We are very serious about our role in helping you get through the winter season. How can we help? Well, glad you asked!

In this issue we celebrate a world-class neighborly relationship, we invite you to come with us to a place where you can get your camping fix right now, and we even help you do more with that cool smartphone in your pocket.

Plus we have more great campsite cooking gear and food ideas as well as reviews of nifty products. But wait, there’s even more! How can it be?! Yes, in this edition we introduce Murphy, and we have some reader contributions to help see you through until your next camping trip!

Don’t forget, PopUp Times is the only magazine written for enthusiasts of small, efficient RVs. Share the word. Subscribe today!

It’s the autumn 2012 issue of everyone’s favourite magazine! What’s in store you ask? Well, lots! We really get around this month, covering fabulous destinations such as the Cascades in southern California, right across the continent to one of Ontario’s best provincial parks. We have A-frame trailer talk, food talk, love of pop-up camper talk, and a bit of a mystery. Plus we lay out some big plans for a digital future!

Don’t forget, PopUp Times makes a great Christmas gift!

Baja 10 Specifications

Baja 12E Specifications

All photos are from Jayco
Visit Jayco’s web site for more information on the 2013 Jayco Baja

Jay Series 1006 Specifications

Jay Series 1007 Specifications

Jay Series 1206 Specifications

Jay Series 1207 Specifications

Jay Series 1208 Specifications

All photos are from Jayco
Visit Jayco’s web site for more information on the 2013 Jayco Jay Series 

Jay Series Sport 8 Specifications

Jay Series Sport 10 Specifications

Jay Series Sport 10FD Specifications

Jay Series Sport 12 Specifications

Jay Series Sport 12BS Specifications

Jay Series Sport 12SC Specifications

All photos shown are from Jayco:
Visit the Jayco web site for more information in the 2013 Jay Series Sport

3611 Specifications

3612 Specifications

All photos shown are from Starcraft:
Visit the Starcraft web site more more information on the 2013 Centennial

816 Specifications

1019 Specifications

1020 Specifications

1022 Specifications

1024 Specifications

All photos shown are from Starcraft:
Visit the Starcraft web site more more information on the 2013 Comet

Starflyer 8 Specifications

Starflyer 10 Specifications

All photos shown are from Starcraft:
Visit the Starcraft web site more more information on the 2013 Starflyer

Our Coleman Santa Fe, equipped with fridge, furnace, hot water system, gas and electric cooking, A/C, awning, add-a-room, and porta-potti, serves admirably as our home away from home while on vacation, but lacks one feature our family of four would really appreciate…an inside shower! After searching vainly for an affordable shower system, I designed and built my own that is quick to set up, easy to use, takes very little space to store, and is easily adaptable for use in many types of campers.

Assuming your camper is equipped with a hot water system, there are five main elements required: a shower rod, two shower curtains, a shower pan, a gray water drain system, and a hand held shower head and hose. Pop up campers lacking a hot water system can be fitted with an electric water heater. Check out www.edferg.com!

The Shower Rod

I used ½” PVC pipe and 90 degree angles since it is inexpensive and easy to cut with a hacksaw. I’d recommend a square about 28”x 28”—large enough to create a comfortable shower space but small enough so the curtains will hang into the shower pan without slipping out. To avoid putting any holes in our ABS ceiling, I hung the shower rod between the door track and the curtain track on our Santa Fe. (I used plastic clothing hooks, which are fastened to the door track with cable ties, and simply hung on the curtain track.) Since the span between the door track and curtain track in our Santa Fe is greater than 28”, the main outline of my curtain rod is actually 32”x 28”, with a second cross member forming the 28” square. Once you are satisfied, use GOOP to hold the joints together.

The Shower Curtains

I used two 72”wide x 70” long, white, heavy-duty (Martha Stewart) vinyl shower curtains, with metal grommets for hook holes. (Metal grommets prevent ripping, heavy vinyl doesn’t suffer static cling like cheap curtains do, and light colors show water and soap buildup the least.) I trimmed the width of each by about 6”, overlapping one with the other by two hook holes (no need to seam them together). After showering, I take the curtains out to the add-a-room to dry, hanging them from a second PVC rod, creating a privacy room for the porta-potti.

The Shower Pan

After several attempts, I settled on a heavy-duty laundry tub (20”x 20”) for several reasons: it’s inexpensive, has a threaded drain outlet on the bottom, is available with legs, and is made of a material that is easy to cut with a jigsaw. Avoid the cheapest plastic ones; the one I have is made of ¼” thick material. Although probably not necessary, I did add some support to the underside using 1”x 3” stock to make the floor feel a little less “spongy.” After screwing a 90 degree angle drain adapter onto the threaded drain outlet, I cut the four legs so the drain would clear the floor, then secured it with a bit of GOOP. I then cut the four tub sides with a jigsaw so the overall height of the tub was 11”. (It now slides right under our dinette table when traveling, serving as a storage container for the shower curtains and add-a-room panels. While camping, I keep the tub out in the add-a-room, using it for washing dishes, draining directly into a 5 gallon collapsible jug, using the same type of press-fitted drain line as used for the shower.

The Gray Water Drain System

The gray water outlet on Coleman campers has a 1.75” outside thread, so I designed an adapter which uses ABS and PVC adapters and a 1.25” sump pump hose. It’s inexpensive, yet our galley sink drains really well. For the shower, I simply selected ABS parts that would PRESS FIT onto the shower pan drain outlet, allowing the water to drain out of the pan through the sump pump hose which runs through a hole I cut in the floor under the galley. Once outside, I joined the galley sink drain line and the shower drain line together using a PVC “T.”

The Shower Head and Hose

I recommend a hand-held showerhead with a built in water on/off switch. We simply have one person hand the shower wand to the person inside the shower, and adjust the water temperature, as required. The galley faucet on our sink is threaded, so I removed the strainer on the end of the faucet, took it to Home Depot and asked them to put together a couple of threaded adapters that would allow me to connect the shower hose to the galley faucet. By adding a second length of hose, I can now loop the hose over the shower rod, using the nearby end bunk support pole. Coincidentally, one of the ceiling lights in our Santa Fe shines directly into the shower, resulting in a nice bright environment!

How much thought do you put into your trailer tires? How much attention do they deserve? Trailer tires appear to have an easy life; hey, they spend most of it waiting to go somewhere.When working they just tag along behind you going ’round and ’round without a care in the world.

This would seem like a good way to view your trailer tires until you experience a problem, or worse, a failure. Once you have encountered a problem and/or a failure your view of trailer tires changes and you’ll want to know more about them.

Trailer tires are not the same as automotive tires. Automotive tires must maintain traction during all driving conditions: pulling, stopping, turning, or swerving. These tires are required to have more flexibility in the sidewalls to maintain tread-to-road contact. Trailer tires only need traction when braking, so the sidewalls do not have to be as flexible. Trailer tires have stiff, beefy sidewalls and other structural components to provide stability and handle the stress and dynamics imposed by a towed load. The stiffer sidewalls also add in reducing sway. Trailer tires normally have the designation ST (Special Trailer). Passenger car tires designation is (P) and light truck is (LT). It is recommended that you only use ST tires on your trailer.

ST tires feature materials and construction to meet the higher load requirements and unique demands of towing. The polyester cords used in ST tires are bigger than they would be for a comparable P or LT tire. In addition, the steel wire also has a larger diameter or a greater tensile strength to meet the additional load requirements. This heavier construction for an equal volume of air space, allows an ST tire to carry more load than a P or LT tire.

TIRE SIZE IDENTIFICATION

How do you read or interpret specifications on a tire side wall? This can be a problem because the Trailer Tire Industry uses three different size identification systems on trailer tires. The following are examples and explanations of tire code.

THE NUMERIC SYSTEM: (4.80 x 8) mostly used on smaller trailer tires. 4.80 inches indicates the tire section width, the widest point of the tire. 8 inches is the rim diameter.

THE ALPHA NUMERIC SYSTEM: (B78 x 14 C) common on 13 to15-inch trailer tires. B indicates air chamber size. 78 is the “Aspect Ratio” the Sidewall Height divided by the Section Width. 13

THE METRIC SYSTEM: (ST205 75D 15C) currently being phased in by trailer-tire manufacturers. ST (Special Trailer) indicates the tire application type. 205 is the section width in mm, 75 is the “Aspect Ratio” the Sidewall Height divided by the Section Width. D is the construction type D= bias ply. 15 is the rim diameter and C is the load range.

TIRE CONSTRUCTION TYPE

D – BIAS PLY: Poly or nylon cords crisscross the tire from bead to bead with the same number of ply at both tread and sidewalls, providing stiffer sidewalls and more resistance to sway.

R – RADIAL: Radial plies run at right angles straight across the tire from bead to bead with belts (usually steel wire) under the tread. This allows for excellent traction and holding tread to the road while you are turning or swerving. These are usually used on a car or or truck, because they need flexible sidewalls.
BIAS BELTED: Bias belted are constructed with a standard bias ply crisscross. They have bead-to-bead construction, but include additional belts under the thread.

Radial vs. Bias Ply

Today’s trailer tires are available in both bias ply and radial. At one time it was thought that the sidewalls on radials were too soft. The soft sidewalls would allow the trailer to squirm all over the road. This is not the belief now, and today there is more acceptance of radial tires for trailers. The type that you should use will depend on your towing style.

Bias-ply tires provide more side-to-side stability, but run hotter then a radial tire. If you are pulling a heavy load, use a bias ply for an extra measure of stability. If your trailer is lite and you do a lot of long-distance towing at high speeds, the radial design may be better. The radial will stay cooler in this situation then a bias ply. The cooler the tire stays, the less it will fatigue. These are only examples of tire applications; consult your local tire dealer for the tire type that would be best for your towing style and trailer.

TIRE LOAD RANGE

The maximum weight each tire can support safely is called the tire load range. The load range, B, C, D, etc. of the tire should be noted on the sidewall. Load ranges are based on the maximum inflation pressure of a tire. The higher the load range, the higher the weight the tire can carry. Below is a table with load ranges of some trailer tires.
It is important to select the proper load range for your trailer.
CHECKING CARE AND MAINTENANCE
Proper care and maintenance of your trailer tires is one of the keys to a pleasant and trouble-free towing experience. In addition, a regular check or visual inspection of your tires can help you spot potential problems. Tips for maintaining and caring for your trailer tires are listed below. What to look for during a visual inspection is also discussed.

• Always inflate trailer tires to the maximum inflation indicated on the sidewall.
• Check inflation when the tires are cool.
• Check the tires before each trip. (Under inflation is the number one cause of trailer tire failure.)
• A tire that is worn on the edges is under inflated.
• A tire worn in the middle is over inflated.
• The combined capacity of the tires should exceed, by 20 percent, the loaded trailer weight.
• Time and the elements weaken a trailer tire. In approximately three years, roughly one-third of the tire’s strength is gone.
• Three to five years is the projected life of a normal trailer tire.
• It is suggested that trailer tires be replaced after three to four years of service regardless of tread depth or tire appearance.
• Clean the tires using mild soap and water.
• Tire-care products containing alcohol or petroleum distillates can accelerate the breakdown of trailer tires.
• The ideal storage for trailer tires is in a cool, dark garage at maximum inflation.
• When the trailer is in storage use thin plywood sections between the tire and the pavement.
• If your tires have cracks, get them checked. The cracks could be dry rot.
• Make sure the valve stem and cap are in good shape. Old cracked valve stems, can break off, leading to a sudden of pressure.

Taking care of and maintaining your trailer tires are the keys to avoiding tire trouble while towing. Equipping your trailer with the proper tires is another way to avoid tire trouble. Replacing your tires every three to fives years even if they do not look worn out is also a good way to avoid tire trouble. Take care of your tires and they will take care of you.

Don’t forget to check your spare.