That’s it. It is over. We were lucky enough to spend Columbus Day weekend at Perry Lake State Park near Lawrence, Kansas. The weather was great and the camping was fun. No problems with the trailer. The heater worked… it was pretty cold on the first night. The water heater worked without issue.
A new edition to the camping equipment was my grandfather’s Coleman two-burner stove. He had it in the basement of his cabin up in the California Sierra Nevadas and it had never been used. I would guess the stove is at least 20 years old, maybe older. The stove works like a champ. I got a griddle for it and used it to cook hamburgers for dinner one evening and french toast for a breakfast meal.
Another test subject during the trip was the new tow vehicle: a Toyota Land Cruiser. Compared to the older Tundra, the Land Cruiser has twice the towing capacity as well as a bigger engine. It is not quite as tall as the Tundra and quite a bit shorter (which means it is a lot easier to maneuver, park, and turn around). The towing performance was great. Even with a heavy Kansas side wind on the way home, the towing stability was great despite the shorter wheel-base of the Land Cruiser.
The travel trailer is now getting winterized and I have to start thinking about what I want to get done before I cast off for next summer’s trip:
(1) Replace three of the stabilizer jacks. I already replaced one. The other three are either rusted, bent, or both.
(2) Get the black water sensor repaired. This should have been repaired went I took my travel trailer to Camping World last spring, but Camping World ended up doing more damage to the trailer than actual repairing anything.
(3) Repair the spring latch on the screen door.
(4) Get the water heater serviced. There were many on this past summer’s trip where the water heater worked inconsistently. Either it had trouble lighting or would not stay lit.
(5) Get the roof inspected.
(6) Repack the bearings and replace the tires.
(7) Get the trailer brakes adjusted.
(8) Get a torque wrench for tightening the trailer tire lug nuts.
(9) Develop a plan for carrying the bicycles. Without a truck bed, I am going to have to get creative.
Nice to have repairs:
(1) Replace the connecting cable from the trailer to the tow vehicle. The Land Cruiser’s towing electrical connection is in a position which requires the connecting cable to be a bit longer. Right now I have an extension cable for the connection but would prefer just one cable completing the connection.
(2) Replace the propane tank to trailer hose. With my installation of the two 6v batteries, the path of the propane hose was slightly disrupted. A longer hose would fix the issue.
(3) Replace the water pump with something more electrically efficient.
(4) Install and inline water filter for the galley sink.
(5) Figure out an efficient way to carry our fishing poles.