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1999 Hawk Reno.


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#21 Vic Harder

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Posted 07 April 2019 - 05:13 AM


I  know Vic Harder's answer to this next question ("get the Trimetric 2013 Monitor"),

 

LOL... actually, I prefer the Victron BMV712... ;-) 

 

Can you just use a voltmeter?  Kinda.  If you let the batteries "sit" without charging or any draw on them for a few hours, the voltage could be a way of gauging SOC.  OR, you just wing it and plan on replacing batteries every 2 years.   

 


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#22 JediahPorter

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Posted 07 April 2019 - 12:03 PM

Oh, and catching up on a question from way back in the beginning of page 1... Turns out that my Renogy battery did come with connector bolts. I was cleaning up some junk from the renovation and stumbled onto a little bag containing the two bolts, each with lock washers, that Renogy includes. Oops. 


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#23 JediahPorter

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Posted 07 April 2019 - 12:06 PM

 

I  know Vic Harder's answer to this next question ("get the Trimetric 2013 Monitor"),

 

LOL... actually, I prefer the Victron BMV712... ;-) 

 

 

And here I was, thinking I know something... The Victron has got to be better; it has your name in it and it has an app. What more can one ask for? 


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#24 EM4

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Posted 07 April 2019 - 03:18 PM

And here I was, thinking I know something... The Victron has got to be better; it has your name in it and it has an app. What more can one ask for? 

I have read your posts with interest Jediah, along with Vic's. ( he knows his stuff) Loved it!  Good job on your reno so far. I picked up an 89 Sun Lite a year ago and luckily everything was more or less working. Did repairs and added a Solar Panel this year. Headed out this coming week to Valley of fire to test panel etc. Enjoy your work/R&R trip to Mohab and good luck.  

 

 

Edit......its a 98...


Edited by EM4, 07 April 2019 - 08:24 PM.

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#25 JediahPorter

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Posted 12 June 2019 - 11:28 PM

Hello all. I'm back home and back to working on the camper. I spent the last two months in Alaska while the camper lived under a tarp in Wydaho. Roof leak(s) are taking their toll. So that is my first project. Well, fixing the roof leak requires washing the roof, which requires water, which requires a hose, which requires a faucet which requires repair. So, I plumb the house, then I work on the camper roof...

 

In any case, I went into the local hardware store to scope the options for roof sealant. I don't know where the leak is. So I like the idea of one uniform coating everywhere. The earnest hardware store guy sold me on "Gardner Sta Kool 780". An elastomeric siliconized something or other. A gallon of the junk. I am meant to paint it on everywhere. Seems pretty sweet and easy. I haven't opened the can yet, so I'm not committed. What say you all? 

 

Also, I had some troubles with the Propex heater that I couldn't figure out. Karl at Westy Ventures sold it to me and stood behind it. He had me do some tests, one of which the heater failed. So I sent it back to him. I returned from AK to the heater in a box in my mail. So that needs to be reinstalled, but it hopefully work better now. 


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#26 Vic Harder

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Posted 12 June 2019 - 11:47 PM

Also, I had some troubles with the Propex heater that I couldn't figure out. Karl at Westy Ventures sold it to me and stood behind it. He had me do some tests, one of which the heater failed. So I sent it back to him. I returned from AK to the heater in a box in my mail. So that needs to be reinstalled, but it hopefully work better now. 

Which test did it fail?  Did they say what was wrong with it?


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#27 JediahPorter

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Posted 13 June 2019 - 12:22 AM

Which test did it fail?  Did they say what was wrong with it?

I was getting the four-flash error code; Something wrong with the intake and exhaust. Karl asked for a photo of the ducting and venting and asked a few questions. None of that was conclusive. So he had me test the voltage at some little dots on the circuit board. I got 0 volts there. He was expecting something low, but not zero. When he said that the heater shouldn't run at all with zero volts there, I figured I was surely making the measurement incorrectly. Human error, when the human is this one, is a far more likely scenario. Nonetheless, he covered shipping back to his place and checked it all out. He confirmed my measurements and presumably did whatever was required to effect a repair. I'll see once I get this thing reinstalled. 


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#28 Vic Harder

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Posted 13 June 2019 - 12:26 AM

I also have found their support very good.  I only wish the thermostat was more granular in its control.  In my testing the bottom two settings are 0*C and 15*C.  A setting of 10*C or so would be nice for the nighttime.  15* is too warm for us.


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#29 JediahPorter

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Posted 19 June 2020 - 06:58 PM

Latest update... Years into it. 

 

First some stokage on where we've been in the last 8 months or so... 

 

In no particular order... And out of order, in terms of captions and photos... 

  • Big Horns, Wy
  • Hoover Dam
  • Mount Shasta
  • Cochise Stronghold
  • Death Valley, Lippincott Pass, Saline Valley
  • City of Rocks
  • Moab
  • etc

IMG_0843.jpg?format=2500wIMG_2606.jpg?format=2500wIMG_5182.jpg?format=2500wIMG_5222.jpg?format=2500wIMG_5244.jpg?format=2500wIMG_8652.jpg?format=2500wP4130075.jpg?format=2500w

PB120154.jpg?format=750w

P6240030.jpg?format=750w

 

Popped the camper off the truck for just now the first time in over two years (!?!). 'Most everything seemed in order. No weather/water damage, which seems great. 

 

I did discover that pretty much all of the vertical supports under the front camper window had broken free. These were held in with tiny welds, and the camper isn't misshapen or anything. I don't think these particular pieces are hugely supportive of any particular aspect of the camper's structure. Nonetheless, I reinforced all the joints with angle brackets and splices of sorts. Not sophisticated work... I don't have the time, right now, deal with getting these joints re-welded. (The 'rona's got me on the road, regionally, for work. It only seems responsible to crash and travel in the camper). Am I "asking for it" to proceed like this? I'm pretty sure I've done a few thousand miles without these welds... 

 

IMG_9278.jpg?format=750w


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#30 JediahPorter

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Posted 11 October 2021 - 03:32 AM

Yet another update. I seem to come back around once a year or so with some news (and some of the same ol’ problems…).

First, latest moves in renovation. I did a full replacement of the side liner vinyl. That was a total pain. Time consuming, problematic, unrewarding. Roof alignment is now permanently “off”. Not recommended. But I didn’t have a better idea than diy. Still don’t know that getting the camper to Sacramento would have been less annoying.

I added 200w of solar to the roof. That’s working fine. Renogy brand kit. Easy to install.

I’ve added some new cabinets in some weird gaps. Total kludge show, these cabinets are. Ha.

I installed 4x 40lb lift struts. Gotta upgrade the front end (beneath the solar panels) to 60lbs. Those are on order.

Most perplexing; the roof still leaks. I’ve coated and recoated the roof. I’ve entirely replaced the side liner. I’ve watched the rain fall and run and drip and seep and soak. From inside and out. With absolutely no clue as to how it is getting through. It’s been in the same spot the entire time, through years and all the aforementioned modifications and upgrades. Wood is rotting and mold creeps in when left unattended for weeks. Stoke is low and confusion is high. I’d ask for advice, but I’m pretty sure this is some sort of cosmic, supernatural matter. Beyond all of us.
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