Are you smarter than a 5th wheel?

Now that's what I call manual labor!

Last week's weather downturn created a great opportunity for us to test out the rig's heating systems, brew a cup or two of tea, and devote ourselves to plowing through the massive stack of user manuals that came with the new rig. In short, we enrolled in RV university in the quest to answer that crucial question: Are we smarter than a 5th wheel?

It's been awhile since I've faced climbing such a steep learning curve. The experience prompts an occasional flashback to my days in physics class learning how to calculate amperage, voltage and all things electricity related. It's fun and definitely challenging enough to keep things interesting.

Our class load requires study time with the occasional pop quiz thrown in for spice. Leonard and I passed the first one - how to use a convection oven without burning a frozen pizza - without too much trouble. The next test - avoiding running out of propane just before it's time to turn in for the night - didn't go quite as well.


Let's see now. At 40 degrees F that's
105,000 BTU's per 40-lb tank x 2 tanks....

It's our own fault, really. Once outside temps started to dip towards the low 30's, we switched from heat pump, which runs on electricity, to the more capable furnace, which uses liquid propane. At that point, we should have jumped to the textbook chapter on LP burn rates but chose instead to live in the moment (something I got especially good at during my time in Costa Rica) and focused on more pressing matters, like figuring out how to connect the iPod to our really cool entertainment center and where to rent the latest DVD releases.

The result? After four days cozily living at 70 degrees as conditions outside hovered around the freezing mark, we suddenly noticed that the burners on our stove wouldn't light. We very quickly deduced that the 40 pounds of gas that we thought would last until the next full moon was now empty.

Normally, that wouldn't even prompt a shoulder shrug because shifting to tank number 2 is a simple matter of walking outside, opening the tank compartment and flipping a lever. Unfortunately on this occasion it was now 10 o'clock at night and still a might brisk outside. Leonard gallantly offered to  rectify the situation, and soon we were back in business.

Looks like someone's got control issues.

Shifting back for a moment to last week's tailgate incident, the body shop in Springdale managed to procure a replacement much sooner than expected. Truckzilla looks as good as ever! This Wednesday we pull up stakes for a move to Beaver Lake near Eureka Springs, AR for our first experience at a state park.

For now, that stack of manuals requires further attention. Only trouble is the sun is once again shining over our little corner of the Arkansas hill country. It's sure getting hard to concentrate. Maybe I'll skip class today. (Just this once?)