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Old 05-06-2016, 05:30 PM   #2
wbmiller3
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Thanks for the tip on the LEDs, since I am considering this upgrade.
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Old 05-06-2016, 07:24 PM   #3
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Thumbs down Money Watsed?

So I read about your brake job with the Never adjust brakes...wouldn't it have been far far better to save up a little more and replace the shoe brakes with disc brakes. I mean if your going to spend $$$ and go to all of that trouble, wouldn't it make since to go to a better braking system? They have superior stopping power to the old shoe brakes ...about 50% better I'm told and they do work in reverse ...plus they are even less maintenance as well and you can not over grease them like the drum brakes. If it were me, I would save and go for the disc brake upgrade (and I will some day soon). It's a much better choice and a more efficient system than old shoes! After all, cars and trucks have ditched the old drums (especially on the front) in favor of the disc brakes for a long time now.
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Old 05-06-2016, 08:07 PM   #4
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Wouldn't it have been far far better to save up a little more and replace the shoe brakes with disc brakes.
Hi Tom,

You inspired me to write about CAN bus LEDs. But you only wasted $20 :-)

Of course this is all a learning experience for me. Like you, I bought an insurance salvage TM as our first RV, at a price that would make me feel OK if I trashed it, and expected to make a lot of mods.

I think you're right about disc brakes. Magnetic trailer brakes are a Rube Goldberg set-up that might someday work well enough if I adjust them more.

But that disk brake conversion is really pricey! You didn't just spend $600 for the brake conversion, you replaced the axle with 7000 lbs Timbren axle-less suspension, spending at least $800. That rubber axle might indeed be insufficient to handle really good brakes. And of course you had to replace the hubs too.

So, we're talking about a $1500 conversion when we add in all of the little pieces, aren't we?

Now, besides brakes that actually work, you got the ability to take off the wheel and inspect everything, while I can't do that without replacing a seal and re-greasing afterward.

I got the Norcold, which isn't balky like the Dometic, doesn't use gas, and I don't have to worry about leveling any longer and I can keep it going on my solar panels (you'll get to read about my 5-panel system in a couple months). I'd suggest that as your next mod.

At this point, I would look for disk brakes if I ever bought a new trailer.

Thanks

Bruce
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Old 05-07-2016, 01:07 PM   #5
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Talking Hey Bruce

Those can bus lights are on the outside only...I have different LEDs in the inside...I just wanted to get the very brightest LEDs for the outside lights that I could find...they will never stay on for very long anyways.
Even though I have a salvage trailer, I plan on keeping it for a long time....talk about pricey...look at the price of a new 3124KS...YIIIKES!! ...but I love the TM design...
I tell you what, my last trip was out to Californincation and I came back from San Francisco via Colorado Springs...which means that I had to cross two major mountain ranges...well the dumb brakes worked sorta ok on the downhill sides but were lacking sorely in stopping power....that's why I want the disc brakes...
As for my Timbrens...I wanted to go to 16" wheels and I also wanted to increase my weight capacity without overloading the axles...this is a done deal, and so, I don't EVER have to worry about an axle breaking as well...I'm all about eliminating the worry! So even if I do have to spend some $$$ to do that, I believe it's worth it. So with the 16" Maxxis tires, I can inflate them a bit more and then be able to go 75 mph all day long and NEVER have to worry about them blowing out plus I can get to wherever I am going faster to maximize my vacation time...so it is well worth what I spent!....
So, have you or are you planning to change out that stinky old Thetford Electro-Tragic Toilet? That should be your next mod...like I said, if I were to do just one mod to my TM ...that would be it. Getting rid of that stench trap was the very best thing that I have ever done to my TM!!!
I will look into your fridge just to see whats in there..I mean how cool it is (no pun intended). My fridge works much better since I installed those $15 fans, so a fridge change out is probably not in the plans as of now...but who knows...
Right now I am installing the Girard GSWH-2 tank-less "on demand" hot water heater so I can take those REAL type showers. This I know will please the management!....after that I will probably NOT do any more mods for a while or until something breaks...When I finish with the hot water heater I will publish the results and the install process on my website...oh and by the way I like your blog. You have some good ideas for stealing!
Tom
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Old 05-07-2016, 03:45 PM   #6
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Default Lights and Toilet

For the outside light, I have a brighter solution. I bought a 16-foot white LED strip with waterproof cover and snap-in channel. I've not mounted it yet, but it will go a few inches under the awning, and I might have a few feet left over. It should provide a bright diffuse light for use of the awning at night.

I've not had any trouble with the toilet yet. When hooked up, I dump it every day, sometimes twice a day. We are going to do a Kings Canyon trip where we are away from hookups and using a water tote and a sewer tote. So, I might find out then.
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Old 05-08-2016, 12:07 AM   #7
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Unhappy Thetford

Good luck...bring plenty of chemicals and close pins! That Thetford vents into your trailer!
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Old 05-08-2016, 08:35 AM   #8
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Tom -

Don't be silly. It would be illegal for any sewer system, including the TM's, to vent back into the living spaces. In fact it vents out through a special vent fixture under the floor. In addition, the separate vent fan in the bathroom - just like the one in your home bathroom - is quite effective at drawing air out of the bathroom and pushing it outside.

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Old 05-08-2016, 01:52 PM   #9
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Tom -

Don't be silly. It would be illegal for any sewer system, including the TM's, to vent back into the living spaces. In fact it vents out through a special vent fixture under the floor. In addition, the separate vent fan in the bathroom - just like the one in your home bathroom - is quite effective at drawing air out of the bathroom and pushing it outside.

Bill
Bill...I never saw any special vent when I took out the stink-o-matic...there was just the drain pipe and that's it! When I lifted the thing up and took it out there was no other connections anywhere other than the power wires. Look on the bottom and you will not see any other connection. If there is, I never saw it. As for the drain pipe, it pour directly into the 3" drain valve and from there it goes to the sewer hose. Now there is a vent back under the tub that is hooked into the plumbing for the grey water tank which is separate from the toilet discharge. Under the floor??? So where does it go?? Not out the bottom of the trailer. The only thing that I know of coming thru the bathroom floor is the toilet discharge pipe. That's it.
As for the fan...yeah it works pretty good...that is...when it's "on". But how many folks leave that thing on all the time? Surely not if you're boon-docking! I have found that if you don't leave it on for a very considerable amount of time, the stench tends to build up. If not from a #2, then from the chemicals. Either way...not pleasant...and I would hear it from the management ! So the fan NEEDS to run and run and run, with the window cracked a bit too. The drag is on those very hot days (you know about those) when you're trying to keep the inside cool.
Other than all the nice folks out there that don't have the Dometic Sealand 711 M28C, why should I care anyways? I do have one, but that doesn't mean I am not very compassionate for those that don't. If I could only find my magic wand, I could give er a good wave and then everyone would have the REAL flush toilet and the Thetford Electro-Tragic would be banished from this level of consciousness!!!
Tom
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Old 05-08-2016, 04:24 PM   #10
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There is a capped hole for a vent connection on the left top of the toilet. Thetford sells a boat vent kit that plugs in there, the instructions here show how it works. It could be adapted for the Trailmanor, it would be necessary to use a flat, screened outlet. I can see that it would work better from the motion of a boat than we might expect it to on a parked RV.

Tom, lest you get too hyperbolic, there really are people of long duration on this forum who insist they have no problem with the toilet.
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