The Nomadic Life

[Too Tall]

Safe Travels my friend. We all dig hearing what you are up to.

LOL The moving and encampment details read like a book ;) I've been at our Va spot for a week preparing for guests and shareholders. FWIIW For the past few years I've been working to get the forest, meadows and trails more organized. Removing invasives, planting warm meadow slopes, trail building etc. etc. etc. This is hard and satisfying work, but you know that.

[bigbill]

When we arrive in Wyoming, we rent a skid steer for the weekend. We get the mower, bucket, and auger attachments. I need to put up two more gates which involves 8" posts, and a fence line with 5" posts and 3" cross rails. We have a big pile of 3" posts that are 16' long. I have to buy the larger posts, but I'll cut the 16' posts for rails. I have the gates, but I'm modifying one opening to 16' with a 12' and 4' gate. The 4' is to move horses and allow me to ride out on my bike without messing with a big gate. We are house shopping this summer and when we relocate, I'll put a 200A box on the property with additional RV outlets. The lower terrace on our property has jumps and obstacles for equestrian events. People can bring their trailers and park on the upper terrace and have power, water, and a dump station. In 2022, the cabling I ran from the pole is 4/0 so as long as I have 180 amps or less potential loading, it will be good to go. I'm thinking 5, 30 amp outlets and a duplex GFCI outlet off a 20 amp breaker.

I'm looking forward to the drive. Going through Monument Valley never gets old.

[Too Tall]

Bill, I'm observing that many of the modern trailers are 50 amp. They are fine with 30 for the most part however it is a consideration. Similar here we provide 20 amp GFCI...which go bad on the regular.

[bigbill]

Most of the midsize horse trailers with living quarters are still 30 amp. One of the behemoth triple axle trailers probably won't make it up the driveway without high centering. It's Wyoming, and the nights are still in the low 50s, even in July. I can run my trailer with the AC running off a 20 amp outlet, but trying to use the microwave simultaneously will trip the breaker. The problem with 50A is only having three off my 200A feed. I carry a 50/30 adapter and have used it a few times when the park's 30 amp outlet looked sketchy. Last summer, my 30 amp plug partially melted because of a high-resistance connection. I amazed my wife by having a new one in my box-o-parts and replaced it in about 30 minutes. I also had to replace my trailer plug last summer after I bent a tulip clip. I carry two new spares because the horse trailer uses the same plug.

I will pull out the generator, put a little Seafoam in the gas, and run it dry on Saturday. I'll change the oil, put new gas in it, and test it out. I'm taking the pancake compressor if I need to inflate a tire, seat a tubeless tire, or blow out the bug light.

[Too Tall]

I've replaced too many 30 amp outlets because park guests fail to maintain their trailer cords. All they need to do is apply some dielectric snot which every camper has or (better) anti-corrosive goop like electrical contact grease (pick your poision).

Replacing my trailer 6-way is on the short list. Prior owner did a hack job leaving the wires partially exposed. Boo.

On a lighter note I just got the invite for a three week Caravan that will explore remote Canadian Rockies. The first stop is the Calgary Stampede, hello Chuck Wagon races :) Will have to gear up as this new trailer does not have solar panels.

[SlowPokePete]

Tell us more about the new trailer.

And the tow vehicle...still got the Tundra?

SPP

[Too Tall]

Tell us more about the new trailer.

And the tow vehicle...still got the Tundra?

SPP

We have been looking for a 28 International Serenity RBT with manual awnings and dark fabric for ages. This one popped up from a private seller and we grabbed it! As with all things used there are many small things I'm fixing but hey I love doing that. Picked it up in Chandler, AZ slapped new tires on it and went to visit some yahoo framebuilder near Austin. This one has a Blue Ox hitch that needed some fiddling to get it right but now tows well. We sailed over the San Gabriels at 65 mph and downshifted for the steep up/down stuff. The Tundra's small block is the high mark for these gas engines and it's got some sack ;) Four Hundred HP is no joke if you know how to use it. This trailer's ball weight is almost exactly same as our prior trailer. In all honesty I feel that a 1500 pulling this 28 is safe yet I do want some more lead in my arse for the inevitable so yes I think a 2500 is in our future...but not a must have. We towed over 2000 miles across W. Texas and terrible wind storms and felt safe. The Tundra is "enough" but not more than enough get me? Helps?

*Thanks Dan, helps.

[PaMtbRider]

Just an fyi, a common misconception is that dielectric grease improves the conductivity of an electrical connection. Dielectric grease is an insulator. Its main purpose is to prevent corrosion by sealing out moisture. It can also help prevent fretting, a pitting of the contact surface due to vibration.

If the connection being made is a loose sloppy fit dielectric grease won't help, it will actually make it worse. The blades of your plug need to fit tight enough in the socket to displace the grease from the contact area.

If you look closely at the blades of an rv plug some of them are not solid but made of layers of thin metal. Take a small screwdriver and spread these layers apart. This can help the plug fit a little tighter in a worn out pedestal socket.

I agree with Josh that using a dielectric grease is a good preventive measure. Go ahead and smear it all over your battery terminals, but use it sparingly in a plug and socket application.