It should be no surprise that my worst fears were realized. A stomach bug has set in at the Holder household and I was first notified of this at 3AM Friday morning. My wife brought the baby into the guest room where my daughter and I were sleeping soundly. The baby had been throwing up most of the night and now my wife had joined in. She had been just laying down towels over where the baby was sleeping after each vomit episode forming a sort of vomit sandwich there on my bed. She was handling this as well as can be expected until she started getting sick herself and turned the chore over to me at 3AM.
When it was time to get the 2yo and 3yo up for the day, I entered my daughter's room where they were sleeping and was treated to what looked like a frat house on Sunday morning after a big party. There had apparently been some sort of vomit explosion.
From this point at 7AM on Friday, I, so far unaffected by the bug, was running solo with four sick kids for the next 24 hours. My wife was in bed useless battling her own let's just say "internal demons." They seemed to be in pretty good spirits and were outwardly appearing to feel sick so I did was anyone in my position would probably do, I dressed them and took them to daycare.
This worked, of course, until they got sick at daycare and I had to pick them up. Now don't judge me too bad here. I happened to know that other children at the daycare, including the lady running it, all had this same bug so it wasn't like I was using my kids as little typhoid Mary's. Still, it's every man for himself out there and I've probably done a lot worse elsewhere. My conscious is clear.
It did give me a few hours reprieve to attempt to catch up on laundry. My washer and dryer probably think that they have been sold to a Chinese laundry because they have been running non-stop for 2 days now. I should thank my mother for putting the idea in my head that NOW would be a rotten time for one or both of these appliances to break down. That, by itself, is enough to move it into the near inevitable list of catastrophes to befall us.
Despite all these troubles. My daughter and I managed to feed all the kids, get their teeth brushed, and in bed asleep by 830PM. It was a miracle that I had trouble believing. We turned in early. We managed well until about 1:30am when my daughter woke me up and reported that her stomach hurt.
I suggested that go directly to the bathroom.
She vomited there on the floor.
At that point I realized that the red kool-aid I fixed for her as a reward for helping out was probably not my greatest idea.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Never, NEVER think that things couldn't get any worse
My strategy is generally to attempt to think of the worst possible outcome and prepare for that. This way I am never especially surprised or disappointed. I'll go on the record again and point out that things can always get worse. Recently, I've had to really dig down to find that "worst possible outcome." Terrorist explosion, floods, and nuclear Armageddon might have to be added to my list.
Last night we were nearing 24 hours with the children. The kids slept for 5 or 6 of those while I had a fitful night of, let's just call it, laying down. We actually managed 2, yes TWO, sit down meals for the kids. The kids really, Really ate well at supper (This will be important to remember later!) which included chicken fingers and mac & cheese. My daughter, 9yo, asked for blue cheese dressing to dip her chicken in. The 2yo and 3yo immediately chimed in that they wanted some as well (This will also be important to remember later!).
The baby, we realized thanks to the insight of a neighbor, was teething and having a terrible time. She brought us some teething equipment and some medicine for her. Fortunately, the constant crying subsided a bit.
With supper behind us, my wife decided that the kids needed a bath. Now, I would have been perfectly fine not rocking the boat any and putting that chore off for later. The kids weren't stinking or anything. My wife, however, has a thing about baths and was adamant about this. I couldn't really complain since she does 99% of the bath work anyway.
We have a garden tub off of the master bedroom which is pretty large. We started with the 2yo and 3yo in the bath at the same time. My daughter has left literally a toy box full of toys around the edges of the tub so there was plenty for them to do. Noticing that there was still plenty of room, I suggested that we throw the 1yo in as well so we could knock out all the baths at one time.
Mass confusion ensued. At one point, I can't be quite sure, I thought I noticed the 2yo drinking the bath water(This will be important to note later!). I alerted my daughter who was doing a good job watching them while my wife was busy getting the baby dried off and lubed up. My daughter informed me that the cup was empty and she wasn't drinking. In hindsight, I realize that it is more than possible that the cup wasn't full of water "that time."
Once the kids were out of baths, dried off, oiled up, dressed in pajamas and such, I stupidly thought that the "hard stuff" was behind us and we could settle down for the evening while the kids, freshly scrubbed, could drift off to sleep.
yep.
Just as I was about to sit down, chicken, mac and cheese, blue cheese, and dirty bath water were literally hurled out of the mouth of the 2yo onto our living room couch. My daughter, never one to endure things she considers *gross*, disappeared into her room and was not seen again for 2 full hours. I'll admit that I was more than a little jealous that she had that option open to her.
About 15 minutes later, after cleaning up the 2yo, dressing her in new clothes, and cleaning the couch, the same thing happened again. I suppose we were fortunate in that the volume of vomit was significantly less this time.
We decided to make a pallet on the floor in the bedroom where Tina was going to sleep with the baby. This was so Tina could hear if there were any problems. The 2yo went right to sleep, thank christ!
Next we tried to put the baby to sleep. Tina rocked her and got her asleep in her arms. We tried to lay her down but she woke up every time and started crying. Fearing that this would wake up the sleeping 2yo, I left the room with the baby and paced and bounced for a while. Eventually, appeared to go to sleep. I managed to lay her down without waking her.
Just as I was pulling my hands back from the sleeping baby, I heard the 2yo stir. What happened next I realize now was inevitable considering my luck. There was a feint cry followed by the unmistakable sound of what my daughter calls "barking." We have three cats so this sound is fairly common in our home. Our cats bark all over the place. After barking, the 2yo started crying. Before I could get to her, the baby woke up and joined in.
Tina got the 2yo cleaned up and replaced the bedding. I volunteered to rock the now screaming baby to sleep in the living room so Tina could go to bed. This took a considerable amount of time. Is there anything more grating to the nerves than a baby crying? After a good hour of it in my lap, I can honestly answer "I don't think so." The baby did eventually get to sleep and I did manage to get her in the bed without waking her.
Walking towards the bed I hoped to sleep in, my wife reported another barking incident. We changed the bedding and cleaned up the 2yo. She, by this time, had no trouble at all returning to sleep. I estimated that we had enough supplies for one more bark before I would have to get creative and start raiding other beds for bedding.
Sure enough, that final bark happened about 5 minutes after I laid down. Our laundry room is literally filled with vomit-stained comforters, blankets, and sheets. Yes, things can definitely get worse. It will be such a joy to wash and dry all that this evening where, for all I know, the same thing will happen again unless the Gods of Barking smile down and give me a break tonight.
What I'm secretely bracing myself for is the terrible certinty that it is a stomach bug that has now spread to the other 2 kids.
Last night we were nearing 24 hours with the children. The kids slept for 5 or 6 of those while I had a fitful night of, let's just call it, laying down. We actually managed 2, yes TWO, sit down meals for the kids. The kids really, Really ate well at supper (This will be important to remember later!) which included chicken fingers and mac & cheese. My daughter, 9yo, asked for blue cheese dressing to dip her chicken in. The 2yo and 3yo immediately chimed in that they wanted some as well (This will also be important to remember later!).
The baby, we realized thanks to the insight of a neighbor, was teething and having a terrible time. She brought us some teething equipment and some medicine for her. Fortunately, the constant crying subsided a bit.
With supper behind us, my wife decided that the kids needed a bath. Now, I would have been perfectly fine not rocking the boat any and putting that chore off for later. The kids weren't stinking or anything. My wife, however, has a thing about baths and was adamant about this. I couldn't really complain since she does 99% of the bath work anyway.
We have a garden tub off of the master bedroom which is pretty large. We started with the 2yo and 3yo in the bath at the same time. My daughter has left literally a toy box full of toys around the edges of the tub so there was plenty for them to do. Noticing that there was still plenty of room, I suggested that we throw the 1yo in as well so we could knock out all the baths at one time.
Mass confusion ensued. At one point, I can't be quite sure, I thought I noticed the 2yo drinking the bath water(This will be important to note later!). I alerted my daughter who was doing a good job watching them while my wife was busy getting the baby dried off and lubed up. My daughter informed me that the cup was empty and she wasn't drinking. In hindsight, I realize that it is more than possible that the cup wasn't full of water "that time."
Once the kids were out of baths, dried off, oiled up, dressed in pajamas and such, I stupidly thought that the "hard stuff" was behind us and we could settle down for the evening while the kids, freshly scrubbed, could drift off to sleep.
yep.
Just as I was about to sit down, chicken, mac and cheese, blue cheese, and dirty bath water were literally hurled out of the mouth of the 2yo onto our living room couch. My daughter, never one to endure things she considers *gross*, disappeared into her room and was not seen again for 2 full hours. I'll admit that I was more than a little jealous that she had that option open to her.
About 15 minutes later, after cleaning up the 2yo, dressing her in new clothes, and cleaning the couch, the same thing happened again. I suppose we were fortunate in that the volume of vomit was significantly less this time.
We decided to make a pallet on the floor in the bedroom where Tina was going to sleep with the baby. This was so Tina could hear if there were any problems. The 2yo went right to sleep, thank christ!
Next we tried to put the baby to sleep. Tina rocked her and got her asleep in her arms. We tried to lay her down but she woke up every time and started crying. Fearing that this would wake up the sleeping 2yo, I left the room with the baby and paced and bounced for a while. Eventually, appeared to go to sleep. I managed to lay her down without waking her.
Just as I was pulling my hands back from the sleeping baby, I heard the 2yo stir. What happened next I realize now was inevitable considering my luck. There was a feint cry followed by the unmistakable sound of what my daughter calls "barking." We have three cats so this sound is fairly common in our home. Our cats bark all over the place. After barking, the 2yo started crying. Before I could get to her, the baby woke up and joined in.
Tina got the 2yo cleaned up and replaced the bedding. I volunteered to rock the now screaming baby to sleep in the living room so Tina could go to bed. This took a considerable amount of time. Is there anything more grating to the nerves than a baby crying? After a good hour of it in my lap, I can honestly answer "I don't think so." The baby did eventually get to sleep and I did manage to get her in the bed without waking her.
Walking towards the bed I hoped to sleep in, my wife reported another barking incident. We changed the bedding and cleaned up the 2yo. She, by this time, had no trouble at all returning to sleep. I estimated that we had enough supplies for one more bark before I would have to get creative and start raiding other beds for bedding.
Sure enough, that final bark happened about 5 minutes after I laid down. Our laundry room is literally filled with vomit-stained comforters, blankets, and sheets. Yes, things can definitely get worse. It will be such a joy to wash and dry all that this evening where, for all I know, the same thing will happen again unless the Gods of Barking smile down and give me a break tonight.
What I'm secretely bracing myself for is the terrible certinty that it is a stomach bug that has now spread to the other 2 kids.
A new adventure has begun . . .
At least the title sounds better than "My wife and I have descended into madness." On Tuesday, we took in in three foster children. There are 2 girls and 1 boy and their ages are, get this, 1, 2 and 3! Yes, I know, our tether on reality is pulled taunt and rapidly fraying. Despite what the future holds due to this decision, I'll go ahead and get on the record now by saying that, at the time, it *seemed* like a good idea.
We got a call from DCS around 8:30pm and tentatively stated that it would be *OK* to be considered as a placement. An hour later we received another call from DCS confirming us as the placement they chose for these children. An hour later, a DCS worker was at our door with the children. We talked briefly, signed a lot of papers, and the DCS worker made her escape. Less than three hours after quickly deciding to accept the placement, we were alone with three children with nothing but the clothes on their backs and each one holding a toy.
The little boy, 3yo, was just fine. He is potty trained and didn't appear especially upset at the chaos his day had turned into. The middle girl, 2yo, loved our cats but cried for her mother a good bit. She is semi-potty trained and knows how to say "gotta pee pee." That isn't really all that helpful since she says this every 5 minutes or so but I can see the possibilities. The baby girl, 1yo, seems like a typical baby. I'm sure she was affected by the chaos of the day as well.
Once we got the kids to sleep around 1am, I was able to catch my breath and, like everything else I jump blindly headfirst into, realized how stupidly incompetent I was for the situation at hand. Just to add to the stress of the evening, it was terribly cold. We had been letting our 2 outside junkyard dogs sleep in the house. The kids were soundly sleeping on a pallet I made for them on the living room floor so letting the dogs stay in the living room was out.
I quickly thought of a solution and decided that we could create a makeshift corral that would lead from the back door to the garage door. I set up a heater in the garage for them. We set up bar stools and chairs and other objects along the way to create a path toward the garage and posted my wife and daughter at key locations to direct traffic. I felt like a cowboy. I opened the garage door and ran to the back door to let the dogs in with the intention of shooing them into the garage.
Typical of my ideas that *seemed* like a good idea at the time, things didn't go exactly as planned. Mutt #1 made an immediate left after coming in the door between the recliner and the couch and started barking at the sleeping kids on the floor. I quickly grabbed up the dog in my arms and found myself trapped behind the barricade that was supposed to keep the dogs moving in the right direction. I eventually managed to dump her in the garage and closed the door.
Mutt #2 followed the exact same path as Mutt #1 but, thankfully, no barking this time. Mutt #2 is too heavy to pick up so I had to scoot him by the butt into the garage. I'm lucky that he didn't step on one of the kids.
Amidst the confusion, two of our inside cats managed to get herded into the garage themselves. We didn't realize this until the next morning when we tried a repeat of the corral technique the night before. I opened the garage expecting the dogs to come running out (they hate the garage, by the way) but was surprised by 2 cats charging in like they were on fire. This time, of course, the dogs didn't want to leave the garage so I had to push and prod them like cattle to get them moving. The cats didn't like the garage at all but I figure it serves them right for not staying out of the way.
My wife, Tina, and I both stayed home from work on Wed. so we could get some needed supplies and secure daycare for all the kids.
I used a vacation day but, trust me, it was no vacation.
We got a call from DCS around 8:30pm and tentatively stated that it would be *OK* to be considered as a placement. An hour later we received another call from DCS confirming us as the placement they chose for these children. An hour later, a DCS worker was at our door with the children. We talked briefly, signed a lot of papers, and the DCS worker made her escape. Less than three hours after quickly deciding to accept the placement, we were alone with three children with nothing but the clothes on their backs and each one holding a toy.
The little boy, 3yo, was just fine. He is potty trained and didn't appear especially upset at the chaos his day had turned into. The middle girl, 2yo, loved our cats but cried for her mother a good bit. She is semi-potty trained and knows how to say "gotta pee pee." That isn't really all that helpful since she says this every 5 minutes or so but I can see the possibilities. The baby girl, 1yo, seems like a typical baby. I'm sure she was affected by the chaos of the day as well.
Once we got the kids to sleep around 1am, I was able to catch my breath and, like everything else I jump blindly headfirst into, realized how stupidly incompetent I was for the situation at hand. Just to add to the stress of the evening, it was terribly cold. We had been letting our 2 outside junkyard dogs sleep in the house. The kids were soundly sleeping on a pallet I made for them on the living room floor so letting the dogs stay in the living room was out.
I quickly thought of a solution and decided that we could create a makeshift corral that would lead from the back door to the garage door. I set up a heater in the garage for them. We set up bar stools and chairs and other objects along the way to create a path toward the garage and posted my wife and daughter at key locations to direct traffic. I felt like a cowboy. I opened the garage door and ran to the back door to let the dogs in with the intention of shooing them into the garage.
Typical of my ideas that *seemed* like a good idea at the time, things didn't go exactly as planned. Mutt #1 made an immediate left after coming in the door between the recliner and the couch and started barking at the sleeping kids on the floor. I quickly grabbed up the dog in my arms and found myself trapped behind the barricade that was supposed to keep the dogs moving in the right direction. I eventually managed to dump her in the garage and closed the door.
Mutt #2 followed the exact same path as Mutt #1 but, thankfully, no barking this time. Mutt #2 is too heavy to pick up so I had to scoot him by the butt into the garage. I'm lucky that he didn't step on one of the kids.
Amidst the confusion, two of our inside cats managed to get herded into the garage themselves. We didn't realize this until the next morning when we tried a repeat of the corral technique the night before. I opened the garage expecting the dogs to come running out (they hate the garage, by the way) but was surprised by 2 cats charging in like they were on fire. This time, of course, the dogs didn't want to leave the garage so I had to push and prod them like cattle to get them moving. The cats didn't like the garage at all but I figure it serves them right for not staying out of the way.
My wife, Tina, and I both stayed home from work on Wed. so we could get some needed supplies and secure daycare for all the kids.
I used a vacation day but, trust me, it was no vacation.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Fixing the Damage from Paris Landing
While the camping trip last weekend was wonderful, it was not without damage to the camper. I'm hoping that this "damage" every trip will start to lessen as I am *hopefully* just finding weaknesses and fixing them stronger than before.
Last weekend the storage door to the door side dinette bench caved in thanks to my wife's knee and the attachment for the outside table was nearly ripped off of the side of the camper when I tried to remove it. Both of these things were 100% due to poor patching by a previous owner and poor design on Starcraft's part.
That and 30 years of wear and tear, I suppose.
For the storage box door, nothing was actually broken except for the plastic hinges. The wood supports, I discovered, were simply stapled gunned to the underside of the top and they all pulled out of the wood. The door itself was not broken, fortunately.
Here is a shot after I removed the broken door:
The hinge hardware now could sit flat against the door. Again, this is blurry (stupid camera!) but you should get the idea:
I did these for three spots, installed the hinges, and put the whole thing back in Frostbite:
I went for three hinges to replace the two plastic ones that were there already. I also added the wood support dowels by screwing them to the underside of the bench top for added support for the door. The previous supports were stapled in place.
Here is a shot of it open just in case you wondered if it still worked:
from the inside:
That joker is in there to stay.
There was one final thing that I fixed that day. It wasn't a repair from the weekend but rather a left over from when I initially put the camper back together. The electric outlet in the galley side box was sitting loose in the opening.
There were holes in the cover for it to be attached to something but there was nothing for a screw to actually screw into. The holes just opened to empty space. I put this off for months because the answer wasn't obvious to me. I decided to search though the bin that contains all the parts left over from putting Frostbite back together. Everybody has one of these after a project, right? I happened to find a couple of plastic pieces that, upon close inspection, were actually brackets and screws that allowed the outlet cover to be attached to the box.
Glad I didn't throw any of that junk away. I suspect that I will have to dig through this bin a few more times as unexpected problems arise.
Frostbite is now fixed and stronger than ever. Next weekend I hope to install a couple of drawer/shelves that I haven't gotten around to reinstalling in one of the storage boxes. There is also a shelving modification I read about on the popupportal.com that would provide some shelves above the sink which is desperately needed. Currently, we are using the dinette table for storage of kitchen stuff while we are camping which sort of makes it a pain to actually use the dinette table for anything else. I'm hoping that for our next campout will actually be able to use BOTH sides of the dinette.
Next trip scheduled for October 16th, 17th and 18th which is my daughter's fall break. We are going to Natchez Trace State Park. We had originally planned to go to Pigeon Forge, TN but got scared of the potential wear and tear on Bluebell tugging Frostbite up the hills of East TN without having a transmission cooler. It's a nice flat shot to Natchez Trace.
Last weekend the storage door to the door side dinette bench caved in thanks to my wife's knee and the attachment for the outside table was nearly ripped off of the side of the camper when I tried to remove it. Both of these things were 100% due to poor patching by a previous owner and poor design on Starcraft's part.
That and 30 years of wear and tear, I suppose.
For the storage box door, nothing was actually broken except for the plastic hinges. The wood supports, I discovered, were simply stapled gunned to the underside of the top and they all pulled out of the wood. The door itself was not broken, fortunately.
Here is a shot after I removed the broken door:
Here is a shot of the storage door, itself:
I went to the Tool Box hardware store and picked up some hinges. I intended to replace the wood braces for the door with screws which should be stronger than the staples that it had previously.
Back home with the new hinges, I realized the purpose of the flat plastic hinges. They could sit directly on top of the door and act as a hinge. The new metal hinges has a mechanism where the two pieces fit together that had to somehow fit between the door and the edge. Note that this door fits inside the hole exactly with no gaps around edges.
Unwilling to try to go out again and find a different hinge design, I opted to jerry rig what I had to make it work. I took a hammer and screw driver and carved out a small square on the door edge so that the hinge would fit properly.
This pic is a little blurry but you should be able to make out the cut out I had to make for the hinge:
The hinge hardware now could sit flat against the door. Again, this is blurry (stupid camera!) but you should get the idea:
I did these for three spots, installed the hinges, and put the whole thing back in Frostbite:
I went for three hinges to replace the two plastic ones that were there already. I also added the wood support dowels by screwing them to the underside of the bench top for added support for the door. The previous supports were stapled in place.
Here is a shot of it open just in case you wondered if it still worked:
Good as new!
Next, I tackled the attachment for the outside table. Previous owners apparently had trouble with this also and they fixed it by nailing the thing to the side of the camper. These nails pulled out last weekend when I was fighting to get the stupid table off. Here is a shot of the aftermath:
I first thought I could get some larger wood screws and screw the thing back onto the side so I went back to the Tool Box and got the screws I needed.
Didn't work.
I then relented and decided to nail the thing back on to the side.
Didn't work.
Frustrated now, I decided that, since all the holes are stripped, I could run a bolt through and attach it with nuts from the inside. I went back to the Tool Box and got the hardware I needed.
It was a pain getting the things attached tightly but it did work and man, it worked good! This thing won't be coming off again anytime soon.
Here is a shot from the outside:
from the inside:
There was one final thing that I fixed that day. It wasn't a repair from the weekend but rather a left over from when I initially put the camper back together. The electric outlet in the galley side box was sitting loose in the opening.
There were holes in the cover for it to be attached to something but there was nothing for a screw to actually screw into. The holes just opened to empty space. I put this off for months because the answer wasn't obvious to me. I decided to search though the bin that contains all the parts left over from putting Frostbite back together. Everybody has one of these after a project, right? I happened to find a couple of plastic pieces that, upon close inspection, were actually brackets and screws that allowed the outlet cover to be attached to the box.
Glad I didn't throw any of that junk away. I suspect that I will have to dig through this bin a few more times as unexpected problems arise.
Frostbite is now fixed and stronger than ever. Next weekend I hope to install a couple of drawer/shelves that I haven't gotten around to reinstalling in one of the storage boxes. There is also a shelving modification I read about on the popupportal.com that would provide some shelves above the sink which is desperately needed. Currently, we are using the dinette table for storage of kitchen stuff while we are camping which sort of makes it a pain to actually use the dinette table for anything else. I'm hoping that for our next campout will actually be able to use BOTH sides of the dinette.
Next trip scheduled for October 16th, 17th and 18th which is my daughter's fall break. We are going to Natchez Trace State Park. We had originally planned to go to Pigeon Forge, TN but got scared of the potential wear and tear on Bluebell tugging Frostbite up the hills of East TN without having a transmission cooler. It's a nice flat shot to Natchez Trace.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Another Success!
We survived the weekend at Paris Landing. The weather was wonderful; there was not even the hint of rain. Despite issues with the campground itself, Frostbite performed wonderfully.
We arrived around 4PM on Friday and chose a campsite. The pickings were pretty slim not because the campground was crowded but because the campsites were so poor. They were small. The pull ins were in terrible condition and we had trouble finding one that was somewhat level and in good enough shape for me to be willing to back Frostbite into. We eventually decided on one that was in semi-good shape, close to the playground, and semi-close to the restrooms.
Of course, I only realized AFTER setting Frostbite up that the @$%^ water was AGAIN too far away from my water hose to reach. This water hookup was actually meant to be shared by two campsites. We didn't have any neighbors and the camp host told us that he would get a Y connection for us if neighbors did arrive but it was still an unnecessary pain. Another night with no water.
Also, my hope that the lift cables would magically retain their adjustments after being removed and put back on last week was dashed when I realized that the front left lift pole still had a couple of inches to be raised to full height. I'll have to crawl underneath the camper next week and try to adjust the cables.
The pad for the camper was very short. The bunk end end went over the concrete picnic table a couple of feet. And also, of course, the stupid safety bar jammed while trying to raise the camper. I slid underneath on the rocks and lined the bar up the with lift cable and the roof raised fine. Man, I wish I could devise a way to fix that!
The weekend was not without damage either. My wife put her knee through the door side bench while trying to put the curtains up. It wasn't really her fault. Inspecting the damage, I realized just how flimsy the lid to the storage area actually was. The wood didn't crack, it just broke the plastic (yes, plastic!) hinges that held the lid on and pulled out a support brace. I could fix it fairly easy and will try to make it even stronger after the fix but, for this weekend anyway, it would mean another camp-out where we just get to use one side of the dinette. This time, though, we get to use the short one that I fixed from the last camping trip. Oh, the joy.
More serious damage was done while trying to break Frostbite down on Sunday. The outside table hooks onto the camper by sliding into a piece of metal nailed to the side. It was difficult to slide in and it was almost impossible to get it to slide out at the end of the weekend. I beat and tugged on it and managed to bend it up pretty good. I'm not even sure if I can repair the connections good enough to use again so I may have to devise a completely new way of attaching the table to the outside. I do like having the table outside so just leaving it off isn't really an option.
We ate that the park restaurant on Friday night and I was shocked by a $15 seafood buffet. It was pretty good but not $15 good. We ordered water to drink with the meal and vowed to pack food for Friday nights on future trips.
Saturday morning we fried up some bacon, scrambled some eggs, and toasted some bread all on Frostbites galley stove. It was wonderful. After that we went into town a bit and visited with my friend Tom and his mother. They had some pizza delivered and my wife, hell-bent on a weekend of destruction, broke one of their plates before we left.
After the visit, we hit Wal-Mart. Determined to actually use the sink in Frostbite, I picked up a 50ft water hose (actually one of the last two they had in the store) and a 7gal water container that I planned to use for gray water.
Back at the campsite the hose worked fine and the tank collected the gray water perfectly. I heated up a pot of water on the stove and washed dishes for the first time in Frostbite.
We were much better organized this trip and had most if not all things we need for camping. My daughter exclaimed at one point "This is the best camping trip ever!" Now, we've only had 2 camping trips so far so she doesn't have much to compare with but she did seem to have fun and we had some great campfire time together as a family on Saturday night. My wife seemed to especially enjoy the evening. Believe it or not, the evening was exactly as we imagined last fall when we started thinking about getting a camper.
That afternoon, my daughter met a friend she called Steve.
We arrived around 4PM on Friday and chose a campsite. The pickings were pretty slim not because the campground was crowded but because the campsites were so poor. They were small. The pull ins were in terrible condition and we had trouble finding one that was somewhat level and in good enough shape for me to be willing to back Frostbite into. We eventually decided on one that was in semi-good shape, close to the playground, and semi-close to the restrooms.
Of course, I only realized AFTER setting Frostbite up that the @$%^ water was AGAIN too far away from my water hose to reach. This water hookup was actually meant to be shared by two campsites. We didn't have any neighbors and the camp host told us that he would get a Y connection for us if neighbors did arrive but it was still an unnecessary pain. Another night with no water.
Also, my hope that the lift cables would magically retain their adjustments after being removed and put back on last week was dashed when I realized that the front left lift pole still had a couple of inches to be raised to full height. I'll have to crawl underneath the camper next week and try to adjust the cables.
The pad for the camper was very short. The bunk end end went over the concrete picnic table a couple of feet. And also, of course, the stupid safety bar jammed while trying to raise the camper. I slid underneath on the rocks and lined the bar up the with lift cable and the roof raised fine. Man, I wish I could devise a way to fix that!
Frostbite set up at the campsite
The site was not level either. Not even close to level actually. I rolled Frostbite on a 1/2 inch board and then added a piece of 2x4 on top of that and she still wasn't level. It was close enough for government work though and made me vow to get a BAL leveler before the next camping trip.
The weekend was not without damage either. My wife put her knee through the door side bench while trying to put the curtains up. It wasn't really her fault. Inspecting the damage, I realized just how flimsy the lid to the storage area actually was. The wood didn't crack, it just broke the plastic (yes, plastic!) hinges that held the lid on and pulled out a support brace. I could fix it fairly easy and will try to make it even stronger after the fix but, for this weekend anyway, it would mean another camp-out where we just get to use one side of the dinette. This time, though, we get to use the short one that I fixed from the last camping trip. Oh, the joy.
More serious damage was done while trying to break Frostbite down on Sunday. The outside table hooks onto the camper by sliding into a piece of metal nailed to the side. It was difficult to slide in and it was almost impossible to get it to slide out at the end of the weekend. I beat and tugged on it and managed to bend it up pretty good. I'm not even sure if I can repair the connections good enough to use again so I may have to devise a completely new way of attaching the table to the outside. I do like having the table outside so just leaving it off isn't really an option.
We ate that the park restaurant on Friday night and I was shocked by a $15 seafood buffet. It was pretty good but not $15 good. We ordered water to drink with the meal and vowed to pack food for Friday nights on future trips.
Saturday morning we fried up some bacon, scrambled some eggs, and toasted some bread all on Frostbites galley stove. It was wonderful. After that we went into town a bit and visited with my friend Tom and his mother. They had some pizza delivered and my wife, hell-bent on a weekend of destruction, broke one of their plates before we left.
After the visit, we hit Wal-Mart. Determined to actually use the sink in Frostbite, I picked up a 50ft water hose (actually one of the last two they had in the store) and a 7gal water container that I planned to use for gray water.
Back at the campsite the hose worked fine and the tank collected the gray water perfectly. I heated up a pot of water on the stove and washed dishes for the first time in Frostbite.
We were much better organized this trip and had most if not all things we need for camping. My daughter exclaimed at one point "This is the best camping trip ever!" Now, we've only had 2 camping trips so far so she doesn't have much to compare with but she did seem to have fun and we had some great campfire time together as a family on Saturday night. My wife seemed to especially enjoy the evening. Believe it or not, the evening was exactly as we imagined last fall when we started thinking about getting a camper.
That afternoon, my daughter met a friend she called Steve.
My daughter holding Steve
Also on Saturday afternoon, we drove and walked around the park a bit. My daughter especially liked collecting shells around the lake. I snapped a picture of the park Inn from across the lake. I'm no photographer but this one accidentally turned out pretty good.
As I mentioned earlier, the weather was great for the weekend and on Saturday morning we opened all the windows on Frostbite. We left them open all day and all night and yes, we actually turned off the AC. With such perfect camping weather, I wonder why the campground was so sparsely populated. There were two large 5th wheels, three or four tent campers, and a single small travel trailer camper. No other popups. Where were all the campers? This is a fairly big tourist area with the lakes and there were numerous private RV parks and campgrounds we passed on the way in. Surely camping season is not over for everyone.
Heck, for us, it has just started.
We made it home around 2pm on Sunday. We raised the garage and were treated to the smell of rotted food and a puddle of nasty water around the freezer we keep in the garage. The circuit breaker had popped over the weekend and everything inside had thawed and was ruined. We spent the next hour cleaning up the floor and the inside of the freezer. All of the food had to be thrown away. The large bag of fish that my sister's boyfriend gave us was the primary source of the smell and nasty water.
I'm not sure why the circuit breaker clicked off. The freezer is pretty old and could be on it's last legs but we cleaned it up anyway and I plugged it back in empty to test it out and see if it continues to work.
My next few posts here will address the damage to Frostbite I need to fix before the next trip in October. I'll also need to order a BAL leveler before the next trip because the boards I used to somewhat level the camper are still at Paris Landing since I stupidly drove off and left them where they sat.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Green for launch - Paris Landing State Park!
My wife and I both are only working a half-day today so we can get home and pack our weekend bags, feed/water the animals and pick up a few supplies for the trip so we can get an early start to Paris Landing State Park. Once packed and ready, I'm going to pick my daughter up from school early so we can go ahead and leave. I wanted to leave early so that I would get to the park and be able to set Frostbite up before it gets dark.
I'm going to bring a cooler with some bacon and eggs for Saturday morning breakfast but that's all the food we are taking with us. Friday night we will be eating at the Park Inn. Saturday we are going to visit my friend, Tom, who lives in the area and we will pick up something for supper while we are in town.
Frostbite is Go for travel *I hope*. I'm pretty sure I can deal with any jams while raising and lowering the roof and I'm fairly confident that I tightened the lift cable connections to the whiffle tree enough so that the roof won't come crashing down on us. Since the last trip, I've packed Frostbite with camping staples like bedding, cooking utensils, pots, pans, towels. Since I've fixed the galley side bench we will get to use both sides of the dinette this time. I also packed up both table legs so we will get to use the outside table this trip as well. I still don't have a weather radio just for Frostbite though so, hopefully, I'll remember to grab the one we use in the house. I would like to get a wind up radio just for Frostbite so we can keep one in her. I have one for the house but we do use it from time to time and I don't want it to be packed up in the camper when I want to use it. Maybe I'll try to pick one up this weekend during the trip. Fred's has wind up radios for $10.
I also hope to actually use Frostbite's water system this trip. If you remember, I screwed up on our last trip and chose a campsite that was too far away from the water hookup for my water hose to reach. I cut a 2 foot piece of hose off of an old hose to use as a drain for the gray water from the outlet on the side of Frostbite. I really need a collapsable water tank to collect gray water but I don't have one. Instead, I'm bringing the water bucket we use to wash cars and such. Not classy but it will have to do.
The weather is supposed to turn cool this weekend. We plan to bring some jackets *just in case*. We may even decide to open up the windows instead of using the AC. This, of course, is if, and only IF, it gets cool enough. As much work and money I put into that AC for Frostbite, I have no plans of breaking a sweat inside her. In fact, I have no plans of being warm in ANY way inside of her. A big part of me almost likes Frostbite's AC better than anything else. However, knowing my wife as well as I do, the heater might even get a first-time use on Saturday and Sunday mornings if the night temp gets cool enough.
I'm shooting for hitting the road around 2pm this afternoon so, right now, we're talking T-5 1/2 hrs.
Wish us luck and let's hope that this weekend is thunderstorm free!
I'm going to bring a cooler with some bacon and eggs for Saturday morning breakfast but that's all the food we are taking with us. Friday night we will be eating at the Park Inn. Saturday we are going to visit my friend, Tom, who lives in the area and we will pick up something for supper while we are in town.
Frostbite is Go for travel *I hope*. I'm pretty sure I can deal with any jams while raising and lowering the roof and I'm fairly confident that I tightened the lift cable connections to the whiffle tree enough so that the roof won't come crashing down on us. Since the last trip, I've packed Frostbite with camping staples like bedding, cooking utensils, pots, pans, towels. Since I've fixed the galley side bench we will get to use both sides of the dinette this time. I also packed up both table legs so we will get to use the outside table this trip as well. I still don't have a weather radio just for Frostbite though so, hopefully, I'll remember to grab the one we use in the house. I would like to get a wind up radio just for Frostbite so we can keep one in her. I have one for the house but we do use it from time to time and I don't want it to be packed up in the camper when I want to use it. Maybe I'll try to pick one up this weekend during the trip. Fred's has wind up radios for $10.
I also hope to actually use Frostbite's water system this trip. If you remember, I screwed up on our last trip and chose a campsite that was too far away from the water hookup for my water hose to reach. I cut a 2 foot piece of hose off of an old hose to use as a drain for the gray water from the outlet on the side of Frostbite. I really need a collapsable water tank to collect gray water but I don't have one. Instead, I'm bringing the water bucket we use to wash cars and such. Not classy but it will have to do.
The weather is supposed to turn cool this weekend. We plan to bring some jackets *just in case*. We may even decide to open up the windows instead of using the AC. This, of course, is if, and only IF, it gets cool enough. As much work and money I put into that AC for Frostbite, I have no plans of breaking a sweat inside her. In fact, I have no plans of being warm in ANY way inside of her. A big part of me almost likes Frostbite's AC better than anything else. However, knowing my wife as well as I do, the heater might even get a first-time use on Saturday and Sunday mornings if the night temp gets cool enough.
I'm shooting for hitting the road around 2pm this afternoon so, right now, we're talking T-5 1/2 hrs.
Wish us luck and let's hope that this weekend is thunderstorm free!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Well, at least the roof goes up and down
Wednesday afternoon, I decided to tackle Frostbite's latest troubles. I tried raising to roof secretly hoping that magic faeries had come during the night to fix the roof raising problem.
Nope.
I squatted and looked underneath. The safety bar, which is not rigid in the track that the lift cable runs, was pushed to one side. I reached in and simply pulled it even with the cable and tried raising it again.
Success!
It raised up fine and hooked onto the frame where it was supposed to. I wish I could think of something to ensure that the safety bar stayed centered as the rood if being raised but at least I know I can do it myself by hand as necessary. I chalked this fix up as completed. Hopefully, I'll be inspired later as to how to permanently fix it.
With that problem solved, I then set out to install the shelves and door threshold which were little projects that needed done since the rebuild but were not critical enough to stop us from camping.
The threshold went down fine. It would have been better if I had screws with rounded heads as there is the potential to cut/scrape bare feet but I didn't have any. I decided to use what I did have and pick up some replacements at a later date.
I actually had to use 2 thresholds on the door. Due to the way I laid down the tiles, there was a gap exposing the floor that was about an inch wider than the threshold already in Frostbite. I had intended to replace the original with a wider one which would have solved the problem. However, the wider one that I found turned out to be too tall for the door to close over it. The 2nd and shorter one I got was not wide enough to cover the gap between the tiles and the edge of the camper.
I opted to put the original one back on and the new threshold over the exposed gap. It doesn't look as bad as it sounds. * I hope *
Nope.
I squatted and looked underneath. The safety bar, which is not rigid in the track that the lift cable runs, was pushed to one side. I reached in and simply pulled it even with the cable and tried raising it again.
Success!
It raised up fine and hooked onto the frame where it was supposed to. I wish I could think of something to ensure that the safety bar stayed centered as the rood if being raised but at least I know I can do it myself by hand as necessary. I chalked this fix up as completed. Hopefully, I'll be inspired later as to how to permanently fix it.
With that problem solved, I then set out to install the shelves and door threshold which were little projects that needed done since the rebuild but were not critical enough to stop us from camping.
The threshold went down fine. It would have been better if I had screws with rounded heads as there is the potential to cut/scrape bare feet but I didn't have any. I decided to use what I did have and pick up some replacements at a later date.
I actually had to use 2 thresholds on the door. Due to the way I laid down the tiles, there was a gap exposing the floor that was about an inch wider than the threshold already in Frostbite. I had intended to replace the original with a wider one which would have solved the problem. However, the wider one that I found turned out to be too tall for the door to close over it. The 2nd and shorter one I got was not wide enough to cover the gap between the tiles and the edge of the camper.
I opted to put the original one back on and the new threshold over the exposed gap. It doesn't look as bad as it sounds. * I hope *
yea, I guess it does look as bad as it sounds
I will keep my eye out for a better fitting threshold but until then this will have to work.
I then turned my attention to the shelves. There is a shelf that goes underneath the sink and over the wheel well. I decided to start with that one. The other "shelf" in the door-side cabinet is much more complicated. It is actually a couple of plastic tubs which sit on metal runners in the cabinet and act like drawers. Installing them will require installing the metal brackets properly which will require accurate measuring and such.
I'll save those for next time.
The sink cabinet shelf went in fairly easy.
After getting the shelf in, I goofed with the fridge so that it set correctly without wobbling. It needed to sit more inside the opening than I had it. Eventually, I found the perfect resting place.
During this process, I opened the fridge door to get a better hold of the thing and was immediately hit with a funky smell. I thought at first that we had stupidly left food in it from the last trip but I couldn't find any. There was some water in it though and that had gone sour.
I left the door open for a while to let it air out. I need to remember to clean and dry it out before packing Frostbite up to return home from a camping trip.
All in all, the evening was a great success. I packed up Frostbite for our trip this weekend and she won't be raised up again until we arrive at the campsite on Friday. THIS time I tried to organize things much better and hope that Frostbite is loaded with everything she needs.
We'll see.
One thing leads to another
I had great intentions this Monday of opening up Frostbite and installing the remaining shelves and the door threshold. However, when I was cranking her up, it stopped just short of being about to hook the safety bar to the frame. I tried it a few times and was careful not to apply too much pressure so the cables or anything else wouldn't break or bend. the mechanism that lifted the roof was hitting something that didn't allow it to raise all the way.
I lowered the roof and crawled underneath. Looking at the so-called whiffle tree, which is the gizmo that that the 4 roof cables attach to and is itself attached to the main lift cable, it appeared bent and I suspected that part of it was hitting the frame somewhere along the path as it was being lifted. In fact, I noticed that it was digging a groove into the floor along the raise path. Remembering that I didn't tighten the metal bar that holds the safety bar to the whiffle tree the last time I worked on it so I decided to try tightening that up first.
It was a pain as it took 2 pairs of pliers and working around the lift cable but I eventually got the screw nut turning. I kept this up until, to my surprise, it fell apart in my hands. It turns out that I was actually loosening the screw instead of tightening it. I briefly tried to re-attach the bolt but it was difficult due to the previously mentioned bend in the metal. I decided to take the whole thing off and try my patented "smack it with a hammer until it looks straight" method that has worked successfully for me in the past. Besides, at this point it was much easer to take apart than put back together and I was getting tired of lying underneath the camper.
I had to unattach the corner lift cables from the whiffle tree to get the thing off. Realizing that this would destroy any special adjustments made keeping the roof lifting evenly, I figured I was already committed to this thing and forged ahead anyway. Here is the piece in question:
I lowered the roof and crawled underneath. Looking at the so-called whiffle tree, which is the gizmo that that the 4 roof cables attach to and is itself attached to the main lift cable, it appeared bent and I suspected that part of it was hitting the frame somewhere along the path as it was being lifted. In fact, I noticed that it was digging a groove into the floor along the raise path. Remembering that I didn't tighten the metal bar that holds the safety bar to the whiffle tree the last time I worked on it so I decided to try tightening that up first.
It was a pain as it took 2 pairs of pliers and working around the lift cable but I eventually got the screw nut turning. I kept this up until, to my surprise, it fell apart in my hands. It turns out that I was actually loosening the screw instead of tightening it. I briefly tried to re-attach the bolt but it was difficult due to the previously mentioned bend in the metal. I decided to take the whole thing off and try my patented "smack it with a hammer until it looks straight" method that has worked successfully for me in the past. Besides, at this point it was much easer to take apart than put back together and I was getting tired of lying underneath the camper.
I had to unattach the corner lift cables from the whiffle tree to get the thing off. Realizing that this would destroy any special adjustments made keeping the roof lifting evenly, I figured I was already committed to this thing and forged ahead anyway. Here is the piece in question:
The bend is easier to see in this photo. Where the two metal strips come together is bent upwards and was digging into the floor when the roof is raised.
I got my trusty hammer and whacked on it for a while. Eventually, I got the piece to look like this:
Still bent but not nearly as bad
With this done, I then spent the next hour putting the thing back on the camper. I won't bore you with the details except to say that I was glad my daughter was not outside to hear my commentary during the process.
Daylight was quickly slipping away. I had to get a flashlight to finish. Once it was all back together, I gave it one last try before calling it a night and tried to crank up the roof.
About halfway up, it wedged and would go no further.
@#$%
Monday, September 13, 2010
It may not be pretty, but it works
Last week I fashioned a way to secure the awning for travel. Like the title says, it may not be pretty but at least it will work. I picked up some tarp straps for $10. Cut some small slits in the awning and attached the straps so that they go around the entire awning and bag.
I no longer have to worry about the awning coming undone while on the road and ripping violently off the camper. You can't tell from the pictures but the 2 ends on each of the straps are connected by large hooks underneath the awning bag. This is definitely not the best solution but the best I could come up with right away.
The weakest point is probably where I cut the slits for the straps. I tried to cut them in the thick seam where the bag and the awning is connected to the camper.
I realize that there is a potential for these slits to continue to rip down the seam but I figure that it would take a while to do that and there really wasn't any other option. The bag/awning combo is in pretty bad shape since the bag will no longer zip closed around the awning.
This will have to work until I either think of a better solution or replace the entire awning.
This past weekend I did manage to clean out the garage. One evening this week I will raise Frostbite and pack her for our 2nd trip this coming weekend to Paris Landing State Park. I intend to do a better job pre-packing than I did last trip.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Phase One Renovation Complete
Over the weekend, I installed the new, much stronger, front for the galley side box. It went in without a hitch and was tested a bit over the weekend as we showed off the camper to my in-laws and my mother in law and daughter were sitting on the bench and it didn't cave in.
I'm calling Phase One complete since the camper is now perfectly "campable" even though there are still things I wish to do. I still need some type of moulding in several places along with a final coat of paint and clear coat on the counter tops. There are several other improvements on my list that are mainly cosmetic which I will do as I get time and money. I'll be sure to detail all my changes here.
I did pick up some straps to use on the awning bag and I'll try to get those installed this week. The only color I could find for the straps was red which sorta sucks. However, if I can get that bag closed tight, secure, and easy to open and close, I'll be happy.
The weather was perfect for the labor day weekend so I took some pictures of the inside of Frostbite just for comparison. You also get a chance to see the new curtains. My seamstress did a most outstanding job!
I'm calling Phase One complete since the camper is now perfectly "campable" even though there are still things I wish to do. I still need some type of moulding in several places along with a final coat of paint and clear coat on the counter tops. There are several other improvements on my list that are mainly cosmetic which I will do as I get time and money. I'll be sure to detail all my changes here.
I did pick up some straps to use on the awning bag and I'll try to get those installed this week. The only color I could find for the straps was red which sorta sucks. However, if I can get that bag closed tight, secure, and easy to open and close, I'll be happy.
The weather was perfect for the labor day weekend so I took some pictures of the inside of Frostbite just for comparison. You also get a chance to see the new curtains. My seamstress did a most outstanding job!
This is the closest shot I got of the rebuild face for the galley side bench. You can see most of it in the lower right of the above photo. Notice that the bunk end curtains are now yellow which matches the other material perfectly.
Here is the AC installed. The exhaust runs down through the box it is sitting on and then underneath the camper. We just had it on fan since it was so cool outside already. Actually, this is the first time Frostbite has been set up with all the screen windows open.
Perfect camping weather is upon us and Frostbite is ready for action. Next trip is planned for Paris Landing State Park later this month.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Repairing the Damage from the Maiden Voyage
I did find some time this week to address the damage to the galley side bench that happened during Frostbite's first outing. Here is a shot of the damage:
The front face of the bench, which obviously wasn't strong enough to use, cracked in half nearly along it's entire length just underneath the converter box. The caused the nails to pull apart from the top board that serves as the seat. The entire face would have to be rebuild.
Using the broken piece as a pattern, I cut out a new piece from a large piece of bead board left over from the renovation. Lucky I saved that!
The new piece is on the left
another angle
I then reattached the inside dowels making it exactly the same as the original.
Here is a shot of the original supports for comparison.
The one on the right was the original pre-renovation part from Frostbite. The one of the left is the rebuilt one that broke. The original, of course, didn't seem to have enough support so I added three vertical support dowels.
Hopefully, much stronger now!
I opted not to drill the large hole near the converter box opening since, and I can't remember exactly why now, I wondered during the trip why I had a hole there in the first place since it wasn't needed. I'll cross that bridge later. If I do need a hole there, I can add it later.
One important piece that is not in the picture is another vertical support dowel that will go at the very end after the converter box is installed in the hole. I'll add that one as I am installing the bench back in Frostbite. This is the piece that I neglected to add prior to our first voyage and was probably the cause of the damage in the first place. I figure the extra 3 vertical supports couldn't hurt.
At this point, I was satisfied with my work. However, I don't work very fast and, with the days starting to get shorter, I ran out of daylight. My frequent beer breaks didn't help either. I hope to raise Frostbite this weekend and install the newer and better bench this Sat.
One important piece that is not in the picture is another vertical support dowel that will go at the very end after the converter box is installed in the hole. I'll add that one as I am installing the bench back in Frostbite. This is the piece that I neglected to add prior to our first voyage and was probably the cause of the damage in the first place. I figure the extra 3 vertical supports couldn't hurt.
At this point, I was satisfied with my work. However, I don't work very fast and, with the days starting to get shorter, I ran out of daylight. My frequent beer breaks didn't help either. I hope to raise Frostbite this weekend and install the newer and better bench this Sat.
My next project is figuring out a system for keeping the awning bag closed. My in-laws are coming for a visit this weekend so they will get a chance to see Frostbite firsthand in all her glory. I hope to solicit some advice about the awning bag from them as well.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
ahh, The Sweet Smell of Success . . .
. . . and the rancid stench of poor planning.
Well, we survived so my previously stated victory conditions were met. As I predicted, the pack up just prior to leaving was a last minute hatchet job. We were grabbing anything we could think of and piling it into Bluebell. I didn't want to raise up Frostbite to pack her better since we were pressed for time. I wanted to get to the park and have her set up before it got dark. I only partially succeeded in that effort.
Here is a list of things we forgot:
Well, we survived so my previously stated victory conditions were met. As I predicted, the pack up just prior to leaving was a last minute hatchet job. We were grabbing anything we could think of and piling it into Bluebell. I didn't want to raise up Frostbite to pack her better since we were pressed for time. I wanted to get to the park and have her set up before it got dark. I only partially succeeded in that effort.
Here is a list of things we forgot:
- weather radio
- radio of any type
- orange juice
- milk
- eggs
- towels
- dish cloths of any type (we did manage to remember paper towels)
- 1 table leg
- a fan for outside
Looking sharp!
another angle
Notice the new stripe decal that I added to the side of Frostbite which matches Bluebell. The safety chain, which I replaced with a shiny new, and stronger, one turned out to be too short. I had to attach it to just one side of the hitch instead of both the way it was intended. I'll get to the tool box and have them add another couple of feet to it later this week. Since we were just going 20 miles down country roads, I figured it would be OK.
We arrived at the park before dark. The cost for a site with electric/water was $20 per night. My wife's state employee discount kicked it down to $16 per night. Total cost for the campsite this weekend was $32 which was, oddly enough, the exact same cost as our crappy lunch at the fair last weekend. There was a creek that ran along the campground and all the sites adjacent to this creek were already full. The opposite side of the loop, however, was completely empty so we opted for one of those fairly close to the bathhouse. We had no neighbors on either side or across the street for the whole weekend which was nice.
I got the set up started good before it got dark but still had to finish in the dark. The water hose was too short because they has the hookups for this particular campsite just a foot away from the water hookup for the neighboring campsite both of which were actually next to the neighboring campsite rather than in the middle between them. I'll have to make sure that I check for this prior to choosing a site to set up in.
I got the awning up, amazingly, without any problems at all. I figured out the mistake I made when I set it up at home last night and it went up stronger than ever. I didn't need to use any guide ropes to secure it. Eventually, I finished setting up. The AC and fridge were going strong. We started a charcoal fire and cooked three hamburgers around 10pm. My daughter was already asleep, though, so she didn't eat. My wife and I set up our chairs outside and sat up until around 12 or 1.
I opted to leave my CPAP machine at home for this weekend thinking that I would be fine.
I wasn't.
I actually experienced the most significant sleep apnea I ever had this weekend. I was constantly dreaming about being underwater and would force myself to wake up gasping for air.
I won't make this mistake again. CPAP goes wherever I do from now on.
The next morning, we realized that I forgot the milk, eggs, and orange juice so we altered our plans a bit and went to the park restaurant for breakfast. After that, we went to town for the planned errands. We couldn't get the tires rotated because Bluebell needs 2 new tires. That sucked. We did pick up some plastic bins of various sizes to better organize the myriad of junk inside Frostbite. We also picked up a cool fan at Big Lots that can easily be stored inside Frostbite between trips.
When we got back to the campsite, it was noon, and hot. Very hot! My daughter was hungry so I cooked some hot dogs on the stove in a sauce pan of water. My daughter wanted to go swimming but my wife and I put her off claiming that it would be cooler later in the afternoon. We both sat outside under the awning with the new fan pointed at us while my daughter watched a movie inside. There is a neat outside table that hooks up to the wall but I couldn't set it up because I forgot the stupid table leg.
I snapped a few pics of our set up:
Notice the awning doesn't really stretch tight across the top? This will become significant later in the afternoon.
See my new white RV water hose laying across the picnic table? Well I couldn't hook it up because of . . .
. . . the fact that the stupid water hook up was in the other @$#% campsite next to us. I was a good 2-3 feet too short.
Here is our nifty new fan that has a remote and oscillates and can easily fit underneath the storage bench in Frostbite.
After a couple of hours and a couple of hundred reminders from our daughter, we decided it was time to take her swimming in the lake. We forgot her swimsuit so we picked out some shorts and a t-shirt she could swim in. We didn't really know where the swimming place was so we opted to turn right heading out from the campground (it was a 50/50 shot) and traveled several miles. It turned out to be the wrong way. Turning around and heading back we noticed signs for swimming. We traveled several miles before we realized that we didn't bring a towel (we picked some up at Wal-Mart). We turned back, returned to the campsite and pick up the new towel. Finally, we made it to the swimming area. Now during all this running around, it was getting steadily darker and darker and low rumbles of thunder were starting. When we arrived at the campground, the rangers had just closed it due to the impending rain.
My daughter was upset so I promised to take her to our rec center in Fairview to swim after we got home. Actually, had we gone out when she first asked us, she would have been able to swim a couple of hours before the rain but who was to know. Not us, we forgot the weather radio!
We made it back to Frostbite just as it started raining. My wife and daughter went inside to watch a movie. I stayed out underneath the awning to make sure rain didn't collect and pool up. It was a steady rain. That kept getting stronger,
and stronger,
and stronger, until the thunderclaps were almost upon our very site. I had dropped one of the awning poles so that it was only 3 or 4 feet off the ground and pulled the awning down off the pole on that side so the rain could run off. The rain (monsoon, actually) was so strong that I couldn't see the campsite across the street. There was no place underneath the awning that was dry due to the strong winds. The water running off the road was flowing across our campsite and down the hill towards the creek. I was standing in at least an inch of water everywhere in the pad that Frostbite was sitting on. At times, it was a bit unnerving. It sure would have been nice to have a weather radio to check and see when/if this was going to end.
My daughter screaming inside Frostbite didn't help.
I kept checking with my wife about how Frostbite was doing inside. Were there leaks? She always reported negative so that was good. I continued to sit outside underneath the awning making sure it was dumping water OK and wasn't about to fall down. There were some tent camping neighbors several sites down from us and I was thinking smugly about how neat it was that my wife and daughter were inside high and dry and watching a movie in the AC.
and then the electricity went out.
I figured it would pass when the storm was over until I noticed a neighbor across the field still had lights on inside their camper. It wasn't out in the whole campground, just our site. I went to check the breaker in the pouring rain and it had tripped. I reset it and the electric came back on.
Within five minutes, it was off again.
I repeated this a few times and finally just opted to wait until the storm passed. Which it did eventually pass,
an hour later.
When everything was over, the sun started to come back out. I reset the breaker a final time, raised the awning, and everything was golden again. Frostbite was high and dry. There were a few damp spots on the mattress against the far edge of the bunk end but I was very, very pleased that it did as well as it did.
We cooked the hobo dinners that night and they were wonderful.
The rain, however, did force us to realize that we desperately need a floor mat inside and outside Frostbite's door. Despite trying to take off our shoes before entering the camper, Frostbite still had muddy floors.
The weekend did result in some damage, however. The rebuilt support for the utility bench on the galley side cracked almost in half. My rebuild there was a complete failure. Also, I still need to install the shelf underneath the sink and reinstall 2 drawers for the door side storage box.
Nevertheless, the AC worked smashingly. The gas worked. (Unwittingly, I also accidentally tested for gas leaks as I forgot to turn off the outside tank after lunch on Sat. and didn't notice it until Sun. morn) The beds were comfy. The awning worked great. All this and a major thunderstorm too!
Frostbite was tested well this weekend. I'll make the necessary repairs and rebuilds and the next trip should be even better.
The next camping location is a toss up between Natchez Trace State Park and Paris Landing State Park.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Leaving Today!
Today is the day. Frostbite is just hours away from embarking on her first adventure. As predicted, I had wonderful intentions of packing the camper last night before I lowered her for the last time but I spent all the daylight doing other things to get her ready so all my intentions went straight out the window.
First, the awning. Yes, it is in one piece. There is about a 2 -3 inch tear near the front edge. I'll do a quickie duct tape repair this weekend. All the things I've read about awnings being complicated and non-intuitive to set up were completelyy correct. There were telescoping poles of all sizes and no obvious way to put them together. Once unrolled, there was a large metal bar that ran the length of the font end. Attached to this bar were two sets of metal poles that folded out. One set folded down to ground, the other folded back towards the camper. The ones that folded to the ground were each in two pieces. They connected via a small button that popped through a hole in the larger of the 2 poles; the common way poles attach.
The poles that folded back towards the camper were three to a set. On each set, the three poles slid into each other telescope style but the lacked both the little buttons and the holes in which they could connect together with. I figured it was safe to assume that they weren't meant to connect this way and it wasn't a case of the poles being damaged. There was Velcro along the length of both sides of the awning that didn't seem to attach to anything. I never figured out what that was for. I hope it's not important.
I goofed with this thing for half an hour mixing and matching poles trying to see how they could be assembled so that the awning would stand by itself. I did notice that the side poles without holes or buttons had strange end pieces. There was a little metal circle, not quite round, that spined around loosely at one end of each pole. Continuing to goof around, I FINALLY realized that if you inserted that end into another pole and TWISTED it, the poles would lock together. I also FINALLY noticed that there was a canvas "pocket" in the corners where the awning attached to the camper that the poles could set in.
I manged to get it set up and attached to the camper. I angled the front poles enough so that it could stand alone (remember, my driveway is on a hill.) I need to have some rope and stakes to secure it when actually camping but I think it will work.
I also put the strip decals on the side of Frostbite. This, believe it or not, was extremely easy. A neighbor let me borrow a pop-string that when stretched across the side of the camper at the right height (yes, I did measure this time!) and then pulled and "popped" against the side, left a straight blue chalk line. I attached the decal along each side just underneath the chalk line and then wiped the chalk away. It looks perfect. I didn't take any pictures since light was slipping away but I plan to take a nice pic today of Frostbite attached to Bluebell just before the leave for the park.
I am very glad I did this today as I'm quite sure I looked like an idiot flopping around underneath the loose awning and staring stupidly at two poles in my hands wondering how in the hell they fit together. I have no doubt that I'll be comic fodder for everyone at the campground this weekend but setting up the awning will be one less thing.
There is still a problem with the stupid awning bag. As I mentioned in the post where I repaired the awning, the zipper is not present and there is nothing to keep the bag closed. I did purchase some Velcro last night at Fred's but it was too dark to put it on last night. Also, I rolled the awning up wrong and it was really too long to fit in the bag well. I decided to use the stuff-it-in-anyway technique and it had the added bonus of wedging the awning in the bag so well that it won't come out despite not having the bag closed. Sunday when we pack up to leave I hope to roll the awning up more carefully and correctly and attach the new Velcro to the bag so it will be more secure. I sort of doubt that the self-stick aspect of the Velcro I bought will be strong enough for the heavy awning so I might have to sew it in. I need to see if I can find some chain-mail gloves first, though.
Also at Fred's we bought a cheap coffee maker, some cooking utensils, and a cheap pot/pan set. I found some rope that I can use to secure the awning but no tent stakes. We picked up some simple spices and condiments to keep in Frostbite and some food items for the weekend.
Here is our menu for the weekend:
Friday supper:
hot dogs,hamburgers, chips
Saturday breakfast:
eggs, bacon, orange juice
Saturday lunch:
Park restaurant
Saturday supper:
Hobo dinners (beef patty, potatoes, carrots, onions wrapped in tin foil and laid on coals)
Sunday breakfast:
moon pies (yea, I know, we're not big breakfast eaters)
Curious as to our camping activities scheduled for Saturday?
We plan to go to wal-mart and get the tires rotated on Bluebell, she is long overdue. While waiting for the car to be done, I hope to pick up some type of plastic containers to better organize and store our stuff in frostbite. Not exactly "getting back to nature" I know but it needs done and sometimes you just have to do what needs done. Future camping trips will hopefully involve more campground activities such as fishing, boat rentals, hiking trails. This is all in my plans.
This weekend, though, is primarily just to break Frostbite in.
Friday/Saturday evening?
We plan to sit around on our butts, drinking, and listening to some Delta Blues. We hope to get our netflix movie in the mail today so we will watch that on a laptop inside the air conditioned camper.
Is this really camping?
It is for us and, let's go ahead and get this out in the open right now, I don't give a rat's butt if anyone claims that it isn't. I have no intention of sleeping without AC. I have no intention of sleeping on the ground. I have no desire to be without a laptop. To be honest, if I had a more money, a bigger tow vehicle, and even more money, I would have bought a hard-walled trailer camper. Frostbite, despite the fact that I've grown to love her, is a compromise of necessity.
My pre-packing plans were shattered last night so we will do the typical Holder style of grabbing up things at the last minute and throwing them in the car. Frostbite is down and I'm not going to set her up this afternoon to pack her any better. I hope to leave as early as possible to be sure that I have enough time to set her up completely before it starts to get dark. I also have to factor in an extra half hour for cursing and backing the thing up into a campsite.
I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures of the inside and out. Especially, to show off the new curtains which are perfect.
If we survive the weekend, I'll consider it a success.
Wish us luck!
First, the awning. Yes, it is in one piece. There is about a 2 -3 inch tear near the front edge. I'll do a quickie duct tape repair this weekend. All the things I've read about awnings being complicated and non-intuitive to set up were completelyy correct. There were telescoping poles of all sizes and no obvious way to put them together. Once unrolled, there was a large metal bar that ran the length of the font end. Attached to this bar were two sets of metal poles that folded out. One set folded down to ground, the other folded back towards the camper. The ones that folded to the ground were each in two pieces. They connected via a small button that popped through a hole in the larger of the 2 poles; the common way poles attach.
The poles that folded back towards the camper were three to a set. On each set, the three poles slid into each other telescope style but the lacked both the little buttons and the holes in which they could connect together with. I figured it was safe to assume that they weren't meant to connect this way and it wasn't a case of the poles being damaged. There was Velcro along the length of both sides of the awning that didn't seem to attach to anything. I never figured out what that was for. I hope it's not important.
I goofed with this thing for half an hour mixing and matching poles trying to see how they could be assembled so that the awning would stand by itself. I did notice that the side poles without holes or buttons had strange end pieces. There was a little metal circle, not quite round, that spined around loosely at one end of each pole. Continuing to goof around, I FINALLY realized that if you inserted that end into another pole and TWISTED it, the poles would lock together. I also FINALLY noticed that there was a canvas "pocket" in the corners where the awning attached to the camper that the poles could set in.
I manged to get it set up and attached to the camper. I angled the front poles enough so that it could stand alone (remember, my driveway is on a hill.) I need to have some rope and stakes to secure it when actually camping but I think it will work.
I also put the strip decals on the side of Frostbite. This, believe it or not, was extremely easy. A neighbor let me borrow a pop-string that when stretched across the side of the camper at the right height (yes, I did measure this time!) and then pulled and "popped" against the side, left a straight blue chalk line. I attached the decal along each side just underneath the chalk line and then wiped the chalk away. It looks perfect. I didn't take any pictures since light was slipping away but I plan to take a nice pic today of Frostbite attached to Bluebell just before the leave for the park.
I am very glad I did this today as I'm quite sure I looked like an idiot flopping around underneath the loose awning and staring stupidly at two poles in my hands wondering how in the hell they fit together. I have no doubt that I'll be comic fodder for everyone at the campground this weekend but setting up the awning will be one less thing.
There is still a problem with the stupid awning bag. As I mentioned in the post where I repaired the awning, the zipper is not present and there is nothing to keep the bag closed. I did purchase some Velcro last night at Fred's but it was too dark to put it on last night. Also, I rolled the awning up wrong and it was really too long to fit in the bag well. I decided to use the stuff-it-in-anyway technique and it had the added bonus of wedging the awning in the bag so well that it won't come out despite not having the bag closed. Sunday when we pack up to leave I hope to roll the awning up more carefully and correctly and attach the new Velcro to the bag so it will be more secure. I sort of doubt that the self-stick aspect of the Velcro I bought will be strong enough for the heavy awning so I might have to sew it in. I need to see if I can find some chain-mail gloves first, though.
Also at Fred's we bought a cheap coffee maker, some cooking utensils, and a cheap pot/pan set. I found some rope that I can use to secure the awning but no tent stakes. We picked up some simple spices and condiments to keep in Frostbite and some food items for the weekend.
Here is our menu for the weekend:
Friday supper:
hot dogs,hamburgers, chips
Saturday breakfast:
eggs, bacon, orange juice
Saturday lunch:
Park restaurant
Saturday supper:
Hobo dinners (beef patty, potatoes, carrots, onions wrapped in tin foil and laid on coals)
Sunday breakfast:
moon pies (yea, I know, we're not big breakfast eaters)
Curious as to our camping activities scheduled for Saturday?
We plan to go to wal-mart and get the tires rotated on Bluebell, she is long overdue. While waiting for the car to be done, I hope to pick up some type of plastic containers to better organize and store our stuff in frostbite. Not exactly "getting back to nature" I know but it needs done and sometimes you just have to do what needs done. Future camping trips will hopefully involve more campground activities such as fishing, boat rentals, hiking trails. This is all in my plans.
This weekend, though, is primarily just to break Frostbite in.
Friday/Saturday evening?
We plan to sit around on our butts, drinking, and listening to some Delta Blues. We hope to get our netflix movie in the mail today so we will watch that on a laptop inside the air conditioned camper.
Is this really camping?
It is for us and, let's go ahead and get this out in the open right now, I don't give a rat's butt if anyone claims that it isn't. I have no intention of sleeping without AC. I have no intention of sleeping on the ground. I have no desire to be without a laptop. To be honest, if I had a more money, a bigger tow vehicle, and even more money, I would have bought a hard-walled trailer camper. Frostbite, despite the fact that I've grown to love her, is a compromise of necessity.
My pre-packing plans were shattered last night so we will do the typical Holder style of grabbing up things at the last minute and throwing them in the car. Frostbite is down and I'm not going to set her up this afternoon to pack her any better. I hope to leave as early as possible to be sure that I have enough time to set her up completely before it starts to get dark. I also have to factor in an extra half hour for cursing and backing the thing up into a campsite.
I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures of the inside and out. Especially, to show off the new curtains which are perfect.
If we survive the weekend, I'll consider it a success.
Wish us luck!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Just One More Day
It rained all day yesterday. The night before saw some pretty strong thunderstorms. Since it was raining, I couldn't get to the awning task like I had hoped but I did get inside Frostbite (she was high and dry!) and did a bit of work.
I took down the curtains and put them in a zipper bag my seamstress left me. It is perfect for storing them in. I plan to take down the curtains and store them in the bag between every camping trip. I figure it would just protect them better as they could easily get torn when the roof is lowered and the camper is packed up. It really isn't that much extra trouble anyway.
The curtains look GREAT by the way. My seamstress did an outstanding job! I really wanted to have some pictures of them for this post but it was rainy and dark yesterday and the photos would look so much better on a sunny day. I hope to get good pics this weekend of the new curtains. She somehow managed to make them all match and fit just like I ordered.
Starting with the AC exhaust and the counter top, I opted not to take it apart again and reattach the extra dowel that I forgot to put back on. It was solid and that fix can wait for another day. I reattached the cabinet doors and called it good enough for government work. I did have to mend my hand made adaptor for the exhaust pipe at the floor. It had come loose when I was tugging and bending the hose to run it through the holes in the box. The duct tape seems to be doing a wonderful job. I even taped the ends of the insulation down around the connections at either end of the hose.
The lights all came on. I don't know why they went off last week but they were on and stayed on. I stepped outside and even noticed that the porch light was working. I have never see this before! I tested the switch and it turns on and off like it should. This is particularly surprising since the plastic cover has a large hole at the top roughly a couple of inches wide allowing it to rain directly inside the light. I had given it up for dead months ago. I suppose I should put a piece of duct tape over the hole once I lower the roof. That will probably make it stop working though.
I didn't get the door threshold down either. Maybe this afternoon if there is time. I suppose it won't hurt anything to camp without one once.
The day before yesterday when I was repairing the awning, I also used the drill wire brush to scrape the paint off of the metal along the side so it is nice and shiny again.
I also snapped some shots of the new door latch since I painted.
I took down the curtains and put them in a zipper bag my seamstress left me. It is perfect for storing them in. I plan to take down the curtains and store them in the bag between every camping trip. I figure it would just protect them better as they could easily get torn when the roof is lowered and the camper is packed up. It really isn't that much extra trouble anyway.
The curtains look GREAT by the way. My seamstress did an outstanding job! I really wanted to have some pictures of them for this post but it was rainy and dark yesterday and the photos would look so much better on a sunny day. I hope to get good pics this weekend of the new curtains. She somehow managed to make them all match and fit just like I ordered.
Starting with the AC exhaust and the counter top, I opted not to take it apart again and reattach the extra dowel that I forgot to put back on. It was solid and that fix can wait for another day. I reattached the cabinet doors and called it good enough for government work. I did have to mend my hand made adaptor for the exhaust pipe at the floor. It had come loose when I was tugging and bending the hose to run it through the holes in the box. The duct tape seems to be doing a wonderful job. I even taped the ends of the insulation down around the connections at either end of the hose.
The lights all came on. I don't know why they went off last week but they were on and stayed on. I stepped outside and even noticed that the porch light was working. I have never see this before! I tested the switch and it turns on and off like it should. This is particularly surprising since the plastic cover has a large hole at the top roughly a couple of inches wide allowing it to rain directly inside the light. I had given it up for dead months ago. I suppose I should put a piece of duct tape over the hole once I lower the roof. That will probably make it stop working though.
I didn't get the door threshold down either. Maybe this afternoon if there is time. I suppose it won't hurt anything to camp without one once.
The day before yesterday when I was repairing the awning, I also used the drill wire brush to scrape the paint off of the metal along the side so it is nice and shiny again.
I also snapped some shots of the new door latch since I painted.
from afar
closer look of the outside
inside
It's not beautiful, I realize, but it works and it locks with a key and it is much better than the hunk of crap that was there before.
Hopefully, it will stop raining today and I can address the awning. I plan to make a list of things we need to pack in the camper and add to it as I think of things today.
That's the plan anyway. More realistically, I won't get to it and we'll wind up rushing and packing tomorrow right before we leave probably forgetting 50% of things we need.
Should be fun.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Countdown to Shipping Out
I took the night off last night and watched Hot Tub Time Machine with my wife which was pretty darn funny. This morning, I realized how close we are to shipping out. This coming weekend is the planned campout at Montgomery Bell State Park and we are leaving on Fri once we get in from work.
That means that I need to pack Frostbite the night before.
That means that I only have 2 nights to pack and finish anything that needs finished before the trip.
There are a few of things that I have to do today:
1. Finish installing the counter top back onto the box through which I ran the AC exhault. There is still the missing dowel that I left off when I put it back together that will require me to take is back apart to put on.
2. Install the new door threshold. This should be fairly simple. I just haven't done it for some reason.
3. and this is a BIG one! I need to reattach the awning to the camper and set it up so I'll know how to do it. This is going to be an extra pain as it is raining today off and on and I need to lower frostbite to attach the awning. If it is still raining this afternoon when I am ready to do this, I suppose it could be pushed off to tomorrow.
4. The stupid inside lights stopped working. I've no idea what the problem is since I haven't really looked into but it would be nice to have lights.
I'm hoping to get all the fix-it type work done this evening so that all we have to do tomorrow is pack Frostbite with gear. I know full well that if I am rushed to pack at all, we will forget things that are very important.
I feel that it is imperative that I get time to practice putting the awning up and down. I've read horror stories of folks trying to figure out how to do this at the campsite. Apparently, it is semi-complicated.
I don't have any type of side to side levelers for the camper. Would have liked to buy a BAL leveler but they run about $60 and I don't have the extra money right now to get one in time. I might bring along a piece of plywood that would at least give me a half inch or so if needed but I'm hoping to get lucky and find a level spot so I won't need it.
I'm also having to depend on the park having 2 110 type plug-ins on their hook up box. I remember checking at Natchez Trace a few months ago and they had 2 plugins at their campsites. I need 2 because the AC needs one by itself.
I also hope that I can find a bucket or something around my house to collect gray water draining from the sink. They frown on just letting it run off onto the ground at campsites. I was thinking that I would just drop it into the sewer pipe at the campsite but have read that there might be a problem with a bad smell coming back through the pipe into the camper. I'm glad I happend to find that little tidbit as I wouldn't have thought of it and would have had to learn it the hard way.
I also don't know about firewood and how available it is. Hopefully an easy solution will present itself at the appropriate time.
Don't worry, I'm sure everything will work out exactly as I envision.
That means that I need to pack Frostbite the night before.
That means that I only have 2 nights to pack and finish anything that needs finished before the trip.
There are a few of things that I have to do today:
1. Finish installing the counter top back onto the box through which I ran the AC exhault. There is still the missing dowel that I left off when I put it back together that will require me to take is back apart to put on.
2. Install the new door threshold. This should be fairly simple. I just haven't done it for some reason.
3. and this is a BIG one! I need to reattach the awning to the camper and set it up so I'll know how to do it. This is going to be an extra pain as it is raining today off and on and I need to lower frostbite to attach the awning. If it is still raining this afternoon when I am ready to do this, I suppose it could be pushed off to tomorrow.
4. The stupid inside lights stopped working. I've no idea what the problem is since I haven't really looked into but it would be nice to have lights.
I'm hoping to get all the fix-it type work done this evening so that all we have to do tomorrow is pack Frostbite with gear. I know full well that if I am rushed to pack at all, we will forget things that are very important.
I feel that it is imperative that I get time to practice putting the awning up and down. I've read horror stories of folks trying to figure out how to do this at the campsite. Apparently, it is semi-complicated.
I don't have any type of side to side levelers for the camper. Would have liked to buy a BAL leveler but they run about $60 and I don't have the extra money right now to get one in time. I might bring along a piece of plywood that would at least give me a half inch or so if needed but I'm hoping to get lucky and find a level spot so I won't need it.
I'm also having to depend on the park having 2 110 type plug-ins on their hook up box. I remember checking at Natchez Trace a few months ago and they had 2 plugins at their campsites. I need 2 because the AC needs one by itself.
I also hope that I can find a bucket or something around my house to collect gray water draining from the sink. They frown on just letting it run off onto the ground at campsites. I was thinking that I would just drop it into the sewer pipe at the campsite but have read that there might be a problem with a bad smell coming back through the pipe into the camper. I'm glad I happend to find that little tidbit as I wouldn't have thought of it and would have had to learn it the hard way.
I also don't know about firewood and how available it is. Hopefully an easy solution will present itself at the appropriate time.
Don't worry, I'm sure everything will work out exactly as I envision.
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