2608BS Owners Thread

[JZ2608BS]

2024 and yes it has heated tanks but those all need to have liquid in them before using the heaters. We only dry camp, so the only tank that will have liquid in it, when we arrive at our destination will be the fresh water tank and I don't want to waste my fresh water to add liquid to the other tanks. It could take more than a week before there is any significant amount of liquid in the other tanks. With our other trailer we have camped in -5C weather and never had an issue. It does not have heated tanks but does have a heated underbelly, which I think is a better system. I am hoping the radiant heat from the heat ducts in the underbelly will keep it warm enough to prevent freezing.

 

[JZ2608BS]

Maybe I should be asking what minimum temps others have camped in, without using the tank heaters and not experienced frozen lines.

 

[GolfingDave]

2024 and yes it has heated tanks but those all need to have liquid in them before using the heaters

I am not going to all heaters are the same but these(Therma Heat) came with my camper but I would think most heaters are close to the same. Turn on at 45F and off at 67F. My guess is any tank is going to be ok with any heater that is thermostatically controlled. Ever use a heating pad? They get pretty warm but enough to damage a tank? My bet is if they were to cause damage they would not be installing them without at least a warning at the switch.

I fill my fresh water all winter long and use all my water devices with no problem. Third winter doing this. I do not waste any fresh by preloading any of the tanks. Don't even think about turning them on until the temp gets below freezing and then I am looking more for the radiant heat from the warmer water to help in keeping the underbelly warmer.

Notice the last question.

Maybe I should be asking what minimum temps others have camped in, without using the tank heaters and not experienced frozen lines.

I have learned that my underbelly stays about 8F degrees above ambient. Throw a remote thermometer in your underbelly in several locations and do some testing.

 

[JZ2608BS]

Excellent info and thanks. I am at least another month away from camping, since the campsite is still snowed in and the gates are locked. I still have some snow on the ground at my place too. This will be my first experience with the 2608BS and don't want it to be a bad one. I have lots of experience camping in sub freezing weather, just not with this TT.

I appreciate the info about the difference between the ambient temps and the underbelly temps. Gives me a lot more comfort and I will add some thermometers in the underbelly just to gain a better understanding of how this trailer performs in sub freezing temps. At least for the first season and after that I should have a good idea of its performance.

 

[JZ2608BS]

I go the Therma Heat information brochure from Forest River and it confirms what you said about empty tanks. However there are other issues I am discovering:

1) The grey water drain from the kitchen is exposed on the outside of the trailer. So it is more likely to freeze, since it has no protection from the elements.
2) Those heaters suck up a lot of energy. According to the brochure each one of the large heaters consumes 11.8 Amps and there are 4. Plus 2 smaller ones at 6.6 Amps. Total = 60.4 amps. That will kill a battery very quickly and I only dry camp.

A heated underbelly would be a much better system for me. Too bad I didn't discover this before buying this trailer.

 

[GolfingDave]

That will kill a battery very quickly and I only dry camp.

What do you mean by "dry camp"? I just took that to meaning you do not hook up to water. I take it you mean you are boondocking without any hookups.

I have run my propane heater on battery only along with my refrigerator in the low/mid thirty temps overnight. It easily uses 65 to 70 amp hours of charge during that time. No need to turn my tank heaters on as long as it does not get too far below freezing so I have never tried that. I would probably not get alarmed down to 20F if I know it is warming up during the day. But then I have some heat in my underbelly.

Maybe next time it gets cold I will cut power and turn on all heat/refrigerator and see what my batteries are discharging at. Might be good for me to know. At least the refrigerator and cabin heat are only drawing power intermittently.

 

[JZ2608BS]

What do you mean by "dry camp"? I just took that to meaning you do not hook up to water. I take it you mean you are boondocking without any hookups.

I have run my propane heater on battery only along with my refrigerator in the low/mid thirty temps overnight. It easily uses 65 to 70 amp hours of charge during that time. No need to turn my tank heaters on as long as it does not get too far below freezing so I have never tried that. I would probably not get alarmed down to 20F if I know it is warming up during the day. But then I have some heat in my underbelly.

Maybe next time it gets cold I will cut power and turn on all heat/refrigerator and see what my batteries are discharging at. Might be good for me to know. At least the refrigerator and cabin heat are only drawing power intermittently.

Sorry, I should have said boondocking. We only camp in sites with no hookups. I do not have a 12v fridge because I paid a rediculous amount of money to have the 12 v fridge replaced with a 2 way fridge. Knowing the 12 v fridge would be a problem for us because of the amount of battery power it consumes. Woke up to 14 degrees F this morning but don’t plan on camping in those temps. Could easily see temps around mid 20’s when camping.

What heat do you have in your underbelly?

 

[Coach Holly]

If it still comes with the Wifi Ranger (a little pylon with a disc on top), that's your problem. It's a very poor antenna for TV and radio. I ended up getting a small outdoor household TV antenna and mounting on an 8 foot PVC pipe clamped to my ladder. Brings in way more TV stations.

As for the Wifi part, it will do what it says, if the camp has decent Wifi available and you have a good line of sight to their access point. It's just a repeater that lets you connect all of your stuff to the camper, instead of having to connect to a different camp wi-fi everywhere you go.

Ex-tenter, I'm going through old entries on the site and saw your solution for getting better tv reception. My question for you is how do you connect your tv antenna on your ladder to the tv in the camper? Hope you get this.

 

[GolfingDave]

What heat do you have in your underbelly?

Already answered.
See post #959

 

[Potato-FRF]

Ok folks.... Kids gave me a GEN3 Starlink for Christmas and I'm trying to come up with a through the wall solution for the dish cable.... I've seen a couple of "pass through" double female fittings, but I'd really like to know what everyone else has done.... Ideally, I'd like to have a satellite plug with a cover over it similar to the power plug.... I guess I could use a pass through plug there under the cover....I really don't want to fish the wire in a slide gasket, just not what I want to do....

Anyone 2608/26FKBS users done anything similar with their Starlink connection?

I ran the Starlink cable through outside shower and installed an outlet inside at the FW pump cabinet for power.

 

[gafinsc]

As I have both a Starlink and an InstyConnect Gen1 I needed to route both an Ethernet and USB connector inside the trailer. Used a Smartplug Data plug and installed it just in front of my on/off switch which turns on the front light below the window. Althought I was nervous about drilling a 3 inch hole in the side, I also have a SmartPlug 50 AMP plug on the back (great upgrade) so I was not concerned about water leakage. It looks professionally installed and the benefit is you can swap out the individual data connectors to whatever you need. I installed the Smart plug there as I have my Insty router and Home Assistant PI installed on the shelf inside. I installed there so I could easily route the 12v from my electrical installation.

 

[JZ2608BS]

Already answered.
See post #959

OK, I went back and reread your post plus all the links and have a better idea of what you have gone through. However I see you have a 2511 and from what I can tell by the specs it only has one grey tank , so you wouldn't have the exposed grey water pipe that runs from the front of the trailer to the rear and very likely a different layout for the heating system. So not direct comparison but much of what you have done might work for the 2608. I think I need to use the trailer a few times to get a sense of whether or not this will be an issue. Unfortunately there is no way to know until a pipe freezes and then It is too late.

I'm going to contact Forest River and ask if there is a way to add basement heat to my trailer. If I get a positive reply I will post here.

 

[JZ2608BS]

I contacted Forest River and asked if I could use one of the unused furnace duct openings to direct heat into the underbelly or redirect the bathroom vent into the underbelly. Their response was: "You can certainly try that. Just be aware that it will likely lower the cfm's going to the registers inside the unit".

 

[Gottaluvlife]

Like Mr Puka we just checked all the pipes especially up under the sinks. Had one spot where the kitchen sink had not been fully sealed so we spilled water on the counter that ended up underneath., Simple fix
No leaky roof (but I'm not really happy with our awning fabric & hope to have a chat at the rally in August - holds too much water and can't get it to drain - just stretches)
No wall problems
I use bungy cords from drawer handle to drawer handle just for my peace of mind - no issues there yet
TV & Fireplace just don't see much use or handling by us so just hoping for the best right now.

 

[Gottaluvlife]

We purchased 2020 2608bs (pre-covid built) and still love it!
Minor Issues;
1. fireplace glass - got mirror clips to kerp in place
2. Shower curved glass on top the roller balls arecheap metal & had to replace 2 so far.

 

[GolfingDave]

However I see you have a 2511 and from what I can tell by the specs it only has one grey tank

Actually have two grey tanks but correct, no long pipe as I have two grey dump valves. Both are insulated. Neither has froze on dump days that were down to 25F but then I have only had two of those in three years. Dump day nights have just worked out to being warmer.

be aware that it will likely lower the cfm's going to the registers inside the unit

Even with the missing duct my camper gets pretty toasty quick but a three foot shorter camper.

This really only comes into play if it is above freezing and I am using strictly propane and then only on a cost saving way. Do I want to waste that heat? Remember the reason for underbelly heat is to have heat there for when temps get below 25F or so. Warmer than that I do not need it there.

My work around is the hoses are easily accessible and I can just yank them out and let them blow out thru my bottom drawer are near. It only has to stay open about four inches so it is not a big deal or in the way. Just a couple of minutes of my time.

My heater plenum has unused ports but I am not able to use them the way it is installed. It would be nice to be able to use one and install an easily accessible shut off for the underbelly heat. You might have that option? They make valves for electric dryer vents that allow you to direct it outside in the summer and inside for the winter(along with the lint). The plastic vents and covers are readily available. Just a matter of finding a spot.

Also, I do not boondock a lot(maybe two weeks so far this winter) so having the drawer open is not something that happens a lot. When it gets to be constantly below freezing I want to be on electric hookup and have the propane as backup. Needed it the other night when power went out.
I really do not want to be in possible freeze my pipes scenarios for prolonged periods if my propane heater quits.
I see temps dipping below mid teens at night and not coming up during the day much I head further south for a bit.

 

[JZ2608BS]

On further looking, I find there are 2 grey dump valves on my trailer as well. The long pipe I was looking at is in fact for the middle grey tank and it runs back to the black/grey dump valve near the rear of the trailer. The exposed pipe is not that long and may not be a concern. The main issue I see is that the water tank and pump are at the very back of the trailer and the kitchen plus the hot water tank are at the very front. That is a long run of unheated pipes. I think the best thing to do, is as you suggested and place some remote thermometers in the underbelly to monitor the temps. As long as the temps don't get too far below freezing or stay there too long, I should be OK.

Thanks for all your input and advice. It's nice to have someone with experience pass on their knowledge.

Sounds like you are a wanderer and get to see a lot of the country. Must be nice.

 

[GolfingDave]

Sounds like you are a wanderer and get to see a lot of the country.

Only during the winter months. Park it at the home town fairgrounds for the summer.

 

[JZ2608BS]

Can't believe the quality of service these days. I had the 12v fridge removed and replaced with a 2 way fridge and it all looks good on the inside and then I look at the outside to find they must have used silicone to seal around the lower fridge vent. With only a light touch the silicone peels away from the vent cover. So instead of fixing it myself, I thought the dealer should fix what they have done. I purchased this unit from a dealer that is 5 hrs away but they another outlet an hr from us and I took it there to have it redone.

The first picture is the silicone peeling away from the vent cover and the second picture is of the second attempt to get it right. There is a 3rd picture showing the missing decals on the front cap. This is a 2024 that was brought home from the dealer and parked 5 hrs later. With another 2 hrs travel time to get the vent resealed.

 

[wrkinprogress]

I ran wires from the seven pin connector junction box on the camper to the cargo rack. Through the frame as much as possible and with chafe protection added.
Figured to keep the connection points all in one spot and out of the elements.

View attachment 457939

What rack do you have there? Measurements???? Might you happen to be able to take a picture from the side please...trying to figure out what rack might be appropriate for us (for grill stuff & stinky slinky box )