MontanaChinook

Yeah I don't get it, unless the tank is designed to only be filled half way. I figure I'll go to St George or something to find an RV shop. I'm only around Moab because I'm having some mail delivered here, general delivery (to answer your other question). I figured it's a good outpost to come every other week or so, get mail and re-supply and take a shower and do laundry and all that. But there's nothing tying me to Moab otherwise, and the fact that there's so little there in the way of RV stuff is more reason to just go somewhere else. My fridge was 32 this morning, on gas. I think it was in the 40s outside, so still not great, but...for now I'm using my cooler, and the fridge will keep things like butter and chocolate and other stuff that doesn't really need to be refrigerated cold enough not to melt. I did the block ice thing last summer when it first stopped working. It works, but takes up 1/3 of the space. I bought a tupperware bin a block of ice would fit in, and would also fit in my fridge. Works, but I have to remember to empty the melt water at pretty much every stop, or I've got water all over my fridge and running down the floor of the camper. Works...but annoying. So yeah, there are all sorts of work arounds and I'm using them. I just get annoyed that I'm having to use inconvenient work arounds at all. So for now I'm using the old regulator and hose. Everything works. Which is good cause it's supposed to get down into the 20s the next couple nights! But I plan to get to a bigger town and see about replacing the hose with a shorter one that works, and getting the correct regulator. If I can find someone (hopefully someone other than Camping World which I know is in St George) to test how much pressure my fridge is getting, and maybe look at my set up and tell me what they think for fairly cheap, I'll definitely do that.

I'm sure I'm just misunderstanding what you mean, but my tank is horizontal. The only outlet/valve etc is on what, yes, you could call the "top", but that top is on its side. Anyway, I found new hose and a new regulator, but the regulator is actually laid out different enough from mine that it won't work, and the shorter rubber hose won't work either. It did just barely reach, but leaked at the tank and seemed to freeze solid inside..(!). Not sure what was up with that. So I got it all back together with the old pigtail and regulator. We'll see how the fridge does but I don't have high hopes. Maybe I just don't remember right, but the stove still seems to be sub-par. There just isn't any difference at all between medium and high. At least for the time being I can cook inside, and I have heat. Supposed to be in the 20s the next couple nights. But long term, it's just frustrating to not have the fridge. I spent a lot of money on it, and having to haul a cooler around and deal with getting new ice all the time and stuff getting wet in the cooler and in a tiny Chinook that cooler takes up ALL of my floor space! RANT Honestly I'm a bit scared that a pro is going to take one look at my setup and refuse to work on it, unless he can completely re-do it. Not that it isn't safe...it's just awkward, hard to work on, old, etc. But, we'll see.

That's what I first found online, was the Mr Buddy stuff. Since I was putting the word "filter" into my search, because of that paper filter in my fridge. My tank is a horizontal mount tank, if that makes any difference. Jobs are just seasonal, so even if they aren't great, they're pretty temporary. Not ready to commit to something permanent yet.

I'll add to things, then, to say that I definitely read about the crap coming from the propane tank, too, but that it more likely came from the rubber lines, if you have them, and especially if you have loops in your rubber line (like I do) because it's too long for the stretch between the tank and regulator. When I pulled the hose out of the tank connection, it looked squeaky clean. It was from the connection at the other end of the regulator, up a ways into the copper piping that I heard gurgling, and had the black stuff come out. I always used to drive with the propane, but I've been planning to go 12V from now on. I only mentioned trying out propane while driving because I was going to do it as a test. I'm going to talk to the place tomorrow and see if a) they're even helpful or just want to charge me hundreds of dollars or b ) they have the parts for me to do it myself, after they flare the fittings for me c) if they think a new regulator is in order. It's Jeep Safari down here so things are crazy. Hopefully they aren't swamped. It's literally (not in the way people seem to use the term today...actually literally) like an RV park for a ten mile radius all around Moab on the BLM land. Whole cities of RVs set up, flagpoles and all.

I think you'll get a lot of advice against it. All our motorhomes suffer from rear sag, and I have yet to hear of one person who has gone the "sprung over" route. 5" is too much. Vertical support does nothing to prevent a crosswind or sharp turn from tipping you over. You'd also, as was pointed out to me when I was trying to raise my back end up (the Chinooks like mine can't really have airbags installed), mess up the level of your camper. Fridge would have to be re-set, etc. It does seem that airbags are your best bet. Possibly a new leaf spring pack, with an add-a-leaf put in before install? In the end, there's only so much you can do. You suffer as much from approach and departure angle problems, due to how much length sticks out past the rear axle, as you do from actual clearance/height issues.

Well I found an RV shop so I'll stop in tomorrow morning to see what they have for parts. Literally thousands of RVs in Moab and nothing for propane or RV parts...

Ok. Can't put it back together since I damaged a section of pipe. So first things first: replace that. Karin I did find some stuff online yesterday about people having to drain the black oil out of their lines every now and then, and that fixing their appliance issues. I don't know if it will fix mine. No worries, my knowledge base, as with most stuff, is more or less 0. It would be nice to be able to bend and flare pipe myself...Cheaper than paying a shop obviously. I may not have to take it to a shop. When I bent the piece yesterday, I told myself "ok stop, before you break anything else, and take it to a shop. Stop messing with it". But then I took a little time out and went back and was able to get that full damaged link off with no further damage. So in theory I can just have a place make me a new piece and install myself. Then it's a matter of seeing if things are improved. My regulator is new as of a couple years ago, so it's modern. I'll see about getting the system pressure tested, though, as that's a good idea. My plan was to hang out in southern Utah, spending as little as possible, while I wait to hear on jobs. So I'm hesitant to be throwing money at this, especially labor costs. But...I don't want to be dealing with ice and coolers and cooking outside on the coleman stove if I don't have to, so we'll see. Thanks.

And...I'm back. I unscrewed the attachment to the fridge, and heard a bunch of gurgling. So I unscrewed an attachment at an elbow where the hard lines screw into the regulator. Probably about an ounce or so of nasty blackish liquid drained out. I'm assuming that was my problem. So, I wouldn't mind your thoughts on that. But along with that...I damaged part of that elbow, so I'll be stopping into an RV or propane place. So my question, if you have an idea, is do you think that junk ruined the regulator? None flowed out of the regulator side, only the side that attaches to the regulator and heads to my appliances. But in case whatever place I bring it to insists on replacing the regulator, I'd just like your opinion on whether they're trying to get more money out of me, or just being realistic... So for now I'm without a stove or fridge.

So...now I'm thinking Karin might be on the right track. I thought more about the propane pressure thing. It's been a while since I used my camper, obviously, being winter and all. The more I thought about it, I think my stove top is not at 100%. There's little difference, if any, between medium and high, especially on the larger burner which I seem to remember put out a lot of heat. So. Propane restrictions. Could they be "anywhere", or am I looking at the regulator, possibly? I wouldn't really know how to tell if my furnace isn't getting quite enough pressure, but if I'm pretty sure that two of my three propane appliances might not be getting adequate pressure, is that a good place to start? Sometimes...I just wish I could use this thing and not be trouble-shooting all the time

Hopefully my post didn't seem rude or dismissive. Especially coming from someone like me who asks a ton of questions here. My point is that I think you've got more of a "detective" situation on your hands than a "tech" situation. I think somebody put gas in there. Whether maliciously or otherwise. On my camper, the gas cap and water tank cap are inches apart. Someone could, in a moment of absentmindedness, put gas in the wrong one...

Yep, and it's nice and blue. The customer service person at Dometic said it could still be blue, even though that filter was "clogging" the way. This was back when they were denying that this filter was a part of their fridge. She said the flame could still be blue, but not strong enough to cool properly. I sent an email to them today asking if a technician could help me, and tell me what would happen if I ran it without the filter, or if maybe I should buy a new one. We'll see...I got no "technical" help last time.

I'm tempted to see what would happen if I just took that filter out...or maybe tried replacing it. Maybe I got a dirty propane fill at some point and clogged it?

That reminds me of some good points. The brakes on these things are maxed out. Which means they're just looking for a reason to lock. They'll lock if you just look at them wrong. The one time I stalled on a steep climb on a dirt road, I had to back all the way back down it. Every time I tapped the brakes, I started skidding backwards down the hill. Not fun. I know I had been up steeper hills than that one. I don't know if I was at a higher altitude, or if the engine was just feeling weak that day, or what. But it wouldn't make it up. You just want to hope that it happens to you mostly like it's happened to me...every lesson in "I guess I need to be really careful about that" has been a pretty gentle lesson. No injuries or major damage. '

I'll have to do some experiments. It's now warmer than it was when I was driving out here, so that will effect it too. But next time I move, I'll use gas when I'm driving. I don't know how to pressure test the system...The furnace and stovetop work fine, but I don't know if that necessarily means the fridge will work fine. It was 38 degrees inside my fridge this morning, before it started to warm up outside. 40s outside. I mean 38 is just about cold enough, but isn't very impressive in 40-50 degree weather. This time last year, in the same area with the same temps, I had to keep the fridge on medium/medium-low to keep things from freezing. This was before I had any of this extra ventilation. Could be there's something causing a restriction in the gas flow. I don't know. Or something internal to the gas part of the fridge...Other than the little white filter thing we went over earlier, which is apparently supposed to be there, everything looks fine at the connection.

It is so far seeming like running on gas is the "problem". I have a thermometer in there now to see how cold it's getting, but I'm definitely not freezing things anymore now that I'm parked and using the gas. 12V got things plenty cold. It's definitely cold in there with the gas on, but I left it on high overnight, and outside temps were in the 40s. Nothing frozen this morning. If it can't freeze anything turned up to high when it's only in the 40s outside, I think I'm in trouble.

17'

Well obviously the shorter the better for dirt roads. 17 & 18' models would be easier, but again, it's a tradeoff.

Well, hopefully that means you have better roads and services than the states with cheaper registration fees...

Washington Drivers License and License Plates More items to consider with Washington state taxes are the Washington drivers license and license plates and tags fees. All of these fees vary by state, so these Washington state taxes are something to compare and to take into consideration when choosing an RV domicile. Most of these fees are reoccurring. Washington License Fees: $45 for 5 yrs Tax when registering vehicle from out of state: Varies by county Title Fees: $5 Vehicle Safety Inspection or Emissions Testing? Safety; no Emissions; yes, every other year in some counties Annual Tags Fees: $30 plus fee based on weight Varies, $43.75-63.75 Motorhomes: $111.75 Travel Trailers: From here. Looks like it's just pricey there....

How big of a Sunrader? Length. It depends on how much you're willing to abuse it. I take my Chinook pretty much anywhere it won't get stuck. Which is a lot of forest service roads, BLM roads down in southern Utah etc. Yeah meeting vehicles coming from the other way can sometimes be tricky. But you aren't much wider than a full size truck with a horse trailer. Any RV is more built for pavement and gravel roads. Where you take it beyond that is kind of up to your comfort level. Just go easy at first, and go on crazier roads as you get more comfortable. Coming from a regular Toyota 4x4, which I slept in the back of...yeah, I miss out on a lot of the campsites I used to use. And I'm stuck with all the rest of the people either without the vehicles or the balls to drive down "that" road. So more people around. But...you know. It's a tradeoff. If you want the crazy road and remote spot, leave the camper and bring the tent. Camper is always there for when you want comfort.

What is your RV? I'd have to assume, then, that full size RVs are getting absolutely robbed!

Well, there are a few reasons... But we'd need more info. I mean how on earth would we know? They are in absolutely no way connected. Fresh water holding tank? How long have you had the RV? Has someone borrowed it? Kids in the neighborhood? There are probably a dozen reasons it could smell that way, none of which we could possibly know anything about from over here on the internet. Somebody poured gasoline in there. How or why or who is up to you to find out.

It's going to depend on the state, obviously. I'd check with the DMV to see if it's registered as some special type of vehicle or something. In Montana, it's based on the vehicle's worth. So it will go down with age. My late 80's, early 90's vehicles were usually around $40-60 a year. Once your vehicle is 10 years old, you can choose to buy permanent registration, which I think they charge whatever two years worth of registration would be for that particular vehicle (again based on what it's worth). My Chinook cost me around $250, to switch the title from Washington to Montana, get new plates, and permanently register it. So long as I'm a resident of Montana, I never have to pay again. And I have a sticker on my license plate that says "Perm"

Not to hijack the thread, but I just drove over Vail Pass today (in the snow), and it's over 10,000 ft. In my 20R. A tach may be my next project. I miss having one.

Well, we'll have to see how it does in the next few days in hotter weather, when I'm just sitting in one spot. Been driving back west the last 3 days (snow in Minnesota, then snow in Colorado...), and just parking for the night. So far the problem I'm having is stuff freezing That's mostly on 12V while driving, gas overnight. We'll see what happens when it sits in the sun, at 70, running on gas all day. I'm back out of the position to be pulling the fridge again and cutting chunks of fiberglass out of my camper for a few months, if not the whole summer. So hopefully it works well as-is. If not, my next move will be a couple fans. I can do that without taking the fridge back out.