Keeping busy during Karen's rehab

While Karen is healing from surgery I have found plenty of additional projects to keep me busy. You know the saying, "an idle mind is the devil's workshop"!

During our first week at Sumter Oaks Escapees RV Park we decided it was time to have our trailer's tanks cleaned and serviced. We contacted KLEEN TANK, an RV tank cleaning service franchise to do the work. In addition to cleaning both gray water tanks and the black tank, they also sanitized our fresh water tank and flushed out our water heater. Considering we have lived in our fifth wheel full time for over two years, it made sense to get this service done. I expected the black tank to be the worst, but it wasn't bad at all. Much to my surprise, the kitchen gray tank took the award for the yuckiest. The water from that tank showed evidence of accumulated black mildew, food residue and mold. The cost was $375 for everything...which was totally worth it.

Here are some other modifications I recently made. I added a Traxion 5-100 Tailgate Ladder to our truck. It's heavy-duty construction has exceptional durability, giving easy access and peace of mind climbing in and out of the truck bed. It folds neatly against the tailgate and straps against the inside staying out of the way from the fifth wheel goose-neck hitch and cargo when not in use which maximizes the space in the truck bed.

I also did an interior truck modification I learned about on YouTube taking advantage of the unused storage space behind the rear seats. By removing the rear seats and cutting off about an inch of the end of the retaining hook, the rear seat back will fold forward. I am using this space to store tools, emergency supplies and my Dewalt compressor.

Finally, I built a storage shelf above the batteries in the front compartment which will serve three purposes;

1) Protection for the battery wiring connections above the plywood top and the front by a clear plexiglass between the tool bag and the batteries under the shelf.

2) Additional battery insulation from the cold. Charging a Lithium battery in ambient temperatures below 0°C / 32°F must be avoided. The reason for this is it may potentially damage the battery and / or reduce its lifespan. The optimum ambient temperature for charging a Lithium battery is +5°C to +45°C / 41°F to 113°F. During potential cold weather conditions I can insert a layer of Double-Sided Aluminum Bubble Insulation we use for our windows.

And lastly,

3) More storage capacity in the front compartment space. The area in front of our 3000w inverter/battery charger (on the left) will hold the 5 gallon bucket I use for loose storage and as a seat.