Mouse House Adventures

We leave in three days for our 11-week road trip to Florida, but the trailer is currently in the shop for a heater issue. Today we have some family and friends stopping by for a small goodbye gathering of sorts. Without a trailer, the next option seems to be a short virtual tour of the trailer. This is that. Enjoy the pictures and a short video at the end.

The impending launch of our first big adventure has triggered a strange mix of emotions. On the one hand, the launch represents the culmination of a year of planning and three years of dreaming, so we are very excited. On the other hand, the fear of the unknown is hitting a crescendo and my brain has taken up the dark habit of catastrophizing the smallest contingencies.  

Nonetheless, we leave on Wednesday, and nothing will delay us. We have reservations every night along the way, most of which would be difficult to move if delay strikes. Each domino must fall correctly in order to tip over the next domino. Wednesday is inevitable.

So today we embrace the epic battle of emotions, both calm in the knowledge that we will leave no matter what, and anxious about the lack of control and uncertain preparedness. We treasure both feelings. This woven blanket of mixed feelings is a part of the experience, just as much as the Florida sand certain to get stuck between our toes.

But these past few days have brought more than introspection. We have packed and organized more necessities stuff into the trailer, including clothing, shoes, food, and accessories. I assembled a collection of tools into a roll-up canvas tool carrier. I also finally solved the inverter remote issue, which entailed splicing an RJ11 jack onto the remote cord in place of the RJ22 that served the old inverter. I adjusted the Voyager rear-view camera so it shows more of the traffic behind us and less of our rear bumper. I also washed the trailer when we returned from Cannon Beach last Sunday, which was necessary and cathartic.

However, this last week also saw me struggle and fail to fix the Alde heating system. Our trailer does not have a traditional furnace like most trailers in the US. Instead, it uses a system manufactured by a Swedish company called Alde, which is popular on a lot of trailers in Europe. The Alde system uses either propane or electricity to heat a small manifold of tubes filled with an ethylene glycol mixture. Once heated, the system pumps the glycol through a circuit of pipes around the lower portion of the outside walls, thereby radiating ambient heat into the trailer by way of these heated pipes. The system also heats the fresh water, meaning hot water is continuous when the system is working well.

Unfortunately, the Alde system in our trailer is not currently heating the trailer, and without a furnace, the only other viable option would be the heat pump function in the AC units that require shore power. Time being limited, the dealership is no the first option. So I dug in.

I had originally focused on the air in the glycol lines due to the prominent gurgling noise. The problem with air in the lines is that the fluid does not travel smoothly through the lines. Instead, it stumbles and falters, getting caught in pockets and at corners, hissing and gurgling with a somewhat menacing tone. Fortunately, Alde places air bleeder valves throughout the system. In the Mouse House, we have at least 10 such bleeder valves. My bleeding efforts did remove air from the lines, but the Alde system still failed to heat the trailer beyond the first few yards of the piping.

I next dug into the core of the Adle unit, which is packed tightly into the space under the forward dinette seat. I noticed two pumps in series, but only one was working. I checked the control panel, the wires, the connections, and the fuses. All seemed fine to my very untrained eye.

I then conceded defeat and sought professional help from the dealership in spite of the obvious timing concerns. The dealership is typically booked out two months, and last time the trailer was there, they had it for four months. This time, we could barely afford four days, much less four months, so I hoped to find that the dealer would have a relatively quick fix. I called anyway.

After workshopping our problem by text and phone, they agreed I could bring the trailer in on Friday morning, with the hope of having it back to me on Wednesday or Thursday. I explained we were leaving on Wednesday, so we would need it back no later than Tuesday. He understood, but carefully made no promises.

We now have an RV trip that will begin on Wednesday regardless of preparedness and regardless of whether we have a functional heating system, but we will have no trailer until Tuesday. In the battle of emotions, anxiety currently has the advantage, but excitement is still in there. We’ll spend the weekend preparing and dreaming.

Failures are merely opportunities for growth. We’ve experienced a few such “opportunities” over the last few days. Fortunately, scattered amongst these opportunities we have found moments of joy and friendship.

This past weekend we traveled to Cannon Beach to attend a gathering of the Oregon Airstream Club which is dubbed the “Leak Test Rally” due to the inevitability of January rain along the Oregon coast. The weather did not disappoint, but the experience was wonderful despite the opportunities.

We arrived Thursday around 12:30. We had timed the drive from Portland to minimize the disruption in my workday and to ensure I had time to set up before my scheduled Zoom meeting at 1:00pm. Arrival and initial setup went reasonably smoothly, although the “opportunities” started almost immediately.

The first was a quick realization that we were running on battery power only, rather than the shore power which appeared (from the 50a surge protector) to be hooked up and functioning correctly. Turns out I had allowed some dirt into the portion that connects to the trailer, which I dug out with a small stick, because I am a high-quality repairman.

The next “opportunity”: the cell service at the south end of Cannon Beach is remarkably weak, made worse by being inside a metal tube. My Zoom call started cutting out immediately. Over the last 29 years, Micki has become quite attuned to my Angst-O-Meter, and she realized it was running high, so she jumped to the truck and started unpacking the Starlink. Kudos to her, because up to that point she had literally never touched any part of the system. I excused myself from the Zoom to help Micki, but the Starlink fought back. After about 10 minutes without success, I grabbed my computers and drove five minutes into the middle of Cannon Beach to finish the call from the driver’s seat of the truck.

The next opportunity presented itself when I returned an hour later to find Micki bundled up on the couch, understandably cold because the Alde hydronic heating system was not actually producing heat. I turned on the heat pumps within the AC units as a stopgap and started googling. As it happens, we have some air in the lines, which is probably related to the recent warranty service visit where the dealer replaced a controller of some variety. I’m now learning how to bleed the Alde system.

After digging into the Alde system, I returned to our moody Starlink dish, which it turns out merely needed to be moved to the other side of the trailer, pointed in a direction that would minimize the impact of the trees. I also hooked up the WeBoost in order to help our cell signal. That would be enough problem-solving to get us through the weekend, although the bleeding of the Alde system remains an issue to be resolved later. We consoled ourselves Thursday evening with Micki’s delicious cooking, this time scallops and shrimp with noodles. Life could be worse.

On to the good stuff! We really enjoyed hanging out with our fellow Airstreamers, making new friends and hearing lots of travel stories. I’ll be honest, on the surface it struck me that the commonality of Airstream ownership might not be sufficient to catalyze a connection with strangers. I was wrong. Here’s my theory: The ordinary class of travel trailer owners are weekend warriors who want to go “camping” with increased warmth and amenities, but Airstream owners by and large spend a staggering amount of time traveling and/or living in their trailers.

From the stories I heard over the weekend, it strikes me that the cause and effect is backwards, meaning Airstreamers don’t merely spend increased time in their trailers because they purchased an Airstream, but rather they have purchased an Airstream because they want to spend time in their trailers. The core commonality amongst Airstreamers is not just Airstream ownership, but rather a unique desire to spent a lot of time in a trailer.

We are in that class. Before this trailer, we owned a tent trailer in which we spent a LOT of time. We routinely spent a week or more in the trailer working remotely and exploring Bend, Wallowa, Pacific City, and other areas. When we considered long-term travel plans, we explored a great many options (fifth wheels most seriously) before landing on an Airstream. This weekend, we discovered others on this same path, purchasing an Airstream for the express purpose of spending vastly more time than the average weekend warrior. One couple we quickly befriended were just on the tail end of a four-week trip to Arizona and back, just the two of them and their very sweet dog. Others had spent as much as 18 months living in their trailers.

While in Cannon Beach, we also took the time to have lunch at Fireside Grill, which has been a favorite of ours for a long time, and to visit a couple of the local shops.

I also had a Friday night gig with Stump City Soul back in Lake Oswego, so we commuted from Cannon Beach, leaving our trailer for a while. While there, we spent some quality time with good friends, which was also amazing. A couple of the friends had been close in our lives 15-20 years ago, but had we gradually lost touch, so reconnecting was nostalgic and rejuvenating. We had a few other friends attend the gig, and although I got to spend a little less time with them over the evening, it was great to see them. The gig ended at 11:00, and after packing out, getting gas, and driving back to Cannon Beach, returning to the site at 1:30am.

On Saturday, the rain came down in earnest, but it only seemed to bolster our spirits. We spent more time with our new friends, hanging out, chatting, snacking, and enjoying the shared experiences. We took a much-needed nap after the late night on Friday. The best part of Saturday was the opportunity to spend a day avoiding work fret, putting the “opportunities” in perspective, and toning down our worries about the various unchecked boxes in preparing for the Florida trip. The Angst-O-Meter was essentially zero for one glorious day.

That reprieve ended early Sunday morning. When Micki woke and stepped out of bed, she put her foot in some sort of wetness on the floor by her bed. Immediately we feared that the “Leak Test Rally” had done its job and actually found a leak. But after disassembling a good part of the bed in search of any source above, below, or within, I found nothing. In the end, I’m convinced it was merely condensation. The stumbling heating system had left the morning temperature quite low in the trailer, so it makes some sense. We’re buying a dehumidifier.

Alas, the “opportunity” presented by the Alde system returns to the forefront. It’s now added to the list of boxes to check before leaving for Florida a week from tomorrow. The list is growing instead of shrinking, and my Angst-O-Meter has once again climbed toward the moderate zone. But oh what a great weekend it was.

The immutable march of time stops for nobody. We feel that march right now. We are so close, but a few issues remain unresolved, the converter and inverter issues being primary among them.

As to the converter, I ran the lithium batteries down to nearly empty (10.2v) in an attempt to force the new converter’s auto-detect feature to change over to lithium. At first, I thought it had worked because the smart panel shows a max charge of 14.4v, but the charger itself continues to charge only to the mid 13s. I’ve since then done some googling, and apparently this model converter has a poor reputation. WFCO Auto-Detect Converter Does Not Auto-Detect | DIY Solar Power Forum (diysolarforum.com) 

This is mildly frustrating because I actually ordered the version with a hard switch to convert to lithium, but they presumptuously sent me the auto-detect version, likely thinking they were doing me a favor. They were wrong. I’ll have to try draining the batteries even further, which I prefer to avoid, but which appears necessary.

In other news, we’ve started “Tetris-ing” the truck, and the early results are quite positive. We got both bikes – Micki’s Lectric XP3.0 and my traditional road bike – into the back seat area of the truck, with enough room on the passenger side to keep one seat down for the dogs’ new travel bed arrangement.

We also managed to pack the following into the bed so far: 2 inflatable paddleboards, generator, gas can, 3 chairs, air compressor, tire chains and tire socks, two collapsible water bottles, a table, a ladder, the WeBoost mast, a pop-up bug screen shelter, and the Starlink storage tote.

With all that, it appears we still have ample remaining space for the Blackstone grill and other miscellaneous items. Fingers crossed.

We are spending this weekend in Cannon Beach for the Oregon Airstream Club’s winter gathering lovingly entitled the “Leak Test” rally. This will be our final opportunity to test systems, refine processes, and itemize remaining tasks.

We will do our best to check each box before departure day – two weeks from today – but we realize that 100% preparedness is likely impossible. Time cares not. Departure day will arrive, and we will depart, only later to discover the extent of our unpreparedness. That is part of the adventure.

We made some progress over the weekend, and it feels good. Nothing Earth-shattering, mind you, but still we press forward.

Micki continued with her organization inside the trailer, and even started packing in some clothes, since we’re getting toward go-time. We also have a camping trip planned this weekend so might as well start getting ready for that too.

As for me, back to the electrical stuff, and also some testing, which was sorely in need of some progress.

The first order of business was replacing that darned terminal fuse that was holding up the show. When I originally ordered it, the expected delivery date was only a couple of days, which was quite acceptable. But after a week, we still did not have the fuse, and the expected delivery date had changed to an expected delivery “range” of an additional one to four days. Worse, the new “range” came with an apology note promising a prompt refund if they can’t deliver it by the end of the range. Not helpful.

So we started calling around locally for places that might have this particular fuse, striking out at the first few places before landing on West Marine at Hayden Island. Great success. So yesterday I replaced that fuse and started testing stuff again. The inverter works again, although still not for the two front outlets, and I haven’t yet tested the remote switch, so those two remain on my test list.

I also put together the assembled setup for the dc-to-dc charger with breakers on both ends, but I haven’t yet done any install into the trailer. That will probably wait until after the camping trip this weekend. I still haven’t hooked up the smart shunt, but I wanted to make sure the converter had switched over to recognizing the lithium batteries first.

Still on the list: finish testing the inverter, make sure the converter has adjusted for the lithium, hook up and program the smart shunt, install and the test the dc charger system, and smooth out the inverter operation. Seems like a lot.

Fortunately, I also made some progress on easier tasks, testing some items we’ve purchased but not yet tested or installed. I filled up our brand new Wavian gas can, so I got a chance to test that out. It’s excellent; high recommendation. I then filled up our new generator with gas and tested it out. After a gentle request from the generator, I added some more oil then ran it some more. I switched it to propane and tested again. All works well, and I’m happy.

Micki and I tested our new (cheap) walkie-talkies, which took some effort to program to be on the same channel, but in the end they work well enough. I tested the Starlink to make sure I understood how that works, and it’s great for now.

I reattached the propane tanks, de-winterized the trailer because the weather looks clear in the short term, and then started testing the heating system after the recent warranty work. Still working on that, so no conclusions yet. I also replaced the shower head with one that should provide a better shower under low-pressure situations, so we’re hopeful about that too. Lastly, I found the water pump and ordered a backup just in case. Hopefully we’ll never need it.

Progress feels good, because “finished” isn’t a thing. We leave in just over two weeks.

The beginning is never the beginning. Something always comes before. That is where we are now: in the before times. We’ll later look back on these times, hopefully with some measure of appreciation and grace, but likely also with some amount of judgment. I’m already judging me, so that’s to be expected.

Here in the before times, we are preparing. We’ve fretted and planned and spent and spent and spent. We now have a lot of stuff to help us through inevitable troubles and we have other stuff that will just make traveling easier. Micki is feverishly organizing and reorganizing, loading food, loading clothing, then organizing more. I see progress in nearly everything she does.

Less so for my prep work. Among our preparations are some power management upgrades, with which I am currently struggling. The core of the upgrades is a desire to have lithium batteries (Lithium Iron Phosphate or LiFePO4 for the sake of needless specificity), but of course such things are never as easy as they sound. Charging lithium batteries requires different voltages and different charge phases, meaning differ equipment.

I started with the power converter, because that should have been relatively easy. I purchased the same exact make and model, but with the added benefit of lithium charging capability. The install went mostly smooth, with the exception of one minor arcing incident. No casualties, no blood, no worries. We’ll move on.

I then proceeded with installation of an upgraded inverter – 2000watts up from 1000watts – which also should have been relatively straightforward. No so much. I successfully swapped the inverter, but the old one had one additional power cable that the new one lacks, which baffled me. I turned it on and tested the inverter outlets. They all work (hurray!) with the exception of two (boooo). This also baffles me. In addition, the remote on/off that controlled the old inverter does not appear to play well with the new inverter. It will send the signal, but the new inverter immediately throws a fault signal and shuts down. More bafflement.

Undeterred, I proceeded to swap out the batteries. This required some cable terminal lug installation with heat shrink, for which I had to buy a couple very fun tools. All seems to have gone well with the batteries, at least for now. I also updated the settings on the solar charge controller, which was easy and appears to have worked well. However, the converter – which is supposed to auto detect lithium and charge appropriately – has not yet recognized the lithium batteries. It is intended to switch after one full charge cycle, so we’ll see.

Also it appears as if I blew a fuse in the terminal block connecting the batteries, so I’ve ordered a new fuse and hope to have that tomorrow. Once that is done I’ll circle back to the inverter bafflement. I have a plan. I don’t know if it’s the right plan. Again we’ll see.

I also started the installation of a smart shunt for the batteries, but that will also await the new terminal block fuse. Again hopefully tomorrow.

Assuming I can get all of those together, the next step will be to install a dc to dc charger that will allow the truck to charge the trailer batteries while we’re driving. I hope to see fewer issues during that installation. At this point, I would just like to get to the point where I can begin that installation.

Once I’ve passed that beginning and have reached the end of these power management upgrades (fingers crossed), we can once again look forward to the actual beginning of our first adventure. That is the meaningful beginning. Wish us luck.