Author: nerdadmin

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A Little Paint On My Truck

I just got my truck back from the body shop. I had installed a custom light insert in my bumper a couple years ago and decided I did not want it anymore so I took it off. The time with it on caused some paint to wear off the bumper and I found some rust.

When I replaced my stock mirrors with towing mirrors I decided to go cheap on the mirror top covers. The stock parts from Ford came either in chrome or primed. At the time I found a pair from an aftermarket place that the plastic was black and for the pair were about a third of the price as from Ford. I hoped that the color would last but it did not as you can see from the pictures. Lots of fade and discoloration from road chemicals and such.

So I had the bumper rust repaired/repainted and bought the more expensive mirror covers and had them color matched to the truck. Came out great I think – I took a picture of the old covers for comparison.

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Product Review: Progressive Industries EMS-PT30X

All campers should have some form of surge protection. When we purchased our Airstream I also bought a a TRC Technology Research 44750 (reviewed here https://youtu.be/NVibRIDj2y8 ) then I upgraded to a Progressive Industries SSP30 (reviewed here https://youtu.be/UBogC8pRlUM) and now I finally spent ALL of my allowance on the top of the line Progressive Industries EMS-PT30X. Here is a quick summary of the differences:

  1. Hi/Low voltage shutdown protection – TRC and the SSP30 do not have but the PT30X does
  2. Open Neutral – TRC has nothing, SSP30 has indication, PT30X shuts down
  3. Reverse Polarity – TRC has nothing, SSP30 has indication, PT30X shuts down
  4. Ground Fault – SSP30 has indication, TRC and PT30X shuts down
  5. AC Frequency Shutdown – TRC and SSP30 nothing, PT30X has it
  6. Thermal Protection – TRC nothing, SSP30 and PT30X shuts down
  7. 220 Volt Shutdown – TRC and SSP30 nothing, PT30X has it
  8. Mis-wired Pedestal – TRC has nothing, SSP30 has indication, PT30X shuts down
  9. Surge Indication – TRC nothing, SSP30 and PT30X have it
  10. PT30X only one with cover for connection
  11. PT30X only one with time delay restart after outage
  12. PT30X only one with previous error indication
  13. Max Spike (amps) – TRC = 1,250, SSP30 = 22,500, PT30X = 44,000
  14. Surge (joules) – TRC = 510, SSP30 = 825, PT30X = 1,790

TRC Model 44750 – https://amzn.to/2BrAGf7
Progressive Industries SSP30 – https://amzn.to/2S4sWqt
Progressive Industries EMS-PT30X – https://amzn.to/2EEBNMB

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Product Review: Fastway Chain-Up


The cable connecting the tow vehicle to the Airstream hit the pavement on one of our first few camping trips. Some of the outside insulation rubbed off but luckily it did not expose any of the copper so I just taped it up and kept going. This product will help this from ever happening again – see how I use it below…

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Spring Projects

Look what I received for Christmas – some shiny for my shiny. A new stainless steel range exhaust cover, exterior outlet cover, and exterior shower compartment. The Airstream Store even threw in some Airstream wrapping paper! Stay tuned for videos of all three installs in the spring when it gets a bit warmer.

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Look What I Found!

I ran out of time to winterize my trailer so I went inside and turned on the heat to keep things warm overnight until I could complete the next day.  Once the fan cut on there was an awful vibration so I went up on the roof to investigate and found a mud dauber nest on the blower fan.  But I also found what is in the picture above.  Luckily both the birds nest and the wasp nest were not in use so it was an easy clean up.  This is a reminder that you should check under your AC shroud at least once a year to keep this from happening – a good time to complete is during your winterizing process.