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

[Greggo]

Bought its first set of replacement 6v batteries! New tires last week.

Very odd, I got really lucky!! Happened to "find" 4 tires at a tire shop. All the others said, fuhgedaboudit!

Re batteries, Interstate distrib said I'd have to settle for used 6v golf cart batteries. The OEM ones have been back ordered sev months.

[nepaweb]

Put up the future winter quarters for the Escape today. Took the crew about 4 hours to set this up.
We did a test fit and the trailer fits with room to spare. Now I should be able to tackle some trailer projects this winter even if the snow gets deep.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by nepaweb

Put up the future winter quarters for the Escape today. Took the crew about 4 hours to set this up.
We did a test fit and the trailer fits with room to spare. Now I should be able to tackle some trailer projects this winter even if the snow gets deep.

Sweet, wish I had one.......

[Bea]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Sweet, wish I had one.......

Me, too....... Very nice! -Bea

[Bea]

We store our 21C with a cover. Works ok, but I secretly admire all the permanent 'winter quarters' folks have here. Ya'll are blessed!

Our first cover ripped from our sharp solar panel corners. So with the next new cover, we wrapped each corner with a towel before covering. Easier said than done and always worried about the towels unwrapping. So after washing and waxing it this past Sunday, I saw some left over reflectix in our garage and thought, Ah ha! Then grabbed some scissors and velcro, cut out 4 pieces, velcroed together underneath and voila, new corner protectors. Hope they work! -Bea

[WillyB]

Originally Posted by nepaweb

Put up the future winter quarters for the Escape today. Took the crew about 4 hours to set this up.
We did a test fit and the trailer fits with room to spare. Now I should be able to tackle some trailer projects this winter even if the snow gets deep.

What is the size?

We want one for our upcoming, not yet built, 21C.

[nepaweb]

Originally Posted by WillyB

What is the size?

We want one for our upcoming, not yet built, 21C.

It is 18'x24' with 9' sidewalls.
More than enough room for the Escape but we have some other uses planned for it besides just storing the trailer.

[kathytony1985]

Originally Posted by Bea

We store our 21C with a cover. Works ok, but I secretly admire all the permanent 'winter quarters' folks have here. Ya'll are blessed!

Our first cover ripped from our sharp solar panel corners. So with the next new cover, we wrapped each corner with a towel before covering. Easier said than done and always worried about the towels unwrapping. So after washing and waxing it this past Sunday, I saw some left over reflectix in our garage and thought, Ah ha! Then grabbed some scissors and velcro, cut out 4 pieces, velcroed together underneath and voila, new corner protectors. Hope they work! -Bea

We saw somewhere that people use pool noodles. Have you tried that? We just got our cover today and are thinking about trying them.

[Bea]

Originally Posted by kathytony1985

We saw somewhere that people use pool noodles. Have you tried that? We just got our cover today and are thinking about trying them.

Yup! Tried pool noodles and pipe insulation. They seem to work well for many here, but for me, after the 3rd or 4th application they expanded and wouldn't stay on, so I stopped using them but if that's what you got, go for it. Might work well for you and anything is better than nothing...to protect those expensive covers, IMHO. Again, congrats on your new Escape! Cheers, - Bea

[Ron in BC]

The inside edge of my driver's side rear tire wore out quite quickly. By the end of the first summer it was toast. By the time I'd made a circuit of BC this summer tire #2 was doing the same thing.

Why there was an obvious problem is undetermined. It could have been a manufacturing fault or it could have been me bashing over rough roads. At any rate, thanks to Dexter's generous warranty and a little help from Dustin I ended up with a shiny new axle.

My wife was horrified at the thought of me placing a very heavy object in position overhead and my physiotherapist would probably break my arm if she found out about it. But what the heck, I like doing things for myself.

At times in the past the just getting it done sort of overshadowed minor safety considerations etc. but in this situation I adopted the Work Smart, Work Safe motto.

Just jacking up the axle is problematic because the trailing arms and brake drums would result in the axle tilting backwards. This would require some arm wrestling trying to get the mounting plates horizontal. So I made a bracket that allowed my to put the jack aft of the axle so that the mounting plates were perfectly horizontal. My wife relaxed a bit when I showed her that I could tilt and swivel the axle with one finger.

With the front wheels on blocks and the tongue lowered there's lot's of room to work. Pretty easy install, 4 bolts and the trailer brake wires.

Since the front tires were in perfect condition I made the assumption that the front alignment was pretty good and all I had to do is make sure that the hub distances on each side were the same. The mounting plate on the trailer frame is slotted and allows for that adjustment.

I did check the old axle and it does indicate that it's toed out. I'll remove the brakes etc. and junk it.

Ron

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

The inside edge of my driver's side rear tire wore out quite quickly. By the end of the first summer it was toast. By the time I'd made a circuit of BC this summer tire #2 was doing the same thing.

Why there was an obvious problem is undetermined. It could have been a manufacturing fault or it could have been me bashing over rough roads. At any rate, thanks to Dexter's generous warranty and a little help from Dustin I ended up with a shiny new axle.

My wife was horrified at the thought of me placing a very heavy object in position overhead and my physiotherapist would probably break my arm if she found out about it. But what the heck, I like doing things for myself.

At times in the past the just getting it done sort of overshadowed minor safety considerations etc. but in this situation I adopted the Work Smart, Work Safe motto.

Just jacking up the axle is problematic because the trailing arms and brake drums would result in the axle tilting backwards. This would require some arm wrestling trying to get the mounting plates horizontal. So I made a bracket that allowed my to put the jack aft of the axle so that the mounting plates were perfectly horizontal. My wife relaxed a bit when I showed her that I could tilt and swivel the axle with one finger.

With the front wheels on blocks and the tongue lowered there's lot's of room to work. Pretty easy install, 4 bolts and the trailer brake wires.

Since the front tires were in perfect condition I made the assumption that the front alignment was pretty good and all I had to do is make sure that the hub distances on each side were the same. The mounting plate on the trailer frame is slotted and allows for that adjustment.

I did check the old axle and it does indicate that it's toed out. I'll remove the brakes etc. and junk it.

Ron

Nice work Ron. That bracket was a great idea to make the job both safer and easier. Hope the new axle gives you many trouble free miles.

[Jim Bennett]

Good work, Ron. The missus may think you are overdoing it, but I would expect it, trusting you would do a good job.

[dstreight]

Installed new cast stainless steel door hinges on our 15A. For no more miles on this thing the original hinges were...shot!

Had to get a little creative with mounting the new hinges...but it all worked out. Pictures at 11

And, figured up what I need to add internal overhead cabinet LED lighting and switches...

To be continued

[oldwave]

Began my inverter project

[cpaharley2008]

Just a thought here, perhaps it is a generation gap or something else but I fail to see the need to have an inverter to convert 12v to 120v. If planned in advance most things can be found to operate off 12V......so you are either hooked up to a pedestal for 120v or operating off battery power like you were in the tent days......I understand there are medical devices that need one or the other, but otherwise? Maybe I need more coffee......

[oldwave]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Just a thought here, perhaps it is a generation gap or something else but I fail to see the need to have an inverter to convert 12v to 120v. If planned in advance most things can be found to operate off 12V......so you are either hooked up to a pedestal for 120v or operating off battery power like you were in the tent days......I understand there are medical devices that need one or the other, but otherwise? Maybe I need more coffee......

Mostly to use appliances while on long day drives. Microwave in particular. Plus the design work and installation satisfies my tech interest. Camera chargers off grid as well as computer chargers etc. but everyone has different needs and I’d rather not use a generator to generate110 for short off grid. Choice is good thing and I regretted not getting the inverter for a while.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by oldwave

Mostly to use appliances while on long day drives. Microwave in particular. Plus the design work and installation satisfies my tech interest. Camera chargers off grid as well as computer chargers etc. but everyone has different needs and I’d rather not use a generator to generate110 for short off grid. Choice is good thing and I regretted not getting the inverter for a while.

So other than microwave, everything is on 12V, which I understand....we do not get a microwave in the Escape and use at home is sparse.

[Centex]

Originally Posted by oldwave

Choice is good thing and I regretted not getting the inverter for a while.

This is the bottom line. Though not for everyone you're far from alone in finding benefit from having an inverter, as we all know there's many posts here about folks enjoying the use of a variety of 120VAC appliances on 'silent' battery power.

Congrats on making your Escape 'built for you' with the mod!

Have Fun!

[dstreight]

Originally Posted by Centex

This is the bottom line. Though not for everyone you're far from alone in finding benefit from having an inverter, as we all know there's many posts here about folks enjoying the use of a variety of 120VAC appliances on 'silent' battery power.

Congrats on making your Escape 'built for you' with the mod!

Have Fun!

This!

Sidebar: I don't get the attitude, condemnation, judgement, negativity...by certain folks within the forums, this one included, related to equipment, accessories and/or ideas they don't subscribe to or believe in...that others find valuable.

Its as if they're in the game of selling their rigid viewpoints. Very strange.

[oldwave]

Originally Posted by dstreight

This!

Sidebar: I don't get the attitude, condemnation, judgement, negativity...by certain folks within the forums, this one included, related to equipment, accessories and/or ideas they don't subscribe to or believe in...that others find valuable.

Its as if they're in the game of selling their rigid viewpoints. Very strange.

I felt no hostility from Jim just his opinion on microwave and inverter use. He didn’t call me any names just expressed his viewpoint. My needs are different and in fact the install will be successful for all the help I’ve gotten from others on the forum . Many times help from Jim himself on other issues.

Opinions are fine attacks are not