August 2022 - what did you do for your camper?

[kitphantom]

Already August, and here the kids will be going back to school soon. It's a bit early in the day for me to do much for the trailer, except give it a glance taking out the trash.

Next trip is in less than 2 weeks, so time to start thinking about defrosting the fridge (we keep it running most of camping season - right now, the freezer holds extra ice cream), then restocking it and the food boxes.

 

[MileHigh]

Purchased a 200 watt Renogy suitcase solar panel. Going to get it setup this coming weekend.

 

[silvermickey2002]

I know it's late, but I finally gave the pup a good washing and dewinterized it. No trips planned yet!

 

[heathdavis]

We are planning on a trip in a few weeks but the Pup hasn't been used in a while. We pulled it out of its shelter, popped it up and I've been tidying it and letting it air out. DH sprayed down the canvas with 303 fabric protectant. Next step is to patch a couple of small rips. (The canvas is 38 years old and a little bit fragile but it still keeps the rain out.) Also I am planning on replacing the door lock because it doesn't stay closed very well. All in all though, the little vintage beast has held up very well in the 11 years since I rescued and rehabbed it. Jayco makes good stuff.

 

[popup-flyer]

Forgot to post replacing the rear stab jacks last month. PO seemed to have dragged them a time or two so they were quite wobbly when deployed. I like the sturdy nature of the new ones so much I decided to replace the front pair this month.



If your not in a hurry Camping World had them $15 cheaper a pair with their free shipping which is what I did for the front set.


They do weigh more but they don't rock like the old ones did. I had to trim the "ears" at the top a little for the rear of the camper due to the roof lifter tubes passing by them but the front went on whole.

 

[KeizerTrailer]

Our PUP is in my grandfather's shop, which I currently make short trips to on lunch breaks to keep things moving along. Last month, got the interior cleaned up: new laminate flooring, fresh paint, new galley faucet(original gave up the ghost). Cleaned and inspected the right wheel bearings yesterday, repacked this morning, waiting for the seals to arrive this afternoon to reinstall and finish the other side. Have three new lug studs on order to replace the originals that came out of the hub(will be here next week, just in time for our trip next weekend). Still have a few things left on it, but she is coming along. Finally got the door lock to free up, had it soaking some penetrant while I was gone the past couple weeks on work. Now the PUP can lock and I am quite excited about that, means the janky lock the PO installed to keep it secure, is gone. Will try and post pictures later.

 

[fredhead]

I found with my classic VW that when you open a can of worms there are 6 more cans inside. You know, one thing leads to another.

Last month it started. I installed a 15K AC on my roof. But I screwed up and when I removed the part I cut out, there was a 14 inch gash in the rear bunkend.

That led to new canvas (Shout out to Bear Creek). They didn't have the green but did have tan in stock.

While working on the roof I found the paint getting chalky. New paint job on roof. Then the body looked bad, so stripped all the stickers, sanded and new paint on the body. All the white fittings were either replaced or painted black.

So, olive green body, tan canvas, khaki roof, black trim and AC. Sure looks better.

 

[kitphantom]

Defrosted the freezer and got that turned back on. Have the a/c on so at least the cabin isn't hot-hot. It's only 91* outside at the moment, so not as hot as we've been having. The freezer should recover overnight, if not before.
We're going to be packing and working on some small tasks tomorrow, our next trip is a week from today. I discovered that the pull-up shelf in the kitchenette is oose on one side, with all the road vibrations the screws into composition wood tend to loosen up. Last year, we turned the shelf around so the screws were into fresh spots. I'm thinking JB Weld "plastic wood" as we used to call it will be on the menu tomorrow.

 

[kitphantom]

First thing this morning, both fridge and freezer were back to good temps, 8* for the freezer, 30* for the fridge. While that may seem low for the fridge, it doesn't freeze anything, and if we keep the low swing there, it stays in safe temps on hot days.
Courtenay tightened the screws on the pull-up shelf, so I'll have to wait longer for a more permanent fix. (The screws are in an awkward position for me, so I"ll wait.)
Emptied what water was left in the fresh tank and filled it again. Used the hot water method to check the LP tanks, since neither of us could positively remember re-filling after our long May trip. I think we rotated the extra tank onto the camper, then refilled the empty one, but it's nice to make sure we have plenty of LP to begin the trip.
Made a trip to the RV dealer, where the parts guys were helpful and friendly, as usual. They told me the marine caulk we have should work for the 2 small splits in the aluminum at the bottom edge of the trailer. For the membrane on the bottom, they sell the tape with filaments in it by the foot, so I bought 2" to fix a couple of those spots. $1/foot is much better than buying a roll, as we were going to do "just in case" a few years ago.Bought the "lube" for the drain valves and toilet seal, so added those.
Looks like the storms are building, so we'll work on food and packing clothes for the rest of the day. It's actually humid enough that the trailer a/c id draining condensation, which we don't see very often at home.

 

[azwildcat]

our refrigerator would not work on propane on our last trip, finally got time to clean the burner and orifice out

 

[Sjm9911]

delaware seashore state park.

 

[PopUpSteve]

Got a lot done this weekend to prep for my upcoming trip.

One big thing was to fix the outside shower. The problem was the cold water knob wasn’t working. I got the unit removed and disconnected the feed lines. Both knobs had a very small washer inside and I could see the one for the cold water was not in flat as the hot water one was. Popped it back into place and blew some air through both to test. Hocked up the feed lines and turned on the water pump, both worked fine.

With the outside shower now working, I put a shower head holder on the side of the camper. Cleaned the spot and the back of the holder with a little rubbing alcohol and using 3M double sided tape, put the holder on the camper.




Still working on some other things.

 

[PopUpSteve]

Did a major mod the the 3-Way fridge control. In their infinite wisdom, Dometic really didn’t do a good job labeling the temperature control. On the right side is a little arrow which is marker for the where to set the temperature. It’s 1/2 under the dial and hard to see. To compound the problem, on the opposite side of the dial, there’s a little round indent which when it get dirty, it looks like the same temperature mark. Since I don’t use the fridge too much, I forget which side is the correct marker.

So after cleaning the surface (and here’s the big mod), I used a Sharpie to enlarge the arrow so these old eyes can now see it.

 

[Sjm9911]

Lol , go steve go.

 

[vagov]

My view this weekend

 

[jmkay1]

@vagov looks like skeeter central to me this time of year. Where abouts was this taken?

 

[vagov]

No skeeters. Allegheny river campground. Roulette PA. Potter county

 

[wcvworg]

Replaced the UV-eaten outlet and mouse hole on the access side.


Installed a swing-down adjustable brace on the step.

 

[PopUpSteve]

@wcvworg
I see you install just one step brace in the center, how's that working for you? I used the same brace only I used two, one on either side.

 

[campfire Joe]

Did a major mod the the 3-Way fridge control. In their infinite wisdom, Dometic really didn’t do a good job labeling the temperature control. On the right side is a little arrow which is marker for the where to set the temperature. It’s 1/2 under the dial and hard to see. To compound the problem, on the opposite side of the dial, there’s a little round indent which when it get dirty, it looks like the same temperature mark. Since I don’t use the fridge too much, I forget which side is the correct marker.

So after cleaning the surface (and here’s the big mod), I used a Sharpie to enlarge the arrow so these old eyes can now see it.

View attachment 86682

Yep had to do that to mine too. Definitely tough to see those marks!