Lakota Wolf's Posts - Good Old RVs2024-03-29T11:07:34ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolfhttps://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/356948008?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=1mgbbtj1htguu&xn_auth=noIts Mid February, and plans in the making for road triptag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2019-02-15:2093474:BlogPost:3468202019-02-15T04:15:49.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>Ok.. here we are pert near the middle of February and we have some really weird weather,, seriously like some Twilight Zone stuff. We had some comfy 60's with a few 50's,, Not Hot, not cold, Tolerable tinker weather. Then, Blammmm Arctic cold blast from Siberia,, the do not pass go, do not collect $200 type of weather. Over night dropped to the 20's, Now if you have never spent any length of time in Texas,,, anything below 70 is severe weather conditions,, Like Bib coveralls, Heavy down…</p>
<p>Ok.. here we are pert near the middle of February and we have some really weird weather,, seriously like some Twilight Zone stuff. We had some comfy 60's with a few 50's,, Not Hot, not cold, Tolerable tinker weather. Then, Blammmm Arctic cold blast from Siberia,, the do not pass go, do not collect $200 type of weather. Over night dropped to the 20's, Now if you have never spent any length of time in Texas,,, anything below 70 is severe weather conditions,, Like Bib coveralls, Heavy down jacket, snow boots, ear muffs scarf and face mask along with insulated gloves, Thyen of course the temps tease you and climb up into the 40's which doesnt seem bad for winter weather if your in the north,, But it gets better,, Mother nature decides, well it is warm, lets throw in some cold wind and rain. The bam,, back into the teens with highs in the 20 and 30's. So you hunker down and wait it out and within a few days, ya wake up and the house is 80 plus degrees inside because ya had the heater on last night and the outside temps snuck up to 83.. You know the a/c was turned on real quick,,lol And yes, Texas is known for using the a/c during the day and a heater at night at times. Today, Valentines day was a very nice 78 degrees and a bit windy, and for Friday, will be in the 80's,, Sounds awesome huh? Well till Monday, when temps begin their decline again back down to the 40's..I guess winter is going to take its time leaving.I found a good deal on a Ford ranger truck for my youngest daughter in Michigan for a cheap price, because her vehicle decided to bite the bullet on her in the last snow storm.Its a plain jane, manual windows, a/c heat, single cab, nothing fancy. It does come with new brakes and tires (minus the spare,, we need to go pick one up). The ignition switch was being finicky so I changed that out. The next step is installing the Tow bar to tow it up north for her. I thought Harbor freight was a deal on tow bars till I saw that it doesnt come with safety chains,, which H/F wanted another $40 for. I found a better brand on Ebay WITH Safety chains and beefier mounting brackets for $17. cheaper and a better warranty. So after I see my pain dr, and eye doctor and get the go ahead, I plan on making the trip soon,, As long as the weather holds off the freezing rain and heavy snow in Michigan then it will be a road trip. I wont do a bonzai run (24 hr straight drive thru), but will take a good 2 days, maybe 3.</p>watch out, it'll getcha.tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2018-11-18:2093474:BlogPost:3432842018-11-18T04:42:57.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>I wrote this tid bit back in the olden olden days,, some of you remember them days.. yea, before the internet. lol. Admit it,, if you can remeber that, Your OLD. If you dont believe your old, then why are you carrying an AARP card in your wallet?. LOL. Anywho,, I had a ranting with a twist of common sense and no common sense about Catalog auto and trailer parts, Then seeing commercials saying order by catalog its better than waiting in line at auto store. This brings up a really Redundant…</p>
<p>I wrote this tid bit back in the olden olden days,, some of you remember them days.. yea, before the internet. lol. Admit it,, if you can remeber that, Your OLD. If you dont believe your old, then why are you carrying an AARP card in your wallet?. LOL. Anywho,, I had a ranting with a twist of common sense and no common sense about Catalog auto and trailer parts, Then seeing commercials saying order by catalog its better than waiting in line at auto store. This brings up a really Redundant commercial, Rock Auto, The guy says why wait i8n line at the auto parts store when you can get the part through them online. </p>
<p>Ok picture this scenario,, You burn up an alternator on Northbound I-35 around the Austin Texas area during rush hour, Your sitting on the shoulder as traffic screams by at mach 1 speeds. Down the ramp up ahead is a name box store auto parts. You sit and ponder,, should I walk down there and get a new alternator and come back and put it on and be on my way, OR,, Get on my phone and go online and order one from Rock auto and wait 7 to 10 days on the shoulder of the road with NO adress for the delivery truck to deliver to... Thats a bit of a pickle,, Unless ya have a neighbor get it delivered to their house, and when it arrives,, drive it from where ever you call home base to you. Meanwhile your camped out on the shoulder of the interstate. I myself will opt for the parts store. </p>
<p>Another point while I ramble on. Never ever ever ever ever never believe a P.O. when they say they put NEW BRAKES on the trailer before you buy it. (A top member here knows that to well). Figure in spending $300. and up to get new brakes and bearings and bearing seals. And more than likely the tires are older than 5 years, unless you read the sidewall. And last but not least,, when they say it HAD a Teensy tiny leak, picture in your mind the RV at one time was a convertable withy the top down during a rainstorm.</p>
<p>Ok,, nuff of that,, Remember, lifes a jpourney,Make memories and adventures, and dont be shy to take your time and stop at something that catches your attention along the way. And most of all, Have fun and be safe, and never drive faster than your angel can fly.</p>Murphy must be MY Cousin.tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2018-09-19:2093474:BlogPost:3409272018-09-19T03:32:58.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>Life is good,, most times,, well at least 28.6 % of the time.</p>
<p>I was reaching for something under the kitchen counter and noticed the </p>
<p>water pan under the water heater had water in it, Welllll That is NOT good.</p>
<p>I looked around for Murphy's footprints knowing that sum gun had to have been there. Anywho,, I had a water line leaking,,, not the simple little drip drip. But the classic Murphy induced BIG drip drip, Just a note,, Murphy goes big.. So. I surveyed the situation…</p>
<p>Life is good,, most times,, well at least 28.6 % of the time.</p>
<p>I was reaching for something under the kitchen counter and noticed the </p>
<p>water pan under the water heater had water in it, Welllll That is NOT good.</p>
<p>I looked around for Murphy's footprints knowing that sum gun had to have been there. Anywho,, I had a water line leaking,,, not the simple little drip drip. But the classic Murphy induced BIG drip drip, Just a note,, Murphy goes big.. So. I surveyed the situation the best I could, Still with very limited vision.Damn cataracts. Back step a little,, While Russ Johnson was visiting, he helped in the replacement of ONE water line to the water heater. That fixed that leak,, Well we didnt replace the other one,, It wasnt leaking,, why replace it,, right?</p>
<p>Ok you can shake your head or laugh now,, seriously,, do both..</p>
<p>Yea,, Uber brain fart moment. Well guess what line was leaking? I will give you a minute,,,,(humming Jeopardy theme.) Yup, BOTH, HAAAA</p>
<p>Betcha didnt see that comming. Well a trip down to ACE to gtet 2 new lines,, Ace replaced one for free and I paid for the second. As Russ would know, And probably several others here,, there is NO room to work under a cabinet in a small confined space.. and being blind didnt help matters.</p>
<p>So I spent 4 hours replacing the lines, sopping up the wet mess under the cabinets,, which should have only been a 20 to 30 minute job.</p>
<p>So.. after 5 hours after being fixed,, I check everything,, and well,, I have a teensy tiny, itty bitty drip drip drip,, I think Murphy has set up a hammock down there, complete with a portable kitchenette, bathroom and pool table. So, Its back under the sink for round 2.... weeeeeeeee we having so much fun,,, said no one ever.. On the bright side,, it keeps mje out of mischief.. and NO parental supervision. ROFL...</p>Water pump replacement on a beast of an engine.tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2018-08-11:2093474:BlogPost:3396062018-08-11T20:04:34.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>Changing out a water pump on a 7.3 diesel looks intimidating to say the least,, Its just a massive beast of an engine shoved and stuffed under the hood. And with any diesel engine, everything is super extra heavy duty,, no whimpy parts there. So I tackle the job with a positive attitude.</p>
<p>With my poor eye sight, I apply common sense approach, a bolt,nut or screw has to hold everything in place, the trick is locating them. I first find the drain on the lower part of the radiator and get…</p>
<p>Changing out a water pump on a 7.3 diesel looks intimidating to say the least,, Its just a massive beast of an engine shoved and stuffed under the hood. And with any diesel engine, everything is super extra heavy duty,, no whimpy parts there. So I tackle the job with a positive attitude.</p>
<p>With my poor eye sight, I apply common sense approach, a bolt,nut or screw has to hold everything in place, the trick is locating them. I first find the drain on the lower part of the radiator and get my big ole catch bucket underneath and I let the antifreeze drain out, As its draining, I loosen and remove the upper radiator hose, and boy oh boy,, does it drain a whole lot faster now,,lol.. Now I have never done a 7.3 water pump and had to cheat and look on the web what was involved on getting the clutch fan off. well,, let me tell ya,, it takes *specialty wrenches,,, no,, not little 1/4 inch or 9/16 wrenches but 48 millimeter wrench and a pully holder wrench, (deer in the headlight look ). Ok, so I go to 3 different autoparts stores to see if they have the loan a tool program,, and the tools I need are rented out. But they did have the 48 mm *spanner wrench that you attach a 3/4 inch breaker bar to, Now, all I need is the pulley holding tool,. Autozone happened to find one in their stock,, I get home and attempt to unscrew the clutch bolt, Snap... pulley tool breaks,, seriously? alrighty then,, back to autozone,, and they just got the tool kit returned and I rent it and head back home. I get the wrenches set up and getting ready to really apply some serious torque and a tab with the hammer and it breaks loose,, Im thinking really? On you tube,, they show the guy wailing that hammer like he was driving in railroad spikes to get his loose.. Mine took a love tap,, tink,, its loose,,lol</p>
<p>I leave it be so I can focus on getting the radiator out,,, The radiator seems draind and I close the drain valve and crawl up underneath and start removing a cluster fudge of hoses going here and there and back around to over there just to return back over here and attach in some puzzle maze. I break loose the clamp that must have been installed around the turn of the century,, squeak,squeak squeak, 1/16th of an inch at a time till its loose,, along with rust dust and whatever else was collected on it falling off,, wiggle wiggle wiggle,twist twist twist and one more twist for good measure it comes off the fitting,, and yes, I had drain tub to catch some more antifreeze. Then the bypass heater hoses, same effect,, turn of the century clamps,, but one was those PITA squeaze clamps, Then the intercooler hose,, gotta love squeaze clamps, Then finally the trans lines, Back up tiop, I find the 2 bolts holding the fan shroud,, get them out and tilt the shroud over the fan blades and find the 4 bolts holding the radiator, after screwing them out halfway till they seize and stop which requires to screw them back in and soaking with w/d 40 a couple times, I get 3 out,, and the 4th, the fender clip that the screws thread into breaks,, If you have ever had one of these break, they are a pain to grab hold of and hold so you can finish getting the bolt out,, This required taking off the front frill,, yup,, rusted screws that are tight till the very last thread, I get the grill out of the way and I can now see the broken clip, BUT, its kind of half behind the trans cooler, hmmmm, Hafta remove the trans cooler now,, more fun,, after test fitting a handfull of sockets I find the correct socket and undo the 4 bolts holding it in place, and do the rubber hoses have enough slack and bend a bility to move it to the side?, NOPE... 2 more turn of the century clamps,, squeak squeak squeak till the last thread to get them loose and removed,, dribble dribble dribble as trans fluid runs out. Finally,, access.. Vice grip time,, ya grab hold of it and then reach over top of front end with a socket and ratchet and turn it 1/ 100th of an inch at a time, because ther is no room to get a good turn, Fun times. After about 20 minutes,, maybe 22 minutes,, it finally comes off, Guess where that broken part went?..lol Yup,, in the tool box,, (what was you thinking? in the trash?.. no way,, I might need that again some day,, said no one ever).. Alrighty,, time to lift the radiator out,</p>
<p>I grasp both top corners and heave ho, upwards,, well that didnt work as planned,, I accomplished lifting it about 4 inches and blowing a fart.</p>
<p>Dayummm thats a wee bit heavier than I thought... ok,, I just need to get a better grip,, yea thats it.So I get out 2 step stools to get a bit higher to get a better lift,, attempt number 2,, lifted about 4 to 6 inches and then set it back down,, No fart this time,, but didnt want to risk a shart,, About this time Im thinking I might have to rent a forklift,, That sum gun is heavy and its empty. Ding Ding Ding,, light bulb above head goes off,, Improvise,</p>
<p>I have rope, a pulley and a hood still attached and upright,, What would McGuiver do? I take a rope and tie it to the top of the hood and tie the other end to the tailgate of the truck,, Visualize hillbillery redneckery logic.</p>
<p>I then take my pulley and hook it to the hood latch on the hood and drop the rope down to the radiator,, There is to rings on each end of the radiator I tie a rope across and pull tight, (maybe at the factory they use a 300 ton shop crane to lift and lower radiators into their trucks is why they are there,) I attch the rope coming down and pull it tight, and then I take other end and start pulling . The radiator is lifting out,, and I use other hand to guide it up as to not hit the fan blades . I get to the end of the rope and the radiator is about 3/4s out,, but Im out of rope,, ut oh,, thats a bit of a pickle,, Now the question is,, What would Jean claude an Damm do? McGuiver already set the play in motion, Well, I Van Dammed it,, I grabbed each side and grunted and groaned and lifted it the rest of the way up and set it down on the cross over, Now visualize trying to untie a good knot one handed,, I have to balance this heavy ass readiator AND untie the rope,, Its not as easy as one might think,, But can be done, I get the rope untied and I grab the radiator again and lift it up and then down to the ground,, I think I have relocated my spleen and quite possibly a kidney,, Im not sure,, But the good news is,, the radiator is out and I didnt shart myself in the process. Anyone over the age of 50 should know, that after lifting heavy, you dont fart,shart or sh** yourself, your ahead of the game. seriously,, I waddle the radiator over to the hose so I can flush it later,, think lifting cement blocks and moving them 6 inches at a time to the desired location,,, I take a break,, drink a couple pots of coffee and then return to get the fan clutch off and water pump, I spin that big ole clutch and bolt around and around and around and around,, (singing the song, the wheels on the bus go round and round,round and round round and round,) till it lets loose and I realize Dayummmm this sum buck is one heavy sucker,, I pert near topple in over the front support as I man handle and hold onto this 100 lb assembly. (OK,, about 40 lbs,,, but still wasnt ready for it,, I get it out and set it aside, I can now tackle the 9 bolts on the water pump and the 3 plug in sensors, I get the bolts out and from recent experience I figured I would need to rap on it a few times with a hammer to break it loose,, Ummmm nope,, a little wiggle and jiggle and it pops right off, I read later on, they do not use sealant on the gasket,, who knew? I get my degreaser out and spray it everywhere,, Im gonna make this look purdy and be cleaner for reassembly. wow,, there sure is a lot of crud caked on there,,, ok,, wire brush and putty knife time,, scrub scrub scrub, scrape scrape,, and I get it clean, Then had to wait 4 more days for the water pump to get here by pony express,,lol. I was impressed that the pump came with the needed gaskets, and NEW shiney chromium plated bolts, The fun part of putting a water pump back on is testing each bolt because they are different lengths,, ya thread in,, nope,, to long,, or to short,, then just right.. its a conspiracy I tell ya,, I get the new pump on,, But I did use a light film of sealant to make sure the grooved gasket stayed in place, and started to reconnect everything. I always pretest new thermostats in boiling water,,,Specs call for full open at 190 degrees,, 2 brand new ones failed to open,, I tested the old one and right at 190 it opened fully,, I turn boiling water off and watched it close slowly as it should as the water cooled,, So yes I reused and old part, Reinstalling the radiator was in reverse using the pully system technique,, I did flush the radiator out several times and it was actually really clean,, no boogwrs came out, I get everything all connected and bolted down and even put a new bolt on the radiator support where the old one broke, Now, this radiator does not have a radiator cap,, its called a closed system,,so how do you fill it, besides filling the overflow bottle 300 times? Lift the upper radiator hose off the block and pour the 3 gallons in thru the hose listening to it gurgle its way into the radiator,, then reconnect the hose to the block and tighten the clamps,, then fill overflow bottle full and start the truck and turn the heater on to purge the air and fill the system.. 40 minutes later, I add another gallon and a half and heater blowing roasty hot on a hot summers day and temp guage goes up to 1st notch and I check the overflow bottle and its right at the fluid lvel mark and I cehck every where and dont see any leaks,, at least I hope not,, the cardboard I had under the truck was still dry,, cuz I still cant see squat clearly.. kinda fuzzy looking thru frosted glass.. I shut the truck off and check to see if I get gurgles thru the overflow and nope,, no burpies,,, </p>
<p>BTW,, when I lifted the radiator up on the cross over to attch the rope to,, I repositioned my kidney back where its supposed to be and who knows where the spleen went,, and I tied a knot one handed,, McGuiver,, eat your heart out,, youve been Van Dammed,,(lol),, Like a Dorito,)</p>
<p>Note* Thanks Michel Branich for the info.</p>
<p>Remember,, You can accomplish anything if ya set your mind to it, and just think,, its also a good time to practice on new and improved cuss words, Happy trails everyone,</p>
<p></p>The best come back for owning an oldie RV.tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2018-08-04:2093474:BlogPost:3389942018-08-04T02:44:16.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>This evening,, several of us here in our tiny RV park, (Russ Johnson knows how small it is) lol, was sitting around sucking down some adult sud beverages, Yes,, we are old enough,(just barely). And Jimmy, my one neighbor in the other 5th wheel here mentioned his daughters co-worker just dropped $4 K down for a New 5th wheel, with reasonable low payments of $387.00 a month for like 300 years,, give or take a year or two, Well they took it to the local lake to break it in,, The list of things…</p>
<p>This evening,, several of us here in our tiny RV park, (Russ Johnson knows how small it is) lol, was sitting around sucking down some adult sud beverages, Yes,, we are old enough,(just barely). And Jimmy, my one neighbor in the other 5th wheel here mentioned his daughters co-worker just dropped $4 K down for a New 5th wheel, with reasonable low payments of $387.00 a month for like 300 years,, give or take a year or two, Well they took it to the local lake to break it in,, The list of things that didnt work,,, 1st the fridge almost kind of kept things cool,, the a/c cycles on and off and they found 2 leaks,,, one ws under the bathroom sink,, and the other flooded the storage bay under the shower,, Minor stuff,, Now Jimmy added his 2 cents when his daughter said he should buy a newer 5th wheel,, His is a 2000 model with a few small issues. He said,, at payments close to $400 Hes ahead of the game,,, His is PAID for and he figures if he has to put $50 to $100 a month into repairs etc,, hes still $300 ahead of the game. Hes also said, what was expected to go wrong and broke has,,, His daughters co-worker is just getting started. We all agreed,,, Our trailers and such are PAID for,, no check from the bank to the finance company,, with interest and having to have FULL coverage insurance... So if someone says,, Your rig is old blah blah blah,, just smile and say, Yup,, But its PAID for and its mine,,,</p>
<p>I did mention, that new 5th wheel will go back to the dealer for warantee repairs and more than likely be there for several months getting repaired,, AND,, the monthly payments will still have to be made...</p>Brakes,tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2018-05-13:2093474:BlogPost:3332682018-05-13T01:25:54.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>I woke up this morning and figured I would go check the rear brakes on the ole Ford diesel,, Well, that went side ways real quick, thinking it would be a quick and easy job. I had good friend Russ Johnson come over and give me a hand, Spent the better part of the afternoon into the evening getting the brakes shoes changes and wheels back on,,, I guess that little*squeaking in the wheels, means brakes are due... Thanks agian for Russ taking time from his R&R vacation to lend me a much…</p>
<p>I woke up this morning and figured I would go check the rear brakes on the ole Ford diesel,, Well, that went side ways real quick, thinking it would be a quick and easy job. I had good friend Russ Johnson come over and give me a hand, Spent the better part of the afternoon into the evening getting the brakes shoes changes and wheels back on,,, I guess that little*squeaking in the wheels, means brakes are due... Thanks agian for Russ taking time from his R&R vacation to lend me a much needed hand..</p>Hello folks,, Tip Time.tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2018-04-25:2093474:BlogPost:3323372018-04-25T01:08:10.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>A bunch of us,, (you included,, dont be shy), are getting our rigs taken care of, now that Old man winter is finally letting up. Remember,, its bee, wasp and yellow jacket time of the year,, be care reaching into or around the sides and storage bins,, them lil boogers are mean. Now,,, a lot of newbies and even us older then dirt die hard full timers sometimes forget,about the waste tanks,, the grey and black,,, Take your trusty flashlight and look down into the toilet and see if ya have any…</p>
<p>A bunch of us,, (you included,, dont be shy), are getting our rigs taken care of, now that Old man winter is finally letting up. Remember,, its bee, wasp and yellow jacket time of the year,, be care reaching into or around the sides and storage bins,, them lil boogers are mean. Now,,, a lot of newbies and even us older then dirt die hard full timers sometimes forget,about the waste tanks,, the grey and black,,, Take your trusty flashlight and look down into the toilet and see if ya have any residue left over from the last trip... Get your water hooked up and fill your tank about half full and let it sit a lil to lubricate what ever dried and died in there.</p>
<p>Dont forget to check all the cabinets,, not just peek, but really get in there and look for tell tale signs of vermin and rodents and their droppings,</p>
<p>Look under the sinks for tell tale signs of any leakage that has since dried, Be extra careful when hooking up your trailer,, the ball hitch cup is excellent place for a juicy wasps nest and the pin box on the 5th wheel is excellent for bird nests and a condo neighborhood of wasps and yellow jackets,. Next, check your tires,,, besides the air pressure,, But the DATE,, RV tires are good for about 5 years,, and then they are pretty much toast from internal and external dry rot. If you have to crawl under your rig, be very careful of them pesky spiders,, Black widows and brown recluse spiders love RV's,,, hey what better way to travel and see the country? right? Dont forget to sanitize your fresh water tank and NEVER travel with a FULL fresh water tank,, about a 1/4 full is enough till you get where your going and if your boondocking, wait till your last stop before going off grid to top your tank. Check your roof and vent covers for cracks and breaks etc,, and visually inspect your vent pipes,, but watch out for the wasps,, thats another great spot they like to build their condos in..</p>
<p>As far as your electrical plug in, The 12volt to vehicle one,, spray out the crud and make sure the lights work,, adding marine grease to both connections will save you a lot of problems later,,While you on the roof, pull the cover on the a/c unit and check for debri around the fins and motor, again watch out for the wasps and yellow jackets,,,,</p>
<p>And if you left your battery in all winter without a trickle charger,, expect to invest in a new marine deep cycle battery. (a battery is needed also if you have trailer brakes for the break away switch,) Take you time and do a good inspection, from top to bottom and side to side before heading out,, wether your rig is a year old or 40 yrs old,, safety is the main concern. happy travels,, and be safe.</p>Ideas on long term storage safetytag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2018-04-13:2093474:BlogPost:3315772018-04-13T02:47:28.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>It seems the thieves are rampant,, stealing trailers all over, No matter what kind of lock you have on the hitch, they have figured a way to tear it off and off they go with your investment. In comments, reply how you secure your trailer of rig for safe storage.</p>
<p>I gave up on tongue locks, Got expensive replacing them after someone tried to tear it off and was possibly disturb and couldnt finish.</p>
<p>I rely on a chain thru BOTH rear wheels, across the axle, criss cross so when they…</p>
<p>It seems the thieves are rampant,, stealing trailers all over, No matter what kind of lock you have on the hitch, they have figured a way to tear it off and off they go with your investment. In comments, reply how you secure your trailer of rig for safe storage.</p>
<p>I gave up on tongue locks, Got expensive replacing them after someone tried to tear it off and was possibly disturb and couldnt finish.</p>
<p>I rely on a chain thru BOTH rear wheels, across the axle, criss cross so when they try to roll it, it binds up and stops them,, I know, its NOT 100% full proof. But the manager at the storage place will investigate if something looks fishy with someone trying to pull my trailer out..</p>
<p>Now,,, there is a full proof version available but I dont think its legal,</p>
<p>3lbs of c-4 packed nicely under the hitch with a pull detanator,, makes one heck of a boom and a mess of the trailer tongue (and possibly a few windows with in a 4 mile radius),, but it does stop the bad guys really really quick. </p>Rude McMansion ownerstag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2018-04-02:2093474:BlogPost:3311212018-04-02T06:32:03.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>Another reason Oldies are the best RV's and the people who own them,</p>
<p>I was on the way home from town this afternoon and noticed a Hunert bazzillion dollar motorcoach ahead of me with a small car on a tow dolly.</p>
<p>Not an unusual sight, except, the poor lil car was wobbling a lil more than it should be and as i approached closer, I noticed the tire on the passenger side of the tow dolly was shredded and pretty much gone and the dolly was rolling on its rim. This is not good,, so I…</p>
<p>Another reason Oldies are the best RV's and the people who own them,</p>
<p>I was on the way home from town this afternoon and noticed a Hunert bazzillion dollar motorcoach ahead of me with a small car on a tow dolly.</p>
<p>Not an unusual sight, except, the poor lil car was wobbling a lil more than it should be and as i approached closer, I noticed the tire on the passenger side of the tow dolly was shredded and pretty much gone and the dolly was rolling on its rim. This is not good,, so I sped up and got along side the mcmansion and after honking my horn to get the passengers attention,, I pointed to the back of their rig and did the finger in a circle motion,, and the lady in the passenger seat looked at me funny and flipped me off ,, and then I see the driver, flip me off.. Well alrighty then, Mr. high and mighty,,, I hope your car falls off,,, and just let them go on their merry lil way..... You try and be a concerned motorists,, and there is always that one privlaged idiot who doesnt pay attention to his toad, or knows how to use his mirrors or even take heed to another driver pointing out a serious issue, So that being ranted, Us owners of the oldies know we have to keep an eye on our older rigs and they need a little more TLC because we put a lot of blood sweat and tears into rebuilding and maintaining them. </p>Heavy rains and finding that leak,tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2018-03-31:2093474:BlogPost:3310832018-03-31T21:14:16.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>Well. as we all know,, way to well, It has been a realy wet rainy winter here in the south, At one time thought about building an Ark. On one occasion, we had high winds, and buckets of rain hit, and of course, 2 elusive leaks,, one in the bathroom vent and the bedroom vent. Well, it seemed like the rain had found a way into the trailer around the seal or the cover itself, One would think, That was not the case after taking the vents completley out and inspecting .From the ceiling up it was…</p>
<p>Well. as we all know,, way to well, It has been a realy wet rainy winter here in the south, At one time thought about building an Ark. On one occasion, we had high winds, and buckets of rain hit, and of course, 2 elusive leaks,, one in the bathroom vent and the bedroom vent. Well, it seemed like the rain had found a way into the trailer around the seal or the cover itself, One would think, That was not the case after taking the vents completley out and inspecting .From the ceiling up it was dry,, but the ceiling board was damp/wet. Which mean, it was a traveling leak, Picture a leak at the front of the trailer dripping down and after tracking it,, its coming from the very back corner,, Leaks are great migraters,, they can travel very long distances,,, they are smart that way,</p>
<p>Well, up on the roof Im looking at everything possible as to where this elusive leak ,which I properly named PITA... Now PITA is like a cockroach,, very clever and elusive. I found PITA hiding in the toilet vent pipe, under the rain/debri guard..I removed the debri guard and look down and by golly jeepers,, that lil rubber seal donut ring was dry rotted and crumbled. Its a big taper ring that goes around the black vent pipe and seals onto the roof, With it being damaged, it was allowing water to go between the vent pipe and roof and inside along the ceiling to designated vents. So before the next round of rain hits, I get out the ole sealer and snot it in there real good,, then added some more for good measure,, and just a teensy bit more, jus cuz, Then put the debri cover back on and sinse I was outta snot sealer, I had to rely on Silly cone, (OMG, not silly cone).. Yes Silly cone,, But it was only goobered on the sealer tape that was wrapped around the debri cover, so no issues with getting that stuff off later when I order a new debri cover, (I think-did gooders) So this is just a heads up if any of you get an elusive leak, Like my PITA,, check your toilet and sink vent tubes.and makes sure you have a good seal where it protrudes up thru the roof. Happy trails,,,</p>It's almost warm weather season.tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2018-03-07:2093474:BlogPost:3301612018-03-07T06:30:00.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>I know it's hard to grasp right now, with the cold rain and snow blowing, that's it's going get hot. With that, we will be using our roof A/C units. I know your thinking to yourself, well duh!!! Now,,, Are you seriously thinking about climbing up on your roof? Nooo. Admit it, that's not up there on your pre trip to do list. OK. Quit trying to ignore the fact that you have to get yourself up there. Btw, Don't forget hand tools. A simple 7/16ths 1/2 inch wrench and channel locks. If your…</p>
<p>I know it's hard to grasp right now, with the cold rain and snow blowing, that's it's going get hot. With that, we will be using our roof A/C units. I know your thinking to yourself, well duh!!! Now,,, Are you seriously thinking about climbing up on your roof? Nooo. Admit it, that's not up there on your pre trip to do list. OK. Quit trying to ignore the fact that you have to get yourself up there. Btw, Don't forget hand tools. A simple 7/16ths 1/2 inch wrench and channel locks. If your really lazy. Vice grips, The universal wrench. And a can of WASP spray and lithium grease. After taking off your roof a/C cover,. Do it slowly, wasps and bees hate to be startled. After dealer with those pesky stinging little things, it's time to make sure everything is still intact, and time to lubricate the end bearings of the fan.give the fan a few spins by hand and Don't use W/D 40. It don't last. Also be sure A/C is off when you do this. Next, check for debri in the radiator cooling fins. When your all done, button it back up and get off the roof.. go inside and give it a test run on high and low, Don't forget to check the filter in the overhead box where the vents are. OK. That's my tip for the week. </p>Losing free overnight parkingtag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2018-03-04:2093474:BlogPost:3299592018-03-04T06:04:02.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>It's all over the internet, Walmart, Cabela's, Outdoor World and Cracker Barrell are going to prohibit, if not already, the overnight rest parking for RV's.</p>
<p>2 Walmarts in Waco area along with Cabela's have banned over night campers, Due to a few DIRT Bag retards, Yes I said retards, because these type people are Not right in the head. Store manager had to have Hazmat crew on standby while he had several employees power wash a section of the parking lot. All because a couple brain dead…</p>
<p>It's all over the internet, Walmart, Cabela's, Outdoor World and Cracker Barrell are going to prohibit, if not already, the overnight rest parking for RV's.</p>
<p>2 Walmarts in Waco area along with Cabela's have banned over night campers, Due to a few DIRT Bag retards, Yes I said retards, because these type people are Not right in the head. Store manager had to have Hazmat crew on standby while he had several employees power wash a section of the parking lot. All because a couple brain dead all about me me me retards thought it was OK to dump their tanks before leaving the spot they parked and leave their garbage to blow in the wind. What is wrong with these people? Are they 3 generation inbreds with a 4th grade education and an I.Q. of 14 ? Did they get their RV from their Uncle Dad ? I know most of these dim light bulb for brains don't understand much common sense, just like they can't comprehend that if they get divorced, technically they are still legally brother and sister. So, if you pull into a parking lot to rest, check with on shift manager and get a permission slip if it's OK to park, and leave the area cleaner than when you parked. Let's all hope they don't shut down the GOOD RV'ers. Be safe and happy travels.</p>Some mighty fine info on used RV inspection,tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2018-02-19:2093474:BlogPost:3296672018-02-19T20:34:09.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>Here we go,,, its been a few since I passed on some worthy tid bits of info we can all use,,,, Subject,,, a used trailer,, looking real purdy like on the outside,,, But the inside has buckled and warped panels on the walls. Now your already thinking yup.... water leak,,, But from where? Ok,, heres a quick tip,,,, If its below the window,, the window seal is leaking itself, Usually around the framing... and if its leaking above the window,, roof seam to wall leak,, or a vent or exhaust vent…</p>
<p>Here we go,,, its been a few since I passed on some worthy tid bits of info we can all use,,,, Subject,,, a used trailer,, looking real purdy like on the outside,,, But the inside has buckled and warped panels on the walls. Now your already thinking yup.... water leak,,, But from where? Ok,, heres a quick tip,,,, If its below the window,, the window seal is leaking itself, Usually around the framing... and if its leaking above the window,, roof seam to wall leak,, or a vent or exhaust vent into the roof and working its way to the sides and down... Now if its leaking above and below the window,, well, then,,, that will require a wall rebuild,(99% of the time),</p>
<p>90% of roof leaks are from roof vents,, followed by seam splits that are leaking. Another prone area to leaks besides the normal plumbing leaks,(yes, plumbing leaks are very very common), is at the front door entry,,</p>
<p>You would be amazed how much abuse this step in area takes,, most folks have a rug to wipe your wet feet off etc at the front door and well,, rugs hold moisture, Plus, did you know while traveling down the highway, how much a door flexes? Dont believe me? Open your door about halfway and grb the bottom and up towards the middle and give your door a lil wiggle,,, see how much it actually flexes? Water does sneak in from underneath the door also while traveling,, just as water will leak around a side seam on your door,,,, always check your door seam rubber seal for cracks, rots and missing.. So there is my little tid bit for the day,,, happy travels and may they be safe for you and yours.</p>Things that need to get did.tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2017-09-19:2093474:BlogPost:3243782017-09-19T19:11:36.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>Finally,,, The Texas heat is fading back to a comfortable swelt. When its triple digits,, ambition to tinker and fix and what not outside is pretty much zero. But now the temps have gone down to a crisp yet balmy upper 90's. (remember anything below 70 is parka weather and snow boots for Texans) I was going through my to done do did list (say that 3 times fast). And was checking off the things that got done did, done it, done it, done it, done it, kinda done it,, dont want to do it …</p>
<p>Finally,,, The Texas heat is fading back to a comfortable swelt. When its triple digits,, ambition to tinker and fix and what not outside is pretty much zero. But now the temps have gone down to a crisp yet balmy upper 90's. (remember anything below 70 is parka weather and snow boots for Texans) I was going through my to done do did list (say that 3 times fast). And was checking off the things that got done did, done it, done it, done it, done it, kinda done it,, dont want to do it etc.</p>
<p>So after what seems like hours and hours and hours of going through the list,, I glance at the clock, and its been about 14 minutes.</p>
<p>Yea, yea, I know,,, I need to get a better grasp on my time recognition. I still need to remove,, (yes remove) the under counter electric water heater that I had installed a couple months back that decided to split on the top, (it was a residentual type 20 gallon electric water heater). That involved removing the kitchen sink and cutting the shelving underneath and lowering it into place and plumbing it into the existing RV plumbing, Then reinstalling the sink and faucet etc. Then spending a few days recouping from getting into gumpy positions that the human body was never meant to get into into.Then to add to the project,, going over to my other 5th wheel and removing the Gas water heater to install in the 5th wheel we have parked for long term. So after sweltering in the Texas sun, (was triple digits and no wind) I get that water heater out,, I make a custom cut panel to cover the hole in the side of trailer till I get around to getting a replacement. (sealed up from the weather and secure). I remove the old gas/elect, combo water heater that was already in the newer 5th we are long termed in, (That involved crawling back under the kitchen sink area, (think gumby),, I get the electrical and gas line removed and a braket that must have been installed Before they installed the cabinets, because it was the definition of a royal pain, as the 2 screws would only turn 1/10000 of a turn at a time, (so it seemed at the time being all cramped with limited movement), and of course they can't use 1/2 or 3/4 inch screws,, NOOOOOO,, they had to use the longest screw that was available on the market. Seriously 5 inch screws? Only screwed into a sub floor?</p>
<p>Ok,,, I go outside and spend another 45 minutes,, maybe 46 minutes, and unscrew 24 mounting screws that hold the water heater into place on the outside. Im looking at all those screws and think,, wow,,, there is almost enough room to add a few more screws and really make sure it dont fall out. So, I let my hand recover from cramping after turning each screw out by hand, and ponder, why didnt I use the cordless drill? Why? Cuz you is a big dummy,, as ole Sanford and sons would say. But hind sight is 20/20 and 1/2. I take my puddy knife and break the seal of the butyl tape and wrestle the water heater out.</p>
<p>If you have ever pulled a water heater out,, you will notice it has cardboard wrapped around the tank, This cardboard has flaps that WILL snag as you pull,, making the job that more tedius, The veins bulge in your forehead as you grunt and pull till the dang thing pulls free,, then ya stubble backward balancing the water heater till you set it down. I get the new (used) water heater in, connected,, again involving a gumby position, and after several attempts get the water connections to seal up.Im flad this water heater only had 14 screws holding it on the outside,,, and yes,, I forgot all about using the cordless drill, (slaps forehead again). NOw back to my project of getting the bad elec, water heater out. Which will involve the kitchen sink removal and water connections and lugging, twisting and lifting it out. Soooooo, not looking forward to that. Now I did contemplate the idea of just taking a saw zall and cutting a huge hole on the back of the RV, and roll the water heater out,, and then putting the piece of backing from the hole I had cut, and applying some really good gator brand duct tape to hold it in place, Not just a few straps ,But possibly use 3 or 4 or 8 rolls and really duct it up really good. (your smiling).</p>
<p>Now gator tape is in black only,, which posses a slight problem, It will look Billhilly on a white trailer. So,,, here come several rattle cans of 98 cent spray paint,,, psssssst psssssst,,psssssst,, good as new,,, just look at it from a distance. (you laughing or shaking your head yet?). Then reality sets in and good ole common sense. I pondered which would be easier, Now cutting a hole in the back would involve getting out the saw,, extension cord, standing outside in the Texas heat sweltering like a cookie in the oven and cutting a hole,, sawdust flying everywhere and sticking to the sweat thats pouring out of me,,, OR,, stay inside with the a/c on frost mode and be somewhat comfy and remove the heater,,, Plus save big bucks on all that duct tape and spray paint. I think I will opt for the a/c,,, No duct tape and do it that way. Its totally amazing ,I havent gotten more done,,, like the hot tub jaccuzzi installed,, the regulation pool table and disco ball. But that hasnt been tossed out of the equasion,, its just on the back burner,, way back. If it aint broke,,, give me a few minutes...</p>
<p>Till then, I refuse to grow up, and you will find me in my blanket fort with my crayons.</p>A very contructive day.tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2017-09-14:2093474:BlogPost:3244352017-09-14T22:41:53.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>Ok,,,, today was supposed to be a productive day. Yuppers,, woke up all chipper and raring to go, Deep breath,, yea,, what a wonderful day.</p>
<p>Gots a fresh cup of coffee,, check the local news,, yup,,, Got a good feeling. I finish my coffee,, head outside,, gonna get some weed eating done and get them pesky weeds along the edges of the trailer. Piece of cake, Gets out the ole weed eater,,, fill the premix up, push the primer bulb, squish,squish,squish,squish,, set the carb lever on…</p>
<p>Ok,,,, today was supposed to be a productive day. Yuppers,, woke up all chipper and raring to go, Deep breath,, yea,, what a wonderful day.</p>
<p>Gots a fresh cup of coffee,, check the local news,, yup,,, Got a good feeling. I finish my coffee,, head outside,, gonna get some weed eating done and get them pesky weeds along the edges of the trailer. Piece of cake, Gets out the ole weed eater,,, fill the premix up, push the primer bulb, squish,squish,squish,squish,, set the carb lever on choke,, grab the handle with finger on throttle and commince to pulling the starter rope,,, brap, brap, brap, brap, brap, whew !,, push the pimer bulb again, squish,squish, squish, squish,squish,,, Hold throttle full open,, pull the starter rope again, brap, brap, brap, brap, sputter, brap, brap, Push the primer bulb again, squish, squish squish,, Full throttle again, pull the rope, Brap, brap, brap, brap, brap brap,, ARGGGGGGGGGGGG ! Throws weed eater across the yard. Cussing the normal guy words,, and making up a few new ones in frustration. Fine,,,, the push mower should get most of them,, Drags out the push mower,,, tops off the fuel tank, checks the oil,, all good,</p>
<p>Sets the throttle to choke/run,, grabs the pull rope and pulls,, whirrrr, whirrr whirrrrr whirrrr, sputter bark, pop, sputter. Checks primer bulb,,, gives it a couple pushes,, squish squish,, pulls rope several more times, Whir,, whirrr whirrrr whir,, sputter pop, bark, back fire, sputter wheeeeze, ARGGGGGG,,, looks at hand,, pealed skin from pull rope and dislocated shoulder. Argggg,, flips mower on its side,, kicks it,, ouch,, thinks I just broke 2 toes, Leaves it be,, goes inside to catch second wind, Grabs a soda from fridge,, drops it,, reaches down to retrieve it and on way back up, catches the freezer door while holding fridge door open, and puts a knot on top of the head, forcing head back down to face plant at least 3 shelves in the fridge. Backs up and shuts fridge and goes and sits on the couch,, pops the top on the soda,, Whooooosh,, can explodes fizzies like Mount saint helens,, soaking everything within a 10 foot area, including saturating the ceiling really well,, I lean foreward trying to control the fizz explosion and leaning to far, falling foreward and face planting the floor, creating a golf ball size knot on the forehead. So I lay there, in my own drool,, reaching up and feeling the knot grow from a golf ball size to a grapefruit size,, and finally attempt to get up off the floor and get to hands and knees and about to stand up, when I clock the ole bean on the bottom of the dining table. While attempting to expell a cuss word Face is firmly planted back down to the floor with a groan. I lay there for a moment,, drooling on myself after almost rendering myself unconcious and I slide back, look around carefully and slowly get back on my feet,,, feeling a bit woozy, I rub forehead and that knot is defintley the size of a grapefruit and the knot on the back of the head is the same size as the first knot,, approx, the size of an orange, So Im standing there resembling a punching bag,, I realize Im soaked from head to toe in sticky soda, I figured, a quick shower and I be good as new,, I jump in the shower,, got the water running and run outta hot water,,, after doing at least 3 months of cardio trying to get away from the cold spray, I crash thru the accordian shower door and fall out of the shower onto the floor. I lay there, half frozen and exhausted from that cardio workout. Wife gets home,, and she needs to use the bathroom and opens the door and says hello,,, I look up and say hello,,, She asks you ok? I reply sure,, couldnt be better. She says ok,, I let you get dried off and dressed and closes the door.</p>
<p>If she didnt have to use the bathroom, I think I would have just stayed there the rest of the night. So,, how was your day?</p>
<p>BTW,, This is only humor,</p>When its time to Bug out in an emergencytag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2017-09-08:2093474:BlogPost:3237912017-09-08T22:14:44.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>If your in any of the areas of the evacuation in or around Florida, and you have to bug out,,Take your RV, (if you have one road ready). With the mass amount of people vacating, Motels and hotels are booked and packed solid, and several evacuation relief centers are at max capacity.</p>
<p>Several RV Parks in safe zones are offering free spaces to park and Walmart and Sports centers and malls are also open for parking.</p>
<p>When you do *bug out with your RV, fill your fresh water tank…</p>
<p>If your in any of the areas of the evacuation in or around Florida, and you have to bug out,,Take your RV, (if you have one road ready). With the mass amount of people vacating, Motels and hotels are booked and packed solid, and several evacuation relief centers are at max capacity.</p>
<p>Several RV Parks in safe zones are offering free spaces to park and Walmart and Sports centers and malls are also open for parking.</p>
<p>When you do *bug out with your RV, fill your fresh water tank with fresh water, (bottled water gets sold out quickly), Take as much dry food and non persihables as possible, (Dont overload your RV).</p>
<p>Keep a portable radio flashlights and batteries, Be safe with candles.</p>
<p>If possible,, locate propane station and top off tanks or grab a couple small ones for spares. Expect the worse, and hope for the best,</p>
<p>In large groups of RV'ers,, they will pull together in their own way and make things run smooth. If you have en external genset, DO NOT TRANSPORT EXTRA GAS IN THE RV.</p>
<p>Take important papers and put them in quality zip lock bags, And ONLY take take what is nessasarry,,, Your funiture and TV and other electronics can be replaced, YOU CANT. You have a slight advantage with an RV,, You wont have to find a shelter to hunker down it till the threat is over,, You have a home on wheels and can move farther away from the threat if need be,, and if your going to another familys home,, you wont be putting them out,, You will have your own accomidations while visiting and waiting. Be safe,,</p>
<p></p>Not to scare, but to be aware.tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2017-09-04:2093474:BlogPost:3232192017-09-04T21:24:09.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>Here is subject that I havent come across in awhile. I was going thru my crayon scribbles on construction paper, The dangers of Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Most, (not all ) RV's use Gas appliances, Stove, water heater, Furnace ,Fridge. Thats a lot of flame if you think about it. Little candles burning 24/7 until a demand is needed,, then it becomes a Blow torch.</p>
<p>Now all of these appliances have (or supposed to ) have a clear exhaust vent to vent the poisonous gas outside. All it takes…</p>
<p>Here is subject that I havent come across in awhile. I was going thru my crayon scribbles on construction paper, The dangers of Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Most, (not all ) RV's use Gas appliances, Stove, water heater, Furnace ,Fridge. Thats a lot of flame if you think about it. Little candles burning 24/7 until a demand is needed,, then it becomes a Blow torch.</p>
<p>Now all of these appliances have (or supposed to ) have a clear exhaust vent to vent the poisonous gas outside. All it takes is a slight obstruction and things start getting bad real quick. It can as simple as a few leaves, pine needles dusty debri, wasps nests, that forgotten taped over vent to originally keep them out during off season,, etc.</p>
<p>NOT everyone thinks about Carbon Monoxide detectors,,, its not up there at the top of the list of things to do on a nice sunny weekend.</p>
<p>BTW, I was reminded of this from a news story released some time back.</p>
<p>Its Not rocket science to set up a schedule to do a walk around your rig, at least once a month, (if your a full timer), and a MUST if your rig is stored in off use months. Before ya venture out, take the extra few minutes to check ALL the intake and Exhaust vents for any obstruction,, NO EXCEPTIONS. Nothing is more tragic then someone becoming sick or worse on a family outing. Its just NOT worth the risk.</p>
<p>(Sorry, but no humor added to this,, cuz there is no humor to tragedy)</p>
<p>Im passing on my trademark smartassity.</p>
<p>Simple quick testing of appliance maintenance is a spray bottle with a little dish soap and water and spray the fittings and connections, Making sure nothing is obstructing the vents, 99% common sense.</p>
<p>While your under the cabinets and cubby holes,, turn your water on and check for leaks,, Your under there anyway, right,, I call that a 2 for 1 double check,, Better to find a problem now then 200 miles from home that will ruin any fun camping time. And for the NEW RV owners, Just because its brand new and has 3 miles on it,, If it CAN leak, IT WILL., (Look up Murphys Law).</p>
<p>Test your Appliance before you head out and be sure to TURN THEM OFF while traveling. YES, even Fridges. Turn you GAS OFF while the rig is in motion. (But I need to keep my fridge running and cold blah blah blah.). If you read your owners manual, or online manufactures warnings,, Rigs must be level when using the gas option on the fridge.</p>
<p>Rigs are NOT level when humming down the roadways,They tilt wobble and lean. If your worried about keeping things cold,, Run the fridge before you set off and get it frosty cold, and keep the dridge door closed while traveling.. Then when parked and level you can use the gas option for cooling. And to add another tid bit,, DONT have someone cooking while your driving, (Class A and C models) Example is on Youtube,, Class A, catches fire while wife is cooking and hubby drives,,, a simple spill of grease on the stove from a dip and turn,</p>
<p>If your hungry,, pull off and fix a meal.</p>
<p>And something, some FULL time RV'ers dont think about.</p>
<p>OVERSEALING the RV,, Making your RV air tight,, preserve all that precious heat. Yes you CAN overseal your rig. (friendly reminder,, I wrote an article about leaving the roof vent cracked open in the bathroom while showering,, it lets the steam and moisture out, instead of soaking into the walls). This smae priciple applys to when sealing up your RV for those brrr cold nights. Yes you can insulate BUT remember,, everything now is Contained inside,, fresh and stagnant air,, even that fish smell from last nights fish fry,(ok, added some humor). Even if its cold,, a furnace will keep on cranking that trusty and cozy heat out,, and if you ever looked at return air systems on RV's,, they are the bare minimum,,, if even that. Its the cycle of life,, push something in,, something has to go out rule. I myself am simple and lazy at times,,, I crack open the roof vent in bathroom while showering,, and when cooking I dont use the vent fan over the stove in the winter,, cold air blows under the vent louvers), I crack open the roof vent in the kitchen to expell the heat and smells (fish fry? ). Basic science tells us heat rises,, right? So remeber when sealing and insulating your rig,, think about adding some fresh air to compensate for the contained and trapped stale air. (another case in point,, think 3 week old gas station sushi left in the fridge when the power was out)</p>
<p>Ok, now that you have that smell visual burned into your brain,, Be safe and even safer with common sense,, remember Murphys law, and DONT SKIP ON GETTING A CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR.</p>
<p>We love all our online RV friends, and want to share many many future adventures and memories,</p>
<p>Be safe and never go faster then your angel can fly.</p>Ok Folks,, summer is slowly coming to an end,tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2017-09-04:2093474:BlogPost:3233192017-09-04T05:56:22.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>Its getting to be that time of the year fellow RV's. Yup, old man winter is going to be apon us in a very short period of time. Do you know what that means? Time to winterize if your going to store your rig or trailer, But if your a full timer,,, Winter checklists still have to be performed,</p>
<p>Now with winter,, it brings the BRRRR COLD, No matter where your parked,, there is going to be a cold spell pass thru and possibly hang around,, and that means you need heat. No you can be el…</p>
<p>Its getting to be that time of the year fellow RV's. Yup, old man winter is going to be apon us in a very short period of time. Do you know what that means? Time to winterize if your going to store your rig or trailer, But if your a full timer,,, Winter checklists still have to be performed,</p>
<p>Now with winter,, it brings the BRRRR COLD, No matter where your parked,, there is going to be a cold spell pass thru and possibly hang around,, and that means you need heat. No you can be el cheapo, earth friendly and just get a burn barrel and set it up in the middle of the living room and burn trash and kindling,, and of course leave a roof vent open,, But common,, Thats not really practical. The typical RV heater is propane, and usually the biggest problem they have come winter time is not firing up, Sometimes they try,, but its usually no cigar. A common problem is that during the warm months,, those pain in the butt Mud wasps build their nests deep inside the burner tube.</p>
<p>Its relativley an easy fix,, It involves checking first if you can see with a bright flash light and nests on the flame tube and thermocoupler area, But I have mostly found them way inside the burner tube, around the first curve, There is 2 ways you can get them lil boogers out,, You can take the furnace out and remove the regulator and flame tube and thermocoupler and shoving a hose into the burner tube and flushing it all out, Or,, leaving it in the rig and still removing the regulator,flame tube and thermocoupler and blasting water into the tubes that way,, But it does have a disadvantage if you dont have your rig already tilted to allow all the water to drain out. Blasting the burner tube will soften up the mud nests and dissolve them and flush them out. After flushing,, make sure your cabin battery is charged up,, because RV heater use a 12 volt blower fan,, and make sure the blower fan spins freely,, as they can get clogged with them nasty mud daubers (wasps). Make sure the squirrel fan fins on Both sides of the fan are clear from obstruction. You tube also has videos on how other people have addressed this same problem,,, Now with your water supply hose,, get some good quality foam wrap and insulate it and for excess hose,, tuck it into a styrofoam ice chest and tape it shut,, It will protect it from the wind freeze. Dont forget to cover your roof top a/c unit,,(always check for wasp and bees nests hiding in the air vents on the cover).. And for added comfort and heat saving,, use bubble wrap on the windows,,(inside),, possibly hang some heavy towels or blankets over the windows to keep out the small drafts. And if your rig is of the larger size,, isolate each area with blankets,, sectioning off areas,, like the kitchen from the living quarters and sectioning off the sleeping areas. And those small electric heaters help for small areas,, Just be careful as to not exceed wattage and over load your electrical system.. I find that the small 1500 watt units work great and dont overheat the system,,, Going with the 3000 watt,, will just create serious electrical problems.. Remember,, most rigs are 30 amp service. If your going to use and electric heater, avoid running the microwave or toaster or even the coffee maker at the same time,, that will trip a breaker real quick, or worse,, melt a lot of wire,, When using appliances,, turn your electric heater off,, do what ya need to do, before turning the heater back on,,, and on that note,, Be safe stay warm.</p>The task of replacing the water heater AGAINtag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2017-08-22:2093474:BlogPost:3222122017-08-22T21:18:44.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>The poltergeist are running rampant,, truly they are,, Instalation of yet another water heater, (I stole the water heater from my 85 , 5th, its only a 6 gallon, bet better then no hot water.…<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/398632488?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/398632488?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"></img></a> <a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/398635472?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/398635472?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"></img></a></p>
<p>The poltergeist are running rampant,, truly they are,, Instalation of yet another water heater, (I stole the water heater from my 85 , 5th, its only a 6 gallon, bet better then no hot water.<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/398632488?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/398632488?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" class="align-center" width="750"></a><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/398635472?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/398635472?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" class="align-center" width="750"></a><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/398638289?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/398638289?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" class="align-center" width="750"></a><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/398639026?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/398639026?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" class="align-center" width="750"></a><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/398641217?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/398641217?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" class="align-center" width="750"></a><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/398643763?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/398643763?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" class="align-center" width="750"></a>As you can see by the poor photmanship,, You have to literally climb into the lower cabinet under the sink to make the connections. I even had to reconfigure the gas line to connect at the back of the water heater,, when it originally connected at the front of the original water heater. Now if I can get the stupid connections to quit dripping, I will be set.... Always fun doing plumbing under a sink and contorting the body is ways is wasnt supposed to.. Im gonna be feeling this for the next few days.</p>Airstream restore.tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2017-08-18:2093474:BlogPost:3218242017-08-18T01:12:48.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>Got some good work accomplished today. Im helping a new neighbor in the small park here, put together an older Airstream T.T.,</p>
<p>A little back ground,,,,, the owner bought it in California,,, paid another friend to tow it from Ca. to Texas. The trailer was gutted out except the fried burnt wiring that suffered high voltage in low voltage wire. I.E. running 110/120 volts a/c thru 12 V d/c... not a pretty sight. Anywho... I got two main wire runs down the middle of the trailer from front…</p>
<p>Got some good work accomplished today. Im helping a new neighbor in the small park here, put together an older Airstream T.T.,</p>
<p>A little back ground,,,,, the owner bought it in California,,, paid another friend to tow it from Ca. to Texas. The trailer was gutted out except the fried burnt wiring that suffered high voltage in low voltage wire. I.E. running 110/120 volts a/c thru 12 V d/c... not a pretty sight. Anywho... I got two main wire runs down the middle of the trailer from front to the rear,, and will set up junction boxes to run outlets down the walls,, expecting to install 4 on each side,, With the 12 volt, I ran single set of 12 volt wire down the center for ceiling lights which I proposed having them about 3 feet apart down the center. I also located where the plumbing connects to the holding tanks, so that next project is ready to start on in the next couple days... Very productive day,, getting the time intensive work out of the way,,,</p>productive day.tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2017-08-14:2093474:BlogPost:3218562017-08-14T02:49:51.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>A very productive day, considering it was triple digit and I being lazy till 2 in the afternoon.. I had to run a temp power line out to the power ped,, and after getting the RV plug (30 amp) wired in, realize the plug in on the other side of the ped is a 50 amp service, (there are 2 power plug boxes,, one on each side of a 4x4,, 1 being a 30 amp, and 1 being a 50 amp.), Duh,, so yea, I had a brain fert. So, back to the store to get a dogbone adapter,, a 50 to 30 plug, I get it all hooked up…</p>
<p>A very productive day, considering it was triple digit and I being lazy till 2 in the afternoon.. I had to run a temp power line out to the power ped,, and after getting the RV plug (30 amp) wired in, realize the plug in on the other side of the ped is a 50 amp service, (there are 2 power plug boxes,, one on each side of a 4x4,, 1 being a 30 amp, and 1 being a 50 amp.), Duh,, so yea, I had a brain fert. So, back to the store to get a dogbone adapter,, a 50 to 30 plug, I get it all hooked up and plugged in and run a temp line to the RV to a heavy duty service plug to run a couple appliances, ( I didnt make the line hot till all the wires was tight and secured and sealed).. Now Im just waiting for new RV cord to come in the mail. I finally got 3 shelves installed in the bathroom closet on the far inside wall so managing towels and wash clothes will be orderly.and still have room for hanging some clothes up, I talked to old neighbor lady from the old park I was at and he daughter wants me to go look at 3 RV's and possibly choose 1 if everything checks out... So I have to get my game face on and do my nit and pick and double and triple checking everything,,, Her budget is around $4500,, so us seasoned RV'ers know what to expect..</p>moved and settled.tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2017-08-07:2093474:BlogPost:3214962017-08-07T20:14:22.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>Finally got my required and much needed services hooked back up, A person has to have cable and internet. I made the installers job way easy by having previously wired my own outlets. (having voids in the walls and floors helped). No dangly wires hanging out windows etc.</p>
<p>That was after getting the 5th broke down and moved from point A to point B. Backing into the spot the 1st time was beyond fun,,lol took 3 attempts, spinning in the gooey slippery Texas mud, and only final try, going…</p>
<p>Finally got my required and much needed services hooked back up, A person has to have cable and internet. I made the installers job way easy by having previously wired my own outlets. (having voids in the walls and floors helped). No dangly wires hanging out windows etc.</p>
<p>That was after getting the 5th broke down and moved from point A to point B. Backing into the spot the 1st time was beyond fun,,lol took 3 attempts, spinning in the gooey slippery Texas mud, and only final try, going all ninja and at least getting it close enough to the services. Then waiting 2 days for the ground to dry up some. Hate walking thru the RV at an angle. The ground dried up enough to reconnect and back the 5er up and get the levelers down and pulled back up on them. Great feeling when ya hit it on the 1st try,(like the A team says,, Love it when a plan comes together). I even got the level out and its dead on from front to back and side to side. Then of course a storm that must have spawned from the evil rain demons decided to pounce apon us in the wee hours of the morning, So it was a toss and turn type night as the RV wobbled with the wind,, and the deluge of rain pounding down. Roughing out the 1st heavy rains in a new place is always the worst till you get the feel of things around you. It wasnt as bad as it seemed at 1st.. so will rest easier when the next storm blows through.</p>Me and Murphy,dealing with the move,tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2017-08-02:2093474:BlogPost:3212942017-08-02T16:22:57.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>Well Mr. Murphy, (Murphy's Law) sneaks out after lurking in the shadows.</p>
<p>Everything was going smooth,, getting everything all gathered up and stored and packed for a huge journey to another RV park, on the other side of the city, A smaller park, in a quiet country setting, Some say its 40 miles from nowhere, turn left, then left again. While getting everything for the move,, it was a balmy 100 plus degrees, Sun baking down on ya and making you feel like a chocolate chip cookie on pan…</p>
<p>Well Mr. Murphy, (Murphy's Law) sneaks out after lurking in the shadows.</p>
<p>Everything was going smooth,, getting everything all gathered up and stored and packed for a huge journey to another RV park, on the other side of the city, A smaller park, in a quiet country setting, Some say its 40 miles from nowhere, turn left, then left again. While getting everything for the move,, it was a balmy 100 plus degrees, Sun baking down on ya and making you feel like a chocolate chip cookie on pan sheet in the oven. Then the day before the move, a rain front decides to pass thru and just downpour and rain and rain and rain some more, followed by more rain.Nothing says fun,like flood puddles and mud.</p>
<p>Pulling the 5'er out wont be to much of a problem,, just hook up and drive like ya stole it attitude. The problem falls on the new location, Gravel road, soft grass on each side and very little gravel on the pad site. But it does have nice lush grass for when ya do get settled in.</p>
<p>Weather doesnt really bug me when traveling,, ya just deal with it,</p>
<p>This short relocation for some reason is getting under my skin,, It very well may be that its just a quick toodle down the road, just to park it.</p>
<p>But on a positive note,, Let the fun begin.</p>Bonzia trip went sideways reaql quick.tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2017-07-17:2093474:BlogPost:3202492017-07-17T23:39:40.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>I had mentioned last week I had to make a bonzai run from Texas to Michigan to take care of a few issues. Most of the trip went well till I was just south of Effinghan ill. Hitting a chunk hole cut out of the highway about 4 ft wide and the width of the land and about a ft deep.. front rims get bent along with blowing out both rear tires and screetching to a stop on the shoulder of the road,, along with several other cars and trucks. Apparently the state doesnt think its nessasary to put up…</p>
<p>I had mentioned last week I had to make a bonzai run from Texas to Michigan to take care of a few issues. Most of the trip went well till I was just south of Effinghan ill. Hitting a chunk hole cut out of the highway about 4 ft wide and the width of the land and about a ft deep.. front rims get bent along with blowing out both rear tires and screetching to a stop on the shoulder of the road,, along with several other cars and trucks. Apparently the state doesnt think its nessasary to put up a blockade or waqrning signs. So I get to sit for 2 hrs while road service hunts down 2 17 inch truck tires at 7;00 pm.. He finds one and we end up using my spare for the other side. I continue the trip slowly with front end vibration from bnt rims and get to my kids house,, I get parked and was just sitting inside chatting and spoiling thge grandkids, and the ole ticker decides to quit.. so the neighbors get excitment as an ambulance takes me to medical center and plug me into everything they can think of,, Feeling like acyborg... so 3 days of tests and meds and recoup. I get released.</p>
<p>Son in law now has to drive me back till my dr, in Texas gives me a release to drive again.. so my return road trip ,I will be the co-pilot..</p>
<p>My advice,,, dont do what i have done and go bonzai and attempt straight through driving,, apparently 24 hrs does have after effects. But Hey,, Im in good shape,, and will be back at my projects and tinkering in no time..</p>F.Y.I. on LED conversiontag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2017-07-10:2093474:BlogPost:3199322017-07-10T20:53:34.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>I was reading about LED conversions,,, and by golly, In the chat box this a/m Jack and Russ was talking about some issues. SMTA.</p>
<p>LED seems the way to go as the standard incondecent light seems to be fading away like the old 8 track players. Several articles bring up a resistance issue,, LED's having less resistance then the old single and double filament bulbs. Some companies sell a top dollar *fix all for this problem, Its a fancy square box that really doesnt fit anywhere easily,…</p>
<p>I was reading about LED conversions,,, and by golly, In the chat box this a/m Jack and Russ was talking about some issues. SMTA.</p>
<p>LED seems the way to go as the standard incondecent light seems to be fading away like the old 8 track players. Several articles bring up a resistance issue,, LED's having less resistance then the old single and double filament bulbs. Some companies sell a top dollar *fix all for this problem, Its a fancy square box that really doesnt fit anywhere easily, requiring hours and hours of frustration and tuck,shove push and cram.</p>
<p>The ole RV guy down the road here said simple solution to a resistance problem with LED's can be found at radio shack or more easily online, Its a simple inline #10 circuit resistor. no bigger then a grain of rice,, BUT you do have to solder it on the HOT lead to the light.The wire your soldering to is no bigger then a push pin so you will be working with very small wire. He tore apart one of those fancy square boxes that *fix all,,, and inside was,,,,,, a number #10 inline resistor with 18 guage wire already soldered to it and therefore gives you larger wire to connect to. He disclosed that fancy *fix all box costs $29.99 and that little resistor only cost $1.12 .</p>
<p>Manufacturers have failed to disclose on many of their products the resistance issue,,, so check carefully, and see if the LED' bulbs or assemblies have a *built in resistor,, saving you a frustrating headache. I did get a laugh when he said Toyota makes the top of the list with full LED change over,,, with the fastest blinking turn signal,, almost like a strobe light.</p>
<p>LED's on clearance lights dont seem to pose a problem,, its the lights that have intermintent breaks in the circuit,, i,e, turn signals.</p>
<p>Hope this little tid bit of info helps,,, and was just passing it along.</p>Murphy goes camping.tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2017-07-09:2093474:BlogPost:3193212017-07-09T17:30:15.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>Looking back over the years,, things that go bump in the night, little boo,boo's during vacations,, things like that,, always have a humor coated side. The little things that ,,at the time make you scream words that would make a sailor blush, and at the same time give you opportunity to make up new cuss words. Sometimes the show of anger makes the neighbors close their windows and lock their doors and cower down in the basement,, thinking armageddon has arrived. That point you blow the…</p>
<p>Looking back over the years,, things that go bump in the night, little boo,boo's during vacations,, things like that,, always have a humor coated side. The little things that ,,at the time make you scream words that would make a sailor blush, and at the same time give you opportunity to make up new cuss words. Sometimes the show of anger makes the neighbors close their windows and lock their doors and cower down in the basement,, thinking armageddon has arrived. That point you blow the master gasket.Its times like these,, you find the humor,, Your thinking how can there be humor when the end of the world is apon you? Life at that very moment has come to an abrupt stop.</p>
<p>ok, Lets back up,,, You blew a gasket due to a rookie mistake, But dont feel bad, seasoned old timers still do it to. The issue at point is a simple campground vacation No big deal right? Ahh Ha,, but keep reading. It all happened, when *Larry, (using a fictious name for the character), had just woke up from a really peaceful sleep, dreaming of rainbow unicorns and cotton candy clouds. (wow,, thats intense, I need to switch to decaf late at night), ok,, anywhooooooo, </p>
<p>Ole Larry wakes up all chipper and ready to take on the world with a go get em attitude,,, Nothing can ruin his day,, Hes so happy, it makes his neighbors want to puke, Seriously,, hes really that happy.</p>
<p>Did I mention hes really happy? (scarey ).Ok,, anyway, Larry goes outside, being careful as to not wake up the wife and 2 kids as he soaks in the early morning sunshine and fresh air, He looks around the KOA campgrounds and its quiet and peaceful,, and sees a fellow RV'er across the way and waves, Friendly bunch of folks around these parts.He pulls up a camp chair and before sitting down, gets out his check list for the days entertainment, then sits down and scans thru it as he sips his morning joe. Hes going down the list of things to do etc, looking for something that catches his attention, that maybe the wife and kids would enjoy. He polishes off his coffee and reminds himself, to let the family look over the attractions list and see what catches their fancy,, and he heads back inside. He just gets in and the wife and kids are up and breakfast is being started and everyones in a really good happy go lucky mood.What a great day for adventures he tells them, and they all agree,, what a beautiful day.. lets get started. Alrighty then. Larry heads back out and starts breaking down the rig as mom tidies up inside and the kids make their beds,,(LOL yea right,, like that ever happens in real life,, right?) And about this time your envisioning the Mrs, in a knee length white frilly dress wearing high heels and pearls. (ok, Mrs Cleaver ). I had to throw that in there for a giggle, cuz I know your waiting for the juicey stuff in this blog. Ok, Larry, gets the lawn chairs put up,, the awning rolled in and the bbq grill all put away. He unplugs the shore power cord and rolls it up nicely and tucks it away. He was about to disconnect the water hose when his wife says to wait a few minutes while she finishes the dishes,, No problem he says, and goes over to the truck and backs it up to the hitch and gets it all connected. He goes back inside and his wife hands him a fresh cup of joe and they sit down and discuss the days adventures, The whole family is involved in the places to go and see. They agree on several activities for the day and everyone heads out the door and pile into the truck,, Look out world, here we come,</p>
<p>Larry locks the RV door and runs over and jumps in the truck, all ready to get this party going. Now pause a moment,,,, You have been waiting for this all the time you have been reading, Deep down,, this is just to easy,,, Real life is never like this. (If you must, you can scroll back up and see if you have missed something,) Dont worry,,you can do that,, we will still be here for you to finish reading, Have you caught anything with the ongoing scenario? Grin.</p>
<p>Lets continue, shall we? Ok,, ole Larry, puts the truck in gear and onward they go,, wheeeeeeeeee, Then FWAAAAAP !!!!!!</p>
<p>(Fwaaaaap is a word meaning,,,,, NOT GOOD ). Larry stops, What happened? He jumps out and realizes he forgot the water hose, Grrrrr,, hates when that happens,,He surveys the situation and chuckles just a little as he notices that, that 25 ft water has stretched to35 feet,</p>
<p>He goes back up to the truck and backs up a little to get slack back in the hose so he can disconnect it,, He gets out and disconnects the hose after turning the water off, and coils it up nicely and tucks it away in the storage bin, Alrighty,, all set,, lets go,, He jumps in, drops it in gear and away they go,,, Hes toodling slowly through the campgrounds as everyone is waving and hollering, when one of the park tennants stops him. He rolls down the window and says howdy neighbor, what can I do for you? The tennant mentions to Larry, hes dragging his sewer line. Larry jumps out and takes a look and by golly, he sure nuff is,, and notices a nice *trail behind him, as the hose is still going glug,glug,glug spewing the contents there in the drive. He quickly slides the gate fully closed and attempts to coil the hose up, only to realize, that as he had pulled away, the hose stretched, ripping small holes thruout the hose and breaking off the end cap fitting, Now picture ole Happy Larry standing there with Sh** from head to toe attempting to coil up a leaking tore up hose. I dont think Larry is all to happy myself,, but thats just me. Well, ole Larry finally gets it coiled and just throws it in the back of the truck, making a mental note to pick up a new one before the next stop. He tells the wife he needs to go inside and clean up and change. He gets inside and finds the soap and lathers his hands up to clean up and flips the faucet lever on, and dang,, no water. Ok, Larry is getting a little peeved, all soaped and no water. He grabs a towel and wipes off the sudsy soap and grabs some clean clothes and does a quick change,, knowing, so much for a shower concept is out of the question,, he will just shower when they pull off at the next campsite.He is also, making a making a mental note to add water to the fresh water tank. The camp neighbors tell him not to worry about the spill, they will rinse it down so he can continue on his trip.. what a bunch of nice folks he thinks,. He climbs back in,, still smelling a little ripe, but with the windows down, makes it bearable for everyone else .In the back of his mind,, his day started all unicorns and cotton candy and went to sh** in a matter of minutes,, but thats not going to ruin his day,, no sireeeeee. We are going to have so much fun, it will take a month to get the smiles off their faces.</p>
<p>He continues down the lane almost to the campground entrance and waves to the nice manager lady when WACKKKKKK, he hears that dreaded noise,,, meaning something broke that shouldnt have broke but did broke. Ugggg he sighs,, he gets out and there along side the trailer is the remains of his pride and joy TV antennea,,He stands there, trying to remain calm as his eye starts twitching, His hands begin to tremble,, hes beginning to mumble a little,, when he wife gets out and says,, its ok dear, its just an antennea. BOOOOOOOM!,, Yup,, that gasket just blew,, steam rolls out his ears, drool runs down the corner of his mouth and his eyes roll into the back of his head. He spins in a circle, as the clouds overhead turn dark and the wind picks up,,, Birds stop chirping and people run for cover. He goes into a tirate telling her,, only an antennea? onlyyyyyy an antennea? How can this day get any worse? Now mind you, when someone says, how can it get any worse, Murphy will step in and show you,,, it CAN get worse.</p>
<p>Larry calms down, wipes the drool from his chin and decides they had better call the days adventures off and just start fresh tomorrow, and signs up for a spot there in the campgrounds for another night.</p>
<p>He pulls forward to swing a u turn to head back into the campgrounds and as he is making the hard turn,, he hears the crunching of metal and stops,(Remember him saying how can this day get any worse?) Well it just did, He gets out and looks at the crumpled metal on the front of the trailer were the bumper decided would be a good place to make its mark. ( I myself think he turn a tad to sharp ). He gets back in the truck and straightens out a bit and finally gets turned around and headed back into the campgrounds,, He finds a nice shaded spot,, better the the one they had the night before and chooses that one and pulls in,, He hears a little scratching and looks in his mirror and its only a twig branch scuffing the side of the trailer,, no big deal,,, but for such a tiny branch, it sure makes a lot of noise. They finally get parked and again set camp, He hooks up his stretched water hose which by the way still works,, plugs in the electric and gets ready to hook up the sewer hose and realizes he needs to make a run to town to get a new one.But that can wait a bit. He unlocks the front door and slides the steps out and steps inside,, wait for it,,,,,,, Guess who forgot to secure the fridge? Larry stands there looking at the mess on the floor where the contents of the fridge lay. Well thats not good. The wife tells Larry,, go pull the awning out and put the lawn chairs out and I will clean this up and make us some sammiches, and we let the kids go play in the park, Larry says ok, and heads out and gets the awning rolled out and secured and the 2 chairs set up with a nice folding table between them,,, At least things have turned for the better,, maybe we was in to much of a hurry to have fun,, yea, thats it.The wife brings out sammiches and fresh tea and they enjoy the peace and quite. Larry mentions that he needs to run to town and get a new sewer hose and the wife tells him to go do that and she will tidy up the place while hes gone. larry gets up, (brian fart moment) and jumps in the truck, starts it up, drops it in gear and off he goes,, hes on his way. Now ole Murphy, (Murphys law) reminds ole Larry,,, about, How can it get any worse? Yup,, it just did, Larry fergot to unhitch the truck. (right about now your getting a nice visual) He not only got the ULTIMATE brain fart, he had full cranial diahrea.. He drags the trailer about 100 feet before coming to a stop,, and within that 100 feet, he managed to tear the awning off the trailer, Stretch that 35 ft, water hose that was originally a 25 ft, apart in the middle, and tear the power cord clean out of the power box.</p>
<p>The steps met an gruesome death on a beauty rock on the edge of the drive, and the wife got to tumble from the front of the trailer, clear to the back. In a panic.. he puts the truck in reverse and backs up quickly,, sending the wife tumbling back to the front of the trailer and turning the trailer at an angle and wiping out the lawn chairs and small table. Larry just sits there, and decides he will just sleep in the backseat of the truck tonight.</p>
<p>Be safe, enjoy the adventure, make memories,</p>Twisted humor with a twist.tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2017-07-09:2093474:BlogPost:3195082017-07-09T06:15:47.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>So your on your way,,,, what do you mean you don't know where your going? Didnt you put together a minute by minute travel agenda? The shame. Everyone (as infomercials say) know,,you must have a minute by minute agenda while on vacation, Time it down to the exact minute when you pull out the drive and how long it will take you to arrive at the first stop sign and 1st exit for gas etc. Allot a certain amount of time to use restroom facilities, etc. Keep a stop watch on the dash to monitor…</p>
<p>So your on your way,,,, what do you mean you don't know where your going? Didnt you put together a minute by minute travel agenda? The shame. Everyone (as infomercials say) know,,you must have a minute by minute agenda while on vacation, Time it down to the exact minute when you pull out the drive and how long it will take you to arrive at the first stop sign and 1st exit for gas etc. Allot a certain amount of time to use restroom facilities, etc. Keep a stop watch on the dash to monitor speed verse traffic congestion and exits, and adjust accordingly.Common people, stick with the program,, hut,hut,hut,, and everyone mumbles ok Seargent PITA. </p>
<p>Now,, doesnt that sound like a perfectly coordinated vacation? If it does,,, heres some advice,,,Don't get an RV and just stay home and look over your stamp collection for 2 weeks.</p>
<p>Now every, seasoned RV'er knows,, you cannot plan everything and every minute. 1st of all,, when your ready to pull out of the driveway,, you will be delayed, especially if you have kids,, 1st excuse delay is, I hafta potty,,,, There ya go,,, never goes as planned... I should stop there,,, But ohhhhh noooooo,, that would take the fun outta this blog,, and you know ya want more,,,, everyone wants more.</p>
<p>There is actually an amusing side of watching other RV'ers crusing down the ole roadway, Notice I say OTHER Rv'ers. tee hee.</p>
<p>Better them then me I always say. I know,, how rude,,</p>
<p>Like ,like like,like (3 year old telling this story),, That 1 trailer coming up on that underpass and the sign on it said 13 ft clearance. And on the side of his trailer had a sticker that said 12 ft 13 inch clearance,, and we all knew he was safe,, yea,, (sigh) good times,, Or how about that really fancy trailer that had all sorts of cool neeto stuff,, marble floors, granite countertops, eleventeen flat screen tv's. When they left the park with their awning fully out and their antennea sticking straight up, and hitting that low tree branch? Yea,, thats quality entertainment.</p>
<p>And that awning took a few hits to finally tear off the side,, and how cool it was following it for 9 miles before it finally fell off, Yea, that was You Tube video material. Or how about when they leave their steps out,, you know,, those really fancy 4 step ones. Yea those,, Makes you want to tell the driver,, those do not make great curb feelers, But hey, who am I to tell them different,,, They look like qualified seasoned RV'ers. Now every so often, I have had the notion to tell a fellow RV'er about his sewer hose still being connected as they get ready to pull out,, or their water hose.. But hey,, what fun is that? Seriously,, your not going to find quality entertainment like that anywhere.. and best of all, it dont cost you anything,,, Major plus... Think about it,, how amusing would it be sitting there with your buddy's sucking down some cold brewskis and making bets how long that water hose will stretch before breaking off at the spigot or the RV,, or double down the bet if the hose splits in the middle.. Then you make bets on the sewer hose,,, how many miles will they drive with that hose tossing around before it finally breaks off, or till someone brings it to their attention?</p>
<p>(now this would involve the LEAST intoxicated person in the said group to follow and keep track ). The least thing most observers bet on are roof vents,,, most people crank em down,,, but there is always that one who doesnt and the betting on those getting damaged are down near nickle slots betting,, its a hit or miss type thing.</p>
<p>You ever be driving along and come up behind an RV trailer wagging back and forth like a dog? Now thats entertainment,, especially when the driver hasnt a clue.. maybe he left the kids in there and they are getting rowdy? Maybe hes to cheap to buy a blender and is slosh mixing his smoothies? Or maybe the trailer is just getting jiggy with it,, swinging to some nice Doo Wop oldies. I know, I know, warped sense of humor,,, of course being the gentleman I am, I would pull alongside him and use hand signals to bring to his attention of his trailer wiggling behind him. I would then slow down and get behind him with plenty of room till he regains control and gets pulled off to the shoulder and maybe help him determine the cause.. BUT, If he hand signals me back with a single finger,,, its ON... Im getting out my video camera and Im going to post this on You tube,, and everyone knows it will get like a bazzillion hits, And if the trailer breaks off, even after being notified of the hazard,, then the proper thing to do would be to stop and walk back and check on him and family,, and get his name,, you know,, for the video credits. Jus saying.</p>
<p>Ok,,, Thats enough of twisted humor,,,, All of us know,, we are a rare breed,, we love old stuff,, do weird stuff and enjoy life,, good or bad.</p>
<p>And if you cant find a little humor around you,, then your just not living.'</p>
<p>Just remember,, walk around your rig, double and triple check everything,, if it looks loose,, its gone,,,, if its connected still,, it wont be,, if its extended, it wont be for long. Simple rules,,, Electric,Waste,, then water, Unplug the power,, that way the kids video game and tv shuts off, Waste hose,, and use the water hose to clean and flush it out,, then wash hands, Then water hose,, empty it out and store it. Pull your chocks, double check safety chains and break away switch connection and make sure pin is in the hitch. Do another walk around checking lights and anything that will be in the way pulling out... Look up towards the roof,,, any low branches? antennea down? roof vents closed? When all looks good,, flip steps up,, peek inside the door one last time and shut and lock it,</p>
<p>Now if your closing the door and locking it and bump your shins,, Guess what? Your steps are still out. Pay tention,, I told you a couple sentences back to put your steps in. Serves you right getting a knot on your shin, And an extra security check is a few miles down the road when you fuel up,,, walk around the rig again and look at it as you walk out of the store with your 145 oz, super jumbo sized soft drink, 3 bags of doritos and that snickers bar. If something doesnt look right,, then odds are,, its not.</p>
<p>Be safe, make memories, dream big, enjoy the time you have,</p>
<p>.</p>Gotta love the vehicle laws, mini rant.tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2017-07-05:2093474:BlogPost:3191412017-07-05T12:00:00.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>Different laws and regulations vary from state to state, and can get quite confusing.Politics with transportation at its best. Examples as follows are just a small taste of what I have encountered. In lower Michigan, traveling through Berrien county, (St,Joseph / Benton Harbor), on I-94, (corridor from Chicago to Detroit), Your allowed to pull doubles and triple with a special use permit.And daylight driving hours only. But a few miles up the road on the same hwy,I-94 you enter Kalamazoo…</p>
<p>Different laws and regulations vary from state to state, and can get quite confusing.Politics with transportation at its best. Examples as follows are just a small taste of what I have encountered. In lower Michigan, traveling through Berrien county, (St,Joseph / Benton Harbor), on I-94, (corridor from Chicago to Detroit), Your allowed to pull doubles and triple with a special use permit.And daylight driving hours only. But a few miles up the road on the same hwy,I-94 you enter Kalamazoo County, Kalamazoo Michigan,, Doubles are a serious NO-NO,, and triples?.HAAA, ferget about it. Special use permits are not valid in every county with in the state,, even tho DMV will say, sure, yea, no problem, blah blah blah.90% of the time, a State trooper will turn his eyes and let it slide,,, as long as your not dragging pieces of &%$@ behind you. Indiana can be just as bad,, Cairo happens to be the worst,, they will pull you over for a dusty tail light or more then 3 bugs stuck in your grill, and of course they will have D.O.T. come out and do a full bumper to bumper vehicle inspection, making special notes on how much dust has accumilated on said tail light. </p>
<p>Now lets jump over to California,, hehehehehehe, The state that will tax your tax and then tax them again. I had issues with renewing my tags on my 85 ,,5th wheel,,, DMV there required a SMOG check on it.</p>
<p>Now let that sink in,, a 5th wheel trailer,(towed by a truck) With NO onboard generator. I asked the clerk how is a smog check even possible on a trailer that does not have any means of self propelling itself, and has to be towed by a pick up truck, She replies, I cannot give you your renewal tags with out the smog certificate, (proof of payment slip, due to the smog automatically goes to DMV). So I take the 5th wheel to local smog station and the 3 guys working there laughed and asked where is the tailpipe for the sensor? They took the form and wrote, trailers dont have engines, and no way to smog,,I return to DMV office and the clerk still would not renew my tags,, she insisted I have the trailer smogged. Needless to say, I left California with expired tags and got to Texas. Texas was even worse. DMV in Texas, said Ca. does their titles all wrong and I need to MAKE them change their process. Sureeeeeeeee I will get right on that.</p>
<p>They wanted an Empty weight and a full weight,, with tanks empty, and then with tanks full. Then they wanted a bill of sale from the original owner. I had bought the 85 new from a dealer,, and the salesman at the time was pushing 70. And 30 plus years later,, the dealership is no longer there and the salesman has long since passed. DMV didnt care,, they wanted a bill of sale,,, and being the smart ass that I am, I told the lady I would probably need a shovel, She asked why would I need a shovel to get a bill of sale,,, and I said, cuz I will have to find out where they buried the salesman, and go dig him up and see if he will write me out a bill of sale,,, But no garantee he will do it though,,, The clerk didnt think that was funny, So, I leave and figure ok,, lets get around this B/S,, All thats required is a bill of sale from one owner to the next,,, So I sign the title over to my better half and sold her the trailer for $1. We get the paperwork to have a VIN check through Texas vehicle task force to verify its not stolen and we got tags put on the 5th. Now Texas law states ALL trailers and RV trailers get a VIN and SERIAL number check to verify its not a stolen vehicle,,, as being close to the border with Mexico, its a problem with them getting stolen,, taken to Mexico for a few years and then brought back over and sold.</p>
<p>Funny story with dragging the 92 big 5th wheel for Vin check,,, Its a narrow road barely enough room for 2 cars to pass, let along drag a 5th wheel down it.. People in cars stop and back up into driveways to let you get though,, most of them realize your not going to back up for them, (grin) Im bigger and have better insurance so to speak,,lol</p>
<p>When you get to the Vin check DMV office, they have a narrow single lane drive way they expect you to turn into and drive under a concrete over hang carport. with a nice big sign... No vehicles over 6 ft,</p>
<p>(you can laugh now), Most pick ups sit higher then 6 ft, and they expect you to squeeze a 13 ft high 5th wheel under there,,,, sureeee no problem,,, (I think the trailer height is more like 12 foot 13 inches)</p>
<p>( your looking at that and doing the math arent you?) yes you are,, LOL, So now your halfway in the driveway and halfway in the street and pissing off at least a dozen or so drivers, so someone helps you manuver back out and you park along the curb,, blocking the one side of the raodway,,,, excellent planning on that trailer DMV location. Of course the clerk still expects you to pull in under the carport as she stands there, and you literally ask her,,,,,, seriously? She huffs a little and has the inspection officer come out and search and crawl all over, inside and outside looking for any and all numbers and finally gives you the thumbs up and takes his paper work inside to the clerk. You pay the $18,, and head on out while the clerk glares at you over her half glasses propped on the end of her nose... Its so tempting to want to walk back in there and smack that smirk off her face so hard, her grand kids would feel it. And of course,,, Every trailer in Texas has to be inspected once a year to renew your tags. Of course,, on any given day, you will see several utility trailers with no lights, fenders or even tags cruising down the road,,, But if I was to try that,, Bam!!!! I would be pulled over and run thru the wringer.</p>Road trip,short one,tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2017-07-04:2093474:BlogPost:3190322017-07-04T02:27:44.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>Got up early,, walked to the kitchen like someone coming off a 14 day binge drinking fest, walking bow legged and pigion toed,eyes crossed and blood shot. Fumbled with the coffee maker,and after several attempts get the paper filters seperated and one dropped in the basket, I fumble with the coffee can and manage to get a couple scoops out with out spilling it all over the counter,and get the basket inserted in the coffee maker slots and I pour the water in, flip the switch and wait,,,and…</p>
<p>Got up early,, walked to the kitchen like someone coming off a 14 day binge drinking fest, walking bow legged and pigion toed,eyes crossed and blood shot. Fumbled with the coffee maker,and after several attempts get the paper filters seperated and one dropped in the basket, I fumble with the coffee can and manage to get a couple scoops out with out spilling it all over the counter,and get the basket inserted in the coffee maker slots and I pour the water in, flip the switch and wait,,,and wait,,and wait some more,,, and while i waited,,, I waited some more, Finally 10 minutes later, coffee is done and I pour the 1st cup,, which will be followed by several more soon.</p>
<p>Im sipping the hot coffee as I start taking things off the counter shelves putting them in tupperware type containers, Taking the pictures down off the walls and anything else I can see that will fall or tumble while I toodle down the road. I get a second cup started and the eyes are finally un crossing, and my feet are now aligning back into the forward direction. I throw on a pair of work jeans and shirt and get ready to head out the door. Now people have asked why do I have a certain pair of jeans and a work shirt for tinkering etc. Well thats a no brainer,, Cuz I think I would look silly in a tux and long tails, a cumberbund and a top hat, just saying,,, maybe some people do that, but I dont,, Plus it would clash with my steel toed flip flops, I go out and spin the rear stabalizers up, move crap out of the way,, go up front and use the electric landing to go up and release tension off the king pin stabalizer,, get that dropped into the back of the truck, And yes about this time Im wheezing, attempting to hock up a vital organ or 2 or 5,, that stabalizer is heavy, Plus about this time, I realize, it would have been easier,, and I mean really easier, if I had dropped the tailgate of the truck first. Palm on the forehead moment.Ok break time,, go back inside,, polish off that second cup, and pour a 3rd and sit down,, While chillaxing, I decide to check blood pressure,,, hmmmm I didnt know a B/P monitor went that high,,, makes a mental note to ask my dr, about that. Mite save those numbers for my next try at the lottery. I finally get my 4th wind,and go back out and this time I DO put the tailgate down, because I do have to back up under the hitch, and nothing gets your attention faster then backing up with the gate up and hearing that crunch of bending metal,,Not that I have ever ever ever done that before, (batting innocent eye lashes,) I back up till the pin is a few inches from the hitch and jump out to double check the height and adjust as nessasary, then finish backing under the pin and lock it into place,, set the safety lock, connect break away cable and plug in the trailer plug, I walk on each side pulling the wheel chocks and putting them in the back of the truck, and remembering to flip the tailgate back up. I go back up front and retract the front landing gear and then do a walk around light check, Good to go, I go back inside to polish off that last cup of coffee and pour another, I move anything that could be in the way of the slide out, and then push the button and let it do its thing,,, comes in smooth and stops like its supposed to.. Likes when things work the first time, Wow,, it got narrow in here with the slide in.. hmmmm. Now the big decision,,, Do I wake the better half up,,,,,,,,,,, OR,,,,,,,,,,,, suprise the crap outta her as I toodle down the road and she wakes up while moving? (evil grin like the grinch). I know, I know, that would be mean,(another evil grinch smile ). But I had better be nice and wake her, Its so tempting to stand along side them and lean down and whisper once or twice,, wakey up,,, then yelling at the top of your lungs like Sgt, Payne the drill seargent Wake UP.... But that usually results in them leaning up so fast, butting heads and breaking your nose in 5 places,,,, Not a good idea. Anywho, I wake her up to let her know,, we are hooked up and ready,,, Shes already dressed as she was up way earlier and got ready and just layed back down till I got up and got everything ready to go. We sit down and I let her get her bearings as I polish off another cup of coffee before setting the coffee maker in the sink for the short trip. We finally get loaded in the truck and ease our way out of the RV spot slot and away we go,, right turn, left turn,another right,, vear left, sway right, dodge the chuck holes, hog the middle of the road,, easy peasy. Uneventful till the exit to head to the lake, Im behind a car at a stop sign, and no cross traffic,,, we sit another couple minutes, (feels like 3 days) before I toot the horn,,, no response,,, finally I go all Rambo, and empty my air tank and give her 122 decibels of raw air horns,,, almost loud enough to vibrate the paint off her car. Still nothing,, hmmmm maybe shes a zombie,,, cuz shes moving about inside the car, but not responding. I put the truck in park and walk up and tap the window,, she looks up from her **Phone** and rolls the window down and I asked her, What the *&%# is your problem? She replies, Im texting my BFF.. If there was anytime in my lifetime I wanted to punch a lady in the side of the head and ask what is wrong with you,, this was the time. I kept my cool and walked back to the truck, and I back up enough to I can make a move to go around her, and just as I am along side her ready to turn left,, she decides, shes done texting her BFF and darts out in front of me to the left and heads on down the road. Me get road rage? Nawwww.. Ok,, maybe a little,, visions of Mad Maxx scenes run through my mind,, But I had better be on my best behavior. We take the long 2 lane road and just beofre the final turn off to the lake , there sits that Ditz,, the one who was busy on the phone with her BFF at the stop sign, sitting on the edge of the road with a front flat tire,, Now being a kind gentleman,(laughing arent you?), I stop and better half rolls her window down, and the girl asks if we know how to change a flat tire, hmmmmm. pausing and thinking,, better half looks at me for one of my classic smart a$$ed sarcastic come backs,, and Im taking longer then usual with this one,, maybe not enough coffee, I finally draw in a deep breath and politley tell the young (apparently deaf lady who cant hear air horns), Why dont you call your BFF,? and I pull away,, meanwhile my betterhalf almost snorts diet coke out of her nose laughing so hard at my calm and cool reply, and she says, I cant believe you told her that. I told her, Im a gentleman,,,then we both laughed,,, We get to the lake and park entrance and check in and we must have been a sight,, eyes all red and wet from laughing so hard.. We find our spot under a nice scrub shade tree and get everything all hooked up, and relax a little watching everyone play on or in the water,,, nothing better then a fresh breeze blowing across the water, Life is good,,,,, Hmmm, I wonder if that lady got her BFF to come out and help her with that flat tire? Do I really care? Nope,,,, have a safe holiday and be safe everyone.</p>Its More then just meeting people.tag:goodoldrvs.ning.com,2017-07-02:2093474:BlogPost:3187502017-07-02T05:22:04.000ZLakota Wolfhttps://goodoldrvs.ning.com/profile/LakotaWolf
<p>Its interesting to meet people from all walks of life, young and old.</p>
<p>I have been fortunate enough to have met several well known people.</p>
<p>Now most people think,, Did you run up and ask for an autograph? What were they like? and so on. Ive met many many people in my travels, in RV parks, roadside parks, rest areas,and even Walmart. 99% are just regular common folk out for adventure and was raised in an era where conversation consisted more then a text or email. A firm handshake…</p>
<p>Its interesting to meet people from all walks of life, young and old.</p>
<p>I have been fortunate enough to have met several well known people.</p>
<p>Now most people think,, Did you run up and ask for an autograph? What were they like? and so on. Ive met many many people in my travels, in RV parks, roadside parks, rest areas,and even Walmart. 99% are just regular common folk out for adventure and was raised in an era where conversation consisted more then a text or email. A firm handshake sealed a deal or agreement, where a mans word was stronger then any piece of paper. Along my travels over the years, and while serving in the Military, followed by working for a communications company, I have met some very unique people, other then us regular folks. Friends will say wow,, you met famous people. Its not them being famous, but I was in the right place at the right time and just met people who have their name up in lights. They put their pants on the same way we do, yes they drink day old coffee from 7/11. Each one of these people are as unique as each of us. Some have attitude some dont, Woody Harrlison for example, had to sign a release form for the company I was contracted with to bury a fiber optic cable across his front yard near the road. His personal assistant came out expecting to sign the form and I said, No, it has to be the home owner, as stated in the contract form.He got all huffy and went and got Mr. Harrilson. Mr. Harrilson came out with a serious attitude and grabbed the clip board with the form on it and signed it and tossed it back at me and it fell to the ground. He then asked,, I suppose you want a &$%#@ autograph? I said, no,,I dont just give MY autograph to just anyone.especially A-Holes like you. He said excuse me? who the *^%$# are you? And I replied in my Attitude tone of voice,, I can control what you watch and when you watch it. I control whether or not you can even watch the sports channel. I officially OWN your entertainment, I posses a tool that controls your entertainment life.</p>
<p>Sir,, I AM, the cable guy, and maybe, just maybe, I will give you MY autograph, if you appologize for your disrespect to me. He leaned down and picked up the clip board and handed it to me and applogized, and said, your an Onry lil cuss arent you? And replied, Im just little ole me, and I will not tolerate being treated like a step child or someone you think is below you in status.He smiled and invited me up to the gazebo for some ice water. All in all, hes an ok guy, but fame and fortune brings out the worst in people at times. Out of all the *so called famous people I have met,,, the best group of people I put on the top of my list, are, Just plain ole folks. The kind of people who growing up, worked the nastiest worst jobs, and worked their way up the labor ladder, getting better jobs along the way. The kind of people who after grinding through the work day, come home and had a loving family to make even the worst day better.The kind of folks who didnt have everything,, But we worked hard to keep a roof over our heads, food on the table and clothes on our backs. The kind of folks who couldnt afford a new car every year, so we just babied and crippled the cars we had till we got another.Life wasnt easy,, But it wasnt really that hard, because we had family values growing up. If we couldnt afford to go some place fancy,, we would do something else to amuse ourselves, which made us stronger as a family, and taught us, Life really does suck, But dont make it sukier complaining about it. We went out and added an extra 10% effort, and things got a little easier. Hard work and morals and respect was far greater then all the wealth in the world. And as you get older,, you slow down and realize,, you dont need to stay on that gerbil wheel spinning no-where. Its time to relax, Reap your rewards from hard work,, may it be a large sum or a small sum,,, its all the same. Life is as simple as you want it to be.</p>
<p>Coming back to the moral,,,, meeting older folks, who have been there, done that, got the coffee cup and T shirt. Sitting around a fire pit on a quiet summer evening, watching the fireflies, or lightning bugs flutter around, and learning of their adventures and aquantences. Listening to old Vets talk bout Dubbya Dubbya 2 and how they met their better half.. Or an old trucker who has a billion miles under him, when he drove on roads before they was roads. Everyone had a different job, and no job was better or worse then the next.. Its what we did, and we put in our 100%. To me,,, meeting like minded folks IS like meeting someone famous,, (they are famous to someone, right?)</p>
<p>And as we get older,(seriously,, some of us are old as dirt), want to pass on what we know to our children,(and those who dont have children, maybe a young mind). To instill the knowledge that life isnt handed to you on a platter. What you put into something, karma returns that 10 fold. We buy an old delapitated RV, dump tons of money into it,, we bust knuckles, sweat buckets and learn new cuss words along the way. After a long drawn out effort, (sometimes years), we complete our Hobby project. We took pride in building something with our own hands. The neighbors think your nuts and just shake their heads at you, Your kids and grand kids sometimes think you have lost it up stairs... But when its done,, they realize what you were doing,, and then think differently. Of course there is still that one neighbor, (everyone has one of those), who thinks you just polished a turd, there fore its still a turd. But you finished it,, used it a few times,, but age has caught up with you and you can no longer enjoy the fruits of your labor. Then and only then, You hope that some where along the way, some one was rooting for you,, and refuses to let your Dream just fade away.. They take that ole rig,, give it a bath and take it down the road someplace,, and even if your not phisically there,, your sitting in the seat enjoying the ride. And when its your kids turn to keep the ole gal going,,, they will someday be visiting someone new and bring up the stories you passed on to them, starting the cycle of campfire lore all over again. So just dont build a project for yourself,, build it to pass down.As long as the flame keeps burning the candle will never go out.</p>
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