nikonron
Senior Member
Nothing to keep you from painting the exterior appliance doors if you so desire. I have 1-150 watt panel and it is plenty for my Eagle shell with one battery. Ron
I hear ya - it took me about 9-10 months of combing the used forums till I found a decked out Fleet for the right price.EnviroProf said:I’ve given up (I think) looking for a used camper so will be ordering a new Fleet front dinette.
Awnings: I like and use awnings. The Fiamma seems to be a good, but expensive awning. A couple of dealers have said I should let the factory install it because of warranty issues. Another told me that they modify the camper trim and ??? to add the awning. I’d like to hear from Fleet owners especially, as the space to mount an awning is probably tighter than with the full-size campers. Has anyone mounted an ARB or other brand after getting their camper?
Fantastic Fans: A topic that came up in previous threads was how many electric fan vents to order. Some said they should have ordered two electric fans. Others said one electric and one extra vent work pretty well. It’s $100 more to get the electric instead of the extra vent. Are two needed for traveling to hot places? If I only go with one, should the electric go over the bed to provide breeze while you sleep?
Rule of thumb on solar PV panel size vs battery AH size. Get 2x the PV power of your battery AH. So, in your case 260AH = 130 AH battery.EnviroProf said:I'll have plenty of time to work on the solar design, but my initial plan is to permanently mount a big honking panel (160w) between the vents, and then try to design a mounting option for a lighter flexible panel (maybe 100w) that will live on the roof 90% of the time, but can be removed when I find a nice shady camp spot.
Looked through the FWC info online but didn't find it. How many AHs are the dual factory AGM batteries advertised to provide?Vic Harder said:Rule of thumb on solar PV panel size vs battery AH size. Get 2x the PV power of your battery AH. So, in your case 260AH = 130 AH battery.
The reason this rule exists is to ensure that you usually get the batteries recharged on a typical day, assuming you are discharging them to 50% every night.
Do you have a way to monitor the batteries/current draw? Do you have a three way or two way fridge? With a two way, it seems unreasonable to have killed the batteries with just that.broverlanding_tacoma said:. Two fans, fridge and outside LED ground light killed the battery overnight. No go.
Vic Harder said:Do you have a way to monitor the batteries/current draw? Do you have a three way or two way fridge? With a two way, it seems unreasonable to have killed the batteries with just that.
Interesting way to think about it. These campers are so popular and apparently long lasting that their value doesn't seem to drop below a certain point if they are well taken care of. In my search for a used camper I saw several that were 12 years old or more going for $10K or so.RC Pilot Jim said:Wow...32 replies.
Here is my 2 cents
Whatever your decision. Whatever the options you order, if you take care of it, you will probably recover 50-60% of your investment over its life. Your not paying $20,000 for a camper. Your only paying $8,000 to $10,000. So you might as well purchase all the extras you want.
After 5 years ownership should I have purchased the vent over the bed? Yes did i need two Fantastic fans? No. Did I need the Thermal pack? Yes. Do I need the awning? yes about 50% of the time. And it was a great bargain at only $450...half of the new price,
Should I have purchased Yakima tracks? Yes (easier to remove and reinstall solar panels). Did I mind gluing it? No.
Remember whatever you purchase its half price so if you think there is even a possibility you will use it...Buy it! At half price you wont lose.
broverlanding_tacoma said:Two way.
I literally just picked it up thursday so no extra stuff installed yet. WIll be installing a current analyzer and either two UPG batteries, or a pair of trojans. I have a feeling the previous owner may have killed the batteries, but even at that. 40 AH is garbage for the price they are charging for the dual batteries
was lied toPaulT said:My 2014 Hawk came with two of these: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Edge-24-Marine-Dual-Purpose-AGM-Battery-FP-AGM24DPDS/205342447
They are 75 AH, AGM, dual purpose marine batteries. After 3 years with attention to keeping them charged, mine are still at 12.8v if fully charged and without load overnight.
Paul
paid less for mine that is just as new with more options. Not that great of a deal. for 1k or so id rather wait for a new onepollux said:it seems to be a good match for you.
http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/14917-2017-fwc-fleet-front-dinette-for-sale/