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  1. Bocefus78 Feeling the Heat

    joined: Jul 27, 2010
    465 posts
    Just Outside Indy
    I just purchased a 21 year old 5th wheel to perm park at my little camp spot. First project is going to be resealing the roof. The previous ower had a leak. Its fixed now but he used black goopy roof tar or whatever on the seams.

    #1: Should I just use that stuff on the whole thing or should I go with the good stuff from Menards thats made specifically for EPDM roofing. The next question is should I keep doing the tar stuff on the seams or will the Menards stuff bond to the tar?

    #2: How much propane will the fridge use in a day?

    #3: Please explain the winterizing process

    #4: If I replace the crappy built in tapedeck radio with an actual car unit, how much more battery power is it going to draw?

    #5. I see people with nicer units have an indoor battery meter. How much are they and how hard to hook up?

    Any other info a newbie could use will be much appreciated!
    #1

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  2. DAKSY Super Moderator

    #1 - Can't help you...
    #2 - Find the BTU/HR rating of the fridge. There are approximately 92K BTU in a gallon of LP. Do the math.
    #3 - You hafta get ALMOST every drop of water out of every line in the unit. BOTH feeds & drains. Low spots in the plumbing are the WORST. A compressor & a Shrader valve to make a positive connection to the lines will be required. Once they're as clear as you can get them, add RV Anti-freeze to the lines, especially the P or S traps in the drains. An RV place will give you more detailed instructions & have the products you need. The gf's mother places moth balls & dryer sheets in all the cabinets to deter rodentia...
    #4 - I don't think there will be that much of a diffence between the OEM & newer units, unless you're powering some MONSTER speakers with a super Amp, but you'll need an audiophile to verify that.
    #5 Can't help you...
  3. Backwoods Savage Minister of Fire

    joined: Feb 14, 2007
    24,148 posts
    Michigan
  4. fossil Super Moderator

    joined: Sep 30, 2007
    9,147 posts
    Bend, Oregon
  5. smoke show Minister of Fire

    joined: Apr 17, 2008
    4,608 posts
    Pittsfield, Wi
    certified106 likes this.
  6. jeff_t Minister of Fire

    joined: Sep 14, 2008
    2,691 posts
    SE MI
    #1 Use the stuff for a rubber roof.

    #2 You can go for a long time on a 30# tank. Depends on how much you open the door. It's kinda like a radiant stove, as it doesn't move any air, and the quicker you are out of it, the better it will work. It took a long time for me to get that thru to my wife. A small fan for that purpose can be bought from an RV store, like Camping World, and helps a lot. It will run for weeks on 2 D batteries.

    #3 I'll add that I have a bypass for the water heater, and I fill the lines with antifreeze. Takes about 1.5 gallons for me.

    #4 I don't think I've ever turned my radio on, except when I bought it.

    #5 Pick one up at Camping World with the fridge fan. Pretty simple.

    I'm sure there is a Camping World around Indy? It's not inexpensive, but it's a good, one stop shop for that kind of stuff. Or Amazon.

    My last unit had a flat roof. I had some trouble with the roof leaking around the a/c. Turned out that I just had to tighten the thing up, but the interim solution was to crank it up 3-4" high in the front. It actually didn't leak any more for the rest of the trip, and it became a standard practice for me to leave it a bit high in the front. Also helped condensate from the a/c run off the back and away from the door. Your supposed to keep it as level as possible for the gas absorption refrigerator, but it wasn't enough to cause a problem. The new one has a radius roof, so now I park it level again.
  7. woodgeek Minister of Fire

    joined: Jan 27, 2008
    1,421 posts
    SE PA
  8. Highbeam Minister of Fire

    Petroleum is bad mojo for a rubber roof but at 21 years it is not likely to matter much as these things just don't last that long.

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