Strolling Amok

Pops goes on tour.

24 Dec 2016
3 Comments

State of the Intrepid – E-Bike Carrier System

The Evelo Aurora cannot be carried by a top-tube carrier, so a wheel hoop carrier is called for.

The Evelo Aurora cannot be carried by a top-tube carrier, so a wheel hoop carrier is called for.

The Hollywood Racks HR1450E Sport Rider SE2 2-Bike e-bike carrier that I use at the front of the truck has required about as much attention as a new refrigerator/freezer. Once you yank the anti-rattle handle that keeps it tight in your hitch receiver a few times during the first month, that’s about it for “maintenance”. I’ve already covered this carrier’s features on my Evelo Test Mule page, so I’ll pretty much keep to usage effects over the last two years.

The wheel hoops are easy to adjust to fit different sizes of bike. I've reversed the rear pair to better support my BOB bike trailer.

The wheel hoops are easy to adjust to fit different sizes of bike. I’ve reversed the rear pair to better support my BOB bike trailer.

The Hollywood carrier supports the bike at the wheels, and the hoops can be quickly adjusted from side to side in order to accommodate various bike wheelbases. You just loosen a large knob, slide a hoop, and retighten. For my purposes, final adjustment required some finesse, so that the bike’s cranks would clear the vertical tube and also center between the truck’s headlamps. Two height-adjustable hooks (of which I use only one) drape over the bike’s main tube. Adjustment is instantaneous thanks to a simple squeeze lever at each Read more…

Posted in E-Bike Pack Mule, Mod Squad and tagged ,
22 Dec 2016
7 Comments

Mini-Houseboat!

img_0218

Waiting at a traffic light in Yuma AZ yesterday, I spotted the above pontoon boat converted into a small houseboat. I had seriously considered this approach instead of buying a used TT or converting a cargo trailer before I started out, and it’s extra-nice to see that someone persevered and got an especially nice one done. And the trailer has a nice, wide stance. Awesome! It probably sits a bit low in the water unless there’s a third pontoon at center, but feast your eyes on an RV that’s truly recreational!

Posted in Camper Nirvana and tagged ,
15 Dec 2016
6 Comments

State of the Intrepid – The Cargo Box

The StowAway cargo box as originally mounted in February of this year.

The StowAway cargo box as originally mounted in February of this year.

The “small” standard model of StowAway cargo box has been awfully handy, and is a clean way to transport goods in the swirl of dust that often trails behind the truck. The white color I chose is unusual and does show dust easily, but so does the black one, and the temperature rise inside the white version is much less. White also discourages heat-induced lid warpage that can compromise gasket sealing and the ability to latch the lid closed. That makes it appropriate for storing away those items which would quickly degrade if left in Yuma’s spectacular summer heat, like my old Pentax film cameras and videocam, as well as the e-bike’s spare battery. Wheel levelers, camera tripods, books, bike parts and tools, lubes and maintenance chemicals, you name it. Whatever could not fit in the camper’s twin benches (due to the added batteries) or posed a semi-hazard in an enclosed space, went into this cargo box.

This is a swingaway version, which can be locked at 90 degrees or swung to 180.

This is a swingaway version, which can be locked at 90 degrees or swung to 180.

My StowAway is a swing-away frame version, which is a good thing on a rear-entry camper. Any misgivings I had about its frame strength under a heavily-loaded box are gone – I absentmindedly drove it for ten miles along a 65 MPH two-lane with Read more…

Posted in Mod Squad, The Intrepid and tagged ,
13 Dec 2016
15 Comments

When Haste Saves Money

The country has plenty worth getting out and seeing.

The country has plenty worth getting out and seeing.


Thanks to an Escapees Club newsletter I received, I can update you on our government at work. As the great humorist Will Rogers claimed, “This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer.”

If you are age 62 or more, congratulations. Not everyone makes it. In recognition of your achievement, Congress just passed on December 10th a bill that will bump the cost of a lifetime America the Beautiful Senior Pass from $10 to $80. The AtB Pass allows you free access to federal lands controlled by the Forest Service, the National Park Service, the Fish & Wildlife Service, The Bureau of Land Management, the U.S Army Corps of Engineers, and the Bureau of Reclamation. It gets you through the pay gate (when present) at places such as the Read more…

Posted in Miscellania and tagged
09 Dec 2016
26 Comments

Where the Livin’ is a Little Easier

Garbage! The white bag is a tall kitchen bag full of papers that should have gone away long ago.

Garbage! The white bag is a tall kitchen bag full of papers that should have gone away long ago. “Someday” is today.

This post is just kind of an update to the prior one, just for those having a morbid sense of curiosity. That’s so you aren’t left with the situation appearing to be in limbo. Now that I have broadband DLS Internet and running hot and cold water, life is good.

The new blood pressure-lowering meds are a slight dampener on both energy levels and outlook, which requires more perseverance to bull through each day. As a result, cleanup has about a day more to go before I will be able to touch or lean against everything in the trailer without fear of wearing black or white clothing. It’s been a bit overwhelming, but the naps are good.

As for cleaning, I worked on my old-style IBM “clicky” keyboard, which was long overdue for a good scraping off. I was careful to rub each key with a cotton cloth dampened with Simple Green. The problem apparently came when I Read more…

Posted in Daily Life and tagged
03 Dec 2016
22 Comments

Where the Livin’ is Easy

Sometimes, in this carefree vagabond’s life on the road, circumstances intrude upon the idyllic core which is assumed to be the inherent gift of mobile freedom. These circumstances can range from minor inconveniences to the harbingers of doom. Sometimes, that mobile freedom make those circumstances more difficult to address than they would otherwise be. That isn’t the case here, since the Defiant’s location could be considered as a seasonal residence of sorts. Just sayin’.

As for me, I‘ve discovered an ongoing stack of inconveniences which are frustrating, but looked at in the proper perspective, are also a bit humorous. It’s the combination. My main priority on arriving at my trailer a few days ago was of course to make it livable again after its many lonely months in Yuma’s hot and dusty summer. The time-consuming work of completing modifications to the new Four Wheel Grandby camper last Spring, before Yuma’s heat began to set in by late March, required hasty compromises in cleaning and organizing my trailer before leaving it. In short, I discovered either just how little Read more…

Posted in Daily Life and tagged
02 Dec 2016
10 Comments

A Tri-Surprise

Seeing this parked outside a hardware store raised many questions.

Seeing this parked outside a hardware store raised many questions.

Maybe you’re already aware of the vehicle above, and maybe not. I was not, though I’ve had a kinky attraction to three-wheelers for decades. That’s because Illinois registers them as motorcycles, which lets them avoid all manner of regulatory equipment requirements. The tricky part has always been to control weight distribution and center of gravity such that they don’t go topsy-turvy on you when you go into a corner too fast.

Interesting, no?

Interesting, no? I suspect this one has had a non-factory roof added to limit driver fry in the hot Yuma sun.

Anyway, I was impressed by the futuristic appearance of this Polaris Slingshot, a vehicle I never imagined that Polaris, an ATV manufacturer, would bring into production. One look at the frame and Read more…

Posted in Miscellania and tagged
29 Nov 2016
18 Comments

Home!

The Defiant, slightly the worse for wear.

The Defiant, slightly the worse for wear.

Wellton, Arizona! The drive from Payson along 87 was fascinating, with the separated four-lane winding up, down and around in the Tonto National forest. What a stunning ride. What magnificent vistas! I highly recommend it, as long as your vehicle’s powertrain and brakes are healthy and reasonably robust. I noticed a converted vintage VW van on an uphill grade yesterday, flashers on and falling behind the pace of the slow semi in front of it. Not your first choice for this kind of task. The 4% and 6% downhills go for miles too, so you’ll want to downshift manually unless your drive system is bright enough to downshift when it senses you’re exceeding the speed control you set. Yeah, like everyone is now going to rush to Route 87…

I got to Wellton at 3PM to survey the wreckage, and apparently the summer monsoon season has been interesting. Both the Read more…

Posted in Travelin' Man
28 Nov 2016
8 Comments

Schnay!

Today was another handful! A 20-30 MPH wind with gusts to 45 (according to the radio) held steady from the southwest, while the directions I took shifted around. Temps dropped as I came into Arizona, since another cold front was moving through. The state highway heading for Payson gave me a now-unusual sensation: a ribbon of pavement undulating across a desolate but visually interesting landscape. With an hour to go, I started into the Sitgreaves National Park, and that eventually led to a mountain pass where the added elevation lowered temperatures further. In combination with snow flurries that thickened to lower visibility to a couple hundred feet at points, the snow began Read more…

Posted in Travelin' Man and tagged
28 Nov 2016
8 Comments

The Weather Reminder

Yesterday was both neat and wearing. Driving southwest down route 35 across Kansas just happened to take place while a cold weather front was moving in. A 25+ MPH wind shifted from south to north-northwest and all points in between during the course of the day before it finally weakened over the last couple of hours in New Mexico. But that still left plenty of nudging the steering wheel while cutting across the Oklahoma Panhandle and Texas. Calculated mileage spent much of its time at 9.0 MPG in the direct headwind, while only in New Mexico did the day’s average limp up to 10.5, all while holding a steady 65 MPH. I didn’t really need the onboard calculator to tell me I’d need to keep an eye on the fuel gauge, since the turbo boost gauge was into hill-climbing readings just to hold speed on the flats. It was a reminder to me that for all our technology, we’re still very much subject to forces much greater than our own.

The part of Kansas I was in was dormant farmland, and tumbleweeds were flopping across Read more…

Posted in Uncategorized

Post Navigation

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →