Day 45 - Santaquin, UT - HH

Today was an even shorter driving day to a Harvest Host farm. They told us to arrive early since their harvest festival started a few days ago and it gets crowded by the afternoon. We are parked at the far edge of the parking lot and our rear hydraulic jacks are at their limit. I need to pick up some jack pads so they have more surface area and not sink into the dirt. I’ve seen a lot of good reviews of Snap-Pads. A chilly 35°F this morning but I ran the generator and the engine block heater for a couple of hours this morning so no problem starting the engine. The battery bank was down quite a bit after two days of dry camping. The little bit of driving doesn’t charge the house batteries much. During the two hours of generator running, they received 85 amps for most of that time.

We are parked at the edge of a lot next to the highway but the highway noise is not really an issue. The double pane windows do a good job of blocking sounds. We were told that this lot will be full by late afternoon so try to arrive early. Since the Payson Walmart was only 5 miles away, that was easy to do. Even though this lot looks smooth, we really need to drive very slowly on even this terrain as we don’t have a lot of suspension travel. The air bags give a really nice ride on the highway but on rough terrain, there is a lot of rocking side to side.

We opted not to take a wagon ride to the harvest festival as most of the activities seemed to be aimed at kids and it was $9/adult. They had around thirty flavors of homemade ice cream but I opted for their milk shake made with fresh peaches. 

Day 44 - Payson, UT

Today may be our shortest travel day. Twelve miles from the Springville Walmart to the Payson Walmart. We called both stores and were told no problem and to park away from the doors. We also made a short stop at a Love’s for propane. The gauge on the tank read a little over ¼ but it only took 16½ gallons. It’s a 40 gallon tank. BTW, it’s a challenge to pull this rig up to the propane tanks as they are usually on the auto side of the truck stops.

Tomorrow, it’s supposed to be absolutely clear and sunny and we are looking at a Harvest Host in the area. Tonight is supposed to be in the mid-30s so the generator may be running tomorrow morning for a couple of hours for the block heater.

Now that we have some groceries, I can actually cook something. Kielbasa, cabbage, butter & onions over egg noodles. Simmered with red wine vinegar and a little sugar to cut through the bitterness of the cabbage. Plus a dollop of sour cream. 

Day 43 - Springville, UT

Lot-docking this evening at the Walmart in Springfield, UT. We ended up driving 420 miles today to outrun the storm that was bringing an early winter to the northern Rockies. Originally, we were thinking of stopping in Ogden, UT, but we were just getting out of a major rain storm. Complete with hail and lightning. I just wanted to get away from the bad weather and the possibility of snow. The elevation in northern Utah was around 5500’ and the forecast for there was snow tomorrow.

I did try two more items that worked! The two fans in the upper corners of the windshield do a good job as defrosters. And the heated mirrors helped to dissipate the fogging with the near freezing temperatures. Also, the engine didn’t smoke as much as it had in the past when first started in the morning. In fact, I even stayed in our spot until the front air bags brought us to ride height. Usually I’m rushing to get away from the other campers due to the smoke. We’ll see how it is tomorrow without using the engine heater. 

Day 42 - Sand Hollow, ID

Today was a 300 mile day across Oregon on Hwy 20. A pretty relaxing day tough we lost an hour when we crossed the Idaho border transitioning to Mountain Time. There was only one truck stop in Burns, OR, and their diesel price wasn’t too bad at $3.159/gal. We are at an RV park in Idaho with 50amps and sewer so we could do laundry. Plus, it’s a pull through site so we didn’t have to disconnect the car. The gentleman in the next site has a 2005 Beaver with a Caterpillar C9 engine. I asked about smoke when cold and he told me about how it runs when the water temperature is under 100°F. It over fuels so you get a lot of unburned fuel out the exhaust system.

I used the block heater for about 3 hours and it started much easier this morning. Much better than on Wednesday morning. On Wednesday, I actually had to use the feature which connects the house batteries with the chassis batteries to get it started. 

Day 41 - Redmond, Sunriver, OR - TT

Originally, we were planning on heading east towards Idaho today but got held up with the Freightliner recall item. Since it is a steering part that needed to be replaced, it seemed to be a good idea. The part was overnighted and arrived here at Freightliner Northwest by noon. Right now (~1pm), I’m waiting for a tech to get assigned as most of them were at lunch when the part arrived.

Yesterday, they mentioned that the outlet for the block heater didn’t seem to be working. But this morning, I started the generator to recharge the house batteries and while the generator was running, I tried the block heater switch. It added 7 amps to the load. So, the outlet is working as is the block heater. That is a relief as this engine doesn’t seem to start easily when cold. It’ll get tested tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, it still smokes when cold.

We did end up extending our reservation at the Sunriver Thousand Trails by one day and are planning to head east tomorrow. Just trying to beat the bad weather heading this way...

Day 40 - Redmond, OR

Yesterday afternoon, I rewired the right turn signal on the trailer connector the same as I had done the left signal back in Corvallis. While I was working on it, two deer wandered through our campsite as if they didn’t have a care in the world.

On Wednesday morning, we woke up early and took the coach to Freightliner Northwest in Redmond. About fifteen miles north of Bend. It hit a low of 35°F last night and the engine was really hard to start. As I had mentioned before, the engine block heater wasn’t working. My appointment with Freightliner was for an engine oil change but I asked them to look over the chassis and give me recommendations. About half an hour later, they called and said that there were two factory recalls both dealing with the steering.

One of the recall parts is being shipped and should be here midday tomorrow. So rather than drive back to Sunriver and return tomorrow, we are dry camping in their parking lot. They added 18 qts of oil and a new filter. The oil is just below the full line on the dipstick. They also lubed the chassis, checked for air leaks, and fixed the block heater. The cord was frayed in the middle. This may have burned out the relay as the front switched outlet didn’t seem to provide power. Since they only work on the chassis, they didn’t debug the relay. But did verify that the block heater now works.

Total was $700+. Just tried the TV. 43 digital channels over-the-air and still nothing worse worth watching.

Day 39 - Crater Lake, OR

Today promised to be warm and sunny. We headed out in the shiny Prius (thank you Dave!) for Crater Lake National Park. It was 92 miles according to Google. 

We entered the park through the north entrance and stopped at several overlooks with views of Wizard Island and the fabulous dark blue color. Crater Lake is one of those places where photos can’t really show what it’s really like.

We even found a dog-friendly trail behind one of the visitor centers. Lots of dogs on other trails even though they were signed with “No dogs”. Likewise, people were feeding the chipmunks and squirrels while standing right next to the “No feeding the animals” signs.

Day 38 - Bend, OR

This morning, we went to the High Desert Museum just north of Bend, OR. Admission was $17 per adult and it was definitely worth it. Fabulous displays both static as well as live animals. This was a nicely restored forest service fire truck. The indoor live animal exhibits were reptiles, fish and some birds.

There were a number of outdoor exhibits and one of the best were the birds of prey. A number of hawks, eagles, and owls. It was a pretty nice setup. There was an indoor theatre for a live bird show but we missed it by about half an hour.

I don’t remember what kind of owl this was but it was just one of many. 

Day 36, 37 - Sunriver, OR - TT

The weather on Saturday was close to ideal. Lots of clear skies and sun. I did go over and give Dave a hand with the stereo installation in his truck. Since it was an early 2000’s Dodge, pulling the dashboard was almost second nature. The drivers side rear speaker wasn’t working and, based on my own experience, we pulled apart the wiring in the door hinge area and found four broken or almost completely broken wires. Pulled that whole section of the wiring loom apart and spliced in new sections of wire.

Sunday morning - The rain had returned. I tried running the heat pump all night and it did keep the RV warm enough but by late morning, the heat output was diminishing. I switched to the propane furnace for a while and then switched back to the heat pump after about 30 minutes. It was working much better. The heat pump runs on electricity, it’s cheaper for us to use it than the propane furnace.

In the afternoon, I went back to Dave and Ginny’s home to debug the stereo installation. After pairing his phone, he could make calls by no one could hear him. There was a separate wired microphone that run through the driver side A-pillar. After pulling the radio back out and checking the wiring in the back of the radio (no problem), David took apart the A-pillar on the slim chance that the wire got damaged during the installation. Sure enough, the wire was pinched. I cut the damaged section of wire and soldered it back together. It worked great. Well, the microphone worked fine but “Okay Google” didn’t work very well.

Later, we met for dinner at Cracker Barrel in Bend. It must be new location since it isn’t listed in the AllStays app. 

Day 34, 35 - Sunriver, OR - TT

Thursday - Another rainy day in Oregon. Not as much as yesterday but enough to put off any outside projects. There was a “end of season” potluck that I stumbled onto put on by the staff. Pretty small turnout. We went to visit friends who live about a mile from the campground.

Friday - This morning, it was 38°F according to the weather app. We still hadn’t picked up an indoor/outdoor thermometer so I’m just guessing. By noon, it was in the mid-50s so off to the pool and hot tub. Pretty nice with the entertaining clouds and a couple of other people enjoying their outdoor time. One was a volunteer here at the campground and had a lot of good info on the Thousand Trails system.

Looked into a few more things on the coach. I found the outlet for the engine heater in the same bay as the 50amp shore power cord. The good news is that the outlet works and can be turned on/off from a switch on the dash. The bad news is that no current is flowing so I’ll need to crawl under and find the other end of the cord. It’s supposed to go to a freeze plug heater.

The other concern was blue smoke when cold started. According to the Internet, the most common reason was from overfilling with oil. According to the most recent paperwork, they put in 7 gallons of oil. The Cat C7 was available with two oil pans. 5.5 gallons and 7 gallons. Checking the dip stick it’s over an inch above the full mark. So need to stop at an oil/lube shop. Many of the truck stops such as Pilot or TA have them.

Tomorrow, I think I’ll be helping Dave install a stereo in his truck...

Day 33 -Sunriver, OR - TT

Picture is Bridget’s 

Today, we left the fairgrounds and headed for the Thousand Trails campground in Sunriver. According to the GPS, the best route was on Hwy 58 south of Eugene. That sounded good to me. Before leaving, I was wondering if the engine would get hot towing the car over the mountains. I’m happy to report that the engine temperature never budged from 190°F for the entire trip. I’m pretty happy about that. I’m hoping the overheating on the first day was a fluke. We were in the truck lane anytime there was a steep uphill grade but other than that, we were able to maintain highway speeds with cruise control. The extra weight didn’t really make much of a difference. We’re still slow but that’s fine. As long as you aren’t the one behind us…

It took us about an hour to get the Prius on the tow dolly. I need to pick up a larger wrench as the bolt for the tire ratchets is around 1¼”. I also need to adjust the length of the straps holding the tires. When we arrived at the campground, we removed the car to make it easier to find a suitable site. Kind of wet today. The forecast is for dryer weather.

I think I’m going to rewire the right turn signal directly to the seven pin trailer connector. It works but blinks oddly compared to the rewired left signal. I’m guessing that some sort of electronic module is somewhere to isolate the trailer from the coach lights. Since the lights on the tow dolly are LED, it shouldn’t matter much as they draw minimal current. 

Day 31, 32 - Corvallis, OR

Not much to report. I have the car dolly set up for the Prius. I am disappointed to find out that the left turn signal pin doesn’t work on the seven pin trailer connector. There were a pile of wires hacked into the connector wiring as a six pin trailer connector was “installed” using Scotch-Locks. I hate those things. I pulled all of that out and will start over tomorrow running a new wire to the seven pin connector from the left turn signal unless I can identify the broken wire.

Tuesday Afternoon - This morning I picked up the rest of the stuff that I had brought down from Fairbanks. The e-bikes didn’t fit easily into the basement storage and ended up taking a lot of space. Between the e-bikes, the kayak and the empty suitcases, the basement storage is getting full (by volume not weight).

I also ran a new wire directly from the left turn signal to the seven pin trailer connector. Without a good wiring diagram, any further diagnoses would be difficult. But for now, the turn signals work like they are supposed to. I may pick up some magnetic, LED lights to put onto the back of the Prius at some time.

Tomorrow, we are heading to the Thousand Trails campground in Sunriver, OR. We plan on staying there for ten days. Travel costs this month have been through the roof between air travel and over 5,000 miles on the road. The Thousand Trail locations are prepaid for the year so we are going to take advantage of that for a bit. 

Day 30 - Salem, OR

Today was a moto-blogger meetup. Brad (Troubadour), Brandy (Trobairitz), myself, Lynne (Curvyroads), Bridget and Jerry. We met up at Marco Polo, a Chinese and Italian place  in downtown Salem. Excellent food and even better company. We arrived around 2 and didn’t get out until after 5.  I had met up with them before heading to Atlanta but Bridget hadn’t met Lynne and Jerry before nor had they met Brad and Brandy.

When we were paying the bill, I noticed that Jerry had the same brand of wallet that I’ve been using for years. Big Skinny. It turned out the five of us had the same brand. We figured that they sell them at many motorcycle shows. Bridget has never been to a motorcycle show so she didn’t have one. I thought it was unusual. 

Day 28, 29 - Corvallis, OR

I had to switch sites this morning and I think it may be a nicer site. Only 30 amp power and no sewer connection but it’s next to trees and a nice garden. On Saturday morning, Bridget arrived at the Eugene airport with two dogs and a smelly cat. It took them a bit to locate the dogs in Seattle which delayed their flight for a bit. Now time to sort and unpack all of the stuff I brought down. It has been challenging to find things in the many containers and bags.

There is an OSU football game today and this is one of the parking lots and shuttle stops for the stadium. Quite a few cars and the shuttle stop is just a few hundred feet from where we are parked. The garden is nice with grass just a few steps from the door. 

Day 27 - Corvallis, OR

From the picture, you may be able to tell that it was a photo-light day. Ran a lot of errands to Home Depot, Petco, and Fred Meyer. Plus a stop at Starbucks. I picked up a drop hitch ball mount for the coach plus one for the Prius. I figured that if we ever needed to just move the tow dolly around, having a 2" ball on the Prius may be handy. There was initially some confusion on my part as the coach has a Reese Class V hitch. According to the Internet, the Reese class V hitch has a 2½" receiver. But when I measured it, it still uses a 2" receiver. The Prius has a 1¼" receiver and according to Toyota, it has a towing capacity of zero. I installed the hitch mount back when the car was new so there would someplace to attach a tow rope in case it got stuck in the snow. I also needed to borrow large wrenches from my brother-in-law since, for some reason, I didn't bring any large wrenches with me. Large as in for a 1½" nut.

Other errands were to find kitty litter and some random hardware to fix the passenger electric shade. I still need to replace the batteries in several TPMS sensors but haven't found my battery supply. But then again, I haven't looked very hard either. Tomorrow morning, I need to move to a different site here at the campground as they are completely booked up due to an OSU home football game.

Day 26 - Corvallis, OR

Today was a short driving day so I figured that it would be a good day to get the front valve stems replaced. I stopped at the Les Schwab in Albany, OR. The shop is first-come-first-serve so there was a couple of hour wait. That’s fine with me. I have time. They are equally puzzled about what can fail with a valve stem.

Later - The front tires have some balancing beads installed. There is a plastic “filter” to keep the beads out of the valve stem but it was broken and jammed inside the valve stem. It would break off the tip of any valve core installed which adds to the jam. I had them remove the beads and install new valve stems which should eliminate the problem. $131 price seemed reasonable for the amount of work performed.

At about 2:00, I arrived at the fairgrounds in Corvallis. They are letting me stay in a full hookup site for the next couple of days but will be moving Friday morning to a water/electric site. This place is going to be full as there is a home football game this weekend. BTW, no problem going under the railroad trestle. And I now have my 25’ tape measure. 

Day 25 - McMinnville, OR - HH

The hardest part of today’s drive was going through Portland. The GPS said the “best” route between Baker City and the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum was through downtown Portland followed by stop & go along 99W. The museum allows overnight RV parking with the hope that you will visit the museum. Since I arrived around 3pm, there is only a couple of hours before closing so I probably won't be visiting the museum this time. We stopped here last April and not many RVs then. Today, there are around a dozen or so.

It has been raining for most of the drive but it's looking like it may be clearing up. I had heard that it was really hot here but that isn't the case right now. It's a very pleasant 69°F. With a window open plus the screen door, there is a nice breeze blowing through. 350 mile today and only about 50 miles to Corvallis tomorrow. My reservation at the fairground campground begins tomorrow. There were some crazy drivers today. The worst were the ones (multiple) staring at their phone while merging onto the interstate. I'm happy to report that the air horns on the RV work and seem to do a good job getting their attention. It seemed to get worse the closer I got to Portland.

Since I am parked on pavement, I took the opportunity to measure the height. Since I only have a 10’ tape measure with me, I had to measure in steps. 11’5” to the top of the awning bracket which is above the top of the edge of the roof. The A/C units are 13” high. So I guess the brochure listing of 12’9” is probably close enough. There is a railroad overpass that I need to under tomorrow that is 13’4” so I should easily clear it. This coach is around 5” lower than the 5th wheel. BTW, nice view from the windshield…

Day 24 - Baker City, OR

Today was 360 miles from Snowville, UT, to Baker City, OR. Followers of this blog may recognize this campground as the one that Bob and Karen stayed at back in 2012. Wow! Was it really that long ago... I called this morning from a rest area and they had one site left that I would be able to fit into so I went ahead and reserved it. Some (Bridget) may ask why not dry camp. It's hard to do when there isn't another person to be looking to see what is ahead. There was one Harvest Host but they wouldn't be open until Wednesday. No Walmarts, Cracker Barrel or Cabella's that allow overnight parking and the rest areas allow 2-hour parking only. So, RV park it is.

It isn't hot at all which is what I was expecting. In fact, 63°F with a slight breeze almost feels chilly. Maybe anything after the southeast feels chilly. It rained again while on the road but not the gully washer that was in Wyoming. Only a bit more to go. I may stay at a Harvest Host location tomorrow. The only one near here is closed on Monday and Tuesday.

Lots of Oregon Trail signs along I-84. This one was next to the jacuzzi at the campground. They had hot tubs on the Oregon Trail?

Day 23 - Snowville UT

I got an early start from the KOA campground in Laramie this morning. It went down to 42°F last night so I tested out both the heat pump in the front A/C unit and in the middle of the night switched to the two propane furnaces. All of them are controlled from the single thermostat control in the kitchen area. I'm not sure where the temperature sensors are actually located. Anyway, they all worked fine.

BTW, the refrigerator worked fine on propane last night and all day today. The upper compartment of the freezer is below 0°F so all works great. I was originally thinking of stopping in western Wyoming but shortly after passing Rock Springs, I ran into a storm. Lots of rain on the road. At least most of the bugs are now washed off the windshield.

After filling up north of Ogden, UT, I found a small RV park in the tiny town of Snowville. Shortly after setting up, the wind picked up and now the rain is really coming down here. Due to the wind, I brought the large dining/living slide in since the wind was blowing right under the slide topper. The wind died down after the thunder and lightning show. Now, it's just rain.

This is the view from the front windshield at the campsite. Not too shabby. At least until the storm came. Right now, I can see the trees but the mountains are lost in the low clouds and rain. Just in case, I turned everything off in the coach but the power never went out.

457 miles today. My reservation in Corvallis doesn't start until Wednesday so I have plenty of time to get there. Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah so far. Idaho and Oregon tomorrow...

Day 22 - Laramie, WY

I left the Cabella's parking lot a bit before 9. Very relaxing place assuming that you aren't bothered by trains. I'm not bothered. It was a very pleasant 64°F but warmed up to about 87° by early afternoon. I-80 is in horrible shape at the eastern end of NE with expansion joints every 15' or so. After about 50 miles of this, the passenger sunshade let go. I cut the wire and will repair it when I get to OR. I did pick up some 5-min epoxy when I stopped at a Walmart to pick up some groceries. When I stopped in Laramie, the refrigerator indicated a propane fault. I suspect that this is from the really strong wind blowing into the vents on the side repeatedly blowing out the flame. It's working just fine now on propane and has been since leaving GA. I did not have the generator running today as the high winds were blowing the generator exhaust towards the cabin air intake.

When I arrived in Laramie, WY, I filled up at the Love's truckstop and when I was leaving, there was a KOA campground sign across the street. That sounded good to me as I was pretty tired from fighting the wind. Wind gusts to over 40 mph according to the highway signs. And it was from the west so it was a quartering to full headwind for much of the day. Add to that the elevation change from Nebraska to Wyoming (2200' to 8640') and it was a hard day for a vehicle shaped like a brick. The gas mileage for today was only 7.3 mpg. A drop of about 1.5 mpg from before. On the long grades, I would have to consciously slow down to keep the engine water temperature below 215°F. I think the cooling system may need to be looked at.

Trying out the heat pump tonight. It’s supposed to be in the mid-40s tonight. 367 miles today. Only 1126 miles to go on this leg of the trip. 

Day 21 - Kearney, NE

Wow! It’s been 3 weeks already.

This morning, I thought that it would be a good idea to check the tire pressures. The valve core on the first tire I checked wouldn’t reseal. If I had them handy, I could’ve simply put the TPMS sensor on but that didn’t occur to me until later. I called Good Sam’s roadside assistance and they had a tire guy there in about 45 minutes. The replacement cores he had behaved similarly. He suggested replacing the valve stem but since I had the TPMS sensors, that works as fine for now. He checked the pressure in all the tires (all slightly low) and put sensors on all of the tires.

Today, I’m parked in the Cabella’s lot in Kearney, NE. 451 miles even with the late start. After the high 80s (°F) all day, the 69°F here in Kearney feels pretty nice. After talking to the manager and picking up some water, I tried to pair all of the TPMS sensors with the display. Two of the sensors need new batteries as they don’t pair up. I have six batteries in Corvallis. But at least I have the right front tire which is the one in the picture. If I can had a ready supply of compressed air, I would swap the sensors since I still have two more. The left front would leak air until I had the new sensor screwed on.

I’m the only RV in the lot and there was a nice sunset. No specific destination tomorrow beyond somewhere in Wyoming along I-80. I heard that WY isn’t very boondocker friendly so I may be in a campground again. Thank you Cabella’s for allowing free overnight RV parking. Some of the AllStays reviews complained about trains but the tracks are quite a ways away and in the last hour, I’ve heard one go by.

BTW, I do plan on getting the valve stems replaced but it can wait until a more convenient location. 

Day 20 - Columbia, MO

After the warm, muggy night at the Cracker Barrel, I looked for an RV park (with a pool) for today. Plus, I needed to refill the water tank. The inside electronic gauge for the propane tank was red so I stopped at a Flying J to get it filled. Only 12 gallons went in the 40 gallon tank. I guess I now know what “red” means for the propane tank. The tank itself has a gauge but it read less than half full.

St. Louis was the large city that I traversed today. I did see the Gateway Arch out the window but traffic was too heavy to take a picture. 390 miles today. I spent the evening enjoying the A/C, the pool, filling the water tank, emptying the black and grey tanks, using the automatic leveling system, watched some TV to see if they work (they do), and now I’m running a small load of laundry. Started laundry at 8:14pm.

Tomorrow I should be somewhere in Nebraska.

Day 19 (cont.) - Finally!

Today’s project was bugging Lori on the Stonecoat Countertop finish for the kitchen counters in their expedition vehicle. My role seemed to be making suggestions on her technique. Yes, I was a pest. But she did a fabulous job and the countertop looks fantastic. Around 2:00, we heard from the RV dealer that the refrigerator was working. We headed up to Ringgold, GA, after stopping to pick up Chris at his appointment. The refrigerator was working though the propane was low. I need to fill it up tomorrow. A huge thank you to Chris and Lori! I was their house guest for eleven days and they drove me up to Ringgold three times! Plus they had this very interesting project.

This is the second leg of the trip. From Ringgold, GA, to Corvallis, OR. Tonight, I’m parked at a Cracker Barrel in Clarksville, TN, taking advantage of their free RV parking. It was extremely crowded going through Chattanooga and Nashville. Not optimal conditions for learning to drive the new rig, I was planning to stop south of Nashville but traffic was very heavy and the parking lot at that Cracker Barrel was crowded. I didn’t feel like trying to snake a bus through the lot. So after finding a place to turn around, Onward towards St. Louis, MO. I ended up driving after sunset which is something that I’d rather not do with an unfamiliar vehicle. 189 miles today. Driving the coach (that seems to be what people call them) is pretty straightforward as long as you keep track of the wheels and the rear corners. The cruise control is nice to have and the exhaust brake really slows you down as it downshifts the transmission automatically. It seemed to run hot while climbing some grades in TN but the outside temperature was 98°F so maybe that is normal. I stopped at a truck stop and it took 65 gal at 1/3 tank. There were a lot of trucks waiting for fuel so it was a longish 30 minute stop.

More tomorrow. 

Day 17, 18, 19 - Atlanta, GA

Monday evening - Today, Labor Day, was another hot & humid one. By 11am it was around 90°F. I cut the plywood for the bed platform and we covered the plywood with a grey fabric. The fabric was the most challenging part as the plywood was in two pieces. Went with Chris & Lori to a neighborhood potluck and the hosts had wonderful barbecue pork and chicken along with mac and cheese and fabulous baked beans. And it’s always nice to meet new people.

Tuesday afternoon - Today was a quiet day doing laundry and getting some groceries in hopes of getting on the road soon. The tech was supposedly installing the cooling unit on the refrigerator which would be left running all night.

Wednesday morning - Well, not good news from the RV dealer. The tech is on his way back to the shop. Hopefully, better news later today...

Wednesday afternoon - On our way to the dealer! (Finally…)

Day 15, 16 - Atlanta, GA

Another hot and humid day. This picture is from Saturday after the openings for the rear windows were cut. After Saturday and Sunday, all of the windows are in and sealed. Brackets for two large aluminum tool boxes have been welded to the rear bumper and soon there will be a rear bumper. Countertops have been made and day/night shades fitted. I have been working on modifying two couches to fit the available space. The second picture shows them being test fitted. The whole habitat, which is what the living area is called, needed to be lifted up to get the fresh and grey tanks installed.

The couch project took me most of the day. Mostly removing hundreds of staples and figuring out how to reassemble the pieces and the fabric into a shorter couch that fits the available space. Including fitting then around the tracks for the bed platform. The platform is in the raised position but not quite high enough to stand under. This is quite the vehicle.