Winter's onset

I've had my first fresh tank freeze and first double-empty propane of the season, so I guess winter is upon us. Makes sense since we're well into December. Actually, both of these occurred a couple weeks ago. I'd left town for Wichita for the Fuller Christmas celebration. Knowing it would be a cold weekend, I powered the little fan under the stair to force heat down into the tank area. There wasn't much water in the tank, and when I got back it was frozen, the furnace was not heating, and the little fan was not running -- a hat trick. I got the propane tanks filled here at the Emporia RV Park that evening. Never figured out why the fan wasn't running, but after a bit of tinkering it started working again. And since there was such a small amount of water in the tank, it apparently thawed when I filled it up.

To combat this a bit more in the future, I've purchased parts to link my hot water line to the inlet of the fresh water tank. It'll take a bit of finagling, but I intend to cut the non-pressurized fill tube and splice in a T fitting, the top of which will have MPT. I'll also cut and splice a T into the pressurized CPVC as it exits the water heater. Down from this T, I'll install a shut off valve, and then connect it to the T in the inlet line with a fill hose. Then, if the tank temperature is dropping too low, I can run hot water into the tank to raise its temperature. Only thing that could be better is if this hot water could pour into the bottom of the fresh tank instead of the top. That would take a considerably more amount of finagling, though.

I also really need to check into why my front landing gears are not working. I'm wondering if my batteries aren't getting a full charge (they're new), or if the motor up there is not working right. Ever since Ark City, I've had to use the 12-ton jack to assist the landing gear hydraulics when raising or lowing the RV. It's an extra step that could be avoided, and is probably not that great for the metal work on the front end of the RV (not intended to support the weight of the RV).

The other main thing I'm working on this weekend, though, is downsizing my stuff. I really need to clean this place up and get rid of the things I don't use. Once I clear a lot of this stuff out, I'm hoping to better organize what remains. The initial thought was to make room for another person and associated stuff, but I've learned that she doesn't want to live in an RV (puts me back to my original theory that I won't find a woman who's attracted to this lifestyle and me at the same time). Still, though, I've got too much crap and clutter and would feel better if I could make things a bit more Spartan.

Some leaks and pondering the future

For the second time in my recollection, it appears that my water heater acted up the other day. I had the day off on Friday, so was milling about the homestead. At one point, I stepped down from the bathroom and the carpet said *squish*. This happens to be direction in front of the refrigerator, which is directly over the water heater. I opened the cabinet housing said water heater to find its cardboard box totally soaked. This happened once before and I dried the area up, but applied to real fix. Same thing in this case: the carpet is now dry and I haven't noticed any further issues. Still, I wonder about what I would find if I were to cut open that cardboard box and peel away the insulation surrounding the water heater. How much trouble am I asking for by not replacing it now?

As for the future, I'm trying to figure out what I'll do for housing when I find myself a job in the St. Paul area. Nothing's definite in the employment field yet, but I'm looking pretty actively. I've also begun perusing for houses, apartments, and mobile home parks that allow RVs. It'd be nice to be ride of my house here in Manhattan before taking on another domicile, and considering the winters up there it also seems like it may behoove me to sell the RV and find something a bit better insulated. I really don't have much use for a 5th-wheel and truck if I'm not going to be living in it fulltime. Don't know how much I'd get back out of them, though, and would want the sale to at least pay off the remainder of the loan. Much more will become clear once I get a bonafide job offer, though, so I'm going to try not to fret about it too much until then. I could foresee the need for a storage space here for the RV, perhaps stuff from the house (if I can sell it), and other odds and ins for a bit. I'd be really interested in paring down my earthly possessions to what I could fit into my car and a U-Haul trailer it can pull.

Time to learn something about batteries

Finished up in Ark City a couple weeks ago, but when I was packing up and getting ready to move, my hydraulics merely puttered and said, "nah." A quick hook-up via jumper cables from the truck battery to the RV batteries gave me the capability to pull the slides in, but the front legs still refused to budge (needed to life the front end of the RV to fit the truck and hitch under it). The jumper cables were hot to the touch, so I opted to run into town for some industrial strength (2-gauge) jumper cables, which set me back almost 50 bucks. I hooked them up, and though they didn't get warm, they still weren't providing the necessary power. A light blinked on in my head at that point and I returned to O'Reilly Auto Parts for a 12-ton hydraulic jack. With it, I was able to *carefully* life the front end of the RV, get the truck in place, and lower it back down ready for pulling.

The batteries are the smaller "24" size, and dated back to 2006; which, according to the dude at O'Reilly, means old in the case of deep cycle batteries like this. Now that I'm parked in Emporia, I want to take them in to the battery shop that hooked me up with acid for the motorcycle battery. I'd like to test them, though don't really doubt that they're old and shot; then want to gain some education on deep cycle batteries prior to replacing them. I was rather surprised that -- even though connected to shore power -- the hydraulics of the RV would not work without at least some assistance from the batteries. I wonder what else will go dead when I remove the two of them for testing.

Still here...

Yep, still here on blogspot, and still here in southern KS. I've gotta say: I really enjoyed being stuck in my unstuck home for some time in KC...over a year, really. Made some great friends there. As it looks now, though, I'm not likely to return for quite some time. That's the nature of the job and life in the RV, I guess. I'm looking at changing things up in an even bigger way, though, and looking at the potential for jobs in the Frigid North. Yes, I am looking for a job and dwelling place up in the St. Paul area to abide near to the one who possesses my heart. Still, I'm somewhat loathe to give up the RV, and one of the [many] things we share is an interest in getting back to the natural and fundamental skills of life. It occurred to me that I could purchase a plot of land in downtown St. Paul/Minneapolis and park the RV on it to reside in, then develop it into a community garden. I could be the Johnny Appleseed of community gardens. Cool concept...maybe frigid even. St. Paul gets a lot colder in winter than KS does, and freezing water tanks is a constant threat even in our relatively warm KS winters. Will need to look into it a bit more, but I'm certainly pondering the idea. Whatever comes of it, I'd really like to be living up there (RV or no) within a couple months.

Preparing to move and thoughts on a future RV

The rig still sits here in front of my house in Manhattan, but will have moved on by the day's end. I ended up with a couple extra days off of work, so am trying to make a bit more progress on the stick house. This afternoon, though, I'll be moving down to Wichita and back to work. May make a day of driving to go pick up the car in Lawrence and catch a bit of juggling with the KC group, but that largely depends on how early I get out of here.

I've been pondering my future use of an RV and think the next step is to downsize: I'd really like something that I could justify driving long distances for short periods of time (i.e.: to juggling fests). My current set-up consumes way too much fuel to justify such trips economically or environmentally, but if I could get ahold of something that got 15-20 mpg and could tote 6 people, I could really see myself camped in the parking lot at many-a-juggling fest. Don't know that such a rig would work for fulltiming, though: don't know that I'm willing to limit myself quite that much.

Back at it

I had totally forgotten that I'd started this blog until a friend visited and referred to her Blogger site. Having been reminded, though, hopefully I can try to post here regularly.

RV life has been good since the first entry, as it was leading up to that entry. For the past 3 months, I lived at Wagon Wheel RV Park in downtown KC...not far from City Market. Not the prettiest surroundings, but very cheap, and very near what has become one of my favorite parks down by the MO River.

Right now, the Coachmen is parked on the street outside of my stick house in Manhattan, KS. Drove back here last Saturday (29 May) just after my former tenants moved out so as to effect major repairs on the place. The plumbing is still out of commission in the house, so the RV is serving that need. I'll be moving to Wichita next, and have yet to reserve a site down there, though I'll be there mid-next-week at the latest, and tomorrow at the earliest (unlikely).

Since being here, it appears that the water heater has begun acting up again, and appears to be leaking...so much so that it's soaking the carpet on the floor in front of its access door. Also, my batteries don't last worth a hoot, so I've been charging them with a car battery charger using a long extension cord (since I don't currently have a way to plug in the rig's shore line).

Reckon that's all for now. Do remind me to visit and write here again, though.

The beginning: an RV synopsis

I'd say I don't know why I didn't do this sooner, but I truly know, I reckon: too lazy...or a lack of gumption. So it goes. What is the "this" that I refer to? Writing a blog about life in the RV. Moved into the thing in November of 2008 due to my current working situation, and I've been living in it fulltime ever since. It wouldn've been great and quite useful for me to've kept a log of my trials, tribulations, and joys, but I haven't. Hopefully in the first few posts I can re-hash the various goings-on of the previous year as they relate to life in the RV. A very brief synopsis will have to do for the first entry in this blog.
When I got the job in September of 2008, I knew that it would involve a lot of local travel. I'd be settling into any given location within the confines of Kansas and Missouri for a period of two to four weeks (give or take) and then moving on. I'd likely be back at Lawrence (my duty station) for a brief stint (up to a couple weeks) between each jaunt out into the world, but other than that would rarely be back in town. As I began house-searching near my duty station, it occurred to me that I would almost interminably be looking for a dog sitter, and would be leaving all of my hobbies at home for weeks at a time, veritably putting life on hold. This was a rather unappealing thought. As I was brainstorming ways that I could keep the dog with me, it occurred to me that I could create a dwelling for her in the back of my car. And then...voila! It occurred to me that there were already portable vehicles built to be dwellingplaces, and they were called RVs.

I've never really done any RVing to speak of. The only time I ever recall being in one was a 3-day trip up into the mountains of Japan to go snowboarding many years back. We rented a Class "C" (not that I knew what that was at the time" RV...probably a 23-footer or so, by recollection...and enjoyed the next few days building up a tolerance to bumps and bruises. So when I began considering moving into one fulltime for my new job, I realized that I had a lot to learn. I only considered it a possibility due to the RVs that we disc golfed around that were obviously permanent fixtures out at the state park. With that in mind, though, I forged ahead. I found the RV forums and used RV listings and perused and hemmed and hawed over size and type. Eventually, I settled on a 1998 32' Coachmen Royal 5th wheel that came as a package deal with a 1988 Chevrolet 3500. This way, I new that the truck would be capable of pulling the RV. The unit came at the right price and was in good condition, so I was set.

This research took place while I was several states away for training for the new job through the month of October. I returned, arranged a visit to the RV, made the financial arrangements, and picked it up shortly before Thanksgiving of 2008. That first drive deserves its own entry, so I'll leave it for another time. Suffice it to say: I've driven trailers before, but never a trailer that large or heavy. The only moves simpler than when I moved from my house into my RV have been the moves since (just pulling the RV to a new site). I've gotta' say: when you can park your new house right next to your old house and just carry over the stuff you need, things are quite simple. Once I was settled in, I headed out.

My first destination after a brief stint at the state park at Clinton Lake (nearest RV hook-ups to my duty station) was the far southeast corner of Kansas...so far south and east that towns in the neighboring states were closer than towns within Kansas. As a matter of fact, the closest RV park that I could find that would be open through the winter was just outside of Joplin, MO, so that's where I went. Figuring out the plumbing and refrigerator were both early and important lessons. Then came the installation of accessories: a roof rack to haul the kayak. And then a move down to way southwestern Missouri (fortunately for me, one of the canoe outfitters near my destination remained open year-'round). The stay down there in Pineville, MO, was definitely cheap living, especially considering that it was all reimbursable since I was that far from home and/or duty station. After wintering down there, my next several tasks had me in and around Kansas City, which is where I've been since. That is to say: in and around Kansas City between stints back in Lawrence.

So I've been in the RV for over a year now and it's worked out pretty well. The issues that arise are much the same as issues you might have living in a fixed abode, but often have a slightly different flavor. Keeping the plumbing warm in the winter is more of a concern (a concept I'm still wrasslin' with), and when my refrigerator quit a few weeks back I got to learn all about dual-source refrigerators. There's certainly more "making due" than I dealt with prior to life in the RV, but it's worth it for the fresh and new vista just outside the front door every couple of weeks. I've learned about myself and about the freedom of having less "stuff." And hopefully I'll remember enough of it to share something valuable through this blog.