SeaDawg

Great that you have electricity. You can at least run your fridge on electricity. I recommend duxtop on Amazon for an induction cooktop. Even the cheapest one, bought "used, like new," gives great results. I think mine was $45 or so. I really like mine. Even after they fix your gas issue, you'll enjoy the burner. Faster than gas, and no propane use. For a space heater, we have used some random Westinghouse or other brand for years, when we have electricity. Lots of folks recommend Vornado. I think, truly, that's the best, but as long as the unit is ul listed, and has tipover protection, and over heat cutoff, you're fine, imo. Put it on the floor, facing the bed, on low at night, heat rises. You'll be good to go. (Unless you travel with a frisky pet. Then, top of stovetop may be better.) Or, get a mini oil filled heater. There's a bunch to see around Mandan, for you, so it can turn into an exploration day.

@Boudicca908, you are wise to shut off the propane at the tank til you figure it all out. Even a tiny leak is dangerous. Do you have electricity at your campsite? If not, your 5 lb bottle and your Blackstone should allow you to heat water for birdbaths, and cook for several days, at least. Unfortunately, your Truma water heater won't run on electricity. The old school 6 gallon water heaters could run on electric, so you could heat the tank with a generator, and get enough hot water for a shower and wash a few dishes. You have a good head on your shoulders, and looks like you planned ahead with some good gear. Having the backup 5 lb tank (refillable) was an excellent idea. Worst comes to worst, you can always remove a 20 lb tank from the trailer, and connect it to the Blackstone directly. Do you have a generator, also? Are you able to buy (or borrow) an induction hotplate or electric kettle? A small electric heater provides enough warmth to take the "frost" out of the air. Running the fridge on genset electric a few times a day could keep that going, but you'll use a bit of gasoline... I'd suspect one or more of your gas connections could have a small leak. Gas leaks are much more common at the connection fittings than in the line. I'd start at the regulator, and work my way back, if you can. You should be able to see the gas connection with the water heater by removing the lower outside panel. I don't know much about the truma w/h, as I've never seen one. A competent rv shop should be able to get you fixed up in one day, if you can get a "first thing in the morning " appointment. Or, at the least be able to diagnose it in one day, so you could return to the cg and continue camping in a hard-shell tent/Oliver, without propane, til they get parts. Or, maybe one of the three centers has a mobile tech? It's certainly worth asking. At least you have some good tent camping experience, so you're not in dire straits. You'll manage, though not the luxury experience you were hoping for. It's frustrating in the middle of (beautiful) nowhere. Hang in there. Here's a search result for "propane leak" in our forum. The quotes make the search engine look for that phrase. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/search/?q="Propane leak"&updated_after=any&sortby=relevancy&search_and_or=or

I barely had time to grab my phone. Little guy wandered across the driveway, in the distance. Wnc. Fairly skinny, and young. Likely recently separated from momma.

I'd contact southco. Most rv locks only have a few configurations. But, this is typical. Keyed alike is in the "9" digit description. (Last digit) probably meant for rvs with multiple locks, but who knows. Southco does do custom orders, for manufacturers.

Ditto. I'm always suspect of the sticky trailers with the "slide-out" grills, or cleats to mount a grill, right next to the wall. Not for me. I like a bit of space from the camper. Glad you like the Blackstone. 👍

The best bus tour, if camping, required camping in the furthest out campground (teklanika). Limited facilities, but great camping, and great tour. That tour road is a bit scary, in a big bus, but most of our drivers (hop on/hop off) had been doing it for years. But, lots of wildlife viewing. (The drive out to the cg is quite tame, and very slow.) No private vehicles allowed, so it's just the buses. Sidebar: My cousin used to walk to work in Denali from outside Cantwell, as a kid. Her dad owned some additional property "way out there," as did one of his friends . She told me about driving the scary road home, through the upper park, with her dad, at 17. In the dark. Those blind curves! And dropoffs.!

I also wish they'd add a non-ethanol pump at Costco. I agree, our gas savings pay for our membership. We have their credit card. The bonuses via business membership and card more than double our membership. I really like costco. Great organic products. Terrific, and happy, employees. I see (and know by name) many of the same people working in our store that were working two decades ago when we joined. That doesn't happen in very many stores, anymore.

I hope your recovery goes swiftly, and well.

I moved Sny sd up's posts, and replies, to this new thread:

And, this week, another milestone. 8000 members. Thank you, to everyone!

We've never used our good sams road insurance on the trailer, but used it several times on vehicles, all covered under the policy. (Friends have used it successfully, for rrailer and truck, in the past. ) Good service, and really decent response times, for us.. Back in the day, aaa didn't offer trailer insurance, so we went with good Sam's. Never disappointed. They do send an annoying bunch of emails, however. Truly annoying. But, I have a quick finger on delete, so there..! I, too, would like to know if there is something better, covering tv and trailer.

Oh, crap. I won't be able to get that Green Acres theme song out of my head for days now! (One of my faves, as a kid, on black and white rv, in the country.) I truly think when you go through your truck and replace needed parts, you'll be a very happy clam, sans Andersen. Don't make yourself sick, working in this sw heatwave. Not worth it. Cooler weather is coming. You have a great trailer, and a great truck.

@MAX Burner, humor aside, pouch cells are not a good choice, imo, for travel trailers, as @NCeagle said. I really don't know their current case or cell structure, but, I always tend to avoid the "least expensive" alternatives, unless I can truly drill down on the configuration. We invested a bunch in the best travel trailer, imo. I'm going to keep that right. I will always be on the lookout for a great price on a proven product. I think everyone here knows I'm a careful shopper. But ,as our daughter's boyfriend once said, he knows we'll "spend up" for the quality. It won't be pouch cells, if we ever decide to go with lithium. It will likely be battleborn. Like you, I don't want to look back in the mirror, and see my travel home looking like a burnt campfire marshmallow. Pouch cells are fine, for many uses. Imo, I don't want them in my trailer.

Btw, our tie rods needed replacement at about 150k on our dodge ram 1500. Could also be part of your issues.

That photo makes me smile. The Japanese invasion is really what brought on the little cars from Ford ( and others.) Back to the original discussion. (And I truly apologize for the thread drift. ) 4 x 4, for sure, if gravel roads and northern Canada are in your plans. If you're like us (and I suspect you are) we make the big purchases thoughtfully, and for the very long run. Our 2008 4x4 ram doesn't have many of today's features. That's mostly ok with us. We can add backup cameras, avoidance cameras, etc, should we desire. I would want those, though, in a new truck. Safety features are a big deal. Big tires? No. Great seats, yes. Long trips to Canada make you appreciate great seats, for sure. I replaced the foam and covers in the Ram a few years ago. But, they did last a long time. For my husband, they're very comfortable. For me, (short) the driver seat, with all its adjustments, just doesn't ever give me a great comfort, especially for my left leg. No armrest on the right I manage with a pillow. I've driven my brother's f150 several times, and I agree with my (even shorter) sister in law, the seating is awesome. With its multitude of adjustments. It's great for my brother, too. Ford had an interconnect for camera on the trailer, which is great. I'd pass on the hybrid,,as of today. Two systems to maintain is two times the problems, imo. Others may say different. I'd ask others, what features could you not live without, in your newer trucks?

I have zero problems with driving an older truck. Mine is a 2005, and we've owned it since new. But, it's regularly checked by our mechanic (now a family friend), and I trust his judgment. I'm not interested anymore in crawling around under the truck or trailer. I used to think it was fun. Not anymore. I agree with the others. I suspect your problem lies with some deferred maintenance from previous owner, and you shouldn't (imo) need or even use an Anderson with that front heavy diesel. I'll bet at least the shocks are tired, if not the springs, if you're getting a big sag hooked up. I replaced mine , and it made a huge difference.

More apologies, but funny stories about my little Maverick. I, and four of my friends, drove from Iowa to Denver to visit friends doing an internship on a college break. With luggage for a week. I was stopped in Nebraska for speeding, on the highway. I told the officer, politely, and straight faced, that I'd been trying for over a hundred miles to even get it up to the speed limit, with the human and luggage weight I was carrying. He checked my license, registration, and let us go on our "merry" way down the road. Once we got to Denver, we took the obligatory trip up the mountain. It was a huge struggle, and I thought at one point that we'd have to get out and push, or stick our legs out and pedal push. 🤣🤣 (just kidding, but you know, when youre 19, and thinking crazy stuff...) We finally made it, without extraordinary measures. 😆😆😆 Those tiny six squirrels were "barely" up to the challenge. Good thing we were all pretty skinny in those days Downhill was almost as scarey. I took advantage of pullouts, calling out viewpoints, lol. . Not a ton of braking power, nor downshift braking, in a 1970 Maverick, three on the tree. Oh, and pretty lousy emergency parking brake. Still, I loved that little car. Quite possibly because of the many road trip memories. It wasn't much, but we sure had fun.

I don't have a dog in the hunt, but I "think" you may already be heavy forward with your Cummins diesel. An Equalizer sends more weight forward. Maybe try test towing without additional hardware? See how it feels? Most 2500 owners here do not use an Anderson, nor sway bars, from what i have read. We have 1500's, nothing but the hitch, but an original elite. 2500 owners,,Cummins diesel, please weigh in.

In all fairness, it is a bit of a pita to get under the small dinette table (in ours), but when and how often does it happen? A handful of times, for us, in 16 seasons. In rentals we've delivered, and other rvs we've owned, the panel was in equally awkward and inconvenient locations. (Often, under the bed.) You could always move it, but fuses and breakers should logically be located as close to the power source (batteries) as possible, imo. For us, in our 2008, that's that not so fun spot, under the small dinette. Do I enjoy getting down on the floor to check? No. But, it's a rare occurrence. I'll live with it, and we have for 16 seasons.

Let's see what the market says. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say. That citroen you posted still sold units. When I went to school in Spain, there was a cheaper (and uglier) little citroen that my local friends called "the duck." It was actually quite common, and especially popular with small, young families. It's definitely a departure in styling, but, hey, so was the original Mustang. And tbird. And, and... then again, could it be the AMC Gremlin of the truck world? Who knows. 😅

I'll apologize for the thread drift, and we can get back to the op's question. My Maverick was a plain jane, small six, bench seat three on the tree, "Wimbledon white" (your mom's was probably the Freudian Gilt color 😃) , economical and easy to maintain little vehicle. I could do much of maintenance and repair myself. Certainly underpowered, it probably saved me a lot in speeding tickets, as I had a pretty lead foot in college days. I got $1000 trade for it on my Dodge Dart special edition, after 4 1/2 years and 75000 miles. Never a lick of trouble, other than replacing the clutch, as I taught the next younger three how to drive a manual transmission with my little Maverick. (My next younger sister was a tough pupil. She eventually got a Maverick, too, but the cooler "upgrade" with the automatic trans and reclining bucket seats. She may even have had a glove box, as opposed to the cubby 🤣.) The three on the tree was great for rocking out of snow banks. Mine was never garaged. A lot of great memories. Wish I still had it. I did save a badge, after a lady drove 3 or 400 feet across an almost empty school parking lot to crash into my little car. The kids in commons study hall went wild, and two rushed to my room to "tell on her." The other great feature was the heater. It always worked well, as opposed to the vw bugs many of my friends drove. We had to keep blankets in their cars. Those were the days. Simplest is better, for me.

So, no time to head up to Valdez? Valdez itself isn't so much to talk about, but every trip we enjoy the scenery of the 50 miles or so of highway heading into Valdez. I truly think it's one of the most scenic stretches of highway in the US. (And, it's paved, with lots of pullouts.) Best thing about Valdez is a trip on Lulu Belle, to the glacier, imo. We've camped/boondocked a number of times in old Town, but last time it seemed pretty sketchy. If you decide to go, there is a nice state cg outside of town. The intown municipal is simply a parking lot. Homer is interesting, camping on the spit. Are you fishing? Lots of opportunities for a day of fishing. Seward is actually a really nice town. If you can, take a cruise on one of the fjord cruises. It's a great way to spend a day, and really beautiful. Whittier is really ugly, kind of Eastern Bloc buildings. The tunnel (shared with the rsilway) is most interesting. The cassiar is beautiful, and pretty empty and wild. Our favorite campground is Boya Lake. The lake is stunning. There's not much for services, so gas up when available. When we first drove it, there were stretches of gravel, but it's pretty much paved everywhere now. Other Provincial campgrounds are nice too, but none compare with Boya.

Thanks for the share, @John E Davies. That is a really cool piece of rv history. The photos show a thoughtfully done restoration. I'm a sucker for cool vintage trailers. My brother and I have often explored the idea of restoring a little bit of history. Maybe, one day....

So, finally, the first production Cybertruck rolled off the line, today. https://thehill.com/policy/technology/4099564-tesla-cybertruck-built-elon-musk/?segment=1*15ghd8a*s_amp_id*OVExbFhzdUpRbUhGR2trLUZqU015c1NBVkRTZFRzLTBaNzIyNU1BVU9CdWwtbGE5MEktXzJyZEUtV1RDQ0hZVQ..

Yes.