Jim McGarvie

One of our sons has a 3-prong 220 6-50p outlet in his shop, and a heavy duty extension cord he runs welders etc. from. He wants an adapter to plug into that cord that he can plug his motorhome cable into with a 50A/30A dog bone. ASSUMING for the sake of discussion (I will make sure he confirms) that his outlet is correctly wired (two 110V legs and ground, no neutral) and the extension cord is adequately sized, is there a way of doing what he wants? The only thing I can think of is for him to make an adapter that utilizes one of the 110V legs and the ground, and connects the ground to the neutral on the 30A RV receptacle.

But I'm not at all certain that is a good idea. Comments from someone more knowledgeable (which is probably most of you) are welcome!

Thanks.

Jim

9 hours ago, Tom Wallis said:

The Starlink Gen I router apparently has an ethernet port. The Gen II Starlink router does not and if you need one you can order an ethernet adapter cable from them for an extra $20.

Thanks for that info, Tom. I think I will do that.

10 minutes ago, JDCrow said:

There is an cat Jack out their router for hardwired if you want.

Is that the original router? I've heard the new ones don't have an Ethernet jack.

18 minutes ago, Tom Wallis said:

If all you need in the house is Wifi and your motorhome is parked by your house, you may not even need to take it out of the motorhome.

The WiFi in the Starlink router is that strong? That would be nice. Although the RV is in a separate building so I don't think it would get the satellite signals through the roof.

Just now, Tom Wallis said:

It is very easy to unplug the dish form the mount it comes with. If you do a pole mount on the motorhome and buy an extra cable it should be fairly easy to move just the dish and router back and forth.

Thanks for that info, Tom. I am leaning toward a pole mount on the motorhome, and maybe even at the side of the house so I can lower the dish without climbing on the roof. Sounds feasible.

I was excited about the immediate availability of Starlink for RVs and nearly pulled the trigger, but then our particular reality struck. We cannot justify (read: afford) adding Starlink to our motorhome in addition to the $110/mo. subscription to our cable Internet service at home. It only pencils out if Starlink replaces our cable service.

But if we use Starlink for RVs, as I understand it our priority will be lower than Residential Starlink everywhere, including the 95% of the time we are home. I don't think I can live with that performance degradation.

So I spent the $99 for the deposit for Residential, and I will just have to wait for however long it takes in our area (described on the Starlink map as "expanding in 2023"). I can accept the delay; we have good Internet service at home, and most of the time acceptable service on the road via cellular.

My question to those of you who are using Starlink both at home and on the road has to do with your installation at home. Have you discovered a reasonable way of installing the system at home so that it is fairly easy to remove the dish from your house? I don't think there is a spot in our yard where I would have reception if I didn't mount the dish on the roof.

And how do you route the cable into the house so that it is removable to take with you? Or can you just buy a second cable to keep in the motorhome and leave the other cable at home?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Jim

15 minutes ago, JDCrow said:

Home is also our Business at the moment. I need internet here for access for clients to our dog park, and cameras, sprinklers, etc. 

It has to stay here 

OK, got it. Thanks for the explanation.

I will be eagerly following this thread. I almost pulled the trigger on StarLink RV a couple of days ago, but changed my mind. It only pencils out for us if we can replace our current cable Internet provider, and that can't happen with the reduced priority service of the RV model. I think I will have to wait a year or two for the Residential and add portability.

I'll be very interested in your experience.

Another thought: If you already have StarLink at home why would you not just add the Portability function instead of a whole new service/equipment?

40 minutes ago, granvillebarker said:

It amazes me how many of you service your own tires.

--

Granville Barker

  

That amazed me as well. That is one thing I do NOT do on our coach!

I have a little different slant on this conversation. I have been riding and driving in Baja for 40 years and thousands of miles, including border to Cabo. I love it down there, and love the people. We have never felt threatened by anyone.

But those miles were all off road. A couple of weeks ago my wife and I took our Jeep down with five other couples, drove 840 miles, almost entirely on what they call "highways." We were scared s**tless a few times (and I'm fearless). For the most part the highways are in good condition, but they are narrow and have little or no shoulder. The truck traffic was terrific, and some of the drivers were downright dangerous. Oncoming trucks veered into our lane on more than one occasion.

At one point we were keeping up with traffic on a hilly, curvy section of highway and I was watching a truck several vehicles behind us as it passed those vehicles. The truck was on the left side of the two-lane road (in the oncoming lane) for over two miles, around blind corners and over blind hills. As it approached us it saw oncoming traffic just in time, and pulled in behind us. And I mean right behind us. All I could see in the rear view mirror was radiator. After a mile or two like that we finally came upon a place to pull off the road and let it pass, and we did so.

More than once we said to each other "Good thing we weren't in our motorhome." And NEVER drive down there a night.

YMMV.

1 minute ago, Ray Davis said:

I'm dealing with a bunch of kids here 😁

81 and still doing it all.  I didn't exactly plan it that way, it's just that time goes by whether we are ready or not, so here I am.                                                                          We, Marilyn and I, are trully blessed that we can still get outside and do things ( labor& sweat ).   Must admit I've slowed down a lot, an hour job might take all day.            Or, maybe we can still do those things because we have kept at it. I'll give my DW the credit , she can work circles around me so I try in vain to keep up with her.        She's great, and by far the best thing that ever happened to me.                                                                                                                                                                          Fortunately we are both on the smallish side, it helps getting under the coach etc.

Rik, is that the grease whatchemacallit that locks onto the zirk?  I need something that locks on  Mine gives me fits slipping off.

Rats, I thought I might win the contest. In July I'll only be 79. I've done almost all of my own work up until now, but I'm thinking of taking it to the shop this time. The biggest issue for me is probably the mess of dealing with the drained oil and tranny fluid.

5 hours ago, Dr4Film said:

Jim,

I would start by calling Shurflo customer service and talk with them as to what would be their current model that would be a "plug-n-play" to replace your current pump.

I prefer using the Remco Aqua-Jet ARV-55 variable speed water pump. I've been using them for years and they are very reliable.

Remco 55-AQUAJET Industries 55AQUAJET-ARV Aqua Jet H2O Pump 5.3 Gpm 12V | RV Water Pump Systems

Thanks Richard. I didn't find a website for Shurflo yesterday, but this morning found that apparently it is now Pentair. I will give them a call.

And thanks for the tip about the Remco. I will definitely look into that. Do you carry a spare pump?

8 hours ago, Bob Jones said:

With respect to cycling, if you have an accumulator already in your system this should not be an issue. If you don't, then maybe one of those more expensive variable pumps might be in order.

EDIT: I just looked into your pump and it is the high end variable output design. My post will likely not apply. 

Thanks for the input Bob. We do not currently have an accumulator, so I think I would like to stick with a variable speed pump.

We have been using subject pump for several years and are very happy with it. Very quiet, plenty of output, no cycling. I would like to purchase another for a spare, but they no longer seem to be available. Any suggestions for a similar replacement? I would like it to be plug and play, with the same form factor, mounting, and plumbing fittings. If I need to install it, it will be because we are boondocking and I won't want a time-consuming installation.

Thanks.

Jim

20 minutes ago, vegaman19760 said:

We have had AAA RV for many years.  We get all the maps and books and use them often. 

 

We have had AAA RV for many years also. Haven't checked out their printed pubs in ages. Maybe worth another look. Thanks for the tip.

8 hours ago, JDCrow said:

Check out IEXIT in Apple App Store. I haven’t used it yet, just started messing with it. You can custom search for a variety of services based on your location 

Thanks, JD, that looks like a nice app for preflight planning. But as I said, my wife doesn't drive and won't use a GPS or device, so she needs something on paper.

1 hour ago, Gary M said:

Can’t answer that but my so called co-pilot sits there with her IPad Pro with all the RV apps I installed and she ends up handing it to me as she can’t figure them out. But miss a QVC sale, oh no, catches them all.

Thought I’d give ya a laugh!!!

😂

I see this topic is pretty old, but I'm hoping to revive it with this question:

While I am a fan of Apple Maps and the like, my wife won't drive our motorhome, nor can she use a GPS or smart phone. So while I am driving I rely upon her for using a book like Next Exit to find a rest area or fuel stop. Next Exit is great, but are there any similar books which are not confined to Interstate highways only?

No apologies necessary, Scotty. You are doing a fantastic job!

Picture?

Very interesting debate. When I installed a residential fridge in our coach, I read all the pros and cons, and for me it was no-brainer: Treat the residential fridge as though it were in a residence; i.e., no exterior vent. I have pretty good space around the fridge, as called for in the installation manual. Had I left the exterior vents open they would let air in and out, usually contrary to what we are trying to do with our rig's insulation, furnace and air conditioning. Oh, and then there is the dust we often find when boondocking in the desert.

Just my two cents worth. This is like debating politics or religion. YMMV.

3 hours ago, Gary 05 AMB DST said:

Does it make a difference that residential is 24v and RV is 12v?

Gary 05 AMB DST

I don't think so, Gary. I don't think you use the power wire anyway.

58 minutes ago, Tom Wallis said:

Honeywell RTH111B1016/E1 Digital Non-Programmable Thermostat

I originally bought it on Amazon but the link doesn't work anymore. If you do a name search a few different options come up for it.

Thanks Tom.

7 hours ago, Tom Wallis said:

Several years ago I replaced the old analog thermostat with a basic digital Honeywell thermostat with a battery in it. It's not programmable but it holds the temperature way more accurately than the analog did. I turn it way down at night but not off in cold weather (we've stayed where it's in the teens or single digits at night.) Unfortunately I have to get out of bed and turn it up in the morning but I usually get back in bed till it warms up a little. Even when dry camping I don't usually run the generator until we get up. The batteries will handle the heater blower all night with no problem.

Thanks Tom. If I can't find a programmable option I may go that route. Do you happen to know the Honeywell model number?

8 hours ago, vito.a said:

Have you looked at any of the new aftermarket programmable RV thermostats?  

Micro-Air EasyTouch RV Thermostat (continuousresources.com)

Thanks Vito. Yes, I checked that one out, and for a replacement for our old Dometic analog thermostat it says "coming soon." I will keep checking.