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Old 04-05-2015, 08:43 PM   #1
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1st Weekend camp out

1st weekend w my wife and actually enjoying new XLR Hyper Light 29hfs for Easter Weekends :

Sorry Long Post

Had no time to due any upgrades and now I definitely have a priority list.....

Before I get into it here's some eye candy from this weekend
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Had a great weekend at Ocean Shores, WA

Holy moly does my Quadrasteer GM tow way better than the f150 ecoboost w max tow - no comparison- - ok power about the same but towing behavior a huge difference Zero Sway w quadrasteer in tow mode had up to 70-75 the Eccoboost f150 did not like being over 65 and then you still needed to pay attention.

Very nice TH wife loves it BONUS 😍😍😍 had. Great Easter weekend

Some ask how long 100Gal water would last - well like u said w my wife it lasted a day and a half 😁

Now the bad

The heater the heater the heater - it's a bad choice from FR Its way not even close to being big enough to heat the hyper light 29 - it dropped to 43 degrees at night and basically ran the whole night w garage closed - which drains the single 12v battery to almost dead. The first day it was about 53 degrees it took over 2 hours to bring TH up to 71degrees and this was with help from a 1500watt AC heater too -

The garage why would you put beds in there if your gonna freeze every body / the garage is a freezer - it ran 10 to 15 degrees cooler than the rest of TH - I don't understand why FR does not insulate the floor -

XLR Hyper Light series could be the best in class period if FR would fix these issues --

And I have the Extreme Weather Package - I can't even imagine this TH without - FR must think everybody carries their own heaters or nobody camps in temps below 60degrees.

So priority 1 get heater resolved
2 install 4 12v batteries
3 insulate garage floor
4 insulate / sound proof generator
5 quick mounts for jacks - had to take mine off to clear driveway
6 install inverter/ solar system
7 install swivel mount for living room TV and change TV put
8 cut cover for sink in half - for more counter space and access to one sink
9 put magnets on both bathroom doors
10 install 2 more TVs

That's doable for now --😀😀😀😀

Happy Easter Everyone
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Old 04-05-2015, 09:24 PM   #2
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looks great , you may want to insulate the rest of the unit also not just garage. So you having issues with the bathroom doors ? I'm on my way to get mine now and will be there Wed. Can't wait to see what will need to be done <G> Yours looks like it has a few more options such as the onboard gen
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Old 04-05-2015, 10:30 PM   #3
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1st Weekend camp out

Not really an issue it's an annoyance, when parked on uneven ground the doors don't stay where you want them-- it's the little things....... WW posted magnetic door holders - that what I'll be doing too --- FR should of made both doors sliders like the bedroom - this would create better flow - that might be on on # 20 list of things to do add slider to garage door. - yes I will have to fab - add on to current wall but looks like I have quite a few thing to get the garage the way I think it should be.


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Old 04-06-2015, 06:21 AM   #4
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Nice pictures. Being a mid-western type, never thought about camping on the beach. One more thing to add to the bucket list...
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Old 04-06-2015, 06:41 AM   #5
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Glad you were able to get out for Easter weekend. Here in Boston, it is still too cold and too much snow on the ground. Then it will take a while to dry out and the mud situation to improve.

It is always fun doing the mods on a new trailer. You get to make it your own.

Enjoy.

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Old 04-06-2015, 07:43 AM   #6
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1st Weekend camp out

Fantastic 1st weekend more pics Ocean Shores, WA you can drive on the beach here - but didn't go too far w TH 😁
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Enjoy
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Old 04-06-2015, 11:29 AM   #7
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Looks good. Enjoy!
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Old 04-06-2015, 03:46 PM   #8
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PH, I'd recommend going with two or four 6v batteries. You're going to get much better service out of them. I went with Lifeline AGM's. They are the best out there. Big bucks but are well worth it. You could start with two and go with two more if you feel you need more capacity. I got mine from Stored Energy Products who are the cheapest on the net.

Lifeline: Lifeline Batteries - Marine & RV Deep Cycle AGM Batteries

SEP: Stored Energy Products Battery & Power Product Distributor
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Old 04-06-2015, 04:52 PM   #9
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Taken

Thanks I have 4 12v now from my last RV -- deep cycle from Costco have held up very well - they have not been treated well lol, but have thought about going the 6v route -- I'm gonna need more amp hours in the beast to keep that noisy generator off
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Old 04-06-2015, 05:13 PM   #10
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Ah, using what what you have. Makes sense. I had 12v in all my previous RVs. I can tell you after one night of the furnace running on the way home from oh that the sixes are a huge improvement. Huge...
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Old 04-06-2015, 07:55 PM   #11
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Nice pics PH! Glad you had a good thanksgiving. Family came over... my job is to eat all the left overs and there are a lot of them!

Thanks for posting. 4 - 12volt in the hand is better than 4 6 volters in the bush.

Thank goodness the wife loves it, nice job PH! 100 gallons in a day and a half! Your job if you choose to accept it (ha) is to take a water management class

If battery storage works like water usage, you will have to add more roof to handle the panels . I thought 200W would do it for me, but maybe 300W.

Inverters get pricey, but I would figure out how to run the 'things' that can tolerate it on square wave and the picky things on true or pure sine wave. First you have to get a handle on how much DC you are going to need. Get a good inverter or inverters when you do. I would like at least 2000W inverter. I'm not the solar expert, but my thoughts would be to have a true sine wave and a square wave inverter, if that is feasible.

I have added reflectix under the floor under the garage. I could tell a slight difference, but no hard data to prove anything. It still will need 2 to 3 times more heating BTUs. If you consistently camp at low 40s, I would add a Wave8 in the garage and another one in the "kitchen".

Sound insulation around the genny. Suggest using the high dollar HushMat; maybe look into sitting on thicker/betterr rubber mounts and muffulate the heck out of it.

We must have different sinks, mine is a 40 / 60 split with two bowls.

I would like another tele, as well.
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Old 04-06-2015, 07:56 PM   #12
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Very nice th Play Harder! What is the stats or info of your tv if I may ask?
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Old 04-06-2015, 08:12 PM   #13
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Looks good! After your long trip to get it, I bet it felt good to be out with the family camping in it
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Old 04-06-2015, 09:47 PM   #14
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WW

I've tried water management grrrrrrr -- it normally take a tank for my wife to get it it was only 54 gal in a day and a half lol....

I'll be putting in a 3000 inverter - I only use for directtv and TV, lighting, charging IPads, iPhone ect..hope, been fine with 4 12v for the last few years might have 2 TV on at once would be only difference.

I'm claiming warranty over the furnace and floor insulation due to fact that I paid for the extreme weather package and it was special ordered to have the Extreme weather package added which states "radiant Roof / Floor / slide out Floor / Front insulation (R-38 @ 80f)" I paid for and ordered extreme package and expect the floor to be insulated to R-38 as stated. Also FR ligature states it comes with a 20000 btu furnace mine came w a 19000btu input value and is only rated output is only rated at 14440 btu with 2 vents hooked up not 4 - with 4 it's output is more like 10000 btu - this is why it can't heat the TH now you might think I'm being a stickler over furnace but if you put it in you specs as a 20000btu furnace you better put a 20000btu furnace in.

Hopefully theses are simply warranty issues - and just an oversight on FR part

Other that those 2 ongoing issues can't wait to add my own modifications- my RV season has started and plan to enjoy my new TH as much as possible and often




Get out and Play Harder😛

2016 XLR Hyper Lite 29hsf - loaded picked up 3-24-2015😊
2008 Can Am Spyder
Kite Boarding is my Addiction - GOT WIND!
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Old 04-06-2015, 09:51 PM   #15
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HDmntrider

It's a chev quadrasteer 6.0 gas 1/2 ton HD w air bags and adjustable rancho shocks, E ply tires - almost 300,000 miles on her


Get out and Play Harder😛

2016 XLR Hyper Lite 29hsf - loaded picked up 3-24-2015😊
2008 Can Am Spyder
Kite Boarding is my Addiction - GOT WIND!
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Old 04-07-2015, 11:04 AM   #16
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PH , harbor freight carry's inveters 2000 watt for 129 , 3000watt for 299 and 5000 watter for 399. plus they have 20% off coupons. 54 gallons in a day and a half is a lot of water . in my slide in i had 36 gallons and it could last me 2 weeks . but no wife and that's the difference . According to WW there are 2 tanks for the grey water one could be made an extra fresh water storage and give you another 28.5 . we really don't need 57 gal grey water tanks . I'll be picking mine up tomorrow and if it's not a 20,000 btu furnace then I'll not sign off on the unit .like you said it's what is stated in the specs .looks like I'm getting the 2000 watt inverter . they also sale 2/0 battery cables 6' x 2 for battery hook up and inverters for 39.99 .

i'll be posting my findings tomorrow eve after chacking out my unit
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Old 04-07-2015, 11:25 AM   #17
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Take the metal cover off the furnace 2 screws and the label is there looks like this //

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Also check the walk thru dinette couches - they have 4 legs on them to support when in use as bed - all 4 should ouch the ground when in bench. In full down position - some how I only got 2 adjustable legs and 2 legs that are not so those 2 are too short..

I sent a message to BB on my warranty concerns and haven't heard anything - just filed my concerns with RVW yesterday-

guess we will get to review how both handle a warranty issue soon.
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Old 04-07-2015, 11:56 AM   #18
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Play Harder & Northstar,
I will be following your post/warranty work very closely. Just for some additional info. Check out the furnace suppliers web site for their ratings -
Airxcel | Suburban Manufacturing Products
They seem to match the label on the furnace but not the FF literature.

Wishing you the best...
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Old 04-07-2015, 12:06 PM   #19
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As for using what you have battery wise and stacking several of them, I've always been told that to do that the batteries should be identical in weight, size and age. Is that not true?
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Old 04-07-2015, 02:30 PM   #20
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Yes that is true for optimum operation and life of the batteries- often if one is bad it normally will take out the one next to it. And also even when you buy the same batteries take a volt meter w you and try to find 4 that are putting out the same voltage - try to get 4 matched ones - I work with batteries a lot - on portable x-ray machines which have 30 plus --

You should have at least your pairs matching voltage when fully charged - you will be surprised at the different Voltages you will get on a batch of batteries.

You'll get longer life out of your batteries if you match but it's not gonna hurt anything if there not 100% match just shorter life span
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