Winter Camping Advice

[WestCoast]

That ladder is perfect! I've been considering a roof box and this would be perfect for that.
I love this site! So many brains working together!!! Thanks guys!


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[WestCoast]

Seth, any chance you can find the side rack thread? I've considered trying to make something that attaches to the jack brackets to carry skis/boards.
I agree, a rear ski rack would be ideal, just no way to easily attach it. And take off angles may be an issue.


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[Ace!]

Nice ladder

 

[JaSAn]

So is the Grandby C1 or A1?

Jugging the roof! Pure genius!!! Plus, many dirtbag points as an added bonus. What do you anchor to? How did you access other areas of the roof.
C-1, no nailing on my rig!

C1, solidly placed sky hook

My setup: web ladder attached to an appropriate length of webbing with a sky hook on the end. Sky hook has been filed to a point. Webbing is thrown over the roof of the camper and hooked onto the underside of the overhang. I have two attachment points for the hook on the webbing: roof up, roof down. Assembly can be moved forward or backward to access different areas of the roof from either side. Oh, and the underside of my overhang is painted plywood, so the sky hook digging in a little bit doesn't bother me = bombproof. If your underside is covered with aluminum sheeting you might want to use a suction cup or some such instead of a point on the hook.

I have thought about adding fixed anchors to the underside of the overhang: T-nuts and bolts, since I tend to place the ladder in the same places consistently. Might do that while I have the camper in the shop this winter for lift panel replacement.

I like it because it stores in a nice, small package.

If you have an old length of rope one could use that and jug your way up, for more style points.

jim

 

[Seth]

Seth, any chance you can find the side rack thread?...
I agree, a rear ski rack would be ideal, just no way to easily attach it. And take off angles may be an issue.

Unfortunately that wasn't on the forum, it was a camper I saw in person last year... and it seems I have no pictures. Which is stupid, because that owner had a lot of good ideas.

It wasn't off the jack brackets, though. The mount was more like 3 pieces of 1.5" x 0.125" steel stock that were though-bolted under the window of the camper, behind the back of the couch. Imagine shoving a 12" ruler between your camper and the truck bed rail. From there he'd welded up a basket sized for a couple pairs of skis. Then rust-proofed it with powder coating - that's something you prep and then sub out to a specialty shop. Or, maybe you'd need to go out to a fab shop for all of it.

A rear rack is a bit of a head scratcher. Depending on how your camper sits on your truck, imagine a tray on the rear bumper, maybe 14" wide, 4" deep, 6" tall. That's a tray with 6" sides that you drop the back end of your skis into. An FWC dealer can (easily?) get the metal-biting equivalent of a wood screw into the framework of your camper's back wall - that's how your jack brackets are attached. This kind of screw:
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/wcsstore/CVWEB/staticproductimage//N4006H/large/22147012_dag_784190_pri_larg.jpg

The question would then be how to fabricate and fasten some bracket, using that kind of screw into the camper's aluminum frame, with a few inches of offset, so your ski tips clear the back wall/roof, a bracket that you could attach a yakima or thule rack to... ???


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[WestCoast]

Well that's definitely C1 at least! I'm totally stoked on that idea. Low pro!!!
How does it feel up there with the roof up?
I think if I went to the turnbuckle attachment, I could downgrade to A0...I am getting older, after all.


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[Bseek]

I think Bread has a great idea, but don't know where to get one made.

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/11727-breads-mods/

The purple one third frame down.

 

[WestCoast]

Great ideas, Seth! You got the wheels turning. I'm going to go low pro and see how it feels first since I have a lot of the gear just laying around. I will report back.
Just need some snow!!!


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[WestCoast]

Man! Great ideas! Keep em coming!!!


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[Cayuse]

C1, solidly placed sky hook

My setup: web ladder attached to an appropriate length of webbing with a sky hook on the end. Sky hook has been filed to a point. Webbing is thrown over the roof of the camper and hooked onto the underside of the overhang. I have two attachment points for the hook on the webbing: roof up, roof down. Assembly can be moved forward or backward to access different areas of the roof from either side. Oh, and the underside of my overhang is painted plywood, so the sky hook digging in a little bit doesn't bother me = bombproof. If your underside is covered with aluminum sheeting you might want to use a suction cup or some such instead of a point on the hook.

I have thought about adding fixed anchors to the underside of the overhang: T-nuts and bolts, since I tend to place the ladder in the same places consistently. Might do that while I have the camper in the shop this winter for lift panel replacement.

Fixed anchors makes it A, yes? Always referred to C as clean (cams/nuts)

Sounds like a great idea, time to dig out the aid gear.

 

[ntsqd]

I think that I'd run a strip of roll-formed angle steel (as opposed to the lighter bent sheet-metal angles) across the underside of the camper for the skyhook to grab. One flange flush with the bottom of the over-hang and the other flush to the side wall, but pointed down. The skyhook might skate sideways a little until centered on the load, but the angle would spread out the load along that whole corner of the camper's structure. I'd also be tempted to add some of the bent sheet-metal variety to the top-outer side corners of the roof to keep dents from forming there.

At the top of the main camper body on the rear there will be a tubular structural member under the skin. Would be easy to tag into that with a bracket that your usual Thule/Yakima/Etc car top ski carrier could grab onto. then the mentioned tray at the bottom or another car top carrier if there's something easy to attach it to would stand the skis up on the rear of the camper.
On the roof does sound like a pain.
On the side would worry me over theft of the whole assembly.

Bread's ladder could be made to fold smaller if the diagonal gussets were reversed to be on top of each rung. Over-lap them onto the main tube with a pivot pin thru the main tube, but welded to the rung.

 

[WestCoast]

So, I checked out the webbing and sky hook option today. I didn't account for the awning in the way. Like others have said, I'm also worried about the webbing digging into the roof and kinking the aluminum. I did try to use the Jack stands with the aiders and some tat tied though the bolt holes but it only works to get as high as the roof in a lowered position. Useless for removing snow loads with the top up. Bummer! I was hoping that this was the low tech solution for me hiding right under my nose. The other thing I considered is to run a piece of accessory cord b/t the two jack brackets on the side and use simple loops tied into the middle at various spots to use the aiders to access the length of the roof. I worried about the transverse pull being to much strain on the vertical post. This was a little awkward in sneakers in the day time and can only imagine how awkward in a winter storm in ski boots not to mention denting the daylights out of my truck with my boots as I struggle to get skis/ snow off the roof. So, I'm reconsidering the pimp little ladder and a ski rack/box for the roof. With the top down I think that most of the snow in the front cab over section can be pushed off standing in the cab with the doors open and the rear could be accessed with some rear steps. The crux for me is the snow accumulation with the top up. I suppose that as long as you were around the camper with at least one other (tall, strong) person you could periodically lower the back of the roof while its storming to get the snow to slide off the back but with racks, solar and other stuff in the way would act as an anchor preventing a clean slide. Not to mention the huge pile of snow at your back door. DAMN! First world problems! To me, a ladder solution seems to be the most fail proof at this point. Also the most expensive, heavy and awkward...

 

[Roger]

Something to consider. If you are in the snow/cold long enough the fabric is going to get wet. If you have an arctic pack it is going to get wet and freeze. My number 1 concern is that my manual water pump freezes up. I've insulated all the lines to heck and back, I still get an occasional water freeze. 5 days below 20 will freeze everything. Not being able to pump water sucks.
If your arctic pack freezes you will have to warm it up before you can get the top down. Expect to run your heater 45 min to one hour before you leave just to drop the top. You may not be able to clamp the front/sides due to icing if you don't heat your camper up before you leave. If you are lucky you can clamp the sides and the front is still unbuckled; that is a sign of a good trip.

 

[WestCoast]

One of the reasons I purchased a shell was to avoid water lines. I've got an ARB fridge that will come out too to make more room for drying space. Just a 5gallon jug and a smaller 1 gallon jug as a "working jug" is my water system. I have big dromedary bags too for longer trips and a second 5 gallon jug if needed. I suppose these could freeze in super cold temps but in the PNW it rarely gets below the teens in the alpine and moderates to the 20-30 range during the day.
Good point about the fabric needing thaw. Didn't think about that.


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[riff3313]

West Coast and I are on parallel tracks here. I'm also in WA, outfitting a Fleet for winter ski outings, and pondering heating, roof storage and etc. Anybody have thoughts on this:

http://www.suremarineservice.com/00-NEW-SF.aspx?gclid=CjwKEAjwhILABRDwo8mlqt6ug38SJACNSq_ki91YgNfQ9QOWpCG5uuNZklizw73OfA58dcf025SLMxoCSOHw_wcB


I'm looking hard at solid fuels for simplicity and dry heat. Definitely a fiddle factor putting up the stack when you raise the roof, but drying gear would actually happen.

I'm going to work out a ladder situation also. Right now I'm watching Craigslist for just a simple straight ladder, 6-8 feet long, and planning to secure old mountain bike tires around the upper ends for grip, and have a hook with a leash from the bottom rung to a wheel on the truck to keep the butt from sliding out. I'll be putting whitewater kayaks on the roof some of the time, and also will need to clear snow.
Thoughts on this one for packability?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A9RNMA8?psc=1

 

[LiveLifeNow]

Facing a late fall dilemma: I finally got the new truck wired to my 2004 Hawk, and after completing some last-minute business, in about a week I hope to hit the road from the East Coast to the West Coast, spending the winter out that way.

My first stop will be Ohio, to do some family history research. Night temps will probably dip well below freezing by then,meaning I will have to winterize.

But after Ohio, I will go south to take the far southern, lowland route across Texas, NM and AZ, then in CA heading north toward the Bay Area. In this latter phase of my trip, will it be safe to drain the antifreeze and refill my fresh water and water heater tanks? I don't want to start off my FWC experience by risking an ice-damaged water system.

Any advice from experienced folks out there?

 

[Yukon]

I run a dehumidifier sometimes after a very wet trip. It works wonders. (I bet the folks from California as wondering what 'wet' means).

Chris

 

[FreezingMan]

My wife and I usually get around 20+ nights a winter in our Fleet. We originally had the largest yakima roof box on top but it was a lot to lift even with no gear in it. The box had to be slid all the forward on the racks to avoid interference with the roof vent. With the box forward it was cantilevered forward making the roof hard to pop up. We now have the smallest ski box that slides all the way back on the roof racks. It sits off to the side so no interference with the roof vent. I usually pull the skis and poles out before popping the camper. Snow buildup has not been a problem since the camper is never popped for more than two days in one place. What has surprised us is the ice build up on the roof once the snow melts. I gingerly break it part with a brush.

Condensation is always a problem. The colder the temps the more condensation. We keep the heat on low and the roof vent open during the night. Even with that we get condensation on the roof slats and edges of the thermal pack. We carry some dry clothes to wipe the moisture off. Our slates are covered in paper so when they get wet they can easily tear. I've damaged a few of them. When we finish a trip we pull the cushions into the house to dry. The bed in particular is usually damp from condensation. The worst experience we had was when the propane went empty during the nights. Outside temps were single digits. We woke up to icicles dangling from the ceiling.

We usually fill our water tank, even in winter. I know folks have expressed concern on freezing. All valid. We've had pretty good success with avoiding freeze ups. We leave the doors around the water pump open at night. We drain the hot water tank back to the large tank. Place LED lights in the water tank compartment. I've had three separate freeze ups all in the same spot prior to the LED light fix. The freeze ups occur where the water comes out of the tank. The location coupled with the small diameter of the line makes it prone to freezing. Usually 10~20 minutes of a warm hand thaws it out. I've got a few ideas to try to eliminate freeze ups. This Fall I'm planning to install rigid insulation outside of where the water tank is located. I'm also looking at place some closed cell foam in the area where the water line exits the tank. Possibly permanently install LED lights in this compartment that I can turn on at night. Possibly install louvered vanes to allow warm air in the camper to circulate in the compartment. When we go skiing during the day I leave the heat on low and all the cabinet doors open. I would carry spare fuses if you don't have them in case you try to turn on a frozen water pump. Been there, done that.

 

[WestCoast]

Freezing Man, thanks for the reply!Did you modify your lifter shocks to help with the weight of the Yakima box? Does it interfere with your solar panels?
Condensation is always going to be an issue I'm sure. Luckily where I ski is maritime and not bitterly cold. My plan is to roast the furnace and create a huge temp gradient to dry stuff through sublimation. At least that's the plan...


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[rando]

If you want simplicity and dry heat, it is hard to beat the built in furnace from FWC. This provides all the dry heat you need/want at the touch of a button and can be run overnight and during the day with the top down if necessary. I fell that the solid fuel heater would be much more complicated and far more fiddly to use.

West Coast and I are on parallel tracks here. I'm also in WA, outfitting a Fleet for winter ski outings, and pondering heating, roof storage and etc. Anybody have thoughts on this:

http://www.suremarineservice.com/00-NEW-SF.aspx?gclid=CjwKEAjwhILABRDwo8mlqt6ug38SJACNSq_ki91YgNfQ9QOWpCG5uuNZklizw73OfA58dcf025SLMxoCSOHw_wcB


I'm looking hard at solid fuels for simplicity and dry heat. Definitely a fiddle factor putting up the stack when you raise the roof, but drying gear would actually happen.

I'm going to work out a ladder situation also. Right now I'm watching Craigslist for just a simple straight ladder, 6-8 feet long, and planning to secure old mountain bike tires around the upper ends for grip, and have a hook with a leash from the bottom rung to a wheel on the truck to keep the butt from sliding out. I'll be putting whitewater kayaks on the roof some of the time, and also will need to clear snow.
Thoughts on this one for packability?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A9RNMA8?psc=1