johnwen

Thank you, Bill. I see some really frigid temps headed our way and I'll blow out the lines before they get here 🙂

Hi Mike and Carol, Thanks for the help. I will start using elec for the water heater, I'll have to use the circuit breaker for the on/off switch as it seems to be more convenient that way. I've heard the switch can fail and if it's in the off position, no good. I know it's not a good habit to use a c/b as a switch but circuit breakers are easy and relativity cheap to replace and a last measure to help me remember whether or not the Tank is filled with water. We got 1 of our propane sensors to work momentarily and yes, one tank was empty and the other was at 45%, which leads me to think the tanks were not full upon pickup. But I don't know for sure. I've just finished with a hot shower so it's reassuring the alarm didn't go off again. Helpful to me about the winterizing info. We drain to reduce weight, thus to help gas mileage (however insignificant), but do fill before arriving at a waterless campground. I'm "training " our space heater as we speak, to learn what setting is acceptable. So we'll reduce our dependency on the furnace. My only concern there is basement protection, but we do have a sensor by the water pump to help me out. I really appreciate your help 🙂 John

My smeller still doesn't work like it did a year ago, before I got the Covid.

Hi Mark and Patricia (and Ginger), good to hear from you! Glad the kinks are worked out. As you can see we are working on ours. We too are thankful to OTT's service department. They did install a monitoring system for propane bottle capacity, tire pressure and refrigerator temperature. I didn't get the propane monitor bluetooth sensor working yet. Will try today. I touched every bolt and nut and looked at every weld after talking with you, so I did find both struts, bottom nuts, on the left side that were not tightened. That could have been a big deal and I have you to thank as I probably wouldn't have looked that close had we not discussed the problems you had. Enjoy the warm Florida weather 🙂 John

Thanks! We do full time and I forgot to mention the fridge was on propane for the travel from OTT to Tunica. 20lb tanks.

After leaving the mother ship yesterday, we arrived at Tunica, MS for a week or so to check things out before heading back east. Anything we can't solve or fix we'll take back to OTT before heading home. At Hohenwald I made the mistake of leaving the city water hose connected, but turned off, and was of course greeted buy a rather sizable block of ice the next morning, roughly the size of a water filter 😞 It was persistently raining on departure from OTT so I only drained half of the freshwater tank before heading for Tunica. That was a blessing as it turns out...I'll explain a little later. Question #1... Does the freshwater really take that long to drain? I had both kitchen and bathroom faucets open in case it helps evacuate the suction of the exiting water. Last night at Tunica I noticed a very cold draft from the top of the refrigerator, above the frame and below its fiberglass enclosure. The wind was very strong from that side so I took the outside upper vent cover off and discovered a large gap all the way across where insulation mats meet. A good 3/4 inch gap. I taped it up with some low tack tape as well as the top of the refrigerator inside the trailer. Pictures below. Question #2...Is there supposed to be a gap there? I'm leaving the tape there temporarily to block the 30 degree breeze I'm getting from the outside. About 4 AM I realized the mistake I made (AGAIN) with the city water so I opened the faucets and sure enough the ice was starting to form on the inlet screen at the trailer, but as the water flowed and the ice melted I let it run for a few minutes to make sure everything was ok. Then my feet felt something terribly cold. I'm not at all used to having open and close a valve in the toilet to travel, so I can't really get onto myself for forgetting to open it upon arrival at Tunica. At least I remembered to close it prior to leaving the mother ship 🙂 No questions here, just venting! Here's where it starts getting serious. After the "thaw" at 4 AM, I chose to start up the water heater, for added warmth in the basement, via propane. It started up fine, ran a minute or so and then the propane alarm went crazy. After figuring out how to reset the alarm, we turned the fan on to the highest setting, and turned off the water heater. My Casita has the same Suburban heater and when the wind blows hard from that side the igniter has a hard time keeping up with the flameouts, so the propane gets blown back into the trailer, in my opinion, and sets off the alarm. So I just switch over to electric. We opened every hatch we could to check things out and didn't see anything out of place but the alarm persisted and now the carbon monoxide/smoke alarm went off. No smoke and the alarm was 4 short beeps...carbon monoxide. We were about to evacuate into the cold, wet snow. But after opening everything up, the alarms went silent, the red lights went out and the green light on the propane alarm came back on. In retrospect, the next time this happens I will turn off the offending appliance and propane tank first, troubleshoot later! Now all was back to normal, or so I thought. The furnace started blowing cold air...rats!!! Propane bottle must be out. I tried starting the stove...no luck. Propane bottle must be out. Now I had to get out in the wonderful weather we're having. Loosened the bottles and the only one I had open was a lot lighter so I assume (I know... I should avoid using that term) it must be empty. I'll check when the weather conditions become a little more favorable. That's why we only open one bottle at a time, better to have a spare. Question # 3... Should a full propane bottle last more than 2 1/2 days using only the furnace and water heater? Water heater is turned off when not needed. I'll turn the furnace down to 69 (was set at 71) or so and augment with my space heater. I wonder if a low, sputtering propane tank could have contributed to my problems. Last question...I wonder what caused the carbon monoxide alarm to go off? And the blessing of the half full freshwater tank?....we have water for a little while!!! 🙂 🙂 PS This really will be the last question... at what temp do ya'll pull the plugs and winterize? We don't have antifreeze so we'll dump all water, including the water heater, and blow the lines out with a little foot pump. Have a good laugh with this one ya'll. Stay safe and warm wherever you are! I hear the ice falling from the roof. Must be time to get things in order outside. John

Yes, Mike and Carol, we overlook the spigot as well and are trying to train ourselves to do the same thing....use the fresh water tank and disconnect/drain the hose 🙂 Happy Trails 🙂

Thanks, Bill! Ice is far worse, IMO, and does a LOT of damage, when it accumulates in abundance. We will be looking ahead and plan accordingly 🙂

Hi Mike and Carol, Thanks 🙂 We are now in Tunica, MS, and will be making our way to SC in a week. We're certainly glad to have a 4 seasoner! Our Casita struggled somewhat when it got below freezing. We are officially "Happier Campers" 🙂 John

Now to find some warmer weather 🙂

The water is on today 🙂. We will be leaving tomorrow.

Hi Don, We asked OTT to de-winterize ours prior to delivery but it was not done. Our walk through person told us that even if you request de-winterization it will not be done at this time of the year. Our guide repositioned the valves for us and we did it after arriving at our overnight spot at OTT. We filled the fresh water tank, checked the water level indicator for operation, turned the water pump on, and flushed out all the lines including the outdoor shower. The anti-freeze just goes to the gray water tank and we''ll dump tomorrow before we leave, and make sure the gray and black tank blade valves work ok (we don't need that unexpected surprise later down the road 🙂 ). Good luck! John

Expecting delivery day after tomorrow 🙂

Where in SC? We are in Pinopolis, by Lake Moultrie 🙂

Whoa...pickup a week from today (13th). Glad the weather seems to be moderating. Thanks for the update 🙂

Congratulations 🙂

13th for us with 996 hull, have fun...may see you at camp 🙂

Congratulations 🙂

Foy's shower mat for ours we hope to take possession of in Jan 2022 🙂

Happy Thanksgiving ya'll 🙂

We were originally 13 Jan, then 5 Jan, and now back to 13 Jan...hull 996. We hope for no more changes and think OTT must be doing the best they can, considering supply issues. That's as of 22 Nov. Happy Holidays ya'll 🙂 John

Congratulations you two!!! We're very happy for ya'll 🙂 Lol on the drain valve...if that's the only thing that went wrong, I'd say you were off to a fabulous start! Jason, our salesman, called us today, as we were on the road back to S.C., and asked us if we could move our delivery date UP to 5 Jan (from 13 Jan). I thought "is this a trick question?" Well, of course!!!! Wendy and I wish you the best of times in your new "Lucy", and hope to meet up with you one day 🙂

Mike and Carol, did you walk the "red path of pain" trail, as I call it, and experience all those exercise apparatuses along the way? 🙂

We were there last year on 4th of July and I'll tell you there are a LOT of fireworks shot off from the surrounding communities; It was like a grand finale that lasted 4 or 5 hours...really cool! BTW we were in the other, smaller "B" camp 🙂

We're excited for ya'll 🙂 Hope all goes well! We're a little behind you with a mid January pickup...thanks for your help 🙂 John