SeaDawg

Steve, they're " honoring" and relaunching a version of the holiday house. Not the fiberglass version, no. I'm still hoping to see the aluminum version, if they show it in Tampa. I doubt anyone could afford to create the molds for a fiberglass redo of the holiday house.... For the limited appeal and market. A link to the new redo of the aluminum version... The interior looks nothing like the beautifully redone classic originally posted. Sigh. Sherry

"Honoring" the history, the Holiday House is being re- launched... http://www.rvbusiness.com/2017/08/intech-lucas-resurrecting-holiday-house-rv/ I hope that they will display it at the RV supershow in January in Tampa. Sherry

Overland, I think it was around 85 in the trailer when I turned on the fridge. I also had the door open quite a bit as I stocked it at the same time it was cooling down. if I could have stocked it with only cold items, I think that would have made a difference, too. Chilling a bottle of wine and a dozen beers undoubtedly added to the time it took to drop to 40. I also found later that the bottom of the fridge door wasn't sealing tight unless I pushed in on the corner. There's a metal guide that seems to need adjustment. I managed to break a tempered glass shelf in the fridge on our last Alaska trip in the RV. It made a huge mess. That's the first time it's ever happened to me, but it's made me gun-shy. I'm interested in seeing how the fridge performs next trip. It's all different from the old three way, but I'm quite happy so far. Sherry

Well, I promised some updates after we actually got to use the truck fridge. Overall, we're very happy after two weeks and some days with only solar and generator. It has taken some monitoring and getting used to. The first day, from warm to cold, took about 8 hours to cool. I'd have done better to put some ice blocks or cold material in. The extra run time cost an extra 20 amp hours of battery power. Or, of course, cool it at home before leaving, but, I wanted the warm startup test. Most days, the fridge used between 40 and 50 amp hours. When it runs, it uses 3.5 ah. Most often, it runs 12 to 13 minutes, with a 20 to 25 minutes rest. I found it ran better ( less run time) with a couple ice packs in the otherwise empty freezer. Parked in dense shade, the trailer was nice and cool, but we didn't generate more than 1 to 1.8 ah in power to compensate for the new fridge with our 200 watts of rooftop solar. The first week, we ran the Honda 1000 to make up. After that, we mostly used a portable 100 watt panel that we moved around in the spots of sun. For people who plug in most of the time, the change would not be noticed. For us, it's a new learning curve on solar management, as we don't usually plug in, and have no power on our NC camping property. In the sun, we'd be fine. Preference is to live in shade, so adding a portable panel and Port will work well for us. Overall, I really like the fridge. Pretty even temps all around. the fixed door shelves took s little getting used to. I removed the glass shelf above the produce drawer before we left home. A disaster waiting to happen. I was going to cut a plexi shelf, but I'm happy just moving one of the wire shelves down. This fridge had a flip up on the top rack to allow for tall items... But not really designed for a full gallon of milk. I can live with that. A quart or half gallon is plenty for a week or two, anyway. The freezer is small. It does make ice in a few hours. A couple trays, and a few bags of veggies would probably fill it, though. At camp, we left the original vents open, with screening behind them. Average daytime temp was a high of 86, night lows in the 60s. one (very welcome) night the low was in the 50s. I played a bit with the temp control and two thermometers. It didn't make a big difference in temp turning down the fridge from 7 to 6. Just cut the run time frequency. I really like the big drawer in the bottom of the fridge for produce, and water bottles. Organization is different than the old dometic, but better for me as far as access. Randy brought up s good point about the door swing. Our fridge, I think, only can swing right. Which is good for me. We cook outside 96 per cent of the time. Right swing is easier for loading groceries dumped by the door, accessing beverages during the day, and just as easy as the old left to take stuff out and stack on the small dinette table to prep for outdoor cooking. With the left swing, I had to move everything beyond the door for loading. Sherry

We drove the Gaspe peninsula from North to south. Keeps you mostly on the inside lane. Views are spectacular! The one campground I remember well is Camping Griffon near Forillon national park. Very nice people. Bilingual. Reasonable price. We watched whales from our campsite. At Perce, we stayed at Camping Cote Surprise. Small sites, pricey, but everything is pricey in Perce. Again, amazing views of the pierced Rock. It was late season, so a number of places (including many state/national park campgrounds) were closed or limited services. Sherry

Raspy, thanks for the catch. I just looked up the generator my sister bought at Costco. Indeed, it's powered by Yamaha, not made by Yamaha. Certainly explains the price difference. I will say it was pretty quiet. Not as quiet as our Honda, but white reasonable. Sherry

Actually, that's what I was thinking. If they camp mostly in shoulder season, no ac required, I think that she'd be better off with a second generator and the supplied cable kit. I think the run time power on the Yamaha 2000i is only 1600 watts... Peak 2000. The 2000 is gracious plenty to charge batteries and run a small microwave or coffee maker. None of which we do, other than charge batteries when we have no sun... My memory tells me Honda will hold peak for a longer time... Could be wrong. Sherry

So, has anyone here successfully run a 13000 btu ac with easy start on a Yamaha 2000i? Asking because my sister spent last week boondocking with us in the mountains. They have a new 2000i (Costco, $499). It would start the ac, but tripped out in a minute or so. Installing the easy start is almost the price of a second Yamaha 2000i. They come with cable kit... Sherry

As for Bornfree, it was a really nice class c. My company used one for copier demos back in the day. Early 80 s. Sadly, they're not in business. There are many choices. First, you have to narrow the field. Trailer, van, class c.... It's daunting. We know. Good luck in your search. I can only comment based on my old school, 2008, now working on 11 years old.... I'm happy. But our camping styles could be vastly different... Sherry.

You're not hijacking, at all. I hope others will also add comments and photos on their favorites.? Sherry

Thanks, Rumline. eventually, I'll add sjome photos and more campground reviews. Life sometimes gets in the way if intentions. Had to fly up to help my mom for awhile. Your photo is beautiful. I understand it's the minerals that turn some of these lakes into beautiful turquoise water. There are several in BC with similar colors...like the Caribbean, but a lake. I'll get back at it when I'm home again. Sherry

I would love to be there. Winnipeg is a beautiful city. And, some of my relatives entered into Canada in the last century, at Winnipeg. On to beautiful Saskatchewan.... Can't make this event, but we did attend a bolerama in Quebec 6 or 7 years ago. It was soooo much fun. If any of you in the plains, or travelling Canada, can make it, you will have a wonderful time. Our Canadian neighbors to the north have always been great hosts. Warm, welcoming, fun around the campfire. Wish we could be there. Sherry

That's a really nice install, Randy. Thanks for all your photos. We tabbed in wood for a floor support/ riser/ drawer framing in ours. We also used scrap lumber for the uprights to attach the truck fridge to the Oliver cavity. Some is epoxy only. Some has screws through old holes into the side of the talk drawer cavity. We're leaving tomorrow for a few weeks. We'll see how it does. At home, we used about 19 to 20 amp hours per day, I think, on average. I think we can handle this. Mostly on solar. Though I have nothing at all in the drawer beneath the fridge yet, I'm very happy to have it. My manual says we need a total of 24 square inches of venting. I suspect that the Novakool is similar. You probably have twice that. Thanks for sharing the photos. I'll share our experience with the indel truck fridge as we gain some time with it. Sherry

On the road with the delivery motorhome, I paid the $25 expedited charge, got the warranty part shipped ups red to the next destination and we swapped out the faulty charger/controller. Way faster than taking it to any dealer/ camping world. We'll worth the $25 to us. . Every vendor has their own set of rules. Not as easy as it used to be.

Some of the manufacturers now require bad part sent back before new sent, unless you are willing to pay "expedited" charges. Had it happen to us in our way to Alaska in the delivery motorhome. If you can work with an authorized dealer close to home, and you have the time, it can all be easy. On the road, not as easy. A few years ago, we had a new fridge installed. It quit working before we got home to Florida. Camping world in New Port Richey did a great job of trouble shooting and dealing with the warranty issue. But, they had our trailer for five weeks.. not their fault. Dometic parts replacement issues. Our fridge was basically a Friday afternoon unit... Poor assembly and a few bad parts. Our cost was zero. Sherry

You're right, Steve. Camping isn't just about the places, and views. We've had so much fun meeting campers around the country, and around the world. This past trip was a kind of waterfall of new friendships. At Boya Lake, we met a young couple who recommended Frances lake in the Yukon. At Frances lake, we met a German couple who really recommended following the dirt road to Faro..nso we did . It was wonderful and beautiful, and we likely would not have gone, except for our conversation over our fire.. At Faro, we met a couple from Juneau, who recommended Twin Lakes. So, we all went, where we met a really nice solo bicyclist from Germany... It was a Cascade of short hops, new friends, great campsites, and conversation over campfires. We found some great sites. But even better, we found great people. In Australia a few years ago, our first night in the Blue Mountains, we met a really nice couple who camped four months ayear. Kevin gave us the address of a great canpground near the Tasmania ferry. We stayed in touch a few times in our five weeks on the mainland, and then as we were leaving for the ferry, got an email from Kevin and Jenny wanting to know our arrival date. The campground address was their driveway. We had a wonderful evening seeing them again, and got a lot of great recommendations. We stopped for coffee on our way out of Tasmania, and we've been emailing back and forth since. When my niece's son did a "flat Stanley" project this year, Kevin and Jenny drove his flat Stanley to Stanley, Tasmania, and took photos for an unknown little six year old. Could not be nicer. We sure hope we will see them again... Here or in Tasmania. But, the magic is in the shared connection. We all love camping. Sherry [attachment file=flat Stanley at the welcoming sign at Stanley Tas..JPG]

We talk to fellow like minded campers, when we find them . Campground hosts, too. I use a number of apps, state and territory maps, and failing any of the above, we drive til we find something interesting. We tend to drive through a number of campsites early in the day, knowing we won't stop, but keep notes for "next time." Sherry

Molas lake before opening to camping. I'd recommend site one and maybe 2 in the lower loop we hiked. It was fenced off in May. The premium RV spots up the hill, well, big views for a bigger price. Sherry

Prayers for friends in Colorado. Summer and fires seem to have started early.

BTW,we've had cold plate systems on the sailboat for over 40 years. Very reliable. Just very inefficient for us as both systems have been engine driven. Most of the hours on our new engine are likely from charging the refrigerator and batteries. Our original refrigerator on the boat is huge. Fine on long trips with crew, wasteful with two or four people and a shorter sail. Another motivation is testing the Danfoss on 200 watts solar. We have far more battery storage on the boat than in the trailer. With a smaller, more right sized refrigerator... Sherry

I'm guessing John wants to seal the outside vents to eliminate dust. That, and wasp nests, are some of my motivation. I happen to like 12 v Danfoss better than the 3 ways as (hopefully) we can run on solar and battery power, without propane/ fossil fuel being part of the mix. Our truck fridge says it needs 24 square inches of venting... I can accomplish far more than that by opening the lower drawer, if necessary. But, we still have the exterior vents for the 3 way if needed. I am thinking we can manage shoulder season camping with our isotherm truck fridge. I'll certainly let you know if it doesn't work on 200 watts of solar. Sherry

Steve, I read that review. The guy had a 37 foot motorhome.... Pretty sure an Oliver would use significantly less water.... But, it's definitely a consideration

I hope that Randy (trytorelax) will add some real world opinion on his Novakool. I really liked the specs on that, but the fit in our older camper was easier with the truck fridge isotherm compressor fridge. I will be actually using our new fridge next month. I'm heading north to help my mom pack up her house, as she sold it recently. Later next month, we finally get to go camping in our own Oliver... Sherry

Tok, Alaska is a stop just about everyone makes, coming in from Chicken on the rough Top of the World, or the normal Alcan route. It's a great little town. Gas prices aren't bad, especially after Canadian prices. Northern Energy gas station has a free dump station, free clean potable water fill, plus a FREE cold water/ high pressure RV wash. They supply brushes and buckets and water. Bring your own soap, rags, and microfiber towels for bugs and stains on plastic. Best time we've found is midmorning...say ten thirty to eleven am. Two outdoor bays. Nice people. Lots of space. But there may be a line in season. Hey, it's free. We spend $15 to $20 at other car washes in Fairbanks and Wasilla... The information center bhere is very nice. Pretty, big log cabin, nice exhibits and the sweetest man, now probably in his 80s, who volunteers every year and mingles, sending you to the right bracks for maps and brochures. We think he spends his winters studying up, and waiting for season to arrive. That's how excited he is when you walk into his area. ☺️ Theres a little Thai restaurant, and a nice three bears grocery. (Not really a lot cheaper than the Real Canadian Superstore in White horse, but not bad if you shop the sale items. And, they have had vacpacked Wild Alaskan Salmon fillets the last two years. Flash frozen Copper River packing company. Yummy on the fire. ) There's a nice state campground about five miles outside town, just before you come in from Beaver Creek, sort of under the Tok River Bridge. Tok River State Park. A few really nice big sites near the river. The road is pretty quiet at night. $18 us, I think. No dump station. Usually a water pump, but bagged off this time. Vault toilets. No showers. But, you can get water at Northern Energy gas.

Thanks for the photos and measurements. looks great. I forwarded a link to my cousin in Alaska, who spends several months each year in a dry cabin. They do have a well, but not indoor plumbing. Paul and I helped them set up a new ecotemp L5 outdoor water heater shower this past trip. Your solution is way superior to a shower tent... Could I ask where you found the cute and functional collapsible shower mat? Sherry