dartmouth01

There was a small fuse in my Coleman thermostat that I had to replace when I probably shorted wires when jiggling them to get the heater to work - the board was still going out and needed to be replaced, but I still needed to replace the fuse before I could get things to work.

I've been using mine stationary in Lake Tahoe for about a year or more.  Its been great, only suffering occasionally during peak tourist season.  Haven't tried travelling with it but I'm sure it would do fine, but i have an unlimited T-Mobile cell line as well as the old Mobley lines for that if needed.

I use a Smittybilt D ring tow bar to my aftermarket bumper.  Since the D rings are so high, I use a 10" riser hitch (rated for heavy towing), with a Readybrake surge brake, then the towbar.  I use magnetic lights to go to the back of the jeep, but I don't tow it alot so it works for my needs, I'd integrate in the future if I towed it more.    I know there were adapters for d rings for alot of different set ups out there.

40 minutes ago, Kirk W said:

I am sure it must be as the specs read, "Max Pressure: 1.5bar (21.7 PSI)." Most RV pumps are set to 45# or a little more.

This one is working inline of the city water (I dont have onboard water due to a leak in the tank).  Would a standard RV pump work the same way if placed in the city water line?

I have actually been using this pump for the past 6 months with great success.  My engineering mind can't figure how why it would work, since there is no accumulator, but it somehow takes poor incoming water pressure and makes it much much better.  I'll consider it magic as long as it works!  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07J43CWC3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.verizon.com/about/news/ditch-cable-verizon-home-internet

I have it but I'm stationary.  I have read alot of comments on reddit and other forums, and I haven't heard of anyone having issues moving with the service, but technically its not allowed in the terms and conditions.  Basically, do it until you can't, then at that point, do something else.  Verizon is also offering similar service for $25/month.

I have some LEO friends that say some of them are more ticket happy than others. Im sure there is alot of variability, depending on who pulls you over.

My water heater in my 2018 Forest River died a couple months ago, started leaking from the weld on the tank itself.  I attribute it to poor maintenance from the previous owners, as I found the anode rod eaten away when I went to inspect it after purchase.  Anyways, I looked at tankless, but 1) my input water is very cold in the winter (Tahoe), and 2) I have electric included in my site so I prefer to use electric to power as much as possible.  Unfortunately, 120v household plug is just not enough to run tankless.  Since I am stationary, and I couldnt find a replacement RV water heater, I ended up buying a small 120v powered 20gallon water heater from Home Depot, placed it under my skirt, and plumbed it to the RV along with an expansion tank.  It works wonderfully, and I get way more water and adjustable temperature out of the household heater.  I now use my bypass valve as a mixing valve, which gives me even more hot water, by turning up the temperature on the water heater to max but using the mixing valve to cool it with cold water before reaching the faucets.

I am interested in following this though, as I have thoughts of making a portable hot tub with propane heating, and have been thinking of doing this with a transfer pump and a propane tankless water heater.

Thanks, it is this thermostat, with the awful capacitive touch buttons (I know, I need to reach out to Dometic to get the updated covers).  I think I will swap the thermostat from the bedroom to the living room first, to see if I can isolate the issue to the thermostat itself.

Hi all, I have a digital Dometic thermostat that controls heat and AC, and when I try to use heat now, it works until it needs to turn on again because min temp is reached.  I can hear some relay sounds in the overhead AC strangely enough, and the heater blower starts up, but there is no ignition.  I can trigger ignition by taking the desired temp up another degree.  Any thoughts on what might be the root cause of the issue?  If thermostat, I'll probably go for a microair replacement.  Thanks!

Another trick I use is to go in on streaming services with friends/fam, and just charge everyone an annualized shared fee once a year. 

Probably a loose connection, and most likely at a wire nut.  The connection fairly close to the body of the heater or enclosed behind a cover on the heater, so you may have to pull out the heater.  I just pulled out the WH out of my current heater and this is how it is.

Could also be the wiring, I once found the twist on connection between the RV and the water heater was charred from a poor connection, ultimately severing the connection itself.  Reconnected it and all was good again.

If you're a gasser and have a Costco card, the gas at the one in Carson City is the cheapest.  You should fit fine @ 25 ft.  The only pucker factor points on the trip are the steeper downhills after echo summit, and going up to Echo Summit from South Lake Tahoe/Meyers.  But you'll be in the inside lane of the drop offs so it won't be as scary.

cant think of any public sites that have electric, but if you can snag a spot in Truckee, say truckee river rv park or Coachland i think your brother will be happy with the high alpine environment and wilderness feel.  reno and the valleys in general will be over 100 degrees this weekend too, so being in the mtns will be a better temp.

I carry a 1000, just to recharge the batteries when off-grid (only 100w solar currently), and to keep batteries topped up over night when running the furnace at full blast (we'll camp in the mountains in winter and will see subzero temps regularly).  Works great for that need, and is small enough to fit reasonably well in my truck camper.

Lots of "overlanding" folks are using them. I had a small 300Wh one for a while that was useful when jeep tent camping, but ended up getting rid of it and replaced with an AGM in a trolling motor battery box so I could charge it at higher amps from the alternator, and also as a potential 2nd battery to do 24v portable welding with jumper cables and welding rod.  But I've been very interested in the drop in lithium replacements for the AGM in the box as well as the AGM in my camper.  

I use Fetch, haven't tried or compared against the other ones you mentioned.  Just requires scanning receipts using your phone.  I've been scanning for about 7 months, and I think I've gained about $15 in giftcards.  Worth it?  Well, its not really time intensive, and I'm not too concerned with selling of my data basically, but I'll probably stop at some point.

I was able to download the app and find stations nearby without signing into anything.  Looks like the two locations within 50 mile radius (diesel) are trucker only depots, not standard gas stations.  Also, in the T&C it seems to say that you will only get the price if you pay with your debit card/bank acct via the card.  If you take into acct the standard 5% cash back you generally get for fuel on credit cards like with the Costco card, not sure the savings are significant enough for most folks, especially with the limited locations accessible.

I did billboard tarp on a smaller rig that I ran thru 3 or 4 Sierra Nevada winters (not terribly cold, but sometimes alot of snow with a few deep freeze periods here and there).  It helped immensely, would generally keep the underside area above freezing until about 20 degree lows.  Below that, I had a heater that would kick in at 35 degrees inside the skirted area.  Now I am running foamboard as skirting for a larger 5th wheel, and it works about the same, perhaps marginally better than the billboard tarp.  However, the area is much larger than the smaller rig, so I expect the foamboard on an equivalent rig compared to billboard vinyl would be noticeably better.  However, the billboard tarp was very portable, the formboard not so much.

Anyone happen to know of a drop in 12V LiFe replacement that is capable of being used as a starting battery (ie high discharge rate)?  I use an AGm currently in my rig as a potential 2nd battery to use for 24V mobile welding system (jumper cables and welding rod).  I know there are some lithium options for 12V starter batts, but wondering if there are any with the new LiFe chemistry.

As somewhat of an aside, any of you experts have recommendations on $20-$30 handhelds that would be better than the Baofeng UV-5R?  Thats what I currently have as backup radios to lend out to others in any convoy I might be in, as I've had experience with radios not making it back to me.  I like the cost of the 5R's, but have wondered if there are any other brands/models I should be looking at for similar price.

I don't know alot, but I do know that GMRS vehicle mount radios can go up to 50W in power, while the handhelds max out at 5W.  So, if looking for a GMRS, check out the vehicle mount options for more powah!

No official burning man this year, but I think people are still planning on going out at some point.

I want to start slow jeep drag races out there, took our old 4 cyl yj wrangler toad out there, topped out at 60 mph!  🙂