As I sit here resting after finishing winterizing my Aliner and installing the last spring-strut with removal of the back corner spring, I am amazed how busy I have been. In my usual day, I spend a lot of time on the internet looking at investment information, watching YouTube videos, and planning trips. Since last Thursday, I have had no internet connection (4days) and so have to entertain myself with actual physical activities. I even cleaned my bathroom.
The Boy takes a lot of time. Mostly we walk the trails on the Statesville Greenway, or play ball in the yard or athletic fields around the corner. When I sit down to work on the computer, he is a constant face in my lap squeaking like an old screen door. I have tried oiling him, but the squeak remains. So he forces me to get up from the computer and look for productive things to do. The Aliner is always in need of care and repair. My under bed lift system did not stay connected. The upper anchor point was a bit under strength and pushing cargo in hit it and knocked the screws out. So I will need to fix that and beef it up a bit and leave some kind of reminder that I can’t just shove stuff in under the bed like I used to. I did winterize it with my nifty pump sucking attachment. Used about 2 cups of anti-freeze.
As I work on areas of the trailer, I notice I have “Mis-Placed” a few things. I used to have 2-3 folding chairs, and now I only have one. My little 500 watt electric heater is nowhere to be found. Straps and coffee cups have wandered away. Flashlights used to be scattered about the inside of the camper, and now I can only find one. In addition, small plastic containers that used to be full of stuff are now half empty. Blankets seem to be slightly chewed, and a bit dirtier than I remember. The good thing is I only found one stinkbug in the entire camper. (could they have found new hiding places)
I still have some “up-grades” in mind. I have tried the “pool noodle” insulations technique. But the pool noodles take up a lot of space and need to be carefully fitted since the spacing is tapered from bottom to top. I’m thinking of just spray foaming the aluminum extrusion that is visible from the inside. This maybe in a future failure video. I hope that I can do it without gluing the walls to the roof. Stay tuned.
But for the big milestones we have gotten passed, my kitchen remodel is technically done after 6 weeks. Like any contractor job there were delays, and cost over runs. I figured I saved myself $5-$7K in materials as I got a super deal on cabinets with a Lowe’s discount and then the granite was a remnant and so was 1/3 the price. If you want to check out that video its HERE -> My Kitchen Remodel. I am very satisfied with the way it came out. I have found 32 things that were not done right or need some fixing (which I will do), but overall I don’t have any major regrets.
I have also gotten my lawn routine down to an easy routine. Whenever I play ball with Akela and he creates divots with his lightening turns and runs, I drop a handful of grass seed into the divot and the seed comes up nicely in a week. This is turning most of the lawn into a nice Tall Fescue turf field. Not sure why this took me so long to learn.
I again want to thanks all my subscribers, viewers, sharers, readers, and commenters for making the channel all it currently is. We have some lofty ideas and plans for the next 2-3 years and will have to plan even more after that. I plan to keep going and hope to meet up with as many of the regulars as possible. It’s great to have you as friends, and Akela and I thank you again.
With that we will Sign off and wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. Hoping you have many things to be thankful for. I myself feel totally blessed for so many reasons, and hope you do to. Remember, No matter what is going on in your life, it can always get a lot worse, and there are many people worse off. Stay above the ground, upright, and we’ll see you in the next video!
After running a few tests with the spray foam, I’ve decided against it. It was too messy and too fragile to last. I am working on using butchered Pipe insulation as you can get it in various sizes and types and if I can mark it so it goes in the same place each time, it may work ok. The real issue is the biggest most problematic cold zone is along the hinges on the front and back roof. It is harder to cover them over and if you cover them over, you loose track of maintaining your hinges. On my Aliner, they have rusted up and are currently undergoing self destruction. I’m trying to keep them oiled and working, but I definitely don’t want to cover them over. More to come on that battle.
Rick & Akela
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I’ll be curious how your insulation goes. I haven’t found a good solution for mine. As to the missing “stuff” – It’s a wonder what happens to these things! I also find that if I really look, there are lots of things I added to the Aliner thinking they’d be important to have, but that I haven’t used once since 2018. It’s time to clear that stuff out and either replace it with things I do/will use or just enjoy the lighter weight.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and Akela, too!
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Congratulations on finishing your kitchen remodel! Great idea about putting grass seed in the divots immediately. Your lawn will always look good. If you find the mysterious black hole where miscellaneous camping gear ends up, please let us, your viewers, know.
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AS fara as missing camping gear goes, my best guess and hope is it was borrowed by someone who needed it more than I did (since I didn’t notice it gone). I certainly hope I didn’t leaver it littering the woods somewhere! The weeds on the lawn are 3x the grass success, but we will continue the battle! Thanks for the comment ! Nice to know someone reads this blog!
After running a few tests with the spray foam, I’ve decided against it. It was too messy and too fragile to last. I am working on using butchered Pipe insulation as you can get it in various sizes and types and if I can mark it so it goes in the same place each time, it may work ok. The real issue is the biggest most problematic cold zone is along the hinges on the front and back roof. It is harder to cover them over and if you cover them over, you loose track of maintaining your hinges. On my Aliner, they have rusted up and are currently undergoing self destruction. I’m trying to keep them oiled and working, but I definitely don’t want to cover them over. More to come on that battle.
Rick & Akela
I’ll be curious how your insulation goes. I haven’t found a good solution for mine. As to the missing “stuff” – It’s a wonder what happens to these things! I also find that if I really look, there are lots of things I added to the Aliner thinking they’d be important to have, but that I haven’t used once since 2018. It’s time to clear that stuff out and either replace it with things I do/will use or just enjoy the lighter weight.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and Akela, too!
Congratulations on finishing your kitchen remodel! Great idea about putting grass seed in the divots immediately. Your lawn will always look good. If you find the mysterious black hole where miscellaneous camping gear ends up, please let us, your viewers, know.
AS fara as missing camping gear goes, my best guess and hope is it was borrowed by someone who needed it more than I did (since I didn’t notice it gone). I certainly hope I didn’t leaver it littering the woods somewhere! The weeds on the lawn are 3x the grass success, but we will continue the battle! Thanks for the comment ! Nice to know someone reads this blog!
Rick & Akela