This week I dropped the Sunflower off at an RV service station to get her ball bearings packed.
Why does she look like she's surrounded by hungry wolves?
Showing posts with label maintenance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label maintenance. Show all posts
Friday Teardrop Photo
This week I dropped the Sunflower off at an RV service station to get her ball bearings packed.
Why does she look like she's surrounded by hungry wolves?
Teardrops as Low Maintenance Fun
I was just thinking this weekend that a teardrop trailer is not only a useful way to organize your camping gear and tow your necessary items to your favorite national parks, but it's also a fairly low maintenance toy. We have had higher maintenance toys in the past: sailboats, quads, scooters, and motorcycles. Each of these have had to be repaired, filled with fuel or maintained throughout the winter. Not so with the teardrop.
Of course, teardrop trailers do need some TLC. They need to be periodically cleaned and if you have a sink or refrigerator, these need to be kept in working order. I do spend some money every year getting the ball bearings in the axle repacked and I replace the tires every few years. I spend a whole 15 minutes in late fall taking out the battery and putting it on a trickle charger for the colder months. That's about it.
I do anticipate having to replace the hydraulic lifts on my galley in a few years and getting some repairs done on my front jack. But because my teardrop is so well made, I can save up and pay cash for these repairs when they are needed. However, the more you do maintain your trailer before you hit the road, the more fun you will have with it.
Of course, teardrop trailers do need some TLC. They need to be periodically cleaned and if you have a sink or refrigerator, these need to be kept in working order. I do spend some money every year getting the ball bearings in the axle repacked and I replace the tires every few years. I spend a whole 15 minutes in late fall taking out the battery and putting it on a trickle charger for the colder months. That's about it.
I do anticipate having to replace the hydraulic lifts on my galley in a few years and getting some repairs done on my front jack. But because my teardrop is so well made, I can save up and pay cash for these repairs when they are needed. However, the more you do maintain your trailer before you hit the road, the more fun you will have with it.
Winterizing the teardrop battery
Unfortunately, I live in an area where we really can't go camping all year long. So in the winter months I cover up the teardrop, take the battery out and put it on a trickle charger. If you leave the battery in a teardrop trailer all winter long without using it, the power will drain and it won't hold a charge...putting you about $250 into the hole for a new battery.
So I take out the battery and hook it up to an inexpensive trickle charger I bought at an RV store. The charger is called the Battery Tender and runs off a regular power strip. When connecting your battery to the charger, be sure to connect the positive and negative connections first and then plug the charger in. It will take a few days for the battery to charge up (depending on the size and how much of a charge it needs) and then you can unplug it. Plug it in a few more times over the course of the winter to maintain your battery's charge.
Photos by Christina Nellemann
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| The Sunflower's galley and battery cabinet (which it shares with my pots and pans) |
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| The battery on the charger |
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| A bad photo of the Battery Tender |
So I take out the battery and hook it up to an inexpensive trickle charger I bought at an RV store. The charger is called the Battery Tender and runs off a regular power strip. When connecting your battery to the charger, be sure to connect the positive and negative connections first and then plug the charger in. It will take a few days for the battery to charge up (depending on the size and how much of a charge it needs) and then you can unplug it. Plug it in a few more times over the course of the winter to maintain your battery's charge.
Photos by Christina Nellemann
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