Campers
- Thread starter johnbryanpeters
- Start date
So, I'm sucking at tackling any project(s) on the camper, but I did finally get started on the #1 thing on my list:
Took the jack and the mount off the camper... holy hell what did I get myself into? Is that... SPRAY FOAM? Who even knows...
Ugh...
Now, the "right" way here would probably be to cut all that garbage out of there and put new wood in. Ehhhhh... wasn't really feeling that. Since the... WHATEVER that garbage is felt reasonably solid, I decided to go for the "make the mount more better" and then "screw it and glue it" approach. I'll use industrial strength adhesive underneath the mount to really stick it to the camper, slightly larger lag screws to account for the stripped out hole probably with a penetrating (huh-huh huh-huh I said penetrating) epoxy in there to give it even more purchase. Then seal the whole thing and Bingo's your Monkey.
First... clean up all the garbage that was on the mount. Silicone sealer, putty tape, lord knows what else. It was a mess... this was after I had already scraped a bunch of crap off this thing.
Aaahhhhh... better.
Also note that it's not real straight, and the mount has already been "extended" by some hack welding an extra 1-1/2" strip of plate steel to this thing, to move the lag screws outward. Oh, did I mention they used sheet metal screws? That might be at least some of the reason the screws stripped out in the first place, the wood was just chewed up from the screws. SMDH.
Anycrap, got some 2" (or maybe a bit bigger?) angle steel, started cutting it into 8" lengths.
While that was running, had a look at the welds from the existing modification. They were... terrible. Like, WAY more terrible than the terrible welds I can make. So... why not make some more welds that are less terrible, and ensure that this thing won't explode? Done.
With the two pieces of angel steel cut to length, and then angled at a 45º, I made an L-shaped bracket that will be welded on to the bottom of the mount and will support the camper from underneath instead of having the lag screws support the weight in sheer. I apparently didn't get a picture of the bracket weld, but here were are doing some shenanigans to make marks to notch the bracket out for to do the welding of the mount in:
Marked it, then notched it out with a (you guessed it!) angle grinder with a cutoff wheel. Always the answer, always satisfying.
And weldy-weld... glued this new bracket to the existing mount with the lightning! Some tricky welding here, was happy my buddy @Motionboy2 was at the shop with me to bridge the gaps on a couple of them. I made 87% of the welds, but I am not great. Stoked he was there to do the 13% of the difficult ones.
FKNA.
Last bit of work to do before paint was to drill some holes in the new bracket part, for to shove a couple lag screws through and into some "good wood" (huh-huh huh-huh) on the camper. Safety Third™, bitches.
A grinder and paint, makes me the welder I ain't.
Also I should have used MOAR GRINDER... oops. Anycrap, it's curing now (enamel paint) and I'll installate it later this week when it's not 23 Freedumb units outside. Celebrated the project by enjoying a surprisingly good-ish creme ale from a brewery in my home state. Race car in the background for gratuitousness.
Will post more pictures when it's warmer and I glue it and screw it to the camper.
And while it's not installated yet, I basically re-built the mount and added a bracket to the bottom of the thing to support the camper from underneath. Fun little project, actually. I'll definitely reinforce at least one of the other mounts, the other two of the four are actually pretty solid so I probably won't mess with them for a while and I get some other shit done. Here's the process...
Took the jack and the mount off the camper... holy hell what did I get myself into? Is that... SPRAY FOAM? Who even knows...
Ugh...
Now, the "right" way here would probably be to cut all that garbage out of there and put new wood in. Ehhhhh... wasn't really feeling that. Since the... WHATEVER that garbage is felt reasonably solid, I decided to go for the "make the mount more better" and then "screw it and glue it" approach. I'll use industrial strength adhesive underneath the mount to really stick it to the camper, slightly larger lag screws to account for the stripped out hole probably with a penetrating (huh-huh huh-huh I said penetrating) epoxy in there to give it even more purchase. Then seal the whole thing and Bingo's your Monkey.
First... clean up all the garbage that was on the mount. Silicone sealer, putty tape, lord knows what else. It was a mess... this was after I had already scraped a bunch of crap off this thing.
Aaahhhhh... better.
Also note that it's not real straight, and the mount has already been "extended" by some hack welding an extra 1-1/2" strip of plate steel to this thing, to move the lag screws outward. Oh, did I mention they used sheet metal screws? That might be at least some of the reason the screws stripped out in the first place, the wood was just chewed up from the screws. SMDH.
Anycrap, got some 2" (or maybe a bit bigger?) angle steel, started cutting it into 8" lengths.
While that was running, had a look at the welds from the existing modification. They were... terrible. Like, WAY more terrible than the terrible welds I can make. So... why not make some more welds that are less terrible, and ensure that this thing won't explode? Done.
With the two pieces of angel steel cut to length, and then angled at a 45º, I made an L-shaped bracket that will be welded on to the bottom of the mount and will support the camper from underneath instead of having the lag screws support the weight in sheer. I apparently didn't get a picture of the bracket weld, but here were are doing some shenanigans to make marks to notch the bracket out for to do the welding of the mount in:
Marked it, then notched it out with a (you guessed it!) angle grinder with a cutoff wheel. Always the answer, always satisfying.
And weldy-weld... glued this new bracket to the existing mount with the lightning! Some tricky welding here, was happy my buddy @Motionboy2 was at the shop with me to bridge the gaps on a couple of them. I made 87% of the welds, but I am not great. Stoked he was there to do the 13% of the difficult ones.
FKNA.
Last bit of work to do before paint was to drill some holes in the new bracket part, for to shove a couple lag screws through and into some "good wood" (huh-huh huh-huh) on the camper. Safety Third™, bitches.
A grinder and paint, makes me the welder I ain't.
Also I should have used MOAR GRINDER... oops. Anycrap, it's curing now (enamel paint) and I'll installate it later this week when it's not 23 Freedumb units outside. Celebrated the project by enjoying a surprisingly good-ish creme ale from a brewery in my home state. Race car in the background for gratuitousness.
Will post more pictures when it's warmer and I glue it and screw it to the camper.
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Was super stoked that we have free indoor storage at a friend's house last night...it got down to 12 degrees, and the camper hadn't been drained yet. Said friend put it inside at 11:00 pm last night after a bunch of whiskey. All good...
Got the modified mounting bracket attached to the camper this evening... did most of it after sunset by the glow of an old-school shop light that belonged to my grampa so I didn't take pictures of the process. Will take a couple tomorrow of the install in the daylight. Was able to reuse all the existing holes, most of them tightened down pretty well. There are a couple-three that are stripped but the threads are biting. I flooded them with industrial adhesive, so once that cures it should be fine. I also flooded the back with industrial adhesive, so this thing shouldn't go anywhere. Once all that cures, I'll seal the edges and all the lag screws with some sort of RV sealant, and this one will be done as. I'll get after the other corner that's loosey-goosey in a couple weeks.
use non self leveling dicor to do the sealing
https://www.amazon.com/Dicor-551LSW1-White-Non-Sag-Sealant/dp/B00YBFUOE2/ref=pd_day0_hl_328_6?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00YBFUOE2&pd_rd_r=6d6910e8-d34b-11e8-af19-2fb1fdc93008&pd_rd_w=Oqj7t&pd_rd_wg=lHu0S&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=ad07871c-e646-4161-82c7-5ed0d4c85b07&pf_rd_r=E1BW7TPTHX0AM5A2AHJY&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=E1BW7TPTHX0AM5A2AHJY
https://www.amazon.com/Dicor-551LSW1-White-Non-Sag-Sealant/dp/B00YBFUOE2/ref=pd_day0_hl_328_6?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00YBFUOE2&pd_rd_r=6d6910e8-d34b-11e8-af19-2fb1fdc93008&pd_rd_w=Oqj7t&pd_rd_wg=lHu0S&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=ad07871c-e646-4161-82c7-5ed0d4c85b07&pf_rd_r=E1BW7TPTHX0AM5A2AHJY&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=E1BW7TPTHX0AM5A2AHJY
The ignition and fan control board on my Suburban Mfg. model NT20SEQ furnace has taken to intermittently locking out, which leaves the blower running with no flame. Resetting it's a PITA, turn off the thermostat, pull the fuse which protects the furnace feed, replace fuse, turn the thermostat back on. Given that the problem is intermittent, it's going to be hard to diagnose further.
Seems like you’ve had quite a few problems with that R-Pod in a fairly short span of ownership. Bad luck or is a lot of this just poor design/cheap stuff?
Poor design, poor materials, poor manufacturing discipline, An interesting set of puzzles, nonetheless. Ask @BadDNA about his rig.
After spending time researching truck bed campers and pickup specs, I fail to see how most people are even remotely within their vehicles max payload specifications. Particularly anyone using a midsize truck.
Most fullsize seem to have ~1650lb payload.
Camper we're looking at, dry camper weight ~1350lb
2xpeople - 320lb
2x bikes - 60lb
water, gas (conservative on water) ~100lb
luggage/stuff ~90lb
1650-1920 = 270lb overweight and that's with low weights for luggage/water etc...
Most fullsize seem to have ~1650lb payload.
Camper we're looking at, dry camper weight ~1350lb
2xpeople - 320lb
2x bikes - 60lb
water, gas (conservative on water) ~100lb
luggage/stuff ~90lb
1650-1920 = 270lb overweight and that's with low weights for luggage/water etc...
Same applies to trailers. The number of people who tow way overloaded is simply astounding.
We liked the regular Titan when we test drove it, might have to look at the XD version...
Easy answer is they aren’t within payload. Some people adhere to payload numbers as if it were the word of God, others are a bit more fluid in their application.
The F150 offers a higher payload model. There are debates on how much they’ve changed to get that rating, but with any of them, you’ll still have a full size 1/2 ton operating near max payload, which isn’t good for performance or longevity.
Also, beware of the OEM tires on a lot of the 1/2 ton models. Given how popular the segment is, auto manufacturers have put crap tires on them to boost fuel efficiency numbers.
As @Toshi said, rear axle weights become an important factor too. Know your numbers and come informed cause the salesman won’t be.
Check out some 3/4 ton models while you are at it. They’ll handle the camper load much better than the 1/2 ton and the fuel penalty isn’t as bad as you might think. The ride isn’t nearly as refined and comfy, but they are built to take more abuse and keep on rolling.
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The F150 only has 2150 in the config we were looking at, not much headroom with a loaded rig.
Yeah, we've pretty much decided we like the look of the Titan XD extended cab, 2560lb payload gives plenty of headroom with a 1350lb dry camper. I think we'll likely look for petrol over diesel...
Understand that that dry weight on the camper is bullshit. It is for the base shell with no extras such as AC, water, Batteries, Mattress, full propane tanks. the actual dry weight will be between 500/750 pounds more. Stay away from the newer RAM 2500 as they use coil springs instead of leafs and most folks who bought them and a tc hate the ride, too much sway and bobbing
I'm just waiting for a tree to fall on mine so that insurance will cover it.
*drives around frantically during windstorms looking for trees that might fall over*
making use of the campers fridge seeing as its not going anywhere this week. Brining a 26.52 pound turkey in it.
The situation with mine though...
I noticed some water in the front storage compartment earlier this season and upon inspection, found the caulking on the roof was failing. Made plans and gathered supplies to reseal the outside corners. When I pulled the corner trim off the front end I found that most of the front corners (and who knows how far in toward the midline) are rotten and barely sound enough to hold a screw. This has obviously happened before and whoever 'fixed' it just slapped enough caulk over the top to stop the water penetration for a time. At some point I'm going to have to tear the front wall apart and rebuild it. I'm not looking forward to that.
I also had an issue with the gas line to my water heater that I had to fix this summer. It had moved or been routed originally so that it passed between the axle and the frame for the fresh water tank. I must have hit a bump hard enough that the line got pinched rendering the water heater useless. It took me a little bit of work before I found that, but in the process my water heater got a bunch of new parts, so there's that...
AGM battery or LiFePO4 for the house battery?
And without a shore power connection how can you charge the camper before heading out? Not quite sure why that would be an optional extra...
And without a shore power connection how can you charge the camper before heading out? Not quite sure why that would be an optional extra...
If you have solar usually you don't need any shore connection.
edit; AGM is cheaper and can be charged in below freezing temps.
I thought they both disliked cold temps?
Stored indoors I was thinking on the need to keep them topped up, my understanding being that AGM get very unhappy if below 50% charge.
Unhappy and damaged below 50%, so basically you need to factor in use and get double Amp/hr. with AGM. No problem charging them at low temp. Lithium is getting more affordable but still quite expensive. Depends on ones budget.
I've seen people use 19.5v laptop charger fed into solar controller to mimic solar output of 12v panels.
Are you charging from vehicle alternator also?
I use a single Optima hybrid blue-top and have installed 200W of solar on the roof. I only need to run the generator during extended cloudy periods or if I end up in a site with full shade.
I have 200 watts of solar which keeps my 2 group 31 AGM batteries quite happy
I found a step van local that has a basic setup including solar, converter, and a tankless water heater. They only wanted $6k and it sold quick. But gives me hope that when ready I can find one to gut and build.
Only because you don't live in New England.
Only because you don't live in New England.
Not getting nearly enough juice out of my 200W of panels since we got back into MA. Good thing we have shore power to plug into.
true that but I carry a good brush to get the snow off the panels when I winter campOnly because you don't live in New England.
Actually, the step van is still for sale and I have an app in with the bank. The wife says if we get the step van now, then I get my Moto without bitching. I'll take it! See what the bank says first, I guess.
Bank approved, but have not gotten a response from the seller of the retrofit stepvan. There are a few others, but those are all stock.
My rough budget is:
$500 water needs (tanks, toilet, pipes heater, filter)
$1500 power needs (solar kit, generator, batteries and related wiring)
$500 misc materials (wood, insulation, screws)
I have some construction projects to do first, but I think it could be road trip ready by Spring based on budget.
My rough budget is:
$500 water needs (tanks, toilet, pipes heater, filter)
$1500 power needs (solar kit, generator, batteries and related wiring)
$500 misc materials (wood, insulation, screws)
I have some construction projects to do first, but I think it could be road trip ready by Spring based on budget.
Ok, I based a lot of my specs off trailers of similar size (16 foot). Still playing with layout, I should have a truck by this weekend.
200w solar with 40A MPPT controller (might go 3 or 4 panel later based on space)
5000w inverter with remote
1 (for now) 200mAh AGM battery with isolator
31 gallon black water tank
31 gallon grey water tank
42 gallon fresh water tank with filter
Full shower, toilet, sink in bathroom with super fan
7.1 cu ft fridge
Wall heater
Murphy bed kit
Kitchen super fan above counter where range will go, Colman cook stove for now
Outdoor carpet and pad for now.
Taking out the roll up door and adding a side entry.and a few windows. I have a huge shopping list and hope to get it roughed in and functional before Xmas.
200w solar with 40A MPPT controller (might go 3 or 4 panel later based on space)
5000w inverter with remote
1 (for now) 200mAh AGM battery with isolator
31 gallon black water tank
31 gallon grey water tank
42 gallon fresh water tank with filter
Full shower, toilet, sink in bathroom with super fan
7.1 cu ft fridge
Wall heater
Murphy bed kit
Kitchen super fan above counter where range will go, Colman cook stove for now
Outdoor carpet and pad for now.
Taking out the roll up door and adding a side entry.and a few windows. I have a huge shopping list and hope to get it roughed in and functional before Xmas.
200 mAh or Ah? Even if the latter, a 5 kW inverter will suck that dry posthaste...
What are you planning on needing a 5000W inverter for???
Ok, I thought the 5k was overkill. The 2k seems like it would be good. I might go with 2 batteries.
The fridge, water heater and heater are the only 110v going in now. AC will be added and a small projector and laptop are the only accessories. The fridge and heater are the main concern.
too little battery and too much inverter not enough solar. Or get a 2200 watt inverter generator by Honda or Yamaha