Alright, mega update.
I went on a short trip up the Eastern Sierras mostly to climb.
Trip report here.
I got the electrical system energized. I got lights and a vent fan going - still have to install AC plugs, but currently just running a power strip straight from the plug on my Inverter.
(As-built electrical diagram)
I got the bed/bench functional, build a barebones kitchen counter, built the walls for the closet and the wall for the bathroom. The closet door, when opened totally, will "close" the bathroom area.
I left Disneyland, shunpiked my way across the desert, and am now posted up in the National Forest outside of Albuquerque. The first night I boondocked just east of 29 Palms, the "The Heart of the Mojave":
Second night = Gila National Forest in NM. No pics from that one.
Abq:
I pulled Serenity up a pretty steep, off-cambered, rocky stretch of FS road - I'm not an experienced offroader (yet), so I was pretty happy I was able to get up it. I managed to scrape the diamond plate on the front of my trailer, superficial damage only. The issue there is that my trailer isn't riding level -- a combination of rear wheel sag, and I think my ball hitch is a tad low, especially since I put the straight axle in.
The solution I think is some combination of: air bags, WD hitch, helper springs, and/or a ball hitch that doesn't drop 2" from my receiver. Doing the research now to get it sorted. I think I need to figure it out because I'm likely to scrape at the hitch even worse on my way down in 2 weeks and I'd like to avoid that.
From what I can tell so far, a WD hitch is the simple slam-dunk solution: my trailer is close to or a tad over half my TV weight. But what makes it *not* a slam dunk to my mind is that every WD hitch I've seen has "stuff" below the tongue, to the tune of 4-6 inches of stuff. Based on my experience getting up this FS road, I just can't afford to sacrifice that much clearance - I'll scrape it off on a rock in no time. That's what's making me think that air bags, or helper springs, and a non-dropped ball, is what I'll wind up doing. Open to opinions on that of course.
Lots left to do to finish her, of course, particularly now that I'm living in her full time. Storage (shelving for clothing, gear, and pantry) and kitchen setup (sink, foot pump, greywater jerrycan, etc), are my top priorities now as they're the current most annoying things I have to deal with not having. From there I'll be taking things as targets of opportunity/what is annoying me most that week.
Cheers everyone, happy spring.