MOTORHOME MODIFICATION - *D* - D's are Done!

Since the Packers are not in the Super Bowl tonight, I am going to work on my blog while the tv is on... and watch the commercials.  I will root for Atlanta seeing as I am not fond of the Patriots. 

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?

This is the last of the D's! 

MOTORHOME MODIFICATIONS 

STARTING WITH THE LETTER D

Drain Cap:

We bought a different drain cap than the one that came with our motorhome.  This one is kinda cool because it has an outlet that you can screw on a garden hose type fitting to it. It fits on like any bayonet type mounted cap, but has this little cap that can be unscrewed to add a hose.

This is especially handy if you want to drain out some of your grey water to put out your campfire before heading to bed or leaving your campsite.  Also some parks out west allow you to run your grey water into the nearby shrubs to help with moisture as long as it is not standing water under your rig.  Often if we are only gone for a weekend, we will run our grey water out in our yard via a hose over to my tomato plants.  Especially if it is a dry spell and my rain barrels are low.

Drawer Glides:
Our motorhome has some pretty big drawers, especially on the bottom sections under the closets.  The glides under them were pretty weak and often the drawers would pop out beyond and come out all wiggly and not slide back into place.  Steve examined them closely and decided to mount in a better set of higher quality glides in all of the big drawers in the kitchen and bathroom.  Now they slide in and out easily and never "go off the rails" .....

 but... they do not have a "stop" built into them for when they are shut now, 

like the other smaller drawers do. 

You know, the LIFT then PULL out feature in most RVs? 

Soooo the drawers do sometimes roll out during transit.  

Not good. 

Drawer Velcro Fix:
I came up with this idea!   I cut some heavy duty velcro (LOVE that stuff!) into little upside down L shapes.  I stuck the fuzzy ones to the frame around the drawer in places they will not be seen once the drawer is shut.  I stuck the corresponding sticky pokey pieces to back lip of the drawer, lining them up.  Voila!  No more opening drawers!  Just a tiny tug to open, and the velcro holds them shut during transit.

Dicor Caulk:

I know I talked in a few past blogs about using this Dicor product on the roof to seal any seams, around vents and antennas, and around our solar panel brackets. It is the GREATEST Stuff to use on the roof, and many RV shops sell it as their only caulk.  It is made to be flexible and comes in white, or cream.  It is self leveling and there is a formula that will not hurt rubber EPDM material.  We keep a tube on hand in the rig, along with a patch of Eternabond tape in case of having problems on the road. As a matter of fact, I think we used our last patch on my brother's travel trailer so we need to replenish again with a new hunk soon. 

Dog Supplies:
Dog supplies are important to have along in our RV.  If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you will know we are VERY fond of our dogs... and try to keep them as well-behaved campground doggies who do not cause any trouble.   Things that make our dog-walking more pleasant is having along certain "Doggie Doo Doo supplies"  and easy ways to carry them.  I like to wear capris and Tshirts in the summer. Thus, that means no pockets to carry supplies --- no keys or cell phone. Hmmmmm  One day I found these little saddle packs from Flexi that strap around the casing of the Flexi Leashes.

I know they have those expensive little rolls of doggie poop bags you can buy, but they are a pain to unroll, rip apart, and open up as your dog is wanting to keep on moving through the campground.  We found these boxes of loose bags with little tie handles at the local Dollar Tree store.  They were two boxes for a dollar... so that is 100 bags for a buck!  I stuff about 20 in the little zipper compartment in each flexi lead.

I also use them in the little trash can I posted about in my last blog.  I like being able to put one bag on my hand, and pick up the offending mess and put it into another bag, so I am using two bags each time.  I don't care about using two, just glad the deed is done and I don't have to touch it.  Tying the handles in a firm knot and slipping the looped handles onto the leash helps carry it until we find a suitable trash can to dispose of it.

Well, the Falcons are ahead by 21-0 and it will be half time soon.

Wonder what Lady GaGa has planned? 

 So far I have not seen any commercials that knocked my socks off....

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on edit.... yup... the Albert Einstein commercial for 

National Geographic Genius series won my vote so far! 

And Lady GaGa's show was pretty nice, amazing and how she started it 

was wonderful.. and how she ended it left me in a shriek! 

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Back to the blog: 

We took sweet Millie to go see Dad P again at the therapy center.  He is doing well, had a little set back with a quick visit to the ER and back again, just making sure there is no infection.  Little Millie was SO GLAD to see her "daddy" and make sure he is okay. 

That is such a cool device they have on his knee.  There is a cooler set up nearby full of ice and water. Then a pump device on top of the cooler sends the icy water through the hose and circulates it on a special pad that is strapped over his knee.  Amazing!

Steve and his Pops played some cribbage (Pops won!) and we hung out and spent time with him. I brought along knitting and kept myself occupied. The center is very hot, for the patients' comfort. Will have to remember to wear t shirt and light slacks next time. Both Steve and I were pretty warm in our winter clothes.

And sweet, well-behaved Millie was all too happy to be laying at her master's feet.  Content and at peace.  She is welcome at this center, and I walked her out to do a bathroom break. She gets lots of pats and pets and admiration all the way out and back in again from the residents, staff and visitors.  We didn't put on her official Therapy Dog Vest this time. We will have to bring it again next time. She likes wearing it because it means she is "On Duty" for working.

We loaded her up to go back home. She was not happy to leave her master behind. But we reassure her with treats and special attention all the way home.  I know she misses him SO Much.  Must be why we spoil her rotten by letting her sleep on our bed between our legs the last two weeks. hahahaha

Saturday we started a task that we have been meaning to do for a couple years now.  Since we bought Our Old House in 2012, we repainted most of the rooms during the first year.  We kinda put off the foyer, both stairwells, and the upstairs hallway that runs the whole length of the house.  We just never got around to it.  I did buy a couple gallons of good Pittsburgh Grand Distinction paint (low almost no smell, no splatter, no drips and covers really good)   I had all the supplies ready for the day we wanted to start.  I even won a whole big box of red polka dot flannel backed tablecloths in an auction!  They worked GREAT for drop cloths because the flannel back clings to the carpeted stairs and doesn't slide off like plain plastic would. 

The walls were a peachy taupe beige color... and really needed to be freshened up with new paint.  I chose China White which is just slightly creamy and would look nice against the reddish orange brown of the woodwork.   Most of our other rooms are creamy white too. I like that in a Craftsman House.  I am not into the new style of those bright bold or dark colors in rooms. I like airy and light and clean and crisp. 

Steve and I started draping and taping.  Did I tell you that Steve HATES painting?  But we wanted to get this done and now was a good time to get to it.  (things might change next week, so more on that later) We are good painters and try to not splatter, but we taped the woodwork just in case. 

Hauling out the new paint, and brushes, I went to work doing the cutting in....  around all of the doors, windows, and along the baseboards.  Steve manned the roller and got the first coat on.

It was drying pretty well that we almost didn't need a second coat.... but we did roll a second as it dried within an hour or so before moving on to the next section. 

As we started up the front stairwell (we have two sets of stairs in our house to the upper level)  Steve got out his extension handle for the painting roller.  All I could do was cut in along the baseboard up the staircase and around the leaded window. The rest now was up to him.  You can see the difference this lighter paint makes! 

Once he got wayyy up to the top, he could still reach with the extension pole.  

No ladders or scaffolding needed to get up 18+ feet to the top! 

While standing on the staircase at an angle, of course. 

I had bought a silly little spongey roller wheel disc thing.  It is meant to get into the cracks between the ceiling and walls (we are painting them both the same color). At first Steve was kinda doubting it would work, but it really did!

Two coats over everything from the foyer up the stairwell to the top of the stairs, plus all of the ceiling sections too.  We only used up less than two gallons for all that square footage.  Wowzer!   We cleaned up and put things away to make supper.  Only a few hours and we got a LOT accomplished working together as a team.  After supper we hopped in the car and took a ride to Manitowoc Menards to get two more gallons to finish the rest this week.


I thought Steve was going to hit the floor running this morning and start on the next section. Instead he said no, he was kinda sore and thinking he would not paint today after all???    That is fine with me... it gave me time to work on some quilting.

The sun was shining so nicely today, and the temps came up to 32!  (tomorrow is forecast to hit 37!)  I went out on the porch for a bit with the dogs.  The sunshine warmed it up and we sat out there while I read for awhile.  The dogs kept an eye out for any people walking by....

They are such good doggers and have been getting along well.

Finnegan                          Millie                            Binney

It was so peaceful out there... and I put on some soft Celtic music.  Not too often that we can spend an afternoon out there in February.  Sure made me miss the summer months where we spend a lot of time on the porch.  We are due for some more snow, maybe on Tuesday, so winter will return again to Wisconsin.  Might as well enjoy this nice weather for the time being.

Okay.. 

• I liked the commercial about telling the little girl she is equal from Audi....
• and the one about Melissa McCarthy was a hoot!  
• The Mr. Clean one was trashy.... 
• and the one of Albert Einstein was really good too.  

Now the Falcons are ahead 28-9.  Wheeeeeee

Grueling Commute and Recycling Water

It's a beautiful Tuesday morning in High Cliff State Park... and I just drove Steve over to his shop on the grounds.  It's a grueling 1.6 mile commute one way, and on the way back I saw 2 deer and a fox yesterday!   Can't get better than that, can it?

For now I will drive Steve over and back so I can keep the Tracker on site in case I want to run somewhere.  But after Steve finishes all the paperwork and certifications this week with the DNR, he will have a Ranger truck to run around in for work.

It was a busy day for him yesterday with tons of information, getting keys, tours of equipment and meeting employees.  Tomorrow he gets to hire a worker from a group of applicant interviews too.  There is also an extensive network of volunteers that help keep this park in it's great condition, so he is going to meet a lot more as the days go by.

But all in all, it's a good fit and he is thinking this is going to be a very good job.

On the other hand, I spent most of yesterday steaming, photographing, tagging and listings some more socks and rugs into my Etsy shop:   http://kareninthewoods.etsy.com 

I have a cute little ironing board that I use for the socks...  I had a little assembly line going for getting more socks ready for the upcoming seasonal shopping for the holidays.  Folks start buying my socks by September already, so I have to get more done.  I also started listing some of my rugs on Ebay too at a set price.  Maybe reach a different range of shoppers and deplete some of this inventory.  Right now I have the entire back of the Tracker loaded with finished rugs, as well as some in the basement compartments of the motorhome.

Sipping coffee here and contemplating the upcoming day.    I think I am going to do a few loads of laundry.   Yes, we have a washer and a dryer in our motorhome.  It's made by Splendide and came with our motorhome.

It's all in one unit-- it first washes the load, then if you select the right button, it will go right into the dry mode.  We learned though that it is best to let it stop after the wash cycle, and take the wet clothes out and shake them a bit and put them back in before going into the dry mode.  Otherwise they are plastered tight to the drum from the last rinsing spin cycle and get wrinkled if dried in that position.   Most times we just take the clothes out wet and hang them up on hangers to dry.  I have a wooden drying rack to set in the bathtub too for holding our "unmentionables"  ....

What is interesting in our Safari motorhome configuration is that the washing machine water does NOT go into either the black (toilet) or grey (sink) holding tanks.  Instead, it comes directly out the drain pipe.   If we were in a campsite with a sewer connection, that is not a problem.  It just runs and drains out the pipe through the drain hose and into the hole.  

But... in this campsite we do not have a sewer hookup.  No problem though, because we have a special drain cap that goes on the end of our pipe.  On that cap is a little threaded section that a garden hose can screw onto.  I run a thinner (waste) hose off the drain cap and drain the washing machine run-off water into a big tub we keep on hand.

 (I just ran out and took some closeup pics of it)

The washing portion uses about 6 gallons of water, and then about 5 gallons for rinsing.

Now here is where it gets interesting.  I am going to RECYCLE the washing machine water!   I am going to use a pitcher to scoop it out and wash the dogs!!!    So today they will get a bath....  with washing machine water to wet them down, add some bio-degradable doggie shampoo to suds them up, and then pour pitchers of the rinse water over their heads to rinse them off.

Before the "grey water police" start commenting on this subject... take note:   This is a heavily wooded site with plenty of shrubbery to absorb the water without it becoming a problem of any standing water.   Much like the campers a few sites down with their portable solar shower bags and portable shower stall alongside their popup, or the tenters next door dumping their dishpans of water into the shrubbery, or the ones gathered at the water faucet across the road doing their dishes and rinsing their clothing out.  This is a common practice in this part of the country, and we also see it done out west and in the desert too.

Maybe I will take some pics, if my hands aren't too wet.

We are staying here at the park till Thursday.  (also this site is reserved for the weekend so would have to move anyhow)  Then we will drive the motorhome towing the Tracker right up to St. Mary's hospital in Green Bay.  We have permission to stay overnight in the hospital parking lot the night before Steve's outpatient surgery.  And then again afterwards we can wheel him right out to the rig and he can recoup in the lot again for the night.  Much easier than cramming him into the Tracker after a spinal block surgery for a long agonizing 30+ mile ride home.  He had the same surgery on his other knee 16 years ago, so he kinda knows what to expect.   Will get the pain pills filled ahead of time, and he still has his crutches from the last surgery here in the motorhome.

For the weekend we might buzz over and see our friends Paula and Mel, and "moochdock" in their driveway.  Kinda playing it by ear right now.

We will see how long he needs to stay off it, but knowing him, he will be up and about in no time.  The surgeon seems to think Steve will bounce back quick because he is young, healthy, lean and in good shape, and used to walking and bending and moving for his job.  He said a few days and all will be fine.  Steve goes back for a post-op appt. on August 27 to remove stitches and for a "return to work" paper, so we will see how he does early next week.  He might be at his desk in his office before we know it.

Well, my coffee is cold, and water heater is hot and ready.  Guess I will start the laundry!


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