Aluminum Camper Forum

Quote from: Jackson on September 05, 2017, 06:42:52 PM
Where to connect and what fitting? Thinking upstream of water pump with Camco pump convertor Winterizing kit and funnel nozzle adaptor. Any issues that I might confront?

I have copied and pasted a guide I have used for many winters up here in Washington State. I have never had an issue.

1. Disconnect your rig from the outside water source.
2. Turn off all power in the rig. Don't forget to shut off the propane as well.
3. Bypass your water heater. You do not want to drain the water heater at this time. Some RVs come with a factory-installed bypass valve. If yours doesn't, you can install a cheap kit.
4. Consult with the owner's manuals for your refrigerator, ice maker, washing machine and dishwasher (if so equipped) for winterizing instructions.
5. Open all faucets, including tub and shower and the outdoor shower if you have one. Then open the system drain valves and let the water empty. See your owner's manual for valve locations.
6. Flush the toilet to clear any water from the line.
7. Connect the "blow out plug" to the city water inlet—not the fresh water tank.
8. Adjust the air compressor to no more than 30 psi to avoid damaging the water lines.
9. Connect the air compressor hose to the blow out plug. Turn on the compressor and let it run until all water is blown from the faucets and drain valves. Shut off the air compressor and disconnect the blow out plug from the water inlet.
10. Pour RV antifreeze in the drain traps (Sinks and Shower). Also, our some in the grey and black water tanks to keep the discharge valves from freezing.

Quote from: pjcd on July 10, 2017, 04:18:47 PM
Hows everything now? I have had my fair share of issues, but nothing electric. The aluminum construction is a game changer for me, I already have had a leak and am not worried about any unseen damage.

So far everything is working well. I have upgraded to solar charging and a monitoring system for the charge/discharge (all done myself) so it has taken me through most of the wiring in the trailer at this point, aside from interior lighting and refrigerator.

I have had no other issues with the trailer except electrical. Everything else seems to be up to standard.

Let me say first that I love my trailer. I bought it for the aluminum frame and other quality build components like most here. The stain that this manufacture has is electrical wiring and their sloppiness. I have posted on Livin' Lite message board (they are now deleted by the moderator I think) about the issues and I the feed back I got was that I should have had a better dealer inspection. This may be true, but it wouldn't have caught a number of issues I have found since purchasing the trailer.

I felt the need to start a thread of wiring and electrical workmanship issues that owners of these trailers have seen and how they diagnosed and fixed them or perhaps how a dealer fixed them. My issues so far. (More to come on my transfer switch)

Issue No. 1: Trailer Running Marker Lights (Roof)
The roof marker lights were not working when I received the trailer (3rd party cross country delivery). After I pulled apart the wiring tray above the toy hauler door, I found that the wires were ran but they were not connected. Just sitting there with an open end. Spliced them in and good to go. This took a while to locate where these wires were ran to without any wiring diagrams available.



Issue No. 2: Turn Signal Lights
When the left turn signal was activated, both the left and right lights flashed. The yellow wire (left signal) was wired to both tail lights. The green was not wired to anything. Just a wire running around the trailer with nothing hooked to it. Solved this after pulling all of the rear lights off the trailer. Both Issue 1 and 2 were occurring at the same time.

Issue No. 3: Range Hood Fan
The fan was not operating when I received delivery of the trailer. After pulling the whole range hood off and inspecting the wiring I found that the connections were made with a wire nut, and that wires had pulled out of it. Repaired with crimp connections.



Issue No.4: Water Pump Circuit Fuse Blowing While Driving (8 Months after purchase)
This issue is the most frustrating. Whenever I would hit camp my fuse would be blown on the water pump circuit. I always make sure the pump is off before I leave. It shouldn't blow the fuse regardless, I have left those pumps on for months pumping dry (don't judge) and it doesn't blow a fuse.

Because the switch was always off I figured I had a short between the fuse box and the water pump switch. Problem is, a lot of this wire is in the galley wall. I was able to just barely get enough of the wire up to the switch hole in the wall to see that I had a wire splice (no good reason for it). The wire splice was crimped with what looks like side cutters and was cut almost clear through the crimp connection creating a hinge that opened and closed the circuit with movement. My first problem with this is that the splice was not necessary unless they broke the wire or they were changing wire spools. Both would cause them to scrap maybe 10' of wire or use it for another circuit. Then crimping this connection like this behind a wall! Very frustrating.




I hope all of this is helpful to others having similar issues.

I love this thread keeping track of where things are in the electrical system is tremendously helpful while boondocking. I added a 200W solar system and wanted to have a meter for both charging and discharging status of the system to make sure I don't use more than I bank in the batteries.

The gauge on the left measures the charging status and the gauge on the right measures discharging status. The current and power shows a charge when there is a net charging situation. When the power consumption exceeds the charging power the gauge on the right shows the amps and watts of draw. This is especially useful when the panels are not charging. This also reads shore power charging.

I especially like the watt hour feature. I can reset both to zero at anytime to keep track of things.

One of the biggest changes to conserve power I made was to bring in an alternative heat source so we don't have to run the furnace fan. The fan for us was the biggest culprit of our battery drain.

I installed a Camco Olympian Wave 8, and highly recommend it. It also uses less propane as 100% of the heat is put into the trailer, where the furnace uses a heat exchanger. Granted, one must crack a window and a roof vent to create cross flow ventilation so you don't run out of oxygen so you lose a little heat there, but it is real minimal.

Nicely Done!

Bryan-

I just bought the same Noco box you have. On your install- is it really as simple as it looks? It looks like two pieces of angle aluminum screwed to the tongue frame, then the box mounted to the angle aluminum. My trailer is in a storage lot, so I can't go out and look at it until tomorrow, but was the stock battery box holder difficult to remove? And did you have to move your propane tanks at all? If so, was that difficult?

Thanks for your help and advice. Sorry to pepper you with questions like I'm giving you the 3rd degree!

John
[/quote]
Sorry I just got back to this.

You nailed it. Cut the angle aluminum with a carbide blade on a chop saw. Where safety glasses for sure, aluminum shards in the eye isn't fun to get removed. Got that t-shirt.

A hack saw would also do the trick, but not as clean.

The stock battery box screws were really tight. I used an impact screw gun to get them out.  If you can't get them grind them off flush and re-drill.  Steel screws in aluminum is a problem, they tend to break off before they let go when they are that tight.

I didn't have to move my tanks. One thing to keep in mind is your wires to the terminal block. If you move things around too much you may need to build longer ones.

It was real simple with great results.


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Quote from: tek610 on April 23, 2017, 10:31:21 PM

Quote from: bryan.a.white on April 11, 2017, 08:05:24 PM
You will like the 6V Duracells, I got the same ones and I have had them for a couple of years. In fact, I just moved them from a Pop-Up trailer to my recently purchased Livin-Lite. Install is shown in the photos. (Ignore my charger lead that is wired in, I had it reversed in the photo.)

I have been maintaining the charge with a Pulse Tech charger that has "desulfation" technology. Keeps them in prime condition and ready to go. I have heard tons of stories from my family and friends who use them on their old batteries and they are brought back to life.

http://www.pulsetech.net/XCPARALLEL-Xtreme-Charge-Parallel-Multi-12V-Battery-Charger-7276.aspx

Bryan-

I just bought the same Noco box you have. On your install- is it really as simple as it looks? It looks like two pieces of angle aluminum screwed to the tongue frame, then the box mounted to the angle aluminum. My trailer is in a storage lot, so I can't go out and look at it until tomorrow, but was the stock battery box holder difficult to remove? And did you have to move your propane tanks at all? If so, was that difficult?

Thanks for your help and advice. Sorry to pepper you with questions like I'm giving you the 3rd degree!

John

Sorry I just got back to this.

You nailed it. Cut the angle aluminum with a carbide blade on a chop saw. Where safety glasses for sure, aluminum shards in the eye isn't fun to get removed. Got that t-shirt.

A hack saw would also do the trick, but not as clean.

The stock battery box screws were really tight. I used an impact screw gun to get them out.  If you can't get them grind them off flush and re-drill.  Steel screws in aluminum is a problem, they tend to break off before they let go when they are that tight.

I didn't have to move my tanks.

It was real simple with great results.


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FastEddieB- Nice work, I like how that is turning out!

Tell us how you like your new grill! That looks like a nice unit.

First Choice: Campfire Ring


Second Choices: Gift Given Hand Made Charcoal Fired Steel Grill/Griddle and my Weber Q100

David:

I agree. We have been running the GC's for a couple of seasons without solar and they take us through most every weekend with the furnace blasting. I recently installed a catalytic heater (other topic in this Boondocking forum) to reduce the furnace time.

I'm looking at the 4 6v + solar as a way to increase our ability to have more amp hours available and to allow use of an inverter. As much boondocking as we do, it isn't always an outdoor excursion where we conserve our power. Sometimes it is going to be traveling to kids sport events and remote construction sites. Using the stereo and the microwave and other "luxuries" without firing up a generator is really the point.

Quote from: PebblePrincess on April 13, 2017, 11:58:08 AM
Brian what battery box did you use for that setup?


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Its a NOCO HM426 Dual 6-Volt Commercial Grade Battery Box. I got it on Amazon: It was $95. A little more than the standard issue, but it is a WAY better box. It is rotomolded, like coolers, kayaks, etc. Very rugged. I've had a lot of the regular plastic boxes deteriorate and become brittle, so I decided to got this route. Eventually, I'm going to double up with 4 6v batteries when I go solar.

You will like the 6V Duracells, I got the same ones and I have had them for a couple of years. In fact, I just moved them from a Pop-Up trailer to my recently purchased Livin-Lite. Install is shown in the photos. (Ignore my charger lead that is wired in, I had it reversed in the photo.)

I have been maintaining the charge with a Pulse Tech charger that has "desulfation" technology. Keeps them in prime condition and ready to go. I have heard tons of stories from my family and friends who use them on their old batteries and they are brought back to life.

http://www.pulsetech.net/XCPARALLEL-Xtreme-Charge-Parallel-Multi-12V-Battery-Charger-7276.aspx

Quote from: pjcd on March 22, 2017, 09:06:31 PM
Looks great, nice clean job. What crimping tool did you use? I've been looking at a hydraulic crimper for cables, I would guess it would work on gas lines.

I used one like the attached. I have tried the type that looks like a pair of Vise Grips and they are horrible. I recommend this type. I borrowed one, but they run about $100 if you shop around.

Quote from: Merlin on March 22, 2017, 08:04:53 PM
I was going to guess Wenona!. I'd love to have one. Which model is it and how does it paddle?

The Spirit II. It paddles great. We take our two small kids in it a lot. Very stable all around canoe. We love it.