MOTORHOME MODIFICATIONS - *H* Headlights, Heater, Hooks and Old Fart Party Bus

I am going to start off the new year with posting some of our motorhome modifications, a few at a time. I will post repairs, modifications, or neato things we have found for RVing.  I have lots of pics in my files so I will do them in alphabetical order.

Underneath that stuff, I will post my regular daily stuff..... kinda sorta fun, eh?

So here it goes, we are up to the letter G now!

MOTORHOME MODIFICATIONS 

STARTING WITH THE LETTER H

Headlight Replacement:

As many of you know, we HATE to drive at night!  The Safari motorhome's headlights are very dim. Various Safari owners have tried all kinds of work-arounds to fix that problem.  It's just the way it was designed and the bulbs that were selected when built in 1996. Some owners have used relays to increase the voltage to the headlights to make them brighter. Some have installed different LED headlights to overcome the problem too.  Trying to fit different bulb/lens shapes into the existing fiberglass framework and grill is a problem too.  Well.... Steveio took a different approach:

He bought two 65 watt type headlights from Fleet Farm (a locally based Farm/home store in the midwest) for $19.95 each. Sylvania H4666 They were the same size and shape as the headlights we had.

He creatively bent one of the three prongs that was slightly manufactured at an angle on purpose.  With gentle persuasion of a pliers, he was able to match up the new prong configuration to our original Safari plug.  Voila....   He has been waiting to see how they would shine in the darkness on the road.

It was a HUGE difference.... much more than we ever expected !!!  

With this type of lighting, we won't mind night time driving when we choose to do it.  

Heater:
We have a nice propane Olympian Wave 8 heater in our motorhome, and also the original propane ducted furnace (which eats up a lot of battery power for the blower).  Sometimes when we are camping at a site with power hookups included, we like to run a little electric heater to take out the chill.  We tested various ones in the store, noting the noise level, the appearance and the size to fit in a little area of our closet....

This one is the winner! It kinda looks like a chiminea terra cotta exterior on a fancy little stand.  (It's really a thick solid plastic) and it rotates or sits still.  It is very quiet and does not tip over too easily.  I like to set it in the bathroom to warm it up before taking a shower. It is thermostatic with a HI and LO fan speed too.  Plus a tip-over safety switch is nice.  We can set it right up on the kitchen table and blow backwards to the bedroom to circulate the heat.

 Sometimes it is the little things that make you just a little more comfortable.  Ahhhhhh

Hooks:
I found these acrylic hooks one day at Walmart. They are great for extra hanging space in the bathroom to dry towels or hang clothes while taking a shower.  They can easily lift off and flip to the inside to hang wet raincoats or umbrellas to drip dry off in the shower/tub enclosure.  They do not rattle much and don't scrape the top metal trim as much as the first ones I bought which were metal.

I like these so much I bought a few more for in our house too! 

~~~~~~~~~

Whoooo boy, as most you know, the midwest is getting hit with a doozy of a storm.  After all those wonderful warm days, this snowstorm flew in with a vengence!  We woke up to thunder, lightning, sleet and freezing rain.  Soon it was dumping snow like the dickens. Wet Heavy Snow!   

We knew it was coming, but didn't know how much we were going to get. The local forecasters were baffled as to only 3" or 6" or 12".  It had a lot to do with the gusting winds... which were in the 20-30 mph range.  Even at 8 am, the skies were so dark, we had to turn on the inside lights.

Before Steve left the house at 10 am for his part time job, 

he had time to run the snowblower. 

It was very heavy and wet, and tough going.  He also finished up the elderly neighbor lady's yard and parking area. She uses our driveway, so it is not too much more for Steve to just whip out her parking area for when her kids come to visit.  She was trying to shovel it herself!!! Steve scolded her and sent her in the house!  He is getting good at handling those old folks.  hahahahha

Imagine my surprise at noon to hear a BEEP BEEP BEEP as he backed up his little bus into our yard for a quick lunch! His 11 am patient was delivered back to his home early from his route, so Steve had time to hop by the house for lunch with me! 

I have laughingly dubbed it the 

"Old Fart Party Bus"! 

This is the handicapped elderly bus he drives for the Commission on Aging.  It is a county run program and he will work 15-20 hours a week.  This week he really put in 25-26 hours due to training.  There are three busses like this and also a van.  He transports elderly or handicapped folks to their doc appointments, dialysis or even errands for grocery shopping.  They pay a fee to the office and he just has to log in the books his pick up and drop off times.

He entertains me with stories of the sweet little old folks he hauls around. They seem to love to chatter and question him all about himself, since he is the New Guy!

We had a nice little lunch together, and he took care of some more snowblowing of the newest snow that fell.  Then he had to take off again.  We are only a few blocks from the County office at the courthouse, and his next pickup was nearby at the local nursing home.

He was done and home again by 4pm....  so his first full week is complete. He is finding it enjoyable and it is not hard work.  Just being polite, patient and careful with the folks are his finest qualities.  He makes sure their wheelchairs are secured, and everyone gets where they need to go on time.  Sometimes he gets to wait while they are inside, other times he is dispatched to another place while that person is seeing the doc.  The head office figures that all out for him, so he just goes where they want him to go.  Easy Peasy! 

Well, the winds are kicking up here tonight and the storms are continuing to blast across Wisconsin. I think we are due for a few more inches.  Tomorrow Steve is going to help his brother Pete move into his new house.  I am a bit under the weather and thinking I am having gallbladder problems. I had another attack today and after some rest, I am feeling better tonight. Going to the doc next week to check things out.  

Tomorrow evening we are set to babysit little granddaughter Whitney up at their house while daughter Heather and soninlaw Jesse take our oldest grandson Jameson to a hockey game! We are looking forward to spending time with Whitney and I think this grandma might bake some cookies to take along. I have a few special toys to play with and of course our favorite story book: Brown Bear, Brown Bear! 

Off to beddy-bye with the howling Winds of Wisconsin Winter that are blasting around us while we sleep in our snug little house.... 

 Me in my kerchief and Steve is his cap... 

just settling down for a long winter's nap.