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I really should get something for those rare occasions modesty doesn't permit my normal method :unsure: For some of us, a shower curtain is a public service! ;)

Greetings all. It has been a while since I've been on the forum. Turns out cancer (my wife's) can consume a lot of time and even more energy. Fortunately she is doing well and we are leaving on our first extended trip in the new Grandby on Thursday. Finally! A year ago, when we were thinking...

In the original question, Brad's Dad asked what the amber material on the edges might be. Without seeing it, it's hard to tell but I would guess the previous owner used epoxy to try to seal the edges of the plywood. Take a power sander to a bit of it. If its epoxy, it will smell kind of sweet...

The inverter may have a minimum voltage cutout. If the battery is low and below this voltage, the inverter will not turn itself on. I'm with Alley-Kat, get a voltmeter and check the voltage. You could try plugging the camper into 110 VAC so the converter brings up the voltage. Also, if one of...

We ordered our Grandby in November, it was delivered to FWC Canada at the end of January and I picked it up in early-April. The plan was to spend the winter in Arizona riding the ATV all over the state. Medical issues arose so the Arizona trip got cancelled, so I stayed home and shoveled snow. I...

I procrastinated on getting a passport so I won't be able to visit Waterton Lakes NP. Me bad. I'd let you in no problem. Canadian Border Services Agency might too. It's getting back into the US that would be the problem. You'd just have to stay and become a Canadian. ;)

Your 14.9 MPG(US) converts to 17.9 MPG(Imp). Given the headwind and hills that seems about right. My test was on the nice flat prairies (which are actually mostly rolling) and with virtually no headwind. Like you, I've noticed the 5.7 Tundra (without the FWC) isn't affected to much by hills as...

So adding the heavier gauge wire seems to have paid off. You gained 0.7 VDC at the camper battery which will lead to much faster charges of the battery when it is quite low. This matches with your measurement of amps. However, the voltage is still a bit low to bring the battery up to full charge...

I mount mine to the garage floor/corner. I HATE my hi-lift and generally want nothing to do with it.... That's where mine has spent the last 20 years since I inherited from my Dad. I look at the Tundra and think: "Where would I lift this thing with a Hi-Lift". Then I came across their...

My first purchase is going to be a Tri-Metric meter. After I have a handle on our usage, then I'll start sizing & spec-ing a solar system. TriMetric is just one brand. These monitors are used quite often on boats so if you look at some marine suppliers like Jamestown Distributors you will see...

Or if you have a solar panel and a 'good' controller with a proper float charge, you can just let the sun do the work for you. Do remember to turn off the master switch. Leakage and phantom loads, like the propane sensor, don't use much day-to-day but over months they can kill the battery.

I think ntsqd made HandyBob's point in much less space - I don't see a single rant. Thanks ntsqd. Voltage drop is the real issue. HandBob uses the analogy of trying to blow up a tire. If you have a compressor set at 75 psi, it is quite easy to reach 50 psi in the tire. The last 10 psi takes...

A simple option might be to leave the fridge off in the morning while you are driving. It should stay cold for 2 or 3 hours. This will let the battery soak up as much power from the truck as possible when the charge is at its lowest in the camper battery. By lunch, the solar panel will be doing...

Yup, I'm afraid whoever decided 12 VDC was the right voltage for vehicles didn't do us any favours. If we used 24 VDC, these problems would virtually all go away. A couple of things I'm going to try. I think I'm going to spring for a Trimetric battery monitor. With it I will be able to see...

Going back to the original objectives, NorCalSteve wants to run his fridge (13.5 A) and presumably charge his battery too. Ideally, 10 A into the battery would be nice. This means 23.5 A total into the camper. Is this possible within practical limits? On my truck, the run from the truck's...

Just to finish this thread off, here is a rather lengthy (and opinionated) blog by someone with a lot of experience. Lots of good advice particularly on wire sizes. Thanks to my brother for the lead Handy Bob This blog references another source which is also full of useful information Jack...

At what point are we spending a ton of money to get either a few more amps out of our battery per cycle OR a few more cycles out of the battery over its lifetime? To some extent this is true but constantly charging batteries, especially conventional unsealed batteries, to 70% or 80% of their...

Given that - and this just occurred to me, why not buy a solar charge controller with enough ampacity to handle the alternator's output and the panel's output combined? Wire both to the controller's input. Then you have two charge sources, but only one (fairly sophisticated) unit controlling the...

I am curious, how did you determine the truck puts out only 14.0VDC? Was this at the camper battery? With a full or discharged battery? What size wire are you running from the truck battery to the camper? Same size all the way? Connector types? Is it clean and tight? Using a diode isolator...

My take is that for the typical 3 sources - solar charger, AC powered converter/chargers (most factory systems are constant voltage) and the truck charging on our systems, it is of no concern. There are only 1 or 2 on at a time normally, solar being on always in daytime. The truck is on...

Look at the Xantrex line of products. I think that you may find something there. If not, investigate blue water marine charging systems and components. Xantrex and Blue Sea are my usual first go-to checks for electrical components but, in this case they let me down :(

I worked on electrical systems for 43 years and one thing I found is simpler is always better. Couldn't agree more. Simpler is almost inevitably better, that is why I started the thread. I've done a bit of digging around since yesterday and only got more confused. Some sources (The Marine...

After wiring my solar system, I got to thinking about multiple charging systems feeding into one set of batteries. Let's assume for the moment that I am driving down the highway with the camper plugged into the truck and the solar panel on the rood of the camper is putting our near maximum...

If you want to save some money but want to hedge your bets, FWC will install the mounting plate for the yawning for about $85. If you decide to add the awning later, it will slide it right in.

I'm glad the bad crimp didn't put a crimp in your trip :lol: