SeaDawg

That's a great idea... no more knives rattling around in the drawer. Looks wonderful, too. Nice work! I use the tall drawer for my saucepan and skillet, cooking utensils, and tall items like rolls of aluminum foil. Placing a knife block in there as you did would put all the cooking gear together nicely. Sherry

Though we didn't get to see the live chat last night, I got to watch the recorded version today. Great interview. So, thinking about sailing? Sherry

With a few notable exceptions, the interstate is not always the most scenic way to get from "here" to "there". As many of us prefer to take the more scenic, often less traveled, often slower route when we can, I thought I'd share this website which can help you locate a more memorable drive: http://www.byways.org/ This summer, we've driven at least parts of several scenic roads. Iowa's Scenic Byway along the Iowa River takes you through part of the historic Amana Colonies. The Great River Road, following the Mississippi River through Minnesota, Wisconsin, and northern Illinois provided some amazing views of the river, bluffs, valleys, and rich green farmland. The Ohio River Byway (we drove 52 from Cincinnati to South Point, OH), is undoubtedly one of the nicest river view roads we've ever followed, and the Kentucky Country Music Highway takes you through coal country, farmland, and small towns...making the drive through the area a pleasure instead of a chore. Sure, it takes a little longer, but a bonus is a wealth of small towns, beautiful views, COE campgrounds along the rivers, and a more relaxed driver at the end of the day. Do you have local favorites you'd like to share? Sherry

Jam49, Asking good questions will never wear out your welcome here. And I'm sure you're not the only one who is benefiting from the answers from the guys here who have spent a lot of time on research for their setups. I know I've learned a lot from them. Sherry

By the way, I appreciate you starting a new thread. A note on our original request for information in the solar thread: After testing our batteries that had, indeed, bounced around again for 650 miles or so, loose, we found the batteries to still be in fair to good condition. Our real problem was caused by a loose connection in a wire to our solar controller. The vibrations of bouncing around for 25,000 miles had wiggled a connection loose. Paul found it, repaired it, and we're back in business. We had originally thought our original equipment batteries were finally failing. They're not, and we're keeping the same old batteries till we need to replace them. Sherry

Jam49, The logistics (and expense) of moving your batteries (and running new wires) would not be (in my opinion) worth it. My friend has a Casita with only one battery, and does fine. She keeps up with us, drycamping for days on end, with little dependence on the generator or shore power. (However, she's a converted tent camper, and used to surviving on little or zero electrical power.) We have two 12volt deep cycle batteries...probably the same type of batteries that you have. We installed solar and are still using the same batteries. We could run (in a very careful and miserly fashion) for three to five days, before solar, on two batteries. The Oliver battery case is actually much larger than most trailers in its class. A couple of questions: Do you run an inverter to power a lot of 110 appliances (hair dryer, coffee pot, etc. ?) Do you plan to, or do you currently dry camp for more than four days at a time? In your usual camping climate, do you need to use the furnace a lot? (That was, and still is, the biggest power gobbler in our trailer... camping in the mountains in spring or fall, with temps falling below freezing at night... the furnace fan robs a lot of amps.) Have you had problems with your batteries running low on voltage? With normal batteries, it's really important to monitor water in the cells, and to keep them charged. Keep an eye on them, and recharge before they're deeply discharged. (We try to check our water level every 3 months...) Also, it's important to check your battery clamps each trip to make sure that your batteries are secure before traveling. We know this because twice, we've neglected to do this, and wound up with batteries bouncing around, and losing fluid in the process. Another thing... adding two to three batteries to the tongue of an Oliver would significantly increase the tongue weight, possibly to the point of affecting your towing experience. Our tongue weight is currently about 375#... adding 2-3 batteries that close to the tongue could potentially exceed the limit of your safe tongue weight and affect the towing capabilities of your vehicle. The trailer is designed for the weight of the batteries to be in the compartment, not the tongue. AGM batteries are more expensive, and are also great for the folks who use their trailers a lot, or full time. We're not yet convinced that we need to spend a lot of money on replacement batteries, since we got two and a half years service on relatively inexpensive (walmart) batteries. We use our trailer three to five months a year, but not usually continuously. Deep cycle batteries (ordinary or AGM) for trailers are not like car starting batteries. They will not (usually) quit on you all of a sudden... You're not trying to start a vehicle, just run some small loads. You don't need cranking ability, you need amp hours. If they did fail... there is normally a Walmart always nearby or some other source for batteries... It's probably a good investment to purchase a battery tester (8 to 15 dollars) so that you can check how the cells of your battery are actually working. Dry cells, or dead cells, can cause shorts that will leave your system dead in the water. In our experience, the most common cause of premature battery failure is lack of fluid, both in the Oliver and in the boat. I'm sure people with more knowledge and experience will chime in here. We hope this helps, at least a little. Sherry

Andrew, Our original 12 volt batteries have finally called it a day, and it's time to replace them with batteries that will afford us more storage and better utilization of our pv panels. Chris mentioned that you modified the battery box and used a larger type of battery. Would you mind sharing what you did, what type of batteries you installed, and how they've been working for you? Thanks Sherry

That looks really slick.Love the idea... But, where would I put the gallon of water, and the box of wine, and the trash can that normally occupy that space? Still, I think I'd look for another site for those items... Well done! We never put our feet on the outbboard side of the post, either. Sher

Wow, that's beautiful, Cherie... The flower, and the vase! Sherry

I've often thought on a rainy day how nice it would be to open the window "just a bit". Nicely done! Sherry

We spent the last several weeks camping in the Midwest heartland. A friend who camped with us for a week or so mentioned something I'd never seen before... Tractor Square Dancing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WxyzS0vCME I've since heard that the group has disbanded, because they were so popular.(Hope that's just a rumor!) Perhaps it interfered with bringing in the crops! Great tractor driving. Hope you enjoyed it, too. Sherry

Yesterday, we drove US 52 from Cincinnatti to the Kentucky crossing at Ashland KY (just west of South Point OH). A wonderful alternative to the interstate! Just outside of Cincinnatti, it turns into a two lane road, with incredible views of the Ohio and the valleys. Though the drive is a little longer, it is so worth the time. The western part (before coal country) is full of little camping parks at the edge of hayfields, or sometimes, big parks, probably converted from pastures and hayfields. There's a COE park near Rome, OH, not marked in our book, or on the map, that looks lovely. If you're traveling that area, and have the time, take the drive. It's well worth the extra hour or two to cover the distance. Not much traffic, and so very lovely. (Cincinnatti was really, really congested. We made the mistake of driving thru downtown, at five thirty, and won't do that again!) Sherry

I think (?) the Old Style Brewery is now City Brewery. There's a beautiful, old brewery with a walkway across the main highway (not interstate) thru LaCrosse. The area from La Crosse south is so amazingly beautiful. The bluffs, ridges, riverbanks, green rolling farmland... cattle and dairy cows, corn, beans, and hayfields. We camped in a couple parks in Wisconsin before following the river into Illinois. Sherry

Welcome to the forum, EdP! Seadawg

We love the area around Lanesboro. (Where else can you buy Spring Grove creme soda with a label thanking you with "Mange Tusen Takk"? Spent three days there, visiting Lanesboro, Preston, Harmony, and also went down to Decorah, IA to visit some friends on their farm. Our last night, the sheriff came out to warn us of bad winds and possible tornadoes approaching, which was really nice, since we not only were the only people in the campground, but hadn't listened to the radio at all. Forutunately, the worst storm cells went to the north and south of us. We've moved on to the bluffs area of southern Wisconsin, camping one night at a COE park south of LaCrosse, and now camped at Wyalusing State Park, up high in the Wisconsin Ridge campground. We have a view of the Wisconsin river and Prairie Du Chien in the distance, and a little further up is a beautiful view of the confluence of the Wisconsin and the Mississippi. Visited the mounds near Passenger Pigeon monument earlier this afternoon. There are many mounds, some effigy, around the 2500 acre park. It's quite windy on the ridge, and it's supposed to drop into the low 50's tonite. I've had a cotton sweater on most of the day. My idea of heaven in late June. And, all the people we've met are so very midwestern and nice. The camp hosts fly the US, Danish, and Norwegian flags. Sherry

I've been told that propane mixes are different in different areas. We've not had problems with the stove at 3500 feet, but have had the water heater give us fits getting started... Maybe you could try local propane fill if you're camping in a different area? Sherry

We're camped now not far from Lanesboro, enjoying the peace and beauty of the Bluffs district. After a busy and fun two weeks of family celebrations, we're now just wandering and enjoying the hills, the fields, and the beautiful small towns (with equally lovely names) of southeastern Minnesota. Had lunch in Spring Valley today, an historic and beautiful small town where I used to get ice cream treats at the creamery with my dad. The creamery is long closed, but still a beautiful old brick building, a block off Main Street. Lanesboro is hilly, fun, artsy, and the start of a bicycle trail that draws enthusiasts from three states on a regular basis, as well as from further afar. Great small live theater, art galleries, and... ice cream! Plus kayaking, canoing, and tubing on the root river. The Amish area is also interesting, as are the small towns around ( Harmony and Preston in MN, and beautiful Decorah in Iowa). Leaving the Lakes district around Brainerd a few days ago, and traveling thru the Twin Cities, we enjoyed dinner with Herm and Kim. It was great to see them again! Sherry

We are in central Iowa now, on our way to Minnesota. The road .... and the sky,.... go on forever. I really miss living in the Midwest. Last night, the low was in the low 60s, and the high in the day was in the 80's. Amazing. I really miss living here. The flowers , the fields, the sky.... Wow. Sherry

We''ve used citronella candles, mosquito coils, DEET sprays, etc. Other than a roaring campfire, none of them are pleasant. I saw this one (the thermacell) mentioned on another forum: Has anyone tried it? I'm curious to hear from a friend that it works. Sherry

Cherie, thanks for the link. I missed the FAQ you had posted. Great summary of your system, capabilities, and limitations. We also thank you and Chris for the "blueprint" when we ordered our system, which has worked very well for us. I love the silence (and low impact) of solar.... We're leaving for Minnesota soon. Where are you now? Sherry

We just got back from nine days of dry camping in the mountains of western NC, including five days with rain and overcast skies for part or all of the day. As it is summer, we parked the Oliver where we had shade for (most of the) day on at least one side. I was really thrilled that we never once had to drag out the Honda 1000 to charge up the batteries. Paul got out the ladder and adjusted the panels to about flat the first day, and after that we never touched them. We picked up a lot of amp hours in the 11 to 3 time period (if it wasn't raining), and monitored our power useage carefully. Many people wouldn't be as happy as we are with early to bed, early to rise, and no lights after sunset, I guess, but, hey, we're camping. I'm kind of an amp nazi, and I'm sure we could have used more power than we did. Even on rainy days, using the computer for an hour or so and recharging, we never dipped below 91% on battery power. I love silent solar. The birds around us love it, too. Sherry

Welcome to the forum, PapaSierra! Sorry it took so long to authorize your account... we were out camping!! Sherry

Driving thru South Carolina on I 95 today, we noticed a building labeled C.A.M.I Cool Amphibious something... Had to look that one up. Turns out they manufacture splash buses, amphibious luxury motorhomes (starting at $850,000, as shown, 1.2 million!), and the coolest little sports car ever. They tout the Hydra Spyda as an unsinkable car, and it sure looks fast and fun! You can read more about them here: http://www.terrawind.com Sherry

Pete, So glad you had an alert friend behind you when this happened! Still, a bummer. Sherry

Hey, Pete, Got a chance to read through your latest blog entries. The Route 66 trip looks like so much fun! Growing up in the Midwest, it's interesting to read a new slant on places I visited when I was young. I still have family in a number of the towns you've visited so far. Oscar continues to do a great job with the photos! Sherry