So far, so good.
The electrical issue in the trailer with the voltage converter seems to be fixed! Nothing caught fire, no fuses blew, no circuit breakers tripped, and the battery is staying charged. I have not had the other charger plugged in since the initial repair, and a couple of days ago I finally put it in its case. I hope the battery will last longer now that things are working. The last one barely made it three years.
This is definitely making life easier & better and it is a big accomplishment. I don’t know that it has ever worked the way it was supposed to but you don’t really know unless you use the battery a lot to turn the lights, to keep warm or take a shower using the pump. I am certain my parents never used it like I do so they would not have known.
I got a crash course from my parents on the trailer when I took it to move from CO to WA in 2012. The manual is pretty vague/in informative in some things I wanted to know about so most of the systems on it I have learned details about since I got it in 2016 (like the shore power/battery charging system).
It is starting to warm up finally. It was pretty cold for a few days and the winds were blowing the snow into drifts on top of being bone-chilling cold. I am really hoping this is the last gasp of winter. At least the sun is shining and it’s a really nice mental boost. It is looking to be close to 60 by the end of next week, but we know about those long-range forecasts…
The big propane tank ran out again so the spare had to be hooked up so I’ll be getting a refill on Monday. I am glad I brought that one with me from WA, as it saves trips to the propane company for refills. If I didn’t have it I would be getting a refill every 2-3 days with the weather we have had lately.
I recently discovered a few other things with the trailer that need some attention. In the “stairwell” of the door I noticed a few gaps that sunlight was coming through. The other day one had snow blowing in and the other was beginning to do the same. I did not know they were that bad but to temporarily fix them I rolled up some cardboard and shoved it in there. I will need to do a proper repair to seal it.
The other thing is my fridge does not like really cold weather. I think it freezes the lines and the coolant will not circulate so the freezer starts to thaw. I thought I would switch it to gas and it works fine; I guess the heat from the flame keeps it thawed out. In fairness it was very cold.
I think that at some point this year I will probably get the furnace and fridge checked as a preventative maintenance thing. They probably could use a cleaning and inspection. I might change the water pump too, as I think it is a little weak for off-grid showers. It would be cool to put in an outdoor shower as well!
After being cooped-up for two days I got out and went to town yesterday. Mainly it was just an excuse to get out, but I also needed to get some gas in the truck. When it is cold it’s not a good idea to have a fuel tank that is close to empty – it can freeze easier. Plus, it is good to have plenty of fuel in case you need to get somewhere in an emergency or stay warm if the power goes out.
Today I got out again since I had to go run a few errands. After being snowed in for a few days there were a lot of people getting out of the house. I needed a few things and the stores I dashed in & out of were packed.
That is all I’ve got for this post.
