Hello friends, family and fans!  Long time no talk.  Hopefully, we've been in contact in some fashion since my last post in 2012.  Figured you'd be interested to know what has been going on with our RV living.

We are still in Hampstead, NC and loving it!  Both James and I have great jobs with family owned businesses. The RV is still in tact, but this past winter was a very, very, very wet one and took it's toll on the big girl and the RV too. Hahahhaha.  More on that in a minute.

Kara and her family moved to OH for a couple of years, but are back home and sharing it with us,
but we are chomping at the bit to get back into our own space. When sharing a house with 2 dogs, 2 cats, 2 kids, 2 rats and a porcine princess (yes, that means pet pig) things have a tendency to go from zero to chaotic in the blink of an eye.
But enough idle chit chat, lets get to what y'all love....pictures and descriptions of what's been going on!

The issues started out small, but got out of hand rather quickly. The bedroom ended up with a several serious leaks and we also had some pipes burst in the bedroom floor and bathroom due to some cold winter nights.

The whole ceiling, all the walls and the floor in the bedroom and bathroom had to be torn out because of water damage, mold and mildew.

We tore the ceiling out all the way back to the fiberglass shell and tore the walls back all the way to the studs.  It was so scary to see how wet and rotted every thing was.

The top picture you can see the sun coming through some holes in the ceiling.

This back corner has always been a problem, but hopefully now it has been fixed for good!

Now you see the window, now you don't.  Really wish I could keep my craft cubby in the bedroom. 
 

Below is all the rotted, wet wood from the ceiling and walls. It was just flaking off if you barely touched it. The dark stain where the floor and wall meet is wet wood.    Such a mess!!!!  But look at the beautiful walls and new flooring!  We just need to figure out what we are going to do with the walls....paint, wallpaper (not what either of us really want to do) or panel. Here we go again with the decisions. LOL

 

We also need to figure out what we want to do with the bedroom situation. All the cupboards have been removed so we are deciding if we want to put them back in or just put up shelves. We also took out the pocket door between the bedroom and bathroom, it was just too claustrophobic, so we are going to put a curtain between the bathroom and sleeping area and then put a door back up to close of the bathroom/bedroom area from the rest of the living space.

On the left is the picture with the wall. On the right is what the new layout looks like without the wall/door.

Another decision we need to make is what to do with the ceiling in the bedroom.  Previously we had cedar it was nice, but we never kept up with it so that it would maintain its lovely scent.  

This time I'm toying with the idea of using pallet wood. James has access to a lot of pallets at work, so it would be free material, we'd just need to pick out some stain or paint.  I am hoping he agrees to my idea....just need to wait for him to wake up so I can share the brainstorm I had while fighting insomnia.

Well, I guess I should attempt to get some sort of sleep seeing as it is almost 5:30 a.m.  Please feel free to contact us with any questions, comments or suggestions.  We love hearing from folks and sharing our journey.

Thanks for stopping by!  

J&K

Springs Sprung!

Yesterday was officially the first day of spring and it was a BEAUTIFUL day here in northwest Ohio. It was also the day we took our big girl for a test drive. We had to get her inspection done so we figured since it was such a beautiful day and James took the day off we might as well get her out.

Getting ready to roll is quite a process. Like everyone does after moving into a new place, we started stashing things here, decorating there, etc., etc. as a result it took us about an hour and a half to stash, store and secure things for her first trip in over a year.

Seeing the big girl rolling down the road was such a delightful sight. She had no problems with going or stopping, all the blinkers and brake lights worked, but wait a minute, what is that sound, that ear piercing squeal coming from the front of the coach? Oh no, the springs are sprung on the front of this big girl. GAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

James was able to drive her and the springs didn’t cause any problems. We passed inspection with no problem and changed the title over to our names, drove her to the gas station to top her tank off at $3.99 a gallon when just a couple hours earlier I filled the van tank for $3.68 a gallon. How does that work?!

Anywho, I digress, the squeal in the springs did not go away. We were once again faced with a choice. Do we ignore it and continue with our plan to depart on Sunday and take the chance of it getting worse and causing more problems on the road, or do we dip into the gas fund once again to finance the repair? Well, being the sane people we are, we decided to bite the bullet and pay the $168 for the parts for the repair and we are possibly looking to leave on Monday, instead of Sunday. What is one day going to do to our trip? At least it’s not a week or two later, right?

In view of the fact that we were going to have to purchase ANOTHER part for the RV that is not in stock at any of the parts stores, I had to get up with James at the butt crack of dawn in order to take him to work and order the part from the part store. James has to be at work by 6:30 and fortunately the part store opened at 7:30 so I didn’t have to wait too long.

Thankfully, I made James find the part and the number on the internet so I could write the information down and recite it back to the clerk at the part store. According to the net we wouldn’t be able to pick up the part until tomorrow. Lucky for us we will be able to pick it up after 3 p.m. TODAY. Friday James will be taking the RV over to a friend’s house that has equipment to repair such a big gal so replacing the sprung springs shouldn’t take too long.

Well, I hope your first day of spring wasn’t as eventful as ours. And for those of you in NW Ohio, I hope you were able to get out and enjoy the glorious weather.

Thanks as always for stopping by. Stay tuned for more exciting reports from the RV Project!

Stop To Go

Well we have discovered the best way to go is to be able to stop….the RV that is. Here we are a week from the launch and James is working on the brakes. Last week we were moving our big girl around to get her out of the sink holes she was creating and James noticed he was having a really difficult time getting her to back up or move forward. Then he heard it, the whining of the brakes. We moved her into better positioning and then took off the wheels to check out the brakes. Wouldn’t you know it; the driver side brake was burnt up! There was hardly anything to it. Well heck! There goes MORE of our fuel funds out the window. Fortunately, the cost of the parts wasn’t as bad as it could have been. It was kind of a bugger finding them, or getting them in once we found them.

The first store wanted to charge us $60 for a brake line where as their competitor was only charging $25, yet neither place had it in stock and would have to order it from their warehouse. The earliest we could get the part in would be Wednesday, ummmm that is cutting it a bit close and is rough on James when he has to work all day. We shopped around and finally found a place that charged only $20 bucks and would be able to get the part in on Monday. The other part we picked up on Sat. afternoon only to find out it was the wrong part. When we took it back, one of the knowledgeable people was working and found out they could have BOTH the parts we needed in the store by Sunday morning.

Now all we have to do is run around and return pieces parts we don’t need. Thankfully, that will get us some much needed money back for the gas fund.

The repair seems to be going rather quickly which is a good thing. Once again I am glad we found out about the brakes BEFORE we were on the road. That would be a real bugger to try and repair on the road. As much as I’m eager to get out of here, I like the thought of being able to stop once we get there.

As of right now, things are looking pretty good for departure, but who knows what the next few days will bring. For now, I plan to start taking down photos and wrapping up dishes etc. we won’t be using for the next week. Busy work will make the time go by much faster, don’t you agree? Hopefully, my next post will be one reporting we are ready for take off.

Thanks so much for stopping by and stay tuned for more exciting events of the RV Project.

It's a No Go

I am sure you are chomping at the bit to find out if we are all set and ready to depart on Monday, March 12, 2012. Unfortunately, it won’t be happening. Given that we had to use $400 of our gas money to purchase two new tires.

As mentioned before, I am not all that upset about this turn of events. I would much rather have as many glitches out of the way before we hit the road. Also, hanging around a little longer gives me the opportunity to see Jorden once more before we leave. His spring break begins March 17^th so he will be home until the 25^th and that my friend IS THE DAY WE WILL BE LEAVING!!!!

A spreadsheet tracking all of our spending has been set up. James thinks I’m crazy, but I do much better seeing how much money we have rather than estimating. One too many times have we been wrong in either direction.

We have also started putting gas into the RV. We have a 5 gallon gas can that has been filled twice already. Hey, we need to have gas in her in order to get her to the gas station, right?

Temporary tags are on the big girl right now and we have decided that we will go ahead and get the inspection and plates while here in OH which will be done a few days before we need to leave because we will have to drive her to the inspection station. It was a bugger for James to get this big gal into the back yard, so once we move her out it will be for good.

Other than that minor expense we are good to go. We don’t have any other large purchases to make other than the gas. Keep your fingers crossed that we really can get out of here.

Being stuck here is starting to take its toll on both of our spirits. It is not that I despise Ohio, it’s just not where James or I want to be. The job opportunities are few and far between for me and James is not a fan of warehouse work. I know, I know we are in a recession so jobs are few and far between everywhere and all that, BUT there will be an ocean close by to provide us with some tranquility should the world be just as difficult to maneuver there as it is here. Plus, we’ve both had nibbles for jobs out there which gives us hope that it won’t take long for us to find something.

We just need to remember, everything happens for a reason and it is not for us to understand why, but to just embrace it and go with the flow. It certainly is a challenge and a learning curve.

Thanks for stopping by and HOPEFULLY the next time you hear from me it will be to tell you were are ready to roll.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Split Happens

As you may be aware we, rather I, have posted a count down to our departure on my facebook page. It is exciting to see the seconds, minutes, hours and days ticking by, but at the same time it’s a bit unnerving since we don't have much time and the funds are quite low. Looks like hot dogs and ramen for the next few weeks.

Yesterday, Saturday February 18^th we no longer could put off the inevitable and started the prep work for the power steering pump repair. As much as we wanted to pay someone to do the work, we couldn’t find anyone who wanted to work on the problem during this time of year. Do wonder why? Well, I’ll tell you why. It is freaking COLD outside!!!!! Yes, the sun was out and it was a balmy 37 degrees, but the wind was out too and it sure made a difference in the temperature. You will be happy to know that I stayed outside with James for an hour and a half handing him tools, being his gofer and providing moral support.

During that time James removed the front driver’s side tire. This tire was going to be moved to the back and the new tire we are getting this weekend was going to be put on the front. Sounds like a good plan, right? It was, until we found out that the tire we removed from the front was in HORRID shape. It is a miracle that the coach made it safe and sound from Indiana to here! Check it out.

Since we have discovered that wonderful problem we now are looking at $600 for tires as opposed to the $200 we budgeted for one more tire. Truth be told I was a little nervous about changing our plans to only purchase 2 tires. I feel more comfortable knowing she is going to have decent skins when it’s time to roll. Let’s just hope the 2 tires we are planning on NOT replacing will be in ok shape to make it. If not, we might end up being here through the spring!

After we got over the tire shock James did some tinkering and poking around and now has access…sort of….to the power steering pump. He is still not certain if it is a line or a pump problem. We are holding our breath, crossing our fingers and wishing upon stars that it is just the lines. On Friday, James had to go to multiple auto parts stores in Findlay to find the pump and the lines. Ended up he had to order the lines which were supposed to be in yesterday (Saturday). Unfortunately, only one of the 2 lines arrived and they weren’t certain when the other would get there….maybe Monday. UGH!

James was researching/troubleshooting the power steering issue and is thinking/hoping it’s not the pump. If it is there are a couple of issues. The first being, he is not certain if he purchased the correct pump. The second, the process for installing the pump and making certain it is working properly is quite intense. He printed off the instructions (about 3 full pages worth) which was enough to instill some fear in his eyes.

Today, he and his friend are supposed to really get into the repair and hopefully find out that it’s just a line. I don’t know how much will be accomplished since one of the lines needed for the repair is not available and also it is a tad bit colder than yesterday. Whatever happens I’ll be sure to post the outcome. Keep your fingers, toes, knees, eyes and anything else you can think of crossed that it’s just a line.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out our blog!

Six More Weeks

Happy Ground Hog Day! From the news reports it appears we have 6 more weeks of winter. I won’t complain too much since the winter so far has been pretty decent. I also won’t complain about still being in Ohio since I made a New Years promise to be positive. :D

I like to think we have about 6 more weeks in the state of Ohio too, but I'm not going to put the cart before the horse, or count my chickens before they hatch. I will say things are looking pretty good for my prediction.

Now that I’ve had time to get acclimated to my new home, I’m really enjoying our decision. At first, I kind of thought we were a bit goofy for stepping so far out of the American Dream box and I’m pretty sure many of you still think we are a bit nuts, but that’s ok. So many of us live with more than we need or can afford and we just don’t want to spread ourselves thin, or miss out on life because we can’t afford to live it.

Yes, right now we are struggling to afford all the things we need to get out of here, but I truly believe once we have moved on our situation will vastly improve. My Arizona family and friends thought I was crazy for leaving sunny AZ to return to bipolar Ohio. However, so many great things came out of this move that I don’t regret it. First of all, I met my fantastic and handy husband and gained 3 more fantastic children. Secondly, I received my BS degree in business from the University of Findlay. Finally, I learned to become a strong and independent person as I mainly had myself and later my husband to rely on. Therefore, I feel this next chapter in my life will be full of successes and life lessons to cherish.

Ok enough of the blah, blah, blah! Let’s get into what you really came here for, PICTURES!!!!

A few weeks ago James and I decided we needed to bite the bullet and return to RAC for a fireplace. The one we found is fantastic and also HUGE. The sweet thing is its programmable, so once it hits the set temp the heat part turns off. Sweet! Hopefully, that will help with our electric bill which was as much as our rent this last billing cycle. YIKES!

Along with providing affordable and efficient heat, it also provides more leg room as it is much narrower than the stand we were using for the TV. It also has ample storage space, which as you know is very important when living in small quarters.

We bolted the TV on top of the fireplace in order to keep it in place while we are on road. The fireplace is also bolted to the floor to prevent it from moving around as well. Once we get to our destination, I’ll let you know how it went.

The only snafu we encountered with the installation of the fireplace was the lack of room for Molly. Since the fireplace is so large we had to find a new place for Molly. I ended up cleaning out the drawers we had under the desk area and reorganizing my scrap/craft goodies. Once that was out of the way we were able to create a “room” for the basset. I think she likes this space more than the one she had by the door. It is less drafty and more out of the way of general traffic, which makes for better naps.

As you will notice we have a new chair for the desk. Like usual, James and I came across a deal we couldn’t pass up. The chair was on sale at Menards for $35! It is exactly what we were looking for and the price was affordable, so we snatched that baby up in a heartbeat. The following week we were in Menards and passed by the chairs again and they were back up to their regular price of $95. WOW! Now if we could just find someone to fix the power steering line for an affordable price.

Hopefully, next week will have two new tires. Excuse me as I do the happy dance. It has been mentioned for quite sometime that two tires were the big things holding us back from getting this show on the road. Keep your fingers crossed that it happens and isn’t just wishful thinking.

Last weekend we fired the big girl up again and she turned right over. YAY! We do need to get the power steering situation straightened out and once that is done all we’ll need is cash for gas and its all systems go. I can’t begin to explain how excited we are. I’ve been deep cleaning the apartment the past few days so that will be ready to roll when the time comes.

We also checked all the running lights on the coach and cleaned them up and made sure they were all working. James also replaced the outside light near the door. It was missing the light cover and the wires were not very healthy so he thought it best to replace the whole shebang. It’s the little things that make a big difference. There isn’t much left to do now other than hurry up and wait.

Next weekend we will be attending the Camp and Travel RV Show in Toledo. We like to go just to see what’s new and exciting. We might even be looking for a place that can service our big girl to make sure she is road ready. If you are interested in checking out the show, click on the link and you can get a coupon for $1 off admission.

Well, I think I’ve run out of things to fill you in on, so I’ll bid you adieu until next time. Have a wonderful day!

Fine Tuning

Well, I’ve been home now for a month; all the presents have been open and the decorations put away; the New Year has been rung in full of new hope and promises to ourselves.

This year I strive to work on having a more positive outlook, although I think at times my sarcastic and cynical views are quite humors. I’m really going to work on enjoying the day for what it brings and embracing the learning opportunities that arise from the challenges…..lets hope I don’t encounter many of those. :D

James has made the resolution to once again not make any resolutions because it worked out wonderfully for him last year and he was totally content with his successes and ignored all the roadblocks…not really, but he wanted to.

Since the holiday dust has settled, we have had time to evaluate what is working beautifully in our new home and fine tuning the things that are almost how we’d like them.

The first major issue we addressed was the stuffiness of the bedroom. It is so cozy and such a perfect sleeping spot, but oh my goodness does it ever get WARM in there! For years, James has been sleeping with a fan (no, I don’t mean someone who adores him and wears a #1 foam finger with his name painted on it) to provide air circulation and white noise (although this James fan makes some pretty good white noise with her snoring).

The only problem with adding a fan to our bedroom was we had zero space for one and had a really hard time even finding a fan in the middle of winter.

Hubby is so smart and knew exactly how to fix the space problem by purchasing a shelf and some brackets to hang it on the wall. I fixed the no fan problem by ASKING almost every store we visited if they had any fans. Many said no, others had just a few and they were WAY to big, but after much searching and patience, we found exactly what we were looking for at Menards….I love that store! Mary I., I love the store, but I’m not friends with any of their employees. I only have friends who work at Lowes. :D

Another problem we had was the brightness of the bedroom and the tackiness of towels being used to block out the light. We went to Hobby Lobby and purchased some brown heavy felt and used it to cover the windows. Wow oh wow has that made a difference! There are very few gaps to allow light in and there is a double layer of felt to help keep the cool air out and to muffle the sound.

As you can see we ran out of material, so we will have to pick up some more. At least it gives you an idea of what we were dealing with having all those towels in there.

I am still struggling with the storage issue for my clothes, but someday I’ll have it figured out how I want it. Until then, I will work on my new year’s resolution of being positive and embracing the challenges that I face. :D

We also struggled with the limited space in the kitchen. The coffee pot was taking up way too much space, but was a necessity as James and I MUST have coffee on a daily basis.

First, we tried the Coleman Camping Coffee Maker. Loved the idea, but it was HUGE and wasn’t really made for a gas stovetop. It would work perfectly on a Coleman camp stove.

We scratched that idea and moved on to our second option of an under the counter coffee maker. That was another big no. And by big I mean the only one we could seem to find was the size of a small suitcase. No thanks, we enjoy having a light under the cabinet and we also didn’t want to spend $100 for a coffee maker.

Finally, we decided to give a French press a shot. That is until we saw the price tag on that lovely contraption. The press we found cost about $25 and THEN we’d have to buy a tea kettle to heat the water, another $25 and finally we’d have to buy and grind up our own coffee beans and those run about $8 and up a pound. Hmmmmmm not really something we were that into. Maybe later on down the road we’ll give it a shot, but right now we are making our coffee the financially and economically friendly way. How is that you ask? Well, we found sitting on the shelf right next to the French press, a cute little glass percolator for less than $20! It takes up very little space and once we figure out the percolating time I think we will have a fabulous pot of joe.

Now on to bigger and better things; the fresh water supply line and the fuel line. These two items are very important to our comfort and traveling plans. Now that winter has decided to show up, thanks to all the people who were whining about a non-white Christmas, the cold weather is causing problems with our fresh water supply line; in other words so cold that the hose froze.

Frozen hose means no water. No water means no cooking, laundry, cleaning or showers. Fortunately, the first cold spell was not too long so James was able to troubleshoot and fix the initial problem. This meant insulating the hose and installing heat tape which helped immensely, however it did not solve the freezing point of entry into the coach which was a metal fitting that was an original fixture for the coach. James thought long and hard about that issue and came up with a clunky, not very attractive fix, but it is so much better than no water. And as you are aware, if you point out flaws or voice your negative opinion you will be asked to leave. LOL

Earlier in the week we were blessed with a few days of wonderfully warm weather. This offered us an opportunity to see if we could fire up our big beauty. James filled the big girl with about ¼ a tank of gas (no we did not drive her to the gas station) and tried for at least 20 minutes for her to get going. The engine was turning over but never fully started up. Come to find out there was a plug somewhere along the fuel line. James made several stops to the local auto supply stores in search of the right size fuel line. Once he found the right materials and got everything installed he gave it another shot and she fired right up! We let her run for about 15 minutes and even moved her a bit so that we could fill in the hole being created by the front tire.

For our basset hound, Molly Mae, we made the most important upgrade when it came to her. We originally purchased a pillow for her as a makeshift bed. Hubby thought it looked tacky and Molly thought it made a great chew toy so we had to purchase a new bed. I was content with another pillow type bed, but hubby insisted she needed a couch. He was hoping if she had her own “furniture” she’d stay off ours. LOL Thanks to Big Lots we found what met everyone’s requirements- affordable, comfortable and fits the décor.

We are really comfortable in our space and making a list of the things we still need to tweak to make it “just right”, but isn’t that how it goes no matter if you live in an apartment, a house or an RV?

There is still no definite date for our departure. That is ok, we are going to take one day at a time and continue to do what we can to make our daily lives more comfortable.

I hope you enjoyed catching up on our blog. We enjoy all the visitors and welcome any and all comments.

Have a wonderful week!