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Happy Veterans Day to all the vets out there. If you are an honorably discharched veteran, starting today you can shop at AAFES (PX/BX/Exchange) online. Just go to vetverify.org for information. The background story is at: https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1049503/department-of-defense-extends-online-military-exchange-shopping-privileges-to-v/ We do most of our online shopping at Amazon, but do some shopping at AAFES Online. More than half the profits from PX sales go back into programs for soldiers and airmen. Mike

We arrived at our site at Rainbow Plantation…an Escapee Park near Gulf Shores on Thursday. Friday morning I got up and took our dog Nick outside to take care of his business. I came back in and was finishing breakfast when I needed to go back out to get something out of the truck. The door was locked shut and we couldn’t get out. We tried several times, but we were locked in! I crawled through the egress window and thought if I keyed in our code it would unlock the door…no luck.. I tried 2 or 3 times and still nothing. This time I tried the key and moved it to the unlock position…still nothing, then I tried the FOB and still…NOTHING. So here we were, I was locked out and Gerri and our dog were locked in. I called Oliver and talked with Jason and tried his suggestions…nothing. I called RV Lock company from where the lock came from and talked with Dave, a tech there. He had me tell Gerri to take off the 4 screws on the inside and then pull the red and white wires connection off. She did that…nothing…we were still 1 locked in and 1 out. I talked with Jason again and tried a couple other suggestions…nothing. After 1 hour of trying, it was suggested I call a certified rv tech to come and unlock the keyless entry. The RV tech worked for 2 hours following everything that Jason and the tech from RV lock told him to do via. the phone. Again, NOTHING. The RV Lock company said they had never had this problem before and definitely nothing like this. The lock was somehow jammed and was not unlocking. After 3 hours of trying, it was decided to do all we could to break the lock off. Finally we did, but by doing that, part of the door by the lock was damaged. We were now UNLOCKED, but no lock or handle on the door. We once again called and talked with Jason and it was decided that we should come up to the plant and they would replace the door and lock. So about 2:15 pm we bungeed the door shut and headed north. After about 7 hours of driving, we found a safe campground that had a spot for us. We then bungeed the door shut from the inside and went to bed. We got to Hohenwald around noon Saturday and Dustin met us there since Oliver graciously allowed us to park in the showroom/PDI area since we had no way to lock our Ollie. Anita was there so she let us in. We were allowed to borrow a key to the building so we could come and go as needed. Monday morning we took our Ollie to the plant and met Jason there and talked about the solution and possible causes. Jason said they would put on a new door and whichever lock we wanted…no cost. He also checked the egress window framing as we crawled in and out of that window several times while we were trying to fix it ourselves. Before we left, Jason said they were going to do some R&D on this problem to see what could have caused this. It could have been a total fluke with the lock, we don’t know. He said he would get back with us about what they found. For now, we put the traditional lock back on until I regain my confidence in the keyless entry lock. Oliver did an incredible job attending to our needs and fixing our Ollie so we could get back on the road. I cannot say enough for the positive support we received from the Oliver Company…100% Kudos. I don’t know of any other rv manufacturer that would have been as open and supportive as the Oliver Company.

No offense intended, but what is your risk tolerance? If the heater stays running, and the temps don’t get too low, your pipes will probably be fine. What if it gets way colder than predicted, or the furnace doesn’t light (for example, the igniter fails, or the bottle runs dry and doesn’t switch over)? An RV furnace is in no way like your home furnace, other than the basic operation. It is cheap, of minimal build quality and much more prone to failure than a home unit. You can probably get away with leaving water in the pipes near the outer hull penetrations (service ports and shower) but one cold morning you may find yourself with a rupture. It isn’t a big deal compared to a wood framed RV with household insulation and plywood floors, but it will still be a big PITA to deal with and it will most definitely ruin your winter vacation. I live where zero degree winter nights are common and 15 below is not at all unusual. Having had burst pipes in a couple of houses I guess I am maybe a little over-sensitized about this. It is always prudent to take extra steps to protect your expensive equipment. Be aware of what might happen, and take steps to minimize any bad consequences. John Davies Spokane WA

Exactly :) How cold is it going to be? We just make sure that the outside shower hose is drained and we have been fine down to 12°. We only use the suburban onboard heater below freezing and we've been setting it at 58° at night when the temps get into the 30° and we set it at 62° when it gets to freezing and below because the trailer does get a lot colder overall inside as the temps keep dropping outside. It's a true 4 season trailer but the windows if left uncovered, really bring in the cold. We use the Reflectix insulation and have cut it to fit between the windows and the blinds, so it just drops into place. Then we have the one made for the max-air vent but we had to replace the Velcro that came with it because it wasn't strong enough. One roll did the whole trailer with lots left over. https://www.amazon.com/Reflectix-BP48010-48-Inch-10-Feet-Insulation/dp/B000BPAULS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1510427956&sr=8-2&keywords=rv+insulation&dpID=31Io%252BmGxiWL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Yes, I am busy all the time. Between being a father, grandfather, fisherman, photographer and, of course a husband, I don’t know how I ever had time for a real job.

We spent September touring Colorado with a short detour into Utah from Mesa Verde to visit Canyonlands NP and Arches NP at Moab, Utah. We stayed at Horsethief Campground, one of many BLM campgrounds in the area (recommended by Scubarx). With the senior discount it was $6/night. It’s open all year with 60 sites. There are no hookups, no water and no dump station. Each site was level, nice picnic table, fire ring and views. Vault toilets were clean and odor free. It’s a half mile off the highway about 5 miles from Canyonlands NP and about 12 miles from Moab and Arches NP. It’s first come first served and filled up by the time it got dark. We arrived around 1:00pm and had a good number of sites to choose from. Sites are well spaced so you’re shouting distance from your neighbors. We will definitely stay there again. Our site. You can see our neighbor, not too close Quiet site, good view, adult beverage, relaxing after a day of hiking in Canyonlands NP Mike

We recently got this. works great. Heininger 4040 HitchMate TireStep https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002Z9KE0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_qWD.zbS1XC7CC -Angela

We were at the Bristlecone Pines campground in CA at about 8,500 ft. Got all set up late in the day and I got a campfire going. Then it started to snow. Beautiful. I sat outside in the snow and just marveled at the quiet and the beauty. Poking at the fire and moving closer to stay warm. A libation offered some distraction from the gathering cold and darkness. Liye decided to move inside. Eventually, I moved in too. But looked out the window at the orange glow and fog of snowflakes. Again, totally quiet and we were the only ones there. Miles from anywhere and anyone. The heater clicked on and off during the night and as I noticed it, I also noticed how snug we were. Snow makes the dark forest even quieter. Morning brought the chance to see how much snow we got and start a new adventure going on up to the 10,000 ft level to marvel at the 5,000 year old trees. Bristlecone Pines. One of my favorite places. Through coring and other tree ring methods we can look back 12,000 years with a recorded history. All of this from trees growing in a dolomite soil that was previously a sea bottom. Now, that ancient "sea bottom" is at 10,000 ft elevation. Such are the wonders of the Sierra Nevada Range and plate tectonics. Fun to ponder on a quiet night, camped in the snow with a warm fire crackling. The idea is to lean into it, experience it, marvel at what it is. Try to grasp the enormous amount of time that has passed to form this scene. Living trees that I can reach out and touch, that were alive when the pyramids were being built. But more than that, soil that formed as a sea bed and is now here! Without our beautiful little trailer, we could never come here and have a comfortable winter visit.

I’m back in the fold. Sold hull#23 and bought hull#80. Now I’m busy trying to figure out the WiFi Ranger and other cool stuff on the new trailer.