Stove Tech

Like most RVs lil' yeti has a propane stove. No oven, just two burners that strike a nice balance. Gas burners get my large skillet hot enough to fry! Yet the flame can be turned low to gently simmer. LP cooking works especially well for off-grid boondocking. Built in means always ready for travel. Plus self defense of counter space in such a tiny space. It's a keeper.

That said, it's not perfect. Burning any fuel makes heat of course. In hot weather, I'm sometimes reluctant to cook inside and opt for cold supper instead. Of course proper ventilation is a must. Exhaust fumes are mainly carbon dioxide and water vapor (like we exhale). So long as the flame stays blue it's safe. Still, extra moisture can become a problem in some climates. So there's room for improvement.

November Hikes

The last two mornings before leaving Sevilleta refuge I hiked their 3.7 mile Mesa View loop trail. Going clockwise I found it initially strenuous climbing the steep steps early. Then gradually following the canyons and dry washes back down. Both mornings I was able to enjoy some nice sunrise color. I hear tell that in the desert it's dust on the horizon that regularly makes sunrises and sunsets so pretty.

Dirty Data

For the remodel I expected lil' yeti would weigh enough to warrant the heavier axle. And that everything in my truck would justify new air springs. The way to be sure of course was to weigh 'em. Easy, right? Just drive the truck onto a scale to get its weight. Then park the trailer on the scale for its weight. Two readings.

Too simple? I wanted to know more. How was my truck's weight distributed between the front and rear axles? How much camper weight was on its tongue versus axle? How much the hitch weight of the trailer changed my truck axle weights? How much margin remained? Does anything need to go on a diet? Lotsa questions.

Entrance Sign

This fall/winter I'm volunteering at Sevilleta (seh-vee-et-ah) National Wildlife Refuge near Socorro NM. My first project was to finish the new entrance sign. With a deadline. Before an open house type event called Celebrate Sevilleta.

It's a big deal for the public since this particular refuge is mostly off limits to the public. Research is a primary focus. There's a UNM Field Station with housing that's bigger than the refuge headquarters and volunteer village (my home). There are more off-site organizations that access refuge property for their projects. Sevilleta is over a quarter million acres BTW.

Thermostat & Heater

When I installed an air conditioner in lil' yeti this summer, the short goal was to get it working. The window AC unit had the typical built in thermostat. But those knobs with their number scales are not obvious to tune. Nor well calibrated.

No worries though. My longer goal was a proper wall thermostat. With digital precision and large numbers that're easy to read. Just set the desired temperature and forgetaboutit. I just wasn't impressed with local store offerings. I specifically wanted a simple, non programmable model. Thank goodness for online shopping.

Stovetop Baking

Cast iron cooking is hard to beat. Over the years I've enjoyed some good meals eating out of a dutch oven. Once upon a time. Before Red Lobster started selling their famous garlic-cheddar biscuits as a box mix in grocery stores. I got the hankering bad enough to try flattering their recipe through imitation.

While not quite as good they were good enough to clear that pan in one sitting. Of course I've been known to pack away too many of the real thing in my hollow leg as a special treat once in a while. Hey, when they say all things in moderation, ya think that includes gluttony? LOL

Another hankering that sometimes needs feeding is pizza. I'm especially fond of deep dish style. There's nothing like sinking your teeth into thick, chewy crust.

Rest Area Closed

I paused the Scamp remodel for road testing. First back to CO. Then out to MA. And back again. You know, I've noticed a trend. Since hitting the road in 2011 more highway rest areas are closed. Apparently states have budget problems and something had to give.

CT has an interesting approach. Rather than shut 'em down completely, they cut back hours that buildings are open for travelers.

Eclipse Pix

I hope you got to enjoy the eclipse on Monday. I was in northwest CO. Just outside the path of totality. The sky was clear. Many people couldn't tell anything was happening. One neighbor saw me peering up through my weld hood near the end and came out to ask when it was gonna start. Fortunately, he got a peak before it was too late.

Unfortuantely, the old weld glass was so badly scratched that it just smeared camera images. However, Nature provided endless pinholes. Just stand under a tree and look down.

Window Shades

Window treatments for this old Scamp posed a challenge. The front and rear windows are fixed. They don't open. They're curved plexiglass with rounded corners and a black rubber seal all around. That edge seal is thin so they're pretty flush both inside and out.

By contrast the side windows are jalousie with two flat, glass panels that crank open. Silver aluminum frames are about 1-1/4" thick to accommodate the crank mechanism. While pretty flush to the shell on the outside all that frame thickness protrudes inside. The crank windows also have square corners.

Could the end and side windows be any more different from each other? Forget matching shades. The front and rear windows got mini blinds. The windows slope with the walls. Guides on each side keep the blinds hugging the wall instead of dangling free.

Cabinet Doors

The cabinet doors are sorta shaker style. Inset panels are plain lauan. The frames were made from Douglas fir. Tongue and groove joints assured good corners. Pocket screws enabled dry assembly until eventual paint or varnish. That depends how everything looks together at that point.

Scott helped by making the doors. I generally prefer doing things myself. That said, outsourcing door fab was a good call. He not only did a great job, I learned a lot by letting him do things his way, and observing.

A lot of care went into the size and placement of all doors. As planned the potty is still accessible with the bed fully extended. There's not much room to spare, so I best stay skinny.

Counter Tops

Maybe the front counter was trying to tell me something. It wasn't very cooperative. First the plywood was warped. I straightened that. Then came the edging. I added bottom lips for thicker edges. When I started routing the finished edge the follower bearing on my router bit came off.

Fortunately, the little parts (bolt, washer and bearing) didn't go far. And I caught it quickly so the damage wasn't that bad. Just a setback. Between filler wood, glue, staples, wood putty and sanding, that boo boo was fixed.

Air Conditioner

Air conditioning's a requirement for my Scamp remodel. The conventional RV solution is a rooftop unit. My roof isn't nearly strong enough for that much weight. It could be strengthened but I prefer a clean roofline. They're kinda spendy too. And overkill capacity for such a small space. No thanks.

In upscale motorhomes, residential heat pumps are more popular. While appropriate for that application it's not for my project. But a residential window AC unit is perfect. They're a stock appliance in stores all over the country. Much easier on the wallet. 5,000 btus is plenty of capacity. Most brands use similar dimensions. Not standardized for interchangeability but close enough should the need arise some day.

Location wise I considered many options. Eventually deciding to

Kama Sutra

Just kidding about the title. Although this post intimately involves a bed. Albeit small cozy it was designed to be enjoyed by a couple. Plus it's a couch with storage underneath. One would expect a number of positions to be involved. I'll park the metaphor there to keep this post family friendly.

I expect to use the upright mode most. The seat is level. Back lean is 15 degrees. Good posture for sitting at the table (future development) to eat, write, use laptop. The level 24" seat's good for napping as well.

That's the most

Drainage

Carly Simon has a version of Coming Around Again that's a medley with Itsy Bitsy Spider. It always makes me smile when the chorus of children start singing the nursery rhyme.

For some reason

Cupboards

Having base cabinets and counter tops in place laid a foundation to build cupboards. I started on the long, curb side over the couch. To define a reference edge a temporary 2x4 was clamped in place.

For make shift scaffolding, pipe clamps served well without any mind of their own. Clamping helped tweak position and orientation, up, down, in, out, back and forth, until it was right. Right meaning (1) level to the floor (2) at the desired height and (3) parallel to the center line. Clamps had one job only: to not move, which they did admirably.

From that reference edge a 1x2 ceiling strip was first placed directly above it. The handy bubble level app on my phone said to bevel the top 6 degrees. Temporary braces held it in position so it could be screwed in place to dry check alignment.

More clamps were added to support a 1x2 wall strip. My phone

Shelves & Counters

With the base cabinets framed I could start fitting counter tops. That's when I hit a snag. I knew the 1/2" plywood I got was somewhat warped. Yet I hoped it would suck down flat enough to the cabinets. Especially after cutting a hole for the sink. Thereby weakening both edges of that corner. Nope. Test fitting the sink I discovered that corner curl was too much.

Some folks would just

Couch Bed

The new layout for my old Scamp includes a couch that converts to a bed along the road side wall. Once that became a requirement the project was a slippery slope. Extensive frame and shell mods. Completely rebuilding the door with better hinges and latch. But it was worth weeks of prep work that yielded excellent bones and a clean slate.

I started the new interior by first prototyping a simple base for the couch bed. The cushions were left over from converting Loretta's motorhome dinette to a drop leaf table with real chairs. I saved the cushions because they were good quality and condition. Pleasant colors too. They form a bed 38" x 76" so basically a twin. As a bonus they were cleverly made 2:1 aspect ratio so they could be configured multiple ways. In couch mode the arched seat backs seem kinda made for curved shell aesthetics I think.

The working part of the couch bed is 1/2" plywood with a 6' piano hinge. In couch mode I played with

Cabinets

My old Scamp makeover involved a number of requirements. One was a real closet. Not real wide. But deep enough to use adult hangers. My new layout's space budget provided just enough space: 1' wide x 2' deep x 4' high. Plus a little shelf above the hanger bar for hats, gloves, whatever. Location wise, right next to the door's ideal. Not that you can get many steps from the door inside such a tiny camper. Here's the closet framework.

Shell curvature made carpentry challenging. The only

Door Mods

Scamps are nice little campers. But their Achilles heel is the door. Some folks never have any problems. Others have alignment issues ranging from not sealing well (drafts, leaks) to popping itself open going down the road. The hinges are clever but not durable. The latch and pin lock is just, well, rinky dink. My door had a crank window. Opened more than a couple inches it hit the shell. It didn't break the window but did nick its hide. My door rebuild addresses these issues.

As a test the worn out hinges were recently replaced. I happened to have a new pair of factory hinges. The design is actually kinda clever. Because the door is so curved the hinge bolts are not inline like house doors. Instead, a brass ball allows each hinge arm to rotate off axis as the door swings open and closed. Of course rotation causes wear.

For test purposes I didn't install them that way. Instead, they were shimmed more vertical using washers. While not perfect the two hinges were better aligned with each other. That reduced ball rotation noticeably. Which in turn reduces wear. A step in the right direction.

Ideal shims under each hinge should

Glassed & Gutted

With the frame reworked the Scamp was ready for renovation. This project is a complete makeover. Mine was the typical layout originally. The rear dinette table dropped down into a bed. The front couch back raised into an upper bunk. The seat bottom becoming the lower bunk.

There was a

OH!

We all have our addictions. For better or worse. Chocolate and peanut butter are two of my guilty pleasures. Little Debbie has known this for years. Since Junior High she's had my number with Nutty Bars. Although the name quietly changed to Nutty Buddy somewhere along the way.

No matter. They're still good. Tasting anyway. Especially if

Frame Off

Hard to believe it's already been nearly four years since I bought this Scamp. Over that time I've had many thoughts and ideas regarding how I wanted to fix it up. Last week I took action. The first step was jacking up the shell and pulling out the frame.

Last summer I replaced the

Attention Please

My truck has been getting some much deserved attention lately. Earlier this year I did some brake work in NM and AZ. Those stop gap measures got me down the road and bought some time.

Last week I made a longer pit stop in KY. First I replaced the OEM front rotors with drilled and slotted discs.

They're supposed to

Pesky Trees

Trees were on my list of chores at my house this summer. Every year I do some trimming here or there. This spring I expected to cut down a silver maple in the front yard. It was previously infested with carpenter ants. It poses eventual damage threats to both the garage and power lines feeding the house.

I had planned to fell it a few weeks earlier this season. Before it budded. That makes the job easier in several respects. Especially clean up. I even tooled up with a bigger saw for the job. However, my schedule slipped. When I arrived this spring it was already leafing out. Which turned out to be fortuitous. Because it looks healthier than expected. I hate to remove trees undeserving of the axe. So its fate was spared. Another year anyway.

Over the winter two

Wireless Thermometers

Wireless thermometers are great. To monitor outside temperature, just place the transmitter outside and watch readings on the receiver inside. While that's the typical use case, they can also be used to monitor the temperature inside a refrigerator. Without opening the door! For RV use that's particularly appealing.

I've been using

Wiper Blades

The windshield wipers on Loretta's motorhome have been a hassle. It's 1995 GM chassis sported old school wipers. Back in the day you replaced the squeegee part with refills. The arms were permanent. During recent travels, however, we found that availability of refills varied between slim and none. What to do.

A couple years ago she actually found some. The length was correct. Width and depth of the grooves was close enough. Nothing a little splaying and pinching couldn't solve. Then one of them lost it's keeper while driving in rain one day. The squeegee tried escaping but we stopped in time to recapture it. A small zip tie solved that problem. And the fix was repeated on the other side a while later. Otherwise, they worked.

Until they started degrading. Last time we tried

Brake Even

At 15 years and 180k miles I figure my truck is just about middle age now. I bought it used at 6 years with only 24k miles on the clock. While easy miles rate wise its first 8 years were spent in snow and salt winters. Since then I've been winterizing my RV by parking by a palm tree, catus, or both.

Before hitting the road in 2011. Moreover, before saying goodbye to my garage and work shop. My truck got a good once over, including new front brakes. At the time I noticed that the parking brake mechanism was seized from rust. But local auto parts stores at the time couldn't seem to get the parts needed to fix it. I rarely used the parking brake anyway. So time passed.

A couple summers ago I noticed a minor problem developing. There was

It Takes Two

Recently I've reminded a number of people in my life of a sturdy ole saying. It takes two. Typically in the context of relationships. Not that I'm an expert. The hilarity of that thought practically brought tears to my eyes from painful belly laughs. Nope.

I have developed listening skills though. Chalk it up to years of being the quiet, thoughtful guy in the room. Mostly I just stayed out of the fray. Not competing with those dominating. Taking that bait often just jacked me up unnecessarily. Which wore me down faster. So I listened.

What I learned, and discovered I was pretty good at actually, was

Service Manuals

I have some fond memories of doing my first mechanic work on my own vehicle. Back in the day it was a thing. One could check her fluids. Or rebuild his engine. It helped to have a good place to work. And the right tools. As for the knowledge to tackle such a job? One could usually rely on the good folks at Chilton to save the day. Chilton Manuals were generally known for step by step directions. Good photos and illustrations. Key tech data. From wrench selection to torque specs. It was all there for the curious minded doityourselfer or wannabe.

Do people even work on their own vehicles anymore? Are Chilton Manuals still alive and well? I was pleasantly surprised to recently find some public library shelves packed with a large selection of Chilton Manuals.

Scanning their spines they're more relics (er, vintage) than late models represented. I'm not sure what it says about the community of Craig CO. But on a cold winter day. With frozen white stuff outside. And the brain chilling task of income taxes to battle. It warmed my heart a little just looking at them.

Green Chili Cheeseburger

Hard to believe it's been five (going on six) years since I made full time RVing a lifestyle. While some say time flies, for me it rolls. Living on wheels provides me the ultimate control for adapting to climate change (mostly seasonal). It's true. One of the best ways to winterize my RV is parking it by a cactus, palm tree, or both. Life is good? Truly.

For the past six winters I aimed southwest. It's been a treat to enjoy some local fare along the way. If the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, then NM green chilies got that memo. Yet I somehow managed to keep missing opportunities to indulge in the ubiquitous green chili cheeseburger. Last week that became more of a goal.

On my way north from El Paso towards Albuquerque I followed the Rio Grande River. That took me through Hatch, NM. Sparky's is an iconic Route 66 burger joint. I had an inside tip that their GCC would be worth the stop. The good news was timing my arrival around noon. No better time for lunch. The bad news was I arrived on Wednesday. They were closed. Dry swallowing my tummy grumbling disappointment, I settled for

Vrump vrump

You know those rumble strips that're sorta stamped into paved roads? The ones that go vrump, vrump when you drive over them. That noise is characteristic, isn't it? Immediately recognizable. Which is good for safety, I think. They can instantly alert you if you start to drift out of your lane, for example. Or give useful cues to an upcoming intersection. Not a bad idea.

That noise, however. It isn't exactly melodic, is it? Have you ever wondered what other sounds rumble strips might be able to make? Perhaps something more pleasant? Well, wonder no more. There's a short section of old Route 66 near Albuquerque NM that answers the question.

The sound is kinda weak so you may have to max out your volume, and squint your ear balls, to hear it. My ABQ friends said National Geographic just did this project a few years ago. It may be one of very few in the country. I'll leave that research as homework (for either of my followers) to learn "the rest of the story" as Paul Harvey used to say.

Cool Heat

I've long been fascinated by deserts. Growing up in MI they were foreign to my realm of experience. The whole environment seemed as alien to me as the Moon. In school I learned more than nothing about desert life. Plants and animals somehow made a living in what seemed a brutal climate. Scorching days. Freezing nights. Scarce water. I didn't quite get it. Not fully. But I was curious.

I started experiencing the desert well into adulthood. First, a motorcycle trip to AZ to visit friends. Later, some business trips to NM. I guess the more I saw of - and learned about - the southwest, the more intrigued I became. Once I started full time RVing, my first three winters I aimed for desert.

Frugality helped me embrace desert life. Being stingy with water proved

Appearances Matter

So I had an interesting encounter today. I'd just come off the hiking trail. I was tired and hungry. As I pulled into my reserved campsite I saw that it was occupied. One tent, one Prius, and three young ladies.

They all conferred quickly amongst themselves as I pulled in. "Hello" they greeted. I reciprocated. I let all our best smiles play on all our faces for a few beats. "I think one of us might be in the wrong campsite" I said. "That's entirely possible" one of them replied. So I let that hang.

It didn't take long. "We were wondering if maybe we could

Laguna Closure

When I wrote up the Bin Shader it wasn't quite done. I added smooth trim to the front edge and painted it yellow. Hopefully to keep folks from bonking their noggins. At least not leaving a mark for those hapless noggin bonkers out there. You're welcome in advance, BTW.

But I still wasn't done. Saturday afternoon I was

Frankenbike

Bicycles have long played a role in my life. Growing up in MI we had full up winters with plenty of snow and ice. Peddling season was spring to fall, minus rain. One summer that really mattered to me. The street I grew up on was originally unpaved. This particular summer the town installed sewer. Which was good because everyone hooked up and retired their septic systems. The downside was construction work to lay the pipes. Our gravel road turned into a clay mess. Horribly muddy when it rained.

Did I mention it was a

Ken's Hitch

Some new neighbors at Laguna this winter are Ken and Bonnie. They arrived during the week of Christmas while I spent some days in FL. Before returning I had an unplanned detour to CO to deal with storm damage. When I returned to south TX two more couples had rolled in. Plus another couple with the new year shortly thereafter. The refuge was ramping up for the busy season.

We have eleven RV sites in our volunteer village. Of which eight are now occupied. The neighborhood is really bustling with activity. Especially on weekend firearm hunts when our volunteer outpost (community building) doubles as a check station for harvested game. Our schedules are staggered throughout the week, three days each. There's always something going on. Especially when your reputation precedes you.

When Ken found out I was

Bin Shader

One of my winter projects at Laguna was a shade shelter. Outside the visitor center they had two bins for trash and recycling. To keep critters out they ordered a BearSaver - Hid-A-Bag Double Combo Trash/Recycling Enclosure. Brown was the obvious color choice to blend with fences, signs, etc. Except, as it turned out, on hot summer days solar gain made the handles too hot to touch. Ouch!

The lead ranger, Marion asked me to make something to shade the bins. I worked through several designs. The assistant refuge manager, Leo wanted a canopy of sorts. Using Google Sketchup plus local coordinates (lat, long) helped with requirements gathering. I modeled different sizes and shapes. Then played with "time of day" and "day of year" sliders to understand where shadows fell.

Prototyping on computer was extremely useful. The cost was several days. Much cheaper to iterate on screen than build anything. Plus winter's the wrong time of year for testing. So computer simulation was very helpful. We quickly understood what would and what would not work well. For example, a canopy tall enough to walk under would require a pretty wide roof. Probably west side walls as well to effectively provide shade from mid to late summer, noon to mid afternoon. Even sitting on open fence with lattice for the side wall it was too obtrusive.

So I focused on

Kidney Pond

One of my projects at Laguna Refuge was restoring a scenic viewpoint at Kidney Pond. The area had been let go for some years. Trees choked the view of the pond.

During heavy rains the saturated ground had

Deer Friends

One reason I enjoy resident volunteering on public lands is living in a more natural world. Wildlife is usually close by. Sometimes they come to me. This morning it was 31F - cold for tropical south TX. While savoring fresh hot coffee and watching the wind rustle through the trees in my back yard at Laguna Refuge a couple of deer made an appearance just outside my window. Here's a short video from my phone camera.

Southern whitetail deer are small - maybe half the

Segway

I'm currently a resident volunteer at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in South Texas. (Way down near Brownsville.) One of my projects was a new ramp outside the visitor center. The old one was made of wood and decaying from weather and rodent damage. Instead of just rebuilding it I poured a sloped concrete pad that functions identically but is now pretty much weather and rodent proof.

I shared that project on Facebook a couple months ago. In my post I described it as a wheelchair ramp. Because that's what refuge staff called it. I suppose accessibility ramp might be more appropriate language but I think fewer people immediately understand what that word means. It's also longer with more syllables and humans can be lazy so I suppose that's why calling it a wheelchair ramp stuck.

One of the comments I got on that post was from a cousin who

Happy 2017

With 2016 in the rear view mirror, it's time for a new year. I'm starting off 2017 with a new blog.