rvhippo
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How do I not blow up my city water connection check valve?
Jayco plumbed my city water connection line so that I will have trapped water against the valve after winterizing with antifreeze. Everything else looks like it should gravity drain. Can I just press in the check valve and let the water drain out? I have read here that I can blow up the valve if I do this. Why would the valve be damaged by doing this? Thanks in advance for any replies.2.6KViews0likes14CommentsWinterizing Questions
I need to winterize my water system. There are two lines I can't figure out how to get anti-freeze into. I'm at a campground and don't have compressed air. The first line is from the fresh water tank to the water pump. Will this line just evacuate sufficiently if I run the pump to empty? The second line is from the city connection to the hot water tank. Should I pump antifreeze into this with a hand pump? Will be storing in Michigan, so it will definitely hard freeze over the winter. Thanks in advance for any replies.2.4KViews0likes10CommentsCovered indoor or shrink wrapped storage in Michigan
Well, the original plan to store the trailer in Texas has fallen through. My father is more ill then he let on and I will be staying in Michigan to help my mom take care of him. I need help finding over-the-winter storage for my trailer in SE Michigan. Indoor,covered,shrink wrapped would be great. I found Kensington and Bay City indoor storage. Are there any others I'm missing? Any experiences dealing with these two? Any reviews? Is shrink wrapping worth it? I remember my dad doing it to his boat in better times. Thanks in advance for any replies.2.9KViews0likes11CommentsTowing 33', 7500 GVWR trailer with 1/2 ton truck.
Conclusion: NOT FUN. Do-able, but NOT FUN. Two hands on the wheel at all times. The Truck 2016 Dodge Ram 1500 5.7L V8 gas engine 8-speed auto transmission, 3.92 final drive 1,630 lbs. payload capacity 10,300 lbs. towing capacity The Trailer 2016 Jayco 2867 BHSW 33'5" overall length 7500 lbs. GVWR Equalizer 4-way hitch *Engine more than capable. *Transmission probably won't last long. Shift logic already locking into tow/haul mode even without the trailer attached. *Payload capacity sorely lacking. I put Timbrens on the back and they help a lot. I couldn't imagine towing without some kind of spring/helper in the back. The 1/2 ton is sprung for comfort and any weight immediately maxes out the rear springs. *I probably will have to adjust the WD hitch when I get more time (combined rig is VERY sensitive to WD hitch adjustments, I'm on my 4th adjustment setting). *Brakes adequate. ABS kicks in during emergency braking so braking power isn't the limitation. The rig is very, very sensitive to passing vehicles and crosswinds. Not a problem to keep it within the lane markers, but requires constant small steering corrections if there are passing vehicles or cross winds. Steers straight and true with no sway motion in a straight line. Not difficult to keep in line, but it requires constant vigilance. Not a relaxing drive, but not scary either. Have had to make one emergency brake/swerve maneuver when someone cut me off trying to get on the same off ramp at the same time. Truck and trailer tires all squealing. Was able to bring rig back in line at the adjacent lane with no sway. I would rather have a 3/4 or 1 ton truck, but Chrysler was willing to lease me this truck for $11.50/day. It works, but I couldn't imagine towing anything heavier (or closer to the 10,300 lbs. max tow limit).7.5KViews0likes44CommentsLooking for Texas storage facility
Could any Texas members offer any advice on trailer/truck storage anywhere within 1-2 hours of: Dallas / Houston / Austin? My family is travelling around the country. I have a work assignment overseas and I was hoping to store my pickup truck and 33' travel trailer in the Texas area for about 6 months. Texas seems like a central location without hard freezes. I was hoping for: 1) Dedicated RV storage. No construction equipment. No mini-storage. I'm worried about security and don't like the constant in-and-out of a combined storage facility. 2) Would like at least covered storage. Indoor storage even better. 3) Valet service rather than self-store. The less people wandering around the storage area, the more secure it is. 4) Electrical hookups for trickle charging. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!2KViews0likes7CommentsRe: Gas Regulator Auto Changeover Moving by Itself
It slowly moves by itself. It's not road vibration - it will move by itself when the trailer is stationary. I should still get full gas flow no matter where the selector lever is pointing? I don't want to lean out any appliances and burn them out. I'm hoping it can wait until I can bring the trailer in to have bigger issues like the misaligned slide fixed all at once. I think this trailer is cursed or I got a lemon. So far I've had to had the axles re-welded, brake failure, roof leak, slide alignment and small minor issues. I hope it's just "teething" problems and things will get better once the initial problems are solved.360Views0likes0CommentsGas Regulator Auto Changeover Moving by Itself
I have a new Jayco trailer. I have two 20lbs. propane tanks hooked up to a regulator with an auto changeover. The strange thing is that the tank selector lever will move by itself. For example, I set the lever to draw from the right tank. As I use propane the lever moves by itself towards the six o'clock position. I thought that the lever would remain stationary. Is this normal operation? Thanks in advance for any replies.1.2KViews0likes7CommentsRe: RV Direct - Too good to be true?
Having worked in the motorsports industry across the country, the warranty issue is worst where business is seasonal. In a heavily seasonal area, where they are busy in the summer and dead in the winter, technicians will be too few in the summer and too many in the winter. Warranty work pays very, very poorly. Re-imbursement by the factory is slow (90+ days) and at a very reduced rate (not full flat rate). Taking a profit making technician off a full-paying job to work on a slow paying, low paying warranty job costs the dealership money. Now, if it's the slow season and the technicians don't have any work, then warranty makes money because a slow, low paying job is better than no job. But if it's the high season and the dealer has limited techs and too much work they will take care of the customers who bought from them first. It's a two-way street. After the loyal customers are taken care of, a good shop will then take care of the high-profit jobs, then when it finally gets slow, the shop will take care of the money-losing warranty work requested by walk-ins who didn't buy from them. A good shop will also prioritize emergency on-the-road repairs. Is this a good system? No. But it's what works in highly seasonal areas. Areas with a more steady, continual work load can squeeze in more warranty work, but if the area's high season is only a couple of months long, a shop isn't going to waste it's most productive time on money-losing work (remember, by taking a tech off a higher paying job to do a low-pay/slow-pay warranty job, the dealer is losing the profit from the higher paying job). I have never seen a dealership lose their franchise due to refusing warranty work. All they have to do is schedule you in... during the slow season, which is usually the dead of winter. By doing that, they fulfill their franchise agreement. The best way to do this would be to get rid of franchised dealers completely and only have factory-owned sales/service centers. But that's against the law in the USA.433Views0likes0CommentsFridge Condensation From Evap Lines
I have a new trailer with a Norcold N611RT fridge. I'm having problems with leaking water from the rear of the unit. I can see the drain tube exit and there is no leak from the drain tube assembly. I believe the leak is condensate water from where the evaporative cooling line exits the urethane insulation. Unfortunately, I can't see that far up the backside of the fridge without removing the fridge. Other than the leak, which is a slow trickle that gets worse when the fridge defrosts, the fridge performs well. Think a big part of the problem is that I'm in Florida and it's really, really humid here. This probably wouldn't be a problem in either a colder or dryer climate. Are there any solutions to this? Am I going to have to pull the fridge and insulate the exposed line? I'm thinking about duct taping a drip pan as a temporary measure to keep the wood in the cabinet from getting soaked. Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Typing on a tablet please excuse the bad spelling and grammar.754Views0likes2Comments
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