Steph and Dud B

Hoping you all have a great year with lots of camping opportunities. -Dudley and Stephanie

I have my ham license but have a CB in the truck. Good for car-to-car if traveling with our friends (better range than FRS or MURS) and still good for getting road reports from truckers. Last summer we heard about a highway closure on CB before it was posted anywhere else and were able to take an alternate route before getting caught in the traffic jam.

Yep, mine aren't like that. Just an open slot, no little door like yours. How old is yours?

Not mine. Purchased last summer.

I did a review on their site. Other reviewers have complained about the same thing.

More feedback on our Diamondback. It has issues in freezing weather. We had rain followed by a hard freeze. Afterwards, I couldn't open my Diamondback for 2 reasons: The large rubber gaskets froze to the bed rails and tailgate. I was able to open the tailgate my manipulating the rear gasket, but raising either half of the cover was out of the question. The keyholes do not have weather covers. Moisture gets into the cylinders and freezes solid. I couldn't even insert my key. They will certainly fill with snow and ice after every storm. Careful use of a small torch temporarily solved my problem but they'll freeze again tonight. Ordered some spray-in lock deicer. Hope that stuff works. My Diamondback ratings: Security: A Load carrying: A Appearance: A Water resistance: B Winter performance: C

Pretty common for those pigtails to fail with age. I wouldn't bother replacing the regulator if it's functioning correctly.

By the way, if you ever have a chance to visit the SPAM Museum in Austin, MN it's worth the stop. However, do NOT let your cat sample some of the more unusual flavors. (Worst pet flatulence ever!)

We knew it was coming in CT, but your post is a good reminder for others to check their tax liability before taking delivery.

For the original photo posted by @ScubaRx I've seen some speculation that improper welding of the front tie-down points may have weakened the frame.

Could the coupler have been damaged before you installed it? I've heard of hitches getting damaged in shipment, even big fifth wheel hitches.

Who installed the larger hitch?

There a little dealer in the next town that imports and sells those little Japanese trucks. They are very cute, and I imagine they get good mileage. Apparently, some states are outlawing them for road use now, though. (Vermont, I think.)

We've always had absorption fridges in our campers. The Norcold in our Ollie has been the best so far, but I wish we had the option to order the isotherm with our large Platinum lithium package. But, so far, the Norcold has been fine.

I got the idea for both from other threads here. Parts came from Amazon: Esssentials UW05004 Polar White... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009IGF42G?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share White Water Plastic 5-Slotted... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075H3V8HG?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share SIBE-R Plastic Supply - Dark... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071KGRGPP?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share Plus some weatherstripping from the hardware store.

We love the second awning. A lot of our trips this season were summer dry camping on the shore with little to no shade. I tried to park the trailer in a north-south orientation with the bathroom to the south. As the day progressed we'd shift awnings from the east side to the west side. This kept the main cabin as cool as possible and maximized our shaded outdoor seating (we moved the chairs from one side of the trailer to the other). We didn't use the awnings very much in the rain. The window vent I made, along with the added gutter, allowed us to keep the dinette window open, even in heavy rain. That's been enough so far.

I went over 10 so I'll post a link instead. 25 photos at the bottom, Oliver delivery to the last trip: https://stephndudb.blogspot.com/2022/10/2022-12-end-of-season.html?m=1

We once had a beautiful campsite on the shore of Lake Ontario where the campfire looked right out over the water. The site itself was topped with loose stone and I idly tossed a couple into the fire. What a surprise when those little rocks exploded! When our friend stopped by later we warned him not to throw any rocks into the fire. He thought we were kidding so he tossed in a full handful. You never saw anyone scramble away from a campfire so fast! And the look on his face when the rocks started exploding... Priceless!

No humidifier, but a couple of Damp-Rid containers in there. CT winters are usually pretty low humidity.

We never stored mattresses on their sides in previous trailers. What's the concern, that there will be condensation under the mattresses? Would there be enough temperature difference, or humidity, inside a trailer stored without heat in winter conditions to form condensation under the mattresses?

A little JB Weld and he's good to go!

Flat towing a toad requires the same diligence, and adherence to checklists, as towing a trailer. Small mistakes can have big consequences. When our last fifth wheel was brand-new a motorhome with a toad pulled into a site diagonal from ours. They unhitched the car while it was still in neutral. It then rolled downhill and hit our fifth wheel. We were lucky on several counts. We weren't inside our trailer, or we probably would have been injured. The car struck diagonally on the steel rear bumper of the trailer, instead of the fiberglass body. Our landing gear and stabilizer jacks were on "Lego" blocks, so the trailer pivoted on impact, with the jacks sliding off the blocks. There was virtually no damage to our trailer. The rear hatch of the car was a different story. Not that I haven't made mistakes while hooking up or disconnecting a trailer. I've done a few really stupid things, usually by getting distracted in the process. Now I try to be super diligent about following my checklists.

We took this picture when we visited an Oliver for that exact reason:

I had the same problem. Ended up using the hex screw to adjust the retraction stop point and pull it in a bit tighter. I just adjusted the screw a little at a time and listened to the motor to be sure I wasn't overworking it. The gap is gone now.

Happy Thanksgiving, all!