Category: tiny house

Observations From The Latest Trip

On By JohnIn home improvement, tiny house, travel, vehiclesLeave a comment
  • The dual-battery config on the trailer did really well for the long weekend of boondocking. In fact, we could’ve gone several more days on battery power, even running the furnace at night to keep our little hybrid trailer above 55F.
  • We would’ve run out of fresh water before we run out of power; but still had about 20 gal. on board when we departed (used 25 gal.).
  • No nearby dump stations, so if we were to actually plan on boondocking anywhere, we’d need a waste solution (like a Thetford SmartTote or something).
  • The next truck will be an actual 4×4 for the extra terrain-traversing capability it provides.
  • Allison transmissions on diesel trucks are awesome. Except when you’re doing a long descent… without an exhaust brake.
  • The red-line on the 2002 6.6L Duramax is 3,200 RPM. The Allison transmission will dutifully shift down to 3rd while doing 65MPH.
  • The sound of a diesel V8 pulling 3,500 RPM is a little unnerving.
  • Add ‘exhaust brake’ to the list of improvements we’ll need to make… along with:
  1. canopy
  2. lift pump
  3. exhaust brake
  4. new tires (and full-size spare)
  5. replace trailer spare
  6. compact, quiet generator option

Yeah, there will be a few dollar signs.

Link Dump – Helpful Articles for RVers

On By JohnIn tiny house, travelLeave a comment
  • What’s The Best State For Fulltime RVers When It Comes To Taxes? [read]
    As we’ve thought about relocating (back) to Washington, this was particularly helpful for us. Even the top-six is pretty promising.
  • 7 Tips For Mastering RV Parking & Backing Into Tight Spots [read]
    Maneuvering with anything larger than the family sedan has been hard for many people. I do have a couple of recommendations that I’ve shared elsewhere: 1) There’s no shame in taking a bus driving course (yes, really) to learn from an uninvolved party how to drive and maneuver large vehicles. 2) Never let anyone who doesn’t have a financial interest in your RV to help you back it up.
  • Best Tips For RV Trailer Parking & Backing Up [read]
    Same sort of tips as the previous article, but also a couple of video demonstrations.
  • RV Height Issues: Do You Know Your RV’s Clearance Level? [read]
    How tall is your RV? Are you sure? We travel with a Good Sam RVND7725 GPS, which is great because provided you set your RV height (and length, width, and weight), it will alert you to potential obstructions on your route.

All kinds of other helpful stuff over at Fun Times Guide if you sift through it.

Why Spring Prep is Important

On By JohnIn home improvement, tiny houseLeave a comment

I mentioned that I did the spring prep on the trailer the other day.

But, after I posted that, I discovered a slow drip from the sewer valves. Not a place one wants to see a leak!

Closer examination revealed that it was, at least, from the grey side, not the black side. So, that’s slightly better news.

Yet further examination revealed that while water was dripping from the valve, it was collecting further up the drain line. That was odd.

So, I jacked up the back of the trailer and found that the 1-1/2″ grey line had split its entire length! Looks like a manufacturing flaw to me.

A quick trip to a local home improvement store for a length of new 1-1/2″ ABS and two flexible couplers, and here’s the repair:

Ignore the unsightly factory-wiring for the grey tank sensors there.

If you ever find yourself needing to repair some ABS lines, your grey tank probably uses 1-1/2″ (ID) ABS. You can use the 1-1/2″ to 1-1/2″ flex-coupler to connect pipes together, or you could even use the 1-1/2″ to 2″ flex-coupler to connect a pipe to the larger outer diameter of other unions, as I did here.

By the way, here’s the actual drain line after I cut it out of the trailer:

The split is not the white line that you see, but the very faint black line to the right of it. And, because it’s along the entire length of the pipe, I suspect it was a manufacturing flaw.

Total repair cost, including the gallon of diesel fuel to get there and back: $18