draknor
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Re: Replace Toilet with Composting for FT use
Great topic! We're planning to start FT'ing this fall, and are strongly thinking about swapping in a composting toilet this summer (before we hit the road). Seems like a great way to save water & simplify dumping. @billy79, @FreeRangeHuman - thanks for sharing your experiences! Helpful to hear about others doing similar things!431Views0likes0CommentsRe: Taking our new-to-us 5er out for the first time!
Thanks @Allworth - yeah, I debated about it. I didn't know if adding some chlorine to the fresh water made it "not fresh" anymore, such that it had to be dumped appropriately. Good to know that it's okay to just dump on the ground! Totally right about "getting to it" is going to be more work than "fixing it" - those little screws holding up the coroplast are pretty corroded. Got some PB Blaster and some replacement stainless screws & washers, so now I just need a couple of hours to get it done :-)337Views0likes0CommentsRe: Taking our new-to-us 5er out for the first time!
So, slight disaster yesterday... Packed up the 5er & towed to the dump station. Dumped the fresh tank - started by just using the drain valve and letting it run down into the dump hole, but decided that was going to take too long & ended up opening the low point drains & eventually pulling the anode rod out of the water heater as well! Filled it back up - no problem. Just as it fills back up to the top, I hear water falling under the trailer. Took a peak underneath & & sure enough, water's coming out of where I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to be! On the plus side - draining the tank the 2nd time went much more quickly :) From what I can tell - seems like the drain hose just fell off the drain pipe fitting. Need to get more of the underbelly cover off to see exactly what I'm dealing with, but hopefully that's all - that's something I'm pretty sure I can deal with.337Views0likes0CommentsRe: Taking our new-to-us 5er out for the first time!
Well, we got pulled into the campsite and I'm setup for the night :-) DIdn't go quite according to plan - ended up working a bit later than I expected, so had to skip the tank flush & refill in order to get setup at the campground before running out of daylight. Which was probably good, because it took me an embarrassingly long time (& number of attempts) to get backed into what should be a really simple spot :-/ Definitely going to have to practice that a bit more! Thankfully, on a Tuesday night in spring in Wisconsin, not too many other campers around to gawk :-) Also - I need to remember to release the parking brake... I've gotten good at remembering to set the parking brake when I get out of the truck, but sometimes forget to release it when I get back in after checking my position. Oops! Water pump was a non-issue -- turned it on again once we got set up, it ran for like 5 seconds then stopped. Kicks back on after the faucets are open, then shuts off quickly once the faucet is off. Probably was just air in the lines, or me being dumb & leaving the faucets open while checking things yesterday. Furnace works great - which is good, since it's supposed to drop to 40 degF tonight! Haven't tested the water heater yet - will wait until I've flushed the tank first. Started up the fridge - if all goes well, I'll have some cold beers ready by the time my friends drop in tomorrow night! Shore power cord was only ~25 ft - super-glad I was smart & bought a 25 ft extension cord, because I needed ~45 ft to reach the pedestal here! Unfortunately, will have to uproot tomorrow to flush & refill - no water/sewer at the site. Guess I'll get more practice backing up again ;-) Definitely have some trailer sway. Rear stabilizers are pretty rusted and will need to be repaired / replaced. Might have to look into getting some of those X-chocks or similar, too. The project list is growing! @BubbaChris - not that I plan to do this, but why shouldn't I hook up to city water after I'm done flushing? I certainly recognize I shouldn't *drink* any water until the flush is finishe337Views0likes0CommentsRe: Taking our new-to-us 5er out for the first time!
@korbe: No, water heater tank rinser "wand". Not black tank flusher :) @donn0128: Already did the tires last week - got the BFGoodrich Commercial T/A 2 (LT). Previous tires were ~7 years old, and the spare looked original (!!). Had one loose wheel stud, which Discount Tire wouldn't touch, but found a local garage that replaced it.337Views0likes0CommentsTaking our new-to-us 5er out for the first time!
Super-excited! A few weeks ago we bought an '04 Hitchhiker, and we're finally getting it out to a local campground this week for a few days, before our first real "trip" for Memorial Weekend!! I've done a bunch of reading & research, and just want to jot down our plans and see what others think about getting us and our new rig ready! Last night we parked the RV out front of the house to do some prep work: - Removed the giant tube TV :) - Replaced the water heater anode rode - Flushed the water heater tank with that wand thing - Filled up the freshwater tank + water heater (which is off) & added a teaspoon of sodium dichlor to sanitize it. - Ran all the faucets so the chlorine gets to all the pipes & fixtures - Let the whole thing sit over night Today, once we get it to the campground I'll dump the tank, refill & dump again to flush, then refill one final time for use (no water hookup at the camp site). It's a bit cool this week in the midwest, so I'll get a chance to check out the furnace at night :) Will experiment with packing supplies, figuring out all the different fixtures & switches -- we went through everything during the PDI but it's been a few weeks. One thing I need to figure out - when I turn the water pump on, it runs continually (I left it running ~5 min last night). Talked to my dad - he said it should only run briefly & then turn off, so might have a pressure leak somewhere. Or some valve is open that shouldn't be. Didn't have time to investigate last night. Not sure if I'll get to it this week, but I've got an EMS 30A hard-wired unit arriving tomorrow, so I want to get that installed and in the process, make our shore-power cord removable. I don't like how it's crammed into this little nook behind the circuit breakers - would rather coil it nicely & transport it in the basement. Also need to replace a burned out drive light. Another future project will be to reseal everything - I've got some Geocel ProFlex RV on order (local Camping World didn't have any). And then will need to figure out what roof maintenance I need to do. Lots to learn :-)2.4KViews0likes12CommentsRe: Buying an RV... How long has it been on the lot?
When we were browsing used units at the local Camping World, the sales guy (new to the business) showed us the arrival inspection report for the 2004 unit we were interested in. The report showed what they found upon inspection and what they did (or didn't) replace - but what was most interesting to us was how long the unit had been sitting on their lot - over a year! (I found out later they have some used units they've had for 2+ years!!) We managed to score a pretty good deal (at least, a price we were VERY happy with) on that unit. Hard to know if age-on-lot was a factor in their decision to accept, but it certainly influenced our negotiation process.1.3KViews0likes0CommentsRe: B&W Companion slider stuck installing
Damn, I should have seen this thread earlier! I *just* installed my B&W Companion slider & had the same problem - wouldn't sit down all the way due to corrosion in the turnover ball and the heavy powder coat on the post. I was installing it by myself in my driveway, so once I started I just kept going. I jumped up & down on it, whacked it with a mallet over & over again, and got it most of the way down myself. Then the guys in the shop finished it for me with a sledge & 6x6 block of wood :) I don't think this sucker's ever coming out, but if it does I'm going to save the tips on the first page and do the sanding & lubing next time! :-)527Views0likes0CommentsRe: Automatic slider hitch with Grand Design 323bhs
Rakedog - not that this really helps you (yet), but my 07 Ram 3500 Megacab had the B&W turnover ball already installed by a previous owner, so I just ordered the B&W Companion Slider. Still working on getting it "installed" - I have a plastic bedliner so I have to cut notches out of that first (so the slider sits on the bed, not the liner) before I can actually drop the hitch in. Will post pictures on the forum once I get that done. I debated about getting a SuperGlide, but opted not to for the following reasons (which may or may not apply to you): * Camping World tech said they'd have to remove the B&W to install a fifth wheel hitch * Pullrite makes a B&W adapter, but it's $500+ and requires 2 additional bed holes to be drilled & additional brackets mounted to the frame * SuperGlide also requires a special plate for the kingpin - extra cost, extra hassle * Total cost was going to be $1700+ (parts) + labor (??) + hassle to get it installed. * B&W Companion Slider was $1300 (Amazon!), and (in theory) I can drop it in myself. * Everything I've read about the B&W Companion (non-slider) suggests people love it * I'm hoping that I won't need to use the slider a lot - our 5er has an extended pin box. But I didn't feel comfortable not getting one. So that's why I opted for the manual slider.302Views0likes0CommentsRe: Best bunkhouse for young couple and newborn
We're similar situation (sort of young-ish couple with a 9 mo old) - but we're opting to go with a rear-living 5er instead of a bunkhouse. Couple of reasons: 1. More living room / kitchen space. 2. The little one is probably going to be sleeping in a pack & play for quite a while yet - no need for a full bunkhouse for just him. So we're focusing on the 30-34 ft range, and so far we really like the rear-living Hitchhiker floor plans.264Views0likes0Comments
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