MOTORHOME MODIFICATIONS - *P* is for Pump, Pressure Tank and our son Mike

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 P now!

MOTORHOME MODIFICATIONS 

STARTING WITH THE LETTER P

Pump and Accumulator Pressure Tank:

THIS MODIFICATION WAS DONE BACK IN 2011

Steveio had been thinking of getting a bigger water pump for our motorhome, along with an accumulator (pressure) tank. 

 (our original pump has been working just fine-- but you know Guys: "Bigger is Better")   

Sooooo  he found one, a super duper one from what he said, on Ebay.  It came in the mail and it is just what he wanted!    It's a pretty expensive pump, called a Par from Jabsco.  This is a heavy marine water pump for boats that is belt driven with a bigger electric motor. 

It runs in the $250-300 range but he got it for $65 plus shipping!  Good deal----  he hooked it up temporarily to check it out-  it runs quiet and smooth.  He still needed to buy the right port kit of adapters to change it to screw-on threads instead of the barbed ends.  Threaded screw on lines are more secure than the push on barbs with clamps. That is the only reason he didn't install it immediately after it came in the mail.

Here are pics from all angles for you geeky RV guys......

He was also looking at accumulator pressure tanks (to lessen the necessity of turning pump on and off as often when only using a little water a time)  ... and I happened to stop at a rummage sale where there was a brand new one in a box!  The lady at the rummage sale said they bought it, but the repairman who came to their cottage brought a different one along to install, and they couldn't find the slip to return this one.  So it became ours for a mere $5.  On the VERY DAY that Steve gets the pump in the mail, is the same day I found the tank he needs!  Too cool----

The new tank is rated for the right pressure for our lines, so we are okay there too. 

After brainstorming his installation ideas, and measuring and figuring and gathering fittings, hoses and pieces, he was ready.  He put the tank in a cut-down 5 gallon bucket for stability, with the fittings coming out some holes he cut into it.  

If you look close, there really isn't any area to mount the tank to on the frame unless he drilled holes through the steel beam behind it.  So the bucket for stability is a great idea.  He did strap it down by the handle to something behind.  Plus, he can remove the bucket, and screw the two fittings together on a pipe nipple to winterize the rig, and store the tank in our house where it won't freeze.  He has a shroud guard to put by the moving belt part of the pump.    

After he had it all done, I got to go inside to test it out.  Works wonderfully!!!   Using an accumulator tank allows the pump to run less often, and when you use a faucet, the pump doesn't need to kick on each time until you run a large amount of water.  So filling up a pot for coffee or grabbing a glass of water does not need the pump to operate.   Steve said it will save on battery power.  LOL ... yah right.  Me thinks it's just more "justification" to his "Bigger is Better" obsession. 

Now...  I mentioned the old pump, which was manufactured date of 1995, it works just fine.  So he added two fittings to each side that can accommodate a simple garden hose.  He will use this as an auxiliary pump to add water to our tank when we are long term boondocking if we don't wanna move the rig to refill.   We can haul water in a bladder or buckets from a well pump to fill our tank.  Or have it on board if something ever happens to the other new pump?   (perish the thought after all of Steveio's installation and brainstorming!) 

Our motorhome has the type of fresh water filling port you need to fill with a hose under pressure, not just a gravity fill like they have on some travel trailers.  We can't just pour in more water from a jug or bucket if running low while boondocking.  Our type of RV needs a pressured hose to fill the tank with extra water.  Seann, our Cannuckie RV buddy had this bladder and pump setup and it worked great for boondocking!  We bought a bladder now too.  So we have our extra pump to make it work. 

In our water compartment, this area is called a "manifold".  It has various levers and knobs to control the flow of water to various parts of the motorhome.  Also levers to pull to empty the black and grey holding tanks.  Steve added a household water filter unit to the fill area, so all water is run through it before going into our tank.   He added a 12 volt outlet to power either that auxiliary pump or our portable mascerator (poop pumper)    There is also a faucet for an outdoor shower to screw onto, or a hose for washing the rig.  It is also GREAT for washing dirty muddy doggers------  

 Soooo that is it for the motorhome modifications today.

~~~~~~~~~~~

And last of all, 

I would like to end up this blog saying 

Happy Birthday 

to our son, Mike, 

who is in Heaven.

He would be 34 today and we miss him. Each family gathering and holiday, I feel the loss of one more adult child with a spouse and maybe more grandchildren to love. 

• I think of his smile and his silly cowboy boots and his willingness to help Steve with whatever he wanted to work on. 
• I think of the sports games he and his brother Dan would play in, while we all sat in the stands to cheer them on. 
• I smile and think of taking him shopping for his first aftershave, or sewing up the rips in his corduroy pants. For the longest time he hated wearing blue jeans.  
• I think of the special bond he had with our youngest daughter Heather and how she proudly drove his old beater car around for a whole year after he passed away.   
• I think of how all four teens would argue and pester each other, but Mike loved it when Erin would bring along friends of hers camping so he could hang out with some really cool chicks from the Big City of Green Bay!
• I think of the time he bought me a Kit Kat from the gas station on his way home for an Xmas present, not having a lot of cash, but knowing it was my favorite. 

We miss you Mike. 

Yes, we do. 

Time to get back to some Motorhome Modifications

Many of my blog readers are RVers ... so today I will post about some RV items, after a gluttony of weaving and train posts the last week or so.  LOL ...

If you remember back a few weeks ago, Steveio just HAD to have a new super duper water pump for our motorhome, along with a big accumulator tank.

(our original pump has been working just fine for 16 years--

but you know Guys: "Bigger is Better")   

Our pressure has been just fine, but he said this pump will have more pressure and be able to handle an accumulator tank.  This is a heavy Jabsco marine water pump that is belt driven with a bigger electric motor.  I got the accumulator tank for him brand new at a rummage sale for $5 --- score!

The new tank is rated for the right pressure for our lines, so we are okay there too. 

After brainstorming his installation ideas, and measuring and figuring and gathering fittings, hoses and pieces, he was ready.  He finally had time this week to get it installed.   He put the tank in a cut-down 5 gallon bucket with the fittings coming out some holes he cut into it.  

If you look close, there really isn't any area to mount the tank to on the frame unless he drilled holes through the steel beam behind it.  So the bucket is a great idea.  He did strap it down by the handle to something behind.  Plus, he can remove the bucket, and screw the two fittings together on a pipe nipple to winterize the rig, and store the tank in our house where it won't freeze.  He has a shroud guard to put by the moving belt part of the pump.    

After he had it all done, I got to go inside to test it out.  Works wonderfully!!!   Using an accumulator tank allows the pump to run less often, and when you use a faucet, the pump doesn't need to kick on each time until you run a large amount of water.  So filling up a pot for coffee or grabbing a glass of water does not need the pump to operate.   Steve said it will save on battery power.  LOL ... yah right.  Me thinks it's just more "justification" to his "Bigger is Better" obsession. 

Now...  I mentioned the old pump, which was manufactured date of 1995, it works just fine.  So he added two fittings to each side that can accommodate a simple garden hose.  He will use this as an auxiliary pump to add water to our tank when we are long term boondocking if we don't wanna move the rig to refill.   We can haul water in a bladder or buckets from a well pump to fill our tank.  Or have it on board if something ever happens to the other new pump?   (perish the thought after all of Steveio's installation and brainstorming!) 

In our water compartment, this area is called a "manifold".  It has various levers and knobs to control the flow of water to various parts of the motorhome.  Also levers to pull to empty the black and grey holding tanks.  Steve added a household water filter unit to the fill area, so all water is run through it before going into our tank.   He added a 12 volt outlet to power either that auxiliary pump or our portable mascerator (poop pumper)    There is also a faucet for an outdoor shower to screw onto, or a hose for washing the rig.  GREAT for washing dirty muddy doggers------  

 Soooo that is it for the motorhome modifications.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We opted to NOT go camping this weekend.  Holidays seem to bring out the weekend warriors in full mode, with noise, fireworks, music and partying.  Being a long weekend, many folks who don't normally camp or aren't familiar with campground etiquette are rude, noisy and make it uncomfortable for the rest of us.

On top of that, the weather is going to be awfully humid and hot in the mid 90's (if you believe the weathermen)   so that would mean running the AC a lot.

So if we were in a rustic campground, we would be the offenders running our generator mid-day to cool the rig for my lungs and breathing problems.  Not nice.  Even though our propane powered generator is very quiet and built into our rig, I still don't like ever bothering anyone else with generator noise.

Also, some clueless weekend warriors who don't camp too often will haul along a big contractor generator or a cheapie one that the decibels are ear-shattering and ground-shaking.

Or if we went to a park with electric hook-ups, the daisy chained electric posts are notorious for blowing out or browning out due to the heavy power usage by everyone trying to run their multiple AC units all at once.  BTDT

And there is always someone shooting off noisy fireworks which send our doggers to cowering, shaking, drooling nervous wrecks for hours afterwards of each erratic display of noise---   most parks ban the fireworks but there are always a few who have to break the rules.....   argghhhh

Soooo I think we will just stay home!   

It's Erin's 28th birthday today 

(HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ERIN!) 

and it was our anniversary on Tuesday, 

so we will celebrate with the kids and stay at home.   

Speaking of home, I started giving our logs a new coat of stain.  Two years ago we painstakingly ground off the old finish to bare wood and added a new coat of Rymar.  It needed a second coat by this year to seal up all the dried out areas and knots.  Now it will be good for about 8-10 years.

(I  took the cover off the gazebo so it wouldn't get any splatters) 

I started all the lower portions around the first floor myself (wearing a mask)  and Steve will set up the ladder for the higher portions for me in the evenings.  I won't go up the ladder until he is home and nearby.

I work a little bit at a time, and then take a break.  I love the way the wood drinks in the oily stain sealer product called Rymar, and is instantly transformed into beautiful wood again!  The very top areas above the 2nd story windows Steve will do for me, because I am a chicken!   No matter how much I try to convince myself that I am only one step higher on the ladder rungs, my legs start to shake and I can not handle it.   I try... I try... but that is where Steveio can take over the task.  (he hates painting)

(And on one quick weaving note, I was shipped a big shaggy rug to tear apart and reweave for a customer, pics to come in future blogs)


.

Motorhome Repairs -- Spring planting around the yard --- Copperfest

First up--- motorhome repairs and modifications:

On my last blog, I showed a few pics of the broken top part of the frame where our shocks mount in the front of our motorhome.  The location of the broken part on the motorhome was right next to the diesel tank, so welding it in place was not a good option.

Steve was able to remove both broken pieces now with the help of some WD-40.   Yes, fellow RVer Jim mentioned PBBlaster.. it's GREAT stuff, but we didn't have any on hand.  Have to add that to the shopping list to Fleet Farm this weekend I guess!

Anyhow, he was able to get both parts off so he could weld up the break and also reinforce it with some triangular gussets.   Here are the pics of the finished piece and he even painted it up with rust protection paint.  He looked close at the same mount on the passenger side, and it appears as if it has already been reinforced, perhaps by the previous owner?

Here is Steve's lovely weld job and the two new triangles for reinforcement:

So the rig will be ready to roll safely for Steve's upcoming Father/Son fishing trip next weekend.  

He and his brothers take his dad each year for an extended weekend fishing up north.  

Second----  His next project up on deck is the new water pump and accumulator pressure tank to install on the motorhome.   I know I posted pics of this before, but now he is starting to work on it!   He bought a fancy schmancy heavy duty marine water pump called a PAR from Jabsco.  He is figuring out a mounting process with the new accumulator tank to make it removable for winterization.  

So instead of mounting it permanently to the frame underneath, he mounted it in a removable 5 gallon bucket!   He cut access holes in each side of the bucket for the line IN and line OUT.  Now it won't tip over, and does not get mounted permenantly either.  When it comes time to winterize, he can simply remove the tank and screw the two lines together with an adapter piece of pipe fitting.    

The new water pump will replace the old one, which still works just fine.  You know guys... the "bigger is better" theory.  The old pump will remain with the rig and be used to pump in water in emergency methods from a bucket or bladder if we are boondocking and don't want to move to refill the water tank.

So that is about it for now on the motorhome repairs....



On to springtime!  Our house is located in the far northern area of Wisconsin where Spring is finally arriving.  It is finally past the frost warnings of last week, and safe now for outdoor planting.   Yesterday I stopped at the little greenhouse called The Garden Spot near our home and stocked up on flowers and tomato plants.  

I put in 8 tomato plants (4 Beefsteak, 4 Early Girl)  in pots on the deck.  I usually plant them along the back side of the garage.  Since we ground the varnish off the garage logs 2 years ago, the dirt over there seems contaminated and won't grow them nice anymore.  Last year's plants were a complete flop!  We were going to dig up that dirt and replace it with new garden soil, but never got that far yet.  I think pots are good as I can move them around now.

I can almost taste the home grown 'maters right now!!!

The four hanging bags are looking a bit skimpy as they are planted with petunias with big thick ruffled blooms, but they will fill in fast and be full, lush and lovely hanging on all four corners of the gazebo.

(the fabric cover is off  the gazebo frame during this pic, 

we only put it on when we are sitting out there in the sun) 

I won a geranium as a door prize last month at an HCE meeting... so I added some red spikes and dusty miller to the pot by the garage door.   On the side deck, I added a planter with pink and blue wishbone flowers. They will soon be cascading over the edges and be a lovely greeting at the doorway to the house.

The white lilacs on the corner of the garage are in full bloom.. and the Japanese lilac bush by the side door is just sooo fragrant and thick with blossoms!   These blooms last for weeks on end, much longer than the traditional lilacs we have along the east border of the yard.  That Japanese lilac bush was a housewarming present from Steve's brother, Pete, way back when we built the house.

My bleeding hearts on the east side of the house are just huge in their glory.

Little granddaughter Allegra gave me this yellow begonia for Mother's Day, 

and I planted it in the doggie planter for out on the deck.

The grandkids love that doggie, you pat it's head or tail and 

it's are on springs so they BOUNCE up and down! 

   

I have my favorite coleus growing in between clumps of hostas along the sidewalk by the garage.

This strain I have kept going from cuttings and plantings for many years, wintering them indoors,  

all started by a cutting I got from my friend, Connie, from her house wayyy back in Green Bay

Our next door neighbors just got a new lawn tractor, and Mike had to grab Amber for a little ride around the yard... how cute is that?

Notice the field in the background has only recently been plowed by the farmer down the road.  With all the rain we had this spring, the farmers have not been able to get in the fields till this week.  No "knee high by fourth of July" for that cornfield, that is for sure.  I think he just planted it yesterday.


So spring is in the air... and although we had a few days of sweltering weather, we are back to normal springtime temps again.  Today is rainy and only 48 degrees.   The humidity is at 87%   Ewwwwwww

This weekend is the local Copperfest Celebration in Oconto.   Heather is bringing up grandson Jameson in time for the parade, and we will grill out and hang there for the day. Grandkids Chelsea and Jameson will love the parade and get lots of candy they throw.  Allegra isn't able to come this year, she is going to the Bay Beach Animal Sanctuary tomorrow instead.  We will miss her smiling face!

I took this excerpt about Copperfest from the Chamber of Commerce website:

Oconto has a rich historical past, mainly because of its location along the west shore of the waters of Green Bay.

Approximately 5000 years ago an archaic people, later called the Copper Culture, hunted, fished, and buried their dead on the banks of the Oconto River near the bay. The French Canadians came here in the 1600's to trade for the fur of beaver, muskrat and fox, canoeing by way of Mackinac and down the bay.

Early settlers arrived by steam powered boats traveling on the Great Lakes. Of those, a Norwegian community grew on the bay shore and began fishing commercially, sending barrels of salted herring, whitefish, and trout to eastern markets.

Beginning in the 1850's lumbering was the primary focus. Logs were floated down the Oconto River where they were sawed into lumber at one of seven mills in Oconto and shipped out by boat to large growing cities on Lake Michigan.

Today we tend to rely on highway vehicles to carry passengers and cargo. The rivers, lakes, and bay fulfill the recreational needs of fishing boats, canoes, pontoons, kayaks, sail and pleasure boats. We still hunt, fish, snowshoe and ski just as people did long ago.

The city of Oconto has thirty-three structures on the National Register of Historic Places. A visitor can take a self-guided tour of the city, walk the Historic West Main Street District, and in the summer tour the 1890's home of wealthy George Beyer located on Park Avenue.

Sooooo any excuse for a celebration, the whole town gets into Party Mode and has a great time!  In town, there is always a lot going on:

Featured Events are Amateur Lumberjack Competition, Truck Pulls, Adult Horseshoe Tournament, Mens, Womens and Youth Flag Football Tournament. Hamburger Eating and Pie Eating Contests.  Regional Wrist Wrestling Competition.  Pie and Ice Cream Social.  Fireworks.  Childrens Inflatables games, Trout Pond, Street Market. Poker Paddle Run, Duck Races and more.  Entertainment featuring Kenny Ahern, T. Texas Terry, Randy Petersen, Mr. Billy, Jay Merline.  Music performed by Ravyn, Vic Ferrari, Gringos, Rivertown, Sonic Circus, Rocker, Midpoint and Aaron Socha

For more information on the Copper Culture People:

Copper Culture State Park, Oconto, Wisconsin

Steve is entering the horseshoe tournament at 1pm.  Later there are street dances, fireworks and probably babysitting for me and Granfaddah so the parents can go out on the town?  Sounds like a good weekend to me!

Falling behind on blogging--- new water pump and spending time with Jameson

Whoeewwwwieeee I better get my butt in gear here and start up some motorhome topics, so here it goes. Most of you blog readers are RV folks, so I owe you a post about RVing... right?  

Steveio has been thinking of getting a little bigger water pump for our motorhome, along with an accumulator (pressure) tank.  Sooooo  he found one, a super duper one from what he said, on Ebay.  It came today and is just what he wanted!    It's a pretty expensive pump, called a Par from Jabsco.  In the $250-300 range but he got it for $65 plus shipping!  Good deal----  he hooked it up temporarily to check it out-  it runs quiet and smooth.  He still needs the right port kit of adapters to change it to screw-on threads instead of the barbed ends.  Threaded screw on lines are more secure than the push on barbs with clamps. That is the only reason he is not out there installing it tonight.  LOL

Here are pics from all angles for you geeky RV guys......

He was looking at accumulator tanks (to lessen the necessity of turning pump on and off as often when only using a little water a time)  ... and today I happened to stop at a rummage sale where there was a brand new one in a box!  The lady at the rummage sale said they bought it, but the repairman who came brought a different one along to use, and they couldn't find the slip to return this one.  So it became ours for a mere $5.  On the VERY DAY that he gets the pump in the mail, is when I found the tank he needs!  Too cool

The old pump he is taking out is, of course, 15 years old now, but still works fine.  He is going to rig it up to a bladder to haul extra water and use the old pump to push the water in our fill port on the motorhome..

Our motorhome has the type of fresh water filling port you need to fill with a hose under pressure, not just a gravity fill like they have on some travel trailers.  Those you can just dump in water from a jug or bucket if you run low while boondocking.   But our type of RV needs a pressured hose to fill the tank with extra water.   Seann, our Cannuckie RV buddy at the Slabs had this bladder and pump setup and it worked great for boondocking!

So that, my friends, is the whole reason behind his search for a new pump and tank.  


We have kinda been busy here since we got home from the weaving conference 2 weeks ago.  First we had to catch up on stuff around the house, and then I had a bunch of orders to get done.  A variety of rugs came off the looms, got fringes tied, hems sewn and shipped out to customers or listed in my Etsy store.  Then I had sock orders to get done, and out in the mail too.  Life has been good!

Heather and Jameson came on Sunday to visit us and he spent a little time with me down in my Loom Room.  He LOVES to bang the beater and mush the fabric in tight to the rug.  What a Weaver!

The little guy did a Nature Walk with us around the yard and down to the river.  

Hey Granfaddah--- 

Where did you go????                     THERE you are! 

On the way back up to the house, we walked by the motorhome, and that little 2 year old boy got VERY UPSET!    He said the motorhome was  ***BROKEN***  !!!!  

Seems that since the wheels were covered by white plywood sheets, little Jameson could not see the wheels.. and that meant it was ***BROKEN***....   He was not to be consoled until Granfaddah removed the plywood and showed him that yes, the wheels were still there.  They were still round and black and were definitely not ***BROKEN***    He had to see both the rear and the front tires to be sure they were all good.   It was soooo funny!   Then it was all okay again in his little world.

Once he got INSIDE the rig, he scooted up in the passenger seat and would NOT get out!  He remembers riding in that seat last year (with his carseat strapped down)  and was just sooo intent on sitting in the rig and waiting for Granfaddah to drive him some where, any where, as long as it would GO!   We finally tried to bribe him out with candy corn!  hahahahaa  and it worked. 

But alas.. his mommy had to put the kabash on a ride because they had to leave and be back to Green Bay for his Uncle Tyler's birthday.   Our visit with the little guy was very enjoyable.  

And---- we are taking him next weekend IN the motorhome for four or five days camping somewhere over Memorial Day.   So in the meantime he will have to wait till next week.  That is SO HARD to wait when you are only 2 years old, and all you want to do is ride in Granfaddah's Camper. Seven days, little man, seven days.....

We are loading up the motorhome in the driveway tonight for this weekend. Got the fridge chilling, added some extra clothes and a few items, and soon will load up the cold food. 

Pulling out tomorrow as soon as Steve is off work, and heading up to the U.P. of Michigan.  My sister and her husband (Schmoo and Fuzz) are celebrating their 25+1 Anniversary Party.... see, last year when it was their 25th anniversary, they were in the hospital while Fuzz was battling cancer and undergoing a very complicated surgery.   They removed his cancerous jaw bone and replaced it with a bone from his leg.  They also removed large portions of tissue, skin, cheek, etc to be sure they got it all.  And now, one year later he is Cancer FREE!   So that is a VERY good reason to celebrate!!!!

We are going up early to help prepare foods and get things decorated for the party!  So our motorhome is our moving hotel room in the far flung outlands of the U.P. of Michigan.  Besides, we can take along the dogs and have the fridge available for transporting foods up there and taking home leftovers.  

We will be parking in the lot behind the rented township hall and use our rig for sleeping spaces for us and some of our kids who are coming.  Erin and Mark with little Chelsea are bunking in with us.  (and the two rat dogs, Bommo and Angel)   

We bought a new queen size air mattress for on the floor of the motorhome, instead of using the folding jacknife sofa (which is a very uncomfortable bed, not much larger than a twin.   We are actually considering removing the couch entirely and just getting two nice recliner chairs for in the future.  Not sure yet.  We have already removed one couch and put in a Euro Chair and ottoman. 

So that is about it for motorhome items today...  I promise to get some good pics of the weekend party to post next time.

.