2011 October » tgif: let's RV

Last Minute Preparations

Oct 312011

I'm now getting everything together and packed up. The trailer is out of storage, cleaned up and most of my supplies are packed. I only have food and a few last minute things to pack and I'm ready to hit the road. I did notice this morning that I had a headlight out so I headed to the local NAPA store for a new bulb.

A quick look didn't show an easy way to change it so I searched a bit on-line for more info. GMs recommended way to change the bulb is to remove the grill, loosen bolts on the bumper to get to the bottom bolt on the headlight assembly and then remove the headlight assembly. That sure seemed like a lot of work. I was finally able to find some tips on one of the GM truck forums and found another way. All it took was removing the battery, remove the battery tray and loosen the windshield washer bottle. Once that was loose I was able to squeeze my hand behind the headlight assembly and remove the bulb. Whoever designed this should be shot!

I took the new bulb out of the package and it didn't look right. Surprise, surprise, it was the wrong bulb. Of course by this time the NAPA store was closed and the truck was half tore apart so I couldn't drive there anyways. I got a hold of a neighbor and they took me to PepBoys where I was able to get the right bulb. NAPA price for the bulb $8, PepBoy price $15, but at least I got the right one.

By this time it was getting dark and the trick or treaters were out. I worked under the hood in the fading light fighting to get the bulb back in. It would never fail, just about the time I wiggled my hand into the mouse hole size opening with the bulb balanced on my figure tips, a trick or treater would show up wanting some candy. About the 3rd time I just put the bowl of candy in the truck bed and just yelled out from under the hood to help themselves. Worked for me and I'm sure for them as the dozen visitors cleaned out 100 pieces of candy.

After 30 minutes the bulb was in place, the battery was bolted back in and the bonus was the lights even worked. Gotta love working on your own stuff! 3 days to go and I'm off to warmer weather.

5th Wheel Trailer Rear Carrier

RV DIY & Mods, RV Equipment 2 Responses »

Oct 272011

It seems no matter how much storage you have, you always need more. The basement in my 5th wheel was getting full and I was looking for a way to create some extra storage. I've seen a few rear carriers added to rigs and since I already have a receiver hitch on the back it made sense to look into using one.

There are some things you have to look out for when carrying anything on the back of a trailer. You first don't want to put a lot of weight on the rear hitch on most trailers. The frames and construction is just not made to take a lot of weight. A lot of manufacturers will void the frame warranty if you install a rear hitch. You also have to keep in mind that anything you put back there will take a lot of abuse from the bouncing that happens at the rear of a trailer. If you keep that in mind you can still safely carry stuff on the back.

T Minus 9 Days And Counting

RV Day to Day Life 2 Responses »

Oct 252011

The countdown is on, 9 more days and I'm off on my trip to Florida. First stop is in Atlanta to visit with Bob Rule for a few days. Then on to Savanna, St. Augustine, Daytona and Cape Canaveral. I have reservations in the Keys starting the 20th so not sure how many for those places I'll be able to stop at. Any I miss I'll go back and visit after I leave the Keys the beginning of December.

End of December and January I'll be in Cape Coral to visit my sister and niece. February will take me to the Crystal River area of Florida for a month. Still not sure what March will bring, might hang out in FL for a couple more weeks or head back home.

This week I'll be getting things together for the trip. Already have the homestead prepared for my absence with an alarm system and arrangements for weekly visits. Water will be turned off and heat lowered to 45. Everything will be unplugged except for the fridge and internet connection so I can check out my security cams while on the road.

Can't wait to hit the road. Stop back and see where I'm at!

Front Moped Carrier

RV DIY & Mods, RV Equipment No Responses »

Oct 182011

Last year I had a small moped that I took to Arizona. You can see the setup I had here. This year I got a Yamaha Zuma 125 and needed a new carrier for it. Since this scooter is heavier then the old one I wanted a tilting carrier to make it easier to load. After some searching I found a tilting aluminum scooter carrier from Discount Ramps. The carrier has a built in deck extender, an adjustable wheel chock and could carry 400 lbs. Looked perfect for my needs.

It arrived about a week after ordering. It took about an hour to assemble. There was a bit of damage to the ramp during shipping but it was easy to hammer out the bent side rail and you can't even tell it was bent a bit.

There is 19" from the pin hole to the center of the ramp and that put the scooter too far away from the front of the truck. I pushed the carrier into the receiver further, marked the placement of the pins holes and drilled new holes. I have found that the titanium nitride coated step drills from Harbor Freight work great and made short work of the drilling the 11/16" holes.

Pinbox Mounted Bike Rack

RV DIY & Mods 2 Responses »

Oct 172011

I've carried my bike with the rack connected to the rear hitch receiver on the trailer but it really beats the hell out of the bike. If you ever follow a trailer with bikes on the back you know how much they bounce around. I don't mind it so much if I'm only going to a local campground. I just don't want it bouncing around for the 3000 mile round trip to Florida.

I found a few ideas on mounting a receiver on the front pin box. There is a lot less movement at the pinbox and since it's visible in your mirror you can keep an eye on it. Sure it will get a few bugs on it after the trip and I'll put up with that knowing it will arrive safely.

I went down to the local Harbor Freight store and purchased a 12" long 2" receiver tube. I then attachdd the bike rack to the receiver tube and held it up in place to find out where to mount the tube. This wasn't wasy to do by myself since the tube and rack weighed about 50 lbs. and I had to hold it chest high and I looked around to see if there was enough clearance. I'd suggest using 2 people if possible.

St. Joseph, Michigan

RV Destinations No Responses »

Oct 132011

I had a chance to visit St. Joe, MI last weekend. I haven't been there for years so I was excited to go back. Many times visiting the lake shore is not fun in October but the temps were in the upper 70's with the sun shining. Just off I-94 in Southwest MI it's easy to get to. For camping you can go to Eden Springs Campground in Benton Harbor, only a few miles away. See my review of Eden Springs Campground.

You can also view the photos I took in my Photo Gallery.

They have a lot of activities there and this weekend was no exception. Saturday mornings there is a farmers market in Lake Bluff Park. Lots of home made goodies and local fruit. A great place to walk or sit with a awesome view of Lake Michigan, Silver Beach and the lighthouse.

Before you head to the beach you'll want to talk a stroll by the local shops. Some good places to eat and unique items for sale. Just hang on to your pocketbook or credit card as you may max it out.

Modification To Make Your TV Mount More Secure

RV DIY & Mods, RV Maintenance & Repairs No Responses »

Oct 122011

After each trip I almost always check out the trailer closely to see if any problems have cropped up. One thing I noticed a couple of trips ago was the television mount. It is a swing arm mount that has a pin in it to keep the arm in place while traveling. While it keeps the arm in place I always thought that the TV just wiggled a lot more then it should.

Closer inspection showed that metal inserts in the TV that the mount screws to were pulling out of the TV. I figured I'd keep an eye on it to see if that is the way it was when new or if it got worse. After last weeks trip it appeared that the metal inserts were pulled out even more. It was time to figure out how to solve this before I found the TV smashed on the floor after a trip. Here is what I did.

RV Awning Light Hanger

RV DIY & Mods No Responses »

Oct 102011

I really like awning lights that hang from the awning. I have some rope lights that give off just enough light to give a nice glow to the patio without attracting bugs. The problem is the can be a pain to take down quickly if you have to retract the awning I got this idea from someone on the Woodalls forums and thought I show you how I did it.

I took two pieces of aluminum angle and cut them about 2" long. I then drilled two 1/8" mounting holes in the aluminum angle and a 5/16" hole in the other leg for the wire attachement point.

I then pop riveted the aluminum angle to the outside of the awning arm. The 2" length is long enough to give a good stable base for the mount. What you have to watch here is the placement. It needs to be high enough so your entrance door will not hit it but low enough so it will not get caught by the awning material when the awning is retracted. For me this was having the wire support hole about 2" below the empty awning roller.

Eden Springs Park & Campground - Benton Harbor, MI

RV Destinations, RV Parks & Campgrounds No Responses »

Oct 092011

It was a beautiful weekend so I decided to head out for one last weekend of camping that would also serve as a shake down for my trip to Florida. I picked Eden Springs Park & Campground as it is a place I read a lot about and I wanted to visit it myself.

The facilities are somewhat unique. Not so much the campground itself, but the adjacent park. I'll start first with the campground. The sites are mainly grass, with most of them nice and wide. In most of them you can pull through and are large enough for any size rig, even with a toad. About half the site are full hook ups with the other half electric and water. Sites share the hookups so rigs are parked in opposite directions. I know some don't like this but it is nice if you are camping with someone else as your doors will face each other.

There is ample shading on all but a few sites so if you have satellite you'll need to pick carefully. WiFi is included and the signal was strong and the speeds fast. Verizon cell and data was also good. 30 amp and 50 amp electric is available. The bathrooms and showers are older but were in good clean shape. There appears to be a few long term residents and all but a couple were kept up. There were a couple that had a bit of stuff laying around outside and were dirty from sitting awhile. The campground is located in a populated area but there was not a lot of road noise or other disturbances. There is a swing set and volleyball nets for activities for the kids.

Overall the campground is nice and I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.

Eden Springs & St. Joe

RV Day to Day Life No Responses »

Oct 082011

Just a quick update, I'll post more details later. Spending the last nice weekend at Eden Springs Park & Campground in Benton Harbor, MI. Located only a few minutes from St. Joseph, MI and Lake Michigan, it is the perfect way to spend an October weekend. Not only that, it's 80 degrees, something we don't see very often in Oct.