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:

• 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

Here is a photo of Bluebell and Frostbite packed up and ready to ship out:

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

Fixing the Awning

Last week, my seamstress provided me with a strong set of needles and strong thread meant to repair canvas and such so I could repair the awning bag.  While I still don't know what shape the actual awning is in, the bag that holds it is in bad shape.  It was at one time meant to be zipped closed but the zipper itself is missing and I have no idea how to reattach a new one.  I'll have to think of how to jerry-rig some Velcro straps to keep it closed.

Another, more pressing, problem is that the bag itself has started ripping away from the part that connects to the camper.  Here is a photo:

I realize that this photo is not the best since the piece that is separating from the rest of the bag is actually as long as the bag is.  It is just bent at an angle in this photo making it look like it is too short.

Like everything else about this renovation job, I have no real idea how to fix this thing properly.  I figured that I could sew it back together using an upholstery needle and thread.  I took out the "canvas" needle which was a large monster of a thing with a flared tip that made it look like it could spear a fish.  The eye of this needle was so large that I was able to thread it on the first try without using a needle threader. 

I tried to stick the needle in the canvas and realized that I needed a thimble of some sort to push the thing through.  I found a plastic bottle cap that seemed like it would do the job.  I got the needle started and used the bottle cap to push it through.

I had to use both hands and a good bit of strength and you would think I should have known what was going to inevitably happen next.

Here is the result of my very first stitch:

Yes, the FIRST stitch!

Somehow, and I'm still not sure how this even happened, the spear needle jammed through the canvas and a good half inch along the length of my index finger.  You might me thinking, "Boy, I'll bet that hurt."  Well, having experienced it personally, I can report that YES, IT HURT LIKE HOLY HELL!!  I can best describe it as insanely painful.  I was glad that my daughter was not out with me and my neighbors were not outside as I used a colorful array of choice words to describe my situation.

I decided to try a different technique for my second stitch and had better luck.  After about a half hour of this, the job was done.

good as new!

the back side

See that stain on the first picture of the finished job?  Well, that's a few drops of my blood that poured out after the piercing.  I sign pieces of my work in blood like painters sign their masterpieces.  I thought it would make for a good story having a blood stain there.

I brought my wife outside to admire my handiwork and garner some sympathy for my stabbing.  I got the obligatory "you should be more careful." She looked at it briefly and then asked, "Is that blood?"

"Yes, it's MY blood"

"I hope that stain comes out."

*sigh* 

A Day at the Fair

Ok, so I didn't even go inside Frostbite this weekend.  I have plenty to do to her with our maiden voyage scheduled for this coming weekend.

But I simply didn't feel like it.

Instead, we decided to take my daughter to the Williamson County Fair on Saturday.  We've been here for four years now and have yet to go.  It is always held in August during the hottest two weeks of the year for some reason but we decided to tough it out.  My wife got ahold of 2 free adult admission tickets so we only had to pay for a $3 child ticket.  I went by the bank and picked up $60 cash so we could eat and do some things with my daughter.

I seemed like more than enough.

Things proceeded nicely at first.  We arrived and were surprised to find that they had free parking.  Not only free parking but, once we parked, a golf cart arrived to take us to the front gate.  I broke one of my 3 20 dollar bills paying the $3 child admission leaving me $57.

We were very impressed!

We walked in and my wife reported that she was hungry so we decided to eat.  My daughter wanted to go directly to the rides but we convienced her to wait.  There were numerous stands selling festival type food.  Everything looked wonderful.  We stopped at one of the larger ones that had a good variety and made our order:

1 nachos for my wife
1 cheese quesadilla for my daugher
1 corn dog for me
1 lemonaid for my daugher
1 sweet tea for me
1 water for my wife

They handed the stuff to us as it was made and I pulled out my wallet to pay.  The guy behind the counter tallied up numbers in his head and then told me $32.

Now I'm not one to make a scene but this caught me totally by surprise.  Nearly screaming, I couldn't stop myself from exclaiming, $32 DOLLARS!?!?!  JESUS CHRIST!!!  Which garnered more than a few head turns from the crowd in my direction.

He went over the price of everything I ordered.  Once I heard, Nachos $12, I didn't really listen to anything else.  I was too busy trying to take in how a handfull of chips, 3 jalapeno slices, a spoonfull of salsa, and a couple of squirts of melted processed cheese could possibly be sold for anything remotely approaching $12. 
I reluctantly gave him the last two of my 20 dollar bills and got back 8 bucks. 

I had just spent over half of my cash in the first 10 minutes at the stupid fair.

We found a picnic table, unshaded, and sat down to eat.  The quesadilla turned out to be a flour tortilla with a generous squirt of the aforementioned processed cheese and folded in half.  My daughter ate one bite and said she didn't like it.  My corn dog was pretty tasty, hard to go wrong with that.  My daughter and wife shared the $12 nachos while I finished the $8 quesadilla.  It was as horrible as it sounds but I wasn't about to just throw away an $8 quesadilla.  At some point during our lunch, my daughter spilled her $4 lemonaid.  I gave her the rest of my tea and we set out for a building desperately seeking AC.

Once inside, we noticed all the tables set up for folks to eat in the AC.  If we ever return to the fair and for some reason decide to invest money in food at the fair, I'll have to remember those tables.  We walked around inside a bit, visited the petting zoo, and then gave in to my daughter who wanted to ride some rides. 

The rides took tickets so we found a ticket booth.  You could get a wrist band for $25 which allowed for riding the rides free all day.  She wanted me to go with her on the rides so that would have been 50 bucks.  Not only did I not have 50 dollars, I had no intention of staying there all day to get stroked out in the heat.  I opted to get the $20 special which was a sheet of 22 tickets.

I was now left with five bucks.

We found what appeared to be a fairly harmless ride.  It was a spiderlike gizmo that had three 2-seat boxes on each *arm* of the ride.  The three seats rotated and the entire ride itself rotated.  I had the proper number of tickets ready in my pocket (3 tickets per rider = 6 total) but we were just led to a seat.  I figured that maybe they would come around once everyone was seated.  Nope.

Now I admit it has been over 10 years since I been on any type of amusment park ride.  Prior to that, I never had any problems at all with any ride.  My stomach is very tough and I always got a thrill from such rides.  I've done the roller coasters, things that go upside down, etc.  Always had fun.  This little spider ride shouldn't be any problem for me.  I was worried about my daughter who had up to this point never ridden anything stronger than a Merry-go-Round in the mall and how she would react.

The ride stared very slow.  I teased my daughter telling her that this is it, we are going as fast as the thing would go.  She knew better.  Eventually, the thing kicked in and I swear I could feel my brain actually hit the back of my skull.  Our little car was zipping around so fast that my eyes couldn't keep up with the view and I immediately got dizzy.  My brain felt loose in my skull and rattled around like yatzee dice.  I closed my eyes and put my head in my hands which seemed to help.  My daughter, however, was screaming, laughing, and, when I ventured a peek to make sure she was ok, was holding her hands over her head eyes wide open, her face beaming with joy.  I put my head back in my hands, squeezed my temples, and started to pray that this would end soon.  My mind kept wondering how it would feel if the car was to break off from the arm and send us flying into the fairground.  At least a part of me could see the benefit of this as it would at least stop the @$% spinning.  I wouldn't say I was on the brink of throwing up or anything but I can definately classify the whole exprience as "Most Unpleasant."

The ride mercifully stopped and we rejoined my wife who was smart enough to sit back and let ME take our daughter on the rides.  My daughter loved it, by the way, and already had her eye on the one next to it which was a series of cars in a circle that spinned around while an arm raised the entire circle perpendicular to the ground so the cars were spinning in a loop.  Looking at this terrifying machine, I realized that there is a perfectly good reason why you generally only see kids, teenagers, and young adults in line for these things.  One never sees geezers in line for these rides.  I put two and two together and realized that my journey toward geezerdom might have already left the station without me realizing.

Still reeling from the previous ride, I convienced my daughter to give me some time to recover.  She wanted to see the game booths and win a prize.  I tried to explain that it was pretty hard to win a prize at those things without spending a lot of money but it fell on deaf ears.  We first came to one of the games that involved throwing darts at balloons.  I was askinig how much it was to play and the guy said $5.  I was looking in my wallet to see if I even had 5 dollars left when my daughter picked up a dart and threw it.

While fussing at my daughter for not waiting for me to pay, the carnie told us that all kids win a prize for playing.  I counted the ones in my wallet and had exactly five.  We gave it to him and my daughter threw the remaining four darts.  She missed on the very first one but managed to pop a balloon with each of the remaining four darts.  Her gave her a choice of three crappy stuffed animal prizes that he pulled out from under the counter while I was wondering why 4 out of 5 popped balloons didn't result in one of the larger prizes that were all over the walls and ceilings of the stand.  My daughter was pleased though, so we left.

I was now completely broke.

I explained this to my daughter as the reason we couldn't play any more games.  I still had tickets for rides, unfortunately, so I suggested that we return to where the rides were.

We got in line for the large cirdle-that-goes-upside-down thing and, thankfully, she was not tall enough to go on the ride.  We did some other, not nearly so violent, rides and she had a ball.  I was pretty much happiest when each one ended.  My wife stayed with us lurking like a thief in the corners and edges of tents and buildings trying to find a small bit of shade. 

I did have to find an ATM and get more money so we could buy some water that was on ice in the vender booths which, by this time of the day, had all melted and the water was lukewarm.  I got another $40 and payed $2.50 for the privledge.  It was like visiting hell.  I was hot, uncomfortable, risking my lunch as well as my life being here and it was costing a fortune for the experience.

I did notice that EMTs had loaded a guy who had stroked out onto a stretcher and was putting him in an ambulance.  I couldn't help but note that the stroked out guy was clearly in his 20s.  Even my daugher was hot and complaining so we decided to leave.  We caught a golf cart back to our car and left for home.  We did stop of the first convience store and got some cold water and gater-aid.

I still had 22 ride tickets in my pocket.  Not one of the rides we went on asked us for tickets.  I may as well have set that 20 dollar bill on fire.

Boy, I can't wait for next year's fair.

Installing the AC exhaust - part 1

Ok, I actually didn't plan to do this project just yet and even pointed this out in a previous post.  However, Saturday morning I went out to work on Frostbite and took a long hard look at her.  I had to admit that I hated the way it looked with the exhaust venting outsite.  Previously, when I set up the AC, I would just stick a foot or so of the exhaust tube through the corner of the canvas.  When I set her up Friday, I put as much of the exhaust tube through the corner as there was extra.  It made for less clutter inside.

It also makes the camper look 100% redneck.

See what I mean?

I decided then and there that I needed to run the exhaust hose down through the cabinet underneath the AC and vent out through the floor.  First, though, I needed a dryer vent.  We went to Lowes and they had several to choose from.  Inquiring about where they were in the store, I was asked "Do you need 4 inch or 6 inch?" 

Of course, I had no idea so I held up my hand that made a circle with my thumbs and index fingers.

"About this big."

"OK, that looks like about six,"  I was told and then directed to the correct row in the store.  I had hoped that I could get a vent with a flap that would keep it closed when the air is not blowing.  All of the ones I was looking at had these flaps but they depended on gravity to work.  A vent coming out the side of a house has a flap that stays closed except with air is blowing.  If you turn that same vent upside down, the flap gapes open.

I briefly thought about venting out the side of Frostbite but decided against it.  The chances of me goofing up are great and goof ups on the side of the camper will be hard if not impossible for me to fix.  No, I needed to vent from the bottom.  I was much more confident about my ability to drill a hole in the floor.

Luckily, I found a vent meant to be installed in the eve/overhang of a house roof.  It was designed to hang upside down and the vent flaps were spring loaded so they stayed closed when air was not blowing.  Not only that but it claimed to work with BOTH 4 inch and 6 inch connections which was especially nice.

I took it home and tested it against the AC exhaust hose.  Strangely, it didn't fit.  I then got out my tape measure and guess what I discovered?

The AC hose is 5 INCHES!  Man, does anyone even TRY to follow some standard for these things?

I vowed to get some type of adapter someday.  Unit then, this would have to work.  I planned to make an adapter out of good ol' duct tape.

First, I needed to drill a hole in the floor.  I removed the box in that corner with a screwdriver.  Now, I had no real idea how to go about doing this so I just forged ahead clueless and it seemed to come out ok.  I took the outside cover from the vent so that I had just the inside part that had to go through the floor.  I found a place underneath that I *hoped* would come up in the proper place inside, held up the vent, and drew a circle around the piece on the underside wood.

I drilled a hole through the floor inside the circle nearest the edge of the camper.  I then verified inside that it was in the correct place and the vent would fit properly.  Man, I got lucky on that one!

I decided to keep drilling holes inside the circle I drew underneath the camper trying to make the outside edge of the drill hole match the edge of the circle I drew.  The was made extra difficult since I had to drill with my eyes closed.  I would place the drill bit where it needed to be and then close my eyes because the sawdust flew directly into my face and eyes.

Eventually, I had the outline of a circle in the floor.

I used my new $15 jigsaw (yes, I still bought another after the last one tore up) and cut from hole to hole until I had a BIG hole. 

A hole in the floor

It wasn't perfect and I had to sand and use the jigsaw to cut it larger in places but I eventually got the vent through the hole.

nice!

Here is what it looks like from underneath the camper:

also nice!

I then fashioned my duct tape adapter.  Man, that is tough stuff. 

Now it was time to start putting the box back together around it.

I cut out a square and installed the inner shelf.

I did get a square cut into the counter top and have that nearly re-installed but I found a piece of dowel that I forgot to put back on the counter top when I removed it to cut out the square.  I'll need to take the counter top back off, fix it, and then put it back together.

I will have to do this Monday or Tuesday since I was tired and hot and it was starting to get dark; a trifecta excuse to quit work for the day.

I'll detail the finish of this little project in a future post.

We are in the home stretch!

I forced myself to get out finish the door latch task on Frostbite yesterday.  I removed the latch and then painted the metal push plates I installed.  I got a couple of coats on and replaced the latch but it was dark by the time I finished so no pictures.

While waiting for the paint to dry I worked with the drill and rotary tool on the outside cleaning up the metal edging.  Actually, I think I am done with this.  I plan to take a very small brush (I *borrowed* one from my daughter's art supplies) and fix some scrapes and such around the edges.

This weekend I plan to raise Frostbite and finish up the inside.  A bit more paint and some clear coat will do wonders.  There is a shelf to install, a wire to reconnect, and a box that needs additional screws to secure it to the wall (I pulled up what should have been just a storage box door and the entire top of the box raised with it.  I need to sand around the edges of the door so it opens easier, I suppose)   

Nothing too big.

I hope to get the awning bag fixed and attached to the camper so I can see if the awning itself is in any usuable shape.   If it looks ok and all the poles are present, I just need to learn how to set it up properly.  This is sort of a biggie since the camper having an awning was a significant selling point for us.  A new one costs around $200.

After this weekend, when I get the curtains back from my seamstress, I hope to clean Frostbite up inside and out and take photos that will the the "After" shots for this project.


There are still some things I want to do but they can be done consecutively with camping and none of them will effect the visual beauty of Frostbite (like running the AC exhaust through the floor, etc.)

Back to the Seamstress

I took all the curtains back to my seamstress this past weekend.  I am missing 2 small corner curtains and 1 small window curtain.  I'm fairly sure this is not her fault as I gave her all the curtains that were already in Frostbite and those *might* have been missing to start with.  Of course, it is possible that she got tired of working on the project and just ditched those smaller curtains hoping I wouldn't notice.  I did pay her for the job, by the way, so she is stuck with me until the curtains are perfect.

The problem is that we've run out of material.  This is a mystery since we bought the material using my trademark "no pre-measuring" technique and we still came up short.  This begs the question, why do I always come up short?  Couldn't I, as least ONE TIME, come up with extra?  She is pretty talented though so I told her to "find a way" to make additional curtains that completely match the current curtains.  I might have to embrace a gypsy/hillbilly theme for the inside of Frostbite instead of the country/blue theme I was going for though.

Yesterday, I took the evening off.  Today, however, I plan to paint up the door where the latch was installed and put the latch back on for the last time.  I will also use the rotary tool and drill to detail the outside paint job where the stupid masking tape let me down during the original painting.

I found a cool blue stripe decal and managed to borrow a "chalk snap string" tool from my neighbor that will give me a straight line guide for putting it on the sides.  I *might* even tackle this today as well.

I would like to have some type of vinyl sleeves that can be wrapped around the lift poles and attached with velcro when the camper is popped up.  Another sleeve fashioned to fit around the body of my AC would be nice too since I always seem to scratch it while moving it in or out of the camper.  A nice cloth sleeve would cover up those mishaps.

Once my seamstress quits goofing around and finishes the curtains, I'll task her with these jobs.  I wisely didn't put anything in writing when making my agreement with her so she is stuck with me for those too.

Some valences on the inside around the top of the curtains would be cool too.

Locked up tight

I managed to get the new door latch installed yesterday afternoon.  It took me 3 hours to complete.  I still need to paint but I did get it installed and working; even the key lock which is just short of a miracle.

Here is what I started with:

outside

inside

There used to be a latch on the inside but it fell off.  Why is there such a large mechanism for the inside lock?

No idea.

Does it do anything special that any other lock wouldn't do?

Nope.  In fact, it didn't even lock anymore.

Removing the old latch was pretty easy.

outside

inside

Notice how far away the hole is from the door edge.  Is there a good reason for this?  Nope.  It does mean that there are no known latches or knobs made in the world today that will fit this stupid design.

I went to Lowes on Sunday and picked up a couple of push plates which are just thin pieces of metal.  I intended to drill new holes in these plates and new holes in the door.  The plates would serve to cover up the old holes.

That was the idea anyway and it seemed simple enough.  Just to be safe I picked up a couple of drill bits that claimed to be able to drill through metal.

After much frustration and many failed attempts, I ended up with this:

Those drill bits I purchased sure didn't seem to be very good at drilling holes in metal.  I used a large nail and hammered a hole/dent in the metal where the holes should be and still it was very difficult to keep the stupid drill from running all over the face of the metal.  What I ended up with sure isn't perfect but it is by far the best I will ever do with this as I was quickly losing patience.  I was starting to contemplate a hook latch at this point. 

I'm sure I only needed a single plate but it was a good thing I bought two because there were numerous screwups that were hacksawed off.

Another challenge was drilling the holes in the door itself.  The outside hole was to be larger due to the lock mechanism and "countersinked."  To be honest, I don't really know what that means.  After studying all the pieces, I took it to mean that the larger hole wasn't intended to go all the way through the door.  How deep should it be?  I guessed half way and kept drilling deeper until the thing seemed to fit ok.

Eventually, I got it all together.

outside

inside

I went to the trouble of making sure the key locked worked.  Inserting and turning the key sure enough made the push latch lock.  I closed the door, pulled, and it came right back open.  You guessed it.  The stupid inside latch didn't reach the metal latch on the outside of the door.  Not only would it not lock, it would not even latch and stay closed. 

I had anticipated this mishap already since it was near impossible to get the latch as close to the edge of the door as the original so I wasn't surprised.  This stuff is par for the course with me.

I studied it a bit and came up with this:

Now we're cooking with gas!

It was starting to get dark so I had to stop.  Later this week I will take everything apart and paint over all the exposed wood and metal except for the grey latches themselves.  It should look pretty good.  I locked her up for the evening and called it a night.

locked up tight!