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Consider

Surge protectors are a necessary safety device.

Just as crucial to you and your family’s safety as the CO2/LP gas and smoke detectors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You arrive at the campground –

about to connect your truck camper to the power pedestal-

there is a moment of hesitation.  Are you confident the pedestal is correctly wired?

 

 

How will you protect your TC  against a bolt of lightning that strikes a telephone pole 1/2 mile from the campground during a thunderstorm?

Question – should you encounter an electrical surge that damages your truck camper’s electronics, do you feel strong enough and know how to hand crank in your slide(s) and raise your jacks?

Protect your investment!

https://northeast-truckcampers.org/truck-camper-surge-protectors/

When truck campers are traveling on a road trip, is it better to use cash, debit card(s), or credit card(s)? Do you know what a fraudulent card reader looks like at an ATM or service station fuel pump? What does the skimming of a card have anything to do with a road trip?

What is skimming?  Skimming is the theft of your card’s magnetic stripe data using a portable device or a reader that attaches outside or inside an ATM or at the fuel pump. Combined with theft of your PIN via a camera, fake keypad, or direct observation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Warning to Truck Campers – Fraudulent card readers frequently appears at service stations and ATMs near Interstate Highways. Why? It is easier for the criminals to make their quick get-a-away and get lost in traffic on the Interstates.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

https://northeast-truckcampers.org/cash-debit-card-credit-card/

The Secret Service also provides additional information on how to protect you and your family from credit card skimming & fraud at

https://www.secretservice.gov/investigations/tips/protecting-yourself

Joe Friday was a fictional character of the Los Angeles Police Department in Dragnet’s TV series. Viewers quickly forgot the storylines; however, one line of his dialog was constant week after week:

“Just the facts, mam, just the facts. “

Thus, in keeping with Joe’s dialog when discussing truck campers’ choice/options of lithium-ion (LiFePo) or deep cycle lead-acid batteries –“Just the facts.”

Weight

Truck camper’s LiFePO batteries are typically 30% lighter (Battle Born LiFePO4 -31 lbs.

 Number of Cycles

The number of cycles for a TC’s battery refers to the number of battery charges and discharges. For example, one cycle is when you discharge a LiFePO to 80% capacity or lead acid to 50% capacity.

DISCHARGE

The discharge curve of LiFePO batteries is essentially flat, meaning that a LiFePO battery at 20% capacity will be providing nearly the same output voltage as it would at 80% with no reduction in lifespan or capacity.

Recharging a LiFePO from fully discharged to fill recharge can be reached in typically only a few hours.

Cost

Deep cycle lead-acid batteries are less expensive than LiFePO batteries. Example: Interstate Deep Cycle Group 27 LA Battery, 80 Ah (amp hours), 12 volts, number of possible cycles not provided, cost per battery as of 5/15/20- $127.95.

More information and charts can be found on:

https://northeast-truckcampers.org/lithium-ion-lifepo-batteries-for-truck-campers/

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Webmaster’s opinion – The best time to purchase a lithium-ion-lifepo-battery is during November’s Black Friday event.

One does not go and sit in a classroom to learn about the finer points of truck camping survival. Instead, we learn them through our experience or interactions with other truck campers. Some of us gained knowledge over a coffee cup at the local diner or a jamboree with other TCers.

You/we need to try and know the basics. These unknown items (s) affect you and the family’s enjoyment of TCing. In the end, that little knowledge of the basics may save you grief, embarrassment, and some $$$$.

Quiz number 1

https://northeast-truckcampers.org/how-well-do-you-know-your-tc-1/

Quiz number 2

https://northeast-truckcampers.org/how-well-do-you-know-your-tc-2/

Keep in mind – there are two types of intelligent TCers:
First is the TCer, that knows everything, and the second is the TCer, who knows where to find everything.

Spectroscopy Oil Analysis Program routine oil sampling of your truck’s engine oil can be beneficial and key to a successful maintenance program.

Protect your investment!

Oil testing provides essential information to determine the condition of your engine, either diesel or gasoline. Routine oil sampling of your truck’s engine oil can be beneficial and key to a successful maintenance program.

As your mileage increases, a regularly maintained sampling program of testing when you change the oil can indicate valuable information about the health of the engine/oil and when abnormal wear or contamination is occurring.

It is undeniable that knowing what is happening inside your engine and early problem detection is vital to predictive maintenance. Routine oil analysis will alert you to potential problems, save time and money, and protect your engine.

Information on the benefits of S.O.A.P. testing, the free sample bottle, and Blackstone Lab, https://northeast-truckcampers.org/do-you-s-o-a-p-your-truck-camper/

and

https://www.blackstone-labs.com/products/free-test-kits/

Citizens Band Radios, or CB for short, is a convenient public, two-way personal radio service communications that truck camper (TC) can use when traveling together (such as in a caravan) or when passing other TCs going the other direction. Because of the CB radio’s limited signal range, a conversation is usually brief when inquiring about weather, traffic, road conditions, accidents, possible detour routes, etc.

You do not need a license to use a CB radio.

You can use any channel for conversation. However, there are designated channels – channel 9 is reserved for emergencies or asking for traveler assistance, and channel 11 is for calling other CBers.

Most conversations on the Interstates are on channel 19 – the trucker’s channel.

Standard features in many makes and models of consumer CB radios have access to  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather channels and weather alerts.

More information can be found on

https://northeast-truckcampers.org/truckcampers-and-citizen-band-radio/

Once every 43.8 seconds, a vehicle is stolen in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

According to a report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), a whopping 48,206 Chevrolet Silverado full-size pickups were stolen in 2021, up from 40,968 trucks stolen in 2020.

PREVENT YOURSELF FROM BECOMING THE NEXT VICTIM

https://northeast-truckcampers.org/truckcampers-did-you-know/

A Discovery Pass is unlimited admission to over 80 Parks in Canada.

Being such a deal for everyone and will pay for itself in as little as seven days.

https://www.commandesparcs-parksorders.ca/en/decouverte-discovery

 

The following passes are available:

Family/Group – Up to 7 people in a vehicle – $139.40 CN

Adult – Age 18 to 64 – $69.19 CN

Senior – Age 65+ – $59.17 CN

There are 1,200 + campgrounds and dispersed
(aka boondocking) sites in 14 states.

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) campgrounds and dispersed sites may include a variety of facilities, such as restrooms, potable water, electrical hookups, picnic areas, and group shelters. However, many sites do not have all these amenities and may only have a picnic table and fire ring.

https://northeast-truckcampers.org/bureau-of-land-management-camping-sites/

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) campgrounds and dispersed sites may include a variety of facilities, such as restrooms, potable water, electrical hookups, picnic areas, and group shelters. However, many sites do not have all these amenities and may only have a picnic table and fire ring.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, also known as COE, plan, develop, and maintain many of our rivers, dams, and other waterways within the USA. Much of their work focuses on flood control, conservation, and recreation.

https://northeast-truckcampers.org/coe-camp-campgrounds/

To put it in perspective, a visitor to COE recreation areas would find that there are:

• • COE campgrounds in 43 states
  • 92,588 campsites
  • 3,754 boat ramps
  • 55,390 miles of shoreline