Rebuilt Lance 811: Maiden Voyage
Took off this weekend on the first trip in the camper, about 600 miles all in:
First stop Fri nite was Gifford Pinchot State Park. Very nice park. Got a site with no hookups. Temps dropped down to the 40* range overnight and furnace ran quite a bit. Good to know that I can get a full night of heavy furnace use from my single battery.
Also watched a movie on Netflix connecting the Roku to the Verizon JetPack, worked flawlessly! Everything ran on 12v, no inverter needed.
Did not put the jacks down and DW didn't like the way the camper moved when you walk around in it.
While we were nice and toasty under the covers, it felt like you were sleeping with your head in the refrigerator...stopped at a Wal*Mart on Saturday and picked up a "body pillow" which is basically a 56" long pillow. Fit perfectly between the front of the mattress and the front wall and was just what we needed for insulation.
Spent Saturday in Gettysburg. They now have an app you can download ($10) that narrates a self-directed driving tour. Was well worth the money and guided you around the battlefield with 16 designated stops as points of interest. Had no issues maneuvering around with the camper, and it was nice stopping halfway to make a sandwich!
Sat nite we stopped at Deer Run Camping Resort so we'd have water and electric. I disconnected the tie downs and put the jacks down to level the camper. I only raised the camper enough to level it, and didn't fully unloaded the suspension of the truck, so the camper was being supported both by the truck and the jacks and felt really solid.
I was concerned about the oversize tires on the truck (325/65 on stock 18x8 factory rims), but aired the rears to 80 and fronts to 60 and it ran really nice. Very stable in the wind, very little side-to-side rocking, even over uneven roads and pulling off of the pavement in a few spots. I don't see any immediate need for suspension mods. I was going to lose the leveling kit and go to smaller tires at some point, but am re-thinking that and may stay with what I've got for the next set too.
Had no issues running at 70 on the interstates (once the traffic broke up LOL).
To do list:
1. Need to install shelves about each bedroom side window for extra storage.
2. Need a better voltage gauge to keep an eye on 12v system and easily reference the state of charge based on voltage.
3. Need a 120v voltage gauge or something. Used to be able confirm that shore power was on if the clock was lit on the microwave, but we took the microwave out....
4. Need limo tint on the windows...DW took down all the blinds.
5. Need to replace the vintage Atwood furnace thermostat with something digital to reduce the short-cycling.
The HappiJac spring-loaded tie-downs say to compress the spring 1/4" on the fronts and 1/8" on the rears. I had them dialed in prefectly. then when I reistalled them after leveling the camper Sat nite, the rears were loose, i.e. no tension on them. I readjusted.
Got home Sun night and the rears were loose again. Wondering how long the break-in phase will last and at what point do they stop needing adjustment?
Overall great trip and really enjoyed the camper!!
First stop Fri nite was Gifford Pinchot State Park. Very nice park. Got a site with no hookups. Temps dropped down to the 40* range overnight and furnace ran quite a bit. Good to know that I can get a full night of heavy furnace use from my single battery.
Also watched a movie on Netflix connecting the Roku to the Verizon JetPack, worked flawlessly! Everything ran on 12v, no inverter needed.
Did not put the jacks down and DW didn't like the way the camper moved when you walk around in it.
While we were nice and toasty under the covers, it felt like you were sleeping with your head in the refrigerator...stopped at a Wal*Mart on Saturday and picked up a "body pillow" which is basically a 56" long pillow. Fit perfectly between the front of the mattress and the front wall and was just what we needed for insulation.
Spent Saturday in Gettysburg. They now have an app you can download ($10) that narrates a self-directed driving tour. Was well worth the money and guided you around the battlefield with 16 designated stops as points of interest. Had no issues maneuvering around with the camper, and it was nice stopping halfway to make a sandwich!
Sat nite we stopped at Deer Run Camping Resort so we'd have water and electric. I disconnected the tie downs and put the jacks down to level the camper. I only raised the camper enough to level it, and didn't fully unloaded the suspension of the truck, so the camper was being supported both by the truck and the jacks and felt really solid.
I was concerned about the oversize tires on the truck (325/65 on stock 18x8 factory rims), but aired the rears to 80 and fronts to 60 and it ran really nice. Very stable in the wind, very little side-to-side rocking, even over uneven roads and pulling off of the pavement in a few spots. I don't see any immediate need for suspension mods. I was going to lose the leveling kit and go to smaller tires at some point, but am re-thinking that and may stay with what I've got for the next set too.
Had no issues running at 70 on the interstates (once the traffic broke up LOL).
To do list:
1. Need to install shelves about each bedroom side window for extra storage.
2. Need a better voltage gauge to keep an eye on 12v system and easily reference the state of charge based on voltage.
3. Need a 120v voltage gauge or something. Used to be able confirm that shore power was on if the clock was lit on the microwave, but we took the microwave out....
4. Need limo tint on the windows...DW took down all the blinds.
5. Need to replace the vintage Atwood furnace thermostat with something digital to reduce the short-cycling.
The HappiJac spring-loaded tie-downs say to compress the spring 1/4" on the fronts and 1/8" on the rears. I had them dialed in prefectly. then when I reistalled them after leveling the camper Sat nite, the rears were loose, i.e. no tension on them. I readjusted.
Got home Sun night and the rears were loose again. Wondering how long the break-in phase will last and at what point do they stop needing adjustment?
Overall great trip and really enjoyed the camper!!
