May 08, 2023 - May 15, 2023 - More Stuff in Homer, Selling the Truck, Repairing the Gas Grill, and Campout

Loading Homer:

The last two days I have been putting into Homer items we took out of Marge when we sold her. As I do this, I am taking similar items out of Homer to give to the thrift store. Homer's stock of drinking cups, electric frying pan, and campfire forks have all been updated. Electrical dog bone connectors have been added as well as a 50-amp surge protector to compliment the 30-amp protector already on board. If I run across someone needing a 50-amp surge protector, I will sell it reasonably. I really don't need two. 

I added the two heavy duty chocks I used for Marge. I had some cheap plastic chocks in Homer which I have never used. When parked Homer's transmission is in Park with the Parking Brake is engaged so I never worried about him moving. I think I may start using these heavier duty chocks as an added safety precaution. I added lots of disposable gloves for use when dumping the tanks and added another water hose and some connectors. Homer is well stocked for campground hookups. 

Sold the truck:

Last week I got a call from a Wisconsin car dealer wanting to buy our dually truck. He saw it on Facebook. We struck a deal and he forwarded all the paperwork by email. I completed my part and emailed it back. He immediately did a wire transfer to my bank account. He will send a transport company to pickup it up. I will mail the title once the truck is picked up. A slick transaction.

The sale of the truck is at a good time because Thursday, after a service call, we learned that our house furnace/AC is kaput. It is 29 years old and has been patched up several times over the years. We need a completely new unit. These are very expensive because we have a geothermal system. The basement unit is a giant heat pump for heating and cooling both. I signed the purchase order and made a deposit the next day so they could get a new unit ordered. There was only one in stock at the warehouse and it will be two weeks before the unit will arrive for installation. It is warm and very humid here now and will not get any better. If it gets too warm we can sleep in Homer in the driveway until the new unit is installed. (Mooch Docking in my own driveway.)

Fixing Our Gas Grill:

After grilling supper the other night, I noticed that two of the brackets which hold one end of the burners to the grill had rusted away. Upon examination it was clear there was no reusing the old burners so I ordered new ones. They arrived so I got busy putting them in. Since the inside lining of the grill where the brackets were spot welded is rusting out, I had to scrounge through my junk brackets to find something that would hold each burner in place. Here is a picture with the arrows pointing to the newly fashioned brackets I screwed into the rusty metal box. 

A big issue with this repair was getting the bolts out of the brackets at the other end of each burner which hold the ignitors. They were rusted tight and never coming out. I ground them off with my Dremel tool. With new bolts I could then attach the ignitors to the new burners at the manifold end. Here is a picture of the completed project with arrows pointing to the bolts holding the ignitor brackets.

The ignitors work as they should, and the gas burners fire right up. I'm hoping the grill will last another couple of years. Friday, after this installation was complete, another set of burners arrived. In looking at my Amazon orders I found that I accidentally ordered two sets. I sent one set back. Even though we have Amazon Prime I had to pay $6.99 to send them back.

Homer's Generator Switch:

Another repair part arrived, a replacement start switch for the generator in Homer which quit working last fall. I ordered the switch listed in the manual. Upon opening up the generator electrical panel to install it, it was clear this switch would never work. The switch I received is about three quarters of an inch wide by an inch long with five connectors sticking out the back. The switch on the generator is maybe 3/8 inch by 3/8 inch is actually part of the motherboard. The switch I bought was $10.00. A new motherboard is $250.00. I put it back together. I think I will do without this switch, at least for now.

Truck:

The truck was picked up this morning by the transporter and the title mailed. I must admit this is a sad end of a traveling era for us. We have been hauling a trailer around the U.S. and Canada sightseeing for over forty years.

Campout:

We are hosting a week-long club campout starting today here in Perryville. The hosts are usually responsible for campfire wood. I loaded the back end of Bart, now my little pickup truck until I get another, with old firewood I had here at the house. The weather has changed several times since we first picked the dates. It now appears that we may have some rain every day. At least the firewood will stay dry in the back of Bart. Periodic rain throughout the week will be better than it being so hot people can't enjoy the outing. It was that hot last year causing us to leave early. Kelly has several activities planned for the eight units attending and we have a pavilion to use nearby. We will deal with rainy weather.

Carpe Diem!