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Messages - DavidM

#16
Quote from: ryabkb13 on July 10, 2019, 05:37:28 PM
Hello- We are new owners of a 2014 quicksilver 10 and have used it a few times so far.  I've made sure the battery is charged,  but the lights and fans don't work when attach the battery to the cables.  They work when the trailer is hooked up to a power supply  however.  Any insight would be appreciated.

If the lights work when connected to 110V power then the converter with its breakers/fuses is working fine. The converter is the DC distribution source for the entire trailer. So it is very likely you have a bad connection between the battery and the converter. Disconnect the battery cable and measure the voltage between black and red with a multimeter with the trailer plugged in to power. You probably will get zero which confirms the bad connection. Make sure you don't touch red to black or red to the chassis or you will get a big spark!!

It is possible that a PO installed a fuse near the battery (a good thing!) so also check for a blown fuse. Also bad connections can be sneaky. I hooked up my battery after sitting in my garage on a trickle charger all winter and nothing would work. Turned out it was a corroded ring teminal connection to the battery terminal. Scraped it down to bare metal and it worked fine.

David
#17
I am pretty sure that the LL fifth wheel campers had aluminum roofs, but they did have steel frames at least for the base perimeter. Steel is easier to fabricate and is stronger than aluminum, but a bit heavier than aluminum for equivalent strength. But it does require good welding and given the rash of aluminum frame weld cracks, maybe steel really is better for camper frames.

David
#18
My 2013 16 TBS has three 1/4" x 2" aluminum straps that support the weight of the water tank. They really just support at the outside bottom corners of the tank as that aluminum won't support any weight in its middle. But the tank looks strong enough itself to carry the load and if the straps themselves are attached securely at the frame, I think it will be ok full of water.

But towing with 1/4 full is safer.

David
#19
I try to travel with the water tanks 1/4 full or less and fill up at the campground. It probably can take the weight of a full tank, but.....

David
#20
Yes, but it requires removing the motor from the gear rack and pushing the slider in manually. Then if you are going to trailer it you have to block it from sliding out when you go around a sharp corner. There is a video for this here: https://www.livinlite.com/forum/index.php/topic,66.0.html

So unless you are stuck in some place far from a battery source, replacing the battery was probably easier.

Did you try hooking it up to the TV while it is running? That should have provided enough juice to run the slide back in even with a dead battery. You would probably have to let the TV run in idle for a half hour to build up some charge on the dead battery. Otherwise all of the TV's juice would be sucked up by the dead battery.

David
#21
General Q & A / Re: 110 v. 12v outlets
April 16, 2019, 08:42:26 PM
Well, I must agree that it is pretty silly to supply a USB outlet with 120V when the trailer has a perfectly good 12V system available. The whole principle of most camping trailers is to run everything on DC if at all possible.

So having said that, you just need to remove the existing USB outlet, pull back the 120V power cable to a logical termination point-  either the breaker or a junction box and either remove the wire or wire nut it safe.

Then find a source of DC nearby. You won't need much power, maybe an amp or two so a light fixture would work.Then wire new DC cable from that source to the new USB outlet.

David
#22
Again I am flying blind here and depending on your pics because your CL is different from mine. I now understand your problem- as much how to install the receiver than reinforce he bumper.

Is it possible to weld in a 2" member between the bumper and the transverse structural member in front of it?

Once you do that the bumper should be strong enough to take the bike rack. It looks like you will need to drill through the new middle section so that the bike rack bolts will go through. If you also weld an 1/8" aluminum doubler plate about 6" long, that should accommodate the clamping forces.

Is this the clamp on receiver that your were thinking of (not the rack as it is only good for 35 lbs): https://www.homedepot.com/p/Swagman-Traveler-XC2-RV-Folding-Bike-Rack-64663/304828021?cm_mmc=Shopping%7CG%7CVF%7CD59%7CMulti%7CNA%7CPLA%7CClean_Sweep%7c71700000033435183%7c58700003894708233%7c92700041878097916&gclid=Cj0KCQjws5HlBRDIARIsAOomqA0u4ChY-CEkMvK-biBtnn6Zu0Zt0I_nk5GiZHIt4LLzz9sOsMxl8V4aAvcSEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

David
#23
Let me give you some generic advice as your LL doesn't look like the ones that were strengthened on the aluminumcamperforums site. Also those may be in the archives section of that site which is the old LL website before Thor took it back.

As you note you can't just weld a new 2" tube on the aft side of the existing one, you need to weld a new one inside of the old one (with skip beads) and also weld it to the fore and aft strut to strengthen that joint. It looks like there should just be enough room to slip in a 2" tube in that space.

Then look where the fore/aft strut attaches to the frame. It may need to be strengthened with gussets or similar reinforcement.

David
#24
General Q & A / Re: Roof of a 2013 13QBB
March 20, 2019, 07:22:13 PM
Rubber roofs were not instituted by Thor until about 2017, so your roof is definitely aluminum just like my 2013 16TBS.

David
#25
Get Together / Get Together in Quebec August 6-9
March 19, 2019, 04:32:49 PM
Hi:

Paul, the site administrator at aluminumcamperforum.com, and I are organizing a meetup of Aluminumcampingforum members and Camplite owners in Quebec at the Parc National de la Mauricie near Trois Rivieres, Quebec for the period of August 6-9. La Mauricie has three campgrounds and we have selected loop D at the Riviere a la Peche Campground for this get together.

There are a number of available campsites now but they are limited so don't wait, make your plans to come and reserve a site.

This post will just be a one shot notification, so go to https://aluminumcamperforum.com/index.php?topic=1070.msg8091#new for more details.

David
#26
New Members / Re: Hello from Canada
March 18, 2019, 02:24:27 PM
Welcome!!

You might want to watch the Aluminumcamperforum website. Paul, the administrator who lives in New Brunswick and I are talking about a get together at Parc National de la Maurice near Trois Rivieres. Watch that site for an announcement if you would like to join us. Probably the first week in August.

David
#27
General Q & A / Re: 2018 CL21RBS
March 13, 2019, 08:52:20 AM
Nhlakes makes a couple of good points re your camper batteries. I boondock (no hookups) almost exclusively and never, ever use DC for the fridge. It pulls a lot of current in that mode and will quickly run down your batteries. Set it on LPG which works fine while towing or switch to 120V power when plugged in at a campsite.

I am a little surprised that his TV battery was drawn down while towing. Your TV typically has a 30A fuse which limits current to the camper batteries. While driving, your alternator should put out enough current to prevent the TV's battery from discharging. I guess it might happen while driving at night with lights on where the combined draw was too much for the alternator.

And finally the TV only supplies charging to the camper while the engine is running. There is a relay that that protects the TV battery from being discharged while hooked up to your camper when the engine is off.

David
#28
Tje OEM mattresses are total junk. I Googled custom mattresses and found a place that made them to your exact dimensions for my 16TBS.

David
#29
CampLite Travel Trailers / Re: Flashing Side Lights
February 18, 2019, 11:26:18 AM
Just a guess, but I will bet that your tow vehicle has an electronic road light management system and not hard switches and relays that traditionally switch that stuff. The electronics leaks a little current. I will bet that your led road lights on your TV are also getting a little power but are designed not to come on until the voltage is up to near 12V. Your trailer side lights even though led also try to come on but at the lower voltage, pull the voltage down and switch off, the voltage rises again and goes through that cycle again and again.

If my theory is correct perhaps the only thing you can do is install Mercedes led's in your trailer  :).

David
#30
We all have that problem. I sealed mine with a hardware store caulking on the horizontal gaps and used polyurethane expanding foam that comes in a spray can for the big gaps in the aluminum channels. Those gaps are quite wide so you need a sealant that will bridge them. Remove the tires so you can get underneath and see. Make sure you completely fill the gaps front and back in the aluminum floor channels as water can get back there and up to the floor between the gaps in the channels. Here are some before and after pics:

David