lappir

I've had "Tuna" for about 6 months now. She is a good cat except when she sneaks up and bites to get my attention. I constantly have scratches or bite marks on my arm. Thankfully she isn't doing both sides as much now. I had a great idea of maybe trying to foster another cat to see if it decreased her need to bite and picked up my papers from the local Humane Society many weeks ago. Yesterday I finally dropped them off and was met with a Cheer and "Our prayers have been answered". Not all what I expected. Turned out they had a Momma Cat and some two week old kittens in need of a foster home for 6 weeks. The kittens can't be in the facility or something until they are at least 8 weeks old. I initially declined thinking it might be too much but some additional things happened throughout the day that made me change my mind. I now have a 6 toe momma cat and 5 kittens in my garage. So far my Tuna is being good and momma cat is a very good mother and has a very sweet disposition. She only hissed once when Tuna was trying to get a better look at the kittens. I'll keep them separated for a week or so and then monitor them in the garage. Momma and the kittens are in an enclosure. I doubt it will help with the biting and sneaking up, but maybe it will. Rod

Thanks John, Glad you had better luck with the thetford than I did. Visited the local RV shop and they put on order a 320 Dometic porcelain for me. In review of a few online offers their price seems fair. Rod

Asked for a "High Quality Toilet" when I had my home built. Got a $700 pile of ceramic JUNK. Sure it looks real good on the outside, but less then 3 years after it's install I come home to a flood. No way to work on without pulling it up from the floor. Turn it over and find cheap plastic insides. Contacted the company with suggestions on how to repair and was sent the same cheap plastic poorly made repair pieces that lasted even less time than the OEM stuff. I turned off the water to the unit and have been pouring water in from the bathroom sink since. I actually recycle my hand washing water as the "Flush" so maybe their idea was water conservation. A few days ago the flush pedal stopped working. I don't remember the mechanism so I don't know if I can make a fix without contacting the company. I won't purchase anything from the company again, so I may have to do a replacement. I have looked at a lot of them on line but only a few in person. Last one several years ago at the Tampa RV show. Composting units are somewhat interesting, but the incinerating seem much easier to dispose of the solid material. I'm not worried about the liquid. I have a large black tank and will continue to use it for liquids and not have to worry about carrying the "Pee bucket" associated with the Composting units. Part of me just wants to do a home built composter unit, but while I have grand ideas at times, they don't always work out as planned. This is one of the situations I probably should leave to a "Professional", so back to the online search and hope I can find a local retailer. It's a short walk to the park 'restroom' and lately I've been spending a lot of time at work and mostly only sleeping at home. For those of you who have read this to the end. Thanks. It's part a request for suggestions and mostly a release of the frustrations with RV toilet stuff. Why can't they design a high quality unit that works well? Rod

Got one too a year or so ago. Not at Lowes, though. It's a good unit so far. If you want to conserve water it's one that does it the best that I have found. Rod

I don't drink "Softened Water". Use it for cooking, cleaning and all that other stuff, but have a 5 and 3 gallon water dispenser for my coffee, and other drink preparation and also for my pets. I use the refill stations found in some grocery stores. Rod

I patted my truck on the fender as I walked by it today. Gas is down a bit and I hope to see a drop in fuel before the real cold sets in. Need to fill it up. Rod

I try to do that very often, but then my truck seems to like it in the 70 to 78 mph. It sits in 10th gear and hardly ever downshifts. If I try to do the 60 to 62 it wants to shift at any hill, sure I could hit the manual button, but then it slows down on some of the longer pulls. I'm quite a bit heavier than a few of you. I had the Adaptive Cruise on my Subaru, the first month or two it seemed great. Then on the first trip out of town I was following someone and wondered why it was taking so long to get to the next town. The person in front had slowed from 67 down to 55 in the 65 mile per hour zone. Seemed like every time I took a trip I'd find that same issue and the slamming on the brakes happens all too often making me put my foot on the gas almost all the time to avoid it. My Jeep has the regular old Cruise control and I am a happy driver again. Rod

And even the custom built heavy ones need special attention when the temps fall. Condensation, and issues with above ground Hydrants and water hoses. If you really want to stay in one place, there are many more affordable options. IMHO Rod

Toy Hauler on a dual tandem air ride chassis. Jeep Wrangler goes in the garage now. Built in 2013. Rod

Thanks for sharing your info. Any issues with driving the Delica since at least one state decided they didn't fit into one of the "Import" categories? I hope not with all the work you have put into it. I don't have any commercial articles written, but here is a link to a video from when my home was new. https://youtu.be/NTgf6vVxXlA

So, this weekend I visited my Mother. She is obsessed with the National Finals Rodeo that is currently going on in Las Vegas and is on the "Cowboy Network" and RFD TV. It started around 11 AM and continues well past midnight. I watched it on Friday, but could not continue Saturday and while I was there on Sunday. I decided to check out the computer and was able to watch the entire episode's of two shows on CBS that I missed while watching the "Rodeo". The episodes were uninterrupted and all the commercials ran to completion. Mom does have a "Cable" internet supplier, while mine is a tethered connection with a cellular network. All my other streaming is fine, but the major networks are somehow blocking me from watching the episodes on my home computer. It is the device I usually watch them on, so maybe I need to upgrade so I will have a new "internet address". I have an issue with the Networks providing content with commercials, over the airways at no charge and yet the same content is provided with commercials on a "Paid" service yet on my personal computer I cannot watch the same content . This has turned into a vent post for me. If anyone has a solution, I'm willing to try them, if not thanks for reading. Rod

While I won't be able to attend the ECR, I support Carl's decision to hold off. I too suffered with illness following the National Rally. First time in a long time. As a Health Care professional since 1981, I too have opinions regarding the situation, but will only discuss in private and not in a public forum. Rod

I have thought about using bales, but then I checked the price of a bale of hay. I couldn't find any straw. Found some straw bales here, but the management was not enthused about me using them, until today when I told them it wouldn't be on the outside of the skirting. I'm hoping a few well placed bales with some long screws will secure my rather flimsy wind blockers. Rod

I have thought about upgrading my Garman to one with a dash cam in it for my truck. I have a camera for my Jeep and use the Android Auto and either google or waze maps for most of my travel in it. I have the Navi 4 for my motorcycle that is integrated and I can zoom in or out without touching the unit. Just have to be in the right place with the "Wonder Wheel". If the first GPS units I used still existed and could have traffic updates, I think they were the best. Too much garbage, ads and such on the newest units. Some of the times the additional stuff block the view you need to see. Rod

Maybe I should have my brother start saving all the good tractor tire inner tubes he takes out and replaces with new when he changes tires. Even if they did have a small leak it wouldn't be too hard to keep them inflated enough to block the wind. Of course all the sharp screws that protrude through the floor would have to all be cut off. It's so much fun to lie on your back with an angle grinder and a cutting wheel. At some point the hot stuff coming off the wheel will make it down your shirt. Rod

Will also vote for the addition of Solar. Maybe it could be a BofF instead. Rod

I don't yet have any panels. Will the predrilled mounting brackets match up with something solid to screw into? If not I might use an extra mount that did. Won't know till I decide to do though. Rod

For sure. Rod

At an RV or Home show a few years ago I purchased one of those cut the cable things. It didn't work very good, but I was able to get my money back. I think it was related to my location at the time, but maybe not. I was able to use my phone internet connection to watch the "Major Networks" without issue. This week I signed up for "HULU", because I needed it to get ESPN. I want to watch the FSU Womens Basketball games and it seems that's the only way. Of course since I signed up they played in a tournament that it's own "Subscription needed to watch". No thanks. I would have missed the games anyway. I was on call and got called in for most of the time the games were being played. I was able to find an old game and watched most of it. That only made me want to watch more games. Funny, the HULU works fine with my computer and internet connection. There has been nary a flicker or pause. Seems the major networks are trying to get you to pay for something that you shouldn't have to . If the ever offer Completely commercial free TV like they do with many music services at a reasonable cost, sign me up. I don't mean like the HBO or Show Time that maybe don't show advertisements for Health care, medications, seed or fertilizer, cars or trucks or the other mindless offerings advertisers seem to convince people to pay for. When I used to pay for HBO or Showtime it infuriated me that I had to watch the same "Coming soon" commercial for something I probably wasn't going to watch anyway. Rod

I will second the use of less than "Prime" tires unless you are doing a lot of miles or travel in HOT climates during HOT Conditions. If you are sitting more than rolling, even the least expensive tires do that well. I went with the lowest priced tires in a recent renewal of my truck and two on the trailer. Was thinking I would have to do more, but the "Cheap" tires the builder used are holding up well and had no weather cracks on the sidewalls. I did move the inner tires to the outside, since they have had very limited sun exposure and maybe I will get another few years out of the. The wheels are sort of embarrassing from living the first 8 years of life out of reach of the "Washing" activity. NO Way I was going to dismount and remount on the outside rims, and now I will have the washed rims looking the same. I had the builder take off the "Chrome" things when the trailer was new, maybe I should look at some sort of wheel covers that can stay on going down the road. I usually cover the side that has sun exposure with tire covers, they are getting dingy though too. Rod

I went the other way. Did see a couple of guys doing what Vern Did, but others just cut and pieced insulation board. I found a 4' tall and 50' accordion underlayment and thought it would to the job. I think it will, once I find some tape that will stick to it. I got a roll of the "Duct" tape, the silver type that HVAC installers use to the duct work. I thought about the other type of duck tape, but the adhesive with it stays on after you pull it off, at least for me. The Silver seems to come off and it blends in with my lower diamond plate if it doesn't want to peel off. I did try a different style, it didn't have the paper backing and the roll was twice as long at almost the same price. I might try to return the unused portion as it didn't seem to stick as good as I'd like. When first applied it looked good, but then I'd go to the other side and came back and find it coming off. Will see what it looks like in the morning. I wrapped from the wheel wells back and around and almost made it to the wheel wells with the first 50 ft. I had to cut and reposition and overlapped with each one of those to stay as close to the ground as possible. The 4 ft. came to the top of the lower diamond plate and sort of wedged in under the drain that goes down the side of the trailer. I put tape there too, but stuck it to the underside of the drain. I had some 1 1/2 inch Styrofoam from another project that I used under the area where the water connection will be and the holding tanks empty. I also couldn't cover up the "Mini Split" fan. It was in the high 50's and I worked in a tshirt and shorts for most of the day. Had to put on the coveralls for the last part as the sun was going down and the wind came up a bit. I got done just as it was getting dark. It already feels warmer inside, but that may be from the sunny warm day. Will see what it feels like in the morning. I turned down the thermostat a bit, because it felt too warm inside when I came in. No after photos yet.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2021/11/26/solar-heat-pump-solution-for-water-pool-heating/ They are doing what I was thinking of doing when I finally do my solar project (if it ever gets time to do. ) They have a photoactive cell that is cooled by liquid and both provide heating energy to assist in heating a swimming pool. Now I don't plan on putting in a swimming pool, but why couldn't the same logic be used to heat the water we use? The issues that I see is you need less hot water when the sun is producing the most heat, where would the excess heat go? Can it be stored for use when it get's cold? Not in a home on wheels. It's currently below freezing in my location and it takes a lot more time to heat the water and the mixing valve is way over 50% hot to cold water to get the temperature for my shower. In the summer it's way under. Anyone got a pool? Rod

The wind for sure can be an issue. I hope my attachment and other plans will mediate that issue. As far as critters, those who I have posed the question to report no issues, or maybe they just didn't see them. There is nothing that I can think of under my rig that is exposed, or would be of interest to a varmint. At least I hope that's the case. I will have an access location where I will be able to shine a light around when It's dark and I think If any choose to call the space home, I will be able to detect them. I would then turn my feline loose down there for a bit and see if she would bring me a gift. Rod

Thank you for the replies. I'm not quite in the boot heel of Missouri, but close. I lived in a Mobile Home in my early years and at the time was surprised by the thin plastic they used to "Skirt" all of them. I'm using they same type of heat tape that I used with it. Never had an issue with below zero temp's in South East Iowa. Rod

A goodly number of my neighbors have either just finished putting some form of "Skirting" around their trailers or have had it in place since my arrival in Late October. None of the "Motorhomes" have any. I have not done this in the past, but think I will try it on Saturday and see if it helps. It's my first Winter in SEMO and I will be here at least till early summer so I should get a good test. I also may have to pay for electric if my use is over the amount they include in the spot. First month no extra charge, but it hasn't been very cold yet. My "Hydrant" is close enough to my front slide out that I am pretty sure I can include it in the skirting. I will still wrap a "heat tape" around it and add a bit of close insulation, but I'm hoping to be able to keep the water hooked up. Last winter I filled every good outside day and used my fresh water tank and water pump. I do have to find all the leaks that have started plaguing me in my filter system. It used to be smaller and attached to the trailer, but it made a mess every time I changed the filters. I have since added a softener and a larger prefilter in a clear housing so I can see what the water is like before it goes to the softener and then the carbon filter, but I just read you should put the carbon filter in front of the softener, so I will do that. What would doing an additional sediment filter and then a final carbon filter do other than potentially lower my water flow or pressure? Thanks for any and all responses. Rod