The problem is your single valve faucet. Just replace it with a double handle faucet and that should fix the problem. I also suggest that you install an expansion tank for your Seaflo pump if it doesn't have a built-in tank already. This will improve your entire water flow system and prevent the pump from cycling frequently. Thanks for the video
Hi from Valley of the Gods in Utah. I am here from Quebec with my own cargo trailer conversion, which is built for boondocking only. I am still working on some installations, and one of them is the water heater which is similar to yours. You are correct in that adding cold water confuses the water heater and is hard to regulate. Here is my solution. Don't use the cold tap. Do all your temperature regulation with the water heater settings of flame and water flow. Old habits are hard to break. We get used to doing something one way, and it is hard to change. I have been boondocking for 5 years now, and have changed my ideas about a few things. One question that I asked myself was: Do I really need to run a separate cold water line to the kitchen sink tap? Cold water to drink is in a jug in the fridge. So I eliminated even running a separate cold water line. One water line serves me for both hot and cold water. The only water line into the RV is to the water heater, and I am building a bypass for it. If I don't want hot water at the sink at the moment, which is most of the time, why have the water heater fire up for no reason if I am just running the water for a few seconds, maybe to fill the dog's dish? There is also an issue of not having the luxury of unlimited water while boondock. Even if I had a "normal" hot water setup, you need to run the water a little to get hot, no matter what system you use. So I don't want to casually run water down the drain as I wait for the water to get hot. I tend to do more planning as to when I actually need hot water instead. So when I don't want hot water, the bypass valve is open and the water does not go to the water heater. The water line then acts as if it was a cold water line. When I am going to do dishes or have a shower, then I switch the water heater bypass valve to route the water through the water heater, giving me hot water at the kitchen sink or shower. I regulate the water temperature solely using the controls on the water heater. I will be able to reach the heater by sticking my arm out of the shower while showering if needed. But I will likely get the temperature where I want it before even stepping into the shower. At the moment I am using a shower tent and showering outside with the water heater mounted on a post on the truck bed. I do have a single tap like yours, but have plugged the end of one of the water lines at the sink since since is not needed with only one incoming water line. I have no holding tanks. I have a compost toilet, and my fresh water tank is a 60 gallon water bladder in the box of my Ram. Shower and sink drain onto the ground, which is legal on most BLM land.
Looking at ideas myself. The only thing about the bathroom I am looking at now (hindsight) is I wonder if the shower entrance should be away from the toilet. This way you don't need to trip over the toilet to get in and out. Yes it is always easy to be a Monday morning quarterback. For room someway to fold or elevate the head would give you more room, and under bed storage. Trying to figure that myself and still park a bike while traveling...
The slide idea others have offered is good, I would build a platform underneath to make the fridge sit flush with the counter, cut out and hinge the countertop. Similar to a chest freezer only with the countertop attached to the fridge lid.
Looking good. Lots of home comforts. 😁 Iv seen some folks make a drawer slide for their fridge. Or you could cut the base trim and mount the fridge to a board with small casters and roll it out. I think I'd be removing the hinge until I sorted it out. You've done a lot of nice work here. I'm interested to see what you change after using is for awhile. Cheers!
My honest feedback on those holding tanks . When they are filled and you are riding around the water and crap inside is going to be swishing around everytime you hit the brakes, take off . I don't see them straps holding too good. I'd get some angle iron and bolt them up to your frame or get some dimensions and have some one weld some frames up that you can bolt on.Remember water is 8 pounds a gallon and if those tanks are 15,20 gallons that's pretty heavy. Other than that coming along good.
Yeah I'm still not convinced this is going to handle all the weight on the road yet. I'll avoid riding with full tanks until I get more confidence from testing or building out improvements
Coming along nicely! Great build so far. Heard other fixes about the hot water... I don't have that issue with two knobs... Just mix it the way you want. Thanks for sharing!
Looking at your kitchen layout, sorry this idea is coming late. Where you have your converter/inverter put the fridge in that location on slides. Then where the fridge is now you can make a bank of draws and cabinet doors to access the electrical. The tankless can be enclosed but I would get metal screening and make a vent at the bottom and top. Additionally make a small door by the controls, once you figure the temp needed you won't need to open the door much. What vehicle are you using. Install a weight distribution hitch on the rig. That should help. You can make light upper cabinets for the kitchen using 1x2 and Luan skin.
Awesome progress! coming together nicely. Craftsmanship is A1! Like others have said, my first idea for the fridge is some sort of slide out drawer. It is a popular design that I often see with overland trailers and vehicles. I have been struggling with this idea myself, I would like to have my Yeti Tundra under my counter but it needs to be pulled out so that I can open the lid!
Can you provide a little more detail? Pointing out? Not sure what you mean. Thanks, we are getting ready to start our cargo trailer conversion. Would like to avoid problems.
GFCI was not required in the bathroom since there is no sink. Code references certain distances from the sink where GFCI are required. No sink, no requirement, as far as I know. For sealing the vent pipe at the floor, try a countertop trim for a hole. They come 1 1/2 and 2". You can cut them in half and place them around the pipe. Maybe foam under them. Did you flip your axles for more clearance height?
Carbonmanoxide is a heavy gas, and your monitor should be lower, I'm sure that's what I heard, you should research that to be safe, but anyway nice build👍
Maybe use one of those rubber grommets to seal that gap next to the toilet. The ones used for the sealing the 2"-3" holes you drill in your water tanks Maybe you already went with the foam tho...
You need a two handle shower valve so the cold mixes just before the shower head and or sink faucet . Also the water pump should be feeding the water heater , doesn’t really need it on the cold side.
Check with electrician about gfci outlet...I think if the outlets are tied into and down line from the one in the kitchen, they are all gfci protected. Not sure if two in line will work right.
It depends on which terminals are used. One GFCI can then be "chained" to other regular plugs and they are protected too, so you only need one, on your case. But since you have two, make sure you are using the top terminals on both and not "chaining" them.
Put a check valve on the hot water output. This keeps the cold water from back pressuring onto the hot. If i were doing it, i wouid put check valves at the hot water output, hot water input at the shower mixer and also just before the sink input. Yes, the extra 2 would be considered over kill, but when it comes to water & gas redundancy, i think it is valid to do.
I was thinking a drawer slide would solve your frig. issue. Just be sure to get one that is rated for the weight when it's loaded. I probably have some that would work, you could have. I'll look up and send you a link so you see what I'm talking about.
If you tear open an old top load washer theirs 4 rods with springs you can use to mount water tank and that will give buffer when you hit a pothole. and its free
Hey great job on your cargo trailer as for the refrigerator problem you could make some sort of shelf with draw slides on it so the refrigerator pulled out from under the counter good luck can't wait to see how it comes out
I ran my hot water heater with just one inlet and one outlet and plugged the cold water off completely. This will solve most problems but I have a summer and winter setting. And its one ore the other and that is that.
Your fridge can be on a drawer slide, could even mount the cabinet door to the front of the slide to keep the cabinets looking nice. Have you tried putting check valves on your hot water send line? I'm curious cause ill be doing something similar with my bugout rig. For the walls you could go sheet laminate, relatively lightweight. If it were me I would put the bed about one or two feet higher and build up your storage or utilities underneath. Would take some weight off the nose for sure.
The other option to fix the hot water is to buy a Bosch point of use electric water heater to use as an insulated holding tank so that the water draw is consistent.
I have seen a few people who have problems with the instant hot water heaters in RVs. I have looked online, but the propane water heaters that have a tank are too expensive and hard to find. I'd prefer a tank model, but when I install my shower in my trailer, I'll probably just heat water on the stove and use a $35 shower pump that I already have. For the near future, anyway.
Great job on your build and videos! If you had 2 knobs for the sink and shower, 1 for hot and 1 for cold, would that keep the hot water demand on I wonder??
@@DanielWilliams-fp4oz when your draining the poo. Maybe you want to add water to push out more poo. That's why there is non potable water at some dump stations.
Or sometimes you want to rinse out the last piece of poo 💩 without going inside to flush. There would be a water port near the drain where you can add water to the black tank that's the flush line.
Hot water heater… not a plumber but I believe several suggestions were made to handle the temp issue. The location on the other hand is 🧐. I’d rethink its location and free up that wall space. Little bit of work, but I’d think about moving/mounting that below the countertop… that way you don’t need to “cover” it or hide it from plain view. Just my 2 cents 😬. Looks good- enjoy you travels.
The refrigerator can stay in it's present position.....go to home depot and buy drawer slides....it will pull out when you need it and slide back into it's space when you're finished.
Why do you have two tank dump controls? Typically, both black and gray water tanks exit from the same point; the black is dumped first, then the gray is dumped: that way the sewer hose is washed out by gray water. You don’t reeeeeelllly want to haul around/handle a 3” diameter sewer hose dripping….well…you know what it drips. As for covering gaps around the pipes, drill/cut a circle big enough to go around each pipe; rip in half with the blade tilted at any angle you choose; then slide the two halves together, using glue and screws to fasten the two pieces in place. The angled cut can be turned so a casual observer won’t even see the cut. Some caulk or spray foam will seal any small gap to keep bugs or mice outside.
We had issues getting the hot water supply correct in our house, The issue ended up being an anti-scald device in the shower, because the water pressure was not the same as a normal city water, we’re on a well, it would not allow enough hot water through.
Hot water issue . . . (1) possible you're not using enough gpm (gallons per minute) to trigger the water heater to kick on. With a lot of low flow devices (shower heads & kitchen faucets), on-demand water heaters will shut off when there is low flow. I.e., they will not work in trickle mode. Look at the specs on the water heater to see what the minimum flow rate is to activate heating. (2) If hot water flow works ok in the sink faucet, but not the shower, I'd say replace the single handle shower mixing valve with a two knob variety. I have one in a shower I installed 20 years ago in my home, and it refuses to allow me to turn up the temp as high as I'd like. A Dremel on a plastic stop helped. But with single valve showers, we're at the mercy of the shower valve designer who has decided what's best for us. I'll never install another single valve shower.
You should set your sink water temperature in a warm water to avoid the same problem at your heater. I have the same problem at camping with the same water heater you have.because if you to change temperature every time for your sink and the water heater is cause major problem the gas will shut off automatic for safety reasons and you have to turn the water control knob on the heater to your ride side to reset and turn on the lighter for the gas to heat up the water again. To solve the same problem that just the best suggestion I have is to set the sink in one temperature (warm water) but I think you have to re do your hose connector..
I suggest contacting the water heater manufacturer to address the temp control issues of the water heater. I suggest installing an exhaust fan in the shower preferably above it, yet top side of wall works as well. So many people overlook that 1 aspect, thinking "I got an exhaust fan a foot away outside my bathroom so I'm good". Moisture will seep into the wood over time, causing the wood to warp, build up mold, etc. This can happen in a yr or even 10-20 but eventually it happens. It is costly to fix and troublesome. By adding an exhaust fan in the bathroom and even kitchen above sink, helps ward off these issues. It is also recommended to have the shower/bathroom sealed from the rest of the living space. It's a nice looking trailer, I myself enjoy the look and feel of wood over other materials.
You're going to need to go with a two handle faucet. Using a single will mix the two together and end up causing a cross-feed. Unless you can up the pressure of your pump to overcome the minimum GPM required by the water heater you'll have bad performance. With the size of your heater you should have be able to make it happen.
The main problem is you. You want everything you have in the house to fit in a small trailer. It is a small trailer. Putting in walls makes it even smaller. Best to keep it all one room. Mix the hot water in a bucket to get the preferred temperature. Then use it out of the bucket to take a shower. Shower stalls are not necessary at all. I do not understad why one needs a strong wood and fiberglass enclosure to contain spraying water. Just dose not make sense. A piece of plastic is all you need to make a wall for a shower stall. In the van I do not even do that because I pore water from a 1-gallon jug over me to clean up. The water then runs on a plastic mat and out the door. So easy, so light weight, so nice. Put 4-inches of foam padding on a cot and get rid of that bed. You are still thinking house and not cargo trailer.
