Thom and Cari's Parkliner

[accrete]

Yes the Bal Leveler fits safe and snug in the front closet. I think that is where we will put ours.

[accrete]

One item at the NOG event that i saw and wanted to set up for our Parkliner was a small ~3 to 5 gallon exterior dump/holding tank i saw on Donna's rig. She had a 3" hose from her holding tank dump-fitting, but since all we need with Parkliners is a small garden hose (even for those with the marine-macerating-toilet...a standard garden hose is all you need to dump into a park or dump-site) i went a different route:

With the smaller hose in mind (taking off from the stock PL fitting) i went to home depot and picked up these standard items in their plumbing department to attach to a 3 gallon reliance water tank:



Here is the unit ready for use:



and sealed up ready for storage:



I replaced the reliance tank's stock spigot with a brass fitting that fit into the plastic lid perfectly and then had a male garden hose thread which i then connected the 4' washing machine hose and then to the garden hose outlet on the PL dump fitting.

When done i screw on the garden hose cap, put the 4' hose in a gallon zip lock bag and store in PL

Another fun and easy project...total cost with tank and parts about $25.

The reason i wanted something like this is there are occasions where we can dump legally the shower bio-soap-water (remember our build does not have a marine toilet). We don't _do dishes_ because everything is paper plates and simple wipe-clean utensils type of eating (i.e. no food stuffs down the kitchen sink into grey tank). So this is fine with the Park Rangers in nearly all areas we camp in and appropriate use of resources. This way i can dump the ~gallon or so shower water after each use and it is super easy clean up.

Happy Trails!
Thom

[Francesca Knowles]

Great setup, Thom!

I put together something similar, only in my case I used a collapsible jug since storage is a big issue for me. The one I use mashes flat so it will fit in one of the side hatches I put into the trailer corners. (For obvious reasons, I did make sure it's a different color from my freshwater carriers)

Francesca

[deryk]

interesting....im wanting to pick up a siphon....have the same water jug for increasing my water supply mid weekend. between dishes and 2 showers and of course drinking water just as i finished my quick military shower sunday morning i ran out of water. cheapest way to extend the tank....might eventually add a 2nd smaller tank next to the water heater one day....but in the meen time this will work for me.

[Francesca Knowles]

Here's my harebrained idea for a gravity-feed extra water supply:

I'm actually thinking about strapping the fourteen gallon tank from my Trillium to the top of my Kia. It's more flat than boxy and would fit on the roof just fine...idea being that when I'm in camp I could just hook up a hose between car and trailer and have fourteen gallons of gravity-fed water!

FYI:
Not an entirely original idea- they do make portable "bladders" for similar purposes...

Francesca

[deryk]

Well I own the water jug already so just need a siphon to transfer it. I've installed tanks into sailboats so I know I can do it...but that's not gonna be a summer project...maybe fall.

[accrete]

Francesca, thx for the tip on the collapsible jug...i might be able to fit the same brass fitting on one

You know me...if there is a gadget to be found...no matter the exorbitant cost! HaHa...my solution down by the river/lake to fill the fresh water tank camp/curb side water fill...



and in action (example)



this set up yields about 1 liter every 15 minutes by gravity filter into fresh water tank.

Signed...the RV Gadget Guy

[Francesca Knowles]

Rat Own, Captain Boondocks!

I have an assignment for you:

Please devise a "ram pump" system for use in streams/rivers/irrigation canals that's compact enough for me to stow/haul in my trailer. Nothing fancy...just a little gadget that will achieve, say five or ten feet of lift, transport water 500 feet, and fit in a shoebox when not in use.

Also, it would be good if it was invisible so as to avoid attracting the attention of pesky authority-type figures.

Fresh running water, here I come!

Francesca

[accrete]

As an in-context FYI on gravity fed water items...

(Thom's note to self...DO NOT DO IT...Just say Nooooo to gadgets!!

When i was contemplating doing some solar water heating stuff on our van conversion i was really tempted to get one of these! They are pretty cool & certainly fall under the rv gadget category. When reading the above posts on gravity water stuff and putting jugs on tow vehicles i thought it might be appropriate to share this link/info:


RoadShower.com



there is even a video:

Road Shower Demo - YouTube

Never enough time for all the gadgets!
Thom

[accrete]

LOL Fracesca... that's a _tall_ order! Sounds like we'd need an upstream dam to get'er done.

I once contemplated getting a hydro-generator...but the ~100 to 200 foot 110 volt extension cord running from river to camp might draw some attention to what was on the other end in the water...and didn't feel like baby sitting a $2,000 dollar item while lounging under a shade tree reading a good book!

[accrete]

During the recent NOG egg meet i met a guy who lives in Vancouver WA who owns FiberglassTravelTrailersRV.com and i just ordered the same MaxxFan 5100K that we have on our Parkliner to replace the Fantastic Fan we have on our van...Yea!!! His price included free lower 48 state shipping and was ~$60 less than the local (Portland OR) Camping World store that would have had to order one for me and was then going to charge shipping on top of thier ~$275 member price.

No more closing the fantastic fan after being rained on in the middle of the night while camping (yes it really does rain in the summer here in Oregon!)

[accrete]

After my morning outing with van & parkliner to a local tire center to look at some options on the tire-rub issue that is currently being researched by Chandler on a recent batch of PLs i took the afternoon to mount the black powder coated tongue box on the trailer.

I currently placed the Bal Leveler and all the lego-block tire levelers and related tire blocks. It finishes off the front a-frame nicely.

[Brian M. in NY]

Looks great Thom. I'm just not ready to give up my gas. Umm, I mean propane. Oh forget it, this probably belongs on a different thread. Sorry.

[accrete]

HaHa... there's always room for another gizmo on the trailer Brian : )

[accrete]

OK, time for an update.

Nothing in this post should be taken as to represent any discontent or issue i have toward Chandler or Parkliner as a manufacturer...I am luving our Parkliner. Cari & I still pinch ourselves when we go inside. What i'm going to share in this update was one of those unfortunate oooopsies that took place, and Chandler has a solution for.

Many of you know that four of us with Parkliners made in the mid #30's had similar issues with the stock 205/75r14 bias ply tires rubbing. After a few short days of thinking through the issue Chandler came up with a solution of swapping out our tires with a new set that is supposed to fit without the rub : )

. . .So on to my project and this update:

I'm a sailor from knee high in the 1960's. Have sailed from Hawaii to San Francisco Bay in a 42' fiberglass sailboat, and logged many a mile at sea in glass. So i know how to take care of fiberglass. One thing that took place on my rig (other units may vary) was the tire-rubber rubbed through the gel coat and ~1/16" into the glass cloth on an area about 2" high x 4" wide in the inner forward lip of wheel well as seen in this example image before i took the wheels off (both sides needed rapair. For the sake of bandwidth i am only posting images of the curb side wheel well) :



In this next shot I have washed the area with acetone and you can see i have applied marine grade fiberglass bondo repair that will harden ready to sand in ~20 minutes:



And here i have acid washed the area, then after sanding cleaned again with acetone to prepare the area for one of three coats of grey epoxy paint:



And here it is with the first of three coats of epoxy paint:



I will update probably tomorrow after the last two coats go on (one more tonight as the temps are still hovering around 70! I may also go ahead and apply a couple coats of roll-on undercoating/bed-liner type paint just to finish off the area...but i'm still thinking that through. The three coats of epoxy paint will more than fix the situation, and in fact take the area beyond factory.

Until next update! Happy Trails.
Thom

[Mike Magee]

If it had been my trailer, I would have looked to the mfr to provide refinishing (or payment to have it done). I could never have done the sort of nice repair you performed. But you know how to fix it, and it looks like you may have felt good about doing it yourself. You did a fine job with it, too.

[accrete]

Thanks Mike, and i can imagine that Chandler will reimburse me for the small cost of repair-supplies since i am on the other side of the continent AND i was willing to do the work myself, with a smile! It should look nice once done.

I have worked on Corvettes back in the mid 1980's and had an expert coach/mentor on fiberglass repair on autos and also did extensive body work on a 1975 Toyota FJ40 restoration project (replacement parts in fiberglass), plus a sailing hydrofoil of my own design and kayak...each in glass.

Cheers,
Thom

[emers382]

We're actually NOT going to be able to stop at Parkliner today as much as I'd like to, as we have booked a 19 and 5.0 Escape to see and need to get to mid-PA tonight. We'll likely be back in NC in November so if we still are not yet an egg-owner may check out PL then. Hope Chandler gets this tire rub issue fixed to please all the owners.

Adrian

[cpaharley2008]

Thom,
If you keep adding more paint and undercoat, you may eliminate your "safety" zone with the new tires as you are making the clearances smaller?
I wish though I had the skills to work on fiberglass as many others have demonstrated here on the forum. Nice job!!

[accrete]

Hi Jim,
I appreciate the thought and observations.
As an FYI, the three epoxy paint coats will add no more than 0.012 inch to the surface of the well. And the fiberglass repair i did only filled up that which was _rubbed_ away.

Adrian...have an enjoyable trip!