My Move to Lithium

A friend pointed out that I had not posted here in several weeks. Yeah, I know. However, today, I have an update. With some help from a friend with mechanical skills, I was able to upgrade my power from a single Interstate Deep Cycle battery with two 12 Volt 100 Amp LifePO4 Lithium batteries from @litimepower. Mechanical skills were needed because the two batteries would not fit in the battery rack on the frame, so we built a new one. I should note now that the Interstate battery is guaranteed for one year and may last a few more, but the Lithium will most likely outlast my time left here.  

Next, I want to install a solar controller (also from Li Time), but probably won’t get that done before my trip to the Atlanta Motor Speedway later this month.  

Cold Weather Update

For the past several weeks, I’ve had the camper out on a friend’s forest land in the county.   Learning things about how things work.  However, the cold snap we’re expecting this week gave me the idea to bring it home, plug it in to house power and turn on some heat. See, I didn’t winterize it, since I thought, I’d have gone camping by now.  Plus, it’s just about 30 days until I head to the Atlanta Motor Speedway for some race weekend camping.  

Update from the Camp

Field test getting ready for a real road trip!

I’m feeling a bit snake-bit as far as camping goes again. I canceled the trip to Talladega. Two generators arrived, and I am still having issues with the battery, and all I want to do is go camping.

This past week, a friend of mine who has some land out in the county. Let me take the Puma out to do some field testing. I’ve been working out the kinks before a real trip. It’s been boondocking for the past few days.

I’ve learned a lot! The generator, now that we figured the problem with the battery was due to an unplugged connection, has run over 11 hours in the propane test and is still on the same 20-pound propane tank! I think I can get another hour or so from it.

I plan to work from there next week! The T-Mobile home internet box has worked fine.  It only showed two bars on the reception meter, but I could get on the internet and stream YouTube TV without any significant hiccups. It’s just an occasional buffering circle every half hour or so.

I plan to run the generator in the bed of the truck.  When running at full power and with little wind in the area, I have found that the carbon dioxide warning will kick the generator off.  I can fix that with an extension on the exhaust, which I plan to do in the coming weeks and definitely before the February Atlanta NASCAR race.  

Talladega Infield Campers Beware of Protecht (My Problem Was Resolved)

POST UPDATE – After this post and a complaint to the Better Business Bureau I received a call that they wanted to escalate my request up for approval. I provided documentation requested on when i called to schedule the truck repair and it was approved. From the time they called me, it was resolved in less than 20 hours. The company admitted they were working on fixing some of the shortcomings of their systems.

ORIGINAL POST – Buying insurance for the race and camping at Talladega this October seemed like a good idea; however, after my truck broke down while towing my camper to the race on the Wednesday before the race, I realized it was a waste of money. In turning down my claim twice, Protecht said it had to happen within 48 hours of the event, the Sunday race I assume.  My ticket was for infield camping, and I tried to go when the campgrounds opened.  I could not have my truck serviced for the transmission problem for almost two weeks.  I even provided a receipt showing the nearly $500 I paid to fix the truck.  The company should be more forthcoming with clearer language that arriving a few days before the race to take advantage of the $500 camping fee isn’t covered.  Their agreement is more about what isn’t said than what is said.  If Protecht isn’t going to be more upfront, then maybe Talladega Superspeedway should consider a better partner. I’m unhappy about the financial loss and sad I missed going back to my first race in 10 years.

A New Tow Vehicle

So, what’s going on in the world of Camper Jerry?  With trade-in values on used cars and trucks being great now, I’ve traded my GMC Canyon for a new 2024 Nissan Frontier Pro-X from Lynch Nissan in Auburn. The hitch goes on this week and plans continue to get the camper on the road, maybe a quick weekend at Chewacla.  

I am still trying to get my Talladega tickets to roll over to the next race since I had a breakdown on the way to the race weekend.  The small print on the agreement may work against me. If it does, I’m sure I’ll warn everyone with a Google review.  Stand By!

And That’s That!

Talladega race weekend has come and gone. Unfortunately, a problematic transmission scuttled my plans to camp at the infield this year.  Or as I call it, “Brand New Camper and no way to pull!” I’m counting on the event insurance to save the day and roll me over to the spring race at no charge.  I’ll let you know.  Truck is off to the shop on the 12th, so wish me luck. Oh well!

Post Update: 10/12/23 1 pm – Good News, the truck is back at 100% again. The PROBLEM: transmission torque converter creating shudder through gear ranges. SOLUTION: Performed transmission fluid exchange to correct.

Almost Ready for the Infield

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted, so I thought I’d update you folks.  Talladega Planning continues as I gather all those things you need for the infield.  I’m sure I’ll forget something, but I have compiled a lot so far. I was back and forth on the solar vs. generator thing and I’ll share the results in a week or so.  Grabbed a few swag giveaways of Camper Jerry coasters, stickers, and pins to share with other infield rowdies.  Let’s just say that my mail carrier will be glad when the Amazon packages don’t arrive every day!

Getting it in Gear!

I’m itching to get on the road with the Puma. The first trip is about six weeks from now at the Talladega Race. Every few days I complete another item on my checklist. Daughter Jenny gave me an Ozark Trail camp dish set, unopened and still in the box.  I thought I’d go figure out the Jensen Audio system this afternoon and it took about 5 minutes. There are two inside and two outside speakers that sound great. Bluetooth connection was quick and easy. I had a similar system in my first camper, which never fully became operational.   I’ve got a sewer hose, a clean-out grey/black tank water hose, some leveling blocks, camper toilet treatment drop-ins, and Gorilla tape coming. What’s the tape for? You know, you don’t go anywhere without the Gorilla. Trust me, if you don’t have it, you’ll probably need it!

Talladega’s October Race

The YellaWood 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. It is one of four NASCAR Cup Series races currently run with tapered spacers, the others being the GEICO 500 in May, the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and the Daytona 5001. The YellaWood 500 marks the 107th race hosted by Talladega Superspeedway in Cup Series history. The 2.66-mile oval located in Lincoln, Alabama is known as the largest oval on the NASCAR schedule. With 33 degrees of banking in the turns, 16.5 degrees of banking on the tri-oval, and 3 degrees on the backstretch, drivers have to work together in the draft to succeed. It’s Sunday October 1st.

Written with the help of Bing AI. Okay, the AI wrote it all. (Source: Wikipedia, and NASCAR)