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RE: Better construction method??
you know, it's funny: we've been making guitars for 30 years out of composites (Ovation guitars originally made from the lyracord- from a company that makes aerospace components.) More recently, Composite Acoustics makes them out of carbon fiber. They sound as good or better than wood (trust me, I play for a living and know) and they never warp, sweat or need attention. And THEY'RE LIGHTER!
I wonder if we'll ever see those construction methods used on truck campers?
I mean, come on- if we can make a curved body support the tension of strings, how hard could it be to make a straight wall?
There is a company in California which actually makes a curved wall camper Composite camper
I have read about this XP Camper and it is composite too and has been holding up very well as I here. Does anyone know how long they have been using composites
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JD5150
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04/30/12 06:45pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Truck Camper Moisture Meter
Remember there is always moisture content in wood 8 to 14% anything over fungus can grow.
You can use the pinless meter. If you are buying a used camper and it has rain a day or a few days before you go take a look at it. Hopefully it was out side and not in a garage or building. You can run this pinless meter all over the inside walls, cabinets, ceiling areas. I would also run it on the outside of the camper fiberglass it should detect if there is moisture on the other side cardboard crap. I know my higher dollar meter detected moisture on the outside of my camper. A good way to check to see if it is working is try different areas and also check it on your hand it should detect moisture on your skin. Here is some good info.
Scale's Meanings:
Below 12 - Readings in this area are gathered from
kiln or oven dried woods and furniture
grades of wood, and represent very dry
conditions.
12-16 - Readings are common to construction
grades, air dried lumber and “healthy”
residential substructures (beneath first
floor in crawl spaces). These are the
readings desired.
16-20 - Readings indicate a possible elevated
level of wood moisture. Such readings
should alert the homeowner to look for a
source of excess moisture in the crawl
space, and to be sure that foundation
vents are opened for continuous year
round ventilation. The excess moisture
source should be corrected if found.
20-24 - Readings indicate a serious problem
somewhere. The excess moisture source
must be immediately corrected, and the
situation carefully monitored until the
WMC returns to the 12-16 range.
25-30 - Actual, and often extensive, damage is
evident when readings reach this level.
The substructure may show decayed
areas, ranging from small to very large, of
rotten floor joist, sills, and subflooring.
Often this is the “too late” level of
reading for correcting problem situations
without repair costs in the thousands of
dollars.
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JD5150
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04/27/12 03:19pm |
Truck Campers
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Truck Camper Moisture Meter
I thought this would be helpful. I do run my own water damage restoration business and have used these. They do work and are worth it. I do have higher dollar meters I also use. If you are unsure if you have a leak or unsure where the water traveled this is a good cheap way to test or find it. Why I post this here instead of fifth wheels or travel trailers. It seems that truck campers prone to leak more. I don't know if it is because you use them off road or what.
Pinless Moisture Meter
Moisture Meter With Probes
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JD5150
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04/27/12 02:21pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Better construction method??
I know one thing. If I did not own this fifth wheel or had it paid for. I would be the ginny pig for all of us and put it through the test.
I have had two new campers one TC that leaked a week after I bought it new. Ruined the whole front cap. I did make the manufacture replace it. Sold it a month after it was repaired. Bought the fifth wheel I have now and it leaked about a month after I bought it new. Keystone fixed it. All it did was get the carpet and floor wet which I dried out. Water came in from the bottom of the bedroom slide.
For a living I do run my own business doing water damage restoration. I am always looking for something better that won't rot in a camper. If this Hallmark camper holds up structurally. Hallmark could be setting a new standard for the whole entire industry. I do praise them for trying different building methods. We do as a consumer need better camper building methods. Campers are prone to leak and rot out
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JD5150
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04/27/12 01:23pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Better construction method??
Yes, but does it have a proven track record. Years ago when I was in the fence construction business, composite fencing came out and it was suppose to be better than sliced bread. Alot of the companies ended up going out of business quickly once they realized that the stuff was not holding up like it was bragged up to be. The poor fence/deck installer was left holding the bag. Obviously alot of the material was later perfected, but I am always leary to jump into this new stuff before its time tested.
Eight year structural warranty. I'm pretty sure the good guys at Hallmark would stand behind it.
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JD5150
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04/27/12 10:06am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Better construction method??
It may cost more to have a camper built this way but worth every penny. Have a camper last for years and have better resell value. I really don't think I would sell it though if I could ever get my hands on one. Now I just have to convince the wife that we need to sell the fifth wheel lol.
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JD5150
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04/27/12 09:31am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Chalet Quad Slide
I was looking up truck campers today and stumbled upon this.
Scroll Down Chalet Quad Slide
Finally another camper with a kingsized bed like mine.
My Lance 915 doesn't have any slides however.
Remove the night stand then slide the twin beds together.
Presto a kingsize bed.
Lance twin bed arangement.
http://www.lancecamper.com/truck-campers/images/extended-cabover-twin-bed.jpg width=640
We can't have it any better then this. Awesome, twin size beds then king size bed with no slides. I wish I had a long bed truck.
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JD5150
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03/22/12 09:29pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Chalet Quad Slide
All,
Why are manufacturers so slide happy? The reason the industry went bust during the last downturn and high fuel prices, is because they got WAY behind the curve. The TCM survey seemed to say, industry should be building light weight, non-slide camper and here we are with these behemoths! What gives RV builders?
Have you tried to find a non-slide Arctic Fox, Chalet, or other camper. The only staunch hold outs are Northern-Lite, Northstar, and Bigfoot and now Livin' Lite.
My rant may not be yours, so feel free.
Best,
Bill
I am actually looking for a non slide, hard side or pop up. I don't like slides on a TC. Just more weight and maintenance
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JD5150
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03/20/12 03:40pm |
Truck Campers
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Chalet Quad Slide
I was looking up truck campers today and stumbled upon this.
Scroll Down Chalet Quad Slide
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JD5150
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03/20/12 12:40pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Gen Noise Reduction?
I was told to never run synthetic oil in air-cooled motors. I would check your owners manual. I could be wrong, but I was a VW mechanic years ago and this is what I learned.I run synthetic oil in my Bobcat 10KW welder/generator all the time. It has a 20 hp Kohler air cooled v-twin gas engine. The synthetic oil lasts longer, using less oil between oil changes and I go longer intervals between oil changes too.
X2
I Just bought a new Kohler 30 HP air cooled v twin engine for a machine I have. First 50 hours it burned a quart of oil. Manual said not to use sythetic until the first 50 hours of engine break in. Change to synthetic at 50 hours first oil change and now I have 100 hours and it did not burn near as much oil. I thought a quart of oil for the first 50 hours was alot for a new engine.
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JD5150
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09/04/11 09:23pm |
Truck Campers
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