D&J

Never heard of AGM batteries catching fire but lithium yes. We are on are second set of AGM Optima Blue tops, the first set lasted 13 years and this set is on their 7th year.

Denny

We had a Dometic that leaked after 12 years so I replaced the cooling unit with a Amish unit at it craped out after 4.5 years. Replaced the whole refrigerator with a residential Magic Chef from Home Depot and haven't looked back. It runs going down the road off our inverter along with our chest freezer, the truck keeps the batteries up. When dry camped for the night if needed we plug the converter into our old 650 watt Honda. The batteries will run the refrig all night without any generator power, the refrigerator only pulls 56 Watts when running and it doesn't run all that much. When set up in Yuma for the winter our electric bill is $20 to $30 cheaper than the Dometic running on electric.

Denny

Another part of the brochure.

This is from the material that comes with it.

Denny

3 hours ago, rpsinc said:

Glad that worked out for you.  Have not personally used that product.  I have tended to stay with commercial products as they are more robust and being in the trades, I have access to them so I tend to stay away from those products that are sold in home centers and the like.  Just my own preference.

When you order Crazy Seal this is what you receive and it has to be ordered from the manufacturer, I've never seen it on and box store shelf. If you did just a little research you will find it is not silicone based.

Denny

8 hours ago, rpsinc said:

I was an installer of RV roofs for a while and this was after I had done some of my own.

RV Armor and Flex Armor are the most expensive options but may be good for you IF you intend on having it done and the LIFETIME warranty is something that you have to have.

Another installed option is RVRoofingpros.com.  Lou does a great job and also offers lifetime warranty.  His membrane has Kevlar added for durability.

Those 2 products are different.  Crazy Seal is owned by the same guy as RV Armor BUT its a silicone based coating.  While it works I wouldnt use it mostly because it is WAY more difficult to do repairs in the future.  Liquid Roof has been around a long time and works well but it is a 2-part catalyzed product.  I always added multiple layers but it is EPDM based and lends itself to repairs and is very DIY friendly.

Not really a RV product but can be OK for stationary rigs.  It is more intended for flat roofs on mobile homes and houses.

 

If I was looking for a DIY product with proven track record and EPDM based and with the best value, as long as I was willing to do the work, Liquid Roof is my choice.  I would use a couple additional coats.  A best value for an applied roof that I would have installed and carries a warranty- Rvroofingpros.com.  Can be done where ever the trailer is unlike Flex Armor which has to be done in a franchise location.  RV Armor is solvent based and has a strong odor that lasts a long time but the product does provide a good result.

 

Any of these require good cleaning to get the best results.  I dont encourage pressure washing just lots of elbow grease, cleaning with blue Dawn and removing all the soapy residue is necessary.  Scrub brushes are absolutely key and for those hard to clean areas, some mineral spirits as a cleaner with elbow grease.  IF the years have brought multiple applications of Dicor caulking to joint areas and the front/rear caps, knock those down if they are piled up, using a multi-tool.  No need to remove it all although leaving some can be helpful.  Embedding some polyester fabric into the coating over the joints is very good, and doing it before the monolithic coatings are done.

 

Hope this helps.

Not sure what your experience with Crazy Seal and repairs but we had a encounter with a tree branch the first year it was applied that made 3 triangle tears in the roof radius. I sealed them with lap sealant and when we got home a couple of coats of Crazy Seal and all was good. Because the branch rubbed all the way down the trailer I cleaned and and recoated it all the way down. Just cleaned and inspected it after getting back from the winter in AZ and it looks just like I applied it.

Denny

2 hours ago, Stayto said:

Thank you for that information. And just to follow up, how much more scrubbing (if any) should I do before applying?

You just have to make sure it's clean and mold free and all the caulking is solid. If you have to replace any of the sealant let it cure for a couple of weeks before coating the roof.

Denny

I used Crazy Seal/Liquid Roof a couple of years ago and I'm happy with it. No adding activator before use just mix it and apply.

Denny

What we are doing now with Dish is drop locals all together after a built a simple Dipole antenna for our home base where we had a hard time getting locals even with a fancy antenna. If we can't get the programs off over the air channel on the road we just stream them the next day. Shortly we are changing our Dish package to the lowest one and eventually will eliminate it all together and just stream over our two Verizon phones.

Denny

I've had two Banks cat back systems, first was on a 91 Ford 460 and it was amazing. The second was on a 2000 V10 and it made very little difference.

Denny

Looks like Dish is up and running, just signed into our Dish App as and it appears to be working normally.

Denny

2 hours ago, LindaH said:

I assume this is because of the current outage?  Because they do have both a customer service number and a technical service number.

Have you tried messaging them from their Facebook page?  I've had good luck doing this with other companies, including Sling which is owned by Dish.

There is no communication with Dish because of a ransomware hack, apparently Dish will not pay the ransom.

To the OP I would look at streaming, we are using a Android Smart TV and it works amazingly well. We are thinking of dropping Dish altogether in the near future.

Denny

We can't log on to our account but we are on auto pay so everything is still working for us. I'm guessing changing our programing is out of the question.

Denny

2 hours ago, slockfox said:

Ive been wanting to replace my awning for some time now. After watching a bunch of youtube videos, i couldnt believe what all was involved. I thought i would try to take a shortcut which would make it even easier if i have to replace it again. I made a video of it. Please let me know if you have any ideas to make it even easier.  Thanks 

 

First thing to do different is buy replacement material that has all the ribs already installed. Second just take a utility knife and cut the old material in half length way so it comes off easier. Clean the grove's and spray dry silicone in the channels. I take the right arm off and unwind the spring, it only takes 3 3/16 short rivets. With one other helping I can do it in about a hour start to finish. I like the Shade Pro material, I ordered it online.

Denny

14 hours ago, pjstough said:

Where are you in Yuma that has good 5G? We were there from the middle of December until a few days ago. In December during the day Verizon was useless, as was T-Mobile. In the last few days there, it did improve.

We are close to Fortuna and I-8, sometimes we have problems streaming but not all that often.

Denny

Down here in Yuma 5G there is night and day difference between 5and4G.

Denny

2 hours ago, rv Ed said:

Hi Guys.

I drive a 2016 F350 dually with a 6.7 diesel pulling a 20000 lb fifth Wheel. average 7.5 mpg.

Going up a steep hill slows me down to 40 mph.

Looking at buying a 2018 Freightliner Cascadia with a dd15 automatic 2.47 differential tandem axles. Will remove the rear axle and build a bed. What do you think.

Sounds like you have the wrong rear gears in your truck for the load.

Denny

Before you start spending a lot of $ on this do a couple of simple checks. First check the air filter, next get a spray can of carburator cleaner and clean all the linkage on top of the carb and make sure everything moved freely. The linkage from the governor should move freely, not the choke linkage that's in front of the carb but the second one past it, it controls the throttle butterfly, I'm thinking the throttle isn't returning all the way.

Denny

Sounds like the governor is hanging up and not allowing it to go back to unloaded throttle position. You can verify that by checking the frequency, should be around 60HZ.

Denny

It's on the internet so it had to be true 🤣.

Modern vehicles are tuned to the max to meet gov standards so their is no way you will get 35%better mileage even if they defeat the pollution controls.

Denny

Look like a regular water heater would be cheaper than a tankless plus you can use it on electric when hooked up.

Denny

I don't know if anyone has really looked but the 120 volt wiring in a RV is solid 12-2 or 14-2 solid Romex and it's been that way for years.

Denny

35 minutes ago, Randyretired said:

Glenn, there is no way I would tell you to do that.  However,  I have been known to do that.  Romex is often used in RV's but it is a solid wire that can not withstand flexing and is not really best suited for RV's.  The extension cords are usually stranded and more flexible. Probably better suited for RV's but not necessarily designed for that.

#6 Romex is stranded wire not solid, strands are bigger than in Romex but it's still stranded and it's what is used on almost all RVs from the rec to the panel.

We've been RVing for 44 years and have been through a lot of peak and down times but this is the first time we have seen so many people living in RV parks with families. The worst part is most are living in low end trailers like the one in the article and we know that after a few years what they will look like. And so many with kids with all their stuff and it's scattered everywhere along with vehicles that no longer run but that's the parks fault. Anymore we stay long term in 55+ parks (4 to 5) months or COE CG and dry camp as much as possible when going across country because of park overnight costs and lack of space. We have a residential frig and with a little bit of planning it works out without solar. I do see a lot of used RVs for sale in the future with a lot of people realizing they made a very bad financial decision, we already know one young couple with kids that were in that situation and had to go the bankruptcy route to get out from under their trailer and truck. Time will tell where it ends up.

Denny

When I was laying out and wiring RV parks the NEC said pedestals will be located midway or to the rear of sites but not in the back or front. I would locate them 1/3 of the way forward from the back. 

We always travel with a 50 amp extension cord, we are using it now because we are in a manufactured home park the the power is in near the front along with the water, sewer is way in the back so we are using all our hoses and cords 🤣.

Denny