Strolling Amok

Pops goes on tour.

25 Jan 2015
5 Comments

The Carefree Mobile Life!

Toss a hundred nickels under the hood and, at best, maybe three will make it to the pavement.

Toss a hundred nickels under the hood and, at best, maybe three will make it to the pavement.

The contemplative life offered by solitary travel into unfamiliar places is quite a treat, but it does have its greasy underbelly. Free of rent, mortgages, property taxes and the like, one is free to wander and perhaps gain a new perspective. But some issues aren’t left behind, because you take them with you in order to get to the next place.

Once your mode of travel begins to age, it’s invariably gonna start eating parts and fluids. You have a free and open choice of whether to try to stay ahead of the curve with scheduled maintenance, or wait for the crisis or crises resulting from neglect. But some parts are best left alone until they have expended themselves. Vehicles made within the last twenty years are so much better at delaying the inevitable that even age and wear-related parts can have commendable lifespans. When a component lasts two or three times longer than it once did, that’s money left in the bank. Your bank. Kind of. Okay, sometimes, not so much.

Ever had a radiator hose start leaking because heat, pressure and time got to it? Sure you have. Perhaps you took it in, or perhaps you Read more…

Posted in Daily Life and tagged , ,
19 Jan 2015
3 Comments

2014 in Review

It was great.

Wall decor in the I-70 Cafe.

Wall decor in the I-70 Cafe.

I was going through photos that nicely depict interesting points about each of the places I’ve been in last year, spent half a day gathering 30, and figured out I still had a long way to go. Too many photos already. So, I’m taking the lazy way out so I can make a bare start at rebuilding the campsites/facilities database I lost to New Google Maps. If you want to see interesting stuff here and there and haven’t been reading the blog for long, simply go into the archives. This isn’t Facebook, where everything that wasn’t posted today is assumed to be stale and irrelevant. My insights and accounts are stale and irrelevant before they were even published, and I’m proud of that.

2015 may not be as interesting for roadie topics, simply because of that database loss and the likelihood of staying in pretty much the same places, when I had originally planned to start doing the backroads routing thing. We’ll see what we see!

Posted in Daily Life
14 Jan 2015
7 Comments

Something Handy to Avoid

Splitter: Bane or Blessing? This is the Roadpro model I recommend.

Splitter: Bane or Blessing? This is the Roadpro model I recommend.

When you have one cigar lighter-type outlet but more than one 12-volt DC device that needs to be run at the same time, a Y-splitter can be a handy solution. Once you insert its plug into your outlet, it then offers a couple of sockets that you can use to advantage. Splitters are inexpensive, and are easy to use.

They are also problem-prone. I’ve had to discard a handful of them when they’ve failed and, as a result, offer here a few tips to use them properly.

The problems stem from two issues. First, cigar lighter connectors are a bad way to Read more…

Posted in Mod Squad and tagged ,
13 Jan 2015
10 Comments

Be Somewhere Else

How's the load rating on your roof, hey?

How’s the load rating on your roof, hey?

The other day, I was thinking how it would be nice to have daily highs in the 70s in Yuma AZ, since they were only in the low 60s. That has since come about. But having to turn on the little heater every morning – what an inconvenience! I actually had to wear my old winter coat when I went outside one morning!

But the November snowstorm photos forwarded to me by my ol’ work bud Dennis S., who is still young, spry and slogging it out at the same chicken outfit, reset my inconvenience scale. These all come from the Buffalo, NY area at that time, in what one wag has dubbed “Snowmageddon”. Talk about heart Read more…

Posted in Daily Life, Navel Gazing and tagged , ,
10 Jan 2015
16 Comments

Open For Business!

This started out as an empty cavern, and is now quite a step up from most tattoo shops.

This started out as an empty cavern a few weeks ago, and is now quite a step up from most tattoo shops.

Being a justifiably proud papa, I have to brag a bit. My son Tom is artistically gifted. Muchly so. After his long foray into construction, he listened to my lament that artistic skill is a very tough way to make a living, and that if he could wangle a way to leverage it, that would be 1] a miracle and 2] a great way to earn income doing something he likes. Once he discovered that there is decent money to be had in body art, he apprenticed at two shops while his lovely bride left her career at a cellular company to learn the business of piercing, and to keep the later shop’s books.  Thus armed, he mustered considerably more courage than I’ve got and just opened his own shop in cahoots with two experienced and extremely talented artists, Nate Bjork and Billy Raike. It’s called Read more…

Posted in Daily Life and tagged , ,
07 Jan 2015
13 Comments

Solar Demystified

These are 195-watt solar panels, and where you put them is up to you or your rig's limitations.

These are 195-watt solar panels, and where you put them is up to you or your rig’s limitations.

I’m no expert on solar systems, but that of course doesn’t stop me from having opinions and expressing my ignorance. Since I’m currently having to engineer a simple solar system for another camper, I thought it timely to write this epistle on what to consider before it’s time to cough up your hard-earned dough.

I know that I’m supposed to break this up into smaller, frequent posts, but I find the loss in continuity disruptive, and kind of a gimmick to boost readership numbers. I have no sponsors, so there’s no point in artificially pumping up visits to impress commercial interests enough to give me money. Yeah, I’d like to have something for you every day just for its own sake, but that ain’t gonna happen. I almost have a life. This blog is based on providing complete and useful information or references, as well as inane trivia, in single packages that don’t force you to wait for the next installment. But at some 7,800 words, it does require tolerance on your part for unending tomes of ignorance. Enjoy.

For the purposes of this article, I’m sticking with simple, almost-affordable systems that you can easily design and build yourself. More costly and sophisticated systems, no. I’m electronically-challenged, and bottom feeder systems are my realm. They are relatively easy to design, install, and wire up.

Where to begin

It’s tempting to assume that the first order of the day is to wonder how many solar panels you’ll need, because that’s what Read more…

Posted in Mod Squad and tagged , , ,
02 Jan 2015
6 Comments

Ima Inna Yuma

As long as my wheel chocks hold, I'll have a pretty view out the window each day.

As long as my wheel chocks hold, I’ll have a pretty view out the window each day.

I arrived in Yuma, Arizona about a week and a half ago, or more properly, Winterhaven, California. The border between the two is just a few miles down the road. Turns out I arrived just in time, since a cold front moved in that day and has been producing lows in the high 20s and low 30s more recently. How is that good, you ask? It’s even colder in Quartzsite. Normal cabin temps settle Read more…

Posted in Campsites, Travelin' Man and tagged , , , ,
29 Dec 2014
5 Comments

Unicell Aerocell SRW

Trade van turned camper.

Trade van turned camper.

While I was getting propane last week in Quartzsite, a cargo van rolled into a Family Dollar across the street. With an add-on body that was both bulbous and sleek, I’d never seen anything like it and was impatient to get out and across there to check it out before it left. No need to fret, since the owner promptly climbed back in, came over, and got into line for propane too!

With its rounded, bulging sides and roof, this add-on to a Chevy cutaway van presents an oddly organic profile. It struck me as a promising way to boost usable space and get Read more…

Posted in Camper Nirvana and tagged
25 Dec 2014
7 Comments

A Rail De La Sand

Strapped in and ready to make noise, Delmont is signaling either "Go for it!" or "Call me!" I'm not up on such things.

Strapped in and ready to make noise, Delmont is signaling either “Go for it!” or “Call me!” I’m not up on such things.

I was recently given a very special opportunity in the form of what’s called a sand rail, and I took it! Delmont Day, a long-time Strolling Amok reader (“Papa”), invited me to tour the BLM land around Quartzsite with him. Long a fan of all things Volkswagen, Delmont had picked up his sand rail last Fall in order to be able to enjoy the extensive off-road opportunities in the Quartzsite, Arizona area.

The start of the run was the deep sand track I tackled on my e-bike, but the rail's big tires made it float over easily.

The start of the run was the deep sand track I tackled on my e-bike, but the rail’s big tires made it float over easily.

And what a sand rail it is! Sand rails are similar to what most folks would call dune buggies, but they have the familiar shortened VW Bug floorpan/chassis replaced with a Read more…

Posted in Daily Life, Tourista! and tagged , , ,
21 Dec 2014
7 Comments

Unique Fixer-Uppers

Located right along the main drag in Quartzsite, one suspects this is of some historic value. Left unmarked, it is merely part of a large lot for sale.

Located right along the main drag in Quartzsite, one suspects this is of some historic value. Left unmarked, it is merely part of a large lot for sale.

Along the same street is what's left of The Camel Stop Auto Repair, and old service station. And it's for sale!

Along the same street is what’s left of The Camel Stop Auto Repair, and old service station. And it’s for sale!

But look a little closer and you can see all the signs that the building is leaning heavily to the left, and that the facade was the only part worth saving. Was.

But look a little closer and you can see all the signs that the building is leaning heavily to the left, and that the facade was the only part worth saving. Was.

The building next to it is presumably part of the same listing, and is in better shape.

The building next to it is presumably part of the same listing, and is in better shape. Maybe.

And just for a change of pace, this is neither real estate nor for sale. It's just one of my barber's motorcycles. A lifelong motorcycle rider, she hales from Rockford, Illinois and moved to this area early. So, she doesn't mind the summer heat, and puts on a light jacket when it's 70 degrees.

And just for a change of pace, this is neither real estate nor for sale. It’s just one of my barber’s motorcycles. A lifelong motorcycle rider, she hales from Rockford, Illinois and moved to this area early. So, she doesn’t mind the summer heat, and puts on a light jacket when it’s 70 degrees. This ’57 Harley was her father’s.

Posted in Tourista! and tagged ,

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