Best Of
Re: Taillight
$20 replacement taillight arrived today.
$59 replacement I purchased from T@B dealer in first photo:
$20 replacement from superbrightleds.com below. Note wires still attached to $59 light hanging down out of view.
Housing that comes with light is not needed (see arrow). LED round fits into factory housing. Also, no need to remove the grey trim pieces around the light.
Back of $20 light. This is the only piece that gets replaced:
Summary - the new light fits perfectly. The swap-out takes less than 15 minutes. The look is completely different, so both taillights would need to be replaced at the same time (18 LEDs vs. 9) Model TLS-R17HF-R, superbrightleds.com.
$59 replacement I purchased from T@B dealer in first photo:
$20 replacement from superbrightleds.com below. Note wires still attached to $59 light hanging down out of view.
Housing that comes with light is not needed (see arrow). LED round fits into factory housing. Also, no need to remove the grey trim pieces around the light.
Back of $20 light. This is the only piece that gets replaced:
Summary - the new light fits perfectly. The swap-out takes less than 15 minutes. The look is completely different, so both taillights would need to be replaced at the same time (18 LEDs vs. 9) Model TLS-R17HF-R, superbrightleds.com.
Re: Trailer security
Talk about a sense of dejavu... I had someone come over the house last week for business and she was admiring my 320, she said she and her husband had a "little trailer" once and showed me a picture on her phone. It was a Tab! (I don't remember which model tho). She said they had it parked in front of their house one evening (normally kept a storage lot) getting it loaded and ready for a trip the next day. When her husband came home from work he was like "honey, where's the trailer?" and sure enough someone had taken it during the evening. She said the stabilizers were down and everything. She said you could see gouge marks in the asphalt where they just drug it off. Yikes! Now I'm super paranoid, lol.
No Hot water at outside shower
2021 400 boondock. There is zero water flow from the outdoor shower Hot faucet. Other faucets are OK (though from all other Hots, it's noticeably slower flow than cold). Things to check?
Re: Walker Tent
Thank you! Great suggestions, especially roof top carrier for wet tent!
Re: RV power cord route it to the inside - 2022 tab 320 boondock
I also have a 'dual use' power center. We use it while camping, but the primary purpose is powering the refrigerator when storms cause power outages.
I've seen many friends chase the rabbit, modifying their trailer to follow popular trends when the mod doesn't benefit their use. I would recommend starting with the 'inconvenance' and working towards a solution. You mentioned not having an inverter. In the '320, an inverter could power the air conditioner and 110v electrical outlets. Everything else is either DC electric or propane.
Do you need the air conditioner or something that you are plugging in? If you need something you are plugging in, I would recommend using the power center directly. It is more efficient that way. If you are trying to air condition the trailer off grid, you need a big power center. Probably one too large to move around unless you chose a different air conditioner.
Are you primarily charging the battery? A larger battery is the more cost effective solution than the modifications to make this work plus the loss of storage space.
What is the problem you are trying to solve or the task you are trying to make more comfortable?
I've seen many friends chase the rabbit, modifying their trailer to follow popular trends when the mod doesn't benefit their use. I would recommend starting with the 'inconvenance' and working towards a solution. You mentioned not having an inverter. In the '320, an inverter could power the air conditioner and 110v electrical outlets. Everything else is either DC electric or propane.
Do you need the air conditioner or something that you are plugging in? If you need something you are plugging in, I would recommend using the power center directly. It is more efficient that way. If you are trying to air condition the trailer off grid, you need a big power center. Probably one too large to move around unless you chose a different air conditioner.
Are you primarily charging the battery? A larger battery is the more cost effective solution than the modifications to make this work plus the loss of storage space.
What is the problem you are trying to solve or the task you are trying to make more comfortable?
Re: 2023 Barefoot - Hidden Bleeders
@Wonderita welcome to the forum! From my reading you have the Alde 30320 system, similar to the one in our 400. There is an auto bleed valve at the boiler that can get sticky, and you might have the reservoir as your only high point for bleeding. If you can locate the circulation pump, you can operate it on CONT mode and turn the pump up to 5 to increase the flow thru the system. That may clear the air. Also raising and lowering the tongue have been used by some. You can search the posts for air and Alde and see what comes up
Here is the 3020 diagram. The brass thingy is the air vent. Some folks have tapped on it while the unit is running to unstick it. Also the round black thing is the inline circulation pump pump and it has a scale for speed on it.1-5.
Here is the 3020 diagram. The brass thingy is the air vent. Some folks have tapped on it while the unit is running to unstick it. Also the round black thing is the inline circulation pump pump and it has a scale for speed on it.1-5.
Re: battle born battery
If you have watched "all" of the series of videos, Prowse has shown the failures and the reasons for the failures. Lots of owners in the Prowse DIY Forums have also reported on failures of the Battleborns...all for the same basic reason This issue, apparently, has been bubbling up in the DIY Forums for about the past year, so it isn't something that Prowse created by himself for "clicks".
The question for us, as basic trailer owners of small systems: how much does this really apply to a travel trailer with a basic setup that is not charging and discharging at the rates being discussed in the testing videos? This is the hard part. Does it make a difference in the chance of failure with an owner with a single Battleborn who rarely pushes the battery capacity to a low level, does not use an inverter or a large lithium charger?
Would having one of the 4 lithium 400 amp hour packages with the 3000 watt Multiplus inverter, where an owner might run the AC on battery for a couple of hours and then plug into shore power and ask for a large charging current make a difference in the chance of failure?
And: even if the Battleborns do start to show failures across the RV world, will the RV manufacturers (many of who have sales agreements with Battleborn) admit there is an issue and warn owners of what to look for? The answer is...no...since consumer protections for RV owners are not the same as protections/recalls for automobile owners. NuCamp owners will get the same response to Battleborn failures as we have gotten for the failures we have seen on the Alde corrosion issue. Which is practically zero. The next step for Battleborn is bankruptcy, fi you follow their stock price, etc.
If I had a Battleborn battery setup, I would have a look at the various videos and take a good close look at the positive battery terminal and look for the color of the red ring around the terminal, looking for the possibility of overheating of that terminal.
There have also been several posts about owners reporting the entire trailer power has completely failed. After being walked through all the various reasons for the power in the trailer to be completely shut down and finding them all satisfactory...a few hours later the owner reported the trailer power "just came back on". This is impossible to verify in any case, since there are so many variables. Did the Battleborn simply "cut itself off" as a "safety measure?"
Re: Fuses
@Sebastian, do you have a question? Turn the big battery disconnect to Off, pull out the fuse, and push a new one in. The fact it was connected to AC is not real relevant, the converter turns that into 12v DC for the TV and radio.
Re: Alternative weight distribution for 2021 T@B 400 BD
Hi,
When I moved up from a 320 to a 360 with my Jeep Grand Cherokee (full tow package/7200 lbs) I looked extensively into a need for a WDH. My research told me about the 5K pound rule of thumb, but I aso found it can beneficial with tow vehicles with short wheel bases (such as JGC) and /or if the total trailer weight is more than 1/2 of the weight of the tow vehicle.
The reason for this is a WDH has very little to do with sway (althought it does provide a side benefit) but rather it does what the name says and redistributes the weight on the tow vehicle from the rear of the tow vehicle to the front.
What happens, if the combo is not correct and you are getting a pull down in the rear of the tow vehicle to the point where it removes the designed weight off the front wheels, which leads to poor contact of the front wheels on the ground resulting in driving issues, most likely in wet or snowy conditions. The photo below is a bit extreme, but gets the point across. It essentially "levels" the tow vehicle back to front. It is more often not visable to the eye.
When I went to pick our 360 up, I talked to our dealer who only sells small trailers and he highly recommended it which "sealed the deal" for me in getting one (which he installed while I picked up the 360) I also talked to other "trailer experts". I checked on a bunch of JGC forums and they also agreed it would be of benefit.
I went with the Anderson WDH which does not use a tension bar, but chains. It is very easy to get on/off. Takes about an additional 2-3 minutes with no tools needed. Weight Distribution Hitch w/ Sway Control | Andersen Hitches
It's the same debate for the use of a sway bar...you think you will never need it, but there may be that one set of road/tow conditions that the added safety device will be of benefit. There is no harm, other than if your tow vehicle prohibits the use (you should look at your specific vehicle and not generalize) and it will provide better driveability and peace of mind.
Drive/Tow On!
When I moved up from a 320 to a 360 with my Jeep Grand Cherokee (full tow package/7200 lbs) I looked extensively into a need for a WDH. My research told me about the 5K pound rule of thumb, but I aso found it can beneficial with tow vehicles with short wheel bases (such as JGC) and /or if the total trailer weight is more than 1/2 of the weight of the tow vehicle.
The reason for this is a WDH has very little to do with sway (althought it does provide a side benefit) but rather it does what the name says and redistributes the weight on the tow vehicle from the rear of the tow vehicle to the front.
What happens, if the combo is not correct and you are getting a pull down in the rear of the tow vehicle to the point where it removes the designed weight off the front wheels, which leads to poor contact of the front wheels on the ground resulting in driving issues, most likely in wet or snowy conditions. The photo below is a bit extreme, but gets the point across. It essentially "levels" the tow vehicle back to front. It is more often not visable to the eye.
When I went to pick our 360 up, I talked to our dealer who only sells small trailers and he highly recommended it which "sealed the deal" for me in getting one (which he installed while I picked up the 360) I also talked to other "trailer experts". I checked on a bunch of JGC forums and they also agreed it would be of benefit.
I went with the Anderson WDH which does not use a tension bar, but chains. It is very easy to get on/off. Takes about an additional 2-3 minutes with no tools needed. Weight Distribution Hitch w/ Sway Control | Andersen Hitches
It's the same debate for the use of a sway bar...you think you will never need it, but there may be that one set of road/tow conditions that the added safety device will be of benefit. There is no harm, other than if your tow vehicle prohibits the use (you should look at your specific vehicle and not generalize) and it will provide better driveability and peace of mind.
Drive/Tow On!
Re: Confirming converter wiring
I'm not an electrician but as I understand it is frowned upon to have multiple ground to neutral connections. Typically ground and neutral are connected in the main panel, if there is another connection between the two the ground wire may carry part of the current that should only be in the neutral wire.
The converter is wired right after the main breaker in the power center, no idea what these red wired connect to. I'd open up the power center, remove the old converter and connect the new one the same way as the old one.