SeaDawg

I don't know. We don't have an easy start either, as we have only used the ac a few times in twelve years.

Her " peace of mind" was also the Costco return policy. Btw

It's a yamaha motor, not a yamaha generator. That said, my sister has one. Bought it on sale. She and her husband have had it a year or so, and they're happy. Quite quiet. Inverter technology. It does not run her 13.5 btu ac, but her ac does not have an easy start. Whatever you buy, use nonethanol fuel, and leave nothing in the genset tank to "varnish" over the winter. We use the genset so little that the price difference for nonethanol is not a big deal. Sherry

I was in Costco today, and saw the Little Giant Megalite is on sale, for $119. That's a really nice ladder for the price, though kind of big to carry around in the pickup bed, I think. Sherry

Welcome to the group, and congrats on the new Ollie. I think you'll still want an inverter generator. They produce cleaner power that's kinder to your electronics, and control boards of your onboard equipment. The ac is about the only thing that I doubt you could manage without a bigger generator than a Honda 1000i, which is light, easy to use, and very quiet and efficient. And, probably the kuerig, but I don't know the wattage, as I don't own one. There are other ways to make a great cup of coffee without electricity.

Our decade old Honda 1000 is a stellar battery charger. If you want ac, you'll need larger. Are you needing a generator right away? If not, I'd wait, and talk to some folks at the spring rally. Might be able to lift and try a few owned by other Ollie owners. Btw, we love visiting Franklin. Great town. Nice people . Fun restaurants. 55 south and red Pony are faves. Sherry

Stay warm, and enjoy playing in the new sandbox. Hope the winds aren't too strong. Minnesota transplant, I kind of miss the first snows.☃️ But, in tropical southern Minnesota, they're usually fluffy, pretty, and melt in a day. Just a pretty omen of what's to come, and a reminder to finish any undone outdoor fall work. Sherry

That's interesting, and likely a good idea on the part of the new corporate Escape ownership. We see very few Escapes on the road in the east. Of the few I've seen, most have Canadian plates, hanging out on the winter months here in the southeast.

And, there's this on the bottom of the Forums page, if that's where you normally look. And, any forums containing posts you haven't seen are bolded. When you click on the forum, the unread posts are bolded, and a black dot appears beside unread posts.

I click on the pages symbol at the top to see activity since I last looked. Or, you can go to the dropdown menu (3 horizontal bars), and click on activity, with more selections.

Pm and other email notifications have not been turned on yet, as far as I can see. Probably best, until we all get used to the new formats, and set up our personalized notification settings. Sherry

After I go in and look at the notifications items, the bell dot disappears. I haven't found a way to delete the listed items. I'm guessing a certain number of items stay, then roll off ?

You can get to the factory website by clicking on the three stacked bars, upper right, then click on " home". Hope this helps. Sherry

John, it was in our manual for the dometic rm2r54 we used to have. First thing in user instructions. Basically, if you're comfortable, the fridge can operate safely. I think our Norcold 3way manual said 3% was ok, but I wouldn't swear to it. That's actually a lot of slope, .4 inches to a foot, I think. ( I looked up a Norcold manual online. See attached.) Both manuals mention that travel doesn't affect the fluids. It all levels out. After all, none of us really drive uphill for an entire trip.? The newer generation fridges of today aren't as susceptible to the slope issues as the old school fridges of days gone by, but it's still important. Another reason you'll like the Danfoss compressor when you finally get one. Slope in a trailer, or heel in a sailboat, is pretty much immaterial.

David S, one of my friends has that Black and Decker vacuum, and she likes it a lot. Last year, the V6 at Black Friday was probably $30 more than last year's price on the Black and Decker. I brought up the old Christmas thread because the Black Friday deals will start sooner than we think. An older model, like the v6, was a great bargain on Black Friday. I wouldn't want to pay full retail for it, either. Sherry

So, a quick update. The Dyson v6 is the bomb for use in our little trailer. I can sweep our little dog's hair, and the crap we track in quite quickly, several times on one charge. The downside is 110 charging is limited to when we're plugged in (almost never) and when we run the generator. I bought some extra attachments (long stem and floor head) on amazon, and use it at home when we're not traveling. The max button is great, but depletes battery more quickly. This is my favorite handheld vacuum. Ever. And I've had a bunch. The only one that compares in power is a very old, corded, Dirt Devil with a bag and a heavy motor. Not suitable for camping and boondocking. Sherry

Another National Park with good balance is Shenendoah/Skyline, where we camped a few weeks ago. The campgrounds and park are run by the National Park Service. Though the campgrounds aren't modern by any means, they're well kept. No hookups. Lots of pull thrus in Big Meadow and Loft Mountain. Smaller sites, many more suitable for tents, in Lewis mountain cg. The campground hosts wete all great, managing the busy leaf season really well by getting out and mingling and meeting everyone. Concessionaires run the lodges and restaurants, and , within the campgrounds, the stores and coinop shower/ laundry are run by concessionaires. I'm sure the showers are welcomed by the many tenters. We stopped for lunch at Skyland resort, which a decade ago was so wonderful that we changed campgrounds to eat there twice. The concessionaire has changed, I was told, and our meal was disappointing, based on previous experience, though service was good. Sherry

That's nice, more like a small mobile home. But all the weight on one side might cause some side to side imbalance towing... I do like the central bath idea, like you said.

Landrover, the exp6 kitchen can be accessed from inside or out. Fairly clever design. The exp 4 has no room for anything but the outdoor kitchen, but its about half the price.:) I guess you'd just have to carry a supply of protein bars and pbj for bad weather. I would be too claustrophobic with the exp4 lack of height. It seems to be basically a well equipped, offroad bed on wheels.

Townesw, thanks for the great photos and instructions. I'm sure other users will find this very helpful through the years. Sherry

John, that's a trailer I'd love to see in person. I've seen updates on them since their launch a few years back. It's quite the impressive caravan, rugged outside, lux inside, though simple. Maybe someday they'll put a poptop on the new single axle model, the exp4. It's about half the price of the exp6 models. Sherry

Well, good luck. And hope you enjoy it.. Looks rugged, but not sure I'd be happy with outdoor bath, kitchen, and a poptop. Good to keep the center of gravity low if you're mainly off road, I suppose. Still time to catch a flight out and see it. November in Brisbane is pretty nice. Like may in Florida. Sherry

Sounds like you had a wonderful time! Congrats on a successful trip. Wishing you many more miles of smiles. Sherry

Might have been.? And that's so cool. Did you camp at Matthew's Arm? I don't think we ever camped there. Been in the rest of them. Sherry [attachment file=201045]

On our way back from Western New York, we camped a bit on the Skyline Drive. Geezer pass gives you free entry to this beautiful parkway. Great views from many of the pullouts. We checked out Big Meadow, but decided not to stay,even though we got there early enough to snag a couple sites close together. Sites are close together, big, flat, lots of campers. We continued south to Lewis Mountain. Still smaller sites, but more separation. Smaller campground. Lots of tenters and families. And gnats, but the gnats retired for the night after sundown. We had camped here 10 years ago, and enjoyed it just as much. No hookups, quiet after hours. Lots of trees. The next day, we moved out early to get a site at Loft Mountain. Since we arrived around 11 am, even on a Saturday in leaf season, we had pur pick of some really nice sites. Lots of pull thrus. Much bigger campground, but much bigger sites, choice of sun or shade Good separation. Seems like most if the sites are a quarter acre or better. Very nice, professional and helpful staff at both campgrounds. A view from one of the overlooks on the way. It's a beautiful drive.