Crunch Time

We're tightening down all the screws trying to get Pumpkin ready to roll next Monday.  I sealed the questionable spot on the roof yesterday and the gap in the window rubber seal this morning.  I don't know if either was the source of water penetration, but they shouldn't be now for sure.

I cleaned out the stuff from the basement compartments that won't be needed on this trip.  Then I added a few things - like that danged bottle jack I could have used Labor Day weekend.

I'm leaving the cab-over bunk mattress out.  We won't need that either and it will help dry out what dampness there is left up there.  I'm going to stow our lounge chairs up there instead of in the Jeep so it's much easier to access them and put them back.  If stowed in the Jeep, I have to unzip the rear window to get them out and that can be a pain.

Joyce made some covers for the inside of the vents.  They Velcro in place.  They should help insulate both heat and cold.  If we want to open a vent, it's a simple matter of just ripping the cover off and sticking it to the ceiling somewhere else.  Joyce put Velcro hooks on the covers and the ceiling fabric works like Velcro fuzz.

I got a new LNB (feed horn) for the satellite dish and checked out the cables before we went to Beaver over Labor Day.  But, there were too many trees to even try to pick up Dish TV.  Where we're going this time, I think there will be lots of opportunity to try out the satellite TV.

The buffalo roundup at Custer was going to be a problem for us in finding a camping spot.  If we arrived at Custer during the roundup, most everything would be full.  If we arrived afterward, many campgrounds close as soon as the roundup is over.  But, I found Ellsworth AFB has a nice "Famcamp" RV park and was assured we could get in just about any time.  The AF base is just outside Rapid City so it will be a good jump off point for daily outings into and around Custer SP.  We may stay there several days.

Doctor Appointment Today

I took Pumpkin to the tire shop today and had new valve stems put in all 7 tires (6 plus the spare).  After that one popped on us Labor Day Weekend, I didn't trust them.  I wasn't sure if the old ones were even high-pressure stems.  So, $162 later Pumpkin has 7 new valve stems and all tires rebalanced.  Cha-ching!

Oh No! Not Again!

Crap, crap, crap!  I removed the mattress from the overhead bunk this morning only to find big black spots of mildew.  It looks like we've had a water leak again!  But, we're going to Custer State Park in a week or so, so I'm not going to do anything with it except clean with bleach until we get back from that trip.

I can't really tell without taking some areas apart, but I suspect it is leaking around the front window seal.  There is a panel along the bottom of the window on the inside that will come off with three screws.  Removing it should reveal what the problem is - or isn't.  If it is the window, that's not a difficult fix.  The problem is getting the area dried out and the mildew or dry rot killed out before it does any more damage.

Rugged Camping

Prairie Creek campground turned out to be a pretty rugged place.  It was constructed back in the 60's and designed mostly for pickup campers and pop-ups.  There have been some improvements and updates, but for the most part, it is still tough to get larger campers in there.  We were on the last two sights on a fairly steep hillside.  It was tricky getting in and out, but we made it.  The only real problem was the actual pad was narrow, too narrow for a good awning covered area, and the edge dropped off over a foot.  To make things worse, they had embedded rocks (rough field stone, not flat rocks) in cement along the edge making a sloping bank which was very difficult to walk on - especially for Joyce.

That's Pumpkin and then Stephen's new trailer is the next site down the hill.

Here's the proud new owner showing off his campsite hotel.  You can see the rock ledge along just behind him.

Although the park was actually pretty nice and well kept, it is not a convenient place for Pumpkin or "Aspen".  We'll probably not go back there.

Cool, Man

A cold front came through yesterday morning early.  The temps went from the high 90's Saturday to 59 this morning.  Wow!  What a nice change.  Joyce says she might stay another week - well, maybe she didn't really say that, but if I insisted, I'll bet she would.  I think this may be the first day this summer I haven't had to listen to "I'm melting".

As nice as this morning is though, it has not been without problems.  The light over the sink blew a bulb.  We'll see how the rest of the day goes.

This is pack up day.  Stephen just came up from his trailer.  We're having biscuits and gravy this morning (hmmm).  Stephen said he's all packed up.  Just has to wait for the guy across the lane to leave so there's room to hook up and pull out.  I suspect his real reason is he doesn't want the audience.  As for us, all we have to do is suck up the jacks, unplug the power and drive off - well, after we secure the inside.

With just a little bit of luck, we'll make it home this afternoon without having to call for non-existent roadside service.

My Stem Is Floppy

Bless their little pea picking hearts.  Mike and Stephen helped me change the tire.  I backed the inside wheel up on a wooden ramp which allowed us to get the outer wheel off.  Stephen did most of the grunt work, removing the lug nuts.  Then he a Mike managed to get the wheel off and on the ground.  I was very interested and concerned as to what had happened to the tire.

We rolled it over and over, looking for the problem, but couldn't see anything obvious.  I touched the valve stem and found it was very soft.  It was not as stiff as most valve stems typically are.  I carry a little air compressor, so I tried airing up the tire.  Sure enough, the valve stem leaked when it was pushed to the side a bit.  Apparently the valve stem extender (used to make dual  wheel valve stems accessible) had over stressed the stem and it finally gave up.  That was good news.  That means I'm not shopping for new expensive tires.  I'll just run it by a tire shop and get a new stem put in.  Maybe I need to keep a spare stem just in case, because all four rear wheels have those extenders.

I don't know if I could have managed the tire change without the boys.  That darned thing is heavy and I just don't have the arm strength anymore.  However, as we worked on it, I was thinking about what it would take for me to do it by myself.  Of course, that means I'll have to follow my checklist and make sure I get all my "stuff" packed before we leave home.

Deflating Start

Now this is going to be a good weekend.  As we were backing into our site a Prairie Creek campground yesterday, we blew a rear tire.  Not a big bang, but more whistling loud escape of air that took about 1 minute to fully go down.

No problem.  I have roadside service with AARP Hartford insurance and I have a good spare.  The worst case will be I need a new tire, but hey, that's the cost of doing RV business.

So, I call the Hartford roadside service number on the paperwork they sent us.  Three hours and $30 in phone calls later, I gave up.  They can't find me in their database.  Oh, Hartford can, but they contract with Allstate for the actual roadside service and Allstate has some kind of system set up with phone answerers that don't know squat and can't do squat if it's not written on the screen in front of them.  They left me with the option to call someone to help me out and then try to get reimbursed.  Yeh, right.

Well, I can change it myself.  I'm sitting in a campsite with a paved surface and no big trucks whooshing by to scare hell out of me.  But, wait.  I forgot to pack my usual assortment of tools.  In the rush to try to get this site (and one for Stephen) reserved on such short notice and then having to rush around yesterday so I could make my medical test appointments, I didn't follow my regular checklist.  To top it off, I had earlier bought a 20 ton bottle jack for just this occasion and it is still sitting in the garage.  Crap, crap, crap.

After worrying what seems like all night, I got up this morning with the realization I did not need the jack.  The flat tire is on an outside (luckily) rear and I have some leveling ramps I can use.  All I have to do is pull up on one with just the inside tire.  As for tools, well, I have a lug wrench and the special handle to lower the spare from its storage spot underneath.  But, I was concerned about the chrome wheel covers.  They  require a special wrench, too, and the last time I saw my wrench it was in the little red toolbox along with several other "camping" tools and, of course, the little red toolbox is sitting in the garage next to the jack.

So, I resigned myself to calling a local service, pay for it out of pocket then try to get reimbursed.  Even then though, I would need a good spare.  So, this morning Ditto and I went out to lower the spare tire and check it out.  As I reached for the special wrench to lower the spare, I noticed the special wrench to remove the wheel covers lashed conveniently to it with a little bungee cord.  I hate getting old...

Now the only thing I need, besides some muscle, is a 3/8" or 7/16" wrench to remove the valve stem extensions - and Stephen said he has some tools.  I might make this yet.