20-footers

[CruizinDux]

In post #3 of http://www.airforums.com/forums/f443...de-175784.html peter recapped the history of B W checked valve failures.

No sure what happened to me...winterization was good, tho i did add a second pass at storage for the BW...still hearing a bit of gurgle. I left when it was quiet.

It was mid 25's just before departure and in fact it was pressured the 25 deg day of departure. Dumped & rinsed twice in Pho and 3 or 4 times before the failure in Talahasee. The failure was very obvious immediately after turning on the rinse line.

In the mean time I'll swing by CW for a wand, then when i get home in 2 months, pull the dinette or maybe the bath counter.

Any body know TT code? Not sure i want to plumb in another, (brass) check
valve as i always use an external one on the BW hose. I maybe will research some heat tape to add to the plumbing in the area. It is really a tough area to get heat into. May also consider a small pc fan, possibly in conjunction to some vents (think round 3" eve vents) in key spots.

Thanks to all that have proceeded me in this venture and have provided a great road map. I'll post pics and notes.

B

[OTRA15]

Not clear what leak if any you are describing. If the plastic anti-siphon valve is your problem, it might have grit in it and might clear itself at some point. Or, if that valve froze and cracked that is another fix. We still have not swapped in our brass unit.

In the meantime, forget a wand and clean the black tank the same way Wally did.

Don't!

Just make sure the black tank is at least 1/2 full when you are towing, and so is the grey tank, then hit the dump station when you get to the next campground. Dump black . . . dump grey . . . and continue with life on the road. Any residual poo/odor in the black tank will not affect you if the roof vent stack is working correctly.



Maybe I missed the problem?

Happy trails,

Peter

PS -- Our old 25' in the 90's, like most Airstreams, did not have a black tank flush system. Never used the one in our FC20, so it is possible that the spray heads have been clogged up with you know what. So be it . . . . . . no need to obsess about poo . . . discount to the next buyer . . . bigger fish to fry . . .

[OTRA15]

PS -- Bob, when you did the black water rinses on the road, I guess you did not hook up a compressor to blow out that water line? Any winterization on the road should include all the steps we would do at home IMO. If I had to guess, it probably froze at the exterior wall fitting, because the pipe to the vacuum breaker [and on to the spray nozzles at the black water tank] would remain full of water after a rinse.

Adding the Band-aid of heat tape would not be needed in this case.

It's almost 5 PM in Ocala . . .

Have fun!

Peter

[CruizinDux]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

PS -- Bob, when you did the black water rinses on the road, I guess you did not hook up a compressor to blow out that water line? Any winterization on the road should include all the steps we would do at home IMO. If I had to guess, it probably froze at the exterior wall fitting, because the pipe to the vacuum breaker [and on to the spray nozzles at the black water tank] would remain full of water after a rinse.

Adding the Band-aid of heat tape would not be needed in this case.

It's almost 5 PM in Ocala . . .

Have fun!

Peter

I winterized in November and the BW part had no water in it until PHO. It was 25 in Tehachapi and I removed the Bathroom Alu and put a small space heater in the BR. The first rinse was after that in Pho. What is confusing is that I rinsed probably 5 or 6 times after Tehachapi and all was well. It wasn't until Tallahassee that it first occurred. It could have froze in Tehachapi or even in storage before departure and likely just a hairline crack that finally blew open under pressure (I Y after the regulator).


The more I think about it I think it is likely not all the moisture was out (even thou the gurgling indicator was gone/silent) from the November winterzation even though both passes were with a compressor. (the second being a 12V inflator which I have used successfully on a few occasions)


Oh well.
The good news is that the CW/FW side is fine and that is the side that counts.


B




Due to the over abundance of snowbirds from the extreme winter weather to the N, resies are tight so since were ahead of schedule have laid up at Grand Lake N of Ocala. We lucked out and nabbed Sarasota (3X) and Naples (1x) resies to put us within striking distance to Fiesta Key (2x). Most places laughed when we asked for a day here or there.

[OTRA15]

Great that that you were able to line up those stops. Siesta Key beaches are gorgeous!

Flip flops time.

[SYC2Vette]

Really enjoying setting up our new 2017 FC FB 20 footer. After a year long search we ended up paying a strong price for ours mainly because we had such a difficult time finding super clean late year 20 Ft Flying Clouds, interestingly, we ran across better deals and lower prices on 23 ft (I am guessing this is simply a supply/demand issue). In the end we are very happy with it and look forward to our Summer trip with a couple of local weekends first to check it out.

[CruizinDux]

SYC2vette, congratulations on the 20 and welcome to the club!.

We originally were looking for lightly used 20's...our only choice due to the kitchen setup. They were few and far between...and usually on the opposite coast. Totally lucked out and found a new 2014 may of 2015. And at a 20% dis c. Huge bingo. We love ours and I'm sure you will too. Sure the 22's and 23's have some positives, but you'll find the kitchen and roomey bath/shower trumps the climbover bed negative.

bob

[harriganp]

Originally Posted by CruizinDux

SYC2vette, congratulations on the 20 and welcome to the club!.



We originally were looking for lightly used 20's...our only choice due to the kitchen setup. They were few and far between...and usually on the opposite coast. Totally lucked out and found a new 2014 may of 2015. And at a 20% dis c. Huge bingo. We love ours and I'm sure you will too. Sure the 22's and 23's have some positives, but you'll find the kitchen and roomey bath/shower trumps the climbover bed negative.



bob

Kitchen was why we chose 20ft. I’m a Celiac and don’t eat out often so having my own kitchen was to travel is what made us purchase an Airstream!

It’s our first big trip across country so any advice from you seasoned travelers is much appreciated!

[Rovin Raven]

Originally Posted by harriganp

Kitchen was why we chose 20ft. I’m a Celiac and don’t eat out often so having my own kitchen was to travel is what made us purchase an Airstream!

It’s our first big trip across country so any advice from you seasoned travelers is much appreciated!

Hey, I have Celiacs as well, so I completely understand why you also love the kitchen. We have been cross-country twice in our 29-foot (well, 4x if you count each way) from Virginia, once for 8 weeks, once for 6 weeks. Feel free to ask me any questions, but my basic advice is: We prefer public (State Park, USFS, NPS, BLM) campgrounds, and many of those have no electric, but are in absolutely gorgeous surroundings. We have one solar panel on the roof, one fold-up one for when we park in the shade, and another solar panel to recharge our large Goal Zero portable power source. In addition we hang Luci solar lights from the ceiling so we don’t drain the battery too much at night. But, with the solar panels, you can run the water pump, fans for awhile, lights for awhile. Goal Zero is for our plug in electronics. We always exercise after a day of driving (4-6 hours) walking, hiking, or biking to save our bodies from aches and pains and so we don’t go crazy. We are big kayakers so those are on our tow vehicle. When we need to do laundry we usually pick a KOA for that night. Be aware that on the west coast campsites are very hard to get just on a whim. You must reserve months in advance. My hubby rigged a portable pump with aquarium hoses to pump water into the fresh water tank from a portable container to get around the bike rack. Works like a charm. He learned it from an ancient, wise camper at a USFS site. Also, always, always check your tire pressure daily and feel around the back for bulges. We have caught two near blow outs that way, and the only flat we had was actually at a gas station next to a tire store, not on the highway. Now we have Goodyear Endurance tire so maybe we won’t have as many issues. Always inflate to the recommended psi on the plate on the side of the Airstream (65psi) and don’t drive over 65 mph (although I hear you can for the Endurance tires, I need to look into that).

[centennialman]

Would you please ask your husband to post the details of the portable pump he rigged up?

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by Rovin Raven

. . .
. . . another solar panel to recharge our large Goal Zero portable power source.
. . .

What size Goal Zero unit do you have, and are you happy with it, or would you go smaller or larger next time, please?

Another option for pumping fresh water is to use a "shaker siphon" from a large container which is located higher than the fresh water fill port [a KISS solution which would also work to get water from a pond or stream in a camping emergency]:

https://www.amazon.com/SUYIZN-Siphon...-1-spons&psc=1

The vinyl tube is not food grade I guess.

A second shaker siphon is handy for gas/fuel transfers also.

Cheers,

Peter

[CruizinDux]

Rovin I'll look for links tomorrow re gye sith very good comments by tireman9 and capri racer re st's... max speed, psi...it is all about knowing you true axel weight...per tire even better.

I have them, new last year this time and have put 15, maybe almost 20k on them so far...currently in Atlanta so maybe another 4-5 on this trip.

I have found they hold air like no other tire i have ever had. I generally keep it at 65 or less, run at 75 psi and have a very good grasp on true weigh.

Thinking back i think there is a response post in this tread to centennialman re his psi????

Edit...check out posts 2438 & 2439 this thread
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f542...ml#post2198419
Bob

[Rovin Raven]

Originally Posted by centennialman

Would you please ask your husband to post the details of the portable pump he rigged up?

This evening I will ask him if he has more to add to this: Sureflow pump, the same one you would install inside the AS. Aquarium tubing (or water safe tubing if you can find it) of the right size to fit the inflow and outflow. Put your water container on the ground and pump on the bumper, measure the right length of inflow tubing. Then measure the correct length of the outflow. Use appropriate tape to connect (we like gorilla tape). Plug into a Goal Zero or other portable power source (I remember that the man who taught it to us had an invertor in the back of his truck that was wired to his truck battery). It all stores neatly in a plastic tub in the right hand side of the back storage. Very easy to use. Much better than lifting the heavy container up and trying to hold that and a long-nosed funnel in place in order to get around the bike rack.

[Rovin Raven]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

What size Goal Zero unit do you have, and are you happy with it, or would you go smaller or larger next time, please?

Another option for pumping fresh water is to use a "shaker siphon" from a large container which is located higher than the fresh water fill port [a KISS solution which would also work to get water from a pond or stream in a camping emergency]:

https://www.amazon.com/SUYIZN-Siphon...-1-spons&psc=1

The vinyl tube is not food grade I guess.

A second shaker siphon is handy for gas/fuel transfers also.

Cheers,

Peter

We have the Goal Zero Yeti 400, about 3 years old. This one is not heavy. It charges all our phones, cameras, iPads, laptops, runs the water pump for freshwater tank filling, blows up air mattresses for any of our friends camping in tents. Recharges with a portable solar panel (that has the right connector). The website explains each model very well so that you can make the right decision, of course. Very reliable. We keep it plugged in at home, as stated in the directions. For us, it is essential. We camp without electricity more than with.

[Rovin Raven]

Originally Posted by Rovin Raven

We have the Goal Zero Yeti 400, about 3 years old. This one is not heavy. It charges all our phones, cameras, iPads, laptops, runs the water pump for freshwater tank filling, blows up air mattresses for any of our friends camping in tents. Recharges with a portable solar panel (that has the right connector). The website explains each model very well so that you can make the right decision, of course. Very reliable. We keep it plugged in at home, as stated in the directions. For us, it is essential. We camp without electricity more than with.

Also, we tried the holding the container higher than the intake. It is a two-person job and very awkward. The AS is mine and I often go without my hubby. Before the portable pump, I would rig a step ladder, bungee cord the long nosed funnel, hold the incredibly heavy water container just 3/4 full because that was all I could handle. This is so much better.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by Rovin Raven

We have the Goal Zero Yeti 400 . . .
. . .

Thanks, we have been thinking of getting one. Have you considered getting a small propane-fired generator which can run off the trailer's gas port in the front? We got a Yamaha 1000 which is very small and lightweight, and is safe to store inside the van tow vehicle. Just enough oomph to charge the batteries and run the fridge at the same time. Another good KISS tool to have for boondocking IMO.

Peter

PS -- For everyone's info there have been a few threads discussing the Goal Zero options:

https://www.google.com/search?q=goal...com&gws_rd=ssl

It does seem like the 400 would be a good size for the 20' rig.

[Rovin Raven]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Thanks, we have been thinking of getting one. Have you considered getting a small propane-fired generator which can run off the trailer's gas port in the front? We got a Yamaha 1000 which is very small and lightweight, and is safe to store inside the van tow vehicle. Just enough oomph to charge the batteries and run the fridge at the same time. Another good KISS tool to have for boondocking IMO.

Peter

PS -- For everyone's info there have been a few threads discussing the Goal Zero options:

https://www.google.com/search?q=goal...com&gws_rd=ssl

It does seem like the 400 would be a good size for the 20' rig.

We have been fascinated with “alternative” energy since the late 70s. Although we live in the woods and can’t have solar, we love having solar on our trailer and gadgets. I drive a 100% electric car, and my husband is starting to talk about the small wind generators he sees. So, the yeti 400 with a solar panel is right up the ur alley.

[SYC2Vette]

Here is a great walkthrough of a 2017 20' FC/FB.

Long Video, but I learned a couple of things. Also good to view if you are considering a 20 footer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3JTPysJd5M

[Roundabouts]

We watched this video about 5 times before purchasing our 20' AS. It was really helpful and he does a great job of making videos. We even watched it the night before picking our AS up to help review and made a list of questions. Since we cut the cord for TV we found youtube.

We have a cabin that is off grid and runs on solar and propane. We have a large dometic frig, on demand hot water (which I like so much I had installed at the house we downsized to and remodeled). The generator still comes in handy particularly in the winter when the sun doesn't shine very much. The solar on the new AS is not much.

I do love the layout of the 20' and like most of you feel (I didn't read all the thread) it i just right. Not too small and not too big. Moving from a Casita the 20' seems extremely spacious. I feel that I might bring too much with me. I've just starting packing it up. Next Wednesday we will be in it for 5 weeks, although not traveling but parked as campground hosts in Shenandoah National Park.

2019 FC20FB
2012 Toyota Sequoia

[OTRA15]

Welcome to the 20’ thread and to the forum!

I hope you will keep updating your new thread about your new AS and experience at Shenandoah NP. We are hoping to get there some day.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f368...fb-193342.html

We looked at Casitas before getting the FC20.

Happy Trails,

Peter