Out with the old..................

Oh where do I start.  I have a cold so no big party tonight,  and then this whole fiscal cliff BS.  I normally don't talk bad about our great country and our leaders.  Maybe it's just the cold meds but this is not looking good.  Even if the price of everything that is being payed for with out tax money goes up,  just think how other countries see how the good old US of A handles things.  OK off the soap box now.

But the good news is that 2012 was a good/bad year.  Some friends have passed away, others have been born.  In our own family our son and future DIL have moved back to Oregon, our daughter graduated again from another college and Sophie really gave up working in the schools.  We adopted another rescue Bago, do you like how I worded that.  Our "more mature" Bago took us all around the Northwest in style and without a problem.  Let's hope for similar service from the Superchief. So all in all it's been good year

So let's hope 2013 will be filled with more good things.  And better health than I have right now.

One last Christmas celebration

Who would have thought that Wilbur and Smokey would have presents under the tree, but sure enough when we got around to opening presents with our kids and their significant others, there they were.  There was a pig tree ornament for Wilbur from Smokey, and Wilbur gave Smokey a Smokey Bear key chain.  Aren't they just the best Bago's a family could ask for.  And another Bear and Bago showed up from various family members.
Take a look.

Oh and here is the rest of the family,

One more trip to the gas station

I had ordered a couple of side light bases and they came in.  But since today was colder and not sunny like yesterday I did not do anymore to the roof or put on the new sidelight's.
And with the price of gas going up I decided to finish filling up Smokey's gas tank.  The needle is now bouncing on the F mark.  Only 90 gallons in the tank.  We use the Fred Meyer gas discount card and so I took Smokey out for a drive and wouldn't you know it that the delivery truck was at the gas station.  And that blocks most of the lanes so I waited until there was room for me and I pulled in. Then after getting my 35 gallons, the limit for the discount price, I waited until there was room for me to back up and drive out.  Wouldn't you think that the pump boy's would help a little more than standing off where I couldn't see them to help me get out???   Well at least they have a job someplace.
So here's my light purchase,

And it came to an even $5.00 for the 2 bases, the even have bulbs in them, and the 2 new covers.  I just can't get over the cost of these lights.  So it will be stock sidelights for me.

Up on the roof top reindeer pause, or is the paws???

So today, after a day of celebrating Christmas, I decided to try some repair on Smokey's roof.  There are all kinds of roof repair stuff and I have used several on house roofs, but on Smokey I have only used some elastomeric roofing ( not the black tar stuff).  Smokey has a fiberglass roof which I really like, except no one has been doing the annual sealing around the skylight and roof vents.  So what happens is just like every other RV roof, they leak.  And once the water gets in to a laminated roof the wood rots and then delaminates.  That's what has happened on Smokey.
And I would love to have some warm dry weather, or even a large inside garage, to tear into the roof.  Well maybe this Summer.  But I might have fixed most of the leaks today.  There is a very thin fiberglass roof on top of a this piece of plywood, foam insulation and more plywood with an inside ceiling covering.  The ceiling looks great yet.  What I found today was a spot where the fiberglass cracked.  I think it cracked because the roof is soft there and nothing was nothing supporting the fiberglass.
Since we are having some drier weather, but not quite warm enough for drying the snow roofing, I used a heat gun to dry it.  We will see how it works.

Using snow roof primer and a heat gun in cold weather patching..

Merry Christmas

Here it is Christmas day again.  After a few days of family celebrations the day of Christmas has come.  And since my son is in Arizona with his fiance and her family they will be back in a couple of days and we will celebrate some more.
But on the bright side I have had a chance to talk Winnebago's with family.  Even my one nephew wanted to see how the inside of Wilbur ('73) turned out because the last time he was in it the roof was off.  But Smokey ('89) was the place to be.  Everything from the power steps to the LED lights were discussed.  I am still learning how some stuff works but with the generator running and the furnace and a small electric heater on it really heats up nice and that's always good on a cold night.
So to all my RV friends, and my other fiends and family, you have a great Christmas.

Christmas time

The Christmas celebrations have started and we had a house full yesterday.
Of course there were the tours of my newest motor home and plenty of questions about it.
Sophie had this idea she read about in a magazine where we would take a picture on the stairs   I think it turned out OK, but since we have so many people here we need more stairs.

And now we are getting ready for another smaller gathering tomorrow.
It was another wet day so not much outside stuff.

New side lights for Smokey

I have been looking at new side lights since the first time I washed Smokey and one of the covers fell off.  Someone had replaced the right front one with a non-stock replacement light but not exactly like the original one.  And I did buy a couple of those new style ones, but yesterday I stopped by an RV place that is close to my house and found some new covers for the original lights.  Today I went back and bought 6 new covers and ordered a new original base so I can keep it all original.  Jeff will like that.

This is the right front side light that is not original.

Yea only 71 cents.  I like that too.

A new cover with the sticker still stuck on the inside.  When it gets warmer outside I want to take all the lights off and clean and re-caulk the lights.

I like all the lights to work.

Am I ready for Christmas yet?????

Sure some of you are shoppers and love to buy gifts but that's not really me.  I have a wife that does the shopping, but this year I have seen her stress about a gift for our family gift exchange.  I like to see that side of her.  Stressed while shopping, cool. 
I went out to Smokey today and started him up.  Right now the only adjustment I want to do is set the idle up a little.  Now that I have adjusted the choke to work right it drops down to a slow idle when it warms up like it should.  And now that the snow is falling in every mountain pass we won't head out of town to far to check out how it does on the big hills until the weather warms up some.

And now for Smokey


I am playing with the RC planes today.  First I covered some Dollar Tree foam board with packing tape like this.

That's it for today.

Can I Blog too???

Some of my readers have ask me how they can start a Blog.  The way I started was to go to Blogger.com and sign up for a free Blog.  This is an easy way to get a Blog.  You should see "create Blog" at the top right of my Blog.  Just click on it and it will take you to the Blogger sign up site.  Just follow the instructions and you will be Blogging in no time at all.  Or you could just visit Blogger.com and follow the instructions.

And you can put videos up on youtube.com and  make yourself a star.

Then the next thing will be to put ads up and see what happens.

Inside stuff

Today is one of those days when I could just stay inside and stay warm and dry.  The wind has been pretty strong and the desire to go out is not so strong.
 I have been having trouble with the drivers door lock on my wagon.  The part that moves out of the way when the key goes in does not move out of the way.  Oh yea I have oiled it, banged on it and picked on it but still no luck.  And with it so cold and windy I really don't want to spend the time to take the inside of the door off and see what is going on.  I still have 2 other door locks that work, but I wouldn't want to crawl thru the back hatch to the front to unlock the door.

And Smokey would like you to watch this video

RC airplanes. My other hobby

Another hobby I have is flying Radio Control Model Airplanes.  Some of you might have tried this hobby and now that the weather is cold and wet I feel like staying inside and playing with my planes.
I now have plenty of planes to fly but just like RV's you can't have to many......or can you?
I have been in and out of the model hobby on and off since I was probably 10 or so and living next to a school where we flew control line planes.  Then when I was stationed in Thailand during my Air Force days in 1975 I tried the RC stuff.  Wow has that hobby changed.  And this last time I got into it everything has changed from the radios to the batteries.  And now since I am so cheap I am looking at planes built out of foam board from the dollar store.
Take a look at this http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1587275

Roof repairs

The roof on Smokey is 100 times better than the roof I started with in Wilbur.  You can look at my roof repairs Here.  So with Smokey I have been on the roof and inside looking at the repairs.

This is with the inside skylight removed.

You can see the thin layer of fiberglass roofing on top.

I thought I could slide some thin material on top of the foam but then I found out that the screws that hold the outer skylight on are in the way.  And since it is raining and cold outside I will just have to wait until the weather warms up to work outside.  That is unless I back it in the garage and work on it there.

Now for Smokey's video of the day.

Only you can prevent forest fires.

How Smokey got his name.

 

Our friends Terry and Carolann gave us this bear.

What are friends for if they can't help you out.
When Smokey was first bought he had an oil leak.  The leak did not seem like much when we ran it parked in the storage lot, until he got out on the road.  And once up to speed there was just enough oil blowing on the exhaust pipe to cause some smoke.................OK plenty of smoke.  So when your wife says to call the RV Smokey, it kind of makes sense.

My nurse graduates

My daughter added some more letters to her name today.  She graduated from a top nursing school with a BSN (bachelors of science in nursing).  Now she can add that to her name after her BS.  So that was the big thing to attend.  Of course we did out WW meeting where I logged in another loss.  Now if I can keep up the loss next week I might get my 40 pound loss. 

We are so proud of our little girl.

And by chance if anyone who wants to go on a shooting spree is reading this, please put yourself first.  Don't waste the gas and time to drive someplace, stay home and shoot yourself first.

The tree is done

So what do you think?????  The tree turned out pretty good huh.

The Oregon State Capitol Tree.

The golden man stands watch over the Christmas tree.

The weather was really nice this afternoon so we took a walk around the Oregon State Capitol.  Last year our friends John and Sue came to stay with us for a couple of days since one of their sons was getting married in town.  And I took them to see the Capitol and listen to one of the local schools choir sing.
I hope they see this and remember their time here.

Last year at the Capitol

First thing this morning I had to make a trip out to Smokey and get the coffee maker.  Seems like the one we have been using in the house did not want to work.  I wonder what the neighbors thought seeing me come in from Smokey with my coffee pot. 

Cleaning the master cylinder area and getting a tree.

A big improvement on the Superchief from the Indian is the see thru brake system master cylinder reservoir.  But like the cooling system overflow tank this plastic was black.  So today I cleaned it up.  Now after cleaning it I still did not see the brake fluid but after checking it was full.  So I guess I should drain some out so I can see the level.

And with the big celebration of Christmas coming we got our Christmas tree today.  We found a tree farm close to us that we used last year and found the perfect tree, hey God didn't make a bad tree, and they shake the loose needles off and I get it bailed and throw it in the wagon.  Last year was the first year for the wagon since I bought it in November.  Did I tell you it was a $300 car that didn't run and I fixed it up.  Hey I'm cheap and enjoy a challenge.  And I did pay $10 for the tree.

I like the shaker and get it bailed.

Looks like a Weight Watchers tree huh.

So now it's time to decorate the tree.  And maybe I will have time to work on Smokey tomorrow........

Fixing some things under the hood

The lower grill was removed by my friend to get to the starting battery.  Seems like Winnebago located this battery behind the front bumper and the easiest way to get it out was to remove the lower grill.

 

So today I bought some new screws, the old ones were rusty, and installed the grill.  I cleaned out the radiator overflow tank.  It looked like there was mud in the bottom and a good cleaning did wonders for the tank.

Kind of makes me want to buy a tractor.
Nothing runs like a Deere.

I also fixed the strap that holds the overflow tank in place.  The bungee cord that was holding it was getting worn out.

The inside hood release has also been bent and twisted so I also adjusted it to work better.

My blow out plug

For those of you that want to see the blow out plug I made, here are some pictures.

Bought at Lowe's

Tapped hole for the 1/4" pipe thread.

Ready to plug and play.

WOW someone is reading my BLOG

Great to see so many people reading this BLOG lately.  Some have wanted to see older posts about where we have been or repairs done to mt RV's.  There is a box at the top left where you can type in something and search the BLOG.
Enjoy some of the Oregon, WA and the very Northern tip of the CA coast where we have traveled.
We do like the Oregon Coast.

Took Smokey for a drive.

With the price of gas down............well not as high as it's been,  I decided to go for a drive.  I pulled one of the spark plugs out and it looked real good so that is one thing I won't think about for awhile.  The plugs look easier to get to than the 440.  And I think this thing is getting shorter as I am not as concerned about driving around town.  Then I took it out on I-5 for a short time.  It sure drives better than my '73 and I shouldn't complain but I wish the CC (cruise control) worked better.  When I put it on it looses about 5MPH and then slows down and finally shuts off. Something else to look into.  I would think it was just a vacuum leak but when I find out and get it fixed I would like it better.  Now after driving Wilbur for all these years I can get by without the CC it just would be nice to have it working.

The water lines are all blown out and the tanks drained.  I think I'm ready for Winter but I really would like some warm weather to seal up the roof better.  Not an big leaks in fact the only leak I seem to have is around the skylight.  

Winterizing and maintenance day. Some timing too.

Oh the weather outside is frightful.  Well really not that bad of a day and I really had some time to check out the whole timing thing and do the weatherizing I wanted to do.
I used my new timing mark on the bottom of the crank balancer and got the timing dialed in, as best as I can do.  The first thing I did was to adjust the choke so the big engine would idle down to what I figure would be a slow idle.  And once I had that set I had my soul mate give me a hand with the gas peddle.  So the mechanical advance seems to be working, and the vacuum advance kicks in where I think it should be too.  With the timing marks in a place that you could never see them I am sure they were never adjusted using those marks.
Something that gave me something to think about was on the carb next to the choke thermostat.

Holley application manual  Figure 5 shows what I am talking about.

Can you see the Choke Fresh air in take to the left of the choke thermostat.  Does that look like something should be connected to it?  Yea I thought so too but I guess not.

Once the idle, choke and timing advance was checked and adjusted I spent time winterizing.
When I was talking with my brother about blowing the water out of the water lines he told me about a fitting he was given that was not some cheap plastic thing but a metal fitting.  So here is what I built.

I don't really like the messy job someone did around the city water connection.  Just another job to do.

It is a garden hose fitting for a quick disconnect system that has been threaded for a 1/4" pipe thread.  Then I used an air tool fitting to connect to the air hose.
Now here is a deal for my loyal readers.  If you bring me the hose fitting I will thread it for FREE.  Yes this is a limited time deal and only if you act now, or at least until I break or loose my tap, then you too can have one of these.
And since the way I would winterize Wilbur was to pull up the garage door and drive it in, this was the first time I have done this.  I drained the fresh water tank, drained the water heater and blew out all the water lines to the sinks, shower and toilet.

I lubed the steps since they have not fully extended a couple of times.  It just might be needing some oil.  And I also spent some time looking at the under side of Smokey.  Boy if I had a nice warm day or two there are plenty of things to check over on a motor home this size.

I just went out and started Smokey.  The choke worked great but still stayed on longer than needed so I adjusted it some more.  Some of the vacuum hoses are hard, so I have been replacing them as I use up all the hose I buy.  But vacuum hose is cheap and easy to work with.  The story of my life, cheap and easy.

The 460 is one big old engine

Who would have ever thought that I needed another online forum to follow.  Now I have been sucked into the 460ford.com world.  What started out as just fixing up another old Bago has lead me down a road of playing with a whole new adventure.  So Smokey is running good, but I have been getting an education in big block Fords.  I do like to know how to fix things I drive and one reason I bought this Bago was because..............OK it was cheap and big.  But it is old enough to be able to work on.  And the 460 Ford boys really like those Big Blocks. 
That's where I am now.  Reading the 460 forum and learning about the engine. 
Today after having coffee with my flying friends, the weather was not good enough for flying, we met up with our daughter for lunch.  She is almost done with here nursing school and getting ready to go to work.  Anyone need a full time nurse?  She did have an interview with a large hospital this morning.
Maybe tomorrow I will have time to play with Smokey and have pictures and info on what I find.
If I get time to check out the timing and see if the vacuum advance and centrifugal advance works, I would feel better that things are working.  I might even get cute and check the TDC of the #1 piston and mark the crank for future use.
That's today's report.

More timing stuff

So today I really didn't do much on Smokey.  I did talk to the local Speed Shop guy about timing marks and he said just find TDC (top dead center) and put a mark on the crank balancer and some kind of pointer to line up with it.  Then you can put the other marks on the balancer to get the different degrees of advance.  So I lined up the original marks and tried my hand at painting a line but the paint went under the tape I used so I didn't take a picture.  Oh well maybe tomorrow I will spend some time on it.  What I really want to see is how the advance works or if it does work.  Then between how it starts hot and how it runs and even how the spark plugs look I should have an idea of how it is running.

And since the weather was clear we took the mustang out for a drive.  With the top down we got plenty of fresh air.  And a night time drive through the Christmas light display will be nice if we have a good night for it.

So keep checking back to see how things progress on the great Smokey fix up.

I adjusted the timing today

After adjusting the timing and taking it for a drive today I think it fixed the warm starting problem and it still runs good.  But there is another trick I read about when the timing marks are hidden.  Someone used a mirror and turned the engine over by hand to where the timing marks line up, and then put some marks somewhere else.  I will look into that another time.

Maybe I can paint a mark on the crank pulley and a mark on the front of the oil pan or above it,  They might even have timing mark pointer I could bolt to the oil pan bolts that would point to the crank pulley.  How about a nice chrome one, OOOHHHHH.


Here is one at Autozone.  Mr. Gasket $4.38
This might just work.

We put up some outdoor Christmas lights since it wasn't raining and I was just thinking about Christmas lights on Smokey.  Maybe I will look into that too.

I give up on the timing light

You would think that an old handyman guy like me would be able to find a way to use a timing light on this big old Ford engine to set the timing but I GIVE UP.  Yes I tried to see the marks by raising up the front end.  That is one nice thing about having power leveling jacks, and I turned the wheels all the way to the right but after looking at what I could remove to be able to see I give up.  I tried to use a mirror and decided that to adjust the timing by seeing how it drives and starts will be good enough.  Some day when I have driven it I will take out some spark plugs and look at them.  That way I should be able to see if it is running good or not.
And then when I finally find my special distributor wrench to loosen the hold down bolt, it doesn't fit.  Yes the bolt is a 1/2" and the wrench is 1/2" but the wrench is too thick to fit between the bolt and the dizzy shaft.  Well I know how to fix that and I grind some off.  Now it fits and I retard the timing some.  So far I haven't taken it for a drive but after running it there is no problem starting it up.
And that's my Sunday.  I did start out by having coffee with my flying friends at the club house and did Subway for lunch because Sophie had a lunch and movie with the girls.  Something about a fu fu place to eat and a sparkly vampire movie that is not my thing.  Give me a greasy cheap old motor home and I am happy.

The 460 and timing the engine

The other day I was looking around the top of the engine wondering what I will ever do if this things breaks down.  So I popped the dizzy (distributor) cap off and looked inside.  Things looked good inside and I was surprised that it was not full of electronics.  Maybe I could fix it if it broke.  It doesn't look like there is a computer to this thing, just electronic ignition.  And I think most of the control stuff is behind the front grill where it is easy to get to.  So take a look at the top side of the power plant.

There are way to many hoses and wires here.
One job I want to do is to check the engine timing.  This is even worse than checking the timing on Wilbur's 440.  One guy I read about used a mirror to see the timing marks.  Now that would be a trick but I am still working on a way to see the marks while the engine is running.
And I did think I broke my toy again, because when I first started it up after looking around at things it idled slower and had a miss.  I changed the dizzy cap and now it runs fine.  I think I might have not had all the plug wires connected good but I put a new cheap dizzy cap on and now have a spare.

The dash heat is fixed and looking at roof repair

The heat control has some wires and vacuum lines plugged into the back of it.  But when I was bolted back into the dash it pulls the vacuum lines out.  So now it works but I still want to make sure the lines don't pull out when it is in place.
And today I looked into the roof around the shower sky light.  Most of the roof is really good but the sky light area needs some work.

I wasn't sure that there was a 2 piece skylight but it has a inner piece that I removed.  Then the plan is to pull out some of the foam and wood, slide in some new stuff and it should be all better.  That is if it ever gets warm enough to put some Snow Roof on.  This roof should turn out much better than Wilbur's complete tear off and replace.

The dash heat problem

On our trip to Eugene we had an issue with the dash heater where we had plenty of heat out the defroster vents but not so much heat out of the bottom of the dash.  Well Sophie said she had good heat but my side was not so hot, so to speak.  And today I looked around under the dash and found that a connector on the back of the heat control that had several small air lines on it would disconnect when I pushed the controller back in the dash.  That might be the problem but I will have to try it out tomorrow or whenever I get time and motivation.
I'm not sure about some of the stuff under the dash like this box I found.

Yea the last thing I need is some car alarm going off in the middle of the night.......and it's in my motor home.

I am really starting to like Smokey

We have been talking about the outing we just did.  And all of the room we have was nice.
So today I have not even been in Smokey but I have spent plenty of time looking into things I want to do.  the first thing is to check the timing of the engine because I think it might be advanced to much.  When starting it warm is doesn't want to turn over.  Most of the time I just kick in the coach batteries and it starts fine, but not the way I think it should work.

And then the cruise control/heater problem.  I have read about the defrosters on all the time when their is a loss of vacuum.  Well when the weather warms up and I feel like it I just might look into it.
Maybe I will go out now or after supper and look around the engine for awhile looking for loose or missing vacuum lines.

The first outing with Smokey is over.

This morning we got up and watched TV while enjoying all the room we now have with Smokey.  The stuff we really are enjoying is the fridge that is big and the water heater.  I never had a water heater that my wife could handle and with the hose hooked up, which is something I never had before either, we seem to have an endless supply of hot water.

Good looking rugs for $5.00?

We decided to stop by Home Depot and look at window blinds and carpet.  We have decided on using blinds, like Wilbur has, on the dinning room window where the covering is gone.  And then we found a deal on some throw rugs on clearance.  So we stocked up with rugs and have plenty of those all around.
After checking in with the Elks Lodge and paying our $15.00 a night we had lunch and packed up for our trip home.  Oh and I got to use the dump station.  Now this is really living large.  The one hose is connected in the "wet bay" and without even bending over to look under the coach you pull one handle for each tank and it's all done.  There is a faucet in the wet bay for cleaning up and even a hose connection on the black tank to flush it out.
I did have a comment to the Elks with their electric boxes.  They just replaced the power boxes with a small box like used on the side of a house for a 15Amp receptacle with a flip up cover.  And my new 30Amp plug would not even come close to fitting in the box.  I ended up buying a 30Amp extension cord and that would just barely fit in the box.
The trip home went just fine.  I think their might be a vacuum leak because the cruise control works sort of and the heater does not switch from defrost to heat.  All the heat and air comes out the defrost vents and not so much out the bottom of the dash.  Always something to do along with our long list we worked on this weekend.

Nice looking dash.......except for the red light that I don't know what it's for.

 We drove 150 miles with NO SMOKING either.

Spending the day in Eugene with Smokey

The first outing with a new RV must be special, but I will probably never know since I only buy old RV's, LOL.  But we have always enjoyed Eugene and today was no different.  The sun did come out today and we took a 2 mile walk along the Mackenzie River starting at the Valley River Center.  Anyplace with a Macy's store is good for Sophie.
Yesterday we were the only RV at the Elks  until about 7:30 when a diesel pusher arrived.  Something they changed here at the Elks is new electric plug in boxes.  I do remember the old ones which are mounted on the back wall of the Elks were hanging loose, so they needed work.  But the new boxes are the size of a residential 20amp outside receptacle with a cover on them.  I could not even plug my new connector in because there was not enough room to fit it in the box. 
Anyway the guy who came in after dark had a 50Amp cord and his 30Amp adapter had not been used for several years and his old plug just bent the prongs as he tried to pound them together.  I did go out with my big flash light and try to help him but we never got him plugged in.  No 50Amp plugs here, and the water has only one faucet with a 4 way splitter.  Not so great but I will try the dump station out tomorrow when we leave. 

Well we had plenty of room for our use.

The first outing with Smokey

We decided to give Smokey a try out on the road so we headed to Eugene.  It was about 2:30 when I filled up at the gas station and came home to hook up the wagon.  I was smelling a little gas as we packed up and then when I looked under Smokey and saw a wet spot on the gas line back close to the gas tank.  It looked like someone spliced the gas line with a short piece of tubing and the connection was wet.  So I figured I should put a gas filter in place of the tubing.  I put my coveralls on and slid under with a new filter, some rubber gas line and all the tools needed.  Well if the gas tank wasn't so full I probably wouldn't have leaked so much gas but it ran down my arm until I got both ends of the gas line connected.  Well since I was home I hopped in the shower and left all the gas soaked clothes in the garage.
Once we hit the road everything was good,  well OK anyway.  Our list of things to buy and fix is getting longer by the minute but right now we are full, warm and dry and watching an Elvis movie and reading the newspaper.
Maybe tomorrow I will post what we have got done and bought.
It's time to kick back and figure out our new bedroom.
We drove about 75 miles today.

I'm out of storage space.

No not in Smokey but in my Blog picture storage.
So now I have gotten rid of some of those pictures so I can bring you more pictures.

The plan is to take Smokey on a little trip tomorrow.  Maybe to Eugene for a couple of nights.  But before my wife will agree to that, we need to clean out the fridge, stove and bathroom.  That would be to re-clean those things.
I took care of the engine air cleaner intake.

This was the intake that was behind the radiator.

It should have gone up and over the radiator but seems to have broken where it bolted to something.

I replaced the old part with this clothes drier hose.

Attached to the grill.

And then when I went to hook up the lights that I put on the wagon when I tow it and there was a problem.

The plastic part bent with the heat of the bulb and then no lights.

 So I bought the new parts for the lights and I installed them.  Lets hope they work.  I have a 50 50 chance of getting the wires right because they are both black on the new parts.  I will check them out tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving !!!!!

Yes another Thanksgiving day. I was watching the young family across the street rush off to their family feast at a relatives house and thought about those days with young kids.  My kids are all grown up, I guess.  Anyway they will be coming over today for lunch and I will go pick up my dad and bring him over too.  Kind of makes me think of the loss of parents and friends who have passed away.  Time is winding down for all of us so get out there and enjoy what you can where you can. The extra leafs have been put in the table and more chairs put around it.

Back to the RV stuff.  I have been having an electric heater running in Smokey off and on since I shampooed the carpet a few days ago.  Seems like if I could wait until warm weather it would dry real quick but I can't wait until then. 
I stopped by the Salem Elks lodge yesterday and looked at their storage area.  But when I talked with the camp host there are no storage area parking left.  Oh well I like it in the drive way too. 

And have you been getting all the E-mails to shop online today.  Wow if there was only something I wanted to buy.  Everything from RV stuff to RC stuff.  Now that's a lot of toys to look at.

The day before Thanksgiving

Sure we needed to stop by the grocery store for a few things but also for some RV stuff, right.  Yes I bought a water filter, pressure regulator and a 90 degree angle fitting for the side water hose connection.  After trying to decide if I should use a filter or not, what kind of filter and the whole pressure regulator thing I just went to Walmart and bought what they have.  On Wilbur I put a screen on the water pump just to keep the rust from the old steel water tanks out of the pump.   Oh all the tings on these new fangled RV's.
Then I decided to check out my water pump for leaks and there was a drip on it so after using some teflon tape on the fittings I think it is sealed up good. 
Here is the filter http://www.walmart.com/ip/Camco-Water-Filter-2-Pack/14504322

And the pressure regulator http://www.walmart.com/ip/Camco-Brass-Water-Regulator/14504323

And the angle connector http://www.walmart.com/ip/Camco-90-Brass-Hose-Elbow/14504298

And while at the local Fred Meyer store we met several friends and relatives.  Seems like I could spend lots of time just visiting at the store but everyone has things to do and things to cook and eat.

I even spent some time trying the key in every storage compartment lock to see if they work.  Boy is that a lot of locks.  And what do people put in all the bays????  I guess I will find out soon.  Probably before I weigh the whole thing.

Smokey is almost ready to go

Well if you know what I mean by being ready to go take a look at this picture.

 You can see the package on the counter.

And I did some more cleaning of the carpet and some upholstery.   Will this weather ever dry up for more than a few minutes?

It really is ready to go except for the weather.  Sure would be nice to have a little sun and drier weather.  Maybe after Turkey day we will head down the road. 

What a wet and windy day

The roof leaks, but not so much when it is parked in the driveway and not level.  I tried parking level but boy did the shower have a drip, and then not so much when just parked with the drivers side lower than the passenger side.  So that's the way it will be parked until the roof is fixed.

I did spend some time just hanging out in Smokey today.  We decided to shampoo the house carpet and several chairs, so while waiting for that stuff to dry we just fired up the heat and gen set and enjoyed a wet and windy day inside Smokey.  But while running the gen set I heard something like a dog barking outside only to find that the cooling fan in the power center is making noise.  Looks like something else for my to do list.
And in the morning I just might use the carpet cleaner on Smokey.  Oh I know that I did clean the carpet and seats once but if you had seen how dirty things were you would know why I need to do some more cleaning.

UGH My roof leaks

Yea the roof still has a leak but most of it is in the shower.  The big repair I did today was install an aerator in the kitchen faucet.  And it works just fine too.
And I know the red light on the dash was out when I looked at it this morning.  But now when I went out to look at it again it was on.   So what is this stupid light for anyway?????????????????

I am  missing the dining room window blinds and have been looking at what to use.  Maybe I should replace more than just the one window or try to match the others with one new one.

Here is what one guy uses.  http://www.rv-boondocking-the-good-life.com/rvwindowblinds.html


Someone just posted a comment on my you tube video 100,000 mile Winnebago and that got me thinking that Smokey will turn over that magical number before long.  I wonder when or where that will happen.  I guess we will have to wait and see.