Safari Work Day- Brake Fluid, U Joint Lube, and Leveler Jacks

I tell ya, you just can't keep a good man down... no matter what!

Steve and Mel decided to take care of a few motorhome maintenance tasks...

First, Paula had to get her "jugs" ....  

so the guys could suck out the old brake fluid and put in new.

Motorhome brake fluid should be changed yearly, if not every two years for safety.  Because of the long length of brake lines in motorhomes, with more connectors and fittings than in a car, there is more chance of intrusion of moisture.  And, of course, moisture means brake failure if it reaches a boiling temp in much-needed braking situations.   When draining out the old fluid, it's very brown and root-beerish looking, and you can easily see that it needs to be replaced completely with fresh fluid. Not just added at the reservior, but pulled completely through the lines.

Steveio has this nifty tool from Harbor Freight that utilizes an air compressor to remove the old brake fluid from the motorhome lines and at the same time, draw in the new fluid so there are not any air bubbles.   About $20.

Even with his bandaged knee, Steve still needs to move it and walk on it and get it going.  So he gingerly laid down and crawled under the rig to get going.

Paula and I did the "gophering" for the guys while Mel crawled up near the reservoir.  It was his job to pour in the new fluid as the level was sucked down through the lines.  Normally you can use the second device in the box to let the new fluid come into the reservoir on it's own, but we don't have much clearence under our Safari's to do that.  So it's easier to just have a second man pour it in while the first man uses the tool to draw it through the lines.

Starting at the back tires, each line gets refreshed with new fluid.

It took a little while, and I think the guys did more gabbing and looking around under the rig than actual working on the brake lines.  I think they were having a "Good Ole Boys" meeting under there!

AHHHHHH  A JOB WELL DONE! 

After that, they decided to lube up the U-joints on Mel's rig, and later they will do the rest as they ran outta grease for the air powered grease gun.  Tomorrow is another day to do that.

Then they attacked a problem on our rig... the HWH levelers on our rig have hydraulic lines to each one.  One of our levelers has been rising up slowly a bit each day.  So Mel knew about three little valve type fittings that control each leveler.  They found out that the one was loose.  They tightened it up and seems to work fine now.

That was ENOUGH work for one day for these two guys.... we took away their tools and told them to SIT DOWN!  

Paula made up a fantastic meal of jambalaya, home baked loaf bread, and a big salad.   Of course we had the Billy Bob's Cherry Chocolate Cake for dessert.  Read my last blog post for the recipe:

billy-bobs-cherry-chocolate-cake

Then Paula and I needed to relax a bit after helping these guys all day....   we opened up a bottle of  cranberry and cherry wine made by a friend of ours, Bill.  Bill bought all of Steve's winemaking supplies last year, and part of the deal was to have Steve help him with the first batch.  Steve even got credit on the bottle's label!

And a fine night of relaxation around Mel's propane firepit was enjoyed by all.....

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Billy Bob's Cherry Chocolate Cake

Today I have so much to tell, I am going to do it in two posts.   The first post today is about a fellow RV blogger we met last year, named Billy Bob.
Here is his blog:  http://billybobsplace.blogspot.com

He shared a special recipe and gave me permission to repost it, but ONLY if I bake it myself!



-------*Billy Bob's hand-made scratch cherry choc. cake*-------

Go to Walmart and buy ya up a cheap $.97 yaller cake mix, or chocolate if'n you a chocolate lover. Surpreme is the bestest, but it gonna costs bout a dime more.

A can of  Comstock cherry pie fill'n stuff. Don't be buy'n no cheap imitation cherry fill'n....we talk'n quality cake here. The real thing.

A can of that chocolate fudge frosting stuff...brand don't make no matter. It all tastes the same....but I go for name brand myself.

And 3 big ol' eggs if'n ya ain't got none at home. Don't be read'n no instruction on the box an' use 1 or 2  eggs....use 3 like I tole ya.

The way I do it. I put all that stuff in a big old stew pot. A big bowl will do the trick if'n ya ain't got no stew pot. Ya might wanna beat hell out them eggs before ya put 'em in the pot with the other stuff. 
Then I mix the hell out all that stuff with a egg flipper thingy. Be extra gentile so's ya don't squish all them cherries into little pieces. Ya don't want that. Just steer it up so's every thing is mixed. A big spoon might work in place of the egg flipper.

Be warned, don't be puttin no water or other liquids in there or you gonna have youself a huge gooey mess what ya might as well throw in the dumpster an' start over.

Ya puts all that mixed up batter it in a greased up and floured big ol' rectangle cake pan, pop it in the oven, somewheres bout 350 degs, and walla, you be a bonified cake bak'r just like the old redneck Billy Bob. 

I leave mine in the cake pan, all cover it up, so's the fly'n critters an' stuff like that don't get into it. Sadie Mae like cherry chocolate cake too.

Then ya lets it cool for bout 10 minutes fore ya put on gobs of that frosting stuff. Use the whole can...calories don't count. If ya wait too long put'n that frost'n on there, it ain't gonna run down the sides and into all the cracks an' stuff. It gotta still be a little bit warm.

Nothing left to do but jump in with a big ol' spoon or fork and eat em up!!! 

I ain't boast'n or nuttin like that, but this is the bestest cake ya ever gonna  wrap yer lips around. And it cheap too. Maybe I make one today.



That was Billy Bob's recipe in his own wonderful words!  ...   So we ran to Walmart for the cake mix, just like Billy Bob said to.   And then Paula raided her cabinets for the cherries, and I had the frosting.  She added an egg to my two,  and we decided to bake one up for dessert yesterday.

THIS IS THE THICK BATTER PLOPPED IN THE GREASED AND FLOURED PAN

BAKED UP WONDERFULLY AT 350 AND SMELLED GREAT

SPREAD ON THE FROSTING BEFORE IT WAS TOTALLY COOL

SCOOPED OUT CLEAN AND FIRM, BUT VERY MOIST

(see the bits of cherries in the cake?)

YUP, BILLY BOB, YOU GET A "THUMBS UP" ON THIS ONE! 

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Steve is resting at Stuplich RV Resort and Convalescent Center

After a peaceful night, my darling Steveio woke up and was raring to go.  I had to duct tape him down to a lawn chair while he supervised me adding another 20 pounds of air to the tire.  The mystery of the flat tire is solved.  A sensor on the valve stem for the Hopkins Pressure Monitoring system had a bulging battery that released the air.  At least it wasn't a nail or something worse!

The Hopkins company has already replaced 5 or 6 of these now free of charge for me, but I am getting a bit tired of bulging batteries!   You would think they would find something that worked?   Anyone out there with a system that does NOT have battery leakage that ruins the sensors?  


While Steveio was taped down to his lawn chair, I took care of hitching up the Tracker and getting us road worthy.  He was feeling quite well, and didn't even need a pain pill.  It is a struggle to get him to elevate his leg though, as he thinks he knows better.  Ahem!


Oh, someone asked me about my signs.  Here they are.. I have 2 of each.  They have cardboard behind them so they stand up in the windows inside between the curtain and the window.    I have used the "Parked With Management Permission" ones a number of times, especially with shift changes of staff, not knowing someone else gave you permission already.

The "Campsite Occupied" ones help when you leave your already paid site for a few hours, or even to bring your motorhome to the dump station, and hate the thought of coming back to someone else on your site.  This can happen, even if you leave a tag on a post or a lawn chair etc. in the site.  So putting up a sign on the table and on the post is helpful to deter the next person from moving on in.  Many of the campgrounds we go to are first come, first serve sites with a self-pay registration post.  Then when a dispute occurs, you need to call a ranger out from the next office to settle it by who has their envelope in the post first.  No thanks... a simple sign can help alleviate that circumstance.

Steveio was feeling pretty chipper by noon, so we headed on out to Wausau, WI .   Our destination was the Stuplich RV Resort and Convalescent Center...  

We are gonna hang out here for a few days with our good pals, Mel and Paula. 

She made up a delightful dinner on the spur of the moment.  

We are now tucked in early to our rig, 

and I am keeping a close eye on my Steveio. 

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Steveio's Knee Surgery and a Flat Tire!

Oh my what a day it has been....

We parked at St. Mary's hospital last night in the parking lot, and were all set for getting a good night's sleep.  We got a nice spot in a corner with some grass for the doggies.  We weren't blocking any aisles or larger parking areas other than the 4 sites for the rig and 1 site for the Tracker.

We have 2 pre-printed signs that say: "PARKED WITH MANAGEMENT PERMISSION"  We put one up by the driver's side windshield and the other in the window next to the side entry door.  Then there is no question as to us being allowed there, even with shift changes of the security personnel.   I keep these signs in cardboard backed page protectors in a folder under our dash, and we have used them a few times now at various places when we got permission to stay. 

We got a nice quiet night's sleep with only one ambulance coming in about 11 p.m.  The rest of the time it was peaceful.  Steveio and I went in the hospital at 9 a.m. for his pre-op paperwork and into surgery supposedly by 11.  Well, we all know how that goes. 

They didn't start him till after 12, and he didn't get out of the surgery room into recovery till after 3.  

Looks pretty good, eh?   All was done well, and according to the surgeon it was a good operation on the meniscus of the knee.  The fracture is healing well on it's own. 

Then of course, after a spinal block, they make him wait till everything is in "working order" so it was after 7 p.m. before he was released! 

Now, while all this was going on for him, was I bored???  NO WAY!   Why, you ask?   Because I was busy dealing with a flat tire on the motorhome!   

Our RVing friends Sharon and Fred swung by the hospital about 11 a.m. to see if we needed any help, and offer their driveway to park in if we wanted to.  Well, Fred noticed our front passenger side tire on the motorhome was FLAT!!!!

Yup.. that was FLAT alright!   He reached down and felt our sensor for the tire pressure monitor and it was about 1/4 turn loose on the valve stem!   So it either got bumped loose, or someone started to turn it to steal it?   Who knows...   hopefully that is all it was, and not a bad tire leak. 

Fred helped me fire up the generator, Sharon and I pulled out the lawn chairs, and we got the big air compressor pulled forward in the storage bay to hook on the hoses.  

Fred took care of airing up the tire in spurts, as Steve's compressor is big, but not quite enough for a full blast of 22.5" tires.  So it took a while, but soon Fred had it back up to snuff.   THANKS FRED AND SHARON! 

HOSPITAL SERVICE CENTER TIRE FIXING PIT CREW

I was able to go back in and tell Steve in the recovery room that his tire was aired back up and we took care of it all for him.   Whew! 

Once he was released, I was able to roll him right out of the hospital into the parking lot (with a promise to return the wheelchair!)    Look at this rough and tuff guy.... all bright eyed and bushy tailed.   

Just as we wheeled him up close and I snapped that shot, up drove those wonderful friends, Sharon and Fred again!  They timed it just right!  So Steve got in a little visiting and got to see their new Ford Focus all set up for towing behind their motorhome.  He had to see the newfangled switches and tow setup and gab gab gab.   I wanted him to get inside and rest, but he had enough resting and was happy to see Fred and Sharon again..... 

and it gave Steve a chance to thank them for helping with the flat tire! 

Now he is resting with his leg up on his La Z Boy recliner, watching his flat screen tv, and having a nice big glass of milk.... no pain.... so far...   and I think he is gonna sleep well tonight. 

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Ode to the Fulltimer

Today's blog post is in celebration of our reaching "Fulltime" status in our RV

Created by our RVfriend and owner / moderator of the Safari Group, Slim Chestnut

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/SafariCoaches

With apologies to Ned Washington! 

and maybe Karen and Stevio too:-))

To the tune "Rawhide"! Key G

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Rollin, rollin, rollin

Rollin, rollin, rollin

Braggin, braggin, braggin'

Rollin, rollin, rollin

FULL-TIME.

Hah! Hah!

Keep rollin, rollin, rollin.

In the woods a going

Keep them doggies bathing, FULL TIME!

Through socks and looms and laundry

She's always says things funny

There with her feller by her side,

All the things shes gettin'

Good vittles, love and kissin,

Are waitin' at the campsite tonight!

Move 'em out, head 'em up,

Head 'em up, move 'em on.

Move 'em out, head 'em up:

FULL TIME.

Cut 'em out, weave 'em in,

Write'em in, knit 'em out,

Cut 'em out, mail em out:

FULLTIME!

Hah! Hah!

Movin', movin', movin',

Wheels, they are a turnin'

Keep them campsites groovin', FULLTIME.

Don't try to understand it,

Just park, pitch camp, and get set.

Soon we'll be living high and wide.

His heart's calculatin',

His true love will be waitin':

Waitin' at campsite number five.

Move 'em out, head 'em up,

Head 'em up, move 'em on.

Move 'em out, head 'em up:

FULL TIME.

Cut 'em out, weave 'em in,

Write 'em in, knit 'em out,

Cut 'em out, mail em out:

FULLTIME!

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additional verse:

Bragging, bragging bragging,

I hear Karen bragging,

Bragging, she's so happy, FULL-TIME

There is no better lifestyle

To sit an watch the wildlife

Rollin', rollin', rollin. FULL TIME

lyrics and arrangement copyright 2012, Hand made music.

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