Lessons Learned - Frozen Pipes etc

I am guessing it is or has cold where you are if you are in the upper half of the country.
And it has been cold here too in Virginia Beach.  Here's my account going back and forth between thinking about things and what I did in our most recent episode.

Since we are here, I want to learn how to do this cold-weather-camping smartly.  I want to learn to adapt and live in the cold weather if we have to.  We will be here for at least a couple more months through the coldest part of the winter.

Here is what I am learning about living in our motorhome in freezing weather.
- First thing we want to do is get our mind right.  Think through it for a minute.
-- It helps to have a good attitude.  Complaining, whining and all that doesn't help things.
-- I need to remember, this is camping.  Camping is inconvenient at times.
-- The rewards outweigh the hassles.  (It does for us and just adds to the adventure...if that's the right word to use.)

- I take the position that we have a lot to learn and I will probably make some mistakes.  Despite our best efforts, some things may not work.
- Even I try to do the right thing, I may not quite get it right.

My mistake(s) from a few weeks ago?

I have two mechanic lights in the wet bay, but when I pulled out the tray with the ladder in it. In the process the electrical extension cord came loose.  It was plugged into my inverter outlet in the front bay and threaded through stuff to the wet bay.  But I did not think to go back to the wet bay and ensure that both lights were on.  When I looked at things after it became evident that things were frozen, I saw my mistake.  My extension cord was unplugged.

Other things I try to tell myself:
-When I think of something else that can be done - do it ASAP
Pam suggested I take one of our small ceramic heaters and put it in the wet bay.  I did that in the darkness of the morning shortly about 6 AM.  The sooner I get heat blasting onto the water pump, the plastic pipes and the area, the better.
-Since I inadvertently disconnected the extension cord that was threaded underneath through the bays I found another solution.
I decided to use the 30 amp circuit on the pedestal for the extension cord.

I needed a 110 adapter and then made sure the heater and lights in the wet bay were on.

- We also looked at the water pipe and faucet coming out of the ground and with the help of the Camp Host, we wrapped it up with a heated cover, plus a blanket, along with a small tarp.

That seemed to work pretty good.
- I picked up some home building blue insulation a few weeks back and decided to try to tape it around the wet bay pan.

It is not pretty, but seems to do the job.

One thing I find useful is thinking through things and taking it to the logical conclusion.  I ask myself, 'What's the worst that could happen?"  Frozen pipes.  Frozen tank.  Repairs.  $$$.

- Not sure what we'd do with frozen pipes but that can be fixed.  We'd figure it out.  We'd find out where the leaks are and see if we could replace them ourself.  If not, we'd find a motorhome repair shop and take in.
- Same thing with a cracked or broken water tank.
- Or a cracked shut off valve from the clear water tank.

Yikes!  That is exactly what we ended up with -- A cracked shutoff valve.

Once I determined we had no water coming from the hose, we traced the issue back to a frozen pipe near the reel.  I thought some how it would help things to get water flowing through the clear water tank think some of it might flow into the pipes and maybe melt some of the ice.  So I tried to drain the clear water tank a bit.  Instead, though I thought I was turning it very easy, I somehow managed to break/crack it.

When I put the knob back into the shut position it still trickled out and I knew I had a problem.  I shut it back off and used duct tape to hold it in place before it completely broke.  And it water wasn't surging out of there at the moment.

Next, I did some research on shut off valves for RVs.  After a few phone calls to Tiffin, a local dealer and visiting Home Depot, I learned I could replace the ball shutoff valve with a standard one from Home Depot.

I also learned:
- Use PVC not CPVC for the extension of pipe going from the bottom of the shutoff valve through the floor of the Wet Bay pan.
- Get PVC not CPVC glue.  The purple cleaner/prep is the same but you want to use the correct glue.
- Pay attention to the outside temperature.  It was 38 degrees when I was making my repair and the glue (the wrong CPVC kind I had, wasn't going on too well.)

But I was committed at that point and used it anyway.
- If mostly worked.  A 95% solution. I had a very very slight amount of water drops coming out.  I used 'Rescue Tape' for that and wrapped it up tightly.  No water leaks.

When it gets warmer I will probably re-do the glue and pipe extension.

For now it doesn't leak and we are in good.  We filled up the water tank again and have plenty if it gets really cold again and we need to shutoff the outside faucet.  I don't envision that happening again since we have the heated hose wrap working well and the faucet covered up.

Another series of lessons learned and no leaks.  In cold weather.

Roadrunner Reflections: Fulltiming 2 Years

It has gone by very quickly but at the same time it feels like we have been doing this for 20 years.  We still look forward to seeing more and meeting more people and trying new things.  We get to go places that are fantastic and sleep in our own beds every night.  So far full-timing has been one of the best choices we have ever made.

Our second year began the end of May 2010 and ended the first part of June 2011.
In May 2010 we were at Haas Lake RV Park in Novi, Michigan.

Later, we spent time in Ontario, Canada

And in July were near the Niagara Falls

In late summer we were on the white beaches of Florida

And Virginia Beach,

And in the snow of Virginia Beach (in December!)

And then we saw canyons of Big Bend in March

And the streets of Old Tombstone in April

And here we are in Spokane, WA.

We are still loving the life style and are learning lots.

• Recently we have learned how much we like the beauty and countryside of Utah and Montana.  Both are completely diffent but we love it.   
• Another thing I have learned recently is how to drive through mountains with using the foot brakes.  By downshifting and using the the 'jake brake', I am able to save the brakes going through 6% down grades.

Over the last year, we recognize that the RV spot where we stay is not as important as we thought it was going to be.  For example, we stayed in Tucson at the Davis-Monthan AFB where the campsites are pretty close together.  But we spend most of our time inside.  The only thing that ruins it for me are noisy neighbors or yapping dogs.  So far, we have had very little of either.

We like the way the inside of our motorhome is set up and it is not a big deal if we are in a crowded campsite or in a 'basic' campground.  I would rate the Santa Fe Rodeo grounds and the Kirtland AFB FamCamp as 'basic' yet we had a great time in both places.

When we dreamed about our future days of full-timing, we thought we would overnight more at WalMart and truckstops ~ but we usually pull into a decent RV camp instead.  Something about 50 amp hookup for heat and air conditioning.  We also thought we would do more dry camping (boondocking) with no hookups, but we haven't.  We didn't do any of that in Year 2.  We don't mind being without for a few days, but it is not something we are driven to do.

We have found our niche in volunteering with Habitat for Humanity and NOMADS.
- Habitat for Humanity at each city (affiliate) varies.  Each is run by there own board of directors and volunteer help.  Our favorites so far

• South Hampton Roads (Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Virginia Area)
• Tucson, Arizona
• Santa Fe, NM
• Our next gig is a Habitat (Care-A-Vanner) stay in Brookings, SD (Aug 2011)

- NOMADS has regular projects and 'Disaster Relief' projects.  Over the last year we enjoyed the work in Mississippi at a Disaster Relief project.  We had a month of mostly putting up sheet rock and painting a house with some odd jobs thrown in like repairing laminate flooring, putting up plywood on a porch ceiling and some painting.

The financials are working out.  I keep all our receipts and log it all onto a spreadsheet.  My goal is to post a monthly status of where we are.  I am way behind on that, but I have high hopes I can finish it up in the next few weeks? for Year 2. 

It is basically costing us about $4,000/month to do this RV thing.  That is a little more than what we take in from retirement.  But I have recently gotten more hours to work online and that is making up the shortfall.  

Our approach is to keep our savings at a certain level and not let it dip below that.  We have been successful so far.  And we have kept our 401Ks at a distance and never touch it.  When I turn 59 1/2 I'll have to withdraw some, but we have time to figure that out.  If we continue to be frugal, we can do this for quite a while.

The Roadrunner (motorhome) costs more than we figured it would.   Medical bills are expensive too. 

- The major RV expenses so far have been upgrades and remodeling.  The biggest repair has been a new toilet last year and a solenoid replacement for the air bags recently.  (both over $1,000)
- Other regular maintenance costs include things like diesel fuel filter replacements ($164); repairing windshield chips (free or <$30); replacing a clear tank water pump ($110).  

- The next biggest repair will be installing a new residential refrigerator.  About the time we decided to do that, I got more hours of online work.  We now have been able to save up enough money for the estimated $6850 it will take to replace our refrigerator.

- After that, our next biggest expense probably will be new tires (at ~$600 each), but we have about a year to save for that.
- Diesel fuel is way up again, but before we started full-timing we planned on the worst -- like $5.00/gal. As one full-timer said, "I worked for 40 years, I can find a way to pay for the fuel…".

- We have not had any major medical bills this year but we need to do something about dental.  Last month I heard that Progresso, Mexico is still a good alternative (e.g. safe) but we will not be there any time soon.

- After being in the hospital last year and getting some tests and physicals done, I took out a medical supplement insurance plan for hundreds ($764/yr) to save thousands $ if we need it.  

So here we are in the NorthWest.  We still love seeing the country.  We spent New Years Eve listening to a blue grass family group in Georgia, spent a great and warm winter/spring in Arizona and are loving the scenic Rockies, stark canyonlands of Utah and the beautiful mountains and mountain ranges of Montana.  Now we are going to explore Eastern Washington State where my mom grew up and where my folks got married in 1942.  Then on to the ocean cliffs of Oregon before we head east back through South Dakota.

I have learned I love the history of our country in the 1800's.  I have learned the impact the Catholic Church and the Railroad have had on the development and growth of our country.  You throw in a gold rush or two and a lot of folks moved west and settled this wonderful country.  And I find it interesting how they 'made do' back in those days.

I have learned to appreciate Pam more.  She is more than a great companion and friend and wife.  She likes this stuff as much as I do. She understands more of the mechanical/technical aspects of the motorhome than I do so that is a big plus.  She is also a great cook and likes to do that.  And she drives the motorhome.  

And we have gotten to see Adam and Kelly.  We spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with them so that was good.  We miss them, but they are doing good and each have come through a tough times grieving the loss of Meghan last year. 

And in the last year, we continue to meet wonderful people who are doing the same thing we are ~ living in an RV.  We get to see so much and meet many great folks.  And we get to catch up with old friends and see them again after many many years.  (Like yesterday we met up with Dick and Julie whom we first met in 1983 when we all lived in Hawaii.) We could not do that if we weren't full timing.

So in year two ~ I'd say it is a little different than year one, and we are still loving it.  We feel blessed to be able to do this.  It is different than year one because we feel a lot more comfortable and the learning curve is not so steep.  We can always learn more but we are not as leery of 'what might go wrong' and how we would deal with it.

So there is my recap of Year 2 on the Road.  We are looking forward to Year 3.  Hope you are having a wonderful summer and Happy Father's Day.

Thanks for your interest and comments on the Roadrunner Chronicles.  We enjoy and appreciate them.
Until next time...

Rich Dad, Poor Dad and Hosemasters

Wednesday morning was my second visit to the United States Naval Academy (USNA) Alumni Association, Hampton Roads Chapter Networking breakfast meeting.  I was particularly interested in going because Guy Zanti and his wife Kathleen Murray (USNA alumni '81 and '83 classes) were speaking.

They are entrepreneurs who own the only franchise in North America of Hosemasters.  

And they have an RV.

The meeting was similar to last time with a number of folks meeting each other before the proceedings got underway. (After all it is a networking meeting...)

After introductions and announcements, Guy and Kathleen began.  I was interested to see how they conducted the presentation.  They began with, "We do not believe in death by PowerPoint" so will both be speaking.

And they were good.  Very good.  Engaging, interesting and educational.

They spent most of their time talking about their concept of wealth, finances and money and how Rich Dad, Poor Dad had changed everything for them.  They are avid readers and had a partial display of their business books.  They had all of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series and some others including E-Myth.

Their style was very good because they offered information to others about how they started investing and moving toward their financial goals.  They have followed the Rich Dad, Poor Dad philosophy for at least 7-8 years.  I don't remember when they both started reading and being committed to it.  

More than their specific businesses (which include the Hosemasters franchise and owning a 39 unit apartment complex and an anti-rust [RSDW Metal Guard] solution they sell to marinas), they spoke of how to create wealth and view money.

I liked their audience participation questions:  "How many of you have read Rich Dad, Poor Dad?"...."How many of you have not read Rich Dad, Poor Dad?".

They brought a copy of CashFlow 101 which is a boardgame that is a popular teaching tool.  They were recruited by a nearby college to take some students through it.

The 30 minutes went by way too quickly!  

Afterwards they hung around a few minutes and talked with the audience.

Their presentation made me think of Amway.  Or Dave Ramsey.  I know of people who got into Amway and made a go of it.  Other friends have gotten into the teaching and financial precepts of debt-free living with Dave Ramsey's materials.  I say -- good for you and I hope you do well.

It was an interesting and motivating morning with my Habitat friend Dennis who invited me to the breakfast meeting.  I am glad I went! 

Another reason we love this RV lifestyle:  we get to meet folks like Guy and Kathleen!

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Hope it is warm where you are or that you have a place to stay warm!

Merry Christmas!

Roadrunner Financials - March 2010

First a big milestone:  We welcome followers #100 and #101 today!

Carol K and

Robert

Thanks for joining us!  Now on to the #200...

We spent a two days traveling the first of March from Deming, NM to Floresville, TX where we stayed with Pam's aunt Linda.  She has a nice big ranch and we were able to park the Roadrunner two days there before we left for Galveston TX.  We spent the remainder of the month volunteering for NOMADS and our campsite was free.
Good news are areas where we are under budget- 

- RV Diesel.  This is an obvious area that we will adjust the end of May in our budget
- RV + Car Maintenance.  Gladly their were none for the month so we were a full $100 under budget on that one.
- Campgrounds.  When you can stay with friends and/or family it helps.  We did not have to pay for our site while we volunteered with NOMADS in Galveston for almost the whole month of March.

Biggest expenses for the month - 

We were over budget this month on three big items:

  1) Our unrealistically low food budget. 

  2) The quick trip to Detroit.  We flew there, stayed with friends and drove over the Canadian border to Meghan's parent's house where she and Adam got married in a civil ceremony.  The bigger wedding is scheduled for July.  

  3)  Blue Ox Braking System.

Large 'One Time Cost Item(s)' - 

- Blue Ox Patriot, proportional braking system for our car when we tow it behind the RV.  This is an item we would have bought when we started and it would be in the 'Start Up Costs' area.  We bought it in Quartzite in January and they were on back order.  Blue Ox did not charge us for it until it was shipped in March.

Monthly average since we started tracking in June 2009 - 

We are leveling out at about $4280/month which is almost $960 over what we budgeted.  I think trying to live on this budget is a lot like trying to make a diet work  :)  

I think if we were more serious about it, we might be more inclined to hold off on some items and cut way back on our groceries.  But, at the moment we are OK with where we are in the process.  We are feeling more and more like we have a routine of sorts, though each month brings new surprises.

That's what the numbers looked like for last month.  It won't be too long before it will be time to finish up and send out April's.


Hope this helps someone out there trying to figure out how much this lifestyle costs.   Thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles!

From Hanging Doors to a Talent Show

It was my turn to lead devotions and I took focused on a portion of scripture out of Nehemiah.  One of the themes of that book is how Nehemiah planned, prepared and executing the rebuilding of the walls in Jerusalem.  The point of the devotion was to see how and how much Nehemiah prayed to Almighty God which has direct application to our NOMADS house rebuilding projects.

We had a rain storm Wednesday night that left the campground a little soggy.

But it cleared up and it was another beautiful day

I have mixed emotions about Thursdays.  With our NOMADS team, it is the last day of the work week.  It is also the time we say goodbye to some couples.  Russ and Nancy are leaving Friday but not before Joe, our project lead, presented Russ with a picture of his plumbing.

The plumbing requirements on some houses here in Galveston have been interesting.  Russ had one of those that probably unlike any other he will have to deal with anytime soon.

We had the same team back at Johnnie's House.

Joe helped us hang our first door to the laundry room.

It opens and closes beautifully.  I love learning how to do new things like this.

Jerry and Kit and I were then able to hang a closet door in the back bedroom.

Now all we have to do is put up trim and replace the baseboard and those two projects will be done.

Pam finished installing the drywall in the front aquarium closet.

That was a beast--hard to get to and a few non-standard cuts to fit into the space.

Pat cleaned out old drywall and prepared a space in the kitchen under the counter where the dishwasher was.

Outside, Norm was building a screen for the non-standard window.

He even built a cross piece for support.  Those rivet guns come in handy.

After we finished for the day, we got cleaned up and went over to Moody Memorial United Methodist Church.  They were have their first annual fund raiser for their after-school program.  They had a silent auction,a loaded bake potato dinner and a talent show to raise money.

We had the whole NOMADS group there at three tables.

Our own fellow NOMADS Carol Stoner did a comedy routine with a take off on Minnie Pearl.

It was all well done and successful event.

Kelly went to Houston to leave her dog Ed with cousin Mark and had an interview.  She thought it went well so we will see how it goes in a couple of weeks.  A move from Dallas to Houston could be in the works.

She is spending the night with us in Galveston, then the three of us will drive back to Houston and hop on a plane to fly to Detroit.  Adam and Meghan are getting married on Sunday in nearby Petrolia, Canada, right across the border.  We are excited for them!

Thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles!  And for signing up to 'Follow'...we are very close to our goal of 100 but need a few more to get there...

End of our 2nd NOMAD Week in Galveston

It has been busy the last couple of days with our NOMADS work involved with Disaster Relief in the Galveston Area.  We have 16 people divided into three teams working on three house projects.

On Wednesday, Joe (overall project leader) came over to our project house and gave a short class on how to properly apply joint compound (mud) to cover up the seams and corners of the wall board (sheet rock).

That was useful and we learned a lot of tips and techniques that will help us make our work look more professional.

One challenge at our house was building a decent looking arch in the door passage from the dining room/family room to the kitchen.  The one that was there came to a point instead of a curve at the top so we  took that down and build a new frame, then applied a 3 3/4 inch section of sheetrock.  We used adhesive and clamps to secure it in place.

At mid morning, we had done all we could until the house passed the electrical inspection.  One wall in each room has to be exposed (left open and uncovered) so the inspectors can see the electrical wiring.  We moved our 6 person crew over to the house we worked on last week.

The main tasks out side were to re-brick and cement the porch column and rebuild the stairs.  The bricks were a bit tricky.   We had to build a frame and mold, re-cement the bricks securely and then cover the top with mortar.  We'll see how that comes out after it dries.

The steps on the front porch were a complete re-do.  Much like the back steps we did last week, they had to be all torn down and rebuilt with new stringers and boards.  Tom and Joe did a great job and the front of the  house looks great.

The inside of the house where they did a lot of painting, ceiling tile and trim work--

As we were cleaning up the debris pile and finishing up for the day, we posed for a group picture with the owner.

Next we headed over to Salsa's Restaurant on Seawall Boulevard.

The couples that are getting ready to leave get to pick the place where we go out to eat.  Tom and Dotty and Dale and Elaine are leaving us this weekend after being here three weeks.

The weather has been great the last couple of days.  After we ate, Pam and I went for a walk on the beach.  We saw a few sand castles.

Did you know what NOMADS stands for:
- Nomads on Mission, Active in Divine Service

OR

- Nutty Old Methodists Actually Doing Something  :)

- Nice Old Methodist Avoiding Deep Snow :)

Thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles.  We appreciate all of you and especially those that have signed up to "Follow" our travels.  We welcome you and look forward to the next 11 (to reach our goal of 100)...

Hope you are having a good week.

How to Become a NOMAD

Instead of telling you what we did yesterday I was thinking that there may be some folks who are interested in knowing more about NOMADS.  I thought I'd give you the short "brochure" version:

One said earlier in the week that they toured the country for a while in their RV going coast to coast.  Volunteering with NOMADS gave them purpose.  In our case, it has become more of a calling too.

NOMADS stands for:  NOMADS On a Mission Active in Divine Service.

At our site here in Galveston, we have nine couples working on three houses.

We have some folks from Michigan, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, South Dakota.  I think five or six of us are full-timers.  Others RV about six months and volunteer a couple of times during the other six months.

We have learned a lot about different parts of the country since we have joined NOMADS.  During the last nine months, we have spent time in Pontiac Illinois, Greensburg Kansas, and here in Galveston.  We have come to appreciate a lot of new things about each area.

At each job site/project we bring our own tools and use some that others have brought.  Some people have a whole pick up truck full of tools and equipment while some don't have any tools.  We have drills, a Skil saw, hammers, a couple of tool belts, clamps, paint brushes...  

We work Monday through Thursday each week with devotions and a team meeting starting at 7:30 AM  and ending at 4:00 PM.  We are usually at the job site by about 8:30 AM.  We have a morning and afternoon break and an hour for lunch.

NOMADS is sponsored by the United Methodist Church and one of their many outreach programs.  We are not Methodists although we represent them as NOMADS.  NOMADS are not required to belong to the UMC but it is a Christian faith-based organization.

NOMADS is always looking for new volunteers.  They have over 1000 members, but the need is great.  Yesterday's news of the flooding in the Northeast and in the Midwest made me think of all those homes that will need to be repaired.

The government can't do it all.  Here in Galveston, over 2000 homes remain on the list to be repaired from the damage done during Hurricane Ike in 2008.  Building and construction here in Galveston is strong.  Many commercial builders and volunteers like us are on the island.

If you'd like to know more, let me know or call the NOMADS office at:  1-866-466-6237.  Or take a look at their website.  Click here.
We'd love to see more NOMADS out here!

Thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles today!