Roadtrek Play Upgrades (Part 5)

Upgrade Posts List:

Part 1 
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

In Part 5, we cover:

• Battery Disconnect for the Chassis
• ScanGauge III

Battery Disconnect (Chassis)

We had the misfortune of depleting our chassis battery. Once, I inadvertently left the rear door light on. 
After it was depleted, even with fully charging, it didn't seem to hold a charge. 
We winterized the van, and even with everything turned off (chassis) the battery was still dead within a week. The battery tender didn't even keep it charged. 
After exploring reasons for this, we found that there are several Promaster components that can cause a parasitic draw. The U-Connect system is one, and another is the door locking system. 
Our battery was replaced under Ram warranty, but we were concerned about further draws. To resolve this issue, we looked at a chassis battery disconnect. 
We chose one which had been used by a fellow Roadtrek owner and which seemed to be working well for him. 
We ordered and this Remote Battery Disconnect from Amazon. Within a few minutes it was installed by removing the negative battery cable, adding the disconnect, and attaching the negative cable to the device.
Now, when not using the van for a week or more, we have no worries. We simply lock the van and use the provided remote to disconnect the battery. There's minimal (5milliamp) draw from the device itself, and it performs flawlessly. 
Our Promaster chassis is the second half chassis, which has the upgraded U-Connect radio and navigation system. Even when using the disconnect, the U-Connect immediately synchs upon turning on the battery. I've read that older chassis need to be re-paired. 
We'll add pics soon. 

ScanGauge III

We wanted to be able to monitor some performance gauges in our Promaster. After researching, we decided the ScanGauge III was the best option for us. With it's bright screen and touch interface, it's easy to view and edit as needed.
We are currently monitoring the variables listed in the image below, but they can easily be swapped. 
It can be mounted with the shown suction cup mount. The mount has a silicone sticky pad under the suction cup and is super secure. The ScanGauge attaches to the mount magnetically and can be lifted off easily to hold if adding or removing gauges. 
We purchased ours at Advanced Auto Parts with a 40% off coupon. 
More info on the ScanGauge site.

Upgrade Posts List:

Part 1 
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Short-eared Owls at Killdeer Plains

     Monday was a gorgeous day! Beautiful sunshine and best of all....NO WIND!
That made it a great day to watch and photograph Short-eared Owls. "Shorties" usually begin hunting about 30-60 minutes before sunset. They don't prefer to hunt in windy weather.
    The Shorties begin moving north to their spring and summer locations around early to mid February. Some years they stay a bit later depending on weather conditions. 
    Last year, we skipped Killdeer Plains in favor of visiting Pickaway County. We had amazing opportunities there, but hadn't had an opportunity to go there. We've also watched them at Huffman Prairie....and watched as 7 Shorties launched out of the prairie within seconds of each other.
    I saw that the owls were still showing at Killdeer so we made the trip on Monday.
There's so much to see at Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area! I'll add a separate post on our other views.
    Here's some of our favorite Short-eared Owl images for this visit, and a clip of David's amazing capture of a Shortie Dive for prey. 
    I've included a map as well....our favorite area to see the owls is on Township Highway 108, along the two ponds. The area is boxed in red. While the Shorties can be seen almost anywhere at Killdeer, TH 108 offers the most reliable looks.