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Old 04-21-2014, 01:09 PM   #1
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Just returned home from our first time out.

I had to leave town last week for work. I got home Friday night so Saturday we loaded up and went to Scott County Park for Easter. It was our first time out in the new camper. I dewinterized on this trip. I am surprised Crossroads does not put the location of the bypass valves in the manual. Or use labels to help you locate them. But removing all the panels aloud me to see where all the mechanicals were and do a little inspection.
I can see this is were some mods are going to start. It would be nice for these to be hinge and use quick release latches. I will have to really look into this. No need to pull out tools to get to an area you need access to on multiple occasions.
It was a fun time. Very little packing required. It's nice having the storage space to leave all the camping stuff in the camper. I could not do that in our previous 8' pop up. Quick to break down and leave the CG too. It towed well. I left the tanks empty during towing. I should have filled the water tank and tried the pump.

Here is a picture with the LED'S lit up.

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Old 04-21-2014, 02:58 PM   #2
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Very nice pic. Crossroads manual are useless. As I stated in another post they need to hire a technical writer.
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Old 04-21-2014, 03:25 PM   #3
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Happy Easter. And great pic.
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Old 04-21-2014, 03:41 PM   #4
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looking good, glad you guys had a good first trip
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Old 04-21-2014, 05:57 PM   #5
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Looks good. We thought about putting hinges and locks on ours but never did. Probably should have because after a few years the screws are starting to strip out. this is what I thought about using.
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Old 04-21-2014, 07:52 PM   #6
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The lights are great.
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Old 04-21-2014, 08:02 PM   #7
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The LED's in the picture are the RGB strips. So you can select the color and dim them. I was surprised by the amount of light they put off.

Had to empty the gray tank a couple times. So I see why some models have larger or multiple gray tanks. My wife loved having an actual kitchen when camping. Which may account for all the water used. If we do any camping with out sewer hookups we have to be cautious on water.
Plus the refrigerator and freezer was nice. The ice cream was a nice touch to have with our Dutch oven cooked cherry cobbler.

I think next week end we are taking it out again. The following weekend will be towing it about 60 miles. I just hope I don't get called out of town for work the next couple weeks.
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Old 04-21-2014, 08:58 PM   #8
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Time to learn how to take navy showers (turn water on, get wet, turn water off, soap up and put shampoo in hair, quick rinse, turn water off, if necessary, condition hair and do another quick rinse). The wife will need to learn how to shave with very little water in tub (I usually collect some with the wet down or rinse off to use). Other option is to use bath house for showers. Cutting down on water with dishwashing has been my nemesis. I have learned to rinse silverware in bulk and use paper plates and plastic cups and utensils when on partial hook ups. Some have been known to use wash basins and empty them into their black tank. One other option is to get a Portable waste tank. We just use full hook ups at every opportunity. That said, I think our next trailer will have a larger grey tank.
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Old 04-21-2014, 09:11 PM   #9
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It's not only CR manuals that are useless. I've owned a Coachmen when they were still Coachmen and two Forest Rivers besides my Cruiser and the owner's manuals have been useless in all four of them.
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Old 04-22-2014, 06:08 AM   #10
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Where did you connect the lights. We have a similar strip that I want to install but just haven't decided where and how. On the subject of waste, I was impressed with my family over spring break. My wife, 2 girls and myself for 5 days and we did not fill the tanks. I brought my portable waste tank for nothing. Very few State Parks in Florida have full hook ups.
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Old 04-22-2014, 08:32 AM   #11
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Sounds like a good first time out to me! We, too, were at Scott County Park. We saw your camper pull in, as were are always on the lookout for Crossroads products. Good idea, putting some kind of hinge on the panel that hides the water heater and pump. I think I'll give that some thought, too. Many more happy outings to you.
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Old 04-22-2014, 09:00 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bert View Post
Where did you connect the lights. We have a similar strip that I want to install but just haven't decided where and how. On the subject of waste, I was impressed with my family over spring break. My wife, 2 girls and myself for 5 days and we did not fill the tanks. I brought my portable waste tank for nothing. Very few State Parks in Florida have full hook ups.
I decided to put the led strip under the gutter or channel for the awning. I thought about trying to run the power out of the outside porch light. But then I just decided to drill a small hole and seal it for the wires to come thru. I put a splice in the led strip there. So the power is applied toward the center of the strip and not at the end of the led strip. I bought a T adaptor to use in that area. I thought that would be the cleanest method. I can take pictures if you want. The led controller is inside under the cabinet. For electricity I tied into the porch lite switch and got the ground from the slide out motor. All of the wiring is hid in the cabinet with the factory wiring.



As far as my water usage or Grey tank, we showered in the CG restrooms. Most of the water was from washing hands and doing dishes. We have to be more diligent with the usage during dishes. We hate buying the disposable stuff unless it is a big family get together.
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Old 04-22-2014, 09:41 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by jakesz28 View Post
I decided to put the led strip under the gutter or channel for the awning. I thought about trying to run the power out of the outside porch light. But then I just decided to drill a small hole and seal it for the wires to come thru. I put a splice in the led strip there. So the power is applied toward the center of the strip and not at the end of the led strip. I bought a T adaptor to use in that area. I thought that would be the cleanest method. I can take pictures if you want. The led controller is inside under the cabinet. For electricity I tied into the porch lite switch and got the ground from the slide out motor. All of the wiring is hid in the cabinet with the factory wiring.



As far as my water usage or Grey tank, we showered in the CG restrooms. Most of the water was from washing hands and doing dishes. We have to be more diligent with the usage during dishes. We hate buying the disposable stuff unless it is a big family get together.

Did you use adhesive or brackets to hold the LED strip in place?
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Old 04-22-2014, 09:44 AM   #14
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I used the 3M adhesive that was on the led strip I purchased.
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Old 04-22-2014, 01:46 PM   #15
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We have a shower in our unit, no tub, and this is how I shave in the shower. I put some water into a small pail. I mix the hot and cold while doing that. Then I wet the areas I want to shave (like my legs). Then I apply shave gel. I rinse my hands in the pail. I shave, and use the water in the pail to swish off the razor. When I am all done, I pour the water down the toilet.

We have 2 X 40 gal. gray tanks and can go a whole week without dumping. For the dishes, I either save them up all day or use a basin in the sink and dump that either in the toilet or outside or in a privy. As for washing my hair (which is long), I either use the outside shower, or wash it over said basin (in the shower) and dump that in the toilet. The Navy shower uses little water.
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Old 04-27-2014, 02:26 PM   #16
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Just returned from our second weekend out. Talked to the wife about how dishes and rinsing was done. Plus I cut down on going inside to rinse my hands off and used the outside hydrant. Only dumped the Grey tank once. That was right before we left. The tub and shower were used a couple times to this time.
Next weekend we won't have sewer hookups, maybe not even water. So we will have to watch our water use.
We have been using an electric ceramic heater to cut down on propane use. But this morning we tripped a breaker a few times with that and a coffee pot running at the same time. I wonder if the 50 amp service is worth it to prevent problems with tripping breakers? I wanted to add electric heat to the water heater to save the propane when we are plugged in to power.
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Old 04-27-2014, 03:02 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by jakesz28 View Post
Just returned from our second weekend out. Talked to the wife about how dishes and rinsing was done. Plus I cut down on going inside to rinse my hands off and used the outside hydrant. Only dumped the Grey tank once. That was right before we left. The tub and shower were used a couple times to this time.
Next weekend we won't have sewer hookups, maybe not even water. So we will have to watch our water use.
We have been using an electric ceramic heater to cut down on propane use. But this morning we tripped a breaker a few times with that and a coffee pot running at the same time. I wonder if the 50 amp service is worth it to prevent problems with tripping breakers? I wanted to add electric heat to the water heater to save the propane when we are plugged in to power.
Run an extension cord from the 20 amp service at the pedestal in thru the slide to power your electric heater.

You can also use a basin in the sink and then dump down toilet to help cut down the water going to grey tank.

I also bought a six gallon drinking water container to add water to my tank when too far to reach hydrant with hoses. It actually works pretty well.

I don't find that the hot water heater uses all that much propane. I turn off both the electric and propane to water heater and turn them on only when needed.
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Old 05-03-2014, 06:21 AM   #18
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Nice job with the LEDs. Where did you purchase them?
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Old 05-03-2014, 06:28 AM   #19
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I got those from amazon. The 5m strip, with 120 volt to 12 volt power supply, and controller were $20 a set. I ordered two sets then I bought a higher amperage controller from eBay for $10, so that I could hook both strip together.
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Old 05-04-2014, 03:30 PM   #20
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we used a router to make a frame for both the panels that screw on and made a door from the panel its not raised like the rest of the cabinets but you don't really notice.We built a door for the water heater and the water pump both got the idea from Hamops.1 thing I will point out and probably why rv manufacturers do not make these cabinets accessible is do not use this for storage.Heat, electricity, water and such are not spaces for storing supplies.We picked up the hardware for the cabinets at Lowes
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