Hummingbird Is Finally Home!

[Promod]

Nice! Have you had it out in full sun and seen how many amps it's actually producing yet? I was going to do the Zamp 200watt but thinking I may just build a portable 200watt setup myself since I can do it for a 1/3 of the price. Although the suitcase is convenient.

[01tundra]

Originally Posted by Promod

Nice! Have you had it out in full sun and seen how many amps it's actually producing yet? I was going to do the Zamp 200watt but thinking I may just build a portable 200watt setup myself since I can do it for a 1/3 of the price. Although the suitcase is convenient.

My battery was reading 14.2 volts, so even in full sun it was only producing about 0.5 amps. It was making 17 volts in full sun.

[DC8Captain]

Originally Posted by 01tundra

This is the one we went with, so far it's more comfortable than what we're sleeping on at home....


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hi there,

Are you using this as your mattress or is this used on top of the mattress that came with the TT?

Dale

[01tundra]

Originally Posted by fdhealy4

Hi there,

Are you using this as your mattress or is this used on top of the mattress that came with the TT?

Dale

It's on top of the factory mattress.

[01tundra]

Had a great 3-day trip to Elkmont campground in the Smoky Mountains. This is by far our most favorite place to camp to date.

I brought along the solar panel and generator, but ended up not using either. We didn't need heat, so all we ran were occasional lights, water pump, water heater on propane and the refrigerator on propane.

Upon arrival we ran the slide out and operated the tongue jack while still plugged into the TV. At the beginning of the weekend the battery was reading 13.6V (I was expecting it to read more like when it's plugged into shore power - 14.2V). As we broke camp I even ran the slide in and used the tongue jack prior to hooking up to the truck just to see what that would do to the battery. At the end of our trip we still had 12.9 volts and all four lights on the panel lighting up showing a full charge.

I believe we could go a week without recharging based on this weekend's results and our camping style.

When we got home I added bungee cords to the spice rack with some leftover kayak rigging I had laying around.....finally got tired of having to sweep up spices when they decide to leap out of the rack....

[Promod]

Nice looking spot. Good news on the battery. Had mine out this weekend boondocking and off roading at my hunting property. Ran the slide in and out a few times on the battery used the jack ran the furnace all night from about 9 to 6am cycling a few times an hour, water pump, lights for a weekend, the 12v TV and booster for about four hours. I don't have my voltage gage hooked up yet but never dropped under 3/4 full on the stock dummy gauge. I will get the gauge installed this week and see what it looks like next weekend with the same conditions.

On a side note really happy pulling it over some mild ruts, sand and up a few hills off road. Honestly pulled a lot better off-road then I imagined. I need to get the 2" block under mine like the Baja and find some sutable tires for more clearance just in case but very happy so far.

[njhappycamper]

Agreed on the slide topper - we're picking up our 17RK in early'18 and want to add one of those - how hard was this to install (we are handy just not McGiver) - congrats on the new Bird!

[01tundra]

Originally Posted by njhappycamper

Agreed on the slide topper - we're picking up our 17RK in early'18 and want to add one of those - how hard was this to install (we are handy just not McGiver) - congrats on the new Bird!

We actually had the dealership install ours before we picked it up.

[m0fugga]

Did you relocated that rack from the outside of the bathroom to the kitchen? That look like the factory rack that come with the TT.

[01tundra]

Originally Posted by m0fugga

Did you relocated that rack from the outside of the bathroom to the kitchen? That look like the factory rack that come with the TT.

Nope, it was mounted there in the kitchen from the factory.

[01tundra]

Made a couples small mods today.

Installed a combination lock on our storage compartment door. After forgetting the key to get into the storage compartment for the 9,000th time I think I've solved that issue...

Also added a bracket holder for the 7-way cable when not in use. It's designed to mount on the tongue jack, but I opted to mount it on the bike rack instead.

[DC8Captain]

If anyone is interested in the bracket seen above I found this link for eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Boat-RV-Cam...NXny~g&vxp=mtr

[01tundra]

Well......after a couple camping trips with our new Coleman Road Trip grill that I converted to low pressure to be able run off the back of the TT with the factory quick connect I've determined that the heat output just isn't where I'd like it.

So I opted to go back to using the high-pressure splitter at the tank to hook our Coleman Triton stove to. Even though each hose connection on the splitter has integral stop valves to prevent leaking when not hooked up, I still added a ball valve to the grill outlet so I can close the valve and let the grill burn the excess propane in the 12' hose (rather than just dumping raw propane).

It's a win-win for me since we can still run the grill off the 1 lb bottles if I choose and we don't lose any heat capability like with the low-pressure option.

[01tundra]

Originally Posted by fdhealy4

If anyone is interested in the bracket seen above I found this link for eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Boat-RV-Cam...NXny~g&vxp=mtr

Got mine from Amazon (of course ) -

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And the storage compartment lock as well -

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[01tundra]

We have never liked the surface-mounted stove so I picked up a flush mount kit for it off Amazon.

Remove the knobs and top cover on the stove, then remove the four screws holding the unit down to the counter top. Remove the gas hose and put the stove to the side.

I removed the paper thin wood box that the factory put under the stove, removed it all with a small screwdriver using it like a miniature pry bar.

Measured 3/8" forward of the front factory counter top cut and marked it across, also marked center of the factory hole on the front edge. Then flipped the recess mount over and laid it on the counter with the front edge on my marks. Traced around the entire edge of the unit with a silver grease pencil and then used a tape to make marks 3/8" in from the traced line on the sides and back. Sketched the new inner "cut" line out and then used a jig saw with a down cut laminated blade. Screw the new recess mount into the edge of the counter top in the three places with the provided screws. The entire process took under 10 minutes.

You lose 5" of clearance inside the cabinet, which had no effect on us.

Oh yeah.....don't leave all your stuff in the cabinet below while cutting out the counter top in the name of "saving time".....because having to unload everything after the fact and cleaning it all up was less than fun .

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Magnolia Tom]

That looks awesome. Great job!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[oldmanAZ]

Very nice!

[01tundra]

Thanks.

Gives us a little more counter space and more importantly, keeps toddler hands off the control knobs

[01tundra]

I finally had enough with having to go get the key every time I wanted to get into the outdoor shower compartment.

I'd much rather risk somebody stealing our shower than dealing with a key......or whatever mystical reason the manufacturers feel the need to put a lock on there......maybe it's to prevent a homeless guy from taking a free shower

I ordered the lock a little long (7/8") because I was afraid that I'd have to space the lock out so that the thumb latch wings would clear the door since the lock was recessed. I ended up cutting a zinc coated steel spacer I had to shim the latch out to clear the door, which made the keeper tab land in the correct depth. I also used the belt grinder to shorten the new keeper tab to match the factory tab.

We actually use the shower quite a bit to get water for cooking and rinsing things off.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[01tundra]

Had a great trip to Pigeon Forge over the New Years holiday.

On the way home we stopped at a gas station and when I came out I happened to look at the TT and noticed the passenger side wheel really off camber. Thinking the suspension may be under a bind I pulled forward to get on flat ground......no change.

I get it home (driving 50 MPH for 45 miles) and can clearly see the gap between the brake drum and backing plate at the bottom as compared to the top, the spindle is clearly bent. The spindle happens to be welded to the lever arm which is integral to the axle beam....brilliant design there.

So we are not over GVWR for the TT (have CAT scale tickets and TW scale photos), we do not drive over 65 MPH typically, we don't jump curbs (our TV is longer than our TT). Axle had max of 3,250 lbs on it and is a "3,500 lb." axle. So how does this happen and we don't even realize it?

And to think this is the "Baja" option, if the axle can't hold up to interstate travel I sure wouldn't trust it off-road.

Awaiting warranty feedback now. Wish I could just put a 5k lb. axle under it and do it right, but that would mean new wheels also.