I have a Bighorn fifth wheel.. bought it used... the guy I bought it from had the More Ryde installed as well as some heavy duty bracing welded across all the spring shackles from side to side.. they did a good job, I took this 13000 lbs RV to Alska this year and even took it up the world famous Dalton Highway and the suspension had no issues.. and that has to be the toughest road in North America.Don't tempt me to buy a welder.
I keep an eye on them though. I thought about adding the X-Brace thing that they make to go between the two center mounts.
'X-Factor' brace...ugh, dumb name
Upgrading Travel Trailers - DIY Projects Inside
- Thread starter ctechbob
- Start date
We have the newer style 12v compressor fridge. Same as a residential fridge but the compressor motor runs off of 12v and pulls about 5-6 amps. Likely the way the industry is going, away from the absorption fridges of old.
They actually make two weight ratings in my size
I made sure to get the ones rated for the 2040# load. I've been perfectly pleased with them so far. I had them balanced when mounted and it didn't take a lot of weight and they pull smooth. No wierd wear pattern like the Castlerocks that came on the trailer that were dished in the center from the get go and were visibly wearing down the middle after only a few trips. I still have one for a spare, but I'll be replacing it when I get a chance.
The 12vDC compressor fridges can work very well.
They have been available since at least the early 2000's and are quick to cool and can hold it cold in high ambient temperatures.
Especially when the 12v cables leading to it are 1O awg or fatter, and when the condenser fan's flow is not too restricted, or recycling preheated air through it.
A programmable SCC, programmed correctly for the specific battery in its specific usage, can pay for itself in extended battery life and convenience of not having to worry about not having enough storage capacity for the current, or future outing.
Lead acid batteries are not really happy cycling deeper, regularly, unless they see regular true full recharges, and this benchmark is not determined by a green blinking light of a charging source, as tempting as it is to want to believe it.
Floating by noon is no guarantee, and the easily available 12v marine/deep cycle batteries have internals far closer in design to a starting battery than a true deep cycle battery, are not so durabke and not so easy to squeeze that all too important last 5% into.
They have been available since at least the early 2000's and are quick to cool and can hold it cold in high ambient temperatures.
Especially when the 12v cables leading to it are 1O awg or fatter, and when the condenser fan's flow is not too restricted, or recycling preheated air through it.
A programmable SCC, programmed correctly for the specific battery in its specific usage, can pay for itself in extended battery life and convenience of not having to worry about not having enough storage capacity for the current, or future outing.
Lead acid batteries are not really happy cycling deeper, regularly, unless they see regular true full recharges, and this benchmark is not determined by a green blinking light of a charging source, as tempting as it is to want to believe it.
Floating by noon is no guarantee, and the easily available 12v marine/deep cycle batteries have internals far closer in design to a starting battery than a true deep cycle battery, are not so durabke and not so easy to squeeze that all too important last 5% into.
are you sure your truck supplies the trailer with 12v if the truck isn't running? My 2016 doesn't. My older truck did.
It does not. Only charges the trailer batt when the truck is running.
@ctechbob, like you I’ve used a couple of renology charge controllers through the years. I had one boil a battery up pretty good, so when I upgraded the battery I also swapped charge controllers. I bought 2 for two different projects, a MPPT renology the size of a shoebox for a 2nd grader, and a blue sky unit rated for 10amps or so.
the renology MPPT made a good %15 improvement in output and was pretty fast to adjust. The lcd display was useful and for the 3 years i had it, I never had problems with it. I went from 1 to 3 150w renology panels and they delivered a lot of power every day. Again, I was teleworking in the trailer daily and used all that pv with a laptop, monitor, fans, lights.
the blue sky unit … is supposed to be better built, and it probably is. The thing that got me was basic controller would work out of the box, but you couldn’t set or adjust it without an external panel, which was more $. And then the little panel didn’t include the special connector wire, which was more $. The final gotcha was it needed to see 17v on the pv side in order to first turn on. It seems to expect 24v in, even for a 12v system.
the blue sky unit displays about the same 15% increase over a standard controller. I have it behind about 110 watts of panels, and it’s been zero maintenance since setting it up. It has good features such as monthly balance charge and extra low-charge protections the renology doesn’t. All in all, I’d probably save for the blue sky and it’s accessories, as it doesn’t rely on strings of sloppy silicone glue on the inside for cable management… better built.
the renology MPPT made a good %15 improvement in output and was pretty fast to adjust. The lcd display was useful and for the 3 years i had it, I never had problems with it. I went from 1 to 3 150w renology panels and they delivered a lot of power every day. Again, I was teleworking in the trailer daily and used all that pv with a laptop, monitor, fans, lights.
the blue sky unit … is supposed to be better built, and it probably is. The thing that got me was basic controller would work out of the box, but you couldn’t set or adjust it without an external panel, which was more $. And then the little panel didn’t include the special connector wire, which was more $. The final gotcha was it needed to see 17v on the pv side in order to first turn on. It seems to expect 24v in, even for a 12v system.
the blue sky unit displays about the same 15% increase over a standard controller. I have it behind about 110 watts of panels, and it’s been zero maintenance since setting it up. It has good features such as monthly balance charge and extra low-charge protections the renology doesn’t. All in all, I’d probably save for the blue sky and it’s accessories, as it doesn’t rely on strings of sloppy silicone glue on the inside for cable management… better built.
Started prepping for another upgrade last night. Long story short. You could never see the thermostat display in our unit when you were using it. Due to some excellent customer service out of Coleman/Airxcel, they shipped us a new unit. Come to find out, the new thermostat supports both gas and electric heating, and the electric element and control box for the overhead unit is $130 and we'll be able to leave the space heaters at home and not have to trip over them if we want to use electric heat.
Took the overhead console apart to be greeted by some lovely aluminum duct tape work. Spent the evening cleaning that up in preparation for the new control box/element.
Old Thermostat:
Ohh, and one of the hold-down bolts was completely loose and backed off about 1/2 inch. All 4 got removed and Loctite installed.
Before:
After. I haven't cleaned up the control wiring yet because I have to remove that connector and use different ones for the new control box and don't want to cut the harness yet.
Took the overhead console apart to be greeted by some lovely aluminum duct tape work. Spent the evening cleaning that up in preparation for the new control box/element.
Old Thermostat:
Ohh, and one of the hold-down bolts was completely loose and backed off about 1/2 inch. All 4 got removed and Loctite installed.
Before:
After. I haven't cleaned up the control wiring yet because I have to remove that connector and use different ones for the new control box and don't want to cut the harness yet.
Heater upgrade completed:
I also 3d printed some air guides that, instead of the air coming out of the fan and turning 90 degrees into the ducts, now is somewhat smoothed out. Just from my before and after the result is a bit more airflow out of the ducted vents, and the system is a bit quieter overall. The notches in the lower part is to allow air into the two dumps that come right off the air handler. You can open those if you want more cold/warm air dumped right below the unit instead of out through the ducts.
Heating element and new control box installed.
Terminal strip added for ease of maintenance (And I hate dealing with stiff solid core wire)
Wires tied up and taped over to smooth airflow (They live in the return plenum, so they are exposed to the airflow)
3d printed air deflector to smooth the transition from the outlet of the fan to the ducts.
Bad picture of the upper part of the air smoothing 3d printed work:
Cleaned up thermostat wiring, with another terminal strip:
I also 3d printed some air guides that, instead of the air coming out of the fan and turning 90 degrees into the ducts, now is somewhat smoothed out. Just from my before and after the result is a bit more airflow out of the ducted vents, and the system is a bit quieter overall. The notches in the lower part is to allow air into the two dumps that come right off the air handler. You can open those if you want more cold/warm air dumped right below the unit instead of out through the ducts.
Heating element and new control box installed.
Terminal strip added for ease of maintenance (And I hate dealing with stiff solid core wire)
Wires tied up and taped over to smooth airflow (They live in the return plenum, so they are exposed to the airflow)
3d printed air deflector to smooth the transition from the outlet of the fan to the ducts.
Bad picture of the upper part of the air smoothing 3d printed work:
Cleaned up thermostat wiring, with another terminal strip:
We have a 2019 Open Range 2504. I suspect we have the same lippert frame as you. The frame spring mounts have a brace welded on the inside of them for some support, but we bent an axel (2 3/8" diameter) going over some dips in the road a few years back. bowed the wheels completely outward. I had the axles and springs replaced by a local suspension place (Standens) with 3" tubes and they installed new springs as well. Those 5" long shackles have so much leverage side to side they can still tear welds in tight turns. I installed an x-brace across the center mount. Necessary? Who knows, but after the bent axle, I tried to strengthen the frame where I could. Relatively simple installation if you can lift the trailer. Everything bolts up and added a wet bolt kit and equa-flex center pivots as well.Don't tempt me to buy a welder.
I keep an eye on them though. I thought about adding the X-Brace thing that they make to go between the two center mounts.
'X-Factor' brace...ugh, dumb name
The real problem is that the trailer has a 7400lb GVWR (load range D 205/75R15 tires though) and the axles, combined, have a rating of 7000lbs. Way too close to the limits even if tongue weight is 800lbs or so. A 7500lbs trailer should have axles that are rated, at a minimum, for the full weight of the trailer.
Same with ours. It is a ~7500 GVWR and they are 3500# axles. Of course, with as light as the trailer was as built (~4700#) we're still way under the GVWR. We usually tow at right around 6000#, so there is a bit of wiggle room. I agree though, I wish they were a 4000# axle.
