Strolling Amok

Pops goes on tour.

Archive for the category “Mod Squad”

07 May 2013

The Last One! No, Really!

Originally posted 3/31/2013

Well okay, since closing down the office isn’t on today’s agenda, here I am again. And, here’s a conundrum for ya. I decided to check tire pressures a day early. So I was looking at the rear trailer tire on the driver’s side, which has had tarp over it to block the sun’s rays from causing cracking. Apparently, I was too late. Here’s what I saw:

This makes tire dealers get all excited.

This makes tire dealers get all excited.

The rubber is splitting pretty good, and the cracks are deep – well into the “we recommend immediate replacement” territory. I’m sure some are down to the cords. A toothpick drops in deep. It kinda looks like it might be bulging a tad, too. Non-optimal condition. Naturally, I got out the cheapo scissors jack, battled it mightily to get the axle up, and removed the wheel. Took off the bike rack and dismounted the spare, which was about halfway worn but in fine shape. Easy-peazy! I’ll swap now, locate a Goodyear dealer or otherwise find a trailer tire the same 205/74R15 size, and swap again to put the new one into service!

Hold on a sec. The spare is 225/75R15. Taller and wider. The wider isn’t a problem, but the taller is. Even though there’s an equalizer bar as part of the suspension, what if this taller tire affects how the load is carried by the suspension, and so ruins the validity of my Smartweigh test? Considering the difficulty of using the scissors jack, a swap back at the weigh site and then back again afterward does not appeal.

I’m not thrilled about going another 100 miles on this thing doing sixty MPH, but if I’m going to follow the Lazy Way, tomorrow I’ll ask if the RV dealer handles such tires. If not, I’ll call some tire dealers in Blythe CA, some 23 miles away. If one of them has my size in stock, I’ll put on my big boy britches, tear the offending wheel off again, and add a trip to Blythe to my busy social schedule. If I hit a dead end, I’ll be going to the Smartweigh stupidly, on that cracked tire. Adventure! Then I can change it out with the wonky spare after the weigh, and hunt for a replacement in Wickenburg or Prescott later.

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07 May 2013

Goodbye for Now…

Basically, it all fits only one way. I printed this photo out to use for reference for this week!

Basically, it all fits only one way. I printed this photo out to use for reference for this week!

Originally posted 3/31/2013

This may be my last post for a few days.

Tomorrow, Monday, begins the chores of hittin’ the laundromat with a BIG load, refilling a couple of propane tanks, filling the emergency fuel jugs with diesel, and securing the Command Deck (office area) for travel. That means placing things where they won’t be vibrated off to break during towing, and pretty much ends the use of the office until I locate and set up my next long-term campsite. The solar system gets unplugged at the end of the day, and every tire on this combo gets checked for pressure and adjusted.

Tuesday is a big day, labor-wise. It calls for dismounting and stowing those big solar panels into the passageway leading to the office, packing the truck bed to the brim with storage bins and fuel jugs, and basically stowing everything in the trailer to avoid breakage. I then tow the trailer to the camp’s Read more…

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07 May 2013

The Doorway to Heaven

Sometimes even the doorway to Heaven needs repairs, I guess.

Sometimes even the doorway to Heaven needs repairs, I guess.

Originally posted 3/21/2013

I’ve been going through stacked up magazines looking for info, new things worth researching further, and reference articles I’ll need to scan and convert to PDF files. That lets me chuck the pulp versions and helps clear out the clutter. Been doing that since about 9AM, and not letting myself get distracted.

So, when I finally tried to exit the trailer at 4PM, the external door seemed mighty reluctant to open! Hmmm. It’s been pretty moody ever since departing Algonquin. Easy some days, and a PITA on others. When it’s feeling peckish, it just doesn’t want to close and latch, and the lower frames look stressed and unhappy. Once open this time, it became obvious that the bottom of the door was literally coming apart. The bottom frame section had flopped down about a half inch, both side frames had spread, and both inside and outside panel surfaces were exposed at the edges and trying to go somewhere other than where they are now.

Doors on RVs are a big deal. A replacement for this one would have to come from a salvage yard. So, I’d have to do what I could on this one. A couple of corner brackets might be enough to tie it all back together. I could put them inside only, so the trailer wouldn’t look too hillbilly from the outside. I had a bit of sheet aluminum from the water heater vent shield that didn’t work very well, so I broke out the  Read more…

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07 May 2013

The Third Degree of Cheapskate

Their silent power stops at sunset!

Their silent power stops at sunset!

Originally posted 3/18/2013

As a rule, full-time RVers are not big spenders. The great majority have prioritized the ability to live in their vehicle ahead of just about everything else. They don’t have much income, and many work temporary jobs here and there in order to continue their lifestyle. This requires travel and gets expensive, but they like the travel anyway! Others deplete their financial kitty and stop long enough to earn another bankroll so they can hit the road for a few more years.

So, over time, I’ve noticed that boondockers get a sense of achievement from conserving on the use of resources like water or electrical power, and from discovering free or very inexpensive campsites. Those from the West Coast amuse themselves by measuring their carbon footprint against what they used to do in their previous “sticks & bricks” lifestyle. Others simply monitor spending in order to gauge their progress toward achieving a Higher State of Cheapskate-ness.

Minimizing expenses is not an easy thing, because even boondocking, the cheapest way to full-time, eats through money much faster than you’d think! “But,” you protest, “How expensive could it be to drive somewhere, park for awhile, and enjoy the great outdoors? Camping, real camping, is cheap! No rent, no mortgage, no motels, fix your own food, fun!”

The current minimum monthly burn rate by full-time vandwellers – people who live out of a van or even a car – is usually regarded to be  Read more…

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07 May 2013

Tippy, Is It?

Caught this shot through my windshield on the way home yesterday...

Caught this shot through my windshield on the way home yesterday…

Originally posted 3/12/2013

I’m finally learning to pack a camera full-time, in this case an old 1998 Nikon pocket camera which has its problems but still mostly works. In this case I was returning to Quartzsite from a grocery shopping spree in Parker, and saw some guy very carefully pulling out from a sidestreet. He was being careful because each of those ATVs probably weighs about 600 pounds, and with their center of gravity six feet in the air, even dodging a pothole can be interesting.

The usual practice for one ATV is to simply drive it into the bed, and the usual practice for two is to drive them up from the side onto a platform over the bed. Like this setup, both are high in the air but at least are positioned above the bed’s centerline, one in front of the other. I thought that was insane.

This guy’s bed is too short to take the ATVs in line, so he’s got them straddling the bed’s centerline. Maybe the combined CG of the pair works out to the same – I’m no engineer – but I can say that first, he was changing lanes and turning very carefully, and second, he will face some serious excitement if he ever has to face a situation that forces him to quickly deviate from a straight line. Sometimes, brakes aren’t enough. Bonsai! Bonsai! Bonsai!

Posted in Camper Nirvana, Mod Squad and tagged | Leave a comment
07 May 2013

A Day

Five days ago, this ultralight passed directly overhead at not much more than 100 feet altitude! Fun!

Five days ago, this ultralight passed directly overhead at not much more than 100 feet altitude! Fun!

Originally posted 2/22/2013

A day, just like any other day, only more so. The National Weather Service-based Internet weather predictions for this area are even less accurate than they are for the upper Midwest, if that’s possible. As forecasts, I’ve found them to be fairly accurate to only 2-3 hours forward at the very best, and even then, current conditions of “partly cloudy, 10% chance of rain” can disagree with what you see out your window.

Once the weather settles in for some serious rain, the view looks like this.

Once the weather settles in for some serious rain, the view looks like this.

A high winds weather alert isn’t something to dismiss, because there’s a slight possibility that any error might be in the other direction – the direction you don’t particularly want. Naturally, this alert came as a surprise to me, since I’d figured it was finally safe to  Read more…

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07 May 2013

Hey, Sorry!

Today's shot of Mister Slobby's Campsite.

Today’s shot of Mister Slobby’s Campsite.

Originally posted 2/16/2013

I’ve been exploring my muse of late, not to mention doing my accursed income taxes for this year, so blog posts here have taken a hit. But who can be diligent out here? Accuweather says it’s 75 today, but my digital thermo says it’s 80, while my “analog” mercury classic says it’s 81. Sunny, very thin, high clouds, a warm breeze… Perfection. I’m acclimatized here, I guess – I have to put on a long-sleeved shirt when it drops to 70! What’s up with that? I see Algonquin, IL, my home base, reads 17 & 7 for today. Sheesh!

If you were down here, would you be toiling away? Didn’t think so. Where’s that cabana girl with my drink?

Going strictly by gut feel, the office batteries seem to drop voltage under load more quickly than they used to, but once they sit and recover, the voltage pops right back up where it should be. I picked up some heavy duty electrical connectors yesterday and may install them in the parallel wires linking the four batteries, so I will have the ability to electrically separate them for individual voltage checks. It’s just a way to see whether one battery is any worse off than the others. With them all linked together like they are now, they tend to equalize each other to the worst one, and will all read exactly the same voltage. Right now, the only way to electrically isolate anything is to unfasten connections at the battery terminals. Some of them hold up to seven wires each, so doing it this way is both a serious nuisance and fairly dangerous. All the terminals are fully exposed and  Read more…

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06 May 2013

Solar Test Coming Up

Originally posted 1/23/2013

Along with unusually warm weather (highs in the upper 70s) for the next couple of days here in Quartzsite AZ, the skies are expected to be pretty well overcast until next Wednesday. Rain may come Friday and again Monday.

That means I won’t be running the desktop computer much, since it’s the heaviest draw on the office battery pack. The CPAP battery won’t care much, because that device pulls so little power anyway. What will be interesting to see (in a nerdy kind of way) is how the house batteries fare. The house batteries, two ordinary ol’ flooded marine-type “deep cycle” hybrids, are the least robust cells in the place, and power interior lights, water pump, and ignitions for the propane refrigerator and the water heater. I’ll be wanting to measure their voltage as time goes on in order to see what their limit for this kind of prolonged cloudy weather is.

The water pump started acting up yesterday, running nonstop as if it were trying to keep up with an open faucet or a bad pipe leak. It started running on its own for no reason, and kept going, so I turned it off at its main switch. I’m glad I was home, since it could take the house batteries down fairly quickly. After awhile, I turned it back on and Read more…

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06 May 2013
2 Comments

Getting a Grip

The Ergon GP5 handlebar grip.

The Ergon GP5 handlebar grip.

Originally posted 1/11/2013

After the seat, my bike’s handlebar grips were next up for improvement. Riding the bike usually made my hands numb because of the vibration and pressure of upper body weight resting on them. Changing the handlebars to lift the hands and get the torso more upright is the preferred option, but the Raleigh’s brake and gearchange cables make that impossible to do without having a selection of replacement bars on hand for trial fitting. So, it’s up to the grips, and though the Raleigh’s OEM handgrips are soft rubber, they still proved a problem.

Enter the Ergon GP5 grip, designed and made in Germany, where Industrial Design is still a career option, and functionality and performance can still take precedence over manufacturing cost. Developed with the assistance of the German Sport University in Cologne, the entire selection of Ergon grips flat out work, and do so with a simplicity that makes them able to be fully installed and adjusted in less than a minute apiece using just a metric hex wrench. Just slide it over the bar end, rotate the  Read more…

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06 May 2013
4 Comments

Back in the Saddle Again

The standard seat on this '93 Raleigh MT200 poses real problems despite its claimed inclusion of gel padding.

The standard seat on this ’93 Raleigh MT200 poses real problems despite its claimed inclusion of gel padding.

Originally posted 1/5/2013

I started riding bikes as a young kid, and I can remember ol’ dad doing his best to help me graduate away from training wheels. That’s probably my second memory ever, at least without the application of some sort of drug. I liked bike riding, and by the time I was in junior high I was regularly pedaling my middleweight to the next town some 6 miles away. That isn’t much distance at all, but on a heavy, single-speed bike like that, it had its effects. I remember the girl next door insulting me by announcing that my legs looked fat. That was notable, because I was a typical skinny kid. I also remember The Big Drag Race, where every kid in the subdivision brought his bike to form a line across the road. I felt I had a fair chance to win, though I was very nervous about the one kid who showed up with a green Raleigh 3-speed lightweight. That offset another kid with the Titanic, a very heavy Schwinn with a front suspension that seemed to absorb every pedal stroke he made. I won, and by quite a safety margin if I do say so myself. Pat-pat. So, I kept riding a lot.

This Raleigh-branded saddle looks great, boasts of gel, and has become unridable.

This Raleigh-branded saddle looks great, boasts of gel, and has become unridable.

Later on, I advanced to a multi-speed road racing bike, and then another, and another. I was proud of my sleek leather English Brooks racing saddle, which never seemed to soften or actually become comfortable despite numerous applications of leather dressing, and which became like iron if it ever got wet. It was what real racers used. Naturally, I eventually backed off of bike riding once I grew up and cars took their place.

Road racing bikes are heavily  Read more…

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