Whats Lakota been doing?

[Lakota Wolf]

What have I been doing that I'm NOT supposed to be doing and what have I've been doing thats constructive?.

Since before Xmas holidays, I have logged 3,000 plus miles between Waco Tx and Corpus Christi Tx. (Padre Island). Having to look after my Folks property that my brother owns and I watch it while he ventures out and about, (usually in Michigan).To off-set the cost of travel expenses, I have hot shot'ed some B/P and 5th wheels both ways. I christianed  bubba jr. (Red 97 dodge 1500 with 2500 upgraded suspension). It pulls good,excluding the fact it does NOT like overdrive with a load on her tail. On my off time (Not on the road). I replaced the under board for the steps on my 85 5th wheel.. The wood was starting to get a lil weak,,, Age and the elements usually win. I guess after 30 yrs,, the wood was finally due to wear out. I took out the 5/8th board and replaced it with 3/4 plywood, soaked in Thomsons weather seal and I put slicone sealant along the side that fits up against the aluminum belly pan and sealed the edges with all weather caulking. I sand blasted the step assembly ( 2 step),, Primered it and repainted it a Flat black and put neoprene bushings on the pivot joints. (I hate the sound of squeaking metal on metal when ya fold out the steps). I crawled under the trailer to get an idea of what was in store for maintenance. ( I couldda taken a nap but my road buddy smiley kept me focused) BTW. Smiley is my 4 yr old Rat Terrier rescue service dog.I got out the ole 50 ft roll of sand paper and comminced to sanding off the powder rust that has accumilated on the axle tubes. Start at one side and having the piece of sand paper (about 16 inches long and 3 inches wide) I hold each end with sand paper wrapped around axle tube and pull back and forth covering as much ground with minimal effort as I work my way across the axle tube). Sure looks Purrrrdyyyyy when ya get the powder rust off. Before starting on the second axle I wipe down the finished axle tube with mineral spirits and give it a good coating of Rust preventative primer. ( I did consider painting the axle tubes Chrome,,)  But then my senses came back to me. LOL .. Was either that idea or Hello Kitty Pink. (NOT). I finished up the second axle and prepped and primed it, before shooting both tubes a nice clean Gloss black. I inspected the electric brake wires and reattached them to the axle tubes with good ole fashioned wide zip ties.. I then got the ole wire brushes out to clean up some powder rust along the inside frame. ( I know, I know,, No one see's the inside of the frame,,). But if you let rust go,, it will win the war. It got cleaned up from front to back,, prepped and primed and painted Cream colored white. Im still in the process of sanding the main gas line, elbows and all,, It aint as easy as an axle tube.  It will get finished up with sanding and inspection, then prepped and primmed then painted a bright Yellow.

I chose yellow, because I have a power tube line underneath thats bright red. (yes I have a LOG book on everything in, on, above and below the RV. color coded and all.)

The next project is the wheel hubs.. (brakes and mechanicals of the inerds are good). Im going to sand blast the hubs and prime them and shoot them with a nice Orange...  (Orange ya ask?, Why Not? )  Will look purdyyyyy behind the chrome rims. (big smiles). Which made me think,, hmmmmm maybe some purdyyy Mud flaps behind the rear wheels mite add a unique touch.

I am doing what I can inbetween the nasty days when the weather allows and still finding time with 2 other project RV's. One belong to a friend who just made the trek from California. His 3 yr old RV trailer has rust issues along the side panels and a belly pan is beyond repair, so will replace that. I talked him into upgrading to 14 inch tires from the teensy tiny 13 inch tires he has on there now. Maybe then he wont keep scraping his Drain plumbing over speed bumps,  (yea, it sits that low). Hes gonna upgrade from the flimsy plastic toilet to a porcelean, floor level model with no worries about a pedestal. Ive already replaced his 12 volt 1156 bulbs with LED, so he wont have to keep replacing his covers every 6 months.I took his CAR battery out of his battery box and put in a deep cycle marine battery, so now hes correctly set up for lights with out shore power when need be. ( dealer installed the 450 CCA car battery)..Maybe,, just maybe, I can talk him into the roll out solar panels that I have ordered for my RV.. They are 36 Volt, 100 Watt, with a step down converter controller so he can keep his battery charged while off the grid. I like them because they are LOW profile,, laying flat on the roof,, about the thickness of my cell phone at most.

Well, Thats whats happening in Lakota's world,, I will update and post more as I go.

[Rich Thomas]

Wish I had a shot of what ever keeps you plugging along. Man I'm worn out just reading this. I think I'm going to take a nap. LOL keep it rolling Lakota your an inspiration.