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Date Posted |
Forum
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RE: We saw the Annular Eclipse in Albuquerque Today, Awesome!
here is my contribution after the overcast started breaking up.
https://i.imgur.com/YMuBUYEl.jpg
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RickW
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10/16/23 09:39pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Help with Skamper Heco Lift System Corner Brackets Setup
Go to expedition portal and look up roof repair instructions by Rory Willett.
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RickW
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09/26/23 02:45pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Charging House Batteries
Hi,
If you are camping in a truck bed topper, no furnace, TV or microwave, your largest load is probably the CPAP. If you move every couple of days, connecting batteries to the alternator through the trailer connector is sufficient.
If you stay in one place more than a few days, get a single 100 watt portable solar panel with a small inverter. Charge when sunny. Using an electric blanket might require a second solar panel. They are $100 each or less.
I use 2 flexible solar panels that fit under the mattress when not in use and can go three days or longer on two 80 AH batteries without any charging in my TC.
Hope this helps,
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RickW
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09/18/23 04:10pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: How 4-season are 4 seasons Lances?
^I get it. Whatever works best for you is what works best.
The big thing with moisture is volume introduced via external stuff (the wet ski gear) and the lack of good air circulation. The forced air furnace (mouse turd burner lol) does a lot to dry the air but trust me. Few people for a few days in cold weather in a TC will be a challenge to keep humidity and condensation under control. You can. It’s not prohibitive, just a bit of a challenge.
You can charge from the truck somewhat efficiently with a good size DCDC charger.
Still, your engineer sense should guide you from over complicating things like plumbing into the truck fuel tank. Besides those little heaters only use like a half gallon of diesel a day or something minuscule. Nothing a little fuel can and 5 min a day can’t keep full.
If I have any control over it I WILL be doing very similar to you again in the future. And having run a couple TCs thru the gamut from driving to AK to outrunning tornados in the Midwest and boonie docking in the Rockies and cascades, what you’re planning is a great setup.
Cheers!
I understand humidity. That's specifically why I was asking about the dehumidify feature on the new Truma AC that Lance is using. I was wondering if it was like my Canadian friends who use their AC in the winter (Run AC in the winter). When I asked my local dealer guy he had no idea. But if it functions that way? That's a game changer.
Worst case I think a small air-to-air heat exchanger could be fabbed to do air exchange and dry out the camper. Making it look good and fit somewhere is the only problem.
See this post for info on an air to air heat exchanger I made to fit in the sliding window under the bed. Sorry, photos were deleted by photo host. I have used it off and on for the past 10 years.
Heat exchanger for TC
Yeah I'd love to see pics, but I assume it's like a house cross flow air to air?
The design I have in mind would be more like a periscope with counter flow. My youngest has a 3D printer, so that and some square aluminum tube I could prototype some things pretty fast. A few computer fans, and an arduino set to keep delta below say 5 degrees and I think it could be pretty effective. Rough turn over on a computer fan might be 20-30 cfm per minute. Back of the napkin says an 1172 is about 640 cuft in volume. That puts me at 32 minutes per turn over (theoretical). If I could turn the unit over 3 times in a night I'd be happy. So it could run much slower of course.
Yes, mine is a plate exchanger with cross flow in a plastic box like an ammo case that fits in the sliding window. I did mock up a counterflow shell and tube exchanger, but fans with higher static pressure (and higher wattage) than computer fans were required for my design. (Maybe why cross flow exchangers are used in cold climate homes?)
At low flow, I estimate my cross flow exchanger is a quiet 3-5 cfm, enough to sleep comfortably in my TC without open vents and condensation. I also confirmed humidity removal by initially boiling water in the TC and measuring humidity for a few hours after. Sorry, I don't recall the data.
Please share your design and results when finished.
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RickW
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05/08/23 01:41pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: How 4-season are 4 seasons Lances?
^I get it. Whatever works best for you is what works best.
The big thing with moisture is volume introduced via external stuff (the wet ski gear) and the lack of good air circulation. The forced air furnace (mouse turd burner lol) does a lot to dry the air but trust me. Few people for a few days in cold weather in a TC will be a challenge to keep humidity and condensation under control. You can. It’s not prohibitive, just a bit of a challenge.
You can charge from the truck somewhat efficiently with a good size DCDC charger.
Still, your engineer sense should guide you from over complicating things like plumbing into the truck fuel tank. Besides those little heaters only use like a half gallon of diesel a day or something minuscule. Nothing a little fuel can and 5 min a day can’t keep full.
If I have any control over it I WILL be doing very similar to you again in the future. And having run a couple TCs thru the gamut from driving to AK to outrunning tornados in the Midwest and boonie docking in the Rockies and cascades, what you’re planning is a great setup.
Cheers!
I understand humidity. That's specifically why I was asking about the dehumidify feature on the new Truma AC that Lance is using. I was wondering if it was like my Canadian friends who use their AC in the winter (Run AC in the winter). When I asked my local dealer guy he had no idea. But if it functions that way? That's a game changer.
Worst case I think a small air-to-air heat exchanger could be fabbed to do air exchange and dry out the camper. Making it look good and fit somewhere is the only problem.
See this post for info on an air to air heat exchanger I made to fit in the sliding window under the bed. Sorry, photos were deleted by photo host. I have used it off and on for the past 10 years.
Heat exchanger for TC
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RickW
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05/05/23 08:44pm |
Truck Campers
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