Share your RV mods...

[flagmanruss]

From what I'm reading, the 1156 replacements should give off 220+ Lumens. Since the ad did not list Lumens, they didn't lie. However, if the ad does not state the Lumens, I'll not buy again. The shipping was very fast, the product is nice for what it is... but I'd have to run 2 bulbs the get the light I want. At around $2 a bulb, it was worth the risk & I will use them... just not in primary fixtures. It's not like you can easily add fixtures to a RV either.

Actually the primary filament bulbs I swapped out are getting dark from the heat. New filament bulbs are even brighter!

New Std 1156 to the left, China "36LED" to the right. Photo doesn't really show the light difference.

I'm going to have Sheila look at the lights some evening but I think she'll agree with my evaluation.

[flagmanruss]

More "Gifts" from China in my mailbox today... http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-12V-24V-Red-Digital-LED-Car-Auto-Voltmeter-Voltage-Gauge-Tester-Volt-Meter-/120895807320?hash=item1c25f39f58&item=120895807320&pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr arrived. I like the unit. I actually ordered a couple, besides the one I intend to install in the RV. It works, looks ok. Bright enough. Small glass fuse in the cig lighter plug. I'm going to give one to my brother... $4.85 ea with Free Shipping There is nothing in the plug besides the fuse. I took one apart, because I'd like to surface mount it in a recess under the kitchen counter in the RV... with sticky tape & just a small hole for the wires & a mini-toggle. Exploratory "surgury" (on the plug) was easy. I ordered 6 of these... http://www.ebay.com/itm/220974117118?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649 A couple for myself, one each for the other mechanics in the family. I like this unit also. I don't see a cig light plug unit as a semi permanent application but this sure is a handy way to quick test the power. Also has a small glass fuse under the center plug. $3.61 ea with Free Shipping... can't go wrong! All the items shipped very quick! ADDITIONAL: I disassembled the plug on the first unit... just a tiny glass fuse in there. Wires soldered to center spring (fuse holder) & outter cig lighter contacts.

[Mopar1973Man]

Neat little volt meters...

[flagmanruss]

Sheila more than agreed with the inadequate light output on the 36LED bulbs... unfortunately, she also objected to the color which she thinks is blueish... I see it as whiter. Her eyesight is different than mine, I know... but I'm concerned that she'll not like any LED bulb. She seems intent on "soft white" like old AC 60w bulbs at home... which are rapidly becoming obsolete. I had already decided to move the 36LED bulbs to secondary locations when more of a background light is desired, but we are also disagreeing what are secondary locations. It would not be worth getting the $15 LEDs if she's going to refuse them anyway. So far we've not run out of battery power (3 RV batteries)... but we are not primarily RVing. We spend most of the day in the primitive camp, return to the RV for meals & sleep. But I'd like to extend between chargings with Mr Honda... the determining factor may be my scooter rather than the RV batteries... if I have to run the generator, for a few hours every other evening, might as well charge both which it did fine. On the other hand, as we get into RVing... we may find other uses.

[flagmanruss]

Thanks to War Eagle for his previous PM with his source. $15 a lamp seems pricy but is actually a decent price for a lamp with specified lumens light output. http://www.ledtrailerlights.com/rv/index.htm Even a choice of lamps! I appologize for initially missing the other choices... They even discuss the softness & color issues. Might have a winner. There are much cheaper prices on ebay but none specify the light output or color. Never got a response to the question I sent to the ebay seller.

[AH64ID]

Got some stuff done on the camper this weekend.

I got the hard start capacitor installed, pressure tank installed, and the voltage adjusted on the converter.

Pics to follow shortly.

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Here is the wiring/capictors as the a/c unit came from the factory. It does not have a hard start cap installed.

Looking at the OEM wiring diagram on the side of the a/c unit it showed the optional hard start cap being installed in series with the run cap. Which looks like this.

And all back in their homes.

I haven't ran these off the generators yet, but on my older a/c it sure made an audible difference in the start-up time and noise.

As for the pressure tank I had a dead space next to the furnace, and below a storage shelf. It is the perfect size, and had the water running thru it already. I used a series of pex fittings, and some 250 braided 1/2 hose. All in all a pretty easy install, other than the opening to install it is 2" narrower than my shoulders/chest. But it's in, secured, and doesn't leak.

I get almost a gallon of water out of it before the pump kicks back on. The pump also doesn't cycle at the 1-2 Hz rate it used to, now it fills the pressure tank back up and then shuts off till the tank is drained. The only time the pump runs all the time is with both hot/cold on full, which is not a normal usage.

As far as the voltage on the converter. I found 3 rheostats on the back of it, one controls the fan on amperage, one unkown (testing to see if its boost or float voltage), and the last is bulk voltage. I turned it up to be at ~14.0 instead of the 13.6. After reading online it seems nearly impossible to get the model converter I have to go into bulk mode, so instead of replacing it I am just going to let it charge a little hotter on bulk. After ~48 hours is goes into float, so not an issue for extended plug ins.

[flagmanruss]

On my old trailer unit... the underneath storage doors / body are not as good a fit as I'd like. The latches hold them in OK... one of them is a key lock. I was leaving the front compartment unlocked for convenience when we are stationary... but I found it was not as tight as I wanted. A) white faced hornets trying to build a nest. Fortunately I was working around the rig & sprayed the queen before she could get any workers. B) possible water entrance.So I started relocating the locks to the center of the hatch panels (new hole) bottom edge and adding a twist latch in the original hole. So now I can latch both corners of the access hatch... only use the key when traveling or leaving the rig unattended. I used some latches I had on hand which were a perfect style match. I bought more from Sportsmans Guide (best price). Camco brand, not a perfect match but reasonably close. If I really cared, I could move them around the rig to get the same on each hatch or maybe even a whole side.

[Mopar1973Man]

John I got a question?How do you deal with winterizing of that pressure tank how do you drain it out? Then how do you add antifreeze (pink stuff) without filling that pressure tank?

[riddle family]

Here is a simple mod for transporting bikes with a fifth wheel. [ATTACH]4225[/ATTACH]2003 Ram Cummins NV5600 with gauges and a Smarty! Not much more.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[flagmanruss]

I really like the pressure tank idea. After the T, cut off valve and a screw together connector to allow draining could be part of the winterizing set up. Pretty much the same concept as by passing the hot water heater. Alternatively the line could be disconnected & a temp cap installed when the pressure tank is drained. I'm HVAC challenged. Where is the capacitor located? I thought the whole business was on my roof.

[AH64ID]

I am really liking the tank. I get a quart before the pump kicks on, and then it runs constant. With the pump off we get 2 quarts before it runs out of water. Makes for very quiet brushing teeth and toilet flushing when the kiddo's are asleep. The capacitor is located on the A/C unit itself.

[flagmanruss]

I have always mounted pressure tanks vertically. Do they have to be?

[Mopar1973Man]

I found me a killer set of towing mirrors at a local RV dealer in Nampa, ID. (Nelson's RV). They where $32 bucks a piece not bad and they don't vibrate! I bought one for each side and they work awesome!

[Clanton24v]

Looks like those will work pretty well mike. But I sure do love my oem flip up tow mirrors

[oldbeek]

Bought some bright white leds from E-bay/china to replace 1156. First bulbs had 68 led panels. on the second order they offered bulbs with 102 led panels. Cheap, fast free shipping and they work great. Every bulb in my 5r is led now. Wish sender would send packing list to find them later. Look for 102 panel leds on e-bay Name ,WEI HUA from Shenzhen china

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Back to LED's . I did some research on E-bay. Go to led bulb 1156, in motors section. Bypass vision technology. They are repacking china bulbs and doubleing the price. Scroll down and find very generic adds from china. There are several vendors. Best price I could find was 4ea 68smd panels for $13.00 bucks. The 102 or 120smd (actually 102) are 510 lums . lums on 68 are not stated but are nearly the same as 102. Price is 4.59 for 1 102smd shipping paid. You will not be dissapointed. look at led bulb 194 for the flat plug in bulb 33smd panels/120 lums $1.50. Remember leds are polarity sensative. One of my fixtures was wired backwards.

[joecool911]

Does the pressure tank have a drain at the bottom? Can't tell what the black thing is.

I almost never camp in a park. My trailer is my home base for hunting. I have transitioned over to flourecent and LED lamps. Some of both. Flourecent is nice when you really need light LED when you just need some light or a night light. Also 4 exterior fixtures converted to LED. The big LED's like 120 led bulbs didn't work out from china, but the simple 12/15 led bulbs are doing well.

I am also installing a Plat Cat heater. Forced air furnace is a power hog. Vented catalytic heater with a thermostat should be the ticket. Claims it will run for 2 weeks on one battery. No pilot light either. Heats up like our heater plate on truck. 5 amps for 2 minutes. Then .5 amps when running.

I did the axle flip this past fall. Gained about 6" in clearance.

The liquid rubber roof was a success too.

When I bought it all the pipes were frozen. Used Pex pipe and the copper crimp fittings. Very happy with that system and is much less prone to freeze damage.

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Original tires on rig. They kinda roll under when making a sharp turn in opposing directions. This even when inflated to max pressure, which I believe is 40 psi. Wondering about putting BFG KO's on it like on my truck. 205/75-14. They are like 6 or 8 ply. I've been on some really nasty terrain and have never had a failure with those BFG's. If they are marked as traction devices, can I get by without chains on the trailer?

[AH64ID]

What pressure tank?I have looked at the cat heaters too, just not sure I want to go that route yet.

[flagmanruss]

When I bought my 5th wheel Scamper camper... it had belonged to my ex-inlaws (who were skilled mechanics), before the current seller who told me "He'd never used it" in the year he'd owned it. He neglected to tell me he'd put water in it & allowed it to freeze. The trailer was plumbed with 1/2" copper & flare fittings. All the lines were burst. I replaced them with Quest lines & fittings which I'd had great success with in the boatyard service. I lived in the trailer the year I got divorced. The only plumbing issue was when my heat could not keep up in the winter & the bathroom line froze... pushed the Quest fittings apart. After I dried the place out, I screwed the fttings back together. After I got married, we used the camper seasonally for 10 more years.

[War Eagle]

What pressure tank? I have looked at the cat heaters too, just not sure I want to go that route yet.

I am also looking at the cat heaters as a backup to the furnace in my camper. I am thinking for potential furnace problems while I am out in the unit and want to avoid emergency field repair. I like the PlatCat heater because it seems to be the only one that is vented outside the heated space so it avoids the possibility of exhaust gas (carbon monoxide) in the living space. It uses very little battery power and is very efficient with the fuel. Heat output doesn't match the capability of the camper furnace but the BTU output of the smaller unit would keep my camper warm enough to live in (it just doesn't blast out the heat like a forced air furnace. I have a good insulation and double pane windows so that helps minimize the BTU input requirement. The heat is more line of sight heat and I just have to figure out how I can mount it to provide the best overall heat felt within the camper. I am sold on the PlatCat.

[Perrysburg Dodgeboy]

The old man and I took some polished aluminum diamond plate and made bug guards on the nose of the trailer and rock guards down low on the front of trailer underneath the over hang. I will try and get some pics to help explain what we did. Not very expensive and it looks real sharp running down the highway.

Jerred would love to have some info on how you added the diamond plate to the front of your TT. I would like to do that to my TT also. Mine is fiberglass and was thinking about using construction adhesive to hold it to the trailer. If you could post some pics of your install it would be greatly appreciated. thanks Don