More Motorhome and Radio Signals

James continues to work on the engine. He's got the exhaust manifolds off and managed to drill out one or two of the broken off studs. Today he decided that he simply can't drill out the other ones with the heads on the the engine block and crammed into the RV. So tomorrow he's going to remove the heads. What a trooper! He volunteered to fix one cracked exhaust manifold and he just keeps working it as the problem gets bigger and more difficult.



Meanwhile my small contribution is repairing some water damaged walls, removing windows and resealing them with silicon. Oh yeah, and I replaced the potable water port and hammered the edge ding back into position and siliconed it.



On another note, the radio in my Subaru quit working about a year ago. I was waiting for a pilot car to guide me and several of my neighbors through the construction zone on Friday, (they were reblacktopping Wasilla Fishook road.) I got to fiddling aimlessly with the radio and turned it on. It suddenly has decided to work after silence for a year. I believe it was more results of splashed coffee like my turn indicators(see January blog entry.)

Back to the Motorhome

Using extreme care I did get all my studded tires off without further injuring myself. Although my back doesn't seem to be getting better. I have a feeling that I am experiencing a disc issue, not a muscle issue this time. The only time I'm comfortable is in a supportive office type chair or sleeping on my side. Standing and walking are actually getting worse. For now I'll try to get by with Advil and hope the situation doesn't require a visit to my doctor or my parent's back surgeon.

We were going to do our shake down cruise in the Motorhome this coming Memorial Day weekend. However, James started to work on the leaking exhaust manifold last evening. He discovered it was not just one leaking manifold but both and that someone had twisted off 3 studs apparently in an aborted repair attempt. Both manifolds will have to come off and the broken studs drilled and replaced. He also discovered the reason they twisted them off. Several of the studs and nuts he worked on were so tight he couldn't turn them. At least one he's pretty sure is so frozen that it's going to twist off when he comes back this evening with bigger wrenches. We've canceled the trip. I don't want to put any time pressure on my favorite volunteer master mechanic. He is still recovering from back surgery himself.

A Touch of the Flu

I might have a touch of one of the many viruses currently in circulation. The usual Pepto Bismal symptoms and a low grade achy feeling. Left work mid-morning and came home. Thought I'd post the final pictures of the living room remodel. The final pictured until I change or add something. Home remodeling is now done until fall. Motor home repair to commence as soon as I feel better.


















I only posted the second picture because of Shadow looking up at me from under the table. I didn't notice him when I took the shot.

Gettin' Close

I took a mini-vacation over Easter and spent almost all of it on the living room project. It's done! I bought the flat screen TV last night. I'll be hanging it on the wall tonight and buying shelves for the rest of the wall. Also I'm ordering custom blinds for the windows. I'm still working on lighting ideas and also looking for a rug, other than those items the room is done. I'll post pictures this weekend.
Now back to my previous project, the motorhome. I took it out of the garage this weekend, because the garage needs a major spring cleaning. I'll probably leave it in the driveway unless by doing so, I jinx us and we get a late season dump of snow. (You'll notice I'm not talking about the weather!)

Motorhome

Just so you don't think I have done nothing productive on my vacation, here are the before and after taillight pictures.

January 1, 2008

Like many dogs, Shadow, my black and white malamute, is frightened of fireworks. Last night's celebration of the New Year was the loudest I can recall. As I drove home last night there were rocket bursting above the trees everywhere. My dogs were in the garage. I found Shadow hiding inside the motor home. He had climbed in through the open driver's door window. After we went into the house he paced and panted until 1 a.m. before he settled down.
This morning I had a cow and calf moose in the front yard. Since it was daylight I spend an hour trying to get a decent shot or two of the cow. She was closer to the edge of the brush and lighter in color than the calf.

Winter Project

I bought a used motorhome. Twenty five years ago, not fully understanding what the ravages of time would do to my joints and spine I snickered at the old fogies in their motor homes. "Why bother going camping if your if your bringing the house with you," I'd say as hiked into the backcountry and slept in a 2 pound tent with only a 1/4 inch thick piece of foam between me and the tree roots and rocks. Just another example of the ignorance of youth. I can and will sleep in tents, when neccessary, for instance in hunting camp. But when ever I can get the motorhome close enough I will sleep comfortably and snicker at the young kids and thier tiny tents.

The motorhome needs some repairs. It's 29 feet long and "Just" fits into my 36 foot long garage. At my son's suggestion last night I took "before" pictures of all the areas that I will be working on. In the coming weeks you can expect a series of before and after picture as I complete each repair. Won't that be fasinating. Unfortunately I didn't think of taking the pictures before I scraped off all of the skulls, pinup girls, and biker slogans off the windows. The previous owner had a "different" philosophy of aesthetics than I. My aesthetics are over the top U.S.A patriotic symbols. Yes, I realize that some people will find that as objectionable as I found all the skulls, barbed wire and moral anarchy slogans that I removed. Yes it does make me feel good to irritate people who find American Patriotism objectionable. Deal with it!