25 replies to this topic

[longhorn1]

Great trip and nice report. Welcome to our group. Mount Olympus is now on our radar screen. Thanks for sharing. Happy camping. jd

[takesiteasy]

I enjoyed your report- thanks for posting. Nice rig- looks like a great shakedown!

[scappoosebrad]

Great post...always interested to hear about "shakedown cruises"... we also have a new Fleet but have only had shorter "shakedown trips" -- 2 to 3 days in milder climates in Oregon this summer/fall ...

 

A few questions and suggestions:

1) Solar power/propane/outdoor temp monitoring--have started a log monitoring several systems: propane use, solar use--highs/lows (estimated), fridge/heater settings, hi/low outdoor temps..etc.--these are the main uses/numbers I chart all in a 4x6 spiral notebook...an excellent way to see the trends/monitor use and recovery settings and a great way to "get to know" our camper per the uses and conditions...charting in the notebook has become a daily habit for each day's outing...

 

2) Leaving your heater on while traveling in cold climate?  did this help or could you get by w/out running the heater in 20s to 30s outdoor running temps?  especially with a hot water heater (we do NOT have a hot water heater, so might be recommended for us when traveling in colder temps) how did you "keep your cabinet doors open"?  while running to "heat" your pipes?  Have other 4 wheel owners done this while traveling to safeguard freezing pipes?

 

Love to hear your thoughts and other member's comments .... thanks

 

Brad in Scappoose, OR

[scappoosebrad]

Scappoose Brad here again...

 

Regarding knowing how much propane is left in your tank, I have "solved" this problem by:

 

1) buy a digital luggage scale found on Amazon--Grawor Digital Hanging Luggage Scale ($12)... (get a digital scale--uses 2 AAA batteries, more accurate than the manual scales which I already tried)

:  https://www.amazon.c...0?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

2) after doing the math, I made the following chart(below) that adds the weights of the empty tank(Tare weight) plus propane(11#s full), I taped this chart to each propane tank in my camper...(when you fill your tank, the chart and scale will also allow you to double check that a vendor has fully filled your propane tank)

 

If you weigh your partially filled propane tank with the above luggage scale, look at the chart, you will know what percentage of propane remains in your tank... easy, peasy...

 

I believe each of the 2 propane tanks 4-Wh installs are "11 #er" tanks, these numbers should "work" for you... to confirm, check on your tank for the "tare(empty) weight" embossed on the neck of every propane tank... as you see below the TW of my #1 Tank is "14.2#s"... hope this helps you and others--a simple way to measure by weight the amount of propane remaining in your partial used tank...

 

          #1 Tank

100%... 25.2 #s … 11.4 kg

  75%... 22.4 #s … 10.1 kg

  50%... 19.7 #s …   8.9 kg

  40%... 18.2 #s …   8.4 kg

  30%... 17.5 #s …   7.9 kg

  25%... 16.9 #s …   7.6 kg

    0%... 14.2 #s …   6.4 kg

   (Full: TW#1/14.2+ 11#s)

[EnviroProf]

Great post...always interested to hear about "shakedown cruises"... we also have a new Fleet but have only had shorter "shakedown trips" -- 2 to 3 days in milder climates in Oregon this summer/fall ...

 

A few questions and suggestions:

1) Solar power/propane/outdoor temp monitoring--have started a log monitoring several systems: propane use, solar use--highs/lows (estimated), fridge/heater settings, hi/low outdoor temps..etc.--these are the main uses/numbers I chart all in a 4x6 spiral notebook...an excellent way to see the trends/monitor use and recovery settings and a great way to "get to know" our camper per the uses and conditions...charting in the notebook has become a daily habit for each day's outing...

 

2) Leaving your heater on while traveling in cold climate?  did this help or could you get by w/out running the heater in 20s to 30s outdoor running temps?  especially with a hot water heater (we do NOT have a hot water heater, so might be recommended for us when traveling in colder temps) how did you "keep your cabinet doors open"?  while running to "heat" your pipes?  Have other 4 wheel owners done this while traveling to safeguard freezing pipes?

 

Love to hear your thoughts and other member's comments .... thanks

 

Brad in Scappoose, OR

 

Brad, I do keep a journal that I began when I picked up the camper, but it is more a record of where I camped, good sites, and anything out of the ordinary, such as having to switch propane tanks at 2 a.m. or having an elk in my camp in the morning as I did in the Hoh Rainforest on the Olympic Peninsula. It isn't nearly as detailed as your log.

 

My original plan was to drain the water system after camping on the coast and before I crossed the Rockies on my way home. The cold snuck up on me, however, and I had a night of 27deg. while in Northern Nevada. I had similar temps in Utah, but only at night when the furnace was turned up. The camper water system handled nightly lows very well. By the time I hit Wyoming a cold front moved in and it stayed about 32 deg. during the day. At that point I opened the cabinet door that accesses the water pump, and opened the lid of the storage area under the front dinette on the driver's side where the water line goes from the tank to the pump. I also left the hot water tank on, which I think probably helped quite a bit. It seemed to work OK during the day but that night it dropped to 14 deg. Everything seemed to work okay until about mid morning the next day and then the water slowed, so I had probably frozen a section of the pipe somewhere. Probably lucky I didn't do damage. I read in another post that where the water pipe exits the tank is a vulnerable spot for freezing. After I dropped down to warmer Northern Colorado I drained the system so I wouldn't have to worry about it for the rest of the trip home. Most of my trips will be during the summer and early fall, but it's nice to know that you can be OK camping later in the season with nightly lows. 

[rando]

As a data oriented person (but also an inherently lazy person) I would reccomend the following:

https://www.amazon.c...ords=tank check

 

and 

 

https://www.amazon.c...ron smart solar

 

If you wire your loads through the load port on the victron you get a 30 day history of both solar production and total energy usage - you can even export it to a CSV right on your phone.    The tank check does exactly what your luggage scale does - but you don't have to pull the tanks out (or even get out of bed). 

 

I have never had an issue with my water system freezing, with nights down to ~10F (with the heat on) or during the day driving around 25F.   I don't leave the furnace on while driving, but I do heat the hot water tank up in the morning - it is great heat reservoir and keeps the cabinet with the plumbing it well above freezing for hours. 

[scappoosebrad]

Prof,

thanks for your reply... curious on your water system slow down at mid-morning... but with temps in the hi teens, can understand especially if you closed up the storage doors to the water pump area...

 

I know there are some "winter 4-W campers" out there... wonder how they deal with their water systems and find any problems with line freeze ups... having spent 20 years in bush AK, our usual solution was to trickle the faucets, but with only 20 gal system, that would deplete your tank fairly quickly...probably the alternate cold weather solution to using the water system is to empty it and use a portable water can for water ... like yourself, we do not see ourselves in winter temps with our camper...so probably a "non-issue"... but good to know the limits of the system...thanks...

[bfh4n]

Sounds like a great trip. Thanks for the report.

 

I like the picture of the two silver Fleets on silver Tacomas. They look just like mine.

 

- Bernard

[EnviroProf]

Sounds like a great trip. Thanks for the report.

 

I like the picture of the two silver Fleets on silver Tacomas. They look just like mine.

 

- Bernard

 

 

Too bad I didn't get to meet the driver. I probably saw a dozen or more FWC campers during my trip. They are pretty easy to spot with that stripe running around the middle. Also saw some towering, lumbering non-pop-top campers being blown around on the highway and that reinforced my decision to go low profile. 

[EnviroProf]

One thing I forgot to comment on was the experience of driving with the camper on the truck. My fear was that while it would be acceptable to have the camper on the truck during the camping months, it would sap the power to the point that it wouldn't be very fun to drive. 

 

I'd have to say that I don't really notice it driving around town, or on relatively flat terrain on the highway. It was only on steep grades that I noticed any difference. I drove through some areas where the speed limit was 75 and 80 mph, and was able to set the cruise to the speed limit and not even think about it. I can see now why so many FWC owners leave their campers permanently attached. I haven't decided yet if I will leave my Fleet on over the winter. I may take it off just because I can, as that is one of the benefits to having this type of setup.