Thursday, March 31, 2011

Cats Are In Power

The dog wants to know why the cat has taken over her bed. The cat sleeps where she wants and lately she has been staying in the dog’s bed.DSC_0002

The dog thought the cat would never leave.DSC_0003

Let’s see who is here in Phoenix this past week getting their RV repaired. Bob & Molly, Tommie Sue & Harrell & Bill Fisher that I can remember. What’s up with that?

Here at RV Renovators they came in and took some more measurements and looked at the wood tone. They haven’t brought anything in yet. I guess they will build inside their shop and bring it all out.

I installed a towel holder in the bathroom and two soap dispensers in the shower.  The brownie points are starting to build again.

They parked someone so close to my passenger side we can just barely open our door. We have about a foot of clearance – that’s close.  Tomorrow (Friday) we will need to dump and fill.  That will be interesting because I saw where the dumps are at – behind several rigs.

46 days to go…..

See ya……….

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Animals At Peace

Today the workers from RV Renovators were in and out taking more detailed measurements and looking at the color of the wood.

This is our heard resting before they start on their never ending adventures in their playground. They very seldom lay all together.  Patches, the cat on the left, is sleeping in the dog bed.DSC_0004

They change napping areas often. These two are buddies.DSC_0001-1

I washed the bugs off the front of the rig and then went all the way around the rig as far as I could reach going up.  It was the old bucket way with no running water.  The Beast wasn’t real dirty so it wasn’t that bad. Hopefully I will do the higher up sometime soon.

People have asked what the windshield cover looks like up close so here it is.  Don said for me to call the company rep and tell him that I’m not happy with it.  It’s on my list.DSC_0002-1

Later in the day we went to Harbor Tools. Carol found her solar lights that she has been looking for and they were on sale. Then we went to Trader Joe’s just for a lookey lou.  Yep, it was a Trader’s Joe. Then on the the way back we saw a Chinese Buffet for $6.99 including your drink.  We figured what the hell. It wasn’t too bad. We would go back.  They even had crawfish which I managed to put down a few.  They lacked that Cajun flavor for sure.

Now it’s American Idol time and a quiet night.

48 days to go…

See ya………….

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Tuesday - Tuesday

Here we are at RV Renovators.DSC_0003

We had a Beaver Marquis on each side of us yesterday. We pulled in and they left. What’s that all about.DSC_0001 

Look – everybody has their mirrors upside down except us. Our little 43 footer looks normal maybe even small when we are in here with these 45 footers.  Hey Carol, there not that much bigger.  We are the RV with the  with the saggy windshield cover – not happy about their incorrect fit. Life goes on..  DSC_0004

Now we are feeling at home.  A Tiffin is in for repairs.  I guess it couldn’t make it back to Red Bay. smile..DSC_0002

Tag axle update – yes, it needs to go back into a shop where the people know how to work on them. RV Renovators told me they refer their tag axle problems to Massey Diesel/RV repair and gave me a name to call. Highly recommended. I called this guy Tom and he knows tag axles.  He knew the mistake the others made on ours.  He said it was a normal mistake inexperienced mechanics make when adjusting bearings on a tag. They are NOT the same adjustment as a normal axle. Dick Reed you were right.  This was the root of our problem that Redlands RV/Truck Repair did – improper adjustment of bearings. Keith, the owner, said he would make it good at any repair facility because his company messed it up originally.  OK….He’s a talkin and I want to see if he can do the walkin…

When we get done here at RV Renovators we head 30 miles to the other side of Phoenix to get the tag axle repaired properly. Then we will play around in the Verde Valley area waiting for our departure up north when it gets just a little warmer.

49 days to go…..

See ya………..

Monday, March 28, 2011

Setting In A Shop Again/Friends

We really don’t like setting in a repair shop like a lot of people don’t.  As full timers it’s is just part of the adventure.  We are at RV Renovators in Phoenix (Mesa). We arrived (Monday) and got greeted by people who obviously appreciate RVers for sure. After several hours of talking, measuring, and then wheel & dealing we came upon an agreement for adding 5 cabinets, 2 computer work areas, extend a platform, install our new couch (thru the windshield?)and a few other things.  It will take about two weeks.  We got 50 AMP and can stay in the RV.  Life is good.  They also said they would check and see if they can find a real expert on tag axles to check out our tag. 

During the day Denny & Susie dropped by for a late lunch.  They were in the Phoenix area for routine medical reasons and decided what the hell and came on over.  55 miles one way.  We had a very very long lunch at CiCi’s Pizza.  They have decided not to go to Alaska for personal reasons. Hey, you do what you want/need to do when full timing. We have to take care of our personal cares and needs sometimes to enjoy this life style. That’s just the way it should be.  They will be missed on this Alaska adventure but not forgotten for sure.

Next thing you know we get a call from Bob & Molly (click on their names for info on the Escapade). Their less than 5 miles away at La Mesa RV getting their Tiffin repaired.  Hey, it’s a Tiffin and I ain’t gonna mention nothing about it being in the repair shop AGAIN! Nope, ain’t gonna too!  We jumped into the car and ran over there to the Tiffin repair facility.  They were parked with other Tiffins waiting to be repaired but I ain’t gonna mention nutin bout that.  We went to, I forget the name of the place, Stover’s, Shover’s or something. We talked and talked and talked and talked.  It was really nice. Then they told us that Tommie Sue and Harrell are around here getting their RV fixed too.  We will try to find them tomorrow and harass them. Full timers at repair shops.  Like I said it’s part of being full timers.

We get back to RV Renovators facility late and use our special key to get back into the lot and to our home.   It was a real nice day.  Thank you all…..

50 days to go…….

See ya……

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Mission Completed

After breakfast Carol & I rethought what we wanted in cabinets and where.  We changed everything.  Size, placement and what ever.  We basically made it simple to build.  Mission completed.

It was time to cut the board on the bed pedestal down to a queen bed size. Hey, all you need is a few tools and the nerve to do it.  Denny lent us the tools and Carol gave me permission to use my nerve. Basically we cut about 5 inches off each side.  Mission completed. DSC_0005-1

Next was taking the couch apart and getting out the door.  It was easy.  We just had to “Get Er Done”.  Mission accomplished.  Then with Walt Gunn’s help we took it to town and dropped it off at the Habit For Community.  Thanks Walt.  Mission completed.

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Then Carol & I went down to Bernie & Carole Patton’s place.  We helped them exchange their mattress out with ours.  Mission completed.

Next I wanted to change the air filter on the 400 HP Beast’s heart. It’s fuel mileage was 5.6 MPG the last fill up and not much better before.  Hopefully the added air will help the Beast’s heart.  It was a little tricky but I just kept working on it and I got it off.  Then putting the new one on wasn’t as hard but was still difficult.  Mission accomplished.DSC_0007-1

NASCAR – what a way to end the race! It was great.

Kellie fixed us all a real nice chicken dinner.  She even fixed some taters that were really good.  Next thing we knew it was 8 PM and time for us to say our “See Ya’s now vice in the AM when we depart.

Tag axle update – poo poo.  Still leaking and over heating. Will take it to a shop in the near future that’s familiar with Spartan chassis and their tag axles.DSC_0009-1

See ya…..

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Just Another Day By The Wayside

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What can I say?  On the road at 4 PM.  We were stopping every 10-15 miles and checking the temps of the tag axle (each side).  One side was running 145 and the other about 115-120.  Not the best for new stuff.  I plan on taking the Beast to Spartan and having them take the tag axle apart and “check it ALL out”.  I just don’t trust it yet…..too many fingers….

We arrived at North Ranch and gave our mattress to Bernie & Carole and then went on over to Denny & Susie’s for the night.

See Ya…………………….

Friday, March 25, 2011

Melt Down

In short we arrived at Redlands RV/Truck Repair on time at 8 AM Friday.  A little after noon we were on the road.  A 100 miles later (2 PM) I decided to do a walk around.  Good thing I did because we were in the process of having a melt down from the work that Redlands performed.

Right side…. hub was scorching hot.  The plastic view cover was melted. Spartan hub cover gone..

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Left side….. very hot and view cover melted and gone.DSC_0005 DSC_0006

I called Redlands (Keith the owner) and he said they would send a mobile axle repairman out and take care of it.  He showed up 3 hours later.  About 9 PM we were on the road again.  The repairman said the chances of it catching fire were great if we had continued .  We left but only got 30 miles and one side heated up again. The  Repairman was called again and came out to us.  We tried to go west but only got 10 miles and the axle started heating up again.  At 11 PM at Desert Center the repairman said he would spend the night in his big truck and stay with us so he could start work on it first thing in the morning.  He said he would take one side apart and go get bearings for it.  The other side appears to be OK so far. First appearance is that the bearings were over tighten on both sides by Redlands. RV/Truck Repair.   So here we set……

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Air & Full Of It, King Dome, Mattress & Elks

Airing tires is what a lot of RVers neglect.  I’m a stickler for correct tire pressure and monitor my EIGHT tires very regularly. On the road constantly with my Pressure Pro.  When setting about every few days to a week.  Since I never had a tag axle before I had some newbie questions.  I went to Neil LeKander who has over 30 years as a tire engineer. He pulled out my weight sheet from SmartWeigh.  I was heavy in the front but not over.  Run them at 115 lbs he said. All of the rear tires to include the tag tires, the Beast was very underweight and run them all at the minimum of 75 lbs.  Michelin says this is the minimum to run them at he said.  This will also take some weight off my front axle and shift it to the rear. Neil said I should reweigh because of the major tire pressure change.  I was running less in the front and more in the rear.  I was wrong.  Since we are getting major renovations done by RVRenovators starting next week, yes we should get reweighed for sure.  I will first get weighed at a truck stop then at the Escapade 2011. The Escapade is going to be a big hoot.  Jimmy Travis is going to be there and this guy is funny.  You better take extra underwear when you see this guy he’s that good.

Have you noticed the internet links that I’m using more and more often.  I think they are so cool.  I forget about them then I rediscovered them.

We arrived at 9 AM at Independence RV just a few miles down the road. Parking was a little tight.DSC_0001

They installed a circuit board to our King Dome and we were gone by 10 AM.

We then went to Sam’s just up the road to get our queen size mattress.  Isn’t this called downsizing, right? We picked out the Serta Queen.  It was fun getting it in the front door.  Hey a little jelly at it went right in.  We will deliver our Newmar King mattress to Carole & Bernie tomorrow afternoon hopefully.  As you can see two mattresses are a bit more than needed. We don’t need a step stool we need a friggin ladder.DSC_0004

Then we went on up to the Fontana Elks.  We got an end sight with W/E 30 AMPS for $15.

Art & Caroline are just down the road getting their RV repaired.  We thought we would surprise them and drove over.  No body home.  We called them while setting in front of their RV.  They were setting at our RV going to surprise us.  We surprised each other for sure. We had a very good laugh. We drove back real quick and had a nice little get together for a few hours.  They had some perishables so they skipped going out to dinner.  We said our See Ya’s and they departed.DSC_0003

Tomorrow we have to to get on the road again just for a few miles to Redlands RV/Truck repair to arrive by 8AM.  Then on to Denny & Susie’s at North Ranch near Congress, AZ.

See Ya………….

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

60 AMPS And Getting “Stuff” Done

Yep, we’ve become one of “those” people that need the amperage. Last night in got into the 30s.  When I got up at my 4 AM all heat was turned off.  It was 53 degrees in the Beast. I didn’t turn the heat off. Carol was the last to bed and she said she didn’t turn it off.  Yea right. I guess our friendly ghost did. Anyhow, I had to turn off the electric hot water and the frig so I could run two heat pumps on 30 amps. This resulted in me pulling in 29 amps which is really too much on a 30 amp circuit.  Things start heating up at that amperage. So, if I was to leave the frig on, the electric hot water on that means that I would need about  55-60 amps. Oh wow, I am one of “those” amp hogs.  Oooops the Energy Management System (EMS) just shut down one heat pump.  Instead of blowing circuits this systems shut things down until the amps come back up then it turns things back on in order.  Pretty neat system. Our Winnebago Ultimate had one but our Tiffin didn’t.  I switch the heating system over to the diesel Hydro Hot and see how that would do. I can heat the lake outside from the exhaust heat too. Yes, the diesel Hydro Hot system Gets Her Done…

Today was a busy one and we were half way ready to handle it. We went to breakfast at our little Ma Pa place in nearby Sun City.  This place kinda wore on us. While eating breakfast a transport company called and said they were at the campground making the delivery which turned out to be our freezer slide. They left it at the front gate which is pretty normal.  When we returned we got the back of the car ready and put it in there.  I knew I would not have time to install it.  Next thing you know it was about lunch time.  Carol got one of those migraine headaches and that just about put her down for the day. 

Jerry O stopped by to say Hi. That was a nice surprise. He works at the California RV Show (RVIA Pomona Show)CA RV Show (click on seminars once there).  We fixed the world problems and talked about how it use to be.  I believe he said him and his wife have been full timing for either 14 or 19 years.  He usually gets involved in the operations for big RV shows.  We will see him again in October.  He did lend me his caulking gun so I could apply some sealant on the roof on some possible leakage areas. I did that and used about a half of tube. Of course it rained a couple of hours later.

I also had to install the magnets on the windshield for the Magne Shade. Some people would say it looks fine but I see wrinkles from being cut to big.  The pole to apply the thing to windshield arrived later today.

Then it was time to dump & fill with water. I do this the day before in cold weather. Most full time RVers do. It only got up to 55 degrees today.  Tomorrow morning it would have been a little too cool to mess with that stuff. So why not do it the day before.

Since Carol wasn’t feeling good we said our See Ya’s to Bill & Diane before dark.  It was short put we got to swap some stories with them. Earlier Bill lent me his Newmar air hose to fill up my right rear tag from 50 to 75 lbs.  I had to start my engine and air up the tanks of course. This caused a secondary problem which I will explain later if I don’t forget. Anyhow, I got a good look at the unusual air connector that Newmar uses.  I thought I had one.  Shorn up, I had one connector like it and installed it on my air hose and viola – I have my own now.  I think it’s a 2B connector if you are really wondering which I doubt.  Oh the secondary problem of airing up is that we lost the satellite signal because the coach shifted a little bit while filling the air bags. Then it started to rain again. So we lost the satellite completely and it couldn’t find it.  This is why we go into the King Dome shop tomorrow, duh…..

We took care of a lot of things that just added up like a normal day for us before we move with a few extra things thrown in. We are trying to tame this “Beast”.  Someone said with all the water we were in here lately that we should rename the Beast the Ark.  Well, the animals have been fed and we are getting to row out of here tomorrow.  Yea – On The Road Again…

See ya……

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Houston – We Got A Problem!

It wasn’t an hour after posting yesterday’s blog that I found a problem that all RVers dread.  I even ended the blog referring to it and it said “The Beast did not have one water leak.  That’s REAL good……”.  Well, the Beast was peeing on me like a drunk in an alley. After a towel went down on the floor I removed the speaker from the ceiling and that is where the water was coming from.  I stuffed that orange towel up in the ceiling and wringed it out twice right then.  Since the water was leaking out of the speaker I guess you can say it was “troubled waters”. Old folks might remember the song something about a bridge over troubled waters. I might have lost most of you going down that road.DSC_0001 DSC_0002

I went up on the roof against Carol’s wishes and saw nothing unusual at first.  Then I was on the hunt and found the sealant around the factory solar panel for the chassis batteries was cracked all the way around. It was a very clear separation but ever so slight.  It was within a foot of the speaker below.  So, I can’t do nothing until it dries out a little bit.  I think I’m going to put aluminum/putty tape around it for now.  Then when I get in some real good hot weather I will remove it and put some regular medium self leveling caulk on it.  Hopefully this is where the water was coming in from.  Time will tell especially since it suppose to rain Wednesday evening.

We went to nearby Sun City with Bill & Diane for dinner.  It was a Ma Pa type restaurant and the food was OK not outstanding.  We would go back.  Carol had liver & onions and I chicken fried steak.  $4.99 each, .99 sodas. Hey, it was one of those little places we will go back to.

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We went to the Super Wal-Mart in Hemet earlier today.  Have you noticed the price of canned goods lately.  The items we normally get have gone up 20 to 40 cents a can.  Welcome back to high fuel prices.

Tomorrow will be an especially busy day. Fix the leak of course, pick up the freezer slide, pick up the windshield pole, straighten up my area for travel and that will never be done completely.  Thursday we go to the repair guy for the King Dome at 9AM. Then we go up the road to Sam’s to pick up a mattress. Then onto Fontana Elks and hopefully they will have a site.  We’ve stayed there before.  Then Friday we have to be Redlands RV/Truck repair at 8AM to check out the left rear tag axle on the Beast.  Hopefully it’s something minor and we can be on our way by lunch.

We will arrive at Denny & Susie’s in time for our steak dinner hopefully.  I was told they have steak every time a friend visits.  They have a lot of friends.  Now if you visit Tommy Sue and Harrell they fix you steak & shrimp on the grill. If you visit Bob & Molly she will bake you a pie.  If you visit us in Texas you will get some smoked pulled pork.  If we visit you what would we get?

56 days to go…….

See ya…………..

Monday, March 21, 2011

Low Tire Pressure & the Good & Bad Attitudes

I forgot to mention yesterday that I can’t use the air on the Beast to fill up my tire that needs about 30 lbs of air.  The air connection on the Beast is an unusual one meaning that no other air connectors (5) that I bought for it will match it.  I bought a new common connector for the Beast but haven’t installed it yet.  I’m a little leery of doing it. They do have an air pump at the exit of the park that I will probably use when we leave Friday.

Why are people outside our RV taking pictures. Oh, we are in about 4-6 inches of water due to the heavy rains last night and can’t get out without swimming lessons.  The dog will have to brush up on her dog paddle before we take her out. 

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The mat is underwater. DSC_0006  DSC_0021 

Our outside temp gauge got a little wet. It’s under a couple of inches of water. DSC_0007

I got NO HELP what so ever from the park ( 3 different workers?) when I asked for a board so we could get out of our RV without stepping in 4-6 inches of water.  As a matter of fact, they were abrupt and were too busy handling mundane things to handle this “minor” problem.  We were one of two RV’s that got swamped in.  I pulled over the picnic table to our door step and we are good to go.  Same ole same ole of let me find a reason not to help rather yes I can help!DSC_0023

Earlier - I got a phone call at 8AM this morning from MorRyde. They apologized for the shipping miss quote and will credit our charge card today accordingly.  That’s the way it should be handled when a mistake is made.  Thank you MorRyde.

Bill & Joyce are due in tomorrow and they have an air compressor I can use they said. Great….

My freezer slide tray is due in tomorrow.  I can’t install it unless I get wader boots because of all the water.  Other thing that will be carried around in the car I guess. Hey, it will dry out one day.  The Beast did not have one water leak.  That’s REAL good……

See ya……….

Sunday, March 20, 2011

NASCAR

Great race but boring at times.  Winner – same ole same ole…..Kyle Bush 5 times….

I have found everything I’ve been looking for the last few months except two things. Our walkie talkies and a Pressure Pro monitor device (goes on tire) that I just bought at the Gypsy Journal Rally. Well, I was thinking about the Pressure Pro device and just said I wish I could find it.  A few minutes later I was getting my camera out and there it was in the camera bag. I think our RV ghost put it in there. I immediately put it on my tag axle with the slow seal leak.  It worked fine.  I put my spare sensor on the other tag axle wheel.  It didn’t worked.  I took one off my car and put it on the same tag axle and it worked.  I put the spare on the car and it didn’t work. Thus my spare was bad.  Half hour later my Pressure Pro alarm was going off.  It was the one that I took off the car and put on the tag axle was going off.  It said 50 lbs. It had dropped about 30 lbs according to the Monitor.  I checked it with a pressure gauge and it read 50 lbs.  The sensor was leaking which is not real rare.  I put it back on the car and it was fine several hours later.  Bottom line I need one more sensor for one of my tag axles.  I will order one next week.  I’ve ordered from Pressure Pro before and never had a problem – good company.

Tomorrow I expect to hear from Morryde early.

58 days to go..

See ya….

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Hold Them Accountable

Here’s another company that is not doing what is expected.  Morryde..  I ordered a freezer slide drawer last Thursday from them.  They quoted me a price of $295 plus $50-$70 shipping. If the shipping was anymore they would call me.  Friday I got an email shipping notice.  Friday night I checked my credit card and they charged me $140 in shipping vice $50-70 with no phone call.  If Morryde would have called me and said it would cost $140 to ship I would have cancelled for sure. That’s probably why they didn’t call.  I sent them an email this morning and they replied it would be addressed Monday.  I hope so.  It needs to be addressed before Tuesday when they try to deliver it and I refuse it.  Then I call the credit card company and tell them it was an unauthorized charge.  Shame on Morryde……….

I’m still owed 50 bucks from another company that messed up delivery and was suppose to be credited back to me last week. I just checked my credit card again and it was finally credited back.  Quick to charge and slow to credit.

I hold all companies & public offices to a standard that is expected by us the public. If they screw up, OK, fix it.  If not or they are slow, I friggin go after them with emails and phone calls relentlessly just like we all should.

Moonie.  I looked at this moon that was so to be soo big, etc., and it was no “big” deal.  I’ve seen a lot bigger and better moons just this past January in Quartzsite.

What’s happening Sunday – NASCAR Day…………..and it’s suppose to start raining for a couple of days.

59 days to go……….

See ya……………….

Friday, March 18, 2011

Windshield Cover

The Magne Shade – DSC_0001

Carol picked out the color of tanish and it matched our awnings perfectly (brownie points).DSC_0005

Carol and I installed the windshield shade.  There are magnets holding the shade in place – inside on the glass and permanently mounted and on the shade in little pockets. Great idea. Great quality of material and workmanship.  It’s about 1/4 to 1/2 inch to big a all around though. The inside magnets are on the very edge of the glass. The shade magnets are really not that moveable. Thus, the shade magnet holders are not in the right place meaning the shade was not measured correctly and is about 1/4 to 1/2 inch too big. It will work but not as good as it could have been.  If we had to do it all over again we would not have gotten it and glad we didn’t get the front side windows done.  Too long of wait then missing a part then don’t fit exactly like it should. It’s a thumbs down for this product until they improve their ordering time, measuring, complete shipment of all parts. It was $450 and really not worth the hassles.

People wanted to know how the back of our frig looked with the Norcold update, the fire extinguisher and the wire loom.

This is the device that was installed due to the recall. DSC_0004 DSC_0003

I still have room here.  Hey we will do what these Californians do – build up….DSC_0002

 

Not only do I have a “Honey Do List” I got one for each day and for each one of our future stops like Denny & Susie’s next weekend.  She wants Denny to be around when I start picking up tools.

60 days to go till ???????????????

See ya……………

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Frig

Have you ever inventoried your frig freezer?  Ours is so jammed tight I can’t see nor do I try to remember everything that’s in it. I inventoried the Beast. We got enough frozen food for about 30 dinners.  I found shrimp, steaks, roasts, fish both battered and unbattered, chicken, pork chops, stir frys, ground beef, Italian sausage, beef dogs, ground beef,gumbo, smoked pulled pork, blueberries and a couple of unidentifiable bags. I will save the last for ??????? surprise dinner when we have guests.

Well, after 7 weeks (shy 3 days) we got our Magna Shade for the front windshield finally.  It’s missing a part. That sucks. That’s really sad when a RV supplier don’t get your stuff to a buyer in a timely manner and then leave a part out.  They had no problem cashing our check quickly. We thought about ordering side shades but they helped us decide not to.  We had a couch custom built and shipped in less than 3 weeks. More to follow on the quality of this shade.

The company that shipped our transport film to Livingston rather than Yuma finally credited our credit card with the extra & difference in shipping. I had to remind them several times. Poor, poor.

Ghost – we got one in this RV.  He turns on the dash lights, outside lights and locks the compartments.  This has happened several times over the past few weeks.  I always thought it was the animals walking on a switch.  Well, tonight it happened and the cats were curled up asleep and the dog was in her bed.  Carol was gone line dancing.  The Beast has a ghost…

We cooked out with Craig and Terri Lu.  We haven’t done that in several months.  It was pretty nice setting out and eating camper style.  Of course we were using hard plates and real silverware.  What can I say.

See ya……………

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Tuning The Beast

I decided to go thru the Beast’s box of information again.  I wanted to go over a few things.  Much to my surprise there was the Silverleaf Book that I have been tearing the Beast apart for.  I owe the book to Sharon & Don because they bought the Silverleaf that I had.  Great….. 

Then Carol called me from her line dancing and said the group was going to use my group picture of them that I took yesterday. They plan on getting it enlarged and giving to the attendees.  Hey, more brownie points. 

While going thru the Beast’s books I found paperwork saying this had a keyless entry and even found the remotes.  They aren’t programmed though.  I tried to but no luck.  I got the lights to flash and the horn to beep but the door stayed unlocked. Too many push this and hold thats. Where’s Greg White? I heard he likes working with electrical things lately.  Oh well, someone down the road will figure it out.

Next I recalibrated the holding tanks at least the fresh water. I did it once already but I didn’t like it.  The first time I set it so when it was empty it read empty and when it was full it read full.  Well, if you stop and think about it you really don’t need to those two read outs.  If you don’t have water coming out a faucet you don’t need a gauge to tell you you are out of water…duh. The same with full. If you put water in your tank and it comes out the overfill baffle it’s full…duh. Again you don’t need a gauge to tell you. I recalibrated the fresh water so when it reads empty now I still have about 10 gallons of water.  Same with full it now reads full until I have about 95-100 gallons. The system holds 115+. Gee, I figured that out all by myself. Not all monitoring systems can be calibrated.

We went to the Thai restaurant down in Temecula.  It’s different like a ma pa type place.  The food was OK and not outstanding.  I would return.

That’s it for now…..tomorrow I tackle the frig freezer.

See ya

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

The “LOOK”!

Carol was eating her Belgian Waffle with strawberries WITH whipped cream when it slipped off her make shift temporary table and on to her lap upside down.  I immediately headed for the camera and that’s when it really happened.  I got the “LOOK” of don’t you dare!!!!  Guys, you know what I’m talking about. I sheeplessly sat back down in my chair.  I laughed so hard, internally of course, that I think I was about to cry.  She blamed the Beast (this RV) for her dropping her breakfast.  Since I was low in brownie points and going down hill fast, I agreed of course.  Now I got to get some more brownie points.  Thus, I agreed to go to lunch with her and her line dancing friends today.

At lunch I got to meet some people I haven’t seen in a couple of years.  I also took some pictures for Carol which means more brownie points.

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I got notification from the couch manufacture that they shipped our couch yesterday to Phoenix.  That was good but it’s a week early.  I will have to call RV Renovators and give them a heads up.

I’ve been wanting a slide drawer for our freezer for years.  I couldn’t find one that would fit in the Tiffin nor even the Winnebago Ultimate.  Well, the Beast is made different.  I called MorRyde and they had one that fit the Beast’s compartment area perfectly. Plus it slides out twice it’s length which means it will slide out further than the RV’s kitchen slide.  It’s made special for freezers. No ducking or lifting just to see what’s in it anymore.

I also made an appointment at Redlands RV/Truck repair for Friday the 25th to take a look at the Beast’s tag axle seal leak. I met Keith the owner at the Gypsy Journal Rally.  He was curious about the way this is leaking from behind the wheel nut with no other signs of leakage.

See ya…………….

Monday, March 14, 2011

Working For those Points

I made Belgian Waffles for Carol this morning.  No surprise since she knew I found the machine  yesterday in the bowels of the Beast.  That got me a few points.

Then she got to line dance all day.  I just did little things around the RV.  I figured I would change the water filters since we just came from Yuma.  It took me 15 minutes to find the water filter wrench.  I’m still not organized underneath.  Once the cabinets/desks get built I can do my reorganize. For now that stuff that will go in them is underneath. Anyhow, in Yuma I was running 3 filters, a sediment, a loose charcoal, and a block charcoal. I changed the first two.  The sediment was only slightly brown.  This meant that the water was really that bad where I filled up. One filter is permanently mounted. Then I have my two extra filters which I hook up in line outside of the Beast.

I went up on the roof and cleaned-waxed the King Dome and the Motosat internet dishes.  The last few mornings they have had condensation on them and it basically shut them down.  They worked fine the next morning or you wouldn’t be reading this.

We went to dinner with Craig & Teri Lu down in Temecula which is south of us.  Traffic wasn’t that bad.  We wanted to go to a Thai restaurant but it was closed on Mondays as we found out upon arrival.  Many years ago we use to go to a Mexican place down here.  We found it, The Guadalajara. Pretty nice and not real expensive.

We got pack to he park about 7PM just in time for the girls to go to the night time line dancing.  Hey, sun up to sun down there is line dancing and that is why Carol likes it here so much. (brownie points)

See ya……..

 

 

See ay……………

Sunday, March 13, 2011

The Beast

I named the Phaeton Farton. It just fit.  It was Carol’s turn to name this one.  She said if she named it, could we put the name across the back in real big letters. I said sure. She said in that case, name it “For Sale”. She was just kidding, kinda. Hence, Carol has proclaimed our 43’ Dutch Star as “The Beast” like in Beauty and the Beast.  I didn’t ask who was the Beauty because I’m pretty low in “honey points” right now.

Today I installed Mac The Fire Guy’s automatic fire extinguisher in the back of the frig.  I had it in the Phaeton and had removed it.  I also put wire loom on the wires close to anything hot. So with the frig having the Norcold newest update, an automatic fire extinguisher and loom over wires, this Norcold has been maxed out for safety. We also now travel with the LP turned off.  In the past we have ran with it on.  This Norcold is packed tight.  We are just being extra safe and it really didn’t cost that much and the peace of mind is priceless of course.

I’ve been back in searching for things underneath that have gone missing in action.  I found Carol’s Belgian waffle maker but not Don’s pamphlet on the Silverleaf I sold him.  I will continue to look of course.  Maybe it’s in …………

Oh, our friendly next door “camper” departed late today.  Their dog started barking about 6AM this morning.  I was awake so no great loss for ME.

Carol registered for her line dancing and have met many of her fellow dancers. She’s happy and I’m racking up the points.

See ya…….

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Are They Gone Yet?

Early today it happened.  We got campers as neighbors.  We forgot what campers are because we have been around the “older” crowd.  Hey, we all have been campers. I will remind you what they are because we just got a refresher course.  Campers have 2 or 3 kids.  I couldn’t count them because they were moving too fast.  The entire family have bicycles that park close to your walls of your home.  They have two big dogs and they bark at everything to include the wind.  They tie them up so they can reach your water & sewer lines.  Of course one is a male. Need I say more. They have a diesel pick up that is parked within two feet of your home.  Of course the kids are constantly going in an out of the pick up slamming doors. Their RV has an outside sound entertainment system. They want everybody in the park to know they have one. It was not the thumping type music thank goodness.  Of course they have brought an entire green tree to burn in their campfire.  Oh the smell of smoked pine late night. They bring enough lanterns to light up southern California.  Are you having flash backs yet.  Or are you laughing at us in our “Camping Refresher Course 101”?  Hey, been there done that ourselves!

Our site is special.  We get to meet everybody in our area.  We have “things” that protect us from the wind.  We have a new smell that covers up the smell from the nearby large dairy farm.  We are so lucky to be in our “spot”.  It just reminds us of all the good “spots” we have had and the new ones that will be next.  If it weren’t for the few bad ones we couldn’t tell what a good one is.DSC_0004

Yes, we have geese that decided to homestead in our front year.  Ain’t that cute!DSC_0002

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I forgot they crap a lot. I thought this picture would brighten your day.  They left us a big mine field when they departed us in search of new arrivals to feed them. Yes it did belong to a goose. Many of these are left to tell where they have been.DSC_0007

Craig & Teri Lu are here for the Line Dancing Rally.  They arrived today and are one stone throw away.

Friday, March 11, 2011

It’s A Wrap…..

On the road again.  DSC_0438

 

Not so lucky for others.DSC_0435

Just 230 miles and we ended up at the TTN Wilderness in Menifee, CA.  Nice trip for us. We get to the park and it is jammed up tight.  we got a nice sight next to the dumpsters. Nice fresh country air.  Got to watch somebody back into a parked (site) fifth wheel with their auto.  As they moved across the street they pushed a picnic table about two feet.  This person shouldn’t be driving a car much less a large RV. Scary..

Here’s some fun photos

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See ya…………