SeaDawg

@Nan, in any camper or boat, sleeping bags or travelsax, or something like it, is the optimal speedy solution. We like a real bed, and sheets, so, up til now I have always done the gymnastics.

Happy first day of spring! Tulips opened today in celebration!

Our 2008 Dodge Ram is still a great tow vehicle. Just broken in at about 250k miles.

Hi, Nittybelle, and welcome to the forum. I see this is your first post.

Ditto

Good thoughts, Mossemi, and Topgun. My 2008 seals look a bit clunky, but they still work well.

To all our Irish (and Irish for the day) friends, hope you have a happy day! Corned beef is resting, Irish stew is in the crockpot, beads and hats are by the door, and friends will be here at our home soon for our traditional celebration. We've been blessed with a beautiful afternoon here in Florida. A little tune from my new favorite young Irish artist (who resembles one of my nephews, especially that engaging Irish smile) to start the party. "May your troubles be less and your blessings be more, And nothing but happiness come through your door."

We did the Canadian VIA trip one year, from Prince Rupert to Jasper. It was beautiful! I hope you have a great time on the Mountaineer.

@Jps190, where are you installing the sok battery? How will you run the wiring?

Lithionics is made in Florida. Typically sold only to manufacturers, including Oliver and Winnebago, and others.

Wow! Great eye, @FrankC. Pretty sure that's Overland's Snowball. Only one without a fridge vent cut in that I know of. And the factory experimented with the lift, but found it unsatisfactory. He posted this photo the factory sent him. Probably photoshopped? That black square bucket seems to be in the same spot, left streetside below bumper ...

That's true, @John Welte, and a good shop will get it right. Gel coat can be tinted, just like paint. Even better that the scratches are in the change of plane of the the narrow belly band. Fixed properly, no one will ever know it ever happened. It'll look just like it did before that darned fence post intervened.

Well, that stinks, and I'm really so very sorry. Good news is, it looks like you missed most of the contours of the belly band, and, it's not very deep, so it shouldn't be too tough for a good shop or boatyard. I've seen much, much worse. If you're close to Hohenwald, open a ticket and go there. If not, start looking for marine fiberglass repair shops. I know it hasn't happened to you before, but this stuff (unfortunately) does happen all the time, boat vs. pilings or seawall. Check references, of course, but hopefully there's someone in fiberglass repair near you with a good reputation and skills. It's really not a huge job. The toughest part will be matching gel coat color. Even if you get the ral number from Oliver, it may not be a precise match, anymore, after some years in the elements.

I watched @Mike D. level their Elite II with his Bluetooth lever (levelmate pro?) and Anderson levelers, and it was quite a slick operation.

That's a beautiful truck, Landrover! Congratulations!

We have also driven the Million dollar highway. It's not as dangerous as some say, but it sure isn't for beginners. I wasn't crazy about the idea, at first, but it was ok. Steep dropoffs, hairpins, changing radius curves, etc. And, some very big trucks on a very narrow road, with some construction zones, too,, on our trip.. Good equipment, good weather, and some skills are essential imo. The views were amazing. We haven't driven Beartooth, so I'm following this, and I appreciate the comments of those who have driven it. Not sure how the two compare.

Are all the photos you're trying to upload manipulated from iphone to storage via the same app? Ps, with your background, im sure you've had the same thought.

Darn, me, too. How the heck does that happen? I wake up in the morning, all clear-eyed and happy, then I swing my legs over the side of the bed and my knees tell me I'm not 30 anymore.🙃 This article might help you, if you decide to go with wax, and a mechanical advantage. (For the time being, still our choice, after 40 years. We'll see what the next decades hold.... ) Fwiw, Google practical sailor and best wax. There are choices beyond our labor intensive paste wax. Discusses some orbital electric devices for waxing/polishing https://www.practical-sailor.com/blog/waxing-and-polishing-your-boat

That's actually pretty awesome. I don't know if you've weighed your trailer at a cat scale, but our tongue weight is roughly 400 to 420 lbs. Add you, passenger, dogs. Then, whatever you want to pack in the suv... don't overload. Leave a margin of room, to have fun, and an enjoyable experience. It's not fun to tow with an already overloaded vehicle. Been there, done that.

I missed that in your comment. Sorry. You're looking at diy. Honestly, I think at least 75 per cent of modern waxes and coatings, if specifically designed for marine grade fiberglass, are fine to great. We've always used paste wax, with uv inhibitors and a high carnuba content. So, we stay with that. Others have used polymers, and spray waxes. Paste, spray, wipe on/wipe off. It's somewhat of a personal thing. This has been a raging debate for decades in the marine world. Most important, imo, is keeping up, keeping clean, and consistency of product type. You can read practical sailor reviews til your eyes glaze over. Or, review marine forums. Or corvette forums. Or fiberglass plane forums. (I'm a self- proclaimed coatings nerd, and I read them all the time.) My advice is to buy and use a product with good uv resistance, and a shine level, and a personal work level, that you can live with, imo, from a reputable company, like 3m, starbrite, meguires, collinite, etc ., that will remain in business, and allow you to buy the same product, year after year, and you'll likely be good.

When my neighbors had their 22' boat professionally ceramic coated, they didn't "sand", per se, but it was a four day process, with very extensive prep. Lots of hand work, and chemicals. And rubbing compound, which is sort of a very mild abrasive/sanding. Much of which was removing/stripping old wax, and renewing some chalked areas. (I think their boat was 6 years old.) It was beautiful at the end. Almost blinding in the sun. It was "guaranteed " for two years. Can't tell you the end result, as they sold the house, and the boat, separately, 8 months or so later. They were already voicing some disappointment in the reduced "gloss" by the time they sold the boat, but it sat out in the Florida heat and sun, over saltwater, unprotected and unshaded, on a lift. Much different environment than our ollies. I'll look forward to hearing Steve's review, after a few years. It would be really nice to omit waxing, twice or three times a year, as has been our practice. We're not getting any younger... and though the results of waxing are rewarding, it's not easy.

I agree. Its all a tradeoff. We just try to carry the minimum. Like I said, maybe we live on the edge.

Just a thought...we might be living on the edge, but we've normally only carried a three-step step stool. It gives us height enough to clean the awning, windows, etc. It's all we used putting eze rv gutter on, as well. It's light, fits on top of a couple cargo bins, and it helps us get stuff out of the truck bed. Even our recently purchased gorilla ladder would take up substantially more room. And weight.

I really don't know. I thought in the new trailers, it was original equipment. New owners, can you tell us? I can't recall photos of hull plaques.

You'll probably be ok. Before we installed the dc danfoss fridge, (60 to 70 ah a day drain), we never worried about power, much, with just two agm 105 ah batteries, in conjunction with 200 watts of solar, and a bit of portable. . (And a Honda 1000, for emergency. ) I'd honestly wait for the need, before I invested a lot of money in alternative sources. Lifepo4 will certainly give you more latitude, when and if you make that decision. We're still struggling with that decision, and probably won't make it til our existing agms die. We are looking ahead, and discussing. But, our needs are simple. We (hopefully) have a year or two to make that decision. Best of luck to you in your decisions.