September 8, 2020 - A new adventure for Homer and his Spare Keys

 Monday morning, for the first time ever, I let someone else use Homer. My daughter, Alexa, loves camping and asked about using Homer on occasion. I told her we would have to have "RV 101Classes" so she could learn about the various motorhome systems, equipment, and how to drive one. Monday was Class Two. She drove it out to our lake lot, about sixteen miles of curvy road, which was a good test. She did fine. 

Upon arrival she learned how to back it down the long drive using only the side mirrors and then how to level it by driving up on blocks, which is always tricky. After Homer was parked we went over how to connect the water and electric, how to roll out the awning, and how all the "home " systems operate. We left and she spent the night there with a friend. Everything went fine except this morning before leaving they couldn't figure out how to get the manual awning rolled back up. There are several steps involved so I can appreciate how it all didn't sink in the first time. She called to let me know they had to leave and that the awning was out.

I never like to leave the awning out when I'm not there because of possible wind gusts resulting in damage. So Kelly and I went out to get it rolled up. It wasn't an extra trip because the grass needed mowing anyway. Here is a picture of Homer enjoying himself in the shade when we arrived.

You will notice lots of leaves have fallen already. In addition to the mower I took the leaf blower along to blow all the leaves off the graveled area. If I don't do that in the fall they disintegrate over the winter and make lots of growing matter for weeds.

I had told Alexa to lock the keys in the cab, which she did. When we arrived at the lot it dawned on me that I had forgotten to bring along the spare keys for Homer.  All was not lost though because when I purchased Homer six years ago I hid a spare set of keys underneath. With some difficulty I retrieved that set to unlock him. I had never checked on the set of hidden keys, nor used them before today. I was shocked to see their condition. Here are a couple of pictures.

They were on a key ring inside a medicine bottle which was well secured with a "D" clip. There were just two small holes for the key ring to go through the lid and I really expected they would be better protected from the elements than they were. Look at the grit in the bottom of the bottle!!! I'll bet some of it is from our trip to Alaska. I was able to clean the cab door key enough to unlock the cab and retrieve the set Alexa left. 

When I got home I cleaned up the keys by soaking them in vinegar and then wire brushing them. All the keys cleaned up fine except the barrel key which locks the spare tire cover.  It is made from a pot metal and was basically eaten up by corrosion. Here is a picture. The red arrow points to an area of the barrel key that actually was eaten completely through.

I am pretty sure that I have one other barrel key stored inside Homer. I will check next time I go out to the lake. If I do I will retrieve it and see if I can get a duplicate made by a locksmith. I hate only having one key for anything. If I don't have another barrel key I will have a big problem figuring out how to get the locked spare tire cover off without damaging anything and getting a new lock for it. 

It was bad that the keys were so corroded but the good from this is that I learned of the corroded keys at home when I was not depending on them. I will have to figure out a more weather-proof way of hiding a spare set of keys under Homer.  Any good ideas are welcome.