http://www.themailshack.com/Adventure/ Tales of a pop-up camper en Copyright 2011 Sun, 08 Mar 2009 19:55:37 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss NTE R59 Series Thermal Circuit Breaker, found locally at Fry's Electronics. Several sizes were available, and as I had the Magnetek 6409 model, which has a DC current output of 9A, I selected a 7A breaker, the R59-7A. And despite the fact that the unit can only supply 9A of power, a max 15A fuse was recommended, meaning that in the event of an over current situation, I'd likely have smoked the power converter instead of blowing the fuse... As you can see in the pic below, the breaker is slightly smaller in size at the front compared to the old fuse holder, but the mounting hole was a perfect fit. The second phase of my power converter upgrade was to install two panel lamps to give a visible indicator that I had power (no more guessing if I was plugged into a live pole, if my fuse had popped, etc. I tracked down through Altex Electronics a pair of LEDs that were exactly what I wanted, a Philmore 11-2450, Red LED rated at 125V AC (yes, it is designed for AC, and has an appropriate diode and resistor built in to handle that voltage), and a Philmore 11-2426, Green LED rated at 12-14V. Both are snap in mount using a 1/4" hole. Some quick work with my drill had these mounted, the Red LED I wired directly to the AC lines coming into the power converter, the Green LED had the positive lead attached to the output of the newly installed breaker, and the negative lead going to a mid-line tap on the negative supply line coming off the transformer in the unit. I did briefly consider replacing the transformer and related circuitry supplying the DC voltage with something a bit more modern that would give a cleaner output, but since it was only for interior lighting I decided to pass at this point. Maybe later. Below is my completed panel in its operational state: ]]> http://www.themailshack.com/Adventure/2009/03/flying_fuse_no_more.html http://www.themailshack.com/Adventure/2009/03/flying_fuse_no_more.html Sun, 08 Mar 2009 19:55:37 -0600 Just got back from the latest road trip, one of the rear legs keeps dropping down while on the road, I had to pop it back in three separate times. Doesn't seem to drop all the way down enough to lock into place (yet?), but still need to see what I can do to secure that before hitting the road again. http://www.themailshack.com/Adventure/2009/01/leg_not_secure.html http://www.themailshack.com/Adventure/2009/01/leg_not_secure.html Sun, 04 Jan 2009 23:14:09 -0600 Getting ready for another road trip (yes, in December)... I think I may have the gasket sealing properly around the AC now, used a jigsaw to get a slightly larger opening in the roof, which should allow more of the gasket to seat into the opening, trimming the sides with the widest margins. Still have one corner that isn't compressing quite as much as I'd like, but we'll give it a go and see what happens. Not expecting any rain this trip, more likely to be snow... May not know till spring if this has done the trick or not. http://www.themailshack.com/Adventure/2008/12/leaking_ac_fixed.html http://www.themailshack.com/Adventure/2008/12/leaking_ac_fixed.html Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:11:24 -0600 Technical Documents page is priceless, the picture of the 6400 series unit in the lower left highlights well my fuse issue, their product image actually shows masking tape holding the fuse in place. Too funny! Plans at this point are to install a screw cap fuse holder, and two LEDs, one a 12v indicator, the other a 120v indicator. Too many times I've been left wondering during setup if I had the fuse in, if we had a good power pole, or if the lights had burnt out. A few status lights will answer those questions. My only concern is if I can find something to fill the hole left by the old fuse holder.]]> http://www.themailshack.com/Adventure/2008/07/flying_fuse_part_2_1.html http://www.themailshack.com/Adventure/2008/07/flying_fuse_part_2_1.html Mon, 28 Jul 2008 22:48:25 -0600 Experiences with Carrier Air V installation? - Airstream Forums I had tried tightening the mounting bolts to compress the gasket further, but that didn't seem to help before I pulled everything apart. I noticed that when tightening the bolts that the control panel was getting rather snug against the roof, and when I put the cover back on, only one screw would tighten. Apparently the stock screws are on the short side, looks like when I'm ready to reinstall everything I'll need to pick up new screws, which is just as well since the heads on two of them were a bit stripped anyway. ]]> http://www.themailshack.com/Adventure/2008/07/ac_cover_screws.html http://www.themailshack.com/Adventure/2008/07/ac_cover_screws.html Sun, 20 Jul 2008 22:41:27 -0600 Quick fix, raise the top about a foot, pull out each bed about a foot, lower the roof back down to create slack in the cables. Pull the pin out of the pulley, and move the pulley out a notch to take up some of the cable slack, insert the pin, raise the roof and verify height. In my case, moving one pulley a single notch fixed things right up.]]> http://www.themailshack.com/Adventure/2008/07/roof_height_adjustment.html http://www.themailshack.com/Adventure/2008/07/roof_height_adjustment.html Sun, 20 Jul 2008 22:21:11 -0600 The center seam for the roof also looks like it might be an issue, the way it is bulging doesn't look like it would seal properly without some help. After some work, I was able to remove the unit to get at the roof, apparently the original install wasn't centered properly, and the hole could have been slightly larger. Now I just need to figure out how best to fix things up. ]]> http://www.themailshack.com/Adventure/2008/07/gasket_issue_1.html http://www.themailshack.com/Adventure/2008/07/gasket_issue_1.html Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:40:35 -0600 AC unit is a Carrier AirV, installation manual indicates that the gasket must be compressed to 60% for a proper seal. I've removed the control panel from the inside to inspect the gasket, doesn't appear to be compressed fully all the way around... Strong suspicion that this is the cause of our leaks. http://www.themailshack.com/Adventure/2008/07/ac_gasket.html http://www.themailshack.com/Adventure/2008/07/ac_gasket.html Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:53:42 -0600 Observed the leaking issue firsthand on our current trip, several times... Web search indicates that if the unit isn't tightened down enough to compress the gasket, water will leak in. http://www.themailshack.com/Adventure/2008/07/fixing_the_ac.html http://www.themailshack.com/Adventure/2008/07/fixing_the_ac.html Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:01:06 -0600 The fuse for the 12v circuit has developed an annoying tendency to want to pop out of the holder. No time to fix this before our next trip, will have to look at replacing this later. http://www.themailshack.com/Adventure/2008/06/the_flying_fuse.html http://www.themailshack.com/Adventure/2008/06/the_flying_fuse.html Sat, 21 Jun 2008 21:49:18 -0600 Redid some of the caulking around the back end of the camper prior to our next trip. Despite being covered, we had some water on the inside. I'm convinced this is coming from the AC unit (how could water have gotten under the tarp?) and was trapped there from when we packed it up last, but I've been ordered to caulk anyway... :) http://www.themailshack.com/Adventure/2008/06/caulking.html http://www.themailshack.com/Adventure/2008/06/caulking.html Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:43:51 -0600