Getting Underway - the Long Story

When we leave a campsite and whether we go 100 yards or 500 miles, there are certain things we have to do - like stowing things and putting them away so we can close the slides.  And we don't items won't fall off shelves or the desk.  We 'Batten Down the Hatches' which in our case means securing the cupboards and the things in the refrigerator.  Plus we do other things outside.

Here is a look at what we do:
We have to move everything from the middle of the floor and off the counter tops throughout the coach.

The pillows from the couch are use to cushion the bedroom TV which is placed face down on the bed and wrapped in the comforter.  Never been a problem.  It doesn't move.

Then the laundry basket and some plants go in the shower.  The shower door and the sliding doors are locked or latched so they don't move.

Up front, the Driver and Passenger seats need to be turned around and are moved forward so the slides don't hit them when we pull them in.  (In our "Newbie" days, one time we pulled the slide in and the passenger seat started to get mashed.... we learned our lesson.)

 Everything gets cleared off the table.

I put the laptop and iPad on the floor.  That pretty much takes care of the inside things getting it ready for the slides to come in.

Then for the outside items:
We decided the clear water tank was a little low, I filled it.  It was at 15% (13.5 gal) and I filled it up to 35% (31.5 gal).  At 8 lbs a gallon, we usually don't travel with more than that.

The other item on the gauges was the black and grey tanks.  I emptied those, so it shows zero.

In the Passenger Side (PS) rear bay compartment, I carry the cables and connections for towing the car.

I usually put those on first and then move to other things.

Before that though, I fill up the clear tank if it needs it, then empty the black and grey tanks.

Then I fold up the 4" pipe in the wet bay, replace the plastic hose cap that screws into the wet bay floor, then stow the hose and end caps in the black square container under the bay.

I make sure the levers are in the correct position, unhook the flush hose and the regular water hose (and I remove my Y connector from the faucet).  I put an end plug that screws into the end of the hose.

Then I wind the hose up on the reel and use the bottles of 'Pine Sol' and/or bleach to clean up the bay and areas if necessary.

The jacks come up first and then the slides come in.

While Pam is instead raising the jacks and putting the slides in, I am outside making sure each slide came in and is snug.  And I watch the jacks to make sure they raise all the way up.

Then I do a 'walk around' to see that everything looks good outside.  And to make sure I didn't leave anything outside under the coach.

And I do a quick check on the tires.

Uh Oh...
The PS rear outside tire was 'soft'.  Needed quite a bit of air.  

I took off the tire pressure monitoring system sensor and found the valve was not screwed down into the stem.  I used my little tire stem tool and tightened it.  Then I got my extension cord and my air compressor and filled up the tire.  Took about 10 minutes.

Then we were ready to go.  We moved the Roadrunner to a place we could hook up the car.  In this case, it was about 100 feet over in a near by parking lot.

Then Pam stays outside and we do the 'left blinker/right blinker' and 'brake check'.  And I pull forward a could feet while she watches just to make sure everything is rolling like it should.

So that is how we get ready and do everything to leave our campsite!  It usually takes 15-20 minutes from the time we say, "OK lets get going".  Sometimes I drain the tanks and stow the hoses the night before and put the tow bar connectors on the car.  That saves some time.  (And I almost never have to fill up a tire.)

That's it for this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles.  Thanks for joining us. Until next time...

Mr. Bob's Screwdrivers

Pam and I left Seal Beach, CA and returned to the FamCamp at March ARB in Moreno Valley, CA.  It was a two hour ride and we had no problems (e.g. red 'Stop Engine' lights) at all.  The Roadrunner ran great and it was an uneventful and quite comfortable ride.

So we spent the day with Bob and Sue in Redlands and basically 'hung out'.  Which is always fun to do.

Bob is a unique guy and is very handy.  I've never met one who can do as many things as he can.  He is a true 'fixer' and figures things out or invents a way to get the job done.  A real problem solver.  Most problems are not problems to him.

One of the most fascinating things about him is his garage.  His garage has always been a thing of wonder.  He has more things in his garage than anyone I know. Despite the fact that there is a lot in there per square inch, he knows where everything is.

And he has a world class woodworking and invention center right out side his back door.  He built his house that way on purpose.  Contractors did the majority of his house but he did a boat load himself.

For a couple of years now he has 'turned' some wood on his lathe to make the screwdrivers.  I decided to document some of the steps in his process and some of his inventions...

First -- he gets screwdriver materials from his supplier for the new screwdrivers which is similar to those shown below.

Except the ones he uses have  both a Philips head and flat head insert in each end: with a 3/4" and a 3/16" tip

His supply are orange plastic screwdrivers initially.  He takes the orange head and cuts the orange handle so he can pound out the inside sleeve that holds the stem which he will later use inside his new handle.  If you look closely you can see one of his inventions.  He welded a socket onto the end of another screwdriver and then pounds out the cylinder for use in the new screwdriver.

He also "glues up" different colors of wood for future use on the lathe for screwdriver handles.  The lower right two pictures show him and Pam gluing sheets of veneer inside a cut of wood that he screws down/clamps down tightly with wood glue in between each layer.

So he gets the pieces ready the new screwdriver handle.

And he gets different pieces of wood glued together that he will use on the lathe to shape into a screwdriver handle.

(Note the jig/clamp.  It is another invention he welded together with nuts and finger bolts so he could get lots more pressure along the entire side of piece he is gluing.  Much better than standard clamps.)

Then he puts the wood on the lathe and does his turning magic

And shaves the handle down into the precise shape and size of handle that he wants.  He usually does quite a few at a time but in this case he was showing us the whole process so he just worked on one.

When it is about the right size, he focuses on the tip where he will be placing his signature copper band.  He cuts 1" copper tubing band for the end.  Then he shaves away on the handle so the band will fit on the tip.

If you look real close, you can see the caliper that he uses to make sure he cuts it down for a snug fit. Note another invention - the caliper.  He welded pieces together the measurement for the copper tubing/ring to slide snugly onto the end.

Next, he epoxies the copper band onto the hand.

Later he puts it back onto the lathe to "sand" the copper band and finish sanding the handle.

After he sands the handle down well, he begins with the smooth and shiny finish process.

He puts on about 10 coats of Stick Fast Glue and Activator.

He puts the Glue on a paper towel, applies it to the handle, then sprays the Activator.  It dries immediately.  Then more Glue, more Activator etc.

Then some wet sanding.  He got a package of 9 sheets of fine sand paper, cut them into small sections and then numbered them 1 to 9.

After letting the sandpaper sections soak for a few minutes, he used each sandpaper section one at a time and went over the handle 9 times.  It is really really fine sandpaper, so after he does that, he wipes the screwdriver down, inserts the stem and it is done.

The finished product!

Unless you want it with your name on it.  Then there is some more work to do.  But after all that he sells them for $35 w/o name; $40 with engraving.

It is a hobby, not something he is going into business doing.  But sometimes he sets up a table with his screwdrivers.

Bob and wife Sue will be joining us for a few days at Quartzsite, AZ for a couple of days.  We will probably set up a table in front of our rig at the 'Tiffin Gathering 2014' at La Posa South area in the BLM.

If you are in the area, come by and check some out.

In the mean time, hope you have a good week.  Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles! Until next time...

That was Fun! Survey Results

I enjoy reading feedback from blog readers.  They come up with some interesting responses.  But especially so when it refers to something on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Thanks so much for your response to the survey!

Here are the results:  (Caveat:  Please note this is not a scientific survey.)

We had 17 responses on Blogger  and 4 more on FaceBook (where The Roadrunner Chronicles is linked and also displays).

Out of the 21 responses, 14 said
Yes -  or  Yes, but it it depends...

• The majority of the responses said "Yes".  Some qualified it, but said, "I have done it, but the place has to be relatively clean."
• So most of you ladies DO FIX the toilet.  (Impressive!)

Out of 21 6 basically said:
No. No Way!  Not me.

• "That is not my cup of tea".  "No I won't fix it!"

Other comments:

• "Strangest survey I have ever seen!"
• "Not exactly rocket science"
• "Ewwww"

So, if you are like me, it will be quite a while before I use a public restroom and don't think of you our loyal readers.  And your responses!

Thanks for making our day.  And checking in on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Until next time...

OK Ladies - I Have a Question:

Pam and I were in Costco the other day and she needed to use the restroom so off she went.  She returned and we finished our shopping.  Later, Pam commented on her experience in the restroom and  also asked, "I wonder if I am the only one, or if other women do this:  the toilet wasn't working, so I pulled off the toilet tank lid and checked it out.  Sure enough, the chain was had become disconnected from the flap and was not flushing.  So reattached it and it worked fine."

I stood there a little amazed and thought, "What a woman!"  Then I began to think about my experience.  If I go into a stall and the toilet needs flushing, I flush it.  If it doesn't work, I got to another stall.  I don't think it ever occurred to me to try to fix it.

The more I thought about it, I don't think there are that many places that have a toilet tank.  It usually is a motion sensor - triggered toilet that flushes.  But some places, like Starbucks, I have recently seen toilet tanks.

Pam started out doing a little survey and texted some ladies/girls on the subject asking if they had ever repaired a public toilet? (I will not use their names below, but here are some of their responses):

1. "Ugh - that is so funny you asked that!  But yes - I remember one time I fixed the toilet at church."
2. "Yes I have, but I am always afraid I will drop the toilet tank lid and break it and make things worse!"
3. "Yes" - not a real long answer there.
4. "Heck No!  With all that poop in that water?  (Pam pointed out the toilet tank isn't the business end of the operation....)
5. "Two answers.  If I am having PMS, I would take a hammer to it! If not, I'd try to fix it."
6. "Why do you want to know?" (Pam said she was just doing a survey...) Then the answer came back, "No!"
7. "No."  (As in no way.)

Preliminary conclusions:  All those with children said 'Yes'.  Those without children said 'No'.

Which brings me to my own survey:  Ladies, what would you do?  Or have you done?  in that situation? 

I feel fairly safe in saying, I think this is probably the first survey of its kind taken among RV enthusiasts and their blog readers?

That's all for this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Really looking forward to hearing from you on this one.

Roadrunner Financials - December 2013

We spent time in San Diego after Thanksgiving and then made our way up to the Escapees RV park near Temecula.  From there we had an unexpected few days in the Fontana area and stayed with friends in Redlands while the Roadrunner was in the shop.  We made our way back down to Seal Beach where we finished up the month.

Roadrunner Recap

Specifically, we spent time in the following locations:

• A - Admiral Baker RV Campground (San Diego, CA)
• B - Jojoba Hills Escapees RV Park (Aguanga, CA)
• C - Los Angeles Freightliner Repair Shop (Fontana, CA)
• D - Seabreeze RV Resort (Seal Beach Navy Training Center, Seal Beach CA) 

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget

We didn't travel very far this month and only had to fill up once, so we were $300 under budget.  Also - I changed our DirecTV coverage a few months ago and reduced our monthly bill by about $85.  I figured if we are not watching these channels, why pay for them?

Biggest Expenses
RV and Car Repair - We had some BIG repair bills this month, compared to recent months.  After towing the Roadrunner in to the Freightliner repair shop and have them 'troubleshoot' a red 'STOP' engine light, we paid $519.96.  Then our right passenger armrest started unraveling.  It is past warranty, so we paid $201.68.  Yikes!  $171.64 over budget.
Eating out - We saw a lot of friends and family around the holidays and ended up $160.75 over budget.

Gifts - It was Christmas time.  Not a big surprise here at $295.14 over budget.

Large One Time Cost Item
Cost of RV and Car repairs.

Monthly Average

We are about $22 over budget for our FY (June 2013 - May 2014).  So for the first seven months we are about $3.  And we reduced our budget by $100 from last year.  So we are pretty satisfied with how things are going.

That's a look at our spending and finances for the month of December 2013.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Until next time...

35ish Second Eggs

Did you get a Christmas present that you just LOVE?

I did.  I think it was a stocking stuffer.  I wasn't too sure about this to start with.

Pam got this little gem at HomeGoods.  It is just the right size for 1 egg.

Then, put the top on, and place it in the microwave.

So far it has been a two step process for me.  Usually I underdo the egg a tad and add 10 more seconds and it turns out how I like it.

I went back to HomeGoods, found some more and will be giving them as gifts.  Under $5 egg cooker - can't beat it!

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Until next time...

Bowl Games Books and Stuff

With Christmas and New Year's both in the middle of the week, it seems like we have two long holiday weeks.  I like the slow pace and have had some time to do some hanging out.

We have seen some bowl games in the evenings which have been quite entertaining with close scores.  I particularly like the fact that many of the lower ranked teams have won!  Good for the underdogs!
Except a couple of the favored teams I was rooting for:  my alma mater Arizona State got beat handily by my brother (and sister-in-law's) alma mater -- Texas Tech.  I didn't have a good feeling about this one and ASU lost 23-37.

We also watched daughter Kelly's Baylor Bears get embarrassed by University of Central Florida 32-42.  They seemed like they came out at the start thinking that they already had the game won.  UCF came to play and socked it to them.

Then there was son-in-law's Georgia Dawgs.  Georgia got down near the 20 and couldn't score against Nebraska.  It was a much closer one but they lost 19-24.

So far my favorite game was Duke vs Texas A&M.  Duke?  How strange is that to see them as a good football team?  Basketball yes -- but I don't remember them doing that great a football.  Even though they came up short it was a great game.

Often times I find myself cheering for a team I normally wouldn't root for but with only two choices, what are you going to do?  Kind of like a presidential election...

We have been on a few hikes and a couple of days ago went to the Bolsa Chica Reserve.  One of the many wetlands area nearby.

It was right across Pacific Coast Highway between Sunset Beach and Huntington Beach.  Nice way to spend a couple of hours.

Also during the last couple of weeks I have gotten plenty of reading in.  I just finished one book and am about 1/2 through another.  I always seem to have four or five going at once so it was nice to finish one.

Then yesterday we awoke to very thick fog.  It stayed that way most of the day.  In fact it was so thick the my weather app said, "100%" humidity.  I learned something.  I only thought that happened when it was raining.

One good thing about the fog is that it leaves everything wet.  Like the dirty RV.  We can't wash our RV at our campsite, but I did take the opportunity to climb on top and wipe all the dirt off.  No soap or any thing else -- just wiped it off and got rid of all the dust and dirt that had settled up there.  Helps get rid of the dirty streaks down the sides.  The Roadrunner looks better and I got some good exercise.

We ran a couple of errands yesterday at the post office and over the HomeGoods and Dollar Tree and Roger Dunn Golf Shops.  Pam mailed a book that Melissa signed for my brother Brad.  She did all the photography in a book of vegan recipes from StickyFingers Bakery in Washington DC, so while she was here she autographed it.  Then we found a couple of bucket hats at the golf store and Pam mailed them off.

And yesterday I spent half the day doing some work, so that kept me busy.  That's about it for the last few days, a little this and a little that.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Until next time...

Bike Riding Near Seal Beach

It has been one great and beautiful day after another, so I have been riding my bike the last few days. One thing that make for a great camping place for me is the accessibility to bike trails.  That is one thing I like about this area.  There are a lot of bikes, bike riders and bike trails!

It has been a while since I have ridden my bike regularly, so I tried to stretch and limber up a bit.  Then off I went.  This one was about 12.25 miles which was a good length for me then.

It was great to get going again and I decided on another route, this time to go over toward Long Beach to the Queen Mary area.

The bike trail took me onto the beach.

This was my longest ride in a while at 20.51 miles.

Another day, I came across a bike path along Seal Beach then up along the San Gabriel River.

This route took me 11.55 miles.

After this one I felt like I am getting into a little bit better shape? (It is all relative...)  In fact, I had a lot of feelings -- like soreness, aches, etc.  But the ones I like are ones where my lungs feel deeper and I some consistency in getting my heart rate going during the workout.

Then yesterday, I went out from Seal Beach, through Sunset Beach toward Huntington Beach and back again.

I wanted to go over 15 miles and gauged my turn-around point so I could meet that goal.  Ended up at 15.44 mi.  (I use MapMyRide+ app to log my workouts.)

I expected it to be pretty empty on the bike ways and beaches yesterday but it was quite different.  I counted over 100 cyclists on the road before I quit counting.

There were lots of folks on the beaches and more surfers than I have ever seen in my life.  But then I grew up in Santa Fe.  Not many surfers there.

We are liking it here in Southern California.  Hope your New Year has started out well.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Until next time...