Progrees on the Trailer

Location, At home, Ca

I got out of my normal routine today as the truck needed to be in the shop at 8 AM for several maintenance items. Usually I do my walk at 7 AM or so and walk for an hour, but today I had to forgo that.

So, after the truck was delivered, I worked on the trailer panel. When the panel was initially removed I noticed that a hydraulic line to the bedroom slide was routed in the wrong place. The route forced the panel to bulge down where it crossed a frame member so I disconnected the hose end at the pump and re-routed it in the same channel as the return line. It is a much better placement and will make it easier to install the panel. I can’t help but think that the original hose placement was in error.

I cleaned all of the caulked edges of the panel with acetone and shortly after lunch, with help from my son and a friend, we put the panel in place. The panel is held up in the middle with 3/16 inch pop rivets which go through the box frame in several places. I had pre-painted the rivets to match the panel color (white).The edges of the panel are held in place with self tapping screws. I will put those on tomorrow along with the trim.

I was supposed to have a treadmill test tomorrow but the Doctors office called yesterday and asked me to come in this afternoon. The test has become routine for me as I have had one each year for the last several years. After the test, which went very well, the Doctor suggested that every two years would be ok. Exercise, diet, and drugs of course appear to be doing the trick. I see my regular Doctor next week.

As I was returning from the Doctors office I received a call from the shop working on the truck. They found that the front brakes were down to less than 5% of the pads remaining. Sooo, they need to be replaced.

Basketball and trailer repair

Location, At home, Ca

The basketball game last night was like old times. The crowd was one of the biggest in years. Not as big as in the old days of the UNLV vs UCSB rivalry, but close enough. The student section especially was well represented. It should be as they get in for free.

UCSB played poorly in the first half but made up for it in the second half. The score was tied with 4.2 seconds remaining when UCSB in-bounded the ball and one of the guards hit a 3 pointer while falling down. UNLV was in shock. UCSB beat them in Las Vegas last year and the last two games at UCSB. Unbelievable win!

Progress is being made on the trailer. I buffed all of the rust off the screws and welds and primed them this morning. I painted all of the pop rivet heads white so they match the panel. Tomorrow I hope to clean the panel with acetone so the new caulking will stick better. I may even get the panel put back in place. We are supposed to have rain on Friday so it would be nice to get it buttoned up against weather.

I would post photos but there really isn’t much to see. I am storing the panel in the garage to make sure nothing happens to it. It is large and unwieldy and somewhat fragile so I treat it gently.

Tomorrow morning the truck goes in for much need maintenance. My list is long and I suspect it will be expensive. The biggest item is the water pump which appears to be leaking. The tranny needs servicing and the usual lube, oil, and filter needs to be done.

I can hope for the best.

Happy Birthday, Clyda

Location, At home, Ca

I am still working on the RV front panel. Just removing the old caulk has taken me 2 days with a putty knife. I have most of it removed but now need to clean everything with lacquer thinner so the new caulk will stick to the metal. I bought stainless steel screws to replace the old screws as they had started to rust. In fact some of them broke off when I tried to remove them. I will just drill new pilot holes when I reinstall the panel.

Today is Clyda’s birthday but we are not doing anything special. Craig will make waffles for dinner (her request) and then we will go to a basketball game. The Running Rebels from the University of Las Vegas are in town. It is the first time since the 1990’s that they have returned here. This used to be a big rivalry back then. We will see how many fans show up and just how much of a contest it will be.

It was a nice sunny day today but it sure cools off early in the afternoon. I think we may get rain later in the week.

Trailer problem

Location, At home, CA

I missed a few days of blogging this week so will try to catch up.

We had a good Thanksgiving with family and neighbors for dinner. Everyone contributed something. I BBQ’ed the turkey with a lot of rosemary and caught the drippings in a pan which were strained and used to flavor the dressing and gravy. Outstanding dressing and gravy! The turkey had a nice smoky flavor.



Before and after pictures.

We have been going to the local college basketball games which accounts for 3 evenings. We saw the men’s team twice and the women’s team once. The men won both games and the women lost to third ranked Maryland by only 4 points which was a big improvement over last years loss at Maryland by 66 points.

I have a problem to solve on the RV. There is a crack in the exterior sidewall by the bedroom slide. The crack extends diagonally from the bottom left corner of the slide opening in the sidewall for about 8 inches. It is barely noticeable when the trailer is parked and unloaded. When it is hooked to the truck the crack opens about the width of a pencil lead.

The obvious problem would seem to be a broken weld in the frame. I removed the panel under the fifth wheel overhang to look at the frame. Other than some slight water damage to the under layment from a poor caulking job at the factory, there is no evidence of a frame problem. All welds look good. Putting the trailer back on the truck to see if the frame flexes shows little if any deforming of the frame.

The conclusion is that normal flexing of the frame while traveling and weight in the front closet and under the bed is causing the problem. The crack will be stopped by drilling a small hole at the end and then filled with RTV while hooked to the truck. After the RTV is dried, (24 hours) the trailer can be removed from the truck. Slight puckering can be expected along the crack because of the RTV.

The rust areas, which are mainly screw heads, will be sanded and primed and the panel will be reinstalled. Stay tuned for a progress report.

Equinox pictures

Location, At home, CA

I should have mentioned in last night’s trip synopsis that Clyda traveled for 4 months and then came home while I continued and was 5 days short of 5 months when I returned home.

I also said I would post some pictures of the new Equinox so here they are. It had just returned from the dealer after a complete inside and outside detailing so it looks really sharp.


I may have mentioned in an earlier post that I was reading a large book called "Post War". I finally finished the book last night. I started it when we left on our trip in June. I am not a slow reader but I only read this at night as my bedtime reading. It is all about the European recovery after WW II ended. I bought this book because I wanted to know more about the lives of German people after the fall of Berlin. There was some of that subject in the book but not the detail I was looking for. A better book on this is "German Boy" which I read while in Death Valley. This book is written by Wolfgang W. E. Samuel covering the period from just before the fall of Berlin to 5 years later. He lived it as a boy from his 10th birthday until he was 15 years old. It is a much better account of the everyday life of a boy in Russian occupied Germany

New automobile

Location, At home, CA

We did go to the local Chevy dealer on Saturday to just look. Yeah, right. We did look at some used cars but they either had high mileage or the warranty was about to run out. Eventually we dickered on a 2007 Chevy Equinox which was new. We hated the color so used that as a bargaining chip. Clyda did all the bargaining as she gave them a firm price to work from.

Eventually we came to terms and drove home with a new black amethyst metallic Equinox. The car goes back tomorrow for detailing as the service department wasn’t open Saturday to do the job. Maybe pictures tomorrow.

I am still working on the trailer. Today I cleaned the sinks and shower and dumped the tanks. I also vacuumed the whole rig from top to bottom inside. The carpets need cleaning and I may do that tomorrow if the weather cooperates. It has been really foggy and cold and I want a day when it is a little warmer so the carpets will dry.

I did get the data entered in spread sheets from our trip for miles and camping.
We traveled 11,006 total miles with 7912 miles pulling the trailer. Our average camping cost per day was $17.40. We averaged 11.8 MPG throughout the trip.
The highest price for fuel was in Canada at $4.04 per gallon while the lowest was $2.70 per gallon in Texas. The highest in the states was at Mohave, CA, my last fill up at $3.65 per gallon. Diesel fuel locally now is $3.75 per gallon.

I also am watching a lot of college basketball. This is my time of year. So many games in a few days. I love it. We went to one local college game last week and will go again tonight. Both games are the men’s team. We have yet to see the ladies play as they have been on the road.

More of the same!

Location, At home, CA

More of the same today. Working on things in the trailer, stowing things I don’t need right now, and cleaning up computer files.

I also had 3 requests for books from Paperback Swap. I had put my account on hold while we were gone and I guess it became active again today. It is very unusual to receive 3 requests in one day but it makes the trip to the post office worth while. I need to mail all of them tomorrow.

The major item is the car. We may go to our local Chevy dealer tomorrow and see what they have on the lot. It’s a start anyway.