Provience
Kill!
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What did you do to your RV today?
- Thread starter CarterKraft
- Start date
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arse_sidewards
Red Skull Member
- Joined
- May 19, 2020
- Member Number
- 71
- Messages
- 8,555
I fucking love it when that shit happens.Oh, and a tire let go...in my driveway 10min after we got home.
BDK
Red Skull Member
My RV has two water pump switches within 6' of each other. One at the main panel, the other over the bathroom sink. It doesn't have a switch in the wet bay where one is needed. It does have a labeled slot for one. The wet bay is directly below the sink. I traced the wiring and they come out in the wet bay behind the panel. I cut the blade plugs off the wires and pulled them through the loom into the wet bay, then crimped on new blade plugs.
Now I have a pump switch in the wet bay. The wiring is about 8' too long and I left it that way so I can pull it out and have a wired remote switch when filling the tank from unpressurized sources, like water jugs, without sucking a bunch of air into the plumbing. It pushes easily back into the space behind the panel.
I boondock for months at a time and need to pull water into the tank, weekly when solo and every few days if the wife is there. Having a remote switch means I can leave the jugs in the back of my Explorer until they are empty, which saves me lugging them around.
Yes, it's ugly but it works. Maybe someday I'll get a different switch.
There was a plug in the wet bay panel that I used to plug the hole for the sink switch. I love it when I can make camping life easier without spending any money.
Now I have a pump switch in the wet bay. The wiring is about 8' too long and I left it that way so I can pull it out and have a wired remote switch when filling the tank from unpressurized sources, like water jugs, without sucking a bunch of air into the plumbing. It pushes easily back into the space behind the panel.
I boondock for months at a time and need to pull water into the tank, weekly when solo and every few days if the wife is there. Having a remote switch means I can leave the jugs in the back of my Explorer until they are empty, which saves me lugging them around.
Yes, it's ugly but it works. Maybe someday I'll get a different switch.
There was a plug in the wet bay panel that I used to plug the hole for the sink switch. I love it when I can make camping life easier without spending any money.
CarterKraft
Red Skull Member
I have wanted to do one of those daisy chain switch deals for the pump where you have multiple switches that can turn the pump on/off from each station with a LED indicator, doubt I'll do it on this one but I can dreamMy RV has two water pump switches within 6' of each other. One at the main panel, the other over the bathroom sink. It doesn't have a switch in the wet bay where one is needed. It does have a labeled slot for one. The wet bay is directly below the sink. I traced the wiring and they come out in the wet bay behind the panel. I cut the blade plugs off the wires and pulled them through the loom into the wet bay, then crimped on new blade plugs.
Now I have a pump switch in the wet bay. The wiring is about 8' too long and I left it that way so I can pull it out and have a wired remote switch when filling the tank from unpressurized sources, like water jugs, without sucking a bunch of air into the plumbing. It pushes easily back into the space behind the panel.
I boondock for months at a time and need to pull water into the tank, weekly when solo and every few days if the wife is there. Having a remote switch means I can leave the jugs in the back of my Explorer until they are empty, which saves me lugging them around.
Yes, it's ugly but it works. Maybe someday I'll get a different switch.
There was a plug in the wet bay panel that I used to plug the hole for the sink switch. I love it when I can make camping life easier without spending any money.
edit: adding all this shit in case I get froggy one day and want to implement this.
water pump relay
Water Pump Control Modules | Precision Circuits Inc
Water Pump Control 10 Amp (WPC) Product Features and Function The Water Pump Control 10 Amp (WPC) turns on/off the water pump from multiple locations, eliminating the need for running heavy gauge
www.precisioncircuitsinc.com
And the credit/inspiration goes to this fell, Jim.
jbeletti's 2015 Landmark 365 Ashland
Re: My Mods: Added Entertainment System Equipment Sounds like Santa has had elves do this sort of thing for him his whole lide and has not had to learn it :) But seriously, if you can hookup a DVD player, you can do this stuff. Prepare yourself to be "taken to school" when I see you in MB...
heartlandowners.org
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BDK
Red Skull Member
All you need is two, 3-way switches wired like this
CarterKraft
Red Skull Member
BDK
Red Skull Member
That's how my RV was wired from the factory. Haven't had any issues with low voltage to the pump. Replaced it once in 20 years because it was leaking.
CarterKraft
Red Skull Member
It would work fine if the distances aren't far, actually a good point because I would want to put one switch in the bathroom which is on the other side of the wall from the OEM pump switch, very short additional wiring.
The switch by the outdoor shower would require another traveler wire back to the two switches in the bathroom doorway adding another 20' of wire to the loop.
In that case I think it would be better to just pull CAT6 and use the latching relay system I linked earlier.
BDK
Red Skull Member
I thought about adding another switch, but decided I didn't want to deal with extra wiring and sacrificed the above the sink switch. My outdoor shower is in the wet bay.
CarterKraft
Red Skull Member
CarterKraft
Red Skull Member
I used the correct Dicor self leveling and it still puckered the shit out of my roof, scared the shit out of me a week before a trip.
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CarterKraft
Red Skull Member
Also a oscillating tool blade with the teeth ground off and the blade curved makes a awesome Dicor removal tool. It cuts the Dicor like butter and if you get the edge just right it doesn't cut the epdm at all just glides along.
It made the sky light removal go 1000x faster than using a razor knife and scraper.
It made the sky light removal go 1000x faster than using a razor knife and scraper.
BDK
Red Skull Member
All I ever use is Dicor self leveling, maybe not that much. That roof looks like shit. Mine is 22 years old and still mostly white.
CarterKraft
Red Skull Member
The roof is tan and it's been stored under a carport on pretty orange/red sand so the roof is sort of stained with the sand.
My opinion is avoid the odd colored RV shit...
I need to get my pressure washer up there and some more aggressive soap and try to get it clean but I get scared...
I imagine I'll eventually pull it all up and coat it in a liquid rubber roof.
BDK
Red Skull Member
Mine only has discoloring from when I foolishly taped flexible solar panels directly on the roof. The heat yellowed the fiberglass roof, and burnt up the panels. I plan on eventually using some type of coating, but there are other things I should be doing that actually need fixing.
I would be hesitant to use a power washer on the roof, but I won't use one on the sides because I'm afraid it will strip the decals.
I scrub the roof about once a year with a few ounces Simple Green in a gallon of water. I have a car washing scrub brush that I think is too stiff to use on cars or the sides for the roof. I am also using it mostly in dry climates so no mold.
Have the proper dicor stuff, back out there today getting as much of the old silicone off. The vent is still siliconed into the roof (no mounting tape used) but hopefully layering it over top will create a good weatherseal. It wasn't leaking and I probably could have left it alone but noticed the silicone dabs covering all the screws were popping right off, so I started pulling at it all.
I think if I ever installed a new vent on a bare roof I'd skip the screws and just glue the thing in with something like a 3M 4000 or 5200 marine sealant/adhesive.
I think if I ever installed a new vent on a bare roof I'd skip the screws and just glue the thing in with something like a 3M 4000 or 5200 marine sealant/adhesive.
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CarterKraft
Red Skull Member
rockdog57
Ghetto fab garage owner
Put butyl tape under vents and shit like that. Then when you need to take em off they come off easily. Then dicor self leveling over that. No leaks eva.
BustedCrank
Webwheeler
So those are a bad idea then, I wouldn't have thought of that. I've been kicking myself for not running the stick on panels on top of mine. Put three panels up on the roof, so now I've got two more inches of height I didn't want, the weight, and they pretty much take up the whole roof rack system up there. I've been telling myself if they go tits up, or I break them on a branch or something, I'd replace them with stick on's. Unless the new one have something to prevent that, I guess I'm good with what I have.
Provience
Kill!
Solar panels themselves prefer an air gap anyways.
Geeked out on some of these lap sealants. I have another vent to do and will use a different product on that one. Dicor Ultra is supposed to be a higher performing product than the 501 (not solvent based, more solids %)
Read up here: Nerd Battle of the Best RV Self-Leveling Roof Sealants - Ask The RV Engineer
Read up here: Nerd Battle of the Best RV Self-Leveling Roof Sealants - Ask The RV Engineer
Provience
Kill!
Dicor is what I used on all my roof stuff, vents, covers, etc. It's help up well over the past 5 years
This was the metal on metal side of the rotor, drivers side had some decent lip worn into it and the inboard pad fell apart when I took it off. Ended up not wanting to spend too much time with the brake lines and cut them at the connectors and just put on new ends
And greased the bearings and got it bled and back together. First time in at least 5 years that the driver side has a dust cap, hopefully after thus cleaning it will finally stop squeaking.
Tone ring now delayed until tomorrow, next weekend will be pop off the differential again, see if I can dial it in some more and see about adding in some more carrier bearing preload. Going to go back to the full factory amount and see if that helps.
drop out 3rds are much easier
Also going to adjust the rear breaks then and that'll be as good as it can hope for. Front, rear, trailer
This was the metal on metal side of the rotor, drivers side had some decent lip worn into it and the inboard pad fell apart when I took it off. Ended up not wanting to spend too much time with the brake lines and cut them at the connectors and just put on new ends
And greased the bearings and got it bled and back together. First time in at least 5 years that the driver side has a dust cap, hopefully after thus cleaning it will finally stop squeaking.
Tone ring now delayed until tomorrow, next weekend will be pop off the differential again, see if I can dial it in some more and see about adding in some more carrier bearing preload. Going to go back to the full factory amount and see if that helps.
drop out 3rds are much easier Also going to adjust the rear breaks then and that'll be as good as it can hope for. Front, rear, trailer
welndmn
Well Done Man
Must be camping season that makes all go on the roof
Hope you’re putting a maxxfan in there! Those things are tits.Must be camping season that makes all go on the roof
BDK
Red Skull Member
Five "100 watt" flexible panels. They never put out anywhere close to 100 watts. Don't remember the brand
Bad idea. I'm actually glad two of them stopped working because it saved my roof. If I had left them on there it would have cooked the fiberglass. The roof is still solid, but it's discolored. I also used Eternabond tape, which is a real bitch to get off. I left a bunch of it up there because I got tired of dealing with it and it won't do any harm.
Discoloration to roof
I replaced them with two HQST 190 watt panels. I highly recommend them. They are the same panels as Renogy 200 watt panels. They keep my four AGM series 2 golf cart batteries charged and I mostly dry camp. I use quite a bit of power (40" flat screen, streaming movies, 540 watt surround sound system, cell phone signal booster, Xantrex 3000 watt inverter/charger, etc.) and they are charged back up by 10 AM. Having two larger panels also gives me more room up on the roof to walk around.
I replaced the panels in March 2023 and the controller in December 2023.
This controller works very well for the price. I mounted the controller in the basement storage and the remote display inside the coach.
Panels
BDK
Red Skull Member
My RV has a control panel in a cabinet door in the hallway. I've never liked the configuration and since I replaced the solar charge controller display, I liked it even less. The solar display was at about waist level. I made an angled mount and it was still hard to read. The factory also wasn't too good about making anything straight. Almost every control panel was crooked and not centered.
Original configuration. Notice none of them are centered except for the solar controller display and voltage meter that I did.
I made a new panel out of some 1/4" "finish grade" birch plywood. The Home Depot birch plywood sucks, by the way. The veneer is so thin and poorly glued it flakes when cutting or drilling. I used a new plywood blade on the jigsaw, and started every hole saw hole on both sides before drilling through. Even light sanding created dark spots where it was getting into the next layer. I coated the back side of the panel with a coat of clear urethane to help keep it together. Used two coats of satin clean urethane on the front. Even dealing with the shitty plywood, the panel came out good enough. Now the stuff I use and look at the most is closer to eye level and much easier to read.
Rear of panel
Covered
New configuration
Original configuration. Notice none of them are centered except for the solar controller display and voltage meter that I did.
I made a new panel out of some 1/4" "finish grade" birch plywood. The Home Depot birch plywood sucks, by the way. The veneer is so thin and poorly glued it flakes when cutting or drilling. I used a new plywood blade on the jigsaw, and started every hole saw hole on both sides before drilling through. Even light sanding created dark spots where it was getting into the next layer. I coated the back side of the panel with a coat of clear urethane to help keep it together. Used two coats of satin clean urethane on the front. Even dealing with the shitty plywood, the panel came out good enough. Now the stuff I use and look at the most is closer to eye level and much easier to read.
Rear of panel
Covered
New configuration
BDK
Red Skull Member
A few weeks ago I purchased a new trailer hitch riser. With the Explorer lift, I need to have the tow bar raised about 6" for it to be flat. The old one was a hollow shank, it's old and pretty beat. The receiver on the coach is the loosest I've come across and there is a lot of wiggle. I also think the riser, and the Explorer lift, tires and/or suspension might pull or jerk on the hitch as most towed vehicles only have a few inches of suspension travel. Maybe having zero tongue weight might also cause the receiver to rattle. I already had a bottom set screw welded into the receiver and welded in a side one. I use old nylon lock nuts for this. I drill out the hole so the top lip of the nut has to be tapped in. Makes it easy to weld because I don't have to hold it.
This new riser has a solid shank and is rated for 10,000 pounds. I already welded in two set screws for the tow bar, since I always end up immediately modifying stuff. It had a side set screw, but it was metric and all they did was tap the 1/4" wall of the receiver. I knew that was not going to last very long.
I didn't like how it was only gusseted on one side of the riser. I cut up a piece of 1/4" wall 1.5x3" tube I had left over from the trans cross member I made when I installed the Atlas. Figured I also might as well fill in the double gusset on the front while I'm at it. Some booger welds, and it's a lot stronger than before.
Old and new risers
This new riser has a solid shank and is rated for 10,000 pounds. I already welded in two set screws for the tow bar, since I always end up immediately modifying stuff. It had a side set screw, but it was metric and all they did was tap the 1/4" wall of the receiver. I knew that was not going to last very long.
I didn't like how it was only gusseted on one side of the riser. I cut up a piece of 1/4" wall 1.5x3" tube I had left over from the trans cross member I made when I installed the Atlas. Figured I also might as well fill in the double gusset on the front while I'm at it. Some booger welds, and it's a lot stronger than before.
Old and new risers
white-rhino
Older than dirt
Five "100 watt" flexible panels. They never put out anywhere close to 100 watts. Don't remember the brand
Bad idea. I'm actually glad two of them stopped working because it saved my roof. If I had left them on there it would have cooked the fiberglass. The roof is still solid, but it's discolored. I also used Eternabond tape, which is a real bitch to get off. I left a bunch of it up there because I got tired of dealing with it and it won't do any harm.
Discoloration to roof
I replaced them with two HQST 190 watt panels. I highly recommend them. They are the same panels as Renogy 200 watt panels. They keep my four AGM series 2 golf cart batteries charged and I mostly dry camp. I use quite a bit of power (40" flat screen, streaming movies, 540 watt surround sound system, cell phone signal booster, Xantrex 3000 watt inverter/charger, etc.) and they are charged back up by 10 AM. Having two larger panels also gives me more room up on the roof to walk around.
I replaced the panels in March 2023 and the controller in December 2023.
This controller works very well for the price. I mounted the controller in the basement storage and the remote display inside the coach.
Panels
I am wanting to understand this stuff better. I have to admit, for as good as I am mechanically, this solar stuff confuses the shit out of me. What I need, how to do it, how to integrate it, all intimidate me. I see people posting that you need to spend thousands of $$ and here you are saying you are really happy with about $1k investment.
Our new motorhome has a residential fridge and since we dry camp a lot, I'm not sure how it's gonna work out. On our last outing, the batteries were around 12.6v when we went to bed and were at 11.9v when we got up. So it survived the night but that was not running the furnace, which will be a problem in the spring/fall which is when we camp the most. Our system has an AGS feature but I'm not looking forward to the genny starting in the middle of the night. That said, solar will be no help in the middle of the night so we might need more/better batteries. It already has 4 but I honestly don't know what type they are. (I haven't had the time to dig into it)
Add in that we dry camp under heavily leafed Oaks, Maples and pines, a roof mounted solar system may not help me much at all. As I type this, it makes me think we are probably just gonna need to rely on the genny.