2014 Camping Thread

[ranchlandsselling]

Originally Posted by Torture

Maybe this thread should be renamed "The 2014 RV Thread"

Give it time.. There needs to be prep before the trek.

In a few weeks I'll talk about some sites/campgrouds/treks.

This weekend looks like it might be a little chilly.

And in later summer I'll be somewhere that has no power or water for 7+ days, campy enough for you?

[Diemenz]

Originally Posted by Torture

Maybe this thread should be renamed "The 2014 RV Thread"

What do people do with RV's?

I think calling it a camping thread works just fine.

[calgarygringo]

As mentioned earlier I use 1 or 2 of the Champion 2000w depending on the trip. I also have a Champ 4000W of the non inverter design. What you need to think as you mention is if it is primarily for charging batteries it is all you will need and some especially for the minimal dollars. What you also have to watch is not to get caught up in the eg. "2000W" unit. This is a max load for a few milliseconds and not real. The Champ for eg. is really only 1600 continuous so AC is way out of the picture and running micro, toaster etc. all at once. Consider your parasitic load as well and you will be surpised what is running that you don't see. Get a Kill a Watt and you can see. Fridge pulls power, internal charger, radio, propane alarm etc. Some of these run all the time.

Originally Posted by Diemenz

I'm still on the fence about the generator. Went to 3 stores today and they all said buying a $1500 generator to charge up my batteries 4-5 times a year is overkill and directed me to lower wattage and cheaper models. I don't plan on using my AC on the generator so perhaps I should look at a lower wattage (and in turn quieter) model.

[Russic]

After 4.5 long years, my family makes a triumphant return to tent camping this weekend. I realize some people don't mind camping with little people, but that's not a thing I envisioned as particularly fun. Now that my youngest is 2 and he's able to play on a playground without actively trying to kill himself, I feel it's time to give it another shot. Sadly the weather looks like garbage, but we're only going for a day and a half.

One trick I've found that's worked out great is to keep an ongoing note alive in Evernote on my phone. That way when you're planning your first excursion of the year, you can look back to the note you made when you were on that stag and noticed one of your tent poles is held together with rapidly decaying duct tape and it requires a replacement.

[Russic]

I don't need Evernote to remind me about the disaster down there.

[hedge]

So I just reserved a site at Boulton Creek. The only site available was a full-service site. In light of the water services being unavailable will they give me a discount?

edit: nevermind, It says on the 'important notices' banner that they will refund fees at check in. Still curious on the second question though.


Also, it seems that I can change sites within the same campground without being charged a fee. If I downgrade to an unserviced site will they refund me the difference? The only site was a huge pullthrough, we don't need it for our little truck camper... but it was all that was available.

[ken0042]

Yes, you will receive the discount for water not being available upon check in. So ironically it's cheaper to check in than to no-show.

As for downgrading; the problem is that if it shows as full, there isn't anything for them to downgrade you to. Yes, with the weather there will be no-shows; but they cannot give away a spot. Some people may be arriving late and may have reserved a specific site for a preference or to be close to friends.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Tailgator

Is the Canyon station still open?

We were there on the weekend; and Canyon was open for both dumping and filling.

[Diemenz]

After listening to 6 different generators I now feel that the extra money for the Yamaha is worth it. The Yamaha was like a whisper compared to the Champion, Generac, powerhouse and Lifan I listened to.

I found a Yamaha EF2000IS for $1099 before I pull the trigger can anyone give me input on if that is a decent price? I also looked at a Honda but it is $1249 and like I mentioned before the purpose of this generator is to charge up my batteries every few days so the less I spend for quality the better.

[ranchlandsselling]

Originally Posted by Diemenz

After listening to 6 different generators I now feel that the extra money for the Yamaha is worth it. The Yamaha was like a whisper compared to the Champion, Generac, powerhouse and Lifan I listened to.

I found a Yamaha EF2000IS for $1099 before I pull the trigger can anyone give me input on if that is a decent price? I also looked at a Honda but it is $1249 and like I mentioned before the purpose of this generator is to charge up my batteries every few days so the less I spend for quality the better.

Interesting, can you elaborate a bit on the type of Gen's you were listening to? Were they all inverter style?

What wattage is the Yamaha you're looking at? Also would like to know what you end up going with as I'll be in the same boat (figurative) down the road (figurative).

[ranchlandsselling]

So - camping trip #1 went pretty well in the new trailer. Had some decent weather, didn't hear any generators and overall had a relaxing weekend. Man it sure is different coming home from a trailer weekend than a tent weekend. Pulled up, emptied clothes that were almost normal clothes (not summer/spring/winter/rain clothes for every occasion and weather type). Moved some stuff from fridge to fridge. All done. No coolers, dishes, cleaning, washing, throwing away unused food that soaked for a few days in melted ice cubes (water).

Anyway, got to site and had no power. Fortunately it was a 15 amp site so was able to plugin and be okay. Anyway, I found what looks like a blown fuse on this thing attached to my battery



I'm not 100% sure it was blown as the fuse looked in bad shape visually anyway, white oxidization, it looked like it expanded, but hard to tell if the actual metal thing was broken. I'll go buy a new 30 amp fuse tonight and test.

That said, the fuse holder (little black box on the green wire) looked in rough shape too. Is replacing that thing (green wire or fuse holder) a lot of work or difficult for someone with no electrical knowledge and only a pair of wire strippers for doing speaker wire and crimping butt connectors?

Also, now I have no idea if my batteries are actually charged. What do I buy to test them or store/charge them (if it's the same device might as well buy only one thing).

[ken0042]

^^ Does your trailer not have a charger built in? Mine looks like this one:
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...mp-brown/74212

Basically it takes the power from your battery and distributes it to the devices inside; and also when plugged in gives you power to charge the battery.

For testing, you want a digital multimeter. Canadian Tire will often have one on around $10 (Not sure if that one is any good or not.)

What you are looking for is as follows when connected to your battery:
> 12.9 volts- it's charging the battery. Typically charging voltage will be 13.5 to 14 volts
12.5 to 12.7 volts- fully charged battery
11.75- 12 volts- time to look at recharging the battery
11.5 volts- minimum I ever let my battery get to.
<= 11 volts- you are risking permanent damage to your battery by going this low.

I am also curious where that 2nd wire coming off the positive post is going. Could be something that is draining the battery.

As for DIY replacement of that fuse- I would say it's easy. Keep in mind that unlike speaker wire you have thousands of times more electrons squeezing through those wires, so make sure your connections are solid.

[Diemenz]

Originally Posted by ranchlandsselling

Interesting, can you elaborate a bit on the type of Gen's you were listening to? Were they all inverter style?

What wattage is the Yamaha you're looking at? Also would like to know what you end up going with as I'll be in the same boat (figurative) down the road (figurative).

Sorry should have been more clear. All the generators I looked at were 2000watt. I will give you my thoughts on each one but I must be clear I just started looking into generator last week and know absolutely nothing about them other then what iread on the box and the ones they were able to start up for me.

Generac ix2000 - seemed well built and was light. Chugged pretty dam loud at full throttle. Pretty light and easy to move around.
Powerhouse PH2100 - looked identical to the Hyundai from Home Depot but with more options, had a remote starter and was quieter then the generac but louder then the champion. It also was the biggest and a bit heavy at 70 some odd pounds.
Champion 2000w cube - was the quietest of the cheap generators listed above but had only one plug in, that seemed kinda ####ty to me. It felt very very solid however otherwise.
Lifan - this generator was champion quiet, it also was leaking oil. The other 3000w model was also leaking oil. That was enough for me to not do anymore looking into.

Honda eu2000i - looked at this cause it was suggested by others in this thread. This generator was quiet. Like not raise your voice standing right beside it quiet. It felt really sturdy and was light. It was also $1300 which was double the price of all the ones listed above.
Yamaha EF2000is - was definitely the most quiet out of all of them. Felt a bit lighter then the honda and I liked the carry handle. It was listed at 1099 and $200 less then the honda made it the most interesting to me.

The honda and Yamaha were (to my ears that is) on a whole other level when it comes to noise. The honda when running full out was as loud as the Generac running in econo mode. I walked about 20feet away and could only hear a faint hum.

I want to point out all I looked at was the sound and the specs of these generators which is far from an accurate review. For me I am looking for something as quiet as possible without spending a stupid amount on something that will be run 10-15 hours a year.

If I was buying one of the Chinese generators it would be a toss up between the powerhouse and the champion. I have a feeling the powerhouse is just a rebranded Hyundai because everything looked identical and the champion was solid but that 1 plug was a downer, they might make a 2 plug version but it was not the one I listened to.

[ranchlandsselling]

Originally Posted by ken0042

^^ Does your trailer not have a charger built in? Mine looks like this one:
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...mp-brown/74212

Basically it takes the power from your battery and distributes it to the devices inside; and also when plugged in gives you power to charge the battery.

For testing, you want a digital multimeter. Canadian Tire will often have one on around $10 (Not sure if that one is any good or not.)

What you are looking for is as follows when connected to your battery:
> 12.9 volts- it's charging the battery. Typically charging voltage will be 13.5 to 14 volts
12.5 to 12.7 volts- fully charged battery
11.75- 12 volts- time to look at recharging the battery
11.5 volts- minimum I ever let my battery get to.
<= 11 volts- you are risking permanent damage to your battery by going this low.

I am also curious where that 2nd wire coming off the positive post is going. Could be something that is draining the battery.

As for DIY replacement of that fuse- I would say it's easy. Keep in mind that unlike speaker wire you have thousands of times more electrons squeezing through those wires, so make sure your connections are solid.

Thanks for the reply.

I'm sure it does (have a built in charger), I had the trailer plugged in for a few days prior to the trip - but if the fuse was blown no power would be going through to charge (my assumption). With what I think is a blown fuse (but could be the whole fuse holder) I have no way to know if my batteries are working as the entire electrical is dead without being plugged into a power supply. Hence the need for something to check to see if the batteries are dead or not. Which I then questioned "if I'm buying something to test the batteries is there also something that charges them (talking about winter storage or a between long trailering breaks, not a quick pre-trip charge).

My thought process was:
1. replace fuse (if not solution)
2. replace wire/fuse holder (if not solution)
3. test batteries and charge if need be with unattached charger

Re: that fuse and wondering where that wire is going. Sorry, should have attached a better picture but didn't want to uncover the second battery cover out of sheer laziness.

I think the black and orange is going to the emergency trailer brake plug thing. You know, the plug that's tied to your hitch on the tow vehicle so if the hitch brakes it gets pulled and engages the brakes on the trailer.

[hedge]

Originally Posted by Diemenz

After listening to 6 different generators I now feel that the extra money for the Yamaha is worth it. The Yamaha was like a whisper compared to the Champion, Generac, powerhouse and Lifan I listened to.

I found a Yamaha EF2000IS for $1099 before I pull the trigger can anyone give me input on if that is a decent price? I also looked at a Honda but it is $1249 and like I mentioned before the purpose of this generator is to charge up my batteries every few days so the less I spend for quality the better.

That seems like a pretty good price for the Yamaha, I paid the full $1300 price for my Honda. I like the Honda slightly better because of the larger engine 100cc vs 80cc for the Yamaha. For charging batteries and your usage I don't think it would matter but when it is pushed up near it's limit I think the Honda will not overload as fast and I think this is because of the larger engine. This is just what I've read. I'd love to be able to test the Yamaha and see if it would start my a/c like the Honda can.

In any event, I think you'd be happy with the Yamaha.

I've never seen a Champion with one plug, I know mine had two and the ones I looked at at Costco had 2. Was it the black 2000 that you looked at? Not sure why you care in any event, you generally just plug the entire trailer in anyways.

[hedge]

Originally Posted by ranchlandsselling

So - camping trip #1 went pretty well in the new trailer. Had some decent weather, didn't hear any generators and overall had a relaxing weekend. Man it sure is different coming home from a trailer weekend than a tent weekend. Pulled up, emptied clothes that were almost normal clothes (not summer/spring/winter/rain clothes for every occasion and weather type). Moved some stuff from fridge to fridge. All done. No coolers, dishes, cleaning, washing, throwing away unused food that soaked for a few days in melted ice cubes (water).

Anyway, got to site and had no power. Fortunately it was a 15 amp site so was able to plugin and be okay. Anyway, I found what looks like a blown fuse on this thing attached to my battery



I'm not 100% sure it was blown as the fuse looked in bad shape visually anyway, white oxidization, it looked like it expanded, but hard to tell if the actual metal thing was broken. I'll go buy a new 30 amp fuse tonight and test.

You can test the fuse really easy by just testing for continuity, but you need a meter.
That said, the fuse holder (little black box on the green wire) looked in rough shape too. Is replacing that thing (green wire or fuse holder) a lot of work or difficult for someone with no electrical knowledge and only a pair of wire strippers for doing speaker wire and crimping butt connectors?

Also, now I have no idea if my batteries are actually charged. What do I buy to test them or store/charge them (if it's the same device might as well buy only one thing).

hmm that looks odd, don't think I've ever seen one wired like that. It's not necessarily a bad thing to have a fuse but someone's definately added some extra wires there, standard is black for + and white for -. I'd have to go check mine but I believe that it usually goes to a circuit breaker and then on to the converter/power center.

That orange wire may be a bypass for your breakaway if you have a battery cutoff to the trailer. You have have to do some wire tracing.

You can test the fuse by testing for continuity on the ends of the fuse, but you need a meter. PS, I assume you know this but in case you didn't notice, it looks like you have 6V batteries.

Also, depending on the converter some of them want you to have a battery in the system so it shouldn't be plugged in without batteries.

[Hockeyguy15]

Keep in mind that if you have 6's that if one isn't holding a charge you won't have any power. If all the wiring is correct then I would check the batteries and make sure one isn't done.

[ranchlandsselling]

Originally Posted by hedge

hmm that looks odd, don't think I've ever seen one wired like that. It's not necessarily a bad thing to have a fuse but someone's definately added some extra wires there, standard is black for + and white for -. I'd have to go check mine but I believe that it usually goes to a circuit breaker and then on to the converter/power center.

That orange wire may be a bypass for your breakaway if you have a battery cutoff to the trailer. You have have to do some wire tracing.

You can test the fuse by testing for continuity on the ends of the fuse, but you need a meter. PS, I assume you know this but in case you didn't notice, it looks like you have 6V batteries.

Also, depending on the converter some of them want you to have a battery in the system so it shouldn't be plugged in without batteries.

Ok, swapped out the suspected blown fuse for a 30 amp fuse (it said "30 amp main" on the little fuse holder) and I now have tiny amount of power going into the trailer. If I turn on any of the lights, they take a second to come on and then come on very very dimly. This happens without all the main breakers flipped on. I had no idea what type of batteries I have and no idea what it means if they're 6's vs. 12's.

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

Keep in mind that if you have 6's that if one isn't holding a charge you won't have any power. If all the wiring is correct then I would check the batteries and make sure one isn't done.

Thanks - I'll keep that in mind, granted as posted above I don't really know what having 6's means.

[Hockeyguy15]

http://www.doityourselfrv.com/best-r...osing-reviews/

This has some info that might help explain better. There is a bunch of literature on the differences between using one 12V vs two 6V.

[greyshep]

Originally Posted by ranchlandsselling

Ok, swapped out the suspected blown fuse for a 30 amp fuse (it said "30 amp main" on the little fuse holder) and I now have tiny amount of power going into the trailer. If I turn on any of the lights, they take a second to come on and then come on very very dimly. This happens without all the main breakers flipped on. I had no idea what type of batteries I have and no idea what it means if they're 6's vs. 12's.



Thanks - I'll keep that in mind, granted as posted above I don't really know what having 6's means.

What they are saying is that you have two 6V batteries instead of two 12V. Actually a nice setup that will typically give you more dry camping hours if done right.

The obvious clue is that the way they are wired together in your picture.