MOTORHOME MODIFICATION - changing 110 fluorescent fixture to 12 volt

We are camping at Veteran's Park in a lovely campsite, enjoying the woods and the nice weather.

Even on the weekend while camping, that danged Steveio finds projects to work on.  And it's all because of MEL!  Last weekend, he put the bug in Steve's ear to take some 12 volt fluorescent lights from in the bedroom area and adapt them into the large 110 household type fluorescent light fixture in the kitchen.

Because we rarely camp with electrical hookups, we don't use that 110 light fixture, so it just sits there, looking pretty.   But it IS in a great location and illuminates a large area if you are cooking or working on something at the table.

There is a lack of a decent light over the kitchen stove area unless we have the inverter on to power up  that fixture or the one under the convection/microwave in the stove hood.  Both of those are 110 only.  Seems crazy to start the inverter or generator to just have some light while cooking with propane?   There are already 2 smaller fluorescent fixtures under the cabinets, along the sink and countertop by the fridge, but none over the stove.

Sooooo Mel came up with this bright idea.  And Steveio just HAD to try it out------

Our bedroom has tons of light fixtures, both 110 and 12 volt.  Thirteen light bulbs in all!   Inside the valances on each of the windows is a hidden 12 volt single tube fluorescent light.  We NEVER use them in the bedroom because we have so many other lights, mainly with switches within reach of the headboard of the bed.  To use the ones in the valances, you have to get up out of bed to turn on and off by the switch on the far end of the valance.   I think they have been used once or twice in the last five years.

Soooooo Steveio took down the valances and removed the light fixtures.   Easy Peasy.  It was only two dry wall screws to take them down, remove the light, cap off the wires, and put the valance back up.

Next he took down the covering on the large 110 volt household fixture in the kitchen.

Here is the old fixture still in place.....   At first he tried adding the 12 volt lights to each side of the original fixture, but they didn't seem to reflect downwards as well.  So he changed horses in midrace and removed the 110 fixture completely.

He accessed the 12 volt electrical wires by removing a speaker from the ceiling and reaching in and over to the wires by the Fantastic Fan nearby....   For the switch that originally controlled the 110 fixture, he created a loop using the same wires.  So nothing is changed on the wall, or trying to fish new lines, or any new switches needed.

Steveio respects electricity and double checks all lines with his Fluke meter. 

Plus.. he is tall enough to do the work without having to stand on a ladder!!!!

And here are the two 12 volt florescent fixtures in the cavity space left by removing the 110 fixture.   They are a little shorter than the old one, but work just as well.

Also a while back, Steveio insulated the top layer of the cavity with pink rigid insulation.  Otherwise it was very cold to the touch in the winter, with nothing between it and the outside roof!   I am sure it helps on the heating and the air conditioning as well.   Just look at that happy man!

 Another Motorhome Modification project, well done by my Steveio! 

Did you know our motorhome is old enough to drive all by itself now?  

Even though it is a '96, it was manufactured in Sept. of 1995... 

making it now Sweet Sixteen!  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR SAFARI SERENGETI! 

.

Beets, Jam and Mascerators?

On our way home from camping on Monday, we stopped by the Muck Farms on highway 64 and bought 20 pounds of beets.  I was surprised to see them open on Labor Day.  They are a commercial grower of a variety of produce, but also sell produce to the public, sometimes the lumpy bumpy seconds at a discount.

~More on that later~

ATTENTION--- IF YOU ARE EATING, DO NOT READ THIS NEXT SECTION, 

SKIP DOWN TO THE JAM AND BEETS PORTION OF MY BLOG!

Once we got home, Steveio decided to use our mascerator and save the $3 dump fee and the fuel it takes to drive into town to dump at the city dump station by Holtwood Park.   This is what we bought it for!

For my non-RV blog readers, when we camp in our motorhome, the sinks and shower and toilet have to drain somewhere, right?  So they drain into holding tanks and must be emptied at the end of each trip.

This device is called a mascerator and can be used to dump into a septic system, a toilet, an outhouse, or even at a regular dump station where the angle might be weird or we can't get in close enough to the dumping hole with such a long rig.  Many dump stations were built when people only had 18 or 20 ft travel trailers and not long motorhomes like nowadays.   The mascerator comes in handy for many reasons, but mostly for us to save money dumping every weekend at the city dump station for $3 and the time it takes to drive there and back and the fuel.  5 miles in and 5 miles out, that takes more than a gallon of diesel at $4 plus the $3 fee.  Gosh this thing will have itself paid for in no time!

Now that I justified Steveio's need for his mascerator, here is how it works:

The mascerator is a "poopeater"  ... it works like a garbage disposal and has little blades inside that take care of the ummmmm "solids" and also pumps the black and grey tank contents uphill or downhill or wherever in a 3/4" thick hose.   (the hose is only used for this purpose and nothing else of course)

It hooks onto the regular draining outlet that a normal thick drain hose uses if you are right next to a dump station hole.  But in this case, Steve is pumping it about 100 feet away into our septic tank.

There is even a section of clear hose to the left, at the beginning of the black hose so he can see the ummmm  "progress".  Once it is pumping clear and the tone of the pump changes, you know it's done. 

We also have a tornado tank rinser device that he can hook the garden hose to and it will blast around streams of clear water inside the black tank to get it really clean.  We don't do that at public dump stations because it can hold up the line of folks waiting to use the facilities, so we only do that at home if needed. 

The mascerator is powered by a 12 volt cord, so Steve added a 12 volt outlet (like a cigarette lighter) into the bay compartment and put an ON/OFF button on the line to control the pump.   Once the black tank contents (the toilet) are done, then he does the gray tank contents (the sinks and shower water)

Note---  we do not use the common RV "blue" chemical in our holding tanks.  That blue chemical will break down the good active bacteria in our septic tank and halt it's normal operation.  Instead, we use RidX septic tank treatment in our holding tanks on the motorhome, which is also the same chemical we dump in our main home septic system twice a year anyhow.  Works great at keeping down the odors while we are camping, and adds to the needed bacteria in our home septic system.

OKAY--- THE REST OF YOU CAN START READING AGAIN!!!

Back to the beets!   My mom always said for her pickled beets to use equal parts sugar and vinegar, but add half as much water as vinegar to cut it down.    

Sooooo it was time to 

simmer them up, 

slurp off the skins, 

cut them in chunks, 

dump em into jars, 

ladle on the brine,

and pop em in the 

hot water bath canner 

for 30 minutes

DONE! 

I was able to hide the rest of the berries from the Hungry Little Bear Cub Chelsea (who was gobbling them down as fast as she could pick them)   And I mixed them with some other strawberries, blueberries and raspberries I had in the freezer to make a whole batch.  Yummmmmmmm   

I just can not get over what a silly little girl at 20 months old found soooo fascinating about gobbling up berries right from the bushes!   I close my eyes and can still see her snuffling snarfing and scarfing up those berries as fast as she could pop them in her mouth.  She was even grabbing them off the bushes two handed!  You would think she was never fed, eh? 

Now I will bring her a jar of jam, 

and she can have a treat without having to work so hard to get it? 

CAMPING - Richardson Lake in the Nicolet National Forest with Paula and Mel

I apologize to my blog readers for such a delay in posting.  Time and tasks got ahead of me... and then before I knew it, I was asking fellow Safari-ite Paula "whatcha doing for Labor Day?"  Lo and behold, we were forming menus and making plans to go camping!   Once Steveio found out we were going camping with Mel and Snap Snap Snap Paula, he managed to eek out a day and a half of vacation to make it into a FIVE day weekend!

(that Snap Snap Snap Paula is because sometimes Steveio finds it hard to remember names... so that is what he does... snaps his fingers three times till he remembers her name!  That's okay with them though, because Mel keeps saying Dave for Steve too.... LOL)

On Thursday afternoon, we drove about 70 miles to Lakewood, and we met up with Paula and Mel and their lovely Safari (the grey and plum colored one with the horses on back)    The third color option for our year was the green... so we need Ken or Doug with their green rigs to join us next time!

When we drove down the road together, we are a little Safari Convoy!  

Here is a shot of the campground we planned on going to.  Seems the Nicolet National Forest will put these great campgrounds maps published into a book to give out for free that must be expensive to print up, but they won't put them on their website?

(We always try to highlight the sites we have previously determined that we fit on the best
with a 38 ft rig that are level and able to back into without much trouble)

Using the CB radios to communicate with each other, we first drove through Boot Lake to check for sites, but that was pretty much filled up already.  Then we drove on to Richardson Lake as choice number two.  The third lake was Ada, but we settled on  Richardson once we found two lakeside sites next to each other.  Suitable for our length of rigs, level, and in a quiet loop of only 6 sites.  We got sites 24 and 26 in the quiet woods.  The park quickly filled up by the weekend, with only two crooked tenting sites left open. 

We got all set up on our sites and the guys proceeded to do what they do best.... solve all the Safari engineering problems, the Cat engine problems, the tire manufacturer problems, the fuel industry problems... you get the jist of it?   Paula also bought a Coleman oven like mine (affectionately known as Karen's Easy Bake Oven) and fiddled with that working on the dial and settings to get her used to baking with it.  It's kinda touchy, but we did it.

Our Safari rigs only come with a convection/microwave oven, no regular propane oven like in most RV's.  Short of cutting through the expensive Corian countertop and sacrificing three drawers to put one in, we found out that these Coleman ones work great and can even set outside on the picnic table to bake things like dinner rolls, roasts, desserts or even make toast for breakfast.

The campground we are at is rustic, with no electric or water hookups.  So cooking with propane or over the fire is the best method for us.  We could start up the generator to make the convection/microwave oven operate, but who wants that?

Our generators are built in and quiet on our Safari rigs, but even so, we don't often like to use them.   Actually I wanted to pre-cook some sweet corn and heat up some calico beans to go with dinner so I fired our generator up on Thursday afternoon to use the microwave for just a bit.  Suddenly Paula says "I smell something burning like rubber?"   OH NO... they looked back at our generator and oil was pouring out of it and dripping down!!!  We shut it off quickly and left it cool down.

It was bugging Steve so much as to what happened... Me, being a mere woman, looking at it, I suggested a loose oil filter?  It seemed to be leaking out around the edges... he was contemplating the worst case scenario like a crank case crack or a blown engine....  Why listen to me, eh?   We ate supper and then it was too dark to look at it.   So the next morning at 6 am, he could not contain himself any longer and had to get out there and look at it.

Yup, sure enough, a loose oil filter was all it was...... ahem?    What do I know, eh?  LOL   Runs fine now.



Of course, when we camp, the meals are important... here was a steak dinner, baked biscuits, both regular and sweet potatoes, salads etc. and of course a bottle of wine!

The weather was kinda rainy and icky, so we hung out under the awning and I taught Paula how to use my circle knitting hoops for making hats.  She made a tiny infant size hat and let Steveio model it for all to see.

On Friday, we buzzed into town to look around... and found a thrift shop.  Steve and Mel nosed around and found a very nice leaded beveled glass light fixture.    The existing one in our rig has very sharp corners and if Steve leans over the table for something, his 6'4" height allows him to crack his head on it!   Sooooo  he whipped out his tools and did a swap-out for the better one.

What a nice improvement! 

On Saturday, we were joined by our younger daughter Heather, soninlaw Jesse and our little grandson, Jameson.  Wheeeeeee  here he comes!  What joy it is to share our camping with the little ones... Being in the woods, throwing rocks in the lake, walking the dogs around the campground.  This is the stuff that memories are made of.

Heather brought along all the makings for Pudgy Pies!   We still have all the pie iron cookers from their childhood days, and she was soooo happy that the rain let up enough to have a campfire.    She brought along pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni slices for Pudgy Pie Pizzas , and also a can of apple pie filling for dessert pudgy pies.  A spritz of cooking spray, then buttered bread on the outside surfaces, clamped into the cooker with the filling of choice.  Turn often and check for burning, as once the cast iron heats up, they cook REALLY fast!

Heather also brought along the graham crackers, chocolate bars and marshmallows for Some-Mores...  what more could a kid ask for?

They had a tent to sleep in, but the weather was pretty damp and icky, so  instead we put up the air mattress in the rig for them and Jameson was settled in on the couch for sleeping.  Of course, Jameson is an early morning riser, he was able to bounce on into our bed with us for some morning snuggles and cuddles. We watched some cartoons while we let his parents sleep in.   This kid has been cuddling in our motorhome bed since he was just a few months old.  A Happy Camper, for sure!

On Sunday, we were added another family to our bunch!  Our older daughter Erin, soninlaw Mark and granddaughter Chelsea came for the day too!  Here they come.......

Little stinker Chelsea kept very busy...  At one point I got up out of my chair and set down my knitting.  I walked off to the camper, and she clambered up into my seat.  She grabbed my knitting needles and started to *knit like Granmuddah does* ....  she was also carefully writing on a rock with a stick.  What she was writing, I don't know. ---- who needs expensive toys when you are camping?

The winds kicked up pretty bad off the lake, and the temps dropped.  Amazing how it was sweltering hot in the 80s and humid on Thursday and we were running the AC on the way up to the lake.  By Sunday we were dressed in flannels, wool socks and sweatshirts?   The guys put up a wind break to make it more comfortable to sit around the campfire.

See my repaired lawn chair in the picture?  I am sooo glad to have it operational again.

Little cousins Chelsea and Jameson were having a blast!  They were running, playing, throwing rocks, and having a good old camping time.  The rains came and went, so sometimes were inside the rig.---  colorbooks, flashcards, toys and games kept them occupied in the small spaces.  Jameson had along his collection of Thomas the Train stuff and was not going to share.  So Chelsea took his Magna Doodle and they were both happy.

Up and Down and Up and Down, practicing on the little hill, sometimes going down backwards, sometimes taking a tumble.  Get up and go again... and again... and again....

  

We took little Chelsea out blackberry picking while Jameson napped.  She took to it like a hungry little bear cub, gobbling up the berries as fast as she could pick them!   If we hadn't had her along, I am sure we would have gotten enough to bake a pie or 5-6 jars of jam.  But with the Berry Gobbler, it was quite hard to even get a single berry before she snatched them off the bushes!

I remember back when her Mommy, Erin, was a little girl.  I took her berry picking and it suddenly occurred to her the concept of what we were doing.  I can still see her face light up as she exclaimed to me:  "MOMMY-- THIS IS FREE FOOD!"      Ahhhh memories.

Kids need to learn that not all food comes from the grocery store.  LOL

We huddled around the campfire for warmth, and Heather hauled out all the pudgy pie makings again for a snack after supper.  It was so much fun sitting around the fire, telling stories, and laughing and enjoying the family.  Dan and Heather and little Allegra had other plans, so weren't able to attend this time.  We missed having them too, but it's hard to get everyone together at the last minute like we had done.

It is so good to be able to make NEW memories with the little ones... and hope they sometime will take their kids, and their kids' kids camping too....    Chelsea had to show me how much she could knit on a hat now, carefully clicking the needles together and placing the yarn just so between them and click again.  Ahhhh a little fiberholic in the making!   Jameson too, he loves to bang on the looms too at the house.

What could be more fun?  Even if it was cold, we used blankets and huddled closer to the fire.  It was down to the mid 30's overnight.  Brrrrrrrrr

And this is what makes it all worth it! 

Question:
Why is it that air mattress companies ship them in this nice zippered pouch only made to the exact size of the professionally rolled up air mattress?  They don't leave any extra room for us amateurs rolling efforts to get it to ever possibly fit back into the pouch! ARGGGHHHHHH

The dogs were exhausted from all their playing and camping and ramming around with the grankids...  sometimes I feel the same way!

All too soon, it was time to pull out on Monday afternoon and head on home.  

Another Labor Day over, and soon Winter will be here!