Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Class C Motorhomes: B+ motorhomes

Print | Close

Topic: B+ motorhomes

Posted By: Gene in NE on 02/27/13 10:00pm

Snowman9000 - I liked what I saw. Quite a selection to pick from. All would be more stealthy than the pop-up. The pop-up I showed in my posting was purchased for my kids and grandkids. Only paid $500. The streamlined motorcycle trailer cost $3,500. The RV does not even know whether it is pulling either one. The secret is to buy something that attracts lookers followed by interested buyers. The purchase price then becomes a mute point as you can sell it anytime you want and get most if not all of your money back.

Here is another possibility - The Chariot.

This one might cost extra if pulled into some campground -
Scamp 13'. These can be found in used condition. They also hold their value.

2002 Trail-Lite Model 211-S w/5.7 Chevy (click View Profile)
Gene

Posted By: Snowman9000 on 02/28/13 05:32am

Gene, those Chariot ones look interesting.

Yeah, the ones I found are expensive. The Car-Go Lite Xtreme, I saw online for over $11K "as equipped". The only way that makes any sense for DW and I is if it lets up spend a snowbird winter doing a lot of extra things, without needed to sell the TL and buy a bigger RV. And in that case, it would definitely make sense. But a more basic trailer could serve the same purpose.

If I can come across a dinky affordable popup, there is a good chance I'd buy it to see what we could do with it. As you said, it's not likely to go down in value.

EDIT to add:
We talked about this a bit last night. We'd want something that has 6' of interior height, if possible. But something that can easily be moved off to the side of a site by hand. So it really seems like we should be looking at a tent (which we just ordered), or a very tiny trailer that expands with a tent. Sort of like a camp kitchen or motorcycle trailer. This is a long term idea for us to work on.

Currently RV-less but not done yet.

Posted By: Teacher's Pet on 02/28/13 11:05am

Have started getting the R-Vision 213 ready for the Alaska trip this summer. Charger Enterprises in Elkhart, IN picked it up from storage and mounted 2 AGM 6 volt batteries under the floor. They fabricated brackets, wired, hooked up my 1000 watt inverter and returned it to storage this week. We picked up a nice used water-tight 18" x 20" X 46" aluminum cargo chest while here in Mission TX for the winter. Now to find a cargo tray, Northern tool shows a good one but they aren't here in S Texas. We'll be in Melbourne FL in 10 days, there is one there, so we'll check it out. Trying to locate a place to spray about 1 1/2" foam around the holding tanks to protect from rocks also.

'06 Phaeton 40' QSH
'14 Ford Flex SEL AWD Toad
'04 R-Vision Trail-Lite 213
Scottiemom's Pet or husband to Dale
RV.net Rallies 13, Other Rallies 21, Escapades 7
Fulltimers since 2005, Where are we?
Our Travel Blog

Posted By: Snowman9000 on 03/02/13 07:12am

After looking hard at the way the passenger seat sits, I doubt we would like the compromise required to use the aftermarket swivel plate. I think the seat would be too high and too far left.

Posted By: Gene in NE on 03/02/13 03:21pm

Snowman9000 - I tend to agree with you. The Chevy cab gets some of it's cab room by not having a seat mounted arm rest near the door. If you try to swivel the chair, you either have to move the passenger seat to the left or leave the door open for the left seat mounted armrest. You might be able to remove that armrest with a little loss of comfort. Height may not be that much of a problem unless you are short legged. The swivel I have seen only raised the seat about 1-1/2".

Posted By: Snowman9000 on 03/02/13 05:40pm

Pet,

I plan to do the same with the batteries. I have a local retired welder who can do it. I plan to put some solar panels on the roof too. I might not get to it but I plan to. [emoticon]

Check out Harbor Freight for the cargo tray. They sell an aluminum one that's a name brand. I bought one last year but it's still in the box.

I found it.

Be sure to look online for a 20% off one item coupon too!
Found it too!

Edit, I found it again at $74.99 if you use coupon code 60620597. HF is maddening that way.
See if it comes up here.

* This post was edited 03/03/13 06:52am by Snowman9000 *

Posted By: Snowman9000 on 03/03/13 06:24am

DW and I are beginning to camp off-grid now and then.

I'm messing around with how to improve the battery system on our TL. Most RVs have a poor battery system when it comes to dry camping, and the TL is worse than most.

-Only one battery.
-Can't access it for checking and maintenance.
-Typical poor stock converter/charger.
-Terrible wiring from it to the battery.

Really, the only good thing is the genset. But due to the above, the genset would have to be used A LOT to charge the battery if dry camping for days.

The battery limitation is obvious.

The charger's problems: It is notorious for either under- or over-charging. Under because it won't produce a high enough voltage and amps for bulk charging, and over because often they don't scale back their voltage when it is time to float charge. ie It undercharges when you are in a hurry, and overcharges over the long run.

The wiring to the battery is atrocious. Too skinny and way too long of a run. But that is fairly typical in RVs. They are just not set up for dry camping at all. They are set up to be plugged in.

There are several improvements possible. Any one of them is a good start, any two of them is a great start.

-Add a second battery. $200-250 DIY.
(Even better, make them both AGMs. $500-600 DIY total w/Sam's Club AGMs.)

-Install a better converter/charger, closer to the battery and with big cables. $250 DIY.
(Poor man's solution is a standalone battery charger plugged into the side of the RV and clamped on the battery(ies), running off the genset. $100, maybe less.)

-Install a solar system. $250 DIY for 100 watts, $400 for 200 watts.

I mapped out the roof, eliminating any space which would be shaded due to a 45º angle from the sun. This covers most of the country during most of the camping season, during the prime mid-day hours for charging. I can fit 200 watts, using 50 watt panels. Add an inexpensive but good Morningstar PWM controller, wire, mounts, etc. A 200w system would replace what we use each day, assuming there is sun on our panels. I figure we use 40 AH per day, what with our LED lights (eBay!), and low power Visio TV.

A 200 watt system could be the primary charging solution. A 100 watt system would at least top the batteries off after they received some charge from a charger. Of course, if you camp in the shade, like most of us in the East, it's not so helpful. I'm in love with the idea of solar, but I think I need to wait till I've done the other stuff. [emoticon]

As much as I (really really) want to do solar, I guess I'm going to add a second battery, probably just a regular one, and do something about a better charger. That should keep me under $500.

And if you drive around every day, a lot of this is not even needed. But if you sit for 3 days or more, something has to give. It is a puzzle.

Posted By: Orion_42 on 03/03/13 02:36pm

I ended up installing a high-quality marine dual-bank charger in the storage compartment under the oven. I connected it through the floor to the battery relay box under the floor below the sofa bed (rear door TL211) where there is access to both the engine battery and coach battery terminals in one spot. I plugged it into the same outlet that the microwave oven plugs into. I also turned off the circuit breaker for the 12V converter on the factory inverter panel to take that charger out of the loop. Now I have a quality charger that keeps both batteries healthy all winter long without over-charging and it was a short enough run that I could use the charger's factory wiring without extending.

* This post was edited 03/03/13 03:27pm by Orion_42 *

----------------------
2001 Trail Lite B+ 211

Posted By: Teacher's Pet on 03/03/13 03:18pm

Snowman9000. I've looked at that rack, plus remember a similar one at Menard's. However with the long overhang on the 213, I wonder if a elevated carrier such as one for a ATV might not be a better idea. The ATV carrier at HF would work very well, but the tube looks to be a very light gauge steel. This is my main concern since we will be off and on 5 different ferries on our 10,000 mile upcoming Alaska trip. We didn't take the ferry at Ft Ticonderoga NY across Lake Champlain this past summer due to a very steep ramp. I'm going to check for one the Cabela's in Gonzales LA on our way to New Orleans after we leave Houston Tuesday.

Posted By: Snowman9000 on 03/03/13 04:21pm

Orion_42 wrote:

That sounds great. And if it ever doesn't work, you still have the stock one available.

I decided to go the thrifty route and buy the cheap Harbor Freight charger that Mexbungalows (now Mexwanderer) recommends so highly. It can function as essentially a manual, bulk charger. Meaning I'll have to keep an eye on it. But it will only be needed when charging from the genset power, so I will be on site anyway. At least it buys me some time. And it is compact so I can store it easily.

Print | Close