SeaDawg

We've never driven the Dempster, but met people who've driven it in good, dry weather, in little sedans. It's really about timing, and road conditions. The day we drove the Dalton, to the arctic circle, from Fairbanks, was awful. Weather (unprrdicted) changed to rain. Lots of mud and construction. Extremely slippery, and had to keep forward momentum or lose it. Paul did a great job. On the way back (we drove it in one day, eschewing the idea of camping for free above the circle, because of the incredible mosquito swarms), we stopped to talk to the guard at the top of the valley run, probably 2 miles. He said it was worse than when we came in. A huge flatbed behind us, with a big drill in the bed, came up. We moved over and let him go first. Followed a quarter to a half mile behind. It was perfect. He squished the trail, with his heavy truck and load, we followed, at twice our speed going up. No rock spray. Our return was relatively delightful, compared to the mess going up. No fwd.

Most good lithium systems, like battleborn and the systems Oliver installs, will lock you out when you drop below acceptable levels, unlike fla and sealed/agm batteries. . That level may be down to 20, or less reserve capacity. That's part of the beauty, and expense, of lifepo batteries. Less weight, and more capacity in the same space. That said, we're still on the fence. Lots of $$ if we replace our agms with lithium, in the next few years. Since agms (and fla before) served us well, we'll see. I'd love the extra capacity on our two battery tray, in an original 2008 Elite 1 shorty. I also find it not that difficult to limit power, and camp with cheaper agm.

No, I wouldn't count Chicken. 🙂 Tok is the crossroads, no matter which way you drive in from Canada, and we always stop there for a night at one of the nearby campsites. Speaking of Chicken, and Top of the World highway, do choose your weather carefully if you drive it. The US side isn't nearly as nice as the short, paved, Canadian side, and has very steep dropoffs, and soft shoulders. At the gas station near Walmart in Whitehorse one year, we met a couple in a class a that got two or three tires sunk in the mud at the shoulder, so deep they had to climb out driver's side. Waited hours for a tow truck from Tok. Thousands just for the tow, and they had no idea what the body repairs would cost. We've driven it, but wait for at least two days of clear weather (no rain) preceding your trip. We were told the ritual is to meet oncoming traffic slowly, or pull as close to the inside as you think safe, and stop. Apparently, this is common advice. One time, at one particularly narrow part (and we were on the outside ledge) , a big truck and fifth wheel stopped, planted himself in pretty much the middle of the road, and made us pass. Paul got so close our mirror touched his. Me, sitting on the outside passenger seat, looking down the cliff,, wouldn't honestly have cared if he'd taken the guys mirror off. He had at least 4 feet to the shoulder. I was looking at treetops far below me. That said, on a good day, you might meet only 10 or 20 others on the whole stretch. We left early from the Yukon River campground.

There's often a line for the free car wash at Tok's Northern Energy gas station, also. Free cold water wash with fill up. They supply the wands (2), water, and some well worn brushes. Byo bucket, soap, and microfiber cloths, etc. We've seen some super dirty vehicles there, including our own. Btw, the free carwash is behind the station, not really visible from the front. Back by their big solar array. The nearby grocery store (Three Bears) has a pretty decent selection, and decent prices, by small town Alaska standards. I can usually buy wild caught Alaskan fish, frozen, at a decent price there. And the visitor center is a pleasant place to stop by, view the exhibits, and check road and weather conditions.

I wouldn't take an Ollie there, but we've driven some pretty poor highways up there. Ps, I think that is a Trillium, not a Casita. My mom's neighbor had a cute one.

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.