You had mentioned that you had a couple of electrical problems after you set out on your first journey. Well we hooked up the Bambi for it's first real trip to a rally. Everything worked perfect. Then after about 2 minutes the clearance lights blinked out never to return again. Somewhere between the bowels of the skins of Aluminum lurks a loose connection. Or maybe the loose connection is lurking somewhere else. Somethings are never done.
Things are looking great with your trailer.
Don
You had mentioned that you had a couple of electrical problems after you set out on your first journey. Well we hooked up the Bambi for it's first real trip to a rally. Everything worked perfect. Then after about 2 minutes the clearance lights blinked out never to return again. Somewhere between the bowels of the skins of Aluminum lurks a loose connection. Or maybe the loose connection is lurking somewhere else. Somethings are never done.
Things are looking great with your trailer.
Don
Hey Don,
My electrical problem is still there. I shorted a spare supply line ( 10ga, streetside run) to ground by means of either pinching it, or more likely, drilling and riveting it to ground. Fortunately it was one of those spare lines that rally did not go anywhere in particular, just running down the streetside of the trailer, in case I needed more 12V amperage for one reason or other.
Clearance lights and tail lights are on the same connection in the umbilical cord. Do your tail lights work?
If so, check each clearance light, the feed might have come loose. I do not recall seeing connections of the lighting wiring inside the skin, they were looped from light to light, with one front and one back light feed.
The front light feed came off the umbilical, the back light feed came off the taillights.
After much testing and a long winded process of elimination, I found the kitchen faucet to be the problem with my hot/cold water dilemma.
I ended up blocking the 2 lines going to the galley faucet, removed it from the water circuit, and without it everything works as expected.
So, off I am hunting down a new faucet. Whoda thunk?
The inflow chambers were not separated due to a casting defect, allowing the cold and hot water to mix uncontrolled right where the pipes go into the bottom of the faucet.
With both taps closed, you could blow into one side, and have it spit you in the face from the other side. ( this actually happened to me..)
So, even tough no water would come out of the faucet with the taps closed, it caused all kinds of havoc in the rest of the water supply system due to unintended cold/hot mix.
This would also cause the cold water to prevail since it has less resistance, as it does not have to go through the one way valve and water heater first, like the hot water does.
Anyways, I'm well on my way to hot shower bliss!
I will be leaving for Austin TX on Monday morning, with Overlander in tow as my mobile office/hotel suite. I am exhibiting at the Summer Namm show, and have reserved a spot at Pecan Grove RV Park, near downtown Austin. I hope that the trip is going to go well, I thin I will be slightly overloaded this time, since I am bringing all the equipment for display in the back of the Suburban.
Thanks, Tim.
Nope, no vents hooked up yet. It's still the 4in duct hanging out of the galley cabinet at this point.
The A/C worked very well at Temecula over the 4th of July. It was 103 one day, and the little unit cololed the trailer very well, to where you could feel a nice chill when coming in from the heat outside.
You're gonna really enjoy Austin, especially given the business you're in. If you get a chance, check out the bats that leave every evening from under the bridges in downtown to go out for their nightly "feed". One of strangest things I've seen.
Jim
__________________
To lodge all power in one party and to leave it there is to insure bad government. -- Mark Twain
You're gonna really enjoy Austin, especially given the business you're in. If you get a chance, check out the bats that leave every evening from under the bridges in downtown to go out for their nightly "feed". One of strangest things I've seen.
Jim
I am here now - what a cool town. Writing to you from Austin Java, right close to Pecan Grove RV Park I came in from 290 eastbound, and drove through the Hill Country. A truly beatiful place.
The drive East on I-10 was easy, although brutally hot through Arizona and New Mexico. However, the Suburban did not seem to be effected by the heat at all, I kept it at 60-65mph, and got a range of over 400 miles epr tank. Average was 12mpg. It took me 2 full ( actually 2 half days and1 full day) days to cover the 1350 miles. I spent the first night at Voyager RV resort in TucsonAZ the second night at a KOA in Fort StocktonTX.
My trailer is being very good right now - no new surprises - all systems go.
Including the A/C which is essential for survival in Austin this time of year, I guess.
It keeps the trailer dry and cool, and is quiet enough to comfortably sleep by.
I had a few early morning visitors today, a huge bird and a tree frog. Tree frog first, then bird, then bird only. I hope there isn't a crime scene on top of my trailer now.
Now off to work!
...The inflow chambers were not separated due to a casting defect, allowing the cold and hot water to mix uncontrolled right where the pipes go into the bottom of the faucet.
With both taps closed, you could blow into one side, and have it spit you in the face from the other side. ( this actually happened to me..)
So, even tough no water would come out of the faucet with the taps closed, it caused all kinds of havoc in the rest of the water supply system due to unintended cold/hot mix.
This would also cause the cold water to prevail since it has less resistance, as it does not have to go through the one way valve and water heater first, like the hot water does...
In a PM to UWE I said--
My compliments on finding the bad inflow chambers on your faucet. I may have the same problem and never thought of looking there.
I have a three-pipe system (hot, cold, and "warming"), where the third pipe is a "return" for hot water, like a recirculating system in a hotel. I have temperature sensors along the plumbing that turn on if the local temp goes below 35 degrees. This turns on a pump that recirculates the hot water from the water heater, with the return pipe adjacent to the cold water supply line. This allows the cold water to remain cold when temperatures are above freezing, but warms the entire system when the recirculation pump turns on as the temperature nears the danger point. This is much less energetic than having forced air heat being indiscrimately applied in the nooks and crannies where the pipes run. I thought I had a bad backflow preventer valve in that third line, allowing the mix of hot and cold.
--and he asked for a flowchart, so here it is.
The pump on the left is turned on by the temperature sensors that are on or near the pipes in several locations (you have to bypass the pressure switch, since the system is kept at the cutoff pressure by the supply pump [right side of the drawing]). The backflow warm water line is strapped to the cold line along most of its length. When the pump is on, it pulls hot water from the heater and replaces it via the cold water inlet. The check valve isn't really necessary, since the pump has one.
This installation is in the Overlander, which has an all copper plumbing system. I didn't do it for the Sovereign, which is a later mod and all PEX.
Now for the funny part. Uwe, I don't have a problem! I realized as I was making the drawing for you that I had connected the return line incorrectly, so a little Twinkering and I expect to have it working like I want. Thanks for the help!
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