Full Calendar For RVers

We don’t normally keep a monthly calendar book much less carry one.  This month we had to.  I keep a trip program in the computer but not one of these things.  December has and will be so busy that we had to keep one so WE won’t over commit.  We have 8 days in December that are open that we aren’t doing something somewhere.  We’re not use to being that active.  Not complaining, just not use to it.  It’s not the memory thing.  It’s the “Sure, we'll do that.” thing.  So, if we don’t show up at your shin dig, “opppps, sorry” ahead of time.  We didn’t put it in the book.

I think it’s time to move on down the road.  The roots are starting to grow under our feet.

We went to a dinner at a local large Church.  No the roof didn’t fall in but it did squeak a little.  I shouldn’t complain but it was long slow moving lines and cold turkey.  Plus the tables/chairs were very close and hard to move around.  They had the space to spread them apart but didn’t.  As many dinners as they serve you would think they would know how to make it easier for all.  I guess if one was a regular church goer this would be OK.  Is this what’s called acceptance? I call it just plain old poor service.  I won’t be going to anymore church dinners there.

See ya…..

Livingston’s Holiday

Every year Livingston has a holiday celebration the second Saturday in December.  They have a charity run, raffles, pony rides, vendors, and of course food.  Then at night they have a parade.  It’s all pretty nice with the small town atmosphere.  We got there a little early before they officially open.  The weather was warm and sunny most of the day.

We went to the parade but no pictures.  It was a time just to relax and watch the local floats go by.

See ya…….

Christmas Lights

I put up several thousand lights…what the……heck…

See ya.

Here Comes the Smoke

H.E.B grocery store at pork spareribs on sale for $1.98.  Since we were going to Walmart I took the ad and they matched it.  I also got a Ham so I could get one last use of the smoker.  Here I prepped the ribs which were two 4 pounders and a ham at 8 lbs.  Just a little “Professional Pappy's”, ginger, dill weed, heavy on the cloves (ham) and some apple juice that I spray on while they are smoking.  The Professional Pappy’s has different spices than regular Pappy’s.  Also I didn’t use as much because last time the ribs were on the salty side.  OK to go heavy on pork butt.  I used Mesquite smoke and lots of it.  I really like Mesquite because it puts a real heavy smoke flavor in the meat.  Too much for most people.

Their sizes were just right for the smoker.  Any bigger and I would have to go to Plan B.  I don’t know what Plan B is.

The ribs I will smoke for three hours.  Then take out, foil them up and a real heavy spray of apple juice and return to the smoker for two hours.  Then take out, remove foil, put BBQ sauce on them – I like a chipotle BBQ sauce.  Then return them to the smoker for one hour.  The temp has been set at 225 degrees.  This method is the 3 –2 –1……duh….easy name to remember for smoke heads.

The ham came already cooked from the store and I don’t care.  It’s been in the smoker the entire time with the ribs and underneath of them.  Don’t want to miss any of the droppings from the ribs.

Well everything turned out OK, not outstanding.  I got the ribs to fall off the bone but lacking that certain flavor.  I will continue to practice like a doctor’s practice.  Why do they call a doctor doing business a practice?  I think RV manufactures should call their building RV business  a practice.

Tomorrow they are calling for above 80 degrees.  This is December isn’t it?

See ya……………

Trolley Time

Lunch at the La Colonia Mexican Restaurant was fun as usual for the Thursday bunch.  Then it was time to decorate the Trolley for this Saturday’s Livingston Christmas Parade.

Today was lights only and we put lights on it for 2 1/2 hours.  That’s a lot of lights.  Saturday just before the parade we put the rest of the decorations on.  We have two generators for power.

See ya……..

RVers Tow Behind

How do I load our Jeep that we tow?  In the past we never have carried things in our tow car until now.  Some people carry a lot mostly due to convenience.  That would be like the portable sat dish and the bulky stuff usually.  When we had a fifth wheel our outside stuff would go in the bed of the truck.  It was a lot easier and the stuff didn’t have to be real clean.  Just throw and go with it.

This trip it well be containers going with us for the trip out west.  That will be in 3 weeks and 1 day but who’s counting?  Wayne Roberts gave me three containers because he was tired of storing them.  Thanks Wayne – I think.  Here’s two waiting for me to clean them up.   

Here’s the other one plus a large ice chest already in the Jeep.  The two will fit real nice on that white non skid material.  They are empty for the most part.  I will use or give them away while at North Ranch (Congress, AZ).  Carrying stuff is very temporary and a first for us.  We never carry anything extra in our tow vehicle. I think I said that.  Well, the little green man usually and he sets behind the steering wheel.  Another day about the story on him. He’s been kidnapped, hung, dressed up, adopted and so on.

We took the back seat out of the Jeep while at North Ranch back in the summer.  People didn’t like riding back there because it was so hard getting in and out.  Well, we took it out. 

Today I received a front mask for the Jeep.  I guess it’s not called a bra because it’s going on a rough and tuff Jeep.  It reminds me of a dog with droopy eyes. The two piece cover went on very easy.  I didn’t even have to read the instructions until I was done.  It was $83 delivered.  I got it for use in Alaska mainly.  I wanted to protect the radiator as much as I can.  I don’t have to worry about taking it off at every stop since the front is vented. 

We already have a cloth material shield between the RV and the Jeep.  This is just a little extra protection for $83 bucks.  I want to get something for the windshield but haven’t found anything yet.

Tomorrow it’s the La Colonia Mexican restaurant and dressing the trolley for a parade.

See ya…….

Full Timers RV Belly/Newmar Called

People have asked how I load the Beast.  OK here it goes for those who care.

This compartment (passenger side (PS)) has our chairs, freezer, grill, chairs, large folding tables and a container full of LP cylinders.  Behind this is another layer of stuff. 

On the opposite side of the RV are these two compartments.  They speak for themselves.

Then we have this compartment that has a full slide out tray.  It slides out on both sides.  There is one empty bin in there.

This is the other side of the the slide out tray.  It’s in  it’s travel mode here.   It has my sewer and electrical stuff in these three containers.

Back to the PS and this compartment.  The stuff in the one bin will be left in Congress, AZ.  There is one empty bin behind this one.

This is the other side and I keep my wood blocks in one container.  The container behind that is a portable satellite dish all apart for storage.

Back to the front side.  This is where the freezer normally goes and on a slide out tray.  I removed both.  Garden tools are in the back.  The air compressor is an extra one that I will leave in Congress.  The oil filled radiator heater will be used in Nevada later in next year.  It’s the safest thing to have with a high strung cat.  The sodas we purchased to get the pork butt at .88 lb.  Cokes were $6 for 24 and HEB brand wee $5 for 24.  Hey, why not!

The other side is our 30 something gallon LP tank.  We filled it once in January and then again just the other week.

 

The next compartment next to the LP tank is an electrical compartment.  We only carry an air hose in there.  I don’t put things near what could rub on major electrical components. 

Back to the other side (PS) near the rear.  Very narrow compartment due to all the tanks are behind the wall.  Safety triangles, Autoformer, battery cables, extra tow parts (bag), and picnic table top.  The 3 external water filters are carried here (on right) when not in use.   

On the opposite side we have the water compartment.  I do not carry sewer pipes in here.  I prefer to keep them away from our fresh water stuff.   

Back to the front side and the last compartment…yea….It’s the battery compartment.  Two chassis batteries (left) and 6 six volt batteries on a slide out try.  The lower right box is another electrical box and where I’m having/had an electrical problem.  It was due to water and or dust getting in there.  Newmar resealed the box but the problem it caused has never been fixed.  Thus the trip to Spartan yesterday. The black thing on the lower left is the cover for ALL the engine filters.  The other side of the RV is the side radiators.   

This is how we normally live and travel but as we all know it does change due to necessity of acquired new/used junk I mean stuff.

While I was taking these pictures Newmar called and left a message.  This is funny…. The 4th awning has been shipped and will arrive by close of business this Thursday.  Now ain’t that something after what I was told yesterday.  I called West RV and made an appointment for Monday afternoon.  Fourth time is a charm right?

Tomorrow…the packing of the Jeep.  Yepper.  We normally carry nothing in our tow car.  Times have changed..

See ya…

A Day At A Spartan Repair Shop

Well, we got up and got the Beast ready to drive the 70 miles to a Spartan Repair Shop 70 miles south in downtown Houston.  No problem along the way.  It did rain so the Beast lost it’s shine.  We arrived a little early of our scheduled 10:30 appointment and they took us right in.  I explained to them about the engine shutting down and should them exactly where the problem is which is an electrical box with a lot of wires.  They took the Beast into shop and out of sight.  That always makes me nervous – out of sight.

Now what do we do?   We did tow the Jeep there.  We went to Chili’s for lunch on the west side of town.  Houston does not hesitate to build overpasses and they have a lot of them.

Carol took this picture of a building with this thing on top.

Then we went to Camping world.  They didn’t have anything that we couldn’t live without including RVs for sale.  then we went to a nearby Newmar dealer in Kathy.  Nothing there.  Then on to Toy’s R Us.  There went a hundred bucks.  I tried to tell Carol that these weren’t my kinda of toys.  I guess the grand kids and and some needy local kids will get them.

We get back to Spartan about 3 PM.  We talked to the tech for about 15 minutes.  He explained they took the coach out for about a 50 mile test.  No luck.  They couldn’t make the engine shut down.  They got back to the shop and it quit on them.  They still couldn’t find out what the problem was.  They knew where but not why.  They cleaned out (with air) the 15 or so major electrical connectors.  If it persists they will need the coach for two days.  They will then take the electrical connectors apart one by one.  Each of the 15 connectors have about 12 wires going into each one of them.  Yes, that will take a lot of time.  They’re not sure if it would be under warranty until they find what is causing the problem and why.  They asked if I can start the coach everyday and see if everything is OK. No charge for today’s work because they couldn’t diagnosis the problem.   That’s real nice of them since they warned me it could coast $129 an hour with a minimum of 2 hours.  I would guess they spent about 2-3 hours on it.

The trip back was just before Houston’s rush hour and the return trip was pleasant and uneventful.   We got back about 5 PM which was time for a quick dinner.

Then it was time for me to get the pulled pork into vacuum bags and into the freezer.  Another 11 lbs of great pulled smoked pulled pork for a total of 25 lbs.  Plus another 2 lbs of extra hard core bark.

During the day I called Newmar to find out the status of our 4th awning.  Newmar said they were out of the fabric and would have to have A&E make it.  Earlier in this process around awning #2 I was told that they were blaming A&E for sending the wrong awning and that Nemar did not stock awnings.  Sounds like I’m getting lip service now.  They can’t get their lies straight.  I know the word lie is a strong word but that is what they are doing now.  Oh, I called them at this special direct number they gave me at the beginning of all this.  Well, today I tried to call them about 6 times and got a voice recording each time.  I called on Carol’s phone and got right through.  Hmmmm…… I will call them Friday and if I don’t get straight answers I will up it about two levels of management.  I’ve only used this once before and things rocked and rolled and lower echelon management at Newmar was calling me with updates daily.

This whole ordeal I feel is almost over and they are starting to drag their feet.  I’m not letting them lower my standard of acceptance due to their continued screw ups.  Nor should any of us RVers do that!

See ya……

Full Timer Pulls A Butt

Oh yea, another 3 done,  A lot of good bark too!  6 hours wrapped, in the cooler and they are ready to be pulled.  No problem they just fell apart and juicy.  It takes me an hour to pull and clean and into the frig.  Tomorrow I will put them in vacuum seal containers.  I’m all butted out for awhile.

I decided to go back to having the comment section for this blog but can’t figure out how to do it.  I thought I've gone to every click but evidently I missed the right one.  Someone will have to tell me like a fifth grader so I can follow the instructions on how to do it again.

The temperatures here in Livingston, TX have been outstanding.  I think one day I had to wear an overcoat.  Today I’m in shorts and and a t-shirt.  It was 81 degrees yesterday.  It’s 7 AM right now and 66.  This is nice.  It’s suppose to be in the low 80’s this week.  Who needs Florida?  Well, they do run around in skimpy bathing suits down there I’ve been told.  Here they run around in spandex with the Texas flag, cowboy hat and a gun strapped to their hips.  They talk funny too!  SMILE……….

The Beast’s belly is just about full…….

The inside is another story.  Half of our clothes are not back in, some dishes are missing too.  The frig is plum empty and turned off waiting for us to come back in.  All of our computers, printer, cameras/lens are all out.  This is a lot of stuff and now you can see why we don’t move in out every time it goes in for repair.  If we had to we would of course.  Full timers usually don’t get a choice.  For years we didn’t have this option but as time went on everything fell in place.  We were asked if we are getting ready to hang up the keys.  HELL NO!!!!!!  I think that was clear enough.  And to the question are we becoming half timers, HELL NO!!!!   I think you get the point.  The day will come but I think it will come out of necessity and not desire.

Tomorrow it’s off to Spartan chassis in Houston.

See ya.

Here We Go Again

Butts number 4, 5 & 6 for Chapter 44 in March.  That will be about 50 lbs of butt that I’ve smoked/cooked so far for them.  Tomorrow they will be done.  I will then take the pork out, pull it apart and then use vacuum bags and put in the portable freezer with the rest of it.

In October I smoked/cooked 20 lbs for myself which we still have most of it.  The pork is on sale till Wednesday.  I might get another 20 lbs for 2013.  I have to smoke/cook it now because I’m not taking the smoker with us for 2013.

We’ve been setting here since October and it’s long over do to get back in the Beast.  As most of you know we’ve been staying in my Mother’s mobile while the RV goes in and out of the repair shop.  We got tied of moving our stuff in and out for the repair shop.  We’ve been ready to get back into it since day one.  The mobile is ok but the RV is our home like most full time RVers.

See ya…….