Fall/Winter is upon us, and we're still headed North - a long way North...

The temps dipped enough that we had to turn on the heater last night. 42 is cold enough for us to need to bump the two furnaces on, which means two things. 1-We're not anywhere near Assateague anymore (yes, we still talk about how hot that was). 2-it is going to start getting expensive and noisy. See, propane isn't included in the nightly hookups. I have a sneaking suspicion that's one of the reasons off-peak is cheaper.

I'm going to run out and get some electric space heaters so that we can use those during the day to keep things evened out. They should put enough concentrated heat out to keep the areas that need to stay warm toasty, without adding any expense on our stays. Then, we can use the furnaces at night to keep things safe. Right now I think that's a good plan - we'll see where I'm at in a couple of months. ;)

Good news is that at 42 this morning it wasn't that bad in the trailer. I deliberately have the thermostats set a little low (65) to see what we can live with. As anyone that's full-timed before will tell you, everything is a learning experience. I'm figuring that the girls will learn about staying under their blankets, that footy pajamas are the best thing ever, and what it's really like to live in the winter. The house was always warmer in the bedrooms, so when we had the thermostat set reasonably, it was usually warm, quite warm, at night.

I fear a little for Jill - she doesn't have any footy pajamas. Could be a long winter. :)

Back on the grid.

Hey all... Yes, I've been a little MIA lately, and that's because the last couple of weeks have been really busy, really long, and I just haven't had any time to spare.

Finally... [breathing out], this week feels good again. Its nice to be in places for longer than a week, and I'm finally getting not only some serious work done, I'm also getting a few projects out of the way. Yesterday, I fixed the problem of having my desk right behind the kitchen sink. You can see from the photo that I put in a lexan shield that's just about the right height to make doing anything at the kitchen sink a little easier. A fairly simple project, but I figured I had one shot at doing it right, so it took me a little time - as projects tend to do until they rattle around in my head a bit.

Today I got the 12V outlet in the belly in, so that way I can monitor the tires without a problem now. I bought a TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) for the truck and the trailer (at the tune of close to $500), and after I installed it in Kentucky, it didn't have enough power to monitor all the tires. Turns out this is a normal problem they don't tell you about when you buy it, but a little calling and complaining got me a new piece of equipment to help. I had to wire a new plug for it, but it seems to work so far. I hope it continues to make my life easier when we're travelling - one less thing to worry about.

Last thing... Today I went to the Mohegan Sun to play poker for the first time since the regular homegames in Kentucky. I went and visited Harrington Raceway once when we were in Delaware, but it wasn't a place I felt comfortable and I just didn't want to play there. There have been other opportunities at various places, but I'm glad I didn't force the issue. Tonight, I was ready to play well, have fun, and told Jill my goals before I left. Start with $100 and turn it into 3.

The Sun is a huge casino (found out by parking at one end and having to walk the ENTIRE complex to get to the poker room). I can't wait to get to Foxwoods to compare, but that's another post in about three weeks. The place was clearly modeled after Caesar's in Vegas (before the super-huge mall), and I felt like I was in Vegas, as did the thousands of people there on a Tuesday night. Its within minutes of another casino, so clearly - there is enough business to go around. For me, the Poker Room was my destination.

Once there I signed in for the cheapest game they had - $2/4. They had some big games running, including ones where not just house payments, but the cost of entire houses could be won and lost in one hand. Not my size of game, but my goal was clear - have a good time, try to double your money - quit if you do better. I enjoyed the table, tripled my buy-in and came home within 4 hours of leaving. All-in-all a really good night. I was really glad to see that my game is still pretty good, even though I've been off it for so long.

I hope all is well out there for you who read the blog. We're doing this for a variety of reasons, first of which is to document the trip - but if we can entertain a few people while we do that, we're excited. Let us know you're out there - if you haven't already. :)

nggh.. Shay 'ello ... to my liddle fren'...

Meet ol' Blue. We've become quite the friends this week. Forced to buy him for the lack of hookups, and Jill's fondness for Laundry and showering the girls, he and I have spent some quality time together this week and I just thought you should all meet my newest (and possibly most single-purposefully-minded) friend.

It's a subject we haven't broached at all because I think most people are afraid to talk about it - unless they are camper/rv'ers (and then they don't need to talk about it). So, just know these facts... we have a freshwater tank, and two tanks for waste both fore and aft. One holds black water and the other gray. Ol' blue here is for only the gray water, which is just pretty much dirty laundry water, hence not too toxic. Not that we couldn't put black water in a little guy like this if necessary, let's just say I'll go a long way not to have to put black water in a little guy like this, and leave it at that. :) The systems are pretty much self-contained and I only need to hook up some hoses and touch some external valves and move stuff around, then wash it down (wearing Nitrile gloves the entire time of course), so it's all in all a pretty clean existance. They make lots of little gizmos and gadgets to make it even easier and better, and I've bought a few - plan on buying a couple of others, but for the most part - it's a pretty simple and easy process. If you have any questions, feel free to ask because I have no shyness about any of this kind of stuff any more. :) Enjoy your indoor plumbing all. :)

What a day - "Karma called, and they hate you..."

I don't really understand. Maybe I pillaged a village in a past life and its all catching up? Maybe, just maybe, what we are doing is so cool that Karma is trying to level the playing field just a bit...

I started off this post in a much, much worse mood. But those of you that are Facebook friends might have seen tonight's full melee of posts and comments, and its put me in such better spirits that I can't be upset. Good friends, good memories, maybe even, even after today, a good mood.

You see, last night I was in a good mood. I did a lot of work, was happy with where things are here, and this morning woke up with great anticipation of getting things done. New things, not fixing things - advance, advance - not C.M.A. Then, power, once again, reared its ugly head.

I've said for the last couple of days (to myself mostly, and slightly under my breath) that this stop would be the most important of the trip. We've been hot, sticky, sullen, unhappy, tempermentalists, forlorn, snippy, etc... (and I only got to Sunday morning in that list...) Bottom line is that none of us were meant for this July in this place, with no power, no AC, heat indexes of 105, tired, stressed, and everything else that goes with that this early into our trip. Jill and I have both come close to packing it in (and have stated such verbally) and the kids it seemed at times would almost rather that we did... BUT, slow down folks - the heat is doing a lot of talking here. Its really been miserable, and while I'm sure that many of you have suffered through more, with less, in less fanciful settings, please note that we have also gotten to the three-week-into-our-trip phase. First week - Honeymoon. Second week - Adjustments. Third week - REAL Adjustments, and this was not the place to be, with these conditions, when REAL ADJUSTMENT hit the girls... and us.

I think we'll reflect back on this and realize that this week defined a lot of stuff going forward. What we will, and won't do. What we will, and won't plan. And how POWER in summer is very, very important (water too). Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this was a bad thing/place/experience for us. Very much the contrary in fact as we learned so much.

Unfortunately, just as Jill and I discussed this last night, and had come to grips with everything... BUMP. Something else went bump.

Personally, I'm pretty sure its why the two girls in the tent camp next to us moved camp after one night. I'm pretty sure its why I've been whacking my head into a steel pole all day. I'm pretty sure its going to make it that I'm replacing just about every system on this rig, each at its own time...

The bump was batteries. Seems like last night might have run them down further than I expected. Now, I've been monitoring them for the last several days. Paying attention to levels and running the generator to recharge them daily (as needed), but last night might (ok, WAS) too much to ask. And, unfortunatley, unlike any other inverter (takes Battery 12V and turns it into House 120V) I've ever had, this one just beeps when its mad. My others have all beeped, then refused to be taken advantage of and turned off. I found this out because the girls watched a movie yesterday, then I of course worked, and played on FB and watched a movie - with earphones in... The manufacturer of the RV did buy one that beeps, but not enough to be heard inside (its in an outside storage compartment), even without earphones - so when it got to a dangerous level, it annoyed our neighbors, but didn't tell me anything... and I went to bed.

So poof. Now we have no power - no fridge - no laptop - no lights - no nothing. Three great big piles of weight that won't respond to a charge. I have a generator, and I keep trying to push power into them, but sadly, as I learn later, they are too far gone. Dead after only three months of use, and now its just another set of stuff I'm going to have to replace. I'm hoping that I can work out some kind of warranty issue.

>>> Sometime Later...

I've gone to Walmart to pick up some kind of lifeline, we have 12V again - jury-rigged as it is. To top it off I've fixed Jill's lost laptop from this morning (should get me points) and the fridge is beginning to creep back into real temperatures. I know there's more research to be done to see if I can save anything battery, or if the solution I thought I'd come up with in theory (before we'd left) is the right one now. We'll see. Lots of tests tomorrow to make sure things are working as they should, then replacement of what needs to be replaced, moving of what needs to be moved - and hopefully, at some point - I'll finally get a bike ride. :) I'm quite tired of fixing things. I really want to enjoy all the spoils, but this is clearly trial-by-fire, as the trip has dictated all along. I hope someone finds a firehose soon. :)

<<< A little later... Fortunately, as I edit this I've stopped thinking that Karma is getting me back for things in my past. I now realize that what it's doing is getting even for how cool this trip is, how lucky we are to be taking it, and how cool its going to be for the rest of my kids lives (and ours). And honestly, I think I can pay it forward now, figuring that the upside is worth the payment.

I know, I know... I KNOW. :)

I should be blogging more. I know I should..., I mean to..., I want to... However, there are still so many little things to do that I'm finding it hard to find the time. I'm hoping that by the end of the week I'll have most of the small stuff sorted out. Then - well, hopefully I'll bore all 3 people that are reading with the 12 stories I have. :)

Today was my first day back at work since having a schedule that required me to be somewhere, do something, fix something, etc. outside of work. I liked it. While I wasn't up as early as I'd hoped (that extra hour of Central Time really does make a difference - not sure why), I was up, did projects and felt really productive for most of the day - until my back said "uh, no. Remember yesterday?" (I could barely walk yet went shopping for stuff anyhow. Looked like a stroke patient dragging a foot... got...to...get...to...chiro.) Anyhow, since this evening things are better and I'm hoping, as usual, in full recovery so that I can get things on the mend, and on the move.

After work, project wise it was a pretty good day. I fired up our grill (Weber Q 200 with the nice little stand) after picking up some cylinders. I need to figure out the whole 'line from RV to Grill so I don't have to buy cylinders' thing, but there's time for that. Installed the knife rack. Put in the stemware rack that I'd been waiting to find and now the kitchen seems larger and more organized. :) And the calendar.. Can't forget about the calendar - most important installation since we left. We missed three months of it not being on the wall, and now Jill is happy, and content. And - as you all know - that is good. :)))

I still have a bunch of stuff to do, and I will do them over the course of the next couple of days. I sense a trip out to Bowling Green tomorrow or Thursday to tie up a couple of loose ends (stuff we forgot, things we remembered, the BIKES, and Beer...) "Beer?" You ask. "Beer?..." Yes, you see, we're in a dry county. Several in a row in fact. Hadn't experienced that before and will learn to plan well ahead in the future. :)

So. Many more posts to follow. I've been thinking about blogging about the places we eat (tonight was devine), and several other little things - projects, driving, observations, and campgrounds. It is strange to write everything down, but I do find myself lately thinking in headlines and paragraphs... maybe I should see a doctor about that. :)

Washers, and Dryers and Desks -oh my!

*breath out*... finally. Finally I can start building toward getting this trip off the ground. As Jill mentioned, yes - the Washer finally is fixed. It took 3 program boards, 29 phone calls to the company, and countless (ok, I counted them - it isn't pretty) hours, but the washer if finally functioning correctly, the dryer is out of the living room and I can start moving forward with everything, rather than wait, and wait, and wait. The pic to the right is a little Picasso/Frankenstein, but the iPhone is only so cool in small spaces, ok? ;)

Anyhow - I put everything back together, put in the breather grate above the dryer, mounted the dryer vent on the wall (until I can put something in that vents under the RV) and for now, finally, peacefully, Laundry proceeds... HUGE :)

The desk is also in, now that I have space to move around in the LR. It took some work, some help from Jill, and there are little problems with it that I couldn't have known until installed, but it gives me space - I can setup my stuff on it permanently (the biggest bonus), and it actually looks pretty good. I can't wait until I can find a little time to stain and protect it, but that will come soon. 4th of July was mentioned, and is likely.

I finally feel like I'm not fighting against things, but toward something. Its a nice change and I'm sure Jill would tell anyone she's talked to (Hantje? ;) ) that my mood has improved dramatically. My list has gotten to a manageable size and I see the end of it in sight. Granted, it wasn't on the timeframe that we'd hoped, but I also didn't see so many obstacles from so many arenas come our way - I mean... a bad washer from the factory - twice? Really? The wrong kind of 30 Amp - really? Mow everything - really?

Anyway - tomorrow will be another very busy day. Lots to do, and of course some items that I hadn't planned on (like office AC units going bad... really?), but I can now say that I'll take that in stride and we'll do what we have to do to get out of here. In time, on-time? We'll see.

WINNER - That's a great pair of mods! ;)

Pretty cool I must say. There is a site that I've been following which gave me the idea for a few of my mods, and information as to why they were important to do. ModMyRV.com told me about the Trimetric Battery Monitor, and gave me information for others I want to do, and plan to in the future (wilson cellular amplifier, solar panels, macerator, etc.)

Anyhow - they ran a contest to give away a couple of fans, and it finally drove me to send some of the stuff in that I've done to our RV. The first I sent in on a whim, the Aluminum Plate I put on the door to fix that stopper problem. I rewrote it when I found out it was a good enough mod to post, and although the pics weren't great, the mod was creative enough to get posted and declared a contest winner! :) Pretty exciting.

Then, since I have a couple of other projects that I felt were pretty big and detailed, I thought about submitting another, but didn't want to overstep someone else. I did want that mod to get posted (the water heater lights), but hesitated to put it in for the contest because I didn't want to take away someone else's fan, and because I saw how important good photos were - I didn't have great photos. I went down there and retook the photos last night, then I submitted it last minute when nobody else had been awarded (and I mean like the last hour of submissions), and won another. Also - very cool!

As a winner, I get a Vornado fan (installed pic right) for both mods. An under-cabinet mount 120v fan that actually is a pretty nice idea. It runs fairly quiet, tucks up out of the way, has storage for the cord when you aren't using it, and rotates 360 degrees to push air into/out of the cabin to/from anywhere. I got my first one on Friday, and mounted it that very night next to where the desk will be, over the window in the kitchen (so I can get all the great breezes). :) I think I'll put the second one in the master bedroom over my nightstand. With the 360 movement, it'll work well for placement from the corner, and tuck up out of the way when off.

Overall, I'm excited that my mods were so well received. To me they've been very logical modifications, but maybe there are just so many different things to do, and so many different ways to do them, that they are cool. :)

I can't wait to submit my next couple of mods. Maybe I shouldn't tell them that the trailer hasn't even been out on an adventure yet?

Porch Light Upgrade - Star Light.

On my trip to the Harrisburg RV show I found a couple of products that were great. One of them was the Star Light, which replaces the standard porchlight with a motion sensor and a battery health monitor. It was the motion sensor I was really interested in, since black steps in blackness tend to cause bruised shins :)

They tout a lot of things with the light, and it seems a little expensive (~$100) for a light, but for me it seemed worthwhile for what it offered. Being able to walk up to the RV and see where I was going made a lot of sense. Plus, their other features:

• the slight down-tilt of the light which lit more of the pavement than the side of another rig
• the battery monitor that would tell you if you were green or red (under voltage @ 11.5v) from outside the coach
• the security of knowing that if anyone walked up they'd trip the light. Supposedly the detector can tell between a person and a squirrel...

I ordered the light online and was able to find it for under $80. I only ordered one even though I have two porch lights because we intend to use one door more than the other.

INSTALLATION

They claim that the screw pattern matches most generic lights, so installation seemed like it would be a cinch. Same two wires, and pretty much take the screws out of the old light, pull off the butyl-taped backplate, lube it up with silicone and poof - done. In reality, it was tougher than I'd thought.

First - the screw pattern didn't match, not even close. So, after removing the old light and cleaning off the butyl residue I matched up one screw and redrilled the other three holes. This time, instead of using butyl tape, they recommend putting a silicone seam around the backing. They provide a groove to do so. I thought this would be simple, boy was I wrong.

Problem is that you're working above your head and off to one side. The ladder I was using was too small. I recommend that the first thing anyone who is installing this do is get themselves a nice little platform setup at the appropriate height. You'll see why in a moment. ;)

Anyhow -First step was to clean the area where the old light was. I used alcohol and cleaned around the entire area. Second I filled all the screw holes, old and new, with clear silicone so there wouldn't be any breaches for water to penetrate. Then, after putting the connectors on the wires correctly (white to white, black to black) it was time to silicone the back of the light. Problem of course is that you don't have a lot of space to work with since those wires are on. If you went to do it the other way, the light back will rub silicone all over the outside of the rig. [Recommendation: Two people on a platform would make this a much easier mod. Unfortunately, I didn't have that option.]

So having the light lubed up, the wires connected, I went to put the light in the right location, and lined it up with the wrong screw hole, smearing silicone all over the side of the RV trying to find the right one. I knew that not only was that a mess, it wasn't going to seal right, so I had to do it again. After cleaning up the silicone with mineral spirits (be sure to rewax the rig if you ever have to do this), I learned from my mistakes and put in some small rods (headless screws work well for this) into the correct screw holes, allowing me to put the light over them and just pushing it directly onto the side of the RV. Then, I screwed in the two non-rodded holes, removed the rods, screwed in the last two. Then, with a wet finger and a paper towel in the other hand, neatened up the silicone line around the light.

So - learning experiences here:

• even if the steps are simple, the mod might not be.
• find a comfortable position to do the mods that are above your head. Though that might sometimes be tough when out on the road, it would be worthwhile in materials, frustration and neatness.
• silicone is messy if you get it wrong. Get it right the first time.

Overall, I live the light and it does what I wanted. One thing that I would like it to have is the ability to choose how long you want it to light up. I know their goal is to scare away things that shouldn't be there, and not to use too much power doing it, but it'd be nice if they let me choose how I want it to work. A simple waterproof push switch to choose long or short would be enough.

Would I recommend it? By all means. If you're interested in the mod, more information can be found at http://www.starlightsinc.com. The website itself isn't the best maintained - the mail form wasn't working when I tried, but the info there is everything you need to know to do this mod.

Alarm... Alarm... why don't they put the right alarms in these things?

Why is it that RV companies, even fairly expensive ones, use the absolute cheapest stuff sometimes? The difference is just a couple of bucks, but I guess that if you do that a couple of dozen times, you fill out the bottom line. Still, at an $82K MSRP, I'm still surprised they went with the bare minimum just to meet the requirements. Maybe that's why they quit the biz?

I'm talking about smoke alarms. I just don't understand using alarms that you can't mute near a kitchen. I don't buy that's its being cautious - I'm thinking its really just all about being cheap and lazy.

Anyhow - I spent $10 and upgraded the alarm near the central area of the RV with one that not only has a 'pause' button on it (muting it if it goes off from burning something on the stove), but also has a light on it that lights the entire door/evacuation area when it truly goes off. Any normal house would have this (I hope) so that people don't go crazy, and the upgrade cost was minimal. The mounting bracket even fit into the same mounting holes. How easy can a mod be? ;)

All that stuff I read about the simple, little life-mods really makes sense to me. This one should be done by every RV'er, though it would make more sense if RV companies just spent the extra - what - 2 dollars wholesale? - and put them in.

Water Heater - show me the light(s)!

Since we have one of those water heaters that's a double boil... Electric and Gas -- it has a light in the middle of the switch. That light only goes off if there is a problem. Well, while that works for many - I have kids. They turn on the front lights to our regular house six times a day, and I need to know when a switch that's at their level is on without my permission... right?.

So, I decided it was necessary to put lights in for when any switch was on. Criteria was - 1. if it lit, it had to be very low draw. 2. lit up, it had to be rather small because I don't want it lighting up the room. 3. I didn't want to have to 'check the panel' by the door to see what was up.

So, I found some LED lights from Radio Shack - they were small, both in size and in draw. I'd seen from ModmyRV.com that it wasn't unheard of to make this mod, so I decided I knew enough how 12V worked to do it. I wanted to see if the waterheater was on.

So, I bought the lights, drilled the holes, found the connectors, and modified the switches. Now, when the WH is on - we'll all know. I think its a mod - using LED's - that should be made to every Water Heater.

Filling in the holes

So we found out the breaking strength of fiberglass. It is exactly one hit under a breeze grabbing the door from your hand and flinging it into the door stopper at full speed. You can see the damage caused in the pic to the right. I did the repair at night - sorry for the photos. :)

Anyhow - I wasn't sure the best way to proceed with the fix. Just put fiberglass over it and it would look rough, mismatched and probably would just happen again. there is no way the kids aren't getting the door ripped from their hands on the beach - no way that's not happening. It looks like the problem stems from the fact that Glendale didn't match up the stopper with the plastic piece that has the door catcher on it, though they did on the back door. Regardless, something has to be done here.

So I got an idea about using aluminum in a fair thickness to not only cover the hole, but also provide a base for future problems. The front door will be used all the time and will very easily take the most abuse. If I fix it right the first time, I won't have to think about it again, right? Now, where to get the materials.

First we (I asked Adam to fix it, since he broke it) tried to cut up an old sign I had laying around, but it was clear we neither had the tools, nor the correct materials with this one. I looked at going through the materials shop I used for the desk, but that was a lot of overkill in material, and then I'd still have to paint it and hope that it held up. Something made me look into sign shops, and I'm glad I did.

I ended up going with .08 aluminum signage, which is coated on both sides pure white. I was told if I wanted to do it from fresh stock that they had a minimum charge, per piece (I wanted to do both doors) of $30, and that was just too much - I could buy the material for 1/5 of that, maybe less and while I'd have to paint it, it seemed much more cost effective. The owner of the shop said that they might have material from past jobs in the back since I needed only small pieces (about 3" x 4"). I ended getting them to cut me two sizes - one 4 x 5 and the other 3 x 4. The pieces were a little beat up, but for what their purpose was I didn't mind a little scuff here or scratch there.

To put them on I unscrewed the door holder, then drilled the holes into the aluminum to match it. Since the thickness of the material wasn't that great, I wasn't worried about needing new screws. I covered the back of the aluminum with butyl tape, filled the hole the best I could with silicone sealant, filled the screw holes with silicone and reattached the door holder exactly where it had been, just with a plate of aluminum under it. I also added two screws to the two far corners of the plate to help with any kind of flexion, so no water would get under the tape. In the photo you can see the butyl tape squished out under the screws, and what it looks like after being scraped and cleaned (top right corner).

Overall I think its a great fix. The aluminum is thick enough not to dent or bend, it matches the outside of the RV, and I think it dissipates the energy from a door fling so that I don't have to worry too much about it. I didn't put on the other door plate yet, but probably will before we leave, just in case. Of course, I could just carry the extra with me as a precaution - it'll just depend on how much free time I have before we leave.

A VERY busy day.

So overall today was quite successful in the RV mod world. I was up early which, if you know me, is quite an accomplishment in itself. But, I knew there was work to be done. On the schedule was the new cam locks I got, a desk to fabricate (the Steel Part anyhow) and battery wiring to do. The desk was the main focus, with other items filling in the cracks while I couldn't help.

Cam Locks

So I decided that the last thing I want is to need keys to get into the belly of beast, not to mention that there are really probably 2 key types in the RV world (CH751 and CR128 or something). So I'd wandered around the net (maybe I found them at the RV show?) and found combi-cam locks. I wasn't sure they'd fit (measure carefully) and the offset that my manufacturer used was different than I could buy - but go for it, right? Installation wasn't too bad (just take the old one's out and push the new ones into the same space) but like I said, the offset was a little short. I'd come this far, so I just thought I'd bend em a bit. I couldn't use the manufacturer offsets because the square on the back was too large - wouldn't turn. Anyway - the bending worked great. I don't need keys, the compartments are more secure and in my opinion actually easier to operate. I'm interested to see how they do when we're actually on the road, but I'm feeling pretty good about it...

Batteries

Time to finish up the wiring for the batteries and put the tops on the boxes. Turns out this was much tougher than I thought. I ended up needing to go get 2 gauge cable at Lowe's because the auto cables I could get were too short to be run right. It amazes me how much cable was required for my battery setup. The bending and the placing also turned out to be a little difficult - that house 2 gauge copper is much bigger than the auto stuff (the wires inside the cable, not the nominal ID) I think the House that I had used 12 ga. and the auto stuff, along with having a more flexible casing, uses 18 or 20.

Building the Desk

What a task, but I was confident that Adam could get all that worked out. He seemed so happy to be welding, and since its something I know nothing about, I was happy for the help - very happy. I built the top of the desk out of foamboard so that we could measure and make it all work right. Turns out that may have been the most important thing I did in this project. Building the top allowed us to lay out the desk right on it, so that we were absolutely sure the structure would work.

The top was offset back from the sides and front 2 inches, with the top being cut very creatively. Pictures (right) tell a lot about the build. We had a little trouble with the measurements at one point (How did that extra 1/4 inch get in there?) but with the top we were able to figure out the problem.

The legs were a little more of a problem - how do you know what height is right? We put it at a couple of different levels, and finally came up with something that works pretty well. On the bottom we welded extra pieces under to support the legs a bit better - and it seems to work very well.

After Adam finished the frame (endcaps and all) came time to clean and paint. I hate underestimating what that takes, and had to run to the store in the middle of the paintjob. Adam painted wheels at the same time, and it had a whole paint-booth feel to it. After the primer (2 coats) I went with the textured paint that I so very much like (a brown speckle). I think the final result came out very nice.

Next Steps

I still need to install the desk and put a top on it. I know that it seems pretty easy and straight-forward, but my guess is that, as usual, it'll be much more work than I was expecting. I'm hopeful to finish it in the next week or so, and we'll see how those pictures look :)

I also need to put in the battery manager and double check the fluid levels in the batteries. All work still to be done. I need a couple of extra days a week :)

Project #1 is a success - on to project 2

Well, The first project (make room for a stackable washer/dryer is completed. We'll still need to vent it once I get the product, but at least the closet is done. I'm actually pretty happy with how everything turned out, and I think, for having to reuse pieces and canabalize the scrap, it turned out quite well.

The only thing that happened which I failed to realize is that the cabinet door will now need to be open to use the remote with the DVD player. While that's inconvenient, it isn't the end of the world, and if this setup works out ok I may just cut a hole in the cabinet door to make it work. OOF - I also forgot about the satellite receiver... hmm. More mods to be made :)

So - on to planning the next - Bed Rails. I found an example of what I want to base what we're doing (left). This is out of a Class A (a really expensive one - notice the granite end table for the lower bed...). I am hoping we can do something similar, but I'm not entirely sure how the ladder will work. Sound I use heavy closet rod (found one at Lowe's) or should I order something higher end? I think I'll use red oak stained to match as close as possible - its really all I can do. I sketched out the idea, and I think it'll be a pretty straightforward design.

I was planning on doing the desk next, but I realized that I can vacation without the desk - I can't put the girls in bed without the rails.

On the path....

I finally got some construction done, so the back of the cabinet is now in place. There is still a lot of finish work to do (top shelf, back board, wiring re-run, trim in), but progress is progress. My goal tonight was to get the shelves even, put the back of the cabinet on with screws and plan out the rest of the steps to finish that overwhelming cabinet...

Check, Check, and checkish... ;) And yes, that's all screwed in and flush...

R.

The first cut is the deepest...

So, in the spirit of posting constantly - here I am. You might think the title is strange, but I assure you, it isn't. I'm referring to the first MOD (modification) to the RV. It was tough at first, but it has picked up steam and its going to be great.

Project #1 started simply as a couple of guys wondering what the first project was, then... how can we take that apart, then... get me the prybar just to see how that's built, then - poof - project. :) Soon there was panelling all around and nails on the floor and exposed wiring... Woohoo!

I knew we needed a stackable washer / dryer in the RV, and while they'd prepped it well for a single, I knew we could modify it to handle the stackable in the closet they set aside. I understand Glendale's thought behind what they are doing, but I wish they offered this setup straight from the factory. The modifications are pretty straightforward, and would have been easier to do at the factory level (in fact it would have been easier to build than what they put in there...) Hopefully what I have to do will work out right :)

So the first day Adam and I tore apart the back of the TV cabinet, seeing how things were put in, and how they could be altered. turns out that for the most part it looked like a pretty easy task - shorten the shelves, move the back of the cabinet forward, reposition a couple of electronics and poof - Stackable W/D with vents...

Tonight I went down to take the next couple of steps. First we had to remove the shelf from the closet. That turned out to be a pretty simple task. Everything is built pretty simply. Framed out of 1x1 pine, luan stapled to both sides and edged with either moulding or trim tape. The major intersections where strength is needed is done with some 2 to 3 inch screws. I wanted to do this right, so I'm taking my time in deconstruction. The thing to me is to try to keep the front of the cabinet untouched. Adam would like to rip into it and make some replacements, which I agree would be easier, but I want to see if I can keep everything together and 'redo' as little as possible.

Second step was to cut the shelves. This turned out to be quite difficult even with the new dremel toy that I bought. I really though it would be easy, but with the angles and space that I had to work in, it just got a little mangled. Well, I guess that's what they make trim pieces for. I'll be trim tacking away when I finally finish!

Third step was to cut away the back where I need to put the shelf for the electronics. That did happen pretty nicely and once cut, the board now hangs freely and allows movement into position. All told I'm thinking we probably moved that back up by about 8 inches.

The last thing I did last night was to dry fit it and take some pictures. I think its going to line up pretty nicely and unless you knew what it looked like before, it'll be tough to tell that I've made any modifications.

So far: Casualty count - people: 1 (Adam stepped on a pin nail in bare feet and proceeded to bleed on my linoleum - how dare he :) ) Casualty count - tools: 1(Adam stripped a square bit) Is it just me or is there a theme here? ;)

Tomorrow: Off to lowes to pick up some items and then hopefully make some progress in the 'construction' phase of things. I have other things to do down there tonight, but I'm hopeful that I'll have at least a little time to get something done.

R.