(NOTE: View a larger picture by clicking on the photo(s) above.)
While we were in Tennessee for about ten days, we not only did our doctor visits but also finally got the new sink/counter installed in our trailer. If you remember from previous blogs, the company did not want to replace the counter (sink and counter are molded into one piece) but repair it, which didn’t work. The company wanted it repaired again but the dealer and I worked out a deal so we could get it replaced. Looks nice. However, we found that after the plumbing was put back together, and we got the rig back to our campground, the faucet sprayer didn’t work and we couldn’t get any pressure.
I called the dealer and they said they would replace the faucet with a new one. They also would come to me at the campground to do the work. Getting to the plumbing is a difficult task because of a built-in shelf in the cabinet. Fortunately, the worker that came out to do the job was a small guy. I don’t think that any of the other workers at the dealer would have been able to squeeze into the space. The repair was made. The worker left. Do you foresee another problem coming here? Well after the repairman was gone, we discovered that the hot and cold water were reversed. Well, guess who had to squeeze under there and make the change. Yep, you guessed it. As the saying goes, “all’s well that ends well.” We’re happy with out new equipment.
For the second time we have returned to Fort Yargo as hosts. We arrived on April 1st. We have the same location as last year, at the Lake. The only difference was getting into our spot. It had been raining a lot in this part of Georgia, and the area was saturated and muddy. As we began backing into our spot, we discovered that our wheels on the fifth-wheel were sinking deeply into the ground. Although there is some rock on the site it didn’t seem to help much. As we continued to maneuver into the spot we were sinking more and creating ruts with the truck some 10 to 12 inches deep. We had to scrape rock from under the trailer into the wheel area, then put a two-by-ten board under the left wheels to level it. We finally got situated but the place was a mess created by the maneuvers of the truck.
We got the dish for our TV up and positioned without a lot of problems this time, but the antenna for our satellite internet was another story. We tried for two days to find a spot that would get a signal through the trees. Finally, we found a spot across the drive (the place where we made such a mess with the truck) where we could get a signal. We determined the best way to do this was to put cables overhead and not on or under the road. A large pine tree is directly across from us, so I put a ladder against the tree and wrapped rope around it about 13 feet up. I then hung our cables (two) onto the rope and strung it across to the top of our trailer and wrapped it around the over-the-air TV antenna, then down the side to the connections. Job done, so here we are again.
The work that we do as maintenance host is about the same as last year. Build this, fix that, repair the other. The only thing that is different this year is that Carolyn in now working in the Park Office for two hours in the mornings. She opens the Office and gets things started each day, greets campers, collects monies, sells fishing licenses and other goods in the Trading Post, answers the phone, answers questions from all quarters, and runs the show for awhile. Key to the door, combination to the safe, that kind of stuff. She also fills in for lunch a couple days a week.
As for me, apart from the fixer, builder kind of stuff, I am teaching a class in Spanish each week to Park personnel. There is a large Hispanic population here and they use the Park a great deal. The Park people need to know how to use Spanish when the need arises, especially in law enforcement. So, I am gearing the class toward law enforcement vocabulary and usage. There is also a large use of Community Service workers in the Park, which includes Hispanics. For those of you who may not be familiar with what Community Service is, it is a sentence imposed by the Courts in lieu of jail time for those guilty of minor offenses such as DUI, bad checks, domestic problems, etc.. Thus, there is a need here for being able to understand and speak Spanish.
Fort Yargo is a popular Park and has a lot of activities. This past weekend (April 25-26) was busy with a lot of people in the Park. Not a piece of ground was left vacant. Vehicles surrounded us here at the lake where the activities took place. Saturday was a triathlon. Swimming, biking and running. The first picture above shows some of the participants (188 in total) getting ready to enter the water. The outside temperature was 59 degrees and the water was only about 3 or 4 degrees warmer. Thus, the wet-suits. They swam half-a-mile, biked 10 miles and ran 4 ½ miles. The second picture shows the group getting ready. The winner came across in about one and a half hours, the last one about 3 ½ hours later.
Sunday was another race and more people than the day before. The race this day was mountain biking only. There were three categories of racers: kids, sportsmen (sportswomen), and professionals. Some 300 participants in all. Some of the kids looked to be no more than four years old. One lap around the trail was 10 miles. The kids made one round, the sportspeople two rounds and the pros three rounds (30 miles). The press of the crowd was so great, we decided to leave the Park for the day. By the time we left early in the morning, there was little space left to even maneuver out. Just another day in the Park.
We have had a storm or two since we arrived. Trees came down along with the rain and hail. We had made preparations to move to the adjacent bath house if it came to that. I had taken camp chairs to the storage area between the restrooms, we had our clothes at the ready if needed during the night, and a powerful flashlight. We kept an ear glued to our weather alert radio. We spent much of the night listening to the beating and pounding of the awnings on our slide-outs, particularly the one over our heads in the bedroom. The storm passed. No damage to us. But it got me thinking again as to how to quiet the noise of the slide-out awnings.
Ever since we have been full-timing we have had problems with our awnings, particularly out West in high wind areas, which seems to be about everywhere. A second problem with the awnings is that they collect water. After a heavy rain the awning sags with the weight of the water. Not only does that stretch the awning, but if water is left there it builds mold and turns the awnings ugly. We started bringing our slides in after a heavy rain to empty the awnings, which are spring loaded and roll in and out with the slide, but cannot be tightened enough to keep from sagging or flapping in the wind. This becomes a nuisance when it rains often, and does nothing for the noise.
Everyone I have talked to with slide awnings correct their problem either by buying a new RV without slide awnings or take them off altogether. There seems to be no satisfactory solutions on the market to correct this situation. I like the awnings there because they give double protection for the slide-out. There has to be a solution I kept thinking. So I thought, I am not thinking hard enough. So I “put on my thinking cap” and sat down to think. I doodled, I thought. After awhile I came to that “Ah Ha!” moment, and the proverbial light bulb went on over my head. Simple and cheap.
Photos three and four show my solution. The materials are lengths of half inch schedule 40 PVC pipe and half inch T connectors. I chose schedule 40 because the pipe wall is thicker and thus stronger. Photo three shows how a section is put together. It will take two or more sections depending on the length of the slide. The longest length of pipe is no more than 34 or 36 inches. Easy to assemble, disassemble and store for moving.
Photo four shows the solution installed on one of my slides. You can see how it makes a “tent” effect. The several upright sections keep the awning tight throughout the length, the broad feet keep it stable. The water runs off freely and no flapping in the wind. We have three slide-outs; six feet long by two feet deep, twelve feet long by three feet deep and fifteen feet long by two feet deep. This solution has been installed for a few weeks now, through high winds and heavy rain. It is as quiet as a kitten. NO FLAP, NO PUDDLE, NO SLEEPLESS NIGHTS! The materials for all three of my slides cost less than $25. Just takes a little cutting up, and I’ve always been a cut up. I will soon be sharing my solutions with other RVers in an article in an RV magazine. Our son, Don, thinks I should manufacture them and sell them on E-Bay and make a fortune. Maybe. But hey, I’m retired.
The last picture is, as you can tell, some ducks. If you look closely you see that the red color on their faces look like they are wearing a Mardi Gras mask. As you look at our feathered friends doing the Mardi Gras waddle up the walk,……… that’s our life, “just a walk in the Park.”
