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Frank, I know you'll have a good trip. Its a little past salmon season there now, we were there just for the Halibut. Back in 1966 my dad drove our family of 6 in a chevy suburban with a 16' trailer from Santa Fe NM to Fairbanks. We went back on the ferry system and I remember its a great...

That wouldn't really work for me, the wiring on the panels is on the back so they don't sit flat on the surface. The panels are sandwiched between stiff plastic making them semi-rigid so they don't need any backing. Mounting them on a frame allows plenty of air flow and makes room for the...

I posted to the forum a question about "what is the good inexpensive camera for night time pictures?" The answer was http://www.lonelyspeck.com/how-to-make-an-amazing-photo-of-the-milky-way-galaxy/ . I looked at there recommendations and bought a Sony Cyber-shot RX100 III from Amazon for $650...

The frame is under the panels. Its a rectangle the width of the panels 21" by 4' 1" with cross bars every 1' to match the screws on the roof. I reused the roof screws and sealing washer, 8 total, and ran a bead of RTV along each cross bar to seal it and keep it from vibrating against the...

I just got back from TX to Alaska driving a 2002 SR5 4x4 Access Cab V6 5-speed manual with fully loaded ATC Ocelot. I try to keep it under 65 mph. One interesting thing I found is that while driving slower and in the mountains (much of the time in 4th gear or lower) my mpg increased. I...

Has anyone noticed this. I have the AOPEC #R12140B installed by ATC, with the 3-way Dometic refrigerator. I measured the refrigerator at 12V and it draws about 8 amps. With the truck idling and no solar input there seems to be enough loss to cause the the camper battery/isolator to drop...

Oh I forgot to mention. Late in the evening looking for a campsite south of Crescent City CA, I drove to the beach with NO CAMPING signs. I saw people down the beach so I threw her in 4-wheel drive and head out only to make it about 100 yards and getting stuck in the sand. After about an...

I bought two KINGSOLAR 50W Semi Flexible Solar Panel from Amazon in February and connected them in series with a MPPT controller. I made a frame out of 1/8" x 1" aluminum to match the mounting holes of the panels to the roof screws on one side of the roof. I still use the strong arm method of...

I started a new hobby on this trip, night sky photography.

Here are some pictures on the way back

Here are some pictures from Alaska

I'm back from Alaska and trying to put a few pictures together. The total trip was 6 weeks, from Plano TX, through Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Montana, British Columbia, Yukon, and Alaska. I took the Alcan Highway to Alaska, and on the way back I took highways BC 37, 16 and 97 down to...

OK, It looks like it's snowing in Colorado and Wyoming and temps are down to 22 F, so I'm changing course straight up through OK, KS and NB to Mount Rushmore, Devils Tower and Little Bighorn. Also taking out the extra day. Plano TX Minneapolis KS, Blue Skye Brewery, Ottawa...

O yes Harpoon IPA, one of my old collage buddies lives in Windsor, VT and I when I worked for Raytheon I spent a lot of time in Boston. It looks like I'm in for some snow in Wyoming but also clear a moonless night with a good view on the Milky Way. I'm looking to get some nice sky photos. I...

You know start with an IPA end with a Porter. I'm planing on staying off the interstates as much as I can and drive about 300 mi a day. Stop some place interesting, look around, get dinner, and camp close by preferably for free. I used https://freecampsites.net goggle maps, and...

Plano TX Amarillo TX, Big Tex Ranch, Thompson Grove Campground, Dalhart, TX Colorado Springs CO, Manitou Brewing Co, 13 miles on Rampart Range Rd Woodland Park, CO Laramie WY, Altitude Chop House, Vedauwoo Campground *Pinedale WY Wind River Brewing Co...

You might have a bad connection or a bad battery. Connect a volt meter to various connections from the truck battery to the camper power distribution panel. After load the camper like turning on the fan or fridge and see where along the line of connections the voltage dies. So it sounds like...

Good look finding a first gen. Tundra. I love mine, because its an manual shift 5 speed 4x4 V6. They just didn't make many. Never did go for the automatic. I've taken it on some serious roads with the camper and suffered for it, but hay, there is nothing that can't be repaired.

So when I noticed that I had made a mistake with the 265/70 front and 265/75 back, I engaged 4WD to get out of a parking area onto the paved rode. Once on the pave road I tried to shift out, but no go. I drove 1/4 mile to the trail head to pick up my friends and was back on to the dirt...

I think they are around 350 lbs.

Yes, but with a change in tire pressure you can change the rotational radius for tires. The 0 mi tire tread depth was on the order of 0.1" more than the 17k mi tire, which is not much. Changing the pressure in the 0 mi tire will help. Makes you think if you have a 4x4 with a camper and run...

Ok, now I'm not a mechanical, but I am a climber and an engineer. First of all climbing slings are tested for blunt holding force, 22 kN is 5000 lbs, remember F=ma. Climbing ropes are meant to stretch, but only when there is sufficient length of rope extended to absorb the force, small parts...

Thats the good thing about using webbing. I think you use something like a larks hitch between the camper eye bolt and the truck u bolt. That leaves a loop that goes between. You hook a carabiner on the loop and use it to twist like a tourniquet the strands of the hitch until tight. Then lock...

Has anyone thought about webbing like Black Diamond Dynex, single loop its 22kN, thats like 5000 lbs. I don't know exactly how to rig it but I bet there is a way. Adding knots and twists reduces its strength, but maybe a little slack would be OK. Even at 1/4 its strength 1250 lbs its 4 times...

A lot of the time I'm in dispersed dry camp sites or Forest/BLM campsites. I might have a fire at night and if there no fire ring before I try to make it look the same when I leave. In the morning I fix coffee and breakfast in the camper with no fire. So I'm going to be on the road for the...