Prep Part I -- Getting Started with Prep

Okay, just went out and put the mirrors and WD (Weight Distribution) hitch on the GC and loaded some tools in preparation for getting the trailer from storage in a few minutes.  I also bumped up the air pressure in the rear tires to 38 psi per the advice from Tires Plus.  We will bring it home now so I can get all the improvements (LED bulb replacements, spice rack mounted, inverter installed, etc.) done and get it all prepped for our trip.

I need to check all the air pressures in the trailer tires, shoot some grease in the wheel bearings, check the torque on the wheels, drain and refill the fresh water tank (although I haven't decided yet whether to fill it completely with 60 gallons of water that would add approximately 500 lbs of weight to pull or only partially fill it like I've been doing) and check the propane.  One tank is completely full because the automatic switch over is still on the first tank that we've been using since we bought the trailer.  I will take it off and weigh it and decide whether or not to go ahead and fill it now or wait until we get out to Denver and before we head north into Wyoming and Montana where we most likely will need to run the furnace some, so I want both tanks full before we head up there.

I also just used my iPhone 6 to put in a "hold" for our U.S. Postal Service mail, so that's done.  Jeri has already arranged with Chris Vinski, our ultra-reliable pet sitter and house watcher to come a couple of times a week to feed and water Captain Morgan, a Nanday Conure and watch bird extraordinaire and make sure everything is okay with the house.  Our daughter will also also come by periodically to check things, too.  We also have a hidden web cam in the house to monitor things and besides alerting me to any movement or loud sounds in the house it also records a running week, so if anyone does break in we would at least have a record and video of the event which hopefully would lead to their arrest and recovery of any items stolen.

1:30 PM:  We have the trailer home now and hooked up to the 30 amp shore power drop I installed in the garage.  I've already replaced every interior incandescent light bulb (18 of them) with the new LEDs I bought.  They all worked initially, although you do have to put them in with the right polarity (no biggie, if they don't come on you turn them 180 degrees and they do) and I think they are going to work out fine.  We will check them out tonight, but they seem plenty bright.  I can attest to the fact they run a whole lot cooler than the incandescent bulbs did.  I have two spare LEDs and of course, I will also carry all the 921 incandescents I replaced for spares.
[8:00 PM follow up:  the new LED lighting seems plenty bright in the dark of night.]

It's 90 degrees out, so will start on outside the trailer stuff when it's cooler in the mornings and evenings.  I think it's going to feel good to get to CO, WY and MT and cooler temperatures (and best of all the non-humid climate!!!).

I keep pondering how I want to install the 1100 Watt inverter output.  The 12 vdc input is a no-brainer--the heaviest cables that came with it to the battery, along with the 150 fuse link to prevent catastrophes in case of a massive short of the primary wiring or the inverter.  Since most of what I want to power with 110 vac inside is the TV, maybe the toaster (75 amp draw on the 12 vdc!) and possibly the microwave, I'm thinking more and more about just wiring up a separate normal household outlet box and running an extension cord to plug in the TV microwave, etc..