It's Always Something

The other day I needed to relevel the motorhome, turn on the jacks, pushed the button and..........nothing?, nada?, zip?, zilch?.......what the heck, they were just working!!! Ok, do alittle trouble shooting, reread the manual, try a couple more things.....Same result.....darn. Decided this was above my pay grade/skill level and called in the big guns. Mobile RV guy came to the rescue, had it figured out and fixed within 30 minutes. Turned out to be a bad relay. We also have been dealing with a slow air leak in the suspension, so I had him look at that also. Once again, found and fixed in no time. Got to love folks that actually know what their doing. We'll, a mere 280.00 later we are all set. I was actually pretty happy with the cost, as it could have been much worst.
So, we are all set to leave Key West on Friday. We're headed for Everglades NP for a couple days and then into Miami to visit our newest grand daughter, so looking forward to meeting the new member of our growing family.
That's it for now, we'll  see you again back here before long.

New Carpet for the Motorhome

 Sheryl has been wanting new carpet in the motorhome for as long as we've had it, so, after much research and searching for installers that were at least somewhat reasonable, we finally had it done.
One thing we found in our search was, RV dealers and RV Renovators charge a crazy amount of money to lay new carpet in an RV. So with those options off the table she started looking and calling regular home carpet dealers, most all of which had never done or didn't do RV's. While here in Huntsville, she continued her search and with a call to the local Carpet One store, they said they could do it. We took a drive over to the store and talked with the manager who told us they do and have done several RV's. We looked at different carpets and talked pricing (material and install) and it didn't sound to bad, but of course he couldn't give a final price with out coming out to the rig, take some measurements and look at the work involved. He came out the next day with a few samples that we had picked out in the store, figured out the square footage and came up with a price. Well, of course it was more than I wanted to spend (Mr Cheapscape here) but much much lower than the RV specialty places (go figure). We mad the deal and set up an install date for yesterday.

 We arrived bright and early at the shop and they went right to work. Now I must admit, being the skeptic that I am, I was worried about how good a job they were going to do. However after talking to and watching the installers I was more than confident they would do a good job, I was surprised that that actually removed the couch, bed frame and captain chairs as well as being very detailed in their work. Sheryl and I were highly pleased and our fears reduced.

  We spent the day out and about around town, so we would stay out of their hair, however it still took almost 11 hours. We could only kill so much time in town, so it was back to the store, pulled out the camp chairs, made a couple drinks and just watched the show.

The finished product!!! Can't really tell much in pictures, but it is much nicer than the old worn out carpet. We picked a good quality carpet, not the most expensive but still very nice. The guys did a great job and we have nothing but good to say about our experience here. So if your looking to have new flooring put in your rig, just do your research, take your time and find the right folks, We're glad we did.

The next project on the list and final servicing for this year was the generator. We were going to have it serviced at the Onan Service Center while we were having the engine serviced, but they quoted us a more than crazy price for the service. We waited, since we knew we wouldn't need the generator until Key West, to find some place a little more reasonable. Since we were going to be here in Huntsville for a month, I contacted the local motorhome dealer and got a quote more inline with what I understand most folks pay. I made an appointment for today and had it done. We were going to find someplace in Florida to have it done, but it worked out for the better and now we don't have to worry about it.

Ok, this is the last post from Huntsville, tomorrow we head to our daughter new home in Atlanta to spend Thanksgiving. We will be there a week, then we'll be making a beeline for Key West.

That's all the news that's fit to print for now, so we'll see you next time from Atlanta GA. 

Village Creek State Park, AR

 After a pleasant 5 day stay at Ft Chaffee, it was time to move further east on our trek towards Key West. Our next stop would be Village Creek State Park in East Central Arkansas, however our trip would be delayed a couple hours. While doing my pre-departure walk-around, I discovered a low tire on the drivers side rear, it just happened to be the same tire that had valve stem problems in OKC which I thought had been fixed. I couldn't get a pressure reading on the tire, so I couldn't tell if it was the valve stem was bad again or the tire was low. We knew we would need roadside assistance to fix the issue irregardless of what the problem was, however being on a military base we knew it would be a major problem to get help onto the base. We decided to limp on down to the nearest gas station just off the base and call for assistance from there. We called our roadside assistance (through our RV insurance) and they wanted to have our rig towed to the nearest tire shop to have it looked at, that seemed pretty extreme for a tire issue. We decided to call a local tire shop which said they could come out and fix our tire on site for 85.00, that sure beat the heck out of having our rig towed, so we just paid them out of pocket and had them come out. The service man was on scene within 15 minutes or so and had our tire off and fixed within 30 minutes. Turned out, when we had the valve stem worked on in OKC the tire didn't seat right on the rim when it was re-inflated (they didn't remove the tire for the fix) and it was leaking air from around the rim. Our mobile service guy took care of the valve stem problem, and seated the tire properly and had us on our way in no time. So after a couple hour delay, we were on our way.

 It was a normal travel day made long by the tire issue, but we made it into the state park by 4:00 and got all settled in. We had a nice pull through site with only a couple other site around us. As most state parks go, we had the place to ourselves during the week, but of course it filled to the brim on the weekend. The park itself was very well kept as most of the Arkansas State Parks seem to be. Pretty good for a system that does not charge an entry free into their park system.

 During our time at Village Creek, I of course had to get out and explore the area a bit. I set my sights on the St Francis National Forest about a half hour away. The forest had two main roads running through it, a portion of the Great River Road and Crowley's Ridge Scenic Byway, both portions were dirt/mud/gravel through the forest. Thank goodness for our Jeep and having 4x4 and the aggressive tires or I would have been stuck pretty good a couple of times, not the best place to explore after a good rain. However it was a great day out and an enjoyable trip through the forest.

 Village Creek State Park is contains two lakes and most of the activities are centered around them. We did get the kayak out and had a great time exploring one of the lakes, Scrappey Doo even approved as he rode in the front with Sheryl. Here are a few shots of the Lakes and the Fall colors as the leaves are just beginning to turn here.

One thing we found hard to believe, was the lack of cell service in this part of the country, hence the late posting. Hope you enjoyed the shots and we'll see you next time from Loretta Lynn's Ranch!!!

On The Road Again

 Our time at the family farm had finally come to an end, we spent just over a week hanging out with family and working on the homestead farmhouse. We didn't come to do a lot of work, but we did get a few things accomplished and were able to spruce the place up alittle. After our time was up we headed back to OKC and the Tinker AFB FamCamp. We did get some news while on the road, our daughters Oct wedding was put on indefinite hold while they work through a few issues (a good thing and very mature decision). So instead of having to stay in the OKC area until the first part of Nov, we will only be staying for a week, WooHoo!!!

 Of course only staying for a week does not mean everything went hunky Dory, Noooooo. Turned on the hot water the next day and it was down to a trickle.......hmmmm, Went thru several different troubleshooting scenarios and came to the conclusion of a broken water heater check valve. OK, that can't be to hard to change, until I really looked at it......darn, with-in my skill level, but would need to pull the water heater, by a new tool (normally not a bad thing) high dollar and only one use, more trips to home depot, because of course you can't just make one or even two when fixing anything and not to mention the aggravation and probably a couple of days without water.........time to call in the pros. Contacted our local Mobile RV guy and he was out the next day, couple hours later and hot running water again....nice. Yes it cost a few bucks, but was more than worth it (see previous.....lol) After that, it was just taking care of a few items and we were off and running.

 Well, off and running after a quick couple of maintenance items were taken care of. Radiator Flush and new coolant, and Transmission filters and fluid change. Ok, these two set the ole bank account back a little more than expected, but it feels good to know they were done and shouldn't need attention for a few years. Got to keep that big diesel happy you know!

So, we finally got out of OKC around 3:00pm and set our sights on Ft Chaffee Army Base in Ft Smith Arkansas, a short 3 hours away. We arrived right at 6:00pm and pulled into our reserved spot, got set up and settled in with a cold one.....ahhhhh. We will be here for 5 days, before heading to Village Creek State Park in eastern Arkansas. Since we have been here before and scene most of the sights, our time here will be used to decompress from the almost 6 months spent in OKC dealing with various issues.
That's a quick update and all the news that's fit to print. Internet has been pretty spotty and we actually have to go in search of it sometimes when we want to do some data intensive surfing (like doing the blog) so, updates are not as often as I would like, but hey, you get what you pay for.....lol Ok, see you fine folks right back here before long.

Projects, Projects, Projects!!!

 Since returning to OKC from our getaway to Bull Shoals Lake, we have actually been staying rather busy, over and above the normal day to day life. First it was off to the foot doctor to get the "Ok" for Sheryl to return to Cardiac Rehab and her final few appointments there. Cardiac Rehab has been going very well and as of today she only has a couple of more sessions to go, Woo Hoo!!! She is doing much better and we fill in just how good after completion. Next, her Cardiologist gave her the thumbs up for at least a year before he'd like to see her back (usually it's every 6 months), so that was also great news!!! As for staying busy, we are finally Marrying off our last daughter and Sheryl decided she was going to make the little girls dresses for the wedding, one is 9 and the other 2 1/2.
 

 We think they turned out really nice and both the kids as well as the parents loved them. the kids loved them so much that they asked grandma if she could make them play dresses?? Of course Sheryl being the good grandma she is, just couldn't refuse.

 So with the extra material and leftovers, she whipped together one play dress for the littlest one (she wanted to be a princess0 and the older one a tutu as requested. Again they turned out so cute!

 Of course Sheryl's not wasn't the only one staying busy, I had a couple of projects I wanted to complete myself. First thing was the water pressure valve. Now for us RV'ers we know we need to have one and usually we pick up the small ones that fit on the end of the hose. These work well, for about a month or so, then get dirty, clog up or just seem to stop working, all, resulting in really poor water pressure. Then of course it's off to the store to pick up another one. Well of course this happened again, so I did a little research to see if there was a better way. What I found was, many RV'ers are going to the whole house residential style valves, adjustable, cleanable and much better flowing. They are a bit more expense than the  $8.00 RV ones, but the same price as the little fancy ones at Camping World with the little pressure gauge $53.00. So, off to Home Depot I went, they had several in stock and the additional fittings needed to connect to the water hose fittings on both ends.

 Just a few minutes of putting the pieces together and installation, it works like a charm. It is preset to 50 psi so there was no need to adjust it. You can also see in the top picture how much bigger it is and really allows for a good flow rate.

 Next up was finding a place to store the fresh water hose when traveling. For as big as our new home is, outside storage is really at a premium and the hose needed to be stored in the main cargo bay. As I was looking at our wet bay, I thought, why not a couple of hooks to hang the hose on?? Again off to Lowe's to see what I could find. I was able to come up with 2 wooden fence brackets, I placed one in each upper corner of the wet bay and now the fresh water hose can live there when not hooked up!!! I placed the black hose there just to show how it works.
Oh you may also notice the "Y" connector, just in case you were wondering why? it's placed so I don't have to hook up a second hose to flush the black tank and is routed so we are not using filtered water to flush the tank either. I'm all about simplicity when traveling.

 Next simple but effective mod, was to pick up a 10' plastic house gutter to help contain the sewer hose. If you don't have this, you know how the hose can jump off the plastic risers when you pull the tank handle. This keeps everything neat and flowing down hill. Highly recommend picking one up if you are not using one. Just cut it in half so it is adjustable for most any run length and storage.

My last project for now, well, more of a purchase, was to pick up a much heavier duty electric extension cord for mooch docking (plugging in at a friend or family's home). Now we have mooch docked several times over the years and have been just using your standard outdoor extension cord. Doing this we have noticed the cord gets pretty warm and we have been very lucky not to have melted it or caught fire, just something that never dawned on us. Well the light bulb finally came one as I was thinking, we are headed to the family farm for a couple of weeks and will be plugging into a 20 amp house plug in the barn. So again after a little research it was off to Lowe's to pick up a 100' 10 gauge extension cord rated for 20 amps. We now feel much safer, you can see the difference between the new cord and our old 16 gauge one.
I know most of these mods are minor and many of you may /are already using them but just in case your not, they are pretty good ideas and are working well for us,
That's really all the news that's fit to print for now. We will be leaving OKC next Sunday and heading to SW Kansas for a couple of weeks to spend time at the farm and celebrate Sheryl and her twin sisters birthday. From there we are thinking of attending a Good Sam RV Rally in Shawnee Oklahoma, just east of OKC. We have never been to a rally and thought it would be fun and interesting as long as we have to stay in the area anyway. After that a couple weeks back in OKC to get our daughter married off, then it's south bound and down for the winter!!! Ok, that's really it this time. Thanks for following along, I know post are fewer while we sit here, but that will change as we begin traveling again, so until next time.............................

Our New (to us) Home, Motorhome That Is

 Well it's been a crazy couple of months, so not much, if any posting going on, but things have settled down and we have big news!!! By the pictures and title, I'm sure you can guess what it is! Yes, it's a new to us 2005 39' Holiday Rambler Endeavor. After a couple of years of going back and forth about buying a new rig and weather it should be gas or diesel we finally pulled the trigger on this baby. Out of all the rigs we have looked at, nothing seemed quite right for us and we actually gave serious thought to going back to a 5th wheel and that's when we found this one. We were looking at 5th wheels and just weren't "feeling them" like we thought we would. The salesman told us he knew we weren't looking for another motorhome, but he had this really clean 4 slide one if we wanted to look at it. We told him about our price concerns, he said it actually would be cheaper than the 5th wheel/truck combo we were looking at. Long story short, we looked, we loved, we bought!!!
The transfer went really easy, we boxed up most of our stuff and loaded it in the Jeep and boxed the remaining stuff, leaving it in the motorhome, so come moving day, it was all just a transfer of boxes, nice and easy.
  

 So, this is our new baby and we couldn't be happier with our choice and purchase. The paint is in great shape with hardly a nick or scratch on it.

 The inside is so roomy and actually feels very homey. A couch and a recliner for seating.

 The kitchen has more space than our old one. One thing we have to get used to is the convection oven in place of the standard one, but hey a small price to pay....lol

 The free standing dinette was a must have (we're not big booth people). Lots of storage cabinets, so not missing anything there.

 Probably Sheryl's favorite part is the residential refrigerator the previous owner had installed, wow what a difference in space.

 Another item that sold us is the built in desk, again lots of storage and a file cabinet to boot.

Of course the bedroom, pretty standard, however the 2 slides and built in washer dryer make it extra special.
The previous owner took excellent care of the coach as well as having almost every option installed, plus installing several other niceties. All and all a great coach inside and out for a 2005.

So that's our new home and we are a happy as we can be. We are still here in OKC and will be till August. We'll be heading out for just a bit as we have to be back here for Sheryl's youngest daughters wedding at the end of October, then we will be Key West bound again for the winter.

So with the craziness over with, I can get back to posting more often. Make sure you check our facebook  page for more frequent updates and we'll see you back here again soon!!!

Putting a Little Light on the Subject

 Running with an idea we got from a couple we met in Carthage, MO. (thanks again Jack and Mary) We went down to our local store and picked up a couple sets of LED XMas lights. We strung one set above the front cabinets and one set above our livingroom slide.

 Both strings connect together and make for some nice mood lighting. Later on we may replace the XMas style light with 12 volt LED Strips, which we will be able to hide much better, but just wanted to see how we liked it first.

 I had originally picked up a rope light for inside, but didn't like the way it laid. I was wondering what to do with it, when it hit me, how about outside. So after looking around and deciding how to mount it,

I ran it along the bottom of the outside storage area just behind the doors. With the storage compartments being made of plastic, I was able to use the mounting hardware that came with the lights. Now we have a little mood lighting outside with the added benefit of the stairs being lit.
These couple of simple and inexpensive mods sure make a big impact on the ambiance both inside the rig and out.
Just a quick, spur of the moment mod I want to share with everyone. It is still looking good for our departure on Friday. So, until next time..............................

Another Week Down Here in OKC

 Another week has passed here in OKC, but we haven't been sitting on our laurels. We've been staying pretty busy, which is good as it makes the time go by between Doc appts. Speaking of which, so far good news all around for Sheryl as all her tests and appts have been very positive. Just one more test and a follow up to discuss them, woo hoo!!! One thing they do have here on the base, like most bases is a really nice Thrift Store. We like to support it when possible as they do a lot of good for the base youth. The other day I stopped by and found a tool box with drawers I have always wanted one, but have been to cheap to buy new. The price was more than right so my new find came home with me, and I must say, it makes finding your tools so much easier.
 

 I finally started the extra large project I've been meaning to get to for a while, waxing the rig. First thing was removing the dried on road oil I picked up driving through a road construction site. A little grease and wax remover did the trick. Luckily it was only along the bottom on the passenger side. Then a coat of wax. Now this is taking some time as I'm only doing a little bit at a time, so it my take a couple of weeks, no sense killing myself right???

 Another project that came in the mail was new front windshield curtains. Our old ones (15 years old now) were beginning to look a little rough, ok, alot rough and were in desperate need of replacing. Sheryl found a site online, had them send us some samples and 10 days later we had a new set of custom made curtains. They look so much better and pretty much complete our total interior renovation.

 One project we were not expecting was our rear A/C unit to go on the fritz. It began making a pretty loud noise, so much that people were asking us if we were running our generator. Ok, time to get it looked at. Called on the local Mobile RV guy (with a good track record here in the park) and had him come out for a look. He found the problem right away, fan motor bearings were shot, went and picked up a new motor and had us up and running in no time. I try to be pretty handy fixing things around the RV as needed, but there are somethings I just don't have the knowledge or inclination to deal with. Feels good to have it fixed right and running again.
  

I'm always on the look out for odd and interesting RVs that come and go in the parks. A couple of days ago, this one pulled in, looks like an old 4x4 Military Ambulance. It has been fully renovated inside (sorry no pictures) along with a suspension lift and off road tires. If this doesn't get you away from it all, nothing will.
Well as I said earlier, all is going well, and if this last test turns out well, we will be able to start our journey south towards Florida for a warm winter in Key West. ahhhhhhh.
That's been our week so far, we did take in one of our granddaughters soccer games yesterday, so stay tuned for those shots in our next posting, so until then................................................