You know it's winter when ...
... you have nothing else to do except piddle with RV projects.
When we got the new 5er 3 months ago, one thing I did not take into account with the transition from our previous travel trailer was were to put my wooden sign, "The Love Shack."
Here's a photo of the previous camper where I had it taped to the inside of the full back window:
With the new 5er, I didn't want to hang it outside exposed to the weather, and there just wasn't a good place inside the camper to put it in a window. I'd made comments to my wife I needed a new sign, I could somehow attach it to the factory hitch on the new camper. But I was reluctant to make anything out of wood, for fear all the bouncing from travel and exposure to the elements, it probably would not last long. But she kept the idea in the back of her head.
Well, imagine my surprise when she handed me a package and this was inside:
I had formulated an idea how long before she gave me the sign how I might be able to mount such a sign on the outside of the camper without doing any hole drilling or messing anything up on the outside of the camper. I talked to her about it and she must have realized, if I were going to do anything, I needed to start with the sign. So, there it is.
My solution. My 5er came with a factory mounted receiver for a hitch. Notice, there is no bumper on this camper, which I do kind of miss. But the hitch is there. I have no plans to use it for anything. So....
I purchased a new hitch from Tractor Supply Company and no ball. I then purchased some, what I call, aluminum angle iron and did some fancy home brew work:
It took a couple attempts, but I found I really needed a back on it. So, consider I'm a wood worker and not a metal working, and I don't have any scrap sheet metal laying around at all, I made a back for "it" out of wood, and presto! A little more grinding to get rid of the sharp edges, and some black Rust-o-lium spray paint and presto! It's magic! ... well ... how about lots of trial and error until it worked :@
The nice thing is, when home, I can simply pull the hitch and keep it out of the weather, or if I want, can even slide it in the receiver of my pick up truck!
And fyi... I have several other hitches from my previous travel trailers and my utility trailer that work on both my pick-up trucks. So, getting a new hitch and dedicating it for this purpose is not robbing an existing hitch I need for something else. This is just strictly for fun!
Yep, it's definitely winter, isn't it?
When we got the new 5er 3 months ago, one thing I did not take into account with the transition from our previous travel trailer was were to put my wooden sign, "The Love Shack."
Here's a photo of the previous camper where I had it taped to the inside of the full back window:
With the new 5er, I didn't want to hang it outside exposed to the weather, and there just wasn't a good place inside the camper to put it in a window. I'd made comments to my wife I needed a new sign, I could somehow attach it to the factory hitch on the new camper. But I was reluctant to make anything out of wood, for fear all the bouncing from travel and exposure to the elements, it probably would not last long. But she kept the idea in the back of her head.
Well, imagine my surprise when she handed me a package and this was inside:
I had formulated an idea how long before she gave me the sign how I might be able to mount such a sign on the outside of the camper without doing any hole drilling or messing anything up on the outside of the camper. I talked to her about it and she must have realized, if I were going to do anything, I needed to start with the sign. So, there it is.
My solution. My 5er came with a factory mounted receiver for a hitch. Notice, there is no bumper on this camper, which I do kind of miss. But the hitch is there. I have no plans to use it for anything. So....
I purchased a new hitch from Tractor Supply Company and no ball. I then purchased some, what I call, aluminum angle iron and did some fancy home brew work:
It took a couple attempts, but I found I really needed a back on it. So, consider I'm a wood worker and not a metal working, and I don't have any scrap sheet metal laying around at all, I made a back for "it" out of wood, and presto! A little more grinding to get rid of the sharp edges, and some black Rust-o-lium spray paint and presto! It's magic! ... well ... how about lots of trial and error until it worked :@
The nice thing is, when home, I can simply pull the hitch and keep it out of the weather, or if I want, can even slide it in the receiver of my pick up truck!
And fyi... I have several other hitches from my previous travel trailers and my utility trailer that work on both my pick-up trucks. So, getting a new hitch and dedicating it for this purpose is not robbing an existing hitch I need for something else. This is just strictly for fun!
Yep, it's definitely winter, isn't it?
