5 replies to this topic

[Powderhound]

Hi all,

New to this group. I’m in the market for a small hard side slide in camper to use for ski camping. I found a 2002 six pac camper model t-150. I went and looked at it today and was impressed with the good condition. Everything seems to work well, no leaks, no rot, some mildew on the exterior caulking but it’s The PNW and probably needs redone anyways. The one thing I’m concerned about is then owner said the heater motor doesn’t work unless the camper is plugged into shore power. Again I’m not a camper guru but others I’ve read about can run the heater blower off battery power. Whatever I buy I plan on installing a solar setup and extra battery so that I can be more self sufficient.

Has anyone heard of the t-150 model with six pac? Any thoughts on why the heater won’t work on battery power? The guy didn’t know a ton About campers in the first place and I’m wondering if he’s just mistaken. He claims he’s always camped with in somewhere he can plug in regardless, which is not what I intend to do....

I attached a photo of the placard, I know it’s hard to read...
Any help or info would be greatly appreciated!

[CougarCouple]

Hello powderhound
Nt really familiar with your camper. If you had a weak or bad battery, it's possible the heater would act like it wants to work. But with out a strong 12v some of the ignition modules won't fire off. You could check the applied voltage (12 volt to the heater) while plugged into shore power. Then what you have while on battery only. You can also have a battery shop or auto parts house load test your battery. Welcome to WtW.

Russ

[wagoneer]

IMHO  ditch the heater and get the wave 3. The fan is a power hog I had a six-pac it was an older model and an 8 footer. Great camper.

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Good morning Powderhound,

Welcome to WTW!

I’m going to take a guess at the heater issue. Because it runs on shore power, and purportedly not on battery power,i suspect it has wiring from both sources that runs the 12VDC fan, and that there is a blown fuse or some other open circuit problem. That could be a loose connection, broken wire or a corroded connection. A good digital multimeter will help track that down.

On the recommended Wave 3, while they do a good job of heating, they also introduce moisture into the camper. Good ventilation will help reduce the moisture.

[Old Crow]

Hi all,

New to this group. I’m in the market for a small hard side slide in camper to use for ski camping. I found a 2002 six pac camper model t-150. I went and looked at it today and was impressed with the good condition. Everything seems to work well, no leaks, no rot, some mildew on the exterior caulking but it’s The PNW and probably needs redone anyways. The one thing I’m concerned about is then owner said the heater motor doesn’t work unless the camper is plugged into shore power. Again I’m not a camper guru but others I’ve read about can run the heater blower off battery power. Whatever I buy I plan on installing a solar setup and extra battery so that I can be more self sufficient.

Has anyone heard of the t-150 model with six pac? Any thoughts on why the heater won’t work on battery power? The guy didn’t know a ton About campers in the first place and I’m wondering if he’s just mistaken. He claims he’s always camped with in somewhere he can plug in regardless, which is not what I intend to do....

I attached a photo of the placard, I know it’s hard to read...
Any help or info would be greatly appreciated!

 

Welcome, Powderhound! 

 

This excerpt from the Newer Six Pac Owner's Manual (from here) tells us how the electrical system originally worked on that camper and the description may be helpful to you as an overview...

 

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"ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Depending on the options installed, the electrical system is very direct and easy to troubleshoot. You have 12 volt and 120 volt circuits. The 12-volt circuit comes from your automotive battery, and an auxiliary battery if installed in the camper. The power enters the camper at the front through a seven pronged connector, and is routed through the frame to the fuse panel located in the load center, inside the camper. The 120 volt source of power (the outlet) is located on the outside driver side of the camper, and is routed directly to the “load center”. When “shore” power is available, that is, 120 volt power from a source outside the camper, the electronic converter will automatically supply 12 volt power to the lights, furnace, 12 volt receptacles, outside light(s), and ceiling fan. If the camper is not connected to a 120 volt supply, the appliances will operate on 12 volt power from the truck battery and charging system, or, if installed, the auxiliary battery when the vehicle ignition is turned off. The function of the separator switch (with the aux. battery system) is to disengage the truck power supply (i.e. battery) when the truck is turned off, therefore keeping the truck battery fully charged. Disconnect 12 volt power to camper with the master switch if camper is not being used; over time the carbon monoxide and L.P. detectors will drain the battery."

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     There could be several reasons the furnace doesn't work on battery. The seller's statement that it only works on shorepower could mean the furnace runs but the battery has so little capacity that it can't run long enough to be useful. It could mean there's something wrong with the switchover portion of the converter/load center technology (depending on how that was done).  Or a wiring issue.  Or the camper doesn't have a battery so the owner wired it separately to the truck's battery for lights and pump only (my brother does this on his Sunlite Eagle) and chose to do something else for heat (like a Buddy heater or using a generator when off-grid, etc.

 

In your Six-Pac research,  you've probably run onto this article about ownership of the company transferring to Tom Hanagan in 2002. It includes a discussion of the Six Pac's wood-frame construction as well as this assessment from Tom (in 2007)....

 

"Six-Pac has always been the natural alternative to Four Wheel Campers.  The Four Wheel concept is light-weight, durable, and minimalist.  Six-Pac’s concept was the same thing but with hard-wall designs."

 

That tells us the market orientation but of course on a used camper its condition is so, so important.  It's good news if you didn't notice smells, stains (especially ceiling stains), tears or cosmetic wear issues and basic functionality of lights and appliances.  Hopefully the seller demonstrated the furnace does indeed work on shorepower.  The one other important issue that comes to mind is tie-down points, i.e., that they've not pulled part-way through the plywood they're mounted to or have otherwise compromised the plywood around them.

 

You might also try using the contact info on the Six-Pac web site to contact them about snow-loading of the roof given you're thinking of using it for ski-camping.  I imagine it's fine but you might learn something about limits (and about getting responses from them).

 

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Edited by Old Crow, 10 December 2018 - 09:29 PM.

[Powderhound]

Hey thanks for all the great responses. He did plug it into the house and demonstrated that everything worked including the heater. All the brackets for the tie down points were in tact and not loose. The plywood on the bottom and sides where it sits in the bed was in remarkably good shape. Here are a couple photos... I’ve gotten him down to 4,000 hoping he will knock it down to 3,800.... I’m just excited at how light weight it claims it is. 1150, which I know is approximate. Hard to get much lighter..... I know it’s not a super insulated camper but I figure I can apply some extra block foam and stuff insulation in empty spaces. Make window covers ect.. attached are a few photos..

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