Well, we finally did it, we outgrew the Aliner. Not exactly I guess as we still love it and are most reluctant to sell it, however, in planning longer duration travels we realize that we just need more space, an inside shower, and toilet. Out little cassette toilet in the Aliner worked well for us, but was awkward to use, and still required climbing over Pat during the night if I had to get up. So, the answer is a slightly bigger trailer, with an island bed and proper bathroom.

After much deliberation we settled on the Winnebago micro Minnie 2106 DS. It is still not huge, only 21’11” in length and weighing 3780 pounds. So not huge, but certainly bigger than the Aliner. This, of course was too much for the Forester to tow, so necessitated an upgrade in tow vehicle also. Neither of us wanted to go with a truck as an SUV is just much more suitable for us, so we finally settled on a Toyota Highlander. It is rated to tow 5000 pounds and with a tongue weight of 500 pounds, so should do the trick for us.

The Aliner sold after almost constant rain during the month of April and Early May ruined most interest in campers. And we brought home the new “Minnie Winnie” and Highlander.

I think we did it!!!!   
Finally I think we have beaten the leaks!
Here's what I posted to a fellow sufferer who posted a plea for help on the Aliner owners Blog:

We have a 2008 expedition and have had constant problems with leaks. First in the left rear corner, then the front right and next the front left. We tried every way for Sunday to find the source but simply could not. In desperation we bought a couple of rolls of Eternabond tape and taped every possible seam in the dome windows, the vents and the perimeter of the roof sections. Still leaked!!!!!   #@$^%&*E$%@!#$#%%^Y  !!!

Then took off the dome window surrounds front and rear and took a good look at the windows from the inside. There were minute cracks (stress fractures?) in the corners of each of the windows right where the leaks were. We did some research and came across a product called .....wait for this....its worth it...... you won't believe it.....Captain Tully's Creeping Crack Cure. Available from a company called Vintage Trailer Supply at about $10 + S&H for enough to do several coats on each of the 4 upper dome window corners. You can also get it from West  Marine at twice as much.The stuff really works, but you have to be prepared to put on multiple coats, let it dry in between and then be disappointed by further leaks. However, the leaks will be smaller, so you put on another three coats, and eventually the leaks stop. If you are not so fussy about how the windows look from the outside then just get some clear silicone caulk and smear that around the upper corners of each of the dome windows. These seem to be the prime offenders for leaks.

FINALLY! we are leak free!

Fighting The Leaks! Still!
Yep we are still fighting leaks around the front dome window and around the roof vents. The right vent cover has given in to the sun and the hinges have fallen apart. Ordered a "Universal Replacement" from CYNDER.Com  but it is 14 1/2 x 14 1/2 " overall and what we need ins 13 1/4 square. Found that we could get the right one from Seven Os in Kirkville NY for just $15.
The Eternabond has not stopped the window leaks so we went to Captain Tyully's Creeping Crack Cure. Great stuff. We read about it on the Aliner Owners Club e-mails. It seems to have stopped the leaks from the hairline cracks in the dome windows, but the vents are still to be tested. A strange request for one who wants to go camping, but I would like to see some rain!

6/30/18       Getting the A-liner ready for the season. This may be the last summer that we use it before moving to NZ, or not, but we have some camping planned. First issue is to replace the front dome window casing as the old plastic one is broken and buckled, and just ugly. I bought some nice oak mullion that I joined to make a 2" x 1.5" angle stock from which to make the new frame. I'm mitering the corners and hope that I don't have to modify the opening too much ti get it to fit. Photos to be posted soon. The next order of business will be to apply Eternabond tape to all the external seams to try to stop the persistent leaks that seem to plague so many A'liners. More on that soon too.
7/1/18        The new window casing is made, now to sand, stain and install it. We put the first Eternabond stripping on the left side vent yesterday. It went on well, though is super sticky stuff to work with, not at all forgiving if you put it in the wrong spot!

Air Conditioner Replacement

What a blunder! In the fall of 2016 I decided to drill a small hole in the bottom of the air conditioner pan to let it drain better. Mistake! The condenser coils are very close to the bottom front of the housing and I put a tiny nick in one of them. Of course all the coolant immediately leaked out.
We looked at the prospect of repairing it but decided that, by the time we got it out, shipped it, paid for repairs, and reinstalled it, we would be better off just to replace it. Finding a new one to exactly fit the opening was tricky, but we eventually found that an LG model LW 6017R would fit right into the opening and do an excellent job of cooling the camper. The first thing of note is that the LG air conditioners use the model number to describe the capacity and year of each model, and these change each year. So an LW is a through-the-wall type, the 60 stands for 6000 BTU capacity and the 17 is for the year. I have not figured out what the R is for.
We followed the excellent video posted at this link:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3EqSoG5ka4&t=112s

He gives very clear instructions and video of the replacement, and it goes just fine. Here are a few shots of our work. I hope that this will help a few others who tackle the same task.

Saturday 4/15/17
First camping trip for the 2017 season.
 We headed out around 11:00 AM for points South. Went as far as the Front Royal KOA. We have stopped at this place several times over the years as it is a convenient half way point on the way to Wilmington NC to visit family. If you are looking for the most modern and best kept campground in town this one is not it. However the managers are friendly, it has all the basic necessities, and is reasonably priced at $34. We Plugged in, made dinner, and settled in for a quiet night. We also put out our little bit of spring that we just couldn't leave back in NY to die

In this photo you can also see the extension step that we had made at the end of last year. It certainly makes getting in and out of the camper easier for oldies like us.
As often happens the Aliner attracted visitors in the morning as we were finishing up breakfast and getting ready to leave.
Meeting other travelers really is one of the best parts of camping.

We found a lovely campground last weekend on the shores of Lake Ontario at Hamlin Beach State Park North West of Rochester NY

. Absolutely perfect weather with temps in the low 80s sure helped, but even so, it is a beautiful park and we can thoroughly recommend it.