RV Camping; Tips, tricks & repairs

[ExtraSlow]

a 2007 Jayco Jayflight 27BHS. Big upgrade over my 1994 Travelaire Rustler RT190. About four times the storage space. I don't have any pics of he actual unit right now, but this is the basic idea. Bunks in the back, bedroom in the front. No slides. Has a microwave too, not sure if I'll use that, but could be handy. Wasn't too expensive either, which is nice in a year where I might get laid off.


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I don't make a fire most mornings. toaster seems easier.

[codetrap]

I think that's a pretty nice upgrade! So, was part of this my wife's fault for giving your wife the tour and feeding her wine in our trailer?

[ExtraSlow]

I thought for sure that was going to turn into sexy times once the wives got drunk on the wine.

Only thing I wish it had is the u-shaped dinette, I think yours has that? But I couldn't find one with that feature for a price I liked. Oh well, this gives me an excuse to upgrade in a couple of years.

Was pretty impressed with how little the old trailer depreciated. Bought it for $5500 in 2011. Sold it for $4300 in 2015. I did put some money into it, but I suspect that would happen with any rig.

[codetrap]

Not bad at all!

[suntan]

Originally posted by ianmcc
OK so I am looking at getting into the RV scene and need some approach with convincing the wife to see things my way as opposed to her way.
Our budget-sub $10k initial purchase.

Her-Camper van that will fit into the garage. Saves on fuel (think Westy or full size van) and storage fees plus easier to drive/park.

Him-Vintage class A. Cool factor, more amenities and room.

Her-The class A is too big and she cannot/will not drive it. Poor fuel economy. Older=hard to get parts. Have to pay storage fees.

Him-Can't see paying 25K for a VW van. All the full size campers remind me of "Free Candy" creeper vans. No room and few amenities.

Trailers-sorry not under consideration.

I want to buy something that will take me camping, possibly boon docking and that I won't regret buying something larger to begin with. What approaches have you used to sway her over?

A camper van under $10K? So she wants something from the 70s?

Recent USED camper vans go for around $70K. A new one costs around $100K.

[SOAB]

even restored VW Vanagons go for over $20k

[C_Dave45]

Originally posted by Thaco


it wasn't me who said 4 hours, mine was typically a night and a half, you know, just to piss me off and freeze us out in the middle of the 2nd night, lol... when i am dry camping, i run the fridge on propane and the furnace, that's about it.. maybe some very negligible led lighting., and charge up the cellphones overnight.

a cheap way to charge your batteries in a pinch is use your tow vehicle. But don't use the trailer plug...turn your vehicle around and use heavy duty jumper cables and hook them up directly to your trailer battery. That way you'll get a full 14+ volts of charging power. I'll run our Navigator for an hour and that will easily give us another night of battery power for furnace, lights etc. Plus it idles 10 times quieter than any generator.
Just a good MacGyver tip so you don't freeze if your furnace has drained your house batteries. I've lasted an additional week using this method when boondocking.

[Thaco]

Originally posted by C_Dave45

a cheap way to charge your batteries in a pinch is use your tow vehicle. But don't use the trailer plug...turn your vehicle around and use heavy duty jumper cables and hook them up directly to your trailer battery. That way you'll get a full 14+ volts of charging power. I'll run our Navigator for an hour and that will easily give us another night of battery power for furnace, lights etc. Plus it idles 10 times quieter than any generator.
Just a good MacGyver tip so you don't freeze if your furnace has drained your house batteries. I've lasted an additional week using this method when boondocking.

yeah I've done that before, slightly less fuel efficient than a generator though, lol.

[ExtraSlow]

Yeah, I've done that too. I have heard rumors that it's not great for your alternator to be charging to full capacity for an hour straight, and since RV batteries have such large capacities, it is surely a large load.

Not sure if it's true, and if you need the juice, this is better than freezing. Hoping my $300 generator will mean I don't have to mess around with this.

[redline]

Originally posted by ExtraSlow
My new rig is supposed to be 2x6v, plus I bought a genny, so I'm hoping I won't running out of power. Will be running the genny in the morning so my kids can use the toaster. Gotta have toast for breakfast . .

I have 2x6v in my trailer and I could easily go a weekend on the batteries. But I use the gen very sparingly to run the toaster, etc when needed.

[C_Dave45]

So you know how your RV storage compartments all have the same universal cam lock? That's right everyone in that campsite has the same universal CH751 key And can get to your stuff.
Replace them with these bad boys!!! http://www.padlockoutlet.com/390-Ser...-Cam-Lock.html

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Set your own combo. Never have to worry about losing keys!! Go one step further and hide a set of your regular door lock keys inside one of those storage areas and Voila!!! Never get locked out again. Or realize after you've driven down to the rv storage place, you forgot the rv keys at home...or lost them on a hike, etc etc. Ingenious!!!

[Cos]

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[C_Dave45]

Originally posted by Cos


You looking for partners on it? Minimum order is 6. I only need 2.

I bought this off etrailer this morning.
F
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Then got this at Lowes on the weekend for 10% off.


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Well between my son and I we need 4, so I could definitely sell a couple...but for a measly $20 worth, I wasn't worried about having a couple extra. If I do that, I'll definitely put a heads up on here.

Yeah I had a buddy weld a hitch on for our bike rack. I tried the bolt-on, and it fell apart. Thank goodness I was only in the Canadian Tire parking lot lol. Lemme tell ya, that was embarrassing. Walking back to pick up a pile of bikes sitting in the middle of the parking lot.

But I was thinking of getting this unit....a little more versatile than just a bike rack. 500 lb capacity. Firewood, BBQ, storage containers, etc...or of course bikes too

[codetrap]

Originally posted by C_Dave45
Set your own combo. Never have to worry about losing keys!! Go one step further and hide a set of your regular door lock keys inside one of those storage areas and Voila!!! Never get locked out again. Or realize after you've driven down to the rv storage place, you forgot the rv keys at home...or lost them on a hike, etc etc. Ingenious!!!

I'm in. Can use 3.

Hey COS, have you checked the rating on your rear bumper? I found out that mine won't hold anything other than the hose... and once I examined the welds to the frame.. there only way I'm putting my bikes on there is by putting a bolt on frame mounted receiver. I figure I'm going to be putting 3k in bikes on it.. want to make sure it's not coming off. Lots of stories about guys losing bikes on the highway.. there's an incredible amount of torque applied to those hitches. Most bike racks aren't even rated for the backs of trailers.

https://www.etrailer.com/Specialty-T...urt/13703.html

[Cos]

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[codetrap]

Originally posted by Cos
Yeah I saw that. Bucars was going to sell and install one for me so I assumed they knew. They said anything more than 200 lbs or more than 2 bikes is a no-no.

Yeah, I'd double check it if you haven't already.. not that I'm saying that I don't trust Bucars, but I don't lol. I know that the salebro where I bought mine was going to sell me one too, but then the guy at Western RV in Airdrie was like.. NFW will that work. It should actually be in your manual what the weight specs are, and if it's safe... or you could contact the manufacturer. Mine told me that I would void the frame warranty on mine if I were to drill/bolt/weld onto my frame, so I countered with.. When does the warranty expire? One year? LOL...

[Cos]

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[Thaco]

yeah i intend to put a bike rack on the back of my trailer, my bumper is just crap tin, but i looked up under the trailer and the frame is a c channel so i am just going to get some box, slide it up as far as i can in the frame, which is like 3-4 feet, and weld a new piece of 2x4 box on to that for a bumper, then weld the hitch receiver under or through the bumper, not sure the whole plan yet, just have some ideas. My brother is a ticketed welder, so i'll get the materials and go with what he suggests

you guys should check rv.net lots of cool mods/hacks on there.

[Thaco]

also i found some of those combo cam locks on amazon, $12 each, $5 shipping if you order less than $50 worth, no minimum order..

little more expensive but no minimum.

http://www.amazon.com/Combi-Cam-7850...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

[SOAB]

Reese also makes a universal receiver that is made for trailers and RV's. I considered putting one of those bolt-on things as well but there is no way that bumper will hold up to the weight.

I would need it to hold a 4 bike rack though.