SeaDawg

I use the the little countertop above the fridge, and the small dinette table for prep, often. In the smaller kitchen of the Elite, the only "counterspace" is a few inches between the sink and stove, and the additional space of the cooktop with the lid closed. A few people installed a swing up top at the side of the stove, back in the day, but it had to be very small. What would be even more helpful would be an adjustable table in the small dinette, like the Lagun or Springfield marine hydraulic pedestal, that would allow me to raise the tabletop to counter height. Not sure about how to handle the window shade protrusion, though, in moving the top up and down.

the side bed (small dinette) was only about 24" wide , besides being only 72" long. Just something to keep in mind .

If you get desperate, the more southern Moon pie could bridge the sugar gap. 😅 https://moonpie.com/products

The moles at red iguana might just be reason enough to live nearby... 😅 loved it.

I've found most camping reviews are either great, or in the dump. Same campground. Either super happy, or ax to grind. If I click on the reviewer, and read their reviews, I often find a stream of the same. My needs are not the same as someone traveling in a sunblocker motorhome or giant fifth wheel, so I take some comnents with a grain of salt. Where I worry are multiple reports of lots of cranky permanent residents, old trailers, poorly maintained facilities, etc.

That's a really vulnerable area for freezing, as it is in any rv with an outside shower. And, it's easy to forget when winterizing. (Ask me how I know... yup.) We replaced ours once already . I think a bypass/shutoff , as I have said before, would be a grand idea.

There's a road marker 7 or 8 miles from our property in NC, about David Crockett. At least there used to be. He did, indeed, get around. Those were really long distances, at the time. https://www.obcgs.com/crockett-david-and-elizabeth-patton/

Yes, he did. He fell in love with his wife , Elizabeth Patton, in western NC, near Swannanoah/Black Mountain. Remember the Alamo. Sherry

The last time I saw "snow", actually frozen raindrops, in my headlights, was Christmas eve, 1989, in sw Florida. We have, of course, seen snow in other parts of the country, since then. All my family in the Midwest has snow, today. Northern Central Iowa to North Central Minnesota. It's early, but it's here. I know it's melting, but it's a sign of early winter. I'm totally ok with 80 degrees on my Florida patio. 😁

The blue towels do work really well, if you have them around. They also work well for other uses.😁

Here we go, Tampa, here we go!👏👏 Game 5.😁

One more thought on the Rebel (which I actually love, btw.). Beyond the huge physical step up into the cab and bed, there's a big/not quite huge but really big step up - in tire price, when every three to five years you have to change up tires, with 33" cool looking tires. You can get cool looks with blackout trim and black rims, and 20 inch a/t tires, if you're not an "offroader." All depends on what you want. At the very least, even if you're tall, make sure there's a step up built into getting into the cab. We carry a two step folding ladder for the bed, with 20 inch tires. Even with smurf bars, I carry a footstool to get my mom into Paul's truck. She can barely make it into mine, with 17" tires, and running boards. Food for thought. Especially when your big dog gets older.

Sorry for your loss of Marlie. It's a tough time, losing a four-legged member of the family. Your trip as outlined, to me, looks like a lot of stuff you don't like to do. And a lot of possibilities for cold, snow and ice. I'd probably look at heading back to Aiken, head south to the panhandle of Florida. Spend some months of coastal time in FL, Al, MS, TX, including Hill country of Texas. Head further west and North (and higher elevation) as spring/April approaches. Moab, Zion, Bryce. Grand Canyon, Sedona. All great views, but don't go too early. My opinions. I've been in Moab /Archrs/ etc and Antelope Island and Dunes in early May, and still chilly at night. April would probably be my earliest dates of choice. As John said, elevation makes a big difference.

I can see the at tires as a good compromise, just as they're a compromise on trucks and suvs. Stiffer sidewalls, probably. Decent highway performance. Better traction offroad (not necessarily in mud.) We'll all look forward to your review, as time goes on. Once again, a pjoneer.

Thanks for finding that photo of an Elite II under construction. You can clearly see the ducting. And the reflectix insulation (which is not present in older 2008s like ours.) I'd love to see a new Elite I photo underway. The furnace in the smaller Elite moved to the small dinette area, but I don't know if it ducts to the bath, or anywhere else. Or, if it simply blows hot air from a single grate, as ours does, which is quite effective in heating the smaller cabin space. Maybe next time in Hohenwald I'll see one under construction. It's been awhile.

I'd always heard about the "moss people " in the pnw. I was really totally surprised by the moss in the Washington rainforest when we finally camped there. (My last state of the 50 to visit.) A very special beauty. And really tight campsites in some of our choices.

Thanks so much for gathering all this data.

My cousin just put the same Coopers on her Jeep a few months back, on the advice of her son, who's been running them on his Ram. They both really like them. Look great!

That's true in the Elite II. Our older (2008) Elite I has no ducting. I don't know about the new model Elite. The furnace location in newer Elites has changed, but I don't know if it's ducted or not. One of the newer Elite owners could tell us.

A shutoff/bypass for the outside shower would be a simple solution

We've many times camped into the teens, maybe upper single digits in the older elite. But, we don't intentionally seek out winter weather. It finds us, in the mountains in shoulder season, and sometimes in fall in Canada. .I know the insulation is different in the newer models (we really don't have a lot). And, the furnace location has moved. If it's in the 20s or low 30s when we go to bed, I usually open the bathroom door, and open the lower drawer a bit. So far, so good. It was below 32 twice this past 2 weeks, during the night. I did nothing extra. Left the bath door closed. Ran furnace on low. We were fine. Toasty, actually. But daytime highs were in the 50s and 60s.

I don't think the furnace in the Elite is ducted. Ask your sales person, but I don't think so. When it's really cold, owners of older Elites, like us, will open a drawer or access hatch to send the warm air through the hull. Mine us a 2008, so things could be different. Just know before you go.

Sales people in farm/ranch country, where everybody buys a truck to haul something, are often better versed than city salespeople. That said, it's still important to check all the info through the stickers and vin. The Laramie trim John proposed is a flatout lux truck. But, you'll want to protect the seats with your big dog, for sure. My 2005 Silverado has a 25 or 26 gallon tank. It was really fine for towing our Elite, with all the right equipment except 4 x 4. It would not have been fine in some sparsely populated western states, and especially in the Yukon. I'd probably have some anxiety about distance between gas stations. With the Silverado, we averaged around 12 mpg, towing. Definitely, more gas stops. At our age, we probably stop more often to stretch legs and visit the rest stop toilets than we stop for gas, with the 35 gallon tank in the Ram.

We also love Western NC. Lovely, friendly small towns. 4 gentle seasons. Asheville is a very fun town, with great food, craft beer and music. We don't live here year round. (No sailing), but we spend months here every year, and find it a great jumping off point for other adventures. Much closer to New England, the Midwest, and Canada. As for Colorado, it's beautiful, but never really my favorite. My sister lived in Grand junction a few years, and was thrilled when her husband was transferred. One of my college roommates moved last year from Parker, CO, to a small town in Wyoming. Our daughter is out in Colorado now, on a hiking trip. I'll see what she has to say. If I were ever to go west, I'd probably look in Idaho.

My advice, carry your genset in the pickup bed. Don't add to the tongue weight. There are many threads on generators here. We carry a (now) 12 year old Honda 1000 that charges the batteries, when we don't have sun for the solar. Economical. We don't use it often. My sister bought a small powered by Yamaha 2000 watt at Costco for around $450. Great little generator. Champion also has a good reputation, at a similar price. Get a good cable set, and lock it to a rear wheel. Make sure you buy something you can lift. Use nonethenol fuel, and stabil.