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Forum
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RE: Furnace issue
If you are looking for some experience in this matter. You already had it and now just need to make sure you learn from this event. First you should realize that the furnace blower uses a lot of juice, typically about 7 amps. That pull can run down a battery bank quickly. Many appliances such as a refrigerator or furnace will shut down when the battery voltage drops less than about 12 amps.
Another learning lession you may encounter is battery life. Even a deep cycle battery will not last long if you run it down all the way. I typically replace my car or RV batteries anytime I have an incident and run them flat.
Odds are your furnace will start to work again after you charge the battery more. If not I would pull the fuse and then reinsert. That will likely reset. Personally I would not even try that until the battery charge was about 12.5v or so. Again, I would also consider replacing the battery. If you plan on running the furnace a lot, you will need shore power or frequent charging from a generator or solar system.
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JimK-NY
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11/13/23 07:06am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Design ideas for a platform to lower camper onto...
Stack a few pallets under the bed and lower the camper to you take most of the pressure off of the jacks.
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JimK-NY
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10/25/23 12:52pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Will pipes freeze overnight?
I also live on L.I. and use a small electric heater to keep the TC at about 40 degrees. It takes very little electricity even in the coldest days. I recommend you check on the temperature frequently just in case something goes wrong. I use a remote transmitter so I can see the temperature on the monitor in my kitchen.
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JimK-NY
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10/20/23 05:04pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Help with Glacier please
If you are not hikers, why Glacier? It is one of the few NPs where it seems every visitor comes to hike. Even little kids are miles up on the trails.
St Mary's CG is not an especially scenic area. You might want to consider alternative areas outside of Glacier.
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JimK-NY
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08/04/23 09:35am |
Roads and Routes
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RE: 2017 Montana 3100RL 5th wheel GelCoat
Looks like it was shot with a bb or pellet gun.
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JimK-NY
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08/01/23 03:00pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Old Timer RVing
Please tell me how you can pack in 150 hours/week of exercise. . .????:?
Sorry, that should be 150 minutes/week.
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JimK-NY
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07/31/23 07:31am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Old Timer RVing
I am now approaching my 80s and the differences in capabilities of people my age is huge. Some people are fit, active and able to do lots of things at my age and even well into their 90s. Others barely make it in independent or assisted living facilities. A great many others are already dead.
Genetics and luck are certainly important. Unfortunately most of us have not and do not live a lifestyle that is healthy. I am a reformed smoker, reformed drinker, and after some serious health issues and a couple of stents, I am moving towards being a "health nut". You probably do not want to hear my advice, but here are a few comments anyway.
First, the average American is killing themselves with excess calories and poor food choices. Obesity is very common. You cannot expect to live an active life in older age if you spend most of your life time eating poorly and carrying 20, 50 or a 100 pounds or more of fat. You cannot expect to live a long active life if you do not exercise. Health professionals recommend roughly 150 hours/week of exercise. For me that means a heart rate in the range of 101-122 or slightly higher. Less than that falls into the category of activity, not exercise.
I spent my Covid years doing very little. I also had some serious health issues including a heart CTO, afib, emphysema, systemic sclerosis, and anemia. I just finished 36 sessions of cardiac rehab and am now going to the gym 3x/week. I surely cannot totally reverse years of overeating and lack of exercise, but I have learned I can make a huge difference in my health and ability to do things. This Sunday I will be taking off for a 4 month trip in my truck camper.
Anyway back to the OP. You probably do not want to do any research and learn about the capabilites of the average person in their 80s. I can tell you for sure it will be discouraging. Next, I recommend you totally reconsider your lifestyle. If you have "settled in" to living and "sitting around doing nothing", consider some alternatives. Even RV travel might not do much for you. especially if that means sitting around a campground. Maybe you should consider photography, or bird watching, or rock hounding, any reason to get you out on the trails putting in some miles of hiking and exploring.
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JimK-NY
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07/31/23 06:42am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: How do you handle no toilet in Pop Up?
At this stage of life I would eliminate the 20% of locations with no facilities. Otherwise may as well have a tent and backpack.
Very few places I stay have facilities.
Even when I stay in a place with facilities, I prefer to use my own. Mine is clean, sanitary, and convenient. I am old and half the time I need a facilities visit in the middle of the night. If not then first thing in the morning before I am fully awake or dressed.That is nice for you. What for the OP?
My advice was based on the OP having no facility in the camper. How would you proceed with no facility in the camper?
If you happened to notice, I was responding to another forum participant, not the OP.
I really do not know what sort of response the OP is looking for. If they want to buy a small popup truck camper and they claim there is no space for a cassette toilet, then I guess they will need to do without. I would not want to argue with the OP about the lack of space for a cassette toilet. They want to know how to deal with this. Nothing magic here. Either hold it or find another place to go. Backpackers often use a small plastic gardener's trowel. Or stay in campgrounds with some sort of facilities.
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JimK-NY
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07/31/23 06:01am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Atwood 6 Gallon Gas water heater
Based on my similar experiences with the Atwood, I would start with the ignitor. Make sure the gap is correct and it is correctly positioned in the flame.
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JimK-NY
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07/29/23 08:17am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Aftermarket parts
Many years ago, I had the same issue with the stove vent. It was cheap plastic and even worse the hinge was a 1/4" x 1/8" projection at each end that fit into holes to allow the flap to pivot. Those projections broke with almost no use.
I stopped by the manufacturer and complained about that item. The offered me two choices for replacement. The first choice was another piece of junk identical to the one that broke. The other was similar junk except that a piece of tape allowed the flap to open and close. Clearly that was not going to work either. I went with the original style and when it broke I replaced the plastic pivots with a coat hanger.
It hardly makes any difference. The vent flaps when driving unless to plastic toggles are moved to the closed position. That constant flapping would break even a well made vent. The toggles are so high that I need a stool or step ladder to reach them. Hence I rarely use the vent. Instead I just use the Fantastic fan in the ceiling.
If you notice, a lot of RV parts are similar junk. The manufacturers often don't have decent parts to use either.
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JimK-NY
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07/28/23 10:04pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Learned an expensive lesson today
You need to get a different bank.
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JimK-NY
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07/27/23 12:46pm |
RV Lifestyle
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RE: Where do you put your trash can?
I have no idea what areas are available in your rig.
I have a small truck camper and found a solution I have used for many years. I have a square, roughly 5 gallon bucket with a bail. It was formerly a hd plastic container for kitty litter. Since it is square it fits in a corner, in my case between my kitchen and the bathroom. I use cheap, kitchen can bag liners from Costco and dump the garbage and trash every day or so.
It is also very useful to have a 5 gallon bucket. I have found all sorts of times I needed it.
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JimK-NY
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07/25/23 06:02am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: How do you handle no toilet in Pop Up?
At this stage of life I would eliminate the 20% of locations with no facilities. Otherwise may as well have a tent and backpack.
Very few places I stay have facilities.
Even when I stay in a place with facilities, I prefer to use my own. Mine is clean, sanitary, and convenient. I am old and half the time I need a facilities visit in the middle of the night. If not then first thing in the morning before I am fully awake or dressed.
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JimK-NY
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07/25/23 05:48am |
Truck Campers
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RE: How do you handle no toilet in Pop Up?
I have to echo big jeff. After years of tent camping, I really enjoy having a toilet and would never want to go back to the old days of outhouses or digging a hole.
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JimK-NY
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07/24/23 09:25pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Peak kodiak sc83 camper leaking help
Leaky window seals are fairly common. Get a good duct tape, such as Gorilla, and tape around that window. If the leaking stops, you will at least know the general source.
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JimK-NY
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07/23/23 11:09am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Air Deflector Van + Cargo Trailer Fuel Improvement
Before going through the effort and expense, I would like to know if an air deflector was worth it. This discussion reminds me of the air whistles that are supposed to help avoid hitting deer. There have been lots and lots of studies that show no effect, but plenty of people still use them and believe they work.
I have done many tens of thousands of miles driving my RV and have recorded every drop of fuel I have used. My fuel mileage has been highly variable due to road delays and conditions, hills, speed, ambient temperature, wind speed and direction and who know what other factors. I would never notice a difference of a half mpg due to a deflector. It would take a controlled experiment with an accurate fuel consumption detector.
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JimK-NY
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07/23/23 05:56am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Handheld air compressor
I have no experience with handheld compressors but can make a recommendation for a small, low cost air compressor.
I have been using a Slime compressor for over 10 years. It has enough capacity to pump up 19.5 commercial tires to over 100psi. The model I have is no longer sold but Amazon has a similar model 42007 for $65. If you do get one it will take 15 minutes or more to pump up a larger tire to the 100psi range. I recommend stopping every 10 minutes or so and allow the unit to cool down for 5 minutes or so.
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JimK-NY
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07/22/23 04:50am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Is a roof leak covered by warranty?
Only 5 months old? Certainly a warranty issue.
Would you expect a 5 month old CAR to leak? Of course not.
Great point. Somehow we accept the idea that an RV might leak within a few months and certainly within a few years. Why is this acceptable. Shouldn't we expect an RV to be leak free indefinetly?
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JimK-NY
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07/21/23 10:41am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Air Deflector Van + Cargo Trailer Fuel Improvement
If anyone thinks that adding an air deflector DOES NOT help is delusional. Air going over a trailer vs. slamming into the top of the trailer is a real thing. How much? Can't say, but it's a reality.
How much? Got any data?
It's been working for tractor trailer drivers for years.
Again, where is the data? I could not find results of any studies.
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JimK-NY
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07/21/23 08:27am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Air Deflector Van + Cargo Trailer Fuel Improvement
If anyone thinks that adding an air deflector DOES NOT help is delusional. Air going over a trailer vs. slamming into the top of the trailer is a real thing. How much? Can't say, but it's a reality.
How much? Got any data?
No bug splatter on the front of the trailer means the air is being moved up and over the trailer. Also the .5 mpg improvement says it works as well!
I don't see how anyone could detect that small of a difference. It would take a precise fuel consumption measuring device and identical driving conditions. I see huge difference merely due to traffic, wind direction, etc.
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JimK-NY
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07/21/23 08:26am |
General RVing Issues
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