Recent content by Jammer

A choral conductor friend of mine is fond of remarking that there has been no improvement in the quality of music since 1750, only changes in taste. The folk revival of the 60s and 70s ushered in the idea of musical performance as a means of entertaining one's self, and so we had a plethora of...

Hi wbpino Much depends on latitude, time of year, and cloud cover.  A setup that will work great in Texas in July won't work in December in Minnesota That said, for ongoing off-grid operation, 300-400w of solar panels is typically considered about right although with a CPAP you would want to...

As late as the 1980s it used to be that there were a number of inexpensive options for adding fuel tanks to pickups.  A former coworker of mine had added tanks to his pickup when he was working the gas fields out west and carried over 100 gallons. But no more.  There are federal laws that...

A 20# propane tank is designed to hold 20# of propane safely.  The actual capacity of the tank, if it were filled to the point where there were no vapor space left, would be around 25# of propane. There are places that short fill the tanks to 80% or 75% of the 20# safe capacity -- that is, only...

That fridge requires 12v to work, so be sure your 12v supply is working right. With an older fridge replacement is usually a better choice than a new cooling unit especially where it is possible to purchase an identical new unit to fit the space.  With a unit only 2-3 years old, or when...

In general, maintenance free batteries will not last as long or perform as well in RVs as deep cycle batteries. Other than that, there's nothing wrong with using group 31s if they will fit, although they're a little less common and may take some more shopping to find.

It depends.  A 40# tank typically lasts me 20 days, but that includes some furnace usage.  But I also have electric heat and an electric water heater available.  Then again I travel with my wife and 3 daughters and all 5 of us have long hair, so we use a good deal of hot water. My advice is...

Gary makes some excellent points which I will not repeat. The only benefit of more output is that it will charge the batteries more quickly.  In practice, this only matters if you plan to try to charge the batteries by running a generator for short periods. Be sure you use large enough...

The fact that it is separate and distinct from the practice of, for example, piling a bunch of straw and mud on the step bumper of a pickup to cover up the bottom of a license plate so that the expired "valid thru" sticker is no longer visible.  Or, the application of a "decorative" cover with a...

The broader point here is that GS, CoachNet, AAA, etc., do not have a magick wand to wave that summons service techs from the interstellar ether.  They may have people contracted on a regional basis but ultimately they are relying on someone answering the phone and being willing to do the work. ...

Usually the manufacturers use steel rims for the spares for reasons of cost.  They are just as durable as the aluminum ones.  The aluminum wheels result in lower unsprung weight and have better looks.

Probably a short between neutral and ground in the motorhome.  More rarely you might be plugging into an outlet where neutral and ground are reversed or where someone didn't run a ground wire and just used neutral for that.

Hi Jamey Speaking from personal experience, that of friends, and what I see on the road, it is rare for police to ticket someone when the license plate is unintentionally blocked by removable accessories on a truck or RV. I live in Minnesota where front and rear plates are required.  I have...

So I got one of these volt/amp meters from Amazon. Very inexpensive, under $20. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EC849VM/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The trick is how to install it. The photos tell most of the story. I have 50a service, and I put the current transformer around...

I wired in a switch. At times, we use the marker lights to identify the trailer for friends. Last weekend, we had them on just to add a little more light and color.  No neighbors nearby and we shut them off at the end of the evening During severe storms we've left them on in case tent campers...