lenp

I think lights alone (no flashing) will do the trick. Lenp

If you have access to power while in storage you might try a rope light under the coach. Pack rats do not like light. I have 12 volt LED lights in the front and rear of my MH and have not had a problem. Saw several rigs at The Ranch (Lakewood) using the rope lights with success. Lenp

Friend in Oregon is selling her Road Trek. Not sure of year of other specifics but if interested in going that far from NC shot me a PM and I can get you in contact with her. Lenp

Here is where it is located.....

Does your water heater have a "thermal cutoff" installed between the thermostat and the control board? The wiring diagram I have for your model shows it DOES have one. Looks like the photo below. If it opens you will loose 12 volts to the control board. It is there to kill power to the unit in the event there is excessive heat buildup in the heater. I will add a photo of the heater showing the cutoff in a different response. Lenp

Dune, I would spend more time trying to find the source of the GFI tripping. Friend once had a similar problem and we found a 120 VAC wire had a staple through it shorting the neutral and ground wire together. The GFI didn't like that for some reason. He actually fried an older Xantrex inverter before we found the problem. We isolated it by: 1) removing ALL power from the RV 2) turn off ALL circuit breakers 3) using an ohmmeter to measure resistance between the neutral and ground lines of each circuit AND the input lines to the breaker box We found the line going to the refrigerator had a direct short between ground and neutral. He told me later he had been noticing a small "shock" whenever he touched any metal on the trailer. This might not be your problem but worth checking. Lenp

My normal maintenance (oil, filters and lubrication) are in the neighborhood of $300-$400. The more involved things like air dryer, transmission, coolant flush, etc. will add significantly when they are due. This year I am going to be well over $5000 due to having some major front end work, torsion bar and shocks replaced but this is certainly not routine stuff. I think if you budget $500 to $1000 a year for routine stuff you going to be fine. Just remember there are bigger things that will come along like tires. Lenp

Long before we started full time we moved from rural delivery to a private mail service (mail box store in town). Primary reason for change was mail theft and mail box vandalism. When we went full time it was a natural fit. The mail service receives our mail and when we land at a place we are going to be staying at long enough I have them send everything via UPS. Sure, it costs me shipping charges but I KNOW I will get ALL my mail. And using UPS I can actually track the delivery and I KNOW when it will arrive. The mail box company would sort first class out if I asked but, hey, I like to get my Escapees magazine. In my opinion, the USPS is a joke - including their tracking system! Lenp