1st Overnight

While the girls went girl scouting (tent camping) Friday nite the boys (my son & I) went to a county park only about $35 away to break in the rig. What fun. We learned that the fridge needed to be gas burner orifice cleaned. So we did that @ 3 pm instead of load groceries! I fired it up at noon and did not observe the fault till later due to my unfamiliarity. The dealership from which we purchased the RV was supposed to have performed service on the rig in every regard. ha. no way. That orifice dep't was chock a block w/rust bits.

So we got the Norcold down to 50 on LPG by the time we hit the road. Had it no colder than 50 even after bedtime, then she rose to 60 overnight! (despite running without cycling all nite) I thought I may need an ammonia gas recharge.

So I rejiggered the RV nearer the power tap so we could plug to save the groceries. (note: that site was not level in any regard) The shorepower mode fridge pumped down to about 37 by lunchtime. So I turned it from 5 to 4 which was 39ish. We checked out mid-afternoon, went to Lowes to get the RV improvement things that we discovered were necessary. I waffled on switching back to LPG mode for the short drive home as it had already proven to be ineffective but I thought it may help to preserve the groceries so I switched it on. In a 30 minute drive the LPG pumped it down to 32! So, it does work. strange experience, but a relief in the end.

I have her parked in the driveway which has a slight upslant, with the front jacks deployed, so she level-ish fore & aft, dead flat right & left, and pumping down very nicely after 75 minutes. I think the fridge works fine, and probably hates parking on hills - even though it sounds like its working.

Now I understand why we have parking lumber to run the tires upon! I shall craft me a set!

In a big disappointment the carpet reeks like the previous owners cat/dog/animal matter, especially on a rainy day when she's all closed up, as I had feared. I did a major shampoo job on it too, which is not enough. Mrs anemic is going to febreeze that carpet and if that doesn't work, I'm doing a tearout which I hate to do. I will probably go with 12" selftstick vinyl and throw rugs. Luckily we are talking a very small floor surface area, so it should not be a massive project.

So a couple of the the worst RV nightmares have been conquered already; the fouled gas burner orifice on the Norcold and the holding tank system. I got a nice new hose with cool ends and caps. I ripped out the old small storage pvc tube and swapped in two 6" hvac ducts in it's place. The hose was far too long and too fat for the original storage tube, so now it goes in like a U, first one end all the way, then the other end. I used commercial grade duct tape as trim to protect the hose against sharp edges, works well. I'm very comfortable with the process of tank management (if only marine heads on boats were this easy!!) Now if I can just get the tank monitors to clear I'll be all set!
anemic

Sounds like you'll be having a lot of fun in your new motorhome!
Be prepared to ripped the carpeting out though. That's years of dirt and animal pee that will never come out. You'll really like the convenience of vinyl and throw rugs. It'll be worth the effort!

thank you for the project encouragement! The carpet looks better than it smells. I was told it was already replaced. Oh well, too bad. I feel you are correct - it will never come out. 

mid-day update on the flattish RV fridge test: killed test at 38 degrees! Plenty cold enough. Verdict: successful LPG refrigeration!

Anemic, it sounds like you'll have lots of fun with your rig! I have to agree about the carpet, though, and the convenience of lino. It's so much easier to sweep out all the dirt in a couple of minutes than it is to haul a vacuum out to clean it.

I've struggled with my refrigeration, so I definitely sympathize. Apparently most RV fridges do have a slight tolerance for being unlevel, but I've found that mine works best when it's flat

Glad to hear you guys got out to enjoy your RV!  We had similar issues with smells, however a bigger concern for us was wet carpet from the kids coming in and out while skiing.  Removing the old helped with the smell and just to make sure we painted the subfloor with Kilz (I believe that's what it was called) and then used the Allure flooring.  It locks together and is a snap to clean up and dry out from wet ski boots and gear.  Think it was designed for bathroom flooring. 

If the carpet is not old, the smell may be in that or the pad underneath. If so, a shampoo with the pet deoderizer additive may do the job.  But if its been a long time and maybe the previous carpet was also pet-piddled, then the stain and smell is probably down in the subfloor. You may have to remove wood as well as carpet & pad.

Thanks for the tips on how deep the funk can go. I'm surprised - but agree it's probably the situation.

It is so low level, you don't notice it, you think it may be a closed up RV normal smell. However, the rear bedroom has a concentration of a more specific smell. I won't hesitate to lay down a few coats of the Kilz. That stuff is effective.

I anticipate melting snow too. So I guess carpet won't work well for our intended purpose, same as yours drodkey.

My Liquid EPDM Roof is in, and my Trimetric battery monitor is in. I need to solve the cracked rear caps prior to the new roof. Last night I mused that I might use the caps as molds to create some fiberglass upgrades for them. New caps from Tiffin are essentially $500, which at first sounds fine, but then you realize, that plastic will crack again, maybe we can do better, possibly for le$$.  At least if I hit something with a fiberglass cap & crack it, I can fix it.

If you see stained wood where pet piddle has soaked into it, sand it well and then soak with a pet odor neutralizer. Nature's Miracle and Zero Odor are well regarded examples. Air it out well, then seal with Kilz or similar.