|
available payload is the truck + all its options + wet weight. (fuel/def/oil/coolant/etc) I always scale mine fully fueled. The front bench would indeed make it a six seater. The camper package (overload + rear sway) will be a good upgrade for crosswinds. The Stable Loads and TImberens are pretty popular. I'd go about different means but with a brand new truck, fine enough. Agreed on towing. Its similar to that my F350. Adding a trailer would be asking too much running that close to GVWR. I will be adding a superhitch to the 550 though.
|
#
?
Dec 31, 2022 18:47
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 21, 2024 04:56 |
|
|
Fascinating series of posts. So if you want nice and can afford it are you getting bigger bang for your buck in just a regular RV as opposed to a 5th wheeler?
|
|
#
?
Dec 31, 2022 20:58
|
|
|
cursedshitbox posted:I'm gonna borrow your idea of hotel ratings for the purpose of this post. Major thanks for your post. I made it this far in this thread and it's been highly educational
|
|
#
?
Dec 31, 2022 23:17
|
|
|
I went to Camping World today and took a look at a few kinds of each of the major groups. Definitely learned what I liked and didn't like about many trailers/motorhome options. Some notes for future me and maybe other thread total newbies: - Slides are the way for me. - If I am buying one, I'd likely never buy a Class C...likely either van-camping or a trailer for me. - Massive insulation/heating differences. Two side-by-side trailers on sunny 70°F day and they're 10°F difference. - The dry weight and GVWR of some fairly spacious trailers was much less than expected. - Hoo boy is there some LOL terrible build quality in the coachbuilding space. Wood not screwed together flush. Trim that was cut too long. Bigger the gob, better the job sealant application all over. Some were clearly better than others. I took a look at Cruise America's motorhome pricing. Somewhat cheaper than Outdoorsy.com. I'd need to use a late model used Class C motorhome for 400-500 days to break even over Cruise America. Even just 10 yr depreciation I'd need to do 250+ days. Anyone had experiences with Cruise America?
|
|
#
?
Jan 1, 2023 23:31
|
|
|
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1974-gerstenlager-camelot-cruiser/ Does anybody want a 1974 time capsule motorhome with a snowmobile bay?
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2023 01:12
|
|
|
Anything rolling out of post 2020 Elkhart will be dire. There's no such thing as a turn key mass produced RV. It'll always need *something*. Especially now. En masse built travel trailers < 5th wheels < class c < class b < class a. Build quality worst to best. I know a couple that part times with a used ex rental CA class C. They really like it. It did have some little things that they changed and some maintenance stuff but that's a rv for ya. They mostly stay west of the continental divide. Major selling point of a TC is being able to tow your toys, go places that travel trailers can't, and have an all in one solution that isn't a class a, b, or c. The bigger players in this area I'm aware of and generally like is Lance, Arctic Fox, Northern Lite, Bigfoot, Eagle Cap, and Mammoth. Lance customer support is top notch. If they built it they'll work on it. If they built it and you want to fix it yourself, they'll provide in depth documentation to do so. cursedshitbox fucked around with this message at 03:03 on Jan 2, 2023 |
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2023 01:14
|
|
|
Metaline posted:https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1974-gerstenlager-camelot-cruiser/ holy poo poo. I am six years old again and up at my grandparents cabin on the lake looking at these pictures. Sold today for 133K (not to me).
|
|
#
?
Jan 3, 2023 22:08
|
|
|
Well, picked up the camper today. Lance 855s. About 3 months later than initially expected, and with a price increase that wasn't expected, and a 1 week delay when the dealer was doing prep / checks and realized there was a missing part on the water heater and had to get one sent out. The price increase was a bummer, but what he didn't mention at first was that it's because I got one of the first 2023 models instead of the 2022 that I'd ordered, which came with some improvements: https://www.truckcampermagazine.com/news/2023-lance-camper-updates/ And I did pay substantially below MSRP. Got the once over, had it put on the truck, and took it home. Definitely rides differently over bumps than the unloaded truck, and the chain ruts on the freeway driving back up into the mountains were more squirrely than usual, but overall felt pretty comfortable driving it. It'll take me longer to get used to all of the different systems on the thing and how to use everything, but I think I got the basics down.        This might have to go, but for the moment it amuses me:  This situation isn't ideal, but workable: 
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2023 04:02
|
|
|
That's a beauty.
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2023 04:35
|
|
|
I've always wondered how I would like those in practice, if they got in the way or were otherwise annoying to drive cause they seem super cool. Hope you enjoy it and post some status updates!
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2023 17:01
|
|
|
Hell yes nice get. Full oven too. That's gonna rule. Be careful with the acrylic windows. They're a little fragile to scratches and such.
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2023 17:17
|
|
|
cursedshitbox posted:Hell yes nice get. Full oven too. That's gonna rule. Be careful with the acrylic windows. They're a little fragile to scratches and such. Yeah, thanks for pointing it out! The dealer mentioned it as well and Lance left a nice big warning sheet about it on the dinette. Camper is currently parked in the sun so hopefully all the crusty snow will melt off the roof and I can check the situation up there… didn’t get a chance to really get a feel for the fan and cab over hatch and other stuff on the roof yet since it was iced over yesterday. Kids were very upset that I didn’t let them sleep in it last night
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2023 18:35
|
|
|
What's the story with keeping a camper warm while traveling? When I was given the run through of the camper at the dealer, it was mentioned not to run the furnace while driving (at least, I think it was). This made sense, generally, not to have a propane appliance running more or less unattended while in motion. Fridge is 3 way and would stay cold on 12V from the alternator, as I understand it, and I can't think of anything else propane powered I'd want going while driving. But it also occurs to me that in winter, driving somewhere and then wanting to occupy the camper immediately when done driving, would be a pretty big bummer to have to wait for it to warm up from who knows how cold up to a reasonable temp. Especially if the drive was started with a cold camper. It also seems like if you have just unwinterized all the water lines/tanks etc to be usable in winter, if you had a long cold drive without the furnace running you might run the risk of things freezing? Or maybe the insulation is good enough that it'd have to be a real long time in real cold temps. I didn't see anything in the camper manual about it, but the furnace manual itself does generally say not to operate any gas appliances with the vehicle in motion. I'm definitely wanting to avoid doing something stupid and dangerous, so this isn't so much me asking if I can do this anyway, but more wondering about how people go about things in the winter when transitioning from driving to campering?
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2023 05:25
|
|
|
Campers going to be cold when you drive. If you have a decent furnace it will be warm by the time you get setup and settled in. If you're traveling in freezing temps winterize the camper.
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2023 11:03
|
|
|
Think how much electricity or propane the RV needs to stay warm while staying still at the campsite. Now think about how much more energy it will take to keep warm while going 60mph down the highway with all the wind going around (and possibly through the gaps). There is no way that an alternator or solar is going to keep up with the heating required to keep a towable warm.
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2023 14:28
|
|
|
Leave the furnace and your LP off for traveling. Putting a lot of trust in the furnace and its flame-out thermal switches otherwise.
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2023 17:16
|
|
|
Sounds good, thanks. Remember context here above is that it’s a truck camper and I’m totally new to this, so I don’t really have a sense yet of how much it takes to keep it warm (and certainly wasn’t expecting solar or alternator to do it since the furnace is propane only), and often the “setup” when I arrive somewhere is going to be pretty minimal. But I’ll just be patient and wear warm clothes.
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2023 17:44
|
|
|
Yeah for sure. I don't currently utilize alternator charging. I don't have enough solar or battery to use electric heat while underway. The few times I've stayed deep below freezing and traveled that day nothing froze. Though it was barely above freezing inside when I got to camp. All the power infrastructure in my setup is next to the plumbing which keeps everything warm. Especially after a round of morning coffee. It doesn't take long to warm up with the furnace going. Or if you're on hookups and have optional electric heat, a combo of the two.
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2023 18:35
|
|
|
cursedshitbox posted:Yeah for sure. I don't currently utilize alternator charging. I don't have enough solar or battery to use electric heat while underway. The few times I've stayed deep below freezing and traveled that day nothing froze. Though it was barely above freezing inside when I got to camp. All the power infrastructure in my setup is next to the plumbing which keeps everything warm. Especially after a round of morning coffee. Cool, makes sense. One of the ways I was hoping/planning on using it (though not the primary motivation for buying it) as long as I have it was as a sort of home-base for local skiing. On weekdays, wake up and drive it to the hill and alternate between working in the camper and getting some laps in, and on weekends get the kids loaded up early to beat traffic, have a spot to get ready / pack up and have breaks. In either case will be starting from overnight cold. Not worried about de-winterization so much in that case since I won't really need any of the plumbing operable, just a warm place to be out of the weather.
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2023 19:06
|
|
|
I'm totally spitballing way out of my element here with this, but would it be in any way practical to tap the truck's heater core coolant loop in some way and have some extensions that could go to the camper and allow engine heat to be sent back there during travel? Something like one of these units seems like it could do the trick as long as you can get it plumbed in a sane way. Some T fittings with shutoff valves where it's being tapped off and some quick disconnects in a convenient location seems like an obvious route. The fact that this doesn't seem to be a common thing to do tells me there's probably some reason I'm missing that makes it a bad idea, so hopefully someone else can chime in with why this is dumb.
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2023 19:18
|
|
|
Are teeny tiny electric heaters a thing? I’d like one in my truck rig but anything above like 200 watts is probably going to be oversized for my electrical setup
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2023 19:25
|
|
|
Bloody posted:Are teeny tiny electric heaters a thing? I’d like one in my truck rig but anything above like 200 watts is probably going to be oversized for my electrical setup Japan does mini electric panel heaters that are under 200W, but based on this guy's experience, they weren't effective at all for winter camping. He next tried a petroleum fan heater which got interior temps from 1 to 11C in 15 minutes. Max consumption when on automatic was above 400W, but the machine he used did have a 100W fixed setting.
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2023 20:01
|
|
|
Bloody posted:Are teeny tiny electric heaters a thing? I’d like one in my truck rig but anything above like 200 watts is probably going to be oversized for my electrical setup I have a 500w in my bathroom but it doesn't do much beyond keep the edge off the chill.
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2023 21:32
|
|
|
wolrah posted:The fact that this doesn't seem to be a common thing to do tells me there's probably some reason I'm missing that makes it a bad idea, so hopefully someone else can chime in with why this is dumb.
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2023 22:57
|
|
|
smackfu posted:Isn’t it just that 99% of RVs are used in temperate weather?
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2023 02:38
|
|
|
wolrah posted:I'm totally spitballing way out of my element here with this, but would it be in any way practical to tap the truck's heater core coolant loop in some way and have some extensions that could go to the camper and allow engine heat to be sent back there during travel? Couple notes. Engine coolant is pressurized when hot, to the tune of 40-50psi. Usually that requires a more rigidly made hose, so flexibility at the hitch would be problematic. Also the engine is happier at operating temperatures from 190°F~ to around 220°F~. Adding 30 odd feet of hose (one going each way) is going to effect the temperature of the coolant coming back to the engine. Ambient cold air around the hoses, the heat expended in the trailer, you'll need a few extra gallons of coolant, and probably a larger reservoir. The hoses would need to be insulated, too, to retain any heat back to the trailer. Also probably a larger volume water pump, just to ensure it can move around all that extra coolant, which you almost certainly won't find. It'd be a pain in the rear end and rednecking it is going to lead to constantly needing to fix poo poo at likely the worst times. Have you considered an RV propane heater and a few 20lb tanks of propane? Wouldn't take a lot of time for a 5000-10000 btu heater to warm a travel trailer. Adding insulation would help, but that gets ugly fast if you want it to be effective.
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2023 03:17
|
|
|
CRUSTY MINGE posted:Couple notes. Engine coolant is pressurized when hot, to the tune of 40-50psi. Usually that requires a more rigidly made hose, so flexibility at the hitch would be problematic.
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2023 03:46
|
|
|
Snake a flex duct from a rear seat vent in the truck cabin out the rear window into the cabover done
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2023 03:54
|
|
|
Not saying it's impossible, but there's more to it than running hoses and another radiator. A truck bed camper does make more reasonable sense for what you're thinking. I hit "show all posts" for you and assumed you were talking about a tow behind. Though if the truck has a warranty, it's not something I'd fool with, just to avoid any possible voidings should a related part unexpectedly fail. /\ what he said
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2023 03:58
|
|
|
Does that have a black and grey water tank? Just curious.
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2023 07:30
|
|
|
wolrah posted:I'm totally spitballing way out of my element here with this, but would it be in any way practical to tap the truck's heater core coolant loop in some way and have some extensions that could go to the camper and allow engine heat to be sent back there during travel? These things exist, at least in motorhomes. Alde heaters that use water to carry the heat in the camper have the option of having a heat exchanger with the engine coolant. So that way you can pre-heat your engine when warming up the camper, or use the excess engine heat to heat up the camper. Works both ways. https://www.alde.us/our-products/engine-heat-exchanger/
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2023 10:31
|
|
|
bad_fmr posted:These things exist, at least in motorhomes. Alde heaters that use water to carry the heat in the camper have the option of having a heat exchanger with the engine coolant. So that way you can pre-heat your engine when warming up the camper, or use the excess engine heat to heat up the camper. Works both ways. My personal RV interests are in the big bus range so I've spent a lot of time looking at Aqua-Hot systems that do something similar, but I figured a full one of those setups would take up too much space for a slide-in. Either way clearly this is the galaxy brain answer. Steve French posted:Snake a flex duct from a rear seat vent in the truck cabin out the rear window into the cabover done
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2023 15:36
|
|
|
VideoGameVet posted:Does that have a black and grey water tank? Just curious. Assuming you’re asking me, yes, 25 and 20 gallons respectively
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2023 15:46
|
|
|
CRUSTY MINGE posted:Couple notes. Engine coolant is pressurized when hot, to the tune of 40-50psi. Usually that requires a more rigidly made hose, so flexibility at the hitch would be problematic. 20 psi tops. This isn't a F1 car. Most in the 12-16 range. The radiator cap is a pressure limiting device. The way to do it is with a heat exchanger and a second set of reservoirs/pumps that take waste heat from the main engine. It'll need quick connects where the camper meets the bed. With permanently attached upfits like class A, C, B, and integrated truck campers like Earthroamers they avoid the second cooling loop all together by integrating coach heat into the primary cooling system. Sometimes can get air locks and be a pain to bleed. Manufacturers uuusually design around this. On class8 stuff like schoolies and bus conversions despite a 40'+ length of hose is still sufficient for providing heater duties. In this realm waste engine heat is regularly used for heating the water heater without power/gas, the interior, the floors, etc. (Aqua-Hot, Webasto, Etc are big players here) Yeah, It's extra coolant. Order of 1-3 gals in something this size. A lot more in larger vehicles. The 7.3 Godzilla in the f-series holds almost 6 gallons of coolant, the 6.7 PSD at 10.
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2023 17:31
|
|
|
Steve French posted:Assuming you’re asking me, yes, 25 and 20 gallons respectively Thanks. I'm planning on a van convert and will also be boondocking, so I'm looking at Bathroom options.
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2023 22:40
|
|
|
Test run went pretty well today. Drove from ~9 to 9:30, parked, skied until 11 and then started working. Interior was already warm enough before any heat to be reasonably comfortable working while it heated up. Furnace stopped once while I was grabbing food with an error code not in the manual but started right back up again when I adjusted things and then I had to keep turning the thermostat down because it was too warm. Hoping to do a full overnight test run either boondocking or in an RV park down the hill where it’s less cold this weekend. 
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2023 03:33
|
|
|
My man I have to think a $120 diesel heater, they are making them prebuilt with a handle now, open the back door the minute you back in or park. Set it in the “hall”and snake the exhaust pit the door and blast it while you set up at camp. In 30 minutes you’d be up to decent temps before you to your built in systems.
|
|
#
?
Jan 24, 2023 04:04
|
|
|
Minor update: three days driving it to the resort this week. Propane heater does warm it up pretty darn good and haven’t had any issues. Truck mileage on the drives to and from has only gone down a bit, 14-15mpg (lol) to 12-13. We have a campsite reserved down the hill outta the snow for this weekend, just one night, to do a full test run with the dogs and kids and all the plumbing.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2023 04:50
|
|
|
Is there a concensus on ethanol vs propylene glycol based antifreeze? Is it definitely worth seeking out the latter? I haven't tried finding it locally yet but seems like maybe only RV specialty shops carry it and not sure if there's any nearby.
|
|
#
?
Jan 27, 2023 17:13
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 21, 2024 04:56 |
|
|
I think I've bought it at Walmart. Maybe sold as "plumbing winterizer" or such.
|
|
#
?
Jan 28, 2023 20:27
|
|
