mossemi

I keep this meter plugged into the AC outlet under the street side bed for informational purposes. I think of it as a gas gauge for the trailer AC electrical system. I can do a quick visual check on the AC power in the trailer without have to get a multimeter out of my tool kit. The outlet I plug into at the house is a 15 amp circuit and it has several outlets in the garage as well lights. If I try to run too much on that circuit, the house breaker may trip or the trailer air conditioner may stop if it is running or the refrigerator will switch to gas when it is set on auto mode. These are all indications that my house circuit is overloaded and if I reduce the load on that circuit, the trailer is happy and everything runs as expected. Mike

I keep this meter plugged into the AC outlet under the street side bed for informational purposes. I think of it as a gas gauge for the trailer AC electrical system. I can do a quick visual check on the AC power in the trailer without have to get a multimeter out of my tool kit. The outlet I plug into at the house is a 15 amp circuit and it has several outlets in the garage as well lights. If I try to run too much on that circuit, the house breaker may trip or the trailer air conditioner may stop if it is running or the refrigerator will switch to gas when it is set on auto mode. These are all indications that my house circuit is overloaded and if I reduce the load on that circuit, the trailer is happy and everything runs as expected. Mike

Very nice job, but I thought Harley dog would help fetching tools and such, making it at least a 1.5 man crew. Did you see the PM I sent you a week ago? Mike

There really isn’t any movement in tower on my install, but I modified my installation from the stock instructions. All of the movement happens above the Snap Pin, marked by the red arrow. If you would like more detail, let me know. Mike

Did this issue get fixed? Please provide an update. Mike

Congratulations on your new Ollie and it’s maiden voyage. Mike

I’m not sure about that 80/20% because that smile looks like a 100% to me. Enjoy your new Ollie. Safe travels, Mike

You may be right about the power source not making any difference, but I don’t know that. When ever I am troubleshooting any problem, I try to gather as much information as possible. What I know so far is it happens on 2 switches, so I have to assume none of the other 12v lighting circuits are effected. I also assume you are using the switch panel by the door because the rear switch panel does not control the courtesy lights. Open the access port in the upper cabinet above the microwave and find the main and courtesy light switches. Pull the wire connector off of the switch post and push it back on making sure you have a good connection. Do this 1 wire at a time. Do this for both wires on each switch. Now test you work.

Excellent points Steve! It was not my intention to suggest that the only place to jack up the trailer to change a tire was from in front of the front tire. I just couldn’t get a clear picture of the rear jacking point on my trailer. That was also the reason I referenced the newsletter as it has a better description than I provided. But here are 2 pictures copied from the newsletter showing the jack points for OTT's 2017 and newer. Mike

You can all ways verify the spot with a magnet to confirm it is steel. Mike

This is a picture of my 2017 EII. The outside aluminum frame member in bolted to a galvanized steel channel. You want to place your jack under the steel channel, never under the aluminum. The have been some pictures of the 2019 or 2020 trailers and they have a sticker pointing to the jack points, but I can’t find them now. EDIT: The picture of the jack point stickers is in the September 2019 newsletter.

Do you have a problem with all switches and all lights? Are you plugged into AC or running on batteries? Mike

I have driven the Going to the Sun Road a half a dozen times and since Krunch doesn’t usually drive while on vacation, I have never really gotten to enjoy the scenery. So a couple of years back, we stayed in some cabins in St. Mary on Hwy 89 and the Red Buses were parked across the street each night and the drivers would wash them at the end of the day. After a couple of days of watching the bus wash, we decided to take a bus ride and it was the best GTTSR drive ever. I was Mister Prairie Dog, popping up and taking pictures or a look through the binoculars. I really enjoyed it and of course Krunch said it was ok, as she had seen it all on the previous 6 drives. Mike

Although Krunch and I did not know Jim or his family personally, everything we have ever heard was extremely positive. And in my experience, nothing I say will really make a difference at this time. But I will still say that we are very sorry for your loss and know that you all are in our prayers. With God, all things are possible, Mike and Krunch

Looks like the Beech Lane levelers also suggest cutting them shorter if necessary. Mike

I could have, but I didn’t have one in my parts bin! So I just replaced the plug. The following the pictures tell the story. This picture is the bottom of one of the drawers I removed and shows the latches that allow removal. This picture is the rear drawer support. 3 screws hold it in place. And it is upside down in this picture. This picture is of the kitchen faucet access panel and it is mounted with 4 screws. The existing plug. And the replacement plug. And hopefully the new plug will not become unplugged while traveling to the next campsite. Mike

I was updating my campground log and realized I mispoke concerning electric service at Dunewoods campground. There is no electric service there. Sorry about the incorrect information. I did check with Indiana Dunes State Park and their website states that they have 20 amp service. Mike

Thanks David for the report. It sounds like you had a great time. And it looks like you got a new oven for ?. Mike

Congratulations on your new Ollie. Your retirement date looks familiar, it was my official date as well, although they did pay me a little longer just to go away. There must be someplace to camp in the White or Green Mountains before next spring. But then again I know it’s different up north. In Florida, we don’t start thinking about spring until after Easter so we don’t confuse it with fall?. Mike

I would guess that has happened before, based on Paul and Sherry's and Bill and Martha's response. Which gave me another project for the honey do list. Since I would rather fix problems at home rather than while camping, I am going to replace the offending plug with a 90° plug. That should allow me to secure the plug and wire, possible with a tie wrap. Thanks for the problem to solve, it more fun than chess, for me. Mike

I noticed the new wheels on the E2 in the cover photo in the newest newsletter. The star pattern looks good. Mike

Funny you should ask! I’m still catching up on missed forum activity, so I just saw your question about the Indiana Dunes NP. It used to be Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore until becoming a NP in February of this year. It surrounds Indiana Dunes State Park which has different fees and rules. We stopped at the Dunes on our way back from a family reunion in Illinois. We stayed 2 nights in the Dunewood campground. It is an older campground, the showers and restrooms were nice and clean as was the campground. EDIT: Sorry, my bad! There is no electric at Dunewood Campground. Electric only With dump station and central water as most cold weather campgrounds are. I thought the parking pads were on the small side, but each camp site had a large picnic table and fire ring area. The campground is very shady with lots of new growth trees. The bugs were not bad for a shady camp site. The park is rather unique in that it is more urban and industrial. The dunes were impressive unless you compare them to White Sands or the Great Sand Dunes NP's. The beaches are gravel with mostly round stones. We arrived Labor Day afternoon and the State Park was a zoo. We checked in the campsite and chilled. Rain in the morning sent most of the tent campers away and the crowds were much smaller everywhere we went on Tuesday. Access into the park was easy as we came in from the west on I-80 and left on Hwy 20 and then back on l-80 to Elkhart and the museum. Do check it out if you are in the area, it’s worth the visit and at $25 for 2 nights with the NP pass, it’s a bargain. Mike

We just visited Indiana Dunes National Park, just off I-80, 50 miles west of Chicago. It’s not in the class of Yellowstone but it’s a NP that’s close to I-80 and it’s worth a stop for the night or just to stretch your legs with a walk on the beach. Edit: There is no electric at Dunewood campground. My apologies. Mike The Dunewoods campground is electric only with central water and a dump station. The shower rooms are clean as are the restrooms. Depending on traffic, Starved Rock State Park is about 3 hours from the Dunes or 100 miles west of Chicago and also just of off I-80. The campground is not quite as clean as Dunewoods, but not bad. Lots of hiking available at Starved Rock. And I forgot the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, IN. It can be done in a couple of hours and has some interesting campers from the 30's and up. Happy camping, Mike

I would suggest you first determine what type of camping you are going to do. Will it it be in formal campgrounds with electric, water and sewer or state and national parks that might just have electric? Or will it be Boondocking on BLM land? The reason I suggest thinking about it this way, is that we cook a little differently in each campground type. Now you need to determine menus that will work for your diet and camping style. For instance, I don’t like to cook breakfast on travel days. Cereal or a bagel allows us to break camp faster and get on the road. And if we have multiple travel days back to back, I’ll grill multiple chicken pieces, pork chops or hamburgers that can be heated up quickly in the microwave. I’m not looking for Michelin meals while camping, so we keep it simple. We very rarely cook inside as most everything is cooked outside on the gas grill and others OTTO's cook over a fire pit or charcoal grill. I do carry a cast iron Dutch Oven sometimes for group meals, but it is heavier than I like for most trips. Also grilling mats will protect you cookware from grills that are sometimes rusty or greasy. And the are easy to clean. Now I that You have an idea of how an you are going to camp and cook, you should have an idea of what you might need. After 44 years of marriage, we have too much stuff, so we moved some of it to the trailer and went camping. Then we started a list of what we needed, what we wanted and what we had to have. And even though we do that every camping trip, we still take too much, but we’re getting lighter all the time. Thrift stores and garage sales are a great source of lightly used cooking items that you do not mind abusing. Look for light weight items when possible no matter where find them. And don’t forget aluminum foil and pans. The pans are light and reusable if you chose. And square items store better than round, so look for them. Happy camping, Mike

Thank you Sherry! They did have a couple of mirrors in white at the BB&B at Citrus Park a month ago. Mike