Well, as you may know if you watch my channel, I’m planning on heading out to Quartzsite, AZ after the required trip to see mom in Florida. I believe we are leaving Dec 24th, Heading through Georgia and Alabama, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. I will be staying at least one night, sometimes 2 in each of those states. Texas may take several days to get across. We just bought a 14day permit to stay in the LTVA outside of Quartzsite and will be aiming to get there around January 11th to join in on the RTR. And then stay for a day of two to experience the “BIG TENT” RV show. Unfortunately, every large bill I have (Home Insurance, Car Insurance, Property Tax, Car Repairs, Tires, Home repairs) comes due in December. So I will be very poor and probably won’t buy any of the cool things I see there in the big tent (this could be a blessing). I have already paid all my Camping fees and so only gas will surprise my bank account. That’s the “Happy” part of this blog.

The Sad part is that I sold my Aliner. I feel like I just sold one of my sons, or even worse my dog!! I had a list of what I wanted to fix and change to get back on the road with it. It was pretty long but doable. The biggest thing I wanted to do was replace the roof hinges. They were rusting and sticking and causing rivets to pop. It needs a reseal to the seams. It had not got that in 4 years. Definitely on borrowed time. The rear springs were removed and replaced with Gas Struts. But I wasn’t really satisfied with the way they worked. For good operation the roof needs all the springs AND the gas struts.

The repair procedure would be to strap down the roof so it can’t “spring” open, then remove all the old rivets and replace the hinge (I had the hinge and rivets). Then seal it up with silicone caulk and oil cloth(?). To reinstall the springs, you have to cut the bungees and open the roof so they are straight up. Put the springs in their holes and add angle aluminum to re-enforce the aluminum side framing (Aliner is now doing that). Then return the roof to set-up configuration and replace the bungees (I had bungee straps). All that seemed like a lot for me to do all by myself. And then after that, I wanted to replace the cushions as they were beginning to disintegrate after 15years of heavy use. Of course it needs the regular annual wash and wax and re-sealing. Bearings and wheel review (maybe new tires). So there was so much to do and the Wolf pup was just getting to the 2 year point where I really had to start a diligent maintenance program on it.

So I placed it on Facebook Market Place and got about 5 calls and 3 people came to look at it. They had no idea about Aliners. Apparently they just thought they could get a really cheap RV to play in. Once I told they how it works and what it needed, they were history. Then after 2 days of no calls, I got a message from someone that said he wanted to come get it if it was still available. And literally that is what he did. I got the feeling he didn’t know much about them, but had seen them in a campground. He sounded like he was going to park it, plug it in, and never move it. Actually he didn’t even have a car. This guy had paid a neighbor to bring him and tow it to where he wanted it. They came after dark (around 7:30pm) checked it for leaks (none). Hooked it to the car as I showed him how to take it down and set it up. I loaded it with all the parts I had to make the repairs and changes. Extra weather stripping and cushions and A/C unit. He gave me a handful of money, took the title and off they went. You could see the tear in Akela’s eyes as they left!

I hate to sell things. I hate to part with stuff I think is good enough to sell. Usually I throw out a ton of stuff I don’t think I can use anymore. So I’m not a hoarder. My house is pretty bare of extraneous junk. But with the Aliner I thought I might pass it on to someone with a tinkerer’s talent to fix things and I would see it in the local campgrounds. I even considered giving it to my kids, and we could fix it up together. But that would require me giving up a lot of travel time and still spend too much time and money on the Aliner. So I’m glad its gone. There is now a large dirty parking pad where it was where I can now work on my car.

As life takes it’s twists and turns, it just so happens that a large “Emergency” opportunity cost popped up. There is a very large bushy oak tree in my front yard (North side of the house). It is a Willow Oak (Quercus Phellos) and has very long skinny leaves like a willow. Impossible to blow, must be raked. Drops a ton of leaves from Oct 1st to Dec 31st. All year it prevents rain from reaching the ground. During windy days it drops a ton of mid-sized branches on my lawn. My western neighbor’s tree fell on it and “trimmed it” as a result. Since then it has produced tons of acorns. All these things kill off my grass. That mean Akela comes inside with very muddy paws. The beautiful red clay in NC is staining and sticky. My easterly neighbors are having their 3 tulip poplar trees that drop leaves on my back yard taken down (Not for me, they want a pool). Time to share their tree surgeon and have him take mine too. Cost? Just about what I got for the Aliner. That’s luck, just not sure if its good luck or bad luck.

So, If you want to show your respects to the Aliner, Watch my Aliner Playlist videos a this link: Aliner Playlist . I’m sure there are videos you might enjoy. After a month and a half I have finally finished editing all the Michigan Upper Peninsula videos. And then there is one or two videos of my trip to NY to see my new and first grandson. Stay to the end of the video if you want to see if he looks like me!!

Well, thanks for stopping by. Google just sent me an email saying that this website has paid me $12.34 this year from people visiting it and the ads placed here… Ha ha!! Let me know if the ads are bothersome. I can eliminate them,but its a minor pain in the arse. Have a great fall season. I’ll be back here as we start our trip west !!

Rick & Akela
GoingNoWhereFast.

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