Carla's Camper

.It is logical for the designer of a furnace to design in a shut off function that is triggered when there is no fuel available. It is unlikely to be designed the way some home furnaces are with a fan only selection as in RVs there are generally rooftop vent fans that are used for cooling.

RVs design is often considerably different than what is done in a fixed building.

maki2 said:

.It is logical for the designer of a furnace to design in a shut off function that is triggered when there is no fuel available.

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That had a district Spock vibe to it.

rruff said:

The ancient NG furnace in my house has a few simple safeguards to make sure it doesn't blow up the house or start a fire. Though I've never tried to run it with the NG valve closed, I'm pretty sure the lack of flame would be something that would make it turn off.

Have you tried it with the tanks on yet?

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Not yet. I thought that maybe I should use soapy water and a brush on the lines to check for leaks. Is that overkill? I'm a little paranoid about gas.

Anyway, I got sidetracked. My doctor insists I bring a bicycle with on my travels. Bought a bunch of accessories for my bike and a couple weeks ago went to grab it to take to a repair shop and it was gone. Stolen.

So yesterday I bought a used one off Marketplace and last night took it to a guy who repairs bikes.

I hate messing with propane

I never decided where to put my bike when driving, but I realized it fits perfectly in my truck bed under the topper. Thinking I could make a simple wooden guide to get it in and out easier and hold it upright.

Any downsides to keeping my bike in the truck bed? I know it takes up a lot of room, but I removed the cot. I think the truck will be hauling big things like tent, screen room, two 5 gallon jugs of water and a container of gas. Spare sleeping bags, camp table and chairs .

Carla618 said:

I never decided where to put my bike when driving, but I realized it fits perfectly in my truck bed under the topper. Thinking I could make a simple wooden guide to get it in and out easier and hold it upright.

Any downsides to keeping my bike in the truck bed? I know it takes up a lot of room, but I removed the cot. I think the truck will be hauling big things like tent, screen room, two 5 gallon jugs of water and a container of gas. Spare sleeping bags, camp table and chairs .

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The space saving way many people haul their bikes in a truck bed is in an upright position. You remove the front quick release wheel hub and lock it into a front wheel clamp that is mounted to the truck bed. That secures the bike for travel. If you are not familiar with that just do a search on “ bike front fork lock”. Or visit any bicycle shop and discuss it.

But it sounds like for your needs, if you have some build skills, you might want to build a DIY slide out mount such as was done in this instruction video that also has a front fork rack mounted in it. You would not need the width she has used for just one bike.

maki2 said:

The space saving way many people haul their bikes in a truck bed is in an upright position. You remove the front quick release wheel hub and lock it into a front wheel clamp that is mounted to the truck bed. That secures the bike for travel. If you are not familiar with that just do a search on “ bike front fork lock”. Or visit any bicycle shop and discuss it.

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Front fork mount is what they are called, I think.

That tray is unnecessary weight and complication. The rear wheel being still on the bike, it's no problem to just roll it in while holding the front fork, and then attach the front dropout to the mount. Sliders like that are great for big drawers or other kinds of storage, though.

rruff said:

Front fork mount is what they are called, I think.

That tray is unnecessary weight and complication. The rear wheel being still on the bike, it's no problem to just roll it in while holding the front fork, and then attach the front dropout to the mount. Sliders like that are great for big drawers or other kinds of storage, though.

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Women and men typically have different strength. What might seem easy for a man can be difficult to do for an older woman. Trying to keep a bike balanced while rolling it into a space that has other cargo in it is one such situation. That pull out tray allows it to be stabilized while easily reachable. That it can be pushed back inside in a stable condition with no sidways wobbles. That means extension slide makes the very difficult for some individuals much easier.

When you design you need to consider things such as a person's body height, proportions and physical strength. I am an older woman as well as a designer of lots of types of stuff. So it is natural for me to consider the circumstances an individual client needs for ergonomic assistance. I did take into account what the OP had to say about concerns of physically accomplishing the task without a lot of strain. . So I gave an option that was going to be easier for her to manage versus just telling her to put in a mounting fork. She will be able to store some other items on that pull out rack as well as the bike. It is not at all wasted space.

Having done this several hundred times, I'm doubtful. Lifting the whole bike up (sans front wheel) would be the hardest part, and you need to do that with the tray also. Steadying it while rolling it in is quite a bit easier.

^^I am not going to keep on arguing with you. We each presented an option and explained our points of view. That is sufficient for the purpose that was asked.

maki2 said:

The space saving way many people haul their bikes in a truck bed is in an upright position. You remove the front quick release wheel hub and lock it into a front wheel clamp that is mounted to the truck bed. That secures the bike for travel. If you are not familiar with that just do a search on “ bike front fork lock”. Or visit any bicycle shop and discuss it.

But it sounds like for your needs, if you have some build skills, you might want to build a DIY slide out mount such as was done in this instruction video that also has a front fork rack mounted in it. You would not need the width she has used for just one bike.

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Thanks Maki. I never wanted slides before, because I thought I'd always have the cot in the truck. It's a cot that clears the wheel well and I paid too much for it. So I wanted to keep using it in the truck (even though I bought a trailer instead of going the truck camping route). Dumb idea.

It is no fun climbing into the truck to get things at the front of the bed. I missed out on a used topper made for the Ford F Series trucks that had wing windows and was a little taller than a normal height. That is what I need. Unless I can make it to Pirate camp for slides .

I am not up for building anything. I am already going to leave behind lumber that I bought to line one side of my truck bed with shelves .

I may just put a receiver hitch on the front of the truck for a bike carrier .

I have so much to do still. Two backup cameras to install. Never even tried out the power station, the solar panels, the 12 volt frig and more. I'm an idiot. *sigh*

I lit the stove at least. But the furnace does the same thing as last night. It blows for about 15 seconds then shuts off. Seems like there was a weird smell after the last attempt

I have a carbon monoxide detector and smoke detector. I'll try again tomorrow. Long day.

rruff said:

Having done this several hundred times, I'm doubtful. Lifting the whole bike up (sans front wheel) would be the hardest part, and you need to do that with the tray also. Steadying it while rolling it in is quite a bit easier.

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Thanks Ruff

Weird smell was probably propane finally making it to the burner of the furnace. It'll probably light up tomorrow for you.

Glad you have the stove working though.

My RV furnace had a terrible smell several times when I used it this year. That's normal for a gas furnace that's been sitting for over a year. The best thing to do is to hire an RV tech to check it out and get it working property.

Camper said:

My RV furnace had a terrible smell several times when I used it this year. That's normal for a gas furnace that's been sitting for over a year. The best thing to do is to hire an RV tech to check it out and get it working property.

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I'll check into that. Thx.

Happy Camper said:

Weird smell was probably propane finally making it to the burner of the furnace. It'll probably light up tomorrow for you.

Glad you have the stove working though.

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I will try later today. Got stuck babysitting.

Carla618 said:

I will try later today. Got stuck babysitting.

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so many of us have been following Carla's camper project. How fun to see some of the final "must do" stuff
getting done. Congrats. Carla, what seasonal travel do you see in your near future? Wintering in AZ perhaps?
Or, since you have family right there, not too much extended travel.

camperdan said:

so many of us have been following Carla's camper project. How fun to see some of the final "must do" stuff
getting done. Congrats. Carla, what seasonal travel do you see in your near future? Wintering in AZ perhaps?
Or, since you have family right there, not too much extended travel.

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I have reservations at a campground in Alabama, but now I'm not so sure . One of my daughters is political (like me) and when I suggested Texas she refused... Due to their politics. Well, in the news today Alabama just voted for even more restrictive legislation against women . So I texted her to ask if we need to pick a different destination.

I am proud of her for standing by her beliefs. Boycotting is one thing we can control.

So after the south, I will head back to Illinois for the eclipse. Then eye surgery on April 30.

I had an Echo today. Assuming it looks good, then after eye surgery then the Cascades near Canada. My son lives there.

I will winter somewhere warm

Thanks Dan.

Carla618 said:

Boycotting is one thing we can control.

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My thought, here, Carla, is to suggest that you not cut off your nose to spite your face, as my mother would say.

There are people from all over the country, Canada and some from Europe out there traveling.

They are interesting to meet and talk with, and the politics of the state one is in matter very little in a campground, in my experience.

If what you want to do is explore the country, and go places you’ve never been, I encourage keeping your mind wide open and following your dream.

You run into the occasional odd duck, but that’s all part of the adventure.

My two cents.

I had to delete several posts that were VERY much off topic and detoured into other topics such as politics.

This is a thread about Carla's Camper.

Thanks.

I'm listening/watching RV University (by Escapees) and he is discussing batteries. And chargers, inverters and converters. I am so lost. I thought I just needed a battery... I mean I have a battery and I know it works. He is saying I should have a 3 stage battery. And what about water? I've never added water to my battery.

He's kinda making it sound like chargers for batteries are important and I will be spending $100 - $400 on a charger. What? I thought I was done buying stuff

I'd take a picture of my battery but I smashed my phone.

I'll see if Google images backed up my photos. I know I took a picture of it.