Virginia Beach, VA.
38 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = sunshine. High 62F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.
This weekend has been a real "bust" as far as getting anything outside done. It was only in the lower 50's and has been real windy with winds in the 13 to 37 mph range with gusts to 53 mph!! :-( At times the trailer was rocking pretty good and the slide-out awning was making a lot of noise. We didn't have a whole lot of rain, but when it was raining, it was hitting the side of Nora with quite a bit of force.
Jim and Linda spent much of the weekend inside the house visiting with Joe, Nancy and Amber, but quite a bit of time was spent out here in the trailer while Joe and Nancy did their chores inside.
This morning, the wind seems to have calmed down and the weather guessers on TV are saying that it should be much warmer today than it was yesterday.
That wouldn't take much!!!!
Well, how about it? Did you get all your clocks set back one hour Saturday night? I don't know which would be the best, but I wish they'd pick either savings or standard time and then leave it alone. It takes me a week to get used to the new time every time Jim has to change it.
This evening, Jim and Linda are planning on taking Joe, Nancy and Amber out to dinner. Joe and Nancy know of some good restaurants in the area, so they're letting them pick the one they'll go to.
Well, don't know too much else. If it's as nice out today as the weather guessers are guessing, I'm sure Jim will want to do a few things outside.
Did you know that eight United States Presidents were born in Virginia? George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson.
Woof!!!
Showing posts with label Slideout. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Slideout. Show all posts
Monday, November 3, 2014
Saturday, July 13, 2013
More Shopping and Bobbie T Gets Leveling Jacks
Dorr, MI.
63 deg. clear, SE wind @ 3 mph.
Forecast = Clear. High of 84F. Winds from the ESE at 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday morning, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed up to White Pigeon, MI. Jim wanted to see how long it would take us to get Bobbie T up to the Bigfoot Leveling Systems Plant and also go to Bontrager's Surplus RV Supplies to look around a bit.
They found out that it would only take about 20 minutes to get to the Bigfoot plant and after Jim roamed around in Bontrager's for awhile, he found a vent cover for the bathroom vent at a very good price. ;-)
From there, they headed back to Middlebury, stopping along the way to get CLT a drink of 87 octane. Once in Middlebury, they went back to Fox RV to pick up a second Slide Lock that Jim had ordered. His thoughts were that it might be a good idea to have another one in case the bedroom slide developed the same brake problems.
After picking up the slide lock, they headed to Aunt Karen's Cafe where they had lunch. Linda just had soup and a piece of pie and Jim had a BLT sandwich. Both were very good.
After lunch, they headed back to Shipshewana where they stopped a Yoder's Meat & Cheese Company. There, Linda bought some bacon, a beef chuck roast and some mixed cheddar cheese. By this time, Linda was really feeling it in her knees so they headed back here to the CG.
The rest of the day was spent reading, relaxing and taking naps as needed. ;-)
Yesterday, Jim and Linda were up by 5:30, and by 6:35 we were pulling out of the CG at Shipshewana and heading West on Rt 120. 120 took is over to Rt-13 which turned into US 131 as we entered Michigan. Just before we entered Michigan though, we stopped and got Bobbie T a large drink of 87 octane before heading up to White Pigeon and the Bigfoot Leveling system Plant.
It was right at 7:00 when we pulled up to the installation building.
It wasn't too long before they came out to get Bobbie T for the installation, so Jim took Linda over to the waiting room in the main building. After getting a cup of coffee, Jim headed back over to the installation building and watched the installation and talked to some of the workers about the leveling system, when they weren't too busy.
Above is a photo of Bobbie T up on ramps
Below is one of the front levelers after installation.
There were 3 men working on the installation, so by 11:00 the installation was finished, the testing was done, Jim had been instructed on the leveling procedure of the system, CLT hooked to the back of Bobbie T, the bill paid and we were pulling out of the Bigfoot lot. :-)
From White Pigeon, we headed North on US 131 for about 65 miles until we came to Exit 68, where we turned West on 142nd Ave. 142, then took us to the Hungry Horse Campground near Dorr, MI.
It was about 12:35 when we pulled up in front of the office, and we had traveled about 70 miles total for the day.
This is a pretty decent CG, but it's very crowded with ton of kid running around and on bicycles. Many of the campers have fires going so it's pretty smokey and people are constantly cutting through everyone else's sites. :-(
For one night though, it has served it's purpose.
Today, we'll continue heading North. Because it's the weekend, Jim has called a CG up near Traverse City and made a reservation for 2 nights.
Did you know that Michigan has the longest freshwater shoreline in the world?
63 deg. clear, SE wind @ 3 mph.
Forecast = Clear. High of 84F. Winds from the ESE at 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday morning, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed up to White Pigeon, MI. Jim wanted to see how long it would take us to get Bobbie T up to the Bigfoot Leveling Systems Plant and also go to Bontrager's Surplus RV Supplies to look around a bit.
They found out that it would only take about 20 minutes to get to the Bigfoot plant and after Jim roamed around in Bontrager's for awhile, he found a vent cover for the bathroom vent at a very good price. ;-)
From there, they headed back to Middlebury, stopping along the way to get CLT a drink of 87 octane. Once in Middlebury, they went back to Fox RV to pick up a second Slide Lock that Jim had ordered. His thoughts were that it might be a good idea to have another one in case the bedroom slide developed the same brake problems.
After picking up the slide lock, they headed to Aunt Karen's Cafe where they had lunch. Linda just had soup and a piece of pie and Jim had a BLT sandwich. Both were very good.
After lunch, they headed back to Shipshewana where they stopped a Yoder's Meat & Cheese Company. There, Linda bought some bacon, a beef chuck roast and some mixed cheddar cheese. By this time, Linda was really feeling it in her knees so they headed back here to the CG.
The rest of the day was spent reading, relaxing and taking naps as needed. ;-)
Yesterday, Jim and Linda were up by 5:30, and by 6:35 we were pulling out of the CG at Shipshewana and heading West on Rt 120. 120 took is over to Rt-13 which turned into US 131 as we entered Michigan. Just before we entered Michigan though, we stopped and got Bobbie T a large drink of 87 octane before heading up to White Pigeon and the Bigfoot Leveling system Plant.
It was right at 7:00 when we pulled up to the installation building.
It wasn't too long before they came out to get Bobbie T for the installation, so Jim took Linda over to the waiting room in the main building. After getting a cup of coffee, Jim headed back over to the installation building and watched the installation and talked to some of the workers about the leveling system, when they weren't too busy.
Below is one of the front levelers after installation.
There were 3 men working on the installation, so by 11:00 the installation was finished, the testing was done, Jim had been instructed on the leveling procedure of the system, CLT hooked to the back of Bobbie T, the bill paid and we were pulling out of the Bigfoot lot. :-)
From White Pigeon, we headed North on US 131 for about 65 miles until we came to Exit 68, where we turned West on 142nd Ave. 142, then took us to the Hungry Horse Campground near Dorr, MI.
It was about 12:35 when we pulled up in front of the office, and we had traveled about 70 miles total for the day.
This is a pretty decent CG, but it's very crowded with ton of kid running around and on bicycles. Many of the campers have fires going so it's pretty smokey and people are constantly cutting through everyone else's sites. :-(
For one night though, it has served it's purpose.
Today, we'll continue heading North. Because it's the weekend, Jim has called a CG up near Traverse City and made a reservation for 2 nights.
Did you know that Michigan has the longest freshwater shoreline in the world?
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Bobbie T Goes To The Repair Shop
Shipshewana, IN.
73 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = mostly cloudy, with a 40% chance of rain. W. wind @ 5 to 20 mph.
We left the Beaver Ridge CG in Lakeville about 8:50 and after returning to US 31 followed it North up to the South Bend, IN area where we turned East on US 20. 20 then took us to Middlebury and to Fox RV Inc.
It was 9:35 when we pulled into the lot so it took us just 45 minutes to travel the 37 miles over there. Not too bad when you consider that we had some minor road construction slowdowns East of Elkhart.
In the photo below, you can see Bobbie T backed up in front of the building where they are working on repairing the upper awning arm bracket mounting bolts.
This is the compartment that they had to work in to check out the dinette slide motor/brake assembly.
Besides, the slide motor brake and the awning bracket bolts, Jim also had them check on a propane problem. You see, when the water heater was on and Linda was using the burners on the range, it seemed like the propane pressure would drop and both flames would be low, resulting in the water heater kicking off and relighting from time to time. The problem ended up being a blocked screen at the inlet of the pressure regulator, which Larry Fox (the owner), said happens sometimes when an RV is not used for a long time.
As for the awning bolts, after taking out the old ones, cleaning up the mounting areas, and installing new longer , thicker bolts, the brackets were secured and everything in the areas were re-caulked.
Now, for the slide brake problem, that was the main reason that Jim brought Bobbie T up here.
Well, first of all, it was determined that the brake on the motor/brake/gear assembly was definitely defective. So, that meant that a new assembly would be required. There was only one problem. They couldn't remove the assembly!!!
Why, you ask???? Well, when Bobbie T was manufactured, they didn't cut the hole in her main floor in the right place. It's off to the front about 2 inches. The motor assembly has to be unbolted and slid back out of the bracket, but that can't be done because the hole in the floor it too far forward and that makes sliding the motor to the rear impossible!!!!
The only way to remove that motor assembly would be to remove the complete slide out, enlarge the hole in the main floor, remove the motor, and then put everything back together again.
A new motor assembly would cost about $260.00, it would take 4 to 5 hours to remove the slide out and enlarge the hole in the floor, (at the shop rate of $100.00 per hour) and put everything back together again.
So, Jim and Linda were looking at a repair bill, (just for the slide), at somewhere around $700.00!!!!!! :-(
Larry said that since the motor and gear assembly seemed to be in good condition, he suggested the purchase of a Slide Lock, which is around $40.00!!!
He said that it should work fine and that if Bobbie T was his, that's what he would do. "If", someday, the motor or gear assembly should go bad, then the slide out will have to be removed, but in the meantime, this $40 slide lock will work very well to keep the slide from moving out when traveling. ;-)
By 2:50 PM all the work was done, the bill paid, (very reasonable on all the repair work), CLT was hooked to the back of Bobbie T, and we were pulling out of the Fox RV lot.
Both Jim and Linda figured that we'd be staying at Fox RV overnight, but being that the repairs went so quickly, we headed for the RV park that Jim had selected for the nights after the repair was completed. The park is the Shipshewana Campground North Park.
From Fox, we continued East on US 20 to Shipshewana, and then turned North on SR 5. 5 took us through Shipshewana and up to SR 120 where the park is located.
It was 3:20 when we pulled up to the office, so it took us just about 1/2 an hour to travel the 12 miles over here. (lots of delays in Shipshewana). :-(
This is a nice park. Quite different from the South Park that we had stayed at quite a few years ago. The South Park is a very large park and is all open with no trees while this one is smaller with some nice pine trees. Both campgrounds are quite expensive, but then, we are in a tourist area.
This post is getting pretty long already, so I'll tell you about the downpour of rain and more about the park next time.
Stay tuned!!!! ;-)
Did you know that more than 100 species of trees are native to Indiana? Before the pioneer's arrive more than 80% of Indiana was covered with forest. Now only 17% of the state is considered forested.
Woof!!!
73 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = mostly cloudy, with a 40% chance of rain. W. wind @ 5 to 20 mph.
We left the Beaver Ridge CG in Lakeville about 8:50 and after returning to US 31 followed it North up to the South Bend, IN area where we turned East on US 20. 20 then took us to Middlebury and to Fox RV Inc.
In the photo below, you can see Bobbie T backed up in front of the building where they are working on repairing the upper awning arm bracket mounting bolts.
This is the compartment that they had to work in to check out the dinette slide motor/brake assembly.
Besides, the slide motor brake and the awning bracket bolts, Jim also had them check on a propane problem. You see, when the water heater was on and Linda was using the burners on the range, it seemed like the propane pressure would drop and both flames would be low, resulting in the water heater kicking off and relighting from time to time. The problem ended up being a blocked screen at the inlet of the pressure regulator, which Larry Fox (the owner), said happens sometimes when an RV is not used for a long time.
As for the awning bolts, after taking out the old ones, cleaning up the mounting areas, and installing new longer , thicker bolts, the brackets were secured and everything in the areas were re-caulked.
Now, for the slide brake problem, that was the main reason that Jim brought Bobbie T up here.
Well, first of all, it was determined that the brake on the motor/brake/gear assembly was definitely defective. So, that meant that a new assembly would be required. There was only one problem. They couldn't remove the assembly!!!
Why, you ask???? Well, when Bobbie T was manufactured, they didn't cut the hole in her main floor in the right place. It's off to the front about 2 inches. The motor assembly has to be unbolted and slid back out of the bracket, but that can't be done because the hole in the floor it too far forward and that makes sliding the motor to the rear impossible!!!!
The only way to remove that motor assembly would be to remove the complete slide out, enlarge the hole in the main floor, remove the motor, and then put everything back together again.
A new motor assembly would cost about $260.00, it would take 4 to 5 hours to remove the slide out and enlarge the hole in the floor, (at the shop rate of $100.00 per hour) and put everything back together again.
So, Jim and Linda were looking at a repair bill, (just for the slide), at somewhere around $700.00!!!!!! :-(
Larry said that since the motor and gear assembly seemed to be in good condition, he suggested the purchase of a Slide Lock, which is around $40.00!!!
He said that it should work fine and that if Bobbie T was his, that's what he would do. "If", someday, the motor or gear assembly should go bad, then the slide out will have to be removed, but in the meantime, this $40 slide lock will work very well to keep the slide from moving out when traveling. ;-)
By 2:50 PM all the work was done, the bill paid, (very reasonable on all the repair work), CLT was hooked to the back of Bobbie T, and we were pulling out of the Fox RV lot.
Both Jim and Linda figured that we'd be staying at Fox RV overnight, but being that the repairs went so quickly, we headed for the RV park that Jim had selected for the nights after the repair was completed. The park is the Shipshewana Campground North Park.
From Fox, we continued East on US 20 to Shipshewana, and then turned North on SR 5. 5 took us through Shipshewana and up to SR 120 where the park is located.
It was 3:20 when we pulled up to the office, so it took us just about 1/2 an hour to travel the 12 miles over here. (lots of delays in Shipshewana). :-(
This is a nice park. Quite different from the South Park that we had stayed at quite a few years ago. The South Park is a very large park and is all open with no trees while this one is smaller with some nice pine trees. Both campgrounds are quite expensive, but then, we are in a tourist area.
This post is getting pretty long already, so I'll tell you about the downpour of rain and more about the park next time.
Stay tuned!!!! ;-)
Did you know that more than 100 species of trees are native to Indiana? Before the pioneer's arrive more than 80% of Indiana was covered with forest. Now only 17% of the state is considered forested.
Woof!!!
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Blocking The Slide and Dinner At Paul And Louise's
Rantoul, IL.
66 deg. hazy, no wind.
Forecast = 86 deg. partly cloudy, 30% chance of rain, S. wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
Yesterday morning, Jim ran Bobbie T's dinette slide in and tried to figure out how he was going to block it so it can't creep out while we're traveling. After some trial and error, with the help of some boards and 2X4s, he thinks he has found a way to hold it in the retracted position without damaging the wood trim or the aluminum frame.
I sure hope so, we don't need that slide coming out while we're traveling down the road!!! :-O
Even more RVs came into the park yesterday. Evidently, they had someplace else to be for the 4th and then came out here for the rest of the Holiday weekend. There's also more kids here now than there was at the beginning of the long weekend. They all seem to be well behaved though, cause I haven't heard any complaints at all.
Yesterday evening, Jim and Linda were invited over to Paul and Louise's for dinner, along with a few other people. Louise had pork chops, baked beans and potato salad. Laurie, one of the other ladies, brought some raw vegetables and a green bean casserole and Linda took a desert.
They ate outside under the awning and in the gazebo and then sat and talked until the bugs started getting really bad. (Which was around 8:00 PM).
Don't really know what's happening today. I know that sometime before we leave here on Monday, Jim and Linda want to go to the grocery store to pick up a few items. Also, both of them will be working on getting everything ready to travel.
Did you know that on this date in 1699 - Captain William Kidd, the pirate, was captured in Boston, MA, and deported back to England?
Woof!!!
66 deg. hazy, no wind.
Forecast = 86 deg. partly cloudy, 30% chance of rain, S. wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
Yesterday morning, Jim ran Bobbie T's dinette slide in and tried to figure out how he was going to block it so it can't creep out while we're traveling. After some trial and error, with the help of some boards and 2X4s, he thinks he has found a way to hold it in the retracted position without damaging the wood trim or the aluminum frame.
I sure hope so, we don't need that slide coming out while we're traveling down the road!!! :-O
Even more RVs came into the park yesterday. Evidently, they had someplace else to be for the 4th and then came out here for the rest of the Holiday weekend. There's also more kids here now than there was at the beginning of the long weekend. They all seem to be well behaved though, cause I haven't heard any complaints at all.
Yesterday evening, Jim and Linda were invited over to Paul and Louise's for dinner, along with a few other people. Louise had pork chops, baked beans and potato salad. Laurie, one of the other ladies, brought some raw vegetables and a green bean casserole and Linda took a desert.
They ate outside under the awning and in the gazebo and then sat and talked until the bugs started getting really bad. (Which was around 8:00 PM).
Don't really know what's happening today. I know that sometime before we leave here on Monday, Jim and Linda want to go to the grocery store to pick up a few items. Also, both of them will be working on getting everything ready to travel.
Did you know that on this date in 1699 - Captain William Kidd, the pirate, was captured in Boston, MA, and deported back to England?
Woof!!!
Friday, June 28, 2013
A Friend To The Rescue and Plans Are Made
Rantoul, IL.
66 deg. clear, W. wind @ 7 mph.
Forecast = high temperature 82 deg. partly cloudy, NW wind @ 10 to 20 mph. 30% chance of rain.
What would humans do without friends? Oh, I suppose they'd muddle through, but it sure is nice when a friend comes to the rescue.
Dave, (One of the Illinois Bunch) that many of you will remember from previous posts, has been reading this blog and knew that Jim was thinking about going up to the Elkhart area to try to get the slideout problem taken care of. Well, Wednesday, Dave sent Jim an e-mail telling him about an RV Repair shop that he has used that is located in Middlebury, IN. Because he knows the owner, he had the owner's cell phone number and told Jim to go ahead and "drop" his name if he wanted to.
Jim really didn't have any idea of who to contact up there so this was a very welcome suggestion.
Yesterday morning, Jim called the number that Dave had given him and talked to Larry at Fox RV Inc. in Middlebury, IN. After talking to Larry about the slide problem plus a few other minor items that could use attention and then telling him when we would be in the area, Larry checked his books and said that he could get Bobbie T in to work on her on the 9th of July.
Wow!!! That's the day that Jim had originally planned to get up to that area and would give Larry plenty of time to work on Bobbie T. before he needed to take her up to White Pigeon, MI. for an appointment that Jim has made with Quadra Mfg. to have "Big Foot" levelers installed on the 12th!
Jim was very impressed with Larry. He seemed very knowledgeable about Bobbie T's slideout system and also seemed to know exactly what to do to check and repair the other minor problems that Jim told him about.
So, , , , , , now the plan is complete and I can tell you all about it. : ) We'll be leaving here on Monday, the 8th of July, (right after the 4th of July holiday weekend), head up to Middlebury for the appointment at Fox RV on the 9th, spend a few days doing touristy things in the Middlebury/Shipshewana area and then head up to White Pigeon on the 12th to get the levelers installed.
From there, the plan is to head on up into Michigan, cross the Mackinaw/Mackinac (?) bridge up into the U.P of Michigan, head across the U.P towards the West, stay at a CG that is right on the North end of Lake Michigan, near Manistique for at least 1 week, (probably 10 or 11 days), then head into Wisconsin to see Linda's brother, Glenn, (who lives way over on the Western edge of Wisconsin), before turning South and returning here to Rantoul, arriving back here sometime around the 10th of August.
Of course there are things that they want to see and places they want to go along the way, but I don't have all the details of that. I'll be sure to keep you posted on anything I find out though. ; )
Oh, and don't forget, all these plans are written in pencil, and Jim still has that big eraser, so everything is subject to change. ; )
A Point to Ponder : You need only two tools. WD-40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and it should, use WD-40. If it moves and shouldn't, use the tape.
Thanks, Dave.
Woof!!!
66 deg. clear, W. wind @ 7 mph.
Forecast = high temperature 82 deg. partly cloudy, NW wind @ 10 to 20 mph. 30% chance of rain.
What would humans do without friends? Oh, I suppose they'd muddle through, but it sure is nice when a friend comes to the rescue.
Dave, (One of the Illinois Bunch) that many of you will remember from previous posts, has been reading this blog and knew that Jim was thinking about going up to the Elkhart area to try to get the slideout problem taken care of. Well, Wednesday, Dave sent Jim an e-mail telling him about an RV Repair shop that he has used that is located in Middlebury, IN. Because he knows the owner, he had the owner's cell phone number and told Jim to go ahead and "drop" his name if he wanted to.
Jim really didn't have any idea of who to contact up there so this was a very welcome suggestion.
Yesterday morning, Jim called the number that Dave had given him and talked to Larry at Fox RV Inc. in Middlebury, IN. After talking to Larry about the slide problem plus a few other minor items that could use attention and then telling him when we would be in the area, Larry checked his books and said that he could get Bobbie T in to work on her on the 9th of July.
Wow!!! That's the day that Jim had originally planned to get up to that area and would give Larry plenty of time to work on Bobbie T. before he needed to take her up to White Pigeon, MI. for an appointment that Jim has made with Quadra Mfg. to have "Big Foot" levelers installed on the 12th!
Jim was very impressed with Larry. He seemed very knowledgeable about Bobbie T's slideout system and also seemed to know exactly what to do to check and repair the other minor problems that Jim told him about.
So, , , , , , now the plan is complete and I can tell you all about it. : ) We'll be leaving here on Monday, the 8th of July, (right after the 4th of July holiday weekend), head up to Middlebury for the appointment at Fox RV on the 9th, spend a few days doing touristy things in the Middlebury/Shipshewana area and then head up to White Pigeon on the 12th to get the levelers installed.
From there, the plan is to head on up into Michigan, cross the Mackinaw/Mackinac (?) bridge up into the U.P of Michigan, head across the U.P towards the West, stay at a CG that is right on the North end of Lake Michigan, near Manistique for at least 1 week, (probably 10 or 11 days), then head into Wisconsin to see Linda's brother, Glenn, (who lives way over on the Western edge of Wisconsin), before turning South and returning here to Rantoul, arriving back here sometime around the 10th of August.
Of course there are things that they want to see and places they want to go along the way, but I don't have all the details of that. I'll be sure to keep you posted on anything I find out though. ; )
Oh, and don't forget, all these plans are written in pencil, and Jim still has that big eraser, so everything is subject to change. ; )
A Point to Ponder : You need only two tools. WD-40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and it should, use WD-40. If it moves and shouldn't, use the tape.
Thanks, Dave.
Woof!!!
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
More On The Slide Out Brake and More Storms
Rantoul, IL.
70 deg. partly cloudy, S. wind @ 10 mph.
Forecast = high temp. 86 deg. 60% chance of T-storms, SW wind @ 15 to 20 mph.
Jim did check that slideout motor yesterday morning, but the news is not good. After removing the panel in the top of the storage compartment, he discovered that the end of the electric motor, where the brake is located, is stuck back in an area that is between the top of the compartment and the slideout floor.
The suggestion that Jim received on line was to work the brake lever on the motor back and forth a few times to free it up if it was stuck. Well, Jim was able to just touch the brake release lever with his fingers and there was no way that he could have pressed the spring lock while releasing the lever, much less move the lever. : (
So, Jim put the panel back on and came back inside.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, we could head up to the Elkhart, IN. area after the 4th of July, so now Jim will research the possibility of getting the problems solved up there.
We had heavy afternoon T-storms go through this area again yesterday. Lots of rain, quite a bit of wind, and severe lightning!! In fact, after one very close lightning strike, our power went out for a short time. Since it was storming, Jim and Linda didn't go back to Walgreens to pick up the rest of Linda's prescriptions. Hopefully they'll be able to get over there today, but the local radar is already showing lots of pretty colors, so they'll have to time the trip between storms.
Did you know that today is "National Canoe Day"?
Woof!!!
70 deg. partly cloudy, S. wind @ 10 mph.
Forecast = high temp. 86 deg. 60% chance of T-storms, SW wind @ 15 to 20 mph.
Jim did check that slideout motor yesterday morning, but the news is not good. After removing the panel in the top of the storage compartment, he discovered that the end of the electric motor, where the brake is located, is stuck back in an area that is between the top of the compartment and the slideout floor.
The suggestion that Jim received on line was to work the brake lever on the motor back and forth a few times to free it up if it was stuck. Well, Jim was able to just touch the brake release lever with his fingers and there was no way that he could have pressed the spring lock while releasing the lever, much less move the lever. : (
So, Jim put the panel back on and came back inside.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, we could head up to the Elkhart, IN. area after the 4th of July, so now Jim will research the possibility of getting the problems solved up there.
We had heavy afternoon T-storms go through this area again yesterday. Lots of rain, quite a bit of wind, and severe lightning!! In fact, after one very close lightning strike, our power went out for a short time. Since it was storming, Jim and Linda didn't go back to Walgreens to pick up the rest of Linda's prescriptions. Hopefully they'll be able to get over there today, but the local radar is already showing lots of pretty colors, so they'll have to time the trip between storms.
Did you know that today is "National Canoe Day"?
Woof!!!
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
The Weather Puts A Brake On Solving The Brake Problem
Rantoul, IL
76 deg. clear, S. wind @ 8 mph.
Forecast = High temp. 91 deg. partly cloudy, 30% chance of rain, SW wind @ 15 to 20 mph.
Because of off and on showers, Jim didn't tackle the slideout brake problem yesterday. Instead, he did some work on the computer and took Linda over to Walgreen's so that she could get her prescriptions refilled and then went to the Post Office to pick up the mail.
Everything went smooth at Walgreens, but of course, they didn't have enough of one of her prescriptions, so they'll have to go back again, either this afternoon or tomorrow. : (
For dinner, Jim cooked part of a ham steak out on the grill to make sandwiches. While he was out there cooking, it started clouding up to the West and soon after he and Linda were done eating, we had quite a storm go through this area.
Don't know the exact figures, but there were reports of winds over 60 mph. and we had some heavy rain! The wind was strong enough that Jim brought in Bobbie T's bedroom slideout because the slideout awning was flapping so violently that it was shaking the whole RV. There's some small branches down here in the park, but I haven't seen or heard of any major damage in the area.
Oh, and this morning on TV, they're forecasting more of the same this afternoon!!!! : (
Today, Jim's hoping to get out there and check out that slideout brake. He and Linda also need to do some shopping which will mean a trip down to Champaign.
A Point to Ponder : The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.
76 deg. clear, S. wind @ 8 mph.
Forecast = High temp. 91 deg. partly cloudy, 30% chance of rain, SW wind @ 15 to 20 mph.
Because of off and on showers, Jim didn't tackle the slideout brake problem yesterday. Instead, he did some work on the computer and took Linda over to Walgreen's so that she could get her prescriptions refilled and then went to the Post Office to pick up the mail.
Everything went smooth at Walgreens, but of course, they didn't have enough of one of her prescriptions, so they'll have to go back again, either this afternoon or tomorrow. : (
For dinner, Jim cooked part of a ham steak out on the grill to make sandwiches. While he was out there cooking, it started clouding up to the West and soon after he and Linda were done eating, we had quite a storm go through this area.
Don't know the exact figures, but there were reports of winds over 60 mph. and we had some heavy rain! The wind was strong enough that Jim brought in Bobbie T's bedroom slideout because the slideout awning was flapping so violently that it was shaking the whole RV. There's some small branches down here in the park, but I haven't seen or heard of any major damage in the area.
Oh, and this morning on TV, they're forecasting more of the same this afternoon!!!! : (
Today, Jim's hoping to get out there and check out that slideout brake. He and Linda also need to do some shopping which will mean a trip down to Champaign.
A Point to Ponder : The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.
Monday, June 24, 2013
A Slideout Problem and Doing Some Research
Rantoul, IL.
68 deg. scattered clouds, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy with a 40% chance of a thunderstorm. High of 90F. Winds from the SSW at 10 to 15 mph.
On the way back from Kankakee the other day, we had a problem with the dinette slide. As we were traveling along, the slide started to work its way out, just a little. The farther we drove, the more the slide inched it's way out.
At one point, Jim pulled onto an Interstate off ramp, and retracted the slide back to it's closed position. As we continued to travel down I-57, the slide soon started moving out again and when we got to a rest area, Jim pulled Bobbie T in and again retracted the slide, which by this time was extended about 2 inches.
We still had about 25 miles to go so Jim brought in a couple short pieces of 2X4 lumber and wedged them between the slideout floor and the main floor. (Yankee ingenuity?) After doing that, we successfully returned here to Prairie Pines with the bottom of the slide only moving out about 1/2 inch or so.
Now, why did the slide all of a sudden start to extend as we were traveling? Well, by going on the Internet, and doing some research, Jim found out that on Bobbie T's dinette slide, there is a brake on the electric motor that is supposed to stop that from happening. Either the brake is broken or there is some corrosion or rust that is stopping it from operating properly.
In the next day or so, Jim will be removing a plate in the top of the basement compartment, (just below the slide), and check it out. He has some suggestions on what to do, so he should be able to determine if it's broken, (needing a motor/gear assembly), or just corroded. If it's corroded, it should be fairly easy to fix. If it's broken, a new motor/gear assembly will have to be ordered.
Or, , , , , , , In about 2 weeks, (right after the 4th of July weekend), we could head up to the Elkhart, IN. area, and he may be able to pick up one there. To do that, he would have to block the slide with some boards so that the slide could not move out on the way up there, but that's very doable.
Not much else been happening around here. We've had showers and T-storms most days, (some of them pretty severe), it's been quite warm in the afternoons, with highs around 90, so not much has been done outside. Jim and Linda went to the Family Table Restaurant last night for dinner and had another very good meal, and Jim has been working out the details of our up-coming trip in 2 weeks.
A Point to Ponder: If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
Woof!!!
68 deg. scattered clouds, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy with a 40% chance of a thunderstorm. High of 90F. Winds from the SSW at 10 to 15 mph.
On the way back from Kankakee the other day, we had a problem with the dinette slide. As we were traveling along, the slide started to work its way out, just a little. The farther we drove, the more the slide inched it's way out.
At one point, Jim pulled onto an Interstate off ramp, and retracted the slide back to it's closed position. As we continued to travel down I-57, the slide soon started moving out again and when we got to a rest area, Jim pulled Bobbie T in and again retracted the slide, which by this time was extended about 2 inches.
We still had about 25 miles to go so Jim brought in a couple short pieces of 2X4 lumber and wedged them between the slideout floor and the main floor. (Yankee ingenuity?) After doing that, we successfully returned here to Prairie Pines with the bottom of the slide only moving out about 1/2 inch or so.
Now, why did the slide all of a sudden start to extend as we were traveling? Well, by going on the Internet, and doing some research, Jim found out that on Bobbie T's dinette slide, there is a brake on the electric motor that is supposed to stop that from happening. Either the brake is broken or there is some corrosion or rust that is stopping it from operating properly.
In the next day or so, Jim will be removing a plate in the top of the basement compartment, (just below the slide), and check it out. He has some suggestions on what to do, so he should be able to determine if it's broken, (needing a motor/gear assembly), or just corroded. If it's corroded, it should be fairly easy to fix. If it's broken, a new motor/gear assembly will have to be ordered.
Or, , , , , , , In about 2 weeks, (right after the 4th of July weekend), we could head up to the Elkhart, IN. area, and he may be able to pick up one there. To do that, he would have to block the slide with some boards so that the slide could not move out on the way up there, but that's very doable.
Not much else been happening around here. We've had showers and T-storms most days, (some of them pretty severe), it's been quite warm in the afternoons, with highs around 90, so not much has been done outside. Jim and Linda went to the Family Table Restaurant last night for dinner and had another very good meal, and Jim has been working out the details of our up-coming trip in 2 weeks.
A Point to Ponder: If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
Woof!!!
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