Bob C

Fantastic fan offers table top fans. Fan-Tastic 01100WH Endless Breeze Stand alone Fan I know a couple of people that use them and they move air really well. This model draws 1.2 amps on low and 2.6 amps on high.

I think that I see at least 2 fuse holders added to your system. Due to the system being modified by previous owners all bets are off for someone to determine where that wire goes with actually seeing it. The wire that you are holding has a flat piece of metal attached to it that looks like it could be a part of a fuse holder.

I use mine frequently and don't worry about it. HOWEVER, I do have a propane detector, smoke detector, and a carbon monoxide detector. I would not trust even my the furnace in my house without those same detectors.

I have put 15,000 miles on my Escaper so far. This summer I will be crossing every mountain range in the western US at least twice. Our route takes us over the Rockies 6 times. I just downshift and let the engine spin. We will be putting over 7000 miles on in 4 weeks. I am not worried about the engine or tranny because they are properly maintained. The tranny has a large cooler on it. The engine was just tuned up including valve adjustment. Just let the engine spin up, don't lug that engine no matter what you do. I have a 1988 Damon Escaper with a 22Re engine and automatic tranny. I do not use the overdrive because I have not changed the gearing, yet. Enjoy your trip, I am going to enjoy mine.

If you have power brakes the pedal will feel much softer with the engine running.

Are you sure that you are getting power from the 120 volt supply? Check the voltage at one of the 120 volt outlets in the coach to see if the power is coming in. You may have a bad plug/cord or outlet on your supply.

The best way to make sure that you are wiring this is to get out you multimeter (voltmeter) and touch your positive lead to the fuse rail and the negative to the lug on the right. You should have 12 volts +/-. If this is the case, attach your positive wire to the fuse holder (without installing a fuse) and your ground to the other lug. After you have that done, I would install a 10 amp fuse. Do not install a 15 amp fuse because your outlet is only a 12 amp outlet and you should NEVER have a fuse bigger that the lightest rated piece of equipment in the line.

We also try to pack light. We each take along a couple of books, camera equipment, a laptop computer, food and clothing for 5 days. I put about 5 gallons of water in the fresh tank, full propane tank, full fuel, a reasonable tool box, 2 folding chairs, and leveling blocks. Extravigant items include a good ax & cast iron frying pan. We try to keep the weight balanced left to right and keep the heaviest stuff as far forward as possible. We have a cargo carrier on the rear with a light weight plastic box for the chairs, leveling blocks and a very light weight folding table.

Welcome to the forum. The people here are extremely helpful and very friendly. Don't be afraid to ask questions and remember that we all love to see pictures of your RV and projects.

I am guessing that it will be the fuse since it worked yesterday. When I bought my Escaper, the woman said that the fan worked last fall but would not work in the spring. I checked the fuse (good) and took the fan motor assembly out when I bought it. It turned out to be a massive mouse house built in the heater assembly. I cleaned it out and it worked great.

Did the RV come with the built in dog or did you have to add that yourself?

I like to prepare good food and I love to eat it. My first question is-Why would I want to pull a trailer with all of that stuff to cook my meals. I carry a #8 Griswold cast iron pan, 4 good quality stainless steel pans w/lids, a good selection of smaller sized spices, good knives and utensils, and decent plates and drinking wear. I bet that the box that they have everything in weighs more than everything I carry to cook and serve my meals. I bet they even travel with a butler to take care of all that stuff.

I went to Menard's and bought mine. They are standard household rods and holders. I did put in a top and bottom rod. I later got rid of the rods and curtains and cut some corrigated plastic panels that fit into the window frames. We have not removed the panels in over 3 years. I sleep next to the front window and did not like the curtains & rods. I kept rolling over and getting poked by the rods and hangers.

I agree with Totem. My RV will not take gas very quickly if I top off the tank and get fuel into the vent hose. My solution is to reach (crawl) under the RV and push up on the vent hose to get the fuel out of it, then I can fill at a higher speed. I guess I should fix the dumb thing since I know the problem. Until then, I will just stop putting in fuel when the pump turns off the first time.

I did a trip from Wisconsin through the Rockies 18 months ago. We covered 4000 miles and averaged 13.6 mpg. This included going from WI, MN, SD, WY, MT, ND, and back home so we traveled through a variety of topography. Our best milage was 15 with a tailwind and the worst was 12.5 with me driving. My daughter drove one tank of gas and had her foot on the floor the whole time while I took a nap. We got 9.5 on that tank. She was not allowed to drive the RV after that. She had to drive my wife's car pulling the pop-up that our kids were using.

jmowrey--You must be talking about the rear springs. The original post was referring to the front suspension being "totally flat." The torsion bars may be adjusted (a little) or replaced. The front springs are a straight shaft and can't be re-arched.

Thanks for the reply. The RMNP part of the trip is pretty much planned out. I have been through there several times and agree with your friends comments. Any ideas on when the mid-elevation flowers start blooming? The part that I am unsure of is west of the Grand Canyon. I have been to the Canyon but never any further west.

I have a couple of questions about my planned trip for this summer. I will be going through Rocky Mountain NP on about June 1. I have checked and they try to have Trail Ridge Road open before Memorial Day. Has anyone gone through RMNP this early in the season? I know that the higher elevations will be mostly snow covered but what about the mid-level elevations? We will also be going from the Grand Canyon south rim to Yosemite. What is it like to drive through this area in early June? The most direct route goes through Lost Wages and the Death Valley area. This sounds like a good way to overheat the Toyhouse, my wife and I. I would like to enter Yosemite from the east but that is not set in stone. Would it be better to go northwest out of Vega on Nevada Highway 95 or follow Interstate 40 through Barstow and then go north on California highway 395 and follow that to Lee Vining? I have never been to California before and will be traveling north into Canada before heading back home in Wisconsin. This trip will be about a month long with about 10 days spent getting to the Grand Canyon and home from Glacier NP so we have about 3 weeks to see the basics of California, Oregon and Washington. I don't like cities and crowds so that keeps me away from the where most people like to hang out. Any input would be appreciated. I know that we are covering many miles in a short time but we have always been the drive and look type.

Could you post a photo of the light? it makes it a lot easier to find.

That looks great. I have thought of doing the same thing. Now I just need to convince the woman that lets me live here that it is a good idea.

Check your system drains. They are located at the low point in your water and are meant to drain the system before storage. My drains are located near the water heater and you have to remove a drawer to get to the drains.

Thanks for the correction. I guess my Escaper be a 20'. I measured it but with the bumpers it comes in at over 20' so I thought they would call it a 21.

My Damon Escaper is a Toyota. It is a 21' built on a one ton Toyota chassis. That is the same chassis used on all Toyota MH's since 1987 (I believe) i once went into a campground where the person behind the registration desk was being a PITA toward another camper with an older RV. I did not want to travel any more that night so I filled out the registration slip as a Damon Escaper and there was no argument. The RV was built by Damon. I looked in all of their 1988 advertising that I could find and could not find anything about Toyota based RV's. The RV does have the Damon name plate near the drivers door.

There were no motorhomes build by Toyota. The chassis was build by Toyota and someone else added the house on the back. All of the furnaces, refrigerators, air conditioners, stove tops/ovens, water heaters, water pumps, etc were purchased off the rack from a supplier. The parts to most of these are still available. You mentioned that you can buy a small frig for under $200. That is not an RV unit. An RV frig will run on LP gas or electricity. They must be kept relatively level when you run them while parked or they will eventually stop working. Until I bought my Damon Escaper built on a Toyota chassis, I have used pop-up campers. I really like the RV much better. We wake up, spent 5 minutes getting everything secured and drive away. My wife takes care of the inside stuff and I get the RV off of the leveling blocks, put the electric cord away, move the RV to make a final check that we didn't forget something and then off we go.

When you look at the tires, first check tread and then check the manufacture date on the tires. Most of the tires get unsafe due to age before the tread is worn off. I looked at a couple of MH's with tires that looked good but the tires were over 10 years old. The one one that I bought had 5 year old tires and after 2 years I replaced them even though the tread looked excellent. There are several floor plans that seem to be common with every builder. Sit in a couple of different models and see see what feels good to you. Check every appliance to make sure that they all work. Do NOT take the seller's word for the working condition. Replacing a trashed refrigerator will set you back over $1000 if you have a shop do the work.