I knew our February and March were too mild. We got about six inches of snow in town on Monday and over a foot in the hillside areas. I expect it to be pretty much melted next week since we are at over 12 hours of daylight already. Still planning to de-winterize for the season at the end of April.
Our annual RV show starts tomorrow. I wonder if they will have any of those new truck campers with the slide-outs? I know Fleetwood has one for the Caribou and there is one by Artic Fox. I've also heard that Bigfoot has one.
Thanks for the information. Yours sound just like mine. I do have a stiffening bar that goes between the plates on the inside of the bed but that should be the same length for both trucks. Now all I have to do is find the Chevy truck. Went to 2 dealers last week and they didn't have one. Found 1 used 00 (about 10,000 miles) but they are asking $31,000 for it.
Don't count on the front brackets fitting the Chevy. Those brackets are sized and bent to fit the particular model although there probably is a lot of overlap between models. Mine (Chevy) came with a plastic spacer to fill a gap under one end of the bracket. The cross bar should fit because the holes in the inner bracket are slotted. You should leave the old ones on anyway so you don't have to sell the truck with holes in it. A new set for front & rear is about $95.
Why are you thinking of getting rid of a new truck?
I'd be interested to see a camper with a slide out. That's reason enough for me to go to an RV show. Let us know if you go and see one. I go to those shows even though I've seen all the RVs before and after a while they all start to look the same. It is a kick to go through the $400k class A diesel pushers with all the goodies. I also enjoy looking at the campers because I usually find that I like mine better. Does anyone know of a web site showing a slide out equipped camper?
So Brutus, why don't you do any winter camping? Is it just too much effort there where you have real winters? Or maybe all the developed campgrounds are closed?
The latest issue of Trailer Life has some pictures from an RV show with some photos of some slide-outs (exterior photos only). TL also had a full feature article with interior and exterior photos of the Artic Fox slide-out a month or so ago. It's the dinette area that slides out. The benefit that I see is that it might give you some additional walking/standing room in the kitchen/dinette area. The trade-off is, of course, the extra weight. I think it may add somewhere in the 400 pound range, and I'd guess it would also tack some bucks on to the price tag.
I just moved back to Alaska last year after spending 6 1/2 years in CA and TX because of transfers with my previous job. This past year was a year of adjustment. It was also my first year with the camper, which I used significantly last summer. This coming winter, I will definitely do some camping.
Winter camping isn't that unusual up here. Weekend snowmachine outings are pretty common to areas that are a couple of hours out of town. Most people don't de-winterize and use the plumbing. I have heated tanks but don't expect to dewinterize and re-winterize every weekend. I'll probably use the black and grey water tanks and bring a couple of five gallon jugs of water. That will let me use everything but the shower and the taps. At the end of the weekend, it's just a matter of dumping the tanks and putting a little anti-freeze in the black and grey water tanks.
I am still a little concerned about the weight. As I have mentioned before, I am about 400 LBS. over gross. I would just like to have the extra gross so I can carry more stuff. Other than that the Ram is doing great carrying my pop up.
Vince, Since I'm not using brake lights on the camper or running lights I've decided to mount an isolated battery in the bed in front of the wheel well and run all my interoir electrical needs off of it. Would a deep cycle one be preferable or a cranking one? Thanks
I'm sure that many of you have a CB radio in your rigs. Need some input as to where to best mount the antenna especially with the Camper on. Will be picking up our new Lance 1130 next week. Any suggestions will really help!!! Thanks
Definitely go with a deep cycle battery. I suggest you rethink your plan though. Putting it in the bed means you either drag it in and out every time you use the camper or you leave the battery in the bed. In that case it is in the way and susceptible to damage or theft. Also if it leaks it will attack the paint. Mostly it's just a hassle and you want to reduce the number of those as much as possible to make the camper more enjoyable.
The two best places are under the hood or in the space between the sheetmetal and the frame on the side, where saddle gas tanks (aka. killer GM tanks) are located. I've put one under the hood of my last 3 trucks so it can be done. It's good because you can access it easily to add water or whatever and a nice bonus is that you can jump yourself (sounds a little weird) if your main battery dies. That has come in handy for me a few times. So you spend an afternoon and a little money and it's done forever. You just plug in the camper and go, the battery is always charged when you need it. You need to put in an isolator but that can be as simple as a $15 relay.
If you mount it under the truck, use a battery box and build some sort of platform. I have learned that "no maintenance" actually means "less maintenance" according to the battery manufacturers. Depending on charging, etc. you may need to add water. So if you are going to mount it in a hard to access spot I suggest an Optima deep cycle battery. They are truly sealed and never need attention. They are expensive though, I paid $140 recently and that was a good deal.
Just got back from a quick camping trip in the Sierra Nevada mountains. We went to see the flowers at Daffodil Hill. This is a privately run place just outside of Volcano, CA which is near Jackson on 49 and 88. The place has fields of Daffodils that only bloom for a short time each year. I got an e-mail from a friend on Friday to go right away so I put the camper on that evening and took off. After that we went up 88 and stayed at at Bear River campground in the snow (~6500 ft). The weather was great, I was walking across snow patches today with my shirt off and ended up with a sunburn. It is a private place and is open year round. They rent boats in the summer and snowmobiles in the winter. Dry camping this time of year was only $10.
I used the air bags to level twice and it was just enough. The truck (Silverado 2500) was wonderful to drive, such an improvement over the last one. I got so so mileage of 9.5 mpg but what a treat driving with the 6.0 engine. I went as fast as I wanted up any hills and never had to let anyone by.
It seems likely that you will not be a heavy power user since you don't have a big camper with a lot of lights, TV, etc. Although markbuck is correct about the capacity I don't see where the bulk is justified in your case. A good d.c. 12V battery will easily carry you through a 3-4 day weekend. If you do wire it in then any time you run the truck you are recharging. The 6V batteries are about the same size as a normal car battery.
Vince/Mike- Kind of been out of touch.. Had an operation on my knee in feb., & still trying to resume a normal life. The latest news on the camper is this.. 4 sale!!!! 10.5 Lance, extended cab, new air & awning, stove, oven, am/fm cassett,tv hook up, shower, curtains, front storm window, great heater, & clean as a whistle, all for, $6,900. This is a great buy!. The reason I'm selling, is we wan't something smaller. Been looking at the 915 Lance Lite. Vince, fill me in on your camper once more. We went to the RV show in Sac., & looked at several makes. Artic Fox, Northern Lite, Big foot, & of course Lance & others. There all nice, just depends on what one likes. Was thinking of a Pop-Up like Mikes, but I don't want to deal with the canvas & mildew. The wife & I have done a lot of rain camping. Sounds like you two have been having way too much fun. If I sell the Lance, I guess we will have too sleep in back of the truck, until we get a new one. Anyone have a nice 9.5' out there? I must be nuts selling such a nice camper!! A note on mileage.. 3/4, LB, extended cab,4x4, auto, 6.0l, Silverado, desert driving, & over the Sierras, (Donner summit), 55/75,mph for 350mi. The best milage yet..15.3mpg. Not too bad! Hey Brutus, it was 75 here today. Any of that white stuff melting yet? Glad to see everyone is still around.
Hi Gary, hope your knee is healing well. Joints heal so slowly, especially the ones that get used constantly. Sorry to hear the big Lance isn't working out. If you want a simpler setup then maybe the popup is the way to go. Your truck wouldn't even notice a popup. You do give up amenities though.
Mine is a '91 Lance Squire 4000. It's 9.4 feet which I think is the best tradeoff between interior and exterior size. I'm quite happy with it overall. You can see it at
It still has some rear overhang and is just as tall as yours so it may still be too big. If you want to see pics of Mike's popup just shorten the above links to .../vofm/ and click away. Let us know what you decide.
Mine has the regular bed that goes side to side rather than front to rear so the front overhang is shorter. That isn't a big deal with an extended cab truck but does reduce the bulk some. Of course you have to do the crawl-over routine with that style.
Anybody want a free set of Happijac turnbuckles? I ordered a new set for myself. The old ones work fine (they are in the pictures above), only the threaded shafts are rusted and the rear ones don't seem to have the rubber bumpers inside anymore. Just pay for shipping and they're yours.
I'll make it easy for you: there is only one model. Actually they offer the D750S and D750U which are the same battery but the U version has top and side terminals. The S is top only. Those are the old model numbers that everyone uses but if you go to the Optima web site they have a new number. Anyway, the deep cycle ones have a yellow top.
I looked around on the web quite a bit and the best price I found is at
which is $170 for the D750U including shipping. I found many places including local stores selling them for $180+ but ended up buying from a local battery store for $140. That is the best price I think you'll find. I found a wholesaler on the web selling for that price but shipping was almost $40.
The Alaskan popup looks really nice, has no soft sides, and costs a ton. Might be worth considering. It's the only hard sided popup I know of.
I'm glad to hear your mileage with your 6.0L is tolerable. I just ordered mine, and all I hear is horror stories of 8-13mpg. I'm a conservative driver, and I hope to get mileage closer to yours.
Hello, I am the man with the leaky door !!!! I took your great advice this past weekend and with my son sprayed the side of the camper trying to find the leak in the side compartment door. The problem is, I was very unsuccessful in fixing the problem. I could not stop the leak. the water runs down the side of the camper, gets caught on the door top and runs right inside the door. I tried getting the door tight against the seal but to no avail. I am starting to wonder if the water is going to the very corner of the door and running in. I am now wondering if I should get a new door custom made to be more water tight and have some type of air vent, since the standard door has no air vents. I'm sure you think I'm nuts but I don't think these doors are designed to be water tight. Is there a supply house or camping parts place that sells doors that could be installed in this opening? I want to fix this so I can go onto my next Lance project, a fantastic fan install !!! I don't have one but my wife saw them at the camping show and liked it. Any suggestions on this would be appreciated.
The best tank I've had in this truck was 14+ mpg which was some bumper to bumper (getting out of the Bay Area on Thanksgiving) then mostly freeway at 65-75 with no load. So 15 on the road at the speed limit shouldn't be a problem. Probably 13 with your camper.
Those are exterior doors and therefore must be meant to be water tight. If they let water get to inside compartments the camper would rot out. I think your problem is the damage & repair. No one is going to sell such a unique item except the factory, and even then who knows how long they build old versions. You could call Lance directly, I did that a few times when I first got my camper. They were happy to talk with me. I have the phone number at work but you could get it from their web site I would think.
Obviously there is a gap where the seal isn't being compressed. I would be thinking about how to add an additional rubber gasket. Since the original gasket is in the frame (I assume) maybe glue a new gasket on the inside of the door so the two gaskets smash together. It sounds like a trip to a RV repair shop is in order.
The worst I have ever gotten was 11.8 mpg. That was in Nebraska driving 75mph into a 30-40mph headwind. With the camper on and weighing in at 6500lbs. We had a 25-30mph tailwind two days earlier in Saskatchewan and got 20.5. It all evens out.
Overall average is 15.6mpg. Highest tanks were 20.8 and 21.0 on successive tanks running 65 in Colorado (no camper).
I like the 4.8L 5spd combination. Works great for me. My wife wants a heavier duty truck so we are not over the GVWR.
I would rather have the 3/4 ton with a 5.3L 5sp and 4.10s, but my choice is limited to the 6.0, so I have the 3.73s figuring the 6.0L can pull it.
Again, you have a good suggestion !!! I hadn't considered actually replacing the gasket, only modifying it. I will look at it again this weekend and see what I can try. I sent Lance an email and I might try calling later today. The repair guy at the dealership is on vacation so I will have to wait for his return before I make an appointment to see him, if all else fails.
Do you have the Fantastic Fan? Any thoughts on it?
Another question, what type of clear sealant do you use? I wanted to go over the camper in a few weeks to tighten it up and was planning on using silicon II.
Thanks again, I don't really know many folks with truck campers so this forum is a great place !!!
Vince, a friend picked up some literature from a local battery shop and was quoted $159.95 for the D750U. He also provided a brochure for an Optima Group 31 battery for $229.95. I need to find out just how much better it will be. Any battery will work in the summer, even when we have nighttime temps in the 40s occassionally. My goal, though, is to be able to camp in subzero temps without cranking up the generator in the middle of the night to keep the furnace running. If the Group 31 battery won't do that, I will likely buy one D750U now and then buy a second one to run in tandem this winter. I'm not sure if two batteries will fit in the battery compartment of my camper, but they might.
I have a fantastic fan and think it is, well, fantastic. It really helps get air circulating through the camper. It runs both directions. I open some windows and turn the fan on blowing out of the camper. That way, it sucks the air in through the windows and blows it out through the fan in the roof.
I filled my tank yesterday. Over $52! I put in about 34 gallons at $1.55 per gallon. For those who don't know, I have a 99 Superduty V-10 4x4 dually with a 4.30 axle ratio. My mpg is 9.5-10 in a 50/50 mix of city/hwy and 11.5-12 hwy at 70ish. The same truck with the 3.73 axle ratio and single rear wheels will get about 2mpg better, but I like the 4.30s. With the camper on, I tip the scales just under 12,000 pounds loaded for a trip including passengers and get 8.5-9 hwy at low to mid 60s. I can get around 10mpg on flat hwy if I keep the speed at 55.
I'm going to get mud flaps and window visors in the next couple of weeks and I'll probably add air bags in May. I may even get the Rancho adjustable shocks. I've got 30,000 on the truck, so I won't feel too bad about swapping out the shocks.
I don't recommend using the commonly available silicon caulk. In my experience it works fine for a year or so then lets go and discolors. Not only does it not seal but it looks awful. My uncle used it on every joint on my last camper and it really showed because it looked dirty brown wherever it was smeared.
The factory used something that looks like silicon on my camper and it doesn't look so great 10 years later but isn't as bad as my old camper. Much of the material on mine has pulled loose and I've been meaning to redo the whole camper. I did redo the roof recently, for that I used a clear sealant I bought from the Lance dealer. The service guy said it is the only way to go, far superior to consumer grade stuff. It's called Parrbond Clear and cost $40+ for a gallon. It's the consistency of thick corn syrup, do you know Karo syrup used in cooking? Strange to work with but seemed to do a good job. They recommended another sealer in a tube for the rest of the camper. I guess it is the factory stuff. Probably just a different formulation of silicon caulk. Anyway that's what I'm going to use for around the lights, windows etc.
For your immediate problem, maybe a new larger gasket to replace the old one, or a second small gasket to fill the gap would work. JC Whitney has a bunch of gasket material for door seal replacement and such. See if they sell something close.
Wow only $52 to fill up? Ahh, the good ol days of $1.55 gas...
How does $1.85 sound. We get reamed in the Bay Area.
I don't have a Fantastic Fan and really don't want to put one in now that I've got the roof all sealed. What a pain getting the old screws out now. So it really helps? If it helped keep it cooler in the summer then I'd consider it. I don't have air con (never have AC anyway) and it gets pretty bad inside sometimes. I don't care about the automatic open feature so maybe I'll just mount a fan inside an existing vent. Do you think it's worth it? I already bought one of those 12V 6" table top fans. It's okay but kind of noisy.
Brutus, thanks for the Fantastic advise. I think it is on my to do list for the spring, the same time I am going to seal the whole camper. I hope I remember to put the fan in first !!! I am also waiting on my F350 CC 4x4 SRW V10 3.73 which is suppose to be built the week of April 24th so I am interested in gas mileage.
Vince4, I talked to a guy at the Lance factory today and he gave me similar advice as you did. So I'm back out looking for gaskets. Another piece of advice he gave me that I think is worth passing is to bring the door to a body shop to have them cut and mould vents into the door. I really like the idea and was unaware of the fact that vents could be put in by a metal shop. I guess my level of creativity on this camper is nil. I love the thing so much I guess I get blurry eyed when I look at !! I think I will try some body shops to see if I can find a place to do it. I just think there needs to be some air flow through the door so condensation doesn't build up. I realize if the leak is stopped there will be less condensation but air flow is good !!!
On the sealant, I think I used the Par-Bond stuff before. It is VERY expensive but it did a nice job. It is a little harder to find but perhaps this is the way I should go. I used some of the silicone last year on parts of the camper and should relook this year on discoloration. I have noticed it stays more flexible than the Par-bond but I wonder which holds up better, probably the Par-bond.
Two ideas on the door gasket. First, buy various sizes of stick on weather foam (closed-cell) and add a new gasket to the inside of the door so it smashes against the existing gasket. This is good for troubleshooting and would last a few years anyway. Second, ask that body shop to adapt a car gasket to replace the old one. They could probably do that easy.
I think CA may have the highest gas tax in the US. Registering the vehicle is no cheap effort either. I had to pay an extra $140 for the weight of my 92 F-250. It sure doesn't discourage drivers. There are certainly plenty of vehicles on the road.
As far as the fan, I haven't tested it in hot temps. An average summer day in my neck of the woods is highs in the mid to upper 60s and nighttime lows in the 50s. I have to believe it would help. If you open up the windows at all four corners of your camper, it will suck the air through. It may not cool it down, but at least it will be circulating. My fantastic fan has three settings and is more powerful and less noisy than the regular vent fan I have in the bathroom.
We gained 5 minutes and 43 seconds of daylight today, breaking the 14 hour mark for the first time this year. Sunrise was around 7am and sunset was around 9pm.
Yes, living in California is expensive. They charge all truck owners a commercial vehicle weight fee. This is just a way to have higher taxes without calling it that. For the Silverado I recently bought I paid $2222 in sales tax and $600 for one year registration. Ouch.
Finally made my first "Off The Island" trip with my SunLite Pop Up. Had to leave on business so we decided to make it a camping trip also. This was my wife's first overnight stay in the camper. Everything went great and she seemed to enjoy it. My Ram 318 got 12.5 MPG running the AC and an 18 to 25 mph head wind all the way Home. I didn't use overdrive on the return trip. Still no luck finding a Chevy or GMC 2500 yet.
Computer was down a few days but squared away now. Great pic Vince4. I'm gonna just go with 1 12v battery,from what everyone says it appears adequate for the short hops I plan. A set of airlifts and I'm ready to go. Thanks for the great advice.
oltroll1, good thing your wife liked the camper experience. It wouldn't be much use if you couldn't enjoy it together. It sounds like the Dodge handles the load just fine
gary, glad you're back on line. Did you decide where you are going to put the battery?
You folks should post some pictures of your rigs if you have a digital camera or scanner.
Vince4, thanks for the help, I worked on the camper door and I think I have it fixed. Tightening the lock and banging the door against the gasket made it tight. I only had a couple of drips inside the cabinet after a major rain storm here last weekend. I still want to cut the louvers in the door for air flow. I'm still looking for a place that cuts louvers in sheet metal locally. I did find some water on the bench inside, under the large sliding window. I'm still trying to find out how that water got in. The wall felt a little soft in places so I'm wondering if water is getting in behind the wall and I never saw it. I'm really wondering if I should get one of those tent like garages for storage of the camper and perhaps the new truck on order. Has anyone out there bought one of these tent like garages?
Vince, I've decided to mount the camper battery under the hood. Has this been discussed already? I don't want to tie up the board needlessly. If so, could you tell me where to find it and if not post some directions. Thanks
Is it possible the water inside under the large window is condensation and dripping?
I can get a lot of water buildup inside from condensation. If the camper is not level, then it all runs to one spot and accumulates. Leave the camper for a while and the evidence evaporates, just leaving the water puddle.
It is a more pleasant idea than a roof or window leak.
Don't worry about tying up the board. We (meaning me) like to have activity on the board. As long as it is sort of oriented towards campers, keep it coming.
Even if it is not something I'm interested in today, I may learn something that I can use in the future.
Mike/Vince- Well we did it! Sold the camper the very first day. Took all of five minutes for them to decide. Got our asking price. Now, for the rest of the story. We're headed out to Bend Oregon to pick up our new 2K 915 Lance Lite, with several options. The same camper in Calif, was $2000 more. No tax in Oregon either. This time we got electric jacks, heated holding tanks, & a fome-cor weather barrier for increased R- value. It's really a nice unit! I called Rancho Corp. to see if they had shocks (RS 9000) available, but they haven't engineered them for the new Silverado 2500. They have them for the 1500 though. The same for the Hotchkiss sway bar.. not available at this time. Mike, on mileage, around home I get 13/13+, whereas the 15+ was freeway. I only have 3500mi, but the trip to Bend will put me over 4K. Looking forward to our new camper!! We went this way, because like Vince, we like the creature comforts of a hard side. Would like to had the Alaskan, but tooooo pricey. Will let you know how the trip goes.
mledtje, unfortunately this is not condensation, I wasn't camping in it a the time. I suspect it is coming from the window somewhere. More investigation is in order.
grizzly1, congratulations on the new Lance. I would be curious if you notice a difference driving the Lite verses the full Lance. Let us know what you think.
Comments
Our annual RV show starts tomorrow. I wonder if they will have any of those new truck campers with the slide-outs? I know Fleetwood has one for the Caribou and there is one by Artic Fox. I've also heard that Bigfoot has one.
Why are you thinking of getting rid of a new truck?
So Brutus, why don't you do any winter camping? Is it just too much effort there where you have real winters? Or maybe all the developed campgrounds are closed?
I just moved back to Alaska last year after spending 6 1/2 years in CA and TX because of transfers with my previous job. This past year was a year of adjustment. It was also my first year with the camper, which I used significantly last summer. This coming winter, I will definitely do some camping.
Winter camping isn't that unusual up here. Weekend snowmachine outings are pretty common to areas that are a couple of hours out of town. Most people don't de-winterize and use the plumbing. I have heated tanks but don't expect to dewinterize and re-winterize every weekend. I'll probably use the black and grey water tanks and bring a couple of five gallon jugs of water. That will let me use everything but the shower and the taps. At the end of the weekend, it's just a matter of dumping the tanks and putting a little anti-freeze in the black and grey water tanks.
The two best places are under the hood or in the space between the sheetmetal and the frame on the side, where saddle gas tanks (aka. killer GM tanks) are located. I've put one under the hood of my last 3 trucks so it can be done. It's good because you can access it easily to add water or whatever and a nice bonus is that you can jump yourself (sounds a little weird) if your main battery dies. That has come in handy for me a few times. So you spend an afternoon and a little money and it's done forever. You just plug in the camper and go, the battery is always charged when you need it. You need to put in an isolator but that can be as simple as a $15 relay.
If you mount it under the truck, use a battery box and build some sort of platform. I have learned that "no maintenance" actually means "less maintenance" according to the battery manufacturers. Depending on charging, etc. you may need to add water. So if you are going to mount it in a hard to access spot I suggest an Optima deep cycle battery. They are truly sealed and never need attention. They are expensive though, I paid $140 recently and that was a good deal.
Let us know how it works out.
I used the air bags to level twice and it was just enough. The truck (Silverado 2500) was wonderful to drive, such an improvement over the last one. I got so so mileage of 9.5 mpg but what a treat driving with the 6.0 engine. I went as fast as I wanted up any hills and never had to let anyone by.
Isn't that yellow hill a beautiful sight. I couldn't imagine it, but when I saw it for the first time, I was impressed.
For those of you with good imaginations, try and picture a fully yellow hill. Just completely covered with yellow daffodils. Spectacular.
Thanks for reminding me,
Mike L
Yawl are right about the extra bulk, so unless you're gonna be out a long time, not worth it.
We can go over a week out in the boonies on our travel trailer with a couple of 6V 220 amp-hour golfcart batteries in series.
Gary-
Mine is a '91 Lance Squire 4000. It's 9.4 feet which I think is the best tradeoff between interior and exterior size. I'm quite happy with it overall. You can see it at
http://members.home.net/vofm/camper1.jpg
http://members.home.net/vofm/camper2.jpg
It still has some rear overhang and is just as tall as yours so it may still be too big. If you want to see pics of Mike's popup just shorten the above links to .../vofm/ and click away. Let us know what you decide.
I'm getting ready to buy a new deep cycle. I'm going with the Optima, but I'm not sure which model yet.
Missed the RV show. Bummer.
I looked around on the web quite a bit and the best price I found is at
http://www.accessconnect.com/optima.htm
which is $170 for the D750U including shipping. I found many places including local stores selling them for $180+ but ended up buying from a local battery store for $140. That is the best price I think you'll find. I found a wholesaler on the web selling for that price but shipping was almost $40.
Hopefully your knee heals quickly and painlessly.
The Alaskan popup looks really nice, has no soft sides, and costs a ton. Might be worth considering. It's the only hard sided popup I know of.
I'm glad to hear your mileage with your 6.0L is tolerable. I just ordered mine, and all I hear is horror stories of 8-13mpg. I'm a conservative driver, and I hope to get mileage closer to yours.
Good luck with the knee.
Mike L
If you want to consider them sold, you have a customer.
Bring them by when you want to check out the wiring in the factory manuals.
Later,
Mike L
What's the worst you have ever gotten from an entire tankful on your 4.8L?
I took your great advice this past weekend and with my son sprayed the side of the camper trying to find the leak in the side compartment door. The problem is, I was very unsuccessful in fixing the problem. I could not stop the leak. the water runs down the side of the camper, gets caught on the door top and runs right inside the door. I tried getting the door tight against the seal but to no avail. I am starting to wonder if the water is going to the very corner of the door and running in. I am now wondering if I should get a new door custom made to be more water tight and have some type of air vent, since the standard door has no air vents. I'm sure you think I'm nuts but I don't think these doors are designed to be water tight. Is there a supply house or camping parts place that sells doors that could be installed in this opening? I want to fix this so I can go onto my next Lance project, a fantastic fan install !!! I don't have one but my wife saw them at the camping show and liked it. Any suggestions on this would be appreciated.
OK on the turnbuckles.
Obviously there is a gap where the seal isn't being compressed. I would be thinking about how to add an additional rubber gasket. Since the original gasket is in the frame (I assume) maybe glue a new gasket on the inside of the door so the two gaskets smash together. It sounds like a trip to a RV repair shop is in order.
Overall average is 15.6mpg. Highest tanks were 20.8 and 21.0 on successive tanks running 65 in Colorado (no camper).
I like the 4.8L 5spd combination. Works great for me. My wife wants a heavier duty truck so we are not over the GVWR.
I would rather have the 3/4 ton with a 5.3L 5sp and 4.10s, but my choice is limited to the 6.0, so I have the 3.73s figuring the 6.0L can pull it.
Mike L
I hadn't considered actually replacing the gasket, only modifying it. I will look at it again this weekend and see what I can try. I sent Lance an email and I might try calling later today. The repair guy at the dealership is on vacation so I will have to wait for his return before I make an appointment to see him, if all else fails.
Do you have the Fantastic Fan? Any thoughts on it?
Another question, what type of clear sealant do you use? I wanted to go over the camper in a few weeks to tighten it up and was planning on using silicon II.
Thanks again, I don't really know many folks with truck campers so this forum is a great place !!!
I have a fantastic fan and think it is, well, fantastic. It really helps get air circulating through the camper. It runs both directions. I open some windows and turn the fan on blowing out of the camper. That way, it sucks the air in through the windows and blows it out through the fan in the roof.
I filled my tank yesterday. Over $52! I put in about 34 gallons at $1.55 per gallon. For those who don't know, I have a 99 Superduty V-10 4x4 dually with a 4.30 axle ratio. My mpg is 9.5-10 in a 50/50 mix of city/hwy and 11.5-12 hwy at 70ish. The same truck with the 3.73 axle ratio and single rear wheels will get about 2mpg better, but I like the 4.30s. With the camper on, I tip the scales just under 12,000 pounds loaded for a trip including passengers and get 8.5-9 hwy at low to mid 60s. I can get around 10mpg on flat hwy if I keep the speed at 55.
I'm going to get mud flaps and window visors in the next couple of weeks and I'll probably add air bags in May. I may even get the Rancho adjustable shocks. I've got 30,000 on the truck, so I won't feel too bad about swapping out the shocks.
The factory used something that looks like silicon on my camper and it doesn't look so great 10 years later but isn't as bad as my old camper. Much of the material on mine has pulled loose and I've been meaning to redo the whole camper. I did redo the roof recently, for that I used a clear sealant I bought from the Lance dealer. The service guy said it is the only way to go, far superior to consumer grade stuff. It's called Parrbond Clear and cost $40+ for a gallon. It's the consistency of thick corn syrup, do you know Karo syrup used in cooking? Strange to work with but seemed to do a good job. They recommended another sealer in a tube for the rest of the camper. I guess it is the factory stuff. Probably just a different formulation of silicon caulk. Anyway that's what I'm going to use for around the lights, windows etc.
For your immediate problem, maybe a new larger gasket to replace the old one, or a second small gasket to fill the gap would work. JC Whitney has a bunch of gasket material for door seal replacement and such. See if they sell something close.
How does $1.85 sound. We get reamed in the Bay Area.
I don't have a Fantastic Fan and really don't want to put one in now that I've got the roof all sealed. What a pain getting the old screws out now. So it really helps? If it helped keep it cooler in the summer then I'd consider it. I don't have air con (never have AC anyway) and it gets pretty bad inside sometimes. I don't care about the automatic open feature so maybe I'll just mount a fan inside an existing vent. Do you think it's worth it? I already bought one of those 12V 6" table top fans. It's okay but kind of noisy.
Click to enlarge.
Vince4, I talked to a guy at the Lance factory today and he gave me similar advice as you did. So I'm back out looking for gaskets. Another piece of advice he gave me that I think is worth passing is to bring the door to a body shop to have them cut and mould vents into the door. I really like the idea and was unaware of the fact that vents could be put in by a metal shop. I guess my level of creativity on this camper is nil. I love the thing so much I guess I get blurry eyed when I look at !! I think I will try some body shops to see if I can find a place to do it. I just think there needs to be some air flow through the door so condensation doesn't build up. I realize if the leak is stopped there will be less condensation but air flow is good !!!
On the sealant, I think I used the Par-Bond stuff before. It is VERY expensive but it did a nice job. It is a little harder to find but perhaps this is the way I should go. I used some of the silicone last year on parts of the camper and should relook this year on discoloration. I have noticed it stays more flexible than the Par-bond but I wonder which holds up better, probably the Par-bond.
As far as the fan, I haven't tested it in hot temps. An average summer day in my neck of the woods is highs in the mid to upper 60s and nighttime lows in the 50s. I have to believe it would help. If you open up the windows at all four corners of your camper, it will suck the air through. It may not cool it down, but at least it will be circulating. My fantastic fan has three settings and is more powerful and less noisy than the regular vent fan I have in the bathroom.
We gained 5 minutes and 43 seconds of daylight today, breaking the 14 hour mark for the first time this year. Sunrise was around 7am and sunset was around 9pm.
gary, glad you're back on line. Did you decide where you are going to put the battery?
You folks should post some pictures of your rigs if you have a digital camera or scanner.
I can get a lot of water buildup inside from condensation. If the camper is not level, then it all runs to one spot and accumulates. Leave the camper for a while and the evidence evaporates, just leaving the water puddle.
It is a more pleasant idea than a roof or window leak.
Mike L
Even if it is not something I'm interested in today, I may learn something that I can use in the future.
Mike L
Mike, on mileage, around home I get 13/13+, whereas the 15+ was freeway. I only have 3500mi, but the trip to Bend will put me over 4K. Looking forward to our new camper!! We went this way, because like Vince, we like the creature comforts of a hard side. Would like to had the Alaskan, but tooooo pricey. Will let you know how the trip goes.
Gary-
I also left the state to buy a camper. The tax savings alone was almost $1000.
Now if we could find a way around the sales tax on a new truck.....
See you on the road,
Mike L
grizzly1, congratulations on the new Lance. I would be curious if you notice a difference driving the Lite verses the full Lance. Let us know what you think.