Winter Vacation, 2015-16

[Lefty]

Sorry to hear about Patti. I've had pneumonia several times, and it's not fun. Hope you guys have a safe trip West, and enjoy your vacation.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Thanks guys!  The doctor is erring on the side of caution, and treating her pneumonia aggressively with very strong medications.  She'll be resting while I drive us West, so she should be fine.  We won't be boondocking though, at least not at first.  We don't want to be too far from a doctor in case things get worse, so we'll be staying at the campground in Safford, AZ instead of going out to Hot Wells Dunes.  They aren't far from medical clinics, and at least that campground still has a hot tub...lol!

I'll be finishing up all the little things that I saved for last today...and we'll be hitting the road early tomorrow morning.

Kev

[Rickf1985]

When we were young we would go to work with pneumonia, didn't get paid if you didn't work. Nowadays as we get older it is harder for our bodies to fight off these infections and we need to admit we are not as young as we used to be. My last bout with pneumonia put me in the hospital,  both myself and the missus, a week apart luckily for the dogs. I know you are anxious to get on the road but maybe staying put a couple days would be prudent.

[joanfenn]

Drive safe Kevin.  Tell Patti to grab a dog or two and stay in bed.  You can wait on her hand and foot and make sure she gets better.

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

You can wait on her hand and foot and make sure she gets better.

No, you may not put it on Cruise Control while you do that.   

[ClydesdaleKevin]

LOL!!!  Thanks guys!  She's going to be just fine.  We just won't be boondocking out in the middle of nowhere.

We are pretty much ready to go.  Here is the HUGE list of things I got done today:

1.  I checked the air pressures on the Blazer tires, the RV tires, and RV airbags.  The airbags are holding air, so I didn't have to air them up.  SWEET!  The Blazer tires were dead on at 35psi, but I did have to top off some of the RV tires.  None of them were really low, a few around 85 psi at the lowest...but I aired them all back up to 90 psi.

2.  I repaired both of the rear tire skirts on the RV.  They have these steel braces that come out, and little bolts and nuts keep them attached to the braces...but they had rattled loose over time.  Since this is the 3rd time I replaced those missing nuts and bolts, I used RED Lock Tite (Rick).

3.  I then repaired 2 of the rubber trim moldings that were coming out of their tracks, around radius corners.  I just added a few screws to keep them in their tracks.

4.  I washed the RV windshield with this new Rain-X window cleaner that is supposed to treat the windshield and clean it at the same time, and did the same to the Blazer.  But since I had real Rain-X, I went ahead and treated the windshield on the RV with it, but not the Blazer...I want to see what the difference is.  I also coated the wiper blades with a thin coating of Rain-X.

5.  I used spray white lithium grease, and generously coated all of the pivot points on the RV windshield wiper linkage.

6.  I thoroughly cleaned the interior windshield of the RV with Windex.  LOTS of doggy nose prints and doggy slime!

7.  I repaired once again the sun visors in the RV, which the dogs keep knocking down.  I'm going to have to figure out a better and more permanent solution, but this repair will get us to Arizona.

8.  I repaired the handle on the RV dash glove box...the little screws were stripped out of the wood, so thicker screws did the trick.

9.  I took apart the Brake Buddy to see what was wrong with it.  The motor mounts on the compressor had broken off of the plastic base, and the foot mount on the accumulator tank was broken off on one side.  A quick trip to the local Ace Hardware yielding me 4 little bolts, washers, and lock nuts to hold down the compressor, and 2 big hose clamps to hold down the accumulator tank.  A little bit of drilling and filing later, and that was repaired.  I put it all back together, and its working like a champ! 

10.  I then installed the Break Away switch on the front bumper of the Blazer, which required drilling a hole in the thick steel.  Tap Magic is my friend!  I highly recommend it whenever drilling through steel.  It REALLY makes a difference!  I then bolted it on with a bolt and lock nut, and ran the wires into the cabin of the Blazer.

11.  I put Patti's power chair carrier into the receiver on the back of the Blazer, and pushed it ALL The way in.  There was only one hole in the bar stock coming off the carrier, and it was near the end of the bar stock!  Which means it stuck out almost a foot farther than it should.  So I pushed it all the way in, and drilled another hole through the bar stock for the hitch pin.  It will make it a LOT more stable on the trip out West.  Again, Tap Magic is my friend! 

12.  I drove the Blazer down the road and back again to make sure the steering wheel was centered, and then parked it.  I then unbolted one steering box bolt at a time, coated the threads with RED LockTite (Rick  ), and reinstalled them one at a time, making sure they were super tight. 

13.  I checked the differential fluids on the Blazer and the RV.  Levels on both were perfect.

14.  I greased every single grease fitting on the RV and the Blazer.

15.  I checked and topped off the brake fluid on the RV.  And it turned into a nightmare project!  Its hard enough to do it on an RV, but one of the bale wires that holds the lid on came off, and it took a LONG time and a LOT of swear words to get it back into place.  They sure don't give you a lot of room to work under there around the master cylinder!!!  GEESH!!!

16.  I cleaned and organized all my tools and stowed them away.

17.  I reloaded everything on the porch back into the RV compartments and the back of the Blazer.

18.  I added a few cups of peat moss to the composting toilet so that changing it out tomorrow morning will be a lot easier.

19.  I made Patti juice and made sure she took her medicine and ate some food.

20.  I took the pups out a few times, and fed and watered them AND the silly cat.

21.  I scrubbed down with Go-Jo, and took a long hot shower...I was filthy!!!

22.  I drove down to the store for some road food and coffee, and BEER!!!

And that is enough for one day...lol!!!

All I have to do tomorrow is check and top off the batteries with distilled water, get the inside battened down, change the peat moss out in the composting toilet, take out the garbage, take another long hot shower, fill the freshwater holding tank, and make one last trip to the post office to mail out a couple of catapults.  I HAVE to quickly clean and oil a couple of our guns that are stored in cases, because I noticed a tiny amount of surface rust starting to take hold.  And then wrap a few presents, and set up the little Christmas tree on the kitchen table (Patti is going to decorate it, since she can do that sitting down at the table).  And then pull the RV out of my sister's driveway, hook up the power chair carrier to the back of the Blazer, put the power chair on the carrier, and cover it and strap it down.  And then hook up the Blazer to the tow bar, disconnect its driveshaft, hook up the lights, and away we go!!!

I'll check the transmission fluid at our first gas stop, since it has to be warmed up to do it right.  But I check it every trip, so I'm not concerned about not checking it right now.

WOW what an exhausting day!  The beer tonight tastes extra good!

Kev

[Rickf1985]

Made sure the bolts were REALLY tight huh? Ever heard of a torque wrench? i?? :)rotflmao Get them too tight and they stretch and then they will never stay tight up till they break.
I have used the rain-X washer stuff and it work OK but not as good as the coating. Using the rain-x washer fluid over the coating should work good. I put the Rain-X blades on my Honda last year and I am real happy with them, They have a long guarantee also. Haven't put them on the RV because I just don't drive it that much but for you it might be worth it.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Torque wrench, shmork wrench...lol!  I used a standard length 3/8 ratchet with a short extension and deepwell 5/8" socket, and with the short throw I had and the angle I was working with, there is pretty much no way I could overtorque those bolts...even though I am a bit of a He-Man Adonis...lmfao!!!   

I got everything done today that needed to be done, but it was too late by the time I was finished to leave tonight...when everyone gets home from work in my sister's neighborhood, cars are parked all of the sides of the streets, so there isn't any room to pull out the RV and hook up the truck.

First thing I did this morning was change out the peat moss in the composting toilet, and changed the gasket on it while I was at it.  Then I gathered up the trash and took it and the compost bag out.  Then I did the dishes (since Patti is on bed rest).  Next I cleaned the two of our guns that get stored in cases, and oiled them up quite liberally, and stowed them away...then wiped down all the rest of our guns with gun oil wipes.  After that, I went to the post office and mailed out my last 2 catapult orders of the season, stopped and picked up some distilled water for the batteries, and then came back to the rig and topped off the batteries.  I then installed Patti's power chair carrier on the back of the Blazer, put her power chair on it, strapped it to the carrier, strapped the carrier to the bumper for more stability, covered her chair with its cover, and bungied the heck out of it to keep it in place.  Then I battened down as much of the inside of the rig as I could, showered up, shaved my dome, and called it a night.

All we have to do, first thing tomorrow morning, is batten down the rest of stuff in the rig for travel, fill the primary freshwater tank, take the Tailgaiter satellite dish off the roof and stow it away, unhook the RV, pull it out into the street, hook up the Blazer to the tow bar, disconnect and hang the Blazer driveshaft, hook up the tow lights on the Blazer, put the Brake Buddy in place and hook up its connections...and then hit the road!

Only about an hours worth of work before we point this rig West on I-10!

Kev

[legomybago]

You've got er' figured out Kev....Have a safe drive, doesn't sound like anything should fall off!!

[Rickf1985]

Have a safe trip there He Man. W% Yea, you will not break anything with that combo, you are not getting anywhere near enough torque. A 5/8 socket would equate to a 7/16 bolt and the torque on that is around 45-50 ft/lbs. if I remember correctly.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

LOL Rick!  You'd be surprised how much torque I accidentally put on bolts, which is why I always use short ratchets unless I NEED a lot of torque.

We got everything done at my sister's house today, and were on the road just after noon.  I made my sis take a hundred dollar bill to cover the electric and water we used...she'll be glad she finally excepted it when their electric and water bills come in...lol!  Patti was feeling well enough to set up our little Christmas Tree on the table while I was doing the final travel preps...and as always, it looks amazing, and I'll post up a picture or three tomorrow morning!

We hit the road, and it was a totally uneventful trip so far.  We made it all the way to the Flying J on the west side of Tallahassee, Florida, on I-10.  When we got here, I left the RV running and checked the transmission fluid:  Perfect level, perfect color, and no smell...SWEET!!!

So that is as far as we got today.  We'll get an early start tomorrow morning, after our coffee and whatnot.  I also have to crawl under the rig and grease one more fitting on the driveshaft, since in was at an inaccessible angle in my sis's driveway, but that will only take a minute or two.

We might even make it as far as Louisiana tomorrow, but I doubt it.  We'll be meandering our way out to Safford, AZ.

0nly around 1690 miles to go!

Kev

[Rickf1985]

It's nice to be able to meander.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Yes it is!  Vacation has finally and officially begun!  No more major projects, no more major maintenance endeavors, just blissful vacation!  Of course, we WILL be doing more cleaning and whatnot, and replacing a couple of screens...but at our leisure. 

Kev

[HandyDan]

Did you eat at Denny's?

[tiinytina]

Wish I could join you... a few weeks off then again.. I would spend them working on the farm... Gone is up with Brad getting her gas tank dropped and lines replaced.... :-)   

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Nope...we didn't eat at Denny's...but I did have a couple Flying J bacon double cheeseburgers!  They are so good!

Glad Brad could help you out, Tina!  I'm so glad I didn't have to drop our tank to replace the lines.

About to have some coffee, grease that last fitting, gas up, propane up, and get back on the road!

Kev

[Rickf1985]

Tell us AGAIN how you don't have to drop your tank to get to your lines Kev. W% W%

[ClydesdaleKevin]

LOL Rick!!!   

The morning prep when without a hitch, except that last grease fitting was laughing at me.  It ended up being in the EXACT same position that it was in in my sister's driveway, so that the grease gun end wouldn't fit on the Zerk fitting.  So I moved the rig just a couple of inches, and crawled back under the rig again...only to discover that my grease gun was totally empty...geesh!  So I bought an overpriced tube of grease in the Flying J (7 bucks!!!), reloaded the gun, crawled back under the rig AGAIN...greased it up, and called it done.

We hit the road pretty early, and MAN was it windy all day!  The temperature continued to drop as we headed west.  We decided to call it a day at the Flying J in Gulfport, MS.  Only 1383 miles to go!

We'll be taking a slight detour tomorrow to the Louisiana Renaissance Faire fairgrounds in Hammond, LA for a short visit with our dear friends Ande and Brian Wolf that franchised from up, and stay the night in their parking lot.  That's only 92 miles from here, so we'll be there bright and early since we already gassed up, which will leave us just 1291 miles to go.

We definitely want to leave Hammond first thing Sunday morning, since Sunday is the best time to drive through Houston, TX on I-10 without hitting nightmarish traffic.

We are getting there!

Kev

[Rickf1985]

Good to hear all is going well. The weather forecasts  for out west are showing some record breaking cold for the southwest, stock up on propane! How is Patti doing? Hanging in there I hope.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

A short trip and safe touchdown at the Louisiana Renaissance Festival grounds, in Hammond, LA.  We were able to pull right in and park on high dry ground facing out, so we can boogie first thing in the morning.  Our friend Brian met us at the gate, and later this evening we'll be able to hang with them for an hour or so.  They are in the throws of packing down to get out before massive rains come in on Tuesday, and Patti can't be gallivanting too much with her pneumonia, so it all works out well.

We'll hit the road bright and early tomorrow morning, which will allow us to get through Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, and Houston on a Sunday to avoid bad traffic conditions.

SWEET!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Our visit with our friends was delightful, and dinner was pretty good at the Longhorn steak house.

Just finishing up our morning coffee, and we'll be back on the road West!  The goal today is to get past Houston, and then as far past that as we feel like driving for the day.

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

We made it uneventfully all the way past Houston to the Flying J, in Brookshire, TX.  Even on a Sunday evening, traffic going through Houston is crazy! 

Only 945 miles to go.  732 of those miles is still in Texas.  Texas is one big State!

My goal tomorrow is to make it to the Flying J in Fort Stockton, TX, stopping at the Flying J in San Antonio to gas up along the way.  It is a 460 mile trip though,  from here to Fort Stockton, so I don't know If I want to drive for 9+ hours.  We'll see!

Kev

[joanfenn]

How is Patti feeling ?  Any better?

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Patti is feeling a lot better...but I keep making her take it easy.  She wants to bounce around and clean everything, but she still needs to rest.

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

After my morning pre-travel checks, we got on the road, and it was smooth sailing all the way to San Antonio, TX to the Flying J, where we gassed up and hit the road again.  It was mostly smooth sailing after that, but while I LOVE Texas and most Texans I have ever met, they are the rudest drivers on the planet!  I had to get really aggressive with people just to not get forced off the wrong exits.  Patti did her share of pointing and flipping the bird...lol!

So we got out of San Antonio, and rode for a while...and decided to stop at this really pretty rest stop in Kerrville, TX for the night. 

Only 727 miles to go!  And yes, most of it is still in Texas...lol!  From the border in Anthony, TX, it is only another 218 miles to get all the way through New Mexico, and all the way to Safford, AZ.  509 more miles of Texas.

Kev