Dennis and Melissa

Another first today: the dreaded emptying of the NH "compost". Truth be told, I've had much worse experiences changing baby diapers. But don't tell my wife 🙂 Yesterday we made all the reservations for our trip to the rally in AL. Starting in RI. Stopping in: Delaware Water Gap (4 days), Gettysburg NP (3), Shenandoah NP (11), New River Gorge NP (12), Mammoth Cave NP (4). Now to go buy a grease gun and figure out what a zerk is, and how many of them I have.....

By the way, after eight nights in subfreezing temperatures, we finally depleted the first propane tank. Very impressed. And I now know how the regulator works. I also know that you can Google the Truma error codes and get a wonderful description of what’s going on. I could not have asked for better automation.

My Anderson issues aren’t really Anderson issues. With the hitch attached the truck and trailer have driven quite nicely. My issue is more the airbags on my ram. They raise and lower the hitch during hook up and release. Not only is that a bit scary, but it means it’s never the same. Or at least I don’t yet know how to make it the same every time. Ultimately that has meant that I manually tension the chains after hook up. and I am not a trained technician. I think in the long run, I will either become a trained technician or get a truck without airbags. We will see. Thanks everyone for all the handholding.

Ram 1500 Laramie, 5.7L 8 cyl hemi, 4wd, max tow, air shocks, 6’4” box, crew cab

And now, for a match weightier question. Literally. We have towed about 2000 miles now. 500 at 50 miles an hour. Because the owners manual on the truck said so. Most of the rest on interstates at 60 miles an hour because we are trying to be wise and stay in our comfort zone Most of this felt just like driving a car. Some exceptions: wider turns, slower, acceleration, etc. Perfectly wonderful. I even discovered that I can see all the Ollie's tires in my rearview mirrors. I am a pretty happy camper. We hardly noticed any additional swaying from passing tracks or windy highways. But I’m not comfortable with the Anderson hook up. I’d really like to know if I really need it. How stupid would it be for me to disable it for the next 500 miles? FWIW I’m already at the stage where I manually loosen and tighten the chains. And I have no expertise whatsoever. Just guessing.

I have a 2 inch thermometer clipped to my backpack. For years, I have checked it before getting out of my sleeping bag. Apparently, I’m not as sophisticated as y’all. LOL. TYVM

Our first two weeks have been very hectic. As you can see below, we’ve added a couple of states. And they’re cold ones. It was 18 last night. We have a number of questions. I will post here when I get more time. But for now, here is the really important one. How do you know the temperature inside the Oliver? 🤷

This has been my plan. But 2 things have surprised me. 1) After a week, with several nights below freezing, I'm apparently still on the first tank. If that's true, I'm VERY impressed. 2) I've moved the valve to the middle and stared at the little display on the regulator for 20 min and can't decide what in the world it is telling me. I guess I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer. 😛 We are actually headed north this weekend, so more cold nights. And my wife has found a nearby store that re-fills tanks. So, we will probably just do that before we head out, and my education will be delayed by another week or so. 😀 As always, your handholding is much appreciated!

What happens when my heater is on and I run out of propane?

Does the TV in the Ollie support Apple Airplay?

I woke up with this in the campsite next to me today. 😀 Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to talk to him.

we are settling in to the point of decorating 🙂 We love these little suction cups. And it holds up this cute little sign outside the door. Question: I know I have to remove the sign before traveling. Do I have to remove the suction cup? I think not. But I thought it better to ask than end up an idiot.

I may end up doing this. What are the downsides if the 2 sides aren’t set perfectly?

6’2” + ollie2 wet bath is NOT luxury. still the best product on the market despite that 😀

The boys at the mothership struggled when hooking up the Anderson to my Ram. It kept bouncing up and down on them. Next day, When I tried to do it myself I failed. We were still at their campground, so three or four of them came out and 30 minutes later we had it hooked up again. I was so afraid the next morning when it was my turn to do it by myself, but it worked perfectly first try. my confidence was through the roof. The next day we were leaving Hohenwald for St. Louis. It was a Saturday morning so no one else was around from the staff. Took me an hour, including loosening the chains and retightening by hand. I am very concerned where this leads. On the plus side, the truck and trailer handled wonderfully for the 350 mile trip. I hope to figure out the procedure that makes this trivial. But if not, I may detach the chains and see how the truck handles without them. I like the idea about contacting Anderson. I’ll reach out to them in the next couple of days. Thanks.

SO BE IT!! I am declaring victory. Kentucky and Illinois will have to wait.

And now I have a question. I dispute between my wife and me. Do we get to color in states just because we towed the trailer through them or do we have to actually spend the night there? 😜

5 nights in the camper so far. 1 @ mothership 2 @ Falls river - major storm No leaks! But the campground threatened to flood. So back to the mothership. 3 @ mothership 4-5…babbler State Park outside of St. Louis. Just electric. Subfreezing nighttime temps. All systems working as designed comfy, cozy. 😀 only two issues to speak of. 1 we seriously overpacked clothes. Whatever 😂 2 hooking up the Anderson to a ram 1500 with airbags suspension that keeps changing levels. Rereading the owners manual on how to do this. not fun. might lead to a different truck. This is day five of what we hope to be 60-ish for our first trip. Thanks to everyone who help us prepare so thoroughly. Your advice was very valuable. Hope to see you all at the rally.

Newbies now owners

Does this count???

Cool. Cuz I'm 1504. Can't wait.

That, detective, is the right question. We will all find out in about a month. 😉

My wife likes suspenders. So, I think we've decided to go with this set. If I'm thinking clearly, it will allow me external surge protection for both 50 and 30 amp hookups.

What about an external surge protector? I know the 24s come with an internal one. I'm assuming that's all I need.

I think I got it precisely backwards. I think I need this instead.