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Date:         Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:01:57 -0700
Reply-To:     PB <pbrattan@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         PB <pbrattan@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: First camping trip!
Comments: To: Edward Duntz <eduntz@hotmail.com>
In-Reply-To:  <BLU136-W41ACB8165E262B3D1787D9DB6E0@phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252

I forgot to mention that there will be no electrical hookups, and no hot showers, but "down the road" there are coin operated hot showers. My husband and I have a small motorhome, and we actually drove from CA to NJ and back during the winter about 10 yrs ago, but it was fully self-contained and had a generator, so it was more like riding around in our house! It's only 23 ft long, but is a Class A, and I'm afraid to drive it! It's much too wide for my driving comfort. I think the Westy will be much more more manageable, once I get the "camping routine" down. Patti ******************************

On Mon, Aug 18, 2008 at 6:29 AM, Edward Duntz <eduntz@hotmail.com> wrote:

> I would get the Mr. Heater Buddy heater. I think it gives you much more > flexibility, and even with a 1-lb cylinder, doesn't last that less a time > than the others. I have a Dynaglo brand almost identical to it, but cheaper. > It gives you the flexiblilty of using a larger tank, so you don't wake up > cold in the middle of the night. (Some people warn against sleeping with > them left on; that's another topic of discussion. I would recommend a > combination CO and smoke detector and keeping the heater in a safe location, > with the bulk propane tank stored outside your van. Or plumb it into your > stock tank under the van) > > Mine takes a few tries to light. If I think I'll be warm for a while, but > may want to re-light it in the middle of the night, to make it easier, I > don't turn it off completely, but leave it on the pilot setting. Then when I > want to put it on the low or high setting, it's very fast and I don't neet > to keep hitting the piezo-electric lighter. Coleman lists run time on the > Black Cat as seven hours. You can get six out of the Mr. Buddy type on low > setting. Slightly mre heat, slightly less time. And if it gets really cold, > you will need the high setting of the Mr. Buddy. > > As for the Dometic- I had tried to get mine to light on propane with no > success. I could have pulled it out to do the whole troubleshooting routine, > but I guess I wasn't ambitious enough. I used it for dry storage, and > brought along an Igloo 5-day cooler. I would keep five to ten pounds of ice > in one of those "dry bags" uusally used to keep your belongings dry while > rafting. I'd keep this on top of my food. This way, I never got my food all > wet from dripping ice bags. > > I finally decided I wanted something better. I was tired of dragging along > the cooler, having it in the way, and having a fridge that didn't work well. > So I invested in the Vitrifrigo that you may have seen mentioned on the > list. (www.westyventures.com, then "parts" and see the installation of > Karl Mullendore's) It runs on a.c.(if you pay a little extra for that model) > or dc. I use two extra deep-cycle batteries under my rear seat for it. I > used it last weekend in Ontario, Canada, and loved it. Installation was a > bit of a pain, but it is a real working rerigerator. > > If your Dometic works on a.c. and d.c., I would make a modest effort to use > it on propane, and see how well it cools. Some people get them going without > too much effort. If you're more ambitious, take it out and troubleshoot > using Frank Condelli's web page description. > > Good Luck, > Ed Duntz in CT > > > > ------------------------------ > Be the filmmaker you always wanted to be—learn how to burn a DVD with > Windows(R). Make your smash hit<http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/108588797/direct/01/> >


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