SeaDawg

Saw this on a truck camper at Bass pro shop Tuesday. Don't know if it's custom, but pretty slick

Kathy, it's just one of their inexpensive shoe rack hanging racks. Probably skubb. Ties in, rather than having to remove the rod for loops . 7 or 8 years old now. Holds skubb boxes in unused slots. S.

I'm one of those who is sensitive to the smell of the buddy type heaters. As is my daughter. my husband is fine with it, but with my sensitivity, it's a no go for us. Since it's a stop gap kind of thing for you, be sure you buy from a source that you are able to return it, if it turns out that you are sensitive, like me, would be my advice. And, with summer coming, do you even need a furnace, or would an extra good blanket be ok, til you get the noisy furnace repaired?? Not to minimize your issue. That fan noise is crazy. Never heard anything like it. Sherry

Kathy, I love packing cubes. In the Ollie, and other travels. Big cubes fit in the bottom of the closet, small and medium in a Ikea hanging rack, in the rounded corner of the closet . Or, in a bin beneath the bed. I pack as you do. A week or so in a cube . Color coded for hot and cold weather. On a cold day, socks, long sleeve shirts, underwear, thermal, etc, are in a blue cube. No digging around for several cubes. Warm weather, another red cube. Love them When we travel, I do the same. Even though it takes some time after laundry, I reorganize and pack the cubes on long trips. Minute to find what we need. One cube, one zipper. I have several cubes in colors for each of us. Going to town clothes and jackets, hang in the closet. We only have one shelf in the closet... Early model. that contains first aid, tp, bug repellant, a folded sweatshirt for each of us. You'll find what works best for you. Everyone is different. Sherry

"clam" is a proprietary name. For us, we carry day to day indoor life (clothing, cookware, bedding, food), for the most part, in the trailer. Odd bits... Chainsaw, extra 5 gallon water containers, dirty laundry,generator, gas cans, extra propane tank, extra stuff, etc, etc, (sometimes the ATV...) in the truck bed... Even in the smaller, older, elites, you can pack clothes, equipment, and essentials and more in the trailer????, and even more stuff that you don't need, in a short bed or SUV for a couple months or more. Been there. Done that. Way too much stuff. Many times. But, we're still married. .. with or without too much 'stuff'. Life's an adventure. The road amplifies it, and we love it. Sherry

Well, I was just about to reply that I might have a figurative "screw loose"... but no window screws loose, in 9 years. Not to make light of your situation. Glad you and Jason figured it out Sherry

Every recommendation really depends on camping style and use. For us, any ac unit is fine/ superfluous, , since we have one, and (almost) never use it. u075908@yahoo.com, do you have even a first name that you would care to share? We welcome your participation, but your profile is pretty empty..... Most of us sign our posts with at least a first name. Not demanding, just saying. If you would like to make a friend or two here, a name helps. ???? It's a pretty friendly group here, and we'd love to address you with a name shorter than u075908@yahoo.com. thanks. Sherry

For those of us who almost never have power,and run on propane and solar, this can be a big deal, I guess. We chase cool weather. It's not always without humidity. That said, we carry neither a dehumidifier not driz the air We leave the vents open. Put a maxxair cover over the fan years ago, which I dislke for the noise, but love the rain protection. Newer owners likely have the newer combo fan. Fwiw, my husband doesn't ever hear the fan, so I guess for most, it's not a big deal. I have, apparently, oversensitive hearing. Sherry

If you are installing solar, as I think you are, your generator will likely ride unused most of the time in the truck bed. We just got back from a mostly cloudy, often rainy week in the Appalachians. The honda 1000 generator stayed in the bed. Even parked in dappled sun/ mostly shade, we didn't have to break it out. A lot depends on how you use power. We kind of live like tent campers, when possible. Even so, last trip, damp temps dropped into the 30s two nights, so we had to run the furnace for the dogs . They're tiny, and one is old, with a heart condition. So, wevran the power sapping furnace. Were it just us, I'd probably have just turned on the furnace for a few minutes to warm my clothes in the morning. Or, put them at the foot of the bed, under the covers, like tent camping.. without the furnace, at 36 or so outside, it's about 55 to 58 in our trailer, at least, with two people generating heat. A decent quilt or sleeping bag is fine, without the dogs. So, I will footnote this... I'm a country kid, Scandinavian from Minnesota, and chase the cooler weather. Not everyone likes sleeping in 55 to 60 degree weather, but we love it.. S

Aww, you still have your ticket? I just found the calico scraps from the storytelling festival... The safety pin was only slightly rusted. What a great time. Six trailers egg rolling around the Appalachian autumn for four to six weeks. Some of my best camping memories. Because of the people. We've been camping foreign too much. Time for another egg roll. S (When we get stateside .. ..)

A visual aid to the above post. I can't take credit for anything but listening, and evaluating. Our upholsterer had done cushions for a number of big name boat companies, cruising and charter. I appreciated her advice. S

The whole idea of the 90 degree cushions is to be able to take the back cushions, and turn the little dinette into a small, 6' bed for a small person. (Or, for those who actually set up and take down the big dinette, ditto... We leave ours set as a permanent bed. Not sure where the table leg is anymore...) Frankly, our boat originally had awful (to me) wedge back cushions. My parents stressed posture, and the wedges threw my head back. I found them very uncomfortable, understanding it was a fairly strong wedge.. probably 2.5 inches top to bottom, 28 inch cushion? Next iteration was 90 degree, flat cushions. Not bad for me. My husband wasn't as comfortable as I, but we are very different in height. A small lumbar pillow worked for him, though. The boat settee cushions are deeper than the Oliver's , though, by at least six inches. Last and new iteration is completely different in the boat settee. Horizontal seam in the back cover, more sofa like, more lumbar support. A seam in the seat cushion and more front foam padding gives some knee and thigh support... And a bolster to keep the sleeping occupant more firmly in place when we are in seas, as the central settees are the most comfortable sleeping spots in bluewater multiple overnights. Since we have never, in nine years, used the small dinette as a bed, I'd be tempted to rework those cushions next time around more like the boat. But, I chose great fabrics, Oliver's upholstery guy uses great foam and thread and quality zippers, and replacement day is probably a decade or more away. Cushions still look and sit new.. We rarely sit inside the trailer. Even if it's raining, if it's not too windy for the awning, we sit outside. Just my (lengthy) two cents. Well, then, there is this. Will you use the small dinette for sitting, sleeping, or both? How often? The small dinette table, for us, is a desk, and sometimes extra prep table when I am cooking. Sherry

Yup. Mea culpa.

Karen, we've never had the water from the spring system tested. It looks good, but we bring in rainwater from home for drinking. It should be fine, as there is no neighboring septic field or agriculture, just acres of forest, but I don't know. Sherry

Great photo! Camping truly does bring together a lot of people from different locations and vocations, doesn't it? We love Banner Elk. So much to do in s tiny town... I'm sure there's live music somewhere today, lots of great food. Some great views of Grandfather Mountain from Seven Devils. Sherry Steve, the Woolly Worm Festival was a blast... And great company that year...

Yes, all is good,brunch ran overtime, phone in the car.... I picked a poor day for flashmob... Happy mother's day, everyone. Thanks for trying... Sherry (red in the face for missing her own event)

You do beautiful work, Brandi. Are you familiar with Toto fabrics and winterbeach modern? I've purchased great fabrics from them online, at great discounts. Sherry

So, we have all seen most users online as 11 some months ago What say all? Shall we log in sunday at one edt and blow this old record away? I think it would be fun, personally Sherry

http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/143798-Reports-of-Scepter-civilian-5gal-gas-cans-at-Costco-for-15

Overland, I hope you will keep us informed on the lithium battery performance. We live on gridtied pv at home, solar battery on the trailer. No power bill, anywhere. Next gen for us is a solar, non grid tied cabin in the forest. On our camping property in NC. We've already built a spring collection system for wash water and toilet. just don't spend the time there to justify the elaborate purification and filtration systems we spend at home . That's another big step. We carry drinking water in . Sherry

In your trailer, it's different. My microwave plug is in the cabinet. (2008). When, and if we get around to replacing the very stout factory Skandvik faucet, I will look at your ideas . Simplest for me, add pulling the sprayer into the sink as part of my departure routine. Just one more small step.. Stow everything that can fly. Cushions to the back. Cram everything in cupboards and fridge to immobilize. Turn off pump. Water heater. Furnace. Check fridge. Power bank. Etc.

You know, j Rhett, we're happy for many of the same reasons .We thought that 9 years ago, and think the same today. Small trailer, small space. We often get better views because we fit in tiny spaces. As for lasting, well, we are on 9.5 years. Tenth spring camping season, and loving our little trailer. S

After nine years, finally had a problem with the SMEV cooktop. The bigger burner (of course) lit with a full, beautiful blue flame, but wouldn't stay lit. Not after multiple tries (with longer hold times, finally up to a thirty count.) I cleaned the burner, and the cover, and the thermocouple pin. The igniter ceramic coated pin, for good measure. Still a no go. So, I figured, likely the thermocouple was bad. Making coffee, pancakes, and sausage on the little burner, for a group, was not a fun prospect. I tried lighting again, looked at the position of the pin vs the flame, and thought the pin was out of the flame. I let everything cool, and applied moderate pressure to the pin with my thumb to get it back in the flame. Tried again. Got my burner back! I'd probably bent the pin at some point cleaning the cooktop, over the last nine years. My thumb pressure probably moved it 1/64 to 1/32, but it was evidently enough. Glad of it, as replacing the thermocouple requires disassembling the top... Plus a new thermocouple, which I did not have. Sherry

Delta in the home kitchen sinks, but replaced one bathroom faucet 10 to twelve years ago with a mid-range Ikea chrome faucet. Looks and works like new. Ikea stocks free parts for a year or two after discontinuation..free. I've been thinking about a sprayer pulldown,too, in the trailer. Hadn't thought about the weight on the hose. Thanks for the thought, Raspy. I wonder if one couldn't just pull the spray head into the sink before breaking camp? I carry the tea kettle and coffee carafe in the dishpan, all wedged together, anyway. Hmmmm. At least the hose wouldn't be flailing around.... For the last seven or eight years, we've used a water saving lever in place of the aerator. I'd really like a sprayer, though. It'll probably not happen for me till the original Skandvik faucet has an issue, which could be another nine years.... The Skandvik marine faucets are built tough.

Yup, it's nasty work. Better to carry a spare pump. Paul's looking at replacing ours (next time it fails) with a marine pump, like we have on the boat. He said it could be placed so the outlet wasn't so tight... Either that, or we return to stinky slinky original system...