andrew

We haven't had any pathway lights fail, since we rarely use them. And if they are LED, they (should be) rated at 50,000+ hours, so that's a lot of time (5.7 years) using them. It's great to hear from you again. Are you coming east or north someday? Someday I hope, no definite plans at the moment. Do need to make some though.

I believe the pathway lights (like the matching outside lights) are LED and so the bulbs are unlikely to be replaceable and you would need to just replace the entire fixture. I thought I had seen those lights in the SeaDog online catalog, but now I can't seem to find them there. I did find this one: http://www.amazon.com/Directed-Courtesy-Lights-stainless-LED/dp/B0015G7OR0

It might be possible to install the HepVo from under the seat next to the shower. I don't know that there is enough room though. If there is not, you would need to pull out the shower pan. Pulling the shower pan SHOULD be just cutting out the caulk around the edge and lifting it out, but as I have not done it, I don't know for sure.

Without much research other than having seen the Oliver's shower trap in person, and then pictures of the HepVo. I think, the main benefit would be the ability to then get rid of the valve that opens and closes the shower drain. Our valve has always been difficult to use and not having to have it would be a big improvement. In the Oliver, the air vent to outside doesn't go through the shower connection, so the venting trouble they seemed to be trying to work around on the Casita forum would not be a problem in the Oliver.

GFCI's do wear out over time and need to be replaced when they don't allow their rated draw without tripping.

Have you plugged your trailer into a GFI previously? Why I ask is that we had a similar problem with our Oliver, it worked fine plugged into a 30A outlet, but tripped the GFI we were trying to use. It turned out the cord reel was wired incorrectly (which I found out on our first camping trip in the trailer trying to use the generator) but I was able to disassemble and rewire the cord reel to get it working.

should we put the trailer up on blocks, or will the electric jacks be strong and stable enough for long-term storage? I just put ours up on the jacks, they seem fine and I don't see any reason they would be any worse after a long while than after a few days of having the trailer on them while using it. Depending on the ground it is sitting on, you might want something under the jacks to distribute the weight to a larger area to keep it from sinking in. Also - should we put anything in the various tanks to keep them from getting stagnant or musty? Or is just draining them enough? We live in Havasu, so I just make sure they are not sealed shut and they end up dry as a bone in short order. Someplace else, I don't really know. I'd imagine something to kill anything that might grow in there might be a good idea.

Does seem like it'll be really nice for cold camping, but also the ability for it to catch dirt and then take it out and shake it and wash it. I wouldn't want anything permanent in there, but this that can be pulled out should be amazing! Anywho. It is:Clint Spencer <SpencersClint - AT - gmail.com> (didn't want to post it exactly for the spam bots) Spencer's Carpet Outlet & Tile 585 Lake Havasu Ave N, Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403-3657 (928) 453-3010 You can talk to anybody there, but they'll probably just pass it of to Clint anyway.

Got our friend to make us a carpet kit for the Oliver, seems like the rugs were never enough. It is all one piece and easy to pull out and hose off. He kept the pattern and said making more should be fairly easy.

Welcome to the forum Jeremiah!

As you say, drain/clean the tanks and water heater, remove any sorts of perishable goods. Prop open the fridge door (be sure to turn it off), because otherwise they smell funny. Here in Havasu, we don't really have to deal with rain, so while our trailer is parked, I turn on the fantastic fan (blowing out with the thermostat set as warm as it can go) and open the bathroom window because otherwise it can be an oven in there, although not nearly as bad as the Airstream. If possible I would move the tires inside. It is a big theft deterrent, although depending on where you are parking it, probably not a huge deal. It will also keep them out of the sun and the weight off of them which should help them degrade less while not using them. Apart from that, the only thing I can think of is battery maintenance. The solar should keep the batteries maintained, but again that has to do with where it is parked as well as battery drains. When I installed our solar, I put in a main disconnect that turns off everything to the batteries except the solar controller, this allows me to be sure there are no strange drains on the system (although it also confuses me when I don't remember turning it off and things don't work). Oh ya, make a plan for the keys and do something so you don't forget where they are

Was thinking of doing this. My actual plan was to mount some lights up above the window pointing down at the corners and have them double as backup/utility lighting. Perhaps when we finish the Airstream I can get back to Oliver projects!

If you just want to hold the cables, you could do about anything. Screws or rivets into the inner hull should work, some sort of adhesive would also hold it up, but that would mean finding an adhesive that would bond with both materials and I am not familiar with bonding to fiberglass.

Wow Eric, nice install! The only reason we accepted this install, even temporarily, is that the batteries are AGM. My plan eventually is to eventually find a tray that is deeper and wider so that I can put 3 batteries along the back of the tray, have the faucet mounted in front of the batteries and beside the faucet, have room for our toolbag. At that point I would engineer a solution to separate the battery box from the main compartment.

We installed a couple Universal Battery UB121350's. We have had them for about a year and so far I have been happy, although we haven't had nearly as many trips as would have been nice. We actually ordered the Gruber Power branded batteries but they shipped us the others. I believe we got them from Gruber Power's eBay store. As you can see, they were a bit taller than I thought, or the battery box was smaller than I measured. The red terminals stick out the top of the box. and the box is cut to a flap so the black cables can snake underneath.