2009 RV Recap

Sadly, we only made one trip in old Violet this year.  In March we went to San Diego during Lauren's spring break.  I had been working on Violet for a few weeks getting odds and ends fixed and applying a good polish.  At 22 years old, I'd say Violet still looks decent at ten feet.  Mom took the picture shown at left and sent it to me at work.  This during a particularly difficult time - work wise.  What a morale booster!  We stayed at Santee Lakes Campground just outside of San Diego.  Actually, it was more in-town than out.  Santee Lakes were made to reclaim waste water.  You might think this would be a smelly place to stay, but it was really nice with hundreds of birds nesting in the area.  We got a spot with one of the lakes right out the back of our rig.  Lauren and Mom rented a paddle boat and in general we had a nice time staying there.  I would recommend it to anyone planning a trip to the San Diego area.

We spent an afternoon on Coronado Island.

We found a beach parking spot on the South side of the Coronado Hotel.  The beach was really nice.

I forgot to take our camera to Sea World and haven't developed the disposal camera pictures yet.  Now I'll need to find where I put them so I can get them posted.  We did the "Breakfast with Shamu" and it was well worth the price.  I expected the food to be lousy, but it was a really good buffet style spread.  I think I went back 3 times.  We were able to sit right next to the tank for the show.  Real nice for the ladies and for me I got a show and good grub too!

On the way home we stopped at the tower off I-8 shown below:

If you tow a trailer or have a motorhome over 22' long and bring along a toad, DO NOT attempt to drive up to their parking lot.  No matter how big the (old hippie) owner says the parking lot is - it isn't.  I had to un-hook the toad, un-hook the tow dolly, back down and get everything turned around.  Took 45 minutes and by that time I was determined to see that stupid tower.  Take my advice - save your money and head on down the road.

The rest of the summer was spent in limbo due to my job situation.  Next year will be different!  I plan to head out a least once every-other-month.  Even if it's only 5 miles up the road to McDowell Mountain Park.  We hope to take advantage of living in an area where you can go RVing year-round!

Future Frenzy

Once I get done messing around with batteries and other "easy" stuff, I'm gonna paint old Violet.  I've got the GM paint codes and know a place in Mesa that will mix it up for me.  I'm going to use the roll and brush method. Here is a good link on how to paint fiberglass.  I hope to start the prep work around Feb 1st.  Should be fun!

More Battery Stuff

I check on these batteries at least 2x per day.  They are "off gassing" nicely and are charging at 13.30 volts.  I am easily entertained.  While my daughter looks forward to Santa, I'm anticipating doing a load test on Dec. 29th!  I'm living a wild life!

Battery Maintenance

Both batteries are now on a "maintenance" charge for the next two weeks.  They seem to be "off gassing" nicely.  The manual said it can take that long to desulfate badly discarged and sulfated batteries.  Considering I've done almost everything you can to kill these batteries, I'm going to give them the full 2 weeks before hooking up a load tester.  I hope Checker or Napa will have one I can rent.

Batteries Continued

The 8D is on its second charge/desulfate  at 2amp and as of this morning all appear to be a go.  I'm thinking it should be fully charged and on a "float" charge by this evening.   Crossing my fingers this will be the case.

Update 3 p.m. Dec 10:  The battery is now on a "float" charge.  I may lug the other 8D in and start it charging tonight. I can then check the voltage of the charged one after it "rests" for 12 hours.

Update 5 p.m.:  I've disconnected the charger and now have 13.07 volts!  I'm excited about that!  I'll re-check tomorrow again.  I've now hooked up the other 8D and it tested at 7.59 volts to start.  I'm charging it just like the last one and hope for the same results.  I've decided to use my two-wheeler as the new battery cart -

I think I'll fabricate a second tier for the 3 deep cycle house batteries to sit on.  This will make it easy to wheel them in & out of the RV and to keep them charged.  I plan on keeping them indoors and out of the heat going forward.

Heating Up!

As the Quartzsite trip nears, I'm looking at either getting sleeping bags for us or installing a catalytic heater. The Olympian Wave seems to be a popular choice by many RV'rs.

The Wave 6 is about $250 + shipping on Amazon.com.

 

Update:    I'm looking at Mr. Heater now -  
Portable and I can get it at Northern Tool for $99 bucks.  Maybe Santa will bring me one?

Cheaper to Keep Her

I've recently been looking at Skoolies as a future project.  Thought I might sell old Violet and convert a bus which would take me about 8 years I reckon to do.  Anyway, Jake's school bus is a nice example of what can be done with recycled stuff an not a whole lot of modifications or fabrication work being done.


On the other hand Sporty Ricks bus takes a little more skill at welding.
 

I'd have to dust up on that.  I like both these conversion you can see them and lots more on Skoolie including some real hatchet jobs.  I also thought about converting an old moving van like the one on Planet Mechanics - sorry can't find a photo, but that might be more of a stretch to get the wife's buy-in on a Gypsy wagon :O)

The Timeless Ride

I came across this adventurer and would like to pass it along.  Click on Hubert  to see where he is at.  There is some beautiful photography too.  While I admire U-bear, I'm not willing to give up my portable bed or bath just yet to strike out to the unknown.  I think I'll follow along for the ride for awhile though.

Charging Batteries

 

Across the parking lot from my daughters music lesson is a battery store.  Lucky me!  I was able to purchase the BatteryMinder I had been stalling on getting.  Here is a picture of the unit -

I've hauled out the 8D Werker battery and it is now on a slow 2A default charge.  It had an initial charge of 7.4 volts.  I think the chances of recovering any functionality is slim, but worth a try.  I'll report back in 3 days with the results.

Update 12/9:

I came home from work to see the charger flashing red.  That sent me to the instructions which said the battery is not fully charged due to being too big of a battery or discharged too much to complete a full charge on one cycle.  I checked the volts which have risen from 7.6v to 12.33v - YEA!  I reset the charge at 2amps again and hope for the best.  I'll report back in a day or so.

Battery Decisions

If you wait on making a decision long enough, you can always find another choice to confuse the matter.  I was set on parting with a $100 bill for a new batter charger, but delayed getting it ordered on-line.  While checking out the available RV's on Craigslist I came upon these two 8D AGM batteries for sale.  Used only 2 months and have been kept alive with a trickle charge....humm.  These are $520 a piece new and the seller wants $150 each.  Humm?  A hundred bucks here three hundred there and we're talk'in money.  Once I confirm the date these batteries were manufactured, about the only other test would be to check their current state of charge (12.7-12.8 volts).  Do I get these superior AGM's and hope they are ok or chance bringing the old flood acid 8D's I have back to life?  One new 8D will be more than the 2 used ones.  I'll order the battery charger as I need it anyway and sleep on getting the AGM's tonight.

OK.  I've sent an email to the owner to ask the age of these batteries.  Now I can go to sleep :O)

Odds and Ends

It has been a few days and a holiday since posting last.

 The above bus was listed and sold on Tejas Coach Works. As the saying goes - "a dollar short and a day late".

I was watching the news a few days ago reporting on the RV industry and how some manufacturers are rehiring laid-off workers.  The news showed them literally running from one work station to another slapping in staples, screws, etc., as fast as humanly possible.  I'm glad they have the work, but the image of workers running with their tools back and forth to assemble an RV really turned me off.  Would you want to buy an RV assembled this way?

Quartzite is looming and my battery issue is still unresolved.  I'm also needing to install a propane ceramic, vent-less heater or get some sleeping bags to keep warm.  I'd like to install a 6-8 inch porthole/hatch on the bottom of the fresh water tank to enable me to throughly drain and clean the tank.  Darned if I didn't loose the marine web site where I can buy them.  I also need new pull down straps for my Carefree awnings which I haven't ordered.  So, with all this needing to be done and the trip getting closer by the day, I'm working myself  towards another RV Frenzy!