Seriously... this tornado thing is getting old! I would love to know who hooked up the tornado to my motorhome bumper??? It's been following us ever since Kansas.
I know I have been known to do a crazy thing once or twice (OK, maybe a FEW more times than that) but storm chasing is NOT high on my list of things to do before I die.
So the tornado hits in Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, and now New York. I think it's about time to GIVE IT A REST ALREADY!
About the Motorhome issues...
I went to an RV place yesterday and got a new battery. They tested the electrical system and everthing seemed to be fine except the battery. I hope this remedies the situation. I also got the black water valve replaced. For those who don't have campers or motorhomes... the grey water is the water in the holding tank for the showers and sinks, the black water is the water in the holding tank from the toilet.
We went to our campground and got hooked up. Spent a wet evening in a thunderstorm and went to bed. Now, both tanks got emptied (grey and black) at the RV place before they did the valve repair. I got up at 6:00 in the morning to let the dogs out and went to use the bathroom. I open the toilet lid and the bowl is completely filled with clear water???? I think maybe one of the boys got up in the night and forgot to flush, so I flush. BIG MISTAKE! More water comes out, flooding the bathroom. That is when I notice the rather strong trickle of water coming out of the bathroom sink faucet. The faucet did not get shut off properly last night. TECHNICALLY the water in the sink is supposed to go into the grey water tank.... but since the grey water tank was still empty and the black water was full, I think that this one is hooked up to the black water tank.
So at 6:00 in the morning I am pumping out the toilet and cleaning up a flood. Thank goodness it was only fresh water from the water supply and not actually black water! That could have been REALLY NASTY!! EEEEWWW!
On a nicer note... the sun came out today and things are starting to dry up. We even had a campfire and made s'mores!
Showing posts with label motorhome. Show all posts
Showing posts with label motorhome. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Ready to hit the road....
We ended up staying in Edgewood, NM for a few extra days to help a little with dad's packing. With the extra time that we stayed at dad's, I have been able to finish everything that needed to be done in the motor home. Everything is stowed, stored, Velcro"ed" (see previous post) and in it's place.
The maps came out the other night and we have our route planned. Everyone keep asking if I have a GPS. No... I don't. I have a really good sense of direction, and I can read maps really well. We plan out routes ahead of time and research on the computer if necessary. I may eventually get a GPS, but not at this time. My thoughts on that??? People depend on them too much, and they should know basic skills on how to get around WITHOUT a GPS.
One thing I did before heading out was to do basic maintenance on the vehicles. The car (which we will be towing) had an oil change. The tires were checked and rotated, fluids checked and topped off. The motor home had an oil change. It also had a coolant flush and a new thermostat installed. We recently had all new tires put on, and an alignment done.
I just wanted to give a big THANK YOU to Don and the guys at East Mountain Auto and RV here in Edgewood, NM. They installed the Blue Ox tow plate on my car, and helped me get the tow bar onto the Motor home. We went over everything step-by-step so I could do it on my own... towing a car is all new to me. Last trip I towed a trailer, not a car! It will take getting used to, but I know I can handle it.
Stay tuned... the next blog should be from the road!
The maps came out the other night and we have our route planned. Everyone keep asking if I have a GPS. No... I don't. I have a really good sense of direction, and I can read maps really well. We plan out routes ahead of time and research on the computer if necessary. I may eventually get a GPS, but not at this time. My thoughts on that??? People depend on them too much, and they should know basic skills on how to get around WITHOUT a GPS.
One thing I did before heading out was to do basic maintenance on the vehicles. The car (which we will be towing) had an oil change. The tires were checked and rotated, fluids checked and topped off. The motor home had an oil change. It also had a coolant flush and a new thermostat installed. We recently had all new tires put on, and an alignment done.
I just wanted to give a big THANK YOU to Don and the guys at East Mountain Auto and RV here in Edgewood, NM. They installed the Blue Ox tow plate on my car, and helped me get the tow bar onto the Motor home. We went over everything step-by-step so I could do it on my own... towing a car is all new to me. Last trip I towed a trailer, not a car! It will take getting used to, but I know I can handle it.
Stay tuned... the next blog should be from the road!
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Making my lists...
Well, our entire household has been packed up and is on a truck heading to Delaware.
I love lists... I think it has something to do with my personality (I am a virgo and can be JUST a little bit of a perfectionist). Lists keep me sane. Does anyone else make lists? I make shopping lists, to do lists, to remember lists, to call lists, for my honey to do lists, and lists of my lists!
So, here is my list of big things to complete in the next few days...
1. Connect the Blue-Ox Tow Bar to the RV.
2. Have Tow-Plate installed on car, so it can be towed.
2. Put car top carrier together and put on top of car. - As mentioned in items 1 and 2, this trip we are pulling the car behind the motorhome. I thought I would take advantage of the extra space and get a carrier. Right now the plan is storage for heavier clothes, extra home-school supplies, and things not being used on a daily basis.
3. Sort things in house that need to go IN the car top carrier. - We have WAY too much stuff to go in the motorhome. Time to sort and do another organizing purge.
4. Replace broken windshield on car. - Although I am sure it will get broken again being towed behind the RV, I need to replace it. I have had chips on my windshield for over a year now. I promised myself I would replace the windshield as soon as those chips (that turned into cracks) met in the middle... and they have. It's time.
5. Mount Bicycle rack to the car. - Yes, the bikes are coming with us.
6. Mount footlocker/storage box to the bumper - With two kids, a place is needed to store things like baseballs, balls, outside toys, etc... We are trying to utilize as much storage outside the RV as possible.
7. Renew registrations for both car and motorhome.
8. Get oil change on motorhome.
9. Replace windshield wipers on motorhome.
There is a lot more to do with the house and inside the motorhome, but these are the major things that need to get done before we head out on the road!
I love lists... I think it has something to do with my personality (I am a virgo and can be JUST a little bit of a perfectionist). Lists keep me sane. Does anyone else make lists? I make shopping lists, to do lists, to remember lists, to call lists, for my honey to do lists, and lists of my lists!
So, here is my list of big things to complete in the next few days...
1. Connect the Blue-Ox Tow Bar to the RV.
2. Have Tow-Plate installed on car, so it can be towed.
2. Put car top carrier together and put on top of car. - As mentioned in items 1 and 2, this trip we are pulling the car behind the motorhome. I thought I would take advantage of the extra space and get a carrier. Right now the plan is storage for heavier clothes, extra home-school supplies, and things not being used on a daily basis.
3. Sort things in house that need to go IN the car top carrier. - We have WAY too much stuff to go in the motorhome. Time to sort and do another organizing purge.
4. Replace broken windshield on car. - Although I am sure it will get broken again being towed behind the RV, I need to replace it. I have had chips on my windshield for over a year now. I promised myself I would replace the windshield as soon as those chips (that turned into cracks) met in the middle... and they have. It's time.
5. Mount Bicycle rack to the car. - Yes, the bikes are coming with us.
6. Mount footlocker/storage box to the bumper - With two kids, a place is needed to store things like baseballs, balls, outside toys, etc... We are trying to utilize as much storage outside the RV as possible.
7. Renew registrations for both car and motorhome.
8. Get oil change on motorhome.
9. Replace windshield wipers on motorhome.
There is a lot more to do with the house and inside the motorhome, but these are the major things that need to get done before we head out on the road!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Getting ready to hit the road!
As we are going to be putting A LOT of miles on the motorhome, I wanted to make sure everything is in good running order. We now have 6 new tires! The best of the old tires is now the spare. It's scary how bad the old tires were. There was very little tread, and dry rot/cracking on almost all of them.
A shout out goes out to "DISCOUNT TIRES" for a great deal on the tires. They have a replacement warrenty for their tires that I had to use two times on the car. Both times my tires had to be replaced and I only had to pay the amount needed to buy the warrenty for the new tires (about $15!). GREAT DEAL!
We also had a alignment done. The front stabilizer was bad and is now replaced. I know it's a petty thing, but the steering wheel is now centered... it was very crooked before and was driving me crazy! It was really hard to find somewhere that could do an alignment on a motorhome! They don't do alignments at any of the RV places, and most businesses that do alignments don't have the clearance to handle a motorhome.
<-------- New Tire
A shout out goes out to "DISCOUNT TIRES" for a great deal on the tires. They have a replacement warrenty for their tires that I had to use two times on the car. Both times my tires had to be replaced and I only had to pay the amount needed to buy the warrenty for the new tires (about $15!). GREAT DEAL!
We also had a alignment done. The front stabilizer was bad and is now replaced. I know it's a petty thing, but the steering wheel is now centered... it was very crooked before and was driving me crazy! It was really hard to find somewhere that could do an alignment on a motorhome! They don't do alignments at any of the RV places, and most businesses that do alignments don't have the clearance to handle a motorhome.
<--------- Steering wheel straight
We finally found a place (through a couple of recommendations) that could handle an alignment on a motorhome. They deserve a shot out as well.. "ALBUQUERQUE BRAKE & ALIGNMENT". They were friendly, helpful, and reasonably priced.
Now that this work is done, I feel safer hitting the road.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Remodeling The Motorhome - The Bathroom
Before...
After...
One of the issues with the bathroom (besides being so small) is the only towel bars were on the door. They are nice towel bars, but if you hang a towel on both of them... the bottom towel stays wet. We also had to keep the dirty laundry basket in the tub.
In a motorhome, surface area is at a premium. The more you can hang the better. We now have 2 large towel bars and a laundry basket hanging on the wall. The towel bars on the door can now be used for washclothes and hand towels.
After...
One of the issues with the bathroom (besides being so small) is the only towel bars were on the door. They are nice towel bars, but if you hang a towel on both of them... the bottom towel stays wet. We also had to keep the dirty laundry basket in the tub.
In a motorhome, surface area is at a premium. The more you can hang the better. We now have 2 large towel bars and a laundry basket hanging on the wall. The towel bars on the door can now be used for washclothes and hand towels.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Remodeling The Motorhome - The Closet
Before...
After...
There are two closets in the motorhome. This closet had only hanging space. Hanging space is not very practical for little boys jeans or folded items.
Another issue we were having is that the boys can't reach the hanging bar to hang their clothes. I left some hanging space but put some cubes in for folded clothes. I used zip ties to create shelves in the cubes and reinforce the cube walls. We also used zip ties to anchor the entire shelf unit to the bar.
Another issue we were having is that the boys can't reach the hanging bar to hang their clothes. I left some hanging space but put some cubes in for folded clothes. I used zip ties to create shelves in the cubes and reinforce the cube walls. We also used zip ties to anchor the entire shelf unit to the bar.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
About a motor home...
After having put 65,000 on a 21 foot motorhome... I have a few comments that I would like to make to other drivers.
- DO NOT try to pass a motorhome unless the conditions are suitable for passing. You do not HAVE to pass a motorhome just to pass it... most of us do the posted speed limit!
- A motorhome CANNOT STOP AS QUICKLY AS A CAR! Please take that into consideration when you pull out in front of one.
- Much like a large truck, motorhomes rely on mirrors to see along-side the vehicle... please don't ride in the blind spot.
- It may take a few more minutes to get up to speed, please take that into consideration. See #1 above!
Monday, April 12, 2010
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