The new project has started

I'm here. And it's good to be back in a quiet place in my own house.
The last tenant left the place a mess but with the help of my friends I'm getting it back into shape.
The first step was to get the power hooked back up so I can do the work necessary. The whole point of the renovation is to get myself off the grid so I don't plan on keeping the power hooked up. My hopes are to have a stand alone system up and running by the spring.
After the dust settles I will start on the heating system.
Currently I heat with a wood stove and it does a great job. The drawback is that I have to constantly tend the fire. So I cannot venture out very far for long or the house will freeze.
My idea is to construct a wood gasifier. This will provide both heat for the house and gas to run a generator.
I need to sit down and figure out the size so I can run it round the clock with minimal refueling. I'm thinking once a day.
So I need to locate a generator and modify it for my purposes.
The gasifier is the easy part oddly enough. I'm going to take a few designs I've researched and incorporate some automation. I would like to use sawdust since I have a fairly large supply of it but the issues with using that fuel is a challenge. I would also like to use wood scrap so the machine will need to be flexible as far as the design of the burn chamber is concerned.
Once I have the gasifier done I can vent the gas into another device to burn it for heat until I get the generator. Maybe I can modify a gas water heater?

Putting the finishing touches on the rv

I have been fighting with the idea of driving my rv to my house but in its current state it may not make it.
I had all the systems fixed but when I drove it to its current location I lost the directionals and I still don't know why.
And on the way the drive shaft bearing started to vibrate so it will need to be replaced. But on the other hand it may make the 900 miles if I baby it and stop often.
I don't know.
All I know right now is that I can't sleep because I have all these thoughts racing through my head.
Maybe I will see things more clearly in the morning.

Here I go

Well, I finally did it.
I decided to cast off everything and go off the grid.
I've researched a lot of alternative systems and I have arrived at the point where I can safely start implementing my ideas.
The first step is going to be altering my house to make the transition easier. This includes installing a composting toilet, low power LED lighting and a better heat source.
I will have power by way of a modified generator which I will only use when I need it otherwise I will utilize a storage system charged by a windmill.
I'm excited and terrified at the same time.
Stay tuned. . .

Someone is trying to tell me something

I really don't want to leave New Mexico, and so far my flight was delayed twice and it was overbooked so they were offering $300 vouchers to anybody willing to give up their seat for a later flight. If they were offering cash I would have done it.

Going Home

When I was traveling for work I always looked forward to going home, but when I'm on vacation it's the opposite. The week flew by faster than I expected and I'm sitting at the Albuquerque Sunport waiting for my flight back to high humidity and scheduled days. Maybe I'll play the lottery when I get back so when I win I can retire early. Nothing like a good bout of depression to start my day.
At least I have a tasty cup of coffee.

The miraculous stairs

One of our stops in Santa Fe was at an old church with a set of spiral stairs called the miraculous stairs.
Here is the story in a nutshell.
A church was built in the town of Santa Fe in the usual manor. And as was customary they didn't leave enough room for a staircase up to the choir loft. After consulting with many craftsman the best solution was a ladder.
So this group of nuns prayed for nine days for someone to help them. On the ninth day an unknown carpenter shows up at their door and tells them he can build something.
After a number of months the spiral staircase was complete and the carpenter disappears without a name or being paid.
It was decided that it was a Saint who was the mystery guest.
Whatever the situation the staircase is a beautiful piece of art.
Look it up.

Santa Fe

We left this morning for the capital of Santa Fe. Its an old city rich in history, hippies and the Chuck Jones art gallery.
If you are not familiar with Chuck Jones, he is the genius behind Bugs Bunny. The art gallery is a collection of his work as well as pieces from Dr. Suess.
I was not able to take picture in the gallery so those of you who grew up with either one just close your eyes and imagine pictures of bugs bunny and star belly snitches and you will get the idea. Those of you who have no idea who these people are, I can't help you, sorry. You are missing an amazing part of Americana.
Ok, back to Santa Fe and hippie chicks.

Communication glitch

No internet yesterday so I could not update my vast number of friend.
We stopped by a small park yesterday that featured carvings made out of dead trees. Its a work in progress.
Then we headed out to old town to do a little tourist stuff and have lunch.
After our bellies were full we drove to the zoo! It was hot and I didn't want to carry the tablet so no pictures of the gorillas that freaked me out.
Zoos out here are very different than the ones back home. The animals seem more alive and they are almost always out to see, the exception being when the grounds are being cleaned. And they are several magnitudes more smelly.
Pink flamingos are cool, gorillas are too human. (They make eye contact.)

I like it here.

So, I haven't talked about the weather in Albuquerque NM. First off, the humidity is very low, so low in fact, that even when it's hot outside it's completely bearable. There is always a light pleasant breeze that cools you. The trick during the day is to stay in the shade.
Now here is how the day goes as I have observed. At about five in the morning it's around sixty eight degrees and about fourty seven percent humidity. The sun comes out about five thirty and the temp stays about the same. In fact the temperature barely rises until ten.
The hottest part of the day is from about three to six in the evening. Then it cools right back down in the sixties.
We don't use the ac in the car until the afternoon.
And if that isn't enough, there are no mosquitoes. None. I am currently sitting with my sister in her back yard with a cool breeze blowing typing this and I can devote my full attention to the task at hand and not swatting away any no good, pesky, irritating, pain in my arse Skeeter's!
And for all of you who say, "Well, there's nothing to do there, you're in the middle of the desert."
Well, we have not had any trouble finding things to do.
Here are some picture of the Roswell UFO Museum, enjoy.

First full day

New Mexico is on mountain time or two hours behind us. My internal clock is not calibrated for the change so I got up at four this morning. So it's still dark out and I'm wide awake, what to do, what to do. I know let's go for a walk. I was told I could see the hot air balloons at the park so I pointed my feet in that direction and off I headed.
Needless to say it was beautiful out and dark. When I got to the park I paused and looked out at the horizon, but there were no balloons. It could have been the very dark clouds headed for me from behind, the ones firing lightning bolts to the ground. I thought it would be best to get back to the house before the rain started.
When I got back to the house the front door was locked. The clouds were closer now. I pondered my situation and though out my plan. I'll try knocking on the door and maybe I can wake someone up gently and rescue me.
Unbeknownst to me, my sister and her family sleep like the dead. I swear I could drop a box full of metal pans next to their head and nothing will happen.
I thought I may try the keypad for the garage door. Then I thought that if I didn't get it right there may be an alarm involved and then it would get messy. So next I thought that I would hang out in the back yard but I didn't know how the neighbors would handle seeing a large man scaling a concrete wall.
I tried the door again. And few minutes later my sister opened the door.
Once everyone was up we headed out to breakfast at Wecks. It is by far some of the best breakfast food I've had in a long time. We headed back to the house and chilled for a few hours before heading to the Al Unser museum. It's a small place but it was full of great cars and assorted machinery.
We then headed out to el Pinto for dinner and once again had some great food.
All in all a very full day. Tomorrow we head for Roswell. With my aluminum foil hat. You can't be too safe.

Made it to New Mexico

Landed in NM yesterday 15 minutes early and met my sister and her kids at the gate.
We stopped by the rt. 66 diner for an early dinner.

The stars at night are big and bright

Just landed in Dallas, and my puddle jumper leaves at 2:30.
So far it's been a good flight. Not very good for people watching.
What's with all the normal people flying today?

Just boarded the first plane.

Full flight. Fun.

Alright, enough.

I will post more picture when I can. I just found a better way of using my blogger software. Or rather the correct way of using my software.
This really only a test before I am in the thick of it.

At the airport

So I made it to the airport and I breezed through airport security. I was a bit relieved to see that the check in process has improved since the last time I flew.
As a result of my expectations, I'm now officialy very early for my flight and I'm sitting at my gate patiently waiting for my flight.
I have a picture of the airport but appartently my software will not allow me to put it here and show you the logan tower on this beautiful day.
I will try to fix this problem.

I should have made a left at Alburquerque

Today is the first day of my New Mexico trip. I was going to drive out in my revamped rv but as luck would have it I became employed full time and as a result have extremely little time to relax.
But I promised my sister and her kids that i would visit, so here I am.
Right now I'm waiting in my friends kitchen drinking a cup of coffee that I'm sure he made for me. He was good enough to offer a ride to the airport.
When I travel I pack light and due to the current state of things at the airports I decided that instead of figuring out what I can't take with me, I will simply leave everything home and buy what I need when I get there.
I have one bag and I think I will check it in at the terminal. It does not contain anything but my clothing so when they loose it I will not be a disaster.
Ok , I hear my ride.

One thing that never changes is that everything changes.

I have two weeks left to my stint at my company and this past Friday they asked if I would like to stay on.
Of course I said yes. But with this decision goes my ability to take a long trip anywhere. So I will be shifting to plan 'B'.
Plan B involves stripping the RV down to the frame and rebuilding her, lighter, stronger and bigger. Plus I will rebuild the transmission and do some modifications to the engine.
I will be spending a lot of time in the beginning planning my attack with spreadsheets and drawings. I need to layout the cabin in a different way and extend the back a few feet. My intention is to have a livable space along with a small machine shop and small kitchen.
I may omit the sleeping area above the cab and turn it into a storage area (or computer command center which sounds way cool)
So in the following weeks I will be posting my ideas and thoughts and building an ordered list of things to do.
Any comments are welcome. Once the build starts I will be taking lots of pictures and some video so check it out from time to time.

T minus three weeks. . .

I have three weeks left at the job and then I will be unemployed once again. Although I am looking forward to it this time. At least I know that I will not have work, it will not be a surprise.
I have come to terms with the fact that I am just not a good worker. Maybe it's because I'm unencumbered by the normal things in life like kids, a mortgage, etc.. I just have the attitude that I don't have to put up with the bullshit of the work environment so why deal with managers who apparently get off on bullying their subordinates. I know I am a very creative person and I have a lot of talent and knowledge. I don't need someone treating me like a first year intern just because they think that I need to have a job.
Yes, I do know that this is a poor attitude. But I spent a lifetime trying to please my employers only to be extremely disappointed when all the work I put in didn't do me a bit of good.
Ok enough, now I have to figure a way to make money on my own terms.
Hmm.

Whew, been a few weeks.

Well, I haven't been posting lately because I've been crazy busy. That and not getting enough sleep has me pretty worn out. I just felt I had to post now just to avoid any rumors of my death or possible "Did your hear what happened?" followed by "I heard his last words were 'Hold my beer'".
Well, as far as I know nothing of the sort has occurred.
The mechanic had a hard time with the dually wheels but my girl now has all six new sneakers and I will be picking her up this weekend. I have some flooring for the back room, notice I didn't say bathroom? I am making it into my machine shop, and I will have a porta potty on-board for any emergencies. I will also have a water supply to wash with so I will not be completely without facilities.

Ok then, I'm still breathing and my RV is coming home. Till next post.

She may be ready this weekend

I talked to my mechanic and he said that he will get to the tires today and give the rest of the rig an inspection to let me know if all is well. Hopefully I will drive away with a sticker, I can only think of a few things that may be a problem and I gave him permission to fix whatever needed to be fixed, within reason, so I can have the coveted inspection sticker. Thankfully it does not have to pass the emission test.
I'm already chomp'in at the bit to get the new parts I received installed on it. I have two new roof vents and a stove vent. With a few stainless steel screws and that rubber spray I'll be in business. I will also replace the front marker lights with the LED units I bought many months ago.

So, Do I rebuild the Bathroom or make it into a Lounge?

I have been wrestling with this whole bathroom thing for a couple of weeks now. It's a big room, for a small RV. I do like the idea of the convenience of a having the ability to go anytime anywhere. But then I think of my past time on the road driving tractor trailers. They didn't have bathrooms on board.
And then there is the argument that it's a lot of extra hassle if I use it. There is the added weight of the water in the fresh water tank and the ever increasing amount of liquid and yesterday's food in the black water tank that I now have to find a legit place to dump. (pardon the pun)
Gas is expensive and the less weight I carry the better. And I wouldn't have to go out of my way to find a waste deposit area, thereby saving more gas.
But, I do like to be clean. And daily showers are very important to me. The water tank holds forty gallons and if I use the shower, it will use approximately one point five gallons a minute, and that's . . .
roughly a half hour of shower time. That's enough for one good shower and and possibly one maintenance shower. And then I have to find more water to refill the tank, and a place to dump the waste. . .
Ok, while I was on the road I leaned the ways of the asphalt cowboys. Who either didn't bathe until there was a strong storm, or used one of the thousands of showers available at most big truck stops.
It's not expensive, and the showers are the size of a small apartment easily able to fit myself and maybe a half dozen really close friends.
So now I'm thinking I'm not going to rebuild the bathroom. It would make a nifty machine shop just big enough to house my CNC mill. I would like to make things along the way and possibly make some extra scratch. I like this Idea. And I can remove the big tanks that I'm sure weigh a couple hundred pounds along with the pipes.
Besides, I'm a guy. I can always pull over to the side of the road and admire the beauty that is nature.
Get out and check the tires.
Go stretch my legs.
Chase down big foot.
Do some bird watching.
Check my lights.

Looking Forward to the Weekend

The stuff I deal with during the week really makes me glad there are a couple of days at the end of the week that I can call my own. I like to think that I'm not a very materialistic person, I don't have much, but what I do have means a lot to me. During the week I deal with people who look down on others, like me, who have not achieved the status that they, themselves have achieved. Levels that are defined in their own universe.
As I grow older and see more of what everything is about I realized that status is just a way of making a goal for yourself. Something to strive for. That's good. But when I'm looked down on because I don't have . . ., compared to whomever's own personal goals, then I just have to take a deep breath and subdue the urge to beat the living crap out of them.
I don't really mean that. I'm a pacifist and I let things like this bounce off me. Most of the time.
But back to the weekend, Hopefully I will be able to pick up the RV with new tires and proudly drive it back  home. I have not heard from the mechanic yet but I will call tomorrow and see what's up.
I have big plans in the following weeks for the old girl. First I need to fix the gas filler then repair the generator. I'm going to lay a new carpet in the cab and get working on the bathroom. One thing I need to address are the rear wheel skirts, they are in bad shape. I looked online and they want a totally unreasonable amount for them. So my solution is to make them myself. The skirt is symmetrical so between the two I can make one good one for a mold. A little fiberglass and resin and I'm in business.
I watch the 4x4 truck shows and in one particular episode they used polar fleece rather than fiberglass. It looked good so I will try it myself. It's a good cheap alternative.

Second Official Trip Complete

(Continued from the last post.)
I left my friends house and drove to the highway with the intention of stopping to get gas. I pulled off the road to the Irving station and drove up to a pump. At this point I realized that I left my wallet in my car so I walked over to my friends truck where he was filling up and I informed him of the sitch. Then while I was talking I had my hands in my pocket and it dawned on me that I had cash.

I walked back over to the RV and fired up the pump. A split second later I noticed that I was watering the ground. I found the gas leak.

So now I had to drive up to the garage with what I had in the tank, no big deal I had a quarter of a tank.
So now the RV sits at my mechanics garage waiting patiently for new tires.
Hopefully I will be able to pick her up this weekend so I can fix the fill neck and any other little things that need attention. There are not many more thing I need to do.

Buying my baby new sneakers.

It's the weekend, and that means the second outing for the rolling party wagon. This time I'm taking it to my mechanic at JAM Automotive in Barrington NH. (Shameless plug.)
It's about an hour drive over many different types of streets. I'll stat off on the interstate, exit onto a state highway and then onto a few town roads.
I have already completed the first leg, from the storage area to my friends house to pick up my brand new tires. The ride was about twenty minutes and the first drive since I timed the engine.
Last weekend, when I moved it from Portsmouth City Maker Space, there was an unpleasant smell of gas that got worse along the way. I didn't find any gas leaks but I did notice the generator was wet. I knew that the engine was still way out of time so I fixed that problem, although I did not have a clue of what the timing should be. So I took my best guess and set it at around eight degrees BDC. It ran well so I let it be until I got my reprint of the factory service manual.
The book arrived during the week and I learned many good things about the van. One of which was the timing for the engine, which is zero, or TDC. So it's still a little off but it's raining and I have to get under way.
So at 7:00am this morning I climbed in and started her up. After a few minutes it was idling nicely and I worked on securing the cabin for travel. All along I did not detect the slightest smell of fuel. Good. Once she was up to temperature I slid back in the drivers seat, put her in gear and I was off.
There was a slight surge from the engine at low speed, around five to ten MPH. I made it to the stop sign, looked both ways and gave it some gas. She gracefully accelerated up to thirty without any complaint. A few minutes later I got to the interstate and brought her up to fifty five. No problems, she sounded good and healthy. The next hurtle was the sixty five MPH mark that didn't go so well last weekend. But to my relief we hit the target and a little more. No popping or coughing from the power plant. Sweet.
About fifteen minutes later I was at my friends house loading tires.
Now I'm blogging because I told my friend I would be there at eight and it's about seven thirty. I can't help it I get very punctual when I'm excited.

Maiden Voyage

Friday night I finished the front end. My plan was to have the RV out of it's current spot and move it to the next staging area. When I was re-assembling the grill all of the hardware either broke, seized or dissolved in my hands. So here is the front end as far as I could get it during last week.

It looks kinda funny without the headlights. I ordered the parts I needed to re-fit the headlights back in place. While I was waiting I figured I would tend to the grill. It is in good structural shape but the old chrome and black paint looked well worn. So I brought it into the shop to give it a face lift.

The grill was mostly silver (chrome) with black accents, I felt it needed to be updated and reversed the paint scheme to mostly black with silver accents. I know, not too imaginative but it turned out so good.

Here is the grill before I painted it. . .

And after!!!

Ok, they look the same, but trust me the new grill looks so much better and honestly, there is more black and the silver paint has metal flake in it. It's done.

 So on to the maiden voyage, it was nothing special just a half hour drive to my friends house but the intention was to shake out the drive train and make sure everything is working.

I still have not timed the engine but it seems to be running good. I asked a friend to follow me in case of any problems and to give me a ride back to my car. I walked around the vehicle to lock down any loose panels I may have overlooked and to make sure there was nothing hanging or any tools left behind. There was this unmistakable smell of gas lingering around the back but I didn't think anything of it. I had smelled it in the past few days but it was probably from the vent. It has been warm.

I made it back to the drivers side and slid behind the wheel, pushed the key in the ignition and cranked her over. She started with roar and I kept the idle up with my foot until the engine warmed up which only took a few minutes. I dropped it into drive, the RV gently nudged forward to let me know it was in gear and I gave it a little gas. Slowly it moved forward, I was on my way.

I had to give it a little more gas to get it up the drive to the road, a little more than I thought should have been necessary but that was the engine being out of tune. The smell of gas was curiously strong but I continued to the upper parking area where my friend was waiting.

I stopped the RV and hopped out, it was idling really well and sounded great. I walked over to the chase vehicle and told him which way I was going. Hopping back into the drivers seat I could still smell the strong odor of gas, now I was getting a little concerned but not enough to check it. 

I set off down the road with my road side assistance behind me. At one light I made a hard right and I saw in the mirror a trail of liquid behind me, but it stopped when I straitened out. Now the smell f gas was overpowering.

My cell phone rang, it was my buddy behind me. He said that some liquid had leaked out the back and that all he could smell was gas. He thought it came out the exhaust. After being asked how my engine was running I replied that it was running fine, albeit a little sluggish. So I told him that I was going to continue.

About a mile down the road the smell of gas was just unbelievable so I called my friend and told him I was going to stop at the truck stop to look at whats going on. 

I pulled into the station and made sure I was away from the pumps, just in case. I left it running and popped the hood thinking I was going to see gas all over the engine. But it was dry as a bleached bone in the desert. I looked under the rig and didn't see any wet spots on the ground or on the undercarriage.

I stuck my finger in the exhaust tailpipe and quickly withdrew it noting that it was running and very hot. But my finger was dry aside from a little black soot and a developing blister. I visually checked the tank connections and found nothing.

Oh well. I decided to continue. I climbed in and exited the truck stop. The chase truck called me and said more liquid exited but it was nowhere as much as before and this time he noted that it was coming out from behind the exhaust, about where the dump valve for the waste storage tank is. Well that mystery was solved, apparently there was still some liquid in the tank and the dump valve is damaged some some exited.

But that didn't explain the smell of gas, which was getting stronger.

I made it to the highway and gently pushed her up to fifty five, where I would hold it and assess the sounds. Everything was going well except for that damn smell of gas which at this point was making me a little ill. The doghouse was not properly latched and it lifted up. I stopped it from flying off with my knee and held it until I got to the next rest area. I pulled into the truck parking area and got out, telling my friend what I was up to.

Off we continued. We were about fifteen minutes into our thirty minute trip, all was well.

I gave her a little more gas to get up to sixty five, a more civilized speed for the highway. Once the speed-o read sixty five the engine popped though the carb a couple of times so I backed her down to sixty where it hummed right along. That was a timing issue, and the smell of gas may be a symptom of the ill timed valve train. But I never smelled that much gas and not have a major leak. Like a wide open garden hose type of leak.

We made it to the exit and turned off the highway, and at the end of the off ramp came to a smooth stop, with the engine idling happily. All the while I was nearly passing out from smell. We made it to the stop and I backed it into the driveway. I half expected the undercarriage to be on fire but there was nothing. I shut her down and the engine came to a stop without a complaint.

For the next couple of hours I cleaned the inside and looked around for the cause of the smell. I made my way to the generator and removed the hatch. It was quite wet with what looked like fuel. The generator is plumbed into the main gas tank. The last time I worked on the generator I closed the fuel shutoff. And it was still closed, but there was a second shut off at the fuel filter which was still open. I had removed the air cleaner so I could work on the carburetor and never replaced it. Maybe this is where the fuel was leaking out? The generator was wet but the smell of gas was not strong or maybe my nose was so overwhelmed that I could not smell it. 

I finished cleaning and set out with my timing light to sync the valve train. I found the timing mark on the harmonic balancer and painted it with my white paint pen. Since I removed the air conditioning compressor I was now able to see the timing mark on the engine well enough to set it.

I started the engine and pulled the trigger on the strobe light, but I didn't see the mark. I loosened the distributor and turned it a few degrees. I still couldn't see the mark. I knew it was there so I was a little more aggressive and turned the distributor, slowly, a lot. The engine was running well so I looked for the timing mark again.

This time I could just see the mark come into view but I was still a few degrees off so I turned the distributor to where I thought it should be and checked it again. Bingo. Maybe. I don't know what the setting is yet so I left it at ten degrees before top dead center. That will be close enough until I get the right number.

It seemed to run very well and I could not smell the gas any more. But I really didn't smell it before until I was moving. So it will have to wait until next weekend.

I decided this was a successful trip.

During this week I will be servicing the generator.

Goodbye friend

Before I start I have to make clear that nobody died.
That said, today I sold my Jeep. The one vehicle I said that I would never part with. I had invested a lot of blood, sweat and tears and shared more than a few adventures in that thing. All said and done I think I made the right decision. It was time to let go.
I will always remember the day I traded my Yamaha 660R Raptor for it. When I drove it off the lot it felt like it was meant to be. I had the Jeep for over ten years and it never let me down or stranded me on the side of the road.
Goodbye old friend I will miss you.

Alright, I'm getting things done.

I got a lot done on the old girl this weekend. I had to strip the front off the van to get the alternator out so while it was open I replaced the water pump, all hoses and anything else that I saw fit to change.

I had to remove the entire front radiator support which was surprisingly easy. There were just a couple of things I had to disconnect and two tanks, the radiator overflow and the windshield washer, that I had to pull.

The white cross member at the bottom is a welded piece and is a very substantial piece of metal. That's the piece that the bumper attaches to. The thing that struck me the most was that all the bolts came out without much of a fight, even the one that was broken off. I just used a pair of channel locks and it came right out. I sat there and wondered why the head was missing. It looked like it was being removed because I had plenty to grab a hold of.

All the hoses and clamps are fresh and I just had to replace the fuel line because it looked horrible given that I had to bend it while everything was in place when I did it. Aside from a coating of rust on everything steel everything was in good shape. I cleaned up the mating surface and installed the new pump with no problems.

Like I said I replaced all the hoses and clamps, the fuel line and belts. Now I'm going to use the fact that I have not worked on a v-belt engine in a long time as an excuse for installing the front belt before the back belt. But the reality is that I was just puttering right along and forgot. No big deal.

The radiator was in good shape. There are just a few rotted vanes but nothing major. I was going to replace it but I think I'll roll the dice with this one. I doesn't look that old.

The front is now all buttoned up and ready. I didn't fill the radiator yet, I had just enough time to get everything back together.

On another note, I have not seen or heard and wasps. I think I got all the buggers.

I picked up my new mattress and will put it in soon.

Now that I have the mechanicals all sorted out I will get to installing my bathroom. 

Changing the Alternator

I can't remember how many alternators I have changed in my life and I have seen almost every configuration of attachment. The bottom line here is that they are not difficult to work on although sometimes they are a challenge to get at and you either have to be a contortionist or have a high threshold of pain. The one thing you do need and should never attempt anything without is patience. Vast fields of gently wafting in the warm wind calming patience.
I know that I have, in past entries, expounded on the virtues of the ease of accessibility of the dodge van. And I stand by those statements, mostly. But this one simple task, that I have done over and over again is proving to be my Waterloo. But I will not be defeated easily for I have the knowledge to figure it out and the stubbornness to not let it beat me. I don't care how much of the vehicle I have to pull apart, this alternator is going DOWN!
My problems started early Saturday morning unbeknownst to me. I opened up the RV popped the hood pulled the doghouse and removed the air cleaner. I took a little bit of time to size up the job at hand. There, in front of me, sat the little bugger out in the open with all terminals and bolts easily accessible, and I smiled to myself thinking that this is going to be one of the easiest alternators I have ever changed. The easiest being in an early 2000's Chevy pickup, you just can't get any easier than that.
Well what I didn't realize was that I just jinxed myself.
I disconnected the battery first, I didn't want to burn any wiring. Then I removed the power terminal wire followed by the other two connectors. Next I removed the pivot bolt and adjustment bolt being careful not to drop the spacers. The alternator dropped in place onto the brackets below. Easy. Now to get it out.
I looked at the alternator and sized it up. Then I carefully plotted any possible paths I could use. To my chagrin there were no paths. So I did what every neanderthal would do. I drew it back to me and, clunk, it hit an obstacle, I turned it  and tried again, clunk. Ok, maybe I can get it out from under the hood, after I remove the old air conditioning compressor, after removing the antifreeze reservoir, after removing the radiator. . .
Ok, I can certainly get it out from under the wheel well after I remove the splash guard. That is if it were made of plastic not metal and it were attached with bolts not welded.
So there I was, lying on the ground staring up at the loose alternator sitting on the frame rail, mocking me. It was then I decided that I would have to get it into high gear and take things to the next level.
I have always had full intention of changing the water pump and any other item that may let go at the most inopportune time. So I thought that this was as good a time as any.
I removed the front grill which took me about an hour, on one screw. There were five screws holding it on.
I placed the grill in the RV and closed up for the night.
I may have lost the battle but I will win the war. Next weekend.

I hate bugs

I drove up to the maker space yesterday after visiting my mom. I planned to air it out in the nice weather and start the repairs to my charging system. But when I opened the drivers door I was charged by a rather large wasp, followed by a slightly larger wasp. They flew by my head and off into the world. I carefully peered inside to see if there were any more guests. I spied one on the windshield and one on the dome light.
Now, I did know there was a possibility of having a nest somewhere in the rig, but I was in denial because I had already looked around the cabin and under the vehicle, and the bathroom showed no signs. So I figured the dozen or so insects that were behind the cushions were just from the past season and got trapped inside. Well, obviously I was wrong.
I started to bang on the sides and on the top vents to make them mad and reveal their location. But the night air had already cooled down enough to make them inactive again. I did a more extensive search and I did find two nests in the stove exhaust vent. My latest guess is that they migrated inside last fall because the nests show no activity.
My solution to my dilemma will involve using a bug bomb and removing the more obvious nests. Deep inside I know that there must be another nest I'm not seeing. So I'm hoping that the bug bomb will do the job.
I don't have many more cold days to rid myself of the pests so I will take the a/c cover off the top and check there as well as the refrigerator vent, heater vents and intakes and any other hole I find.

Schedules and being on time

I'm a bit of a stickler when it comes to being on time. If I tell someone I'm going to be somewhere I'm there. If the occasion arises when I don't show, then something has gone horribly wrong.
I'm active in a community shop called the port city maker space. They have all sorts of classes and workshops to help everyone from the technically challenged to seasoned pros gain useful knowledge.
They also supply tools and work space to aid people in creating whatever they want.  There was a suggestion that we have a group build, to gather all the member who would like to participate and combine our knowledge to achieve some goal.
We decided that we would build a 3D printer. They are all the rage with the techno suave right now.
Our first official meeting was going to be april tenth but due to some scheduling conflict's they moved it one week later.
Being the type of person who hates to be late I left work and drove the hour up to the shop and I was early, about twenty four hours early.
Now let me tell you how important it is to read the schedule correctly.

The Waiting Room

So, in the past few days my Mother ended up in the hospital and had open heart surgery. She is now resting, as best she can, in her room. My father and I wanted to be at the hospital when she came out of surgery so I met him at their house and we drove one car in.
Upon arriving at the hospital we found the parking garage and sought out a slot for the car. It seemed like there was a convention in town that went horribly wrong. There were very few spots to pick from and the traffic driving around looked like a bunch of people playing musical chairs. Wait for it, there's one grab it.
Once we secured the car we headed into the side entrance, which was about a hundred feet to the left of the main entrance. Inside it looked like a well worn train station. the carpets were dingy and the furniture was aged. My dad found the information desk and asked the gentleman behind the counter where we could find my mother. He told us to go through the doors behind him and just past the inside, on the left, will be some elevators. Take the elevator down to the second floor and when you exit the elevator take a left then another left, walk a long way down the corridor and the PACU will be down there.
Well, we walked through the doors and looked to the left, no elevator. So we walked a little further in and still no sign of a lift. We turned around and walked back through the doors. Maybe he said to walk down the corridor and that's where the lifts are. No luck, but we were now in the main lobby and we found another information desk. My dad asked the same questions. We were told to walk to the cafeteria and take a left just before it, walk down the hall and the elevators would be on the left, the take the elevator up to the sixth floor, exit, turn left then left again down the hallway to the east wing were we then turn right, follow down to the nurses desk take a right and the room is half way down the hall on the right. Yeah, I got it.
We masterfully followed the instructions and arrived at her room, which was empty. We asked a nurse if she could help us find my mother and she obliged. She was down in the PACU on the second floor. Just go to the end of the corridor and take a left at . . .
She must have noticed the tick I was developing on my face so she stopped and said, 'Go to the end of this hall and take the elevator at the end, but don't tell anyone I told you.' We were then instructed to take a left off the elevator and at the end of the hall is were we would find the waiting room.
We found the door to the waiting room and I opened it, there were no lights on, so I shut it. I told my dad that there must be a mistake. I peered into the room again and this time I noticed people sitting in the seats. Must be the right place. I called the nurses station to let them know we were there and then sat down.
The room was almost full of people, nine of them (the room was small). And after a few minutes I figured out that they were all together. And they were from Lowell. The group was mostly young kids with two or three adults. I sat back and listened to the conversation they were having. The kids were murdering the english language and very animated with a lot of expressive body language.
You must use your imagination and picture arms flailing about and bodies contorting around invisible corners all while the expression of complete seriousness is on their faces.
'Yo, I heard Twinkies are com'n back' said one young lad.
'Word, I tink little deb bought the ba'kry." replied the young lad's brother.
'Did'yano, Twinkies don't burn? Imeanya can't catch 'em on fiya, yo." said another sibling.
'Yah, I heard that Twinkies are inflammable, your right" said the mother.
And that, readers, is why we removed the word inflammable from the various explosive containers we see every day.
My mom is doing well.

I'm back

Boy, it has been a busy couple of days and I have a little time to sit and type.
There has not been any progress with the RV this week due to unforeseen circumstances. But I'm here today and I will get something done. I also teach a machine shop class that is today and tomorrow but I will manage so squeeze in some quality work time.
The goal for this weekend is to replace the alternator and voltage regulator.
I will also make a battery tray seeing that the current one is missing. The battery is currently sitting atop the horn and some other nondescript objects.
I have decided to pull out the shower stall after all, I can't leave it in place and be comfortable without the knowledge that it is in good shape. It shouldn't be that difficult to do.
More later. . .

Family matters

I picked up the new alternator last night and hopefully i will be installing it this weekend. 

I've had a family emergency and my schedule is a little unpredictable. My current situation is a bit sureal so I may not post for a few days. I will be back.

If it's not one thing . . .

Let me tell you, yesterday was a beautiful day to work on the old RV. I had purchased a fuel line the night before at my favorite auto parts store. ( They let me in the stock area now so I can pick what I need. )
Armed with the stuff I need I had two goals, fix the damn leak and  figure out why my left front directional isn't working.
I started by roughly shaping the 5/16" steel line to the shape that the old line is in. Next I removed the old line. Then I tried a dry fit of the new line. It was about two feet too long so I trimmed it down. I didn't like where the old line was run mainly because there is another path that is WAY easier.
A couple of bends here and there along with some choice words and I secured the fitting to the pump.
Ok, bottom is done. On the top I bent the line in a more pleasing shape that would not be in the way of any future work and attached the fuel filter.
I gave the throttle a pump and turned the key, hmm, it sounds a little slow. It fired right up and after inspection I found no leaks. I fooled with the timing a little to see if I could get it any better so I needed to shut the engine down to hook up the timing light.
I could not locate the timing indicator on the engine. There was too much in the way so I could not get a direct line of sight. I crawled under and looked around then I tried to feel for it. No luck.
I will have to get a mirror up there and do some creative tinkering to get the timing right.
All is not lost, I can still see how steady the engine it. What I mean by that is when you hold a timing light on the crank pulley it will freeze it so you can see the timing mark. If there is a vacuum leak the mark will jump around and not hold steady. There are a few other things that will cause it to jump around as well but those things would be bad.
So I turned the key and this is what I heard, ruh. . . . ruh . . . click click click. Damn battery is dead.
I jumped the engine from my escort and proceeded with my task putting aside the charging problem for later.
It was steady as a rock. Good.
Now what the heck is wrong with my alternator?
I found my voltmeter and hooked it up to the battery while the engine purred away.
11.8 volts, 11.75, 11.7. Damn.
I was taught a valuable lesson when I was younger about the charging system in a Chrysler product. When the external regulator fails it cooks the alternator and when the alternator fails it cooks the regulator. Lesson was, change them in pairs. I have found this to be true in the other two Chrysler vehicles I have owned. One other lesson I was taught was always carry a spare ballast resister. So I keep a ballast resistor in my glove box next to a pair of clean underwear.
So I ordered a new rebuilt alternator and regulator and I will put them in this weekend.
While I was under the van I also noticed that I may want to change the transmission lines, they are a little sketchy. The trick is to keep the fluid inside.
My directional light was a bit easier to figure out. After removing the light assembly from the grill I pulled the bulb out and cleaned the corrosion off of it and the socket. A replace the lamp with a new one and tried it out. Nothing.
I traced the wires back and found the problem. It was unplugged. It works now although I have to figure out why it's not flashing with the headlights on. Oh, well. It was getting late so I packed up for the night.

Automotive Parts Stores

Ok, this may be a little bit of a vent for me but I was out buying parts for my RV and it seems that whenever I go to the parts store I always end up with the dolt who knows nothing about cars. I just ask for simple things like light bulbs, brake lines and the occasional bearing. What I am confronted with are the standard questions, what's the year, make model, blah blah blah.
I know it's more efficient than the old fashion way of having employees with a good knowledge of cars who know off the top of their head what the basics are. Breath.
Sometimes I like to mess with them like one time I needed a bearing for a project I was working on which was completely as far from a car as you can get. Sure, I could have ordered it through one of the bearing suppliers I usually deal with but I was on my way home and the auto parts store was there. And I was in a mischievous mood.
I walked into the store and started to browse knowing that it would only be a few minutes before someone from the sales team would descend on me and ask the magic question, Can I help you? I walked around the carefully planned aisles looking for my target carefully avoiding eye contact, and soon my patience paid off.
I saw an employee about three aisles away had noticed me and started the approach. I pretended not to notice him and started walking the other way, still browsing, although at a faster pace. I crossed into another aisle to inspect the new air fresheners all the while keeping the mark within sight.
The moment he rounded the far corner I doubled back as if I forgot to look for something. He fell for it and I  turned once again and entered the high performance aisle. So, much, chrome.
This time I let the team member catch up while I was scoping out the carburetors.
"Can I help you?", I felt a little chill on the back of my neck. I told him that I was looking around and that I was working on a project and needed a bearing. He asked me to follow him back to counter where I said that I have the bearing number in hand so there was no need to . . .
"Year."
"2010", I said.
"Make."
I felt a little giddy. "My own creation."
"Um, what?
I tried to explain that the thing I need the bearing for is not a car, as a matter of fact it doesn't even have wheels.
 Then I tried to give him the number and I could see his eyes glaze over. "I can't look up the part without a vehicle." he said. "Sure you can" I said and asked if he had those big bookish looking things under the counter, preferably one with 'bearing' somewhere on the cover. He pulled out a couple of hefty catalogs and placed them in front of me.
I found what I was looking for, an NSK bearing book. It was a little outdated but that's what the computer is for.
I told him that the bearing I'm replacing is a Timken and to find the NSK equivalent you have to turn to the back of the book to the cross reference guide.
After about five minutes we found the bearing, which had to be ordered.
I consider this a small victory because I may have taught a new skill to a young kid and by doing so he may be better equipped to help the next person who asks for something out of the ordinary.
When I find an auto parts store with someone who knows what they are talking about I tend to be a repeat customer. They understand that when looking up parts for my '89 jeep that the words 'does it have air conditioning?' should never be asked. Unfortunately, they always seem to get promoted or leave. I hate looking for a good part store.
My favorite store to go when I want to be entertained, and I have never been let down, is, shall we say an Advanced store. I walked in to buy an air filter for my jeep when an employee asked me the magic words. I said I was looking for an air filter but the catch is, it's not stock.
To his credit he told me that I could open up the boxes and pick one that fits. I thanked him and went about my business.
As I approached the counter he asked if I was all set to which I replied, yes. Then he threw in 'Can I interest you in fuel injector cleaner, it's on sale."
I told him that my jeep was not fuel injected, but thanks.
"Oh," he said,"you have a diesel."
Gold.
I asked him to try again and he was honestly perplexed.
After a couple of seconds I let him off the hook, "It has a carburetor."
I know I have issues, but really, as far as cheap entertainment goes, this is good stuff.

Zen and the Art of RV Repair

I'm amused by how many people ask me if I think the RV will make it. My answer is and always will be of course it will. On one level I believe that anything can be fixed, be it a temporary repair or a permanent mend. I have enough belief in my own abilities that I don't worry about breakdowns. The pile of replacement parts I will have on hand along with the tools I will have will be more than adequate to repair all but the most catastrophic failures. I have figured in my budget funds for tires and a radiator if the need arises.
On another level, and you may laugh, I just know the RV won't let me down. I have a feeling for these things. Once I walked into the RV I got a sense that I belonged there, a good feeling. And I still get that every time I work on it or spend time in it.
I have had vehicles in the past that I just knew would be a problem and as it turned out I was right. You may say that I was already in that mindset and no matter what vehicle it was it was going to be trouble. That may be, but most of the difficulties were mechanical or electrical and never anything like an annoying squeak.
Thankfully, I didn't have a lot of those vehicles and I never drove them far.
Truth is, if you listen to your car and take care of it, you will never get stranded.
You should also talk to it nicely.
Every time I go up to work on it the first thing I do is start it up and listen. The Chrysler 360 has a sound of it's own. I can hear the tiny high pitch squeak of the belt I'm going to replace, the air rushing through the two barrel carburetor, the sparks arcing in the distributor as it races around. I can see the pistons and crank moving and the lifters rapidly cycling. The exhaust has a nice deep note.
Once it warms up it smooths out and purrs like a kitten. I let it warm up to operating temperature and then shut it down. Soon I will be driving it every weekend to shake out the chassis.
Every day I get a little closer.

New floor

This weekend was really busy for me, it was on the cold side and windy so I wasn't in any rush to do any outside work on the RV so I changed gears and worked on my 3D printer. I did clean the inside of the RV for a bit and tested the seating for a few minutes.
I have to do a search for a possible nest of hornets. I keep finding the suckers in between the windows and under the cushions. I think there may be a nest in either the walls or the roof. I will find them one way or another when the weather warms up.
On Sunday the weather warmed up quite a bit and I was motivated. First thing in the morning I went to my favorite home building center and bought some supplies for the day. My goal was to patch the floor in the bathroom, fix the water tank hatch and cover the large hole left by the water heater.
The floor patch was strait forward and simple and only took me an hour to do. I opted to remove all the damaged wood and cover the remainder with new half inch ply.
The hole where the water heater previously lived was where I got a little creative. I have not had any luck with finding replacement siding for the rig so I figured I would keep the hole and use it as an access to the vanity plumbing. Now all I needed was a cover. The water heater was no good so I cut off the hatch and replaced it where it once was. It was a perfect fit of course.
The water tank hatch which is below the water heater access panel was in need of serious repair. Whoever fixed it before me did a complete hack job. I had to cut a new piece of MDF to the correct dimensions and fit the old molding to it, which is so bad that none of the corners connect. I also installed a new lock because there was none.
I was also playing with the idea of mounting the water pump in the water heater hatch along with a filter.
That is still in the works.

Fixed the Locks

I had one problem with the RV that needed some attention and I successfully fixed it last night. The problem was that I had no keys for the locks on the entire RV. I had a couple of Chrysler products in the past and they all had the same type of keys, one pentagon shaped key for the ignition and one oval key for the doors and trunk. Well, when I got the keys to my RV I noticed that there was no oval key for the van doors and no other keys to the RV portion of the vehicle which include the door and all the exterior hatches. Luckily all the hatches are unlocked so I can access the various bits and pieces. This is not a problem because the locks used are just the very common type used in cabinets. The door presented a problem because the lock is built into the door lock set. So I pulled it out and carefully adjusted the tumblers to fit a key that I have. So now I can lock the RV. As for the van doors, I could buy a new set with keys and replace the old ones or, and this is what I did, just leave it alone. I have a key to the RV door and I can just unlock the van doors from the inside. It will stay this way until it annoys me enough to change it.
I also fixed the hood. The problem here was it didn't latch down with the lock it just caught the safety catch. It was a little dark last night when I got to this but I was determined to fix it. I slowly raised and lowered the hood so I could get a look at the mating of the latch and catch. I couldn't see anything because there was an anti theft plate around the catch so I removed it and tossed it in the woods*. Then I repeated the raising and lowering again. What I saw was the catch sliding into the latch but it was way off to the back of the catch. So much so that it wouldn't let the catch swing into position. And there is no adjustment for this. I suspected that the van had hit something and pushed the radiator support in about an inch. Why should the front be different from the back, apparently this RV was used in a demolition derby.
At one point I was getting frustrated with it and wasn't paying attention and I let the hood slip out of my hands and WHAM! it slammed down. And locked. There, another problem fixed, all I have to do is slam the hood. Again I will leave this be until it annoys me enough to fix it properly.

Further Planning

I started to put together a list of food to pack and things that will purchased along the way. I have put a lot of thought into this and I have come up with a base list of food that fit a certain criteria. It must keep for a reasonable amount of time without refrigeration, is inexpensive and is readily available around the US.
Of course I will be relying heavily on the great overlord Walmart. They are known to be RV friendly.with ample parking for rigs. I always thought that they should have expanded to include an RV park on their property complete with black water dump and RV repair. Unfortunately, the Wally-Marts up in the New England area have posted no overnight parking signs in the parking lots. I don't think they enforce it because I see RV's of all shapes and sizes in the summer parked there. Why would they want to loose that business? Someone in upper management has their head firmly up their buttocks.
So, I believe I will have no problem with acquiring cheap food during my trip. So here is a list of food so far.

Stuff That will keep:

Ramen Noodles

Peanut Butter

Spam

Canned Corn

Canned Peas

Baked Beans

Spam

Canned Soup & Chowda

Spam

Anything Else Canned that tickles my fancy.

Pickles

Tortilla Chips

I'm still working on it but I think I'm at a good start. I will buy fresh fruit and veggies along the way. Of course I will have an ample water supply for drinking as well as other refreshments.

My goal is to not exceed my budget of twenty dollars a day. That gives me a hundred and forty dollars for weekly groceries and I don't think I will go over sixty. But I set twenty as my number.

I have plenty of storage space in the old girl so space will not be a problem. I was going to remove the old fridge because it does not work but I think I will keep it as a cooler and stick a bag or two of ice on the top shelf to keep things cold.

Places I want to go.

I was an industrial mechanic/technician for a company in New Hampshire for a few years and during that time I flew all over this country, Mexico and Germany. I had a lot of fun as well as frustration just like any other job.
The reason I bring this up is a little place in Lynchburg, Tennessee. I am referring to the Jack Daniels distillery. While I was on a job somewhere in Tennessee I suddenly had some time to kill so I decided to go there and take the tour. On the map It didn't look very far but in practice it was a good three hours away. After the long drive I parked and walked up to the main entrance only to be greeted by a sign reading that the tour was cancelled that day due to problems in the building. I was not pleased. So I made the best of it and asked the locals where I could get some good BBQ.
There is one thing you must be warned about this part of the country, they like to talk. And if you ask about BBQ be sure you have some time because your gonna sit a spell and listen to people banter back and fourth about who has the best BBQ in town. And never, never suggest that you have had great BBQ outside their state. Them's fight'n words.
But really, they are great people and they do love there BBQ. I ended up going to this small hole in the wall a few miles away and had the best BBQ ever.
Anyway, I would like to go back to the Jack Daniels plant and take that stupid tour. So I have made that my first destination.
I plan to drive no more than five hours a day and about four hundred miles give or take. So the drive down to Lynchburg will take about four or five days.
The one thing I will have that I never did when I was driving trucks was the internet. It's available almost anywhere now and I can stay in touch and keep updated on traffic and get locations of the nearest rest stop. It's insane, I wish I had this back then.
The plan is to stay mostly at the rest stops along the way and stray once in a while to do something fun.
Now to plan the nest leg of the trip.

I am sooooo tired

It was such a nice day today that I traveled up to the RV for some quality time.  I had washed the seat covers the night before so I was excited to get the foam covered again and getting the inside of the camper back to normal. To my chagrin I found that I forgot a couple of covers, oh well most of them are clean.
Next on my list is the water tank. I had decided that I was going to fix the tank instead of buying a new one. You would not believe how much RV crap is. I can buy a certified water tank out of mcmaster-Carr for less that the cost of a cheapo water tank from an RV supplier. Hello, not all of us use our rv's for pleasure. I'm going to live in mine.
Anyway, I digest.
Here is the crack that I need to fix.

I thought to myself that this is not a bad crack and I can fix it. The whole point to doing what I'm doing is to reuse and fix what I have, not buy new stuff, that's easy. Any shmederick can buy stuff but it takes talent and skill to fix and re-purpose.
So what I need for the repair is a soldering iron and some filler rod. But since I do not any filler rod I think I can get by with just the weld.
The tank is polyethylene and melts at a temperature of about 240 degrees F. The iron goes up to about 600. Using the iron I melted the crack and blended it back together.

its not pretty but it will hold. And it will be under the new vanity so I don't care.

Now I have to replace the section of floor that the tank sits on and finish the bathroom.

Washing the seat covers

So I'm sitting in the laundrymat washing the seat covers to my RV. I have not been to a laundry in a long time, glad to report that nothing really changes in these sort of places. I had to use the monster 60 pounder to do the covers. They are fairly stiff and have vinyl panels and I have a few of them. But they are in good shape which is lucky, because that's one more thing I will not have to replace.
What is so fascinating about the laundry machine? I can't help but be mesmerized by the osculating action of the drum. The gentle whine of the servo deep inside is lulling me to sleep. I have twelve minutes left then it's off to the dryer. The washer has a small leak and the water is dripping out the front hatch slowly but steadily.
I am the only person in here except for the one employee behind the steel gate in the back. This is just how I remember it. Once in a while someone walks in to get their load out of the machines. Eight minutes left.
Big Bertha is now going into high speed rinse. It's winding up like a jet engine and looking into the glass it kinda looks like a jet. Soon my covers will be a quarter of the volume than when I started. Ok, top speed, not as fast as I though it would go but fast enough. Five minutes.
I am imagining putting everything together in the RV and how it's going to look. It looks good in my head and once this is done I will clean the seating area and get it ready for it's maiden voyage.
I still need to get the numbers off the generator so I can fix the Carb. Oh, it's done.
Alright, I just loaded up the dryer and set it to low so the vinyl won't go away. They looked pretty clean when I pulled them out of the washer and smelled good too. No more mouse smell, not that is was very strong.
This go around will take about twenty minutes so I have time to wax poetic. I don't know what that means but I'm sure I'm doing it. There are no seats on the dryer side of the laundry so I have to stand and wait, I suppose I could just sit in the wash area, there is just one person here.
It was raining when I left work so I didn't think I would stop by the RV tonight but now I'm having second thoughts. I may go over and drop off the covers, heck I may even put some back on. It depends on how late I will be.
Alright, enough boring laundry commentary.

Trip Planning

I'm planning my trip in my off time during this week. I have a lot of places I would like to go and there are more being added as I go along. The more I sit and plan the trip there is a stronger urge to get in and go. I'm now at the point where I'm dreaming about it. I think this is a healthy obsession.
The first leg of the trip will get me out of New England where I grew up. I have never had any feelings of being homesick, I think that is a quality a wandering soul must have. For me everywhere I am feels like home. Even if I have not been someplace in a long time, when I get there it feels like I haven't been gone more than a day.
I have always loved the southwest and have always made comments about how the colors are more vibrant, the sunrise and sunset are remarkable and unforgettable. Whenever I think of New England, I always think gray. The skies don't offer the color pallet that the southwest has. It also feels closed in, like I'm in a giant box. Out west I can see for miles and miles, so much so that you can see the curvature of the earth. The only place in New England you can see that is out on the ocean or high in the mountains.
The southwest also seems more alive. The storms are beautiful and terrifying with spectacular shows of lightning accompanied by thunder you can feel in you gut. I remember one day when I lived in Wichita, KS. The formally blue sky had clouded over and turned red. The clouds were swirling around like a cup of coffee. A few minute later the radios and tv's were broadcasting tornado warnings. While this incredible show was going on above me in the sky I noticed that there was no wind and it was eerily quiet.
There was a tornado sighting but nothing more. About an hour later the blue sky had reemerged and life went on. You just don't get that in good old New England.

Happy Easter

Now that spring is finally here and today is Easter ( the official first day of spring for me ) I am taking the day to relax and be with my family.

Progress

I had a good day today, the weather was warm and the sun was out. It was a good day to work on the RV.
Today was the day I had set aside to fix the exhaust and I got a bit of a late start. I had to run to the storage facility to pay for three more months. While I was there I pulled out my Sawsall, an important tool in the removal of car parts.
I left the storage place and headed north. On the way up I stopped by an auto parts store to pick up a few things like pipe adapters, a tailpipe and other little bits and pieces. And then off I went to the maker space.
When I arrived I unpacked my car and laid out my tools and parts. I backed up the RV to a dryer spot and crawled under to get a good look at what I'm about to do.
Aside from the muffler being all exploded and stuff the rest of the exhaust didn't look bad and the pipes were quite solid. This would make for an easy welding job, you can't weld to thin rusty metal.

The I noticed a bit of a gas smell wafting in the air, so I investigated. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a drip coming from the vicinity of the fuel pump. I crawled under the front of the van and saw the culprit, the pressure side fitting was dripping. Ok, easy fix, I grabbed my wrenches and cinched down on them. No movement. The fitting was as tight as I could get it and now I will have to replace it.
No big, but this means no welding under the vehicle. So I thought of a work around and measured out the parts and fittings that I would need and I welded up everything I could in the shop. I took the mass of welded exhaust parts and slid under the rig. I had to run back to the parts store because I needed a couple of clamps to get everything tight. After that it was as simple as positioning the parts and tightening the u-bolts.
I had purchased a section of tailpipe because the pipe end was rusty and didn't look good. I cut back the pipe to good metal, which was not far and pushed the new tail in position.

My next task was to get the taillights done. I had painted them over the last couple of days and now they were ready to be assembled an attached. The wiring was strait forward and I attached them with coated exterior screws. I bought the LED driving lights and mounted them to the bottom of the housings.

They are nice little units and they put out a lot of light. Maybe not good enough for driving lights but more than adequate for back up lights.

Here are the left and right sides. I sealed around the top and sides with silicone caulking and left the bottom open so water could escape. The lights work great and are nice and bright.
All I have to do now is mount the plate light and attach my plates.

Aside from the interior work here is what I have to do.
-Fix the gas leak (easy)
-Attach plate and light (also easy)
-Finish installing the front marker lights (I keep putting it off for some reason)
-Fix the hood latch (very easy, I should have done that today)

The list is getting smaller and when I'm done it goes off for inspection.

As for the interior, I have stripped all the cushion casings off and will bring them to a laundry-mat to clean them. They are in real good shape and the foam is perfect. Once I get the cushions recovered I will clean up the interior of the RV.
The bathroom will be the last thing I do. There are a few items that need attention like the black water tank. Apparently the previous owner had a heck of a time backing up. I think he used the braille method. While I was under the vehicle I looked at the black water system and noticed that the dump pipe had been driven up into the floor. Nothing is damaged but it has to be pulled back down and re-secured. I also noticed that I have a gray water tank. The tanks look like they are in good shape and I should have no problem.