Thom and Cari's Parkliner

[accrete]

Originally Posted by Brian M. in NY

Thom,
Don't know if you've looked on the ParkLiner order form lately but, I just noticed that the standard battery is now an Optima Blue Top Group 27 battery. Perhaps that is Chandler's solution to the battery box issue?

OK, this about that.

One word? Fantastic!

This just gives me more reason to truly want to share some fire-side stories with Chandler some day. I know this has been a difficult time for Parkliner, though here he is listening to the customers, doing some additional D&D/Research and coming up with (IMO) a great solution.

Thanks for sharing that info Brian.
Thom

[accrete]

Update on Xantrex LinkLITE battery monitor use...

Finally had some chill time to do some testing of the monitor as related to draw inside the trailer.

I noted that at the #2 (of 10) settings of the MaxxFan 5100K (i liken this setting to "Low" on the Fantastic Fan in the van - now also a MF5100K as of last month.) At setting #2 it draws .5AH. I ran the fan at this setting for 1 hour. Checked the display and the AH remaining capacity had gone down .5AH...so, with no other items going the reading seemed accurate.

On running #35's 6 interior LED lights (swapped out, thanks to Brian's research) the meter showed .2AH to .3AH per fixture...with all six fixtures on reading 1.6AH draw. I wish i could easily share what the draw was on the original non-LED bulbs was but they are long gone is the local city dump!

Overall i believe the Xantrex LinkLITE battery monitor will do what i'd hoped in measuring remaining available AH and triggering the low battery alarm at 12.3 volts (~50% cap remaining for the AGMs in use).

cheers,
Thom

[accrete]

Single LED fixture 12 hour amp-draw test with Xantrex LinkLITE monitor...

I turned on the bathroom LED light at 7am this morning after taking notes off the monitor:

=====7am readings (before 12 hour test)...

Volts: 12.9

Amp Hours Remaining: 94.9 (I have it set at 110 being max)

Amp Hours Used: 6.1

(The manual stated that the more charges completed the more accurate the AHR and AHU reading get. The AHU figure resets when the monitor registers 4 minutes of float voltage 13.2v after coming off of normal-charge voltage 13.6v. I may have to do some monitor adjustments. Still testing things out...the manual is in four languages, and the English still looked a bit Klingon to me.)

Without LED on,
Amp Hours showing on monitor: -0.1

LED light turned on,
Amp Hours showing on monitor: -0.3

=====7pm readings (after 12 hour test)...

Volts: 12.7

Amp Hours Remaining: 91.9

Amp Hours Used: 9.1

Without LED on,
Amp Hours showing on monitor: -0.1

LED light turned on,
Amp Hours showing on monitor: -0.3

---So the math shows (though as stated, the more charges on the system, the more accurate this particular meter will become) is as follows:

Amps used by single LED light for this 12 hour test is somewhat less than 3 amps (i say somewhat less because the meter is showing some phantom draw. All that is hooked up is the monitor). All this really tells me is that running LED lights takes little juice from the system. Last 5 day adventure we spent 90% of our time inside the Parkliner from morning exit of van (our bedroom) to heading back in at ~9pm ish. During this time _indoors_ we had two LED fixtures on for ~6 to ~8 of the hours due to the gloomy weather outside. So for the 5 days i can now approximate we used no more than ~18amps for lighting.

My next test will be some observations of the meter readout during times of bilge pump and water pump use...Cari will have to help me on that one.


what to do next...

[glennco]

So for the gauge to accurately read life do you have to charge the battery through the main system so the meter can 'watch it', or can you charge the battery directly?

Thanks for posting this study Thom

[accrete]

Originally Posted by glennco

So for the gauge to accurately read life...

Excellent question Glenn and i'm not sure of the answer. Will have to do some digging in the Klingon um.er. Xantrex LinkLITE manual ... PS note, in re-reading your OP if i'm understanding your question, the answer would be yes the batteries are being charged directly via their direct connection to the PD4045 converter. Which gets it's power from either the TV or shore power(?).

Right now, the only way to charge the batteries is through the built in PD4045 converter plugged into our 30 amp service or the tow vehicle pig tail. I have the Xantrex wired into the added battery isolator/fuse box i installed as shown in this image:



So what happens is the two upper red wires are 24" long and come from the two Optima batteries. Each has a 60amp fuse. The current then goes to the common buss that has three connections (one on each lower side, and one on bottom). The Xantrex monitor is connected into the lower right side as seen in the photo (and fused per instructions.)

I say all that to note that when i get going on Solar, i have some pondering and research to do as to where to wire it into the system (with appropriate controller/etc.)

If i'm reading any of this correctly...The Xantrex monitor will read whatever is happening in the current-loop. For instance, tonight with the converter unplugged for the last four days...the voltage after the test was sitting at 12.7v as shown on the converter. If i were to plug the converter in, the voltage reading would be 13.6 for several hours before dropping to the float charge of 13.2. At least that is what i saw when playing around just after turning on the Xantrex last week.

This is all new to me. I've never really bothered with watching battery banks. I just figured that i had enough umph in the battery bank to last the trip, and apparently after seeing the results of this first experiment, will have enough storage in the bank for our intended use between charges with the TV or shore power.

OH, another test idea (and i'm open to suggestions!)... i should back the van up tomorrow and hook up the pig tail and see what the monitor shows!

[accrete]

Today's Xantrex LinkLITE monitor test...

First test was on the bilge shower pump that pumps water from the shower drain to the gray tank about 8 feet and ~10" away uphill.

The monitor read ~1.5 AH during the ~5 second _momentary_ uses. We tested this a handful of times and the reading was the same. During the last camp out we took 2 showers. We kept the momentary pump-switch on for no more than ~45 seconds or so to fully drain the standing water in the shower basin (it was a measured gallon going into the shower container). Anyway you calculate it this pump would not drain much out of the battery bank during a 5 day trip.

Second test was on the fresh water tank pump. we ran water for three times for about 30 seconds. It takes less than that to fill up a tea kettle for use in taking a shower (one at room temp, the other for boiling). During this time while the pump was working there was an 8.5AH draw.

So i would think in a loose calculation that the water-pump systems would impact the battery bank no more than about -10AH during a typical 5 day adventure.

Tomorrow i'll try to back the van up and attach the pigtail and watch the monitor...

Right now it's time to enjoy some SciFi on the Tele next to my McGirlver wife

Cheers,
Thom

[LeonardS]

I'm sure you have a spreadsheet with all the calculated amperage readings.

I gotta take notes reading your threads, so much info!

[accrete]

Hi Leonard, thanks for the visit and kudos!

Today's test was the aforementioned Xantrex LinkLITE monitoring of the current flow from Tow-Vehicle to Trailer...

While in idle the reading was 14.3v at 4.5AH

During a steady higher RPM (It's an automatic with no RPM gauge) it was 14.3v at 4.7AH...

Looks like all is working as designed from the Van's engine compartment back through pig tail into the trailer's converter and ultimately its battery bank. Our typical drive into _town_ during our adventures if re-stock is needed is about a 3 hour round trip which would put in about 1/2 the typical AH used during a typical 5 day mild-temp adventure. Trip back home is about 5 to 6 hours which might get the bank close to full again if i'm understanding the math. Though once home we do plug back in to the 30amp service.

For now, i'm not to concerned with adding solar due to our typical short 5 day runs and the apparent ability of the current battery bank to meet our needs (110AH total, with "Low Battery" alarm set at 50%/55AH).

As always i'm open to suggestions, comments, and opinions. I'm always up for a mod or tweak

[starbrightsteve]

Thom,
Considering the results of your measurements, do you think its necessary to have the extra battery. I suspect you are very conservative in your power usage but it seems that if a small,
say 50 watt, permanently mounted panel were used, and even if it was cloudy, and if someone was not as careful as you, a single battery would work fine. The money saved on not opting for another battery could defray the cost of solar.
Steve

[accrete]

Hi Steve. Your idea of small panel is a consideration at some point and if the current load/use is kept a single (larger?) battery might do the trick as you pointed out.

I'm already putting in my notes that when these two 34's (55AH x 2 = 110AH) have given their useful life i might go over to a single 31 or similar (85AH) if usage has remained basically unchanged. Though i suppose if we ever put in a 12v (compressor style) fridge drawing ~18~24AH a day, not only will i be thankful for the two batteries...i will certainly need something along the lines of 100+ watts on the roof.

Thom

[accrete]

A prospective Parkliner buyer asked a couple questions about the stock Ice Box. Since our PL#35 came with it i went ahead and responded to his questions _at this post in his thread_

Can the ice box be insulated more than stock?
Yes it can. And Yes i did : )

What are the interior dimensions?
Below the ice tray there is a about 7"h to 8"h x 11"d x 15"w
Above the ice-in-tray typically about 5"h to 6"h (same d x w).

Here is a photo i took for that post:



: ) Thom

[accrete]

Today i checked on the PL battery monitor after my work day...
It was showing 13.2 volts so it had dropped down to the _float_ voltage after sensing a full charge. I followed the directions on "synchronization" of monitor & battery bank. This was the second full charge-to-float since putting monitor in. One more week to our next 5 day off-grid adventure. I'll take usage notes and monitor the monitor : ) and report back.

On the cooler cool-down... I put a 20lb bag of ice in the ENGLE inside the van, and i will grab a block of ice ~Wed/Thurs and place inside the PL Ice Box to get it cooled down before putting our cold-food items in them. Typically frozen meat/etc into the ENGLE (keeps a lower temp than ice box) and veggies into the Ice Box on the day we head out. Will of course take use notes and report back here after returning.

Thom

[Willyb40]

Deryk,

Do you have any up to date info re Parkliner Co. We have ordered one but get no response from Charndler. We haven't even gotten a receipt for our deposit or an expected delivery date.

Thanks for any info you have gleaned.

Worried in Philly.

[Ken C]

Here is thread going about Parkliner support. Someone posted a concern on their facebook but may have been deleted the same day? IDK, I can't find the post now. Best of luck
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ort-57414.html

[deryk]

They are horribly slow getting back to people...I sent them an email 3 weeks agoand haven't gotten a response back about the battery vent box....keep calling till you get through

[accrete]

Greetings fellow travelers : )

I'm wondering if the current slow response time is partly due to a possible taking-a-step-back by Chandler and rethinking some design issues? Of course this is just a guess on my part. But taking into account the recent situations with current model tire-rub (which was fixed on at least #34 & #35) and then the battery-bay issue?

Thom

[accrete]

XANTREX LinkLITE monitor...

A note to self.

Parkliner had been plugged in for over a week and had been showing 13.2v float on voltage reading, 0.0 on Amp Draw, 100% remaining in bank.

Unplugged from 30amp service at 1200 Saturday June 22 2013 in prep for Sunday's departure. Meter reading off shore power:
13.1v
-0.1 amp draw
100% remaining in bank.

Will monitor daily while on adventure and post results after return home.

Thom

[accrete]

We arrived back home on the Oregon Coast mid-afternoon Friday June 28th. We had a great trip and I will be posting a trip report with some pictures over at Thom & Cari's Adventure Blog here at FGRV forums.



Notes on Xantrex monitor reading: From unhooking TV-power and setting up camp Sunday night through Friday morning when we broke camp and hooked up the power from TV we used a total of 20 amps out of the battery bank. We had our daughter visiting from California and she used the Parkliner as her bedroom/bath. During the trip we each took a shower mid-week (bilge pump use). Did misc hand washing etc in kitchen sink (water pump) and had several LED lights on during our evening chill time. All electronics which included a Laptop, 3 android phones (no cell service but still used them for various tasks), a 10" android tablet, and two cameras were all charged via USB cables from battery bank. The MaxxFan was run for a total of about two hours at the third setting up from off drawing .5AH.

Notes on Butane fuel use: We utilized both butane stoves (12K BTU & 10K BTU) during the trip as there were meals better prepared using two burners. We used a total of 2 canisters and put a third canister in the smaller 10K BTU stove the last morning to boil our standard 32oz of water in the tea kettle to make coffee in the French Press. Basic use was as follows: ~3 tea kettles of 32oz water boiled during the course of each day. Two cooked meals each day. And three kettles of water for the three showers taken mid week (mixed with three room-temp kettles for _perfect_ camp showers). Butane canisters have been purchased recently from $1.50 to $2.00 ea. So total butane cost was about $1 per day for this 5 day trip.

Notes on Rocket Stove: This was our maiden voyage/use of our new 2 door StoveTec Rocket Stove. . .



Image shows cooking Chicken-Kabobs on a ceramic grill-pan (used 6 charcoal briquettes), and also with Coleman oven in inset baking two dozen (4 batches of 6 cookies) almond/dark-chocolate cookies @ 375 degrees, (used 8 charcoal briquettes). After the cookies came out we used another 4 charcoal briquettes to bake a loaf of almond bread (all our recopies we attempt to be as gluten free as we can.)


Notes on Camp setup: We were off grid along the Quartzcreek scenic byway west of Sweet Home Oregon. It is an area of river approximately 11 miles long set aside for public use and free camping at designated spots (fire rings mark an approved camp site, there are about 50 rings). This trip we were able to set up at one of Cari's favorite gold-spots of ring #34.



There's plenty of glittery stuff to go around so we don't mind sharing where we've been! It is Oregon prospecting so she doesn't expect to retire on the findings, but the hunt for her is enjoyable, and she always comes up from the river with something to show in her pans. This trip was no exception.



The camp had to be set up for wet weather camping, so we set up the two 16ft x 16ft Kelty Noah's Tarps as seen in this image:



After three days of fairly constant rain they had soaked through, though still ok to work and live under (looked like condensation drops, but not _dropping_). The van's Fiama f45 awning was out too. This was actually the first time we'd chanced keeping tarps/awnings up around the clock as the winds were mild and only came up for about an hour in the early afternoon (~15mph). From Monday morning through Wednesday night we stayed pretty much under cover enjoying the gentle rainfall, river, and each other's company ( our daughter was visiting from her airbase in the Sacramento area - Travis AFB ).

Thursday the clouds gave way to blue skies and our daughter & i put up the Gardner Mt 12ft x 12ft sun-shade type awning purchased on the good-recommendation of Tim another Parkliner owner:



Overall a fun trip. . . with more trip notes over at the blog thread.
Happy Trails, and thanks for stopping by!

Thom

[Kristen in MO]

Hi, Thom.

I'm still considering the Parkliner and reading through all your posts for at least the 10th time. They are fantastic and full of so much info! I have some really basic questions specific to your choices. For the record, so no one feels the need to restate their concerns on your heating choices, I know my limitations and inexperience, so will NOT be using your choice of butane for heating. I will purchase the stock air conditioner and furnace. However, personally, I want as few additional built in systems/appliances as possible. I've thought about this a lot and I really think simpler is better for me. And I'm not concerned about resale at all because I intend to have this trailer forever... and, I haven't placed an order yet, so who knows how I may change my mind between now and then anyway. All that said, I will stick with the icebox, my own portable toilet (not sure what yet) and the latest is that I don't want the water heater. I really like your idea of the battery sprayer. I'd never heard of it before reading your info, but have since found a lot on the net about pump sprayer showers, etc. And heating water and taking a shower with some kind of sprayer seems like a lot less effort and needed knowledge than maintaining a water heater, having to fill it, waiting for it to heat, etc. The sprayer just sounds perfect for us! I also won't be purchasing the range. I figure I can get a portable electric cook top for indoor use and a normal camp stove for outdoor use. And we like cooking over the camp fire too. So I think, so far, my choices will be safe and fit our style perfectly! So, on to some questions specific to your other choices. I've copied some of your info from your build post and my questions are in CAPS:

From page 2 of the MSRP sheet:
1) Include sewer hose/housing but do not mount. WHY NOT MOUNTED?
2) Run shower plumbing to top of curb side chase and cap. Do Not install shower fixture. HAVE YOU MOUNTED THE SPRAYER SHOWER HEAD SOMEHOW? TAKING A ONE-HANDED SHOWER SEEMS DIFFICULT BUT SEEMS IT WOULD BE PERFECT OTHERWISE.
3) Install Pre-Bilge-Pump drain THIS IS STANDARD, ISN'T IT?
4) Install 15 gallon fresh water tank on curb side with exterior fill(s) also on curb side.(relocate parts as needed/discussed) WHY CURBSIDE?
5) Pre-wire for Solar as discussed (10g wire inside street-side chase.) WAS THERE A CHARGE FOR THIS? SOLAR FOR US WOULD BE SOMETHING WAY DOWN THE ROAD.
6) 2 additional 12 volt outlets: 1 near 120v outlet at galley, + 1 near street side wall on front face of forward facing street-side dinette seat. OK, IF OTHER QUESTIONS HAVEN'T SHOWN MY INEXPERIENCE THIS ONE WILL.. ARE THERE LIMITATIONS WHAT CAN BE PLUGGED INTO 12V OUTLET VERSUS 120V? I THINK I KNOW 12V IS BATTERY POWERED AND 120V IS SHORE POWERED. AND WITH THE CONVERTER, THE 12V SWITCHES TO 120V WHEN HOOKED UP AT A CAMPSITE, BUT THEN CAN BE USED LATER OFF BATTERY POWER IF NOT HOOKED UP. DO I HAVE THIS RIGHT? CAMPING WILL BE AT POWERED CAMPSITES UNTIL WE LEARN MORE AND GET MORE ADVENTUROUS. BUT DON'T WANT TO MAKE SELECTIONS NOW THAT WILL HINDER DESIRED CHANGES LATER. SO I THINK IF WE WANT EXTRA RECEPTACLES, THEY SHOULD BE 12V. RIGHT? NO IMPACT NOW AND WILL ALLOW FOR CHANGES LATER?
7) Replace/Credit Fantastic Roof Fan with (PTBD) MaxxAir MaxxFan 5100K deluxe manual opening fan. GOT IT, THIS SOUNDS LIKE A NO-BRAINER PER ALL THE COMMENTS.
8) Sani-Pottie – Delete/Credit. We will use our own pottie and will utilize door/storage area as designed. COUPLE OF QUESTIONS HERE. I'VE READ ALL THE TOILET OPTION POSTS HERE AND OTHER PLACES I CAN FIND. I'M ACTUALLY LEANING TOWARDS A DRY TOILET OPTION. JUST CURIOUS, IF YOU DON'T MIND SHARING, WHAT TYPE YOU USE. ALSO, I'D LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE CUBBY AREA IN THE SHOWER. ARE THERE EVER ANY ISSUES WITH WATER GETTING WHERE IT SHOULDN'T BEHIND THE DOOR?
9) Microwave – Delete/Credit Microwave & Shelf. Mount existing light below sink area upper cabinet. NOPE, WE WILL KEEP THE MICROWAVE
10) Replace horizontal slider galley window with window similar in design to bathroom CAN YOU COMMENT MORE ON THIS CHANGE ALSO?
11) Cushion = Tab Tangerine, Curtains = Canvas Antique Beige

Thank you so much for anything you care to share and thanks again for all the information you've already posted. And to everyone else. I am so glad I stumbled on this site and such a wonderful group of nice and helpful people. Can't wait to someday have my dream trailer and actually get to meet some of you!

Sincerely,
Kristen

[accrete]

Hi Kristen & thanks for stopping by and sending some questions!

(Note to others...PLEASE dear visitor...no FLAME Wars. For sure our style of adventuring might be a bit out-of-the-box for many, but we've camped like this for years and it works for us. YOUR MILLAGE MAY VARY.)

I'll start off with thoughts on your closing paragraph. I too have enjoyed all the interaction with our fellow Egg'ers here at the forum. Like yourself this site has been great for research/development ideas and enjoyable reads on many topics. We all share in your excitement as you look forward to pulling your rig down the road and a meet up.

OK, onto your thoughts/questions. I will respond in blue text.

Originally Posted by Kristen in MO

I will purchase the stock air conditioner and furnace. However, personally, I want as few additional built in systems/appliances as possible...All that said, I will stick with the icebox, my own portable toilet (not sure what yet) and the latest is that I don't want the water heater. I really like your idea of the battery sprayer...

I will base my responses to your questions with this general-build in mind. One thought as it was not mentioned in any question as an FYI...cari & i now use the "Ice Box" as a place to store dry goods. We find our two 70 quart engel deep blue coolers to do a fine job and are more convenient in our style of camping...AND we can leave them outside in camp unattended because they are certified bear resistant...and we do camp in critter country!

Originally Posted by Kristen in MO

1) Include sewer hose/housing but do not mount. WHY NOT MOUNTED?

I knew with our mode of dry camping we would only have liquids in the grey tank so utilizing a standard garden hose would suffice. The "sewer hose" housing is about 3ft long and 4" diam. and IMO looks UGLY on the front of any RV. We have an expandable hose in a bag next to our 15 gallon water tank for filling the fresh tank and a regular garden hose coiled up in the same area for grey tank emptying use. IF you will have a standard toilet sending solids into the tank then i would go with the standard 4" sewer hose, otherwise a garden hose and appropriate fitting for park-end will do as the PL already comes standard with the 3/4" garden hose adapter on the grey outlet.

Originally Posted by Kristen in MO

2) Run shower plumbing to top of curb side chase and cap. Do Not install shower fixture. HAVE YOU MOUNTED THE SPRAYER SHOWER HEAD SOMEHOW? TAKING A ONE-HANDED SHOWER SEEMS DIFFICULT BUT SEEMS IT WOULD BE PERFECT OTHERWISE.

We find that holding the shower sprayer is fine. Even my wife with all her curly locks washes with the sprayer in hand. Though, we do have a clip on the handle that allows us to clip it to the built in upper shower curtain rod...but the hook is rarely used.

Originally Posted by Kristen in MO

3) Install Pre-Bilge-Pump drain THIS IS STANDARD, ISN'T IT?

There is no drain directly below the shower drain. The shower drain goes into some braided-vinyl tube/brass connectors. Chandler did not have anything to retrofit a drain into the loop before the bilge pump so this is something i still plan on doing. We took three showers the last 5 day trip and just pumped the shower water into the grey tank. BUT local regs would have allowed watering the plants with the water & bio soap...and i would have done that if the post-shower-drain outlet had been installed. My idea was to have a 3/4" garden hose fitting worked into the plumbing. This is what i will do on my own at this point.

Originally Posted by Kristen in MO

4) Install 15 gallon fresh water tank on curb side with exterior fill(s) also on curb side.(relocate parts as needed/discussed) WHY CURBSIDE?

Unlike your proposed _always plugged in_ camping mode, cari & i dry camp. The only time we plugged in so far was at the Spring Oregon Gathering at a state park. Our rig is parked as close as regs allow to one of several favorite rivers for ~5 days per trip...Monday through Friday by our choice and design. So....IF we ever do have to fill up with water, i want to be able to monitor progress from the Katadyn Gravity Filter set up from _camp/river_ side of rig...which is _curb side_. ALSO, since i asked the tank to be placed curbside to balance out the side-to-side-load (battery bank is street side) i felt the shortest plumbing run made sense. In our PL #35 there is ~18" of tubing from fill to tank. 9" from tank to pump. ~8ft from pump to kitchen faucet. ~5ft from faucet to grey tank. Shower is direct to bilge pump which is ~8" below and 8ft away from grey tank. Then it's ~2ft from grey tank to valve. Not much of anything to _go wrong_. and easy access to all of it.

Originally Posted by Kristen in MO

5) Pre-wire for Solar as discussed (10g wire inside street-side chase.) WAS THERE A CHARGE FOR THIS? SOLAR FOR US WOULD BE SOMETHING WAY DOWN THE ROAD.

This consists of two ~10ft lengths of 10 gauge wire that is not connected but simply pre-run from the converter box up the grey-tank vent area and left coiled up in an upper cabinet. I believe this is a no-cost option. There is no actual _wiring_ work done.

Originally Posted by Kristen in MO

6) 2 additional 12 volt outlets: 1 near 120v outlet at galley, + 1 near street side wall on front face of forward facing street-side dinette seat. ARE THERE LIMITATIONS WHAT CAN BE PLUGGED INTO 12V OUTLET VERSUS 120V?

Basically you have two completely different types of gadgets/items that go into one or the other. Think of the 12v outlets of the same general items you would plug into your car's cig.lighter socket...your cell phone or tablet charger, a map light, GPS charger etc. We knew we'd be using the side table quite a bit and wanted 12v power in that area so we could charge our devices. You will still most likely make good use of any 12v outlets you have. We have an aftermarket USB + Socket device plugged in all the time under the table for charging anything we bring along from cameras, cell phones, tablets...and yes even our _mood light_ IF we were to plug in we might bring our portable electric room heater and electric burner or electric kettle. ALSO, in addition to my requested 12v outlet at the side dinette location I would have had PL also mount a 12v plug next to the rear street side standard 110v outlet under the rear table (i will be doing this myself).

Originally Posted by Kristen in MO

7) Replace/Credit Fantastic Roof Fan with (PTBD) MaxxAir MaxxFan 5100K deluxe manual opening fan. GOT IT, THIS SOUNDS LIKE A NO-BRAINER PER ALL THE COMMENTS.

The MaxxAir MaxxFan should really be standard on all eggs! It costs the same as the FF and is so much more fan for the money!

Originally Posted by Kristen in MO

8) Sani-Pottie – Delete/Credit. We will use our own pottie and will utilize door/storage area as designed. COUPLE OF QUESTIONS HERE. I'VE READ ALL THE TOILET OPTION POSTS HERE AND OTHER PLACES I CAN FIND. I'M ACTUALLY LEANING TOWARDS A DRY TOILET OPTION. JUST CURIOUS, IF YOU DON'T MIND SHARING, WHAT TYPE YOU USE. ALSO, I'D LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE CUBBY AREA IN THE SHOWER. ARE THERE EVER ANY ISSUES WITH WATER GETTING WHERE IT SHOULDN'T BEHIND THE DOOR?

First thing to remember is that we have our van set up for "toilet" duties day and night (see these images _1_, _2_) and we use the PL to shower in. That said, our model is totally duplicateable and in fact we did so during last trip when our daughter used the PL as her bedroom. She was able to use our simple system outlined below and made no fuss about it...and i can assure you she is all lady! even though she wears camo to work. The "Cubby" area measures 18"Deep X 18"Wide X 14"Tall. Under all but extreme cases i think it will stay dry in there.

As for what we use? Well...sorry if this is TMI for any visitor...but Kristen asked! First, my wife came up with this arrangement (just like the sprayer shower) so i will state again for the record...This was not a guy's call. It is designed & approved by an amazingly wonderful MacGirlver : )

(GOOGLE "Urine diverting toilets" for a better understanding on the "why" behind this design. We realize this is not for the faint of heart or those who insist on a _flush_ to get things out of sight... BUT then we don't have to wait in line to empty a tank!)

Liquids;
Hers: a very nice stainless steel ice bucket. YUP you read it right. No fuss, just tinkle in the SS bucket, put on the lid and it is sealed up till emptied before bed and again in the morning.
His: an easy to use motor-oil-jug. Then come the morning she dumps _hers_ into _his_ and He disposes of _it_ properly. This can be one of three ways;
1) Into built in grey tank that has kitchen sink and shower bio soap. Remember if one purchases the optional Macerating Toilet from Parkliner it all goes into the single tank.
2) IF in a park setting one could take the small sealed/no spill jug to the nearby toilet to be dumped...it's just liquid! Sheesh.
3) IF local regs allow, mix with some water and water the plants.

(GOOGLE "Squatting Position" we use the squatting position at home and on the road for its health benefits)
On SOLIDS:
1) 2 gallon frosting bucket (her pick/find)
use with;
(1st choice) DIY WAG Bag: line with biodegradable bag and put ~cup of arm & hammer kitty litter. Used bag is then placed into a brown paper bag (think lunch bag size) and then emptied in trash after each use.
(2nd choice if local regs require) WAG Bag. ~1.00 per day cost. Dispose nightly in trash.
No Fuss, No Mess, No tank to empty.

You know all those disposable kiddie & adult diapers full of poop? How about those _litter bags_ from the doggie walk in the park? The kittie-litter box? They end up in your local landfill too. Just sayin'. And WAG Bags are US Forestry, Dept.Of Agriculture, & BLM approved. This is super simple, and _wife_ approved She would rather take out the trash than wait in a line to dump the black tank. < Her words.

Originally Posted by Kristen in MO

10) Replace horizontal slider galley window with window similar in design to bathroom CAN YOU COMMENT MORE ON THIS CHANGE ALSO?

This is another item that should be standard on Parkliners. It does two things; 1) Allows plenty of ventilation in galley area rain or shine. 2) Allows ambient light with full privacy due to glazing. No curtains to put up like one would have to with stock window...and now there is a fire hazard with curtains so close to any cooking surface/appliance.

I think that about covers what i saw in your post. If anything needs clarifying ask away. It is never a both and quite enjoyable.

Happy Trails,
Thom