Used FWC camper alert

As I said way back at the beginning - I'm not a professional camper building guy. I've never done this before, and I fully expected to run into problems, and I was absolutely certain I would learn a few things. If you've read this thread, you know what construction methods I've used, and you know that all of the materials that I used are readily available at pretty much any hardware store, or RV store - with the possibly exception of the siding. There was nothing high-tech about my little project, and I'll be the first to admit I made some mistakes along the way. Those mistakes are the most important part of this story - because hopefully someone else will learn from them, and can avoid the pitfalls that I fell into.

The first thing to stand out was the floor.

As I mentioned, I used a product called 'Allure' for the floor. You can buy it at Home Depot, etc. It goes down quick, it's easy to trim, it looks good, and is pretty durable. The problem is that it shrinks and expands - a lot. I put it down about 10pm at the tail end of summer. It was probably 85 - 90 degrees in the garage. All the edges were butted up nice and tight - no gaps between the pieces. Now, when it's cold, everything shrinks. Should have seen it coming. When it's cold out, I'm looking at close to a 1/16" gap between each piece. Naturally, over time, that gap is going to fill up with dirt, and then when it heats up again, I think there will be a problem. I like the way the Allure looks - but I'm not convinced it was the right product. Time will tell on this one - but I wouldn't recommend it at this point in time.

Has anyone else used it? Have any thoughts on it?
 
I believe it is the smallest of the 'big' pumps they make. It's actually a bit oversized, and moves so much water that it makes a mess (water splashes everywhere).


Smallest I think they make is the basic SHURflo Nautilus 1gpm pump:
http://www.adventurerv.net/shurflo-nautilus-single-station-water-pump-gpm-p-1713.html

Has anyone else used it? Have any thoughts on it?


No but I was considering using it in my build but this is a good reason to consider otherwise...
 
The only thing I did slightly different was to use some hand-nuts from McMaster Carr so I could pull them off easily once I load the camper.


goodtimes -- what part # did you get for these hand nuts? I have been looking at McMaster Carr's website, but can't find them. These look perfect! Beats getting out a socket and wrench each time I want to take the jacks on and off!
 
Smallest I think they make is the basic SHURflo Nautilus 1gpm pump:
http://www.adventurerv.net/shurflo-nautilus-single-station-water-pump-gpm-p-1713.html

That would probably be a better fit for my application. I believe the one I ended up with was one of the classic series pumps @ just shy of 3gpm. Choking it down with a ball valve helped quite a bit. Still a bit fast for rinsing dishes (although we can still use the hand pump for that), but it's great for filling water bottles, coffee pot, etc.


No but I was considering using it in my build but this is a good reason to consider otherwise...


Reflecting on it a bit, I think I would have been better off installing it when it was cold, then leaving room along two edges for it to expand into when it heats up, rather than the other way around. It really doesn't look bad - I'm more concerned with the little gaps filling up with dirt over time. I guess I'll have to wait a year or three to see how it does.
 
I just got back from a little jaunt down into Mexico. We spent a few days outside of Bacadehuachi with the fine folks & good friends from Conserventures (the organization that puts on the Overland Expo).

This was the first real trip in the camper. Lots of tight twisty two lane Mexican black top (read: full of pot holes), and a few hours of nice rutted, rocky, washed out, rarely maintained dirt road in the Sierra Madre Occidental. We figured this would be a good shake down run since we had some extremely capable vehicles, and plenty of highly experienced people, and some back up living space if we ran into any problems.

The camper itself held up well. I was expecting some settling in the cabinets - and there was indeed a bit, but not much. The drawers and doors all open/close fine (no binding after it settled). Alignment of the drawers & doors is visually unchanged. They weren't perfect before we left, and they still aren't perfect. I never took measurements, so I can't say with 100% certainty that they didn't move 1/32 here or there. Considering the application (camper), I'm still satisfied with them.


The overall layout worked well, there was enough room for both of us to move around at the same time (could get around each other without stepping onto the seats, etc). I wouldn't want it any tighter (seat to counter distance) though.

The counter surface is a bit small - we could use a little more space to the right of the sink to stage dirty dishes, etc. - but otherwise worked well. I might fix that with a folding shelf some day, but I'm not completely sold on it yet. The flip up counter over the fridge works fine - but after whacking my elbow on the corner support, I'm annoyed by it (physical pain tends to annoy me). A 'fridge slide might be in the campers near future. There are a couple obstacles to overcome with a slide, so it won't be a slam dunk solution

The counter has also warped a touch (noticed before we left). Not significant, but if you sight down the edge, you can see it. If it gets worse, I might replace it with something that has more plies (I think the wood I used only has 5 plies). This would force me to buy a new laminate sheet - so it would probably be tied in with the previously mentioned folding shelf and fridge slide. Or I'll just live with it. I haven't decided yet.

The Wave 6 heater did it's job, but it simply isn't as effective as a furnace would have been due to the lack of air circulation. The temps dipped into the 30's at night, but we didn't run the heater while sleeping. In the mornings, the heater warmed everything up in a reasonable amount of time (although there was no instant gratification), and made for comfortable afternoon napping conditions. This is about as cold as it gets when/where we camp - so it looks like a good choice for us.

The 30 gallon water tank was way too big for this trip - we ended up dumping about 20 gallons before we left to cut down on the weight for the trip out. Considering how crappy Bilstein 5100 series shocks are (yea - the shocks that everyone raves about), it was nice to lose the weight. I don't regret going to the bigger tank though - the low desert trips in the summer will require more water.

The single house battery ran the fridge (constant) and light (intermittent) from Saturday afternoon until Tuesday morning. At that point, the battery was down to about 50%. It wasn't hot out, so that extended the life a bit (fridge runs less). This is pretty consistent to what we have experienced in the past with this fridge & battery. We expect about 48 hours of run time on the battery before needing a recharge. I may add a solar panel in the future to extend that - but for the $$$, right now it doesn't make sense. I can idle my engine for 20 - 30 minutes per day and keep the battery charged for far less than a 55w panel & charge controller will cost - particularly when you consider that we tend to move every couple days anyway.

We had no major problems, all the systems worked as intended, so it appears that the initial quality is there. Time will tell if everything is as durable as I'm hoping.

Photo's from the trip sometime . . . have lots to do for Thanksgiving and I'm leaving again the day after. More thoughts later.
 
goodtimes -- what part # did you get for these hand nuts? I have been looking at McMaster Carr's website, but can't find them. These look perfect! Beats getting out a socket and wrench each time I want to take the jacks on and off!


6092K15
 
A short but entertaining trip report written by Jonathan Hanson (Conserventures) is here.

A small photo gallery from the trip is here.
 
2 1/2 trips on the camper now (the first trip only counts as 1/2, because it was all beautiful graded dirt roads, and we only spent one night in the camper before backpacking down into the wilderness area), and I've come across another lesson.

Pocket-hole screws: Don't use 'em. A couple of them have broken out under the bench seat, next to the pantry. If you recall, I used pocket hole screws to attach all of the cabinet work to the floor. It looks like I'll be going in and pulling those out, replacing them with the L-brackets that FWC used. So I guess you can add that bit of knowledge to the list of things not to do.
 
I just reread the interior finish part of the thread and am very impressed. I like the layout of the FWC also, but the quality of the cabinets is lacking. Someday I would love to do what you did. Bookmarked!
 
Yea - I guess the title of the thread is a bit misleading. I thought about starting a new thread - but since this one was already going . . .


I didn't have to replace any of the plywood floor. I gave it a fresh coat of paint & I plugged the holes where the original mounting bolts were. Other than that, it was (is) in good shape.
 
2 1/2 trips on the camper now (the first trip only counts as 1/2, because it was all beautiful graded dirt roads, and we only spent one night in the camper before backpacking down into the wilderness area), and I've come across another lesson.

Pocket-hole screws: Don't use 'em. A couple of them have broken out under the bench seat, next to the pantry. If you recall, I used pocket hole screws to attach all of the cabinet work to the floor. It looks like I'll be going in and pulling those out, replacing them with the L-brackets that FWC used. So I guess you can add that bit of knowledge to the list of things not to do.

Pocket screws work fine for face-frames. I always use wood glue in the butt joints as well. They don't flex, though. Sorry you've had trouble.
 
I expected some problems along the way - it's what happens when you jump into things without fully understanding what you are doing. This is just one of those lessons that are learned along the way. My original thought was that the pocket hole screws (without glueing the joint) would remain slightly flexible. Apparently, they aren't flexible enough for the application.

Fortunately, it's not a big deal to go in and pull them out - at least the area where I am having trouble with them. I'm looking at less than an hours worth of work to replace them with L-brackets, as long as I don't have to replace them under the main cabinet. If I have to do that, it's not going to be fun. Time will tell how pervasive the problem is.
 
Thoughts on the furnace v catalytic heater.

I went with the catalytic heater for two reasons: cost & physical dimensions.

In retrospect - neither one were that big of a deal. I already forgot about the pain in the wallet that this project was, and I've found that we have so much darn space that we start looking for what else we can put in the camper.

The Wave 6 works great - but since it is pointed towards the passenger side (installed under the main cabinet, facing the seat), it isn't all that efficient. We have to wait for it to heat up the front of the seat (radiant heat), and then wait for the seat to heat up the rest of the camper (conduction). The wait time isn't the biggest issue - it's the hot spot that is created right in front of the heater. It would be better if we had it mounted at one end of the camper & pointed it towards the other end - but that would put it under the front seat where we ran the risk of burning the backs of our legs. So - one more lesson learned: Buy a proper furnace (just an opinion there . . .).
 
Thoughts on the furnace v catalytic heater.
Buy a proper furnace (just an opinion there . . .).


Or just use a 5 or 6 foot hose and put the Wave heater where you want it. The Wave6 might be overkill.
 
Or just use a 5 or 6 foot hose and put the Wave heater where you want it. The Wave6 might be overkill.


We considered doing that, but ultimately decided against it because it went against the what we were trying to accomplish - which was to eliminate as much camp 'set up' time as possible. I know it doesn't take long to set it up - and we wouldn't need to set it up every time - but it's one more thing to do. With it permanently mounted, we don't have to plan ahead. If we decide we want the heater, we just turn it on - no need to shuffle people/dogs/stuff out of the way so I can dig it out from under the seat, then set it up, etc.

A second concern we had with that was having a relatively large & hot item on the floor. I'd end up tripping over it, falling out the door, banging my head on the step & spilling my coffee -- and we just don't tolerate the spilling of coffee . . .

Someone posted pictures of their Wave that was mounted on a hinge so it folded flat against the wall when not in use - that was another option we thought of. But in the end, it just didn't work for us - so we put it where we did. And now we aren't as happy with it as I had hoped. It's still a lot better than being cold - but if I ever modify the interior - this is one of the things that will get changed.

Of course - this isn't meant to say that everyone else should should heed my opinion and toss out there Wave heaters. Diversity of opinion is what keeps life (and campfire conversations) interesting. For me & the way I camp, the wave isn't the best option.
 
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