ALLOY

We bought Starlink for mobile use. Around half of the places we like to go are either full or do not have service. Places near recreational homes (even with wired internet and cell service) are full. Remote places with few to no users do not have service. For a month I've tried switching to 2 locations that are full without luck. My advice is don't change your location if you need the service. Edit: I was just on Starlink. A cell that I could switch into and out of 3 days ago is now full. With 5,000+ being shipped/week it's going to happen more often. If it gets down to 1 out of 3 cells we want to use are full we'll go with another satellite system.

We were back at the same campsite a weeks ago with 2 trailers plugged into ours. It would have been better if they plugged in the first day rather than waiting until the 2nd day. The 3rd day our system was at 76% so I brought out 2 more 330W panels. On the 4th day we were back up to 100%. During this I was also charging two 5Ah batteries for my EGO chainsaw. Our Starlink dish showed up just before the trip and we were able to change the location to the campsite so everyone tested that out. At this point Starlink is not as mobile as we hoped. Half of the places we like to go are either full or do not have service.

You might be able to find Dexter distributor that can build the axle for you. https://www.dexteraxle.com/distributor-locator/us-and-canada

Hey John I've always gone with (currently 8x6v - suppose to be 940Ah) FLA. Being cheaper I don't worry about protecting the bank with low/high voltage and temperature disconnects. When we are out in the winter the FLA don't need to be kept above 35-40F. I've a friend who's brother in law sells new / rebuilt golf carts. He's can only remember 1 brand new $$$$$ cart being ordered with Lithium everything they do is FLA or AGM. but.... I've have Lithium in the back of my mind for these reasons: Lithium don't need to be fully charged. Many occasions there is not enough sunlight to fully solar charge FLA batteries. Each time this happens to FLA the bank looses a capacity. My estimate is we really started with 700-800Ah not 940Ah. After 2 1/2 years of use I'd estimate we've lost another 75-100 usable amp hours. I'll be surprised if we don't replace the bank in another 2-3 years. Lithium will accept the full capacity of the solar system. The solar will start charging at 8-9am. When there is full sun at noon the FLA will not accept the full capacity (100 -200A) of the solar system. At 4-5:00pm when the sun slips behind the trees or mountains the bank is still in absorption or the float charge is only 1/4 - 3/4 complete. Lithium charger faster from a generator. In winter there are a few occasion when 2.6Kw of solar is not enough so the generator is needed. I hate running the generator for hours and hours while 1-2 amps (120VAC) are drawn from it so I end up shutting it off before the float charge is complete. Voltage drop. The 130 amp (12VDC) draw from inverter sets the low voltage (was set at 11.5V and now 11.0V) alarm off. This means we only use the inverter when battery SOC is above 70%. F.Y.I....there is 4 - 4/0 cables (all 40" long) from each 6V bank to a 1/2" x 2" copper buss bar then 18" of double 1/0 (recommended by Victron) from the buss bar (thru a 400A fuse) to the inverter.

What about changing the seat to something that suits the weight of the person....and if the cab is on air what pressure is it at?

Few year ago I would filter the water from the house when filling the trailer with 10µ. After 300-400gal the pressure differential on the 10µ filters would rise to 30-40PSI. Next I tried 5µ and blew through those right away. After 150-200gal the pressure differential was 50-60psi. Lately I'm using 4 filters in series 10µ - 5µ - 1µ and a .5µ carbon then add Sodium Dichlor and use test strip to ensure the proper concentration. For drinking water we use a Berkey. Filtering the trailer water to .5µ means the Berkey last 6-8 time longer (before back washing) in the trailer than in the house.

No puck system on cab and chassis truck we are looking at but I've been tempted to adapt the puck system to the C&C frame so the bed can be used to carry a camper. Our puck system uses pull pins with rings. On a few occasions I found them laying in the bed of the truck so I converted what I can to pins with a safety wire that loops around the pin. I adjust the tension of the T bolts in pucks ( that are out of plane side to side) once a years to reduce the play in the system. It takes a bit of force to break the T bolts loose. I've bent the arms on several occasions. A stronger 1/4" arm or being able to fit a socket or wrench to the T bolts would be great. FYI....We bought a TS TS3. A year later TS came out with the BD5 for the puck system that has a smaller footprint that would free up some space in the bed. On the weekend while hitching at a sharp angle I gave the Binkley head a second tug test and it released. It there a parts breakdown for the Binkley head? I want (try) to pull it apart and lather it with copper Never-seize.

Good news, Thanks. Next thing will be will incorporating it into the hauler bodies being made for the F550 / 5500...or maybe a custom build. Hard to choose between the (need 4x4) F550 and 5500.

I couldn't find much on Young's (Pop-Up) website. Will they be making anything to fit F550/ Ram 5500.

I'd want a solution that works with more than a simple recovery and doesn't need to be inline with the wheels. If the line up isn't perfect the rope slips to the inside and there go the brake lines. A turning wheel and a loose rope is a recipe for disaster.

The Propex 2800 I installed in our 35' trailer works great. At 32-34F it slowly brings the heat up in our 35' trailer but it is worth it because it uses 50% less power than the Suburban furnaces does. Using the Propex at -10F we loose 1-2 degree/ hour depending on wind chill and it is not set up to heat the basement. I thought removing the Suburban and installing another Propex but I think that's a project for the next trailer.

Have you checked the full load amperage of the slides? Any leveling system?

Does it controlcharing so the battery bank is not over/under charged? FLA is bulk 4 stage bulk - absorb - float - standby - equalize (sometimes) Lithium is 2 stage - bulk - float (cutoff after X minutes) with temp & voltage disconnects

I cut the strainer out so there's nothing for hair to catch and installed a trap with a clean out.

. ......what will it do to the batteries (FLA or Lithium) though?

I run 2 - 400C Viair in tandem. This way I have a backup an it was cheaper than buying a better compressor like ARB. https://arbusa.com/air-compressors/portable-air-compressors/ The 400C get really hot when filling our 17" tires to 120PSI. Don't know how long one would last doing it.

Victron requires 2 inverters one each for L1 and L2. It is done allot. I would talk to Victron. Price is an important factor as is intergrating the componets together which I think Victron is better at. https://community.victronenergy.com/questions/122/multiplus-inverters-setup-in-split-phase-to-match.html

It's not what everyone would do but I installed a Woodford frost free valve.

Wallace is another diesel option. https://www.scanmarineusa.com/products/heaters/ and Propex if you have propane https://www.propexheatsource.com/

Good to know, thanks

Most welding cable is no UL listed. Without a UL there's no way of knowing what the % of copper is. The UL must be printed on the wire. The UL for welding cable is UL1276 ....FYI...UL1276 welding cable is not NEC approved for fixed of portable applications Tinned coated marine wire is UL1426. Wire for the solar installations is UL4730

Nothing catastrophic other than that BB doesn't provided any info.

200W is allot of power to put towards batteries while dry camping in the winter.

RVs are the worst of the worst construction. Of this bumper pulls are the bottom of the pile with 5ths being slightly better. Bunkhouse trailers are never built well...manufactures build bunkhouse trailers to fit a family budget. We bought a 5th and installed bunks in it. I would never have a RV delivered. My buddy's parents just bought their 4th RV. After going through it for 1/2 hour they found so many issued they asked if a PDI had been done. The response "We let the owners do the PDI". If and I mean IF everything was assembled the way is should then I'd rate **Arctic Fox (not what it use to be) 5% above GD Momentum which is 5-10% above Outdoors RV which is 10% above GD Imagine and Nash.....BUT.....RVs are never assembled properly. That's why a inspection is so important. Never pay for a new RV unless it has an 8-16 hour inspection in which each and every compartment was open and the water system was pressure tested. If I found a roof (caulking) issue, water leak, frame/slide issue or bad electrical connections I'd refuse to take delivery. You'll be allot further ahead buying used. The first 3 years are the highest depreciation and the previous owner(s) gets to sort out any issues. Putting a skirt around the RV helps allot with the heat. **The issue with AF is they are build heavy (more than the brochure weight) which affects the carrying capacity. AF should have bigger axles.

I think there's more to what Mark is saying and allot is being spent on Lithium PR. I know of 3 BB failures. The customer service was 110% and the batteries they received were upgraded to the latest version so the people would give BB good reviews but it doesn't change the fact that the batteries failed. When I was looking installing Victron Lithium the battery protection system (on top of the BMS) was extensive. I dropped the idea of Lithium once I got into figuring the heating below 34F and shutting the solar system down if the batteries were below 34F.