Camper Larry's Sun Lite 19RB Build & Adventures

[MNC]

Alot of nice upgrades cant wait to see whats next.

 

[Camper_Larry]

Time for more lights!

I LOVE LEDs and the camper is just another canvas that needs to be lit up! I bought a pair of these from Amazon and added VHB tape to one side to secure them to the frame underneath the camper. I decide to get all fancy and wire them into the lighting switch on my electric tongue jack. Here's the final result at night:

 

[Camper_Larry]

The wife and I went camping this past weekend with two other couples in a newly built campground in nearby LaGrange, NC. The roads and sites were nicely packed gravel and very level. Each site had 50A, 30A, and 20A outlets along with water and sewer connections, a fire pit, and picnic table. They currently had only 10 sites completed, and 10 more in various stages of completion, but we talked to the owners and they have future plans for more. Some will say it's not an ideal location for a campground (in relation to nearby attractions), but it was very well built, clean, nice and quiet. All good things in my book!

It was kind of hot when we arrived mid-afternoon on Friday, but it cooled down a good bit after sunset. We had steaks on the grill for dinner and just chilled out playing games and stuff until bedtime. We barely had any cell service in the area, which was actually kind of nice.

It cooled down on Saturday so we slept in, had a big breakfast, and pretty much just hung outside all day. A weather front was moving in late afternoon so we packed up the outside stuff just before then rain arrived. We had already decided if the rain came as forecasted we would head into town to a local seafood restaurant which was owned by a friend of my wifes. We had a nice dinner, went to a local sports shop for a few items, then grabbed some ice cream before heading back to the campground.

It rained all night long and was still raining when we got up, so we just chilled inside and had breakfast with the group until the rain stopped. We got all packed up and got back home by 2:30 to end our nice relaxing weekend.

 

[Boat Bum]

Nice...

 

[Camper_Larry]

Smaller campers like mine have very limited storage space. When I started I had three bins inside the front compartment. One for electrical, one for fresh water equipment, and one for the black water stuff. The black water one was the largest as it had to house the stinky slinky, and I made it all fit, but it was tight.

Fast forward after a few trips I decided to buy the tube to mount under the frame to house the stinky slinky. That worked well, but it didn't help with storage of the fittings needed to connect it. One day I was on YouTube and saw the idea of mounting an ammo box to the rear bumper for extra storage and I thought "There's an excellent idea".

I went to HF and bought the ammo box and then to Lowes for a couple of 4" u-bolts to fit the bumper tube. After discovering those u-bolts were $7.50 each I said "Nope, I'll mount it another way. I decided to install a couple of rivet nuts into the bumper (like I did for the drying rack I built) and bolt it through the wall of the ammo box. After removing the handles I didn't need, I scuffed it up and re-painted it black to match the bumper. Got it installed last night. I think this will do the trick.

 

[Old one]

Re: the ford P/U. I have a 2003 expedition which has the same drive trains as the 150.
The 4E70 is a great tranny, and the mechanic at the dealer called it "the towing tranny" however, if you have not done so, I strongly recommend to have the fluid and filter changed, and every 25K afterwards. I am pulling close to 8000 with a tongue of 500 using the equalizer hitch. I bought it with 39K miles, and have put 100, 000 on it since, with everyday driving and towing. good package. Run it in drive, but activate the "O/D disable" or "tow switch" . If you have the tach, at 55 should be around 22-2400 RPMs. The "tow' switch also changes shift points which is highly desirable.

 

[Camper_Larry]

Re: the ford P/U. I have a 2003 expedition which has the same drive trains as the 150.
The 4E70 is a great tranny, and the mechanic at the dealer called it "the towing tranny" however, if you have not done so, I strongly recommend to have the fluid and filter changed, and every 25K afterwards. I am pulling close to 8000 with a tongue of 500 using the equalizer hitch. I bought it with 39K miles, and have put 100, 000 on it since, with everyday driving and towing. good package. Run it in drive, but activate the "O/D disable" or "tow switch" . If you have the tach, at 55 should be around 22-2400 RPMs. The "tow' switch also changes shift points which is highly desirable.

Mine has the 4R70W (4-speed) transmission.

I doubt (but don't know for sure) that the fluid/filter had been changed prior to my ownership, which started at 191,000 miles. Oddly enough, when I pulled the pan, the fluid was still a pink color and did not smell burnt. While I was at it, I also changed the fluid in the rear diff and didn't find any unusual wear.

I always deactivate the overdrive when towing. I also have a weight distribution hitch, and air bags on my truck and it tows fine. Max comfortable speed is 60MPH with mine, which is mainly due to the aero drag more so than the weight.

 

[Old one]

Mine has the 4R70W (4-speed) transmission.

I doubt (but don't know for sure) that the fluid/filter had been changed prior to my ownership, which started at 191,000 miles. Oddly enough, when I pulled the pan, the fluid was still a pink color and did not smell burnt. While I was at it, I also changed the fluid in the rear diff and didn't find any unusual wear.

I always deactivate the overdrive when towing. I also have a weight distribution hitch, and air bags on my truck and it tows fine. Max comfortable speed is 60MPH with mine, which is mainly due to the aero drag more so than the weight.

You have done what I have or would have done. Maintain it and it treats you right. Had mine for 20 years now. t doesn't owe me anything.

With Ford, if it has the factory H/D tow package, its loaded for bear.
Expeditions are designed for a socker mom family,. They are built to tale it. When I bought mine, the first tow was 130 miles each way to the boat ramp. On the interstate, I was on the cruise control, front and rear air on, towing at 60 MPH.
The temp gauge went to mid-scale which is where it is non tow, air on or off, and stayed here. Wife was in the back seat watching a movie on the DVD player built in.

 

[Camper_Larry]

With Ford, if it has the factory H/D tow package, its loaded for bear.

The temp gauge went to mid-scale which is where it is non tow, air on or off, and stayed here. Wife was in the back seat watching a movie on the DVD player built in.

Mine has the factory tow package. Besides the airbags and WDH, all I had to do was plug in a brake controller.

Not sure if you read this entire thread, but I installed a transmission temp gauge to keep an eye on it. Since it has a factory cooler, even with 100F ambient temps, the transmission temps have yet to reach 200F.

The water temp however started to concern me when on another trip (again with 100F ambient temp) it started to creep past mid-scale. Not know exactly what that meant, I backed it down to 55MPH and the temps came back down.

Due to that fact (not knowing the actual temp), I'm not a fan of the factory 'gauges'. Without numerical graduations they mean almost nothing to me. I immediately installed an aftermarket water temp gauge so in the future I would know the actual temp.

On the next trip the ambient was 98F. The actual indicated water temp peaked at 208F at 60MPH. I was in no hurry, so I backed it down to 55MPH and the temp reduced to about 200F on that trip. Modern engines are designed to operate at about 220F in the 'normal' range (emissions stuff I'm sure) but the old school engines not so much.

 

[Old one]

Mine has the factory tow package. Besides the airbags and WDH, all I had to do was plug in a brake controller.

Not sure if you read this entire thread, but I installed a transmission temp gauge to keep an eye on it. Since it has a factory cooler, even with 100F ambient temps, the transmission temps have yet to reach 200F.

The water temp however started to concern me when on another trip (again with 100F ambient temp) it started to creep past mid-scale. Not know exactly what that meant, I backed it down to 55MPH and the temps came back down.

Due to that fact (not knowing the actual temp), I'm not a fan of the factory 'gauges'. Without numerical graduations they mean almost nothing to me. I immediately installed an aftermarket water temp gauge so in the future I would know the actual temp.

On the next trip the ambient was 98F. The actual indicated water temp peaked at 208F at 60MPH. I was in no hurry, so I backed it down to 55MPH and the temp reduced to about 200F on that trip. Modern engines are designed to operate at about 220F in the 'normal' range (emissions stuff I'm sure) but the old school engines not so much.

I think we are saying the same thig, but with different words. Looks like we boat are techno-nerds.
Yes, the gauges are [inaccurate] w/o calibration, but I use an infrared thermometer on the engine near the t-stat is to get a baseline. Besides, they beat idiot-lights.
I am curious. Where did you get that tranny temp gauge, make and model and price, and what is involved for instal.
There are for ourboard motors in a boat, gauges with sender that would go under any bolt on the engine exterior, with would be easy to add on the tranny.
standard 2" round ones, and even digital.
Again, the cooling system on all cars is: the drive pully, then a "coupler" then the fan proper. The coupler uses vanes inside that are controlled by a bi-metallic strip (in theory) that regulates the fan "power" allegedly in proportion to radiator temp. On one of my tow cars, a Dodge, I bought a kit with a high-performance Fiberglas fan and solid coupler. Even with the placebo gauges, teh effect was very good.
remember, a tow package is mede to tow, but NOT do anything to upset passing epa rules. The above mode did nit effect MPG, but, I don't measure anything else accurately.
I would not be concerned if the temp went from 200 to 210, but yes, if steam coming from under the hood...... yes.
For you non-tech guys. do the maintenance. With older vehicles, change ALL the cooling system hoses. Also, the tranny and read end fluids. If readings change quickly, change the senders first. As the ad on TV says, you can pays me now or pays me more later.
When the gauges tell you something, listen to them.

What do you think, Kevin?