Best Of
Terrible & Awesome Parts Experiences: Bankston and Princess Craft
This past week while camping, the front window of our T@B 400 fell off the camper while opening it, breaking both support arms in the process. Per Austin at NuCamp Service, a likely broken hinge. A trip to Walmart to buy some Flex Seal tape, I set the window back in place, locked the levers, and taped the hinge at the top to hold the window and seal out any rain.
On Friday I called the parts department of my selling dealer, Bankston in Huntsville, AL. Talked to a lady on the parts desk about what I needed. She asked that I text some photos, and would call me back after getting the photos. No call back. On Monday morning I called again. After a few minutes, the person located the images I texted last Friday, then said she would need to talk to the parts manager and call me back. No call back. On Tuesday I attempted a 3rd call, went through the whole explainer again. No call back. (This has been my experience with Bankston in the past.)
On Friday I called the parts department of my selling dealer, Bankston in Huntsville, AL. Talked to a lady on the parts desk about what I needed. She asked that I text some photos, and would call me back after getting the photos. No call back. On Monday morning I called again. After a few minutes, the person located the images I texted last Friday, then said she would need to talk to the parts manager and call me back. No call back. On Tuesday I attempted a 3rd call, went through the whole explainer again. No call back. (This has been my experience with Bankston in the past.)
On our camping trip someone suggested I contact Princess Craft in Texas. I called Wednesday, Rebecca on the parts desk answered my call, collected my info, I texted images, and she said she would be in touch after talking with NuCamp. In the afternoon, Rebecca texted me she submitted the info to NuCamp. By the next day at lunch time Rebecca had the shipping quote and order ready, the order was placed and I paid over the phone! I can highly recommend Princess Craft for any parts you need to order (and avoid Bankston if you can).
Re: Solar -Lithium Question
This may be true of Lithium Ion batteries, but it doesn’t seem to be the case with Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries.RCB said:Lithium batteries seem to have the longest life when charged to 80-90% and occasionally charged to 100%. With an active solar panel system the battery would be charged to 100% when the trailer is stored and kept at 100%. If one had an additional switch to disconnect the solar charging when stored would there be any negative affect on the solar panels ?
if you are worried about continual charging just turn the solar charger off once you have reached 100% charge.
Re: Frame Repair / Need Help Identifying Parts
I would not use Stainless Steel Bolts; I would lean towards Grade 8 bolts with Nylock (nylon lock nuts) properly torqued based on the bolt size. Remember that the Torque values given are for tightening from the head of the bolt and not the nut. Sorry, I don't have my book with me, or I could advise you further.
P.S. Make sure to use hardened steel washers between the head and nut surfaces to contact the frame.
Brad
P.S. Make sure to use hardened steel washers between the head and nut surfaces to contact the frame.
Brad
Re: Is an all electric TaB trailer viable
Maybe so Grumpy, but we need to start to move away from fossil fuels, where we do not really need them, like 3-way fridges, where a 2-way compressor fridge is more efficient. Propane doesn’t do air conditioning very efficiently either, so it’s main application is heating, both cabin and cooking, where it is more efficient right now than electrical based systems.
That said, I do not like the fire risk inside the TaB from a propane stove, and for the small amount of cooking I do in thenTaB, a induction cooktop would suffice. Outdoors, a small gas grill is another grand alternative, so like it or no, we currently need propane for heating…
Cheers
Cheers
Re: Water Leak - Ultimate Toys
The fresh tank drain / outlet to the pump connection?
Re: Toyota 4 runner Towing capabilities
Check your manual for any requirements for sway control. My Highlander says it’s required when towing over 2000 lbs. Also watch your cargo loading/capacity in the 4 Runner. I’ve heard it’s low compared to similar SUVs, like the Highlander.
Re: Adding portable external solar to built-in solar (2021 320S Boondock)
Another option, is to add a Victron MPPT (10 or 15 depending on the size of your portable panels) solar controller, like the one already installed in your TaB. Then you can get lower cost portable so,ar panels that do not have a built in controller. Then the two sets of solar panels via the MPPT controller can be linked using the Bluetooth App. A 200 watt set of panels would need a MPPT15, 100-140 watts would work with the MPPT10 that comes with the TaB320.
cheers
cheers
Re: Room in the garage
@huanvanho, I'm not certain, but I think the 10" rim might not fit over the existing brake drum.
Re: Replacing Danby but not finding a replacement
@JamesK, sorry, my bad. Yes, I see that the new Danby faceplate seems tighter in the frame. Making the original frame larger is easy, I do not think you need a new frame. Figure out what the inside dimension of the frame needs to be to fit around the new AC, and have a cabinet shop enlarge the inside opening. This can be done with a router from the inside of the frame, and should be an easy fix for a moderately experienced woodworker or most cabinet shops.
Cheers
Re: Replacing Danby but not finding a replacement
Sorry @JamesK. The rails are the horizontal parts of the frame, the stiles are the vertical bits. In your photo of the new Danby AC, it looks like the face frame opening is too tall, and there is a gab at the top, the sides look like it fits side to side. To fill in the gap at the top, you could replace the top horizontal part of the frame, the top rail (I got the parts mixed up in my original post) with a wider one to fill the gap. Or, you could,raise the AC up to fit at the top rail, and replace the bottom rail with a wider one, which would look better, as the bottom rail is often wider than the top rail in a frame like this.
Cheers
Cheers