SeaDawg

Mt. Pisgah is one of our favorite places on the Parkway. Enjoy the fresh, cool air! I understand the restaurant at the inn is currently only open for inn guests, during breakfastand lunch. Such a shame. It's one if the most beautiful views of any restaurant, in the morning, with that big wall of glass. Later in the day, the sun moves on, and it's not great.

Btw, at least one waterless toilet manufacturer sells a kit to connect urine disposal to a collection tank. (Separret). The 9215 villa would not fit in an Ollie bathroom, as it's quite large. The new Separret Tiny would, I think, quite easily. Separret has its own issues,,as it uses a rather puny fan to "dry" solid waste and paper, no composting medium. Both require a fairly large vent tube, (though smaller in the Tiny) which would look odd in the bath, and could quite possibly annoy your camping neighbors with the "aroma." But, looking at their technical drawings and installation guide might give you some ideas.

I've seen several posts by people on airforums who've done that, but not here. One installed it so it was reversible. Though urine is 99 per cent sterile, it will def "stink" if kept in a tank, in the heat for days or weeks on end. If I were going to do that, I'd probably also see if you (or Oliver) could plumb the bathroom sink to the black tank. Lots of rvs do this, as it's a short run. It would add some grey tank capacity for showers, and dilute the urine in the tank a bit. https://www.airforums.com/forums/f44/anyone-out-there-connect-their-composting-toilet-to-a-gray-or-black-tank-for-urine-187621.html You'll probably find some sob brand youtubes, which could be helpful, as most rvs mount the toilet directly above the black tank.

Any functional, useable ladder on the rear would likely block a portion of the rear egress window.

We had the pleasure of meeting @Mike D. and Jill at a gas station near Ocala today.

The cicadas are so very loud tonight. Rhythmic white noise. Its all ok.

We drove in to bar harbor, with two cruise ships docking, in bar harbor. Not a fun experience.

We were in bar harbor, one year, late September. Way too crowded for us. My guess would be arrive mid-august to early September. If the Canadian border opens, scoot up to New Brunswick . Its so beautiful up there. And, go to St John's go further up. Our Canadian hosts have always been accommodating. And, we love our time in the provincrs and territories. A lot of Canadian campgrounds close, early to mid September

Imo, hitting the solar panels with a hose, from a step stool is plenty good.

I don't think Oliver, or anyone else, waxes the trailer prior to delivery. You could, however, ask if service could do it for you, if you are planning a long trip home. Or, if they could recommend a local mobile detailer A good wax job does help with road dirt, and bugs.

Yes, we run one big 2hp saw at a time, not two. I wouldn't expect it to run ac, and anything else. I think the compressor issue is the long spike in power. We have a smaller compressor we'll probably try. It should be fine, I think. We're rating this as one of our best buys, for 2021. It's been so helpful. We usually carry a Honda 1000 just to charge batteries. This gives me a lot more, and cost half the price of our Honda 1000, but that was over a decade ago. We need to change the oil, though. Probably past time, with 200+ hours.

Well, that's an interesting, and happy turn of events.

Update on this relatively inexpensive generator. Our pole barn construction crew used it every day, to power their saw and charge batteries. We've used it to power saws, run some led garage lights (7?) and charge batteries, for the interior buildout. It struggles with the 2 hp compressor, but everything else is fine . I think it's a tiny bit noisier than when new. The construction crew loved it, and thanked us daily for quiet power. The control knob never had the set screw seated, so it fell off a few times, til Paul got around to looking at it. A long screwdriver and reading glasses fixed the issue. So, over 200 hours later, we're still happy. Also, no free cover has arrived.

I think the fridge front looks great.

Skipper, I think our manual said "may not, " not will not. We haven't had a Norcold in 9 or 10 years. Most people have no problems. I do remember issues at elevation over 10,000 feet, as I mentioned At lower elevation, how many attempts does it take to light the fridge? Most try three times before you get a fault code . Try running the propane burner first, to fill the line with gas. Also, even before that, open the lower vent/burner compartment and look for a mud dauber nest. A small one could block enough air to let your fridge light at lower elevation. But not at altitude. Our old (2008) Norcold gave us an extra year's warranty if we had the unit professionally serviced /cleaned annually. As Jim_Oker said, the gap may not be set correctly on the burner and igniter. Not something you should do yourself.

Mine is yellowed, too, but, hey, it matches the yellowed jack cover. I actually like the one piece weatherproof cover over the outlet, as it acts like an awning or hood. But if you don't, buy what you like. As long as it's weatherproof. It should have a spring (or springs if you go with the two outlet covers), to keep it weatherproof on the move. We did have to replace the exterior outlet, once. Not a big deal to remove the cover, and put it back, as I recall. A few screws, and caulk. The hard part was finding a replacement gfi outlet, in rural New Brunswick. Got lucky at a tiny, dusty hardware store. We carry a spare, now, which means we'll probably never need it....

Yes, and their framing hammer is a thing of beauty. https://douglastool.com/tc20-ds

I call ours the third tail light. Others call it the Oliver light, rear, over the other lights

Were it me, I'd start with fla or agm, and move up if/when I felt the need. Definitely, get the solar package, so you have the inroads recharging, and wiring in place. Upgrading is easier. Imo

Our Elite shorty has two 105 agms to clarify. Twice the energy storage of your original Casitas, at least.

My friend's casita only had a spot for one battery. Are you getting an elite, like mine, or the bigger 2?. If you're like her, even the base battery package (included) on the Oliver, doubles your energy storage . On the Elite 2, even more amp hours

The cicadas have been very loud this week, in wnc. I'm using them as white noise, as it's so rhythmic. I know it's supposed to be a big year for cicadas. 20210729_220723.mp4

That 3rd light, beyond dirty/plugged weepholes, is the biggest culprit , ever . Yes, inspect caulking, but most types of caulking is good for several to many years. Butyl is good for longer, but I seem to be in the minority on that love affair with synthetic butyl. Put the rv eze gutters on. Clean the weepholes. Watch the 3rd light Wax on/wax off, with your choice of products. We've probably had 10" of rain in western North Carolina this season. My only problem was a heavily clogged weep in one window track. Easily solved . I'll never make light if the situation, as my husband knows. My spot on the bed is the back, three windows, and the 3rd tail light. I'm usually the one who "knows" if we're have a small leak. That's a rarity, and in the past, always a weephole, or that 3rd tail light

@johnwen, are you fulltiming now, and if so, what batteries do you have? That would give a good base. Fwiw,over the last 14 seasons, we've rarely had power or hookups, and, with a 3 way fridge and 200 watts of solar, 2 105 ah 12v batteries did fine, for us. When we installed a dc compressor fridge. That all changed, with the additional 60 to 70 ah of battery storage required. (Elite, smaller battery tray.) We added 200 watts portable, and an additional 200 watts fixed. Still not enough, if we camp in the shade. Generator comes in handy, two or three times a week. Even with that extra load, I'm still hesitant about the considerable investment in lithium, since we haven't found a solid "need." Just the want. And, if course, the luxury of extra power Were it me, I'd start with solar, and base batteries or agm, and see how it works out. Lithium keeps getting more affordable. And, I personally don't think it's a really big deal to swap it out. If you fulltime in a very northern climate, everything changes. See @Jim_Oker comnent.

The one for the job at hand. Beautiful collection, by the way. It obviously represents years of work.