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Our rig is called Crikey, partly in memory of Steve Irwin and because the Tacoma’s ARB front bumper reminds my wife of the roo-bars you see on every sort of vehicle in Australia. Of course ours is a moo-bar!

Thanks, Ski3Pin!

Bears ears, end of March. For future reference, how do you put in-line images in these posts? I can only figure out how to attach a file with a thumbnail link, and when I click the "image" button on this editor, it just prompts me for a URL.

We're usually boondocks campers, but my wife found this little festival and since the kids agreed that it looks like fun, we're going! It'd be fun to meet some of you there, if you feel inclined. https://hest.com/pages/hestival

Update: I may not bother fixing that valve if poking at it from outside the city-water inlet doesn't do the trick. I had to go online to find a male-threaded cap, but now that I have one installed and the plastic door will shut and lock with the cap in place, I can't really see how a working...

Swing-out rear racks are definitely my preference.

We use a shower tent, something I never would have got on my own but it’s pretty great, especially in cooler weather. It keeps the bugs and wind away, and heats up in the sun like a greenhouse. The solar effect makes a shower at the end of the day feel luxurious and un-rushed when it would...

Thanks for all of your replies. I will definitely check the hose first, as that would be very low hanging fruit. I haven’t shocked the system with chlorine for quite a while, but a good flush might be in order. I’ll let you all know if I manage to fix it!

I would really love it if the water tank in our 2017 Fleet could take care of all our water storage needs, but the system imparts such a strong taste of plastic to stored water that it's difficult to drink. For now, our only solution is to use the Fleet's water system for dishes and bathing...

Thanks, Dave! That was just what I needed to find the thing. We just got back from our trip to Bears Ears and a cap over the city-inlet allowed us to use our water like normal, so that's a good thing to have around for a quick fix in any case. I had already drained all the water when I saw your...

Related question: It occurs to me that an air/water tight cap on the city water inlet (where a hose would attach) could allow me to pressurize the system and use it as normal until I can replace the valve. Can you see any potential problems with doing that?

Getting ready to head for Bears Ears for our first trip of the season, and looks like we may be going with bottled water. After filling the water tank and turning on the pump, I can't pressurize the system because water just pumps out of the city-water inlet on the outside of the camper. Last...

Thanks, John R! That should do the the trick!

I'm about to upgrade the old Zamp panel on the roof of my camper to something bigger. The Zamp panel connects to the camper with this plug: Here's the plug on the wire coming from the old panel, which is probably irrelevant now. The new 300W panel appears to have something called a...

Thanks everybody. Hopefully I can find some time to install the new panel before I'm living out of the rig doing field work next week!

The piezo lighter on the propane stove in my 2017 Fleet isn't working; no click, nothing. While I can light the stove with a lighter, I'd like to fix the piezo. Any ideas for troubleshooting?

After upgrading to a lithium battery and a new charge controller, I'm finding that my existing solar panel can't quite keep up with my usage. The current panel is a 160W Zamp, which was installed on the Fleet when it was new in 2017. For some reason I never seem to get more than about 55W out of...

Thanks everyone for all the good advice! For the moment I'm using a cigarette-lighter adapter for USB-C charging, and I've decided to punt down the calendar a bit. It'll definitely happen, but work and other responsibilities have slowed down my camper projects a bit. With the exception of a...

As part of my lithium battery upgrade, I’d like to upgrade the electrical outlets in my 2017 Fleet. Specifically, I’d like yo change one of the original USB-A outlets for USB-C, and I’d like to install an inverter that will allow use of the 110v AC outlet with battery power. Can you recommend...

If range over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi turns out to be too limited, there are cellular options. Of course that’s a much more expensive route, but the options I found with a quick internet search didn’t seem unreasonable if you’re planning to leave your pet in the van a lot in hot weather. Here’s...

Plastic razor sounds almost like an oxymoron, but it makes sense now!

Along a similar line, I've been wanting to try a hybrid oven from GoSun. All their ovens are solar cookers (non-electric), and their hybrid ovens also have a 12v heating element for when the sun isn't shining. A roast wouldn't fit, but I've thought of a lot of meals that would. I've thought...

I don't want to damage my cabinets, so I'll try that first!

That's the way I'm currently thinking. I don't think taking the door off will be sufficient, unfortunately; the whole front face will probably have to come off the cabinet. I can either slice through the calk with a utility knife like you suggested, or maybe use a chisel, which would gently pry...

Another possibility is to enlarge the opening an make a bigger door to cover it. But that would require moving the CO sensor and light switches either onto the new door or somewhere else. The job is getting bigger than I’d hoped. Getting different batteries might be my best bet, but the shipping...