New 2014 Camplite 21BHS

[tinkeringtechie]

I assumed the screws were torx, but now I see there are indeed 8 points...

[charliem]

[font size="3"][font face="arial"]Spray on insulation: Yes, mine is a disappointment too. Much less than I expected, but I had no sample to judge by.

On the trim screws: Mine appear to not be SS. The heads are magnetic. I always use/replace with SS outside. The 8 point head is purely a mater of preference/convenience/commonality. Phillips pan heads would work, but the 8 points are a bit better if you can find them. BTW I found there is a difference between self tapping and sheet metal screws. Thanks to my hardware guy (Ace is the place.........., also 1000 bins) the self tapping version has a sort of drill bit included in the screw point. No pre-drilling in soft materiel. Who knew?

On the battery: I agree. I don't need or want it. I probably won't replace it when it dies.

On the extra holes: You wanted a light weight trailer, didn't you?  
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[tinkeringtechie]

[quote source="/post/638/thread" timestamp="1398100228" author="@charliem"][font size="3"][font face="arial"]Spray on insulation: Yes, mine is a disappointment too. Much less than I expected, but I had no sample to judge by.
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I emailed LivinLite about it to see if this was normal and they said that it's actually a ceramic coating that's intended as a heat barrier. So at least I feel better knowing that it's not defective, just not what I expected. I don't have much use for a heat barrier in the NW, but it might still be of some value if I venture into warmer areas. They're also looking into my water heater issue. If the dealer ever responds at least I'll have both sides of the story.

[quote source="/post/638/thread" timestamp="1398100228" author="@charliem"][font size="3"][font face="arial"]On the extra holes: You wanted a light weight trailer, didn't you?  
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Good point, maybe I should drill some more   In road biking it's done all the time by the "weight weenies"

[charliem]

[font size="3"][font face="arial"]Knowing what I know now the ceramic spray is mostly for surface protection in environments of high heat, like automobile engine compartments or such. Not really thermal insulation. And with the thin, hap hazard application it really doesn't provide air blockage. Live and Learn (LL? ).
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[tinkeringtechie]

LivinLite responded about the water heater and said it wasn't on the order. So it seems like the dealer actually dropped the ball. I'm hoping they can just credit me the difference in price. I think that's actually very fair since the alternative would be a lot of expensive labor to swap it out.

[tinkeringtechie]

I wonder if those "pool noodles" would fit between the gaps in the flooring. Or how about actually heating the floor itself:

[a href="http://www.amazon.com/SWS1000W-120-Volt-Electric-Radiant-Heating/dp/B004Z8J3RY/"]http://www.amazon.com/SWS1000W-120-Volt-Electric-Radiant-Heating/dp/B004Z8J3RY/[/a]

[charliem]

[font size="3"][font face="arial"]Weeeeeelllll.......... I don't think so. Unless you could completely cover the bottom with noodles the superb thermal conductivity of aluminum would defeat you. A sprayed on urethane foam might seal the cracks; more would actually provide insulation, but then that was what we were looking for in the first place. On the electric heat: first you'd have to make good thermal contact between the wires and the floor. Then, without insulation (remember the foam we were looking for) you'd lose at least 1/2 to the outside world. And it would require a tremendous amount of power. The power density is 12 watts/sq.ft.  Even if you only covered half the floor space it would be about 900 watts, putting 450 watts into the camper. Fine if you're plugged in but not so if off the grid. The best solution I can find is insulating the floor inside the camper with rubber mats and heating with an electric space heater when power is available. Otherwise we're on propane.
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[tinkeringtechie]

Good points. We boondock about half the time, so heating the floor wouldn't work for those cases (and it's expensive to install). Another thing to consider is that even if I perfectly insulated the floor and it was the exact same temperature as the surrounding air, it would still feel cold because of the conductivity. My wife isn't a fan of the mats though, so maybe slippers for everyone and a really thick bath mat.

[fasteddieb]

I was just thinking slippers.

Or do a Google image search for "foot warmers"!

[fasteddieb]

Here's my install of boxes on my 21BHS:






The rear is the backup battery for the breakaway brakes, and I assume the smaller is the junction box.

Only mod I made is swapping the location of the battery and the propane.

[tinkeringtechie]

That's the spot and the profile. My guess is that they prepare these frames ahead of time and they made a design change and had to go back and remove it from all the prepared frames. It will be interesting to see if it stays that way for all future Camplites. It seems like they're making incremental improvements pretty regularly. Here are the ones I noticed:

from 2013 to 2014:
[ul type="disc"][li]above bed cabinet hinges are now horizontal instead of vertical[/li][li]slide-out dinette has exterior storage compartment[/li][/ul]
mid-2014 revisions:
[ul type="disc"][li]added shower skylight[/li][li]removed break-away battery[/li][li]moved pump and water heater switch to kitchen wall instead of fridge wall (for those of us with little kids this is extremely helpful)[/li][/ul][div]
I'm sure there are more that we can't even see, but those are the visible changes that I noticed.[/div]

[djsamuel]

[quote source="/post/676/thread" timestamp="1398268680" author="@tinkeringtechie"]That's the spot and the profile. My guess is that they prepare these frames ahead of time and they made a design change and had to go back and remove it from all the prepared frames. It will be interesting to see if it stays that way for all future Camplites. It seems like they're making incremental improvements pretty regularly. Here are the ones I noticed:

from 2013 to 2014:
[ul type="disc"][li]above bed cabinet hinges are now horizontal instead of vertical[/li][li]slide-out dinette has exterior storage compartment[/li][/ul]
mid-2014 revisions:
[ul type="disc"][li]added shower skylight[/li][li]removed break-away battery[/li][li]moved pump and water heater switch to kitchen wall instead of fridge wall (for those of us with little kids this is extremely helpful)[/li][/ul][div]
I'm sure there are more that we can't even see, but those are the visible changes that I noticed.[/div][/quote]My 2013 21BHS has horizontal hinges above the bed; but I do not have the dinette exterior storage compartment.  That would be a nice addition.

My water heater switch is on the side of the kitchen cabinet, to the left as you walk in the door; but the pump switch is near the refrigerator.

[charliem]

[quote source="/post/676/thread" timestamp="1398268680" author="@tinkeringtechie"]It seems like they're making incremental improvements pretty regularly. Here are the ones I noticed:

from 2013 to 2014:
[ul type="disc"][li]above bed cabinet hinges are now horizontal instead of vertical[/li][li]slide-out dinette has exterior storage compartment[/li][/ul]
mid-2014 revisions:
[ul type="disc"][li]added shower skylight[/li][li]removed break-away battery[/li][li]moved pump and water heater switch to kitchen wall instead of fridge wall (for those of us with little kids this is extremely helpful)[/li][/ul][div]
I'm sure there are more that we can't even see, but those are the visible changes that I noticed.[/div][/quote][font size="3"][font face="arial"]One additional improvement is the bed mattress. The 2012/2013 models we saw on lots had the standard 4" cheap mattre[/font][font face="arial"]ss and I was ready to immediately replace it. When the Camplite was delivered in December, 2013 my wife immediately noticed  the full 8" non-foam mattress. That was a pleasant surprise. Much better. It's made by "never heard of em" mfg so no more info. Might be available from LL as a retrofit/upgrade.

And I'm really waiting to see if the shower skylight becomes standard. I hope so.
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[tinkeringtechie]

[quote source="/post/679/thread" timestamp="1398271573" author="@djsamuel"]My 2013 21BHS has horizontal hinges above the bed; but I do not have the dinette exterior storage compartment.  That would be a nice addition.[/quote]
The hinges might have been an earlier change, though I remember seeing some 2013's with the vertical ones. The exterior dinette storage is not very big, but it's handy for long skinny items and makes a shelf by the dinette window for condiments, napkins, etc...

[quote source="/post/679/thread" timestamp="1398271573" author="@djsamuel"]My water heater switch is on the side of the kitchen cabinet, to the left as you walk in the door; but the pump switch is near the refrigerator.[/quote]
Our's is on the wall next to the stove (below where the microwave would go).

[tinkeringtechie]

[quote source="/post/596/thread" timestamp="1397913752" author="@charliem"][font size="3"][font face="arial"] The WH itself should be a drop in replacement. The hardest part is running the AC wire and mounting the 120V switch. Mine has a red lighted household toggle switch mounted next to the kitchen counter and an additional circuit breaker in the power panel.
[/font][/font][/quote]Where is the additional breaker? The dealer gave us a refund for the difference and I purchased the 2-way version. I can add it to an existing circuit like the microwave since we don't have one, but I'm thinking the single wide breaker they used for the converter could be swapped out for a double 15A breaker. Here's what our's currently looks like.

[attachment id="66" thumbnail="1"][attachment id="67" thumbnail="1"]

Where is your water heater breaker?