Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: So what did you do to your Truck Camper today?

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Topic: So what did you do to your Truck Camper today?

Posted By: Bob B on 05/06/16 10:54am

That 160W Ebay panel does look like a heck of a deal.....but I couldn't find much info about the company. Looks like they started up in 2011.

Please let us know how the panel work out.

2007 Lance 1181, 2013 Chevy 3500 DRW

Posted By: jmckelvy on 05/06/16 10:57am

Rbertalotto wrote:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-160-Watt-12-Volt-Battery-Charger-Solar-Panel-Off-Grid-RV-Boat-160-watt-total-/272008199222?hash=item3f54f3bc36:g

LMAAOSwVL1WFCik

">LMAAOSwVL1WFCik]http://www.ebay.com/it........e="doh" alt="[emoticon]">LMAAOSwVL1WFCik

That's the one.

06 RAM 3500,Dually,CTD,Auto(ATS Stage 1),QC,4X4,PacBrake,Spyntec Freespin Hubs,60 Gal Titan Tank,EFI Live, Line-X,Torklifts and SuperHitch,Fastguns
2013 Arctic Fox 990, 275 Watts Solar, 2 Grp 31 AGMs
US Navy 1964-1968, 2-Tour Vietnam Vet

Posted By: Harleybullet on 05/06/16 11:32am

Rbertalotto...that 160 panel from Ebay does that come with the connecter so I could connect it to my 50 watt on my Arctic Fox 2005... what about mounting hardware?

Dave

Posted By: Rbertalotto on 05/06/16 11:40am

I have no idea. You'd need to contact the seller on ebay.

RoyB
Dartmouth, MA
2021 RAM 2500 4X4 6.4L
2011 Forest River Grey Wolf Cherokee 19RR
520 w solar-200ah Renogy Li-Epever MPPT

Posted By: WVbassmistress on 05/06/16 12:38pm

I DID IT!!! I DID IT!!! I DID IT!!!!!!!!!

Loaded it all by myself! We were going to head out after work this evening, but last night as we were getting ready to load up, we realized the truck was over-due for an oil change. Since the little man had training that he couldn't miss today, I took the day off and got the oil change. It seemed really silly to just sit here all day and delay our blast off to load the camper, so I tackled it myself. No dents or disasters. Minimal bad language when I realized the Super Hitch, etc is best put on before the camper is loaded. He assured me it is still possible, just a pain.

Lisa, Bobby & Dorothy the Wonder Dog
2013 F250 crew cab/6/5 foot bed w/
Firestone airbags
2006 KZ Jag - 29 ft
Ranger Z518
22 ft Suntracker Pontoon

Posted By: jmckelvy on 05/06/16 04:43pm

Harleybullet wrote:

Rbertalotto...that 160 panel from Ebay does that come with the connecter so I could connect it to my 50 watt on my Arctic Fox 2005... what about mounting hardware?

Dave

I don't know what you have but the panel comes with two MC4 connectors on cable about 3 feet or so long. I'm the one who first mentioned it a little earlier.

Posted By: bedrocker on 05/06/16 05:43pm

wash & waxed the truck
wash & waxed the camper
loaded the camper
1 week and counting for 8 days of riding
and having fun in the desert [emoticon]

Posted By: DWeikert on 05/07/16 06:35am

Harleybullet wrote:

Rbertalotto...that 160 panel from Ebay does that come with the connecter so I could connect it to my 50 watt on my Arctic Fox 2005... what about mounting hardware?

Dave

Adding to an existing solar installation can be tricky. It's important to match the panels otherwise you won't get the added power you're expecting. If you put your panels in parallel, which is typical, it's important the the Vpp ratings are close. A couple writeups explaining the problem...
http://solarpanelsvenue.com/mixing-solar-panels/
https://www.altestore.com/blog/2012/08/a........ing-capacity-to-your-existing-pv-system/

Dan
2008 Chevy D/A 2500HD ECSB
2010 Northstar 8.5 Adventurer

Posted By: jimh406 on 05/08/16 12:06am

Boy was that fun ... well, it was at least needed with a little left to do. [emoticon]

Unfortunately, while on the roof I noticed I have some cracks in some of my Dicor, so a bit of work to do to refresh that.

1. Cut 6 inches off my hitch extension. Why? It extended a couple of inches past my camper's bumper. That meant we had to avoid it going down the stairs even if the hitch was empty. So, I usually left it home previously. Of course, it's a typical Ford hitch which means that the 2 1/2 inch hitch is slightly smaller than 2 1/2 inch. That meant that I had to grind a slight bit off. Of course, I had to drill new holes as well and repaint. Overall, it turned out well, but dang it took a lot of time. The bonus is it should reduce the chance for dragging especially after I reverse one of my lightweight ball mounts to tow a light boat.
2. Replace my vent covers on the roof. When I first bought the camper I had Camco Aeroflow covers. I really liked them up until they shattered from sun exposure. However, I've always hated the Camping World covers because they are ugly and because they aren't quite the right dimensions to work for my bathroom vent. End result is a much cleaner look and more function. They have the bonus of being able to be opened with just a screwdriver for cleaning. I really missed that.
3. Replaced the covers for my plumbing vents. I was going pull up the old ones and replace the whole thing. However, I got lucky and bought exactly the same kind that makes it easy to just replace the cap because they pull off. That's what I did which allowed me to make up some time from the time consuming metal work. The caps essentially fell apart in my hand. The rest of the vent seems great which makes me wonder why the caps came apart. One quick scare as a wasp came out when I took one cover off. The very small nest was at the top of the pipe, so it was pretty easy to remove and there was just the one wasp that didn't come back.
4. Attempted to replace the cap over the opening for my shorepower. However, the cap is a bit small and a bit too stiff for my liking. Since my current cap lasted 10 years and still looks perfect, I guess I'll stay with it.

Still some work to do, and I left out the part of going to pick it up out of storage. [emoticon]

'10 Ford F-450, 6.4, 4.30, 4x4, 14,500 GVWR, '06 Host Rainer 950 DS, Torklift Talon tiedowns, Glow Steps, and Fastguns. Bilstein 4600s, Firestone Bags, Toyo M655 Gs, Curt front hitch, Energy Suspension bump stops.

NRA Life Member, CCA Life Member

Posted By: jimh406 on 05/08/16 10:16pm

Boo, two posts in a row. Sure, I could edit, but what fun is that.

1. Installed a Honeywell thermostat for my furnace. Kind of a pain since it also controlled my AC ... not red/white, not black/white, but green/white. In any case, I got it working. This is in preparation for my switch to ceiling controlled AC. It didn't quite cover the second existing hole. Something to consider for those thinking about switching thermostats.
2. Installed baggage door catches on my water fill door and door that has my hookups. Both flop a bit in the wind. Now, they won't!
3. Cut the ball off of a ball mount and ground the welds off and took the ball off of a second one so that I could reverse the mount to give more clearance. I've been wanting to do this for a while to give more clearance for my driveway and other angle changes.
4. Installed more d-rings for tie downs in the back seat. Yeah, it's not the TC, but since the TC is on all of the time, it's kind of a TC.
5. Installed a small safe. That was actually pretty easy after settling on a location although I did reinforce the shelf a bit. No, I'm not under any illusion that it can't be stolen, but it will stop grandkids and the random visitor who shouldn't be there.
6. Fixed a piece of loose trim on my slide. I got lucky or unlucky. I would have put glue on the pieces if I had known one small nail would have secured the three pieces.

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