Category Archives: Camper Upgrades

New World 45 Gallon Fold-A-Tank: 10 Year Review

Camper Upgrades,

Imagine. You’re at a campsite with no water available and your camper is getting low on water and you still have a week of your trip ahead of you. What can you do?

One option is to close up the camper and drive to a water source: pack up any loose items inside, retract any slide outs, roll-up your awning, disconnect any items such as a propane grill, hitch up the tow vehicle and drive to a water source. Once your campers water tank is full, you will drive back to your campsite and set up everything again.

There’s a better way.

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Revisiting the Mopeka Propane Sensor Installation

Camper Upgrades, ,

Everything is working great.

But I was unhappy with how I had to raise the tanks for clearance using the Mopeka spacers. What I really wanted to do was use the Mopeka Halo for each tank, but they were too big for my propane tank tray.

I found a solution.

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Camco Awning Anchor Kit

Camper Mods, Camper Upgrades, Travel Trailer,

This isn’t a review. It is just a first impression.

As I shared yesterday in my 20+ year review of the Camco Awning Hold Down Kit, I have been happy with the product. However, there are two things I don’t like about it:

  1. The strap that runs over the top of the awning can be difficult to set-up and usually requires the use of a step ladder and often assistance from Joyce.
  2. The strap applies force on the rafters, somewhat twisting them. Of concern is potential damage to the plastic pieces that lock the rafters into place.

The Camco Awning Anchor Kit solves both of these problems.

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RV Tank Monitor Solution: Mopeka Sensors

Camper Mods, Camper Upgrades, Travel Trailer, ,

A Simple and Elegant RV Tank Monitor Solution

Our travel trailer is almost 10 years old and the Tank Monitor has been a constant struggle. This system is the typical unit found on most RVs these days. First, it isn’t very accurate. Secondly, the sensors in the gray and black water tanks often become contaminated, requiring cleaning and flushing. Lastly, we don’t have a way to monitor our LPG (propane) levels.

In this post I will share installation tips, advantages and disadvantage of the Mopeka Tank Sensors.

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Recliner Chairs for Our Travel Trailer!

Camper Upgrades, Travel Trailer
Original chairs that came with the trailer

Our 2014 Milan travel trailer came with two swivel chairs. These chairs had two good attributes; the first is the material matched the sofa and dinette seating colors and patterns. But aesthetics do not mean excellent functionality.

The second positive, is they were somewhat small and fit into the seating area rather nicely.

After over 1,000 days/nights of camping, Joyce and I came to the realization that we didn’t like the chairs, color and patterns aside. Nine years of imperfect use was long enough to convince us.

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Camco 4-in-1 Magnetic Bumper Cap

Camper Upgrades,
CAMCO Magnetic Bumper Cap Set

Most RVs come with a 4-inch square, hollow rear bumper, designed for storing a sewer hose. To keep the hose secured in the bumper, end caps are used. The caps should be easy to remove for access to the hose and, at the same time, fit snuggly so they do not fall off during travel.

Our old ones, which were 8+ years old worked well. But the harsh environment in which we live finally took its toll on our caps.

Our old bumper caps

I decided to buy the CAMCO Magnetic Bumper Cap kit. This isn’t a review, but just a first impression and a discussion about the one concern I have with the purchase.

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Camco RhinoFLEX RV Sewer Hose Kit: 8 Year Review

Camper Upgrades,

When we bought our Milan Travel Trailer back in 2013, one of the first things I did before our first trip was to throw away the cheap sewer hose that came with it and buy a Camco RhinoFlex Sewer Hose Kit.

Since we have used this original sewer hose for almost 9 years, it is time to do a long-term review!

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Upgrading an RV Battery Bank with Lithium (LiFePo4) Batteries

Camper Upgrades, Solar, ,

I upgraded our travel trailer’s 225AH (amp hour) battery bank with a 300AH lithium iron phosphate (LiFePo4) battery. This post will share why I made this decision, what I have learned about lithium batteries, some challenges of installation (it wasn’t a simple battery replacement), the significant differences between lithium and flooded lead-acid batteries, and the changes one may have to make to their own systems to maximize their installation.

The conversation is about large batteries (capacity greater than 100 amp hours) that are appropriate for RV use.

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