Great White's 2011 831RLBSS Thread; Reloaded

[great white]

This is a reloaded version of my original thread: http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ead-27852.html.

The picture links are broken and the forum has closed it down due to no activity, so I'm "re-loading" the old stuff and then carrying on with the current stuff. the fish half dozen or so will just be cut from the original thread and the pic links fixed. So, here we go with some copy and paste:

I'm finding that my posts are spread out all over the forums.

Welcome, Modifications, Concertone, Updates, etc, etc.....

So I thought I'd make one thread and stick to that. This is that thread!



Back in around summer 2010, we bought a 2010 Flagstaff Super Lite 26RLSS:



Life was good!

At least, it was until I had a problem with the Concertone X-75. A quick call to the dealer got a new one on order. It shows up about a month later. I run down to pick it up and they had just gotten in a 2011 Flagstaff classic 831RLBSS with the atrium slide. It had just shown up on the lot and was still covered with bug carcasses from the delivery haul.

Stupidly, I walked in to have a look at it.

Crap.

This is the rig we should have bought. Nicer finishings, more light, bigger windows, bigger TV, bigger bathroom and a bedroom with a slide out for the bed and a nice armoire/closet.

I took the wife to see it. Double crap.

Next thing you know, we were trading in our 2010 on the 2011. Never camped in it, hadn't even taken the wrapping off the toilet.

But we had what we wanted in the driveway



so we were both and at the same time!

[great white]

Inside pics of the 831:

[great white]

Next, I threw on some max AirII vent covers on all three roof vents.



(Pic was taken when I only had the first one installed)

Great addition. I can leave the vents open in all weather. I leave them opening when traveling and the trailer is nice and cool when we stop.

Then I added a "flip foot":

Fastway Trailer Products - Fastway Flip Automatic Jack Foot

Well worth the price!

Bought a Husky Centerline WD anti sway hitch for trouble free towing

Next we chucked in some hoses, cables, linx levelers and tried a night here and there up the road a bit. We went for full hookups (electric, water, sewer, cable, internet) to minimize any troubles we might have on our first few outings and maximize our fun.

It was nice. The trailer was comfy, convenient and just an all around good time.

My truck wasn't quite up to snuff, so a reflashed computer and some other performance parts made it much easier to pull.

Summer was over at this point and we put the trailer up for the winter (well, as much a winter as Vancouver Island gets) and started planning out exploring British Columbia the next summer......

[great white]

Well, turns out work had different plans for us.

We're both military and they decided we were going to Newfoundland in 2011.

We sold our house, packed up the trailer and set up to go:





Planned out our route:



and off we went.......me in the truck with my dog, the wife behind in the car with her Mom and the other dog. It was going to be a grand adventure. I was actually humming "east bound and down" to myself!

Little did we know what was in store for us.....

[great white]

Well, life often doesn't go as planned:



Climbing Snoqualimie pass, the engine cracked a piston crown.



Luckily (as if you could actually use that word in this situ) I knew a guy in Ellensberg Wa (Bill Heath) who specialized in my type of truck.

While sitting on the side of the interstate, we weighed our options.

Buy a new truck? Nightmare proposition for everything from financing in a foreign country to crossing back over the border.

replace the engine? Where? how? and we were on a time deadline for work.

After talking to the Bill, he found a brand new diesel engine in a warehouse in Seattle. We just hit the truck leaving the depot and they could have the engine in Ellensburg at the local GM dealer in the morning. We bought it on the credit card over the phone and then towed the truck and the trailer to Ellensberg.

The truck went to a local garage Bill had arranged, the camper to the local KOA. Luckily (again), my wife and her Mom were driving her car and we now had accommodations and transportation while there. Only bright spot is the camper was great for all of us.

Glad we went with a bigger trailer now.....

[great white]

Long story short, $10,000 and 5 days later we were rolling out of Ellensberg with a new engine. Friendly town, everyone from the KOA owners to Heath Diesel, University GMAC, Weiss auto and pretty much every other business we came across moved heaven and earth to get us up and running again.

The truck now towed like a beast, it didn't really care if the trailer was back there or not. Turns out, we were going to need it as we crossed Vantage highway, 4th or July pass, Look out pass, climbing out of Butte, crossing huge prairie winds, etc.....

We rolled into gander Newfoundland the day we were scheduled to even after loosing the 5 days in Ellensberg.

It was 10-14 hour runs every day.

we lost all the stops and sightseeing we had planned along the way. It was get up a daylight and run until dark.

When we got to Herkimer NY, I just couldn't face another day of flat out running and we took an extra day to recharge because we had one day in the bank. All we did was sit, drink coffee, nap, walk the dogs and watch TV in the rain. It also gave us a chance to wash our clothes at the KOA laundry. I needed it bad and it filled my batteries back up for the rest of the trip.

Then it was on to Gander.....

[great white]

Not so fast Bucky!

I'm not done with you yet says the truck.

When leaving Montana, it had stalled on me.

It did it several times thoughout the trip.

At one point, I was driving along with my laptop hooked up to the OBDII port and clearing the codes as they popped p to keep the truck out of limp mode.

It always did it at the most inopportune time. IE; entering 1 Lane construction for 20 mile son the I90 it went into limp mode and limited me to about 25 mph. No place to pull over, no way to go faster. I got a lot of dirty looks when I could finally let traffic go by.

We finally made it to the causeway between NS and cape Breton. If you've never been, it's a two lane causeway with a drawbridge in the middle to let boats through.

Today it's up.

I'm sitting in a line of traffic out in the causeway, truck idleing and waiting for the bridge to drop when.......silence.

the truck dies!

No problem, I think clear the codes and off we go. Except.....no dice. It's dead.

And no the bridge is coming down!

Oh crap, I'm about to block the only access road to Cape Breton!

These trucks are known for roaching the fuel solenoid Driver (PMD) and I've got a spare in the glove box.

In desperation, I grab it, jump out of the truck, slide under the front bumper, unplug the old one, plug in the new one and let it hang from the wiring and the traffic begins to move.

It's do or die!

I jump into the cab as the car in front of me starts to move. give it a glow cycle and turn the key.

It fires up and we drive off the causeway!

A mile up the road I find a spot to pull over and shut the truck off. The wife pulls in behind the trailer and sees me walking off into the woods. I plunk down on a little grassy patch and slump over. She walks up and puts here hand on my shoulder knowing I'm finally maxed out.

We sit there for an hour in mostly silence, breathing, feeling the sun on our faces and having the occasional hysterical laughing fit.

Then, start up the truck after securing the spare PMD to the frame and then it a mercifully uneventful trip to gander.

[great white]

After pulling the trailer out of storage and dewinterizing this year, the faucets were leaking in the kitchen and a fitting had separated itself under the sink.

rather than mess around trying to fix the cheap plastic faucets, i just went out and bought pex lines and fittings and a nice Peerless faucet:



much nicer.

Then I fixed one of our broken blinds. Lots of fun re-running that string.....

[great white]

So, in a bit of surfing around I came across the Flojet macerator waste pump:

FloJet RV Waste Pump Kit - Xylem 18555000A - Drain & Flush Systems - Camping World

All the reviews seem to be good.

It sounds like a pretty good solution to the lack of waste dumping points here in Newfoundland.

IE: none at site, tight spots where there are dump sites. There's even bee a couple that there was no way to swing my trailer in and I had to do the old combine dump lines thingy. That sucked without a flushing hose....

It looks good to solve the dragging the Johnny bucket across gravel roads also. Plunk the bucket in the bed of the truck, pump the black up in to the bucket, drive the truck to the dump site and let 'er go! Much easier and safer than dragging or lifting the bucket.

I can even dump at home though the toilet if necessary.

I can get one for 250 shipped to my door.

Need to talk to the "financial advisor" first (IE: wife), but I'm going to push pretty hard for the purchase.


EEeeewwww, that didn't sound quite right did it?

[great white]

So that brings us up to date.

The ol' GMC got to a point where I just had enough of it and I got ride of it this Xmas past.

Enter the 2016 F-150:









Lariat, 502A, sport trim. Every option you can get. Full glass roof, lane keeping, adaptive cruise, heated cooled seats, dual zone ac, ecoboost, max trailer tow package, tailgate step, etc, etc. Rated to tow up to 11200. I have to remind myself every time I step on the loud pedal this is "only" a V6.

Put the ol' gmc up for sale on Kijiji (Craig's list for canada) for 4 grand. Didn't last 20 minutes. A guy called up from an hour and a half away, said he was on his way with cash in hand. He showed up in the dark, we took it for a short drive and he pressed 4 grand in 100's into my hand. I signed the papers and gave myself a mental "good riddance" as he drove away happy as a porcine in fecal matter. He actually got a screaming deal, I was just happy to be rid of it and so quickly and easily. Last picture I have of it:

[great white]

We towed the trailer to our seasonal site a little while ago. The ecoboost did just fine.

I do have to do a little work on the WD hitch I think. When we started out, the trauck and trailer sat dead level. By the time we got to the campground, it was like the rear suspension had "settled" or something. It's sure not that the truck can't handle the load, it's under all the OEM numbers for towing: payload, GVWR, GCWR, etc.

I do have a set of firestone ride rite's to install on the truck, that may help some. I had them on the GMC and while I didn't use them to add capacity, it sure added lots of stability to the rig. I'll get them installed and see what happens after that.

[great white]

My original 12V "marine master" battery finally gave up the ghost and I've decided to go to two golf cart batteries. We bought 2 bats from Costco after reading a few reviews that they were at least decent batteries.

I have to make a new battery tray, but that's not a problem. Some 1" angle and the Mig will fix that PDQ. The battery cover I've got a few ideas on how to deal with it.

I figured while I was at it, I might as well address a few more electrical areas of the trailer.

I've been meaning to add surge protection, so I figured I'd go "all in" and ordered up an EMS HW-30C:

EMS-HW30C 30 Amp Hardwired EMS with Remote Display

Pretty much as good as it gets. I could have ordered the 50A model for about 50 bucks more, but my trailer is only 30A service and if we ever sell this one we won't be buying another. So it's not like I'll be moving it to a bigger trailer...ever. The remote display is also a nice touch since the module will be hidden inside a cabinet. I'm thinking of flush mounting the remote display like this gent did:



http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f27...ions-6939.html

Pretty snazzy!



My trailer also has the WFCO 8955 PEC converter. As far as I know it's still working, but these have a reputation of being "quirky" at best. I've gotne in for the gold cart bats, might as well get a good converter to go with them. So I order up aPD4655MBA WildKat 55 Amp Main Board Assembly for WFCO 8955 or Parallax 7155 (Includes 4600 Remote)

PD4655MBA WildKat 55 Amp Main Board Assembly for WFCO 8955 or Parallax 7155 (Includes 4600 Remote)

Top quality stuff. All from bestconverter.com

I don't boondock a lot, but that doesn't mean I never do. with this gear, I'm positioned well to add extended boondocking capability. I could throw in a Honda 2000 and pretty much be good to go.

[great white]

I've wanted to replace the shower head for a while. The OEM one works, it's just kind of...."blah".

I know the Oxygenics Body spa is a popular choice in the RV world, and while I don't have one in the trailer, I don't particularly like the spray pattern it always shows in videos. I've had shower heads that spray in that pattern and I've never liked them. Neither does the missus.

Then I ran across a brand called EcoCamel. It's a European brand, based in UK it seems. Seems they're popular add-ons in the Caravans over there and if you've ever been to the UK, you know what low water pressure is.

I found a "Jetstream E" model for a decent price and I ordered one up:



same idea as an Oxygenics, injects air to increase pressure and (supposedly) reduce water usage. I could pretty much care less if it uses less water (although it would be welcome), I'm after a nice wide pattern and a little bump in pressure. Looks like it works well enough:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6Ts7KJFtWo

this caravan site guy seems to like it also:

https://www.vanmasterassociation.org...e-shower-head/

That brings us up to today.

[Delco Bobby]

That was a nice read for a Saturday afternoon. Thanks for going to the trouble of posting your experiences and troubles. That Ecocamel video demonstration was amazing.

[great white]

Since there's no cable at the camp ground and we're not going to pay for satellite service, that leaves us with OTA television. A quick check of the coverage map shows a couple decent stations are available, but a bit far away.

So I ordered up some stuff.

First, a wingman:



Then a winegard 332:



That should give me the best chance to pull in some decent signal and make it easier to "tune" in.

Then, I figured I'd spend a couple bucks on trying to bring in some wifi. It's supposed to be at the main Lodge, but none show up on my phone. So I ordered a USB wifi adapter and picked up a yagi antenna for a couple bucks.





I picked up a cheap "cantenna" too, just to try it if nothing else.

I've got minimal money in the whole wifi attempt, so if it doesn't work, I'm not worried about it.

[great white]

Since I've gone to 2 golf cart batteries, I needed to come up with some way to mount and protect them. I've seen lots of different solutions on various forums, but they either seem too "thrown together" or are pretty expensive if specifically made for golf cart batteries in a trailer.

Well since I can't (or don't want to) buy something, I figured I'd build it. Keep in mind, I'm just a "hobbyist" when it comes to this stuff. I know my way around a metal shop but I'm no pro. With that in mind, please hold the "should have done it this/that way" or "that looks like crap" comments.

I also figured that if I was making something to hold two batteries, I might as well make something to hold four in case I wanted to go bigger later on. I measured up the A-frame part of my 831RLBSS and it was just the right size to hold 4 golf cart batteries and a small storage/electrical bay. I have 2 " overhang on the rear and something like 4 or 5 on the front. It's no wider than the propane cover, so it should visually be good on the A-Frame.

So I drew up my plans and ordered up some 1 1/4 x 1/8 steel angle and some .0625 checker plate aluminum. I went with checker plate so it wouldn't look like a plain square box. Checker gives it a little visual punch and if I decide I don't like the shiny look, I can always paint it white like the trailer and propane cover, or black, or something else if I feel like it.

I welded up a tray with the 1 1/4, making a perimeter and cross braces. I used some 1 1/4 plate to give support for the batteries in each bay all around it's base. Then I cut some checker plate to make a floor in each bay. The checker plate just keeps the road spray off the bottom of the battery, the 1 1/4 steel carries the weight.

Then I took a 12 x 56 piece of checker plate and made myself a box. I'm lucky enough to access to a sheet metal shop at work and they don't mind if I come in on weekends and use the brake and shear. You'll notice in the pics below there's a piece in the middle added to the checker plate. I'd like to say I meant to do that, but it was a change in the design that was pretty much a mistake more than anything else. I had intended to mount the sides inside the tray frame, but changed my mind to outside. That meant my measurements were short. Then I made another mistake when not accounting for the radius the brake was going to make in the metal. Oh well, that part faces rear anyways and you’ll never see it.

The mistake in the bend radius I actually turned into a plus. I made a few standoffs with washers and it's now part of the box venting. I’ll still add a vent at the top of the box, although I haven’t decided on what to use yet. I may just use a louvered round AL vent and call it done. Those are inexpensive and available at nearly any hardware store.

I bent up a lid and used a piano hinge to finish it off. The hinge makes the front of the lid stand a little higher than the rear, which works out nicely as it creates a slight slant to let rain run off. I hinged it on the front for a couple reasons: the front cap on my trailer angles forward where the battery box is and if the hinge were on the rear, I wouldn’t be able to get the lid up to at least 90 degrees, which would make battery removal nearly impossible or a least a major PITA. With the hinge on the front face, the lid has lots of room. Hinge on the front also means should I ever forget it unlocked/unlatched, the wind won't be able to whip it open and slam it into the plastic front cap of the trailer.

Left to do is some method of latching and locking the lid and I have to take it to the trailer in order to mark where the bolts will go to bolt it to the existing battery frame (No welding on the A frame for me).

After that's sorted, the electrical bay will probably get a proper sized fuse and an battery disconnect. I think I'm also going to have to add a cross brace to stiffen up the rear wall on the box, just to keep things from vibrating.
The batts will get tie downs, I'm thinking just a bolt and bracket between each (there's room) and probably use some exercise mat type "foam" to cushion between the batteries. More insurance against them coming loose and banging around than anything else.

And here’s some pics since everyone on a forum always wants pics :

[SidecarFlip]

Not trying to be a smart arse but it's diamond plate or tread plate aluminum and you will have a serious issue down the road because the hydrochloric acid fumes from the flooded cell batteries gassing off (and they will because off gassing is a by prodcuct of the charge / discharge process.

Those acid fumes will literally eat your aluminum plate right up.

You'd have been better off with a welded steel box painted inside and out or a wooden battery box.

Does look nice (for now) though.

[great white]

Originally Posted by SidecarFlip

Not trying to be a smart arse but it's diamond plate or tread plate aluminum and you will have a serious issue down the road because the hydrochloric acid fumes from the flooded cell batteries gassing off (and they will because off gassing is a by prodcuct of the charge / discharge process.

Those acid fumes will literally eat your aluminum plate right up.

You'd have been better off with a welded steel box painted inside and out or a wooden battery box.

Does look nice (for now) though.

Trailer will be long gone before the box corrodes to where it matters, if it corrodes at all.

Would also be an interesting trick for sulfuric acid batteries to produce hydrochloric acid in gaseous form (I wonder where the Cl would come from needed to make HCl?).

Charging batteries off gas hydrogen, sulfur dioxide and oxygen. You vent to get rid of the explosive nature of the hydrogen and combustion supporting oxygen. Giveing off hydrogen and Oxygen is why you have to add water occationally as, everyone should realize, H and O make H2O.

None are corrosive (at least not disconcertingly so), other than the naturally corrosive properties of oxygen. The sulfuric acid will, however, devour aluminum if left untreated....if spilled that is.

ref;http://goodforgas.com/hazardous-gase...ging-stations/

And I would also like to refer back to my original post:

Originally Posted by Great White

Keep in mind, I'm just a "hobbyist" when it comes to this stuff. I know my way around a metal shop but I'm no pro. With that in mind, please hold the "should have done it this/that way" or "that looks like crap" comments.

[Dwilcox]

I think the box looks great. I bought a aluminum tool box for mine and mounted to the A frame for my batterys. 2 years and no issues. I put mine in battery boxes with the covers and have room for storage of "set up stuff" .

[extxn]

Looks just fine greatwhite ~ I measured things up and bought a light weight box for our TT, as 'normal', once I got the box in hand and tried it ~ it didn't fit! Now I've got a tongue box I can't use, Life's lessons!
As for air vents on your battery box ~ how about round eve vents sold at the big box stores? Just a thought ~~
For the battery tie downs ~~ how about the old school type that used to be in cars & trucks? You know, the big U-bolt type with a battery frame underneath? Should still be able to get them at any auto parts store.
Just think it out as you have been doing, make it work for you ~~ that's what matters the most.