Outdoors RV

[Lac]

Originally Posted by LBZYA

Well after stating with a Coleman POP UP, then going to an Arctic fox 22H, then moved to an Arctic Fox 25R, then made very poor decision and went to a Komfort 277TS, we have decided to pull the plug and we bought a 2014 Creek Side 23RKS this past Friday. The Creeky is still at the dealership getting the pre PDI done and we will pick it up next Friday. This trailer was born February 2014 and the dealer had it on their lot for one week. We bought it from Apache Camping Center in Everett, WA, for this is our families 5th purchase from them. They have always treated us very well and given us up front honest deals (NO BS). The build quality appears to be very similar to the AF, but what I did notice is a lot more practical things being done to the Outdoors products. Hopefully this one we will be keeping for some time unlike the others. I am getting tired of starting over and moving everything out and then back in. Plus all the MODS that have to take place for those personal touches. It looks like the 2015's are already hitting RV lots in areas. From what I can tell ours was in the run at the factory were they made the switch to the 2015. The only change I can see so far is that ours has the heater on the back of the trailer verses the side by the entry door. The back of the trailer is getting a little cramped with the refer vent, heater vent, ladder, hood vent, spare tire, tail lights and window. My plan is to order the BAL Hide-A-Spare and move the spare tire under the trailer, then order new Bargman LED tail lights. They also mounted the license plate light in the middle above the heater. We need to put our bikes on the back and the plate will be invisible at that point. I am going to order a LED porch type light with a switch to put in place of the license plate light and move the license plate to the drivers side under the tail light. I am sure there are a lot more mods to come, but I need to get it home in the driveway first. One other thing, I am switching to the Equal-I-zer hitch set from a Hensley Arrow. If anyone out there knows of a good home for the Hensley let me know.

Welcome ..nice choice...we are just up the street in Kamloops BC.....there is a a campout in June near la grande for Outdoor RV Customers...for more information check the Facebook page of outdoor RV manufacturing.

Take care

Coops

[LBZYA]

Yes, I did find it on the site after searching for a while. Thank you all for the input, I will check out the June campout and the Facebook page. I do not think we will be able to make it, for we are starting the build of a cabin near Lake Wenatchee. Its going to be a busy summer once all this snow melts and it stops raining.

[Nick B]

Originally Posted by LBZYA

Well after stating with a Coleman POP UP, then going to an Arctic fox 22H, then moved to an Arctic Fox 25R, then made very poor decision and went to a Komfort 277TS, we have decided to pull the plug and we bought a 2014 Creek Side 23RKS this past Friday. The Creeky is still at the dealership getting the pre PDI done and we will pick it up next Friday. This trailer was born February 2014 and the dealer had it on their lot for one week. We bought it from Apache Camping Center in Everett, WA, for this is our families 5th purchase from them. They have always treated us very well and given us up front honest deals (NO BS). The build quality appears to be very similar to the AF, but what I did notice is a lot more practical things being done to the Outdoors products. Hopefully this one we will be keeping for some time unlike the others. I am getting tired of starting over and moving everything out and then back in. Plus all the MODS that have to take place for those personal touches. It looks like the 2015's are already hitting RV lots in areas. From what I can tell ours was in the run at the factory were they made the switch to the 2015. The only change I can see so far is that ours has the heater on the back of the trailer verses the side by the entry door. The back of the trailer is getting a little cramped with the refer vent, heater vent, ladder, hood vent, spare tire, tail lights and window. My plan is to order the BAL Hide-A-Spare and move the spare tire under the trailer, then order new Bargman LED tail lights. They also mounted the license plate light in the middle above the heater. We need to put our bikes on the back and the plate will be invisible at that point. I am going to order a LED porch type light with a switch to put in place of the license plate light and move the license plate to the drivers side under the tail light. I am sure there are a lot more mods to come, but I need to get it home in the driveway first. One other thing, I am switching to the Equal-I-zer hitch set from a Hensley Arrow. If anyone out there knows of a good home for the Hensley let me know.

Should be a good choice! One thought that may be worth mulling is adding a front hitch to your tow vehicle. Makes a great place to put a bike rack, rather than on the trailer, and has one other small advantage. Until you get in the groove with practice, for getting your trailer into tight spaces is a snap with a front hitch. Just get your trailer roughly lined up, drop it off the rear hitch, then turn your vehicle around and mount the trailer on the front hitch. Makes it easier to move it more accurately. Bit of a cheat, but a good one!

[LBZYA]

I have been looking at front hitches. The ones I have seen hangs down pretty low. I will keep that in mind.

Stopped in today to check on the progress of the clean up. Took a measurement on the slide so that I can order a slide topper and put it on right away. Already seeing a whole lot of MODS that are going to be in the works.

[LBZYA]

Does anyone know what size wire the factory is installing for the solar systems? I am going to be installing two panels on the roof and want to make sure that I don't have too much of a voltage drop at the batteries.

[Nick B]

Originally Posted by LBZYA

I have been looking at front hitches. The ones I have seen hangs down pretty low. I will keep that in mind.

Stopped in today to check on the progress of the clean up. Took a measurement on the slide so that I can order a slide topper and put it on right away. Already seeing a whole lot of MODS that are going to be in the works.

Yes, a front hitch install is low, but generally doesn't snag on much. That aspect is more than offset by its usefulness....

[Nick B]

Originally Posted by LBZYA

Does anyone know what size wire the factory is installing for the solar systems? I am going to be installing two panels on the roof and want to make sure that I don't have too much of a voltage drop at the batteries.

Don't know what wire size the factory uses, although I can offer a couple of comments. When I bought my Black Rock 19B last year,I had the dealer install a Carmanah 160 watt solar panel. All my research up to that point suggested using the largest wires possible, but in discussion with Carmanah themselves, they were able to tell me the maximum wire size that could actually wired into the controller panel, so I went with that size, from the panel, to the controller, then right through to the battery. I could have installed thicker wires again, and spliced in smaller wires at the various junctions. You'll have to decide your own route, but if you follow mine, you could contact the supplier of the controller installed in your trailer, and ask the same question. If you're up to research, look up the blogs and articles posted by Handy Bob. What he says makes a great deal of sense, but there are lots who disagree. For my layman's part, I think he's THE solar guru, and wherever I deviated from his advice, I did so from expediency. I went with 6 gauge wire, for what it's worth. Over a Vancouver winter, the install has generally kept my 2 6v batteries at close to 100% charge (according to the controller panel). Good luck.....

[Highway 4x4]

I can understand not running too small a wire but 160 watts will only be about 13 amps at 12 volts. You ran #6 for that? I do understand voltage loss but that takes some length of wire. How much distance is there between the batteries and the panels?

[BubbaHut]

Originally Posted by LBZYA

Does anyone know what size wire the factory is installing for the solar systems? I am going to be installing two panels on the roof and want to make sure that I don't have too much of a voltage drop at the batteries.

The wire size is 8AWG. We inquired directly with Outdoors RV prior to ordering our Windriver with 2 each 150 watt solar panels. We make pick up later this month.

[kayakcrazy]

Hello everyone, we are Kayakcrazy and DW from Regina, Saskatchewan Canada. Currently we are a two RV family. We joined IVR2 as Dutchmen owners in a Kodiak 242RESL purchased in the fall of 2011. We are near full time retirement as DW only has about 27 months left till we see the permanent grin on her face. Working on our plan to retire part time to our trailer we purchased this week a new 2013 Timber Ridge 260RLS (won't take possession till the snow and cold weather leave - maybe July ). Looking forward to being active on this group and hopefully sharing a campfire with all of you.

[Lac]

Originally Posted by kayakcrazy

Hello everyone, we are Kayakcrazy and DW from Regina, Saskatchewan Canada. Currently we are a two RV family. We joined IVR2 as Dutchmen owners in a Kodiak 242RESL purchased in the fall of 2011. We are near full time retirement as DW only has about 27 months left till we see the permanent grin on her face. Working on our plan to retire part time to our trailer we purchased this week a new 2013 Timber Ridge 260RLS (won't take possession till the snow and cold weather leave - maybe July ). Looking forward to being active on this group and hopefully sharing a campfire with all of you.

Welcome my friend....we meet again.

Lloyd

[LBZYA]

Number 8 is much better than number 10, number 6 would be even better. I get the trailer on Friday so we will do some investigation work and try to figure it out. I do know that on our trailer has a switch by the door which can be replaced with a solar controller but that is too far from the battery even with number 6 wire. Again I will have to see how the wire is ran or maybe even run new wire.

[arveer]

Originally Posted by kayakcrazy

Hello everyone, we are Kayakcrazy and DW from Regina, Saskatchewan Canada. Currently we are a two RV family. We joined IVR2 as Dutchmen owners in a Kodiak 242RESL purchased in the fall of 2011. We are near full time retirement as DW only has about 27 months left till we see the permanent grin on her face. Working on our plan to retire part time to our trailer we purchased this week a new 2013 Timber Ridge 260RLS (won't take possession till the snow and cold weather leave - maybe July ). Looking forward to being active on this group and hopefully sharing a campfire with all of you.

I think you are going to like your Timber Ridge. We bought our Wind River in anticipation of retiring in a couple of years.

[Nick B]

Originally Posted by Highway 4x4

I can understand not running too small a wire but 160 watts will only be about 13 amps at 12 volts. You ran #6 for that? I do understand voltage loss but that takes some length of wire. How much distance is there between the batteries and the panels?

Bear in mind you're talking to a commercial insurance broker here....the only thing I know about electricity is that you shouldn't stick your finger in the socket! But I can offer some thought and some observations. All of Handy Bob's internet postings suggest that voltage loss is serious in 12 volts systems, not so in 120 volt. The observation comes from my own experiences. In both cases (19 foot trailer) the solar panel was mounted on the roof, at the opposite end of the trailer from the battery. This is contrary to Handy Bob's recommendation, but easier to do. My first trailer had a 110 watt panel, mounted with the kit wire provided by the manufacturer. It fed to a single 12 volt battery of 80 watt hour capacity, but had trouble keeping the battery up during winter storage. My new trailer has a 160 watt panel, feeding two 6 volt batteries of total 220 watt hours capacity. The factory kit wire was 10 gauge, and I overspec'd to 6 gauge. During the course of this winter, with an estimated 24 amp hour daily parasitic draw from the on-board systems (the Black Rock's don't have a battery disconnect), the panel was in the main able to keep the batteries up to 100%. Notwithstanding it's a higher wattage panel, and likely more efficient, it still kept heavier batteries fed, and against a significantly higher parasitic draw. All of this leads me to conclude Handy Bob's more right than wrong about wire size, and voltage drops.

I think it's tough getting clear information on solar. It's up to each owner to decide what they expect or need their solar installation to do for them, then you've got to do the research. My compromised solution looks like it's working for me, but when I go boondocking this season, I might find I either need more panels, or will need to fire up my generator to keep things topped up. But the first requirement, to keep my batteries up during winter storage, is definitely working! Good luck on your decision making.....