New RV addition, the Wanderstar/Hilton

If some clown rear ends you he might be in for a big suprise!
Right, now I've got to worry about clowns....LOL:D

My efforts with the cheap-ass Chinese UHF antenna met with failure, the d&^ thing wouldn't work out of the box. Not only that but the way it was built destined it to be no better than a bent coat hanger. I did a little online research and came up with a couple of antenna designs. This one and it's variants seemed to be a good choice and I have one built except for the reflectors.

IMG_0001-124.jpg


I also built a J-pole FM antenna. Don't even want to go in the Hilton without my FM playing:

IMG_0002-105.jpg


Both of these antennas will be tied to a single, demountable mast. Yes, it's more hassle than mounting a permanent "Batwing" on the top but I don't want to drill a hole in the roof and the Winegard batwing isn't all that great an antenna. At least I'll have an antenna after I pull into the campground with those low-hanging branches and it takes seconds to drop the mast into the holder and connect the coax cable.
 
Nice looking J-pole, Lance. I'll have to stop by sometime to see the finished Cowboy Hilton. :thmbsp:
 
Nice looking J-pole, Lance. I'll have to stop by sometime to see the finished Cowboy Hilton. :thmbsp:
Sure, we haven't started selling tickets, yet. You can get in on our preview tour, we just ask that you donate a piece of igneous rock for our "Share the Slabs" program. :D Just kidding, mang, stop by any time. I'm attempting to work, daily, so might be out during the day.
 
Didn't I already donate a piece of granite? Or did that only cover my LAST visit to the Hilton?
 
Didn't I already donate a piece of granite? Or did that only cover my LAST visit to the Hilton?
You'll have to check in at the Visitor's Help Desk and inquire if your Rocker's subscription is up to date. :D

A couple of new additions that really pull the Cowboy/Hilton up to a higher level. These are courtesey of my new best buddy, Doucanoe:

IMG_0001-125.jpg


Festus tells it like it is on this album. You can hear some Festunation's and some of his greatest hits like, "The Festus" "....Cornbread, buttermilk and good ol' greasy greens..." over here. Don't miss his letter to his girl, priceless.

Another piece of Cowboy memorabilia that just fits perfect:

IMG_0002-106.jpg


Thanks, Ron, good to see you again.
 
They look great in there, Lance! I'm happy to finally see them put to good use and displayed in a proper cowboy motif environment.


RC
 
I miss this thread.....:yes:.....anything new ??
Whats the update on your move to Williston ???
Since you asked.....The Hilton is parked outside of my garage, has been for a few months. I've set two travel dates, this Fall, that both came and went. What happened is that as soon as I got done with most of the Hilton restoration, the phone started ringing for work and it hasn't stopped, yet. I was working weekends for the last month trying to keep on top of things. This is not a bad thing.:D

The Hilton is currently undergoing it's first snow load test. We got over 12" of Minnesota Mortar falling in the last two days:

IMG_0003-77.jpg


IMG_0002-111.jpg


No leaks and the interior is really easy to warm up with all that white stuff on top. I will be pushing it all off very soon because the Hilton is getting powered by solar!

This is a 235w MX-Solar polycrystalline panel:

IMG_0001-132.jpg


I have a charge controller and other sundry hardware on the way. I'll be adding a couple of golf cart batteries so will end up with about a 320 AH bank. I'm also installing a 600w inverter for running the little fridge and the electronics. With the charging from the panel that may give me a self-powered rig. At the least, I'll be able to camp for three days or so without having to charge up the batteries.

Whenever I do get out of here and on the road, I'll be styling!:yes:
 
With all that snow, maybe you better get in the old Hilton and hole up for a few days with some good tunes.
Oh yeah, I've been holing up in there......until someone needs something and they find me.
It's kind of nice to escape to the Hilton and catch a ball game or kick back with my buddies. I have the audio feed from the TV fed to the stereo receiver and it's not half bad. The DIY antenna continues to amaze me. The HDTV signal at 1080p is so nice compared to cable broadcast at 720p. :yes:
 
Howdy campers!
It's been awhile since I checked back on the thread and thought I'd throw a couple of updates out there.

New cushions:
IMG_0001-136_zps5306004a.jpg

The BIL is an upholsterer so he did the sewing work. I bought new material and foam. Made a world of difference.

Solar project:
IMG_0005_zps550a1e6d.jpg


I've had the module up for a few months and it is a great deal, allows me to camp off the grid. I made a tilting bracket affair so the module can be tilted to get the most out of Mr. Sun.

IMG_0002-114_zps53d810e9.jpg


I also installed a 12v distribution panel to house the charge contrloller, the inverter, and the switches.

IMG_0003_zps1a97f6d5.jpg

Switches allow me some variability when using two battery banks--charge one, use the other, quicker charging, etc..

Here's the battery box that houses battery bank #2:

IMG_0001_zps29bad541.jpg

Keeping up the Cowboy theme....

The box houses 2 6V golf cart batteries wired in series.

IMG_0002_zps2ca09132.jpg


And you gotta' have a fancy battery monitor to keep track of all this:

IMG_0004_zpsb5343683.jpg


The Victron monitor tracks amp hrs. in-out and lets me know what state of charge is in the two battery banks.

By now, I thought I'd have a bunch of camping stories about North Dakota and other places but the truth is, I haven't had much time to use the Hilton. I got real busy with work, this summer, and was out of town for a month. We are planning some Fall excursions so will get some more miles under my belt in the future.

Happy trails!:smoke:
 
Hey Lance, I was just thinking about you and wondering if you were off galavanting about in the Hilton!

Glad to hear you've been busy, and it's great to see the updates!

One thought, though... If your stagecoach ever gets robbed, the bandits are gonna run off with your batteries!
 
Thanks for the update, Lance. That's quite the modded trailer.

I've been wondering what you've gotten up to myself. :scratch2:
 
Hey Lance, I was just thinking about you and wondering if you were off galavanting about in the Hilton!

Glad to hear you've been busy, and it's great to see the updates!

One thought, though... If your stagecoach ever gets robbed, the bandits are gonna run off with your batteries!
They better be big bandits, those 6 v's are 72 lbs/piece. :yes:

Hey Nate give me a call, or I'll look again for your number. got your email but you got lost in the mayhem. :sigh:

Thanks for the update, Lance. That's quite the modded trailer.

I've been wondering what you've gotten up to myself. :scratch2:
Thanks, Peter.
Yeah, travel plans have come and gone a few times. I did get my "Geezer" Pass from the NPS. Half price for camping and free admittance, lifetime, best bang-for-buck I ever got from the Guvment!:thmbsp:
 
Solar panel ?? !! . nice addition.
I remember when you were trying to figure out what to do with the table.
Now there's a solar panel. . :thmbsp:
We are gonna need some pics when you finally take the Hilton off the grid. . :smoke:
 
Solar panel ?? !! . nice addition.
I remember when you were trying to figure out what to do with the table.
Now there's a solar panel. . :thmbsp:
We are gonna need some pics when you finally take the Hilton off the grid. . :smoke:
No problemo, pics will be forthcoming. Both the Polish Princess and myself like to get well off the beaten track when we camp. I really don't see much joy in pulling into an RV park and parking the rig in a line next to a bunch of other trailers. We were thinking about doing that at one of the Casinos, though. What's left of the Moody Blues is going to be there. Tickets were all sold out. :sigh:
 
No problemo, pics will be forthcoming. Both the Polish Princess and myself like to get well off the beaten track when we camp. I really don't see much joy in pulling into an RV park and parking the rig in a line next to a bunch of other trailers. We were thinking about doing that at one of the Casinos, though. What's left of the Moody Blues is going to be there. Tickets were all sold out. :sigh:

In the old days you could have ''camped out'' in line and got good seats.
Now with computer sales....well....not so much.
 
Pretty darn cool, Lance! Head Up North to one of the state forest campgrounds...no amenities to hassle with...just pine trees and fresh air.
 
Back
Top Bottom