OMG Wow 32 Years!

[mike837go]

This past weekend we took out the new trailer for boondocking where we had been using a 1983 vintage TT (with a few updates).

It felt like an embarrassment of riches with all the changes to RV's over the past 30+ years:
A) The stabilizers are now scissor jacks permanently attached to the bottom of the trailer. My old trailer had screw jacks that had to be held in two places while turning a nut. (Try doing that with only 2 hands while lying on the ground.) And the new stabilizers use a speed handle that can be used while standing (OK, I need to squat a bit to get the handle straight on the jack).

B) Electronic ignition on the fridge, water heater and furnace! No more standing pilots.

C) Manual piezo ignition on the stove. No more keeping the BBQ lighter out on the counter.

D) Built in entertainment center. A decent radio with nice stereo speakers. Not a pocket radio with one tinny speaker.

E) Integrated 110VAC and 12VDC power station with ATC fuses. Not a separate converter with buss fuses and a 4 circuit load center. Lets also praise the designers for leaving it out, not burying them deep under the bed. And a added bonus: a little red LED that glows when an ATC fuse blows. And a cooling fan. Whoda thunk about that back in the 20th century?

F) LED lighting throughout. Much less power needed to see after dark.

G) Powered Awning! One button to extend/retract the awning. Not: pull the pins, loosen the stretchers, lift and then pull the awing out. Then extend the arms. Finally install the stretchers using the pins you misplaced from step 1.

H) Powered tongue jack. No more hyperventilation after fully extending and then retracting when hitching up.

Now for the downside:
1) All those electronics sap power from the battery when 'nothing' is running. No a whole lot, but when one is used to absolute zero power consumption when everything is off, its noticeable.

2) The 2 power goodies (awning & tongue jack) use quite a bit of power from the battery. Fortunately, I connect the tow vehicle when running the jack.

All in all I'll take all the conveniences with the need to keep more electricity on hand.

This is just the wonderfulness of updating by 32 years. Somewhere else I post the pros & cons of moving up to a 5' longer trailer.

[DocBrown]

Very nice. My dad is still towing around a '77 Jayco 21' travel trailer.

[mike837go]

One last downside:
3) LED lighting throughout. Very harsh and bright. The soft glow of the 1156 bulbs was kinda nice.

[mike837go]

Originally Posted by DocBrown

Very nice. My dad is still towing around a '77 Jayco 21' travel trailer.

Good deal.

Lets hope he drags it around for many more.

[TWP723]

Ya know Mike, I prefer the old school lamps for the same reason. Not a huge fan of the LED's.

[clubhouse]

Great Post. Hope you have 32 years of enjoyment with the new TT.

By the way a second battery, if you don't already have a dual set up, will go a long way to make up for the power awning and tongue jack.

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by TWP723

Ya know Mike, I prefer the old school lamps for the same reason. Not a huge fan of the LED's.

I've spent more money than I would like to admit (not a whole lot, but enough) trying to find the right colored LEDs to replace my regular bulbs in my camper. I hate that glaring blueish white bright light common to LEDs. My first set made the trailer look like a mobile science lab! LOL!

These are a VERY close match to the original color. DW didn't even notice the difference looking right at them practically side by side, and she's my biggest critic!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EL13ISA/...=IHSCA7NPC8N0O

Unfortunately, from what I understand about the LED fixtures installed at the factory, you can't just change the LED, it is built into the fixture so you'd have to change the whole thing.

[mike837go]

Originally Posted by Camper_bob

Unfortunately, from what I understand about the LED fixtures installed at the factory, you can't just change the LED, it is built into the fixture so you'd have to change the whole thing.

I installed LED fixtures in the old trailer a year or so ago. The LED arrays were not hardwired, but used a unique connector.

I'm going to leave the fixtures alone in the new trailer until the warrantee runs out.

There are so many of them: 4 on the switch by the door to light the trailer from end-to-end. One each: over the sink, over the dinette, over the couch, in the bedroom and the bathroom. Plus 2 high intensity lights over the kitchen workspace. Plus one in the storage area. Then the porch and outside stairs. Lastly, a work-light on the front left and one on the tongue jack. That's quite a few to consider replacing because the light is 'too hash'.

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by mike837go

That's quite a few to consider replacing because the light is 'too hash'.

That's why I'm doing them one or two at a time.

DW already thinks I'm crazy about lights and gets all bent out of shape when I order them (or even talk about them). I guess she's a little right. So I spread them out to keep her from cutting up my credit card! LOL!

We have never camped without power; I'm replacing them for the reduced heat load. With all those lights (I have probably as many as you do at least) they can create buckets of heat, and we have more of that than we need down here in S. TX. If I already had LEDs in the trailer, I would probably just get used to the color, but I really like the glow of a regular bulb; it's just more warm and inviting IHMO. So I'll keep chipping away at them until they're all done!

[mike837go]

I guess I'm lucky because SWMBO doesn't like the LED's either.


The bedroom reading lamp will be replaced by 2 softer, gooseneck lights FIRST.


Then the dining area will get a multi-bulb fixture with a dimmer.

[mike837go]

I just realized something else:


The water heater bypass!


When I bought my old trailer from the original owner, he gave me a piece of pipe with some fittings on it. To winterize, I had to crawl under the bed/sofa and disconnect the water heater. Then install the bypass pipe. Two years later I installed a bypass kit that used 2 two-way valves that I could barely tell which way they were set. (flipping 2 valves was a MAJOR improvement over installing/deinstalling that pipe)


The new trailer? 3 standard valves that are blatantly obvious about their mode.

[mike837go]

Yet another tech improvement:


2 stage regulator! Safer and more consistent over a broader range of flow rates.


No downside on that one.