Day: February 19, 2013

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A Useful Tool For Deep RV Compartments

I would like to introduce you to one of my favourite little gadgets, my Grabby Thingie:

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Officially, it’s a 36″ pick-up & reach tool.

I got this wonderful tool from Donna and Ken, whose RV should have really been named Ali Baba’s Cave.

As you can see, there is a handle at one end and a gripper at the other. You just squeeze the handle and the gripper closes to grab whatever you need to fetch that is beyond arm’s reach.

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This gripper is very strong. I have actually used it to pick up heavy tools like my hammer and drill from the main floor while working in the loft. The warning sticker that says to wear goggles while using it (LOL) puts its capacity is 2lbs. It also has teeth that actually grab the item.

I mostly use the gripper to grab things deep in my pass-through compartments so that I don’t have to empty everything out and then crawl in.

Donna claimed not have much use for it, so I don’t feel too guilty about having accepted the gift since I use it several times a week. 🙂

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O’Reilly Auto Parts WOW

I emailed O’Reilly Auto Parts to praise the weekend employees who made things right in the whole solenoid debacle.

A customer service rep emailed me back, thanked me for taking the time to say good things about their staff, and asked where they could send me a $50 gift card! WOW!!!!! Again, I did not email to complain, but to show appreciation, something I know customer service reps don’t get enough of.

The card’s in the mail and now I get to dream of what I can buy with all that cash.

Hmm… a socket wrench set? A case of oil for my truck? Ginormous crimpers if they carry such a thing? I wait a week for the truck AC repair and get the Freon? Ooh, they sell wiring! I’ve determined that my idea of using 4AWG is ridiculous and am going to use 10AWG; I can get a 75′ spool from them for $42.99.

It’s like I just won the lottery! 😀 Any other suggestions? 😉

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Two Good Electrical Days In a Row

Today is another day with more sun than expected. It’s chilly, but I’m not complaining!

I’m going to have the computer on charge all day since I’m in major backup mode. My MacBook Pro keeps crashing, so complete hard drive failure is imminent. I just need to decide on a new drive and order it; the choices are a little overwhelming. I want to make sure I have several recent Time Machine backups and two different bootable backups. It’s likely way more than I need, but with the current drive being only good for the dump, I want all the chances I can get to be up and running perfectly about four hours from the new drive making it here.

Power right now is at 88% and holding. I’m actually getting 7 to 8A in, so I’m breaking even. The more the batteries are depleted, the more efficiently the alternator charges them, so I’ll wait till about 4PM and then run the engine for a bit to make sure I’m at at least 90% capacity tonight and then I’ll aim for 100% tomorrow.

In other news, R and S from Colorado are back, so a beach party is imminent!