I feel like, in fact will just admit my novice status on all this. The years we had rented RV’s, I never did one hook-up, didn’t have a clue about turning on propane, plugging in electricity, emptying tanks or even maintaining the tanks… nothing.  My husband did all that and he wasn’t so inclined to share that knowledge. Well.. that is no excuse for this woman any longer.

With manual in hand, I started in… now with well turned pages in manual, a few questions of fellow RV friends about solar issues – things are coming together rather nicely.  I’ve discovered the heat pump does run continuously when the outside temps are between 30-42ºF (which our nights are hanging in) – way too noisy for me and the cats. Discovered the heat pump turns off at 30º – so have decided to not use the heat pump at all. Its ridiculous how loud it is – but yes, it did provide the rig with wonderful heat. But can I find a portable heater in AK in the Spring – NO! Nor will they ship one to AK for me – they think we are a foreign country up here. So figured this Alaskan ought to figure out how to stay warm without heat (& to keep plumbing from freezing) and the last two nights, its been quite doable. Another confidence builder…

I’m still hanging at my friends place as I load & learn all about my rig, but I realize I need to go thru the steps of checking in & out of a campground, adding water regulator & filter to water hookups, surge protector and plugging in and to learn hooking up to septic, dumping the tanks if not there – somewhere.  They have a great web site for dump stations across USA, but having not done this yet… it will be awkward to have manual in one hand and the hose in another. But I have to figure this one out as well – its all part of this RV life. And I will. Soon.

And once I’ve experienced the campgrounds, will take a week or so to go dry camping, as I need to know exactly how much water I’m using, learn ways to save, etc.  I know from experience that we always loved dry camping – the quiet, the silence (minus wildlife moving around us) is awesome. So life is good…