Steph and Dud B

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!

My tire shop, who I trust, was very leery about torquing the nuts to 120, even after I showed them the Oliver spec. 120 is right at the top end of the range for those lugs and torque wrenches do have some deviation.

We haven't had any issues with our replacement RV Lock after applying sealant to cover the gap between the top of the lock body and the door. We do this, even with the RV Lock, just in case it fails.

If it's not the cable, it could be the valve itself. Our last trailer had a tank valve where the seals were very tight against the gate, making it hard to operate. Adding some RV tank valve lubricant every spring solved the issue. You just pour some into the tank before a trip.Thetford RV Drain Valve Lubricant... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BGK2L0?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Cracking a roof vent will help with internal condensation. You want to create a convection airflow, where warm most air inside rises and leaves via the roof vent. We usually crack ours just a little to accomplish that. If you also crack a window, I'd use the one by the dinette instead of over a bed and, again, just a crack to let cool dry air replace the warm most air leaving via the vent. Not running the furnace may be contributing to your problem, too. The furnace warms up the space between the hulls a bit so the outer hull is the one in contact with the coldest air. That should cause most of the condensation to occur on the inside of the outer shell, then drain out the bottom. I hope Service is able to help you get this resolved. Good luck.

Yes, we'll have a service panel in the new building but we just got news that our utility provider is requesting to DOUBLE their rate: "Eversource supply rates will double from 12.05 cents per kWh to 24.2 cents per kWh, resulting in an $84 per month increase for the average user." Solar would also help keep the trailer charged during power outages, which are becoming more frequent and longer here. A week ago we lost power for 14 hours after a very small storm.

With some big life changes happening - first Steph's cancer and now our son getting married - we've changed plans and decided that our current home in CT will be our retirement home after all. That means making some changes to the property. #1 will be adding a detached garage/barn, and that will have a bay for Eggcelsior. Until now, she's lived outside in full sun. There was a plus to that. With the lithium and solar we never had to plug her in at home, at least not until now when we're getting freezing weather. (Lithionics advises keeping the 315 aH batteries on the charger in freezing weather to power the internal battery heaters.) But when we put her in a garage, the solar will be gone. We'll have to plug her in. How much power will she need? Up until now we ran the fridge on gas in the yard and the solar kept up. Now, we'll need to run the fridge on electric. Anybody know how many amps the fridge draws on AC? (I'm having trouble searching the University with my Android devices since the site redesign. When I enter a search phrase the Android keyboard won't let me hit Enter to start the search. A topic for a different post.) I was also wondering... Could we put solar panels on the roof of the garage and run a cable to the Zamp port on the outside of Eggcelsior?? Has anyone ever done anything like that? Would the cable run be too long? It would be cool...

You have a beautiful home, John. Jealous of that RV garage.