Menu

Show posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.

Show posts Menu

Topics - DavidM

#1
This is definitely one of the best campsites I have ever been to. It is in the southern Adirondacks. We got here Tuesday and there were only a few campers in this 100+ campsite park but that will change by the weekend.

PM me if you would like to know where it is.

David

#2
We have enjoyed our big motorhome we transitioned to a year or so ago. It has all of the comforts you could ask for in a 25' coach. But we are thinking about going the other way and downsizing to a Tiny Trailer.

By Tiny Trailer I don't mean one with just a bed and an exterior kitchen. I mean a full height walk in trailer with most of the amenities of a Camplite but smaller, lighter and easily towed by a small SUV.

The only one that fits that bill that I have found is the Aliner Ascape ST. It is 13' long, has a teardrop shape, but a Karman squared off back end and weighs about 1,600 lbs dry which means it could be towed with an SUV with a 2,500 lb tow rating. It does require a few compromises: wet bath with cassette toilet, no slide so it is a bit cramped inside. But it does have a propane fridge, furnace and stove top, roof A/C, minimal fresh water storage (13 gal) and grey water (11 gal).

Having thought through the toilet, I think I can live with it. The cassette pulls out from the back so no chance of spillage inside. Then you just dump it at the campground's dump station along with the grey water. Five gallons should cover us for a few days.

Why not stay with our motorhome? Well, we don't do the long trips I had expected when we bought it. We do 1, 2 or 3 day trips within 200 miles of home. Even though I like the amenities of the MH, something like the Ascape would cover 95% of our needs since we are outside almost all of the time we are camping. And it is green. I hope to get 16 mpg towing it with something like a Toyota RAV4 or Ford Escape.

What do you guys think? I know it isn't a CL. It has a steel frame although it does have aluminum sides and roof. I suspect the floor is plywood. Any other similar trailers meet these requirements?

Here are a few pics:

Floor plan (click on the link)- https://spec.dlrwebservice.com/sb-rv/floorplan/2019_Aliner_Ascape_GreatST_EXT.jpg

Overall- https://cdn2.rvtrader.com/v1/media/61d62412107ced12db0b6963.jpg?width=1024&height=768&quality=70&bestfit=true&upsize=true&blurBackground=true&blurValue=100&upsize=true

Inside- https://cdn1.rvtrader.com/v1/media/61d624ad80479209cc13dbb6.jpg?width=1024&height=768&quality=70&bestfit=true&upsize=true&blurBackground=true&blurValue=100&upsize=true

Toilet and Shower- https://cdn2.rvtrader.com/v1/media/61d624baac75f92a57292813.jpg?width=1024&height=768&quality=70&bestfit=true&upsize=true&blurBackground=true&blurValue=100&upsize=true

David



#3
As some of you may remember, I sold my 16TBS last year to Stu and early this year took delivery of a new Thor Axis 24.1 motorhome. After exploring the new MH for the last few months and barely understanding its systems, let me review some of the differences in the two types of  RVs:

DC Electrical- This is probably the biggest difference. LLs are rather simple, a tongue mounted battery or two that is charged by the 7 pin connector or shore power when available and feeds through the converter to power all DC appliances. My MH OTOH has four primary outputs and inputs to/from the batteries: generator start, chassis battery connection manage by a bi directional relay, solar input and a connection to the converter which powers all DC systems. The lights and appliances are not managed by simple on/off switches. There is a touch screen display that lets you open or close the slide or awning, turn on lights and dim them as required, turn on the A/C or furnace and control the coach's temperature. It is infinitely more complex.

AC Electrical- LLs have a simple shore power connection that feeds the AC part of the converter. My MH has an automatic transfer switch that selects generator or shore power. The touch screen display referenced above has an automatic generator start/stop function that can be based on time or battery state. Some MHs also have a load shedding system to keep from overloading the generator system.

Propane- LLs have a tongue mounted tank that feeds the stove, furnace, and water heater. My MH has an internal propane tank that you must fill at a propane station with a hose. The propane tank level is displayed on the touch screen display. Fortunately it has a simple on/off valve like the one on your propane tank. Most MHs have an electric solenoid that controls the propane.

Tanks- Each tank level on my MH is displayed on the touch screen display, but for the most part the tanks function the same as a LL. You can't do much to automate water and waste flow.

All the above means that a MH is incredibly more complex. I am surprised it all works as well as it does on my MH. But I wonder how it will all work in ten years when most electrical stuff starts to give trouble. I think that this complexity results in a built in obsolescence that will make most motor homes near worthless over time.

That is totally the opposite of LLs that were built simple, with a long lasting structure that will serve you well for decades.

Oh BTW, I am convinced that 98% of MH campers camp at full hook up or at the very least electrical hookup sites. No one on the Thor forum I visit seems to be interested in high DC power usage and particularly the 15-20 amp hour daily parasitic load of my or similar MHs. When you plug into A/C power at a campground that isn't an issue for the user.

David
#4
I had backed into a state park campsite yesterday that had a bit of downslope. So since we were leaving the next day and not driving our TV until then, I unhooked my coupler and drove forward a few inches so I could drop the Jack and level the camper. I left the chain and breakaway cable attached.

I noticed I had gone a little too far and pulled out the breakaway switch, so I backed up a few inches and pushed it back in to turn it off. But I got to thinking, what if I hadn't noticed it and left the breakaway switch on. So I got out my clamp on DC ammeter and measured the current draw- 0.3A off and 11.8A on.

Since I had previously ditched the breakaway battery and wired the switch to the main battery (check the archives for how and why to do this) I would have quickly run down my 70Ah battery in a few hours. If I hadn't made that switch. I would have run down the breakaway battery in an hour and since there is no way to recharge that battery it would soon be toast not to mention useless in a real breakaway.

So the moral of the story is watch that switch and immediately reconnect it if it is tripped.

David
#5
Well after being a loyal CampLite owner for seven years, I think I am about to go over to the dark side and buy a used motor home. The one I am getting serious about is a 2012 Winnebago Via, a Class A MH but short at 25 1/2' built on a Mercedes Sprinter diesel chassis.

We plan to use it for winter camping to get away from the harsh Connecticut winters and do a long 3 month western states camping trip. That will take a larger RV to be comfortable so it was a question of buying a 21' or larger trailer and a larger SUV to tow it with or just do it all in one with a MH, and the MH won out.

When I finally make up my mind and close the deal here in Florida where we are currently living as snowbirds until the CV eases a bit, I will put my 16TBS up for sale when we get back to Connecticut.

Normally I wouldn't post such drivel, but this board is getting stale and I am bored social distancing every day, so here you have it.

A couple of pics of the MH are attached.

David
#6
I didn't do so well with my last invitation to meetup in Quebec and bailed out due to perceived bad weather. So I am not gong to call this a meetup, but if you want to join us at Paradox Lake NY, please do.

We will be at Paradox Lake Campground, a NY State park and campground in the Adirondack Mountains a few miles west of Ticonderoga. We will be there from Sunday 7/26 for three nights.

Paradox Lake is a medium size campground with 58 sites, near a pristine lake. The geography is nearly mountainous with hiking trails around the lake and incredibly pretty. A boat rental concessionaire is nearby. No hookups but there is a water and a dump station. Their website is https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/24488.html. Go to Reserveamerica.com for reservations.

We will host everyone for BBQ ribs at our site 51 on Monday night.

Of course if COVID-19 is still raging by then we will have to make some adjustments, but I suspect camping will be the least of our problems  ;)

David
#7
Well, we are hunkered down here in SWFL, staying home for the most part, only going out in the early mornings for our exercise walk but staying 6' away from others. Planning to order take out from our nearby cafe tonight to do something different and support the local business, washing hands furiously, etc.

So with all of that I am thinking about camping this season, maybe more than normal. Who knows what circumstances will be like by May when we are back in our summer home in Connecticut (or if we can even get back). But as long as our favorite campgrounds are open, we will go. So here are some thoughts about doing it with minimal risk.

First the family socializing type of camping in a resort RV park should be out for all of us. Too much social mingling. We camp in fairly rustic USFS, NP and SP campgrounds so that is not an issue for us.

We can hook up our trailer, drive to a campsite, even get gas (with a wipe down for the pump handle and payment screen) and not get within 6' of a human or a human's residue. The check in kiosk is the only real source of contact and we will stand back and conduct our business from 6' away.

Once we back in to our campsite the closest human will be 100' or more away and we won't contact neighbors or invite them over for a drink as we sometimes do. We will not use the public bathrooms and use the facilities in the trailer exclusively. When we arrive we will fill the water tank but use a wipe to turn the faucet valve. Same thing with the dump station when we leave followed by soap and water hand washing.

By doing all of this we should be just as safe as staying at home. I know some of the above sounds pretty draconian to some, but seeing what just happened in California (total state quarantine) makes it seem normal now. Some of you will say it will all be over by the time we go for the first time in May. I fervently hope you are right.

Other thoughts?

David


#8
So, given that this forum is in its winter dormant state, I thought I would share my current thoughts of moving to a motorhome with the membership for its insights.

We have done some pretty extensive trips with our Nissan Pathfinder pulling our 16TBS, in one case all the way up from our home in Connecticut to the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick, Canada. But we are thinking about even longer trips and longer stays. One plan is to leave in September for the west and camp in Wyoming, Montana, Washington, Oregon, California, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico for three months before heading home in late November. This is a trip we did twenty years ago when we were between jobs and I absolutely loved the western states.

First let me describe the motor home I am thinking of buying and then talk about the why. I like several things about the Mercedes Sprinter diesel based Winnebagos for this mission. The Sprinter chassis is solid and is aerodynamic unlike many Class C MHs and the diesel is a plus and minus. Fuel economy is 20% better than a gasser but diesel is 20% more expensive at the pump than gas, so cost wise it is a wash. Diesels provide more torque which makes hills easier but don't do much engine braking which is a downside on mountainous downhills. For those who don't know about diesels, unlike gassers which throttle the air supply for combustion control, diesels don't and as a result have much less engine braking. Jake brakes and similar have been developed to compensate but are not available for the Mercedes diesel. Diesels contrary to popular opinion do require more maintenance: adding DEF and dealing with routine problems on a low volume sold engine although you would think that the Mercedes Bluetec engine should be fairly washed out by now. RV reviews don't seem to indicate that though. But I have not been able to find a similar layout in gasser versions.

I do like the layout of a couple of models of the Winnebago View Classs C. One has a unique rear end slideout where the queen bed folds out at the end which allows a complete 270 deg walk around queen bed that you never have to make and unmake like many Sprinter based MHs. Another has two twin beds aft just like our 16TBS. Both have nicer inside living accommodations than our 16 TBS with a similar sofa slide out but also the driving seats rotate to provide two useful chairs that the 16TBS doesn't have. And the Winnies have much more comprehensive systems than the LLs: a generator, heating that keeps the tanks and plumbing from freezing, heating and air conditioner with ducted air, etc. These make long term camping quite comfortable. Also we dry camp 95% of the time in USNF, SP and NP campsites and prefer them to crowded full hookup campsites, so the generator is a particular plus to keep our batteries charged up.

So two issues with doing this: driving safety and RV comfort. So let me start with driving safety:

I have been comfortable towing the 16TBS with our Pathfinder but Joan is only comfortable towing on smooth interstate highways. That has been ok so far, but I don't think it will work in the west where distances are long and once we get into Wyoming, roads won't always be interstates and I don't want to do all of the driving. Plus I think that a Sprinter chassis motorhome will be inherently safer on the road than our Pathfinder towing our 16TBS.

Also maneuvering into campsites will probably be easier with the 26' LOA Winnie than our combined 37' TV and trailer, although I am pretty good at backing and have gotten into many so called tent only campsites with the LL. And on this 3 month long trip we will probably move every 2-3 days, so lots of maneuvering and setting up will be involved.

The comfort issues were pretty well described above. The Winnie will be similar to our 25' fifth wheel that we used for our previous western adventure. We actually lived in it for 4-5 months until we bought a condo and started new jobs in SoCal. It was quite comfortable.

Here are a couple of links to the queen and twin versions discussed above:

https://www.rvkountry.com/default.asp?page=xPreOwnedInventoryDetail&id=8205133&p=1&s=Fuel%20Type&d=A&vt=motorhome&year=2018&fr=xPreOwnedInventory and:

https://www.leesautoandrv.com/default.asp?page=xInventoryDetail&id=7781100&p=1&vc=class%20c&s=Year&d=D&fr=xAllInventory

I appreciate any and all comments and will respond with my counterthoughts.

David

#9
News and Announcement / Boondockers Welcome
July 07, 2019, 09:58:41 AM
I have a good friend who is traveling up in Canada right now. He introduced me to Boondockers Welcome, an online service that matches up campers with hosts who have a free place where you can park your rig for the night. See: https://www.boondockerswelcome.com/

I haven't used it yet, and I probably won't but my friend has camped at these free host sites for a few weeks now and has always had a good experience. These sites are usually rural and some are absolutely beautiful, such as one that backs up to a small river in New Brunswick. Some have power and water available and a few have sanitary connections where the host obviously set up a pad for his own RV and made it big enough for 1 or 2 extras. A small gratuity is expected for these additional services.

You search for sites using a base location and a radius outwards as well as dates you are interested in. Then click on the RV icon for a detailed listing of that particular site. The listing gives size and stay restrictions- usually 2-5 days. You then contact the host through their secure message facility and request a reservation.

Many hosts as you might imagine are extroverts and some will invite you in for a drink or even dinner. Your choice to accept or decline, but they are always helpful.

Give it a try.

David
#10
My Camplite is getting up in its years, and we are heading for a week of camping up into Quebec province in a month or so and I got to thinking about what happens if the slide is out and it fails to go back in. An obvious thing to do is to look for physical blockages inside that affect its retraction. The other thing to do is hook up your TV and run the engine for a few minutes. Maybe the trailer's battery is low and the TV will charge it a bit and provide extra current to retract the slide.

But if all else fails then you have to manually retract the slide. Schwintek, the manufacturer of all LL slideout systems, has a nice video that shows first how to electrically override its controller and if that doesn't work, manually retract the slide by disconnecting the motors. You then push the slide back in manually and put a piece of wood to block it from working its way back out on the road. This video is the best I have seen on this topic because it shows cutaway views of the motor mechanism so you can really tell what is going on.

Here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xojUdPDWNS0. I would suggest that everyone with a slide look at it so that they will know how to deal with a recalcitrant slide.

David
#11
I finally got to see my friend John's solar installation which I helped him with by long distance. It is a two flexible panel installation: two 175 watt 12V nominal panels wired in series and connected to a Blue Sky controller with 50' of MC4 cables.

The first pic shows the panels laying in the gravel about 10' in front of his coach. That is a spot that gets sun most of the day.

The MC4 cables are connected to the coach with an MC4 to "Zamp" plug adapter and socket shown in the second pic. I put Zamp in quotes because the connector meets an ASTM standard and lots of people sell them much cheaper than Zamp, but Zamp is the name most are familiar with.

The third pic shows the incoming cable connected to the Blue Sky controller (with its cover off) and then to the house batteries.

The fourth pic is at another campsite that is shady over the coach but sunny about 30' away. That is the main reason to install portable panels- you can put them in sunny spots and move them as the day progresses.

This system cost about $700 for panels, cable, connectors and controller. The flexible panels are thin and light. I was somewhat disappointed with their output though. The 350 watts of panels were producing 150 watts actual with the sun at 11:00AM at maybe a 30 degree from vertical angle. That should have resulted in at about 250 watts. Such is the problem with flexible panels they don't meet their output specs.

But John is quite happy with the overall performance. He should get at least 50 AH if the sun holds out all day which will easily keep his batteries charged.

David
#12
Trailer Maintenance / Larger converter
March 24, 2019, 10:41:11 PM
This topic may not be relevant for LL owners as the existing converter is big enough for most, but I have a friend with a large Class A motorhome who wants to upgrade his 25 amp no name converter to 75 amps or greater to more quickly charge his large 450 amp hour coach battery bank.

I know the brands Progressive Dynamics, WFCO and Inteli-Power. Anyone know anything about Powermax. It is prominent on Amazon but is almost certainly Chinese. Any experience with it? Any others?

David
#13
Paul, our site owner/administrator, and I are organizing a meetup of Aluminumcampingforum members in Quebec at the Parc National de la Mauricie near Trois Rivieres, Quebec for the period of August 6-9. La Mauricie has three campgrounds and we have selected loop D at the Riviere a la Peche Campground for this get together.

There are a number of available campsites now but they are limited so don't wait, make your plans to come and reserve a site.

Here is a link to the park's website: https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/qc/mauricie. You can make reservations at https://reservation.pc.gc.ca/. It is a little tedious to use. Select front country camping, la Mauricie, the dates and your trailer length and use the map to select loop D at Riviere a la Peche campground.

More about activities later. La Mauricie is about half way between Quebec City and Montreal so you could combine this meetup with a visit to one or both of those cities.

David

EDIT: Modified campground name
#14
News and Announcement / Happy Thanksgiving
November 22, 2018, 01:10:45 PM
It has been a long, dry spell here on Aluminumcamperforum with only unpleasant stuff to talk about like the tongue recall and bad frame welds. Hopefully we will hear more about fall/winter camping fun in the future.

Happy Thanksgiving y'all.

David
#15
Trip Report/Photos / First shakedown overnighter
June 13, 2018, 06:03:50 PM
With all the interesting posts about camper mods and complaints about quality, I thought I would post a few pics about our shakedown campout last night.

We took the camper from its storage facility where it had spent the winter, up to Tolland State Park in southwestern Massachussetts. The campground overlooks a nice size lake and we snagged a remote site up high overlooking the lake. The first pic is Joan reading in the shade with Abby our Sheltie snoozing nearby. The next shot is an overview of the site with the lake behind the trees.

The trip was mostly uneventful. We grilled some swordfish for dinner and hung out at the campfire sipping bourbon until Joan and I were nodding off about 9:00. I did run out of water half way through my shower though. I will have to remember that after fully draining the tank for the winter, the first 5 gallons is unusable and the next 5 gallons fills the hot water heater. So I finished with the shower head squirting erratically.

The third pic is of the pair of wheels on the curb side. The aft wheel (left one in the pic) is heavily worn on the outside edge in a scalloped pattern- you might be able to see a spot at 1:00 in the pic. It was replaced about two years ago with the same problem and the one to the right of it is original with maybe 10-15,000 miles on it over four years and is going strong like the ones on the road side. So I obviously have an alignment problem as the aft one is wearing out at 5,000 miles. The bad alignment, if that's what it is, is subtle. You can't see it while looking at the tires and a straightedge laid along both tires shows very little gap.

I replaced the bad tire with a generic one today for $70. Since fixing the alignment problem is either going to require repositioning the axle mounts or maybe a new axle, I figure I can keep replacing the tire every two years cheaper than dealing with the alignment.

Oh and I measured the tongue weight of our 2013 16TBS- 250 lbs fully (well not full of water) loaded. That is surprising as it is less than 10% of the total trailer weight. But it rides beautifully. Maybe the bad alignment is good for something ;-).

David
#16
Aluminum Owner Gathering / Let's organize a meetup
March 09, 2018, 12:21:45 PM
This forum has been a bit dead lately so let me juice it up a bit by talking about camping get togethers.

I have organized a few recent ones in Maine. This year we probably won't go back to Maine, but the eastern Adirondacks in New York State is an area that we plan to stay at for a week or so. The area I am talking about is to the west of Lake Champlain and specifically Paradox Lake Campground just west of Ticonderoga and Scaroon Manor Campground on Schroon Lake just east of I 87. Both are NY State campgrounds.

Here is a link to Paradox Lake Campground- http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/24488.html. And here is a link to Scaroon Manor Campground- http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/72082.html.

So who would be interested in an Adirondack meetup at either or maybe both of those two campgrounds. We are entirely flexible about dates but would prefer midweek M-F as it is always less crowded then. There are plenty of campsites available in July right now.

And anyone else who would like to plan a get together, now is the time. The campground reservations are filling up (but nothing like Acadia NP) so make some plans and post your proposed meetup just like I just did.

David
#17
News and Announcement / Hello Everyone
December 11, 2017, 01:09:24 PM
This forum has been dead for a few weeks. I understand that most of us north of the M-D line have put our campers to bed for the winter, so we don't have much to talk about. For those further south, this is one of the best times to go camping: no heat, humidity or mosquitoes, so enjoy.

But now is the time to make some plans for next summer. Paul, Ross and others have talked about a Canadian meetup, either Parc National de la Mauricie near Trois Rivieres, Quebec or in NB. Since this is their home turf, I will let Paul and Ross decide where to go and post it here.

Others may want to arrange something closer to home. Just pick a place, maybe get some of your friends to buy in and post it here in the Aluminum Owner Gathering section.

Since very popular places fill up early and NPs start taking reservations about 6 months in advance, let's figure it all out and post early next year.

Have a merry Christmas everyone.

David

#18
Following the MWP meetup, we headed to a brand new campground that is part of Acadia National Park in Maine- Schoodic Woods Campground. It is about 5 miles east of Bar Harbor, Maine as the crow flies, but much more by car. It is on the Schoodic peninsula which is mostly NP land now.

The campground just opened last year and was almost pristine. The land for it was donated and the anonymous donor made it a condition that his architect lay out and design the facility. As a result the campsites aren't jammed together like most national parks. OTOH being new, the surrounding vegetation is a bit scrubby and not as foresty as Blackwoods Campgound, the big one near Bar Harbor. As a result, some campsites are rather open. But if you look at the campground map on the Recreation.gov site you can usually pick one with no view of your neighbors.

We took a loop drive down to Schoodic Point and made some stops along the way. A pic of Joan and our dog overlooking the point is attached.

Even though the lower half of the peninsula is NP land, the northern part has a couple of towns with nice restaurants and lobster pounds. We had dinner at Bunkers Wharf restaurant which overlooks a nice cove full of lobster boats- pic attached. But they ran out of lobster that night- go figure.

So, if you are planning to camp in the main Acadia Park, consider a side trip and spend a night at Schoodic Woods.

David

#19
Livin Lite General Discussion / Spring maintenance
June 08, 2017, 05:20:17 PM
We went on our spring shake down campout to a near by state forest and returned home early in the morning so I could work on three years worth of maintenance items: tires, bearings and wheel wells. Here is the story:

The camper had gotten very wet inside several years ago while towing in a heavy, long rainstorm. I had heard of two causes on this forum: aluminum floor members not sealed (do they seal them now?) and the wheel wells not sealed to the box. So I tackled the later since the former is covered with tanks and plumbing for 80% of its area.

I first took off the wheels on one side. I was still hitched to my TV, so I just blocked the opposite wheels with chocks. Then while the wheels are still on the ground I loosend each bolt with a 1/2" breaker bar and a 19 mm deep socket. Then i jacked up that side with a floor jack and a foot long piece of 2x4 to distribute the load. BTW, Dexter says to never jack directly on their axle, always jack up the frame. Then I finished unloosening and took the wheels off.

So with the wheels off I looked inside. On that side I just saw a seam with little beads of weldment holding it together and some sort of rubber gasket that didn't look like it was doing much. See the first pic. So I ran a bead of caulk along that seam. Lots has been said about the right caulk to use but i just used a $4.00 tube of window acrylic caulking I bought at the hardware store. The second pic shows the bead of caulk over the seam.

Then I saw at the two ends gaps where the aluminum floor terminates at the wheel well. If water were flung forward into that area it would flood through the gaps in the floor members. The third pic shows this. I decided to fill that with urethane foam filler/sealer to block this source of water. The fourth pic shows this sealant.

The opposite side had a 1/2" wide gap where the first side did not. So I filled that gap with foam sealant and did the ends the same as the other. Sorry but I don't have a pic of that wide gap.

Then I looked closely at the tires. Three of them are original and have about 10,000 miles on them and looked like they might go another 5,000. The fourth was replaced after the tire wore completely out after maybe 7,000 miles. I was pleased to see that the replacement (sorry can't remember the brand i got at Town Fair Tire) looked pretty new. That tells me that the failed tire was just bad and I don't have an alignment problem.

I pumped all of the tires up to 50 psi and then tackled the bearing grease. Dexter has a simple system which can even be done with the wheel and tires in place. Just pop off the chrome cap and dig out the rubber sealer. Then there is a zerk fitting that you pump up with grease until it starts to ooze out the end. Simple and it takes just a couple of minutes or so. The last pic shows this operation with the wheels off.

So this maintenance should keep the running gear ok for another three years, although i suspect I will have to replace the tires before then. When I tackle this again in three years I will pull one of the brake drums off to look at the shoes.

David





#20
We were out last night for a shake down campout nearby so I measured the current draw of various DC appliances:

Parasitic load- CO, propane detector probably- 0.1 amp
LED double light fixture, both on-  0.2 amp
Water pump- 5 amps
Furnace- 3 amps (that was a bit of a surprise i expected more)
Slide out- 6 amps until the motor locks at the end, then 20 amps
Water heater- 0.5 amp (gas solenoid valve)
Fridge- Didn't use but I would expect it to be similar to the WH after it is lit

So, excluding the furnace as most of us don't use it in the summer, this is what a theoretical amphour usage would be assuming the fridge runs 50% of the time and with the minutes used noted below:

Parasitic 24 x 0.1 = 2.4 amps hours
Slide out- 30 seconds x 6= nil
Water heater (assumes you turn it on for just 15 minutes for shower) .25*.5= 0.1
Lights- One double and one single for two hours- 2*.3= 0.6
Water pump- 10 minutes running time- .17*5= 0.8
Fridge- 12*0.5= 6 but call it 8 for burner lighting

So, it all adds up to about 12 amp hours which is consistent with what I have experienced. I can do three days of camping with our 70 AH battery and the battery will be about 50% discharged.

I am installing the Drok battery monitor and I will have better amphour data after that is done and a few campouts.

YMMV.

David