A Trailer for Our Next Chapter - Part VI: Bits and Pieces

We are about four weeks away from moving into our new home on wheels. All of the planning is underway to deliver our current 5th wheel (home for the last eleven years) to its new owner, transfer all of our belongings to a U-Haul, give the new owner of our 5th wheel a one day RV bootcamp, and make our way out to Indiana. It will be strange to sleep in motels for three nights. Multiple bits and pieces are being finished.

We wanted a nice sized bathroom sink that was integrated into the solid countertop. The ceramic, above the countertop, basins seem to be all the rage these days, but that didn't make much sense to us for an off road trailer. We did raise the height of the countertops giving us more cabinet space below and ensuring we won't need to bend over as far to reach the sink as we get older.😀

The Separett dry flush toilet uses no water and doesn't need any expensive proprietary bags or liners to operate. It's not a composter, but like those units, it uses a small 12V fan to manage odor. 

The kitchen has solid surface countertops with plenty of space and three outlets. We will be going all electric except for heat. The Truma Combi Comfort Plus on demand hot water/heat unit ended up underneath the 10.5 cuft Dometic 12V refrigerator. From that location we were able to duct six vents throughout the trailer, including two vents below the floor to protect the fresh and gray water tanks/plumbing. Since the tanks are directly below this area, there's not much plumbing at all under the floor. That is an important freeze protection element.

The solar components are staged and ready to go in the front basement area. That area can be easily vented in hot weather and the electrical components will help keep the space warm in cold weather. There is no plumbing anywhere near this expensive electrical equipment. In addition to giving us extra storage space in the front basement, skipping the outdoor "pull out" kitchen set up frees up that space for solar equipment. We're not EMF fanatics, but the rule of thumb we've always read and been told is that it's a good idea to keep your solar inverter at least three feet away from where you spend most of your time.

Another cool, multi function inverting outlet, just because.

Is this our TV? No, it's the remote Victron controller. We aren't attached at the hip, or any other body part, to a smart phone, so bluetooth doesn't interest us. We can convert to bluetooth in the future if we want. 

The space under the queensize bed holds the Expion batteries. 1,104 amp hours of power storage with room for more storage.

Which one of these is not like the other? We love to see brass fittings in our plumbing system! What is that solo white plastic fitting in the center? We don't know yet, but we will find out.