Failures

Some things I set up in my van have not worked out so well. So I change them and learn from the failure.

Cat litter box

My first attempt was to put the litter box under the bench but I quickly learned the hard way (a quick diversion to a laundromat) that there just wasn't enuf head room in there. My raised bench/bed made plenty of room and it seemed to work fine for one cat but the other one, who is a victim of the male's bullying, was too scared to put herself in what looked to her like a trapped position. So I got a small kennel on top of the benches and set up a little litter box for her inside there.That worked ok as long as I kept the boxes clean. But this trip, neither cat was willing to use the under-bed box. It might have just been part of the male's bullying to take over the kennel box but the end result was the female was an unhappy camper.

On the way back, I put a garbage bag on the back floor between the benches, laid a couple of pee pads over that and put the litter box in front of a couple of boxes of things. Just to see, I left the kennel box in place with a litter box liner but no litter. The floor box was used regularly by both cats but once, someone went in the bare kennel box. I put a little litter in there to absorb it but no one used it again. It really looks like I have to have the litter box in the open, more or less. I'm going to get one of those plastic carpet protector runners to put over the carpet back there. There's always something to address with 2 cats who hate each other. They are old now but are showing no signs of ailing since I started feeding them a raw diet.


Swing table

I put in a table with a swing around mounted on the side of one of the benches. It worked really well until this year.  Turns out the post that inserts into a sleeve in the swing arm just reaches the top of the arm. The sleeve has worn so that it no longer holds the post tightly and it sags badly. It would have worked better and lasted longer if the post rose higher than the arm so that the top would be held securely. My attempts at finding a new sleeve failed as the post is just a bit smaller than one inch.  I'm going to re-think the whole table design

Refrigerator Ventilation

I got an Isotherm marine refrigerator last year to replace the dead 3-way that came with the van.  I seem to have a van refrigerator curse as it decided to not work again this year. I did a fairly elaborate outside air ventilation for it using the old wall vents.  The problem is that the Danfoss compressor really should have air below 110F for ventilation. With the hot summers, the outside air is often just too hot for effective ventilation. I could feel the heat blasting in just from the vents. Plus the Reflextix insulation I used to block outside air from the inside of the van actually conducts electricity so I'm not sure but it might have shorted out some of the electrics.

The Isotherm is made to use inside air from the bottom going up the back and drawn thru the compressor by the fan which is located in the upper right side and then out into the cabin over the top. I used vinyl flashing to seal the the two wall vents and put insulation against that to seal out the hot outside air. I put two 3/4" slats under the refrigerator feet and took off the chute I made to bring the air to the top of the unit. That leaves about an inch of space behind the unit and the van wall rib for air to come up. I left the top open and used a decorative aluminum vent piece to cover up the hole. Surprisingly, the piece wedged into the top bracket and didn't really need any screws to hold it in place. While I wasn't able to test it out since the fridge doesn't work at present, it was a lot cooler inside the van by closing up the outside vents and insulating them.

New ventilation for fridge

Frustrated by the continuing problems with the new fridge, I decided to go ahead and get a chest fridge/freezer. I had planned on getting one eventually anyway so I could have a little freezer to keep a supply of frozen meat for the pets (I raw feed them). I put it right behind the passenger seat - a fairly dead area in the van. I picked up a Dometic CF35 unit at Camping World on sale. It was still more expensive than I could have gotten on the internet but I could go get it and have in place for my trip. It was a good thing I did since the repair piece the company sent me to fix the fridge did nothing and I ran out of time to mess with it.

The place where I wanted to have the chest fridge necessitated getting power there. I didn't want to have a cord draped over to the nearest 12V outlet on the upper cabinet wall next to the sliding door. That is kind of asking for an accident. As a stock thing, Sprinter installed battery cables under the passenger seat for an auxiliary battery.  Mine has the house batteries located in the rear of the van so under the seat is empty except for the cables. A quick check with my ohm meter showed that the red cable is threaded to under the driver's seat and is loose under there. Under the drivers seat is where the battery isolator is located.  All I had to do was connect the wire to the house side of the battery isolator and I would have a live wire under the passenger seat. The black wire was already grounded to the body of the van under the seat.

Of course that was more trouble than it looked.  It always is. The stud for the battery isolator connection is short. Too short to put another wire on it. I didn't want to risk under-sizing the wire or have to run a new cable so I used the 4AWG cable that was already there. I solved this problem by getting a short battery cable and connecting that to the battery isolator stud and then bolting all the wires to the other end of it. I cable tied it securely and ran a big shrink wrap over the connections to insulate them from any potential shorting to the metal. I didn't use heat to shrink wrap it; I just used cable ties to hold it in place.

Passenger seat - Outlet box and junction box that I put under the seat

Battery Isolator connections under drivers seat

That got me power to the cable under the passenger seat. Next up was to wire in a fuse to protect everything downstream. I used a small junction box for this purpose. I drilled two holes for bolts, staggered a bit to reduce any chance of wires crossing. I attached the negative wire to one and the red hot wire to the other. I ran one end of the fuse holder wire to the positive bolt and out an access hole in the junction box after crimping on a yellow hole connector. A lock washer and nut secured them to the positive bolt. The positive wire for the 12V outlet was connected to the other end of the fuse holder.  I ran the negative wire thru another access hole in the box. I screwed a box cover on the bottom to protect the bolt heads from contacting any metal and another one on top to close the box.

I got an exterior outlet box but found it was too short to hold the outlet. I got a box extender that worked. I cut a cover from aluminum flashing and cut the holes for the outlet and a switch. I crimped connectors and connected the switch in line with the outlet and connected all the negatives together. There was a screw hole in the rear of the seat pedestal so I used that to feed the wires thru.  I attached the box to the seat pedestal with rare-earth magnets. It stayed steady the whole trip.

The chest freezer worked very well. I was amazed at how much can fit in 1.1 cu. ft. I quickly learned that it could be a freezer on the bottom and a fridge for the things on top. There's a small section above the compressor that stayed at about 62F. That was good for things like butter. I had just learned that hot buttered coffee is quite good and butter is a lot easier to manage than cream is.

I haven't given up on the Isotherm refrigerator. They have a very good reputation for quality and it is under warranty for another 4 years. He says that sometimes the problem is in the wiring or contacts but when I connect up an 8 ga wire directly to the fridge, it still doesn't work. When it did work, it was really good. Got to go get my batteries tested to be sure they aren't the problem.

A Yearly trip 2/3's across the country

I just got back from a quick trip to Colorado and back inside of 2 weeks for our family reunion. I wanted to make it quick because the yard gets so out of control in the summer and I really want to focus my efforts of getting this house ready for sale next year instead of indulging in wandering.

The trip out took 3 1/2 days of pretty solid driving. It was hot and humid until I got to the high prairie of western Nebraska. My rule is if the dew points are above 68, it is too humid for any kind of comfortable sleep boondocking so I seek a campground with an electric hookup. If the dew points are lower, it is not so humid that I sweat all night and it can get cool enuf to be comfortable over night with just a fan. I'm using a northern route to get a little cooler temperatures. Avoiding a humid push up from the Gulf of Mexico is impossible sometimes. That week, the humidity was clear into northern Minnesota. At least I didn't have the heavy storms to contend with that have been occuring in the middle of the country.

I left at about 3pm and made it to Tappan Lake in Ohio.  I camped in the Class B section of Tappan Lake Park campground on the west side of the lake for $26.50. It was up a hill and fairly secluded from the dense campground for the bigger rigs but there were few semi-level sites and those were so damp and soft, I was afraid of getting stuck. So the night was not terribly comfortable because of the slant.

Kil so Qah camp

Next day, I stopped at the Kil so Qah camp in the Little Turtle State Rec Area, Indiana that I found last year at about 6pm for $15 for electric - up $5 from last year. The lack of good sleep made me tired as I wanted to keep going until 8pm. But I also wanted to have electric to run the AC and camps get thinner in eastern IN and IL. Before we went to the camp, I let my dog have a good swim in the lake only to get to the camp and see a warning about toxic blue-green alga risk (not posted at the lake??).  She seems not to have gotten sick so I guess it wasn't there or not bad. Good sleep there.

Crossing the Mighty Miss

Hackbarney Woods camp, IA

We got to western Iowa and stopped at a little camp called Hackbarney Woods at about 8pm for $15 with electric.  Nice minimal campground with flush toilets. A nice family was tent camping with a dog who wanted to play with my dog so they had fun. But I had to call it off because Dirona started limping.  That dog is just all in when she does things and has no sense. One of them happened to live for a time within 10 miles of where I live in Maryland.

The next day, I made it to my sister's house in Greeley at about 7:30.

Visiting with the family was fun as always. I spent 5 days camped outside my sister's house moochdocking her electricity and shower. But unlike my brother who stayed in her guest room, when I left, she only had one towel and washcloth to add to her laundry. The beauty of having my own little cabin.

I lucked out on the way back.  The humid air retreated to the southern states and the temps were in the low to mid 80s with lows in the low 60s and even 50s. Ahhhhh. That meant I could boondock on the way back because I didn't need to use the AC.

I left Greeley at 11:30 after making breakfast for my sister and brother-in-law and letting the dog have a little play session with her boyfriend Pete the standard poodle. I made it to Hastings, NE Walmart and dumped, got fresh water at the Julesburg, CO rest area.  It was ok but I didn't sleep really well. Something about the lights being too bright or just the adjustment of the first night out.

Gladstone Lake - The fur-kids liked it there

Gladstone Lake camp

2nd day, I made it to the western edge of Illinois and found the Henderson County Conservation Area camp at Gladstone Lake.  This was a primitive campground that was completely deserted. We had the whole place to ourselves. It had pit toilets that were clean but no water. A sign said no fishing because the lake was being rehabilitated. No problem, I didn't want to anyway. It also said to get a camping permit from park personnel but had no way to find one or pay, so we stayed for free. The animals liked it a lot. Even the cats thought it really safe and hopped out of the van to look around. They usually don't do that. It was refreshingly cool and the inside van temp dropped to 65F. It was raining at a fair clip when I woke up.

OH Amish country - you can tell this an Amish farm by the hay ricks

Amish farm - notice the horse carriage

Amish on the move

The Amish parking spot in Mt. Eaton, OH

Amish

They have the best ice cream - Mt. Eaton, OH

3rd day, it was raining half the day until I outran the front. I ended up in Bucyrus, OH at about 8:30. I checked out a lake and found a round parking area with no one there and considered camping there. But I couldn't find a good level spot and then mosquitoes made me decide Walmart would be better. When I got back to Walmart, I saw a road going behind it with a field. I discovered it was a T that went nowhere. A stub for future development, I suppose. So I camped at the end of one of the Ts and was not disturbed at all.

Bucyrus, OH camp on the stub road

Bucyrus, OH - nice field buffer from the shopping center

The 4th day I awoke to rain again as the front caught up with me. Lots of rain until the afternoon, then it was in and out of showers over the Appalachians. I stopped at what has become my favorite ice cream in Mt. Eaton, OH in the middle of Amish country.  Must be so good because it is real food and not any chemical food-like ingredients. The Amish give a tiny peek into what life was like in the 19th century. I stopped at Tappan Lake to let the dog have a swim. I got back at home by 7:30.

Thinking ...

There's only a couple weeks left before I have to take off on my Colorado trip this summer for a family reunion. An idea about sleeping arrangements has been rolling around my head a bit lately. I raised my bed with 2'x4' x 7.5" high boxes over the benches and sleep cross-wise in the back of the van.  At 67" tall, I just barely fit and usually sleep a bit crosswise. It works ok. That height is just enough for my head to miss the upper cabinets when sitting to make maximum use of the space.

When I was thinking about how to live in a van, I went thru the exercise of designing the interior using the Sportsmobile tool to assist in it. I had thought then that having a bed on the side, along the length of the van with a desk area on the opposite side would be a good thing. My van was designed to have a big 75" long side to side bed for two in the back and then put a table in the center for a 6 person dining area. That seems like a huge waste of precious space for a solo traveler. The dog sleeps on the floor and is not allowed on my bed (except for the time she fled up there to escape a broken latch and a door swinging while underway). The cats sleep wherever they like. I raised the bed to get more storage space and more head room for the cat litter box. I find that it is most comfortable for me to have a 3.5' - 4' width for my arms and torso to stretch out. The center aisle board is 3' long and that is fine too. My feet don't need all that space but crosswise doesn't give my feet room to stretch out.

The idea I have is to make another box to raise the seat at the end of the galley counter up to the level of the bed and just sit up high when I use my computer. I can rest my feet on the printer drawer edge or put them up on the opposite side. My little table can rise up to a comfortable height. It is perfectly comfortable to sit on top of the bedding.  One impediment is there is a little lift up counter extension so I would either have to remove it or move sitting to the side of it. I thought that it would be handy but, in truth, I never use it. Then with the 3' board between the 2 benches, I could sleep lengthwise in the van and still have plenty of room at the top for my arms to stretch out. I did a little concept test and it seems ok.

In the future, I could devise a slot for the center board to slide into the opposite side and just come right out to form the widened bed. That would make it easier to push the bed area back when it is not night and have a bit more room in the back of the van when up and about. One thing I don't want to do is lose the permanent bed at the ready and have to make it up every night. When I park with a little slope like along a curb, it might not be so great or it might be ok. One thing I learned is that I absolutely must sleep with my head higher than my feet or my nose gets all clogged up (allergies!).

Hmmm. I could try this idea out this summer with nothing more than a board cut and put together with pocket screws in not much time. The finishing and trimming it out could wait and if it doesn't work all that well, I could easily take it apart and stow the boards and go back to my crosswise bed.

Back to mowing my too big yard.

What I've Been Doing ...

Not in the least RV, travel, or van related ...

I have a house with a little acreage that I want to sell. I've lived here for 20 years and always had planned on doing some remodeling. Strip wallpaper and paint. Fix some stupid things the builder did like delete a small coat closet straight in front of the front door and put a spacious one in the hallway at the sacrifice of a bit of space in the unused front room. Remodel the kitchen. Put in hardwood flooring. De-decorate what the previous owners did.

While working in my demanding career that required a lot of travel, I did achieve a lot of stuff. I heavily indulged in my gardening fantasies as I really enjoy being outside whenever the weather isn't awful. I got the closet moved and flooring in the dining room years ago. Made a start on the de-decorating. I rearranged the kitchen in a half move to put a new stove against the wall so it could have an outside vent and test the layout I had in mind. But always, my limited time kept me not quite finishing up and not quite completing what I thought would never take so long to do.

My desire now is to get the house in good condition  and attractive so prospective buyers will walk in and their immediate impression is, "how cute." House sell for most people in the 1st 5 minutes. And I have to fix anything that isn't right anyway before I could close on it.

After spending a good part of my time since retiring getting my van set up the way it works for me and fixing problems I've had with it, this year, I am determined to work steadily at the house and get it done so I can get this anchor off my foot. To that end, I just finished up putting in a new front door and fixed up and replaced the frame on my old walk-in garage door and had a new patio door put in last fall. Now, just the kitchen-garage door needs to be replaced and this house is much more weather tight than it ever has been. Over the winter, I put up crown molding in the master bedroom and front room along with chair rail in the front room and painted it. My house is a colonial style that always had an unfinished feel to it since the hall way had crown and chair rail and most of the other 1st floor rooms had it. Now it matches! Last year, I got the 13 doors and upstairs and down stairs halls painted in a job I thought would never end. So much surface area! I also rebuilt my stairs so I can put down the new flooring I had planned for them and make them much sturdier.

Last fall, tried and failed to fix rot at the bottom of all the outside door frames but the more I worked at it, the worse it got as I uncovered rust and more rot. So I ended up replacing the patio door and fixing a 6"x12" rotted piece of subfloor. (yikes!) I paid to have that installed because it is just too heavy for me to manage. The new door lets in more light but is much more comfortable because it has the low-e glass. That and it is sealed against the weather, unlike the old door. Winter set in before I gave up on the front door.

This spring, I was faced with the same problem - the more I tried to fix it, the worse it got so I gave up and bought a new and much prettier door.  The old door was set in line with the brick facade which is rather weird. When I removed it to put in the new door, I discovered why. The builder had a series of cascading mistakes - they didn't set the header for the door opening quite high enough and then the brick layer set the bottom brick a bit higher than the subfloor, leaving about a quarter inch too little height to set it where it belongs - in line with the house framing. The old door was never fully tight and had managed to come loose to move at the top a half inch. I never could find any nails or screws holding it in place so I think they just glued it in and the glue failed. So with the opening wide open, I got my grinder to flatten the bricks even with the subfloor and surgically removed a bit of the header to have just enough room for the new door frame.  Good thing the house frame is still plumb. I put flashing under the whole door and a threshold extension to cover up the brick. It was a long hard slog of a day but I got the new door in place in one day. It took me another day to get it solidly fastened together and to the wall framing, all plumb.

Then I worked on the trim. I had to devise a jamb extension to bring the door frame out to the brick. Many doors just go to the brick but mine had a column/pediment facing and they never intended to have the brick opening exposed so it was a little rough. I had bought Fypon no-rot replacements for the rotted facing last fall. I used plastic exterior trim boards to line the door frame out to the brick edge so the columns could meet up with it. Lots of painting and caulking. On rainy days, I got the inside trim and painting done to match what I had put up on the front room opening.

In the end, it is a big improvement both inside and outside with a door that lets in a lot of nice light but with the low-e glass so it doesn't get too hot. And, there are no more bug collections on the floor now that it is weather-tight and solid. There were always a bunch of carpenter bees buzzing around the front door as they had set up housekeeping in the old trim boards. It took them a little while, but they have now found other quarters someplace else!

Next up is the powder room, then the flooring can go down in the front of the house. The new flooring will go into the powder room too so it makes sense to fix up the walls in there. I already painted the ceiling and put up crown molding in there. Decided to just keep the wall paper and put patches on it in a couple of places. But that probably won't get done until August because I have to make a run out to Colorado in July.

Getting Ready for Sprinterfest

I had a lot of fun and learned some interesting things last year, so we are going again this year.  The location is very easy for me - only about 90 miles away.  Unlike last year, the weather will be really nice in the upper 60s or low 70s.  Last year was chilly.  I'm going to keep the dog on a tether so she can't go crazy getting people to throw toys for her.  This is where she got the bad elbow sprain last year because she doesn't have the sense to stop.  She still thinks she's superdog at 3 years old.

Mission Creep

In installing my new back splash in my galley, I removed the stove cover to have access to caulk the counter seam.  My stove is the old fashioned type that sits on top of the counter with a 2" lid.  I'd like one of those that sits flush with the counter but this one works great so I have no plans to replace it.

Galley refurb

My galley faucet broke so I needed a new one.  The one that came with the van was the usual small faucet with handles on each side that many RVs have.  I never liked it and it was starting to leak some anyway.  I've been wishing I had a good kitchen faucet.  After looking at the RV faucets, I decided there isn't any real reason to get one made specifically for RVs.  I like the oil rubbed bronze style.  I found this one at Home Depot for several dollars less than a similar RV faucet.  It has a pull-out head and can be mounted in a single hole - something nice for the limited space on the counter.  This will allow me to fill a bucket on the counter or the second dishpan for rinse water.  And since I decided to use the single hole mount, I got a top fill soap dispenser so it doesn't go flying as I'm driving.