Interstate Maintenance & Upkeep

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by rmkrum

replace rubber parts every 5-8 years, depending on what it is being used for.

RMKRUM - if 5-8 is recommend, then I prob. putting it in my 5 yr. plan. It a good number that matches my 5 yr. replacement plan for all my tires in all my vehicles (even the ones that only average 1,000-2,000 miles per year sitting inside garage, except the 2 vintage that never gets driven). I have never worn out any tires due to mileage, just due to aging. So darn expensive, but the safest way to deal with things like these.

[InterBlog]

A years-long odor mystery finally solved yesterday:

Have you ever noticed forum posts in this vein from RV owners of all types - MH, trailer, everything?

"My gray tank stinks... I can't figure it out... I've treated it... I've flushed it... the terrible odor is still there... could it be coming from somewhere else?... because how can it possibly still be coming from the gray tank after all the treatments I've done..."

I haven't had an odor problem to a degree that I found troublesome, but we needed to remove the interior portions of the sink plumbing because I thought I was seeing corrosion in the drain connector, the piece of hardware that connects the sink bowl to the P-trap.

It turns out that the corrosion was superficial and we did not need to replace the hardware. BUT, what I found in the P-trap itself was literally shocking. There was such a build-up of material that you should NEVER have in any living space. A quarter-inch of infectious scum. Overgrowth of every bacteria known to mankind, and the *STENCH* when that pipe was removed and exposed to the air...? OMG, it was unlike anything I've ever encountered anywhere in my life, it was that severe.

See, the issue especially for us as boondockers is the low-volume of gray water that is throughput. In a normal stick-and-brick kitchen sink, yeah, there's a bit of plumbing scum. But the constant high volume of hot water and soap (as well as partial backflow from corrosive dishwasher formulations) keeps it from building up that badly.

No such limit is imposed on a lower-volume system. If I had realized this previously, I would have removed that line for the purposes of disinfection long before now. I don't know how it can be cleaned properly without being taken out of the rig. It required a bottle brush for physical removal, and a bleach-soak to do it right.

And I flush that gray water line EVERY time I dump tanks. I put a couple of gallons of flush water through the sink every time. But that, apparently, is too little too late to arrest this kind of bacterial flourishing.

Moral of this story: If you've got gray water stink, it might not be the tank you routinely treat and flush. It might be the P-trap and line.

Scum of the earth:

[Lily&Me]

I periodically pour a diluted bleach solution down my kitchen sink before dumping tanks, which seems to take care of buildup and prevents odor.

Maggie

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

I periodically pour a diluted bleach solution down my kitchen sink before dumping tanks, which seems to take care of buildup and prevents odor.

Maggie

I've done that. I think what happens is that once that scum builds up, stuff like bleach will only attack the outer layers. The rest is isolated and can regenerate from the inside.

Of course, maybe I haven't been putting down as high a concentration of bleach as I should have been.

[Lotus54]

I posted this on ‘my’ thread. But figured this would be better here.

The closet latch has been intermittently messing up for awhile. The latch ‘receptacle’ would snap back closed after opening the door sometimes. I would have to manually open it with a screwdriver or something.

I finally remembered to look for a replacement, found a four pack and bought it. Worked perfectly. I’ll keep the rest in the van for when other similar ones have issues.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Lily&Me]

Yep, always carry a couple extra sets of those little suckers, as they will predictably go bad.

Maggie

[InterBlog]

Finally got around to replacing our forehead antenna yesterday. Advice on this maintenance issue for T1N Interstate owners:

If you are able, you might consider dismounting your OEM antenna first, before deciding to place an order for a new one. You may be able to re-gasket the original and keep it without risk of leakage or rust.

That was not the advice that my husband encountered when he researched this issue on Sprinter Forum. The read there was that it's just not worth trying to mess with these things, considering what's at stake from a corrosion perspective. Posters concluded that it's just easier to ante up the $150 (+/-) for an OEM replacement and do it.

Shoot - I pulled out that old thing yesterday and despite its condition visible in the photo below, the roof penetration looked as good as the day the van first rolled off the lot. I have zero explanation for how that's even possible. I was dreading the possibility of having to patch the sheet metal, but for once, we caught a break.

See, the two antenna roof penetrations were made by Mercedes, not by Airstream. The van shell was factory-painted *after* those cuts were made, not before. Therefore, they were as well-protected as the rest of the original body. (I still would have expected leakage and rust to have commenced, but what the heck do I know.)

The problems with "examine first and re-purchase only if needed":

(1) The replacement requires removing and reinstalling your headliner, which is a job of an hour or two best done by two people (time plus aggravation factor).

(2) It requires you leave an open hole in your roof until you get the question answered. I suppose you could patch it with something temporarily, but now we're talking about a lot of extra labor for the possibility of saving somewhere south of $150 (you'd still have to engineer a decent seal on a DIY gasket).

(3) It is no longer possible to predict what parts will remain in stock, given the free market disruptions that have come with the coronavirus pandemic. Don't make the decision to remove your old antenna only to find that you can't get a new one in a timely manner.

[Lily&Me]

I have been pondering adding a solar panel to my roof, just to trickle charge the coach battery when camping without hookups.

This may not be the best place to ask this, but does anyone have any thoughts they would like to share?

I don’t think I need much, and have also thought about one of those folding panel setups that you can move to strategically place in the sun.

What doesn’t appeal to me about that, is the location of the coach batteries beneath a panel in the roadside rear, requiring moving the spare tire mounted back there to get to it.

Seems like a pia, having to do that each time, tho maybe one could keep the folding panel attached and still close that rear door.

I’m thinking of HistoriCorps projects, five days at a time without hookups, which killed my coach battery last year because I was afraid to run my generator to charge it for fear of running out of propane.

Running the engine some each day wasn’t enough to top off the battery.

So, any thoughts on a rooftop panel vs one of those portable ones?

It does fall somewhat under maintenance and upkeep.

Thanks in advance.

Maggie

[Lotus54]

I added one to the roof. I found some brackets that fit just right on the stock ‘rack’ and there is enough room between vent and AC unit. I found one that would fit.
The advantage I see of a portable one is being able to get it ‘aimed’ right at the sun much better. Flat like on the roof is certianly not the best- especially this far north (59º is the best year-round angle here).

I would consider wiring an external plug for a removable one, although certainly something could be ‘strung out’ to work.
With one panel the fancy regulators really have no advantage and a plain old ‘shunt’ regulator will work just fine. Especially with a rather small panel and you still using power (things like the propane switch draw a fair amount).

I found the single panel I put in with my 100ah battery makes a significant difference.
I also fit a ‘Goal Zero’ setup in the closet (I posted about that) to give more capacity and run the microwave without starting generator. I have the portable solar for it, but have not used it. I plan on an external plug for it- but keep forgetting to get to work on it.
Goofing off takes some serious time.

Mark

[Lily&Me]

Thanks, Mark.

I have no idea what “wiring an external plug” is or would involve, but could probably find someone who could do that for me.

I’ll talk with my son, who knows something of such things.

The portable ones are fairly affordable, really, and sounds like they would have some advantage.

Maggie

[Lotus54]

To install an external plug, it could be done lots of ways. Drilling through the body and a fancy plug (like the shore power)- or just mounted on something like the trailer hitch.
I will post up what I do.

Here is the write up of my solar- a fair amount more work since I have the regulator and monitor setup (thanks IB).
A portable one would take a LOT less work, especially one that has a built in regulator.

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f24...re-188142.html

[Lily&Me]

Thank you for all those suggestions, Mark.

Something on the hitch would be simple enough to to do, it seems, and you’ve told me to look for panels that have a regulator.

Going to do some looking...

Maggie

[InterBlog]

Whereas during normal times that would be a difficult install to achieve, involving months of waiting and vendor reluctance to take on something so small, you might be able to find someone to do it for a reasonable price now. Money is tight for many people.

[Lily&Me]

It is, tho I think I’m going to go the way of the portable, suitcase style panels rather than the install on the roof.

Wondering if 100 watts will be enough, or must I have 200 watts?

Maggie

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

Wondering if 100 watts will be enough, or must I have 200 watts?

Quick rule of thumb, the number of watts of solar panel should equal or exceed the number of amp-hours of house batteries in order to get by on solar charging alone. This accounts for days of reduced efficiency when you have cloud cover, or when the solar panels can't be set up to aim directly at the sun all day, etc.

If you're going to supplement solar with other charging sources, you can get by with less solar panel wattage. But even then you should try to get as close to watts = amp-hours as you can, based on storage space and cost limitations.

[Lily&Me]

Thanks for that info, Protag, and I’m thinking I need to look at one of those charts that tells how many amps this or that takes.

They’ve been posted here repeatedly.


Maggie

[Rig Rat]

FWIW, We have a 200 W suitcase and it weighs 55 lbs.
It’s bulky and can be a challenge when lifting it in/out of the van!

[Lily&Me]

I had noticed that weight, and I would definitely struggle getting 50+lbs inside the Interstate.

I’m leaning toward the 100 watt suitcase, which is less than 30 lbs...about the weight of a sack of dog food, which I can manage.

Maggie

[knotdonne]

Re: Maggie's solar panels--I see you've already gotten them. Just in case you're not aware, you can get extension cords for the panels so that you can move them way out. My great repair guy near Austin attached a long cord to the battery that I can keep pulled out so don't have to open the driver's side rear door to hook up the suitcase. The extension cords do minimize the trickle of energy a bit, I think, but worth it to park in shade and move panels to sun.

[Lily&Me]

I do have them, and ordered a 6’ extension cord that the solar panel doesn’t seem to like.

It works fine with just the power cord connected to the battery, but not with the extension cord for some reason.

The cord has a fuse, and that seems to be okay, so I’m not sure what the problem is but I will take it in when I get home and have it looked at.

Maggie