Forum Discussion
3,114 Replies
- joeshmoeExplorer IIIThat's weird. My wife used those EXACT words after I showed her my creation. Are you guys seeing something I'm not?
Bryan, my most favoritest, retired lawman in the whole wide world, I'm gonna come clean with you.... It's not for real nor is it permanent. It's the weekend. Goozfraba.
However I did install roll-down black out shades throughout the camper. Got rid of those junky metal ones that do very little to actually keep unwanted light out. How did I do? Does it pass code? Or does it get me a violation?









Sorry. I was too lazy to move the TV and fan out of the way.



The thing that made installing these into the valences without removing them tough was getting the brackets mounted just right. They give you about 1/4" on each end between each bracket and the roller to work with. Too tight, and the shade won't roll properly. Too loose, and roller will fall out of the bracket. Too close to the window side and it'll rub against the back of the valence. Too far away and you'll have a large gap between the window and shade in the down position. I eyeballed it and got lucky 3 out of 5 times. The one over the kitchen window was kinda tricky. I suppose I could have simply eliminated the valences all together, but that woulda looked ugly while unnecessarily putting screws into the walls.
In case you're wondering, yes, ALL light is blocked out. I shined my super bright Maglite in from the outside. Nothing.
Purchased from Ikea. IKEA Tupplur
is the model. The backing is UV resistant. Five shades total. Four of which are 32". The large one, 46", (I think) went over the dinette window. Cost was about $112 with tax for all five. - Ski_Pro_3ExplorerI think he's being funny. Ha! Humor "smart as" a whip! ;) :B
- joeshmoeExplorer IIIDang it! I knew I did something wrong. Even worse, I was in the plumbing business for almost 20 years. You'd think I knew better.:S
- bka0721Explorer IIAren't you concerned about the stress you are putting on the Hot Water tank by placing that much weight on the threaded connection and the tank wall? Wouldn't a spigot with a short nipple and a pigtail hose length serve the same purpose without the leveraged weight issue?
b - joeshmoeExplorer IIIInstalled an outside hot water faucet :B

- joe123Explorernew to me 99 9'6" 2500 bigfoot, install propane det,new auto propane switch over valve, had rv tech certify all propane system and do fridge recall work new smart charger, two florescent lights, and led bulbs in the other lights, busy at the moment renewing all exterior calking, then we will see what is next.
- JoeChiOhkiExplorer II
Camper_Jeff_&_Kelli wrote:
JoeChiOhki wrote:
Got a tarp for it, just need to drain an old tarp hanging in the barn stall, and then it'll be time for the precarious unload (one rear jack mount is questionable at best), got a lot of repair work to do on this old girl to get her back into road worthy condition again :).
Hi Joe
I strengthened my two rear corners and jacks by doing this with 3/16 marine grade aluminum.
Missed you at the Washington Rally.
Good luck with your TC.
Yeah, I kinda miss traveling, neither the truck nor camper has moved since late October of last year. Truck gets started up and run every month or so and the oil gets changed out on the 3 month marks.
Both are looking very dirty and sad.
Though, even if both were in running shape, the past couple months has been a slow hell of healing from dental work. Four wisdom teeth (fully erupted) pulled with only local, then a root canal on one of my front upper teeth, then a deep cleaning with the little pressure-washer thing.
All done by dental students at OHSU, because I'd never have been able to afford it otherwise.... :p
So, even if I had wanted to go, I wouldn't have had the money or felt decent enough to do anything. - Camper_Jeff___KNavigator
JoeChiOhki wrote:
Got a tarp for it, just need to drain an old tarp hanging in the barn stall, and then it'll be time for the precarious unload (one rear jack mount is questionable at best), got a lot of repair work to do on this old girl to get her back into road worthy condition again :).
Hi Joe
I strengthened my two rear corners and jacks by doing this with 3/16 marine grade aluminum.
Missed you at the Washington Rally.
Good luck with your TC. - JoeChiOhkiExplorer IIGot a tarp for it, just need to drain an old tarp hanging in the barn stall, and then it'll be time for the precarious unload (one rear jack mount is questionable at best), got alot of repair work to do on this old girl to get her back into road worthy condition again :).
- happycamper1942ExplorerI painted the ceiling white. It was looking a bit dull and dated but now looks great,it really lightens it up.
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286 PostsLatest Activity: Apr 30, 2026