SeaDawg

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.

Woa, sorry about that mess! Hope your hitchhiker likes Kansas. Thanks for the info on the park. looks great!

Glad to hear that. For future readers, eco mode only works well for us ( honda 1000) under light load. It will surge and hunt when under heavy load, under 50 per cent of rated load. Say, 500 watts. Last week, we charged two olivers from a single honda 1000, with over 100 ft of good heavy cord, but still a lot of resistance. We didn't use eco. Worked great. At the beginning, might have to use the choke a few times. We're only charging batteries, not trying to run ac. Not possible with a honda 1000. Sherry

I don't know that Cooper makes ST tires, Pete. At least, I don't know of any. Just guessing the cooper is the best replacement for the discontinued Michelin LT tire. On our older Oliver trailer, we run still on st tires, with a speed rating of 81 mph. Not that we go that fast... consistently. But, nice to have it on the interstate. We also have an older TST tire pressure monitoring system. Great customer service, speedy turnaround, as ours does not have user replaceable batteries. I can highly recommend TST. Our 10 year old system still works, and turnaround time with battery replacement is exceptional. Anything electronic today that works 10 years makes me very happy... Sherry

Door on the back, or the "wrong" side wouldn't be a dealbreaker for me. We don't often camp with close neighbors. anyway. If hookups are at the back end, also not a huge deal. I've seen plenty of campers in Australia with American side doirs/ hookups, and owners adapted. Met one delightful lady towing her Airstream on the full lap around the country. :) The shorepower will be the biggest issue, as John mentioned. If it helps you at all, your American driver's license is good for six months down under. My bet is the owners of the company will help you find a rental tow vehicle. I don't know if Australia requires liability on the trailer, as much of Europe does. That's a tough one, but we'll see. Perhaps you could lease/purchase the caravan for a few months, if that's an issue, and use their Australian insurance. .. We rent long term campervans. 35 days plus is typically the sweet point, shoulder season. Qantas is starting a new nonstop from O'hare to Brisbane in April, 2020. Right now, I can get spring tickets for 730 USD plus seat reservation , round trip. 16 hour flight on the 787 dreamliner. We've flown similar time, Dallas to Sydney, and it's an awesome flight. Late dinner (excellent) around 1030 , a movie or two or three (great movie selections on qantas, bring your own earbuds, theirs are chintzy), late night snack, sleep 8 hours, have breakfast, and land at 6 am-ish,refreshed and ready to start the day down under. I sleep like a baby in the dreamliner. Like sleeping on a recliner in my living room. Do spring for the global entry card. United credit card helped pay for ours. American credit card (qantas partner) might do the same. It takes time, so start soon. Also, all the major international big plane flights land around the same time. Be ready to skip airport bathrooms, and get to customs quickly, before the hordes arrive at the passport machines and immigration lines. Just my experience... Sherry

Mirna, many of us who have (or had) sailboats are familiar with eutectic plates, but they're usually called cold plate or holding plate systems. We've used holding plate refrigeration on our boat for 40 years, on the 2nd set now. On the boat, they're like big blocks of metal, filled with coils of solution. The plates are attached to the side of our heavily insulated icebox bins. A compressor runs off the engine, cooling the solution in the plates when the engine runs. The solution absorbs heat during the day, keeping food at a fairly consistent safe temp if we run the engine an hour or two a day. With good insulation in the box, it's very efficient. There are newer systems out that can chill the plates with a danfoss compressor when we don't want to run the engine. Our newer plates can use both types of compressor. Recommendations we've received are to cool the box initially with the big engine driven compressor. Use the 24v danfoss to maintain, and then maintain the batteries with solar. The 12v danfoss compressor Isotherm that Overland bought has the option of adding a small holding plate, (ASU). I don't remember if he opted for it, or not. I kind of think he did. Holding plate technology is proven, efficient, and highly dependent on great insulation. It's also kind of bulky, heavy, and can be tough to get cold enough when air cooled in hot weather. Many boats use keel cooling ( water cooled) systems to transfer waste heat, like frigoboat. That said, if you plug in every night to cool the plates, like some refrigerated trucks, it could be a great solution. I don't know of any holding plate systems designed for rvs, other than the assistance of the isotherm asu. Doesn't mean they don't exist...I just haven't seen any. That said,along those lines, I keep a freezer pack or two in our dc fridge. If I have room, I freeze it during the day when I have good solar production. If not, just the cold pack and thermal mass of the beer probably helps keep the fridge cooler...? Sherry

So, you guys have us itching to go back to Australia, and camp the half lap around the west and north. We've camped the entire east and south coast and tasmania, but only as far west as Adelaide. The mdc owners group is really fun, like our own. We've met the nicest people camping down under. Thanks for the memories. I'm looking at flights and camper rentals ... We love camping in Australia and New Zealand. And, seeing the very interesting campers and caravans. Mostly, we've enjoyed meeting the Australian people. They're great campers. Lots of tent camper vehicles. No big campers Always fun, always interesting stories. Sherry