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My families Great American Adventure

Wulaw Horn

By Wulaw Horn
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Wulaw Horn
Wulaw Horn

Welp, I got some bad news today that is going to put a bullet in the head of this whole thing- repair bill came back at $37k and timeline to fix came back at 3 plus months.  it looks like the insura

Wulaw Horn
Wulaw Horn

Today was a travel day. Garner state park to Big Bend.  when you travel shit flies around if it’s not locked down tight. I put my money in an envelope, $578.86 in the microwave because fuck it- we’v

Wulaw Horn
Wulaw Horn

Houston, but yeah- the consensus over under seems to be 2-3 months.  Me to wife- how much was the bill at Walmart her- $400.  Me- what the fuck- you had like 9 bags of groceries is all

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Landomatic

Landomatic 3813

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25 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

So, next problem up is wake up today and the AC is leaking into the RV. From everything I’m reading sounds like a clogged drain pipe.

Also kids ripping up the floor. At this rate, this thing is going to fall apart inside of 3 months. 

Jeez no doubt.  Welcome to RV ownership I guess.  Probably should have gone with the 5th wheel for your price point.

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Wulaw Horn

Wulaw Horn 19059

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3 minutes ago, RPM said:

Clogged line OR you're not parked level. In heavy humidity you'll get a lot of condensation. Easy fix.

I set the levelers (automatic) but not quite sure it really is truly level. 

If it was a frozen coil the ac wouldn’t be working at all, right?  That’s why I assumed the drain pan clogged. 

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RPM

RPM 26298

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13 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

If it was a frozen coil the ac wouldn’t be working at all, right?

If the coil (assuming you mean the inside evaporator) was frozen, you wouldn't have any air blowing.

There's also the possibility of this little fun maintenance item. Personally I've never had to deal with it. I'd check level first, then look at the drain. All the RV a/c I've dealt with just have an opening to drain onto the roof and it runs off from there. 

Edited by RPM
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Wulaw Horn

Wulaw Horn 19059

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Ok, so I’m a big old basket of fat failure again- just like with the stairs. 

First I sent the wife up and tried to talk her through what she should be doing. She couldn’t get the screws off. So, I braved the height and weight and got up there to be stymied at the same place as her. A couple of screws were stuck and couldn’t get them off/stripped. 

I think I’ve covered the fact that I’m an idiot with anything mechanical- how do you deal with a stripped screw that won’t come off? This is the same thing that defeated me on trying to take apart the stairs. 

Thanks, I will hang up and listen. 

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Johnny Sack

Johnny Sack 8397

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4 minutes ago, troph said:

My girlfriend says the hardware store should be able to sell you a drill bit to pull it out. You did bring a power drill right?

Yep.  I am assuming you cannot grip the screw with channel locks?

Try a rubber band first.  Put that over the screw head, insert screw driver, and turn slowly.  Sometimes that extra grip is all you need (then replace with a new screw)

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washparkhorn

washparkhorn 9937

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1 minute ago, Johnny Sack said:

Yep.  I am assuming you cannot grip the screw with channel locks?

Try a rubber band first.  Put that over the screw head, insert screw driver, and turn slowly.  Sometimes that extra grip is all you need (then replace with a new screw)

I second JS - it taint no big deal.

Push comes to shove, gently drill out the stripped one and replace with a larger screw. The hardware man can help you out. 

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Johnny Sack

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Owning a RV, boat or ranch will help you become a lot more mechanically inclined.  
 

Good thing today is damn near everything has a YouTube video or article to show you how to do it.   
 

You aren’t too old to learn.  Like cooking, just start doing it.  You’ll get better. 

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troph

troph 24756

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The drill bit I’m talking about drills a hole in the screw head so you can get it out. I’m not talking about just using a power drill with a Phillips drill bit. You can’t use the rubberband method if you’ve used one of these bits.

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dcbc

dcbc 14453

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2 hours ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Thanks y’all. I have an electric drill bit and that didn’t work- will definitely try the rubber band bit. 

Go ahead and spring for an impact driver and get a bit for stripped screws.  Best tool ever.  Will help you avoid stripping most screws.  Also, pick up a can of PB blaster for any sort of fastener that is rusted in place.  That stuff is great.   

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dcbc

dcbc 14453

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9 hours ago, Wulaw Horn said:

. . . .   I’m a couple biscuits shy of 300 . . . .

The whole stairs thing is starting to make a bit more sense.

 

I kid.  I kid.  I've packed on a few lbs since college myself.  The weight limit on my attic stairs gives me pause, but I haven't brought them down yet.

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dcbc

dcbc 14453

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2 hours ago, Johnny Sack said:

Owning a RV, boat or ranch

I'll vouch for the boat end of that equation.  Saved thousands of dollars just in winterizing it and doing fluid changes over the years.  Learned most of it in forums after I bought the first direct drive in 2003.  I'm on the second (last) one now.  Pretty reliable, but there's always something when you least expect it.  My family thinks I"m a mechanical god of sorts when I fix something on the fly and save the weekend.

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Wulaw Horn

Wulaw Horn 19059

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3 hours ago, Johnny Sack said:

Owning a RV, boat or ranch will help you become a lot more mechanically inclined.  
 

Good thing today is damn near everything has a YouTube video or article to show you how to do it.   
 

You aren’t too old to learn.  Like cooking, just start doing it.  You’ll get better. 

We are watching you tube and trying. I’ve now failed at two projects but weirdly the stuff we messed with is now working- no idea why.

i now can see how things work together and understand the mechanics of it- I’ve been defeated by being unable to get the screws out without stripping them, simple stuff. 

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Wulaw Horn

Wulaw Horn 19059

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3 hours ago, troph said:

The drill bit I’m talking about drills a hole in the screw head so you can get it out. I’m not talking about just using a power drill with a Phillips drill bit. You can’t use the rubberband method if you’ve used one of these bits.

Gotcha. Wasn’t understanding what you were saying. Now I do. Thanks. 

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Wulaw Horn

Wulaw Horn 19059

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2 hours ago, Brew said:

So, I would just call an RV service tech before you either fall through the roof or strip every screw out.

That’s what I’ve always done my entire life and it’s a learned helplessness. I’m wanting to try to get some stuff figured out for myself- for the first time ever. And share some of that with my kids so that they feel like they can jump in and handle something. 

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Brew

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18 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

That’s what I’ve always done my entire life and it’s a learned helplessness. I’m wanting to try to get some stuff figured out for myself- for the first time ever. And share some of that with my kids so that they feel like they can jump in and handle something. 

Just screwing with you. You’ve joined the ranks of many men that started with a problem, managed to compound the problem, and finally get it cobbled together and working in the end. Right after I read your post I was listening to Stern and Seth Meyers discuss how they can’t do anything mechanically inclined which was pretty good timing.

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Brew

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1 hour ago, dcbc said:

Go ahead and spring for an impact driver and get a bit for stripped screws.  Best tool ever.  Will help you avoid stripping most screws.  Also, pick up a can of PB blaster for any sort of fastener that is rusted in place.  That stuff is great.   

This. It will save you a ton of trouble in dealing with stuck screws. You will find plenty of them the more issues you come across. May be time to add an essential tools list to the thread.

Edited by Brew
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mdmost

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11 hours ago, Wulaw Horn said:

So, next problem up is wake up today and the AC is leaking into the RV. From everything I’m reading sounds like a clogged drain pipe. 

Im sending the wife up to investigate it as I don’t want to get on top of the RV because I’m kind of worried about being too fat and falling through the roof and this fix sounds pretty simple. 

Whats the weight limit on the roof of an rv?  I’m a couple biscuits shy of 300, so I’m not like the grotesque rascal rider at Walmart with no ankles or elbows that needs to buy two seats on an airplane, but I’m also a big enough fella that weight limits and stuff can be an issue. Safe for me to fuck around up there or nah?

Also kids ripping up the floor. At this rate, this thing is going to fall apart inside of 3 months. 

If you don't leave them all on the side of the road at least once in anger then I can't qualify this trip as a success.

Edited by mdmost
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utee94

utee94 15770

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Sounds like they've got you covered.  A screw extractor or EZ-out is what you're looking for, if something like the rubber band method doesn't work.  You'll obviously have to replace with a new screw if you do that.  I'd suggest stainless, unless it's going into aluminum or galvanized, where the combination of the dissimilar metals can actually accelerate corrosion.

 

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31405

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For future reference, when you say you "stripped" a screw, you need to be specific as to whether you stripped the head of the screw, the threads of the screw, or the threads of the hole or nut.  The solution to each differs.

Also, for future reference, until and unless you learn a bit of feel and how to set the clutch on a power drill or screwdriver, you should probably not use them on stuck or sticky screws.  Use a screwdriver to get it loose.

Edited by TwiceHorn
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Wulaw Horn

Wulaw Horn 19059

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19 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

For future reference, when you say you "stripped" a screw, you need to be specific as to whether you stripped the head of the screw, the threads of the screw, or the threads of the hole or nut.  The solution to each differs.

Also, for future reference, until and unless you learn a bit of feel and how to set the clutch on a power drill or screwdriver, you should probably not use them on stuck or sticky screws.  Use a screwdriver to get it loose.

Head of screws. Did that with hand held screwdriver not electric. 

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Wulaw Horn

Wulaw Horn 19059

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55 minutes ago, BevoSwag said:

Today is repositioning day, right?  How was Eureka Springs?

Yep. Eureka springs was absolutely beautiful. They couldn’t get us booked for the whole week though so we left Thursday morning and parked in a friend of my wife’s driveway in waynesville Missouri for two nights. Wasn’t much to that repositioning today, due to the fact that we never really broke down and set up camp. 

Having to leave Thursday sucked. It was non stop work for 3 hours (moving day is cleaning day) so I didn’t have the chance to make my outgoing calls and was kind of off all day. Not the end of the world, but solidified my belief that we have to stay Sunday night thru Saturday morning if at all possible. 

Could not have asked for much more from the first week. Had some hikes. Swam in the lake a couple times. Swam in the swimming pool. Had some fun in the game room. Ate pretty clean and healthy. It was all pretty good other than the missing a work morning from having to break down camp. 

On to Richmond Indiana (ughhh) for the next week. Half way point between wife’s friends and wife’s sister, so... whatever. Probably the only week I’m not looking forward to in the whole trip. This was a substitute for Smokey mountains when we couldn’t get into hot springs and had to go to eureka springs instead, and decided to go visit wife’s friend now as opposed to later 

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Wulaw Horn

Wulaw Horn 19059

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Learned a couple things now one week on the road:

1) cooking every meal isn’t super easy and takes planning, but it is doable. Harder with such small storage space as you don’t have room for anything you don’t use. That led to

2) fast food on the road when moving the vehicle  I think it’s replicable to do a fast food lunch meal on the road on Saturday, along with family meal after church in a regionally appropriate restaurant before check in  - so that will make 19/21 meals prepared by us. Not what I had as my ideal but much healthier than we’d been eating. Both wife and I lost 3 and 5 pounds respectively 

3) screens really are the devil. They are addicted and being without is like drug addicted looking for their next hit. Really fucking ugly and glad we are doing something about it 

4) my kids are super annoying. Just kidding, I didn’t learn that on the road I’ve always know it. 

5) sex life will be just fine. On the road for 6 days and knocked it out twice, once with a BJ. So, it’s maybe not going to happen during daylight hours while kids are awake but wife’s not too inhibited at night so that’s a win. 

I think that’s it. I’ve been to 48 states. Every state except North Dakota and Indiana. Guess I get to cross that little gem off my list in about 5 hours when I cross that state line. 

Not an accident that it’s taken me basically my whole life to get to Indiana. 

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Wulaw Horn

Wulaw Horn 19059

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In Indiana at the Walmart parking lot for the night. Shower, shopping and Assembly of God church on tap for tomorrow. I’ve never been there in that denomination but wife has, likes it, and is looking forward to it, and it has the most reviews on google at 4.9 average. I told her that just means they have the most people capable of turning on a computer but she ignored that and plowed through. 

Oddly enough there are like 6 or 7 RV campgrounds around here and I couldn’t tell you why- looks like boring ass farmland  attached to a pretty insignificant city. Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised. 

Any idea on local cuisine or dishes indigineous to the Indiana area?  Paging Snacks maybe?  

Also- time change. That’s going to make work more fun when I don’t have to start until 10:00 am. Will pay that tax later on the west coast when it’s 7:00 am local start time. 

Went to the flying J to dump my shit, refuel, and fill up propane all at the same time. Found out it’s not white as streamlined as I’d been led to believe as I had to move the Rv 3 different times (and found out my propane gauge is broken as it read empty but was actually full). Also ripped off the doors of one of my compartments (not storage but protecting some sort of mechanical application. Also, floor is starting to rip up. Gonna have to buy some duct tape. But, the lead is not happening anymore and the stairs fold all the way up with some encouragement, so... progress?

Also, 2 pieces of wood paneling came off during the first week. This thing went from pristine and cherry to something less than that in the course of a week on the road. I’m utterly certain that nothing else untoward will happen on the entire trip. 

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conVINCEd

conVINCEd 21468

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1 hour ago, CycleTex87 said:

Gonna have to go a little easier on the RV. In a week there are stripped screws in two places, ripped off compartment door, torn up floor, stairs that may or may not work, what am I leaving out?

You have perfectly described the 2 weeks I spent in an RV with my parents as a teenager, except for the fact that they still have a functional shitter and drinkable water.

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smoothlonghorn

smoothlonghorn 83

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10 hours ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Any idea on local cuisine or dishes indigineous to the Indiana area? 

I gave this a thought for a couple of minutes this morning and came up with....abso-f***ing-lutely nothing? In fact, it occurred to me that on my last trip back up to the area, we hustled to get from Ohio to Illinois (granted, we were going to Chicago), but in retrospect, Indiana seemed so inspirational I couldn't wait to drive across cornfields.

To be somewhat helpful, a quick Google search indicates "Beef or Chicken and noodles" is a possibility, but appears to be as creative as the name implies (think Hamburger Helper noodle version). It should be pretty basic if you do try something like that anywhere, so (hopefully) the kids will at least give it a go. Hope things keep going well!

Edit: Not trying to disparage the great state of Indiana...just can't think of much food wise that is "unique"...

Edited by smoothlonghorn
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deadshank

deadshank 24652

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LOL. Indiana. You landed in Indiana? Indiana is the Waco of the Midwest.

My idiot brother married a pig of a women from Indiana. Wedding was there in Gas City, Indiana.  It is as or more wretched than you can imagine.  

Leave Indiana as soon as possible. 

 

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Wulaw Horn

Wulaw Horn 19059

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6 hours ago, smoothlonghorn said:

I gave this a thought for a couple of minutes this morning and came up with....abso-f***ing-lutely nothing? In fact, it occurred to me that on my last trip back up to the area, we hustled to get from Ohio to Illinois (granted, we were going to Chicago), but in retrospect, Indiana seemed so inspirational I couldn't wait to drive across cornfields.

To be somewhat helpful, a quick Google search indicates "Beef or Chicken and noodles" is a possibility, but appears to be as creative as the name implies (think Hamburger Helper noodle version). It should be pretty basic if you do try something like that anywhere, so (hopefully) the kids will at least give it a go. Hope things keep going well!

Edit: Not trying to disparage the great state of Indiana...just can't think of much food wise that is "unique"...

Yeah man, kind of a bummer. Almost everything was closed so we went with... Mexican. Not fucking great Bob. 

Best I could come up with on google was breaded pork tenderloin sandwich. Survey says... nah. Had those in Iowa and incredibly unimpressed. 

Boring ass cuisine up this way, though the Assembly of God church was a little more lively than I’m used to. 

Edited by Wulaw Horn
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