Thanksgiving in Anchorage in a Truck Camper 2.0

When I click on the link it doesent work

I poke my head over here once and awhile, and you truck camper folks really seem to have some wonderful trips! Thanks for sharing.

c.traveler2 wrote:
What a wonderful trip to Alaska and it looks like everything when pretty well. Also what is the name of the Bar-be-que place in 29 Palms, we're always looking for a new bar-be-que place and we pass through 29 Palms going to Kingman, Az. fairly often.

I'll ask my son and daughter-in-law.

What a wonderful trip to Alaska and it looks like everything when pretty well. Also what is the name of the Bar-be-que place in 29 Palms, we're always looking for a new bar-be-que place and we pass through 29 Palms going to Kingman, Az. fairly often.

Area13 wrote:
Great report Gary. Love the mirrors on your 02 SD, must be a huge improvement. Thinking about swapping mine, how did the install go, easy swap?

Thanks! The mirrors were one of the very first upgrades after I bought the truck. It had the dog ear mirrors and they were awful. There were some discussions one one of the Ford Superduty sites that had a wire by wire tutorial back in 2010 when I bought the truck. The hardest was threading the turn signal/park light and defrost wires across the cab behind everything and then through the small rubber tubes. Then I made up connectors and connected everything up.. The 02 Switch ends up working the side to side backwards, but it wasnt worth replacing the switch over. Took the better part of a saturday.

Hope that helps!
Garry

bka0721 wrote:


A few questions, with your family traveling;
Do you keep your tanks filled with water and in use? I just finished a period of below zero weather for multiple days and teens and 20s for highs for 2 weeks without winterizing, still using my faucets and showers.

The other question would be with all of your wonderful upgrades have you considered installing an aux propane tank? There are many side tanks, like used in Tigers, which could meet this upgrade. As you know I carry 114 gallons of propane and it is one of the best things I did when putting my project together.

As for the condensation, don't forget with all those people breathing there is going to be an amazing amount of condensation, just from that source alone. If you can utilize dry heat (electric) it certainly controls the condensation. I too have freezing in the corners and cab over. A couple of years back even frozen vegetable cans in the cabinets. But have never had any freeze damage in my Lance camper.

I wonder have you considered more extreme winterizing as btggraphix did a few years back with his TC? Reserving a short time to open up the camper (even when in the teens) goes a long way in removing condensation during extended TC camping in freezing weather.

Again, thanks so much for sharing about the tires, chains and larger (read tall) family joining on this holiday adventure. It is nice to see more TC owners out here in the winter with me with just a few cold weather practices used. Maybe more will consider not parking their TCs until spring.

b

We travel in the winter with the potable tank dry, and the water pump dry. I put the pink stuff in the sink trap, and plumbing on the grey water side. As for the commode, it is a necessity when traveling and use in the winter in Alaska. It is a recirculating toilet, and we found out 5 years ago that if I use windshield wiper fluid (Good to -50F) and a formaldehyde based toilet chemical, all works well. No smell, and flushes all the time.

I have a second narrow vertical tank that I have, but have been searching for the right plumbing to plumb it from the original tank locker to the new locker, and either put in a shift style regulator, or just manually unscrew the hose from one bottle to an extension hose to the other bottle...

I have added alot of 1" foam board and reflectix since our first trip 5 years ago, and it has made a big difference. I hope to add additional insulation as I continue to upgrade it, but we have found that we do some work, then use it to see what works and what doesn't, and then repeat.

Fortunately didn't need the chains, but was very glad for the 19.5 studded tires!
Thanks again for the words of encouragement!

GoinThisAway wrote:
Wow! What a trip! Too bad you had to work on the trip but sounds like you were able to make the most of it. Many thanks for the time you took to share your story and photos.

Thanks for the encouragement! Weather has cleared off here on the island, so hopefully I can pull the plow and camper today, as I need to get the truck in the garage to replace the front drive line. It is squealing and rumbling. So I don't want to chance throwing it...

Interesting adventure.

Great report Gary. Love the mirrors on your 02 SD, must be a huge improvement. Thinking about swapping mine, how did the install go, easy swap?

As always, great to read and enjoy your photos, on your most recent trip. Glad you were able to spend time with your two families. With your kids growing up so fast, I am sure this will be a prelude of holidays to come off visiting the kids in their own homelands.

A few questions, with your family traveling;
Do you keep your tanks filled with water and in use? I just finished a period of below zero weather for multiple days and teens and 20s for highs for 2 weeks without winterizing, still using my faucets and showers.

The other question would be with all of your wonderful upgrades have you considered installing an aux propane tank? There are many side tanks, like used in Tigers, which could meet this upgrade. As you know I carry 114 gallons of propane and it is one of the best things I did when putting my project together.

As for the condensation, don't forget with all those people breathing there is going to be an amazing amount of condensation, just from that source alone. If you can utilize dry heat (electric) it certainly controls the condensation. I too have freezing in the corners and cab over. A couple of years back even frozen vegetable cans in the cabinets. But have never had any freeze damage in my Lance camper.

I wonder have you considered more extreme winterizing as btggraphix did a few years back with his TC? Reserving a short time to open up the camper (even when in the teens) goes a long way in removing condensation during extended TC camping in freezing weather.

Again, thanks so much for sharing about the tires, chains and larger (read tall) family joining on this holiday adventure. It is nice to see more TC owners out here in the winter with me with just a few cold weather practices used. Maybe more will consider not parking their TCs until spring.

b