Aluminum Camper Forum

A track riding buddy of mine has Starlink and loves it; uses it exclusively (off-grid) and he said its pretty reliable. He gets much higher bandwidth than 9Mbps DL; I want to say he's usually near 100Mbs. I'm not personally familiar with plans or hardware options; I'd assume there are different packages though?

Why do you want/need to move the radio due to moving the TV? (not being argumentative, just curious)

I moved my TV but left the radio where it is...just ran longer versions of the necessary cables to the TV (audio L/R & HDMI IIRC). In my case I ran thru existing cabinets and a short section exposed along the top corner of the wall. I have a VRV, so I can't speak to specifics of the BHS.

If you moved the entire radio: all the speaker wires, antenna, and power also need to move. The 'right' way to do this would involve removing lots of interior trim and cabinets because trying to fish all that stuff in-situ would be near impossible.

Is that fridge OEM? What make? Asking because it looks to be very well insulated. The Dometic in my VRV looks nothing like that and only has some loose batt fiberglass stuffed around the sides.

Never heard of them before. I like the rugged look, outdoor options (kitchen, drop-table, etc...), and modern interior look and feel. But I'm not a fan of the toy hauler floorplan at all; the ATC has a better layout & options.

Can't tell if the floor decking is wood or aluminum...?

We're talking about the same thing. Yes, it will filter stuff >20microns so it will catch metals & bacteria larger than that size (which is very small; I have no idea the distribution of sizes - probably varies greatly with location). Anyway, the consensus I've seen is that filters in the range of 1-5micron (absolute rating) as being "quality". That's my over-simplification of a complex topic.    Using the Camco is good and better than nothing; it's a basic filter.

I always use one of those camco blue inline filters when at campgrounds but those don't do much compared to a proper filtration system (the inline is really just for larger particulates and some odor/flavor - doesn't do squat for anything else). We otherwise only fill from our house (town water supply). I also sanitize 2x/year.

When I removed the fresh water tank earlier this year I was surprised to see "stuff" inside the fill and water supply lines. It looked a little like mold but not sure what it is. It's not much at all but definitely not squeaky clean either. It kind of reinforced my suspicion that more filtering needed if I wanted to feel comfortable drinking it. And I'm tired of buying gallon water jugs - its wasteful.

Wiping the supply spigot is always a good idea. I've heard of using a small bowl with a water/bleach solution and submerging the spigot in that for 30sec before use (and then run water to flush, of course). And 100% agree about what bottled water actually is. For the brand of 5 gallon jugs I started using: the water is filtered as well as goes thru a reverse-osmosis process (which is exceptionally good)...but in the end its just tap water that is filtered.

Water coils are not ridiculously large, but I get your point. And residential water starts at a cooler temp before getting to the fridge, so the cooling would only work well for filling a 16oz cup or so...then it would get warm-ish. I also debated just filling containers and putting those in the fridge. Sometimes like to over-engineer things. 

Funny you mention contaminants from washing hands, dishes, etc... To me I assume[d] the risk was low (e.g. washing dishes) relative to drinking it directly. Something I have to think more about...

In case its useful: the exact o-ring for the strainer cup may be hard to source (its a rectangular profile), but a very very close standard part would be a fractional 1/16 inch thick o-ring, size "-027" (that reads as "dash 027).

You would have to buy packs of 100 if going to a supplier (i.e. McMaster-Carr link), averages about 0.12c each. A good hardware store may carry them individually, but expect to pay a few bucks. HTH!

I've been thinking about a better option for drinkable water in the camper. We currently don't use water from the tank/city hookup for drinking - don't trust it. I initially went down the road of the 5gal bottom-loading water dispenser, but these aren't practical because they require 120v and take up a bit of room.

These are my 2 options:

• Buy a quality, multi-stage water filter and install in-line on a dedicated drinking water faucet
• Rig a 2nd dedicated 12v water pump (like the shurflo pumps our campers have) to a 5gal water container and plumb directly to a water faucet

Trade-offs are obvious - cost & lugging around 5gal containers (~$1/gal) vs. cost for water filter setup & filters ($400+$70 for filter set every 1-2k gallons). Do quality filter units work as good as bottled water? Do you folks have any filters that you recommend?

The other part of my question: what do you guys know about drilling holes thru the fridge wall? What I'd like to do is run a water coil in/out of the rv fridge to cool the drinking water line. For those who aren't aware: this is what is done in residential refrigerators to cool the water prior to heading to the dispenser. I've searched all over and haven't seen anyone do something like this. I imagine that as long as I use good fitting grommets and air-seal the 2 holes: it should be fine...maybe. 

Found the problem; tank R/R and check-valve quirks sent me on a wild goose chase.

When I winterize the camper one of the things I do is remove the pump screen filter. Apparently the o-ring in the filter canister fell out while it was removed. The pump was pulling air in past the threads since they are not sealing by themselves. Luckily I had an o-ring which was close enough and that fixed the problem.

I'm already going to dig into this, but figured I'd try to get some opinions.

My water system is dispensing aerated water (air in the water; spits and farts) when on the water pump. The water pump also will not shut off when faucets are closed. I assume its because it can't reach pressure due to the air in the lines on the pressure side of the pump. This will not happen when hooked up to city water. I've read that this is due to the input line from the fresh water tank being loose. I've checked this and the pump's filter canister prior to the pump and they seem snug, no leaks.

The system was fine until I had to remove my freshwater tank when doing my axles. When re-connecting it: I took some care to tidy up all the lines (fill, vent, supply) because they were wrapped around each other. Mentioning in case a dip or "trap" is necessary in the supply line? The system isn't leaking anywhere.

During our first trip on city water: I noticed that the city water was filling the fresh water tank. Obviously a check-valve issue. I turned the pump on and gave it some percussive maintenance and it seemed to fix itself. Mentioning in case a bad check valve could cause this air problem (I doubt it) as well as potentially damaging the pressure switch with said maintenance...

Seeing as there's no water leaking: I don't see how air can get INTO the system. My only thoughts are to run a temp line directly to the pump to test and also just pull the pump apart to see if I can find anything suspect. Any other thoughts?

I recently got the Bargman 8' when rewiring my HD tilt trailer this spring. You can argue whether it its worth $75, but it is a very nice pigtail; super flexible and high quality wire. You won't be disappointed.

@Merlin - yep, I did notice that the crack has started propagating upwards. The bottom of these crossmembers should be in compression, not tension...so I'm a bit surprised why it would crack there. I was wondering if supporting the frame by the corners (middle of main frame spars drooping) may have caused it...I don't recall seeing them before but possible I missed them.

I run a good sized (24"?) high velocity floor fan in my trailer with windows and ceiling vents open. I have the MaxxAir vent covers so I can leave the roof vents open all the time. I rarely use the A/C up here in the northeast.

OBX is awesome by-the-way; i've never camped there but we've rented vacation houses before.

@RV Squirrel - yep, that is my knee mill. It's an Alliant (Bridgeport clone).

A weld which is too cold doesn't have enough penetration. The bead will sit on top of the metal and the bead edges don't blend into the base metal. Too hot is the opposite; the bead won't have good shape definition (washed out), base material will likely be undercut, and the heat-affected zone wider than it should be.

The welds on the new brackets are OK; not perfect looking but definitely good enough. If you're curious: do some photo searches for "GMAW Aluminum".

My fun unfortunately isn't over: I found a couple cracks in the frame itself when re-installing the water tank and brake electrics.    The cracks are in the full width crossmembers immediately fore and aft of the wheel well. I believe this is the most common location for cracks on both the TH and Camplites. I'll weld these up myself at some point; likely should've had gussets or doubled-up from the beginning? Have any of you guys had the crack in this location fixed? I'm curious how others solved this one.

All done; hopefully won't have to worry about it again.


 


I made a minor change to the design; final one below in case it helps anyone else out. Diagram is for the driver's side; passenger side is just the mirror image.