Wind camping

[wavery]

Well........we found out all about wind camping this weekend.

Took the PU to Point Mugu State Park. It was drizzly and cold when we got there on Thursday. Friday was OK and Saturday was absolutely spectacular with long beach walks, Frisbee throwing, rock hunting, an amazing sunset with Dolphins jumping and playing in the surf, then a beautiful camp fire. Last night, we went to bed exhausted. We were rudely awakened at about 2:AM by a crashing sound. We had been vaguely aware that the wind had picked up but were lulled into a deep sleep by the sound of the ocean waves breaking on the shore about 200 feet outside our door.

The wind was blowing about 15-20 miles an hour but all of a sudden there were heavy gusts up to 50-60, for just a few seconds at a time. The heavy gusts were causing something to crash up side the PU but I couldn't figure it out. I went out and took off the insulation blankets over the beds, thinking that may have been it. Then, one of the gusts hit, just as I was getting back in the camper. It lifted the awning carrier and slammed it (repeatedly) against the top. I tried everything but just couldn't get it under control. It went on all night.

The awning zips into a 12' long pouch that hangs from the top. I guess that I will have to figure out how to fasten that thing down. Anyone have any suggestions?

Also, one of the "J" shaped brackets that holds the tent top over the bed was bent like a pretzel from the gusting wind hitting that end of the camper square on. Does anyone know where I can buy a new one?

Now I know what you guys are talking about with the top swaying back & forth. It was so severe, that I fully expected the top supports to be bent.

I'm thinking of building some "X" braces to fit on both ends of the camper top. Supporting the top from the inside under these windy conditions. It would make it awkward to get in and out of bed but it would certainly control the swaying under strong winds. The top of the "X" would go up into either end of the top and the lower parts of the "X" would go on the top of the body of the PU, right across the bed openings.

It sure is nice to be home. On the way home, I saw a couple of TT/Pick-up rigs that had a hard time staying on the road. I could hardy even tell that the PU was behind me. They sure are a joy to tow.

[fallsrider]

That would effect only the AC, the Heat Strip is just that, doesn't use the condensor...just the fan mode with a heater strip inside of it. However, in a windy situation, the warmth that is generated is likely sucked right out of the trailer as PU's are far from airtight...

True, the heat strip would keep on heating, but if the fan slows down to a very slow speed in the wind gusts, it's not distributing the heat very well in the PU. I believe my unit had just one motor that drove the fans on both the evaporator and the condensor sides of the unit (may be the case for all units). When the gusts would blow into the condensor coils, the fan motor would slow way down almost to a stop, then as soon as the wind let up, the motor would spin back up again. It was a LONG night!

[wavery]

True, the heat strip would keep on heating, but if the fan slows down to a very slow speed in the wind gusts, it's not distributing the heat very well in the PU. I believe my unit had just one motor that drove the fans on both the evaporator and the condensor sides of the unit (may be the case for all units). When the gusts would blow into the condensor coils, the fan motor would slow way down almost to a stop, then as soon as the wind let up, the motor would spin back up again. It was a LONG night!

Oh Ya!! I forgot to report on the heating situation.

That darn propane furnace burns a lot more fuel than I had anticipated :eyecrazy: . We ran out of propane at 11:PM (3rd night out) and our 2nd tank only had enough to run the fridge. We were off by ourselves, so I started up the Honda EU2000I generator and turned on the rooftop A/C-heatpump. That thing is awesome. It really kept us toasty warm and the heat distribution for the bunks was puuuurrrrrrfect   .

I have to plug the A/C unit directly into the generator. If I run it through the camper's wiring, it will overload the generator when the compressor kicks on for the 2nd or 3rd time. That doesn't happen when I run the A/C, only when I run the heat. I'm not sure where the extra draw comes from  :confused:

I also noticed that I am only getting 11.8v out of my 12v outlets, even when my batteries are at 12.6v. I think that my power converter must be going out. I just don't see any need for that thing. I'm thinking of getting rid of it and wiring my 110v directly to the 110v cord (through the breaker box) and wiring my 12v directly to the batteries (through the fuse panel). It makes more sense to me to just hook a battery charger up to the batteries on the odd occasion that I have a campsite with hook-ups (which will be practically never).

Does anyone else have that set-up? Are there any pros to having that troublesome power converter?

[mlslocks]

If you are not plugged into shore power than your converter is not being used. The battery power is going directly to the 12 volt outlets and appliances.

[wavery]

If you are not plugged into shore power than your converter is not being used. The battery power is going directly to the 12 volt outlets and appliances.

HMMMM!!  My battery is wired to the converter then there are wires coming out of the converter to the fuse panel. I just checked the voltage on the wire as it goes into the converter and it is 12.8. The voltage coming out of the converter, going to the fuse panel is 12.O. The voltage at my 12v outlet in the galley is 11.8. I seem to be losing voltage all over the place.

Isn't there a relay or something in the converter that switches over when it senses 110v input?