What did you do to your camper today?

[2014 sierra]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

2014 sierra, I used garage door tracks and rollers and made everything myself. Cut the roller shafts off and secured them with nuts with set screws in the nuts I drilled and tapped also.

Garage door tracks? are you limited to the length you can pull it out of the cubby hole?

I am looking for something you would find on a decent tool box but larger. something that can carry a few hundred lbs. and have no trouble extending out 99.9%

Thank you, yours look great just not sure if I could this same idea.

[2014 sierra]

crusin' around home depot the other day and found a simple new project.

solar powered auto detect security LED light.

where I am parked there is a corner, street and fence behind me. at night it is pitch black dark behind my RV. I already applied a couple strips of reflective safety tape. just not sure how well it is visible. the back corner is right up against the street. the park left a couple safety cones at the back corner, so I think their thinking the same thing I am.

So, I picked up this light. mounted the light in the back corner opposite the ladder and the solar panel on the roof. like most lights you by they come with all there own hardware. I used the plastic anchors builders epoxy to install them then between the body and mounting bracket I used some builders window sealer. the roof mounting was much simpler and again it was well sealed.

There were only a few things I liked about this light; 1)it's solar. 2) easy install. 3) not blinding bright. 4)on/ off/ auto switch (good for when traveling).

attached are a couple pictures with it in operation, as you will see the light is not blinding. yet bright enough to notice the surrounding area. wasn't able to load the short video I took.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by 2014 sierra

Garage door tracks? are you limited to the length you can pull it out of the cubby hole?

I am looking for something you would find on a decent tool box but larger. something that can carry a few hundred lbs. and have no trouble extending out 99.9%

Thank you, yours look great just not sure if I could this same idea.

You have to keep in mind that there is not much of a floor to anchor to for supporting a 4' box with 200# cantilevered outside the compartment. I have mine tethered to keep it to about 3' outside. I have it set so at least 2 sets of rollers are still inside the basement. Have no problem accessing everything in the box. Have made them for 3 or 4 other folks and haven't had any complaints so far.

[tom39]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

You have to keep in mind that there is not much of a floor to anchor to for supporting a 4' box with 200# cantilevered outside the compartment.

I was just thinking about asking you about attachment and the strength of the basement floor. Do you have any pictures of how you went about attaching the slide?

Tom G

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by tom39

I was just thinking about asking you about attachment and the strength of the basement floor. Do you have any pictures of how you went about attaching the slide?

Tom G

I welded tabs on the bottom of the rails and used 1" hex head wood screws into the floor.

[Islander]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bama Rambler
I've seen it on several trailers, not just RV's.

When someone tells me that the trailer isn't braking hard enough, AND they've checked and adjusted the brakes and wire terminations, then I always suspect the molded on 7-way plug. As I said above, replacing it made a night and day difference on the last few RV's we've owned.

I wish the RV industry had adopted the round pin connectors that the trucking industry uses. They have a lot more contact area and the sockets press around the pins much tighter.

__________________________________________________ _________

This is what I found...

OK... I finally got around to changing the 7-way moulded on pig-tail end to an after market plug.
Now I will have control of making a solid connection inside the plug.

Prior to taking everything apart I was checking inside the junction box to make sure they were all connected to the corresponding locations.
I noticed that the 'brake wire' coming in was discolored and had a melted spot on the jacket.

Further inspection showed some scorched areas inside the junction box and upon removal of the whole wire assembly revealed that the 'brake wire' had been shorting out for a long time.... way before I even owned the unit.

The metal clamp that holds the wire going into the junction box was partially broken and allowed the large multi cable to vibrate until at some point the brake wire shorted out, causing the outer casing to burn/melt , exposing other wires to be damaged.

All this was a big surprise to me... but, luckily I found it before a fire happened or having no brakes down the road.

Pictures show:
- the wires that were going into the junction box (that connect to the truck) revealing the melted casing.
- the New connector that will replace the moulded on one.
- the junction box (scorched) and the clamp that also has some melted metal on it where it was shorting out.

IMO... the clamp that secures the wires going into the junction box probably was "over tightened" squashing the multi-cable. Also I think this probably was done at the factory, as this unit has had very little highway travel before I got it 2+ years ago.
When I reassemble everything I will be placing an extra protective piece of rubber where the clamp tightens around the multi-cable... as a precautionary against squashing and chafe.
Hopefully my braking power will be improved as well.

I posted this not to alarm anyone but only for informational purposes .

Islander

[A32Deuce]

Were there wire nuts on those wires?

[tom39]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

I welded tabs on the bottom of the rails and used 1" hex head wood screws into the floor.

Thank you for sharing, I really appreciate it. Looks like I am going to have a fun winter project.

[Islander]

Originally Posted by A32Deuce

Were there wire nuts on those wires?

Yes, the wire nuts were in place and tight.
The shorting out was where the cable came through the box connector.

I am not a big fan of using the wire nuts on an RV.... there is just too much vibration to possibly work them loose.
However, what else is there when you have to group 5 or more into one connection ?

Islander

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Witch Doctor

Damn ependydad you always say you can't do nothing but computers, I guess you getting better, hope all works out. Are you still traveling or you back home again?

Oh trust me- I keep myself humble! I glued and screwed wood as a butt block to the 2 pieces of plywood for the base and then promptly broke it back apart before I let the glue set. Re-glued it and then apparently didn't center it and it doesn't settle down into the frame of the bed. Not sure how I'm recovering from that just yet.

For every win, there's a hassle that I make things harder on myself. It's sort of my way!

Still on the road- we plan on staying out until it stops being fun. I'm hoping to list the house for sale starting shortly after the new year with a goal of settling on July 1. I don't plan on going back to Maryland- I'm done with cold and snow!

[bob caldwell]

Come West....young man...( and family)....lol

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by Islander

Yes, the wire nuts were in place and tight.
The shorting out was where the cable came through the box connector.

I am not a big fan of using the wire nuts on an RV.... there is just too much vibration to possibly work them loose.
However, what else is there when you have to group 5 or more into one connection ?

Islander

Most electricians that use wire nuts also tape the wire nuts in place so they cannot move by taping around, over the top and then around again.

[bob caldwell]

Originally Posted by Islander

Yes, the wire nuts were in place and tight.
The shorting out was where the cable came through the box connector.

I am not a big fan of using the wire nuts on an RV.... there is just too much vibration to possibly work them loose.
However, what else is there when you have to group 5 or more into one connection ?

Islander

Separate the wires into two groups, using 2 10 gauge squeeze connectors and run a jumper between the two connectors....

[KRSmitty]

Had a class III receiver welded to the frame/bumper of my 2016 Heritage Glen. Needed it for my cargo and bike racks.

[bob caldwell]

Originally Posted by ependydad

Oh trust me- I keep myself humble! I glued and screwed wood as a butt block to the 2 pieces of plywood for the base and then promptly broke it back apart before I let the glue set. Re-glued it and then apparently didn't center it and it doesn't settle down into the frame of the bed. Not sure how I'm recovering from that just yet.

For every win, there's a hassle that I make things harder on myself. It's sort of my way!

Still on the road- we plan on staying out until it stops being fun. I'm hoping to list the house for sale starting shortly after the new year with a goal of settling on July 1. I don't plan on going back to Maryland- I'm done with cold and snow!

Doug...can you also use screws AND the glue? Add a pic....

[emm-dee]

Originally Posted by Islander

Yes, the wire nuts were in place and tight.
The shorting out was where the cable came through the box connector.

I am not a big fan of using the wire nuts on an RV.... there is just too much vibration to possibly work them loose.
However, what else is there when you have to group 5 or more into one connection ?

Islander

Check out these connectors.

Contractor's Choice Blue 5 Port Push-In Wire Connector (50-Pack) 67235.0 at The Home Depot - Mobile

[Islander]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

Most electricians that use wire nuts also tape the wire nuts in place so they cannot move by taping around, over the top and then around again.

Thanks OC,
That is what I plan to do to be sure they don't come loose.
Islander

[bob caldwell]

Those might be for solid wire

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by bob caldwell

Doug...can you also use screws AND the glue? Add a pic....

I actually was using screws and glue. The problem was bending on it to try and get it out of the room. (Which, I had to get it out of the room in order to flip it over- because the bed is longer than my room is tall. It was a comedy of errors!)

It's glued well now. Now, I just have to figuring out the bed framing and this butt block.

No pictures as it's all back under the mattress now.

[emm-dee]

Originally Posted by bob caldwell

Those might be for solid wire

Spec sheet says 12-22 gauge solid or stranded. I've been using them ever since learning about the product in another thread here.