Who Knew Dry Ice Was So Expensive?

Well, not as expensive as a new refrigerator, but it also does not last as long.  The remanufactored unit has not yet arrived, so we are keeping things in the refrigerator and freezer cool using dry ice.  It works very well actually, and saves us from having to run into our daughter's house multiple times a day for food.  We are a snacking bunch.  Unfortunately, ice cream does not keep well.  Why is it that one always wants ice cream just before bed?  Perhaps I shall lose a few pounds this way?  Come on Fed Ex - I want my refrigerator to work again!

As President Barlett says on West Wing, 'What's Next?'

The next lesson in owning a RV is upon me. This morning I noticed the thermometer in the refrigerator was going up. I checked all the usual things, ie: fuses, breakers, voltages where there is supposed to be voltages.

Phase 2, check online. Where would we be these days without the world wide web?

After about 15 minutes of searching I confirmed my problem. A cracked weld in the cooling unit piping has let all the ammonia escape. Dometic, the manufacturer, has a recall for several models, including mine. Unfortunately, their 'fix' only addresses the possible fire hazard the leaking ammonia can cause and nothing to actually fix cracked pipe.

So, back to the internet and more searching. A new refrigerator is about $1200 plus shipping and you have to go pick it up at the freight company's warehouse, or a remanufactured cooling unit for about $550 with shipping to your door, and from all I learned online, pretty easy to install.

New/remanufactured cooling unit ordered and on it's way.

Stay tuned for the follow-up blog on how the actual replacement job turns out.

NECCESSITY: The Mother of Invention

As we sit, parked in our daughter's driveway, awaiting the arrival of our first grandkid, several things become apparent about urban camping. First, 15 amp electric power doesn't run much. We have to be very aware of what we have running before turning on any other appliances. We found out the hard way that the circuit we are plugged into is also shared by our daughter's bedroom and if the breaker trips in the middle of the night their alarm clocks don't go off in the morning. Ooops!

The second problem is what to do with full waste water tanks. It is a big hassle to get the trailer ready for the road and drive 15 miles to the nearest dump station and back again ever two weeks so I was really looking for a simpler option.

Ideally one would just tap into the houses sewer system through the clean-out plug but it hasn't been opened in decades and the previous owners built a wall that partially encloses the drain making it almost impossible to get a wrench on the plug. I've got some ideas on how to go about getting the plug out but for now I needed a sure way to get my tanks emptied.

I searched on the internet and found "blue buddies". The name belongs to one manufacturer but is used generically to describe any small tank with wheels, a handle and sewer hose connection. They are called "blue buddies" because the originals are made out of blue plastic. They are made to be either pulled by hand or the handle is designed so that it can be hooked over a hitch ball and then pulled to the dump station. The problem with this is that the wheels are cheap plastic ones like on a kiddie car and the handle just loops over the hitch ball. I have to go 15 miles on the freeway to the nearest dump station plus the largest "blue buddy", at 45 gallons, is over $250.

Since I already have a Flomax mascerator pump that liquifies everything so it can be pumped through a regular garden hose I decided I could put a tank in the back of the truck. Tanks of any kind are still not particulary cheap so I ended up with a used white plastic barrel I got for $20. I built a cradle out of a 3 ft by 3 ft piece of 3/4" plywood I had laying around with 4 plastic wheel chocks screwed to it and two ratcheting tie-down straps to hold the barrel in place. I used two more tie-down straps to secure the whole thing in the back of the truck.

The barrel has two 2" bungs in the top. One is standard pipe thread and I bought the necessary PVC fittings at the local big box store to fit on a 2" PVC ball valve and reduce to 10 ft of 1 1/2" spa/pool hose. The barrel was placed in the cradle so this would be on the bottom.

The top bung was coarse thread but had been pre-cast with an option to use a 3/4" fitting. I just had to remove the molded in plug. I used a pipe thread to female hose adapter and added one of those in-line garden hose shut-offs.

Just above and to the left of the top bung I drilled a 3/16" hole to let the air out when pumping liquids in and used a 1/4" sheet metal screw to plug it when not in use.

The Flomax mascerator pump is designed to twist on to the rv's sewer outlet and has an outlet to attach a garden hose. The garden hose connects to the top fitting on the barrel, open the shut-off valve, make sure the 2" ball valve is closed and take the screw out of the air bleed hole and we're ready to try it out.

After the fact, it all worked as planned. The waste water tank pumped into the barrel in about five minutes with no problems and emptied in less than 3 minutes at the dump station at the I-5 rest stop. It took about 10 minutes to rinse out the barrel because they have some funky fitting on the ends of the hose at the dump station. I have a new gizmo to try next time called a "water thief". It's kind of like a piece of hose about 4" long with a male garden hose fitting on one end and the other fits over any kind of outlet with or without threads and has a hose clamp to keep the connection tight. That will free up my hands to tilt the barrel around while the water is running to rinse it out.

Not including the mascerator pump I have less than $100 invested. One advantage of the "blue buddy" is that it doesn't take up as much room to stow it if you are taking it with you.

Home Sweet Home

Well, we made it.  Completed our first 4 months on the road.  A few lessons learned - primarily the awning and the wind.  A few unpleasant surprises - the electrical problems and the stuck open slide, but all in all, I think we did okay.

Our daughter did not deliver before we arrived home, so we are happy about that.  We are parked in her driveway.  We've got water and electricity, and a place to drain the gray water.  It's the black water that will be interesting.  We do have a macerater pump and have pumped directly into the toliet before, but it really smells up the house.  It was one thing in the late summer when we could open the winds to air things out, but it won't be an option for now.  Kim has purchased some big plastic barrels, which will fit in the back of the truck.  It will work a bit like a "blue buddy" as I understand it.  You pump the black water tank into the barrel, and then take the barrel the dump station.  That way you don't have to move the 5th wheel.

I'm excited to stay put for a bit.  I've got my books and 'stuff' out - like my Lakshmi and Ganesha statues, my crystals and stuffed animals.  I've got lots of people I'd like to see during my stay in the area, and of course, I'll be busy with Grandma Duty.

I'm a big believer in taking a Play Day each week, and I hope to do some touristy stuff in my home town.  A bit of a stay-cation and I will post from time to time for those of you that haven't been to the Seattle area so you can see what there is to do around here.

Our general plans are to take off sometime in September 2010, and head east to Montana, and then south through Utah and Northern Arizona, eventually winding up in Yuma and maybe Palm Springs.  Stay tuned for our further adventures!

Another lesson in RVing.

As part of my research prior to our buying our NuWa (which, by the way, is pronounced 'new way') HitchHiker II LS 5th wheel trailer I read several forums, including one (nuwaowners.org) devoted to NuWas, so I was somewhat prepared when our largest slide-out decided not to slide out. The slide rides on two toothed tracks and has two toothed wheels (gears) that ride in the tracks. The two gears are connected by a shaft so the slide goes in and out evenly because the hydraulic ram that provides the force to move it is mounted, not in the middle but, one end so that when the hydraulic ram pushes out or pulls in the one gear nearest the ram starts to turn and the shaft to the other gear makes the other gear turn and thus the other end of the slide also goes out: that is until one of the bolts that holds the shaft to the gears breaks. Then only the end of the slide-out where the hydraulic ram is attached trys to go out.

This happened to us in Yuma, AZ. Betsy and I managed to get the slide out by letting the hydraulic ram push is out a few inches and then we'd brace ourselves against the kitchen counter and push. To get it back in required a come-along and three men pushing. We had an appointment at CJ's RV Repair and 2 hours and $90 later we had the broken bolts replaced. The mechanic said he had just done the same repair the day before on another rv.

All in all not so bad as far as catastrophes go.

Back in Washington

We took Highway 126 from Florence, Oregon, over to I-5 at Eugene.  This is a 45 mile stretch of road that is absolutely lovely.  We hooked up with I-5, and decided to try the I-205 route around Portland.  OMG - I can't believe I've never taken this road before.  If you are driving north or south on I-5, and don't need to stop in Portland, this loop around the city is a must!

We pulled into Brookhollow RV Park - another gem - in a lovely setting with large paved, and level pull through sites.

We hadn't unhooked the truck from the rig since we left Jamul.  Today was the day because we wanted to look around the area.  My grandparent's home was here and this is where my dad grew up and attended high school.  Things have definitely changed since I was last here in the 1960s.

Fortuna and Florence

We spent the first night on our journey up 101 in Fortuna, California at the Riverwalk RV Park.  This is a nice little park and we'd stay there again.  I know I took pictures of this park as well, but they are not on the camera.  Maybe I am my mother's daughter.....My mother travelled through Europe taking pictures with her finger over the camera lens.  I think maybe I was pushing the power button, turning the camera on and off.  Yes, I am a blonde.

The next night, we stayed in Florence, Oregon at the Hecata Beach RV Park.  I have always said Heck-ah-ta, but the gal at the park pronounced it Ha-zee-ta.  I had to look it up.  The area is named after a Basque explorer who was sent to investigate the area.  His name was Bruno de Heceta y Dudagoitia.  His name was pronounced Ha-zee-ta, although the Heck-ah-ta pronunciation is also accepted.

This is another nice little park.  Spaces are large, and easily accomodated our 33' rig with 3 slides.  There were hedges and trees between each space.  It was very quiet and we would definitely stay there again.  It is a few blocks walk to the beach.

Our site

An empty site next to us.

I slept 9 hours and woke up to lovely blue skies!  Next stop - Kelso, WA.