We made our "shakedown cruise" this week, traveling just under 100 miles to Sugarite Canyon State Park at Raton, NM.  Nice campground with almost no one else camping mid-week.  There's a nice lake and we were told that the fish were biting.  I guess I put in too much bleach into the water tank/lines before we left home.  We couldn't get rid of the bleach odor for about the first 24 hours!!  Well, guess we killed the germs, huh?  

We discovered a list of several things that will need attention before we head out again and need some advice.  

One of those items that needs attention is a leaking toilet valve.  It is leaking, when the water system is pressurized, under the toilet foot pedal.  There isn't much room to see, but it was clearly dripping from the brass fitting at the bottom of this valve (at/under the foot pedal).  I'm guessing a valve repair kit will take care of the problem.  Am I on the right track?  Anything I need to know before tearing things apart??  

The microwave also went out.  It worked initially, but died on the first evening.  Circuit breaker is OK and all other AC outlets work.  I'm guessing the microwave is ready for replacement.  

The aluminum end cap on the awning (the part that rolls out) needs a replacement rivet.  And the end cap on the awning case (the part attached to the camper) does not fit well.  There was an old wasp nest in the case, so am sure the gap has been present for some years.  Any ideas on what might be causing the end cap to not fit securely?  The awning sure wasn't as easy as the Scamp video makes it look!! 

One propane tank went dry about 0300 today, so it was a nippy trip out to switch bottles at that time of the night!  Temps both nights were just above freezing.....34 according to the thermometer.  

Also had a good experience with butyl tape just before we left home.  We found a leak at the bathroom sink drain.  The previous owner was evidently a believer in silicone caulk.  He had the sink drain all covered with silicone and it was still leaking.  I took the drain apart (both the "in sink" and "below sink" parts) and cleaned off the silicone.  Then ran butyl tape on both sides and screwed it hand tight (as tight as I could go), trimmed the excess and had a flawless repair to that leak.  

Snap caps and wash/polish/wax are on the list too.  I'm considering either the Meguiars Fiberglass restore system, or the 3M Fiberglass one-step restore. Any strong opinings either way?

Thanks and thanks for the good info available on this forum.  Reading the forum helped us to be better prepared for the shakedown cruise!

piperjim