A little of this, A little of that

It's been an interesting week. The weather turned cooler and we had trouble starting the pickup (Scooby) on Sunday morning as we headed out to breakfast. Later in the day it was fine. Final errand stop, nada, nope, nothing. Stu walked to the nearby auto parts store and got a couple nuts/washers and a the tool to clean the battery posts. Started just fine. Stu put it on the battery charger overnight, next morning it still wouldn't start.

We had errands to run, when we got back he started working to see if he could figure out if anything else was wrong (battery cables, loose connection, etc) but with the batteries being 4 1/2 years old, we decided to replace them. After pricing at three places (online), he opted to order them from Sam's Club. We had errands to run in the Annapolis area, so that worked.

Errands run, batteries picked up and back home. New batteries in - nothing, nada, nope. Time for more detective work. After pulling the starter, bought new at Pep Boys in Annapolis back on 2012, he found the problem. At installation (by Pep Boys), they had over tightened a connection and it had finally given way. Good news, there was a lifetime warranty on the starter!

In the meantime he had ordered a new backup camera setup for the Freightliner and fifth wheel. We bought this one back in 2008 or 9 and it's served us well. But the monitor was all but dead and we figured the newer technology couldn't hurt. Prices have gone down (a good thing) and he picked a unit with four cameras (back of the Freightliner, back of the RV and the two side ones on the Freightliner for using the directionals).

After looking at the wiring and cables, he feared he might have to completely rewire the setup. Eeep! Good news, after a little finagling, he got the monitor and one camera (on the back of the Freightliner) installed and functioning. Once the starter is installed and Scooby is back in working order (we hope), he will install the one of the back of the fifth wheel. Since this setup doesn't work with the directionals, he will save the other two cameras as backups.

In other news, the medical issues continue to get tested - Stu got an ultrasound of his aorta. He said the good news was he had a heart and he wasn't pregnant. I got my annual mammogram and once again, thank you, the results were good.

Next week Stu gets vision and hearing done and I get some blood work done (to see about continuing current new meds/dosages). Then we both get our annual dermatology screening for skin cancer. Final test is Thursday - I get a colonoscopy. Not a fan of the prep but it's necessary. Sigh...think of me Wednesday and Thursday. LOL!

I also picked up my new glasses. It's so nice to be able to see more things clearly - I was wearing a pair that had a 3-4 year old prescription. I love the frames we got! Heck, I even like my selfie (and I hate photos of me most of the time...LOL).

Yesterday we headed into Annapolis to pick up the new starter, see a movie and have our Thursday dinner. I'd been having trouble sleeping, so I had slept in and not eaten. We opted to try out the Tilted Kilt at Annapolis Mall. We had seen an episode of Undercover Boss featuring the business and it intrigued us, what with our Scottish heritage and all. ;)

We had a good lunch and enjoyed chatting with our waitress, Sylvia. She is from Bogota, Colombia and moved to the states 18 months ago with her husband. We talked about South America, how good her English was, how different the cultures are, etc. Very enjoyable time and a sweet girl (and good waitress).

 [click any photo for a larger view] 

I especially enjoyed the equal opportunity dress code! Yes, he was wearing a kilt.

Here are a couple more photos - we would definitely go back! They've only been open 2 months, so give them a try if you are in the area. They have indoor and outdoor seating. Oh, and the small gift shop is fun but we had already ordered pint glasses online. Love them!

After splitting a lunch entree, we went to see Deepwater Horizon. OMG!!! Intense, edge of the seat action. I was close to tears more than once. Based on a true story, it was very well done.

In other (author) news, I finally finished the first draft edits (on paper) of my middle school fantasy book. Now to type them in, clean it up and send it out for the next round of edits. Here is the tentative cover...what do you think?

Ciao for now!

Maintain, Fix and Repair

I am so lucky to have such a mechanically inclined husband - and he enjoys it! Earlier this month he replaced the fuel bowl drain valve on the diesel engine in our F250 pickup, Scooby.

Now he is working on getting the A/C fixed in our Freightliner (Freddie).

He changes the oil in all our vehicles, changes the brakes, and does basic maintenance and repair as well. He has done several on-the-road repairs that still stagger me to think about them. Tire changes on the 41' toy hauler, brakes lines and shackles, too. He's replaced belts on the Freightliner, taken care of fuel filter issues, too. There are many more things but my lazy brain just doesn't remember them all.

Then factor in all the carpentry work he has done - work on our shed and pavilion back in TN as well as outfitting our new cargo trailer for optimum storage.

Say, maybe I should have saved this for a Father's Day tribute. Oops!

Ciao for now!

Moving day and our annivesary

We've been in the same place since the middle of October, a VERY long time for us. A lot has happened with the rig. New jacks, new washer/dryer, some of the carpet pulled out, new refrigerator/freezer, and smaller things like changing out the bucket that stored our kitchen utensils.

But today was the big change, we moved on to our own lot here at Bee's RV Resort. It's tight with everything on it, next year we will store Freddie in their storage area. We also plan to extend the pavers from the middle bump-out (where the cargo trailer is right now) all the way to the street on both ends of the lot. That will also give us more space.

We were finally settled around 2:30 and had the Directv dish setup by 4:00. Time for a late lunch, early dinner. We watched a little TV and then it was time for dessert. We love that our freezer is cold enough for ice cream. Stu did up some Grands biscuits in our convection/microwave and we had sliced strawberries sitting in sugar for two days - lots of syrup. Yummy!

Here are a couple of photos....





Oh, and today (April 11th) is our 7th wedding anniversary. We both feel doubly blessed to have found each other. We will celebrate with dinner and a movie!

Ciao for now!

All jacked up?

Some of you remember our little (okay, not so little) whoops when we parked the rig last October. If not, you can read about it here. We had used the mobile tech service just down the road from us in past years and rather than go through the hassle of trying to get the trailer back onto the Freightliner, move up to Wildwood and wait for repairs there, we called to see if they could replace/repair them for us.

No problem, they said. We ordered the parts before we left on our cruise and they were here when we got home. We made an appointment for them to come out and voila! New jacks with new motors, installed and good to go. Thank you, Pro-Tech! Here are a couple of pics.

Stu got to use one of his new toys, err, tools.

This is what it looks like now, later this week we will hook back up to Freddie (the Freightliner) and re-level the rig, getting us back to where we should have been in October. LOL!

When we returned from our cruise, we knew it was time to replace the batteries in Freddie. Nothing Stu did worked and they were completely dead. They've given us a good six years of service and I know we have drained them at least 3-4 times (never a good thing). Off to Sam's Club and we're good to go again.

We have been trying to walk around the park most days, getting around 3500 steps when we do (we are both using fitness trackers). On a walk last week, we ran into a gentleman wearing a 'particular' shirt. He was quite impressed when I told Stu that I needed that shirt. Thanks to ebay, I now have one!

Ciao for now!

NEVER a dull moment!

We last left you at our arrival at Alliance Coach in Wildwood, FL where we were getting a new washer and dryer installed. In addition, we asked them to refasten some of the plumbing for the washer that had come loose in the garage.

I can't say enough good about these folks! Done in a professional and timely manner, all the staff we encountered were wonderful. In addition, the new generation of stack washer/dryer from Splendide (Ariston model) is wonderful. Quiet and efficient - a great combination.

We stayed over an extra night to get the trailer washed, polished and waxed by the detail service located on the Alliance property. Wow!! You never realize how bad something looks until it's clean. They did a great job - the rig hadn't been waxed since our last winter in Yuma, AZ (maybe 5 years ago?).

Then it was on to Bee's RV Resort in Clermont where we had picked out our lot the previous day. Although we are arriving fairly early in the traditional season, many lots were already taken. We managed to find a nice long one with access from the back for the garage AND shade (always a good thing in Florida).

We got pulled into our space without much trouble at all. See how nice it looks?

Don't let that fool you! This is what the other side looked like shortly after getting settled.

Due to the steepness of the incline on the site and the softness of the sand plus chocks that failed, we had slid forward and bent one jack. Thanks to our kind neighbors, Peggy and Pete, who had a 20 ton jack as well as straps, comealongs and brute strength, Stu managed to finally get the rig up enough to somewhat straighten the jack and get two jackstands underneath. (I love you, baby!!)

He also bought wood and made some awesome chocks for the wheels - no more worry about failing chocks! Cost, maybe $20 plus a day of labor. Well worth it!

We will get the actual jack repaired when we return in January, the rig is quite stable now. Phew!!

Now we are preparing for our two week cruise as well as our final six weeks in Ecuador. Laundry & bills today, tomorrow the pickup gets washed and waxed while we take some time riding (and maybe a movie), Wednesday is the final packing & "setting up rig to be empty" day and Thursday we drive over to the east coast to stay with family.

Saturday morning we are taking a shuttle service to the port at Miami for our cruise. This is likely to be our last post until we get back to Cuenca on 11/17.

Ciao!

   

Back in the U.S.A. (and a thank you to Chuck Berry)

Yup, we're back!!! Been too busy to blog and will continue to be busy for a bit until we arrive in Maryland next week. We've:

• Had a family outing in Florida
• Met a couple traveling to Cuenca the following day
• Met another considering retiring to Ecuador
• Met with my BFF of many years - we hadn't seen each other since 2001
• Drove to TN
• Spent 2+ days getting rid of mouse sign and more mildew than you can imagine (still fighting it)
• Getting tires lined up for the Freightliner (tomorrow's chore)
• Getting a recall done on the Harley Tri-Glide
• Enjoying my birthday
• Unpacking all the goodies that had been shipped to my brother in FL
• Tomorrow is also laundry day - going to the laundromat since our dryer still is kaput (have 6 large baskets full of stuff...eeek!)
• Went on an all day group motorcycle ride to benefit the Tennessee Firefighter Memorial (below is a slideshow of a few photos from our SmugMug album).

We will check back in once we are settled in Maryland. Ciao!

TRUCKS: big ones, small ones, little ones, tall ones....

Sorry, couldn't resist....LOL! Freddie the Freightliner got dropped off for some general service on Monday and came home on Thursday. He feels better but our pockets feel much lighter. Nothing major but it adds up quickly on these big trucks.

Monday we are picking up our new-to-us 2001 Ford F250 7.3 turbo-diesel pickup truck that Stu found on eBay. It was at a dealer and was a bank repo. We got it for close to $2k under retail value (according to online sources like Edmunds, NADA & KBB). It needs new tires and shocks, both already on order. Stu will get the tires on Tuesday and install the shocks when we get back from our cruise.

He's been having fun checking out accessories. The first and most important was a console...for whatever reason, the console was pulled out of the truck. We found a replacement for $36...just hope it works. 


He latest acquisition is something only a mechanic can appreciate (that means, NOT ME). It's an OBD2 scanner for reader codes on the truck. He found one on eBay and saved another $100.

Toss in some floor mats, seat covers, rear window graphics, and vent visors for the windows. Not telling what will be next....but I'm not complaining. I haven't had my own transportation, other then a motorcycle since mid-2008. I'm excited!

The main reason we are getting the pickup is for me to have a vehicle I can drive while Stu is laid from his knee surgery. This will work just fine and will eventually become our TN based transportation.

Oh, the baffles for my motorcycle weren't the right size so that won't be done until after the cruise. But that's okay...while at the shop I found a nice sized bag for carrying on my luggage rack. AND at a good price!

Now we are working on a name for the new truck. We've gone through Big Blue, Little Blue, Old Blue, Smurf, Blueberry, Fats (in honor of Fats Domino & Blueberry Hill), Truck, Horse (don't ask), Hoss (again, don't ask) and finally Gizmo (my favorite).

Lastly, thank you to everyone who voted for me in the writing competition. I tied for second place. I just hope you enjoyed reading all the entries. I've gotten a lot of good comments and appreciate all the input.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu

Upgrading our rig....

While at the Gypsy Journal Rally Stu to get a few things done to enhance our rig. The Freightliner was the big one....thanks to the folks at Redlands Truck & RV service here in Yuma, he added several items to improve the performance.

It all started out so innocently...honest (or so he told everyone). He wasn't sure if the PacBrake was working properly. Since we will be meandering northerly through the Rockies he wanted to be sure we were at optimal braking capacity.

Well, it turns out there was an upgrade available that would not only fix any current issues but improve our braking. Done!

Of course when the guys get together, they have to talk overall performance. Once again, talk of the Rockies brought out concerns about going up those same mountains. So he added a chip to improve performance. And of course that really wouldn't work optimally without adding a high flow air filter and muffler. LOL!

Next came KaZy. At the Escapade in Gillette where we met (2008), Stu purchased some stabilizer struts for the front levelers on KaZy. In the fall of 2008 he started installing them. One went on fine...the second one, not so easy. Seems as though there were parts of KaZy that conflicted. So the project stagnated.

Fast forward to the Gypsy Journal Rally and Winfield RV Products. Seems as though they had a different type of stabilizer. Rather than try to explain it, here is a photo.

The stabilizer sold by Winfield RV Products is a Cross Brace Stabilizer. Here is a pic showing it installed on KaZy.

When Stu first talked about the braces, I asked him why we needed them since we were doing just fine without them (or so I thought). He said it helped stop the jiggling of the rig when someone was walking around. Now if you are solo, you don't realize it because you are the one walking. I knew that when Stu didn't put down our rear levelers we would get some wiggling but until this point I had assumed that the rest of the wiggles were just something to get used to.

Nope! With this Cross Brace Stabilizer I no longer feel Stu walking around the RV. I also noticed that there is much less vibration when the washer is running. Nice! Fortunately once it's installed, it's easy to prepare for leaving and parking. In addition I was told that installation doesn't normally take any out of the ordinary tools.

Considering the first set of braces cost Stu over $300 at the Escapade and the ones from Winfield RV Products go for $199 (plus tax/shipping), I am really pleased. Anyone interested in buying the other style support? We've got two for sale....

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna & Stu

How we travel.....

We get a few requests for information about our rig. Donna has been bugging me to write it up. So here it is. Don't ask me about the intimate details and specs as I am not a fan of that level of detail. I subscribe to the philosophy of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" and it has served me well for many years. Life is way too short for me to be concerned with every little thing. If me and mine are healthy, happy and secure, the rest is just "stuff" and some of you may know where to put the "stuff"

It all started with my late wife, Lin, asking me if I ever wanted to get a motorcycle. I said sure, since I was about 14. Family, job etc. kept me from pursuing it so it never happened. We were approaching the final days of a terrific 30+ year career with the Anne Arundel County (MD) Fire Department and our finances were very stable so off we went. '98 Harley-Davidson Champion Sidecar trike conversion. OK, so now how are we going to full-time RV and carry this 1000 lb thing around? Hmmmm...toy-hauler! Hmmmm, how are we gonna pull it....Freightliner! Well, that was easy...just write the checks, Stu. That is most of how we got where we are today.

Most of you know that Donna is not named Lin in this life or another, that story can be found elsewhere in our respective blogs etc. Check the sidebar, under "Personal Links".

"Freddie" the Freightliner

• 2000 Freightliner, FL60, 4 door cab
• Caterpillar 3126B
• Allison 6 speed automatic
• Tow body by Wilro
• Original Dealer: Neely-Coble, Nashville, TN
• 5th wheel Hitch: Trailer Saver Air Suspension

Since I purchased this used in 2007 I have added the following:

• Garmin Street pilot GPS, 7 inch screen
• Rear and side camera system from RVToyoutlet
• Full synthetic lubricants (When it came time to change something, Amsoil went in)
• 2 spare 40lb LP tanks
• Tool box
• Electric adapters for RV hook-up
• Pressure Pro Tire Monitoring System (This was Donna's from her Class C, we added two more sensors and a repeater. Wouldn't travel without it!)

Oh yeah and 70,000 trouble-free miles on the road.




KaZy, the rig

• 2008 KZ 41CKS, Escalade Sportster
• Main features:
• 10x8 Garage (Man Cave)
• 40 gal fuel tank and pump
• Storage area above garage
• Pull down Screen at ramp opening.
• Cherry wood cabinets throughout
• Bed over garage (access from living room) converted to cabinet storage with custom cabinetry to match.
• Queen bed, we drastically upgraded the original (upgraded?) mattress.
• Shower, toilet etc
• Bedroom A/C
• Corian countertops
• Dishwasher (won't get another one, a novelty but for the most part useless)
• Fireplace, electric with heat (won't have another rig without one)
• Convection Micro wave (no gas oven, RV ovens are about as useless as the dishwasher)
• 3 burner stove
• 32 inch Sony Bravia, LCD HD TV
• Surround sound
• Blu Ray HD DVD
• Slendide Washer and Dryer, stacked (won't have another rig without one)
• The always uncomfortable sleep sofa was replaced by a Lazyboy wall-away love seat (dual recliner seats).
• 6.5KW Onan propane GenSet
• Recently added Solar package, see future blog for details about that project
• DirecTV HD DVR will be installed later this month. Includes DVR, Auto seeking Dish on the roof ans the occasionally needed (to see around the trees) portable dish and tri-pod.

OK, so that's the skinny on the truck and the rig. Now for some of my rants, good and bad, about our set-up. First of all, I wouldn't trade this rig for much of what I see in the RV industry right now. Too many gimmicks and goofy floorplans. KZ has one of the best warranty follow ups I've run into. Easy to deal with. But they also do a lot of dumb things when they build a unit. Cabinet doors that hit woodwork when you open them, switches mounted opposite of where you normally use them and other minor goofy things. However, at the time they were the only Toyhauler rig I could find that didn't look like you could hose it out with a fire hose. They wired the satellite dish using a splitter and that won't work for HD. I tried to get the factory to run extra coax and they said their system will work fine. HD installer tried, but can't take the HD signal through a splitter...alas, we are now running new coax.

I have had folks ask me why I use the Freightliner when a 1ton dually would work just as well. I try to be polite but it can be difficult. I usually make sure I am not traveling where they might be. I had a dually and it was a great tow rig, rated at 15,000 lbs. KaZy grosses out at 20,000lbs and yes my last weigh-in was 19,000 lbs. If your one of those RVrs saying things like "They always under-rate the numbers for a built in safety" or "I don't know I'm towing anything", let me know where your going because I'm going to go the other way. 'nuff said.

Keep rolling...we will...
Stu