500 pounds in a hurry and there is no way a 3/4 ton can handle that much without a lot of work.
Seriously? So you're saying one of the lightest hard side TC's out there still needs to be on a One Ton truck? So how are all the rest of the folks here carrying a 4000# plus camper on their one ton? No sarcasm, just trying to understand the logic.
It is very simple. I had a second gen D/A 2500HD. Scaled ready to travel it was 7500 pounds. GVWR was 9200 pounds. That means in plane terms that I had 1700 pounds left before I exceeded the manufacturers GVWR. The Op's camper has a mystical dry weight of 1800 pounds. So if and that is a big IF he could actually get the camper and it actually weighed 1800 pounds he would be over the GVWR by 100 pounds before he added and water, propane, batteries, accessories, clothes or food. Adding those things plus who knows what else will make that 9200 GVWR 2500HD GM offering scale ready to camp at well over 10,000 pounds. Now, if you or he choose to ignore the manufacturers ratings, then by all means forget my comments as the rantings of a crazy old man who does not know anything. Also remember the RAWR dictated by the tires on second gen GM products is only 6080 pounds. And most of a campers weight will be placed over the rear axle. From what I have seen, Fords are not much better. Their loaded ready to travel weights are higher as are their GVWR numbers. So basically it is a wash with all the manufacturers.
The 6080 lb RAWR is more than adequate when you consider the unload rear weighs less than 3000. If you consider RAWR the more critical spec., that works just fine with the OP's target camper.
Also, 2500 with overload springs added is a 3500, not counting the tires/wheels. If the original tires aren't overloaded, they're fine too. It may be a lot easier to find a 2500 used. Overload springs are not "a lot of work".
|
wnjj
|
05/17/12 07:13pm |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Shopping for Truck...
The big problem with the GM in my opinion is its 26 gallon tank. I haven't a clue why GM did that.
My 2005 longbed 3500 has a 36 gal. tank.
|
wnjj
|
05/17/12 07:10pm |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Hitch extension safety chain attachment
I'm going to disagree and say #2, but modified. If not, how will you tow any other trailer where the chains are only long enough to reach on a non-extended hitch? What do you do with all the slack when you tow the trailer without the camper/extension?
I install chains from the truck to the extension loops, then connect the trailer chains to those chains and the loops. With snap hooks or threaded links it's as good as one chain anyway but more modular.
|
wnjj
|
05/14/12 07:48pm |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Tell me about for camper and SRW truck
This quote from the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure Q&A makes the rule very clear.
Question:
"(16)
How big can my pick-up camper or RV trailer be on my ½, ¾, or 1 tonne pickup be? Do I need brakes? Do I need a special driver’s license?
The camper, when loaded on to the pickup or when you tow a trailer behind the pickup, can not exceed the manufacturer “Gross Vehicle Weight Rating” (GVWR) or the “Gross Axle Weight Rating” (GAWR). The ratings can be found on the driver’s side door post."
Link to the Q&A:
BC CVSE
Moral: don't load over your GVWR if you want to drive in British Columbia.
We've made several trips into BC with our over GVWR TC but now I know I'm pushing my luck.
Just like in the trailer chain thread, the Q&A page is not the law, even when written by "officials." Unless there is a specific law against hauling over GVWR, anything else saying not to do it is opinion and guidelines.
|
wnjj
|
05/12/12 11:01am |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Safety chains with hitch extension
Whether you "buy" it or not... in many states (including California) the law is that trailer chains MUST be crossed. The intent of crossing the chains is to prevent the trailer tongue from hitting the ground in the event of a hitch failure.
The California DMV says: "The purpose of safety chains is to prevent the trailer from separating from the tow vehicle in event of a hitch failure, such as a hitch ball that has loosened. The chains should be crossed in an "X" fashion below the ball mount, with enough slack to allow unrestricted turning, but not enough to allow the coupler to hit the ground."
In adddition, California requires two chains and they must have snap-hooks or other positive means of attachment so they cannot accidentally disconnect while in transit (ie. they cannot just be S-hooks).
Cheers,
-Mark
I checked out that CA DMV site. First, the text written there is not the law, it's a guideline. Laws have chapters and numbers. Second, it says "should" not "must" be crossed. It's not even physically possible for many if not most trailer/vehicle combos to have chains short enough to keep the tongue off the road. Think of a minivan with a hitch just inches above the road. I'll bet the law does require chains and likely even two but much like Oregon's DMV pages there is usually some creative writing about traffic rules that goes into more detail than what the law states.
Edit:
The actual law is here. Only one chain required and nothing about keeping the trailer tongue off the road. There is something there about chains short enough to keep a drawbar (non-load carrying connection) off the road if one is used but that doesn't apply to anything us camper guys are doing.
|
wnjj
|
05/12/12 10:37am |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: New electric Happijac rust on inner tubes??
That's great news. I found Gary to be very helpful with my outer tube paint issue a few years ago. To me a, how well a company handles issues is equally important to whether they have issues.
|
wnjj
|
05/11/12 11:36am |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Safety chains with hitch extension
I don't buy the "catch the tongue" idea. When the tow vehicle applies the brakes, you are likely to get impaled from the back by the tongue. In my view, the chains are to keep the towed item from passing you up or heading into on coming traffic. My trailer has an additional piece of cable connected to my trailer brakes so that they are automatically activated as soon as the trailer comes loose.
Also when you consider that the "basket" of chains is held up on one end by the very thing it supposedly catches. The only way the tongue is staying off the road is if the chains are shorter than than height of where they attach to the truck above the road. Looking at where mirsch's chains (below) are attached to the tongue, it would easily hit the road with the shortest possible chains even connected directly to the truck without using the hitch extension. Shorter and crossed chains merely keep the trailer in control better, not off the road.
http://photos.cubfest.com/albums/userpics/10191/0510121818.jpg
|
wnjj
|
05/11/12 11:32am |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Safety chains with hitch extension
The absolute worst thing to happen is to have the tongue of the trailer dragging the ground. I almost lost my grandfather from that very thing happening. The coupler came loose and the chains were not crossed. The tongue of the trailer hit a pothole while it was dragging before he could get stopped and buried itself in the pothole flipping the truck and the trailer. He spent a week in the hospital.
I'm sorry that happened and glad to hear he made it. I don't see how stopping a trailer suddenly directly behind your truck can cause anything to flip, though. I'm assuming the issue was that the trailer started heading off course and pulled the tail of the truck around before it caught the pothole.
Regardless, I always cross my chains.
|
wnjj
|
05/11/12 09:50am |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Safety chains with hitch extension
The primary reason for crossing the chains is so the tongue follows the truck, whether or not it's dragging on the road. Catching the tongue isn't a big deal. In fact I'd rather it drag and slow itself down faster than the truck. If your trailer is uncoupled, damage to the tongue or road is the last concern.
If you have parallel (uncrossed) chains, the tongue can move a couple feet to either side even while under tension. Crossed chains keep it centered.
My extension does have loops welded near the end and I use a separate set of chains from the truck to the loops. The trailer chains couple directly into those chains so I don't have to trust the loop welds. This allows me to uncouple the trailer easily without having to crawl under the truck.
Having the loops also means the trailer cannot rearend the truck if it comes uncoupled.
|
wnjj
|
05/11/12 09:41am |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: How Cool...I'm in an advertisement for Torklift!
If you ever camp out west please let me know so I can make sure I'm not there at the same time.
With a chip on your shoulder like that, I wouldn't even think about calling you for any reason.
While I don't agree with halibutman's tone, I too was none too fond of your, "you could get money, call a lawyer" reaction.
|
wnjj
|
05/07/12 10:43pm |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Coleman vs. Yamaha
If the Yamaha 2000 specs match up with the Honda 2000 it would likely work. I don't know what the specs are, though.
|
wnjj
|
05/07/12 08:30pm |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Cheers: checking in from the road
If you tow horse trailers this is why you need to be a US Rider roadside insurance member. The weld failed on the trailer axel as they pulled in to compete. One call to US Rider got a mobile truck repair van dispatched. The crew not only realighed and rewelded the broken axel into place they added strengthen weld to the axel tha did not fail. total repair time was 2 hours
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b217/Eric1218/2012%20Photos/low%20res%20for%20rvnet/Hossmore%20Dressage%20may%202012/P1040556.jpg
From the looks of that fender I'd guess the wheel/axle paid a visit to something a little unforgiving rather than the weld just failing.
But then again the frame/axle looks like a bucket of rust.
|
wnjj
|
05/06/12 01:29am |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: New Ford Ranger Truck Camper
Wow that is refreshing. Looks promising. It is odd that the camper door is on drivers side.
That's the passenger's side. The OP is in Australia.
|
wnjj
|
05/05/12 09:15am |
Class C Motorhomes
|
|
RE: Inverter Wiring from Battery
Fuses are used to protect wires, not inverters...
True, but a fuse that is larger than the device needs but smaller than the wire can carry is just fine. You just don't want a fuse that is larger than the wire's rating.
|
wnjj
|
05/01/12 07:12pm |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Eagle Cap 1160 in newest issue of Trailer Life.
Received my newest issue of TL and on page 52 and 53 is an article on the EC 1160. What I find odd and a little misleading is it shows it on a single rear wheel F-350 but then finishes the article with "Realistically, an F-450 will be the proper truck to handle this camper." My Okanagan is almost the same floor plan and I would never try to haul it on a single rear wheel truck.
Perhaps the photo is from their brochure? I know the old EC company did the same. They probably just used one truck for a photo shoot of multiple camper models without considering the implied perception.
|
wnjj
|
05/01/12 07:07pm |
Truck Campers
|
