What did you do for your Escape today.....

[davidmurphy02]

It's a really large embroidered design on the back of the shirt. There was a woman at the Pineknot rally who does a bunch of Casita shirts like this and I asked her to do an Escape shirt for me. There are so many differences between various Escapes she actually took a photo of our trailer and used it as the basis for the design, so this really is OUR 5.0TA.

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by davidmurphy02

It's a really large embroidered design on the back of the shirt. There was a woman at the Pineknot rally who does a bunch of Casita shirts like this and I asked her to do an Escape shirt for me. There are so many differences between various Escapes she actually took a photo of our trailer and used it as the basis for the design, so this really is OUR 5.0TA.

Denise did shirts for Unie and I at the 2017 Bluebonnet rally. She took a photo of our trailer and then digitized the photo for her embroidery machine. The shirts she made even had the correct graphics colors and options!

She used Wrangler shirts and prewashed them so they wouldn't shrink after the graphics were done.

[Ron in BC]

Finished off my stabilizer crank handle. Love the smell of fresh cut Tennessee Aromatic Cedar.

Ran the solar panel wiring down the fridge chase into the area below and then into the converter area.

At this rate I'll be ready to head for Q'site in no time at all. Oh yah, I guess that I'm supposed to do all that Xmas and New Years stuff first.

Ron

[mimie]

This is what I did for my new trailer - got the shed completed just in time to get the trailer under cover, before yesterday's snowfall.
first pic: Saturday afternoon
second pic: Sunday afternoon

[h2owmn]

mimic, can you please give the dimensions and the brand of that shelter? thanks.

[mimie]

Originally Posted by h2owmn

can you please give the dimensions and the brand of that shelter?

22' wide, 24' deep, 11' high at peak. Shelter Logic - this is the 3rd time it's been assembled, seems to be in good shape overall.

[Ron in BC]

I'm envious. Around here they're illegal, don't meet the building code for snow load. To add insult to injury, last week a person was giving one away for free.

Ron

[cpaharley2008]

That is what I was thinking, but NH gets snow up there. Will wait til springtime to assess...

[mimie]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

That is what I was thinking, but NH gets snow up there. Will wait til springtime to assess...

Well, around here we use snow rakes - on stick built homes. So I’m well armed.

This particular shelter has already made it through many New England winters, my money is on it holding up just fine. The pitch is steep enough and the fabric slippery enough, I doubt much will actually accumulate.

My barn roof (right near the shelter) never holds onto its snowload for long.

You should see the horses bolt and run, when a slide happens! Lol

[Merlin]

Originally Posted by mimie

This is what I did for my new trailer - got the shed completed just in time to get the trailer under cover, before yesterday's snowfall.
first pic: Saturday afternoon
second pic: Sunday afternoon

Looks like your 17 is ready for the holidays!

[h2owmn]

Thanks, Mimie! We rarely have more than a couple inches a couple times during winter, and it rarely lasts 24 hrs. So no problem. I'll check into it.

[padlin]

Will be spending the rest of the day clearing the roof of the Escape. Weather folks said 8" so I pulled it out of the back yard on the off chance the snow would last a month and we' be stuck here. 20" later I'm glad I did. I'm tempted to pull it out on the road before clearing it, it's wet snow.

Solar input reads 0.

[mimie]

Originally Posted by padlin

20" later I'm glad I did. I'm tempted to pull it out on the road before clearing it, it's wet snow.

Yes, I have family in Medfield and Concord, Mass - you folks really did get a "dump", and the wet stuff is especially heavy/hard to deal with.
Be careful of your back - and your heart!

Originally Posted by padlin

Solar input reads 0.

Wow, had no idea that such a snowcover would be so completely "effective" at blocking solar input. Good to know --

[Ron in BC]

Got the break in the weather that I've been waiting for to install a flexible panel on the roof. Supposed to be sunny/cloudy. All I can say is that it didn't rain.

I really debated whether I should bolt the panel down as I have before but since everyone, including AM Solar, seems to say how good Eternabond is for flexible panels I decided to give it a try.

Certainly pretty easy to use. Lucky that I had a 1" hard roller, perfect for rolling right next to the panel.

The sun shone for mere minutes as it dropped below the clouds but since it was on the horizon all I could do is check the open circuit voltage.

I have two identical panels, one very inefficiently flat on the roof and one on a tilting, swiveling mount that can target the ideal inclination and bearing. I'll use them separately and see what the exact difference in output is between the two.

Ron

[Ron in BC]

Finished up with the solar panel wiring etc.

Decided to try out our old Gen 1 cover for the 19 on our Gen 2 21. It's definitely showing signs of age but it's had 5 years use so I can't complain. It's discolored but still solid with no rips or tears.

When we bought it the size was "18'-21' " On the 19 it looked like a diaper with a full load. Dragged on the ground etc. We probably should have gotten one size smaller.

It fits the 21 like it was made for it. Hope it lasts for a few more years.

Ron

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

Finished up with the solar panel wiring etc.

Decided to try out our old Gen 1 cover for the 19 on our Gen 2 21. It's definitely showing signs of age but it's had 5 years use so I can't complain. It's discolored but still solid with no rips or tears.

When we bought it the size was "18'-21' " On the 19 it looked like a diaper with a full load. Dragged on the ground etc. We probably should have gotten one size smaller.

It fits the 21 like it was made for it. Hope it lasts for a few more years.

Ron

Looks good to me and fits ! Pat

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

I really debated whether I should bolt the panel down as I have before but since everyone, including AM Solar, seems to say how good Eternabond is for flexible panels I decided to give it a try.

Ron: Can you expand on this a bit? My impression was that AM Solar didn’t use flexible panels at all. I see none for sale on their site.

[Ron in BC]

It could be that I made a boo-boo. I hadn't heard of Eternabond tape until a couple of months ago. I resisted the idea of only taping panels to the trailer roof. I'm more comfortable with mechanical fasteners.

So I started reading up on and watching Eternabond installation videos until my eyes felt like they were taped shut. Somewhere along the line Solar AM's name came up and I took it to mean that they used the tape. Might have been wrong about them using it. At any rate I now know that the use of Eternabond is widespread. After using it and seeing how well it conforms and sticks I'm a lot more comfortable using it.

Ron

[Greg A]

Eternabond is awesome stuff, if you never have to remove it, then not so great. I redid all my roof seams on my stickie years ago and never had to go up on the roof every year and reseal and never had any leaks.
AM Solar uses the 3M tape for their installations.

[Ron in BC]

Yes, I've seen the removal videos. It does seem to come off, just a lot of work but that's good when you're using it to attach items to the roof.

Maybe that's where I got the AM Solar reference because I was also considering using 3M tape in central areas etc. under the panel, sort of belt and braces.

Ron