Winnebago Travato thread here - Page 15

wincrasher · 07-31-2015, 10:55 PM

Joefish:

The way the piping is, that would NOT be an easy, reversible mod.

I've thought about doing a project where I can have a gravity drain on the grey tank. There is a rubber connection between the tank outlet and the inlet for the macerator pump. It's 3 to 4 inches of rubber connection, held on with clamps. I'm not sure if this is intended as a cleanout or if it's for shock isolation between the two items.

I think that is a good place for a T and you could route a PVC pipe to the edge of the van body and have a hose connection. That you could then route a garden hose to a sewer inlet, or on the ground, your choice. I'm not going to pass judgement on you for dumping water on the ground.

My boat drains all go to a thru-hull and into the lake. I have no qualms about that, nor do I about dumping a dishpan on the ground, or dumping my gray tank on the parking lot at my shop. It's bad form to dump such waters in a campground though - everyone doing it in the same spot will end up being problematic. But when you are not in those places, then I don't see any harm in it.

gerrym51 · 07-31-2015, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joefish

OK- Here's an interesting (and possibly controversial) question for all you Travato G owners. Hating the fact I have to pump the shower water into the Grey tank and ensure I clean the filters so not to blow the pump fuse, anyone think about a mod to let the shower water drain under the van onto the ground?

Since I take very short low water volume showers and never camp in a campground, and that it's only grey water with environmentally friendly soap anyway, what's the harm of just letting in drain onto the ground? No pump to deal with and save the grey tank for the sink water.

OK- let me have it!

why ask-do what you want to do-you will anyway-lol

Jostalli · 07-31-2015, 11:31 PM

So many RV's are sold with exterior showers. Maybe even a majority?

avanti · 08-01-2015, 12:07 AM

If your shower drain system isn't satisfactory, figure out how to improve it. I don't know the details of your setup, but surely it wouldn't be too hard to devise a more robust and convenient system (e.g., a second, small buffer tank underneath the vehicle with a less-fragile and more automatic pump, perhaps).

Seeing someone dumping anything would certainly gross me out, and in many locations would get you a citation. Yes, there are conditions under which the practical damage would be nil, but public health rules have to be designed for the worst case, not the best one. Plus, there are simple aesthetic considerations. Please don't do it.

(exterior showers are slightly different, since people can see exactly what is going on. Seeing mystery water drain from the bottom of an RV leaves a lot to the imagination.)

BobB · 08-01-2015, 12:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by booster

It amazes me how many will be washing dishes in the bathroom sink, right under the sign that says not to.

At the NPS Ocracoke campground they have the same "No dishwashing in the bathroom sink" sign, so all the tent campers wash up at their site and dump on the ground. I have never seen a ranger stop anyone; it seem to be expected. (of course there is several hundred feet of sand underfoot so drainage is almost immediate) I assume RVs are meant to dump at the dump station; I do.

There always seem to be some strange situation where someone has to dump on the ground, but they should really - for all of us - be exceptions. Best practice is to dump at appropriate dump station.

avanti · 08-01-2015, 02:53 AM

I have been seeing an increasing number of campgrounds that have special screened drains near the dump station specifically so that tent campers aren't tempted to dump dirty water on the ground. The issue isn't the drainage, it is the food and soap residue.

Davydd · 08-01-2015, 05:32 AM

If it became the norm to dump on the ground, ask yourself if you would like to be the next camper at a campsite with a wet spot. For one, you don't know if bio-degradable soap was used. You don't know if there were food particles, cooking grease and who knows what else in there. This all goes back to the smokers who ALL claim to pick up their butts and dog walkers who ALL claim to pick up their dog's poop. We ALL know that is not true.

True, most Bs have outside showers. Does anyone really use them other than to rinse sand off their feet or clean a dog? They are rarely used to do a full shower with soap. I've never seen it done. Yes, I do know people sell shower enclosures for such use. One more dumb thing to carry in an already precious storage deficient B when you already have an inside shower.

So, OK, drain just the shower to the ground and not the kitchen sink or bath sink. What do you think would be the percentage of people who would actually use bio-degradable soap? Seriously? Think smokers and dog walkers again. It is just human nature not to give a damn.

For us, is Dawn dish water soap bio-degradable? A Dove soap bar? Those foam pump dispensers? Hair shampoo with all kinds of scalp and dandruff conditioners? I honestly don't know and care as they go into a grey tank and then a dump.

eric1514 · 08-02-2015, 05:04 PM

In case you were wondering, here's what the bike rack looks like in its lower location on the rails.

Closed

Open

Certainly makes it easier to load and unload and doesn't obstruct the license plate any. I can see where it might make the tail lamps a little harder to see off angle. It has the added benefit of not cracking your coconut when you close the door, either.

I'm working on a way to make the bike rack into a cargo carrier similar to the over-priced and unavailable Fiamma products.

Eric

wincrasher · 08-02-2015, 05:25 PM

You can always add a box with the rack in the high position. It works great with the Stowaway2.

eric1514 · 08-02-2015, 05:37 PM

I'm trying to not increase the overall length.

Eric

thefitrv · 08-03-2015, 05:50 PM

Anything more complicated than unbolting and re-bolting? Any special bits or wrenches required?
That one's on my list.

eric1514 · 08-03-2015, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thefitrv

Anything more complicated than unbolting and re-bolting? Any special bits or wrenches required?
That one's on my list.

1 10mm open-end and 1 10mm socket. A pair of pliers with plastic or leather to protect the little caps that cover the nuts as you remove them is a nice thing to use.

I just removed enough nuts and bolts so that I could move stuff to get to the nuts and bolts that actually hold the rack part. When you loosen those screws, watch out as the rack will now swing down and try to kill you.

Eric

JKatfish · 08-21-2015, 07:52 PM

Is there room on the roof of the Travato to install a 2nd solar panel (100w) with no kayak roof rack ? It looks pretty tight yo there.

thefitrv · 08-21-2015, 08:29 PM

Ours has two. The second one is mounted to the rack itself.

eric1514 · 08-28-2015, 12:29 AM

This is what the ADCO cover looks like on the Travato. This is their model #12230. It fits well side to side and the back is good. The length top to bottom is a tad long, but it does cover the tires, so that's OK. The roofline is a bit long. The ProMaster windshield slopes down faster than the cover does so there's some slack. I took it up with some clamps and all is well. It will work until the UV destroys it in 2-3 years and then hopefully, someone will make a more custom fitting cover for the Travato.

I unscrewed and removed both antennas and used a step ladder and the ladder on the back to put the cover on. You can see the two zippers that when unzipped allow you to access the sliding door.

Imma rate it a 7.5/10. I like their "Designer" cover line better as far as color and material, but it's not offered for a Class B.

Eric

eric1514 · 09-13-2015, 09:41 PM

I did it!

Not sure how many times I want to huff those kayaks up there again. That roof is ridiculously high.

Eric

wincrasher · 09-14-2015, 01:46 AM

LOL. So now when you get to the shore, you've got to set your ladder up on the sand and try to get them down. Good luck with that.

You did get farther than I did. Made it halfway up the ladder and decided I was surely going to break my neck, so I aborted.

eric1514 · 09-14-2015, 02:42 AM

Yeah, you can see the ladder in some of those pics. It collapses to about 3' tall by 8" deep. I think I can carry it on a rack attached to the ladder. It weighs about 30lbs. No ladder, no kayaking.

It took me two days to get to where I could take those pictures. I must have taken a boat off the roof about 10 times to adjust the racks. It takes me about 10 min. to remove both boats or to mount them. A lot of that time is spent moving back and forth to unlash/lash the suckers down. Up and down, up and down. I'm good at it now and very tired.

Eric

BobB · 09-14-2015, 03:16 AM

Have you seen/tried the roller roof rail to get the kayaks up there? New Fiamma Ducato brochure shows one (page 10); seems like it is meant to get thing like kayaks up there.

http://www.fiamma.com/download/broch.../DUCATO_EN.pdf

eric1514 · 09-14-2015, 03:32 AM

Won't work with the air conditioner. You would still need a ladder as you have to guide the boat onto the cradles and you need to lash them down with 4 different tie-downs. It's really a PITA.

Eric

Edit: That picture they show of that guy shoving that cargo box onto the roof is deceiving. What's he gonna do about securing it? Access up the back ladder isn't going to help him up front and how is he going to get that box back down?

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