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Date Posted |
Forum
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RE: Still wrestling between Honda gennies
the A model has 30 amps and the I model only has 15 or 20 ampsI guess I'm from MO, please show me how you can get 30A from 1800W, or even 2000W, which it isn't.
I'm assuming he means it has the plug so an adapter isn't needed, if true I have never seen that version of the Honda 2000.
The A model is the companion and is meant to pair up with the regular model. The A by itself obviously can't supply 30A on it's own, but it can with a sibling.
-steve
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Murgatroid
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01/07/09 01:21pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Finally ordered my new Outfitter Apex 8!!!!!
RichandLiz - looked at the first website you send and they didn't list mirrors for Toyota. Did you like the mirror in the second web site? I couldn't tell from your comments if you did or not.
I'm not sure how your Outfitter will fit on your Toyota, but on my Dodge, it is barely wider than the truck itself. Even though my mirrors can extend out, I used them normally and was happy with the rear visibility. You may not need the extensions. There is also a Camping World down the street from Outfitter if you decide you need them (assuming they sell something for Toyotas)!
Regards,
-steve
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Murgatroid
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01/06/09 04:59pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Silverado 1500 capabilities
Half tons will typically only haul very light weight pop-ups, or maybe a small six-pac. These typically won't have bathrooms. I would be looking at Four Wheel Camper, All-Terrain Camper, Phoenix, Northstar, Hallmark, Outfitter, Six-Pac, and Palomino. Look for campers with a dry weight of less than 1000lbs. You'd still likely need to supplement the suspension with air-bags, supersprings, Rancho shocks, etc.
Even 3/4 ton trucks are fairly limited in what they can haul, but they do have more choices in the shorter 8ft to 9.5ft non-slide out hardwall campers. If it has a slide-out, you should really be looking at a 1 ton.
I personally would be looking at a 3/4 ton at a minimum. They'll haul a decent variety of campers, and would give you some margin with a lightweight pop-up to tow a boat or trailer.
I love my Dodge 2500, but in hindsight I really should have bought a 4x4 1 ton SRW (non-duelie). Of course if I had bought that, I probably would be wishing I bought a duelie!
-steve
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Murgatroid
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12/31/08 08:50am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Delamination on all aluminum structure?
As other's have stated, traditional Filon is a laminate with a very thin layer of fiberglass and gel coat bonded to a luan backer. If the luan gets wet, it could come away from the frame, or it could make pock marks and blisters in the fiberglass. I believe Alfa was plagued with this problem. Crane Composites/Kemlite is a big supplier of Filon. They have a new product that is solid fiberglass without any luan, and is fairly thick. It's also at least 4x the cost of tradition luan backed filon. So far Outfitter truck campers looks to be the only one using it. It should not suffer from delamination problems.
-steve
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Murgatroid
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12/27/08 07:07am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: My first white Christmas
Jefe,
White Christmases are rare around these parts. I recall having one about 4 or 5 years ago, but it wasn't as good as this one. I had a couple of feet on my 5th wheel that I had to shovel off last weekend. My new truck camper missed out on all that snow, so it's not covered. The frozen snow and ice is tough now, though, but it looks like it may warm up today. I live behind Banner Mtn (top of Jones Ridge) at 3500ft. I grew up in this area, lived on the coast after college, then came back here to raise the kids. I love this area! It does seem like we've been getting a lot more snow here (and earlier, too) than I recall from my childhood.
-steve
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Murgatroid
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12/27/08 06:36am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Merry Christmas from Yosemite
Beautiful pictures! We have to check out Yosemite in the winter sometime.
I am curious what you are using for internet access? My AT&T cell phone (iPhone) had very poor coverage in the campgrounds, so very poor to no internet access. Oddly enough, the top of Nevada Falls and Yosemite village were a lot better.
-steve
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Murgatroid
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12/26/08 12:19pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Wooohooo! Just ordered an Outfitter!
Many manufacturers don't weld on all 4 sides as the sides have to be flat for the panels. The outside panel uses Kemlite/Crane Reflections, which is a fairly thick piece of fiberglass and gel coat. It is bonded directly to the tubing and block foam. There is NO wood or hardboard laminate in Reflections. Bob said as far as they know they are the only ones using it. According to Bob, it's roughly 4 times more expensive than regular Filon. I brought a scrap piece back with me. Inside is the standard luann I believe.
The tub is a fiberglass molding from the side to the bottom of the wings. The two floors are bolted in (so the bottom could be removed if need be). The front and back laminated walls are screwed and glued to complete the tub. The laminated side walls are screwed and glued on top of the wings and tie into the front and back walls. Wood is used sparingly, like in the cabover area under the fiberglass insert to bolt the rails for the slide-out drawer/bed. If I remove the panels under the dinette cushions, I see mostly fiberglass. Outfitter made the change to more fiberglass and Reflections in 2006. They also went with a TPO roof at this time.
From what I've seen, I can't find fault with any of their materials or construction. It's all top of the line and well proven.
-steve
*edit* my post here was in response to a post that has been deleted, so some of it may seem out of context. I also noticed in one of my pictures that the tub molding includes the front of the tub and not just the sides. It looks like the front wall/bottom cabover piece is screwed and glued above the tub. Of course any more detailed questions should be referred to Outfitter...
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Murgatroid
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12/24/08 07:49am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Wooohooo! Just ordered an Outfitter!
I"m finally getting around to wrapping this up.
I drove out to Longmont on tuesday, Dec. 9th, getting their late wednesday. The plan was to pick up the camper thursday morning, spend some time checking out the factory, then stay at nearby St. Vrain that night.
The problem was the MIA cassette toilet. It was supposed to have been there earlier that week. Thetford agreed to overnight it so it would be there Wed, but it was still a no show on thursday, even though Bob had the tracking info. Thetford apparently didn't fill out some hazardous material paperwork for the small bottle of chemicals that come with it, so it was sent back. Bob called all over the Denver area and located a toilet. He had it installed that afternoon, and I was on my way.
I was able to tour the factory while there and gain more insight as to how the campers are assembled.
The bottom half of the camper is a fiberglass molding that the walls will eventually be fastened and glued to. Before that happens the interior is installed. The floors are screwed in to this fiberglass molding. The bottom floor can be removed for any major repairs in the basement. Here is the beginnings of an Apex 8.
http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo143/Heatmiser500/Apex8inprocess.jpg
An interesting tidbit is that the front wall and bottom of the cabover are laminated as a single flat piece. After lamination, the assembly is carefully bent 90 degrees.
The Vacuum Bonding area
http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo143/Heatmiser500/vacuumbondingarea.jpg
Closeup of the welds. They grind off any flashings before laminating.
http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo143/Heatmiser500/welds.jpg
Here is the welding area. Larry the welder wasn't welding anything yet, but was busy cutting up some tubing before this picture was shot.
http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo143/Heatmiser500/weldingarea.jpg
There isn't much wood in an Outfitter anymore outside of the cabinets. The cabover area is also a fiberglass molding that matches the countertop. It is attached to the cabover laminated bottom.
http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo143/Heatmiser500/caboverinsert.jpg
Parked next to my Apex was this Apex 8LB.
http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo143/Heatmiser500/Apex8LBreadyforroof.jpg
Everyone was on hand to help mount my camper to my truck. In my case, I already had the torklift tie downs and fastguns, so the install was easy. Bob was a pro backing my truck under the camper. It's a very tight fit! Roland gave me a walk though and explained all the systems.
http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo143/Heatmiser500/Rolandexplains.jpg
http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo143/Heatmiser500/atthefactory.jpg height=500
Me and Bob.
http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo143/Heatmiser500/IMG_0900.jpg height=500
My new camper.
http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo143/Heatmiser500/OutfitteratOutfitter.jpg
The next morning at St Vrain
http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo143/Heatmiser500/At_St_Vrain_small.jpg height=500
My 2nd night was at a nice RV park in Santa Fe.
http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo143/Heatmiser500/InSantaFe.jpg height=500
I had wanted to spend my 3rd night at the Grand Canyon, but the weather report was calling for an unusually cold storm coming in. Did I mention very windy? I spent the following day battling the wind, then the rain and snow through Flagstaff. I pressed on to get past the mountains and ended up spending the 3rd night in the Kmart parking lot in Kingman, AZ as the Flying J next door was filled to capacity with truckers.
http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo143/Heatmiser500/KingmanAZ.jpg height=500
The weather was better the next day, and I made it back home without any issues.
It was a fun, but tiring trip! The temperatures only got down to the low 20's, and the heater had no trouble keeping the interior comfy. The former $200 fabric ceiling option is now standard and is a nice touch. The electric jacks now come with a wireless remote. I have the electric roof lift, and it's connected to the Happijac system and is also wireless.
I can't wait to take it out for a real camping trip.
-steve
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Murgatroid
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12/23/08 10:46pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Prices on TCs are way down, a bad sign?
This is the first concrete proof I have seen of TC price reductions....
http://www.outfittermfg.com/Campers/2008_sale.htm
The prices quoted here for Outfitters APEX 9.5 NEW base model are at mid 2005 prices....
I would think their material costs , Aluminum, steel items, wiring etc is starting to show a downward trend unless they are making these things just to keep their people working....
I believe that's the case. They have a small handful of well-trained employees they want to keep around. I just took advantage of these prices. They were working on other campers when I was there picking up my Apex 9.5. It sounds like they are managing for now.
-steve
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Murgatroid
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12/23/08 09:51pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Pop Up TC
Looking at a Pop Up as a step up from years of tent/backpacking camping with my sons scout program. Also maybe having the extra flexability of getting to some out of the way campgrounds and slightly easier loading and handling.
While I tend to agree that price, weight and fuel savings is minimal at best with a pop-up, one of the reason's I wanted a pop-up is that I wanted the feeling of tent camping but with the convenience and amenities of a camper. My 5th wheel is a bit too luxurious and isolating to feel like camping (but not enough for me to want to get rid of it!). I want to be able to hear the noises outside (at least I do in a quiet wilderness campground or boondocking site). I want to be able to open up all the windows in the warm weather and let the outside in. We'll be using my pop-up to get to the many remote lake and river campgrounds nearby me in the Sierras on the weekends.
-steve
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Murgatroid
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12/21/08 09:18am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Pop Up TC
You do have a lot of options with your truck and don't have to use a pop-up. With that said, your choices than I can think of are:
soft top:
Palomino Bronco (cheaply made, but good bang/buck, good dealer network)
Phoenix (small colorado mfg - sells direct)
4 Wheel Camper (lightweight and feature light, been around a while)
Northstar (excellent company - good quality, good dealer network, long history)
LiteCraft (another small Colorado mfg - good quality, sells direct)
Outfitter (mfg in CO, direct sales, high quality, higher profile due to basement, expensive)
Hallmark (mfg in CO, direct sales, high quality, expensive, fairly long history)
There were a few others but I think they've recently stopped production.
hard top:
Alaskan (very long history, very high quality, light on the amenities, expensive)
Oregon Camper (Chalet RV, very new - looks interesting)
Phoenix and 4Wheel have common ancestry, and so do Hallmark and Outfitter. I am partial to the Outfitter due to the design. Outfitter basically took the goodness of the Hallmark design and went off to build the camper using aluminum construction with a basement. Hallmark has been using modern composite materials lately and are very nice as well. I also liked the Northstars and the Willett brothers are tops in the industry.
You'll find that Colorado is a hot bed for pop up campers, oddly enough. I know Outfitter and Hallmark can refer you to owners near you to look over one of their campers. I would imagine Litecraft and Phoenix would, too. Or you can take a trip to the Denver area and check them out yourself. I would also do a search on this forum, the archives, too, as there is a TON of info on these various campers, especially Outfitter and Hallmark.
Happy shopping!
-steve
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Murgatroid
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12/19/08 06:36pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Refrigerators
I should add.. I have a portable chest freezer that uses the same compressor technology that Norcold uses in the unit linked to above.. It sucks a great grand THIRTY SIX watts when running, tha'ts 3 amps folks
Yup - if you boondock, you really need a good solar setup to use one of these.
Given that many are using residential refrigerators, the ones I pointed to would certainly use less power, and are meant to withstand the rigors of RV use.
-steve
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Murgatroid
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12/19/08 06:06pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Refrigerators
The Danfoss 12V compressor refers from the Marine world have been making inroads into the RV world. These are becoming popular in truck campers with solar. They are not absorption, but compressor style like in your home.
Dometic offers the most popular model, the Tundra in up to 8 cu ft.
Norcold offers these up to 7 cu ft.
Novakool has a wide variety of really nice 12V compressor style fridges. I hear they aren't cheap, though!
Outfitter has fit a 7 cu ft side by side Novakool in one of their larger pop-up's.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v513/Steve_in_29/fridgeopen.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v513/Steve_in_29/fridgeclosed.jpg
(pictures courtesy of Steve_in_29)
-steve
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Murgatroid
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12/19/08 11:57am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Finally ordered my new Outfitter Apex 8!!!!!
Honestly, I can't remember if the only difference is the wet bathroom and a little more counter space. When I realized the 6.5 didn't have the BR, I really didn't look any further.
Some differences between the Apex and Caribou:
Caribou is a lighter, more stripped down model that doesn't have a bathroom. They come in 6.5ft (short bed) and 8ft (short or long bed). The Apex is fully featured and comes in 8ft (short or long bed) and 9.5ft (long bed).
The Caribou doesn't have the basement while the Apex does. Because of this, the Apex has the taller entry door.
The Apex has a deeper underbed storage and more headroom in the cabover area, but also has a taller profile.
You can't get the extended cabover, grey tank, regular or cassette toilet, or internal shower on the Caribou.
The fresh water tank and batteries will take up storage space in the Caribou, but not the Apex as they are placed in the basement. I also like that the batteries will be kept warm (as well as the holding tanks) when the heater is on, which helps keep their capacity up.
The fresh water tank is smaller on the Caribou.
The external shower, hot water heater, and city water connection are standard on Apex and options on the Caribou.
This chart is useful for comparisons.
-steve
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Murgatroid
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12/17/08 07:28pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Finally ordered my new Outfitter Apex 8!!!!!
Murgatroid - Congrats! Beautiful looking rig! How long did it take Outfitter to get you all hooked up and ready to roll? Did you then do a night or two of local camping to be sure everything worked properly? That's my plan, at this point.
cel
It didn't take them long at all, but I already had torklift's attached to my truck. All they did was to back under it and tie it down. Every space is used in the bed of the truck, so the camper fits pretty tight. Bob is an expert and just backed right up. I haven't tried it myself. My previous truck camper was 8' wide and easy, but this looks trickier!
I stayed at St. Vrain about 2 miles away for one night. It's a nice enough state park, but is right along I-25, so is noisy. It's convenient, though. In the morning when I was getting ready to leave, the ranger stopped by and asked how I liked my new Outfitter. I guess it's pretty common for new owners to stay there! I popped back over to Outfitter for a small adjustment to the bathroom door, then was on my way.
-steve
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Murgatroid
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12/15/08 08:55am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Finally ordered my new Outfitter Apex 8!!!!!
Congrats! I just got back from picking up my Apex 9.5. I was going to take an extra day to get home, but made haste when I saw the cold storm coming to the southwest. Bob and the crew were great to work with and definitely do what they can to make a customer happy. I'm sure you'll enjoy your trip out there this spring.
http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo143/Heatmiser500/IMG_0900.jpg width=640
Me and Bob
http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo143/Heatmiser500/IMG_0908.jpg width=640
Picking up my Apex.
-steve
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Murgatroid
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12/14/08 10:18pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: SHORTEST 2 SLIDE FIFTH WHEEL ??
I don't think you will find one under 30-31 feet.
We were looking for the same......and even though our model
is a 291RLS (29 ft) it is actually 32 feet in total.
It weighs around 8240 lbs without stuff in it, but with all
the stuff probably more like 9300 - 9500 lbs.....
jo
I agree. I have a Sundance 2800RLS that is a hair shorter than the Cougar 291RLS at 31', and weights a couple hundred less. I don't think manufacturers put in bedroom slides in anything much shorter. How short are you looking for?
-steve
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Murgatroid
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12/09/08 09:48am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: LED lights?
You guys adapting LED arrays to RV use might consider the use of inexpensive 7812 voltage regulators to protect the LEDs from the over-voltage of the 12VDC charging by converter or tow vehicle -- I believe SuperBright LEDs put regulators in the bulb bases of their products. The ones below protect up to 35VDC for $1.59 each.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062600&tab=techSpecs
Google is your friend "7812 voltage regulator"
If you want to regulate the voltage, then don't use a 7812. The 7812 needs an input voltage at least 2V higher than the output voltage. All you'll do is drop the output voltage 2V from the input voltage (when the input is 14V or less, which is often) and it won't be regulated. You can use a low dropout (LDO) style regulator as these require as little as .15V to .3V higher input voltage. I doubt you'll find one that has a fixed 12V output as most are for lower voltages, or are adjustable. Any of these will work, just pay attention to the specs.
-steve
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Murgatroid
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12/07/08 03:21pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: US 101 S to US 99 Bakersfield
What's the best route through the San Francisco Bay area? I'm heading down that way but was not looking forward to pulling 5'er through San Francisco.
I don't think I'd want to pull my 5er thru the city, either. You can take the richmond-san rafael bridge (I-580) to the east bay, and go down I-80 to I-880 to 101 down in San Jose. I would only attempt a bay area traversal on weekends, or weekdays (mon-thurs) between 10am to 2pm.
Unless I was heading for a destination off 101, I would bypass the bay area alltogether and take hwy37 to Vallejo, I80 east to Sacramento and I-5 south.
-steve
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Murgatroid
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12/06/08 01:11pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Piics of my new Northstar Arrow
That looks great, Chris! If I hadn't got such a good deal on my Outfitter, I would be looking at a Northstar TS-1000 or 850SC. How does a 2004 camper take 4 years to sell? Amazing that it's brand new. You did good!
-steve
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Murgatroid
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12/06/08 12:15pm |
Truck Campers
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