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Old 03-10-2014, 06:23 PM   #61
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Trailer: 1988 16 ft Scamp Deluxe
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Dolly? My eyes are leaking Oh yes please, pics!
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Old 03-16-2014, 10:57 PM   #62
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Picture on its first Voyage

well, we took her out this weekend for a first voyage. photo attached.

The San Rafael Swell in Utah. Beautiful weekend, beautiful place, trailer pulled beautifully. But we had NO battery power! We must have set something wrong so that the battery wasn't charging correctly on the drive (fridge set to "auto" is our guess. But luckily we are used to tent camping, so we ended up using it as a very nice tent for the weekend, with intermittent power when we turned the truck on.

We will have it worked out better for next weekend! Switching out all the lights to LEDs, getting a second battery, and perhaps even a generator (though I am not psyched about that).

Loving the trailer. The 11.5 miles per gallon will take some getting used to though.
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Old 03-16-2014, 11:09 PM   #63
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take it slow...

before you go buying batteries and LEDs I suggest you invest in a voltmeter and find out what's going on....it could be that your power converter is not charging the battery when the trailer is plugged in at home or in a campground.....read the instructions for the fridge carefully....those big fridges will suck a lot of power out of the batteries if run on 12V....it sounds like your truck is sending power to the trailer while towing....my experience with my trailer and TV is that the power from the TV can't quite keep up with the power demand from the fridge (on 12V power setting)....good luck
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Old 03-16-2014, 11:56 PM   #64
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Speaking of tow vehicles what did you end up buying????

Save your money on future operating cost of a generator and buy yourself a good solar set up.
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Old 03-17-2014, 07:17 AM   #65
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I second investigating what you have before throwing money at it. Several things to consider:

"IF" your refrigerator automatically switches over to 12 volts when needed, pull the fuse and ferget that mode. IMHO there is almost no real time when it is needed, and it will almost always drag down the battery when towing.

Get the battery checked. If it has been pulled down to "Dead" more than a few times it may be sulfated and will not hold much of a charge anyway. Time for a new one.

Check the charge line from the TV. You may need a larger wire due to length.

When the refrigerator is running it can pull enough current from the TV to drop the charge line voltage below the point where it is charging the battery, resulting in a dead battery after a few hours (Been there, done that).

Start all over again with a few nights of driveway camping, both with and without external power. It's a lot easier to fix things close to home than out in the middle of nowhere.

And, Drive 55, it's good for the MPG's

Good Luck



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Old 03-17-2014, 08:09 AM   #66
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Congratulations camping mama on the maiden voyage and finding a new tow vehicle. Looks like a Toyota 4x4 but can't tell if it's a Tundra or Tacoma. Incidentally, good choice on getting a 4x4. You'll realize it's advantages in time.

In addition to the other good advice you already received above you may want to check if power to the trailer was turned on. There's a small button near the entrance for that. I know, it sounds too simple but I thought since you were a new owner it might help. When you were at home you probably had the trailer plugged in, which automatically turns on the switch mentioned above. You have to manually turn it on if disconnected from AC. Also, although some refrigerators operate on 12VDC the one in your Bigfoot operates only with propane or 120VAC. You can't run the battery down in the trailer or tow vehicle (if connected) because of the refrigerator. Granted the refrigerator needs some battery power to operate its controls but the bulk power for refrigeration is handled by propane or 120VAC. If the battery was just run down and not totally dead the lights would still function, that is if the power switch was turned on. Like others have said, be methodical about checking out the problem and not just throw money at it.

You might also want to check out the Bigfoot owners forum. It's a good source of information, especially the archive section, where you can get ideas on solar, extra battery storage, etc.

Oh, and before I forget, you may want to find out if your Dometic refrigerator had the recall work done on it. It's free and might save you from a major headache like a fire.
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Old 03-17-2014, 08:20 AM   #67
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I forgot to add about the refrigerator that since yours operates only on propane or AC you might ask what is done while traveling. It's OK to operate it with propane but if that concerns you or during those times when it's not appropriate, some just travel with the refrigerator off making sure it's cold to start off or packed with some ice. There's plenty of discussions on this here and elsewhere if interested.

And did I mention checking out the Dometic refrigerator for the recall work. Nudge
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Old 03-17-2014, 04:51 PM   #68
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Name: The Mrs.
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Utah
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Hi, thank you all for the continued good advice. Dometic recall, geez, I thought one recall was lot to work through. I will look into that asap, thank you!

Tow vehicle: we used a 2013 Tacoma for this trip (my brother's). It pulled fine, even up the hills, but we are still planning to purchase a Tundra.
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Old 03-17-2014, 04:54 PM   #69
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Carol: Any particular solar set you would suggest?
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Old 03-17-2014, 05:31 PM   #70
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I forgot to mention that not only will connecting AC power automatically activate the power switch mentioned earlier but connecting to your tow vehicle with an appropriate power lead will also do the same thing. In other words, you have to manually push the power switch if not connected to AC power or a tow vehicle if you want DC power inside the trailer.
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Old 03-17-2014, 05:47 PM   #71
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So I should me more precise in my description: We did have some power, just not much. We cooked with one or two of the lights on for about 20 minutes then everything started clicking on and off and only powering one thing at a time (i.e. either a light or the fridge but not both). When we would start the tow vehicle we could use everything, but obviously that was not a workable solution. After towing it home it had enough power for light, the fridge, etc, but we don't have a volt meter so I am not sure if it is really charged all the way.
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Old 03-17-2014, 06:48 PM   #72
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Quote:
Originally Posted by camping_mama View Post
So I should me more precise in my description: We did have some power, just not much. We cooked with one or two of the lights on for about 20 minutes then everything started clicking on and off and only powering one thing at a time (i.e. either a light or the fridge but not both). When we would start the tow vehicle we could use everything, but obviously that was not a workable solution. After towing it home it had enough power for light, the fridge, etc, but we don't have a volt meter so I am not sure if it is really charged all the way.
Yep, that makes a difference - some versus no power. If the battery was that drained chances are it needs replacement. Without adding any more I leave you with your Owner's Manual. If one was not provide it is available on the BOCI website. buena suerte
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Old 03-17-2014, 07:08 PM   #73
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Yep, that makes a difference - some versus no power. If the battery was that drained chances are it needs replacement. Without adding any more I leave you with your Owner's Manual. If one was not provide it is available on the BOCI website. buena suerte
It did have the manual, thank goodness, though it was surprisingly light on details.
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Old 03-19-2014, 12:28 AM   #74
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I tow my 19' Biggar (heavy like the Bigfoots.) with a 2007 4.7 Tundra. Tows great, no problems going up hills. I don't know what mileage I get and don't really care as I bought the truck to tow a larger trailer.
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Old 03-19-2014, 07:55 AM   #75
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Fortunately some of us do care how much fuel we use, both for economic as well as environmental reasons. I think that's a leading reason why the majority of us are on this site.



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Old 03-19-2014, 08:00 AM   #76
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Originally Posted by camping_mama View Post

Loving the trailer. The 11.5 miles per gallon will take some getting used to though.
The Bigfoot looks great! Congratulations.

The poor gas mileage is just one of the short comings of towing with a pick up.
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Old 03-19-2014, 09:12 AM   #77
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The Bigfoot looks great! Congratulations.

The poor gas mileage is just one of the short comings of towing with a pick up.
The average gas mileage while towing my 21' Bigfoot with a 5.4L F250 on a 2000 mile trip was about 15 mpg. Not exactly gas sipping but certainly better than the 11.5 mpg reported by camping mama using the V6 Tacoma. I don't know the reason for the difference but my trip was mostly on flat interstates where the speed was kept constant at about 60 mph. The average gas mileage on the same stretch of road without pulling the trailer was about 4 mpg better.
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Old 03-19-2014, 09:22 AM   #78
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A loss of 4 mpg is not too bad for such a large trailer.
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Old 03-19-2014, 09:46 AM   #79
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A loss of 4 mpg is not too bad for such a large trailer.
I thought so too but as mentioned before the speed was kept to about 60 mph, actually closer to 55 mph since some of the trip was in California. I keep meticulous records of my gas purchases and find that consumption really suffers in stop and go driving, much more so than just pulling a trailer at constant speed.
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Old 03-19-2014, 10:06 AM   #80
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Trailer: tp
Washington
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Bigfoot 21RB

Quote:
Originally Posted by camping_mama View Post
well, we took her out this weekend for a first voyage. photo attached.

The San Rafael Swell in Utah. Beautiful weekend, beautiful place, trailer pulled beautifully. But we had NO battery power! We must have set something wrong so that the battery wasn't charging correctly on the drive (fridge set to "auto" is our guess. But luckily we are used to tent camping, so we ended up using it as a very nice tent for the weekend, with intermittent power when we turned the truck on.

We will have it worked out better for next weekend! Switching out all the lights to LEDs, getting a second battery, and perhaps even a generator (though I am not psyched about that).

Loving the trailer. The 11.5 miles per gallon will take some getting used to though.
Check the fuse which is located near the hitch under the batteries. If it is burned out you will have no 12volt power. I learned that on a 1983 Bigfoot, replaced the fuse and everything worked. Nice looking trailer.
Chuck
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