Hello and welcome to the Colorado Camperman's RU-vid Channel! Here you'll find videos ranging from modifications & upgrades to our travel trailer, DIY projects for your RV, camping trip videos, improvements to our Colorado mountain property, RV/Camper product reviews, and general RV/Camping topics. I also share tips and tricks I've learned over the years. In the camping off-season (November-April) I strive to a video once a month and during the camping season (May-October) a video every 2-3 weeks.
Please also checkout my Amazon store at: www.amazon.com/shop/coloradocamperman There you will find gear I have used, items that I have done a video review of, and/or items that have appeared in my videos. I do not have a Patreon page, so, if you would like to support the channel, please visit my store. I make a small commission on any purchase you make at no additional cost to you.
Thank you for your support and for watching my videos!
Great video very simple instruction thank you my issue is and I’m not sure if you can help me with it or anyone for some reason the one I’m replacing was scraping on the ground. Just go ahead and replace it with another electrical tongue jack but I’m worried that it’s gonna scrape on the ground as well so I don’t wanna just replace it and have to keep replacing it. I’m pretty sure it was the scraping that ruined my last one so I’m not sure are there shorter ones like ones with a shorter steam on them either way I don’t know if there’s some way of making it so that it doesn’t scrape on the ground. I can’t seem to find any videos specifically about this issue. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
My In-Laws have a foot for the bottom of theirs that kicks up for transport. It looks like this: amzn.to/4forA54 You may be able to remove the one you have and put this one on instead.
There will be a bigger difference in fuel economy when towing. Diesels won't lose as many MPG's when pulling a load. Back when diesel fuel was cheaper than gasoline and it was only a $5k engine upgrade it made a lot of sense to get the diesel for improved fuel economy. Now that diesel fuel is more expensive and it's a $10k upgrade, the numbers aren't singing the same tune.
OK SOME SAFETY TIPS: Always use heavy duty DC breakers at the positive battery terminals before the wires go anywhere else. Always use a heavy duty breaker between your inverter and your batteries. Always use a breaker between your solar panel and your solar charge controller.. These breakers should be rated for the max current that will be drawn though those devices.. Keep your cables as short as you can and use the proper size wire that is rated for or even higher than the current that will be drawn through those devices. Check "amperage capacity for wire" charts (online) to determine what gauge wire that is required for your system.. You would be surprised at the number of DYI people who do not know what they are doing and end up with inverter cables heating up like a toaster element. Keep it safe.. do the research, use correct and safe wiring to avoid issues and a possible fire. More importantly, if you don't know what you are doing.. FIND SOMEONE WHO DOES
I bought one of these and it came with the walls.It was huge and I loved it but the only problem I had was taking it down by myself. I couldn't pull the top down for some reason. Also I am kind of short so I had a hard time getting the top up to begin with but I used some rocks to hold it down and used a stool to step on to pop it open. I recommend using 2 people to put it up and take it down.
@ColoradoCamperman I'm pretty much sold on this model for our small home. Eastern TX we have frequent storms / outages. In fact, this make model is on backorder around these parts. Thanks again.
@@CarolSanchez-dl6vg I wonder if you have the 4500 and not the 4550. The 4500 was recalled from Harbor Freight because of issues you're talked about. I ended up returning my 4500 and exchanged it for the 4550. The 4550 works fine for me.
@@ColoradoCamperman thatbsound good, but i had the 4550 and it doesn't work good. I onle can conected 2 fans and thats all. The other one (3500) was worked properly with 1 big samsung fridge, 1 55" tv, 1 standing fan, 1 fish tank, 1 deep freezer all together in the morning, and 1 portable a/c 12btu, the fridge, 2 phone chargers, 1 fish tank by nights without problems. Now i have the 5000 predator and I hope it will be bether than 4550. I forget to mentioned that 4550 can't run my fridge, only my fridge. Thats the reason why is trash for me.
@@CarolSanchez-dl6vg That's interesting, I wonder if you got a bad unit. It doesn't make sense that the 3500 would work with all that but the 4550 wouldn't. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Thanks Bob! We really enjoy our place. Thankfully it is pretty close to home, we didn't want anything too far away. I replaced the hydraulic fluid on the excavator yesterday. I talked to Ron with K&R and he said that may fix the problem. I'm hoping that it will. I'm heading up there again this weekend with the excavator, so we will see. The lil dude is getting huge! He is growing up fast. Thanks for the comment and watching!
Your tongue weight will likely be greater for a 5th wheel but overall tow capacity will be the same. I've never towed a 5th wheel but I've heard it is a more pleasant experience, especially with heavy loads. Check your truck manufacturer's towing guide/recommendations for more info. Thanks for watching.
We have the Gazelle tent (same maker of this popup). FYI: The Gazelle sight offers coupon codes and free shipping making it cheaper than Amazon. I love the ease of popup and put away and the height. I'm 4'11' & hubs is 6'4". I know some people use this as their tent as well but panels were extra expense compared to the just the tent. Re the breeze: we have an oscillating hanging rechargeable fan that has charge/battery indicator (25/50/75/100) that also stands on a builtin tripod/legs or a stub base. Nice review. Thanks.
Great and informative videos. I have almost the same set up Chev 2500 Dura Max Diesel (paid for 79K miles a single guy and want to travel the US and see sights Yep it is rough riding and like it simple as I can choose to topper camp, do a ABB Rental, hotel etc but do I look for a newer unit mini van to travel in more economical and user friendly. But then there is debt. Guess it’s a trade off I dislike debt Thanks for your videos
Very informative video and am considering buying this 10x10 tent. I have a paver patio this tent will be set up on and was thinking of buying weight bags you fill with sand and anchor the gommets to it, maybe using metal clips or something. What's you idea on that.
With solar, the only thing you have to worry about is your battery situation at night. During the day while the Sun is out, power is usually not a problem.
You make awesome videos with great explanations. I’m still trying to figure out if I can go all solar on a property I want to use as a weekend getaway. I intend on having generator for emergency backup. Can you recommend any peeps you know who do use all solar? Just starting my research and haven’t found a straightforward source for information yet.
Thank you! We watch Wild Wonderful Off Grid, they have a massive system and it's kinda complicated. We also watch Life Uncontained, their system is large but probably more simple than WWOG. Nomadic Fanatic also added a solar setup to his property not long ago, he probably has the simplest system out of the three. Hope that helps, thanks for watching!
I believe so, but I'm not 100%. I've only put about 20 hours on it so far. I've greased about every zerk I've seen, but I haven't taken off the plate on the tracks. Maybe it's in there?!? I'll have to check the next time I use it.
If I was only going to use it for light off roading and in town stuff, yes. For rougher trails/off road, id prefer a full suspension, so no. MokWheel has full suspension models I would look into if I was purchasing it myself.
When you hook up to shore power, shore power takes over. Depending on your RV and how it is hooked up, the batteries may or may not still be getting charged from solar. The AC power trickle charge on the battery will likely take over. But like I said, it depends on how everything is hooked up.
I saw that, that would be nice. Maybe I'm just getting old and haven't rode a bike enough, lol! I had a straight top rail mountain bike for years and it never bugged me. Maybe I'll just get used to this one. Thanks for watching!
Why?!? Because I have a real job and a real life outside of RU-vid. I do RU-vid on a very part time basis. So, when I have camping trips scheduled, I shoot videos. Sometimes it's ideal conditions, sometimes it's not!
It’s a good choice for a property: price, location, views. Thanks for giving your reasons for choosing this property. I like and agree with most of your reasons for purchasing this property. I have similar parameters in mind, like no HOA.
My question is from curious. I have a volvo 240 that haul about ton 1/2 kg (about 3000lbs) my question is I'm doing a ls swap on it. Lm7 from Silverado that can tow about 6000lbs but that counting the white of the truck. I think the only limitations i could have would be the unibody. I don't know if i would have to reinforce for towing about a 10ft or 12ft camper. I ask because I seen Renault duster haul camper of a ton or more. So i want to understand is in the usa towing is different from the rest of the world.
That's above my pay grade, lol! All I have to say is: just because you swap an engine out, that doesn't mean the rest of the vehicle can handle the additional stresses of a heavier load. Thanks for watching.
I built a 24' foot cargo camper some years back. Used it for 9 years with 300 watts of solar and two agm batteries. It worked great boon docking and I only needed my generator for ac and microwave just like you mentioned. I don't understand these huge solar systems you see. They still can't keep up with a roof top AC. But they seem way overkill for the other odd and ends. A moderate solar and battery setup paired with a good generator seems like the logical way to go.
THANK YOU!! I agree with everything you said. I don't understand it either and I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one out there that thinks this way. Thanks for the comment and watching!
You did forget how the topper makes sure that what you are hauling in the bed, let it be wood, garbage, or camping gear doesn't blow away or fall out of the bed. Great video btw.
A long time ago I bought a coiled pop up tent. It was dirt cheap. I think I paid $25 for it on Netmarket, which was owned by American online at the time. It unfolded like the coiled laundry hampers, but was much bigger. It took seconds to pop up and once upright, it was 7 ft tall and we placed a small table and 2 lounge chairs in it. We lined the floor with a tarp and at night, the lantern was lit. The screening wasn’t as dense as this tent, but it kept the mosques out. The real small bugs, noseeums, did get through, but hovered near the roof and didn’t bother us at all. The next morning they were dead on the table, then we swept them off and cleaned the table. During the day, no bugs were in the tent and you got air from all sides. That was the first time we didn’t light a fire at night. With this tent, we loaded everything into the car and then put this tent bag on top of everything. It’s still going strong after all these years.
@@ColoradoCamperman On one camping trip in lower Illinois, it got super windy and the only thing that happened was that one wall bowed in slightly. I had bought a propane camping stove with 2 burners at Costco. It had 25,000 btu burners for both burners and my friend was amazed that the stove was even cooking in those gale force winds. I had to agree, as the flames were\ going sideways even with the windscreens. With a Coleman kerosene stove, we were sure the flame would have been snuffed out. I found that those on the hot side, only cook at 14,500 btu and the other burner would cook at 7,250 btu and both would have to be on full. With the propane stove, you could independently control the heat. I also found out that the average kitchen stove is 14,500 btu.
We had one just like that last year… it didn’t even last one season. The zippers on both doors were so cheap they both tore out after 3 camping trips. It was also pretty useless during any rain (obviously since it’s just a screen room) but it tended to collapse when water gathered in the center of the roof. We were also frustrated we couldn’t “twist it back down” to the smaller storage size. We got ours off of Amazon, so I’m sure it was a cheaper overseas nock off of the real thing. We found a more traditional screen room tent with nice magnetic doors at camping world.
I think it would help to add that you are speaking about the northern 1/2 or 1/3 of the USA. Down here in the South, our situation is nearly 100% different. Solar does NOT work well over 100* F which is sort of minimal June-September down here. Solar seems to have a sweet spot about 65-85*F. I hear my neighbors with solar on their roof complaining of poor performance when they need it the most.
I figured out a really slick method to gain a grip on cargo loaded toward the cab. Just carry a long-handled garden hoe. Hook he blade over what ever you want to pull toward yourself by the tail gate.
The base is $9,900 now and the model I got is $10,700. They were $1,000 off when I bought it because it was an old model. The new models have a hydraulic cooler that mine doesn't have, wish it did.
@@kicker6274 Yeah, it was definitely a long drive! I'm still liking it though. I wish they did a better job at engine access though. It's a PITA to access the engine.
