| |
Subject |
Author |
Date Posted |
Forum
|
 |
Weekend Warrior Couch Leg
The folding leg on my fold down couch/bed failed and a search of the internet for a new one has proved fruitless. Anyone have a source for the folding legs?
|
pcassidy111
|
05/25/12 04:46pm |
Toy Haulers
|
 |
RE: TPMS Systems
Doran system works good but the battery life is just a little longer than the warranty, about 26 months onaverage for my sensors. $39 each for new but it has saved me twice so far and the peace of mind is worth the cost IMO. I do like the new TST system with replaceable batteries but have no experience with the TST system.
|
pcassidy111
|
05/16/12 10:47pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
RE: Solar vs Alternator Charging Conflicts?
Your alternator may be rated for 130 amps but the duty cycle is for a short time. Unless you are running something like a Leece Neville which are made to put out 130-200 amps continuously you will fry the stator windings if you are putting out 130 amps for more than10-15 minutes.
|
pcassidy111
|
05/15/12 10:00pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
RE: Replacement for Radio, DVD, etc.
Check out Kenwood car audio at Crutchfields. Don't recall the model number of what I have, KDX 799 Excelon? AM/FM, hidden CD, Rear USB to plug an ipod into and bluetooth to link up to an Iphone etc to stream music or play what is stored on the phone.
|
pcassidy111
|
05/15/12 09:50pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
RE: Interstate Battery Absorption Voltage
Interstates 15.3 volts is at 80 degrees F! Pretty high IMO. I am running a temperature probe at the battery for the solar charge controller as well as a voltage sense wire. I'll give the Interstates a try ( I'll save about $80 USD over buying Trojans) and if they don't work out I'll just warranty them through the shop.
Thanks for the help.
|
pcassidy111
|
05/13/12 10:10pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
Interstate Battery Absorption Voltage
I am currently running Trojan T105 batteries which call for an absorption voltage of 14.8 volts. I am thinking of switching to Interstate GC2 batteries because I can buy them through work very cheap. The Interstate website calls for an absorption voltage of 15.3 volts. This seems pretty high. Any problems with staying with 14.8 volts or only going to 15 volts in the absorption phase and staying there longer than the Interstate recommended 2 hours? These two voltage are preset on my Morningstar TriStar TS 45 solar charge controller.
|
pcassidy111
|
05/13/12 07:11pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
RE: Shorting out a solar panel
Thanks for the info, I'll sleep better tonight knowing I don't have to open the combiner box back up to isolate the panels. :)
|
pcassidy111
|
05/06/12 08:37pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
Shorting out a solar panel
Was installing solar panels on my trailer and hooked the wiring up to the solar panels first. When I was stripping the cable jacket to get some wire to hook up to the combiner box the positive and negative ends were making contact intermittently and arcing. Did it a few times before I isolated the conductors. It was a 100 watt panel in full sun. After I buttoned everything up it dawned on me that I probably should have check the panel OCV. I don't have the system fully operational yet (still waiting for the charge controller) so I cannot check output of the panels without isolating them, something I am trying to avoid. Question is can I damage the panel by arcing the positive and negative leads together?
|
pcassidy111
|
05/06/12 07:52pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
RE: No more guessing how much water I put in
Good find, it sure beats the milk jug/stop watch method of filling my tank.
Most of us with toyhaulers have fairly large tanks, mine is 150 gallons. Why fill it all the way for a 3 day trip when only 60 gallons will due? Also based on the axle placement of my toyhauler tongue weight can be a problem when I use the trailer as a travel trailer and nothing in the rear of it. 60-70 gallons of water gives me a tongue weight of about 1550 pounds. Filling the tank to full puts the tongue weight at 2200 pounds, about 500 pounds over the rating of the hitch. Besides water is weight and weight adds to fuel burn. 80 gallons is an extra 640 pounds. Do you think that airliners top off with fuel at every airport they stop at? No, they only carry enough fuel for 30 extra minutes of air time over their ETA.....because weight contributes to extra fuel burn.
|
pcassidy111
|
04/27/12 01:08pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
Fuse sizing
What size fuse should I use between the battery and my 55 amp Iota converter. I have 4 awg wire between the battery and the converter. I have an 80 amp MIDI fuse that I was thinking of using but worried that it may be too big.
|
pcassidy111
|
04/25/12 07:23pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
RE: Rogue vs Blue Sky charge controllers
I plan on using the OM 100 panels from AM Solar.
|
pcassidy111
|
04/24/12 11:14pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
RE: Rogue vs Blue Sky charge controllers
The panels I am going to use are rated at 22 volts open circuit and 18.5 volts at max power point. Research shows that I only benefit from MPPT in bulk mode. I think that I will buy a non-MPPT Morningstar TS45 and use the money saved to buy another solar panel.
|
pcassidy111
|
04/24/12 09:35pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
Voltage drop questions
Trying to calculate the wire size for the wire from a combiner box on the roof to the PWM charge controller. The panels are rated at 21 volts open circuit and 18 volts at max power. The cable lenght is 15 feet. I want a voltage drop of 2% or less. I will have 200 to 300 watts, about 19 amps at maximum current.
For system voltage do I use 12 or 18 volts when calculating the conductor size? 12 volts requires 2 AWG, 18 volts requires 6 AWG.
|
pcassidy111
|
04/24/12 09:28pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
Tongue Jack Fuse
When rewiring/cleaning up my trailer wiring I noticed my 3500 pound Atwood tongue jack is not fused. Can someone tell me what size fuse to use?
|
pcassidy111
|
04/22/12 10:36pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
RE: Docking Lights
I added PAR 36 halogen lamps to my truck and trailer. They are a standard in the trucking industry, cheap and durable.
|
pcassidy111
|
04/22/12 08:22am |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
|
|
RE: Loose Nut Indicators
Torque Seal
Noticed this product on many of the critical fasteners on the rides at Disneyland.
|
pcassidy111
|
04/18/12 11:33pm |
Toy Haulers
|
|
RE: need transmission help GM P30 4L80E
I betcha the filter has come off inside the transmission......and you also may have double gasketed the filter o-ring that fits on the filter tube. When u remove the old filter the old o-ring usually stays stuck up inside and you have to remove it with a curved pick.
+1. I have also seen more than one filter crack on installation and suck air causing the problems you are describing
|
pcassidy111
|
04/15/12 11:42pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
Rogue vs Blue Sky charge controllers
I am considering a solar setup on my Toyhauler. We do 3-6 day trips at least once and usually twice a month year round. We do not have a TV or large stereo in the trailer. We do charge our cell phones, cameras and 2 way radios off the battery and the laptop with a 300 watt inverter or the generator. I have a 225 amp hour battery bank and cannot increase the size due to space and weight. I am not trying to totally eliminate generator use just trying to reduce it and also keep the batteries up in storage and have the batteries recharge in storage rather than having to recharge them before I take the trailer back to storage. In a nutshell I want something that will charge the batteries while I am out playing so I don't have to run the generator as much when I am back at camp. I am looking at a 200 watt array with room to go to 300 watts if necessary and need some input on charge controllers. On the fence about a remote panel, once the solar system is up and working I don't think that it is that big a deal to open the outside compartment and see what the battery voltage is when the sun does down to determine if I need to run the generator for a while.
The Rogue MPT 3024 is a possibility. I like the ability to set the charge set points on the unit without having to buy a seperate panel. A concern I have is that the users manual states that it could shut down if the ambient temperature exceeds 104 degrees F and the heatsink exceeds 185 degrees F and then the unit has to be manually restarted-not good if this happens in storage. I camp in the desert in the summer and I store the trailer where the ambient temp exceeds 100 degrees almost daily during the summer. Can any users of the Rogue unit confirm that the thermal shutdown is a concern? One drawback of the Rogue controller is that if I want to measure amperage use and battery capacity I have to buy a separate device like a Trimetric. For a short duration boondocker like myself is it really necessary to monitor this information? Couldn't I just look at the charge cycle before the sun goes down (bulk, absorbtion,float)or the battery voltage on the controller after the sungoes down to get an idea of state of charge? I do like that this controller monitors the charging voltage at the battery and not at the controller pretty much making my .50% Vdrop a 0% voltage drop. Price on this unit without a remote display is $325.
I am also considering the Blue Sky Energy 2512iX with the IPN Pro-Remote so I can set the voltage set points (not possible without the IPN Pro Remote). This set up can use a shunt so I could monitor everything that a Trimetric does. This controller cannot sense voltage at the battery. Downside is I have to get the IPN Pro Remote (which adds $200 dollars to the package) to set the charging voltage set points, the up side is I only need to buy a shunt to accurately measure state of charge and amp hour usage to know exactly how long I have to run the generator for to bring the batteries up to 90% SOC or better. Price on this system (controller, shunt, temp sensor IPN Pro Remote) is $530.
The question is for a user like myself how many bells and whistles do I need? I don't want to buy more than I need.
|
pcassidy111
|
04/15/12 11:35pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
RE: Honda CRF450X or Yamaha WR450F
Keep a clean air filter and you will not have any valve problems on the CRF. I run a Twin Air with a filter skin. I adjusted the valves at the first service and have not adjusted them since. I check them every 500 miles and have over 180 hours on the hour meter.
|
pcassidy111
|
04/06/12 07:15am |
Toy Haulers
|
|
Solar Panel Placement And Other Questions
Going to be installing 2 100 watt solar panels on my trailer. My thinking is to put them both running down the same side of the trailer (street side in this case) so that when/if I tilt them during the winter they will not have any shadows like would occur if I had one on each side of the trailer. Any thoughts on this?
When part of a solar panel is shaded is the total output of the panel reduced to zero of just reduced by the percentage of shading? I was thinking of using the OM-100 panels from AM Solar.
Most wiring diagrams show a fuse only between the battery and the charge controler, does anyone put a fuse between the panels and the charge controler?
|
pcassidy111
|
04/05/12 02:16pm |
Tech Issues
|
