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I know many of us are in a mood to say "good riddance" to much of what 2020 brought, but I'd like to say, I'm thankful for many things that did happen this year. Early in the year, my nephew married one of the sweetest young women I've ever met. Much of my family was here. I'm really thankful my nephew and his bride chose a February date for their wedding. It's the last time in 2020 that joy and hugs abounded, and so much family could gather. During our more quiet, more isolated time, since March, we've completed dozens of projects we'd been postponing. And, of course, made new lists. I'm studying yet another language, hoping to be able to speak to some of Paul's cousins when they (hopefully) can visit next year from Italy, without resorting to Google translate on my phone. I've renewed several old friendships over text and phone, as we check in with each other. Most especially, I've reunited with a cousin who was my BFF as a little girl, but we grew apart. We speak often, now. The shared experiences of today have brought renewed memories of our shared childhood experiences. I'm thankful that my mom, with all her health issues, has done well so far, with the help of all my siblings, and great doctors . I'm thankful that the younger members of our family who still work are all employed, happy, and healthy. And the few who did get covid, survived and are back on their feet. And, I'm thankful for my neighborhood, where we can talk over the fences, or on patios, share stories (and eggs, sugar, etc.), and never feel alone in quarantine times. Not to ever make light of this strange year, or minimize the tragedies. I lost one cousin, and there was only a small, immediate family only funeral. For those of you who have lost loved ones, I offer my heartfelt sympathies. I know what loss feels like, and this year, without our customary practices, it's especially and uniquely difficult. Not to be able to travel, and hug my aunt and hold her, and comfort her in her time of loss, was very difficult for me, and for my mom, her sister. In these difficult and very different times, I'd also like to say thank you for the community here. Every morning, I look forward to seeing friends here, as well. I wish you a very happy, and healthy, new year in 2021. Sherry

2020 was a mixed bag. We were happy to welcome a granddaughter, our 4th grandkid. Both of our kids and their families were able to work through the COVID thing and actually do very well. We did have to cancel a couple of our camping trips due to family health issues that kept us close to home and the hospital to assist and support. Then the discovery that my 4 old AGM’s were in worse shape than I thought which is going to delay our January trip a week or so. Bottom line - we’re looking forward to 2021 and getting back on the road! Happy New Year everyone!! Mike and Carol

Happy New Year.... May the roads less traveled be open to us all!

I pray that 2021 brings everyone much joy, peace of mind and soul, love, and good health to enjoy!

See attached picture of how I store our Rock Tamer Mud Flaps when we don’t have them installed on our TV. I bought a very inexpensive bike rack mount that is sold at Home Depot or Lowe’s. I mounted on the header above our basement window. I removed the Andersen components to lessen the weight.

Here's an idea for vinegar storage: Find a container for the vinegar that fits in one of these. We have several different types and they work great. @NCeagle I love these little hooks. Use them on the new vanity access hatch or on the wall near the shower bracket for hanging washcloths. Alternately, less expensive suction cup hooks would also work.

And now with the same shower mixer as Mountainoliver... Mountainoliver, the check's in the mail! But... I don't know how to get anything delivered by the post office these days. 😉 So glad I didn't have to rip the caddy out again - sure made this addition easy!

Follow-up on delivery: In case any are wondering the cost of lodging, RV sites, and fuel associated with delivery, here are expenses of our 5,000 mile (plus a little bit) trip from the Southern Oregon coast to Howenwald and home again (rounded to the nearest dollar): Fuel - $927 (diesel) Average mpg 14.30; mpg affected by driving conditions - windy and cold conditions on I-80 all the way from Utah through Nebraska on the trip to Tennessee. Average mpg towing on the trip home was 12-15. Speed also played a part in mpg since it seems to make a big difference in the 1-ton diesel fuel usage when driving at freeway speeds. Diesel prices High 3.56 (CA) Low 2.08 (NM) Lodging and RV sites - $986 Hotels on the trip to Hohenwald - $734 (8 nights) RV parks on trip home - $252 (6 nights) We took our own food; only ate out three times. Didn't count this as delivery cost since we have to eat anyway. Picked up some supplies - hitch, small tools, etc but all were non-consumable and not included in cost. Total cost of delivery $1,913 Value of adventure, priceless

My 4/0 negative battery cable insulation was rubbed flat where my cable gland had failed. I tried to reuse the original gland, but every time I opened and closed the battery tray the gland nut would pop off. So I ordered and install a new gland and the same thing happened again. I finally came to the conclusion that the nylon threads were not holding up to the flex of the 4/0 cable. So I ordered the one below. And let me caution you, it takes three hands and persistence to replace those glands if needed. If you do replace the gland, just remove the small glands since you have already removed the 6 AWG cables. That will simplify the replacement. Mossey

Looks great - I think you’ll find that the separate shower controls are a lot more convenient. And the higher mount for the shower head is a nice bonus too.

I agree. I assume that I’ll be having a conversation shortly with one of their tech guys concerning this new problem and I’ll press them about these others then.

Mossey is right, you can only get the individual battery info on the Victron app by using all Victron gear. But believe that the LifeBlue app is supposed to do the same for their batteries.

Is that picture you posted of your equipment or is it a stock photo from the internet? I only have the BMV-712 on air at this time, but I have fired up my new MPPT CC for testing which gives me 2 different Victron products to choose from within the VictronConnect app. So from my limited experience I believe the VictronConnect app screen shot you posted would be visible from the Victron Battery and not from the BMV. I do not believe that the Battle Born batteries provide individual cell voltage readings through the VictronConnect app. At least I have never seen BB cell voltages in the VictronConnect app. Maybe someone can correct my thinking. Mossey

Seriously, Paula, it's a terrific storage solution. Ours sit outside in the sideyard. Your solution will make everything (especially the fake chrome) last much longer. I love it. Just couldn't help seeing the bat. Probably because I grew up in the country.

Seadawg, now I am going to see that giant bat every time I go to the basement! Paula

And now with the same shower mixer as Mountainoliver... Wow, that looks great! What a difference you made with the addition of the mixer. Congratulations on a job so very well done. Sherry

Great solution. But, does it make anyone else think of a giant bat? Sorry, couldn't help myself.

It does look like there was a slight decrease in the rate at which they where falling though. Some of that heat is being absorbed into the basement even if most of it is probably radiating out of the top and sides of the trailer.

The Oliver is capable of being towed with just about any Tow vehicle. Well almost anything.😜 Happy new year to All 🍾 🥂🎉

Very sad indeed. We looked at Airstream first when we began our quest for a travel trailer. The quality control issues were very concerning. Once we found out that they were owned by Thor, we ran away FAST. Fortunately for us we discovered Oliver.

The Elite doesn't have the same ducting through the various parts of the hull as the Elite II, so the furnace us less helpful unless you open a drawer, and some access ports. That said, unless you're constantly camping in really cold weather, you can guage some results from here. I will say, that if it's cold out, and we have free power, I love running a small electric heater. The furnace doesn't kick on as often, so it doesn't wake me up as often. (I'm a pretty light sleeper.) And in our older elites, the furnace is in the kitchen, next to the bed. Make sure you buy a heater with a tip-over cutoff switch, since you'll be traveling with your dog. Just in case. The heaters work best if on the floor (duh, right? Heat rises.) The cutoff is pretty standard on most electric heaters. You won't need a very big one. A choice of two wattage is nice. Ours is 700 on low, I think, and 1200 or so on high. I usually run it on low, and use a nice blanket, and furnace on low.

Ok, for the data geeks like me out there, here's the test results with no heat other than an electric space heater set to ~65: This was a "real" test since I actually showered and slept in the trailer last night. Some of the interesting things that impacted the data: - Showered at 5:30PM yesterday and again at 9:30AM this morning. You can see the associated spikes (about +5%) in the inside humidity from that. The humidity also stayed in the low 40's with me in there as compared to the low 30's without anyone. So each person may raise the humidity by 5-10% to JD's earlier point. It starts to go down again once I turned the heat up (see next point). - The temperature dropped to about 62 during the night and I woke up cold at 3:30 AM. I had the space heater on low and it couldn't keep up. I put it on high mode at the same temp and slept fairly warmly for another hour. You can see that the temp does spike during that time and it does not drag up the basement temps at all - as expected. - I added a sensor to the floor of the closet at 10:00 PM. It's just as cold in the closet as it is in the storage area and front street basement. I'm convinced I need to gain access to that area (somehow?) and poke a hole in the duct. 🙂 - At 7:30AM I pulled the plug on the test and started the furnace up. The temps in those 3 areas mentioned were around 38. The low overnight was 28, so maybe could have survived a few more degrees without the furnace but not much with the fresh water and city water valves probably at risk the most. I may have to address that risk as well. You can see everything shoots up pretty quickly once the furnace is started. Would have been nice to see how the temps rebounded on their own and how close it tracked to the outside temp, but I'll have to do that next time. I suspect they would not have rebounded fast at all given that when I cranked up the space heater at 3:30 AM it didn't stop the basement temps from plummeting at the same rate as the outside temp. - I ran the space heater on the inverter for a while to see what kind of drain they put on the batteries. I charged the batteries at 5:30PM before I started and again at 8:30 PM after I finished. You can see the heat goes up in the street side basement from the inverter fan during charging. The batteries drained 45% (180 amp hours) over that 3 hours and it wasn't even that cold out! I had the heater set on low and it was drawing about 80 amps consistently when on. That's incredibly high drain, so electric heaters aren't going to work well for boondocking. - All in all, it looks like all the basement temps came down about 10 degrees closer to the outside temps with the space heater as compared to where they were with the furnace. More importantly, the furnace is keeping the basement temps from falling as fast as the outside temp does. It's also a great way to get some heat into the basement areas pretty quickly if needed.

1. The idea was good. 2. The work and installation was great. 3. The final product makes me want to spend my money and do the work too. 4. And then he talks about how easy it is to make changes! Not fair! 😭 Bill

Nice faucet. I'm really sorry to hear about your misfortune. We froze our outside shower once because we didn't winterize in time.

Ouch! Have you checked that outdoor shower yet and/or the backflow valves on the outside inlets? Bill

That looks like a nice faucet. Sorry about the old one freezing though - and also your Truma!

Bill, how do you like your camera mounted in the tire cover? I can see how it would give a more familiar view, but I do like the bird's eye view that I get from mine mounted up high.

AB lifestyles also has fitted blankets they have elastic sewn at one end makes a nice fit. And the blankets are quite warm.

We are fortunate to live in a neighborhood like the old days. Borrow an egg, a cup of flour. Air up tires, if you have a compressor. Etc. We share . One of my newest neighbors dropped off cookies on our doorstep today, Christmas eve. We had lost my mother -in-law's recipe for spritzen cookies, though I had saved her 50s press for my daughter. My new neighbor's cookies tasted just like the cookies my daughter "helped" her gramma Zizi make, so many years ago. My neighbor, Beth has offered not only her recipe, but lessons for my daughter. Which is wonderful, because I never was much of a baker. I depended on my mother-in-law for cookie exchanges , among so many other things. She was amazing, and I miss her so much. This may seem silly, and a small thing, but small things do indeed matter. Spritzer cookies are small, but big in memories in our family. Merry Christmas. Sherry

Overland, that bath remodel was well worth the wait for me and I’m sure y'all are happy with the results. It is another example of your out of the box thinking. Congratulations on a job well thought out and executed. Now, about the bit of a spaceship vibe. I looked at all of the pictures first because I couldn’t wait any longer to see what you had come up with and then went back and read the text. The closet insulation and aluminum tape made me think of an old tv show, from 1965. Lost in Space Mossey

This works: Mine were actually a little loose. John Davies Spokane WA

Here are the instructions from PD. It is pretty easy to follow and has nice images too. I received my replacement unit in April 2019 and it was Li capable. My new board showed LI/WIZ instead of LI/LA. NOTE: WIZ is for charge Wizard and is the same as LA for lead acid, while LI is for Lithium I did have a tough time getting the white wire removed from the lug (step #3). Otherwise it was pretty simple.

I will help in any way possible, but I am a little too ADHD to write an “How To" on this subject. But I would suggest that you purchase this book to start with. And while you are waiting for it to arrive, watch some of Will Prowse's YouTube videos. I will suggest that you approach it slowly. And as Sherry suggested, remove the bad battery pair and take your AZ trip with the remaining 200+ Ah's of batteries and your generator. Who knows, you may find a great battery deal in Quartzite. By all means, disconnect the solar panels. You can cover the panels with blankets or disconnect them from the rooftop port. And trip the flag circuit breaker under the street side bed. I believe you should follow Overland's suggestion of eliminating most of the wiring in the battery box by using Buss bars inside. I am down to 3 wires/cables from the battery box to the inside, 1 battery +, 1 battery - and a battery temperature lead. Mossey

Jason, good info. John's comments bring up the difference between campers and travelers. We are more on the "traveler" side, going somewhere to see the sites and visit interesting landmarks, parks and historic places. We prefer hook ups, but are not limited to only FHU campgrounds. We spent time out in the desert at Quartzsite and at Joshua Tree NP boondocking as well as other places that were not developed. Our trailers adapt well to all conditions! We are going to visit as many National Parks as possible with or without hook ups. With regards to Texas, the state has a nice network of State Parks, from the lush Caddo Lake SP on the LA border to beach camping at Mustang Island SP near Corpus Christi on the gulf to the second largest US canyon at Palo Duro SP near Amarillo to the high desert at Davis Mountains SP in west Texas and lots of other interesting places in between. Big Bend NP is a great visit as is Guadalupe Mountains NP. We've also stayed at nice COE parks around the state for next to nothing with our senior pass. The bigness of the state allows for great geographic diversity. Mike

John, Took some photos while working on the Ollie today: Cord plug: 15A Cord Adapter used while connected at home: