A palace, some trips and warm weather..

Geo and I went to Vancouver, Salmon Creek and Longview, Wa. yesterday, he to the doctors and I to kill some time, we hit Home Depot and Walmart, ate at Subway and TacoTime.  It was so warm inland that Geo left Bubba home.  It's getting up to 104F in Hagerman where Mom resides, the air conditioning is having a hard time keeping up during the day, so a larger one may be needed these few days of the year where the temp gets so bad.  I am headed down to Idaho today or tomorrow to assist in fixing things, from sprinkler timers, computer CMOS batteries to Air Conditioning. I'll probably leave my travel trailer here in Seaview along with my fifth wheel.

P.S.  I think it got up to 68F here on the Peninsula... 

EternaBond Roof Seal, roofing nails and a design to battle the dreaded rubber roof BUBBLE

  

We worked on Georges Palace (fifth wheel) and his rubber roof on Sunday/Monday designing and laying down waterproof patterns to prevent the dreaded air bubble from popping up during travel and the flaps and flops during windy weather.  The vents, front and back caps were also cleaned and sealed during the long day up and down the ladders.  This process negates having to use a couple of tubes of Dicor every year to catch those nasty cracks and leaks.  This doesn't mean you don't check (and clean) your roof anyway, it just means for the next 12 to 20 years you won't be using much Dicor.

Cleaning a Fiberglass roof in Hagerman, ID.

I've been cleaning up the New Horizons fifth wheel which has been sitting in my mothers driveway since April 2008, the last time Diesel shot up over $4... Since getting my lot in Seaview, WA. I have been planning to move the 5th wheel up. I am cleaning it up a bit, checking all the seams, getting the tubes of Dicor ready, or maybe just Eternabond the seams, that should keep any Washington weather out....

The roof (fiberglass) was sprayed with a mix of Dawn and Bleach, allowed to set for a minute or so and then pressure washed, as you can see the dirt and grime just fly off and the roof is restored to the white beauty.

I'll get it loaded up and out of here, I should be back up in Washington by July 15th, but I'm missing a bunch of my friends comedy up in Seattle, Check out Abbey Drake on Facebook.. or on YouTube (p.s. I knew her when...)

Christmas (and New Years) with the WIN's

View WIN Christmas and New Years Eve in a larger map



Spent Christmas and New Years with the WIN's, with friends, Diana did an excellent job as usual with reporting what happened in her blog, Life on the Open Road...

Food, bagpipes, gifts, and dancing for all.. special memories.


P.S. Just be aware of the planes spraying stuff in the air, we (Mom, pup and I) feel better now that we left.

How can you travel through the Palm Springs area without a DATE SHAKE?

I've been the in the Palm Springs/Palm Desert area for about 3 weeks, this area is famous for the date shake. My first date shake was last year, when we drove up from the Slabs to Oasis Date Garden and had shakes and many date samples. This year I tried three different stores, all recommended for the date shakes. Besides Oasis, I tried Shields Date Garden and Hadleys Date and Fruit Stand. While Oasis has a good shake and they use date puree, Shields tastes better, more date flavor and you could taste date through the last drop, whereas the Oasis, after a while, you could not taste the dates. Shields uses date flakes, and it's important for them to sit a while in the ice cream for full flavor.

However, neither have the flavor and creaminess of the Hadleys Date Shake, made with real ice cream and date puree, plenty of it, the Hadleys shake was creamy and tasty to the last drop, and then I wanted more, if I wasn't 50 miles away from the store, I would be tempted to have one every day. So far, of the ones I've tried, Hadleys takes the WIN. The sampling room at Oasis make the stop worth while, you can get your fill of dates for free, then you want to take some home too.

Northwood Mfg. made a new Friend, and hot cities.

Traveling west again to the Coast where it will be cool, it's too hot here. I was in LaGrande, Or. (96F) at Northwood MFG. getting the hole in my Nash trailer repaired, I got a new front end.... they did a super job for about 1/4 the cost they quoted and in 1/4 the time. It's always great when a company goes "beyond expectations." They also manufacture Arctic Fox and Desert Fox toy haulers, campers, and trailers. I got the trailer to them about 8 am, met with Matt, went and got some donuts, I was just getting ready to get on the internet near a Starbucks, when I got the call about 1030, "It's done" a voice said, "Already, I didn't even get my nap yet" said I, "Come on in and we'll lighten your wallet" says the voice. I checked out my trailer, it's looks better and brighter than when I bought it... I walked into the office and met with the voice (Matt), he lays down a sheet with the price, my jaw drops, I'm in a quandary at this point, you see, I filed an insurance claim after getting the quote. and the price for the repair is the same as my deductible. (way less than the quote.) I'm hopeing that I can cancel the claim and my State Farm insurance will just forget about it and NOT RAISE the cost of my insurance...

I happily pay my share, wave goodbye, (blow kisses at the women) and sail into the sunset.. (oh... thats another story)

On the way from Seattle to LaGrande, Or. I had planned on boondocking, casino-docking or whatever so I could hit Northwood Mfg. early Monday morning for my appointment. While in the planning stages, I got an invitation from a new friend, he said I could stay at his place in Cove, Or. just 12 miles from the Nash factory. I gratefully accepted and was amazed at the little slice of heaven, he and his wife have carved out for themselves (and wandering AFP's*.) Phrases like "salt of the earth" and "good people" do not do justice, they fed me, gave me wonderful well water, powered the trailer, let me wash my trailer and truck and many other things. We laughed, fixed things, and watched nature take it's course. Deer and birds abound and wander around his place. The last evening dropped a gorgeous sunset on us as we looked out over the valley. Truly wonderful people and "Thank you"

It was 102F in downtown Pendleton, Or. 100F in Hermiston where I stopped for lunch, and 108F at Three Mile canyon near the Columbia River. I'm at TT Sunriver-Bend for a couple of days before I hit Coos Bay, Or.


*AFP's =Arctic Fox people (and other Northwood products too)

How long can your shower be?

It's been a while since I wrote a satirical post on the blog. Although I have spread the good cheer and wrote elsewhere. The following is from a AFNash.com forum discussion. I'm afraid after seeing who asked the question, I may have abused him one too many times, but doggone it, he makes it so easy.

nate- I'm really curious as to how long you guy's get with a hot shower. I know it has a 30 gal tank, but I'm sure the hot water heater couldn't keep up with it that fast. Reason is, when we get back from long back-country hikes, I need to know how to "divide" up the shower time, and I'm just really curious to see what others on here get. I didn't plan on taking a 20-30 minute shower, but perhaps 10 minutes of hot water?

(Understand this is a 22 foot trailer with a 6 gallon water heater fired by propane, there were several comments about "Navy" showers before mine)

My answer:
Great question, lots of variables to consider. facetiously speaking however,

The final answer is: 8 minutes

I'm "assuming" a great many things here...

You like hot showers..
The water tank is 6 gallons (higher is longer)
The heating of the replaced water in the tank is exactly the same as the colder water introduced into the tank during the shower. (So we have exactly 6 gallons of hot water in the formula)

The temperature of the water in the tank is 180F (it may or may not be)(lower is shorter)
The temperature of the ground water is 50F (very common)(higher-longer/lower shorter)
(The temperature will vary depending on temp of the water in the hose, for a small amount of time)

If we use the formula (Va * Ta) + (Vb * Tb) / Va + Vb = T
Va = Volume of water in hot water tank
Ta = Temperature of water in tank
Vb = Volume of water from ground source
Tb = Temperature of ground water
T = total temperature of the combined volume
(6 *180) + (6 * 50) / 12 = T
1080 + 300 /12 = 115 degrees F.
Again an assumption made of half and half (6 gal. hot water and 6 gal. ground water)
Therefore we have 12 gallons of 115F water
Typical shower head flow restriction is 1.5 gpm
12 gallons / 1.5 gpm = 8 minutes.


Fire retardant suit on..

(It's not like I didn't leave hints in my comment "facetious", "assume", "fire retardant suit")

I only had one comment on it, RF said, Love it! Thanks...Wouldn't think of any kind of flaming response....

Props to you RF...

Not a good day, View from the Front...

While traveling through Boise Idaho heading out from the Northwood Rally, I... well I'll let the photos talk first.











A semi-truck in front of me tossed "something" into my lane, not able to avoid it completely, I ran over it and kicked it up into the trailer. I checked when I stopped and found this.

A few pictures and an email to Dave Mann/Northwood brought back the quick response, of an $800 job. Looks like I'll be heading back to LaGrande, Or. But for the moment, I'm in Hagerman Id. and will be doing my yearly Bratwurst sales with the Moose(Lodge #305,) in Buhl ID. for the Fourth of July Celebration at the Park.
Mid-July I'll be heading to Seattle to see a close friend, back to LaGrande, Or. for a July 26th appointment to get the trailer fixed, then over to the Coast (Or.-Wa.) again. Aug. 11th, I'll be in the Long Beach, Wa. area, I'll meet up with the WIN's again.

As usual, the plans are written in Jello, (green you know.)

You know..

I started this blog to chronicle my journey in retirement, to express myself, to inform, to teach. I always have something to write about, I'm afraid it just won't interest people, because it's everyday life for me.

Then I read about other people's lives and they fascinate me, like Nick Russell, Bob Parker and Donna Huffer, Diana Tolerico, Karen Minard, even Jim Twamley at times. I follow a lot of blogs and the people are so interesting.

The hits on my blog mostly show up around my Hughes Autoformer (rv voltage regulator) discussion, my 454 Casull and Raging Bull blog, and the Delta Shores blog, so I can see what people are searching for.

Very few people visit the Natalie Anderson blogs, even though she's a fascinating person, she has not been discovered yet. One of these days, I will say "I knew her when..." or "I was in a serious relationship with..."

Ahh, memories..., soon I will have some more, I plan on attending the All Class Reunion in Greybull Wyoming, I graduated high school way-back when. I've been in Idaho, doing the yearly thing on my mothers yard, setting up watering, killing/chopping weeds and various "getting ready for summer" things to the house.

I did take a 3 day trip up to Lewiston, Id. to pick up a single ATV rack, all aluminum, even though I don't have an ATV yet, I'd like to be prepared when I find that perfect bargain. The first night(60AH) we (I took Mom) stayed by the road side on Hwy 95 near Mesa, Id., the second night(112AH) we "wallydocked" in Clarkston, Wa. and the third night I found a cute little RV park near Huntington/Farewell Bend, Or. (Oasis RV) $13 for full hookups. This allowed me to recharge the batteries(down 80 AH), get a shower and dump the black water tanks before getting back to Mom's home in Idaho. We even spent the day in Nampa/Boise going from Treasure Shop to Treasure Shop.

On recharging the house batteries while driving.. since I listed the AH (Total Amp Hours used) each night. Whether this will be of interest to anyone will be seen in the hit counters.

I've found driving on the road will recharge the batteries about 10 AH for every hour of driving with my diode setup, I suspect if I used a solenoid, I would get better recharging since I would not have the voltage drop of the diodes. I have a Trace 500 amp-hour meter and battery monitor, to go along with the Tripp-Lite 3000 watt inverter.

I am HERE among you.

And you never knew..

Of course I'm in Las Vegas at the moment, (Vegas baby) What goes on here stays here.. Unless they have photo's...

It's getting rather warm during the day, so it's time to head north, chasing that 70 degree weather. Then I find out it's still snowing up north. I'll just run the A/C a few more days.



Went down to Fremont Street to enjoy the FREE shows, wandered around and was introduced to the "Shark Tank", a swimming pool with shark tank in the middle, a thin piece of glass separating you from the sharks. What fun, like swimming with the sharks....

Fruity Ideas

Most people have heard about the new Apple I-pad that was just introduced, some people like it some don't. You know Apple has the I-pod with I-tunes, I-phone, I-touch, besides the I-pad.

All of Apples' technology is geared towards the younger generations, that's not to say that I can't use it, it's just not geared toward me. One of the complaints I've heard is that the fonts are too small, hard to see with "older eyes," the movements, flicks, taps, pinches and drags need to be quick, and we often don't feel like being "quick."




I'm marketing technology called "Prune" for obvious reasons. It's geared toward the large "retired" generation, using familiar movements and ideas, I'll have Prune (P) technology, I already have several items ready, there is the P-ad, which can be written on with the P-encil, the P-en or the Shar-P. I also have a cellular P-hone, which will take P-hotos, and my P-pods are nutritious and good to eat. I also have a P-touch, but I'm not going to elaborate on that function.

(c) Prune-Tech/Ron King/P-tech

Wow, what a pizza experience..

I'm staying in the Phoenix area with the WIN group, tonight we went out for pizza, all I can say is WOW. The pizza itself was okay, I don't like crunchy crust pizza myself, preferring a chewy pie instead.

The best thing? the tremendous show, the Worlds Largest Wurlitzer Theatre Organ. Some information about the organ, the organist started with "76 Trombones", then played the theme from "Titanic","Pink Panther" and many others. It's hard to believe all of the flutes, pipes, strings, drums, cymbals, bells, accordion, tambourines, birds, and oohgah horns came from one person at the console, stroking keys, flipping switches and pushing pedals. It was the best show ever, (I stayed through two sets) for only the price of a pizza. The sounds soared through the rafters and vibrated through the floor, one moment taking you on a flight of fancy and then crashing to the earth. It was one of those WOW moments....

Salvation Mountain - Midnight Ridazz

Shouts out to the Midnight Ridazz that I met at Slab City and Salvation Mountain. From Yuma/Winterhaven area, I decided to hit Slab City before moving east.
The WIN dance rally will be in Casa Grande, Az. and it sounds like fun. Hope my feet can handle it, I've been walking between 3 and 5 miles a day so the feet are tougher. Salvation Mountain (wiki) (official website) was a hoot, so much has been written about it, but you have to go there to see and experience it for yourself, nothing will prepare you for the grandeur, love and color in the area. I took a few photos, (Midnight Ridazz) but cannot hope to capture the feeling there.

Of lights and flames, and lonely moths

Do you ever wonder why a moth will circle and circle around a light, or a flame?
It's lonely, it is drawn to the light, it's a bit like salvation and the other side all in one.
It wants to renew itself someway, to feel young again, to not be alone.
To do the impossible once again, to feel love, a sense of belonging.
If it goes into the light, it can be totally absorbed and wander forever in a loving place.
If it goes into the flame, it can be consumed and renewed, if only in the mind.
Meanwhile, it circles and circles, sometimes singeing it's wings, hurting and wanting.

My life and my story continues, I want to acknowledge my light, Natalie, and my flame, CJ.
I wish you both the best in life, I hope you each find love, laughter and happiness.
Each of you in your own way changed my life, I will not abandon a moment of my memories, although some times tears start falling, I am blessed to have such people in my life.

Thank you.

Birds on Wire.. Seattle.. and moving again?

As you may be able to tell, I went up to the Seattle area again, some rainy weather, some nice weather, my friend was moving again, this time from Kent into Seattle proper. Talk about location, she's now downtown, close to EVERYTHING... and the cutest apartment. By the way, the above photo is one of her paintings/mixed media in a series titled "Birds on Wire" I had a fun time, got tired and sweaty at times... but everything was finally accomplished before I got snowed on again, (I got a little snow at Tall Chief RV Resort near Redmond.) On finishing I headed down to the Long Beach Peninsula (Chinook, Ilwaco, Seaview, and Long Beach)

Mother Natures Way of telling me to move on...

One day I'm under the trailer, checking brackets and rustproofing the frame, the next day?


I have to find my one pair of socks, my one pair of boot like shoes (Doc Martens,) and my one pair of Levis. Of course I'm kinda skimpy on coats also, but I have a fleece/Goretex combo that will do in a pinch.




Thats over 6.5 inches on the hood.




Looks like a good test for the new bumper boxes.


Now I gotta air up my trailer tires because the Pressure Pro system is telling me I only have 43 lbs in one of the tires, (maybe the 22 degree out side temperature has something to do with it.)

The trailer is performing like a champ, keeping me warm and toasty, I had unhooked the water and put 15 gallons more in the water tank when I saw the temps dropping. The small electric heater on low (900/1500 watt) keeps the bedroom area about 66 and the rest of the inside about 61.

At .04 KWH, it's cheaper than propane. The conversion factor is 27 (26.85) in deciding what to use. (.04 x 26.85 = $1.08, meaning propane would have to cost less to be more cost effective. $0.12 KWH is about the break even point for most of the country) Of course the bathroom seat is a little chilly and puckers me a bit. The Hunter Digital thermostat kicks the furnace on when the temps get real low. I set it to kick on a couple of times during the night to keep the water tanks from freezing.

I'm doing inside projects now until I can pull out of Rock Springs, Wy. and head toward the nearest coast. (magnetic catches on the screen door, couple of 12 volt wiring projects, some more LED lighting, cleaning the crevices and such.)

I encountered a couple of sub-freezing days and one kinda snow day while wintering on the Oregon coast last year. Nothing like Wyoming to bring back memories though. I lived in Southwest Wyoming for 12 or so years, and in Park City Utah for 16 years, so dealing with snow is one of the reasons I went on the road, still chasing that perfect 70 degree weather.

I can't stop...

The Modifications. I look at the trailer and see ways to make things better, since I've got time on my hands, I grab cutters, welders, grinders and paint cans and go to work. Check out the following additions to the bumper boxes and trailer.




I took my boxes off, added a pair of holes through the base for a hitch pin and welded on a 3/8 nut (with hole behind it), so I could tighten anything I put in the tube down tight.



The rear tire folding down makes a nice spot for holding bags, but can I make this more useful?


It only goes down part way? Hmmm...


A couple of cuts with a 4.5 inch metal cutting wheel, a hammer and a pair of visegrips bend the metal.


OK I made the tire lie down flat, it holds things better now. But can I make it better?


Holds all the bags unloaded from the box, but?


Just steal the table top off a small 30 inch wide table and bolt it on the tire carrier.


Folded up and reinforced with small metal plate.


Looks almost normal with tire on.


Table folded out, ready for work and to stack stuff on. But I need a light to work on things in the evening.


So I added a 12 volt light with a switch, on the 22H, the bathroom light switch is directly behind the outside light, making it easy access and hookup to 12 volts.



I had space between the trailer and boxes, I had to fill it...
My friend gave me a couple of 5.25 inch vinyl fence posts, (check background below) he was getting rid of them. so I used them to hold things. Like Sewer tubes and rain gutter slinky support.


A bit wider view.



I still have access to drain the water heater.

Arrrghhh... Woke up early Saturday to a phone call, decided to stay up, so I went down to the steel yard and bought a 6 foot piece of steel, ($11) 1.5 inch square tube x .083, Got out the chop saw, the grinder and the MIG, a couple of spray cans and began cutting, grinding, welding, and painting, horrible day. This is what I came up with...




Notice the T handle bolt on the bottom of the sat dish pole, it tightens up fine, rock solid dish mount, about 270-280 degree view of the sky depending on the side I put the mount on, I made the other pole just to have a blank, maybe a flag pole, lantern pole, bug lantern, what ever, maybe I need to cut it and mount a grill.



The poles are offset from the locks, so the boxes are still accessible.

Hmmm, now maybe a rear awning is in order, so I can work on things during the day, or maybe an umbrella on one of my poles to block the sun.

9-28-09, I'm headed to Idaho to get my mothers place winterized so she can head out to the coast. I'll be back in Rock Springs Thursday or Friday, just in time for below freezing weather. A stopover in Salt Lake to pick up and drop off items, and to see my beautiful friends.

A View from the Rear.

Another adventure in design and modification, I've seen many trailers with generators and boxes and platforms on the rear. After looking at many, I decided I would like to have some more storage for my junk.

I began planning to add storage to the rear bumper, I looked at many boxes, rubber maid and other various plastic boxes. They seemed pretty cheap and I could carry a lot but all of them were at least 25 inches at the bottom.

I looked at many truck boxes from various manufacturers. Most of these run 17 to 19 inches on the bottom, but 20-24 inches across the top. I decided with a tire carrier on one side and a truck box on the other, the trailer would look lopsided, plus I wasn't happy with adding 22 inches to the rear of the trailer, that would be 10 or more inches beyond the spare tire.
I began looking at tongue boxes, I could put one on each side of the tire and it would look balanced. A bit triangle shaped, I looked at Harbor Freight and many others, even on eBay. I found a person on eBay making tongue boxes, and custom Diamond Plate items. EVEN CUSTOM BOXES.... MAP Welding and Fabrication . I emailed and called Mark Proul to discuss what I needed, he quickly gave me a quote, I checked 4 places on the west coast that make custom boxes and a local person, the price quoted was less than most could buy the metal for.
I paid for the boxes quickly, these are nice custom boxes, My dimensions were 30 inches wide, 12 inches front to back and 16 inches high. The rear bumper is 92 inches, the spare is about 27 inches, but If I got larger tires in the future they would not be over 32 inches. So each box became 30 inches. 16 inches high does not cover the license plate from the rear. And the 12 inches is very close to the amount the spare tire sticks out.

All photos are on Webshots and will open much larger when clicked

Original rear bumper with spare tire attached.


Underneath old bumper-right side.



Bumper and area that will be modified.


Cutting the old bumper off.


Bareback trailer.


Positioning receiver hitch for measurement and testing.


Test fitting receiver and bumper. (Measure many times, cut/weld once)


Left side test fit.


Getting set up for welding, protecting trailer from splatter with cardboard and metal license plates.


Tack weld and measure again. Carefully considering all ramifications of adding metal. Weight, strength, looks were all mulled over and discussed at length.


Full vertical weld left side, I had to practice on some scrap for a while first. It turned out easy with the Millermatic MIG welder.



The bumper welded back on, with receiver hitches underneath.


Bumper raised about 2.25 inches, one of the reasons I didn't use hanging receiver hitches on the bumper, also I wasn't sure of the bumper strength.


Getting ready to build a removeable base for the boxes, 2 inch tube at 21 inches each.


Angle iron, and safety equipment with the obligatory Owners Group hat.


Cutting and grinding my metal for the base.


Tack welding the iron together, to test fit on the trailer.


Delivery of the boxes.


First test fit of the new boxes.


Welded base, the boxes were test fit and holes drilled, I welded the nuts on prior to priming and painting.


Primed box base.


Final coat-Rustoleum semi-gloss black.


Getting ready to place the base in the receivers and pin/bolt them down.


Finished boxes, I used pieces of angle iron and a couple of fender washers to fasten the boxes down to the bases. Each box can be individually removed in a matter of minutes. Something else can be placed in the hitch receiver such as a bike rack or platform.




Outside shower access. (I have never used it)


Underneath left side showing base and bottom of box. I used 3/8 bolts to fasten. (Overbuilt everything)


Right side underneath showing pin, base and welds.


Rusty spare tire carrier, wire brushed.


Spare and carrier, primed, painted and pretty.



Initially I had planned to surround the bottom of the diamond plate boxes with the angle iron, I decided I was over building and that it would detract from the look. So I went with just building a strong base. I had over 350 pounds standing on the bases and they didn't even flex.
The total weight of the boxes, base and receivers is 78 pounds. The last time I weighed the trailer, the front tires were 100 pounds heavier than the rear. This modification allows me to move weight to the rear. and lighten my 1050 pound tongue weight. Total weight is well under the posted limits of the tires, when I hit Oregon in a couple of months I'll check each tire/axle again and reposition weight as necessary.


Thanks to Afnash.com, the Arctic Fox, Nash, Desert Fox, Northwood RV Owners Association for ideas, information and compliments.



Thanks go to Mark Proul at MAP Fabrication and Welding for the wonderful custom inexpensive Diamond Plate boxes. Call 203.228.2164, he can do anything diamond plate, from tongue boxes to toothbrush holders, you give him a design and he can do it. Mention where you saw them.

Thanks to the Burkes in Rock Springs Wyoming, for the use of the shop, welders and space for the project.