Winter trip and the Dewalt drill.

[Grandpa Don]

Last week I just had to go on a short camping trip. I wanted to test out a few things that I recently purchased. I got a Dewalt 12vMax cordless drill for raising and lowering the top and for using on the BAL leveler. It was just a short over-nighter, but it was still fun. I also bought a new Harbor Freight Predator 3500 Watt generator. I didn't need a generator on this short trip, but I wanted to see how it worked on my A/C unit (13,500 watts) It did great! After 3 years with a popup camper I finally have the set-up and take-down procedure down to a science. The only thing I would like to get now is some kind of foot or bunk warmer that works off of 12 volt. I see that there are many to choose from on the Internet, but what do you guys recommend? I did make one potentially serious mistake in the stake-down sequence when I was lowering the top. Fortunately I caught it quickly. Let's see who can spot it. Go have a look.

 

[bupkis]

Nice video.
old glory not flying
raising with roof latch connected
lowering tongue without pulling back yoke on coupler
propane collar not positioned to protect from road debris

 

[Grandpa Don]

Nice video.
old glory not flying
raising with roof latch connected
lowering tongue without pulling back yoke on coupler
propane collar not positioned to protect from road debris

Damn you got a good eye for detail. I did pull back the coupler, but it slid forward again and I didn't notice it until I lowered the hitch onto the ball. Good eye! The roof latch was more serious. Here's what happened. That 2 inch foam pad on my bunk makes it difficult to latch the front. I mentioned that in the video. After a while the foam assumes the flat position and the top latch will unlatch just by flipping the plate. This time I didn't give it enough time to go flat. You will notice that I did unlatch it, but it did not unhook from the roof. I need to be more aware of that next time. I normally raise the top just about an inch or less so that I don't deform the seal on the door when I pull the door open. Thank goodness it was only an inch!

I'm not sure what you mean by the propane collar positioning. I have a 4 foot hose on that tank. The idea is that when the tank is empty at a camp site I can just unscrew the hose and re-connected it to my spare tank that will be sitting right there by the tongue. Facing in that direction just makes it a little easier to see and do if I have to do it in the middle of the night.

I did forget my flag!

 

[SteveP]

The only thing I would like to get now is some kind of foot or bunk warmer

No power needed.
https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-water-bottle/ID=prod17205-product

 

[bupkis]

Even with a cover I have the open part of the collar face back, YMMV

you can read in the FRIST comment of slim potato video that the link he keep posting for a 12v blanket gets moved! His suggestion is low wattage, his is 2.5A

 

[Grandpa Don]

No power needed.
https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-water-bottle/ID=prod17205-product

Maybe no power, but I think this one would take more work than I would like to do.

 

[kcsa75]

Maybe no power, but I think this one would take more work than I would like to do.

Wow! And I thought I was lazy. Boil a pan of water over the fire, fill the hot water bottle and toss it under the sheets.

Easy peezy.

 

[Grandpa Don]

Wow! And I thought I was lazy. Boil a pan of water over the fire, fill the hot water bottle and toss it under the sheets.

Easy peezy.

It would work. But I still think I would rather just plug in the cord, set the dial, crawl into my sleeping bag and go to sleep with the same temperature all night long.

 

[Fish N Farm]

Wow! And I thought I was lazy. Boil a pan of water over the fire, fill the hot water bottle and toss it under the sheets.

Easy peezy.

Throw Mary under the covers and forget about the water bottle leaking! Besure to reinforce the bunk rails first>)

 

[rhbowler]

My Rockwood came with heated mattresses, they are just warm enough to kill the chill, but you do need 110V to use them.

 

[CajunMan]

My Rockwood came with heated mattresses, they are just warm enough to kill the chill, but you do need 110V to use them.

Yes. You need Shore Power for the mattresses. My Rockwood has them also

 

[Jeri Sullivan]

I have a Rockwood and I would like to get a drill to raise and lower my top. Did you have to get a special drill bit. If so, where did you get.

 

[Grandpa Don]

I have a Rockwood and I would like to get a drill to raise and lower my top. Did you have to get a special drill bit. If so, where did you get.

The drill bit depends on the type of winch you have. You can get them from a variety of places online. As for a drill, no impact drivers! I have the Dewalt 20 voltMax 1/2 drive cordless drill. It works great on my Goshan manual winch, and my cousin has the same drill that works fine on this Whiffletree lift system.

 

[Jeri Sullivan]

My Rockwood has the Goshen lift system as well. Where did you get your bit

 

[Grandpa Don]

My Rockwood has the Goshen lift system as well. Where did you get your bit

This is the one that worked for me. I had an electric winch on my camper when I bought it. But last year I replaced it with a manual winch from eTrailer. You will need a pretty beefy drill to raise it thought. https://www.amazon.com/Custom-Cylinders-Socket-Jenie-Pop-Up/dp/B07H2N1FJ8/ref=sr_1_1?crid=TTZERTQHL0BC&dchild=1&keywords=socket+jenie+used+to+raise+pop-up+roof&qid=1610763360&sprefix=socket+jenie,aps,220&sr=8-1

 

[Jeri Sullivan]

Thank you for the information. I can't wait try it.