Homemaking

by

A Non-Intrusive Way of Bringing Cables Into an RV

All of last summer, winter, and spring, I brought my internet antenna cable in through the office window, sealing the gap as best as I could with tape and, in the coldest month, towels. Bugs and cold still managed to get in. This summer, I was determined to find a better, yet non-intrusive, way to bring cables into my RV.

My impetus was moving to a new type of cellular booster. I’m not ready to blog about that as my system is not working as well as expected and I’m still exploring other options. So while I wanted to bring the cable in in such a way that bugs and cold couldn’t get in, I didn’t want to make any holes since I’m not sure my booster system is what I’m going to end up using permanently here.

If I ever get this booster working as well as I believed it would, I will likely put a hole in the roof over a cabinet, install the booster in there, and run the cable to it. But for now, the cable is out of my way and this is working out well.

My coax cable is in two sections, with its connector being at ground level. So when I had to move Miranda in a hurry a few weeks ago, I was able to show Caroline where the junction was and leave her to disconnect the two bits and coiling the part attached to the RV around the ladder while I did other things instead of my having to disconnect the booster from inside and scramble onto the roof to yank the wire out of the way. Unintentional, but perfect, design!

by

My Digital Honeywell Thermostat and the AC

Back in November, I upgraded from an analog Duoterm thermostat to a programmable digital Honeywell thermostat. This remains one of the best mods I’ve made to my RV.

This spring, I did my AC maintenance and testing before the weather got warm. The AC did not run correctly and made an awful sound. It took me a minute to think, “What changed between now and the last time I used the AC? Ah, the thermostat.”

It would have probably been faster to check my post from November, which I only just did, as it explains exactly what was going on with my AC!

But I figured it out on my own very quickly and before thinking I had any major AC issues.

The problem in November was that when I hooked up the wiring for the fan on the AC, it would run as soon as the furnace powered on. I disconnected this wiring and had no trouble with heating all winter.

So the possible solution to the AC not working was to open up the thermostat and reconnect the fan wiring. Sure enough, that did the trick!

My AC runs great and while I just about never use it, I’m grateful for it when it gets unbearably muggy in here, like tonight!

I don’t think that there’s a way around the fan issue other than  making a radical modification to the thermostat to add an off option in addition to on and auto. So I’ll just disconnect it when I need heat and reconnect it when I need cold, which should technically be once a year each…

by

Creatively Replacing Atwood Range Knobs

I use my RV range daily and it has taken a beating over the last six years. The knobs in particular have given me a hard time. They are made of lightweight plastic. I lost one a few years ago and another one gave out a few months ago, leaving me with just one working knob for three burners.

I tried to find replacement knobs at Camping World and RV part stores, but the best anyone could do was order some in and I wasn’t in the location long enough for that to be a good option. Forget ordering them online; with shipping I was looking at something like $100 for three pieces of plastic!

My engineer friend L had a much better solution. He went to a city dump and pulled an assortment of knobs off of barbecues and stoves.

When he arrived here for his visit, he tried to fit each of the knobs to the stems on my stove until he found a close match. The holes in the knobs were a little too small, so he carefully drilled them out so that they would fit. That was imprecise and some were a little loose, so he added a little paper to the hole to provide a tighter fit on the stem.

This week, I picked up some Gorilla glue and put a tiny amount in each knob hole. Gorilla glue turns into a hard foam, so when the glue was almost dry, I put the knobs back on the stove to get the shape of the stem, pulled the knobs off, and let them dry. End result, knobs with holes that perfectly fit my stove!

IMGP8291

The new knobs look so much better than did the old ones and are at least as easy to manipulate. They only have one line on them, which means the stove is off when it’s at the 12 o’clock position, but I’m learning to gauge the height of the flame by the line’s other positions rather than attempting to put a medium and low marker on the knobs as well.

I love having three working knobs again and, really, these look so much better than did the old ones. Thanks again, L!

by

Making Excellent Progress

Mr. Zucca: That’s no rock. That’s a ledge.
Bill Cole: What Mr. Blandings means is, what precisely is a ledge?
Mr. Zucca: A ledge is like a big stone. Only it’s bigger.
Jim Blandings: Like a boulder!
Mr. Zucca: No, like a ledge.

I put in way more than an hour at the gravel pile today and I have three blisters on my palms, one of which is huge, to show for it! I wanted to take advantage of the weather, which started off ominous, but greatly improved. It also helped that I didn’t have to borrow a wheelbarrow and that my body is reacclimatising to being worked hard. I’ll be stiff tomorrow, no doubt about it, but I’m not fatigued by the hard work today.

Moreover, my work queue is currently worrisomely empty, which means that I’m not getting work this week for whatever reason, or that it’s all going to land at once and I won’t see daylight for a bit. I’m hoping on the latter and making good use of my time off.

I alternated between raking, shoveling, hauling, spreading, and picking out giant rocks, trying to work the pile evenly. I didn’t make a firm decision as to what size rocks could be leveled out and which went into my piles when it came to smaller stones, but the very large rocks that needed two hands were obviously set aside for future landscaping projects.

While I would be very grateful for a neighbour with a tractor or bobcat to come help me finish leveling and packing the pile,  I think this is one project I’ll be able to finish on my own if I have to.

The reason I struggled so much with the RV pad, besides simply being out of shape, is that I had to shift so much material eastward to get the pad the width I wanted. With this pile, I’m just trying to get it as flat as possible and don’t care as much about the width.

I’m really surprised and pleased by my progress today. I can tell that the big thing I need to work on is reducing the entrance slope to make it easier to back in with a trailer.

by

Gravel Déjà Vu

I joked earlier today on Facebook that if I had known I’d have so many status-worthy events today, I would have saved them up for a blog post. Well, here’s the post anyway! 🙂

Today was a pretty dang perfect Saturday, especially since we got our first sunny and hot day in almost a month! I was up earlyish and got my day’s work done by noon. I could then get tomorrow’s work done to have a full day off or do two half-days off. I chose the latter and it wound up being the best choice.

I started the afternoon by going to Willow Bunch to get some produce and to check out offerings at the thrift store. I got a good haul today!

Remember, I’m building a wardrobe entirely from scratch, from underwear to coats, so I’m not going nearly as crazy with the clothes buying as it might seem, plus the bulk of what I bought last year and was hoping to fit in this year is a size or two too big. And, frankly, when you’ve been a size XL or 1X most of your life and you find a super cute dress size S that looks fabulous on you and it’s just $1, it’s not hard to justify finding room for it in your wardrobe. 🙂

I also lucked out and found a good set of pruning sheers for 25 cents! I was going to borrow a pair from Caroline today, so this was good timing!

I got home and put laundry on, then I got on the roof and cut the branches that have been rubbing at the overhang and keeping me up at night. Let me repeat that in case you didn’t catch the significance of it. I went off and did something else while my laundry cleaned itself while not at an RV park or friend’s house where I’m using borrowed laundry facilities, but instead on my own turf! 😀

Once the overhang was branch free, I started at the south end of the eastern perimeter and worked my way north, trimming all the branches I could reach and which were small enough for my sheers to handle (which was a lot bigger than I expected; almost thumb-size!). I also laid down some pallets and piled logs on them in the hope that they will eventually dry. I was grateful that Charles’ trailer was still parked out front so I could get rid of the branches immediately.

While all this was happening, the gravel guy stopped by to make arrangements with me for delivery. On a Saturday! He needed Charles’ trailer out of the way to do that so he told me to give him a call when the coast was clear.

He also reminded me that the gravel this year is even worse than the stuff last year that I was unhappy about. I said that for this year’s application, it would be fine, I just didn’t want to pay the big bucks for it. He said that it would be more expensive than the crap I got last year and I wouldn’t get a discount on it!

He said, “I can bring you pit run,” and I perked up because that’s what I’d initially requested, but kept getting dismissed on the few times I discussed gravel with the RM. ‘Pit run’ is really dirty gravel with big rocks, even boulders in it. I want the rocks for landscaping projects, so this stuff being so much cheaper makes it feel like a real deal to me.

He left and I went in to call C&C to put in a request for Charles to move the trailer. Caroline said he’d check his schedule and get back to me.

Shortly thereafter, I heard the gravel guy again and went out. He said that he’d just spoken to Charles, who was going to move the trailer shortly. Was I really sure I wanted pit run? He pulled out a map and said that he’d just dumped some two miles out and he wouldn’t deliver me a load of it unless I went out to look at what I was ordering.

I knew exactly what I was ordering, but I humoured him and drove out. I’m pleased to say that, “Go about two miles east to the road just before the big turn, not the bad road, the good one, and look at what I dumped right after the Texas gate,” was perfectly sufficient instructions for me to find the place!

The pit run was exactly what I thought it would be, so I came home and called the gravel guy. He asked me again if I was sure. Yup… He said that I was second next in line and he’d be by in a couple of hours.

I hung up with him and thought I heard noise outside, so I went to see if it was Charles. Indeed. I put on proper shoes and jumped in his truck to take the branches to the branch dump, which is just around the corner, by the cemetery.

As usual, his dog, Brutus, was in the front seat, and had no desire to give me more space than necessary, so intent was he at getting some cuddling out of this whole affair. I still can’t believe what a dog person I’m becoming!

I came in and debated whether or not to make dinner or wait for gravel and decided to go for it since I was starting to feel a little faint. I’d been saving a package of Japanese dumplings for a night like this, so I had a nice treat. I even whipped up a frozen banana with some all natural peanut butter for a decadent (yet healthy!) dessert.

Shortly thereafter, I heard the gravel guy again.

He floundered in the mud getting in the yard and almost got stuck, perfectly exemplifying why I was so eager to get the front part of the yard covered!

As it was explained to me, after the old garage that was on this lot got torn down, the lot was back filled with manure. The ground is therefore very, very soft. After a wet period like we just had, with lots of hard rain, I can’t even park on the lot. So I really wanted to add a layer of material to give me a proper driveway and, as a bonus, provide another RV pad.

Once the load was empty, the guy got out of his truck to make sure I was happy and to get the cheque for the material, which has to be paid for on delivery. I’ll get a bill later for the delivery. The gravel was $66 and the delivery will be $189.

I was thrilled with the product, smiling as I noticed one big rock after another. I knew it would be hard work to get it all smoothed out, but I wouldn’t have gotten much better stuff from the RM and it would have been three times the cost!

Instead of crashing with a movie, I went out and starting hauling and raking gravel. Having property is good for my health! I doubt I’ll get lucky again with the neighbour who has the tractor since he’s farming and working very long hours.

So my goal at this point is to rake it out just enough that L can back in his trailer when he arrives in a few weeks. If I do an hour of work a day, that will be easily achievable, and I need exercise anyway!