Cummins Canoe (A Stepvan Story)

[nature lover]

Every time I visit your thread I become jealous of the space you have in that vehicle and your ability to do all that work yourself. I have neither. Since I have nine broken ribs now I can’t even move a 5 pound package. I guess I’m just complaining but your rig is beautiful.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Thanks. But oh geeze, 9 ribs? That sounds awful! Wishing you the best recovery as you can get! But yes, we are spoiled with all this space. Very glad we didn't have the money to buy a Sprinter van like everyone else does.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Rig made it to the Atlantic Ocean. More things to add and put together.

[size=small]Everyone said we needed windows. Well, we don't feel like cutting more holes, so with this magnetic bug screen, we gots a huge window now![/size]

[size=small]And we got these cute fabric totes to store clothing. Wish the sides weren't tapered, but it's the best we could find after like four stores.[/size]

[size=small]The roof makes a great vantage point to look at far away things.[/size]

[size=small]Also good at spying inside through the roof vent! The puppy knows though. Puppies always know...[/size]

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

More lazy days, trying out systems and dialing in our stuff.

[size=small]Woke up one day to wild horses up in our camp.[/size]

[size=small]But we made lots of good sun that day![/size]

[size=small]Plenty of sun to make ice cubes! Let me tell you how much of a game changer ice cubes are. We ration each other down to two ice per day. Our "ice maker" is slow and only makes small batches.[/size]

[size=small]But yea, the wild horses would just roam around, probably looking for freebies from us. It was very exciting to see them up so close![/size]

[size=small]And when the horses have left camp, we're able to just lay around.[/size]

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

There is lots of sun at the beach! Soaking up all that power and cooking up some serious meals. Use the power while you got it right?

[size=small]Picked up a waffle iron! Mmmmm, they hit the spot![/size]

[size=small]Enjoying the beach today. Letting the solar panels charge up the batteries so we can cook dinner.[/size]

[size=small]Why not have fresh crab! Pressure cooked them with some rice and potatoes, of course we used Old Bay. Had to stop and reset at some point because we didn't have enough water in there to get the pressure cooking going good. Next time we'll have it dialed in better.[/size]

[size=small]Finding other people that can drive this monstrosity. Also, having these headsets in the cab and in the back is awesome! So nice when you need order sandwiches or ice cream sundaes![/size]

[size=small]Speaking of ice cream, what better to end the day with then ice cream and a movie! We're finding that leaving the bed down and set up is the way to go. We rarely put it up into couch mode.[/size]

 

[highdesertranger]

Nice. Highdesertranger

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Things were going great until we noticed that everyday someone was spilling water on the floor.

[size=small]Getting fancy with our cooking. Baking is now easy, as long as there is sun. Made some super awesome french toast casserole. As always, made enough extra to put in fridge for another day.[/size]

[size=small]And we got a nice system of washing dishes while driving.[/size]

[size=small]But, umm, that water on the floor was nobody spilling. Turns out the last week of the water pump kicking on randomly for one second every 20 minutes was actually a plumbing leak. Ripped the entire kitchen out, fixed the leaking hot water fitting, and proceeded to spend the next 2 days cleaning and drying. Worst part is that we had to drain 25 gallons of water! Water is way too precious on the road to just dump like that![/size]

[size=small]The plywood back there is kinda messed up. Very glad we sealed the backside and polyurethaned the front. I imagine it could have been a whole lot worse. Cleaned it with bleach and water. Hooked up both portable fans. Rigged up the air heater in a temporary fashion and ran all that through the night. This was good timing since it dipped down into the 40's that night and the heat felt good. First time using the air heat in a applicable way. This is all quite unfortunate and we're quite bummed. All from just a drip. Has anyone had such catastrophe before?[/size]

 

[wayne49]

My Tioga started having that periodic water pump activity. It's good that the Shur-flo makes a racket when pumping.

At first I thought it was contraction due to temperature changes, then it became obvious that it was a real problem.

Looked under the kitchen sink and found that the hot water tap's connection was leaking. Took it apart, replaced the seal, and very carefully threaded the pieces back together.

 

[Zmann]

Of yeah.. which time from drips to gushers, take solace you found it and fixed it. Some from personal experience ignored the leak.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Agreed, I like the loud Thur-flo pump now! Periodic pumping should not be ignored. And we always keep the switch for the pump in the off position when not in use. I think our problem was when the hose got hot, it got soft and then it leaked. We added a second clamp and tightened it all down once hose got hot again.

 

[desert_sailing]

I'm now thinking I should just leave my pump on for the purpose of leak detector.

 

[bullfrog]

Water can do a lot of damage to wood. One reason I don't make holes in a good one piece roof and keep drip pans that get checked every so often on the floors of cabinets where water lines are run. I usually put a paper towel on the drip pans as well as they tend to stay wet longer with temporary type leaks and check them every so often as well. No better feeling than finding a dry paper towel over a month's time! Lol!

 

[highdesertranger]

A little tip, You can make an RV water pump make much less noise by using short pieces soft hose before and after the pump. Do not use PEX like manufactured RV's do. here's an example,

https://www.amazon.com/Pressure-Bra...&keywords=rv+water+line&qid=1625522777&sr=8-5

ShurFlo actually makes a kit for this,

https://www.amazon.com/SHURFLO-94-5...&keywords=rv+water+line&qid=1625523088&sr=8-8

Highdesertranger

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Water sucks when it escapes. Almost as bad as when electricity escapes! We are now paranoid and only turn on pump as needed. No more water leaks!

Wish we had a big drip pan for everything. Definitely laying paper towels everywhere and inspecting every few days!

Yea, I figured the noise would travel through the PEX. But we are ok with the noise. Only use it when washing dishes and showering really. If the noise is there and we're not doing dishes, then we are alerted to a leak! The Shurflo silencer kit is probably a good option. We used that braided line to plumb the water heater, and that's the hose that leaked! The PEX and Sharkbite fittings are holding great, but only time will tell on those...

 

[bullfrog]

^^^ plastic lids have saved me more than once!

 

[wayne49]

The length of time I run a tap at wide open is minimal, usually only when refreshing the Berkey.

I use the smallest stream possible, down to an pulsing drip, for most everything else.

The shower would be another exception, but I use the water saver shut off (such as it is on this ancient shower head) or close the tap. Almost a navy shower, closer than I ever thought I would get to that "ideal".

Making it quiet would disable the audible alarm that reminds me that my fresh water tank is being drained into the waste tanks. I want that noise to stop ASAP, by using less water.

Be more of a bother to do any unnecessary plumbing with added connections. I got rid of the direct connects to PEX and used braided hoses, when I had to replace the original (to me anyway) Shur-Flo. Used the same on the fresh water tank outlet to the PEX run. H & M Plumbing in Pahrump helped me get the parts that I needed.

 

[highdesertranger]

I should be more clear. The silencing kits do not make the pumps inaudible, you can still hear them. They just make take the edge of the noise they make. Highdesertranger

 

[bullfrog]

I guess a guy that scrapes a shovel over rocks as a hobby needs something that takes the edge off the noise they make! Lol!!! An accumulator that is set up right will cut the number of times the pump comes on substantially and many times gets overlooked by DIYers building their own systems.

 

[highdesertranger]

Yes accumulator tanks are a must. Highdesertranger

 

[wayne49]

The "edge" comes from the pump going off when I am sitting/laying quietly away from a tap.
That and the fact that it might indicate a leak.

Steam radiators banging, there's a noise with quite an edge.

I guess that topic has been pumped dry,