Video experiment

I said I might live blog.  Well, no.  I shot video with my iPhone, brought it home, and edited it.
The big problem:  the "action" all takes place off-camera.  The vent dome replacement involved working on the front edge of the front vent, and there just wasn't room to put a camera out there.

There are some missing shots:  I never did take a picture of the finished job from the outside, for example.  But I did learn what's involved in the process of making a short video, putting it up on YouTube, and then including it in this blog.

But here it is.  I'd be happy to get comments on the quality of the video.  As for the repair work, the a/c cover simply needs to be replaced.  And I need to caulk around the hinge on the the vent cover I just installed.

But all in all, it was a good time.

Work day

A lot of the day will be spent down at the storage lot, working on the Beast.  I'm looking forward to it: the problems I'm working on there actually have solutions.  The vent dome lid can be replaced.  The a/c cover (shroud?) can be replaced.  I've found a few places where the I need to do maintenance in the roof itself... not many, and I gather that at least a couple of times a year I should go up there and check on things.  All this is new to me, but various resources on the internet show me videos of how to do what needs to be done, help me find out what I need to do it, and send it to me.

So many of life's challenges don't have solutions.  The best we can do is work round them: my various arthritic joints are a good example.  This stuff has a solution.  One of the video "blogs" I follow is Eric's "Nomadic Fanatic" channel on YouTube.  He's just discovered a big patch of dry rot in his rig, and is systematically tearing it out and replacing it.  Scary, but a solvable problem.

Someone asked me the other day what this blog is really about.  Who am I writing to?  Partly I'm writing to myself: this is a log in the original sense, and I'm using it to keep track of what I did to and with the rig.  The rest of you are to be pardoned if it's not very interesting.  In time, this will become something of a travelogue: where I go and what I see.  I'm hopeful that will be more interesting to y'all.

Time for breakfast.  I may "live blog" from the RV roof as the day goes on.

Replacing the dome

I just got the replacement dome lid for the front ceiling vent. It's a little too late in the day to attack this project, and actually it's a little hot! (Eat your heart out, Boulderites!) But tomorrow we see how this goes.  I plan to be extra careful not to scratch it so if it doesn't fit I can send it back.

Isn't it purdy?

The challenge is to see how few trips up and down the ladder I need to make.

What did we do before Amazon.com?

Up on the roof

Not by the Drifters, but you get points if you can sing the chorus.

The weather was great, so as planned, I drove down to the storage lot to see what was what with the missing vent lid.  The first step to get on the ladder is a little nasty even if you don't have a bum knee, so I took the folding extension ladder to make it a bit easier.

Right at the top of the ladder, there's an ominous sign which says DO NOT STEP HERE.  Oh.  Umm... so I kneeled.  Not one of my favorite maneuvers right now, but it worked.  With balance issues in mind, I crept around up there on hands and knees.  Fun.

First thing I noticed was a problem I didn't know I had.

That's the cover on the a/c unit with a big ol' hole in the leading edge.  This is new: I wonder if the vent lid caromed off the a/c on its way overboard?

A little research on Amazon, EBay, and the owner's manual helped me find the right replacement, and it makes sense to get it from Amazon, with the 3% off I get by using their card. Can't say I'm nuts  about the cost, but it does look like a job I can do.

Proceeding forward, the naked vent was obvious.

It should look like this.

The fan works just fine, so the day out in the rain and snow don't seem to have damaged anything but my peace of mind.

Unlike the a/c unit, the model number for this Fan-Tastic (?!) vent was in plain sight.   But that didn't help a lot finding the right replacement lid.  I'm still poking around trying to find one.  It looks like I might need a new strut (lower left of picture) but I'm not sure.

And so it goes.  I need to call Buck about finishing the differential rebuild.

Happy Tuesday, y'all.

DIY?

The recent episode of the disappearing roof vent cover raises the general question of what RV repairs I can expect to do myself and what I need to hand off to the pro's.

The easy case: repairs to the rear axle differential.  Not me.  I lack tools, experience, knowledge, and workspace.

But things like the vent cover and roof maintenance?  I'll clamber up on the roof some time today and look at the situation, and I'll know more.  Couple thoughts here: The industry seems to have standardized on dimensions of some components.  RV roof vents, for example, seem to mostly be 14 X 14 inches.  There are three materials used for RV roofs: metal (think Airstream,) fiberglass, and rubber.  (Mine is rubber.)  Parts seem readily available through Amazon.  Manufacturers and owners post how-to videos for LOTS of projects, including vent and vent cover replacements.  The scariest part has to do with maintaining the integrity of the roof: not making unwanted holes and sealing the ones you want.

For holes, there seems to be a generalized process: drill pilot holes (gulp!),  put butyl tape around the perimeter of the object, put screws through the holes and the tape and tighten just enough to see the butyl "ooze" out between the vent and the roof, then use Dicor self-leveling caulk on the screws and all around the edge of the vent.  Perhaps famous last words, but that seems do-able.   If I'm replacing an existing vent, removing the old vent without damaging the roof seems like the trickiest part.

As long as specialized and expenses tools aren't required, I don't see why I can't tackle this kind of project.

But:  I've had back problems for years, and recently I've been dealing with old knee injuries which have gone acute.  Getting up and down off the roof and moving around up there will be, well, challenging.  I'm OK with doing things which hurt, as long as the pain doesn't mean I'm causing further injury. I have to be. More important is whether this (or similar projects) would raise safety issues.

With care, I think not.  We'll see.   If it's a long time before the next post, you'll know why.

Sunday

Here I am in the parking lot of Kranberry’s Family Restaurant in Lordsburg, NM.  Drove just long enough: 8 hours from 9 to 5.  Pushing through to Tucson just didn’t make sense.

The obligatory picture of me and the big boys.

I was hopeful that a family restaurant would have a TV set:  I’m missing the Super Bowl and from the looks of the NYT live blog, they need me!  No TV.

The day was easy and enjoyable.  Packed the rig, had a quick debrief with Saint, hit the road.  The road was clear and dry, the sky was sunny, no wind.  I love the big open spaces of New Mexico, and today was all about that.  

Really? Still?

Departing Albuquerque

I seem to be back on my usual diurnal schedule.  Went to bed around 9, woke up at 4.  The major chore for the first part of the day is packing and stowing everything back in the Beast for travel.  I say good bye to my very thoughtful Albuquerque host and hit the road at about 9, I'd guess.  The plan is to return the way I came, but dividing the trip a little more evenly so I don't have one short and one very LONG day as I did on the way out.

What I'd like to do now is look back on what happened and what I learned on the way out.  This may recap some of what I reported in shorter posts as I went.   So be it.

The weather was a big factor:  very windy, chilly, rainy, a bit of fine snow.  I'm realizing how much of a desert rat I've become when even a few days of wintery weather feel oppressive (lack of sunshine) and uncomfortable (brrrr!)

Huddling with the big boys

The rig handles reasonably well, but it remains a big very non-aerodynamic box.  Driving into quartering headwinds required constant attention,  and added to the fatigue.  It also wrecked gas mileage: I'd been getting about 10mpg last summer in this kind of driving; when I filled up on my way in here it was 6-something.  Ouch.  By that time the wind had died down.  I'll be interested to see what I get on my next tank today, with lower winds.

The casualty of the wind was a vent cover.  At one point I realized that it was really cold there in the driver's seat, and then I felt a drop of water.  When I could pull over and check, it turned out that the cover in the vent-cum-exhaust fan in the roof/ceiling at the front of the coach was simply gone.  And rain was coming in steadily.

A little improv with plastic garbage bags and Gorilla Tape and the immediate interior issues were fixed.  The fan motor, though, has been hanging out naked in the weather; getting up on the roof to try to do anything about it in this weather didn't seem advisable.  When I get home, I'll go inspect that situation and see whether this requires Merrigans' expertise, or whether I feel brave (and agile) enough to tackle this on my own.  I'll spend some quality time with YouTube seeing if there are how-to videos on how to do this.  I'm confident.

The worst driving experience was not the rain and the wind, it was the last few miles doing into Albuquerque.  The intersection of I-10 and I-25 is a nightmare, even if you know where you're going.  Traffic was, well, urban traffic, and vision to the rear is problematic in any kind of truck.  It doesn't help that the driver's side mirror drifts "outward"while traveling: instead of showing me the view straight back along the rig's flank, it points out somewhere in left field. Merrigan's guys told me there was no adjustment: I'd have to go to a Ford Dealer and get a replacement.  Hmph!  This is a real problem, it turns out, so I have to face up to it.

Other items:

The little catalytic heater works really well to warm up the whole rear area in the rig.  Running the furnace to bring it up to "room temperature" when camped, and then using the portable to maintain it, seems to be a good strategy.

A bag of ice turns the refrigerator into an icebox, and was more than adequate cooling for the drinks and cheese I brought with me.  No need to use propane for that short period.  It does make puddles, though, if you're not attentive to leaks in the bag.  :-(

In only a couple of days I found myself getting really attached to the rig. Partly because it was cold outside and comfy inside.  More than that, though -- I found myself with the same feeling I remember from back-packing, coming back from a day hike to my campsite, and feeling like I was "coming home."  Whatever the need is for a home place, it seems that this lumbering hunk of metal can fulfill it.  I like that.

It's time for a soon cup of coffee, and some granola, and then some packing/organzing.

More from the road.