Serenity TearDrop Build

[western traveler]

Pretty morning here today. Expecting a bit of snow tonight. Winds of 50 with a gusts to 70 last night.

[western traveler]

I added a cutoff switch for the TV to Trailer battery hot lead. Also an on/off switch for the clearance lights for temporary parking. In-line fuses for both. They were not originally planned. I check the tow connections often while traveling so don’t think I will mind the location but it would be handy to have an option to turn on the lights in camp from the cabin. I need to add some foam seal to the lid of the tongue box now.

Also placed my solar port in the galley sidewall. Placed it higher up to allow for the trim molding.

[western traveler]

I ended up removing the controller from the portable suitcase and mounting it to my temporary electronics panel in the galley. Got rid of the alligator clips and hardwired it. Added an inline fuse to mimic the one supplied. It did snow into yesterday afternoon. I moved the TD out onto the driveway to see how it would be in the cold wet weather. Trying to test everything before our upcoming trip.

I left the heater off and hooked up the solar panel anticipating a clear morning. It was 18 degrees this morning and 25 degrees inside the cabin. The battery was at 98%. I turned on the Propex heater and brought it up to 68 degrees. A few hours later under a mostly clear sky and 25 degrees with the heater still running the battery was at 100%. I think this solar panel is going to work out. It is a convenient package. I probably should have done more research on solar during the build but I just didn’t anticipate buying one so soon. Though I still wouldn’t have hard mounted the panels. Trying to keep the lines clean.

[Capebuild]

18 degrees. Not looking forward to that.

[western traveler]

18 degrees. Not looking forward to that.

John,
Boston is my home town. I figure 18 degrees here is about 36 degrees there..

[western traveler]

Thought she should display her name. I laminated a few pieces of oak for it.

[tony.latham]

Thought she should display her name. I laminated a few pieces of oak for it.

It looks damn fine.

Tony

[Capebuild]

Nice, Ralph!

[western traveler]

Thought she should display her name. I laminated a few pieces of oak for it.

It looks damn fine.

Tony

Tony and John,
Thanks for the kind words.

[western traveler]

Packed and ready to head out yesterday. I hope this buck stays on private ground for the rest of the week so I can continue to watch him grow next year but I fear his nose may get him in trouble.

I recently posted a couple of routes for my trip down to San Diego for this winter. One being coastal and the other inland down I-15, the one I am taking.
The current weather conditions around Zion and Bryce national parks are doable along with perhaps the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. If time allows and the weather holds I plan to continue on to Flagstaff and Sedona (camping in Oak Creek Canyon) then on to Quartzite and the Colorado river. Not looking for winter conditions for the entire trip so the route is to be determined. Hoping the daytime temps continue to hover around 35 to 70 degrees.
Currently camped outside of Dillon (21 degrees) as I arrived in the dark last night and Monida Pass on the Montana/Idaho border awaits. It was snowing with blowing snow and icy roadway last night along with road construction, reducing traffic to one lane. It is a big hurdle to me as black ice is common this time of year on the Idaho side of the mountain and as many times as I’ve driven it I’ve never been towing something that took 5 1/2 months to build.

[tony.latham]

Currently camped outside of Dillon (21 degrees)...

BRRRRRRR! Keep us posted.

Tony

[twisted lines]

It's Cold but Clearing up

[western traveler]

Thanks Tony and Twisted lines.
Left Dillon at 9AM to allow the snowplows and 16 wheelers a good amount of time to travel Monida Pass. It wasn’t as bad as anticipated. Light traffic with wet and little snow/ice where the trucks tires were traveling. I was thinking why the worries? Then a mile from the top of the pass I saw (I’m speculating) some snowbirds trailer completely destroyed. So bad I couldn’t tell if it was a bumper pull or a 5th wheel but it had been big. There was no road construction so perhaps it was to clear the highway last night. A bit of black ice on the Idaho side but uneventful.
Today was just a travel day. I consider the SLC corridor to be from Ogden to Provo. I always try to pass through either north or south bound by 3 PM. I forgot today marks the afternoon before a long holiday weekend. Hours! Seemed everyone left work early today. It was dark before reaching Provo. I kept thinking of Tony and his 3rd brake light the whole way. LA like traffic with several accidents.
I guess I am going to try to snag a campsite in Bryce tomorrow. First come first serve. It appears that Watchman Campground is full at Zion till next week. Who knew. More will be revealed.

[Tom&Shelly]

Thanks Tony and Twisted lines.
Left Dillon at 9AM to allow the snowplows and 16 wheelers a good amount of time to travel Monida Pass. It wasn’t as bad as anticipated. Light traffic with wet and little snow/ice where the trucks tires were traveling. I was thinking why the worries? Then a mile from the top of the pass I saw (I’m speculating) some snowbirds trailer completely destroyed. So bad I couldn’t tell if it was a bumper pull or a 5th wheel but it had been big. There was no road construction so perhaps it was to clear the highway last night. A bit of black ice on the Idaho side but uneventful.
Today was just a travel day. I consider the SLC corridor to be from Ogden to Provo. I always try to pass through either north or south bound by 3 PM. I forgot today marks the afternoon before a long holiday weekend. Hours! Seemed everyone left work early today. It was dark before reaching Provo. I kept thinking of Tony and his 3rd brake light the whole way. LA like traffic with several accidents.
I guess I am going to try to snag a campsite in Bryce tomorrow. First come first serve. It appears that Watchman Campground is full at Zion till next week. Who knew. More will be revealed.

Best of luck and safe travels! We'll be following...

Tom

[western traveler]

Thanks Tom,
I hope to find a way to download Utah on my OnX membership today but I just forgot and of course it is a holiday.
I know there are plenty of boondocking opportunities around both Zion and Bryce. I will figure it out and share what I find.