Lorings on the Road: Freezing Temps and Upgrades

I have to count on my fingers how long we have been living in our travel trailer - hard to believe we are in month five(5)!

Though I still love it and couldn't be happier - I have to admit, I do miss the littles (and even the big ones). I do miss my static home and look forward to seeing friends again - you know who you are!

My days are very full, but I find I do get restless. I am starting to think that 5 months in one location may be too long.

I have firmed up several reservations for our trip home and we officially begin the trek back to Massachusetts on March 26. We should be home April 26, or 27. Lots of stops along the way. And, we have also made a reservation for next winter at a new RV Park in Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi. We are excited about this place and being on the coast!

Right now, we are just coming out of a three-day cold spell in Bandera. We have had cold nights right around or below freezing on occasion, but the past few days have stayed that way during the day as well. It is winter, afterall! Today the temps will reach the mid-50's and sunny; this will feel great! I can certainly live with a few days of cold here and there.

Our trailer has heat! Many have inquired on our comfort level. Our heat source is propane. We have two tanks that we alternate between. When one is emptied; we turn on the other and fill the used tank right away. They usually last about a week - depending on how cold and how much we run the heat. We also have a small electric heater as back up. The tank always seems to run out during the night, and I'll pop the electric heater on. It doesn't do a great job, but it is better than nothing. This morning it was 43 in the trailer until I got up an switched the tank over. It was 17 degrees outside!

Winter Jackets are Ready!

One of the things we've learned about RVing is not to buy things until you've lived in your rig awhile and figure out what you really need. Recently, we have made some upgrades and repairs to our trailer and truck. 1-Heated Hose - I actually didn't even know these existed but you learn lots of new things all the time. I purchased one about a month ago and it arrived just around the first night cold. It is a heavily insulated hose that plugs into electric and keeps your hose and water from freezing. Works splendidly! Not cheap but needed and worth it! 2-Pnuematic Lifts - Our truck cap was a freebie from Charlie's work. Although it is old, doesn't fit perfectly, is a bit faded and needed some repair - we were glad to get it! It is tall and gives us great storage in the truck bed. Charlie has worked hard to repair it. Caulked all the seams to stop the leaking, replaced the locks and rods, waxed and buffed, and now replaced the lifts on the rear window! So much better than having to prop it up with a 2 x 4! 3-Stabilizers - We purchased additional stabilizers for under the trailer and cinder blocks to prop them up. You get ideas from other RVers. This has made a world of difference - cuts down any movement inside a parked rig and makes it a lot more comfortable with less motion. 4-Electric Jack - I don't know why we didn't do this one sooner. For $150 and 15 minutes to install - Charlie no longer has to crank the jack up to fit onto the truck hitch. He did it himself too!