May 2022 - what did you do for your camper?

[Hoomi]

She turned me into a newt. I got better.

I'm not dead yet!

 

[geoffm3]

On our maiden voyage our cabinet mounted AC unit leaked condensate onto the floor necessitating a field fix by shimming the front edge of the AC mount so that it would drain properly. Removed the AC and reshimmed so I could reinstall the AC correctly.

 

[Bob Collins]

Old school actual popup owner here. My work is more boring in comparison. Having finished repainting the interior of the 1999 Dutchmen popup, I've reassembled everything inside, installed a new pump faucet, installed new wheel bearings, and unfurled the awning I haven't looked at since buying this thing in 2019. Uck. Miracled Misted all the mildew and mold (that stuff works great.

 

[Michael J]

Continuing with roof repairs have all the new sides on and part of the trim need to roll the roof back down on the rear of the camper and the trim reinstall will continue... Looking forward to it yet today hopefully and maybe by the end of the week I can install all the new canvas we got from Bear Creek

 

[Wander1970]

Old school actual popup owner here. My work is more boring in comparison. Having finished repainting the interior of the 1999 Dutchmen popup, I've reassembled everything inside, installed a new pump faucet, installed new wheel bearings, and unfurled the awning I haven't looked at since buying this thing in 2019. Uck. Miracled Misted all the mildew and mold (that stuff works great.

Looks great. Thanks for the advice on the awning because we just bought a pop-up and haven’t unferled the awning yet.

 

[Karey]

Plans for today are to add a bit more to the fridge. The freezer is just about full, so we have almost all our suppers for 2 weeks packed, plus some add-ons for breakfast - and, of course, ice cream. I need to decide which camp chairs are going, etc.

and, for those who need it - battery charge and/or maintenance reminder

I've read so many things about filling fridge. Ours has come open once when traveling, and some have said not to pack the fridge, but still turn it on a day before so to get cold. Then put a frozen gallon water jug in to help it keep cold. It's a hassle to have to fill a cooler and move everything to fridge at campsite.

I got one of those power tongue jacks you'd mentioned in a March post and our hitch has 2 holes it has to go through. The bottom hole ends up being smaller than the upper so now we're going to have to file it larger. Too late to return it.

Yesterday we attached an umbrella stand made for deck railings and got a Half Umbrella to go over our trailer door entrance.

Had a rubber piece come off our Aframe roof this winter, so got glue in the mail yesterday to reattach it. When the Aframe closes it butts up right where the top overlaps the other roof - probably so no water can run under. The snow must have pulled it off.

Our first trip will be on the 13th. Can't dewinterize or sterilize the water tank yet since we still get some cold nights. What is the lowest it could go and be ok?

Been pressure canning meats and meals. Started in March. Everything tastes awesome. So planning meals with my home canned stuff.

 

[Ky Kamper]

Got new tires & rims on, got the outside painted. Now on to the inside, & ready to pack up & go!

 

[TheEvilKaren]

What did I do for my PUP? I sold the damn thing and bought a teardrop.

The story? Husband and I bought the pop-up used in 2014. The previous owner had made some ridiculous modifications to it including adding a lift system with a motor WAY stronger than it needed to be. The lift system broke the first time in Yellowstone and was “repaired” by a local guy. It broke the second time in Colorado, and the local “repair” job made it so it would only go up about a foot. Husband was DONE. We continued begrudgingly paying storage fees while trying to figure out how to unload it.

So now we’re in the middle of a divorce (unrelated to the camper issue) and he sold it for $1K to an associate, who gave me cash for it. I’ve been researching small teardrop campers that will fit in my garage and went to look at one today. The price was right and I like the salesman and the dealership (a very fast-growing mom & pop business), so….I bought it! I’ve joined a Solo Women Campers group on FB and need to find a group like this for teardrops.

I will probably still come to this group for camping stories, because I have always enjoyed them.

So what color is this “side”? Going to the “dark side” refers to going bigger, right? Gray side? Light side?

 

[Jerry L]

Just opened camper last week it was our first winter with it and apaerntly I winterized it properly no mice damage, and plumbing lines are fine flushed them out a few times..
QUESTIONS:
Water lookds clear no odor.
1.)Do Ireally have to run bleach through the lines?? I used antifreeze and got it all out?
2.) I do have a couple small areas of black ion interior of canvas (mold) any tricks to clean it off without damagng the canvas?? 3.)Also any tips on using the new 22' Backstone will be appreciated!!
Ordered new Awninhg hopefully will arrive befor our first weekend trip on May 13.

 

[kitphantom]

@Karey - the fridge in our Retro 177 is the larger size installed that year in that model, so 6 cu ft with separate doors for fridge and freezer. It works very well, although it will not hold the cold for our long driving days, so we have the propane on while we tow. Turning it off well before we reach the gas pumps and afterwards is part of our routine. In general, once we begin our camping season, it stays on and stocked with staples and, sometimes extra ice cream.
If we had to transfer food back and forth between a cooler and fridge, we'd give up using the fridge.

@ JerryL - I'd still run the bleach, or other sanitizer through the lines. We sanitize the fresh tank (which doesn't get antifreeze) and lines at the beginning of the season, and sometimes once or twice more. It depends on how often we use our trailer.

@TheEvilKaren - have fun with the teardrop. They appealed to us for a while. There are also Colorado FB camping groups tena member for 5 years) and Girl Camper (not a member, but I know some SOTFs who are that too.)

 

[neighbormike]

So what color is this “side”?

Just a “Little” Dark?? Congrats on the new camper!

 

[DiamondGirl]

We just got back yesterday from boondocking on BLM land before the new fire restrictions starts this week. It was fun riding our mini bikes around the forest roads. The weather was beautiful. It’s our first BIG camping trip with friends since last July.

The only issue we had was arriving at the closest gas station by our boondocking campsite. Went to fill up our freshwater tank. When we drove into the gas station, we got a blow out on our truck. The truck went over a piece of metal on the driveway. I filled the freshwater tank while DH was changing out the tire to use our spare. After arriving at the campsite and setting up, he tried to fix the blowout with tire plugs. Unfortunately it didn’t work. Good thing our friends followed us home to make sure there were no issues driving back. DH ordered new tires at Costco. We don’t have any trips planned for May. It’s filled with games, graduations and parties. This is why we went camping twice in April.

I called the manufacturer, Keystone for Dutchmen. They couldn’t recommend a new converter for the Kodiak regarding lithium batteries. They said to contact my local Kodiak dealership. After speaking with my local dealership, it was recommended to replace our converter. DH ordered a new converter to replace our WF-8735 to an upgraded model that will charge our lithium battery. He will work on the install sometime this month. DH says it’s very complicated with lots of wires. Our next trip is in June.

Happy Camping…

 

[KBull]

The black tank drain is leaking again at the seam where the valve is. This is what we had the shop replace in January, and then repair last in March or April. It had not leaked again until mid-afternoon today, after dumping it yesterday. Not very happy, since we had the shop do the replacement, to avoid issues friends had with leaking afterwards when they did it themselves - maybe it isn't all that uncommon. It has always been a slow drip. We cleaned it all with alcohol and have put silicone cualk on the seam, we can see where the leak muse be. That slowed it to a really slow drip. We'll probably add another layer, when it isn't as hot, it's right in the afternoon sun, so the silicon may be heeding gravity while soft as much as not working.
Finished packing food in the fridge and freezer, so just will have last minute things to add, as well as set food from the freezer to the fridge for the weekend, so we can reheat our meals. We have very little left to do for the trip itself, just keeping track of the last minute things. Oil change on the truck Wednesday.

Hello, while you are en route, do you run the refrigerator on propane?

 

[Musictom]

We're coming up on the one year anniversary of our purchase, so I learned how to repack the bearings. I also checked and replaced our anode rod, although it probably still had some life left.

Our biggest change was that we (with a tremendous amount of help from my wife) installed an A/C unit on the roof of the pup. We went out last weekend, and although it probably didn't reach 70 degrees, I still ran the AC for a few minutes, just to make sure everything seemed to work.

 

[swsmith]

This morning I plan on washing the roof, wiping down with mineral spirits, and priming the roof. I'm within my 30 day window to overcoat it with rubberized roof coating, FINALLY. The only thing that would stop me is a particularly heavy pollen drop, or wind.

 

[JimmyM]

I called the manufacturer, Keystone for Dutchmen. They couldn’t recommend a new converter for the Kodiak regarding lithium batteries. They said to contact my local Kodiak dealership. After speaking with my local dealership, it was recommended to replace our converter. DH ordered a new converter to replace our WF-8735 to an upgraded model that will charge our lithium battery. He will work on the install sometime this month. DH says it’s very complicated with lots of wires. Our next trip is in June.

Happy Camping…

Have a look at the Progressive Dynamics PD4045KV HERE It's a full drop in replacement converter / power center. It also has a Lithium mode and an optional pendant that you can use to set the output voltage mode. You don't need to keep your batteries absolutely fully charged all the time if you're not going boondocking.

 

[kitphantom]

@Karey - when we took the winterizing workshop our dealer offered, the limit for freeze safety was 28* for some number of hours. I think it was something like 5 hours.
We do our best guess, since we have most of the lines exposed under the trailer. If it's going to be in the low 30s or so, at home, we've been known to leave the elecgtric radiator on with the cupboard door open as well as the access door to the water pump. We've hit the occasional night in the upper 20s while camping, so far we have been lucky to not have a freeze low enough to do damage.
If we have the water system not winterized, spring and fall shoulder seasons, while at home, we will blow the lines out if we're headed for freezing weather. Last October, when an early snowstorm was predicted while we were on our 2-week Grand Canyon trip, we drained the fresh tank and the lines. We wanted to blow the lines out, but turned out we didn't have the attachment we needed in our tool box, even though we have the portable compressor. I did manage to get into Trailer Village just before the storm was due, since there were so many cancellations, so we bought an electric radiator on our transition day. We did OK with temps in the 20s - at least it didn't hit the low teens, as the first forecast predicted.

 

[PopUpSteve]

while you are en route, do you run the refrigerator on propane?

Some do and some run it off DC since the TV is passing power to the camper while on the road.

Checkout the Refrigerators and Coolers board for more info.

 

[Austin694]

Fixed some small things. Got the new shower curtain installed. Then noticed that the track is shoved way over to the wrong side, so the curtain is in the middle of the showering area and more over the toilet area. So I moved the track over to give more room to shower.
Cutout the the plastic door threshold that had a big hump in it and wouldn't let the screen door set properly. Also had to raise the bracket that locks the top of the door in place so it made a good interlock.
Started pondering attaching our camp chef stove to the side like the grill is. But I think it is too close to the tent fabric. I would like it mounted to the side for ease of getting the cook surface level. Using a folding table currently and its a real pain to get it level. I hate putting my eggs on the griddle and them trying to run off the side.

 

[DiamondGirl]

@JimmyM…. Thanks for the info. DH ordered the PD4135K model from ETrailer. It was the model recommended by my local Kodiak dealership. Hopefully it works out and charges our lithium battery while boondocking and using our Honda generator. DH wanted the lithium battery option.

Happy Camping…