48 replies to this topic

[trasko]

I've just recently acquired a mid-eighties Grandby that I'm very excited about. It's very dirty, leaks and has holes in the pop-up fabric but I'm not afraid of that. In fact, I'm excited to tear in to it and fix it up.

But here's the thing. I've never owned nor even slept in a camper before. I've done all my camping in tents and last year I used a shell on the back of my truck on a few trips. It's fine, but there is a lot of work each day shuffling stuff around (like setting up the kitchen, then breaking the kitchen down, then setting up the bed stuff, then putting it all away during the day, etc). Not to mention not being able to stand. I toyed with the idea of a "platform" but then I'd have so little room to maneuver it wouldn't be any fun.

So, I have a Grandby FWC now. It has a sink with a manual pump faucet, a 2-burner stove and an ancient (and dirty) icebox. There is a single interior light. What I am wondering is what sort of features do most people really get a lot of use out of? What is really great to have and what are the things that aren't such a big deal? I know this is often just personal preference, but I'd love to hear what ya'll have to say.


To get things started I'll state a couple of things I think I want:

* LED lighting all around. Incandescents and fluorescents are out, LEDs are in. I can wire them up. I am picky about light so these seem pretty mandatory. I want lights to read in bed, lights for cooking and lights for just seeing everything. I want LEDs on the outside. Do people find the exterior lights useful?

* Real fridge. This seems like a luxury to me, but why not? Using coolers for everything gets old. Do most people like the 3-way fridges or do people end up going back to ice boxes thinking "simpler is better?"

* (implied from above): Battery? Solar? Charger? all of a sudden it seems like I'm getting overly complex.


Thanks for any help. I am hoping to plan ahead of time more than I normally do so I'd like to incorporate all the features I might want into my design.

[Barko1]

One little $25 change I made was to install a 12v water pump with a little rocker switch, very convenient. As for refrigeration I'd look for a 12v high efficiency like the Coleman Stirling compressor types, an Engel or other variation (there was a recent post). A battery doesn't seem like an option, got to have it and a smaller solar panel can keep it happy. The only other thing that is essential to me and it depends on your camp plans is good heating that is simple and doesn't use much battery power. For me that meant a Wave 3. And you need a simple means to hold your grey water, I use a short piece of garden hose that stays connected to a 5 gallon water container which rides on the rear bumper when not in use. Since this picture I shortened the hose so it is just long enough to reach the ground when deployed.

[Argonaut20]

I like the 3 way fridge as it consumes no power when on propane. Put an automatic relighter on it for those windy days. Heat? Your choice. The catalytic heater is likely cheaper than a furnace and doesn't use power to heat. I would definitely get a solar panel. You can mount it on the roof or leave it loose so you can station it away from the camper when you want to park in the shade. (I made a mount between the cab and the camper to carry the panel. When I want to use the panel, I remove it from the mount, plug it in, and set it in the sun.) Battery with a charge line to the truck with an isolator is a no brainer as mentioned above. Shop around for plastic containers that fit in the storage areas of the camper. They keep litter and mess to a minimum and they help organize. I found that things like LED book lights are handy for easy on night lights. I clip one to the lift panel and use it to read with when bedding down.

[simimike]

I'll second the motion for the 12V water pump. It makes clean up so much easier. I have the 3 way refrigerator and the only problem I've had is remembering to turn down the temp control at night so I don't freeze the lettuce. LED lighting is the only way to go. I use a head lamp for reading at night. I also have the forced air heater and if I was going to do it over I would go with a Wave3 type heater. When I ordered the camper I didn't get the solar panels. In hindsight I wish I had, they may be in my future. Having a on board battery is a must in my opinion. Not worrying about draining the truck battery helps you sleep at night. Hope this helps.

mike

[MarkBC]

My 2¢:
I am glad to have the propane (3-way) 'frig -- especially with a freezer that really works. I enjoyed ice cream in the Trout Creek Mts of SE Oregon on July 4th! I don't want another appliance that draws down my battery -- propane 'frig is what works best for me.

I have a solar panel, but I don't have it mounted flat on the roof; I keep it separate so I can point it more-towards the sun, as I posted here. (I will soon have a less-funky panel-support system...bought some aluminum angle-stock).

[Desert Rancher]

I also have the water pump. I added a foot switch that connects to a small jack down by the floor. Using the foot switch to get small "bursts" of water tends to use less than using the toggle switch

For lighting above the bed, I went with this as it was about the thinnest I could find. They can be screwed or velcroed to the ceiling and don't get mashed into the bed to much.

http://www.westmarin...61189&langId=-1

[dsrtrat]

I've just recently acquired a mid-eighties Grandby that I'm very excited about. It's very dirty, leaks and has holes in the pop-up fabric but I'm not afraid of that. In fact, I'm excited to tear in to it and fix it up.

But here's the thing. I've never owned nor even slept in a camper before. I've done all my camping in tents and last year I used a shell on the back of my truck on a few trips. It's fine, but there is a lot of work each day shuffling stuff around (like setting up the kitchen, then breaking the kitchen down, then setting up the bed stuff, then putting it all away during the day, etc). Not to mention not being able to stand. I toyed with the idea of a "platform" but then I'd have so little room to maneuver it wouldn't be any fun.

So, I have a Grandby FWC now. It has a sink with a manual pump faucet, a 2-burner stove and an ancient (and dirty) icebox. There is a single interior light. What I am wondering is what sort of features do most people really get a lot of use out of? What is really great to have and what are the things that aren't such a big deal? I know this is often just personal preference, but I'd love to hear what ya'll have to say.


To get things started I'll state a couple of things I think I want:

* LED lighting all around. Incandescents and fluorescents are out, LEDs are in. I can wire them up. I am picky about light so these seem pretty mandatory. I want lights to read in bed, lights for cooking and lights for just seeing everything. I want LEDs on the outside. Do people find the exterior lights useful?

* Real fridge. This seems like a luxury to me, but why not? Using coolers for everything gets old. Do most people like the 3-way fridges or do people end up going back to ice boxes thinking "simpler is better?"

* (implied from above): Battery? Solar? Charger? all of a sudden it seems like I'm getting overly complex.


Thanks for any help. I am hoping to plan ahead of time more than I normally do so I'd like to incorporate all the features I might want into my design.

First ask yourself how many levels of complexity you are willing to add to your camping experience. Then analyze the type of camping you primarily do. Do you do weekends, backcountry-off road, front country or established campgrounds, extended cross country trips?

You can then decide if you want to spend a lot of time maintaining your systems.
Look through the archives and see what the most common problems seem to be with the camper systems. I have found that anything that rotates (has a motor) or requires a lot of battery power tends to break down in the field. If you are the kind of person who likes to tinker you are in luck. I was surprised at how much maintenance camper systems require.

My ATC Panther was my first RV as well and I tend to do backcountry-off road trips. I mostly use the camper to sleep in and like to cook and stay outside most of the time.

I bought my camper used and it had a stove, sink, 3 way fridge and furnace. The furnace is nice and some type of heat is a good idea as the aluminum construction and soft material wall make for a pretty cold unit. I have had to change the igniter board and play around with the propane delivery system to get reliable operation in very cold weather. I would go with the simpler catalytic type heater if I did it again.

I found that the 3 way fridge was just too much work to keep level in the type of terrain I camp in. I like to be able just pull in and sleep in the middle of the night and not have to worry if I am level enough for a fridge. Others swear by then, most seem to swear at them. I finally went with an Engel and find it works well for me.
I seldom use the sink and would be just as happy without it, using a basin and water jugs. Do you really need to carry 12 to 20 gallons of water everywhere you go?

I added solar and modified a lot of the interior spaces and have now refined the camper to my satisfaction, but if I bought a new one I would buy a shell model and modify it to suit.

Just my opinion I am sure others will see things differently.

Dsrtrat

[pods8]

When I'm solo for a day or two I really like: Having a dry place with good lighting, heat (in the cold times), a built in stove to quickly cook a meal, and organized storage. The sink/fridge/etc. don't get much use then because I just use a cooler for a couple items and wipe up dishes.

When out longer, esp. when with the family the sink w/ pump and fridge come into play.

Solar to me really depends on how long you want to boondock verse how much battery you have. Since I'm usually out for shorter trips and have 210AH of battery I haven't had a need for it (not that I'd turn it down if it fell in my lap ) but would quickly want it if parking in the desert for a week or two. Currently I maintain my batteries pretty well when the truck is running at top them off at home with shore power.

[trasko]

Wow thanks for all the feedback. I'm keeping notes. I'm vacillating between stripping out the ice box and single incandescent light and just using the same cooler I've used for years (an awesome and big one) and portable battery powered LED lights (LED lantern, book light and head lamps). I'd have essentially no "features" to speak of. Hmmph.

Does anyone use a table in the camper? I've seen some that screw on to a mount in the floor. Seems like that'd be nice as when I've camped over there years a table and chair start to look real civilized.

Here are my notes thus far:

* Sink / water: perhaps not needed so much solo or for short trips; Good for longer trips or trips w/ family. A foot-actuated switch sounds like a great idea. There was a mention of storing grey water. Why? Is it to keep the campsite tidy? Keep animals from being attracted? Is it a rule some places?

* Fridge: lots of diff. opinions. A few say cooler is simplest. There seems to be a debate between 3-way fridges and 12v compressor types. I didn't know about this before. Looks like 3-ways take less energy to run but compressor types have better cooling and don't have the strong sensitivity to not being level. Is there is a difference in price between the 3-way and the compressor types?

* Interior lighting: can go all out or simple with use of LED stick-on lights, headlamps and book reading lights.

* Catalytic heaters seem to be preferred by most. I have a heater in mine but I don't know what type it is. Looks like a standard gravity heater/furnace to me.



I am concerned about storage space. Do people find that they have enough for their camping activities? I am spoiled by throwing tons of sleeping bags, tents, chairs, cooking stuff and whatall in the bed of the truck and hitting the road.

[Barko1]

Does anyone use a table in the camper? There was a mention of storing grey water. Why? Is it to keep the campsite tidy? Keep animals from being attracted? Is it a rule some places?


I am concerned about storage space.

I built in a dinette options, several threads on that. Don't use it a lot but good for eating if it's raining, or snowing.
Most campgrounds want you to contain your grey water and even where it is not a rule it seems better to contain it rather than let it drain right there. If you don't have a hose attached it'll just run down the side of your truck Some places get pretty obsessed about it and insist you drain everything into a designated waste water spot, I think Oregon state parks are like that but they are so cramped anyway I'd avoid them like the plague. I imagine the grey water could attract bugs or other creatures although I have never had it happen. Now I almost always collect it and when packing up just drain it under a bush.