Classic Winnebagos & Vintage RVs

Vacation has begun!!!   :)clap

We are going to take it easy this morning and plan on hitting the road by noon.  All I have to do besides feed the pups and whatnot is hook the Jeep to the tow bar and we'll be on the road to St Marys, GA to visit my sis and mom for a day.  The plan is to make it all the way down to the rest stop right before my sister's exit on I-95 and stay the night, then pull into my sister's driveway Sunday morning and visit and stay the night in her driveway.  Then its back on the road Monday morning!

Our next stop along the way west is Hammond, LA to visit our friends at the Louisiana Renfaire for a week or so, then we head west!  We have a sunny campsite reserved in Louisiana so we'll be boondocking it...so instead of paying 400 bucks to camp, it will only be a hundred or so.

We do have to stop at a Flying J on the way to St Marys for propane, since our tank is getting low.  It wouldn't be nearly as low, but about a month ago I left the grill on...on high...all night long and didn't notice it was on until around noon!  Yikes!  Sure did clean the grill though...lol!

So the great adventure begins, and all the hard work will now pay off in ease and comfort and convenience.

Sweet!

Kev

 :)ThmbUp

Hey Kevin,  Just to make you jealous I decided to post this picture.  I was out in the motorhome looking at my CWVRV calendar and happened to notice whose MH was featured this month.

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Oh that is funny :) Cruel, but funny. :)clap

LOL!!!  Tina has the old calender saved for me so I'll have one, and as soon as we are on the way to the Louisiana Renfaire I'm going to order the new calender, and the old one she has set aside...and some stickers!  Got the money all set aside in Paypal, just don't want it to sit in the mail room too long.

So far the trip is going well!  Started out with a little user error...didn't turn the key in the Jeep far enough to unlock the steering wheel, and was wondering why we were pulling to the right!  Went about 20 miles that way until I could find a rest stop...hope I didn't damage anything in the Jeep steering!  The wheels and steering wheel were nearly straight at least in the locked position, so hopefully no damage was done to my beloved classic YJ!

That effected the gas mileage, as well as high headwinds and big hills coming out of South Carolina, so the first leg of the journey we got 6.8 mpg.  Roads are flat now and the winds died down...and the Jeep isn't steering locked anymore,so mileage should improve from hereout.

We dilly dallied and didn't leave the faire parking lot until noon, then hit the road, stopped at the first rest stop and turned the Jeep key all the way...lol...then hit the first Flying J and pulled in for propane and fuel.  Propane was out of order, but the fuel wasn't, so we gased up.  Then back on the road, stopping at 3 rest stops to take the pups out and stretch our legs and eat.  No hurry...its vacation!

At the next Flying J we pulled in for propane and topped off the tank again and the propane, then I went in and bought ratcheting straps since all mine were packed...I kept worrying about our expensive bikes being held on to the Jeep by nothing but 3 lug nuts holding the spare tire on, and of course the hinges of the door and lock...we kept hitting bumps in the road and I kept wincing everytime we hit them, and watching the bikes bounce on the rack.  The solution was a doubled up ratchet strap all the way around the lower Jeep windshield, around the whole Jeep, and around the spare tire and ratcheted tight, then another around the spare tire and rack to keep it from bouncing off...just in case.  And one more around the long strap, through the bumperettes, and back over the long strap on the other side of the spare tire, to keep the long strap from any chance of working its way up the spare tire.  I feel much better now...lol!  I made sure the ratchets themselves weren't contacting the Jeep paint at all.  I'll snap a few pictures before we leave this Flying J.

All the dilly dallying ended up making the trip longer, and it got dark on us...and I discovered that although the signal light problem and volt meter problem were completely fixed, the headlights started to flash again on high beams...dangit!  I'll fix it in Louisiana, even if I have to add new additional ground wires to each headlamp.  Although I think its the plug that goes into the flasher.  We'll see.

We drove all the way down to exit 29 on I-95 and pulled into the Flying J for the night.  350 miles was more than enough for one day's travel on vacation!  Had dinner in Denny's then called it a night, watching a few episodes of House before falling asleep.  Had to park with the semi trucks, since the RV parking was FILLED with folks with Canadian plates escaping the cold north...lol!  A lot of them in the trucker parking as well, and along the edges of the parking lot.

Pretty cold this morning, so I fired up the furnace to take the chill out of the air and took the pups out, and am now enjoying my morning coffee.

The battery bank is performing awesomely, and we are reading at 12.4-5 this morning, and that was before the sun came out.  The inverter was on all night, but this time we remembered to set the timer on the TV so it shut off by itself when we fell asleep.

Full power is restored to the RV now that the in tank fuel pump is replaced, no problem with the hills, and I had to keep backing off the gas pedal since I kept creeping up towards 65mph instead of my usual 55.  At 55, the tach reads right around 2700 rpm.  No problem with fuel deliver either...we went down below a half tank before our first gas stop and all was fine.

Still sweeping the highway though...really regretting not having the tag axle adjusted before we left.  I might tackle it in Louisiana, or take it to an RV repair shop there or even in St Marys on Monday...we'll see.  Makes the front steering a bit wonky with the RV weight tilted so much to the rear, even though I loaded everything evenly.  Raising it the 3 inches would completely level the rig.

Going to gas up soon, then hit the road...less than 30 miles to go until we reach my sis's driveway!

Kev

Enjoy the vacation Kev! I always enjoy reading your posts.

My parents just headed south for Florida today. They get scared when the temp drops below 40 anymore.  :D 

Your are my inspiration for when I get the Winnie done. I want to take a few long trips down south and also out west with it.  :)clap

Thanks Wantawinnie!

Although our trip is delayed a bit here in my sister's driveway.  Carburetor issues now that the fuel delivery system is back up to snuff.  Tried everything within my power and skillset to get the Rochester Quadrajet working correctly, but they are so complicated and I just can't dial it in.  I'm SO done with overly complex Quadrajets.  Got a new Edlebrock for it and all the adaptors.

Staying two more days...installing an Edlebrock 1141 tomorrow, then raising the rear tag axle 3 inches to level the rig...THEN we'll hit the road again.

Kev

Off to O'Reilly's to get the last couple of parts for the Edlebrock install, then back to install it and get the RV started and the carb dialed in, then to work on raising the rear tag axle.  Hoping to get all that done today, finish up everything else tomorrow, then hit the road again on Thursday to Louisiana. 

I'll probably pick up the 14.00 inline fuel pressure gauge at Auto Zone this afternoon so I won't have any surprises down the road, since my fuel line will already be converted to the push on kind, and get high fuel pressure out of the equation...and its a good thing to have in the tool box!

So now its breakfast time for the pups, throw on my work clothes, and get going!

Kev

Whatcha gonna do with the old quadrajet?  Hm?

Same thing he did with his old water heater...  :laugh:

Probably going to put the old Quadrajet on eBay...after I run the Edelbrock for a while to make sure its ideal for our needs, although I have a feeling its going to be just fine!

Here's a picture of the new Edelbrock 1411 installed!  Sure is pretty and shiny!

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I'll have more pics and details of the install on the Chevy chassis section, but there's a pic for all you pic loving folks...lol!  By the way, my internet connection sucks here, even though it shouldn't since we have Verizon and a strong signal.  My guess is that it so populated here the tower is overloaded with people using it.  Anyhow, it took me over 3 hours last night just to get 40 pics to upload to Photobucket, and then I gave up.  I have over 180 of them left to upload...yikes!

Long story short on the Edelbrock install...once installed, without adjusting anything, I started the engine...and it roared to life.  High speed idle was a bit too high...2K rpm, so I lowered it to 1200, a simple adjustment of a screw behind the throttle linkage.  Once it warmed up and the choke kicked off, it was already idling perfectly right out of the box at 700 rpm.  Throttle response was smooth and even through the whole power band up to 3000 rpm, extremely responsive...its the best this engine has ever run, right out of the box!  We'll see how well it performs on the road, but so far in the driveway its perfect...don't have to mess with the idle mixture screws at all since at idle its perfect!

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Had to put the sticker on the back of the rig!

Speaking of pictures, here's a few more!

Here's the front of The Nautilus and the new name sticker above the windshield!

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This is our new name sign on the side of the RV right next to the RV entry door.

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Here's a teaser pic of the solar panels:

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Here's the Nature's Head composting toilet installed:

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This is Patti's Washer/Dryer and the cabinet I built for it:

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Here's the Wave 8 heater installed:

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Here's our big flatscreen TV on the bedroom wall with some shelves I built:

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In the words of Jane from Firefly, this is my Favorite gun!

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And of course, one picture of my "new" 1992 Fat Chance Wicked mountain bike!

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Hope you enjoy the pics!  There will be a lot more coming once I load them up...and if you want to see the rest of the 40 pics just go to my Photobucket, Clydesdalekevin as the user name, in the Projects 2012 album.

Kev

Oh yeah, today is raise the rear tag axle day, so wish me luck!

Kev

Cool pixs!  Where your TV is in the bedroom is where I have a huge mirror that is glued to the wall.  When I get up in the morning it scares me to death. LOL.  Good Luck with the rear end.  Hope it goes well.

Welp, adjusting the rear tag axle was a bust.  With every block I own, I couldn't get the rear end high enough from the frame to raise the rear wheels!  Guess its going to go to a shop eventually.  I'm going to try to wait until after May when we will be passing through Elkhart, Indiana, and we'll have Mor-Ryde do the service themselves...and replace a couple rubber bushings while they are at it.

So I decided to work on the headlight flashing mystery instead.  All day long, I disassembled every ground I could find, cleaned them, and reinstalled them with dielectric grease.  Found something pretty neat in my front nose compartment too!  A light that works...and a PA speaker!  Its not hooked up right now, but there is a PA button on the CB, so I might hook it up at some point...lol!  "Get out of the way loser!"...lmao!

Anyhow, I did find a bad ground in the front signal fixture...if you wiggled it, the bulb would go out as would the LED Grand Am marker on that side and the middle LED marker.  I bought a new headlight switch in case the old one was defective when I bought it, and found the right and new headlight relay.  I even added a new heavy ground wire to headlight switch body itself, and another to the common grounds on the back of the speedo, and grounded those right to the chassis.

Fired up the engine...purring like a lion!...and turned on the lights.  Signals work perfectly with no bob of the dash needle and very little voltage drop.  Headlights worked on high and low beam.  For a little while.  After running for about 10 minutes, the high beams started flashing again, dagnabit!

What the heck else could it be?  I checked the connections at each bulb as well, and they were fine and tight!  All connections are fine and tight...this is getting aggravating!

Tomorrow I have to fix a minor water leak under the bathroom sink...bought a faucet wrench for the job since its hard to get them tight enough with my fingers and very little room.

Then I guess I'll have to figure out what is going on with the headlights again!  I'll try to trace the wires from the switch to the bulbs if possible, and see where the break is, or the crossed wire, or the loose wire, or what.

All bloody day until well into dark, and the only thing I did was rule out things and make a few better grounds, but didn't FIX the problem...grrrrrr!!!

So at my sis's request, we are actually going to stay through Saturday, her day off, and then leave bright and early first thing Sunday morning.  No point in showing up in Louisiana on the weekend anyway, since the faire is going on and we wouldn't be able to get into the campground, so Sunday it is, and we'll arrive in Louisiana on Tuesday-ish.

That'll give me some more time to work on the electrical, find the water leak, and maybe even plumb in the additional freshwater tank and whatnot, then hang out with my sis and wifey on Saturday and do something fun, then hit the road.

Yep...that sounds like a good plan.  Get the rest of my projects completely done here, then not have to do them when we get to Louisiana.

Okay...off to try to get a few more pics to upload to Photobucket.

Kev

I decided to install and plumb in the additional freshwater tank today, which gets rid of the last major project before heading to Louisiana.  Patti and my sis will be going shopping, so I'll be able to get under the bed and whatnot without making her sit in the kitchen...lol!

If I finish that, which shouldn't be a problem with an Ace Hardware right down the road, I'll attack the water leak under the bathroom sink, and then back to the electrical troubleshooting.  I have today and tomorrow for projects, then on Saturday we are hanging with my sis and doing something fun, then hitting the road on Sunday.

Kev

I did a whole lot of nothing today!  I got up early and got the parts for the water tank install...then decided to go shopping with my wife and sis so I could hang out with them.  We went to a Khol's or however you spell that, since they were having big sales, and my sis has a card for an additional 25% off, even for sale items, so we got some good deals.  Patti didn't like any of the clothes there...she's a Steinmart kinda girl...but she bought lots of candy, including Godiva chocolate!  I got a 130.00 Casio G-Shock watch, since my not so old Swiss Army watch died...first 3 watch bands and then the battery...for 50 bucks!  And its solar powered (recharges the battery in the light) AND has a radio receiver built in to self adjust to the atomic clock!  No one can ever argue with me again about what the real time is...lmao!  I wonder if it will self adjust across the time zones as we head west?

Also got a nice pair of real leather shearling slippers for 16 bucks.  I hate the slippers I have now, with their hard flappy soles.

We got home just in time to take the pups for their long afternoon walk...it started to get dark just as we got back to the RV. 

Tomorrow its back to work on the RV...gonna get the new freshwater tank plumbed in, the leaks fixed under the sink, go to the O'Reily's and pick up the Edelbrock air cleaner spacer I ordered since I really don't trust the cheapo plastic one I put in for now, and some other little projects.  Saturday its a relaxing day with my wife and sis hitting thrift stores and antique stores just for fun, then we get back on the road, headed for Louisiana, Sunday morning.

Kev

About to go down to O'Reilly's and pick up the Edelbrock air cleaner spacer I ordered...I don't trust the crappy plastic made in China Mr. Gasket spacer I used, so the Edelbrock should work out a lot better.

Also have to run down to Lowes for the filler hose for the water tank project, since they didn't have hose big enough at Ace Hardware, plus some banding strap, since they were all out at Ace.

Then its back to the rig, install the spacer and call that project done, then install the new freshwater tank.  Then finally, tighten the water connectors under the bathroom sink with the faucet wrench, and fix the leak.

Tomorrow its just a fun day hanging out with my sis, going to antique stores and thrift stores and whatnot, and then hitting the road to Louisiana on Sunday morning.

If I have time I'll try to troubleshoot the headlight switch again, but if not, I'll just keep plugging away at it on our trip west.

Kev

So I get to O'Reilly's, and my spacer is in...and its a cheapo thin black plastic ring just like the cheapo thin black plastic Mr. Gasket one, so I passed on it.  I'll just use the Mr. Gasket, since its the same and I already own it. 

So that project is done.

Next it was time to finish the freshwater project for desert boondocking. 

I drove down to Ace for a few more fittings and male hose adapters for the Shurflo water transfer pump, tried a boat store and a trailer store for 1 1/4 ID vinyl hose for the water inlet but no luck, then finally found what I was looking for at Lowes and bought 2 feet of it.

Back to the RV and the project began in earnest.

From inside the compartment, I figured out where I wanted the water inlets to enter the compartment, and since I already measured and knew they would come up from somewhere under the bed, I drilled the two holes from below. 

I got lucky, and they came up at just the right spot for the length of the tank.

I decided to mount the tank on the driver's side, front to back, under the bed.  It will usually be empty, so I put it on the heavy side of the rig...short trips full of water won't matter.

I got really lucky with the water fill spout location on the tank as well...careful measurements and a hole saw later, and the filler is now located to the left upper corner of the lower fiberglass rear shell of the rig...right next to the upper left corner of the spare tire cover.  Its a direct slightly downward shot now to the water tank from the gravity filler...SWEET!

So once it was all lined up, I installed the outside gravity filler with 4 stainless screws, putty tape, and a bead of silicone.  I preattached the filler hose first, as well as the vent hose and hose clamps and fed them through the hole into the underbed compartment.  Lines up perfectly!

Then I connected the tank via a barb fitting and hose clamps, then band strapped it down.  Where the band strap came over the tank corners, I used the remainder of the vinyl hose, split down the middle, as cushions to keep the thin straps from wearing at and cutting into the polyethelyne tank.

The tank has 4 threaded 1/2 inch holes at its base.  The two under the filler neck I plugged with plugs and teflon tape.  I plugged these before banding the tank in place.

The two rears are for the water system itself.  One feeds down into the sewer compartment, hits an L fitting, then comes out a bit, hits another L fitting, then shoots down to a valve, then out to under the coach as a drain for when we want to drain the tank.  I used all CPVC fittings for this water routing since it was way cheaper, and its pretty durable stuff.

The other line comes down to an L, then comes out quite a bit further, hits another L, then down to a valve, another L, and terminates at the last CPVC glue in fitting, threaded with 1/2 inch pipe threads on the other side.  Everything up to this point was all CPVC glue type fittings.  Now, how to tie it into the PEX water system?  Flair-It fittings to the rescue!  A Flair-It with a half inch female side threaded onto the CPVC fitting, then a short piece of pex pipe, then that to a Flair-It T-fitting, which enters the pipe that goes to the new water pump.  Below that I added a Flair-It water shut off valve, in case I want to isolate one tank from another.  So the new freshwater tank is installed, plumbed in completely, and I zip tied the heck out of everything to keep it from moving much on the road.

Next it was time to add the male hose fittings to the old Shurflo water pump, to be used as a water transfer pump.  Easily done with short brass adapters, male hose threads on one side, and female 1/2" on the other, which threaded right onto the 1/2" 90s that are on the pump.  Quick and easy, and yellow plastic caps for each one, one marked IN and one marked OUT with Sharpee ink.

Okay, last part of the project.  I sacrificed a short drinking water hose we have on board, still in good shape.  Had to make the short hoses that will connect the pump to the city water inlet on the original freshwater tank, and another that will go into a jug so we can fill from jugs.  Decided to put a male adapter on the later hose after all, just so I could screw it together to keep it sealed when not in use.

Got that done, and THIS time decided to test the water transfer system, instead of getting out to the desert and finding out the cheapo Northern Tool pump barely worked!

A big pot of water, the inlet hose dipped into it, the outlet hose over it, and I hit the switch.  It worked!  The Shurflo self primed immediately and started pumping the water...SWEET!  So I added some bleach to the water to purify the hoses for storage, and ran the pump a while, then changed the water to clean water, ran it again, then one more time, then the hoses were removed, the fittings attached to each other to form two small sealed loops, and I stowed them away.  All cleaned, sanitized, and sealed for when we get out to the desert.

I'm still hanging on to the Northern Tool pump, which works fine as long as its below the water level being fed into it, and above or level to where its being fed too.  Might come in handy to transfer grey water sometime.

So that project was finally completely done, and it was time to put all the tools away, clean up the house from emptying the under bed compartment, and get everything squared away for the night.

And before I could do that, I decided to fix the leak under the bathroom sink.  Turns out it was the hot water hose going to the faucet, which I couldn't tighten with my fingers any more.  The new faucet wrench snugged it right down and the leak is gone.  SWEET!

I'll take pics of the project when I can, and add a new topic to the Projects board.  Did I mention how bad my internet works here in my sister's driveway?  Grrrrrrr....

It was past dark by the time I finished. 

I finished just in time to have dinner with my wifey and sis and her kids...pork loin and salad...YUM!

Tomorrow its some minor packdown early in the morning, and then add another lug nut to the spare tire on the Jeep, since one out of 3 is missing, but I have the lug nut...its carrying the weight of the bikes, so I don't want to trust just 2 of them...The bikes are light, but heavy enough to bounce on the carrier over big bumps, and there are a lot of big bumps on I-10!

I'm going to get all that done very early, so we can go with my sis the rest of the day to explore some antique stores and thrift stores for the day.

Sunday its back on the road!

I'll figure out the headlight problem later.  I think I have a steering wheel puller, so I'll probably replace the signal light/dimmer switch in Louisiana.  If that doesn't fix it, I don't know what to do!

Kev

Here are two pics of the the dual water pumps before plumbing in the the new tank, just to give you a reference for the confusing post...lol!  Plus a pic of my modified tank label.

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And that's it for now!  More pics to come, and some of the same pics will be reused in future project posts.

Kev

So today its a relaxing day!  Going to some antique stores and thrift stores with my sis and Patti, and that's all we're doing today. 

While the girls are getting ready I'll pack away all my tools...after I add the missing lug nut to the spare tire carrier on the Jeep.  That way we'll be ready to hook up and hit the road to Louisiana first thing tomorrow morning.

Kev

Safe travels...   :)ThmbUp

Having coffee with my sis, and about to hit the road!  Thanks for the well wishes, Don!

Lets hope the Edelbrock runs as well as I think it will!

Only thing to do this morning is hook up the Jeep and go...full tank of gas, check.  Road coffee, check.  Cigs, check.  We should be able to make it all the way to the Gulfport Flying J by tonight.

Off we go!

Kev

Best of luck !  What did you do with the old QJ carb ? Frank

Still hanging on to it, Frank.  Wanted to make sure the Edelbrock was performing as expected before putting it on eBay.

Kev

So far so good!  Well over 300 miles today...at a rest stop in Alabama, just over the line from Pensacola, FL. 

No mechanicals at all, although there seems to be a slight binding in my throttle linkage, right before the secondaries open.  Not a flat spot, just the pedal hits a bottom out point, and you have to push through it before the secondaries open up.  Is that an Edelbrock thing, since they use a purely mechanical secondary linkage system?  I'm going to check the throttle cable in the morning when the engine is cold and make sure its not binding up in its new position.  If necessary, I can widen the loop of the cable housing.

Other than that, no complaints so far about the Edelbrock!  LOTS of smooth hill climbing power.  On most of the hills going west on I-10 across the Florida panhandle, I didn't even need to push hard enough on the pedal to open the secondaries to maintain 55 mph.  On the few that I did, you could feel the rush of power...and hear it...when the secondaries opened up and the RV surged forward!

There hasn't been a hill so far the RV hasn't been able to climb at at least 55mph...but then, we were in Florida...lol!  I-10 across the panhandle is hillier than you would expect though...no very long grades, but definite hills.  It was a good road test.

Estimated gas economy so far is 6.5 mpg, but that includes the city driving out of St. Marys, GA.  I'll have a better estimate at our next fill up in Gulfport.

Anything over 6 is acceptable to me, as long as it pulls the hills at 55!

I'd prefer 8, but we'll see what the flatter lands bring.  The old RQJ pulled as high as 8+ in the flats when it was still running well, so we'll see what the Edelbrock does.

I'm taking careful notes of MPG, highway vs. city, secondary opening speeds, etc.  Then if I DO have to monkey around with idle mixture settings...a no brainer on the Edelbrock...for better low speed acceleration economy, or if I have to change out jets and metering rods and springs for better high end power balanced with economy, I'll have a better knowledge base based on road tests to work from.

I do know, and it doesn't make sense to me really, that my RPMs have seemed to drop a bit at 55mph compared to when the RQJ was in place.  I was taching at just under 3K at 55 with the RQJ.  With the Edelbrock, I'm pulling the same speeds with way more power, and the tach is reading just under 2.8K.  I would have thought that engine speed would remain constant for a given road speed...am I just imagining things?

One last thing I'm going to check tomorrow while the engine is cold is the distributor advance vacuum line.  Its supposed to be on "timed" or ported vacuum.  Not sure if it is, or if it was accidently hooked up to full time vacuum by either a previous owner or the shop that rebuild the RQJ.  All seems well, but I want to check it.  Only one vacuum line is currently plugged into the ported vacuum on the Edelbrock, and its not a straight shot to the distributor...gonna trace it and make sure its getting there.

Really hoping we don't get hassled by the security here at the Alabama rest area.  They have a sign posted that says no overnight parking...the parking lot is empty except for us, one other camper, and a semi truck...but what does that mean?  Over night?  Is there an hourly limit?  If the lot isn't crowded, will they bug us and tell us to move on?  What if someone only drives at night and sleeps all day in the rest stop?  Its ambiguous, and even the Alabama DOT website doesn't explain what they mean by "no overnight parking".  I hope night time security isn't a Barney Fife type!  I need to get some rest!  Its been a long day of driving, and too far to the next Flying J for tonight!

Kev

Oh yeah.  Electrical road test notes.  No problems with the signals or voltage meter or fans at all anymore.  Everything stays constant, and the reading on the in dash meter is consistent with the digital meter I put in next to the dinette. 

It was dark when we got to Alabama, but I didn't even bother using the high beams.  Low beams all the way, and all was well.

In Louisiana I'm going to replace the signal/dimmer switch on the column and see if that was it.  Also have to fix the leak AGAIN under the bathroom sink.  Tightening it didn't do it, so I might have to replace the whole fitting going to the hot water inlet of the faucet with a Flair-It.  Will also probably tinker a bit with the carburetor idle mixture settings, very easy to do, just to make sure my low speed economy is as good as its gonna get.

Tomorrow morning I check the linkage for binding, the fluids and air pressures, and I'll make sure the distributor advance is tied into the timed vacuum port.

Then its back on the road to Louisiana!

Kev

Coffee is kicking in!  No hassles from the rest area, so we had a good night's sleep.

About to perform my carburetor linkage check and make sure the vacuum line is routed correctly to the vacuum advance on the distributor, check my tires and oil, and hit the road!

Dang coffee out of a vintage Corningware perk pot is good!

Kev

well, technically, you are camping now and I find that coffee always tastes good when you are camping.  Safe travels.

Thanks!

We reached our second destination, Hammond, Louisiana, to hang out with friends we only see once a year.

We'll be here until next Wednesday, then its the next leg of the journey to San Antonio, TX again, where THIS time we'll be doing the River Walk!

The next stop after that is Carlsbad Caverns, which we couldn't see last year since the roads were iced in.

Then its down to Tombstone!  Woohoo!

After New Years, which we want to spend at the Crystal Palace again, we'll be heading back to BLM lands and national forests for some very peaceful boondocking!

Gas mileage on the way here averaged out to 6 mpg.  Not impressive, but not horrid either.  While we are here I'm going to simplify the vacuum line routing and eliminate things we don't need...and modify my stock air cleaner for better airflow.  I really hate that plastic spacer.  It barely seals.  If I can't modify this enough to my liking, I might buy a different air cleaner setup, snorkeled of course...hopefully one that doesn't need a spacer!

Kev

Had a great time hanging with friends last night.  We might go to New Orleans today on a ghost tour...depends on how Patti feels after her coffee.  Her arthritis is acting up a lot lately with the climate and humidity changes. 

Gotta look up the address to the cafe we are all meeting at at noon, in case we do decide to go, so I'm off, after posting another project.

Kev

We had a great time in New Orleans yesterday...fun tour with friends, and then some gumbo and New Orleans seafood.  Then back home to the RV.

Rain held off until we actually left, which was good.  Still raining this morning.  Going to go to the RV store and the hardware store today and get some Flair-It fittings for the leak under the bathroom sink...fix it...then plan out my attack on the vacuum line routing and whatnot in the engine compartment.  After that I'll see if I still have a steering wheel puller in my toolbox, and if I do I'll pull the steering wheel and the headlight dimmer/signal switch and bring it with me to an auto parts store and try to match it up to a new one.

Might as well try to get these mundane projects done while its raining.

Also gotta pick up some food for the pups.

Since I'm going to stop at the RV store, I'm going to remove and bring with me one of the compartment locks and see if they can match it up to the right size in conventional keyed locks...mine are all wearing out and they are getting harder and harder to open.  They are the round refrigerator key style right now and the lands are so worn out that even with a new key I have to use vice grips on the key on several of the locks just to be able to push it in hard enough to lock and unlock the compartments.  Gonna see if I can get the right size in conventional keys, all keyed the same.

But its coffee first, then off I go!

Kev

Went to the RV parts store first thing, and discovered that Southco lock barrels are WAY bigger than conventional ones, with threaded rod coming out of them...no dice.  There won't be a cheap and easy way to replace them, dangit!  I'll have to go through the Southco distributor in Bunnell, Florida, called Angry Fish, to get replacements.  And they aren't cheap!  10 locks at about 30 plus bucks a piece.  This is DEFINITELY waiting until our season starts back up, so for now its vice grips on the sticky ones and hope they hold out.

I got to the RV parts place just as their delivery truck was arriving...which was a good thing, since the Flair-It fittings I needed were on the truck.  Once offloaded, I got the fittings and some Flair-It shut off valves, and then came home and installed them.  Not much room to work under the bathroom sink!  But I got the job done and there are no leaks at all now.  And there are shut off valves now!  Turns out, and I don't know how I missed this when I installed the new sink and faucet, that the rubber cone washers were missing completely out of the original faucet connector fittings!  The PO had filled the gap with plumbers putty.  No wonder it was leaking!  No leaks now!  I have a ceramic heater running in the cabinet and the roof vent in the bathroom open and with the fan on...gotta dry it all out now!

Once the leak was done, it was time to remove the steering wheel and replace the dimmer switch.  First one trip down to Advanced Auto for a harmonic balance pulley puller, since someone helped themselves to mine out of my tool box, and that pulled the wheel no problem. 

Not going to get into it much on this post, but turns out the dimmer switch is built into the signal lever itself, not the switch, and the assembly is not longer available...I'll have to get creative with rewiring to get the switch out of the equation, which I'll definitely do before we leave here.

Took all day just to get what I got done done, so I'll play with the air cleaner and vacuum lines tomorrow.

Kev

Going to try to run a new hot wire up to the signal light lever with its built in dimmer switch and get the cruise control circuit out of the equation for my high beam malfunction.  If that doesn't work then that means its the tiny little dimmer switch itself, a part that can't be had from anywhere but a junkyard.  If it still doesn't work, then when we get to San Antonio I'll get a floor dimmer switch and run it directly to the relay and see if that works.  If THAT doesn't work, I'm at a dead end, since everything else is new!  Oi vey!

Running the wire won't take me very long, so after that Patti and I are going to go do something fun...maybe thrift stores and antique stores in downtown Hammond.

Kev

I took the lock tumbler out of this(nut on the back, after you remove the lock bar) and i took it up to a lock smith. because i didn't have any keys, well the guy told me they were frooze up and even if he made a key they wouldn't work. he told me to go online and order some new, so call the MFG and they sent me what they had and they weren't right so I sent them back.
I then went to a lock smith(doug) that i had done dealings with on other things(reason i didn't before was cuzz he was 45 mns each way). i walked in the door, told doug what the story was. he told me they were froze up but that just keep sprying the locks with pb blaster the they will free up. he made me a key, and then kept spraying the one with PB blaster and sure as $hit it worked like a champ
went home and for 2 days i would twice a day spray/fill the locks with PB blaster, and on the 3rd day they all turned like new locks. still working 6 months later.
(https://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi38.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fe103%2Fchicknnhead%2FProjects%2Fdd536559.jpg&hash=7f62417f727fc8175c428102e2a373e398fb7b5b)

not sure it's the same issue as your locks but worth a short

Thanks Chicknnhead.  Unfortunately, they are what Southco calls High Security locks...with round key holes like old fashioned refrigerator door locks.  The keys are round barrels with teeth notched out of them.  I got two new keys from Southco a while ago, since the old key was all worn down and that did the trick for a while, but the real problem is the lands inside the locks where the teeth are supposed to engage it.  They are worn down to almost nothing on some of the compartments, which makes them very hard to open, and its only going to get worse.

The other problem is how deep the key locks have to be.  They are extra long, with threaded rod coming out of the end, to which the little latch is bolted on.  They have to be that deep to engage the lip inside the compartment because of how it was designed. 

The diameter of the barrel is way bigger as well than a conventional key lock...I suppose I could use a washer to take up the slack on both sides, but even the longest compartment lock at the RV store was way too short...dangit!

Once our faire season starts again in February I'll go ahead and bite the bullet and get all new locks from Southco/Ugly Fish.  Hopefully they have some conventional key type locks to replace them with...or else I'll be stuck with the fridge style again.  Well, I guess that would be okay.  They have lasted 24 years and are only now just wearing out...That would make me 68 years old before they wore out again....lol!

Kev

Taking the next 3 days completely off from RV projects and spending time and having fun with my baby Patti and the pups.

Today is probably going to be thrift stores and antique stores and whatnot...lots of them in Hammond...and then tomorrow we are going to the Louisiana Flea Market, which is supposed to be a big one and not filled with imported chinese crap.

Sunday we'll make an appearance at the faire since its closing day, although we ain't dressin' up!  We're on vacation dangit...lol!

Monday I'll do some more work on the RV, like modify the stock air cleaner and put in a K&N air cleaner after knocking out the clogged carbon after filter.  I'm still thinking about going ahead and getting an Edelbrock air cleaner and valve cover breather....but whatever I do I'm definitely going to go ahead and get the breather and disconnect the hose from the air cleaner housing...I'm tired of oil getting all over my new air filters.

Tuesday I'll take one last stab at the headlight malfunction...maybe there is an inline breaker going from the headlight relay to its power source...I'm grasping at straws now since I've pretty much eliminated everything I could so far from the equation...its giving me a headache...lol!

And Wednesday we hit the road to San Antonio!  A very slow meandering trip is on our agenda, stopping to see all the touristy stuff...yay!!!

Kev

Hi Kev. Hope yer having a good time on vacation.  if you are getting a lot of oil from valve cover breather hose there is a problem . The oil drain holes from the rocker area back to the pan partially blocked. This is the best possibility , As others are more serious, bad fuel pump diaphram causing fuel to get into lubrication syestem (should be able to smell fuel on dip stick )  Any other reason is worn rings / broken rings causing compression to get into oil pan A leak down test is easiest check A compression check will not detect bad oil rings .Consists of compressed air thru plug hole and see where it goes , Coming out of filler pipe is rings thru carb is intake valves out of exaust is exaust valves . Need to remove innerds from a spark plug ans weld a air fitting into hole in plug  , install plug into cly apply air to ck drains you have to remove valve covers These type of checks and repairs are best done at home base .... Frank

Thanks Frank!  Its not a lot of oil, just a light misting that barely coats the part of the filter directly in front of the breather filter, and fouls the breather filter between oil changes...I change the air filter at every oil change, and have taken to changing out the breather filter at every oil change as well.  Its certainly an annoyance! 

I hope its not a major problem involving an engine rebuild!  Yikes!

If it gets worse, I could pull the valve covers and clean out the drain holes, which wouldn't be too involved.  I'll smell the oil on the dipstick tomorrow...I happen to have a brand new mechanical fuel pump on board that I haven't installed yet, so if I smell fuel on the dipstick, I'll put the new pump in and change the oil again.

If its a major issue like rings, then that will have to wait for February when we are at home base in Arizona.  Then I'd have remove the heads...oi vey!  Never did that on a big block before!  (The only engines I have ever rebuilt were old VW bug engines).  If that's the case, then hopefully all will be well enough until we get there!

Kev

Patti and I had a great time at the antique stores yesterday.  Went to small town near Hammond called Ponchatoula, and it was LOADED with antique stores!  One of them even had a pet alligator in a huge outdoor cage with his own pond...lol!  They have a pretty neat steam locomotive in the middle of the town as well that they are in the process of restoring...right now its all decorated for Christmas.

Then we came home and played with the pups and fed them dinner, and then went over to our friend's RV for dinner, and good times were had by all.

Today we are going to go to the local I-12 flea market, and then back to Ponchatoula since Patti saw something she wants to go back for, and then we'll head back to Hammond and explore those thrift stores and antique markets.

Tomorrow we'll put in an appearance at the Faire since it the last day of the faire, and say hi to old friends we haven't seen in a good long while.

Monday and Tuesday I'll tie up the last of the RV projects before we hit the road west.

So far we are having a great vacation!

Kev

Opps! I thought you were talking about puddles of oil in the air cleaner. The slight misting is pretty much normal for a engine with 50K + miles . You are probably changing the air filter too often . The best way to check for replacement is with a extension light. With the filter cartrige in your hand hold the light up to the inside if you can see full light thru at least1/2 of filter its still good to go . Remember you only need a little more than the sq in of carb ttl bore size for full air if you look at the sq in of the original intake smallest opening that is all the air that is needed I use an edelbrock fully open air cleaner but i love the intake noise along with the duel small mufflers . I can keep all the noise in check with light throttle opening if necc.  Frank

Good to know, Frank!  I like the muscle car sound as well.  The previous owner put Banks headers on this thing with some very throaty mufflers...not the full kit, it still retains the factory manifolds with AIR inputs...and it can be loud when I open it up.  But just like on my old Harley with straight pipes, if I'm easy on the throttle I can quietly go through neighborhoods without shattering windowpanes or alerting the police...lol!

Its not a lot of oil, but I don't like it.  Just a misting on the side of the filter.  I ordered from Summit an Edelbrock air cleaner, an Edelbrock breather, and an EGR block off plate.  The EGR block off plate wasn't easy to find though!  Not a single EGR block off plate is listed for the 454!  Not on Jeggs either!  I contacted tech support at both companies.  Jeggs had no idea why they didn't have one for a 454.  Summit wrote me back, saying the block off plate on Generation 1 305s and 350s was the same as for the 454.  I'm gonna trust them on this one...lol!  This is the link to the EGR block off plate that fits a big block 454:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/rfw-eb4/overview/make/chevrolet (http://www.summitracing.com/parts/rfw-eb4/overview/make/chevrolet) 

Prices at Summit were so cheap compared to the local auto parts stores that even ordering them overnight it ended up being cheaper...considerably!  Since they won't ship out until Monday morning, I'll have the parts sometime Tuesday.  Not a big job, so no matter when they get here on Tuesday we'll still be able to pull out of here on Wednesday...hopefully with better fuel economy and power!

I'll keep an eye on the crankcase breather for too much oil seepage...you've got me all worried now, Frank!...lol!

That means that Monday I'll get the necessary relays for my headlight system upgrade, and wire it all in then.  Looking forward to a trouble free and very bright and versatile 3 mode headlamp system!  Already using the brightest bulbs I could find, just not getting enough voltage to the lamps, and the power drop is causing the breaker in the switch to flicker the lights.

On a non mechanical and fun vacation note:

Patti and I went to a flea market...a very small and lame flea market...but it was still fun and Patti scored a nice looking pair of sunglasses she liked for 5 bucks.

Then she had me drive her back to Ponchatoula to the Tourquois Coyote, a bead and gemstone shop, because she found two perfect stones she wanted to add to a costume piece she wears with her fancy court garb at Faire, and didn't buy them yesterday...she really wanted them, so we drove back.

Next we went back into downtown Hammond, and had coffee at a local coffee shop, then walked around the town.  MAN little towns in Louisiana have a lot of bars!  I've never seen so many bars in towns before in other states...and I mean busy, lively, open bars!  They drink a LOT down here...lol!

We drove to some thrift stores and antiques stores and walked around, and then went to a consignment store that specializes in buying whole estates...some very hoity toity estates from the quality of their wares and antiques...and were in awe at some of the prices for some of the very nice antique furniture.  Yep, expensive, like a big heavily carved Baroque sideboard that I know would fetch 20K in New England, but only 2K down in Hammond, LA.  Someone could make a fulltime RV living traveling the byways we do...as long as they had a trailer behind their RV...picking up exquisite antiques in the poorer regions of the south, like Hammond, LA and Shelbyville, KY, and then bringing them up to the Northeast and either selling them to antique dealers directly, or setting up auctions!  And by Northeast I mean Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and of course New York, especially the metropolitan area.  Think about it any of you thinking about fulltiming it some day!

The last place we stopped into had the most awesome old car I've ever seen, in pristine and unrestored condition, just sitting there in the middle of the store.  I wasn't for sale, but wow!  As a Jeep fan, I've never seen one in person!  There just aren't too many of them out there!

It was a 67 Jeepster Commando, just like this one, and in the same color and flawless condition...but all original and unrestored!  I couldn't help but DROOL!

(https://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F1-photos.ebizautos.com%2Fused-1967-jeep-jeepster_commando-continental-5973-3100853-1-640.jpg&hash=4070c55cd93fa47d61a385f36eea3a4df6a88a9c)

AWESOME!

Patti wasn't as enthused....lol!

So anyhow, we stopped at the market on the way home, got home, and played fetch with the pups for a couple of hours before it got too dark. 

Steak for dinner tonight!

Tomorrow its fun and mayhem as "patrons" at the Renfaire!

Kev 

Patti is finishing putting on her makeup, and we'll be off to the faire!  Gonna be fun being patrons instead of working...lol!

Kev

Its vacation, and a no work day, so we didn't get to the Faire until around 1pm.  Early this morning I ran out to O'Reilly's and got the relays and breakers and whatnot for tomorrow's project.

We walked around the whole faire and said hi to friends we haven't seen in a year, had some interesting faire food, and had a lot of fun.  Its a small faire so we saw the whole thing in about 3 hours, then went back home to play with the dogs.

They love "fetching" sticks!  They just won't give them to ya, so you have to throw another one...lol!

Then Patti brushed the dogs...anyone want enough dog wool to knit 4 sweaters, 17 pairs of socks, and a king size afghan?  LMAO!  And she just brushed them less than 2 weeks ago!

We called it an early night, and tomorrow I finish the headlight project once and for all.  Tuesday its the air intake, and we get the heck outta here and on the road west on Wednesday.

Kev

Thunderstorms most of the day yesterday, so Patti and I stayed in bed in our jammies and had a marathon of the new Spartacus season...which is very well done!

Today I'll put in the new wiring and relays and whatnot for the headlights, and by the time I'm done with that, the new air cleaner and breather and EGR block off plate will be here by Fedex, and I'll redo the air intake and vacuum lines on the engine today as well.

Tomorrow we get back on the road!  Time to leave Louisiana and head west!

Kev

Woke up this morning to a new water leak under the bathroom sink, this time at one of the PEX t-fittings.  So off to the RV store to get a Flair-it t-fitting, and fixed it when I got back.  Have the ceramic heater in the cabinet and the ceiling fan running in the bathroom right now to dry it out...again.


Then I loaded up all my tools into the compartments, and filled the freshwater tank.  Changed out the peat moss in the composting toilet while I was at it, and then decided we were going to wait one more night before hitting the road.


So tomorrow morning, bright and early, we start the trip to San Antonio! 


Can't wait to see how the engine runs now, and the headlights!


Kev

Its travel day!  And boy did it start out as a cold one!  32 degrees outside right now, frost all over the ground.  Brrrrrrr....definitely time to head west!


All I've got to do really is move someone's flat bed trailer...its on the highest ground with no mud to pull out of this field without getting the RV stuck in the mud, move some garbage someone left in the field since that is the dry route we want to drive the RV through, and then load the porch stuff up into the Jeep, check and inflate if necessary the front air bags (they don't seem to hold air indefinitely like the tires do, so I check them often, as I do the tires, but it seems I have to top them off way more often than the tires...I run them at 60psi, which seems just right compared to 50psi), check the tire pressures and fluids, then unhook and stow the hoses and extension cords.  That portable lightweight compressor I bought at the pawn shop works great and certainly comes in handy!


Next its hook the bikes up to the bike rack, hook up the tow lights, and drive the RV outta this swamp and out to the road by the office, hook up the Jeep to the tow bar, add my ratcheting straps to keep the bikes from bouncing all over the place on bumpy I-10, and then hit the road!


Had a great night's sleep and am ready to head West!


Our next stop along the way, provided they aren't booked, is a nice looking campground in Von Ormy, TX, right next to San Antonio, where we plan to stay for a week:


www.hiddenvalleyrv.net (http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/www.hiddenvalleyrv.net)


Looks like a nice one, not too expensive, and even has a nature trail and brook to fish in.  And a lot closer to San Antonio than the park we stayed in last year.


Patti is going to call them and make reservations (hopefully) in an hour or so, since the time there is an hour earlier than where we are right now.


Its going to be a blast!  And since they have free wifi, maybe I'll finally be able to post ALL of my pictures to Photobucket, and maybe even update our Siege The Day website...lol!


After my coffee kicks in I'll start the little packdown...won't take long!...and then we'll be on the road!


I hope all the mods I did to the air intake and vacuum lines pays off!  I know the lights sure are a lot brighter!


Happy trails!


Kev

Holy crap!  All the hard work on the carburetor and air intake and vacuum lines and headlights paid off in spades!!!


By the time we packed up and were ready to hit the road it was 1pm.  Time for some real time road tests!


Performance wise, the RV runs better than it ever has before!  Smooth acceleration right up to speed, even fully loaded and towing the Jeep, without having to open up the secondaries!


I was able to take every single hill and steep bridge (except one) at 50 mph without having to open up the secondaries!

The one bridge where I had to open it up was the very steep and long bridge going over the Mississippi on I-10, leaving Baton Rouge.  Its a super tall and steep incline, but I wanted to see what the rig could do now, so I hit the bottom of the bridge at 55 and kept the pedal down to just before the secondaries were closed...55...50...45...40...Okay, time to open them up...VROOM!  By the time I crested the bridge, I was back up to 55! 


And gas mileage?  First estimate was 8.8 mpg...but that was just an estimate.  Second gas stop gave us the first real figure on the trip so far:  8.5 mpg!!!

Holy crap!  That's epic!  Full power, a perfectly running engine, AND 8.5 mpg?  Heck yeah!


My conclusion is that while I'm sure the new air cleaner certainly helps, I must have had a vacuum leak either in the EGR valve, or the cruise control system,or both.  Gone now and running great!


Headlight performance also exceeded my greatest expectations!  It got pitch dark very early last night.  And just the low beams alone are brighter than the high beams ever were!  So much traffic that I primarily used the low beams, but did have one brief opportunity to turn on the high beams, and it was like someone turned on a spot light!  On a movie set!  The lights are so bright now I have no problems at all maintaining 55, even on dark unlit roads...SWEET!


We made it all the way to the east side of Houston and stayed the night in a Flying J parking lot off of exit 789, and went into the Denny's and had dinner.


When we got to the Flying J, every single RV slip was filled with semi trucks!  Really guys?  There were spots in the back empty, but no, they had to park in our spots...jerks.  I ended up having to take up about 15 car spots to park our rig and the Jeep. 


After taking the pups out this morning, I checked the oil and other fluids, did a walk around of the rig and Jeep, and we are almost ready to hit the road again...after our coffee kicks in of course!


I'm going to do a visual inspection of the engine and carb again before we leave of course...a wise mechanic always checks his work!


We'll make it no problem today to the Flying J in San Antonio off of Exit 583 (a short 206 miles) where we'll gas up and stay the night, so we are in no hurry to leave here...we want to hit Houston traffic right around 10:30-11.00 am (its 9:15 right now and we are only 24 miles away from Houston), so we'll arrive pretty early at the San Antonio Flying J...hope its not full of truck drivers, the cretins!


Then bright and early we head to Hidden Valley RV Park in Von Ormy, TX, to enjoy San Antonio and the River Walk and whatnot for a whole week before heading further west!  That leg of the journey is a whole whopping 11.2 miles...lol!


Ah what a relaxing leg of the journey this has turned out to be!  Its a good feeling knowing you fixed your mechanicals and electricals, and did it right!


Kev

Glad to hear everything is running well.  It must be a great feeling that things are right with the world.  San Antonio should be a fun week.  By the way, you left out the word "park" in the Hidden Vally Rv link so the link doesn't work.  It is a cute little campground that should be fun to stay in.  I can just see you standing on the bank of the river with your fishing pole trying to catch fish.  Or maybe you are taking target practice on them. LOL!  Of course Patti is having no part of this and is back at the camper reading a book on the history of San Antonio.  Don't forget to remember the Alamo.  This would be a good time to watch "Pee Wee's Great Adventure" since he visits the Alamo looking for his stolen bicycle.  Wish I could join you and get away from this dull routine.  Well, I think I will go out to the motorhome and take a look at all the vacuum hoses.  Maybe I can eliminate a few.  My vacuum gauge doesn't work like it should since it only shows about 2" most of the time.  I'm sure there is a problem with the old hoses. 

LOL Dan!  Forgot about that scene from Pee Wee Herman.  Patti actually likes to fish as much as I do, although I don't know how many fish are actually in that little brook.  Supposed to be mostly catfish.

This little RV park is pretty nice!  Not very impressive from the road, since the neighborhoods coming in off of I-35 South are pretty much like every lower income suburban neighborhoods near any major Texas city...run down houses with piles and piles of junk and junk cars in the yards...lol!  But once you turn into the campground driveway, which is very long and disappears into the woods, you come out into a very well maintained and quiet RV park, with a pretty stream along one edge, surrounded by trees with lots of shade trees, acres of well manicured lawn under the trees, a nature trail, and nice graveled and level sites.  WiFi works pretty well too!

We haven't decided what we are going to do today.  Still waking up and having our morning coffee.  We are definitely going to take the pups on a walk around the nature trail, and then probably head into San Antonio...but Patti also mentioned wanting to check out some of the local thrift stores and pawn shops as well, so who know!  We're on vacation!  No schedules, just do whatever....lol!

Coming up here to San Antonio it was a slow and steady gain in elevation, a lot more hills, and occasions to use the secondaries.  Still got 7.37 mpg though at the last fill up...not bad!   :)ThmbUp


Kev

If anyone is curious, here is the correct web link to the RV park Kev is at:
http://www.hiddenvalleyrv.net (http://www.hiddenvalleyrv.net/)

The site is set up a liitle weird.  You have to use a combination of the menu links at the top of the page in combination with the links on the right side of the sub pages to find things like rates (http://www.hiddenvalleyrv.net/page4.php (http://www.hiddenvalleyrv.net/page4.php)).

Dave

So the verdict on what to do today is in...Patti is getting showered and dressed, and then we are going to take the pups on a nice long walk, then check out some of the thrift stores and pawn shops in town, and pick up some grocery items while we are out.


Might sprinkle off and on all day today, so we'll hit San Antonio starting tomorrow.


Kev

Went to the outskirts of San Antonio, Military Drive, and scoped out a lot of their thrift stores and pawn shops.  WAY overpriced!  Found a lot of stuff I REALLY would have loved to have bought, like a stainless Ruger Mini 30 and a Winchester Defender, but their prices were WAY over the top and they wouldn't bend on them.


I did score an awesome pair of size 13 almost new Cabela's Duck Shoes though, for taking the dogs out when its rainy and muddy, for six bucks at a Salvation Army!  I love my leather shearling slippers, but they take forever to dry out when they get soaked!

Had fun though.  Then went home to the pups.

Tomorrow, its the West Side of San Antonio!  Going to Market Square and that area!

Kev

So it looks like its going to another stay in our jammies day...a surprise thunderstorm band is supposed to stay around San Antonio all day until late afternoon, so there isn't any point in getting such a late start. 

I listed the Rochester QJ and the stock air cleaner housing on eBay...lets see if I get any nibbles!

Tomorrow, who knows?  We'll either be going to Market Square, or the River Walk...not sure yet.

Kev

Ah, what a lazy vacation day!  Watched the new Spider Man and MIB 3, and then went to the local convenience store which fortunately had Pedigree canned dog food in gravy...since the pups are on a diet, we mix a half can for each dog in with their one cup of Iams dry food once a day, and they were out of canned food.  If the gas station hadn't have had it, it would have been a longish trip in traffic to the nearest HEB grocery store!  (I have decided that HEB must stand for Hicks Eating Badly...a 200 lb kid around here is considered anorexic!  :)rotflmao ).


Our next door neighbor at the campground has a sweet old German Shepherd male dog who carries his toys around lovingly just like our Barnabas does.  And he's HUGE!  He's 9 years old and gets around a bit slowly (partially tore a ligament recently chasing a ball), but he's not overweight and weighs 118 lbs!  He makes Barnabas look small at 100lbs!


Tomorrow we pretty much decided (Patti could change her mind though) to go to Market Square and save the River Walk for Tuesday.  Wednesday we want to go see The Hobbit at a matinee while all the little booger pickers are still in school...lol!


We'll be here for six more days, and will have plenty of time to leisurely see everything, and then its back on the road West...next planned stop after this is Carlsbad Caverns!


Kev

I had a funny thought today on my lazy PJ vacation day.  There are a couple of other Submariner and Navy folks on here that will appreciate this!  Probably Army folks too, but I'm not familiar with their warfare pins, and definitely Airforce, which have to earn their "Wings".  We need a Classic Winnebagos and Vintage RV Warfare pin! 


Okay...let me explain.  Whether you are on subs, surface boats, or air craft carriers, when you first get to the boat, you are dead weight...a NUB or Non Useful Body.  You are learning, but can't contribute anything yet since you are new to everything. 


As you progress and learn your stuff, you eventually earn your warfare pin.


We need one!


The Winnebago wings in pin form....lol!


How cool would that be?  Qualification pins, with the CWVRV emblem!  I'd wear it proudly!

Just a silly vacation thought since my mind is so unpreoccupied right now!


Kev

OMFG!!!   :(


Another day in bed...but this time because I'm sick as a dog!  I think its food poisoning, but it could be just a 24 hour bug...but Patti isn't sick and we ate different stuff last night.


Threw up several times, starting about around 3am, and ending with the last one around 7am this morning.


Intestines are in knots, and of course everything is wrong in the runs department as well, although it seems to be letting up.


Muscle aches and fever too...I'm dyin' over here...oi vey.


I never get sick.  Hope I shake this off quick and that Patti doesn't get it!


Kev

"I never rarely get sick."   D:oH!  Feel better Kev.

This may be due to weight loss ! seems overweight keeps a lot of the bugs away ! I hear a lot of people who have recently lost weight (or were never heavy) catch a lot of these guys !   Frank  hope you feel better soon no way to spend time wile on vacation !

Get well soon. One positive is that you can give a report on how the new composting toilet handles extreme conditions. ;)

Was so going to say the same thing about the new Loo handling  ??? ??? ???   as well...  sounds like food poisoning (check to see if your fridge is cold as it should be I guess...)...  if Patti keeps being fine it probably isn't a noro virus.. been there My mom gave it to Pat one Christmas Day, he got it that night 24 hours of  :'( and then I got it 48 hrs after that..  :-[   Stay hydrated if you can.. watered down gatorade.. not full strength.... get electrolytes back in.... if possible....

Momma Hen,
Tina

I have great faith in the toilet.  Should do fine, just have plenty of peat moss on hand and you will be in the running. D:oH! whoops, sorry.

LMAO everyone!  So far the loo handled the extreme doodie...I mean duty...usage just fine!


Probably going to have to change out the peat moss a lot earlier though...lol!


So except of a few muscle cramps in the abdomen area, I woke up feeling pretty good this morning and super hungry!  No more nausea, and the other side of things is pretty good too. 


Sipping coffee now and feeling pretty good, and Patti isn't feeling badly at all. My guess is that it was the wings I had at Denny's the afternoon before I took ill. 


So today we'll be hitting Market Square, and possibly go see The Hobbit this afternoon, although we might wait until Tuesday to see The Hobbit...we just want to make sure we see it while the kids are still in school so we can enjoy it!


Tomorrow is more than likely the River Walk.


Whew this bug kicked the crap outta me!  Literally!


Kev

Yesterday was a lot of fun!  We went to Market Square with its many many stores...but of course, once you'd walked into the first 7 or so, you'd pretty much seen everything that all the stores sold.  The most impressive prices on anything we saw were the hand tooled holsters and gunslinger belts...full rigs for 60 bucks covering calibers from .22 to .357 to .45.  Pretty nicely made and very fancy hand tooling done in Mexico.  Not nearly the quality of leather and stitching and whatnot as my Made in the USA Triple-K rig for my .357 Blackhawk, but pretty nice for the money!


We had lunch at a Mexican food place right at the market...I had 3 tacos while Patti, who doesn't like Mexican food, had a cheeseburger...and they agreed well with my poor tortured stomach.  In fact, I was craving carbs all day and even had pasta for dinner last night...guess my body really needed the extra carbs to heal all the way, because this morning I'm right as rain!  Back to low carbs now...lol!


Then, since it was early, we decided to go see The Hobbit...which was excellent by the way!  I thought it would be the whole book in one 3 hour movie, but it wasn't.  Peter Jackson is taking his time with this one, and its going to be stretched out into 3 movies.  Which is kind of funny, since The Hobbit was Tolkien's shortest book in the series, and Peter Jackson managed to cram the next 3 long books into 3 long movies (although a LOT of the story got left out).  Not disappointed at all though...its great so far, and we can't wait for the next one to come out!


Then back home to the pups and we took them out and played with them a while and then relaxed and watched the telly until bedtime.


Today we were going to take the pups to the Riverwalk...apparently its very pet friendly and a lot of the restaurants even allow dogs in the outside dining areas...but its the last unseasonably hot day for a while, supposed to be in the high 80s.  So we are going to save the doggie adventure down to the Riverwalk for tomorrow when its supposed to be in the high 60s, and Patti and I are going to go to the drive through Safari Park instead!  Maybe we'll get mugged by zebras again...lol!


I've got to mail out a couple of catapults on the way so they can get to where they are going in time for Christmas, and at some point in the next couple of days I've got to slip away long enough to go Christmas shopping for Patti!


Once our coffee kicks in its off to Safari!


Kev

Lots of fun at the Safari Park today, and Patti was delighted when the great big Longhorn with the underbite came up to her as if it remembered her and let her dump the food bag into his mouth...he even let her pet him!  She loves that beastie, and fondly named him George... :)rotflmao   His horns literally span the length of Jeep Wrangler!  He's a big fellow!


Most of the animals weren't all that interested in food today, the reason being all the alfalfa hay just laid out for them along the roadside.  But the mountain goats ate out of our hands with zeal!


The Zebras weren't all that interested either and they didn't mug us this year, but the Alpacas did!  One crazy Alpaca with big bucked teeth kept sticking its head in the window and was getting irate when I wasn't feeding it fast enough!


Good times were had by all!


We dropped the catapults in the mail along the way, and stopped at a little Mexican restaurant that had great enchiladas!  Patti had scrambled eggs and cheese...lol!


Tomorrow its puppy day at the Riverwalk!  We are going to spend the whole day there tomorrow with the dogs, maybe even into the evening to see the Christmas lights.  I've got to check to see if the pups are allowed on the trolleys and or ferry boats though...that's a lot of walking for Patti with her arthritis otherwise.


Then Friday morning I'm slipping into town to buy Patti her Christmas presents!


Kev

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!


Someone turned off the heat and opened the freezer door!


Yesterday was a balmy 85+ degrees, and we woke up this morning to temps in the low 40s, high icy winds, and its only supposed to get up to 60 and stay super windy all day, and drop down into the low 30s and upper 20s tonight...brrrrrrr!!!


Decided to postpone the Riverwalk trip with the pups until tomorrow, when it will be warmer with no wind, so today I'm gonna go Christmas shopping for Patti, and we'll stay snug in the house with the pups other than that today.


What a huge change in temperature in one night!


Kev

Well, 700 miles north of you,it is in the 20's and blowing snow, with the same winds you have. Winter has arrived a day early.
Stay warm.

Yah! We finally have winter again.  Last year it was relatively warm all winter long.  Total snowfall was 4" when it should have been closer to 18".  Woke up this morning to a white blanket on everything.  It is beautiful.  Of course, I don't have to get out in it to go to work.  That would make a totally different attitude.  However, they closed the school district I retired from so I would have gotten to stay home, anyway.  I just pulled up the covers and slept in late.  Retired life is good!

LOL Dan!  Vacation during "retired" life is good anyways.  Had another nice lazy day today.  Went and bought Patti's Christmas presents (gave her one early...a Microsoft wireless mouse since hers died), then came home and did pretty much nothing else, unless you can call updating virus and malware definitions and scanning the computer work. :D


Weather is supposed to be a couple of degrees warmer tomorrow with no wind, and only drop into the high 40s at night, so we are definitely taking the pups to the Riverwalk tomorrow!


Kev

Well, the mailperson doesn't get to our box until after 4:30.  Because of the snow he/she was later than usual.  It gets dark about 5:00.  The point is I was going to go out and get the mail and pick up the newspaper (I can't go to bed without doing the crossword puzzle).  I started out the door and got to the porch and discovered the end of the porch was covered with ice and so was the walk.  I couldn't even get to the snow on the grass without going across about 5 feet of ice.  My excitement about snow and winter came to an abrupt halt.  I decided that I would just have to wait until daylight to see how much junk mail I will be throwing away and read yesterday's news.  It still looks pretty, though.

LOL Dan!  Snow it pretty...I miss going for hikes and mountain bike rides in the snow...but I sure don't miss the slippery roads, the road salt on my vehicles, and having shovel the snow and salt the ice on the porch!


Enjoy the beauty!


Kev

Last night in San Antonio!  Today is our Riverwalk adventure, and then tomorrow we hit the road West!  We should be able to make it to Fort Stockton by tomorrow evening to overnight at the same rest stop we usually go to, and then the next day we should be through El Paso and make it to the New Mexico border where we'll overnight at the Flying J in Anthony, TX.


From there, we'll try to make it as far as a rest stop or Flying J or campground somewhere not too far from Carlsbad Caverns, and go see the caverns either on Christmas Eve if they are open, or else wait a couple of days and see them the day after Christmas.


So after my coffee kicks in, I'll get some preliminary prep done on the RV...fluids, pressures, etc., make a garbage run, and almost ready to roll, then stop by the office and pay for one more night, and be ready to hit the road bright and early tomorrow morning.


The Riverwalk should be fun!


Kev

Another change of plans...lol!


Still going to the Riverwalk around 1pm for an all day adventure, but decided to stay at this RV park until Sunday morning...which means I have to move the RV over to the pullthrough RV slips...this one is reserved starting tomorrow for the Holidays.  No problem!  Our camp is set up very minimalistically.


We also decided to knock Carlsbad off of our itinerary for a few reasons.  One, we'd end up, no matter which way we traveled to it from San Antonio, end up on some very very steep mountain roads.  That isn't a problem from the rig's running standpoint, but its going to take a lot of fuel, and its a LOT of miles out of the way...nearly 400 by the time we got back to I-10.  So that's the second reason...we thought it was closer to I-10.  The third reason is that its bloody COLD up there at night...low 20s...and only low 50s during the day...not with Patti's arthritis!  And lastly, we took a close look at the tours and whatnot.  The only tour we could go on realistically with Patti's RA would be the self guided main cavern tour...all of the ranger guided tours require quite the degree of fitness, especially with all of their main elevators being shut down right now for renovations.  So that leaves the great big open cavern...which compared to Luray Caverns, VA, or Natural Bridge Caverns here in San Antonio, just isn't all that impressive except in size...the formations in the main cavern are pretty mild and bland compared to the caves we've been to already.  Maybe next year if the weather is better and Patti's arthritis isn't bothering her...the cold gets to her a lot!


So yep...we'll leave here Sunday morning and arrive in Fort Stockton Sunday night.  That will put us in Anthony, TX on Monday, Lordsburg, NM on Tuesday, and we'll arrive in Tombstone sometime Wednesday afternoon.  And that is with taking it easy and not being in a rush.  SWEET!


Already made reservations at the same RV park we stayed at last year, Wells Fargo RV Park:


http://www.wellsfargorv.com (http://www.wellsfargorv.com)


Kev

It didn't take us long to move the rig over a few campsites away, and then we went to San Antonio.  After hitting a few small shops along the way, we finally made it to the Riverwalk, and man is it awesome!


We were expecting a walking trail along the river.


What we found were amazing feats of architecture and engineering!  What a neat place!  And beautiful!  The ducks were funny...they were acting just like the pigeons, coming right up to you, pecking you on the shoe to get your attention for treats and handouts...too funny!


We walked around about half of it, and decided to get something to eat at an outstanding 4 star restaurant with dining right on the walkway on the water.  Its called Boudro's Texas Bistro and Patti said it was the best coconut shrimp she ever had.  I wasn't in the mood for anything heavy, so I had the fireroasted salsa, black beans, and guacamole that they make fresh right at the table for you...and it was amazing!  The tortilla chips were warm and made from organic corn in a few different colors, light and crispy.  Who woulda thought that chips and dip could be so yummy and a healthy meal?...I'm still full!  By the way, they make a Texas Tea that is a pretty good cocktail with a kick!


Then we rode the riverboats until nightfall and all the lights came on.  It was enchanting!  It was like a clean version of Venice...lol!


Not sure what we are going to do tomorrow, although packing things up to travel is definitely on the list.  Leaving bright and early Sunday morning to Tombstone!


Kev

So today we have decided is going to be a fairly relaxing pre-travel day with the pups.  Some grocery shopping for the road of course, hook up the Jeep and do all my pressure and fluid checks, and get everything loaded up and ready to roll so that tomorrow morning all we'll have to do is unhook and go.


I'm going to test the new freshwater tank for leaks today while I'm at it, and then drain it of course...our next stop is a campground in Tombstone so no need to carry the extra weight just yet.


And I'm also going to clean our grill today...won't have another chance to clean it until the end of the AZ renfaire, so I'll get it all clean and sparkling today.


And of course, Patti is going to set up and decorate our little Christmas tree!...lol!


Sounds like a lot to do, but its only a couple of hours of work.


Kev

Kevin:  Meaning of Vacation.......... Definition of VACATION  1 : a respite or a time of respite from something .   Enjoy yourselves.

Got most of it done, but the new freshwater tank threw me for a loop and ended up being a few hour project instead of a quick inspection...although I'm sure glad I checked my work!

First I filled the tank about half way to make sure the bottom fittings weren't leaking.  No leaks!  Woohoo!  So I turned off one valve, coming from the main freshwater tank, and opened up the valve to the new freshwater tank, and turned on the water pump.  Nothing.  Nada.  Not a drop... $@!#@!

Its well vented, so I wasn't sure what was going on.  I turned off the water pump and opened the drain valve on the new tank, and at least the water started to drain...slowly, but not so slow that there seemed to be any kind of problem.  I could only guess that even though the lower fitting I used as the main outlet had a plug in it, maybe it wasn't drilled out? 


While the water was draining, I sprayed the grill down with EZ-Off oven cleaner, scrubbed it in with a wire brush, and let it sit for a little over an hour. Which is about how long it took for the tank to drain.  So I sprayed off the EZ-Off, and recoated it and scrubbed it in, and since the tank was still draining, checked all my tire pressures and fluids, then checked the air bag pressures.  Once again, the driver's side was still just over 60psi, and the passenger side was down to around 35.  Must be one of the fittings.  Anyhow, no time to deal with that now, so out came the onboard compressor, and I topped it off to just over 60 PSI...I run them right around 63 psi on my stick gauge to account for the inaccuracy of a stick gauge, and the slight loss of pressure when removing the gauge.

By the time I did all that, it was time to rinse off the grill and recoat it with the EZ-Off...we used the Grill version...and by then the new freshwater tank was empty.  Out came my hack saw, since I had used CPVC pipe and fittings and that was the only way to unscrew the fitting, and unscrewed it...and sure enough, the threaded bung on the bottom of the tank had never been drilled out!  I had assumed it was...in fact the thought never even crossed my mind...since it had a plastic plug in it when I bought it.  I drilled it out and then went to my plumbing tool box for a coupler...and realized I had at least one of every fitting BUT the 1/2 inch coupler I needed... $@!#@!


Off to the hardware store!  Fortunately, there is a True Value that I drove past on one of our road trips one town over, in Somerset, TX, about 6 miles from camp.  A whole .31 cents later, I returned to camp and then screwed in the fitting, glued on the coupler, and then while the glue was drying, went out and scrubbed down the grill thoroughly with a stainless brillo pad, and then rinsed the whole thing down thoroughly with clean water.  I set the grill back up on its mount to let it dry, and then went back to the freshwater tank project. 

Time to refill it again!  I let it fill to about half way, and then ran my systems test again...PERFECT!  Water flowing out of the faucet at full pressure, no leaks, and all was well!

I was going to drain out the tank and call it done, but then I had a sneaking suspicion that kept clawing at the back of my brain...why did the RV dealer sell me this tank so cheap?  I decided to fill the tank right to capacity to make sure there weren't any leaks!

And its a good thing I did!  There was a barely visible, but far from insignificant crack, about an inch and a half long, right under the fill spout, about a half inch down!  Water started pouring out of it!  I turned off the hose and turned on the pump and water to get the water level below the crack as quickly as possible.  Not much spilled into the rig thankfully.  Its a tricky looking crack...you can barely see it or even feel it, but its there, and it does leak badly!

Once the water was a few inches below the crack, it was Eternabond to the rescue!  I dried the tank surface thoroughly, and then took a large piece of Eternabond tape and cut a U shaped notch in it so it would cradle the filler spout and cover the crack completely at the same time, and pushed in all down until I was sure of the adhesion.  Then I took another piece without a notch and put it over that piece below the filler and wider than the first piece to reinforce it, and pushed that all down hard until I was sure of the adhesion.  Then I topped off the tank with the hose until water was shooting out of the filler port!  No leaks!  Gotta LOVE Eternabond!


Moral of the story: Always check your work!  I almost didn't bother checking it. I mean, I did the work myself, right?  I know how to plumb something in, I know I did everything right...why check it?  Glad I did!  It would have been a royal pain in the arse to fix it in the middle of the desert!  27 miles one way to the nearest town!  I got lucky that the drain bung HAD been drilled, or else I would have had to fish a garden hose into the tank filler spout, hook it to my Shurflo water transfer pump, and drain it that way...doable with my system, but I'm glad I only had to cut and reglue one side!  Glad I double checked and filled it all the way too!  Not only would it have sucked getting to our destination with 2/3rds of a tank, all that water would have damaged stuff that we store under the bed, nevermind the floors!

So the tank was tested and fixed and fully operational, the grill was clean and drying on its mount, so now it was time to compile a shopping list with Patti and run to the local market, the HEB (I'm sure it stands for Hick's Eating Badly).  That required a car trip down to Military Drive, a VERY congested and busy road in the suburbs of San Antonio.  I hate driving in busy Texas cities!  Anyhow, made the trip, got everything on the list and then some, and got back to camp with SOME daylight left.

Patti put the groceries away while I took advantage of the dying light and packed up the porch furniture, the dry grill, and the porch mat into the Jeep.  The skies have been ominous all day, so I wasn't sure if it was going to rain tonight or not.  Didn't want to pack wet stuff into the Jeep in the morning if I didn't have to!  Then I took the pups out.  And by then it was dark!

So I didn't get the bikes loaded on the Jeep and the Jeep hooked up to the tow bar, but at least everything else is done. 

Just a side note.  I often post about all the stuff I do, how long it took, how tired I got doing it, etc.  I usually forget to post all the stuff Patti does.  Without her logistical support, my lifestyle, and everything I get done, wouldn't be possible.  She's not just laying back and letting me work.  While I'm doing what I'm doing, she's cleaning the house, washing the dishes, doing the laundry, folding it and putting it away, feeding the dogs, brushing the dogs, brushing dog hair out of the carpets, vacuuming, cooking dinner, making breakfast, etc. etc. etc.  When it comes to the business side of things, she does it all.  Making phone calls, getting contracts, taking orders, filling out all the paperwork, getting insurance forms taken care of, organizing our itinerary...and a lot of this she does not just for OUR business, but for both of our franchisees.  She works harder than I do.  Sometimes I forget to mention that.  She's my best friend, my business partner, a relentless taskmaster, and the love of my life. 

Anyhow, I'm rambling again!  Tomorrow morning I'll hook up the Jeep, strap on the bikes, and its off to Tombstone!

Kev

I must agree about Patti.  Having had the pleasure of getting one of her patented hugs, she is the sweetest, nicest, not to mention good looking, person you would ever want to meet.


(https://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi115.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fn314%2FLiv42dayOK%2FCW%2FAttachments%2FHandyDan%2FThe%2520Great%2520Winter%2520Boondocking%2520Adventure%2F2012085800x600.jpg&hash=1397e40c690afbd982e37fa032ce37cc0faf88fc)

Patti said "awwwwwwwwww" when she read your post Dan!  You made her day!

Almost time to hook up the Jeep and bikes and hit the road!  After a shower and shave of course.

326 miles from here to Fort Stockton, our first stop along the way.  Then its just over 261 miles to Anthony, TX, our second stop.  Then its only 144 miles or so from there to Lordsburg, NM.  And finally, its just a mere 134 miles to Tombstone!  Sweet!

Long trips are always a lot easier when you break them down into small chunks.

Our main freshwater tank is about 1/2 full, so I'll fill it before we leave.  I don't like driving through the desert without a full tank on board, even though it adds weight.  Ya never know if your might break down en route, and having water in the desert is pretty important!

Okay...about to get started on getting us on the road!

Kev

Merry Christmas and safe travels to all of you. 

Touchdown in Fort Stockton!  A completely mechanically uneventful leg of the journey!


And thanks Joan!


As you get deeper and deeper into Texas, you are constantly climbing and gaining elevation.  I learned pretty quickly on the LONG steep hills to kick in the secondaries at around 50mph, or else you end up in second gear doing 40mph, with the secondaries still wide open...lol!


Average hill-climbing elevation-gaining MPG so far:  6.4


I can live with that!  We're going up up up!


I'm still learning the ways of the new Edelbrock, but once I figured it out, there hasn't been a single hill so far that I couldn't take at just under 50mph, without slowing down and maintaining that speed.  Most of the hills I could take at just under 55 without opening up the secondaries.  Some I had no choice but to open up the secondaries if I wanted to maintain at least 50 or so, but what great power!  Some long climbs so far, and a lot more to come!  Water temp never got over 195 degrees, and the transmission temp never got over 150 degrees.  SWEET!


I had a chance to try out the new high beam setup as well this evening, and OMG!  The difference is night and day, no pun intended!  These lights really light up the road!  Awesome!

Tomorrow we'll be going through El Paso and land for the night on the border of New Mexico in a small Texas town called Anthony at a Flying J.  Tonight we are staying at a generic truck stop off of I-10 in Fort Stockton, since the lot was almost empty and it was easy to get in and out of.  They have a Burger King as well in case we want any breakfast in the morning without having to cook it!


Gonna check the fluids in the morning, gas up, and get back on the road fairly early...although our short trip tomorrow of 261 miles doesn't require us to get a very early start by any means.  We'll spend Christmas Eve on the road and then in Anthony, and then open our presents to each other on Christmas day...then get back on the road! 


So...how DOES Santa deliver presents to an RV?  Does he come down the sewer vent pipe?  Maybe the fridge vent?  Hmmmmmm.... Hm?


This has been a delightful and stress free trip so far!


Kev

As projects get done one by one, I keep thinking about new projects I'd like to do, new mods to the rig to increase power and gas mileage, and the like.

The things that HAVE to be done first as a priority is to replace the driver's windshield this year...the top to bottom crack has lasted since I've owned the RV, but its a safety issue...if another rock kicks up and hits it while driving on the highway, its integrity is already compromised.  Another thing that HAS to be done right away...or at least after the Oklahoma faire in May, is to raise the rear tag axle and level the rig so more weight sits on the front tires to eliminate the steering float I get.  And the last thing that HAS to be done as a priority is six more new tires, probably Samson 8R-19.5s.

After those things are done, its time to get creative and start getting even more power and fuel economy.  I think a Banks header system with cold air induction...using a snorkeled Spectre air cleaner housing...would be about the best system possible.  Anyone ever us those little carburetor cyclones?  I've heard mixed reviews, but some folks swear by them.  And yep, seriously going to start looking for a Gear Vendor's overdrive for my transmission...used of course because a new one would NEVER pay itself off, but if I could get one for around 500 bucks to a grand...hmmmm...Even thinking about those silly turbulence triangles to put all along the back of the RV...they are also supposed to help with better fuel economy.  My ultimate goal would be able to get a solid 10 mpg out of this thing, while still being able to hit every hill I meet at at least 55 mph!

Gas prices are only going to get higher, so anything I do now will only make a better impact in the future.

A deeper oil pan and transmission pan wouldn't be bad ideas either.

Then of course are all the little cosmetic things, that are lower on the priority list but definitely things we want to get done.  Reupholster the dash, redo the pin striping, make new cushions for the love seat cedar chest, reupholster the dinette cushions, replace the kitchen countertop, bathroom vanity top, dinette table top, and washer/dryer top with Corian, replace the carpets (again), wallpaper the walls, finish the LED light replacements completely, etc.

Then there is the dream list that would probably never get done, like a 4X4 conversion and lift, rocket launchers, .50 caliber machine guns, bullet proof glass and armor, James Bond style oil slickers, smoke canisters, and caltrop droppers built into the rear bumper........

Kev

OH!  By the way, Patti set up and decorated our little Christmas Tree!  Its so CUTE!  She even secured its little legs to the dinette table with Gorilla Tape...covered by the miniature tree skirt...so it wouldn't move while we traveled.  I took a bunch of pictures but can't find my camera cord right now...pictures coming soon!


Kev

Quote from: ClydesdaleKevin on December 23, 2012, 09:28 PM

Then there is the dream list that would probably never get done, like a 4X4 conversion and lift, rocket launchers, .50 caliber machine guns, bullet proof glass and armor, James Bond style oil slickers, smoke canisters, and caltrop droppers built into the rear bumper........

Kev

You forgot the diesel swap..... :)rotflmao

LOL Wantawinnie!  That is certainly a future possibility...waiting to see how yours works out first!


About to hit the road again...gotta check the fluids, go get breakfast at BK, fuel up, and head West again!


Kev

Hey Kev I checked MPG with full water tank and with empty tank over the same roads same distance on the turnpike from Monroeville to North Wales  MPG was the same  I have a 40 gal tank .   Frank

look up "air tabs"proven to work lot of truckers have them on the back on the cab/ sleeper and the back of the trailer  there mini vortex generators 1/2 mpg or better on a big truck and keeps the trailer doors clean.


http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php?topic=3719.msg10113#msg10113

Thanks Frank and 007!

Hmmmm...we kept climbing and climbing, and the gas mileage went down to 6.1 mpg.  That was with opening the secondaries and maintaining about 50-55 mph on all but the steepest hills, and those we were able to take at around 48mph.

I checked our elevation gain, and I guess we didn't do to badly considering we are around 4000 feet above sea level, and started out at sea level when we left Louisiana.  San Antonio sits at a elevation of 700 feet or so, so we climbed that over a span of over 500 miles.  From San Antonio to Fort Stockton, Texas, which sits at over 3000 feet, means we climbed 2300 feet in 326 miles, and we just climbed 1000 feet in 260 miles.  We still have about another 500 feet of climbing to do, since both Lordsburg, NM and Tombstone sit at about the same elevations (around 4500 feet), with the terrain in between being comparable in elevations.  After tombstone, its all downhill from there.  Safford, AZ sits at 2900 feet, and from there we go to Tonto National forest, about the same elevation...and then down down down to Apache Junction, AZ, elevation 1700 feet.


All the climbing makes a difference!  The altitude effected the idle speed as well...she was idling way too low when we got here...around 500 rpm, so I had to adjust it back up to 700.  Nice and steady idle, but definitely too low.  I didn't realize altitude could effect the idle speed as much as it did!  Or maybe is the lower octane rating of the gas here, or the lower ethanol content?

Just as we came through El Paso (by far the ugliest wart on the arse of the earth I have ever seen...the sprawl just goes on and on and on!) and over the pass, the wind started picking up.  And got worse and worse as we kept onward towards the border and our stop for the night in Anthony, TX.  Right now we are sitting in the parking lot of the Flying J, and the wind is rocking the rig like all getout!

We gassed up, I washed the windshield, then calculated the mileage for the last leg of the journey...6.1...and then parked the RV in the RV parking and took the pups out.  We then went in and bought a dinner To-Go at Denny's and are now cloistered in our rig for the night, listening to and feeling the high winds.  I hope its not as windy tomorrow!

Tomorrow morning is Christmas and we are going to open our presents!  Then its check the fluids, and hop back on the road to Lordsburg, NM for the night.  Then a very early start the next morning to get to Tombstone in plenty of time to set up camp and start the best part of our vacation!

Kev

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Patti loved her presents...the first 3 seasons of Angel...lol!  And she got me Diablo III...so we'll have something to do in the desert if we run out of other things to do.

About to take the pups out, check the oil and other fluids, and get on the road to Lordsburg, NM, a very short trip today...only 144 miles, so we aren't in any hurry.  The winds died way down thankfully, so it should be an easy and uneventful journey.

Tomorrow morning we definitely want to get an early start.  Even though the last leg of our trip is only 134 miles to Tombstone, we want to get to the campground early enough to set up camp while its still light out, and stretch our legs in that awesome little pet friendly town!

Kev

A VERY short trip!  About 3 hours of driving, more climbing, last MPG check=6.1 mpg.  I wonder if some of that has to do with the much thinner atmosphere/oxygen at 4500 feet above sea level?  I'm sure most of it has to do with climbing all this way...lol!  Secondaries had to be deployed a LOT!

One odd thing though about the altitude...I had to reset my idle mixture screws when we got here to Lordsburg, NM!  The idle had dropped to under 400 rpm...I ruled out the obvious and checked for vacuum leaks with carb cleaner, and there were none...so I backed out both idle mixture screws 1/2 turn and the idle jumped back up.  I set the idle to 700, then screwed down the screws, one at a time, until the idle dropped, then backed them out 1/2 turn, reset the idle to 700 rpm, and its fine and steady again.  Must be a big difference in air density!  I set them to the very lean side at sea level before starting this trip, and had to reset them to this altitude, which is about where we'll be at most of our time in Arizona, all the way until the end of April.

Gonna spend the night here in Lordsburg, NM, then tomorrow morning, bright and early, hit the road for the last 134 miles of the trip and get to Tombstone bright and early!

Kev

Kev,
Appears your timing was a little close.  The weather and tornadoes moving across your track behind you were a little too close.

Merry Christmas and safe travels.

Dave

PS: From: http://forums.off-road.com/jeep-short-wheelbase/32097-how-does-altitude-effect-carbs.html (http://forums.off-road.com/jeep-short-wheelbase/32097-how-does-altitude-effect-carbs.html)

High altitude usually has three effects on carbureted fuel systems...

1. Air less dense.
Less dense air usually has less molecules of oxygen in it.
This may lead to an over rich mixture.

2. Less air pressure.
The higher up you go, the less air pressure on everything, including your vehicle engine.
It's a common misconception that engines 'Suck' air into the cylinders. They DO NOT.

The piston goes down on the intake stroke, creating a low pressure cell in the cylinder.
(commonly referred to as 'vacuum', and mother nature hates a vacuum)

The air pressure outside the engine rushes into the engine to fill the low pressure cell in the cylinder.
As it enterers the engine through the carburetor, it gets fuel added to it.
If the outside air pressure is lower, less pressure is available force air into the cylinder.

Combine less pressure with less oxygen in the air, but the same amount of fuel being delivered, and you have a rich condition.

3. Fuel bowl floats are flat on the bottom, and sealed for a reason.
The flat surface creates the optimum amount of lift for the needle and seat.

When the float was sealed at around 500' above sea level, it was set with a specific internal pressure.
When you take the float up the mountain, the external pressure drops, but the internal pressure can not equalize, because the float is sealed.

The internal pressure makes the float 'swell up' in most cases.
The float becomes rounder, and the flat surface on the bottom is lost, and the float sets deeper in the fuel mix, allowing fuel levels to rise.

The float may also distort to the point that increased angles will affect it.
It can also rupture and leak, causing erratic fuel metering.

Increased fuel levels will cause a rich condition.

And that's how babies are made...

:)rotflmao

Good info Dave!  So maybe what I ended up doing was lean it out...seems like I ended up screwing the screws in further than before to achieve the idle drop, so when backed out 1/2 turn, they weren't backed out as far as before.  Whatever I did, it seems to have worked!

Ummm...what tornados and weather?  I wasn't even aware anything was going on behind me...lol!  I was just checking the daily weather wherever we happened to be at a given time.

So once I get some coffee into me, I'll check the fluids again, and back on the road we go!  So far we haven't used any oil, radiator fluid, trans fluid, power steering fluid, diff fluid, or brake fluid since I changed the oil almost 3000 miles ago...SWEET!  That's always a good thing!

Just a little over 130 miles to Tombstone, so we should arrive there sometime this very early afternoon.  Excellent!

Kev

QuoteUmmm...what tornados and weather?

You know, those twisty things  :)  While it brought havoc to the south yesterday, it is bringing me this this morning.


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LOL Dave!  We knew the storm was coming, but were pretty sure we were ahead of and under it in latitude.

No problems making it to Tombstone!  MPG 6.3...a little better...lol.

Camp is all set up, Patti is delighted to have cable TV, although the free wifi is WAY slower than our Verizon connection, so we are using our own, and even after Patti showered and did her hair and makeup, we still had plenty of time to walk through the town and have dinner at the Crystal Palace. 

I got a new Stetson...my old one doesn't really fit anymore since I lost the 75 lbs!...I didn't know your head could get fat!  Anyhow, the Stetson shop put foam spacers in my Stetson for me so I can still wear it comfortably, but I went ahead and got another one in the right size while I was at it.  My hat size shrank from 7 5/8 to 7 3/8!  Big difference!  I like the new hat too...dark brown, same crown as my old one, but a slightly smaller brim and a different bend to the brim...I like 'em both!  Which one I wear will depend on what else I'm wearing I guess.

Tomorrow we'll be taking the pups into town at least once, and then go back into town and look in all the shops and whatnot and do touristy stuff.

Some time this week we'll go to Bisbee, which we didn't have time to see last year.

Kev

Well, the hat box the new Stetson came in will certainly come in handy...gotta mail out the air cleaner and carburetor today, and the hat box is big enough for the air cleaner...lol! 

Its going to be pretty chilly today...with a barely believable chance of rain, so Patti and I are going to drive down to Sierra Vista, mail everything out, do some grocery shopping, and pick up Patti's prescription at the pharmacy.

Bisbee, AZ isn't too far from here or Sierra Vista...sort of a triangle with Tombstone on top, and the lower two points being Sierra Vista and Bisbee, all about 25 miles from each other...so we might take a side trip into Bisbee just to scope it out as a scouting mission, so we know how many days to dedicate to seeing that town...looks pretty neat in the pictures!

Gotta let the coffee kick in first though!

Kev

Bisbee is a one neat little town!  Not so little compared to Tombstone!

We stopped there first, mailed out the carburetor and air cleaner, and then decided to walk around a bit.  A bit became several hours, and we decided to go to Sierra Vista tomorrow instead...lol!

One of the places we stopped in is this AWESOME custom hatmaking shop called Optimo Hatworks.  The artist that owns the place has been custom making hats since 1980...he said the reason he started doing it was because he couldn't find a good hat...lol!  He reshaped the crown of my new Stetson in minutes with a steamer...he said it shouldn't touch the top of head when wearing it, so he raised it a bit without changing the look of it, elongated the headband area so it fit my long oval dome, and didn't charge me a penny.

I'm going to bring my other Stetson to him when we go back.  He said he can shrink it to fit my head, clean it up a bit, replace the leather sweat band, and keep the price down for all that to a very modest level.  He has lower end wool felt hats, crushable and all, but his top level hats use pure furs in the felts, no blends like almost every other hat maker out there.  When his hat says beaver felt, its 100% beaver, not 10-40% like even the highest end Stetsons.  His beaver hats start at 800 bucks...the rabbit starts at 400 bucks.  Expensive!  But each hat is custom fitted to your melon, and because of the quality of the felt, they'll last a lifetime.  Maybe someday I'll be able to justify 800 bucks for a custom hat...lol...but for now I'll just have him fix my favorite old Stetson for around 60 bucks or less!

Tomorrow its Sierra Vista to pic up the prescription at the drug store and do some grocery shopping, and then probably back to Bisbee for the weekend, or more fun in Tombstone, or whatever else we feel like doing on our vacation!

Kev

Sierra Vista today...and maybe a segway back to Bisbee to the hat shop to have my old Stetson fixed...we'll see what Patti feels like doing though.


Coffee is kicking in! 


Kev

Went to Sierra Vista and picked up Patti's scrip and groceries and some other stuff Patti needed at Sally's Beauty Supply, and then off to Bisbee we went!


I didn't know resizing and custom fitting my hat to my head was so labor intensive or involved!  They took a mold of my head with this antique device that looked like something out of a torture chamber...lol!...and it turns out I have a VERY long oval head, so an off the shelf hat wouldn't fit me right no matter what size I bought. 


Not only is he shrinking the hat over a form the same size and shape as my head...what he calls 7 1/2 plus extra long oval...he uses little blocks and whatnot and gets it to the EXACT conformity of your head.  Then he's hand sewing in a brand new lambskin sweat band instead of the cheapo stiff leather one that Stetson uses on all their hats now, with this neat little hat keeper he came up with....sort of like a one sided lanyard attached to a safety pin.  If you think its going to be windy out, you pin the lanyard to your collar, and the wind won't send your hat flying off into the dust!  You can also pin it back on itself to use it as a hanger loop in your car or on an airplane, etc.  When not in use, it tucks under the sweat band inside the hat.


He's going to reuse my liner...he said it was fine and pretty much the same material he uses, and would save me 15 bucks to reuse my liner.  He's also going to clean the hat and re-ponce it...meaning sand it down pretty much so the felt nap is smoother than what Stetson puts out nowadays. 


He's going to raise the crown a bit, just like my other hat, so my pointy melon doesn't contact the inside top of the hat when wearing it. 


And lastly, we are getting rid of the cheezy looking hat band that came with the hat and he's going to install a beautiful 1/2 inch wide hand woven horsehair band on the hat in tans and browns...it really dresses up the hat and looked great during the test fit! 


ALL of this work and labor:  90 bucks! 


Would have been 50 bucks cheaper but I loved the hat band.  I gave him half down, and we pay him the other half when we pick it up in a couple of weeks.


Hopefully it will be done before we leave Tombstone on January 10th, and he said it MIGHT be ready by then...but he's very very busy, and the type of work he does is very labor and hour intensive.  It will definitely be done before we finish vacation, so I'm hoping its done no later than time to leave Hot Wells Dunes in Safford, since its not a crazy long drive from Safford to Bisbee.  He can ship, but I'd rather pick it up in person to test the fit and have any final adjustments made. 


I know...why get so excited about a silly hat?  Because I wear hats all the time, especially my Stetson, so its worth it to me.  We paid 225.00 for the hat last year, and were pleasantly surprised when he looked at the hat and said it was one of the better quality ones he's seen by Stetson in a while.


I'm seriously considering having him make me a custom 100% beaver hat next year, a replica of my beloved old Stetson, but we'll see!  Its a lot of money to spend on a hat, but it supports a fellow handcrafter and artisan, its hand made in the USA, and there is no finer quality hat out there on the planet!


As far as my new Stetson goes?  Its going to be my more modern beater hat.  Sort of like a wider brimmed fedora, and not bad quality at all, just nothing special even though it looks nice and fits nice enough (buying a hat stretcher to increase the oval length before we leave here).  I'm going to have my buddy Pete make me a custom hatband for the new Stetson at the AZ Renfaire this year out of flat braided paracord...its the survivalist/Boy Scout in me...and also add a paracord traditional lanyard to it to use on very windy days.  Probably store a couple of other goodies under the hat band as well, like a cardboard covered one sided razor blade, the kind made for utility knives.  Be prepared!


The Tilley is going to be my extreme beater hat, for extreme hot weather when I don't want an unventilated felt hat on my noggin.  (I am very pale being predominately Scottish, so I'm very prone to sunburn.  Thus the reason I always wear a wide brimmed hat now that I'm older and wiser).


Anyhow, enough about hats and boring you to tears!


After getting fitted and dropping off my precious Stetson, we walked around some different streets in Bisbee, and checked out some other stores.


It snowed in Bisbee last night, and in the shade it hadn't melted off yet, and some of the roads were icy and you had to be careful...but we have a Jeep YJ, so it was all good.


Then we drove back to Tombstone, checked out a gun shop owned by former Rennies, then put the groceries away.


And then it was time to take the pups on a walk through Tombstone again!!!


They LOVE that part of the day!  Everyone petting them, water dishes everywhere, and their favorite treat:  The water buckets put out for the horses, flavored ever so well with horse slobber!  They love the slobberwater!


Patti wanted to look in some shops, so I took the pups home and met her at a custom leather worker shop.  We window shopped until around 5, when everything started to close up and it started getting cold, and are back in the RV all snug and warm!


Tomorrow its more of Tombstone!


Kev

We had a relaxing night together, so today we are going to see more of Tombstone.  Actually considering buying property out here depending on zoning laws.  Can get an acre for 2000-7000 bucks, but would only consider it if they allow you to set up an off grid system...solar powered, etc.  Water would be a consideration, but a lot of the places out here use either wells, or have water delivered to storage tanks.  Not sure what the septic system rules are out here if you use a composting toilet and only have grey water...which could be recycled with a large solar distilling pool.  Gotta check the rules!


Anyhow, coffee is kicking in, and we are about to explore some more of Tombstone!  We love this little town!


Kev

We have our reservations for New Years Eve dinner at the Crystal Palace again, and Patti modified her Renaissance court garb outfit to look like a Victorian dress...she's going to look adorable!...so I have to go in town today with her to pick out a few items of clothing so I can get all cowboy'd up.  I'll make sure we take lots of pictures!  Wish I had my other Stetson (still at the shop), but the new one will do!  Gonna go John Wayne this year:  breaches, bib front shirt, boots, hat, holster (no gun though...its a saloon), and scarf.  Probably pic up a duster jacket since its going to be cold tonight, and all the Frontier Classics clothing is so affordable in this town.  Got everything already except the breeches, shirt, and scarf (and possibly duster), so it won't be expensive.


Gonna have a great time tonight!


Happy New Years Eve everybody!


Kev

I'm Dreaming...of a White...New Years Eve... W%


Yep!  It freakin' snowed last night in Tombstone! 


Here are some pictures, cuz its hard to believe without them!


These 3 are of the snow covered Jeep!:


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Snow on the Nautilus!:


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I thought this old wagon looked pretty neat all covered in snow:


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And I call this picture, Snow Ball Fight at the OK Corral:


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Pretty neat!


Kev

Break out the skis!!   :D  Not even enough to make a snowman.

LOL Don!  I got out there late and half of it was already melted before I took the pictures.  An hour later, it was all gone.  Sure looked pretty on the mountains!


Kev

Had a great New Years celebration at the Crystal Palace, even though we left a couple of hours early. 


Today is going to be a do-nothing day...a great kick-off to the new year...lol!  Although I do have to bring my pants back to the store I got them from...when taking them off last night (they are button flies), the seam ripped right out of them along the stitching...hope they'll exchange them!  And nope, there isn't even a good story to go along with the seam ripping out... :)rotflmao


Patti bought me an awesome pair of cowboy boots for New Years too!  Dan Post Milwaukee boots in a dark high gloss brown...I didn't know cowboy boots could fit so comfortably!  These things are more comfortable than my sneakers or my Sperry topsiders!  I tried them on at the boot place and commented that they were a perfect fit.  Patti went back in when I wasn't looking and bought them for me...lol!  Gotta love my Patti!


Kev

OK..you went to The Crystal Palace, ripped your pants while taking them off. You got some 'splainin' to do mister  Hm?

What happens in Tombstone, stays in Tombstone! :)rotflmao
That's why they have BootHill.

LMAO!!!


I talked to the guy where we bought the pants, and he said to just bring them in and he'll exchange them...great customer service over at Bandit and Belle...the best place to buy clothes in Tombstone.  Best prices, selection, and service.  He also does custom hats, but not nearly as nice as Optimo.  About 200 bucks cheaper, so if you want a 100 beaver hat for 600 bucks instead of 800, he's the guy to see.  However, if you are spending that much anyways, what's an extra 200 for the perfect hat?


Anyhow, its going to be chilly again today...not supposed to warm up until Saturday...so we are going to use the Jeep as a Jeep and go on a little semi-offroad trip to Cochise Stronghold...at least, as far as one can go in the Jeep before it turns into hiking trails.


Kev

What an amazing day today!!!


While Patti was getting ready, I walked my ripped pants over to Bandit and Belle, and he exchanged them no problem...he didn't have the tan in my size, but had nice brown ones with a black saddle inset and let me switch them out for those, even though they were a little more expensive.  Great shop!


Then it was time for the Jeep Tour!


We could have paid 275 bucks for a guided Jeep tour...or not be lazy, do our research, and plan our own itinerary (same as the guided tour)...which is what we did.


So I planned out the trip, gassed up the Jeep, and we began our 38 mile offroad trek.


After about 10 miles on a rough dirt road, we came to Coronado National Forest:


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You can see Sheepshead Mountain from Tombstone, and it is one of the places that legend has it that Cochise is buried.  This is from about a mile away.  We ended up right under it on the Jeep trail:


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From there, you pass into small stunted trees, and right up to these amazing rock formations.  Hidden in this maze of rock and mountain is the most amazingly beautiful forested wilderness area.  There are springs and water sources, the largest of which are Apache Springs and Crescent Lake.  These rock formations give none of it away:


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After a lot of driving at a slow and leisurely pace, we arrive at the trailhead to Cochise Trail.  This sign greeted us:


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Of course, as soon as we got there, Patti had to make a snow ball and whack me with it!  LMAO!!!  Here she is, caught in the act!:


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Nice buns!


Anyhow...we both hiked a bit on the trail, although not very far.  It was bloody cold, and took us way longer to get there than we thought.  Here is a pic of Patti on the trail, and then one of me:


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Oh yeah, this is me, 75 lbs lighter!  Yep, new Dan Post boots and I love these John Wayne style shirts from Frontier Classics.  The Stetson is my beater Stetson, since my favorite hat is still being worked on by Optimo Hatworks in Bisbee:


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Watch out bad guys!  Some good guys have guns too!  I couldn't resist...lol!  Patti took the pic of me firing at imaginary bad guys with my trusty Ruger .357:


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Here is a pic of Patti walking back to our little Jeep that made this trip possible:


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Patti used to hate the Jeep before this trip...she might not LOVE it now, but she sure doesn't hate it!:


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Some pretty rough roads and trails, and I only had to put it in 4x4 for the last mile and a half.  I didn't even bother airing down the tires.  Plenty of traction and perfect performance.  We drove VERY slow and used less than an eighth of a tank of gas.  Patti might not love it yet, but I do!


Sometime before we leave, its another Jeep excursion almost all the way to the ruins of Fort Bowie, a 1.5 mile hike to see all the ruins, then back to the Jeep for the drive out. 


Coronado National Forest is beautiful and HUGE, if you ever get a chance to visit it.  Very rich in history and wildlife.


We had a blast today!


Kev

What a blast!  Wish I was there.  Lots of history in those lands, some of it not so flattering for us white guys. 

Love the pictures and especially the John Wayne look.  Congrats on the weight loss.  It looks good on you.

Thanks Dan!  We are still having our coffee and deciding what to do today...looks like it might be a trip back to Bisbee to go on the Queen Mine Tour, but its still up in the air.


I can't wait to put a soft top on the Jeep!  Would have been even more fun with the top down on a warmer day!  Although more than likely we'll get the bikini top setup and tonneau cover...we really want to keep the hardtop, but can take it and the doors off at hot faires like AZ where it doesn't rain very often and just use a rain cover at night or if they are predicting rain.  Oklahoma gets horribly hot, but it rains a LOT there, so we'd either leave the hardtop on, or just always use the rain cover over the tub when not using the Jeep.


Anyhow, back to playing on the net and getting coffeed up!


Kev

I've been following you along this journey. thanks for letting me come along for the ride. My question is how reasonable are the park rates down in that neck of the woods.
Here in Ontario we pay minimum. 35 a night..

Wells Fargo RV park is pretty expensive...400 bucks for 2 weeks, but we indulge ourselves at this park since its right in the historic district and you step out of your RV and right into downtown Tombstone.  The other parks in the area would run you about 175 or less a week.


In San Antonio, the park we stayed at was 175 for the week, and not too far from all the attractions like the Alamo and the Riverwalk.


What REALLY makes being out here in the West nice and affordable are all the National Parks and BLM lands.  For instance, the annual pass for Hot Wells Dunes in Safford, AZ is 20.00, unlimited camping.  Even cheaper if you are a senior!  So that comes out to just over a buck a day if you stay for 2 weeks like we are going to.  Tonto National Forest, our next and last stop on vacation, comes out to 3 bucks a day...1.50 if you are a senior.  Hot Wells has no amenities other than bathrooms (no showers), garbage cans, free firewood, and of course the naturally fed solar powered hot tubs!  No potable water so you have to bring lots of your own.  Tonto doesn't have showers either, but they have potable water, bathrooms, level paved sites, beautiful views, dumpsters, and easy access to Lake Roosevelt (and pretty awesome Indian cliff dwellings!).


If you set yourself up for boondocking, this is the way to go!  The cost is minimal, and its beautiful this time of year!


Kev

So we skipped the Queen Mine Tour in Bisbee yesterday since we REALLY needed to go grocery shopping.  So Sierra Vista it was!


Since we had all day, we explored the town and stopped in a bunch of shops.  Mostly thrift stores, pawn shops, some guns shops, etc.  We didn't buy anything, but Patti was delighted to see an 8 week old German Shepherd puppy named Cricket in one of the gun shops and played with the cute little pup for quite some time...lol!


It was an all day thing and lots of fun, and we got enough groceries to last a while when all was said and done.


Not sure what we'll be doing today...last cold day predicted, and then it will be warm for the rest of our stay in Tombstone. 


Kev

Thanks for the pics! Looks like you two are having a blast. :)ThmbUp   Sure beats the blizzards and snow drifts around here.  :'(

Yup!  We sure are having fun!  Even our lazy day doing nothing today but watching the telly and doing laundry was fun...lol!


Tomorrow we are definitely going to go out and do something, even if its just go on a long walk or a drive in the Jeep AND a long walk with the pups.


Ah, vacation....


Kev

It is great to know that you two DO know how to relax.  Keep up the good work. :)ThmbUp

Yep Joan...and once we get out to Hot Wells Dunes, it will be a whole lot of relaxing with lots of reading and soaking in the hot tubs!  I can't wait to put our solar power system to the test!


Today we have an itinerary!  We are going up to the Fairbank Ghost Town!  Its BLM land now, and they restored a lot of the buildings, so it should be a lot of fun.  That shouldn't take all day, and if it doesn't, we'll drive back to Bisbee and do the Queen Mine Tour.


Just letting it warm up outside a bit first and enjoying our coffee...


Kev

LOT of fun today!!!


The first thing we did was go to the ghost town of Fairbank.  It was the closest rail town to Tombstone (Tombstone didn't have its own railroad station), so it was the nearest supporting town, about 10 miles away off of what is now Rt 82.


Not a heck of a lot is standing in the town anymore...when the land owners evicted almost everyone in the 1960s most home owners demolished their own houses with sledge hammers...lol! 


What remains are these haunting images.


This first one shows some of the last remaining buildings...the stables, a couple of houses, and the school house:


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The next few pictures show the adobe commercial building, still being structurally restored by the BLM.  It housed a saloon, the jail house, a bank, a blacksmith/farrier shop, and the post office!


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The next couple of pics are of the outhouse near a surviving house.  The family that poops together...


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Next we hiked a trail, about a 3 mile round trip, to the town cemetery.  Its almost as big as Boot Hill, but not nearly as well preserved. 


This is the trail, very pretty:


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And this is Patti on the trail...even prettier!


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I have a LOT of pictures of the graveyard, but this one stood out to me...its an original grave marker, like the ones at boot hill...all wood and still standing...but weathered and rotted with nothing legible...it was haunting...


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The grave yard is built on a hill...must have been a Western tradition...and from the top of the hill, this beautiful snow capped mountain is visible:


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It was lots of fun, but we were finished by around 1pm, so it was off to Bisbee for the Queen Mine Tour!


This is the entrance to the mine, and the neat rail system we used to see it...those are the original mine cart engines, with modified rail seats that you have to straddle like a saddle.  It brings you 1000 feet underground:


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Yep...that's snow on the ground!


This neat mine rail bicycle was used by the mine foreman to run errands and messages and deliver orders...I wish I could have ridden it!


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When you get to the mine, they give you a hard hat, a rain coat (to keep your clothes clean), a light, and a badge.  Here's Patti getting all decked out as a miner!


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Here is Patti trying her hand at one of the air powered mining drills.  Question:  Can I get in trouble for having sex with a miner?


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And here is Patti holding a hand drill with her eyes closed...the tour guide didn't really swing the hammer though:


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Once we were done with the mine tour, we drove down to Optimo Hatworks to check on the status of my hat...Its gonna be a while!  At least a few more weeks!  Ah well!  Here is their sign:


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Once all of the excitement of the day was done, it was the not so long drive left back to Tombstone.  So we decided to drive down to the local area of Tombstone, where the locals live.  The neighborhoods and whatnot.  And THIS is what we saw!  Deer are not dumb!  No hunting in city limits, and there were many little groups of deer just laying in the shade like these guys.  Not sure what species of deer they are...maybe mule deer?


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Once we got home, Patti was wiped out, so I took the pups into town myself...they love walking through downtown Tombstone!


And that was today's adventures.  Not sure yet what we are going to do tomorrow!


While at the ghost town , we stopped in the gift shop and bought a couple of books...I bought one on John Wayne, and Patti bought one on films and where they were filmed in the old west...gonna be good reading material when we get to Hot Wells Dunes!


Kev

Yesterday was a totally lazy do nothing day again...aside from walking the pups a few times, it was just back to back episodes of NCIS all day...lol!


Today we'll be going back into town, see a couple more museums and whatnot, maybe catch a gunfight reenactment...Not sure yet.


Wednesday I'm going to redistribute some of the weight in the RV compartments and get more weight up front, then Thursday we'll be back on the road to Safford, AZ for a couple of weeks of relaxing boondocking and soaking in the hot tubs!


Kev

We ended up today just taking the pups on a very long walk, along main street, all the side streets, and then into the residential area.  It was about a 3 hour walk and Patti was done...lol!  We are both still getting used to the higher elevation, but it hits Patti harder than me.


The pups had a great time!  It wasn't very busy today, and shop owners kept coming out and petting the pups and inviting them into the stores...they were so happy exploring the stores, although Barnabas DID try to steal a cow skull, horns and all!



When we got back to the rig, we sat on the porch and had a cup of coffee together, then I decided to tackle fixing one of the over-dash compartment doors while Patti did some more laundry.  What a challenge!  The door is built like a roll top desk, and it was like a chinese puzzle figuring out how to remove it, fix it, and reinstall it...but with the help of Gorilla Tape, the repair itself was easy. 


And that was pretty much it!  A relaxing vacation day, enjoyed by all but the cat...who had to stay locked up in the bathroom with his food dish.  We'll let him run free (during the day) in Hot Wells Dunes.


Tomorrow, aside from walking the pups for another not so long walk, its going to be working on redistributing the load in the RV, checking fluids and topping things off if needed, and getting up on the roof of the RV and washing the solar panels with clean water, a clean rag, and a squeegie. I want to make sure we have full solar power when we boondock for the next 3 weeks!  While I'm doing all this, Patti will be cleaning and doing more laundry.


You can take vacations as a fulltime RVer, but there is still always work to do!


Kev

I ran a hose up to the roof and rinsed off the solar panels, wiped them with a clean rag, rinsed them again, and dried them off with a squeegie.  They were filthy!  Low maintenance my butt...lol!  I just cleaned them in North Carolina in November, right after Thanksgiving!


Then I checked the battery water levels...they were all perfect, so I didn't have to top them off.


Next it was redistribute the load in the storage compartments, putting all the heaviest stuff in the front compartments, and the lightest in the rear compartments.  That took a while, since it meant emptying every compartment and playing Tetris in each one.


But that got done, and most of the compartment weight is forward now, over the steering wheels.


Finally, I decided to test the genny in case we need it out in the desert.  No spark!  I think its a bad coil.  Can't afford to fix it now, so I guess we're gonna find out real quick if my solar power system is adequate to our usage!


Tomorrow I'll check the fluids and air pressures, load up the porch stuff, hook up the Jeep, and be ready to roll out of here first thing Thursday morning.


We are going to stay one night at the same RV park we stayed at last year in Safford.  21.50 for the night with our Good Sam membership.  That way we can load up on groceries (and lots of paper plates!) before hitting the boondocking trail, fill up both fresh water tanks from the good drinking water at the RV park, and go to the BLM office right near the campground and get our annual pass for Hot Wells Dunes. Rates went up:  Its 30 bucks without the Senior Pass, 15 bucks if you are a senior.  Patti can't find her senior card, so we have to pay 10 bucks for a replacement card, but 25 bucks for 2 weeks of camping with hot tubs is pretty awesome!


Next year we are thinking about skipping San Antonio, and going to Carlsbad for a few days...then only staying a week in Tombstone before bookdocking our butts off!


Guess we'll find out very soon just how good our solar power system works out!  No genny as a backup...Yikes!


Kev

Kevin....Patti... Where is todays adventure?  I am waiting, holding my breath wondering what is happening today ???   I am so used to reading your posts early in the day, I haven't done any housework because I am afraid I might miss your post.  Hope everything is okay with you all. ???

Sorry Joan!  Yesterday's adventure was just a trip into Sierra Vista in the Jeep to get Patti a swim suit for the hot tubs...she didn't have one...a quick stop at the post office to mail out my old cowboy boots that I sold on eBay...and then back to camp.


I was going to start pack down, but Patti and I got caught up in a Bones marathon on the telly, and then an NCIS marathon on another station...lol!


We took the pups on two long walks through Tombstone of course, and that was pretty much it.


Once my coffee kicks in, its another long walk with the pups, then down to the gas station to get road cigs, then back to camp to finish packing up and hooking up the Jeep, checking fluids and air pressures, topping off the front air bags, showering and shaving, and then we'll be on the road no later than noon.  That should bring us to the Safford, AZ campground no later than 2pm, so we'll be able to shoot down to the BLM office and take care of all that, and then do some final grocery shopping before heading to Hot Wells Dunes the next day.


We'll fill both fresh water tanks at the campground right before we leave.


Kev

A very pleasant and mechanically uneventful trip to Safford yesterday morning, and as predicted, we arrived at the campground just before 2pm.


What I didn't expect, but was pleasantly surprised to see, was the incredible gas mileage we got on this leg of the journey!  10.2 mpg!  Granted, we were descending a lot of the way, except the steep pass over Texas Canyon on I-10, and most of the trip was on Route 80 coming out of Tombstone, and north on Route 191 to Safford, and I kept the gas pedal very light, speed around 45 mph, and the RPMs around 2100 (except on I-10, where I had to open the secondaries twice chugging up Texas Canyon).


I really have to thank Mark for the Christmas present that I'm still reading!  I always thought 55 mph was the ideal speed for MPG, but its not about the speed according to the book, its about vacuum.  According to the authors, ideal vacuum with a gas powered carburated RV is around 38 mph.  I don't have a vacuum gauge on this rig yet, but I'll certainly be installing one!  I'll also start planning my trips on smaller highways and state routes where I can drive a lot slower and enjoy the scenery!  I'll just have to make sure those smaller routes and highways don't have a lot of traffic stops and busy towns along the way, since acceleration from a dead stop burns a lot of fuel.  I'll also have to check elevation gains and whatnot, since a lot of the smaller routes have steeper climbs out west, but that's pretty easy to do as well.


So once we arrived at the campground we parked the rig, hooked up to shore power and water and sewer (for our grey water), and took the pups over to the dog park to play and do their business.  They love chasing pine cones!


Then we went into town and got groceries at Basha's supermarket.  I missed Basha's!  They have great food at great prices!


Then back to camp, put the groceries away, and that was it.


Today is Patti's birthday, so we decided to stay one more day at the campground, and leave for Hotwells Dunes tomorrow morning.  That will give us time today to hit a couple of stores, go get our passes at the BLM office, and still give Patti time to relax on her B-Day.


Tomorrow is the big day!  A relaxing couple of weeks in the desert, with no one around to spread the flu...lol!  And a solid real world test of our solar power system, battery bank, and LED lights.  I'm kinda nervous without a generator to back it up, but it should be more than adequate if we are careful with power usage.


Kev

                         Happy Birthday Patti!
:)clap May you have a wonderful year with lots of surprises. :)clap



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Happy Birthday Patti!!!

Patti says thank you, Dan and Tina!

Today is the big day!  After the coffee kicks in, I have to run down to the UPS Store and mail out another goodie sold on eBay, then fill the water tanks, hook the Jeep back up, and travel the last 32 miles for a while to Hot Wells Dunes!

Let the boondocking begin!  And the hot tubs!

Kev

Change of plans!  Mother Nature has thrown a monkey wrench into our boondocking plans that will delay us for 3 more days  $@!#@! .

There is a very unusual cold front passing through this area, and the next 3 nights its going to drop down into the low teens...a hard freeze!

Well...isn't that dandy?  That means we have to stay 3 more nights at this campground in Safford, so I can leave my electric pipe heater tape plugged in in the sewer/power/water compartment.  It would suck the batteries down WAY too fast if we plugged it in NOT on shore power!  Never mind the extra propane we'd have to use to keep the Wave 8 heater on full time...only supposed to be low 40s the next 3 days as well.  Brrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

As it is, I have to leave my water on a trickle at the kitchen faucet at night to keep the hose from freezing.  The pipe tape should keep the compartment warm enough to prevent the fresh water tank and pipes from freezing...I'm not worried about the grey tanks since they are empty and open to the sewer hose.  No black tank anymore, so there is that!

So we'll just relax for 3 more days before heading out.  At least this campground is only 21 bucks a night with our Good Sam membership.  I'll probably troubleshoot the genny tomorrow, and we'll more than likely take at least one trip into Safford to visit the antique stores, thrift shops, gun shops, etc.  Poor Sampson!  3 more days locked in the house!

Its supposed to warm back up on Tuesday and stay normal in temps.  Looks like we won't have to worry about rattlesnakes and scorpions for a while though!  Yay!

Kev

Hot tub sounds pretty good about now, eh?  Do your best to stay well.  You don't need the flu to add to your fun time. 

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Was 20 here this morning, looks like winter's coming  W%

16 this morning..brr. 

Yep!  17 degrees right now as I type this, with an expected high of 42...geesh!

Tuesday at noon we'll be leaving here to Hot Wells Dunes...gonna be chilly that day too, but not a hard freeze at night...high 20s...then back to seasonable temps.

Turns out my pipe heater tape doesn't work anymore...don't know why, but it wasn't getting warm.  So I plugged in the small bathroom heater in the plumbing compartment, and that kept anything from freezing...that and leaving the sink on at a trickle in the kitchen.

Today we'll just stay cloistered in the RV watching the telly, but tomorrow we'll dress warm and go into town...some pretty neat little shops in Safford!  This afternoon when it gets warmer I'll take out my handy dandy Fluke and the Onan manual and at least troubleshoot the genny and see why its not getting any spark.

I wanna get on with the boondocking, dangit!

Kev

Skiing today was great. 62 on the mountain. It was a little slushy in places but a lot of fun. I think we had your weather here in Pa.


John

58F in MD this morning.. yuck..... send the cold here please....
Tina

Y'all can have the cold!  Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! 18 degrees!

Someone forgot to tell Arizona about global warming!

When it warms up a little this afternoon, Patti and I are going to go into town and window shop in some of the neat stores in Safford.   Other than that, we'll be staying inside and keeping warm with the ceramic heaters!

Kev

Welp...being at the whim of Mother Nature, we will be here for yet another night, in addition to tonight.  Apparently the cold front slowed down, and tomorrow, our planned departure date, is supposed to get up to a balmy 32 degrees as a HIGH, and high teens at night.  Oi vey!!!

Wednesday, however, the temps go back to normal...high 50s as a high, 32 as a low, and warming up all week.  Finally!

Some time this year I'm going to have to figure out an energy efficient way to keep the plumbing/electrical compartment above freezing so this crap doesn't happen next year.  I already had a thought:  A 12 volt muffin fan moving air through a duct right to the compartment.  I could locate the inlet, using a register, under the Wave 8 heater, run it down through the floor under the stair well, and use insulated duct hose all the way to the plumbing compartment, putting the fan on the compartment side, since pulling air is more efficient using a long duct than pushing air.

The plans are in their infancy stages at this point, but by next year I'll have a solid plan to beat Mother Nature while still drawing a minimal mount of battery juice...lol!

Anyhow, went to town and the thrift stores were a disappointment, the antique stores were closed (they all seem to have mutually agreed to be closed on Sundays and Mondays), and even the gun shops were pretty lame.  Hardly any revolvers, and nothing I would have been interested in, in any of them!  You'd think that, in light of the current political situation in Washington, folks would be flocking to the gun shops to trade their revolvers on semi-automatics.  I guess not in Safford yet!  I was actually considering trading in my Bersa .380 auto with an extra magazine for a small frame .38 or .357...but it didn't happen today, that's for sure.  Guess I'll have to wait until I get to my favorite gun shop in Apache Junction in a few more weeks!

So back in the RV staying warm, and decided that today was definitely a bourbon day.  Only 3pm here, but its 5 o'clock somewhere!

Kev

Since you have to heat the interior, useing any of the heat is no brainer to heat the compartment . the only advice i nhave is to insulate the compartment as much as possible incl the door !  Frank

Thanks Frank!  Under and around the compartment its insulated...didn't think about the door...good idea!

So...its was forecasted to be a HIGH of 32 degrees today...that changed to a high of 41, with a low of 20 tonight...brrrrrrrrr!  It was COLD taking the pups out this morning!  Its only 16 degrees right now!  We'll still be staying one more night at this campground though.  20 degrees all night long could still freeze pipes and tanks.

Tomorrow we'll hit the road to Hot Wells Dunes.  I'm already putting the Wave 8 heater through the paces...it took the chill out of here this morning in no time.  The ceramic heater can only do so much when its 16 bloody degrees outside. 

So all you folks out east though following my posts, its coming your way!  The cold front is going to be gone from us tomorrow, but they say its heading east and its gonna be cold all along the east coast.

Today its just going to another day staying warm in the RV...maybe start reading a book...

Kev

Hey kev take a look behind sewage tanks should already have duct work running to the compartment from the house heater mine does and every other holiday rambler i ever worked on.As far as the heat tape is concerned did the compartment get below 36 to 38 degrees when you checked it most heat tapes have a built in bio-metal thermostat.   Wish i was there jeolous Gary

It was around 30 degrees when I checked it, so I put the small heater in the compartment instead.  I'll have to look for duct work...never noticed it before...but we don't run the furnace much except to take the chill out of the air.  When plugged into shore power, we run ceramic heaters, but when boondocking we run the Wave 8 catalytic heater.  If there is an existing duct, it wouldn't be hard to add a 12 volt muffin fan and switch to the duct in the compartment.  I'll definitely have to check it out!

So a whole lot of nothing done today, except more episodes of Law and Order, etc.  Ah, vacation!

Kev

Quote from: ClydesdaleKevin on December 27, 2012, 09:12 AM
Well, the hat box the new Stetson came in will certainly come in handy...gotta mail out the air cleaner and carburetor today, and the hat box is big enough for the air cleaner...lol! 

Kev

Stetson hats are made just 50 miles from my house.  A good Stetson costs upwards of $200 unless you get a good deal at the outlet store.  Anyway, if I spent that much money for a hat, the last thing I would use it for is a bucket to water my horse.  I would have to really love my horse!

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LOL Dan!  My good Stetson, the one that is still in the shop at Optimo Hat works, was on sale for just under 300 bucks, but I never had a hat I liked as much.  Gonna cost me about 100 bucks more, in total, by the time they shrink it, clean it, reblock it without changing the brim shape, adding a new soft leather sweat band, reponce it, add the new braided horse hair hat band, and add the cool little hat keeper Optimo came up with to keep the hat from hitting the ground in the wind.  Had I known anything about hats at the time, I could have gotten a custom hat made in 100% rabbit felt by Optimo for around 400 bucks, which is what I have invested in this hat now.  For 800+, I could have gotten 100% beaver felt.  My hat is a 7X, meaning its SUPPOSED to be 70% beaver, but the numbers don't mean anything anymore...it could have any amount of beaver felt in it.  A hat made from 100% rabbit is superior to any blend of beaver, unless the hat is 100%.

But yeah, you are right...lol!  I'd have to LOVE my horse to dip my hat in the water and let it use it as a trough!  Different times though...hats back then weren't all pristine and shapely, and by wetting them, you could reshape them to anything you wanted.  Usually when you bought a new hat back then, it was just a big flat disk for a brim, and a big round crown.  You either wore it like that, or shaped it to your own liking.

Some day I'd really love a custom Optimo, but I can't justify 800+ bucks anytime in the near future, especially when my Stetson really is pretty high quality as far as Stetsons go.  Pretty high percentage of beaver, and wicked soft.  If it comes out as good as I think it will, I'll probably be satisfied with it and never get another hat...lol!

I'd love to learn how to make hats.  Sounds like a challenging and creative process!

So yep...a whole lot of nothing today.  Television, a trip to the bank to pay the office for another night, a few potty trips with the pups...internet.  I can't WAIT until it warms up tomorrow!  Nevermind the challenge of boondocking and testing my systems...and nevermind the hot tubs!  I've got some serious calories to burn off on the mountain bike!

Kev

If you haven't watched the Stetson video on how hats are made, it is pretty interesting.  I wasn't aware Stetson made their own felt out of raw materials.  Here's the link:

http://www.stetsonhat.com/video.php (http://www.stetsonhat.com/video.php)

Yep...saw that video.  Pretty neat!  Back when Stetson was still owned by the Stetson family, you couldn't beat their quality.  The number of Xs was the percentage of whatever type of fur followed the Xs, so if had a 5X beaver hat, it was 50% beaver felt.  10X meant 100%.  Now they don't mean anything.  Thus the reason Stetson and Resistol and others have 20X hats and whatnot.  Sadly, you can spend 2000 bucks on a Stetson now, and not know the percentage or quality just by the number of Xs or the price tag.

So today is the big day!!!  Once my coffee kicks in and I take the pups out, I have to run to Basha's supermarket for more canned dog food, plus coffee fixings to last 3 weeks.  Then back to camp to empty the compost bin and add new peat moss...its been a little over 3 weeks so its time...then take all the trash to the dumpster, then fill both freshwater tanks, batton down from travel, and drive the last 32 miles to Hot Wells Dunes!

I hope the camp spot I was in last year is open...it was perfect...trees all around, but if I park with the rig's entry door facing south, I'll have full sun on the solar panels all day long...the trees aren't tall enough to block the sun except super early in the morning, and almost at dusk.

And poor Sampson can finally go outside to play!  I pity the little desert creatures though...Sampson goes on a homicidal rage on any small living thing when he's been cooped up too long.  He makes Hannibal Lector look like Dudley Doright!  Fortunately it will be too cold for rattle snakes and scorpions to be up and about...although Patti speculates that Sampson at this point is spun up enough to drag home a Javalina carcass...lmao!

We are going to be very careful our first couple of days with battery usage and power draw...to see what the system can handle in the winter sun...but we'll slowly add more creature comforts to the mix once we know just how fast the solar panels and charge controller can bring the batteries back to full charge.  Water won't be a problem, and I'm estimating that the 2 freshwater tanks full should last our entire time in Hot Wells, 2 weeks.  This is because we can now carry 100 gallons of freshwater, the composting toilet doesn't use any water, and we won't have to use the shower since the hot tubs have a bathing tub attached off the side.  Drinking and cooking water, and some water for dishes (we'll be using a lot of paper plates)...if we are careful we might not even have to make a water run!  The freezer is packed to the gills with meat, the fridge is full, the propane tank is at around 60%, and we have lots of reading material...lol!  I wish the genny was running just in case, but I'll at least troubleshoot it while we are out there.

If I recall correctly from last year, we had a fairly decent internet signal, but no TV...so we'll be able to keep in touch.

Its gonna be a fun leg of the journey!

Kev

Yay!  A leisurely trip here to Hot Wells Dunes...and MAN did Samson love going outside!  The first thing he did was roll in the dirt and dust...Kamo Kitty!  And then he went hunting.  Don't know if he caught anything, but he looked mollified when he got home.  He's one dusty dirty kitty!

We have an excellent campsite, full solar all day on the panels with nothing shading them.  Camp was set up completely by 2pm, and we just sat for a couple of hours in the warm sun!  Well...I sat...Patti brushed Sheba and filled the desert with little Sheba fur tumbleweeds...lol!

The internet connection is deplorable...as a page loads, I have to stop the page, then reload the internet, then click on a link if I want it to load.  Wish there was a program to do that!  Otherwise it either stalls or drops the connection.

The solar panels were putting out a LOT of volts today, although the bank was fully charged and in float mode, so we'll see how she does tomorrow after using the batteries all night.

I just put the inverter on...after unplugging everything we aren't using to eliminate ghost loads...and we are letting the laptops and tablet fully charge.  Once we are done playing on the internet, we'll unplug the computers and plug in the TV and DVD player and watch some movies!  No TV channels at all out here, unless you want to include a few grainy analog Mexican channels.

And silence is all you hear!  Well...you can hear the breeze, and a couple of ravens, and the coyotes in the distance...but no man made sounds at all...its heaven!

Today is an exception internet wise.  We are going to restrict internet usage to the mornings with coffee, and watch movies at night.  And during the day, bike, hot tub, play with the pups, etc. 

Ah vacation!  If all goes well with our solar power system...and I expect it will...our summer vacation and next winter's vacation will be predominantly boondocking, with only very short stints in campgrounds.

Kev

So it definitely appears that our battery and solar power system is up to the task!  We've been running the inverter from about 4pm until 2am...then putting it back on a 7am until around 11am to watch the telly and get on the internet and recharge our laptops and all that.  Running the big flat screen TV and DVD player off of it all night with a couple of LED lights, the furnace in the morning long enough to take the chill out of the air until the coffee is ready, charging the devices:  All of that only draws the batteries down to 12.5...barely a dent in their capacity.  The solar panels completely recharge the battery bank to 12.7 on the volt meter...full recharge...by around 2pm!  (It actually reads around 13.2-14.2 during the day during its charging phase, and goes to a steady 12.7 when the sun goes down).  And that is with the winter Arizona sun!  SWEET!

The hot tubs are just as awesome as we remember from last year...lol!  And the warm weather is a very pleasant change!  We sat on the porch reading for quite some time after soaking in the tubs, and it didn't start to get a little chilly until the sun got low on the horizon.

Next year...and this summer too...its going to be a lot more boondocking, and a lot less RV parks!

Kev

 :)ThmbUp

Nice! Off the grid success. :)clap

Looks like all your research paid off. Glad to hear it is all working out.

Dave

Hey Kev cutting expenses is better than increasing income a dollar saved is worth more than having an extra dollar  If you could live for free you would not need any money !!  Enjoy you have prepared and deserve some rest   Frank

Thanks everyone!  Looks like it will definitely pay off down the road.  We intend to do a LOT more boondocking in our off time, now that we know the system is functioning flawlessly, even without being super stingy with power usage.

We cleared up the internet problem as well...I moved the tablet we use as our internet hot spot to the passenger side of the RV instead of the drivers, and its a good fast signal now.

So yesterday was a nice quiet and relaxing day.  I nearly finished a book about John Wayne I've been reading, "Duke, we're glad we knew you."  We soaked in the hot tubs, and then last evening watched 3 great John Wayne movies, "The Alamo", "Eldorado", and "Chism."  Gotta love the Duke!  Patti's watching McClintock right now...lol!

Late last night the ATVers started showing up, and were riding their 4 wheelers until around 2 am.  And whooping and hollering...lol!  Glad they are only here on the weekends!  Looks like I'll have to dust my solar panels off today, tomorrow, and Monday.  Those guys kick up a LOT of dust!  We'll be hitting up the hot tubs around 11am, so hopefully they aren't full of a bunch of dusty hungover ATVers.

Today I'll also finish up my John Wayne book, and then a whole lot of nothin'.  Vacation is going to be over before we know it, so we are making the most of our quiet time now.

I still have to get around to troubleshooting the genny, but I'll get to it.

Kev

Ah, McClintock!  My first date with my wife was to the drive-in theater to see McClintock.  I don't think we saw much of the movie, LOL, but I do remember something about a hat on a weather vane.  Brings back old memories, but not of the movie.   :angel:
Soaking in a hot tub sounds pretty good right now.  In fact, you are probably in the tub as I write this, unless the ATVers have monopolized it.  Have fun on the vacation and keep us posted.  Even dull routine stuff is fun reading. 

LOL Dan!  We got lucky with the hot tubs.  One was filled with screaming kids...apparently the ATVers like to leave their kids at the hot tub while they play in the sand dunes...but the other was empty.  I'd rather have shared it with a bunch of hungover dirt bikers than screaming kids, I tell ya!

Dusted off the panels...they weren't too bad being so high up...then finished the book I was reading.  Cleaned my Henry rifle...just a little dusty and needed a fresh coat of gun oil and the brass polished up a bit. 

And that was pretty much the day yesterday.  Found out my new freshwater tank was still leaking...not sure from where...and must have lost half the water on the way here.  I'll have to pull the tank sometime at the AZ Faire and permanently repair it...probably a polypropylene weld.  Ran out of water in that tank yesterday and switched to the main original tank.

Today it'll be more of the same...just another relaxing vacation day out here in the middle of God's Country!

Kev

Decided to drive the Jeep into town (Safford) yesterday to get some more water (15 gallons) since my new freshwater tank leaked out a LOT of water on the way here.  And of course discovered that the rear shock mount I had welded in NY this year gave up the ghost again.  Looks like I'll be searching junk yards and Craigslist for another rear axle...one from Arizona that ISN'T rusted all to heck.

Picked up some groceries and whatnot while there, and made the 32 mile drive back to camp.  Patti stayed home with the pups, and when I got back to camp discovered that our friend Arlene had arrived with her Itasca.  She's a nice lady.

Today is going to be more relaxing, soaking in the hot tub, etc.  Ah, vacation.  It'll be over before we know it!

Kev

Not a whole lot yesterday...just the hot tub, playing with the pups, read the genny manual (turns out I have points after all, and a very limited troubleshooting guide in the manual), and then a whole lot more relaxing and doing nothing.  Dusted off the solar panels again.  And watched The Horse Soldiers last night...great movie by the way!

Today...its more of the same...lol!

Kev

Kevin,
Instead of burning cash on a new axle for the Jeep. Try Quadratech.com. They have rear shock mounts $30. These are for custom / replacement applications.


John

Thanks John.  I get most of my parts from Quadratec...great prices and service.  I'll look into it.

I decided to go on a little adventure yesterday, so I drove the Jeep down to the nearest little town called Bowie...and wow, its almost a ghost town itself.  Just a post office and two tiny overpriced general stores.  It looks like it used to be a pretty busy little town, but all the businesses...even the bars...are closed down, with missing or boarded up windows.  So I drove a bit further to see the town of Willcox, which at least had a few gas stations and a supermarket.  Note to self:  Next year, the only town worth going to for supplies is Safford when visiting Hot Wells Dunes...lol!

Today we'll be doing some more relaxing and of course the hot tubs...then I'm going to help our friend Arlene install her solar panel on her roof.  And that is pretty much it.  Tomorrow I'm going to troubleshoot the genny...starting with the coil.

Kev

Installing the solar panel and charge controller on our friend Arlene's rig was a piece of cake...took about an hour or two.  Then I had to fight off an angry swarm of killer bees that decided they were going to defend a glass of rootbeer that Patti left on their porch to the bitter end.  Ended up taking a whole can of wasp and hornet spray to dispatch them.  Good thing I left the driver's side door unlocked...we couldn't get anywhere near the main door until I killed the nasty buggers, and the hornet spray was in the house under the sink.  Aggressive things...they stung Arlene twice a couple of days ago.

Today its going to only be partly sunny all day, and then overcast for the next few days.  Which means we'll have to be pretty sparing with power consumption.  I hope the panels put out enough power when its cloudy! 

I'm going to run some static tests on the genny today...but don't want to do any power tests on it since we are limited on battery power until the sun comes back.

We'll see what happens!

Kev

More power to you Kevin :D

LOL Joan!

After our soak in the tubs, I came back to camp and took out the garbage, then dumped the pee bottle in the Nature's Head, and then it was time to troubleshoot the genny.

Actually got it to start, but playing around with it killed either the starter, solenoid, or the circuit board...already covered it in another post, so I won't go into it here.  Suffice it to say its gonna more than likely be an involved and expensive fix...grrrrrrrrr...

And that was it!  Even with the clouds the panels are bringing the batteries back to a full recharge.  Back up to 12.6 right now and climbing.

A couple more hours of charging and we should be good to go for the evening.

I'm actually typing on my little netbook computer, which I fully charged some time ago.  This little computer goes over 4 hours on a charge, whereas my main laptop has a bad battery and can't run at all without being plugged in.

Tomorrow?  Hot tubs, relaxing, etc...lol!

Kev

Made a trip into town yesterday for water and cigs, and that was pretty much it besides the hot tubs and some movies.

Overcast again yesterday, but enough sun to charge the battery bank back up to full.  Woke up this morning to rain...going to be rainy and cloudy for the next 3 days...but the bank is slowly charging back up from 12.2. 

Good thing I went so heavy on the solar power!  Any less and they wouldn't charge the batteries in these weather conditions.

Heck...I might even want to add a couple of smaller Kyocera panels for next year.  We'll see how she does for the next 3 rainy days.  Worst case scenario I could run the engine for a while, but I don't think we'll have to.

What we've been doing in the rain and clouds is to not use the inverter at all in the mornings.  We charge the laptops and tablet up at night while the inverter is on for a few hours, and then run them off their own batteries in the morning.  That way there is no draw on the batteries while the weak sun charges them.

Its a challenge!  I hope the bank fully charges over the course of the day.  Its pretty bleak outside.

Kev

So we made the decision that today will be our last day here at Hot Wells Dunes.  Between the overcast conditions and all the rain, its getting pretty boring.

Also, Patti is almost out of bloodpressure meds, and the doc told her she'd need to come in for an appointment if she wanted a refill...damn crooks!  She has enough to last until Wednesday, so we need to be in the Apache Junction area by then.  So we decided to pick up stakes and drive the RV to the Renfaire site tomorrow.  Power, water, a good TV and internet signal...yep.

We'll still be on vacation, just on site.

Patti is looking up local cardiologists now, so she can make an appointment tomorrow when everything opens.

I think we need about another 300 watts of panels to deal with overcast and rainy conditions, especially in the winter months.  The charge controller can handle another couple of panels, maybe some smaller 150 watt Kyoceras.  I mean, if the genny was working, we could run it and the Powermax Boondocker to quick charge on rain days, but it would be pretty nice if we didn't have to.  I'll think about it.  Either way, I'll fix the genny.  I do a more thorough troubleshooting of the beast when we are hooked up to power.

Let me clarify the statement though.  IF we are super careful and don't run the inverter at all in the mornings...and don't turn it on until 5pm...and charge our laptops and tablet up at night while watching movies...AND turn off the inverter at midnight, the system is working remarkably well in the rain and overcast conditions with the winter sun.  Using the power like this, the battery bank reads 12.2 in the morning...and by 5pm is reading 12.5-12.6.  So yeah...maybe I won't add more panels.  We'll just bring more books and board games for our next boondocking trip...lol!

In any event, we'll enjoy the hot tubs today, and tomorrow morning...and hit the road by noon tomorrow.  Only 118 miles to camp, all on back roads, we have 3/4 tank of gas so we won't even have to stop for fuel, and its a pretty drive through parts of the Apache reservation and Tonto National Forest.

Back to civilization!  About 2 weeks more of vacation and relaxing (aside from setting up camp and our pavilion tent), and then its back to work!

Kev

The great winter boondocking vacation. Heck ya been boondocking a few days. lol.  you sure must have alot of $$$ tied up in all those pannels to be sitting in a pay camp. No??
Was your plan in the begining not to boondock (for free) more? As i have always gone to camp sites i was very curius as to how well you would make out off the grid. With your genny out this must make things harder as well.
Do you have plans to go off the grid again once ya stock up on meds. and hopefully get the genny going again. Or when you travel with the fair or what ever it is you travel for. do you have plug in power? or just stay in parking lots?
Safe travels.

Hey Cosmic,

This year we had an itinerary of things we wanted to do and go see, like San Antonio and Tombstone, but we designed the system and sank a ton of money into the RV so we could boondock a lot more often.  As it happened this year, we spent more time in my sister's driveway than we planned, more time in Louisiana near New Orleans than planned, and the same in San Antonio and Tombstone.  And then we got to Safford with the intention of staying a day or so before moving out to the desert, and we had an unexpected cold snap, where night time temps were down in the low teens.  We stayed almost a week there in a campground waiting for the cold snap to pass, since we didn't want frozen pipes.  I figured out a way to bring heat to the compartment, so we'll implement that plan before next winter.  So we ended up with just two weeks left of vacation to boondock in the desert. 

If we left on Wednesday instead of today, it would be two weeks...a good first test of the system, which aside from the additional water tank having a bad leak worked quite well...and the generator giving us problems, which limits our power usage on multiple overcast and rainy days in a row, which is what we've been getting.

At a Renaissance Faire, which is our next stop in Apache Junction, AZ, we get a campsite with power and water included in our contract fees.  Its the rest of the year...the time in between shows...for which we set up our rig to boondock.

So after this show ends on March 31st, we'll be driving up to the Grand Canyon and boondocking for a couple of weeks at the national forest or BLM lands near it in the month of April.  Then its on to our next faire in Oklahoma for the month of May.  Then we have 2 more months off, which we plan on mostly boondocking through.  Our plans are to see Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, then probably head west to Yellowstone and maybe even the Grand Tetons...boondocking all the way.

This winter's trip was more of a test of the system, to see what was lacking and what had to be addressed.  We now know what the system is capable of, and where its lacking...which is basically just a repair of the freshwater tank, a repair to the generator, and adding a muffin fan to the heater duct system in the sewer compartment to bring warm air to the plumbing from the coach during the winter.

So yep, we did all this to boondock during the off season...spend our money on gas to get places and enjoy them rather than paying campgrounds for hookups and burning through our cash too fast.

Things held us back this winter...fun things...but it was a great success all in all, with very little to fix for the rest of the year's boondocking trips.

Kev

About to feed the pups, trim my beard, then go down to the hot tubs one last time to clean up and shave...and soak in the awesome hot water.

I already packed up the porch furniture into the Jeep and loaded up the bicycles, checked all the air pressures and fluids, and we're almost ready to hit the road.  I did all that yesterday.  After bathing in the hot tubs, all we'll have to do is warm up the RV, drive it to a flat wide part in the road, hook up the Jeep, and hit the road!  We should be ready to go no later than noon, which will put us at the Faire around 3pm.

It rained HARD in Apache Junction the last few days, so the faire site is pretty muddy...or more like quick sand...lol!  We might have to wait a few days in the parking lot...some more boondocking...until the campground dries up and the ground hardens again.  We'll see.

Now, a totally off topic question about our 1992 Jeep Wrangler YJ.  Anyone have any experience with these?  The reason I'm asking is that the rear axle shock mounts are rusting away (one is broken), and it has significant frame rust that will have to be welded and repaired.

That said, I've been looking on Craigslist, and I can get a similar year YJ with a perfect rust free Arizona frame (there are several listed), lift kits, big expensive tires and rims, etc., for less than 2000 bucks!  Now, for that price, most of them listed have really banged up and dented bodies, or a blown motor or transmission, or both. 

What I'm asking is...how hard is it to change out the tub (body) on a Jeep YJ?  Mechanically and tub wise, ours is perfect, even the interior.  We have less than 67K on the 4.0 inline 6 engine and drivetrain.

My plan would be to buy one of these lifted project Jeeps, then remove the tub, put my engine and transfer case and transmission in the clean AZ frame, then remove the tub from my Jeep, interior and all, and install it on the donor frame.

I know what is involved in the engine and transmission swap, but how hard is it to remove the tub and swap them?  Anyone ever do this before?  Anything I should look out for? 

This would save me a ton of money down the road.  Just repairing my frame and rear shock mounts would cost me almost 2 grand...and then when I eventually want to lift it, call it at least another grand, then a grand in rims and more in tires.

Thanks!

Kev

Made it safe and sound to Apache Junction, but didn't make it in time to check in at the office.  So we're out in the parking lot.  Might be here for a couple of days if the site is too wet to drive the RV to the campsite and park it.  No biggie though!

A very strong headwind the whole way, and the total trip was more like 165 miles than 118...forgot to add the distance from Hot Wells Dunes to Safford into my calculations.  And I forgot about the HUGE climb in elevation from Safford to Globe...and then up up up to the aptly named town of Top Of The World, and nearly 5000 feet!  Then more climbing and coasting until finally hitting the town of Superior...and then it was mostly downhill from there.  Still got about 7mpg even with all the climbing and headwinds...driving an average speed of 45mph.  I was expecting better...like the 10 we got from Tombstone to Safford...but I really can't complain about 7 in the conditions we just drove in!  And when I say high headwinds, I mean rocking the rig all over the road, not being able to coast to pick up speed in the winding mountains since the wind made it unsafe, and so strong that if it wasn't a steep decline, coasting downhill the wind still slowed us down.  That strong...lol!  Not bad mileage for all that!

So we didn't get to boondock as things turned out very much this winter, but we had a great shakedown cruise!

Kev

We got camp all set up yesterday (except the awning...gonna leave that up for a while since its not supposed to rain for some time now).

The Faire built a stage in our old spot...so we got moved to another spot, with a new campsite as well.  Hopefully the traffic will be just as good in the new spot!  The campsite is nicer though...we actually have neighbors and its closer to a place to walk the pups.

Patti has her doctor's appointment this morning at 8:45am, so we have to leave soon.  Maybe this doctor can figure exactly WHY she has high blood pressure, since none of the others we've seen could.

Kev

Gezzzzz Couldn't have anything to do with being married to you could it?  :)rotflmao $@!#@!

LOL!  Could be!

As the doctor ordered, Patti and I and the pups went for a mile walk yesterday...and then I hopped on my mountain bike and went for a hard 1 hour ride.  MAN that Fat Chance Wicked rides nice!

You have to watch out for the troilla balls though...they sit in the trails like landmines, just waiting to impale your tires or get kicked up by the back wheel and nail you in the back...I skillfully avoided them of course  ;) .

Gonna do it again today...just another day in perfect weather...its still vacation after all!

Kev

Another nice walk yesterday and another fast paced solo mountain bike ride...and then Patti was delighted to have all day to do her hair and makeup and whatnot.

Almost scored a free old Banner motorhome yesterday to use as a workshop, but the Faire had first dibs, and they took it...dangit...lol!  Would have been a perfect mobile workshop to use at the faire, and then store here the rest of the year.  The owner said I could have the genny for free, an old Onan CCK series, 4.0 KW, and I thought about it, but when I got back to our rig, our genny turned over no problems...it didn't start, but it turned over vigorously.  I'm thinking my battery bank must have been too low when I tried it last, which made me think the starter was bad.  I'll check it sometime in the next few weeks with a gas can and fuel line to eliminate fuel deliver problems from the equation.

About to go down to the pharmacy and pick up Patti's medicine, then when we get back it'll be another nice walk and a bike ride!

Kev

Hey Kevin,
Look what I scored on eBay!  Anybody with a Holiday Rambler knows how rare these are.  There is a "however", though.  The ones on my motorhome are wedge shaped where these are flat.  They still fit and are like new.   Colaws RV salvage charges $35 a lens, when they have them (very seldom).  I got the whole set with shipping for $20. 


(https://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi903.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fac232%2FQuietWater%2FHoliday%2520Rambler%2Ftaillightlens640x360_zps02610d3d-1.jpg&hash=b69945432e100f6ee70436a3cf3a165da082895e)




And the postlady brought my $.75 book.  This is a cool book.  Well worth the $3.00 shipping costs.  I know what I'll be doing tonight,  When I ordered it, the website said it was hardback, but it isn't.  It's still in excellent shape, though.

(https://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi903.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fac232%2FQuietWater%2FHoliday%2520Rambler%2Frxforrv_zpsd6986fda.jpg&hash=e6fc63daef7b20bc953f61fd10ff667a0b851ba3)

HandyDan

You mean this book in our CW store?   D:oH!

http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php?action=store;sa=view;id=184 (http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php?action=store;sa=view;id=184)

Dave

Nice score on the lenses and book!  My lenses are also wedge shaped.  Thankfully they weren't too damaged and the epoxy I used should keep them nice for years.  And yep, that book is awesome!  A wealth of information, some of which I tested on our trip out here.  For instance, ideal speed for MPG in a gas motorhome is NOT 55mph.  Its closer to 38mph, taking into account wind drag and gearing.  My fuel economy went from 7mpg to 10mpg by just sticking to back roads (long Arizona back roads with very few towns and stop lights) and staying at right around 40mph.  I have yet to read the rest of the book, which I have on the computer.

Yesterday was a pretty lazy day.  We went grocery shopping, stopped by the gun shop (where I traded in my Bersa .380 on another stainless Ruger Security Six...lol...LOVE those things!...still on layaway for 30 days...I owe another 150), and then came back home and took the pups for their mile walk.  Didn't have time to squeeze in the bike ride before dark.

Today will be a nice long walk with the pups again, and then another bike ride...and I might set up the awning.  Other than that, nothing planned at all.

Kev

Quote from: DaveVA78Chieftain on February 02, 2013, 11:49 AM
HandyDan

You mean this book in our CW store?   D:oH!

http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php?action=store;sa=view;id=184 (http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php?action=store;sa=view;id=184)

Dave

Yep, that's the one, except I wanted a hardcopy instead of a computer file.  After reading through it, I think it should be a standard item in every motorhome.   However, if you only drive a P-32 based chassis, then quite a bit of the book doesn't pertain.  Same goes if you only drive a Ford or a Dodge chassis.  I don't think I would spend $102 for a hardback edition at Barnes and Nobel, but it is well worth the forum cost for it. 

I bought that book for .99cents last week on ebay and 4 dollars shipping to my P.O. box in Niagara fall NY.  probably wont pick it up for a month or two but that for that price i couldn't let it pass. :)clap glad to here its a good book.

Sweet now who's going to scan it so we can add it to our library i??

LOL LJ-TJ...its already in the club store!

http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php?action=store;sa=view;id=184 (http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php?action=store;sa=view;id=184)

Kev

Fixed the rear shock mount on the Jeep yesterday...bolted all together with grade 8 hardware left over from my RV shock project.  The joust troop had some scrap metal laying around, and I scored a pre drilled piece of 1/2 steel bar stock already drilled with 1/2 inch holes on both sides, the perfect length.  I ground off the jagged edge of the mount where the thin metal had broken and drilled a half inch hole through the thick part (nearly 3/8 thick).  Then I bolted it all back together, torqued the heck out of it, and used red Locktite on the threads.  After that it was just a matter of bolting the shock back on to the axle, and done!  It might pivot from use, so if it does I'll just have a welding shop tack weld it at the top to keep it from pivoting...but it sure isn't going to break now!  Total cost:  Free!

Other than that, it was just a long walk with the pups.

Today its another pup walk, a bike ride, and maybe set up our display tent on site before it gets too crazy busy here this week with everyone else setting up.

Aside from setting up our booth, its going to be a relaxing last 5 days of vacation! 

Kev

Only 5 days left?!  How quick the time flies. 

Yep...vacation will be over before we know it, and then its time to get crazy busy again!

We have opening weekend coming right up, then student days on Tuesday and Thursday, and then a 3 day weekend (We are open on President's day)!  Geesh!  Talk about breaking up the production week!  Its going to be some insane hours building catapults!

Good thing we are all rested up...lol!

I didn't get around to setting up the tent yesterday, but I'll do it this morning.  I did manage to get the tent location all marked out, but got to talking with a friend of mine and got distracted.   W%

So today we'll get all set up.

Also gotta take the pups on their long walk, and hopefully squeeze in a bike ride.

Kev

The tent is all set up and the display tables are packed full of catapults...we are ready to open!

It actually went pretty quick with Patti helping! 

So today we get to relax, take the pups on their walk, go on a bike ride...heck, anything we want!  Its great being all set up early!

Might go into town and recon the pawn shops...gotta retool after the weekend so I'm curious to see what kind of deals I can get on tools around here.

Now we get to sit back and watch the fun as all the late comers arrive over the next few days, frantic to set up in time for the weekend.  Its always fun to chuckle at the procrastinators that took so long to get here... :)rotflmao

Kev

Got any pic's of your set up? Hm?

Yep!  Just go to our website, LJ-TJ!  wwwDOTstdcatapultsDOTcom.  Lots of pictures of our setup!  Unless you mean our campsite, and the answer is no, no pictures yet, but we set up pretty similarly every time and there is a picture or two of the website, and many more on our Photobucket, screen name Clydesdalekevin.

Waited around most of the day for the honey wagon to come pump out our grey water tanks...we can go ALMOST 2 weeks with normal unrestrained water use, but not quite!  Water was backing up into the shower tub the last couple of days...and not a pleasant smell I might add!  Kept the roof vent and fan on for the last couple of days to vent out the stinky sulfur smell.

He FINALLY arrived around 3pm, so after he got here I did some grocery shopping and whatnot, and that pretty much ate up the day. 

Tomorrow we'll take the pups on their walk and I'll fit in a bike ride...vacation is almost over! 

Friday will be my last post on this thread, except to answer questions or comments.  Saturday begins the next chapter of our adventures, which will be titled Arizona, 2013!

Kev

About the only thing to do today is help our friends Eric and Joan set up their booth when they arrive...they had car trouble on the way here and are running very late.

Also want to clean out the Jeep and vacuum it...maybe Armor All it while I'm at it.  Might play with the touch up paint a bit as well.  We'll see how much time we have!

Kev

If'n you need something to do, you can come back out east ans wash all the salt and uck off vehicles here!   :laugh:   
Of course Mark might want some help with his gritty beach snow!   :laugh:   Dang stuff gets in all your bathing suit pockets.

Dave

LOL Dave!  Don't worry...I'll be PLENTY busy after the weekend!

We had a very pleasant surprise when they got here and opened their booth...I left WAY more tools here than I thought I did, so I won't have to replace as many!  All I remembered leaving here last year was a band saw, a benchtop sander, 2 saw horses, and a staining rack.  Turns out I also left a table saw, a drill press, 2 work tables, and several shelf units...SWEET!  All I absolutely have to buy on Monday is an 8" Ryobi miter saw, a good 8" blade for it, and lots of pine to build small catapults for student days.  I LOVE it when a plan comes together, especially by accident!  Other tools I'll need are a thickness planer, a compressor and hose, a shop vac and hose, a router table with router, and a tent to set it all up in...and some tarps to lay down, and put over the tent as an awning of sorts for the stain table.  Those tools can wait, but the miter saw and blade are all I need right away to make kids day stock (10 dollar catapults).

Gonna be busy on Monday, but it'll get done even if the weather sucks this weekend, which it looks like its going to.

Kev

Hey Kev you need one of those full size trailers with all the shop equipment built in  (like the race cars have) Just plug in and open the doors and your set up anywhere !!  ;)  Frank

LOL Frank!  Most states frown on towing in tandem...The RV towing the trailer towing the Jeep.  Unless I got a trailer big enough to drive the Jeep up into as well...and then I'd have to heavily reenforce the rear frame of the RV, and probably have to get one of the those Toad things that take the weight off the back when towing a large trailer...and THEN my gas mileage would really sucketh with all that weight!  And more wear and tear on the engine and drive train, etc.

Believe me, we thought about it!  And weighed all our options:  Cost and weight and drivetrain wear, etc.  It ended up being cheaper for us to retool at every show...I'm pretty savy when it comes to pawn shops and Craigslist...And then just leave a complete set of tools and tentage at each show we do.  That way we don't have to carry heavy tools all over the country, already built stock and our pavilion tent go into the RV compartments when we travel without weighing all that much, and the Jeep Wrangler is light as a tow vehicle 4 wheels down, and is big enough to hold all our porch furniture.

We already have a complete set of tools in New York and North Carolina, and almost a complete set of tools here in Arizona.  Just one more place to retool...and that's Oklahoma...and we are all set on tools no matter where we go, without lugging them all over the place!  That's woodworking tools that is...we still carry all of our automotive tools with us...just in case!

So today I've got to pull our costumes out of storage...they are in bins in the under compartments, and then trim my beard and shower, then bring the marshmallows down to our booth, and that's pretty much all that is on the agenda today.  And I'll try to get to cleaning the interior of the Jeep today...didn't get to it yesterday.

Last day of vacation!

Kev

You could all ways move up to a 42ft diesel pusher.  Vroooom.........  with towing power to spare.  Of course the train (RV, trailer, toad) might be interesting!   :laugh:

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LOL Dave...I love my old RV...she's a champ!  Having served on submarines, I find I have more than enough room, even without slides...and its paid for!   :D

Got everything done today...and that was with having to move my tent over a couple of feet to give more room to the guy on the end of our row.  Took less than an hour to shuffle it over though, so its all good. 

After moving the tent, I took the rear carpets out of the Jeep and shook them out, then used the dog hair brush on them, then vacuumed them and the front carpets, and then reinstalled the back carpets.  Some upholstery cleaner on the seats, and Scrub Free on the dirty spots on the dash, console, and interior of the hard top.  And then some Armor All on every bit of vinyl and rubber and plastic, and the interior is looking new again...SWEET!  Smells good too!

Then we dug out all our costumes from the under compartments so they are staged for the morning, and then I trimmed the beard, shaved and showered, and called it a day.

After walking around the faire, I have determined that our new spot is way better than our old spot, so we should have a very prosperous faire!

And thus endeth this chapter!  Look for the new chapter tomorrow morning, titled Arizona, 2013!

Kev