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Tuesday, January 4, 2011

RVing- Macerators, Containers and Wardrobe

Okay, enough blogs about family, friends, grandbabies, holidays and such nonsense.... back to RVing!  
We are gearing up for vacation mode- about 7 weeks worth.


NOTE--- TO ANY ROBBERS READING THIS:  OUR NEIGHBOR ON ONE SIDE IS A COP, AND THE OTHER SIDE THEY ARE VERY NOSEY.   AND OUR DAUGHTER IS TAKING CARE OF OUR HOUSE.  WE ARE TAKING ALL OUR VALUABLES WITH US.  NOTHING WORTH ANYTHING LEFT IN HOUSE TO STEAL.  EVEN OUR TVS ARE 10-15 YEARS OLD CRT's .  LOL!



Okay.. back to the motorhome prep.  Steve has been in and out and in and out of the motorhome that is parked out in the driveway.  He is gearing up and prepping.  The oil is changed, everything is lubed, the hub oil is checked, the fluids are all checked. The fuel filters are changed.   I even helped him lift up the bed to do the hard to reach grease zerc on the fan shaft.  Being a king sized bed with a heavy household mattress, it takes two of us to lift it up and set the prop pole.  Some mechanics never bother to find that zerc, or don't even know it exists. Causes huge problems when the fan seizes up and overheats the engine.  I am soooo glad Steve does all of our own maintenance.


Silly guy, he even filled up a 5 gal can of diesel fuel last night at the station and put it in the trunk of the car.
WHY?   I asked.
He said that he will top off our tank of the motorhome with it to bring it right to the top.  
WHY?  again I asked.
He said since we used it last few times for exercise, he figures that we used some.
WHY?  again I asked.
So then, he surmised, that when we take off on vacation with a full tank, those extra five gallons will get us 40+ miles further down the road without having to stop as soon!  

hahahahahhahahaha


(I then reminded him we do have to stop every 200 miles or so to start the Tracker towed behind, 
and run it through it's gears to slosh around the tranny fluid at the proper intervals) 


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Next on the list is a macerator.  For those non-RVers reading this, it's a machine similar to a garbage disposal in a house.   But in RV use, it is attached outside on the drain pipe and it grinds up the poop from the black tank so its able to run through a 1 inch hose and pump uphill or into an otherwise unreachable septic or drain location.  Makes dumping the tanks a much easier endeavor.

We have wanted one for a while and read about them.  Seems many of the RV types are made with plastic blades or less horsepower compared to the Marine grade for boats.  Sooooo  on the advice of our good RV friend Airplane Roger, we shopped for a marine grade one.  Steve bought a Jabsco marine macerator and it should be here in a few days.  He is putting together a series of 1 inch hoses now to have a variety along in a tote for any length needed.

He is a Happy Poop Disposal Man.


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Now for *my thing* ... we were shopping last night at the Clearance Sales in the local Shopko store.  They had these neato containers that are rectangular in shape instead of circular.  Think... on a shelf... flat sides of containers stack next to each other better than cylindrical. So we get more storage and less wasted space.    I bought a set of 8 of these great containers from Gourmet Living.


They have vacuum seal lids by flipping down the little ring type levers on the lids, which create a suction.  We will use the larger ones for flour, sugar, brown & powdered sugar etc.  The smaller ones for coffee, rice, pancake mix etc.  Less cardboard boxes and bags in the cabinets is good to avoid bugs in the south when we go next month.  

These are normally $15-20 a container ---
WHEW!  
But they had an 8 pc set of the sizes I wanted for the mere price of $79.99  
... so that is down to $10 a container.... 
still a WHEW! ---
You know me, a cheapie shopper.  
Well, the set was on sale for only $29.99.  
That comes out to less than $4 a container.  
More in my budget range, teeeheeee


So this afternoon I will go out and play in the motorhome and try out putting these into place.  We can't put in anything that will freeze or attract mice, until the night before we are ready to leave for vacation.  But for now, I can play, can't I ?

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At Shopko, there were such great clearance sales on the men's clothes too.   Steveio has been severely lacking some new clothes.. ya know.. ones without the stains on the front from eating in his chair?  

He didn't get any clothes for Christmas, instead he got an electric chain saw for the motorhome (better than hauling along a gas can, oil and stinky gas chain saw in our clean carpeted storage bins)    He also got a special vice and bracket that slides into the hitch receiver.  Why?  So if he wants to fix something that needs a vice to hold it or bend it or whatever, he won't have a vice on a tool bench like in his garage.  So while in a campground, he can use a vice this way.  Don't ask me, it's what HE put on his list for Santa if he was a Good Boy.   Guess he was, huh?

When we saw the sale signs at 70% off on a lot of clothing, I started pawing through the men's things and found some nice stuff for Steveio.  He was being obstinate about some 100% cotton Tshirts about how the size L fit fine.  But what about after they shrink, I ask?  He would not understand that they would be M once they were washed.  So I swapped them all out to XL when he wasn't looking.  We found him some nice long sleeved solid colored cotton button down shirts too, as he is trying to get away from plaids and stripes now.  We filled the cart.  So he was happy.

Fellow RV blogger Al at The Bayfield Bunch  was just lamenting about how he got hauled into a J.C. Penny by Kelly and before he knew it, he was totally outfitted in new duds too.   So perhaps if we get to meet up with them somewhere out west, he and Steveio can compare wardrobes????



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I read other RVing blogs from folks down in Florida in shorts and Tshirts, I see photos of desert terrain on other blogs about Arizona and on more blogs about the sunny skies in Texas.  Then I look out of my windows at the gloomy grey woods and snow and ice.  





Yes, we need a vacation.  


17 comments:

  1. I really like the storage containers. I need to find some to organize little things like batteries, chargers, small tools, and all the little things that I usually throw into a cupboard and then lose.

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  2. I already starting planning my daring heist of your CRTs :-)

    Those storage containers look great. We never learn from our mistakes and keep picking up crappy thin plastic tupperware-style containers... that inevitably crack after their first use.

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  3. Loved your blog today~

    ~ going to have to go to Shopko here in Lewiston to see what they have on clearance. Loved those containers. One of my goals to get done before we head out to Texas is to get my food/dish cupboards organized. New containers is motivation and the note about bugs...never lived in an area where we have to worry about bugs.

    ~ Ron also has the problem with drip marks on his shirts from eating in his chair :) must be a guy thing

    ~ have fun playing, I mean working in the motor home.

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  4. Sounds as though Stevio is having a great time! Sure wish we could clone him!

    Love the containers. I have looked for square/rectangular ones that were affordable. All I've seen around here (in my price range :-) have been round.

    Love the shot of your deck chair covered in snow. That would be a COLD seat to take right now!

    Glad that you had a good holiday. Loved all the pictures of the grandbabies... they are SO adorable. And congratulations on the news of #4! What a wonderful gift...

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  5. When you kids get the macerator going, please let us know. I need to figure out how to safely hook it up to a battery or some external power source. My brain isn't wrapping around the instructions and I'm too stubborn to ask (right now). I just wait til I get desparate and then find out it's the easiest thing in the world. Duh! But please have your hubby walk it through, will you?

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  6. Those are really cool containers, what a great idea and an even greater price!

    Hope you can stand the wait for your vacation!

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  7. I Love your intro craig always tells me not to say anything about going away until we have returned home!I

    I think the next time we go somewhere I will leave a big sign that says "Robbers ...please come take some of this stuff!"

    I might just have to go looking for some of those containers.

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  8. You find the best bargains! Your vacation sounds like so much fun! I am looking forward to seeing pictures.

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  9. I really like those containers!You are going to have a great vacation! Looking forward to seeing pictures.

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  10. I love the containers. I have some for cereal, but those are different sizes that will work better. The snow looks high. I'm happy with my 70's and sunny weather.

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  11. Great post today! Wish I had a Stevio stored somewhere that would do all my rig maintenance! Don't even want to think about types of macerator blades. Yuck! :)

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  12. Don't know nothing about grease zercs, vacum containers or macerators but I do how to build a mighty powerful peanut & butter sandwich...

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  13. Pretty exciting to be getting packed up and ready to roll, especially when the alternative is endless shoveling....look us up when you get to the desert.

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  14. Yes, you do need a vacation. Would love to meet up with you guys in the desert, we will be in the Quartzsite area still in March.

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  15. You're cracking me up today! Gotta love those gadgets -- but I think I'll stick with the cool containers and leave the poop-grinder-upper to the men!! LOL

    I envy you leaving all this snow behind (but it's so pretty!) and heading towards warm weather for awhile! We'll be here in the cold!

    Good job warning off all those burglars . . . that seems to be all over the news lately -- warning people that they are giving out too much personal info on the blogs and facebook. YIKES!

    Safe travels!

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  16. We have a macerator and used it for two months on a job with no typical sewer dump. Worked fine but takes a little longer than gravity. :) I have several storage containers similar to those and love 'em! It's nice to know things are really sealed and the shapes are sooooo stackable! Looks like ya'll will have a grand time!

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  17. Love those containers! They'd be nice for my little pantry here at the house too!

    Your snow photos look a lot like my snow photos but at least you're going to get out of it for a while coming up soon. I can tell you're excited!

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