Mt Shuksan in the North Cascades, WA. Beautiful hike on Chain Lakes trail.

Yes, I was afraid of that, thanks Andy. I think I'm going to try a combination of rope and pool noodles :grin:

Lisa,
In my experience, just releasing a bit of hot water from the tank is enough to clean off the valve seat. Simply lift the lever a bit (it is spring-loaded), and let out some water. It's hot, so be careful. For safety's sake, turn off the electric heater element while you do this, to be sure the element doesn't get exposed if the tank level got too low. The dripping should clear up right away, but if not, try it one more time. If that doesn't work, it may be time for another pressure-temperature valve.

String Lake Grand Teton N.P. Our summer volunteer position.

Excellent, thanks Ray. I feel much better knowing it's not an urgent repair.

It's the water heaters expansion valve. They do drip from time to time but if it gets to be excessive then they can be replaced.

Last night (9/11/21) in NYC. Empire State Building & World Trade Center

Beautiful spot there among the trees, have a great trip. I look forward to all your travels coming up!

Well, we finally are out traveling again! Had a beautiful sunset for our last night at Thunderbird RV Park and snagged a great campsite out at Buttle Lake. First time trying to change the address on the Starlink dish and it worked! Even in a dead cell area, we have super-fast internet. :) Cheers! Ray

Judging by the color of the estuary this morning, you can tell fall is on its way. I love how the early sunrise lights up the golden grasses this time of year.

Thanks, Ray. You probably hit it on the head. My inverter is 3000 watts. More batteries it will be. I used your videos to make my own cables, so I'm sure they're fine!

I wonder why it broke like that — Ray

Hope your able to figure out how — Bill Illman

I Broke the flimsy propane clamp and with the already low axle travel distance (pipe installed above axle u-bolt)... my axle u-bolt hit the pipe. I had the dealer change the copper and the way it was installed. Known problem on the Forest River Forum.
Since I run the inverter for the fridge I check the pipe before I turn on the propane.

We also installed a transfer switch for the fridge while traveling long hours. I don't travel with propane on and it's a good thing because we already broke the propane line under our 2019 trailer.
I installed the WFCO T-30 transfer switch to the panel.

Fraser Lake, BC sunset. Beauty from wildfire smoke.

Interesting looking sunset the other night with high clouds lighting up.

We swapped out the tires that came with out 5th wheel when we bought it in 2011. The tires were already 4 years old on a brand new RV. Since then, and with over about 85,000 miles on the RV, we are on set # 3, which were new March 2020. So 4/5 years regardless of wear as ST tires are built differently than regular driving tires.

There are other factors as well as those that Ray listed, such as if the tires are or aren’t kept to proper inflation, are not being overloaded weight wise, are not driven at a higher speed than the speed rating for those tires. (Most ST tires have a max speed rating of 65 MPH).

In a nutshell, tread is irrelevant in a ST tire unless it’s because of odd wear from a bent axle or shot bearings. Age is everything, whether it’s been sitting or travelling.

I think a general rule of thumb for trailer tires is about 5 years. They are softer than motorhome and vehicles tires.

Many factors can affect the lifespan like how much it gets used and if it sits for a long period and type of the ground it sits on and ambient temps, UV, and humidity. 3 years may be a good idea for crap tires but for the Goodyear Endurance I'd say that is really erroring on the side of caution, imho

In this video, I disassemble and inspect out now over 10-year-old Motomaster Eliminator 1000 watt pure sine wave inverter. I inspect the condition of the circuit board, electronics, and fans.



Overall I'm impressed with the condition of the inverter and sure have got my money's worth. It's been on for almost the whole 10 years that we have been full-time RVing. Not much maintenance to be done other than a little bit of dust cleanup on the fans. Looks like I should be able to easily get another decade out of the unit.

Hello all,
Just another update on the above mentioned issue. So Keystone told the local authorized service company that my AC’s gateway was NOT part of the recall/service. They suggested updating the software on the iN-Command monitor and that it may resolve the issue. So I went to the iN-Command website (https://in-command.net/) downloaded the latest software (mine was several versions too old). Took the thumb drive to the monitor and loaded it. iN-Command has very good instructions on how to do all this. Anyway, the temps have not been high so I don’t know yet if the software update corrected the problem. Have to wait for it to get hot around here. However, the update did create a new issue: I can no longer connect to it via Bluetooth to any devices. Anyway, iN-Command instructed me to send the monitor to them so they can test it. If there is an actual defect they will replace it and if not, they will return it as is. Not functions properly.

Sorry for the long update but I thought it might help out some.

Milo

https://in-command.net/

Thanks pal!
You also have been doing some neat solar work on your RV home!!!
Happy Trails...Pal!!!

Wow, great job at putting everything in such a small area and cool idea for the battery holder. Looks like a sweet system!

I like that Power Station set-up Ray, nice video also!
A little off from your power center, but here is pictures of my last install.
It is a upgrade with 6- Safari UT 1300 Lion Energy 100Ah batteries.
It was one tight battery bank install.......
Miss you and Anne! Happy Trails Pal!!!

Along with Lorraine's 'heads up', here are a couple more bits of tire info I've learned when digging deeper into blow-out avoidance. Some (most?) trailer manufacturers recommend the maximum inflation pressure the trailer's tire is rated for, likely out of fear the owner will overload the trailer's rated capacity. But if you look up the tire manufacturer's recommended load vs. pressure chart, significantly lower tire pressures are recommended. The lower pressure will provide a more even wear pattern and the tire will provide the trailer with a smoother ride. (Goodyear and Michelin both offer excellent charts across their range of tire products). Also, I have started using a clever little tread depth measurement tool I got at NAPA which makes measuring depths across a tire's width quite quick and very accurate. Far better than using Lincoln's head on a penny. It helps me better anticipate the wear I can expect and only cost $5. It now lives with my pressure gauge and tire pressure sensor tool.

Nice to be back on the road and glad all went “relatively” well with your blowout experience. Glad you made the choice to fully change out your tires.

Just a heads up for others: if you have a blowout on one side, it’s recommended to change out both tires on that side because even for the short time the second tire on that side has been carrying all the load, is enough to compromise it.

On July 7 I started traveling again. I went through Navada on my way to see my sister in Oregon.
Had a blowout in Goldfield, NV. Was no place to buy a replacement. So I placed the spare tire on and went to Tonopah, NV. Well would't you know it no place to buy one locally. So I got a RV space and left the RV there and had to drive to Reno, NV to purchase a tire. Once I arrived at my sisters I did a more thorough inspection of all the tires on the RV. Ended up ordering 4 tires from Walmart.com . I went with the Sailun S635 trailer tires. Took two weeks to arrive. Used the tire I purchased in Reno, NV for the spare (Goodyear Endurance) to replace my old spare tire. Now I'm in Montana checking out Glacier National Park. Want to head down to the Grand Teton's area and check them out.

Thanks, Ray! I appreciate your help!!!