A winter cover for our Aliner
we have had so many problems with reoccurring leaks that we decided we just could not chance leaving the camper uncovered for the whole winter. After looking around at various off-the-shelf covers we decided to try getting one made. We went to Marcellus Canvas Repair on Paul Street in Marcellus NY, and had one made to fit the camper. Pat Reap did a super job of making it, and did so at what we think is a very reasonable price. So now it is sitting in the side yard, getting covered in snow, but at least sure not to leak.   Roll on next spring!

October 4th at Letchworth State Park.
Known as the Grand Canyon of the East This beautiful state park has so much to offer for campers, hikers, cyclists and photographers. South East of Rochester near the town of Carlisle this is truly an amazing place. We camped there in a very comfortable 30 amp campsite with clean and well maintained bathrooms near by. Though the hot shower was not very hot.
The awning is conspicuously absent at this campsite....this was the week before we bought it.......  but the weather was warm and fine for the two days that we were there and the awning was not needed. Now however, I will not leave home without it, its just so much better having thepicnic table and outside cooking area covered.

Nick's Lake State Park
what a lovely place!  Our friends J&D joined us here for 3 nights over the Columbus Day weekend. Nick's Lake is a smallish lake, located just a short way outside Old Forge in the Adirondack Park. The campground is a typical NY state camp, well appointed with good sites and reasonable spacing. We were on no-power sites so relied on our on-board systems. This was the first time that we had used the furnace all night, but we found that the down comforter over our memory foam mattress was sufficient that we only needed the furnace set to low, and were very comfortable. We did find, however, that the fridge goes super efficient when run on gas. With it set at 5 on the first night it froze most of the food! eventually we had it down to 2 and it was still very cold.
Picks in Old Forge:  if you have 2 cars and kayaks or canoes, take one car to the North end of North Street and launch there while leaving the other car in the parking lot at mountain Man Sports in town. You then have a nice 3-3.5 hour paddle down the Moose river back to Old Forge. BUT, there is a portage of about 3 block or so (seemed longer :)  ) in the middle of this run that can be quite a work out. If you have kayak wheels, take them along. there are some very pretty sandbars on which you can haul out for rest stops along the way though. Nick's Lake itself is worth some paddling time too, especially at sunset.
On this trip we added a canopy to our inventory. Its just a cheap ($50) one from Walmart, but we really appreciated being able to cook under that when we got light rain, and being able to leave our chairs out and not have them wet with dew.  I also appreciate not having pine needles in my scrambled eggs! Two 7 x 9 tarps bungie corded around the sides made a very cozy wind break also.
As usual we got a lot of passers by stopping to ask about the Aliner, especially seeing there were two in a row this time.

Goldenrod Campground
For our first outing in the spring this year we had planned to go to Letchworth State Park, NY, a bit South West of Rochester. When we called they said that they had plenty of room and to " come on out". However, when we got there the inn was full, so to speak. The offered us a camping guide and map and suggested that the nearest campground to them was Goldenrod Campground. We headed over to Goldenrod, a little further on in the town of Carlisle. The sign for the camp was not encouraging, nor was their entrance. Pat was a bit unsure of towing the Aliner over a one land bridge with no railing of any sort. The drive was rough, the owner's house looked rough and we sere not at all sure if we would stay. But we followed the owner to look at some campsites. As soon as we turned the corner past the house we found an absolutely gorgeous 50 acres of well mowed paths and campsites among clumps of mature trees. Most of the sites had water and 20 amp hookups, and there were only three other campers in the park. A further bonus was (is) a totally beautiful trout stream that is well stocked and winds through the property. The bathrooms were rustic, but were functional and clean with plenty of hot water. We spent a quiet and most enjoyable night there and hope to go back again in the future. The owner and his family were helpful and friendly and the price was just $20. In the morning we awoke to the sounds of birds, not other campers or traffic, and watched a Great Blue Heron fishing along the stream bank. All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable stay.

30 lb Gas tanks
How can I tell how much gas is left in them? I asked this of our local hardware store guy ...I felt a bit silly as I think that this may be common knowledge to most campers. I had tried a thermometer strip (that you can put against the tank) but that didn't work very well. The hardware guy said "Just weigh them".
A 30lb bottle should weigh right around 27 pounds  empty and 57 pounds full.
you can weigh them on a bathroom scale, but I just took my archery scale out to the camper and used that .......  perfect!  and easy!

A New Table:

The original table in the front area of the Aliner got wet at some point before we bought it. This had caused the table to delaminate, and any time there was humid weather it would swell up and separate again. I removed the legs from the table and fitted them to a new top that I built out of 7/16 maple finish grade plywood. Pat then added stain and several coats of polyurethane to give a durable finish. The resulting table looks good, fits just like the old one did, and is only about half the weight of the original one.

A New Junction Box
The battery box and connections for our Aliner are under the left front seat, as with most Expedition models, the only way to get in to check the battery was to lift the seat cushions, then the seat base, then take off the battery box cover. My wife and I had decided to put in an additional 12v hanging lamp over the sink, so we needed a switch, some wire, and a connection to the battery. I  decided to add a junction box in the locker where the battery is housed. I made two small terminals that protrude from this box and can easily be reached with my test meter through the outside door to that locker. I bolted two short sections of a breaker panel ground bar into the box, one to take connections to the hot side of the battery and one to the ground side. I ran the supply for the new lamp from this junction box to a switch below the left front of the sink front, then up to the lamp (see future post.). So far this arrangement works great for a quick test of the battery or to connect a charger.

                                                     The New Roof/Vent Pole:
Pat was having trouble reaching the roof vents, and putting the roof up as she just could not reach high enough. She was using the Swiffer mop that we use on the floor to do the roof and just waiting for me to open the vents, so I made her this gadget. I took a 4 ft piece of one inch dowel, and put a chair leg nob on the end to push the roof up with. I drilled a 1/2" hole in the other end and then cut a slot across that. this fits neatly over the vent winders. This makes them easy to open, for both of us. A cheap and easy fix! 

The Saga of the Faucet:
The one thing that did not work on our Aliner when we bought it was the sink faucet. This was not a huge issue as we have a nice 2 gallon carboy, with a spigot on it, that we sit on top of the air conditioner and which serves us just fine. However, an operational sink would be way better. Our 5 year old grandson was greatly put out that there was a non functional part of the camper!
I took the faucet apart and found that the rubber plunger washer was just too worn to lift water up the line. No problem, right? I'll just replace it. Not so easy! I searched everywhere for one, but to no avail. I called Aliner direct, called all sorts of dealers, and the best I could find was a replacement for $75 + S&H !!!  After almost a year of this carry on we went to Hushard's RV Center. They fitted a new faucet for under $60, They also re sealed the read dome window that had been a serious leak problem.

Big Shout out for them:
Hushards RV Center
831 Manitou Rd,
Hilton, NY 14468
(585) 392-8538

Our Aliner History
Ok, this may be of interest only to us and a few of our friends, but I hope that as I become more proficient at blogging, this site will be of some use and interest to other Aliner owners. During the late summer of 2013 we headed out for a camping trip, yes, by tent, for a couple of weeks in the South Eastern states. The first night was great, the second just a little to wet to tent, and each night after that got progressively worse. Finally we gave up on the idea and headed to Wilmington, NC to stay with my wife's brother for a few nights. While there we made the decision to get a camper. We saw Aliners for the first time at Wilmington RV Sales and Rental on Carolina Beach Rd, and immediately realized that one of these would be perfect for us.
We were not totally sure that camper camping was the thing for us, so were unwilling to commit the $s for a new Aliner, but when we got home (Syracuse, NY area) we started looking for a used model. We found it in Buffalo, NY, gently used and well maintained and an acceptable price was agreed upon. After completing the change of ownership we headed for Samson State Park on Seneca lake for our first night in the new camper. It went perfectly until we tried to move the next morning and found that the alternator on the RAV had burned out. We ended up having car and camper towed home. However, our first night of Aliner camping was so good that we were instantly hooked. 
We have made this blog to relate some of our adventures, pass on tips about nice places to visit, and share information about Aliner maintenance.
Happy camping,
Ranald and Pat

Fairhaven, NY State park.

Here's the first post to our new blog. Yes, I'm a raw beginner a this, so bear with me. this is our '08 Aliner Expedition towed by a 2014 Subaru Forester. This outing was to Fairhaven State Park, NY in the fall last year. This is a typical NY state campground, well run and maintained with clean facilities and good campsites. There is a nice sandy beach here on the shore of Lake Ontario and the estuary of the Stirling River which provides some great kayaking.

Paddling on the Stirling River