I have the unique advantage of being in a situation where I have no ties to the area where I currently live. And I have friends and family all around the lower 48.
I wanted to create a blog to keep track of my journey and share stories and photo's from my travels.
So here I am. I have never blogged before so this is entirely new to me.
I will start with my general plan.
Step One: Where the heck am I going? Or am I just going to aimlessly drive around.
Now, as I have said, I was a truck driver for a little while. I really enjoyed driving and I wanted to see the country from a perspective that only the road can give. But driving around in a 53' beast limited my travels, and I did have a job to do. So I made notes of places I would like to visit again and spend some time. So I have a list of destinations.
Step Two: I need something to drive.
This is going to be fun. I am a mechanic and a general jack of all trades. I also don't have a lot in the bank so I will have to look for a fixer upper.
I skimmed Craig's List for a few days and found the motor home of my dreams. A 1976 Dodge Sportsman RV with around 50K on the odometer. And it was in my price range.
More on the RV later.
Step Three: I'm probably going to need gas money.
This has been the major hurdle to my goals. I have been researching ways I can make money while on the road, and surprisingly there are a lot of good, legal ways to earn cash.
Now I wont be starting penniless, I will have some funds after I sell a few things and if I plan carefully I think I can stretch it out. One of my goals with this blog is to document my efforts to obtain the almighty dollar.
Well tha'ts my plan in a nutshell, it's not all encompassing and there are a lot of things to still figure out.
I suppose I'll get started in earnest today by writing this first entry.
The Journey Starts.
A couple of weeks ago I found an RV on Craigslist and I sent an email to the seller to see if the gem was still for sale. Go figure it was still there sitting, waiting for me. So after a few texts we agreed to meet on that Saturday.
Well do you remember the giant snowstorm that hit the east coast a few weeks back. It buried everything including the RV. I sent a text to the seller telling him that I was not going to make it, but I was still very interested.
After a week had gone by and everyone got themselves dug out it was time again to text the seller. I told him that I would stop by and look at it and then let him know if it was a go or not. I made it out to the location and low an behold there was the RV in all its glory. At lease what I could see on account it was still mostly buried in the snow.
I found that the passenger side door was open and I could gain access to the interior. It was dark and I forgot my flashlight but I had my smart phone and used it to barley illuminate the dark camper. I looked around and was pleased to see it was not all that bad.
I forgot to give the specs on the RV. If you're drinking something it's probably best to pause.
Now I've already let you know I'm a mechanic and jack of all trades so It should not be a surprise to learn that I am fond of project vehicles. So my gauge of good shape may not be the same as say, a sane person.
My diamond in the rough is a 1976 Dodge Sportsman with a 20'ish foot camper complete with a bathroom in the back sporting a vanity sink, commode, and to my amusement a shower tub. It is technically a class C RV. The van nose is in very good shape with almost no rust. The camper portion is not bad for it's age. It will need some window seals and a new roof vent. I don't know if any of the appliances work but I suspect that the fridge may be a lost cause. The roof A/C unit looks all there and untouched. the stove looks like it is in good shape and the generator looks like it has barley been used. The only problem is the back passenger side corner is separating from the side. Underneath is in very good shape.
Well, I felt a good wave of karma coming from it and I asked to hear it run. The seller told me that it doesn't run very well but the engine is tight. With about 50k on it I agreed that the engine is probably in good shape.
With a turn of the key the 360 V8 cranked over and fired. Coughing and sputtering, the seller pumped the gas in attempt of keeping the engine running. It stalled. He turned the key again and it fired up with a roar only a V8 could produce. It stalled.
The selled stopped for a moment to tell me to be prepared for a backfire because it always backfires on the third try. Much to my relief it did not.
After four or maybe five times of starting and stalling I noticed it was running longer with every attempt and the engine did not sound bad, as a matter of fact it sounded good. Eventually he got it to idle while holding his foot on the gas. I told him to shut in down, i was happy. I made the deal and told him I would pick it up the following day.
I was very eager to start and tinker with the engine so before I left I waited for the former owner to leave so I could break out the tools and get to work.
One of the best features of the 1976 Dodge is that once you remove the doghouse you can work on virtually the entire engine from the inside, a good thing if you find yourself in the rain.
I removed the cover and set it in the back. One look at the engine told me that it was not abused. there was very little if any oil on the intake an the transmission was dry.
I pulled out my flat head screwdriver and my half inch box end wrench.
With the wrench, I loosen the half inch bolt that holds the distributor down and I retard the timing about twenty degrees to start. I gave the carb a pump and turned the key. It started and continued to ran at a high idle so I used my screwdriver to turn the idle down to a reasonable level. Due to the fact that this engine has been badly out of turn the carb was black on the inside and needs to be rebuilt. So I put the air cleaner and doghouse back on and shut the beast down. A successful day. Tomorrow we drive it home.
The next day I recruited a friend to drive me to the RV and follow me for the hour drive in case something went wrong, or fell off. We arrived and I immediately hopped in and cranked her over. One pump and a couple of cranks and it started right up. And stalled. At least it ran a lot smoother than when it was first demonstrated. It only took about five or six, maybe eight tries before the engine ran at idle. The cause is the choke. It's so dirty it won't move. So I deal with it.
I had to replace the tail lights before we left because one was broken. I attached the twenty day plate and off we go. To the gas station. I estimate the tank is around fifty gallons. I don't want to fill it so I put in twenty and felt good. We left the gas station and proceeded to the highway.
The van behaved exactly how I expected. It felt like I was driving a tank. But the power was there and it moved right along. Then I started to come into traffic and my thoughts went from how nice it moved to is it going to stop. I forgot to give the brakes a test before we left the relative safety of the parking lot. I gently pushed on the pedal and it felt good. The RV started to slow and it didn't pull to either side. I came to a stop behind a car at a light. I sighed in relief and thought of the person in front of me, if he only knew.
We hopped on 93 north and followed it up to 101 east, all the time the van felt more and more comfortable. After passing the halfway point everything looked and felt great. The engine has an exhaust leak so I had the window open to let some fresh air in. It was a cold day so I turned the fan switch on full and waited for the heat. Nothing. I played around with the vintage 70's controls best I could at highway speed with no luck. So I sucked it up and kept on trucking.
We arrived at the destination in good time with no problems and I parked it shut down the engine, got out and tried to shake some life back into my frozen arms. My friend comes over and we talked about the ride and commented on how my heat does not work. My friend turned the key on to power up the electric and he fiddled with the heat controls. He looked as baffled as I was until he remembered his father had a similar truck on the farm. He reached over and pulled the fan knob strait out of the dash and the heat come blasting out. He turned to me and said it's the air flow control, in is off out is full. You learn something new every day
I will start with my general plan.
Step One: Where the heck am I going? Or am I just going to aimlessly drive around.
Now, as I have said, I was a truck driver for a little while. I really enjoyed driving and I wanted to see the country from a perspective that only the road can give. But driving around in a 53' beast limited my travels, and I did have a job to do. So I made notes of places I would like to visit again and spend some time. So I have a list of destinations.
Step Two: I need something to drive.
This is going to be fun. I am a mechanic and a general jack of all trades. I also don't have a lot in the bank so I will have to look for a fixer upper.
I skimmed Craig's List for a few days and found the motor home of my dreams. A 1976 Dodge Sportsman RV with around 50K on the odometer. And it was in my price range.
More on the RV later.
Step Three: I'm probably going to need gas money.
This has been the major hurdle to my goals. I have been researching ways I can make money while on the road, and surprisingly there are a lot of good, legal ways to earn cash.
Now I wont be starting penniless, I will have some funds after I sell a few things and if I plan carefully I think I can stretch it out. One of my goals with this blog is to document my efforts to obtain the almighty dollar.
Well tha'ts my plan in a nutshell, it's not all encompassing and there are a lot of things to still figure out.
I suppose I'll get started in earnest today by writing this first entry.
The Journey Starts.
A couple of weeks ago I found an RV on Craigslist and I sent an email to the seller to see if the gem was still for sale. Go figure it was still there sitting, waiting for me. So after a few texts we agreed to meet on that Saturday.
Well do you remember the giant snowstorm that hit the east coast a few weeks back. It buried everything including the RV. I sent a text to the seller telling him that I was not going to make it, but I was still very interested.
After a week had gone by and everyone got themselves dug out it was time again to text the seller. I told him that I would stop by and look at it and then let him know if it was a go or not. I made it out to the location and low an behold there was the RV in all its glory. At lease what I could see on account it was still mostly buried in the snow.
I found that the passenger side door was open and I could gain access to the interior. It was dark and I forgot my flashlight but I had my smart phone and used it to barley illuminate the dark camper. I looked around and was pleased to see it was not all that bad.
I forgot to give the specs on the RV. If you're drinking something it's probably best to pause.
Now I've already let you know I'm a mechanic and jack of all trades so It should not be a surprise to learn that I am fond of project vehicles. So my gauge of good shape may not be the same as say, a sane person.
Well, I felt a good wave of karma coming from it and I asked to hear it run. The seller told me that it doesn't run very well but the engine is tight. With about 50k on it I agreed that the engine is probably in good shape.
With a turn of the key the 360 V8 cranked over and fired. Coughing and sputtering, the seller pumped the gas in attempt of keeping the engine running. It stalled. He turned the key again and it fired up with a roar only a V8 could produce. It stalled.
The selled stopped for a moment to tell me to be prepared for a backfire because it always backfires on the third try. Much to my relief it did not.
After four or maybe five times of starting and stalling I noticed it was running longer with every attempt and the engine did not sound bad, as a matter of fact it sounded good. Eventually he got it to idle while holding his foot on the gas. I told him to shut in down, i was happy. I made the deal and told him I would pick it up the following day.
I was very eager to start and tinker with the engine so before I left I waited for the former owner to leave so I could break out the tools and get to work.
One of the best features of the 1976 Dodge is that once you remove the doghouse you can work on virtually the entire engine from the inside, a good thing if you find yourself in the rain.
I removed the cover and set it in the back. One look at the engine told me that it was not abused. there was very little if any oil on the intake an the transmission was dry.
I pulled out my flat head screwdriver and my half inch box end wrench.
With the wrench, I loosen the half inch bolt that holds the distributor down and I retard the timing about twenty degrees to start. I gave the carb a pump and turned the key. It started and continued to ran at a high idle so I used my screwdriver to turn the idle down to a reasonable level. Due to the fact that this engine has been badly out of turn the carb was black on the inside and needs to be rebuilt. So I put the air cleaner and doghouse back on and shut the beast down. A successful day. Tomorrow we drive it home.
The next day I recruited a friend to drive me to the RV and follow me for the hour drive in case something went wrong, or fell off. We arrived and I immediately hopped in and cranked her over. One pump and a couple of cranks and it started right up. And stalled. At least it ran a lot smoother than when it was first demonstrated. It only took about five or six, maybe eight tries before the engine ran at idle. The cause is the choke. It's so dirty it won't move. So I deal with it.
I had to replace the tail lights before we left because one was broken. I attached the twenty day plate and off we go. To the gas station. I estimate the tank is around fifty gallons. I don't want to fill it so I put in twenty and felt good. We left the gas station and proceeded to the highway.
The van behaved exactly how I expected. It felt like I was driving a tank. But the power was there and it moved right along. Then I started to come into traffic and my thoughts went from how nice it moved to is it going to stop. I forgot to give the brakes a test before we left the relative safety of the parking lot. I gently pushed on the pedal and it felt good. The RV started to slow and it didn't pull to either side. I came to a stop behind a car at a light. I sighed in relief and thought of the person in front of me, if he only knew.
We hopped on 93 north and followed it up to 101 east, all the time the van felt more and more comfortable. After passing the halfway point everything looked and felt great. The engine has an exhaust leak so I had the window open to let some fresh air in. It was a cold day so I turned the fan switch on full and waited for the heat. Nothing. I played around with the vintage 70's controls best I could at highway speed with no luck. So I sucked it up and kept on trucking.
We arrived at the destination in good time with no problems and I parked it shut down the engine, got out and tried to shake some life back into my frozen arms. My friend comes over and we talked about the ride and commented on how my heat does not work. My friend turned the key on to power up the electric and he fiddled with the heat controls. He looked as baffled as I was until he remembered his father had a similar truck on the farm. He reached over and pulled the fan knob strait out of the dash and the heat come blasting out. He turned to me and said it's the air flow control, in is off out is full. You learn something new every day
Loved this! Laughed out loud when reading the comment about the guy in front of you when you stopped at the red light!!! - Mary
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