Delayed Greetings

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   I've been lurking and occasionally posting here since mid-December.
In early January, we traveled from the Northwest (Portland Area) to L.A. to pick up a used 2016 179HRE.  We traveled straight back and it's remained parked for the most part since then.  The trailer is in great shape the only thing that's strange is it is labeled an HRE, but there is no 4" gap between the tire and the wheel well.  When I asked the previous owner about it he mumbled something about it wasn't offered/necessary for 2016.  It did come with GY Endurance ST225/75R15 tires, so it has 15" rims and wheel wells.  I'm thinking I'll order the risers this summer and install them.

We had the axle serviced and a "used RV check" completed at a local RV repair place and had an external propane quick connect added as well.

We've spent considerable effort this spring cleaning the water system out, removing the calcium buildup that had accumulated in the tanks and hot water heater.  Vinegar and bleach are very useful.

This weekend we took it out for the first time to Ft. Stevens (Astoria, OR) during a "Pineapple Express" (that's the end of a monsoon that brings rain, wind and warmer temperatures (sometimes) to the Northwest.  Weatherwise, the Ft Stevens campsite wasn't too bad and we had no other plans other than to check out the trailer.  No leaks and everything worked (unlike our previous Starcraft tent trailer, which always found new ways of leaking water from the cooler into the trailer).

It took a bit to understand the dual heating water heater and the manual was less than useful.  What I found out was:

1) Make sure there is water in the heater before you do anything!  
2) Turn on the propane (inside), or the electric heater(outside), or both. 
3) You can heat with propane or 110v heat simultaneously for faster hot water.

We fired up both to make sure they both worked and then turned off the propane heater.

The only problem we've had so far is that the gray water and black water tanks always read 2/3 or 1/2 full even after they have been dumped to a trickle.  I'm not looking forward to figuring out if the issue is a clog or a faulty meter.

Sean & Christine Whitney