Features: The useful and not-so-useful

Good luck on your build out. Hope it works out well for you.

I use something like the Texsport Battery Powered Camp Shower for my outdoor hygiene needs. Everything but the door mat I use as the shower floor fits nicely in a four gallon bucket which fits well under my bench seat. A one inch wide nylon strap makes an excellent handle for the bucket. I've wondered if a 12 volt bilge pump would move enough water to do away with the "D" battery setup. It hasn't been a big issue so I haven't done more than wonder.

Originally I had a passive Fantastic Fan, and the upgrade to the 3 speed, reversible was a good move. They can be hard to clean, but they have a lifetime warranty.

For grey water I use a collapsible 5 gallon container. It folds up and stuffs in the exterior compartment with my potable water hose, electrical connector and grey water hose.

Enjoy the journey
 
A cheap pair of rubber flip flops are great for the 3am excursions and also work well for showering outside.
 
for the 3am excursions


Excursions? We don't need no stinkin excursions
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There are some mentions of water pumps in this thread, which raised a question I've had for some time now. My FWC Grandby has a no-name small 12 VDC white pump with rocker switch. I used to have a full-size camper with a Sureflo water pump. On the old camper, I could leave the pump on most of the time and it would automatically shut off when the system was pressurized. It would then cycle on when the tap is opened.

Is this possible with just a new water pump? Anyone done this to the FWC's plumbing?
 
Is this possible with just a new water pump? Anyone done this to the FWC's plumbing?


Are FWC water systems on demand, or do they have a pressurized water system?

I am guess that they just have an on demand system. If that is the case you would need to install a pressurized water tank.
 
In my 2005 Hawk I can leave the pump-switch on/energized all the time (if I want to), but the pump only runs when I turn on the faucet. So in that way the faucet works like it's on a city water line...other than the noise of the diaphragm pump.
 
My numero uno item would be the furnace. It works not just for heating, but for drying any damp clothing. I did the digital thermostat upgrade. Fantastic fan? Yup, it's fantastic. Hot water heater is nice, but you could do just as well heating water on the stove to add to what you have in the sink. LED's for lighting also gets the nod, with the addition of a small red LED near the floor as a nite lite. Roof lifter struts are my next addition, as soon as winter is done.
Bottom line is to do what you feel what will serve you best. Enjoy, be safe.
 
In my 2005 Hawk I can leave the pump-switch on/energized all the time (if I want to), but the pump only runs when I turn on the faucet. So in that way the faucet works like it's on a city water line...other than the noise of the diaphragm pump.

Thanks Mark, that's what I figured. I am going to upgrade the pump to a modern unit and that should allow me to do like you do - leave the switch on during camp times and it will only run when the tap is opened. Do you have the hand pump also? If so, I wonder if that has any bearing on the topic.
 
Thanks Mark, that's what I figured. I am going to upgrade the pump to a modern unit and that should allow me to do like you do - leave the switch on during camp times and it will only run when the tap is opened. Do you have the hand pump also? If so, I wonder if that has any bearing on the topic.


No hand pump -- the option was one or the other and I ordered the electric pump.
I should say, though, that I'm kinda scared of freezing the pump/system, so during the winter I don't use the water system at all -- I use water out of a 5-gal carbouy with a spigot.
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A 2 way frig is fine. The friges are insulated enough to stay cold while you drive.

Put a battery in the truck bed and wire it to charge off the truck.

A gray tank (jug) is a must.

For a table, I always toss out the monster dinette table that comes with the camper and replace it with a small hardwood cutting board just large enough to hold a plate and a beer. The small table top doesn't crowd out your living space.
 
A 2 way frig is fine. The friges are insulated enough to stay cold while you drive.


I wonder if that would hold up in warmer climates? Anyone have any real data on how warm the fridge gets during a days drive across the desert? I'd be afraid that is you start @ 38 degrees you'd end up a whole lot warmer.
 
I wonder if that would hold up in warmer climates? Anyone have any real data on how warm the fridge gets during a days drive across the desert? I'd be afraid that is you start @ 38 degrees you'd end up a whole lot warmer.


The first couple of years that I owned my Hawk I ran the 3-Way Norcold in battery mode while driving...assuming that it was verboten and peligro to run it off propane while moving....even though the battery-driven mode doesn't seem as powerful/effective as propane-powered.
But guys I know at work told me they run propane in the 3-way 'frigs in their trailers/campers while in transit routinely without any explosions/fires, so I gave it a shot.
RESULT: Works fine, so that's what I do now.
Now, I have to report that when traveling I always check the 'frig when stopped for fuel, etc., and a couple of times I've found it off -- apparently the flame blew out. But there were no negative consequences, so I didn't let that scare me.
Some may think this unwise/foolhardy...but since I've done this over thousands of miles now -- without any downside -- that's a large enough sample-size/test to convince me that it's safe enough...for me. (but then, I also travel unarmed, so I must have a higher tolerance for risk
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)
YMMV!!
 
We full timed in a diesel pusher for two years and had a hard side camper for 6 years before than and never ran the frig while driving. I think the hottest we got was maybe 90 degrees for 6 or 7 hours.

Of course, every rest stop and lunch break we would run the frig to keep it cold. It wasn't like it just sat for 7 hours straight thru.

I don't think a 3 way 12 volt frig is necessary unless most of your camping is in the SW during the summer.

Then again..... This is the WTW forum.
 
Ditto here, marc. I used the 12V setting ONCE...drained the battery down at a lunch stop....and have never used anything but the propane while driving ever since.

Some guys bought the "relighter".....I just cut up a coroplast political yard sign (they aren't worth anything else!) and made a small windblock that sits just inside the vented door...and BAM...she rarely goes out...even at 75mph.

just shut it off when ya stop to fill up and yer good to go.

Double verboten....I've also ran the heater while driving down the road...usually in the last hour or so before popping up in below freezing weather.

travel safe, all

mtn
 
Ditto here, marc. I used the 12V setting ONCE...drained the battery down at a lunch stop...

mtn


Our first few times out we used the 12V while traveling, but would not remember to immediately shut it off once we stopped. It drained the battery very fast, causing us to have a chilly night w/o enough juice to run the furnace.

In my Westfalia I used to run the propane fridge while driving all the time and now do it with the FWC. Good point though about gas stations, i.e. open flame + gasoline = :unsure:
 
:rolleyes: I've just recently acquired a mid-eighties Grandby that I'm very excited about. It's very dirty, leaks and has holes in the pop-up fabric but I'm not afraid of that. In fact, I'm excited to tear in to it and fix it up.

But here's the thing. I've never owned nor even slept in a camper before. I've done all my camping in tents and last year I used a shell on the back of my truck on a few trips. It's fine, but there is a lot of work each day shuffling stuff around (like setting up the kitchen, then breaking the kitchen down, then setting up the bed stuff, then putting it all away during the day, etc). Not to mention not being able to stand. I toyed with the idea of a "platform" but then I'd have so little room to maneuver it wouldn't be any fun.

So, I have a Grandby FWC now. It has a sink with a manual pump faucet, a 2-burner stove and an ancient (and dirty) icebox. There is a single interior light. What I am wondering is what sort of features do most people really get a lot of use out of? What is really great to have and what are the things that aren't such a big deal? I know this is often just personal preference, but I'd love to hear what ya'll have to say.


To get things started I'll state a couple of things I think I want:

* LED lighting all around. Incandescents and fluorescents are out, LEDs are in. I can wire them up. I am picky about light so these seem pretty mandatory. I want lights to read in bed, lights for cooking and lights for just seeing everything. I want LEDs on the outside. Do people find the exterior lights useful?

* Real fridge. This seems like a luxury to me, but why not? Using coolers for everything gets old. Do most people like the 3-way fridges or do people end up going back to ice boxes thinking "simpler is better?"

* (implied from above): Battery? Solar? Charger? all of a sudden it seems like I'm getting overly complex.


Thanks for any help. I am hoping to plan ahead of time more than I normally do so I'd like to incorporate all the features I might want into my design.

Trasko, The things I like about my Hawk , the flood lights in the back, the aux.battery system that charges when my truck is running, the lights in the camper are great but for reading I use a head lamp, the 12 volt plug in the camper, the front opening window for access into the truck, my thoughts on a refrigerator, an Engle 12 volt mounted in the back, left side of the camper close to the door with a slide out so it can be accessed while standing outside the camper, most recently I added a lift assist to help lift it up, that can be purchased from FWC. Hope this helps. Terri
 
Well, I sure wish I had a picture of it. In Saline Valley there was a fellow, Desert Dave, with a beautiful travel trailer that was custom made on a Wells Cargo chassis. He forgot to turn off his propane on the way out. Still on Bat Road it went up like someone had thrown a stick (or two) of dynamite in it! That trailer was reduced to around 6 cubic feet of molten aluminum. Dave was able to disconnect his trailer just before the pickup burned down as well.
 
I would not run the heater at a gas station and it is a good idea to turn the fridge off as well, but the cell phone story is a myth. There has only been 152 confirmed gas pump fires in the last 10 years. No where near a couple a week.

CWD

 
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