SeaDawg

Actually, in our area, most homes have an accumulator tank. It might even be code now. At Lowe's, they're located in the water tank area,, and I'd have to look up the name, but they're called something like an expansion tank. Designed to eliminate said issue. At home, at, least. Never had that issue in our older 2008, but we don't have the same tank fill/drain issues, either. Sherry

That's what my dad did for our campers and trailers in Minnesota winters. When we leave our trailer in storage in NC, we don't have power, much less an air compressor so the pink stuff rules. We never use tap water for drinking, so. .. not the same issue for us. I can certainly understand that hesitancy One year, we forgot to winterize the outdoor shower. Of course, we had a week of hard freezes, in October, and it blew out. Bummer, but live and learn. Never again . One expensive lesson was enough.... Sherry

Canoe12, Yes, we're old school, I guess. We collect the rainwater from our roof, and filter it 7 times before the uv sanitizer. And that is solar powered. Whole house pv, grid tied. Battery availability wasn't great when we built, but we've ordered battery backup now since hurricane Irma blew through. Post Irma, we shared one of our camping gensets with the neighbors for a week.... Enough to keep two fridges, a few lights, a few fans, and the cistern pump running... On the bigger Yamaha. And power the ignition on the gas instantaneous water heater, so everyone who wanted to could use our outdoor shower. It's amazing what 3000 watts can do, if you are careful, and have good extension cords. We were sad that our trailer was in North Carolina... That would have given us more options. But, it was safe. The new battery backup should allow us to live off grid, when the grid goes down, even in town, except for sewer. Septic is no longer allowed here... We collect 100 per cent of our water, and more than 100 per cent of our power needs, and no polluted groundwater discharge to the bay behind us. Paul put a lot of time into research and planning on the rainwater collection system and cistern. Our project engineer had to jump a lot of hoops to get it done in code, because no one does it anymore, so few people understood what we were trying to accomplish. ... But, we got it done. And we are very happy to collect our own sweet, naturally soft water and power our home with quiet, clean solar power. Sherry

#firstsnow is beautiful #butyouknowitsmonthstil14hoursofsunshine

If you are in the northern Midwest, as I am, get it done. It's cold, and the cold will continue all week, at least at night. Another crappy Halloween, just like my childhood. Always wanted to be tinkerbell, but the weather was never accommodating in Minnesota. A costume that fit over a snowsuit was so much better. ,

We have the same "composite" ie plastic accumulator on our boat. It helps a bit. I think it's about a pint and a half... Pump still runs, but not immediately. That tank has been there for many years, but the boat is bigger, and much more complicated, than our trailer. On our home system, we recently upsized our accumulator tank. So many water efficient appliances take water for a few seconds, and quit, making the cistern pump run unnecessarily. We're trying to find the sweet spot for our house. We don't (yet) have an accumulator tank in our trailer. Looking forward to find out if the little surflo actually makes any difference..... Sherry

Upinor PEX in our home bends once, easily. You can even use a heat gun to seal a leak.. one time. Ditto on bends. A second run with a heat gun was not recommended, at least with our type of PEX. Great thinking and invention, John. Thanks. Let us know how it works for you.

That looks awesome. We've seen a lot of awnings ripped from stakes and subsequently ripping off the roof attachments of trailers and motor homes. We stake only when we know we will be around, as you do. I would never trust stakes when I am away from my trailer. When the wind picks up, we disconnect and roll the awning in. Too expensive to replace. The wind stretches and distorts the fabric even if it doesn't rip. Gusts can take you by surprise. Sherry

We carry drinking water in rectangular, stackable five gallon jugs. We also have had a bladder since 2008. It's about 40 gallons, about the size of a crib mattress full, and folds up to shoe box size. If not used frequently, we sanitize it. It's clunky, but a great way to transport water for 2 to say 20 miles. I wouldn't want to haul it around full for great distance, as it takes a lot of room in the truck bed, but it's really useful in campsites without a water source at the site. To transfer to our tank, we hook the freshwater hose to the bladder, drain to a bucket, and put the intake hose from the tank into the bucket. Like I said, it's a bit clunky, but it works. Sometimes we have a number of tent campers with us, using our shower, and this really extends our water range. Sherry

I think that's a terrific idea, kathy. Sherry

The first big option we didn't get was a solar package. But, back in early 2008, it wasn't an option. A few months later, we figured out a retrofit. Likely not possible now, with the added insulation in the new Ollie. At least ask for a solar prewire, if not the whole package. It makes a world of difference in the boonies, where we love to camp. So many other items we've added since 2008 are now standard. My faves, other than solar, are the double step entry, and instantaneous water heater We can, and do, live without tv antenna and Kingdome, even though we have them. Not a part of our lifestyle. Ditto on the now broken microwave. These were part of our package, but we don't ever use them. We bought a partially completed trailer in early 2008 to take early delivery. So, we got a few lux items, unnecessary for us. Sherry

Big bite... Happy Halloween.????️????️????️

PS, Uno is going to love the extra room in the new Ollie.

Well, that was quick!!! Welcome back, Steve. Can't help with the wifi, but sure glad you stayed in the Oliver family. Gee, we missed you.... What took so long? Lol. Sherry

We've never needed a hand pump to winterize. Have we missed something? I'm curious. I know we have an older trailer.... PS I know we show a Florida address, but we winterize every year in NC., In the fall. Preventive What did we miss? And what should we add? Sherry

I never thought about trying my magma pans on my induction range. I just assumed that shiny stainless with aluminum core wouldn't work. I guess I'll give it a try.... Mine are an older set, though. Surprisingly, inexpensive and relatively lightweight IKEA 365 pans and pots work quite well on my home induction range, if someone wants to try induction, but doesn't have compatible (ferrous) cookware. Sherry

Yesterday I walked through the Christmas decorations and gift items aisles at Sam's club. ( I know, over two weeks to Halloween...). One of the displayed items was an induction burner by copper chef pro, with an RV sized square (why?) Cute skillet included. For $69. I googled reviews later, and found the same induction plate, with skillet, for $49 on Sam's club . Com. I have no idea how good it is, and don't need one, but thought the price was pretty great. And the pan was cute. . Sherry

John, The tiedown with removeable pin are slick. How do you get the backer plate in the ceiling? Easy enough from cabinets, I guess.

Randy, those look like no other suction cup hooks I've ever seen (or owned... And I have a bunch of them.) Thanks.

316 stainless on Amazon is a lot more $ , however. https://www.amazon.com/SeaLux-Marine-Stainless-Spring-Loaded/dp/B018QGAHKC

In the humid and often soggy Southeast, I dry everything outside. But, I guess in the more arid west this could work for you. Maybe something like a pair of spring loaded hatch pulls would work for you? This pair on eBay is really reasonable, but only 304 stainless. I'd want 316 near the saltwater, if I could find it... https://m.ebay.com/itm/SeaLux-Rectangular-Spring-Loaded-Lifting-Ring-for-Boat-Hatch-Pack-of-2-Small-/122612555423?_trksid=p2385738.m2548.l4275&_mwBanner=1

Very cool. Might need to add this to the tire cover...

Reed, is the hitch height for the Elite the same as your Elite II? I can't find the hitch height in the literature for the newer elite 18.5. Thanks. Sherry

I deleted the duplicate. The double post has happened to many of us, including me. Seems to happen most often when I have a slow connection. I think something didn't post, and a minute later... I have two. I won't delete unless someone asks, because I can't bring the post back. Beautiful photos. Glad you are out and enjoying life in your camper, Kathy and Clair. Sherry

Locally, we've had very little success with independent shops. However, I did have a great experience a few years ago with the new Camping World in New Port Richey, FL, when we had difficulty with our then new Dometic refrigerator. They handled all the warranty issues with dometic without our intervention. This crew did a great job. Very professional communication. We have not had other work done there Sherry