Winter's onset

I've had my first fresh tank freeze and first double-empty propane of the season, so I guess winter is upon us. Makes sense since we're well into December. Actually, both of these occurred a couple weeks ago. I'd left town for Wichita for the Fuller Christmas celebration. Knowing it would be a cold weekend, I powered the little fan under the stair to force heat down into the tank area. There wasn't much water in the tank, and when I got back it was frozen, the furnace was not heating, and the little fan was not running -- a hat trick. I got the propane tanks filled here at the Emporia RV Park that evening. Never figured out why the fan wasn't running, but after a bit of tinkering it started working again. And since there was such a small amount of water in the tank, it apparently thawed when I filled it up.

To combat this a bit more in the future, I've purchased parts to link my hot water line to the inlet of the fresh water tank. It'll take a bit of finagling, but I intend to cut the non-pressurized fill tube and splice in a T fitting, the top of which will have MPT. I'll also cut and splice a T into the pressurized CPVC as it exits the water heater. Down from this T, I'll install a shut off valve, and then connect it to the T in the inlet line with a fill hose. Then, if the tank temperature is dropping too low, I can run hot water into the tank to raise its temperature. Only thing that could be better is if this hot water could pour into the bottom of the fresh tank instead of the top. That would take a considerably more amount of finagling, though.

I also really need to check into why my front landing gears are not working. I'm wondering if my batteries aren't getting a full charge (they're new), or if the motor up there is not working right. Ever since Ark City, I've had to use the 12-ton jack to assist the landing gear hydraulics when raising or lowing the RV. It's an extra step that could be avoided, and is probably not that great for the metal work on the front end of the RV (not intended to support the weight of the RV).

The other main thing I'm working on this weekend, though, is downsizing my stuff. I really need to clean this place up and get rid of the things I don't use. Once I clear a lot of this stuff out, I'm hoping to better organize what remains. The initial thought was to make room for another person and associated stuff, but I've learned that she doesn't want to live in an RV (puts me back to my original theory that I won't find a woman who's attracted to this lifestyle and me at the same time). Still, though, I've got too much crap and clutter and would feel better if I could make things a bit more Spartan.