Ski RV's, who's sleeping in parking lots?

[Foggy_Goggles]

I'd definitely go with a glue down application assuming the adhesive is OK at extreme cold (I've never checked). Rip the groove of your starter row. And you need a bigger offset between the starter piece left of the wheel well and the piece the second row. Good luck!

[Huskier]

Vanlife stage 3 emergency: roof leak. Best I can tell it's coming from my fan cutout, which looked well-sealed last time I was up there. There is also a stupid factory skylight directly aft Mercedes in their infinite wisdom decided to option, that leaked last year. Anyone have a good technique for replacing lap sealant and/or tracing a leak? The roof is a double wall construction so once water gets through the outer wall it can kind of go anywhere...

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[El Chupacabra]

Vanlife stage 3 emergency: roof leak. Best I can tell it's coming from my fan cutout, which looked well-sealed last time I was up there. There is also a stupid factory skylight directly aft Mercedes in their infinite wisdom decided to option, that leaked last year. Anyone have a good technique for replacing lap sealant and/or tracing a leak? The roof is a double wall construction so once water gets through the outer wall it can kind of go anywhere...

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

Eternabond tape is fantastic. I've used it to reseal the roof on my basic travel trailer, where I removed a bunch of shitty sloppy factory caulk and used this instead. Comes in a couple colors, I've just used white.

Get a 2" wide roll for seam coverage, and a urethane roller tool to help you press it down (like a wallpaper roller). It's very sticky - don't goof in applying it, there's no pulling it up and re-placing it.

I originally used it to reseal the seams on my old cargo trailer about 10 years ago. That same tape is holding up today, no leaks. That, trailer sits outside year round.

[Foggy_Goggles]

Oh wait Phish...second thought

That is T+G LVP right? All the glue down LVP I've done has been square edge. It is going to be tricky to go that click together move where you do the long side the slide/tap over to set the short side with adhesive. Make you you get an adhesive that is spec'd for wet set. Using an adhesive that has to semi-cure to tacky is gonna be a pain in the dick.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Oh wait Phish...second thought

That is T+G LVP right? All the glue down LVP I've done has been square edge. It is going to be tricky to go that click together move where you do the long side the slide/tap over to set the short side with adhesive. Make you you get an adhesive that is spec'd for wet set. Using an adhesive that has to semi-cure to tacky is gonna be a pain in the dick.

This is what is specd by the flooring. Of course it's not in stock anywhere.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Shaw-Shaw-T...ive/5012960721

Somewhere on some document in my googling I saw this was an acceptable alternative.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Henry-HENRY...482/5005390515

I believe both tack up quickly and then actually cure pretty slowly.

Tempted to try this one. There is just no way to know how it's gonna handle -20 in this clients driveway and then 105+. This camper will be used a couple times a year max.

https://www.acehardware.com/departme...4aAgeIEALw_wcB

[Foggy_Goggles]

Yeah, you are gonna have better luck with that Henry 695 (or similar) with the longer open time. You are only gonna need a quart. The spec trowel with be 1/8 V notch at the biggest.

A couple other things. Check your layout for your finishing row. I see a full piece starter which makes me think you just went for it. Take your time. Start straight, stay straight. With wet set adhesive it can feel like you are working on a skating ring. For the first few rows, either dry set first, remove, then spread adhesive, or glue each piece one at a time.

Quality counts. Its a small job. Details matter. Make it awesome.

[GravityDT]

Vanlife stage 3 emergency: roof leak. Best I can tell it's coming from my fan cutout, which looked well-sealed last time I was up there. There is also a stupid factory skylight directly aft Mercedes in their infinite wisdom decided to option, that leaked last year. Anyone have a good technique for replacing lap sealant and/or tracing a leak? The roof is a double wall construction so once water gets through the outer wall it can kind of go anywhere...

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

Wipe down with some iso then reapply the lap sealant, be generous - it's not a beauty contest.... I'd also inspect the fan mounting shroud closely - had to reseal one where the flange had developed a small crack. The rear plastic plugs on the roof can also leak pending how well they were painted at the factory. I use the little harder to find SikaFlex lap sealant but Dicor works well too and is more readily found at Trailer Supply, Camping World etc....

[apex dave]

I use the little harder to find SikaFlex lap sealant but Dicor works well too and is more readily found at Trailer Supply, Camping World etc....

Lexel will also work. Appy wet or dry at any temperature.
https://www.sashco.com/products/lexel/

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Yeah, you are gonna have better luck with that Henry 695 (or similar) with the longer open time. You are only gonna need a quart. The spec trowel with be 1/8 V notch at the biggest.

A couple other things. Check your layout for your finishing row. I see a full piece starter which makes me think you just went for it. Take your time. Start straight, stay straight. With wet set adhesive it can feel like you are working on a skating ring. For the first few rows, either dry set first, remove, then spread adhesive, or glue each piece one at a time.

Quality counts. Its a small job. Details matter. Make it awesome.

Yeah the width of the trailer floor comes out to almost exactly 8 rows. 7.9 or something so will have to rip a hair off the last row.

[apex dave]

If you have an onboard water tank be sure to drain it completly when storing in freezing temperatures. This may mean parking on a slope so water flows down to the outlet when you drain. If not completely empty, there will be a slab of ice which will foat to the surface when you refill. This iceberg will smash around inside the tank when you drive and possibly break your tank. Voice of experience.

[Hopeless Sinner]

Anybody have a source or mfg's name for this table arm?

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Couldn't find that exact one, but google lens search came up with this:

https://www.amazon.com/XSWLHH-Remova.../dp/B0BZJ233YZ

[Hopeless Sinner]

Couldn't find that exact one, but google lens search came up with this:

https://www.amazon.com/XSWLHH-Remova.../dp/B0BZJ233YZ

Thanks have the Lagun version of that, but it's big and awkward. The one pictured is available at Four Wheel Camper but they want $400 for it.

[jackattack]

Thanks have the Lagun version of that, but it's big and awkward. The one pictured is available at Four Wheel Camper but they want $400 for it.

4wc seems like an in-house design type place. Lagun has a bunch of different arm options, correct? If you have one of the extended versions, I might be interested in trading.

[californiagrown]

Vanlife stage 3 emergency: roof leak. Best I can tell it's coming from my fan cutout, which looked well-sealed last time I was up there. There is also a stupid factory skylight directly aft Mercedes in their infinite wisdom decided to option, that leaked last year. Anyone have a good technique for replacing lap sealant and/or tracing a leak? The roof is a double wall construction so once water gets through the outer wall it can kind of go anywhere...

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

Flexseal. Especially if your van is black, just flex seal everything, everywhere on the roof. More flexseal is the answer.

[Iowagriz]

I'm looking at chains for my camper van. Ram Promaster, new snow flake rated tires. But, I want some backup on case I get someplace I shouldn't in snow. I'll have traction boards. Any real difference between cable chains and real chains? Storage size and weight win on the cables.

[Yukonrider]

I'm looking at chains for my camper van. Ram Promaster, new snow flake rated tires. But, I want some backup on case I get someplace I shouldn't in snow. I'll have traction boards. Any real difference between cable chains and real chains? Storage size and weight win on the cables.

If they're for getting out of someplace you shouldn't be get V bar chains. For highway use plus whatever get standard chains, for only highway use you could get cables but they're the wrong choice and you should just get real chains.

[byates1]

I'm looking at chains for my camper van. Ram Promaster, new snow flake rated tires. But, I want some backup on case I get someplace I shouldn't in snow. I'll have traction boards. Any real difference between cable chains and real chains? Storage size and weight win on the cables.

I had a promaster for 4 plus years. I was ultra careful about where I went. Can get stuck real easy. Do not drive into anything more than 6" unless it's blower.

[Snow Dog]

I'm looking at chains for my camper van. Ram Promaster, new snow flake rated tires. But, I want some backup on case I get someplace I shouldn't in snow. I'll have traction boards. Any real difference between cable chains and real chains? Storage size and weight win on the cables.

I've had cable chains in my car or truck for 50 years. I've used them around five times including ten days of hunting on FSRs and a few days in Whistler when it snowed to the village for days. V-bar chains are much better on ice but the cable chains have always worked for me.

[Hopeless Sinner]

4wc seems like an in-house design type place. Lagun has a bunch of different arm options, correct? If you have one of the extended versions, I might be interested in trading.

4WC's parts lady told me the mfg name, but silly me didn't pay too much attention. At the moment the table and table arm are in storage so I don't have direct access to it. After checking the Lagun page I think it's the standard version.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

I think it turned out pretty good and the client it happy. I think due to the short length of the camper and wanting full pieces to bridge the wheel wells the pattern isn't "correct", but it's basically a glorified cargo trailer at this point. I could have gone through the pieces to match up the faux seams and thinner boards better, but whatever. The Henry 695 glue seems to work pretty well. Now I've got to figure out a new headliner. Seems like tons of options online for ones you glue on? I don't want to put anymore penetrations into the roof if possible. I realize why this company didn't stay in business long. This thing leaks like a bastard and I'm having to spend a ton of time re-caulking everything on the top.

[byates1]

Foresty going full on ski bum vanner. Kicking ass.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Ok so where my wiring guys at? This project trailer had quite a bit of wiring as there was a 12v battery on board that was charged via solar panels on the roof to a charge controller. There was also an option for shore power. This all went into a metal box and a buss bar setup.

We scrapped most of it. Client doesn't want or need option for sure power. Basically 3 interior lights and "porch" light outside the door. Fantastic fan as well. All those wires were bundled together and all the whites are ground (see photo). I suggested we get a modern charge controller to go from the solar panels (that definitely still work) to a jackery type setup if he's going for 2 or 3 day fishing trip.

Where I am lost is how I can supply power for all these. The "grounds" are just the negatives and the colored wires (brown = fan, blue = forward overhead light, etc) are the hots. Can I just wire these to a buss bar and then the buss bar to a standard 12v cigarette plug so he can plug into his portable battery pack? None of these are drawing all that much.

[climberevan]

The simple way to do it would be to put in a fuse block and power that with a pigtail that he can connect to the Jackery thing.

If he's considering a charge controller, though, he can get a much less expensive plain 12V LiFePo battery (100AH are only like $170 now) and put in a mini but normal setup. So then you would go:
Solar--> charge controller > bus bars > big fuse > battery. Separately you'd go : bus bars > fuse block > various accessories on separate circuits

Explorist.life and others have great guides for basic systems.

[jackattack]

Can anyone recommend a spot to park overnight around Big Sky? Pm details thanks.