An Interesting March

It appears that this year we get to travel from one job to another. I don't have a problem with that but we are not used to this much travelling when we are suppose to be working. Let me recap for you.

It all started on March 1st, which by the way was our payday. The gate we were at was closed down and the guys came by in the morning to pick up the equipment. The day before we made arrangements to go to the Gonzales yard and off we went. We stopped by the main office to get our check first. We pulled into Gonzales and set up. We were worried that being in Gonzales that we might not get any jobs, but that didn't last long.

On Monday the 4th we received a call that there was a gate opening up and we took it. We didn't know how long we would be there but we were working. It wasn't far from Gonzales only about 30 miles or so. It was a nice place and we were level in an area of some grass. On Friday the 8th, our service guy called to tell us that the gate was being closed. I asked him if our spot was still opened at the yard and he said it was. So we took off again back to Gonzales.

We were in Gonzales for over a week now and there isn't much to do their. It's a nice town but maybe two days and you have seen it all.  Saturday evening, the 16th, we were asked about going back to the same gate that we were just at again. Once again the day before was payday and we needed to go shopping for groceries. Our guy told us that we needed to be there the next morning so Sherry and I decided to go shopping after dinner. Sunday the 17th we were off to familiar grounds. We didn't know how long we were going to be there this time but we didn't think it was going to be long. Well we were right, Wednesday the 20th we were informed that they were closing us down again.

This time the phone call had a bit of a twist to it. The office told us that there will be a gate opening on Friday and to head to their yard in Karnes City. OK not a problem and off we went. This trip was a bit farther to get to but we made it with no problems. I talked to the service guy there and he said that he would get together with me the next day and give me the details. He never showed up Thursday evening but did show up on Friday morning. Now it's Friday the 22nd and we were packed up and ready to go by 9am. The location wasn't far, maybe 10 miles but the dirt road we had to take seemed longer, very bad bumpy road. After we got all set up I had to go back into town to the post office to set up a general delivery for our mail. As I right this, it is Saturday morning the 23rd and we think we will be here for awhile. I just have that feeling.

As you can see this month of March has been very interesting. There is one thing that we have learned is that we can break down and have the trailer hooked to the truck and ready to go in about an hour and a half. If that is any constellation.

Until Next Time............................Be Safe.

What Can You Do??

Over the past two years I have posted many items about Rv repair. Mostly about what I have done around our 5ver, toilet, air conditioner, water leaks that sort of thing. But I noticed I never told you how I was able to find the problem. So I thought in this post I would take a few problems and try to give you some kind of process that I go through.

Toilet and plumbing in general.

This can be an easy one. The first thing that I notice is usually water on the floor. Water, where it's not suppose to be, in an Rv is a killer. I found one time that there was water in the front of the toilet and none around the sides and back, conclusion, gasket that seals the toilet to the floor. Why, because if water is only in the front and nowhere else it must be the gasket. Was I 100% sure NO but its a start.

When I try to diagnose something I always use simple logic and common sense.

I have had numerous water leaks under the sinks. When travelling the connections vibrate and come loose. I turn the water off and re-tighten them or apply some "plumbers tape" around the threads and re-connect. No more leaks.

Water heaters.

The biggest problem with water heaters is that they don't produce hot water. Duh, no kidding! On mine I have a Suburban 10 gallon, with Direct Ignition and an electric heater. When I experience a problem with this heater I go outside,  pull the panel off and push the re-set buttons. On Atwood Heaters, from what I have researched there are no re-set buttons. I normally don't use the electric part of my heater just propane, but if you do check the circuit breakers first. All direct ignition means is that you don't have a pilot light to worry about. If none of this works then chances are that the circuit board took a dump or if you use the electric part only the heating element went belly up, or both.

Furnace.

Once again you turn on the furnace and no heat. There are many problems that can cause this. When this happened to me I went on the internet and started to research the unit I have. It is important to have the manufacturer's name and model number handy when you have a problem. I usually study the wiring diagram because it will tell me all the parts involved and if there may be a fuse to look for. Plus any kind of troubleshooting guide. My unit has a circuit board and when I pulled the unit out I found a fuse but it was good. Most of the time I have not had any problems with our furnace.

Electrical.

This can be a tough one. Most people don't like to mess with the electrical portion of their unit. If you don't have a clear understanding of this subject you may want to stay away from this. But some simple checks won't hurt.

To start with we will go into the 12 volt side first. My battery is dead. You need to check the batteries at least once a month for water or twice a month. If you found out that something doesn't work, like maybe some lights, locate the fuse box and check some fuses. This box would be similar to the one on your vehicle.
On the other side of the spectrum is the 120 volt, items that require you to plug into a wall socket. This system is very much like at your old house. You have a series of circuit breakers that are usually marked and labelled for you. Lets say that the microwave doesn't work. Go to the circuit breakers and see if one of them may have tripped.

This is just the tip of the iceberg but it might help solve a problem and save some cash down the road.

Until Next Time.........................Be Safe.

There's a Lot of Change Going On

I know that I haven't posted in a while but there is a reason for that. We have been kinda of busy. To start with we were let go at our last job assignment.

Last Thursday we got a call from the office that they were going to close down our location. I told them that we would not be ready to leave that afternoon and if they could close us down the next morning. The office talked to the boss and he said he was OK with that. That gave us some time to figure out what to do and where to go. We found out that there were no spaces available at the company yard where the office is at. Great now where are we going to go now.

I made some calls to find out that there was an opening at the Gonzales yard. I made contact with the person in charge and he said there was a space available and that we could have it. Good deal, now we have a place to go. It was about 125 miles to get to Gonzales, not a bad drive. We got to the yard and park the trailer just like we knew what we were doing. No problems. There is only one problem being in Gonzales and not at the main yard, "out of sight, out of mind".

Later that day I was able to talk to the person in charge and he said it was very slow around his area. I assured him that things will be picking up. What do I know, it just seemed the right thing to say at the time. Sherry and I talked about our situation and she didn't seem to be worried about it. After setting up we decided to go out for dinner, since this was payday and we haven't gone to the store yet for groceries.

We toured the main drag and there wasn't much around but a Pizza Hut. We decided to eat there for dinner. The place was empty and we had our choice of tables to sit at. The music was very loud and the employees were yelling at each other from across the room. I guess because the music was too loud. We got our food and drink, ate and we left. Probably will never go back there again. Tomorrow I guess we better go shopping.

We all slept in on Saturday, boy it felt good. We got going around 11:30 and went to lunch. After lunch we went looking around Gonzales, small town so it didn't take long. We found a large antique store and went inside to check it out. There was another one next door and we investigated that too. After that there wasn't much open so off to Wal-Mart we go. I wanted to shop for a new TV for the bedroom but no luck. We also need a new bedspread but no luck as well. We got what we needed and took off to HEB, which is a Texas grocery store. We like HEB because they have a large meat department with food sale prices.

We usually shop for two weeks since that's how we get paid, once every two weeks. We have to be careful in what we buy. We have limited freezer space even though we purchased a small fridge with a freezer. What we do is take the food out of the packaging for more room. If we need the instructions on one item we will cut them out and tape them to the inside of the cabinet door.

On Sunday we went to lunch and then went to look for some RV parks around the area. We found them but nobody was in the office to get information. We also needed to find a laundromat so we can do some washing. Bingo we found one. Now the next day we can do laundry, Oh Joy!!!

Here it is Monday now and still nothing. Again I am not worried but still waiting. I got up early this morning and drinking my coffee. I got dressed and took the dog out for his walk and came back in. Sherry is up now and so is Brianne. As I am drinking my coffee the phone rang and noticed that it was from around here. The man in charge told me of a job that came open and if we wanted it, I said yes. Yahoo we have a job. We finalized some details and we started to pack up.

The man in charge showed up at the yard and we talked about where the location was at. He didn't know but was taking the equipment out to the site and he would call me when he got there. He called us and we made final directions and we were on our way. When we got there he positioned his trailers in place and then we started to do our thing. We placed the trailer where we needed to, leveled, unhooked and BAM we are done. I helped our guy out by hooking up a few things for him and he finished up and left.

I started to check everything and found out that the water pump wasn't working. I called our guy and he returned with a new water pump, installed and works. Everything is now going good.

Tomorrow we will start to check license plates as we were told that the traffic will start in increase much more. We still don't know how long we will be here but it is a job and we like it.

Until Next Time.............................Be Safe.

 

What's a SHE-OAT??

We have been on the road now for over 2 years and have encountered many creatures along the way. We have seen many reptiles, snakes in particular, insects, cattle and a bunch of other animals, too many to list.

At our current location there are some cattle that likes to come close to the trailer and graze. Nothing to worry some about the cattle but one interesting travel companion that is with this herd is a SHE-OAT.

Now you may be wondering what the heck is a SHE-OAT?? I know I am. Well I think it is a SHEep and Sherry thinks it is a gOAT, henceforth we call it a SHE-OAT.

Can you decide??

Here's another.

And one more.

I am somewhat of an educated man but this one has me stumped. I went on line to get some education on this and the only thing, well not the only thing, i found that made sense was that if the tail is pointing up it is a goat and if pointing down a sheep.

I guess by these pictures and what I read it must be a sheep. But I think I will keep my opinions to myself. What do I know, I am ol' city slicker from Phoenix. Have fun with this one and let me know what you think it is.

Until Next Time............................Be Safe.

Not Much Going On

We have been on this job now for about three weeks. I would say that we average about ten license plates that I check per day and nothing at night. It really makes for an easy day.

Sherry has made up a list of things for me to do around the place to help keep me busy and the list is getting smaller. I am sure she will probably add more to it in the near future. It can get somewhat boring around here but I have my books to read, Sherry has her quilting and Bri has her school work.

We might get switched to another location but we will just wait until the boss man tells us to move. Until then we just keep on keeping on. We did have some excitement yesterday. I went to check out a little store and when I was gone our dog Gizmo decided to go exploring on his own. Sherry went to check on a license plate and he darted out the door and took off. Sherry went after him and about ten minutes later finally got him. She was just about to give up on catching him. She will start training him by the door starting today.

The weather around here has been decent but very windy. First we had strong winds coming from the south and then a front came through and the winds switch from the north. The front did bring some cooler temps but the wind was bad. It shook the whole trailer but died down in the evening time. Today looks like a very nice day with no strong winds.

Tomorrow is payday so Bri and I will make our trip into town to get groceries and supplies for the next two weeks. Bri gets all excited about going into town. I think it's that she gets a happy meal along the way.

Oh speaking of Bri we have now started to pay her for little jobs that she does around the house. She noticed that she wanted a particular Barbie doll and she saved her money to buy it. I told her that the Walmart we go to didn't have it but introduced her to the world of buying online. We went to Amazon.com and there it was. We ordered it and I told her that it will be sent to our office and it will take about 5 days to get there. She went to the calendar and counted out the days and realized how long it will take. It about killed her to wait that long. But she did get her doll and she was happy. Now she is saving her money for a another Barbie toy, she needs 20 dollars more and she will have that one.

Each day she comes up to me and asks if there are any jobs that she can do. I think she is getting the idea. I just hope that she will take this lesson into her adult life that you have to save your money if you can't afford them right away. A lesson that I wish I would have learned when I was young.

Well not much more to say other than that I have not forgotten the final pictures of the floor. I will get them up soon. So.......................

Until Next Time................................Be Safe. 

The New Floor

I must admit this was not an easy job. I mean it was easy putting the floor together but the up and down and on your knees about killed me. I am still pleased how it all turned out. What I thought I would do is just post pictures with some added comments, so let's get started.

Time to get the old carpet out.

UH OH, had a few boo boos along the way. The one on the forearm was a scratch from one of the staples in the carpet and the index finger was cut from the razor blade. That one really hurts.

Carpet all but gone and pulling up the last few staples. They really wanted to make sure that carpet wasn't going anywhere.

Time to start the flooring.

This was one of my challenges, trying to cut a curve and lay it under the slide. Not too bad, what do you think?

Almost there.

I have to apologize for not have taken any pictures of the final product but I will later on. On to the bedroom.

The toughest part of the whole floor was the angles and getting them right. As you can see the angle around the shower was quite the challenge.

The flooring going down and all but finished. Once again I will post pics of the finished floor.

What is left to do still is put flooring on and around the step to the bedroom and a few trim pieces. For Christmas I got Sherry one of those robotic floor cleaners and it works great.

In case you would like to do this yourself the tools I used was a chop saw, battery operated drill, circular saw and a jig saw.

You can do this job yourself but if your back and knees give you trouble I would opt for someone else to do it.

Until Next Time..........................Be Safe.

Back At Work

Well the holidays are over, rang in the New Year watching a movie and spent time with the kids and grand kids. Now it is time to go back to work. Due to the weather we extended our stay in Tomball by a week or so. We just didn't want to drive in the rain if we didn't have to.

We left Tomball last Friday under beautiful skies and no rain. We drove to a state park just north of Gonzales, TX called Palmetto State Park. We really liked this park with a lot of trees and spacious sites. The price was very reasonable at only 18 dollars a night for water and electric. We left the next day and drove to our office to see if they had any jobs for us.

All of the sites were taken so the boss said that we could park next to the office building. We got settled and the boss said that he might have a place for us on Monday. Not too far from the office which is good because we can have our mail delivered and pick up our check there as well.

On Sunday we went into town to get some groceries and stuff. We had lunch and headed back to the trailer. Early Monday morning I woke up to find out that we had no power. I checked the circuit breakers and they were fine. We were far enough from the building that I had to use two extension cords for the trailer. The extension cords that I mentioned were the 30 amp RV type cords. I usually don't like to use them but I guess you have to do what you have to do.

Once I realized that the circuit breakers were fine, I got dressed and went outside to check the box and it was good as well. Then I checked the connections to the cords and sure enough the one plug coming from the trailer was burnt.

OK now what?? Last April I remembered that we went to an RV store and I picked up some cord plugs. I used one of them to repair an extension cord (I have two of them) and the other I put in storage. Now I just have to remember where I put the damn thing. Oh yea I remember, it's in a box under the trailer. I hunted for the plug end and found it. While I was making the repair the lady from the office told me that we would need to be ready to leave for our assignment in about an hour. I got Sherry up and she started to pack up on the inside.

I was finishing up with the repair and came inside to get some coffee and warm up. After the repair I started to do my thing on the outside. Things went smoothly and we were ready to leave only to be 15 minutes behind schedule. We were to follow one of the workers to the location. I guess he forgot that we were pulling a fifth wheel because we lost him a few times, luckily I was somewhat familiar with the area.

We found our location and talked to the couple that we were releaving. They gave us some info about the site and they left. I surveyed the area and proceeded to park the trailer. There were a few adjustments that I made but nailed the trailer exactly where I wanted it. We are level and stable on a pea gravel type pad. Very happy.

The couple told us that this site is very quiet with only a small handful of license plates to check, not bad, now I have some time to get the floor finished.

By the way, that will be my next post with pictures (hopefully). So............

Until Next Time.....................Be Safe.
 

Christmas.............A Happy Time

We have been here in Tomball, TX now for about four weeks and have been enjoying our stay. We have visited with the other kids and their families, seeing the grand kids playing and having a good time. Tonight we will join our oldest daughter's family for dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. Should be fun.

Sherry and I decided to build a Christmas gift for one of the kids and we finished it up yesterday. Now getting it over to my daughter's place could be another thing. I can't say what it is because I am afraid that they may read this post.

The Christmas shopping is done and so is the wrapping. Depending on the gifts, wrapping in an RV can be quite the challenge. But none the less it is done. Now that that project is finished I can start on the other one.......Laying down new wood laminate flooring in the trailer. We have purchased the flooring so I must get it done before we leave here. No Pressure, No Pressure at all!

Once the carpet is up and out of here, laying the floor down should be pretty easy up to the angle part. I am not going to say that I am bad at angles, but I want to make sure I do it right with the least amount of waste. Right like that's going to happen. I have a game plan and I will start ripping the carpet out in a few days. Sherry will be taking pictures along the way so that way I can give you a post about the whole thing.

As the title of this post, Christmas should be a Happy time for all. But as we know it isn't always a Happy time. We will meet at our eldest daughter's house and the other kids will be there as well. We will all have a good time and then go home, put the kids down to sleep and wait for Santa Clause. Should be fun.

Some families will continue with their regular traditions and some will start new ones as like my third oldest daughter, with her new husband. The families in Newtown, CT will have a hard time I'm sure this Christmas. I can only hope that they will have a wonderful Christmas and know that the world will be with them in thoughts and prayers on Christmas Day. Especially knowing that God will be with them to help them overcome this.

To all of our armed forces serving our country and won't be able to make it home this Holiday season I say, "Thank you, be safe and have a Merry Christmas this year."

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you.

Until next Time................Be Safe.

Christmas..... Full Time RV Style

When one decides to go full time Rving some sacrifices will have to be made. Downsizing, possibly sell the "sticks and bricks", and what to do about the Holidays.

We have met some real nice people on our journey. One couple comes to mind that we met in San Antonio this past Thanksgiving. When I asked her what their plans were for Thanksgiving she said,"Oh probably just go out for dinner." I guess that's OK for some but not me. I love Thanksgiving and love to cook. I used to deep fry a bird but that was one of the sacrifices.

Christmas time around here is like any other house, but smaller. Since we travel with our daughter Brianne, and being 10 years old, we feel she needs a regular Christmas. Now do we go out and get a Christmas tree that is 6 feet tall and 5 feet in diameter? No. We still have to be practical even when it comes to the tree.

We started out with a four foot tree in front of the TV and decided that didn't work to well. Next Sherry came up with the idea of a table top tree and we have been using it for two years now.

See what you think.

Not bad. Sherry and Brianne decorate it like any other tree but smaller. Bri had a good time putting the ornaments on. I like this tree because I don't have to mess with any lights. This tree is small enough to fit into a box and is kept in the belly of the trailer.

Sherry continues to decorate the trailer to give it that homey feeling just like at our old house. One year Brianne asked us how will Santa get in since we don't have a fire place. Mom told her that there will be a "Golden Key" hanging just outside the door.(old skeleton type) This way he can use the key to get in to deliver your presents under the tree, on the table, on the floor, under the table.......Well you get the idea.

We have found that you really don't have to give up any of the Holidays just because you full time. This year starts a new tradition with us. We work in the later part of the summer and the fall and take the month of December off for the Holidays. We will go back to work sometime in January.

All things are possible with a little imagination and thought. Have a wonderful Holiday Season.

Until Next Time......................Be Safe.
 

How Does a Smartphone Get So Smart?

Quick update on what's been happening. We left San Antonio and headed for Houston and arrived at our favorite county park in Tomball. We got there on the Monday after Thanksgiving. It is our favorite because it's free. We left there the following Saturday, the first, and went to Corral RV Park also in Tomball.

When we were at our job in south Texas one problem we have is that our bank is no where around. So we usually open an account at a local bank. No problem until we decide to close it and they have no cash to close us out.

We saw a commercial from our bank on this mobile banking thing. You use a smart phone and take a picture of your check and Boom it's in your account. We started to think, "Would this work for us?" I did some research and talked to our bank about it and they said that it should not be a problem. The only thing is how much we can deposit in one month but overall still a good thing.

When we got to Tomball we have a list of things that we need to get and a Smart phone was one of them. I asked my oldest daughter about which one to get and she recommended the Samsung Galaxy S III. So now I have a phone in mind and was told that this was a good one to get. I have no clue about these phones. I have seen people with them and have seen some aspects of what it can do, especially pictures.

So into the AT&T store we go to get this thing. I told the guy we already have an account with them and he started to go to work. In a nut shell we walked out of there with the phone, my same number, some instructions on how to use it, and gave them over $300 dollars. Is this a good deal??

I figured out how to download the bank app and was able to do that. Then is came time to turn it off and couldn't figure out how to do it. So I texts my son-in-law and asked him how to do it and he replied back saying, "In a soft voice say, Pleas turn off". So I thought well it's a smart phone I guess this will work. I did and it didn't. Then he texts back and said "No not really I'm kidding." Then he told me how to turn it off. Boy I felt like an ass.

I even had a hard time making a phone call, but was able to work it out. We got our mail and our last check was in it. So I followed the instructions on taking pictures of the check and it was deposited into our account. Yahoo it worked. This will definitely will work for us on banking and I can figure out the rest of the stuff later.

Until Next Time.......................Be Safe.

Locked Out, Oh Great!

On Monday we finally left the desert of South Texas and headed towards San Antonio to an RV park that we stayed at once before, called Hidden Valley. It's a nice park mostly with residents but quiet and reasonable.

We arrived mid afternoon and Sherry backed me into our site. I must be getting pretty good at this because I didn't have to re-adjust or anything, just straight back. I better not get too cocky about this. We did our normal set up routine and I finished up by getting the satellite dish pointed and now watching TV.

We met a nice couple who are also full timers and we talked for awhile. I took Gizmo out for a walk and I don't think he likes it too much. He seems very nervous around here.

We decided not to cook for that night and go out to dinner. We put Gizmo into his cage and proceeded out the door. Gizmo started to bark and I went inside to calm him down. Left the house and locked it like always with the dead bolt. He started barking again and Sherry went this time to calm him again and she said that the door would not unlock.

Great, the dead bolt would not completely unlock. Now here we are all three of us outside and no way to get back into the trailer. I went to our new friends to see if they had any ideas but no experience there. I decided to get after the lock with my drill.

I figured what the hell it is not going to unlock so I will demolish the lock. I drilled the tumblers out and continued drilling when I broke a bit. Put in a new bit and continued, broke that bit and now getting upset. I was able to see the two bolts holding the lock together and started to drill them out.

The dead bolt is starting to move some and I was careful drilling for fear of breaking the bit again. I was able to finally get the dead bolt off the door and play around with the bolt slide to where I was able to open the door. Thank you Lord.

Here is what's left of the lock.

It may not look like much but if you look close enough you can see some of my handy work.

I placed white duct tape over the hole and we were able to lock the latch itself and went out to dinner. Needless to say Gizmo never barked anymore. The next day we had some running around to do which included getting a new dead bolt. We came home I put the new dead bolt on but it now won't lock. I think the problem is the strike plate and hole. We still can lock the trailer and the hole is covered.

Well once again something new on the trailer, drilling out a lock. I am just thankful that I had the tools to do this job and not have to call a locksmith.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving...................

Until Next Time...........Be Safe.

The Holiday Season is Upon Us

Well here it is, Friday November 16th and Christmas is only a month and a half away. Where in the world did this year go?? It seems like only a few months ago that we got this new job with this company and in reality it was last December.

Our time at this location will be coming to an end on Monday. We will be heading to San Antonio to a park that we once stayed at back in May. Here we will stay for the Thanksgiving Holiday. We like our Thanksgiving and last year was the first time in our 5ver. Let me see about this.....We went full timing in 2010 and had Thanksgiving with my Mom in Mesa AZ, then 2011 was in Branson, MO, that's when we bought our first turkey or a chicken on steroids and now this year. OK that's right. I like to cook and in years past I would deep fry a bird for lunch and cook another one in the oven. Good times.

Sherry and I enjoy this Holiday when she can snuggle up with a blanket and watch football with me. She also likes when the smell of the turkey cooking in the oven lingers all throughout the house. I better make sure I have enough propane. To cook such a large meal in an RV takes some doing.

We first pick a turkey that we think will fit in the oven, once that is done everything else is done in stages. You may not have all the room that you are used to but you will make room as you go. Improvising helps a lot. Our table is the biggest challenge because it is a catch all. Sherry usually takes care of that and when it is time to sit down we actually can. After going to peoples homes I feel so out of place that I just rather stay home and cook.

After Thanksgiving we will leave this place on Sunday the 25th and head towards Houston. We will make one stop on Sunday night and take off for Spring Creek Park. We like to stay there because you can stay 7 nights on a concrete pad with full hook ups for nothing. That's right FREE!!!! How cool is that. The only draw back is that the park is locked up at 10pm. So you better get in before then or you will be locked out until 7am. We will stay here until December 1st and move to Corral RV park just down the road. We can stay there for the month and come and go as we please. This will be good and we can stay out as late as we want. Great now we won't have to leave early from my daughter's house on Christmas Eve.

Christmas in the 5ver is not too bad. We went from a 4 foot tree down to a table top tree and Santa puts the presents on the table and floor. Sherry and Bri take care of all the decorations for the tree and the house, looks pretty good when they get done. Just like any other Christmas morning Bri will rip and tear into her presents, Mom will be taking pictures and I will be picking up wrapping paper and bows. This year will be our dog's first Christmas, I wonder how he will handle all of this??

You know Holiday time in an RV is not too bad. I guess you have to make the best of it and especially have a good time.

Until Next Time...............Be Safe.

 

Death of a Friend

It is always difficult to find out that someone you know has died. Depending on how close you were to them, may or may not make it harder to handle. I found out yesterday that a good friend, whom I used to work with, took his own life.

I have always had a hard time dealing with death anyways but to commit suicide is a whole other subject. I have never known anybody personally who has committed suicide up until now.

Some questions, which we may never know the answers to; Is it really that bad? Isn't there something that somebody can do for you? Why didn't you contact me? Why are you so selfish? Is this what God wants you to do?

I just don't understand the thought process and I guess I never will. My friend would do anything for you if you just asked. When we got our bumper pull I asked if he would come over and help me with a few things and he did. We spent the afternoon together, had a few beers, even fixed the trailer. Great friend, but not anymore, he's gone. Time can be a terrible thing.

The last time I saw him was about 4 or 5 years ago. Now mind you it wasn't one of those friendships that we always stayed in contact but would have been nice to hear from each other. Plus he said back then he was taking a job that would put him out of the country.

I can only hope that God has taken him in His arms and welcomed him to Heaven. Rest In Peace My Friend.

Until Next Time..................Be Safe.

Full Time RVing With a Child........Holidays

Well Halloween had come and now it's gone. To me this starts the Holiday Season, the stores all ready have all the Christmas stuff out, TV channels are advertising Holiday shows and the decorations for the house start to come out. Sometimes it's hard to get into the spirit of things when you are still using your air conditioner like we are.

The weather here in south Texas is warm in the day time and somewhat comfortable in the evenings. We are still wearing short pants with no intention of getting out the long pants in the near future. Maybe by Thanksgiving, who knows?

This year is the first time that we had to change gears for Halloween when it came to Brianne. For the past two years we were at a campground called Compton Ridge Campground were we worked. They had activities for two weekends in a row that allowed children to go trick or treating. Brianne dressed up and we went to different RVs that were handing out candy. She did pretty good. This year no where to go.

Stuck in the middle of "NO Where" and just outside of "Any Where" in south Texas, we had to come up with a plan for Brianne and Halloween. Brianne picked out her costume and we got some candy and the game plan was to hide the candy around the trailer and she had to say "Trick or Treat" when she found some. She dressed up as a Vampiress and she was scaring all the vehicle occupants as they drove through.

Here she is in her costume, pretty scary, huh?

She had a good time dressing up and scaring people. Brianne was never the one that liked going to people's houses for fear of being scared. So in the trailer she was in control of her surroundings and we think she enjoyed it just fine. The other holidays are not too bad for her.

Easter, no problem there. She gets her Easter basket from the Easter Bunny and we hide eggs for her that she colored the night before. Christmas is the big one for her as it would be for any other child.

We purchased a small table top tree and the girls decorate it. The lights are already on it so I don't have to mess with that. This year we are taking the month of December off so we have plenty of family time. We usually all go over to my eldest daughter's house on Christmas Eve and have some fun. The biggest problem with Brianne is getting her to sleep so Santa Clause can come by and drop off her presents. A few years back she was wondering how Santa was going to get in since we didn't have a fireplace. Sherry found an old key and painted it gold and told her that we would hang it outside so he can get in.

Travelling around with children is not a reason not to do this. You just have to be inventive and think outside of the box. Sherry does most of that kind of thinking. Now where can I put that turkey, the freezer......might be too small! Oh No.....another dilemma in an RV.

Until Next Time......................Be Safe.
 

Full Time RVing With a Child

When we decided to go to this full time RV thing we did have Brianne in mind. At that time she was 7 I think. When we had the "sticks and bricks" she was going to public school like any other child. Boy I remember her first day going to school I had to stay home from work because Sherry was a basket case. We started to develop problems at her school and we even started to talk about pulling her out and home school her.

During the year that we were having our yard sales and prepping the trailer I decided to do some research on homeschooling materials. To my surprise there was a lot of stuff out there and boy it was pricey too! The very first time I ever heard about this was years ago when my two brothers home schooled their children. Sherry and I were so against it that we thought my brothers had lost their minds. Since then we have changed our minds and now I have two aces in the hole for advice. Sherry and I discussed the subjects and went looking for the material. Our first major shopping spree landed us at Barnes and Noble and we bought about everything that we thought was necessary. Now we don't have any set curriculum but have information that pertains to the subject matter.

Brianne is in the fourth grade now. Once Sherry and I decided on the subjects, math, science, history that sort of thing we buy material to suit her. After a few years of doing this we have noticed that Bri is a visual learner. We have purchased some DVDs on math and science and we are giving it a try to see how it works with her.

What we do now is once a year, usually in the summertime we go to a teacher's supply store and get the material needed for the next year.

When we told our other kids that we were going to go full time RVing they were not too happy about us homeschooling Bri. My son-in-law, who is a teacher said "I think you are being selfish." He also was concerned about her socialization with other kids. I told him that I am sure there will be other kids around for her to play with plus she will have so many Grand Parents around her as well. Meaning the people we meet. I asked him will you ever go and take your children to see Mount Rushmore and he said probably not. So the only way your children will see it is in a book. With this lifestyle we will see it.

We have school with Brianne at any time of the day. She may sit at the table or work on a TV tray in the bedroom. She does her work and reading and she is done, all this may take about an hour and a half, maybe longer or maybe shorter. Sometimes there are days where we don't do school because she may be sick or it may be a holiday like Halloween. How we handle the holidays will be in the next post.

Until Next Time......................Be Safe.

Now What??..........The Stove???

It was time to start dinner and Sherry's turn to cook. This means I have dishes afterwards. She is making strogonoff and I am looking forward to it. I usually have two helpings. I am doing something, maybe checking a licence plate, when she yells out, "Hey my two burners went out." Oh crap, really?

I tore out of the trailer to check the propane tanks and sure enough the tank was empty. Here's the problem BOTH TANKS ARE EMPTY!! Needless to say no strogonoff that night. This is the first time in three years living in this trailer that this has happened.

The first tank I knew was empty but thought that I had enough in the second tank to get us by until Friday. This is when I was going to have them filled. Obviously no such luck. This is the only thing that bugs me about the propane tanks, how much do you have in each tank?

Now I know that there are a lot of "do-dads and gadgets" out there that you can put on or attach to that will tell you how much is left. But how accurate are they. Even the regulator has a little "green and red" button that will tell you if there is propane but will only show you red when you are empty. My regulator is so fancy that they tell you to open both tanks and when one is empty then it will start on the other one. Now you have become so complacent that both tanks are empty. Not me I only open one tank at a time and when that one goes dry I switch over to the other one.

What about the weight? What about it? I know that a 30 pound bottle weighs about 30 pounds empty and will weigh about 55 to 60 pounds when full. Takes about 7.5 gallons of propane. So I go outside undo the hold down mechanism and lift the bottles and say, "HHMMM, feels heavy, I must have propane." Yea right, this is about as accurate as those little magnetic gauges you put on the tanks. Maybe I should put bathroom scales under each tank. Would this work, well the idea sounds good until you tighten the hold down and then this throws off your reading.

In this day and age of wonderful electronic wizardry one would think that they would come up with a device that would tell you the level of propane from inside your trailer. Now maybe they have and I just don't know about it and if they do how come there is not a add on kit? Now come on, they have the sensors for all the tanks that contain liquids why not for the propane, its liquid?

Well I guess I better get off my soapbox and let you go, so..............

Until Next Time......................Be Safe.


 

Let's Get Level Headed About This

In all the years that we have been camping, one of the the most dreaded jobs to do is to level our unit. We first started with a pop up which was so small I had no problems leveling that one. The next one was a motor home which was tail heavy so that one took a lot of boards to get it level. Our travel trailer wasn't too bad but still took some doing. Now the fifth wheel that we are in is the largest and most difficult to level but we have a system.

The fifth wheel has been a learning experience from the word get go. Hitching up and unhitching, pulling, making turns, braking, backing in and leveling. On its maiden voyage we went to one of our favorite spots which was the Indian Reservation just outside of Livingston, Texas. We pulled into our spot, leveled the unit and started to unhitch. When I pulled the release it wouldn't move. I pulled real hard and the truck and trailer both moved. I looked at Sherry and she looked at me and we both said, "What the hell was that?"

Since then we have developed a system for leveling and unhooking. But why is it so important to level the RV? Well besides the obvious it comes down to your refrigerator. That's right the fridge. The fridge works partly on gravity so all the liquids and gases can perform efficiently. If the fridge is not level then their is a possibility for damage to happen. How the fridge works in detail is a whole other post. So let's level this puppy!

Once you pull up to your site, what we do, is get out and take a look around. Look and see how level the site is and don't forget to look up for those low lying tree limbs. From this point I will explain how Sherry and I get level. After looking at the site, I will tell Sherry where I want the tires to be. Once I have the trailer where I want it to be, straight, centered that sort of thing, we discuss how many boards or what we use, the orange blocks. Sherry will start to get the set up on the blocks and then she guides me onto them. I always try to backup onto the blocks. The reason is that the trailer hitch pin will be far enough away from the locking jaws and no pressure so I have an easy release. If you pull forward onto the blocks and then try to release the trailer there is pressure from the hitch pin on the locking jaws and this will make for a difficult release. This is what happened to us at the Indian Reservation.

Sherry guides me onto the blocks and stops me just so she has enough room to place the wheel chock on the other side. Then she continues to have me backup into the wheel chock so she can place the other chock in the front. After this I will unlock the jaws to release the trailer and Sherry starts to lower the front legs. I move the truck out of the way and place a x-chock between the tires. When this is done I will lower the stabilizer legs in the back at each corner. Now remember that the stabilizers are for stabilizing the trailer not for leveling, they are not designed for leveling. I have a tool that can be used to lower the legs but instead I use my cordless drill with an adaptor to except a socket. This makes the job easier and faster. Once this is all done I am confident the the trailer is level and secured.

I must stress safety at this point. If you use good common sense and think safety first you won't have any problems. There may be times when you might forget something during your routine. We were in our TT when I started to unhitch from the truck and the trailer started to roll backwards. I quickly lowered the trailer back onto the ball hitch and started to see why it would roll. To my surprise I forgot to place the wheel chocks at the tires. You have all the time in the world so don't forget a major item like I did.

Now that the trailer is level and the fridge will work fine it's time to go fishing.

Until Next Time...............Be Safe.


 

Look At It This Way........(cont)

We had many yard sales and sold most of what we had. It came time to sell the fridge and to our surprise the first time we put it up for sale, boom it was gone. I really didn't think we would sell it so fast. So we used an ice chest for the rest of the time.

Now the house is starting to look a little bare. As a matter of fact we decided that this would be our last yard sale, and the washer and dryer have not been sold yet. We were just about to close up when this lady and her daughter came in and not only bought the washer and dryer but a bunch more stuff as well. She was helping her son outfit an apartment.

In the mean time I am trying to sell the house and property as well but no takers. Sherry and I decided to talk to the land developer from whom we purchased the house and property from. What he said was that he would give us some cash (not much) and we could stay until January of 2010. We took the deal and we no longer own the house or property. This happened in October of 2009. After finally giving away the remaining items we had left it was time to leave the house and go to a RV park and start our journey. Since it was December now we stayed until the holidays were over and took a job in Virginia.
We took off to Virginia in early March of 2010.

There were so many events that took place that I didn't think was going to happen. Sherry and I were going to go full time when we retired but after we looked at the fifth wheel a few times and her comment "To hell with it let's just sell everything and go full timing." I told her, "Why not?" How everything fell into place was perfect. The Lord does work in mysterious ways.

Sherry has this little voice inside her and she listens to it. While in Virginia the voice kept telling her that we needed to be in Springfield, MO. Well the job in Virginia was a nightmare and lasted about two months and we headed for Springfield, MO. After getting settled and Sherry's niece's house we went into Branson to find a job and the next day we got a call from one of the contacts. We were parked at their campground and working within a week.

We met some good people in Branson and we liked it so much that we came back for another season and stayed until November of 2011. One of our friends, who also does the type of work that we are doing now, told us about this job. We made contact with the company, filled out paperwork and we are now hired. The voice inside Sherry kept saying to give this a try. Well it worked out fine and paid us well enough to fix the ac unit and also take the summer off and travel.

We figured this much so far, this whole full time RV thing is great but we think that we are supposed to be doing this according to God's plan. We will continue to do so until He tells us otherwise. He protects us and provides for us. This is His plan and we will be happy to follow His plan. We will also be listening to Sherry's little voice for loud and clear messages.

So if you have one of those little voices in your head talking to you, you might want to listen to it and try to figure out what it is saying. It just might be a message from God.

Until Next Time......................Be Safe.

Look At It This Way......

Have you ever wonder why things happen the way they do?

I first pondered this question when Brianne was born. Brianne was a gift to us when my, back then, youngest was 14. Brianne was born 3 months premature and stayed in the hospital for three months. I still ask Sherry at times, "Why is she here?"

Our full time RV lifestyle was and still is a plan that was laid out to us. Yes we did make the decision to do this, but we had help from God.

Let me tell you a story that might take two posts.

Our journey began in late 2008 when I lost my job. I can let you think that the economy made me lose my job but actually I was fired. I was with this company for over 19 years. OK, I was a little nervous but for some reason not worried. The day that the axe fell I went back home and took Sherry out to lunch. We talked about me finding a job, so I did the internet thing for awhile with no such luck. I went on unemployment and we applied for food stamps.

I used to have a business sharpening clipper blades and scissors. We started to look for a vehicle so I could go mobile. We came upon this car lot and there were no suitable vehicles for the business but we did find the fifth wheel in the back. We went to look at it and began thinking to ourselves, could we do this?

After a long discussion about buying the fifth wheel and truck I cashed in my 401k at the beginning of the year and now we have a truck and fifth wheel in our driveway. But before this purchase we were on our way to town when we were in an auto accident that totaled our vehicle. Why on earth did this have to happen?

Nobody was hurt in the accident, we settled with the insurance company and the vehicle was gone. I am still not understanding at this time why the events were unfolding the way they were. Now to fast forward to the early part of 2009.

After making the decision to go full time, it is time to get rid of the house, property and sell off the stuff inside or give it away. We also decided to home school Brianne so we needed to find out how to do that.

Now let me recap and see if I have this in order:

Lost job.
Totaled vehicle.
Purchased RV and truck.

So far things look like it is going to plan. We may have made the decision to go full time but it is definitely God's plan.

Next up the yard sales and selling of the house and property.

Until Next Time.......................Be Safe.

 

What's bugging Me? BUGS

At our current job we have to use those outdoor type lights and boy do they attract the bugs. The moths I can understand but there are some out here that seem to come out in groves.

Our trailer must be some kind of an attraction to them. I have moved the lights further away from the trailer but that doesn't seem to work. They still keep coming. Take a look and see what they have done to the trailer.

 

If you take a real close look you can see that they are all over the trailer. It seems to me that they land on the trailer and somehow die there. They don't fall off either, if you try to brush them off they smear real bad.

Here are some pics up close.

Well the last pic isn't that much of a close up but you get the idea. Last night was really weird. A bunch of winged bugs were all over the ground, it looked like the ground was moving. There had to be thousands of them. All they would do is fly around the ground and then this morning they were all dead. Needless to say when you open the door they are inside and we are swatting them left and right.

Well if the nights are bad enough during the day I have to deal with the pesky gnats. These little creatures fly all around your ears and eyes. Oh yea, one more thing, biting flys. That's right biting flys, they land on your legs and bite you. It stings a bit and annoying.

So what's been bugging me lately, THE BUGS. I need a cold front to come through.

Until Next Time....................Be Safe