Forum Discussion
- azrvingExplorerI just twisted the little pot on my meanwell. Left less, right more. Very complex :)
Converter and Meanwell turning gasoline into 52 amps DC through the Hoonda 3000 for six hungry GC2 - pnicholsExplorer III don't do any knobs or timers -> my little old Paralllax 13.8V converter just sits there keeping the AGMs on float, and charges them to whenever they're down a bit when/after camping.
K.I.S.S. is eventually the name of the game. - troubledwatersExplorer IIIYou can still buy a horse and buggy but I don't know why you would want to.
- wildtoadExplorer II
troubledwaters wrote:
You can still buy a horse and buggy but I don't know why you would want to.
After a short stay on Macanac Island we should all be glad the horse and buggy days are over. Horse Poop and Pee was a big problem... - D_E_BishopExplorer
Bill.Satellite wrote:
Consider the source of the post and you will understand that it is meant to be a puzzle and playing into his hand is what he's hoping for. Ignore him and maybe he will go away.
Sorry but this time I'm going to agree. We have a 1947 Servel Gas Fridge, it is at the cabin out in the Mojave desert and has been the birth place of hundreds of rodents and all I have to do is brush the rodent nest off the controller, hook up the propane and light the burner. Oh yeah, and wash my hands.
The point, the 120v ac cord is for the light only, no PC boards, igniters, just a temp control. In 71 years, the only failure, one controller and that was back in the sixties. So maybe the K.I.S.S. philosophy ain't so dumb. - azrvingExplorerMy sons home refrigerator ice maker lasted just over a year. I replaced it for $60 and it lasted 2 weeks. They said they looked at reviews before buying but my search showed terrible results. It's a bottom freezer model so it also has to have a freezer compartment up top for the ice maker which just adds to the complexity.
When I ordered the ice maker it showed something like 5200 of them previously sold and that's just from one source. Junk products and they have us hooked on crack as we keep buying. I just tried to mount my action cam on my bike and the saddle mount broke in half so I started looking through the other clips and brackets. As I tried to unsnap one of the clips it broke so it looks like most of this plastic stuff was good for less than a year. - MEXICOWANDERERExplorerEven
B.S.
Figured out what I am talking about. It isn't any type of puzzle -- far from it. The harder we try to be lazy and pushbutton simple the harder we have to work to keep the mechanisms working. It's called a paradox.
Back in the 1960's the federal income tax had strict definitive percentage tiers. Work say a maximum of 44 hours a week and the year tax was "x". Work your butt off for 50 hours a week, enter a new higher percentage tier and end up with a total income equaling 46 hours a week.
An RV is not a consumer item like an automobile or a microwave oven. A consumer item that gains a bad reputation goes bankrupt. An RV with mandatory "TOP FIVE" trouble-prone options that supposedly make life easier end up making relaxation harder and much more expensive.
Automatic Steps
Slide out room extensions
Refrigerator automatic controls
Digitally controlled heating
Digitally controlled water heaters
None of these items are a "muse". The sideouts are nice for extra room, but the remainder are utterly unneeded to have perfect functionality. And before you say "What's the gripe?" look at the forum threads. They are full of expensive, perplexing hassles for owners and there is no opting out.
YET
You cannot purchase a rig that does not have them. Why? There wasn't a huge percentage of gas refrigerator owners that had manual controls that had trips ruined when eyebrows, thermistors, and venting went wrong. A thermostat set at 70 degrees worked for many years if not decades flawlessly. Pull steps out and push them in for decades trouble-free.
Consumers got duped hook-line-and-sinker over the "Lazy Issue". George Jetson, automation.
And no, this cannot include converters because batteries are electrochemical devices that would require monitoring and processor power that would cost more than your house, the land, and everything on it to make it "plug n play".
Comparing an automobile to a horse at the turn of last century is not relevant. Horses need hay and water 24/7. They need the services of a farrier and vet.
And to claim similar automobiles, one basic, the other loaded with bling have similar malfunction percentages is absurd. Even my near junker toad has had issues with unneeded accessories -- all of them have quit working while the base chassis elements have enjoyed normal life spans.
If this is too much to comprehend, then sit back in your chair and ignore it's implications. And wisdom is need to separate a tire pressure monitoring system from electric steps or a refrigerator eyebrow...tires go flat while underway and that can be dangerous. A hot water heater that fails to light-off because of Star Trek automation is not dangerous.
Fascinating. - fj12ryderExplorer III
BB_TX wrote:
Wow, I remember working on cars in "the old days" and watching my dad do the same, mostly because it happened a lot in "the old days". Now I mostly don't have to touch anything. However if the motor developed a miss, yeah it could be spark that could be fixed with new points, new condenser, new coil, new coil wire, new spark plug wire, new distributor rotor, new distributor rotor cap, and/or a combination of the above. However could be a valve sticking, low compression, stuck choke, and the list goes on.
Yeah, like cars and trucks. In “the old days” if your car developed a miss you spent a few dollars and an hour changing the points and plugs. And you could sit on the fender with your feet inside the engine compartment while doing it.
Now you need a computerized diagnostic analyzer to quiz the vehicle computer for idas about what might be the problem and what might be the fix. And when you open the hood you might be able to see part of the actual engine.
Sorry man, I'll take the new style cars in a New York minute. I get a miss, it did happen on Peggy's 2003 Sport Trac, the OBDII reader told me what the problem was in just a couple seconds. Yeah, I'll take that. Old isn't necessarily better, sometimes old is just old. - NaioExplorer II
BB_TX wrote:
And you could sit on the fender with your feet inside the engine compartment while doing it.
My mom still laughs at how I used to do that with my first truck :-). It was comfortable! - road-runnerExplorer IIII'm going to agree, too.
Oil-filled heaters with electronic controls are more difficult to operate and fail a lot more than those with mechanical thermostats. I just bought a new humidifier and went out of my way to find one with old-fashoned knobs and switches. Electronic clocks are a pain to set. Things like the radio are much more difficult to work on our newer car. A friend just tossed her new smartphone to go back to the flip phone. With RVs I see that newer ones have central touch panels for lighting, tank level readout, etc. When that panel quits working, a lot of items won't be usable, and the only fix will be spending a few hundred bucks for a new one. That's assuming it will even be available for an older RV.
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Having RV issues? Connect with others who have been in your shoes.24,190 PostsLatest Activity: Jan 19, 2025