FloraFauna

In our case my wife's first employer no longer exists so that made things a bit more difficult.

We pretty much dont travel in July unless we get an unusual cool stretch and can mobilize quickly. We have the quieter Truma ac but still the point is to be outside. If the heat doesnt get you up here in northland the humidity and mosquitoes will. I have researched how far north i need to go to get substantial temperatures drops (vs south central wisconsin) and the outcome was not encouraging. By heading to far northern wisconsin or the southern portions of the UP, we might see about a 5 degree temp drop. If we get up to the northern side of lake superior or the Apostle Islands that might improve to a 7 to 10 degree drop depending on positioning of the jet stream. Anything more probably requires the Canadian rockies!

I started mine in early 2026 preemptively because it all seems like a train wreck around the next bend. Waiting until 70 for max benefit seemed too risky so thought i should just start pulling my money out now. My benefit fell into place with only online input in late 2025. The spousal benefit took an additional two phones calls and there too, SSA didnt have the work record. But in the end that straightened out and the money is flowing. It helped to keep records of the agent you are talking to, get their phone number and work with the same person everytime!!! It might also help to work thru your local office.

Not all Chinese tires are created equal. On my flat bed trailer (17,000 lbs gvwr) I have a Chinese brand with a good reputation and in that particular size and load rating, thats about all you can get. But the China bomb tires are real thing and careful, thorough research is essential. If the new Oliver tires are on that bomb list, it would really be a sad day. Basically i would not take the trailer off the lot until a swap was made.

My truma cp plus control module went out one time. I finally found the 1 amp fuse to it, pulled it out and placed it back in. Then it worked again. Just seem you are dealing with a loose connection or a janky fuse. Better have the wiring diagram handy for the next time.

Into the outlet on the generator. I believe this is an artifact of the lack of a grounding rod and grounded electrical system on the trailer (which would be totally impractical).

I needed to do so with my Champion generator.

Yes it is and the installation was pretty easy from the view point of me watching someone do it that has done it many times. It helped that the electrical and the shut off switch was existing from the previous unit. That said, the whole thing doesnt seem as rugged as the old time ac unit it replaced, but you can say that about alot of things and these units dont last forever anyway. Cost was only a bit more than a replacement ac unit. The wireless remote is handier than i thought it would be.

If you can't read the print on the unit label and you are interested, dm to me and I can provide details. The unit currently runs on 240V but I am currently converting my place to 3-phase and then it will run on 208v single phase. It's currently on a 30 amp circuit because of what was on the circuit before but I seem to recall it will run on a 20 amp circuit.

John, I did not install it myself so I will be of limited help. I went with a minisplit for my shop and use a wood stove when temps here drop below what is optimal for the minisplit. But I love the unit. Super quiet inside and out. A very convenient option for heating in transitional season temperatures when it's just not worth firing up the wood stove. Of course the cooling function works well too. I have a larger heat pump on my house again for ac and transitional weather heating. But like in the shop, I have a gas boiler for when it really gets cold. Its not that the heat pump and minisplit won't heat in cold weather but rather they are not my most efficient option in cold weather. Of course your climate is a different situation.

Eek! I guess i need to take my antifreeze filter along even in warm weather. I was keeping it safe at home. Thanks for the heads up.

Boy, i have repeatedly taken and not taken a small step ladder along. There are an awful lot of things that are unreachable without it including my truck oil dipstick. So far, i have never used it on the short trips we take and i kind of feel like a worry dork taking it. Maybe with your encouragement i will take it with greater confidence. Sorry to be off topic of the main thread.

I have the zamp portable suitcase panel that I believe adds another 240 watts (this particular size is no longer available) Its awful heavy and the cable is just too short to be able to move it optimally with the sun on the streetside of the trailer. Several calls to zamp technical support did not result in being able to purchase a longer and heavier cable. When its only in the sun for a few hours the gain is not that great - we are typically in partial shaded sites. There is also the worry that someone will walk off with the panel while i am not at camp. Pulling it up and placing it back multiple times is a hassle. Finally even though we are at nonelectric sites most of the time, we typically dont need the portable unit. For all of these reasons, i find myself taking it along less and less. There are a few situations where i will be happy to have it but those situations are far and few.

Larger fridge/freezer is nice. Dry bath is nicer with a sink you can actually get your face/head over (as @jd1923 mentioned as a shortcoming in the Oliver). Always tradeoffs of course. Some tradeoffs are apparent (particularly regarding storage) and some are not. And of course, a brand-new company carries some risks as well. Not enough here for me to really consider switching even if I was in the market.

I hope you all recognize this was tongue-in-cheek.