Strolling Amok

Pops goes on tour.

Archive for the tag “Mods”

18 May 2013
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On the Level

The offending party.

The offending party.

The Dometic refrigerator/freezer has always been marginal in operation, rolling from too-cold to too-warm at the toss of a coin. The “thermostat” doesn’t hold set temperatures – it only asks for colder or warmer in some generic way. This is aggravated by all these types of fridges having a weak cooling system that takes a long time to overcome placing new, warm items inside, or being able to deal with being lightly loaded. It’s the nature of the beast. This one also shuts down now and then, requiring an alert eye to prevent excessive warming up before restarting it. Fortunately, it has never failed to start right up…so far.

When I stayed overnight at Bluewater Lake State Park, I noticed that the refrigerator was suddenly unable to maintain minimum temperatures, even at full throttle. I attributed it to high winds or bad luck. It improved a little when the winds died off at night. The problem got a little better in transit, and then worse again once I parked in the Cibola National Forest. Watching food spoil while parked miles from the nearest town is not the best.

Now, a failing fridge is not something you want unless Read more…

Posted in Daily Life, Mod Squad, The Enterprise and tagged ,
07 May 2013

Power to the People!

This rack-mounted solar panel is unobtrusive, and the airflow underneath can help aid output by keeping the panel cooler.

This rack-mounted solar panel is unobtrusive, and the airflow underneath can help aid output by keeping the panel cooler.

Originally posted 4/26/2013

This post is just to let you know how the riff-raff south of the tracks live. Mike is not a newbie, having full-timed off and on for the last few years, But, he has been doing without solar power while living in an ex-construction E-250 van. He’s been drawing power off the van’s starting battery, which isn’t good for it in the long run because they aren’t made for that type of use. He just bit the bullet and stepped up to a 245 watt solar panel and a couple of 6-volt deep cycle AGM batteries that give the system more power than two of my 12-volt AGMs. For a van with much more modest power needs than me, this is a pretty hearty system. Some outfits make 12VDC refrigerators and refrigerator/freezers that look like typical coolers you’d use for a picnic, so getting decent electrical power begins to open up possibilities for food storage and other things that can greatly affect how you live.

Unlike my rig, vans have no problem with either rough terrain or in-town store parking lots.

Unlike my rig, vans have no problem with either rough terrain or in-town store parking lots.

I couldn’t possibly pack myself into a van for more than a couple of months, but these guys seem Read more…

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

Ahhh, West and Wewaxation at Wast!

Ready for... Laundry Day, don't you think?

Ready for… Laundry Day, don’t you think?

Originally posted 4/11/2013

Well, the process is over. Pull a wheel and hub. Head into Wickenburg to drop off the hub for bearing removal and replacement, and get the tire dealer to swap the rubber donut for new. When a hub is ready, pick it up and return to install it on the trailer and pull another. Rinse and repeat. It took several days because service on the hubs couldn’t be instant. Total, $844.22 for four tires, three bearing sets with seals, and the labor to pound out the old and pound in the new. Plus, a spare bearing and seal set to carry on the road.

See the label still on the rear tire? I'm done, with about and hour and a half to go before sunset.

See the label still on the rear tire? I’m done, with about and hour and a half to go before sunset.

Just for morbid curiosity, I also pulled the new hub that had been replaced in Quartzsite. Expecting to find an abundance of grease, I found everything clean and dry, with just a whisper of clean grease wetting the tapered rollers. That’s not the usual practice. The mechanic here expressed his preference as, “If a bearing fails that I put in, it’s not going to be for lack of grease. These things heat up.” I slopped more in with my grease gun and a weird stem that is handy for reaching into such areas. So I’ve done all I can do, and it’s now merely a matter of hub touchy-feely and watching for tilted wheels once I hit the road again.

But that won’t be right away. I can stay here for up to another week if I like, and I’ve been concentrating on getting the repairs done. I’ll likely do laundry and food shop soon, as well as tour the area and walk around Wickenburg, which is a peculiar little town. Much of it is modern and relatively upscale, and some spots here and there are kind of eclectic Old West in their own way. But, I have yet to climb out of the Furd, apart from the two repair places involved. I can say that the people I’ve dealt with as well as those wandering in for one reason or another are “un-urban”. Low key, open, and they’ll just wander over  Read more…

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07 May 2013

Plan the Work…

"The Jail Tree - From 1863 to 1890 outlaws were chained to this tree for lack of a hoosegow... escapes were unknown"

“The Jail Tree – From 1863 to 1890 outlaws were chained to this tree for lack of a hoosegow… escapes were unknown”

Originally posted 4/8/2013

Checking the weather forecast for today shows a cloudy and high wind day, with wind gusts up to 50 MPH. Much of that wind will be from the south, directly onto the driver’s side of the trailer. That means I had better angle the solar panels down and strap them, as well as anchor the wheel chocks in case the trailer itself is tempted to shift. Done. This simple procedure took about an hour this morning, and unstrapping later will take more than that because of the poor quality of the cheapo Chinese ratchet strap mechanisms. The straps themselves are also wearing because of fluttering in the wind. Time to revise that system, probably with something rope-based.

My “action plan” this week is to get the trailer back up onto its feet and end the ongoing spate of problems with wheel bearings and tires. Since the remaining three old tires are potentially fragile, they must be replaced. With the wheel bearings in doubt, any road crisis involving use of the Axle Crutch would require severely overloading the remaining tire on that side. Doing that to an aged tire already at its load limit would  Read more…

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07 May 2013

El Cojinete está Muerto

Umm, the hub is not supposed to droop down like that.

Umm, the hub is not supposed to droop down like that.

Originally posted 4/6/2013

The title to this post means The Bearing is Dead. This is the second wheel bearing to disintegrate, this one 115 miles after being lubed and reinstalled. The good news is that the hub did manage to be able to be pulled off after a few hearty yanks, and the complete bearings (less loose tapered rollers) came off with it. That’s far superior to what happened on the last bearing failure. I wasn’t able/willing to pound out the bearing races held inside the hub, and made my way to Wickenburg to find a shop that could apply the necessary brute force. The automotive shop in Wickenburg wasn’t really open, this being Saturday, but people were there so I dropped off the hub and they’ll get to it Monday. I also need to drop off the rest of the bearing parts so they can try to match up what I’ve got.

While in town, I picked up a 2-ton floor jack on sale for $25, a replacement fire extinguisher for the trailer ( the 25-year-old one registered zero on the pressure gauge), a metal file, an abrasive sponge, and some fine grit wet/dry sandpaper. But let me describe how I got to this point, with the trailer wheel up and hub off. I didn’t want to try to hoist the affected wheel with the crappy scissors jack again, so I figured I’d press the F-250’s jack into service. That didn’t turn out  Read more…

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07 May 2013

Smartweigh: Geekoid Nirvana

Originally posted 4/5/2013

George and an accomplice read scales and note the numbers on a clipboard.

George and an accomplice read scales and note the numbers on a clipboard.

Originally posted 4/5/2013

Had Dickens been at my Smartweigh at the Escapees North Ranch in Congress, Arizona he would have summarized it as, “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” Although the Smartweigh is a safety-oriented number-crunching exercise, with terms like GVWR, GCWR, and GAWR, I’ll try to make the explanation of it as understandable as possible. The Executive Summary: As far as the numbers go, I’m looking good – much better than I thought. The bummer is the remaining three “original” trailer tires themselves, and the weight distributing hitch. Even though I’m not overloading any tires, it would be a real good idea to lose some weight. I’ll show you why.

The Escapees’ Smartweigh system is much better than your typical truck stop scales, which weigh the tow vehicle, the trailer, and then both. All that does is give you a “yes, no, maybe so” result that tells you if the individual units are overweight.

 

A typical North Ranch street. Wide and paved. Housing ranges from park models to modular to conventional.

A typical North Ranch street. Wide and paved. Housing ranges from park models to modular to conventional.

For $55 for a truck and trailer weigh-in, the Smartweigh test coughs up individual loads on each tire. Because RVs typically load their tires and suspensions very near their load carrying limits, and do not distribute those loads evenly, it’s common to have an RV weigh in under the maximum limit, and yet be overloading one or more tires. In order to get “worst case” numbers, the RV is supposed to go into the test with all fuel, propane and fresh water tanks full, while all waste tanks are to be empty. This is the normal travel mode.

For the record, the majority of RVs tested so far have overloaded something beyond its limits. That presents a safety problem, sometimes a legal liability problem in case of an accident, and it accounts for many interesting, unplanned road adventures. It’s a fair question to  Read more…

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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…

Posted in Campsites, Mod Squad, Travelin' Man and tagged , | Leave a comment
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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