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Trailer Weekend, Part I
Apr. 9th, 2007 09:18 amOur drive into the west edge of West Virginia was relatively uneventful once we get out of the greater DC area. Road maintenance and construction was minimal and we loaded up with snacks in advance so pit stops for refreshments were kept to a minimum. By shortly after 4 PM, we were at our trailer.
De-winterizing the trailer is now pretty much routine. The battery was re-installed in the front of the trailer and the gas tanks were opened to max. Kent plugged in the electricity while I connected the water. Once the slide-outs were extended, Kent drained most of the antifreeze from the water system, then flushed it for a few minutes. I hauled drink coolers, food boxes and our bags up from the car while Kent reinstalled the water heater anode and started the water heater.
We had a mouse problem last year so we took extra precautions: all paper products, sheets, blankets, pillows and such were stored in sealed plastic bins and mouse traps were set in multiple locations. I'm happy to report there's no evidence of rodents whatsoever this year, present company excluded.
There were two minor slip-ups from winterizing the trailer last October though. All winter we wondered where our small step ladder had vanished, and now we know: it was on the deck of the trailer since October. Somehow it never got loaded into the minivan when we left last season.
While the fridge was cleaned out and propped open to prevent moisture and possible mildew, somehow the freezer was overlooked. The ice cube trays weren't emptied and the freezer remained sealed all winter, resulting in a nasty mildew problem when we arrived. Ew. Still, it wasn't terribly difficult to clean up thanks to a small inventory of cleaning chemicals.
We knew from the weather forecast that the weekend would be a little chilly but I'm a bit surprised how much: the temperature dropped well below freezing last night and we've had a light but constant snow fall all of Saturday morning. Thank god we (a) packed extra blankets, (b) are not in a tent, (c) have a lovely furnace keeping us toasty, (d) have full propane tanks, and (e) have an electric mattress pad on the bed. Did I mention how glad we are that we're not in a tent? Really glad?
At the end of last season, the entertainment unit suffered a minor stroke. While the radio and TV tuner portions worked as normal, the CD/DVD player wouldn't spin up. Fully aware our warranty had expired, I contacted our trailer vendor anyway on the hope that we could simply purchase an identical unit out of inventory. Alas, that particular model of stereo system isn't manufactured anymore; with fingers crossed, I instead ordered the successor model. For $410. Ouch.
The newer model looks radically different but fits into the same cabinet space. The plugs are very different though and there are extra wires to support a surround-sound system our trailer doesn't have. Still, with some perseverance, guidance from the wiring diagrams and large quantities of caffeine, we were able to match up the appropriate audio in/out, video in/out, power, antenna and other wires & cables appropriately. I think the new unit is slightly uglier than its predecessor, but it is working superbly. I'll probably put the old unit on eBay "as is" for parts.
The furnace blower is rather loud: I wondered if the fan is having issues or perhaps the blades are just coming lose. Getting at the blower will require major surgery so that will wait for another time; at least the furnace worked and we were comfortably warm despite the winter temperatures.
I think there was no more than a dozen people around the campground this weekend. It is well before the regular start of the camping season, most of the weekend campers would have been frightened off by the weather and many of the seasonal campers may have had other plans for the Easter weekend. No matter the reason, I like the low population count: I like coming out to Roseland and the trailer to get away from crowds and to isolate myself somewhat so I can work on personal projects relatively undisturbed. Our cell phone service (Verizon) seems to get better signal strength this year but at least my pager doesn't work. Having wifi access would be a nice feature just to check on e-mail periodically but I can live without it for a weekend.
Once the trailer maintenance work was done, we largely spent the weekend reading (I caught up on issues of Harper's), writing square dance choreography and generally lazing around. My blood pressure has dropped considerably.
De-winterizing the trailer is now pretty much routine. The battery was re-installed in the front of the trailer and the gas tanks were opened to max. Kent plugged in the electricity while I connected the water. Once the slide-outs were extended, Kent drained most of the antifreeze from the water system, then flushed it for a few minutes. I hauled drink coolers, food boxes and our bags up from the car while Kent reinstalled the water heater anode and started the water heater.
We had a mouse problem last year so we took extra precautions: all paper products, sheets, blankets, pillows and such were stored in sealed plastic bins and mouse traps were set in multiple locations. I'm happy to report there's no evidence of rodents whatsoever this year, present company excluded.
There were two minor slip-ups from winterizing the trailer last October though. All winter we wondered where our small step ladder had vanished, and now we know: it was on the deck of the trailer since October. Somehow it never got loaded into the minivan when we left last season.
While the fridge was cleaned out and propped open to prevent moisture and possible mildew, somehow the freezer was overlooked. The ice cube trays weren't emptied and the freezer remained sealed all winter, resulting in a nasty mildew problem when we arrived. Ew. Still, it wasn't terribly difficult to clean up thanks to a small inventory of cleaning chemicals.
We knew from the weather forecast that the weekend would be a little chilly but I'm a bit surprised how much: the temperature dropped well below freezing last night and we've had a light but constant snow fall all of Saturday morning. Thank god we (a) packed extra blankets, (b) are not in a tent, (c) have a lovely furnace keeping us toasty, (d) have full propane tanks, and (e) have an electric mattress pad on the bed. Did I mention how glad we are that we're not in a tent? Really glad?
At the end of last season, the entertainment unit suffered a minor stroke. While the radio and TV tuner portions worked as normal, the CD/DVD player wouldn't spin up. Fully aware our warranty had expired, I contacted our trailer vendor anyway on the hope that we could simply purchase an identical unit out of inventory. Alas, that particular model of stereo system isn't manufactured anymore; with fingers crossed, I instead ordered the successor model. For $410. Ouch.
The newer model looks radically different but fits into the same cabinet space. The plugs are very different though and there are extra wires to support a surround-sound system our trailer doesn't have. Still, with some perseverance, guidance from the wiring diagrams and large quantities of caffeine, we were able to match up the appropriate audio in/out, video in/out, power, antenna and other wires & cables appropriately. I think the new unit is slightly uglier than its predecessor, but it is working superbly. I'll probably put the old unit on eBay "as is" for parts.
The furnace blower is rather loud: I wondered if the fan is having issues or perhaps the blades are just coming lose. Getting at the blower will require major surgery so that will wait for another time; at least the furnace worked and we were comfortably warm despite the winter temperatures.
I think there was no more than a dozen people around the campground this weekend. It is well before the regular start of the camping season, most of the weekend campers would have been frightened off by the weather and many of the seasonal campers may have had other plans for the Easter weekend. No matter the reason, I like the low population count: I like coming out to Roseland and the trailer to get away from crowds and to isolate myself somewhat so I can work on personal projects relatively undisturbed. Our cell phone service (Verizon) seems to get better signal strength this year but at least my pager doesn't work. Having wifi access would be a nice feature just to check on e-mail periodically but I can live without it for a weekend.
Once the trailer maintenance work was done, we largely spent the weekend reading (I caught up on issues of Harper's), writing square dance choreography and generally lazing around. My blood pressure has dropped considerably.
