ADKCamper

I was corrected by my wife... the order of bedding components, starting from the "bottom", is as follows: (1) 1" pink foam insulation board, (2) Hypervent layer, (3) OEM Cushions, (4) 2" memory foam, (5) Wool topper, (6) Super Cool Comfort Mattress Pad, (7) Full-size fitted bottom sheet. The 2" memory foam was a hand-me-down from another family member. It is just a piece of uncovered, unlabeled, unbranded memory foam. We had to cut the two rear corners with a large pair of shears to match the curve at the back end of the Elite. The "Legends Hotel Wool Mattress Pad - Natural, Full" came from here a long time ago when it was significantly less expensive: https://www.thecompanystore.com/legends-hotel-australian-wool-mattress-pad/11027D-F-NATURAL.html The "Columbia Super Cool Comfort Ice Fiber Mattress Pad" came from here, also a long time ago and less expensive: https://www.kohls.com/product/prd-3044533/columbia-ice-fiber-mattress-pad.jsp?skuId=63361129 At least for our vintage of Elite I, the rear dinette/bed is an "RV Full" size, which appears to be just over an inch narrower than a standard Full size mattress, and has the 2 curved corners at the rear of the camper. We did not modify the sheepswool pad or the mattress pad; they just fit a bit sloppy on the slightly-less-than-full-sized "RV Full" bed. Clearly what is "comfortable" varies from person to person. This has been working for us; hope you can arrive at a bedding configuration that works for you.

Welcome to the significantly smaller subset of Elite 1 owners! We also keep the rear dinette down it its bed configuration, and continue to use the original cushions. At the bottom, 1” of pink foamboard insulation, covered by a layer of Hypervent. Then the cushions, topped by 2” of memory foam, icy cool mattress pad and a sheepswool topper and a fitted sheet to help hold it together. Happy travels!

The above is accurate for our 2018 Elite I... as nice as that refrigerator is, the Nova Kool R5810 will not fit through the "neck" between the refrigerator/microwave cabinet and the bathroom wall. We recently replaced our Dometic RM2454 with the Nova Kool R3800. It is slightly smaller overall than the OEM Dometic, but it has the same size freezer, which was important to us. JD was correct with his comment that the original refrigerator cabinet is "wonky" in multiple dimensions. I had to shrink the width of the opening in order to mount the R3800, so I also squared-up the floor and sides prior to the Nova Kool installation. We did have to disassemble the original Dometic fridge to get it out through that same "neck" as described above, although not in quite as many pieces as JD did... I took off the Dometic door and hinge brackets, the mounting flange (which was seriously double-sticky taped on...), and removed the cooling unit from the back of the fridge. Otherwise, the fridge "insulated box" remained intact and did not have to be cut up in order to remove it [although the sawzall was standing by... 🙂 ]

Another related trick that leverages the "highest point" predilection of deer flies (and black flies for that matter)... When entering your vehicle, stand up high on the door sill (or step / running board if you have them) first, which brings the flies to a higher level, then duck down and enter the vehicle quickly and close the door before the flies discover that you've moved.

I haven't attempted to fine-tune this approach, but we have had some modest success by altering what appears to be your "highest point"... while wearing a day pack, insert a 2-3 foot light stick into the pack so that it stands more-or-less straight up. Hang/attach a hat to the top of the stick. Some flies will be attracted to the hat at the highest point, and bypass your head/hat at a somewhat lower point. Not sure how the effectiveness of this changes with height above your head. I assume there's a "sweet spot" to be determined experimentally. You look kinda goofy walking around with this contraption, but then sticky solo cups probably also look goofy LOL

There are several posts discussing how the signature works... try this one: You could also search for something like "signature" in the search field in the banner at the top of a forum page.

It helps to open the shower drain valve (either manual or automatic) to allow some air into the (forward/high/uphill) end of the gray tank... making it somewhat easier for the liquid to pour out of the rear/low/downhill end of the tank. Don't forget to close this valve when moving the camper or parking extremely nose-down or the gray tank fluid may burble up into the shower floor pan from the long & shallow gray tank, which may not be pleasant. This valve must be open when using either the shower or the bathroom vanity sink.. otherwise these will not drain into the gray tank as expected and the fluid will either stay in or flow into the shower floor plan.

Good idea! We've been taking our table down whenever we move the trailer because the thumbscrews always loosen themselves up with movement. Maybe this might help. I have this notion of a plan (not yet executed) to find some kind of spring loaded latch mechanism that could be used to keep downward pressure on the table top while moving (or even all the time). Haven't looked too hard yet, but also haven't stumbled into any good candidate latches...

Does anyone know how the floor under the refrigerator is supported (2018 Elite I model)? I'm replacing the Dometic absorption fridge with a Nova Kool compressor fridge. The "floor" of the fridge cabinet appears somewhat unsupported... the left side will flex when I put some weight on it. The caulk/adhesive seal between the floor and the left wall has also separated; not sure if that was what supported the floor or not. I'd like to tear the old floor out and put something solid in, but have no intel on what is below to support it? I've found a few threads that discuss the cabinetry (nothing square/plumb, lots of caulk and foil tape), but only one reference to support below the floor and that looks like a custom aluminum welding job (that I'm not capable of) on a much newer model. I'm leaning towards supporting a new floor with some aluminum angle attached to the side panels, absent any good solution to beef up the existing floor...

We have a 2018 LE, with a single Epoch Essentials 300Ah battery. Two of the Epoch 300Ah will not fit into our battery tray. They will likely fit into the battery compartment if the tray is removed. Measure first; your mileage may vary. Our tray inside dimensions are 14-1/4" x 14-1/4". Two Epoch Essential 300Ah batteries side-by-side require 13-3/8" long x 14-3/4" wide (because the battery tops are wider than the bottoms and you can't snuggle them close enough together to fit into the tray). I would like Epoch to develop something like a 200Ah or 250Ah Essentials battery with Bluetooth and heat that is just a bit smaller so that I can fit two of them into the existing tray (or make the 300Ah battery just a bit narrower... but no wider or taller). I prefer using the tray as it slides out, making the connections easier *and* it provides slots for the battery hold-down straps to attach. p.s. I'm also a big Adirondack fan 🙂

Yes... I have used SAE "2-flat" rubberized connectors for 12v dc devices that I might want to disable/remove easily for service, access, replacement, etc. Pay particular attention to the polarity as shown above... so that the "live" end connected to the trailer wiring harness has its positive "+" terminal covered in rubber (and the bare "-" terminal is exposed). I also use the small 2-pin SAE rubber covers to protect the trailer side of such connections when the 12v device has been unplugged. The rubber cover hangs on the wire right behind the trailer-side connector, ready to cover up the live female side of the connector. Also pay attention to the current rating of these connectors. This particular one is a Hopkins 47965, has 16 gauge wire nominally rated at 10A. Many such 2-flat SAE connectors are also rated at 10A max. Looking online a bit harder you can find 2-flat SAE connectors with 12 gauge wire if needed, Just as when you pull the fuse to silence a safety device such as this, be careful to flag the device as disconnected (e.g. hang some surveyer's "tell-tale" tape so it is visible sticking out from under the dinette seat cover) and take positive steps to restore the device to service as soon as possible.

Completely agree with all of the above experience & recommendations. We have an Elite I (5,000 lb Gross) that's lighter than the Elite II that most folks tow. Our tow vehicle has been a 1/2 ton Silverado 1500 5.3L for 8 years. This combination does fine in the flatlands and rolling hills of the East, Southeast and the mid-West. The Rockies and similar mountain ranges of the West are another thing entirely. We're the vehicle going uphill at less than 45 mph in the right lane with the flashers on. Downhill the transmission really winds up (and heats up) trying to help the brakes keep our speed under control. With an Elite II, in the mountains, it would not feel safe/controlled. After our recent trip to Glacier NP and parts of Oregon, we finally upgraded to a 3/4 ton Silverado 2500HD with the 6.6L gas engine and 10-speed Allison transmission. Higher GVWR for camping gear, bigger engine, bigger brakes, more engine oil and transmission fluid cooling capability. Yes the diesel version would be the ultimate, particularly with its engine braking capability, but the purchase and maintenance costs are higher *and* in some locales out in the boondocks away from the interstate highways you can't always find diesel fuel when you need it... hence the gasser. We haven't been back to the Rockies with the larger truck yet, but in the northern NY Adirondack "mountains" (only hills compared to the Rockies) the 2500 is SOLID; you don't even notice our little Elite I behind us. As some have mentioned, its not the best choice for a daily driver in town with narrower roadways, tighter parking and more traffic.

I looked once for solid SS lug nuts, but could not find any in an appropriate configuration. Maybe I’ll give up on that and find some solid chromed steel ones…

My deep socket gets stuck as well… with both the closest sae and metric sizes. I suspect poor quality control on the chrome-covered lug nuts’ outer dimensions. I carry a fairly long (and inexpensive) Harbor Freight 1/2” breaker bar for removing stuck or over-torqued lug nuts, and a shorter folding tire cross for putting lug nuts back on. I’m still trying to find a good spot to carry a 1/2” torque wrench. I also carry a 3.5 ton Humvee scissor jack with a combo rectangular & curved adapter on top of its pin. It is fairly short when collapsed and comes with a ratcheting box wrench with a long-ish handle which lifts one side of the Elite easily. It can sit on leveling blocks or 4x4s if required.

12v power on inverter input lugs? GFCI tripped on inverter output? Tried on/off switch right on inverter face panel? Big input fuse feeding inverter blown?