Post by diyordie on Sept 16, 2020 11:20:53 GMT -8
Hey there! Thanks for adding me to your forum, excited to connect and share info!
I bought a 1972 Rancho El Rae travel trailer in early July, to use as my primary dwelling while I travel as an outdoor education professional (raft guide in the summer, ?? in the winter). I did a deep cleaning, but no remodeling when I bought it. When I moved to a different part of CO for a raft guide job, I stayed two nights in a campground to figure out what worked, what didn't -- here's what I know so far:
Electricity: Shore power turned on the interior lights, but just dimly. The cigarette lighter socket I have by the "bottom bunk" (looks like something the last owner installed) DID work. None of my outlets worked. I hear it has a converter or an inverter but only one of the two, and the other is needed. This is a part I have and just need to install, we'll see if it fixes it.
I have one marine battery wired into the system, now. I charge it off a solar trickle charger, and it just powers the cigarette lighter socket, which is enough for me to charge a phone, etc. I have a second battery I plan to wire in parallel, we'll see if that works when the converter/inverter is installed. I will also be getting a second trickle charger to keep the system charged.
Plumbing: Fresh Water: My freshwater tank is under my "bottom bunk." It holds 15 gallons, and the pump I have that came installed works. Water currently only goes to the kitchen sink, no water traveled to the bathroom when I flushed my freshwater tank. I've looked at the hot water heater, and I think I just failed to open a few valves -- it looks like you can run through or bypass the hot water heater, and I just need to play with that some more when I'm hooked up to potable water again, next. For now, I have not been using any of my onboard plumbing. More on that when I address grey/black water.
Grey/Black Water: I have used the camper's bathroom, flushing with water as needed to maintain cleanliness but not add significant volume to the tank. It looks like grey and black water drain to the same tank from the bathroom, but grey seems to bypass the tank and just accumulate in the pipe? I did some painting and the green paint made that more apparent last time I looked, haha. I'm currently thinking that it's so you can let the grey drain continuously, if it was uncapped, but since it's never backed up, I have some questions about where it's going. Any input on that would be greatly appreciated! As for the black tank: It seems I have a slow leak somewhere in a pipe leading to the tank. While parked for 6 weeks previously, I used the camper's bathroom occasionally, and did have a slight damp spot under the camper when I moved it. It didn't happen after I took it to dump the tank, but it also didn't sit as long the second time, or get as much use. When water is able to be run to the bathroom, we'll see what kind of issues we have there. I do ultimately plan to convert to a composting toilet to make boondocking more feasible.
Propane Systems: Stove: The stove does not light. Gas goes to the stove burners, but not to the oven. The (original?) Trav'ler stove is still installed. The chrome trim will need to be replaced, and some research has shown me it may be a bad thermocouple? The oven's pilot light will not ignite, and I can't find answers about quite how it works. That will be a priority to figure out.
Refrigerator: Works flawlessly on propane, haven't figured out the electric setting yet, as a part of the camper's issues. I ran it for over 6 weeks off of 2 30-pound propane tanks, and had issues with it being too cold when I was first using it! I've gotten that adjusted, and it works great.
Heater: Also has a pilot light issue. The pilot light will light, but not stay lit, so I haven't been able to use the onboard heater and just used a Little Buddy heater when we had a cold snap over Labor Day weekend. Not a fan of the "damp heat" propane creates, I ultimately would like to do a parlor wood stove and remove the dinette.
Infrastructure: My roof is solid, no leaks. Outside aluminum has significant hail damage, but it seems to just be aesthetic, not structural. I have discovered some rot inside my closet and bathroom along the back wall, and in the right corner at the foot of the bed (same side as the door, for reference). I plan to pull my paneling on both front and back to assess the damage, sister in new studs as necessary, and insulate, and to continue the same all the way around the inside to assess its condition and again insulate. When I strip my flooring (gross adhesive linoleum over the original linoleum), I plan to explore the floor and subfloor to assess their conditions, and repair as necessary.
This is a totally new project for me -- I've done some handyman/caretaker work, and remodeling, but nothing to this extent! I'll add some pictures to this post for context as soon as I can. Any feedback, input, or advice you have to offer is appreciated -- I'm working on a tight budget to make this space livable, comfortable, and upgraded in case I do decide to sell it in the future, and doing all my work myself, as quickly as possible before I have to leave to chase winter employment. Thanks in advance for your ideas, and thanks again for having me!
#DIYorDie
I bought a 1972 Rancho El Rae travel trailer in early July, to use as my primary dwelling while I travel as an outdoor education professional (raft guide in the summer, ?? in the winter). I did a deep cleaning, but no remodeling when I bought it. When I moved to a different part of CO for a raft guide job, I stayed two nights in a campground to figure out what worked, what didn't -- here's what I know so far:
Electricity: Shore power turned on the interior lights, but just dimly. The cigarette lighter socket I have by the "bottom bunk" (looks like something the last owner installed) DID work. None of my outlets worked. I hear it has a converter or an inverter but only one of the two, and the other is needed. This is a part I have and just need to install, we'll see if it fixes it.
I have one marine battery wired into the system, now. I charge it off a solar trickle charger, and it just powers the cigarette lighter socket, which is enough for me to charge a phone, etc. I have a second battery I plan to wire in parallel, we'll see if that works when the converter/inverter is installed. I will also be getting a second trickle charger to keep the system charged.
Plumbing: Fresh Water: My freshwater tank is under my "bottom bunk." It holds 15 gallons, and the pump I have that came installed works. Water currently only goes to the kitchen sink, no water traveled to the bathroom when I flushed my freshwater tank. I've looked at the hot water heater, and I think I just failed to open a few valves -- it looks like you can run through or bypass the hot water heater, and I just need to play with that some more when I'm hooked up to potable water again, next. For now, I have not been using any of my onboard plumbing. More on that when I address grey/black water.
Grey/Black Water: I have used the camper's bathroom, flushing with water as needed to maintain cleanliness but not add significant volume to the tank. It looks like grey and black water drain to the same tank from the bathroom, but grey seems to bypass the tank and just accumulate in the pipe? I did some painting and the green paint made that more apparent last time I looked, haha. I'm currently thinking that it's so you can let the grey drain continuously, if it was uncapped, but since it's never backed up, I have some questions about where it's going. Any input on that would be greatly appreciated! As for the black tank: It seems I have a slow leak somewhere in a pipe leading to the tank. While parked for 6 weeks previously, I used the camper's bathroom occasionally, and did have a slight damp spot under the camper when I moved it. It didn't happen after I took it to dump the tank, but it also didn't sit as long the second time, or get as much use. When water is able to be run to the bathroom, we'll see what kind of issues we have there. I do ultimately plan to convert to a composting toilet to make boondocking more feasible.
Propane Systems: Stove: The stove does not light. Gas goes to the stove burners, but not to the oven. The (original?) Trav'ler stove is still installed. The chrome trim will need to be replaced, and some research has shown me it may be a bad thermocouple? The oven's pilot light will not ignite, and I can't find answers about quite how it works. That will be a priority to figure out.
Refrigerator: Works flawlessly on propane, haven't figured out the electric setting yet, as a part of the camper's issues. I ran it for over 6 weeks off of 2 30-pound propane tanks, and had issues with it being too cold when I was first using it! I've gotten that adjusted, and it works great.
Heater: Also has a pilot light issue. The pilot light will light, but not stay lit, so I haven't been able to use the onboard heater and just used a Little Buddy heater when we had a cold snap over Labor Day weekend. Not a fan of the "damp heat" propane creates, I ultimately would like to do a parlor wood stove and remove the dinette.
Infrastructure: My roof is solid, no leaks. Outside aluminum has significant hail damage, but it seems to just be aesthetic, not structural. I have discovered some rot inside my closet and bathroom along the back wall, and in the right corner at the foot of the bed (same side as the door, for reference). I plan to pull my paneling on both front and back to assess the damage, sister in new studs as necessary, and insulate, and to continue the same all the way around the inside to assess its condition and again insulate. When I strip my flooring (gross adhesive linoleum over the original linoleum), I plan to explore the floor and subfloor to assess their conditions, and repair as necessary.
This is a totally new project for me -- I've done some handyman/caretaker work, and remodeling, but nothing to this extent! I'll add some pictures to this post for context as soon as I can. Any feedback, input, or advice you have to offer is appreciated -- I'm working on a tight budget to make this space livable, comfortable, and upgraded in case I do decide to sell it in the future, and doing all my work myself, as quickly as possible before I have to leave to chase winter employment. Thanks in advance for your ideas, and thanks again for having me!
#DIYorDie
