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<p style="text-align: left;">Please check your Andersen links for tightness. I found this at the end of a travel day.</p>

We have the twin bed version of the LEII. After the first year we realized that we were so used to sleeping together that it would be nice to be able to occasionally convert the twin beds to a double bed. I made some plywood pieces to span the gap between the twin beds and we bought some foam to sit on the plywood and create a double bed. We went with this for a year+. The problem was storing the foam when we were in the twin bed mode. So, we measured and discussed and this is what we came up with to eliminate the extra foam. We are leaving tomorrow for a month or so to go up to South Dakota so we’ll see how it works. Here is the gap between the twin beds. It measures 18” X 51”. It’s actually 50” from the nightstand to where the curve starts on the bed frames. Here is the same gap with the plywood. There are three pieces measuring 19” X 17”. It’s 3/4” plywood. The plywood stores easily under the mattresses when not in use. I cut a 1/2” X 1/8” recess on the short side of the plywood so that when placed on the fiberglass mattress frame is locks in place and won’t slide. In order to eliminate the extra foam that required a place to store we reconfigured the dinette cushions. We had new cushions made that included a larger back cushion that measures 25” X 19” and is 6” thick. In the dinette it sits on the fiberglass, not the bottom cushion. The new bottom cushion is smaller, 25” X 17” and butts up against the back cushion. The larger back cushions sit on the plywood when in double bed mode. Here are the new dinette cushions. Notice the back cushion does not sit on the bottom cushion. Here’s a shot with the cushion removed to make the double bed. Here are the cushions on the plywood. We were a little concerned that the dinette seats wouldn’t be as comfortable with the thicker back, but sitting in the driveway the last few days it seems okay. Also, we wondered if the bottom cushion would stay put without the back cushion sitting on top of it. We’ll see how it works out this next month on the road. Mike

This is a shredout post from another topic. John Davies commented on my custom 2" hitch thread and asked a question about the eBike I have on my bike rack. I thought his comment was worthy of its own, dedicated post. Here goes . . . From John's comment: "I like your Trek. I have been researching ebikes, but I think this brand is out of reach in terms of cost. Do you have a recommendation for a full suspension mountain bike, mid-drive, for about $3000 street price? Max desired weight less than 55 pounds. I rode a Haibike hardtail with the Yamaha drive and was really smitten..... but I need some rear travel. I like this one.... https://www.haibikeusa.com/emtb-full-suspension/2018-sduro-fullseven-5-0.html Can you comment? Any others I should specifically look at? Thanks. John Davies" John, I saw my first e-bikes while camping this summer. A Canadian couple had Trek Verve + bikes on a rack behind their Class-A motorhome. They appeared different from your standard bike, so I inquired about them. They were eBikes, and the owner told me he and his wife (who are in their late 60's) have rekindled their love of bike riding. I saw them both head out for a bike ride at Colorado National Monument park, which is rather hilly. As I watched them return about three hours later, and they were both refreshed, with smiles on their faces. It was then that I decided to look into this thing, called an eBike. I learned that basically, an eBike utilizes a battery to add a selectable amount of energy (or none) to your own effort as you are peddling the bike. This mode is called "peddle assist" and is the most common type out there. A Class-1 electric bike is limited to 20mph and, at this time, is permitted pretty much anyplace a regular bike can go. You may peddle faster than 20 mph, but the "assist" will not kick in above 20mph. eBikes with higher energy levels are out there, but local restrictions may consider them a quasi motorized vehicle and not allow them on trails with other people. Six years ago, I buggered up my right leg pretty bad in a bike accident and residual complications from the wreck were severely slowing down my riding experience. The ole' ankle and knee would speak to me going uphill and for several hours after a good ride. The eBike would allow me to request an "assist" going uphill and take the stress off the buggered up joints and bones. I took a look at what was out there and decided to go with the same bike the Canadians had, the Trek Verve +. Although it is one of the lower costing Trek bikes, the Verve + has everything I need to get me back out on the road: geezer fenders, bright running lights, and soon, a way to take my dog, Bosker along for the ride. eBikes are heavier than your standard bike and will require a bike rack built for the load. My Trek Verve + is one of the lighter ones and weighs about 45 pounds. So far, I have about 100 miles on my new ride and look forward to many, many more miles of pleasure biking throughout the years. John, the Haibike mountain bike looks great. Go for it! If you've ridden bikes in the past, but have slowed down because the pleasure was starting to ebb a bit, consider letting a battery assisted bike get you back out there. Is there anyone else out there with eBiking experience? How do you like them?

Please keep your e-bikes on paved or gravel trails, regardless of what the law may say. Our local trails club spends a disproportionate amount of time already repairing trails from inconsiderate or uneducated bikers in general, and the damage caused by e-bikes is 20 times worse. The extra weight and torque of these bikes can destroy a trail in nothing flat.

We bought an ebike for my wife Susan about a year ago, and she really likes it. I have done a lot of cycling. I commute to work by bike, and when I was younger and fitter I completed week-long 500 mile supported cycle tours, over about eight summers. We like to ride together, often on the Jordan River Parkway here in SLC, and when especially when we are camping. However, Susan struggles on even a modest hill, which limited us to fairly flat routes, such as the Jordan River Parkway. I tried to convince Susan that she should get an ebike, but she said she was not interested. Then a year and a half ago our bikes were stolen off of the bike rack on the back of our trailer. The trailer was parked in front our house, and I put the bikes on the rack the night before so that we could make an early departure. There were four cable locks on the bikes, (two from the bike rack, and two more), but a bolt cutter makes quick work of cable locks. Statistically Salt Lake City is a low crime area, but stuff happens. We were bummed. Susan’s bike was cheap, but my bike was expensive. I commute on heavy bikes that have lights, rain fenders, and a rear rack to carry panniers (saddle bags). The panniers carry my briefcase, my laptop, my lunch, and a change of clothes, and weigh 20-30 pounds, so it doesn’t make any sense to have a lightweight bike. The bike that was stolen I called my “weekend ride” bike, and it was an expensive LeMond carbon fiber bike that I bought before my second cycle tour. I was really bummed. However, our homeowner insurance covered the theft. Susan’s bike was cheap, but they valued a comparable replacement carbon fiber bike at $2900, more than double what I paid for mine (on special sale) in 2005. The insurance also covered the accessories: pump, water bottle cages, under seat tool carrier, etc. So we had some money to spend on new bikes, and we revisited the ebike question. Digression. Our insurance claim went smoothly, in part, because we had good documentation, sales receipts, and photos of the bikes. ebikes are expensive, and if you buy one keep these documents where you can find them. I have stored the scans of sales receipts and photos of the bikes on my Dropbox. So I wanted Susan to get an ebike. She said no, that she would like to get into better physical shape so that she could get up hills on a regular bike. My counter argument was “you couldn’t get up hills when you were 25 years younger,” and based on this rational argument she relented and we started doing research on ebikes. As Pete said above, there are two types of ebikes. He got the “pedal assist” type, where you must pedal. The other type is called “throttle,” and while you can provide power by pedaling, they can also go without pedaling much like a motor scooter. Susan got a pedal assist bike. Like regular bikes, most ebikes have gears. This allows you to determine how many pedal revolutions provide so much power, whether you are using electric assist or are going solely on pedal power. There are two types of gearing systems, an external derailleur (like on most current 10-speed bikes), and an internal gear hub (like those on the 3-speed Raleigh bikes of my youth). I initially wanted the external derailleur because I was used to them, and I knew how to adjust them. As I learned more, I discovered that the modern internal gear hubs are extremely reliable, and that they are completely protected from water, dirt, and grime. We ended up getting an bike with an internal gear hub. There are also two locations for the drive motor, either in the bottom bracket (between the pedals) or in the rear hub. Both types have advantages and disadvantages. The bike we selected had a mid-drive. Another variable is where the battery is located. Most ebikes have a removable battery, but some have it built into the frame. I think the non-removable batteries are a strong negative, because you have to plug directly into the bike to re-charge the batter. I think people like the non-removable batteries because they don't look like a “cheater” bike. (We camped at Fort Stevens State Park in Oregon this summer. We visited the fort and were returning to our locked bikes when someone shouted “who has the cheater bike?”) The removable battery can be located on the down tube or on a rear cargo rack. Some people prefer the battery on the down tube as it has a lower center of gravity. Single track mountain biking is very popular around here. When we were shopping for ebikes we saw a lot of full suspension mountain ebikes, designed for trail use. If we were interested in single track riding I would definitely get a down tube mounted battery. The bike we got has the battery in a rear cargo rack, and we have been happy with having the cargo rack. When we ride to the farmer’s market we attach a milk crate with bungee cords. I carry the panniers on my commuting bike which has a rack, but the panniers will fit on this ebike rack. When camping, we put a small trunk bag on the rack for our rides. This trunk bag is insulated, and a blue ice keeps our lunch cold. Finally, and most importantly, test ride any bike. You need to make sure the frame size and geometry are comfortable for your body. There is a reason that serious cyclists spend a fortune to get a frame custom fitted to their dimensions. Also, don't worry if the saddle, or seat, is not comfortable. Many people buy a bike they like and replace the saddle. We bought a Kalkhoff Agattu B8 ebike. Susan wanted a step thru model (what as kids we called a girl’s frame). This bike has the Bosch Performance Line motor, the Bosch PowerPack Li-Ion 36V / 13,4 Ah (500 Wh) battery, and a Shimano Nexus 8-speed hub. It has a predicted range of 68 miles; we have never come close to running out of power. The controls on the computer are intelligent and easy to use. The bike has a number of features, including fenders, front and rear lights, and in integrated rear wheel lock. Susan really likes the saddle (seat), which is a large gel saddle atop a suspension seat post. I thought this suspension seat post was weird, but Susan really likes it. It has been a year and half since we bought the ebike, and it is amazing how many more ebike stores there are now in SLC. We had to go 40 miles to a distant suburb to get the Kalkhoff bike. Part of me worries that we bought too soon with an advancing technology. But another part of me knows that ebikes have been used for quite a few years in European cities, and I think the technology is fairly robust. Susan mostly rides without any electric assistance, and thus gets a cardio workout, but turns on the assist when she is going uphill. Her bike has the same four levels of assist that Pete mentioned, Eco, Touring, Sport and Turbo, and she mostly uses Eco. We have really enjoyed riding up City Creek Canyon, which is a paved road through protected watershed, very close to our house and to downtown Salt Lake City. It is a 7 mile ride, all uphill, through a beautiful canyon with periodic picnic tables. They have a good system. Pedestrians are allowed every day, bikes on odd days of the week, and cars on even days of the week. Susan could never ride up City Creek Canyon before she had an ebike. While Susan got a very expensive ebike, I replaced my weekend bike with a more modest Cannondale Synapse aluminum frame bike that was on deep discount at REI. While it is not as lightweight, or as expensive, as my old LeMond carbon fiber bike, it does the job. I am no longer doing regular 80 mile rides, so I didn't think I could rationalize a really expensive bike. When we bought the new bikes we agreed that we needed to get good locks. So I spent time researching bike locks, which is probably not a surprise to anyone who reads my posts. Websites with good discussions of bike locks can be found HERE and HERE. Basically any lock can be cut by a sufficiently determined thief with appropriate tools. The better locks are 1) more expensive, 2) heavier, and 3) and have larger diameter steel that makes it more difficult to cut through. So it is a tradeoff between weight and price vs. protection. I wanted to get two types of locks. The first is a chain to lock the bikes to the trailer bike rack, and the second is two U-Locks to carry on a ride to lock up at a destination. For each type I downloaded data from the bestbikelock.com site on chain locks and on U-locks, and put the data into spreadsheets. The spreadsheets have thickness of the steel (important!), weight, dimensions, and protection score. I added prices from Amazon. For the chain lock I purchased the OnGuard 8019L Mastiff 6' x 3/8" Quad Chain Lock. It has 10 mm thick chain links, a Gold protection score, and its 6 foot length seemed perfect for my purposes. It is just long enough to go through both bike frames and around the bike rack. For the U-Locks I purchased two Kryptonite Evolution Mini-9 Bicycle U-Locks, which have Silver protection scores. I purchased them directly from the manufacturer so that I could get both locks using the same key. Keyed alike locks can be a real convenience. We camped at Zion National Park two weeks ago, and brought our bikes. After setting up our campsite, we walked through the entrance station and saw a small sign that said “No eBikes in Zion NP.” I asked several rangers about this, and they seemed to not know why. “I think the policy is under review.” “I don't know why they have that policy.” We are law-abiding types, so we were disappointed. But after we saw a number of people riding ebikes thru the campground, we decided to be scofflaws and rode our bikes on the paved Pa’rus trail down the middle of Zion canyon. It was spectacular, and here are a few photos.

If I'm thinking about it right, this would be the way to test it: [attachment file=Screen Shot 2018-07-31 at 10.37.39 AM.png] 1. Shut Valve A. If that stops the water, then you've eliminated that valve, meaning that the problem is either the pump or Valve B. Also if it works, then you could temporarily leave that valve shut and stay on city water. If it doesn't stop the water, then obviously Valve A is bad. 2. If step 1 worked, then make sure that Valve B is shut and then unscrew the filter on the pump. Slowly reopen Valve A. If water starts to come out of the pump, then the problem is the pump. If not, then the problem will have to be Valve B.