Month in to my new adventure.

[juiced78]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post.


This is sorta like my diary post, so apologies ahead of time but it may be long winded.


My adventure begins with me taking a new position at work, about 50 miles north of home. It’s a shift work position, you know 12hr days/nights 4-6 days a week, lots of time off. But living in this area, working in that area. We have some of the worst traffic in the country.


My wife and I decided that it would be worthwhile to buy a motorhome/travel trailer and find a place for me to park it during the work week. Come to find out, my work has electric hookups and parking spots for rv’s.


Then it worked out that my Aunt was selling a 1996 Dutchmen 29’ class c in real nice condition below my price range. I snatched it up. Here I am.


Started my position at the beginning of December. Still haven’t been able to “plug in” at work because all the outlet positions are full but they promise that they will be adding more. My generator (Onan 4K) was working great, now it’s not starting- going to check the oil tomorrow. And it’s been cold. Supposed to be colder this week with snow forecast for the weekend. Granted I will be home this weekend but I know it won’t be the last before spring.


How does everyone deal with the cold in my kind of predicament? I can run the motorhome and the furnace and it warms up before I crawl into my cacoon and it keeps me warm over the evening, I just freeze while getting ready for work in the morning/evening.


Just adjusting to the part-time rv life. So far it really ain’t bad.


Thanks for reading! Next post I’ll elaborate more on the rv herself :-)

[ATCguy]

Once you get the generator working again, you might consider getting 1 or 2 of these small ceramic disc heaters:



Disc heaters come in various types, and made by different companies... but I like this one. They’re about $80 each from Amazon... have built-in thermostat control, tip-over protection, and are safe to leave on when away from the rig. I use them in my 5th wheel all winter, and rarely use the furnace at all.

[franktafl]

Hello Juiced! You are making me cold just thinking about it... If there is someone near you and they can provide power to both of you via a "Y", that may be your best alternative or run an extension so you can run a couple of those nifty ceramic heaters.

By the way. Welcome to this place...

[juiced78]

Thanks for the replies and suggestions!

I’m totally going to pick up one or two of those disc heaters. Saves on propane too.


Well I got an update on them adding more hookups, it’s going to happen just no idea of time yet. I ordered a power splitter and an extension cord to reach the nearest outlet. It arrives today at a local Amazon locker.


Last night while running the engine to warm it up the heater started blowing cold, not sure what’s up with that yet. I know I have plenty of propane. And the battery gage didn’t seem to move up even with running the engine for a while with nothing but a light on. I’m hoping some of the issues will go away when hooked up to shore power.


Also noticed that a single drip of water forms at the bottom of the crank handle for the tv antenna. Doesn’t drip off onto the seat below it very often, even after heavy rain. My aunt had the roof replaced about a year ago, so I assume it’s some sort of seal around the base of the antenna.


Gives me something to do I suppose lol.


Have a great day!


Juice

[franktafl]

Originally Posted by juiced78

Thanks for the replies and suggestions!

I’m totally going to pick up one or two of those disc heaters. Saves on propane too.


Well I got an update on them adding more hookups, it’s going to happen just no idea of time yet. I ordered a power splitter and an extension cord to reach the nearest outlet. It arrives today at a local Amazon locker.


Last night while running the engine to warm it up the heater started blowing cold, not sure what’s up with that yet. I know I have plenty of propane. And the battery gage didn’t seem to move up even with running the engine for a while with nothing but a light on. I’m hoping some of the issues will go away when hooked up to shore power.


Also noticed that a single drip of water forms at the bottom of the crank handle for the tv antenna. Doesn’t drip off onto the seat below it very often, even after heavy rain. My aunt had the roof replaced about a year ago, so I assume it’s some sort of seal around the base of the antenna.


Gives me something to do I suppose lol.


Have a great day!


Juice

If the antenna is just outside the bathroom, may be condensation BUT, I would keep a very close eye on it.. Good Luck.

[juiced78]

It’s about 6’ away, and I haven’t had to shower in the motorhome yet, I’ve been doing that inside the building or at the gym, so wouldn’t imagine it’s condensation. If I can figure out how to add pics I’ll show you :-)

[israelws]

Go check out Olympian Catalytic heaters, you don't need power, just propane!
Installed one in my 35' Voltage toy hauler, best upgrade I've done yet, and will put one in my next trailer.

You can make it a portable or permanent installation!

Yes you can run it at night as several of us do, just make sure you've got fresh air coming in!

Camco 57331 Olympian Wave-3 3000 BTU LP Gas Catalytic ...

[juiced78]

Originally Posted by israelws

Go check out Olympian Catalytic heaters, you don't need power, just propane!
Installed one in my 35' Voltage toy hauler, best upgrade I've done yet, and will put one in my next trailer.

You can make it a portable or permanent installation!

Yes you can run it at night as several of us do, just make sure you've got fresh air coming in!

Camco 57331 Olympian Wave-3 3000 BTU LP Gas Catalytic ...

Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll check them out. In the meantime, I got plugged into power and picked up a small electric ceramic heater from Home Depot. Cost about $30 and on the low setting keeps all 29 feet at 65 degrees. Warm enough for me. We got about 8 inches of snow last week and it seemed to help melt the snow faster. This week we’ve had spring like temperatures so it didn’t end up being a big problem but it still gave me a little peace of mind.

[juiced78]

Good evening everyone, now I’m nearly 4 months into this new chapter of my life.

Adjusting quite well to the part time rv life, I feel.

Still having the drop of water form on the tv antenna handle, still a little baffled by this. I’m fairly convinced that the seal around the handle shaft may need to be replaced but since it doesn’t actually seem to ever drip I haven’t been in a hurry to take care of it. Even when it rains like a mofo around here. I’ll dig deeper eventually.

Being hooked up to power has made my life a bit easier. Haven’t had to go fill propane (although I cook most of my food lately inside the building) same with water(still showering inside) which has been nice, so far.

My newest issue is that according to the “gauge” (the led lights that light up when I hold the test button on the range hood) my holding tank 1 is at or near capacity. I don’t have a owners manual so I’m not sure which tank is holding tank 1. I plan on emptying both before long, however, it would be nice to know. I only go “no. 1” out there (again, the convenience of living at work) I assume it’s the gray water tank. Anyone have any insight? Or perhaps where I might be able to find a manual? I haven’t had any luck yet.

I also finally leveled the beast. Thought I’d try that and check tank levels again. Didn’t change lol.

Thanks! And I hope everyone is managing to stay safe, sane, and healthy! I work for an electric utility and am actually working overtime because of this. Good for the paycheck, not so sure about my sanity, lol.

Juice