richard5933

Where are you starting from (what's home now)? Any connections to any state in particular? Family? Health coverage?

I see what you mean about the total Ah per battery , but I guess I was also looking at the biggest bang per cubic inch and not per battery. The 12v is bigger and heavier. In the end I guess the best option depends on the individual needs as well as space and weight capacity available. 12v: 1,521 cu in, 225 Ah, 132 lbs = 0.15 Ah/cu in & 1.7 AH/lb 6v: 862 cu în, 255 Ah, 67 lbs = 0.30 Ah/cu în & 3.8 Ah/lb You can almost put four of the 6v batteries in the same space as two of these 12v batteries, which would provide far more capacity. This is where my math is based, not on the capacity per battery but rather on the ability to shove as much capacity in the allotted space & weight capacity.

If you look at the Trojan information, you'll see that the 6v version of this battery has 255 Ah at 100 hrs, compared to the 225 Ah of the 12v one you linked to. This is why I went with two 6v batteries in series rather than two 12v in parallel. The 6v version is smaller and nearly half the weight as well. How does the 12v have an advantage? https://www.trojanbattery.com/products/deep-cycle-flooded/solar-premium-line-flooded/

Remember that in this case we're talking about a travel trailer - weight matters. That said, can you share some information with me about the batteries you're using? Perhaps in a PM so we don't get this thread too far off topic.

When I installed the battery bank in my coach a few years ago I did lots of research, and given the available batteries the most capacity per cubic inch was with pairs of 6v batteries run in series. Even more true if you have space to go taller with your batteries. Like Kay-smith said, 6v can be larger than 12v, but that's partly why I went with them. Are you guys seeing some newer 12v batteries which are being sold now with more capacity than just a few years ago? (Not talking lithium here...)

Both are equally at risk if fully discharged. Other than lithium batteries (a whole other conversation) no deep cycle battery does well if discharged below 50%. The more you do this the more the battery is damaged/aged/wears out prematurely. Six volt batteries give you more capacity per cubic inch, and often in a package that will last longer due to being able to use thicker plates inside. With two 12v batteries in parallel you will add the capacity of the two together, and with two 6v batteries in series you add the voltage together but keep the capacity the same. But, since many 6v batteries of the same physical size as a 12v will have more than twice the amp hour capacity of a 12v battery, you do better with the two 6v batteries. I prefer Trojan batteries, but there are other top-line batteries which will perform about the same.

Really depends on how much space you have in the battery storage area and how willing you are to reconfigure things a bit. Have you considered going with two 6-volt batteries instead of 12-volt? Running two 6-volt batteries in series will often give you more storage capacity than two 12-volt batteries in parallel. There are also more options in the 6-volt batteries available.

There was a company called Remco at the last rally in Gillette selling a gizmo which could be installed on both the front and rear driveshaft of a Subaru to make it possible to disconnect the driveline and flat tow one. Just checked their website and apparently they no longer make the devices, according to this article they are still available for purchase at other places: https://www.motorhome.com/dinghy-towing/dinghy-digest-how-to-tow-an-untowable/ Not sure if this can help you, but it might be worth looking into.

Not touchy, just tired of conversations turn towards politics and/or hot-button issues all the time. Through college I worked as a life guard and at summer camps, and there were most certainly entitled and bratty kids back in those years. Mostly it was a result of over-indulging parents, IMO. Not saying that it excuses anything, just that it's nothing new.

Not sure what any hot button political issue has to do with this conversation. There were bratty kids roaming campgrounds long before our current political debates, along with over-indulgent parents egging them on. Any chance we could stick to talking about campground behavior and not politics?

I thought of that - I'm sure something will be left for the winter. There was a bit of pressure to get the mechanicals in order to be able to make use of the trailer by the end of fall, so I've been working pretty steady on it. Nice to have an indoor place to work out of the sun, so summer or winter I'm getting the benefit of a sheltered place to work.

Bit of an update on Gertie, our Airstream Excella 25-ft... All the roof vents and skylight have been replaced. Only thing left on the roof is painting with Bus Kote once I get the the rest of the old caulking pulled up. The electrical upgrades have been completed, having installed the following: Progressive Dynamics PD9245 converter/chargerVictron Energy SmartSolar MPPT 100/30 Solar Charge ControllerVictron BMV 712Samlex PST-2000 InverterBlue Sea main battery disconnectCatastrophic battery fuseNew grounding block installed to chassisBlue Sea house battery switch All new wiring to/from the equipment Interior has been cleaned to within an inch of its life, and we've decided to keep the carpet for now. It's in great shape and not too bad a shade of blue. The wallpaper in the kitchen and bathroom has been replaced with something a bit southwestern. Next is swapping out the axles for new, making new draperies and blinds, and giving the appliances a once over. Then it will be time to hit the road.

Haven't used the TCS phone app for quite some time, but I don't remember the apps themselves being that different. Once I had them both the difference was quite clear in the programs and the discounts, pointing decidedly in TSD's favor. Only used the TCS card once and then cancelled it.

There are a few options on versions - the Deluxe is much nicer and easier to use, but it takes up more space to store and is more expensive. That said, sometimes I'll put something in my cart on the Amazon site and let it sit there for a while, then the price magically drops. Other times I have to use the link they provide to see all options for buying it, as the one they present at first may not be the best deal. Always good to compare Amazon prices with other vendors, as they can be much higher at times.

I was just able to log in. Looks like the site is back up now. Membership is right where it's supposed to be, at least for me. Left hand column.

Looks like the fmcs.com main website is down right now. As in, I can't get in at all. I checked it via an online site checker, and it confirmed that fmca.com is down. This is probably why you can't access the membership directory. Possibly you caught the error message during a time the site was still partially functioning. Any board members listening who can pass along to the IT people about the site being down?

I agree about the trucker's road atlas. A good one is the Rand McNally Motor Carrier's Atlas, and it has lots of information besides maps such as low height warnings, restricted weight warnings, etc. If you're following a designated truck route you technically should be okay. When I went through training on my first job driving semi, they spent a great deal of time leaning route planning. No one resource will tell you what you need to know, so you'll have to use multiple resources. When I was driving semi, I'd start with the smartphone and find the destination on Google Maps. Using the satellite view I could determine which specific entrance to use, the conditions of the surrounding areas, etc. For some locations the mailing address was not the address for the entrance needed, so I'd use Google Maps to obtain the GPS coordinates of where I actually wanted to go. I've even used the satellite view to help me find the best exit route our of some really large truck stops where I couldn't see the exit from where I was parked. Using Google Street View allowed me to do a virtual drive-by of any parts of the route I had questions about. It even allowed me to scan the road for bridge height signs, 'no trucks' signs, etc. before heading down any unknown stretches of road. Great to be able to see these things before you have to back up out of a problem area. The next step was to program the destination into my Garmin GPS unit. It was a unit designed for heavy vehicles and took height/weight/length into consideration while computing the route. I'd then inspect every leg of the route that the Garmin presented me to be sure that it didn't take me down any problem areas I identified in the first steps. The last step was to double check the Garmin route against the trucker's atlas to make sure that it had me on approved/designated truck routes. For me as a new truck driver it took 10-15 minutes to do my route planning for a destination. I could get it done quicker for routes I'd done before, but even those required some work to ensure that truck routes didn't change or new construction projects started. For an RV, whether you're driving a Class A or pulling a large 5th wheel, you should probably figure spending about the same amount of time planning your day's driving route. There is no easy/quick way to do this properly.

Tire dealer told me that I could have run them some more based on his examination. Still looked good inside and out. If not for the size issue I would probably have gotten another year from them. Longer if I were a gambling man.

I put new tires on my coach last year (Firestone FS 561). They replaced a nearly 10-year-old set of Firestones. Other than the date codes, there was non visible reason to replace them. They had no sidewall cracking, no visible wear to the tread, and passed inspection when dismounted. I was considering trying to get another year or so from them but decided to swap them out since they were not the correct size (wider than recommended). Not all tires will crack with age.

While this is true, some brands seem to handle it better than others. It's also well documented that Michelin tires will show cracks far earlier than other brands will with similar usage patterns.

True - but outer bearings don't require a new seal. That's on the back side.

The Dexter EZ-Lube is different than other products which are nothing more than a Zerk fitting stuck into the dust cap. The EZ-Lube hub is designed with ports to carry the fresh grease to the rear bearing and push the old grease out the front. When working properly, you should be able to see the fresh grease come out the front once all the old grease is forced out. I've seen videos showing it's helpful to spin the wheel slowly while adding the fresh grease, but I have not had to do mine yet so I have no first-hand experience. All that said, I'm probably going to do a full repack on the bearings at the end of the first year to inspect them, and then I'll alternate using the EZ-Lube with a full repack on alternate years.

To maximize capacity in the freezer, I freeze the food in shallow plastic containers. Once frozen, I pop the food out of the container and use our vacuum seal machine to pack it in one of the vacuum bags. Lots more can be stored in the freezer in bags than containers. Most common thing I'll do this way is soups and stews.

We'd love to, but we have a long-overdue stop in KS to visit family. Still making up for missed opportunities over the past year and a half.

Long way? Guess so. It's a trip we put off for a year now, and having a great time. Weather here is actually cooler than Wisconsin, for whatever reason.