Day: March 29, 2010

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Class C Motorhome Ownership Tip

If you have a class C motorhome, and especially if you sleep in the loft over the cab, do not under any circumstances put your mattress directly on the floor. Just trust me on this one and don’t ask me why. Oh, you insist? Well one day you will decide to remove your mattress and discover that you have been sleeping on a fungus forest. No, I will not clarify that with a picture.

Thankfully, Miranda’s original hard-as-nails mattress was between mine and the floor, so my good mattress that I sleep on is fine.

Over the past year and a half I have occasionally taken a peek under the original mattress and I never saw anything amiss. The problems were in the middle of the mattress….

Followed a fun hour of trying to figure out how to get the mouldy original mattress out of the rig without contaminating everything. I wound up rolling it up loosely, mouldy-side in, and taking it out the driver’s side door. This was after wrestling with my good mattress and trying to find a spot for it. Thank goodness for clear wall space where the bucket chairs used to be!

I then spent time with an anti-mould and fungus product, a couple of rolls of paper towels, and a garbage bag. I even dug out a bit of the flooring to see if the mould had penetrated it (no!). I think I might have dodged the bullet on this one, yet again, finding a major problem before it becomes a structural issue. The walls were all fine, including the one were I had a leak earlier this winter. I should have put two and two together back then and guessed that water leaked under the mattress. *shakes head*

Interestingly enough, I already had the solution for preventing this from happening again. I’ve been wanting to remove that mattress for some time now because it is a dust and cat fur magnet and thought that while I was at it I could elevate the mattress to circulate the air under it. Sad how I had this thought for my good mattress but not for the disposable one. *rolls eyes*

The obvious solution would be a wooden base with slats. Many months ago, without even realising that I’d been mulling over this issue, a solution came to me. It was just a matter of making a trip to Home Depot for some pallets…

Did you know that two standard Home Depot Pallets placed end to end have the exact dimensions of a standard double/full mattress?

The only adjustment I need to make is to the board covering the hole over the cab. It’s the board that was tucked into the original mattress, but it’s not at the same level as the floor, so I’ll need to either replace it with something else or make some notches in the pallets.

Of course, the pallets are higher than the original mattress was, so I am going to be even closer to the ceiling. I’ve measured this already and think I can live with it until I can get a new, thinner, mattress. My mattress is reaching the end of its lifespan, so I don’t mind this.

I’d better go finish this project unless I want to sleep in the study tonight. 😀

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Departure Season

Croft and Gypsy‘s imminent departures from their wintering spots are making my Itch even worse. Four weeks left before I head back to Dawson City!

I had big plans for this winter, but only accomplished half of them, the renos. Unfortunately, my budget did not permit me to do much traveling so I will need to come back to Vancouver Island. I might have another trip up my sleeve this month, but it will really depend on how much further along I am in the preparations for departure.

To be honest, the renos were more important to me. One city is starting to look pretty much like another and there are a lot of forests in Canada, but I only have one home and it hasn’t been working for me as much as it could. I think my travels will be much more enjoyable now.

Today, after putting in several hours at my contract, I cleaned the cab and made sure Miranda starts. Beyond the interior preparations I have a lot of exterior considerations:

-oil change;

-tire pressure check and adjustment;

-fresh water system flush;

-black tank dump and flush;

-gas tank fill;

-propane fill (will be done in Chilliwack)

My last day of work should be April 28th, so departure is still right on schedule for May 1st. A big BOO goes to BC Ferries for hiking up their rates again. I paid $193 to come over. It seems I will now have to pay $214, a $21 increase. BOO!