Gary_Swanson
Explorer
Joined 24 years ago
User Profile
User Widgets
All Activity
Re: B+ motorhomes
cheese1, take a look at rvshare.com for your renting. I'm considering listing our 2003 Trail-Lite 211S with them while we carefully consider whether to keep it or sell it. We have an itch but don't quite know what to do about it. Most stuff out there is either too big or too expensive. Or both.388Views0likes0CommentsRe: B+ motorhomes
The Pleasure-Way Plateau XLMB is a beautiful and well done B+, and 2' (that's two feet!!) shorter than Leisure Van's Wonder. The deal breaker for us in both units: the inside (driver's side) sleeper has to crawl over the other sleeper in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. Not a problem in our younger years but it is now. Phoenix Cruiser's 2100 and 2400 solve the problem by having a slide with an electric trifold bed that you can walk around.391Views0likes0CommentsRe: B+ motorhomes
harmini, IMHO you got a killer deal on that 251, assuming the photo provided shows the rig in its nearly current condition. I'm softly/firmly looking to replace my 2003 211S and what I've found out there is significantly (read way more) expensive for the features and quality I've had for the last 14 years. You all can PM me if you want more info as to why I'm looking to figuratively abandon ship but it's not because the rig has problems: it's more me that has the problems. :) :(394Views0likes0CommentsRe: B+ motorhomes
markopolo wrote: from Dario: Markopolo, I updated my Volt meter to LED fro LCD so I could see it in the dark, I installed the LCD volt meter in my new Roadtrek only because I had it because ,I don't really RV overnight in the Roadtrek but I had it so I used it. I'm wondering where Markopolo found this LED volt meter pictured on forum page 176?346Views0likes0CommentsRe: B+ motorhomes
Just a quick follow-up on my change over to 6v golf cart batteries. I had to loosed the propane tank hold-down bolts and nudge the tank over about a quarter to half and inch to allow for the increased width of the 6v batteries, but it was easy. The Pro-Fill RV watering installed on each battery in a heart beat and the batteries went in end-to-end very smoothly. The Pro-Fill coupling tube and all the electrical cabling was straightforward although the space to work in was a bit tight. All in all pretty easy and worth it IMHO. I have read much on battery care and feeding as well as differnet converter/charger systems during my researching for this project. There are two definite camps on the converter/chargers: "float" vs "smart" charger output. My Trail-Lite has a Parallax 7355 converter/charger and I found their web page (www.parallaxpower.com) very informative, especially the FAQ section. What I came away with is that in a perfect world (infinite time and money) a smart charger wired in properly is best. However, given that my battery bank is wired in parallel with the RV's 12v system I believe Parallax's float system is just fine as long as I top up the batterys' water once a month (which is a snap with the Pro-Fill or Quick-Fill system!). Also, I recommend checking your battery bank's state-of-charge (SoC or % of deep discharge) with a digital volt meter. All my reading has taught me that we should NEVER discharge out battery bank below 50% capacity, which is approximately 12.2 volts. I now know that the relatively early demise of my last batteries was due to excessive and repeated discharges well below 12 volts. Didn't seem like much of a deal at the time but that's a guaranteed early killer. My OEM micro-monitor panel is made by KIB, and their web site states that the battery LED read out of "C" means 12.7-12.85 volts, "G" means 12.10-12.15 volts, "F" means 11.60-11.65 and "L" means 6.00-??. Next time out I'm going to correlate the LED reading with my volt meter, and if the LEDs don't give me the information I need I will wire in a separate little digital volt meter.275Views0likes0CommentsRe: B+ motorhomes
To answer Gene in NE -- too frequently we use our RV like an OHV, just because that's where the great places to explore are. As a result we bounce this rig up/down/all over the place. Plus I have been accused of "flying" the rig a couple of time in Mexico (guilty as charged) when some "topes" came at me out of nowhere. When I first went to two batteries they were group 24 12v and I mounted them sideways next to each other on the original battery tray. Used a stout plastic plant tray of some sort cut to size to have the batteries sit up a bit higher and not rest on the tray's angled-up lip. In the course of six months I had to have the battery tray re-welded twice. Both welders said the tray was poorly conceived and even more poorly mounted. Next my two batteries died and I replaced them with two group 27 12v deepcycles from Costco. They hung even further out past the true bottom of the tray but what the heck. A few months later on the way to Prescott, AZ (and then on to Mexico) we took the worst back "road" I have even been on. I pulled over once we got back to "pavement" (and I use that term loosely) to investigate an odd noise. There were the two batteries hanging by the pos and neg cables, with the remains of the tray dangling in a different direction. We made it to Prescott with the help of my bottle jack and four ratchet straps. There we were able to find a hot rod shop owned by a master fabricator/welder. $350 later I had a new and very beefy tray that runs lengthwise and has room for two group 27 batteries lined up end to end. It's also going to hold my two new Costco 6v golf cart batteries (which weigh in at 63# each). So what have I learned? Life's a great adventure.276Views0likes0CommentsRe: B+ motorhomes
cheeze1 wrote: I I have a small clear hose and funnel setup for adding water, which also entails a flashlight and mirror. No matter what, T/L definitely dropped the ball on this one. Anyone with a Trail-Lite suffering from inaccessable batteries MUST end their pain by getting the Qwik-Fill system from Flow-Rite. It is great. I am switching to 6v golf cart batteries (2) for my 211S and have bought Flow-Rite's new Pro-Fill RV system that is designed for 6v batteries. As a result, I have my Qwik-Fill system that works perfectly up for sale. You can view the ad in the "Free Classifieds" link at the top of the Forums front page. (How, you are asking, can I fit those tall 6v golf cart batteries in that cramped battery tray space? That is another long story, but the short answer is the OEM tray broke off a couple of years ago and I had a larger, somewhat lower sitting tray fabricated and welded/bolted in place. The golf cart batteries plus the Pro-Fill RV system will fit in with < 1" to spare.)275Views0likes0CommentsRe: B+ motorhomes
Gary --- I too have a 2003 211(S) and ordered it with G&B tank heaters. The on/off switch is a black rocker switch with a lit red jewel when on. Mine is in between the furnace thermostat and the water pump / water heater switch bank, located on the wall to the left of the "kitchen" sink. Others --- I continue to get 11-12 MPG driving 65-75 MPH. Dipped to 10.5 on our last trip doing 75-80 into a head wind. Oh well. Other rigs continue to pique my interest, but in the end they also have similar or other unique "problems". I plan to stay with ours for a few years at least. The devil you know vs the devil you don't know.218Views0likes0CommentsRe: B+ motorhomes
burlmart -- my overcab compartment with three cubbies moves only with the cab itself. It does not vibrate and move independently of the cab. We carried a TV up there for a while, but with the rough roads we frequent the TV was moving and bouncing around too much. Plus we really never chose to watch it. I got a gizmo that allows us to watch TV over my notebook computer that is a bit cumbersome but adequate for those rare times. this particular "thread" is VERY broadbased as far as topics, and is more a group of layed back friends who exchange ideas and comments. if you really want a timely answer to a focused question or topic, consider posting same as a new topic.157Views0likes0Comments
Groups
Motorhome Group
Join in here to discuss all things motorhomes.Mar 12, 202538,710 Posts
