September 20, 2020 - Key for Homer's Spare Tire Cover Lock

The local locksmith could not make a spare key for Homer's spare tire cover lock BUT when they took a picture of the inside of the key there was a number "715" stamped in it. I got online and found two of the "715" keys for $3.99 each plus shipping. Cheap enough. I received them promptly and checked them today to make sure they worked. They both worked fine.  Here is a picture of the new key.

Here is a picture of the spare tire cover in place.

Here is a closeup picture of the lock itself. It's mount shape is molded into the fiberglass so getting a different lock to replace it and to make it look right may have been a big problem. I'm glad I didn't have to fool with that.

I re-thought my prior idea of hiding an entire set of keys on the outside of Homer. I really don't know why I did when all I need is the door key to get inside. I can retrieve a set of keys inside which are out of the weather. I purchased a magnetic key holder and have hidden it on Homer with only the door key in it. I shouldn't have to worry about key corrosion any more.

September 15, 2020 - Campout at the Lake and Newly Discovered Homer issues

Saturday we went out to the lake lot to camp for a few days. We had a great time, the weather was gorgeous. I caught a nice Bass but threw it back. Kelly caught a nice Bluegill and threw it back as well. (We didn't fish hard.) I took two rods and one broke. 

Before leaving today we needed to dump the sewer holding tanks. When doing so I discovered that the pipe strap was gone that held the sewer pipe to a 2 x4 brace from the floor above. I have no idea how long this strap has been missing but it is important to have the sewer drain pipe secured and not bouncing going up and down the road. It could crack or worse yet cause the holding tank to crack.

This afternoon I crawled under Homer to study the situation. Here is a picture of what I found. You can see on the first picture where the pipe strap broke off on one side. The second pictures shows the other side where it broke off under the "L" bracket holding the cleanout hose fitting. 

The 2 x 4, which is screwed in from above, was loose as well. I have no way of getting to the top of the 2 x 4 it from above so I decided to add an "L" bracket to give it more support. Here is a picture of the "L" bracket installed.

From underneath all I could screw into was the sheet metal floor. It was the best I could do because I didn't want to drill deep holes and maybe hit an electrical wire or a water pipe. I then got some pipe strap and installed it around the sewer pipe with a piece of rubber to cushion it.  Here are pictures from each side.

I spray painted the strap so that it blended in more and to protect it from rusting.  Here are pictures from each side.

I am really glad that I caught this problem before any damage to the pipes or the holding tanks. That type of repair could be big money. This I fixed with hardware around the shop.

While fixing the pipe strap issue I found another problem in the immediate area. There was a safety ground just dangling near the sewer pipe 2 x 4 mount.  The sheet metal it was screwed to had rusted away. Here is a picture.

I don't know why this safety ground is in this area under the kitchen cabinets and only secured to the sheet metal floor. Less than a foot away it disappears into a wire loom so it clearly has a purpose. I was able to get the bolt out, grind the area to bare metal, and reattach it with a new screw.  Here is a picture

I then spray painted it to protect it from rusting for a while. I still need to do something to close up the rusted out area. I'll think about that. Maybe a little piece of metal inserted in there and held in place with JB Weld.

Believe it or not I then found a third issue in the same area. The prior owner installed a sewer hose carrier to store the sewer hose in a tube under the motorhome. I accidentally pushed against it while under Homer and it moved. I soon realized that the outside mounting bracket was not attached to Homer as it should be. I discovered one screw hole but no screw on either side. Here are pictures. It is hard to tell how long this has been loose as well.

I attached it with self-drilling screws. Here is a picture all secured.

All the issues on Homer fixed I moved to seeing if I could get the leaf blower to start. It died on me out at the lake and I couldn't get it restarted. I took the air cleaner off and spayed some carburetor cleaner in and pulled on it several times. It caught once and that was it, even though I pulled many times. In fact upon pulling the rope, it totally frayed so that it would not got back into the housing for another pull.  Here is a picture with the frayed cord hanging out.

My daughter Alexa bought me this Weedeater blower at least fifteen years ago. It has worked flawlessly and never refused to start until today. I made a bracket several years ago to repair the handle that broke and put new tubing to the carburetor.  It has served me well but it is clearly not worth repairing. At a minimum it would need the carburetor taken off and cleaned or replaced, a new start rope, and a new air filter. It is being retired to the dumpster. I have another much newer blower I purchased when we had the house in St. Louis. It is only about eight years old and will have to step up the plate.

 

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.

September 5, 2020 - Weiner Roast at Hershey Farm

Due to Covid we are doing no traveling this holiday weekend. Bob and Ronnie invited us out to a Weiner roast at the larger pond on their farm. Here is a picture of it as we approached from the top of the hill and then a closer view. It is only accessible with a four wheel drive vehicle.

It is a very relaxing, picturesque site. As you can see Bob keeps it manicured. We did a little fishing before eating. I soon learned that my fishing line was rotten because I hooked two nice Bass and both broke the line. After eating Bob took us for a ride to the top of the opposite hill to an overlook. Here are pictures of the pond from the other side.

On the ride Bob gave us a little history lesson about the Perryville-Greenville Road which ran through this farm many years ago. Thousands of people traveled this road by horse and by wagon. Here is a picture of part of one of the wagon trails.

At the top it drops down to cross a ravine and then up again on the other side. Considering the rough terrain travelers and their animals - horses, mules, and oxen, really had to be tough in those days to make this trip. Bob also showed us a spot in the woods where there were three different trails, side by side. If the trail washed out they would just move over about thirty feet and make a new trail. No roadbeds then like we are accustomed to these days. A trip that we can make in a couple of hours would take them days. It was fun, relaxing day.

 

September 3, 2020 - New Igniter Installed in Homer's Stove

Today the new igniter arrived for the stove in Homer. The old one is a Piezo sparker and it only threw out a spark about one out of ten times it was pushed. It also makes a very loud popping sound when it is pushed. We always had to push it multiple times to get the flame to light. Here is a picture of it after I took it out. It's a pretty simple piece of equipment.

I replaced it with an igniter like the ones used on outdoor BBQ grills. The new one creates a spark via a AA battery. Here is a picture of it with the push button and battery removed before I installed it.

The BBQ igniter is much larger than the Piezo with the bulk of it being to the right of the mounting threads. This put it under the gas manifold. I had measured the area before I ordered it to make sure it would fit. I still had to take the manifold loose to maneuver the igniter into place. The diameter of the threads on the new igniter were larger so I had to enlarge the hole on the front of the stove to mount it. Here is a picture of the mounting hole before I enlarged it. Luckily I had a metal router bit to use in my drill for this purpose. It proved a lot easier than enlarging the hole with a hand file.

Here is a picture of the new igniter installed. It continuously fires as long as you hold in the button. This is a nice improvement over the old one which only sparked once and then you had to push it again, and again, and again.

Another 27 year old part replaced and improved.  Homer loves all the attention.

August 15th-17th - Finished Waxing Homer with Help of Scaffold Board

I finished waxing the sides of Homer and moved to "rewaxing" the front cap. I waxed it several weeks ago and have not been happy with it. To apply product I had to lean way over the hood with a ladder on the corner to get as close as I could. This was awkward and did not allow for the best application and removal of wax with my polisher. I needed a scaffold that was wider than the cab so I could get closer to the work surface. I put a ladder on each side of Homer and measured. I needed a twelve foot long board to span the distance. John has a shed being torn down that had a lot of wood in it. I went out and found a 12 foot long 2 x 10 and a 13 foot 2 x 4. I hauled them both home. I placed the 2 x 10 between the two ladders and tried it. It worked but was a little "springy" when I walked on it in the middle. I decided to add a 2 x 4 to each side to stiffen it up. Here are a couple of pictures of what I built.

The platform works great but it is so heavy I just about can't handle it. Lifting it onto one ladder and then sliding into the other is very difficult for this old man. I decided that one side needed a roller so it would slide more easily once in place. On the blue ladder in the first picture you can see the PVC pipe I cut to lay on the rung under the scaffold. It helped but it is still a lot of weight to get up there. Luckily I will only need to use it about one time per year.  I am really happy with the result using the scaffold. Here are a couple of pictures of the shine. Pretty good for a 27 year old rig.

The scaffold will help with the back cap next time as well. A wider board is also easier on the feet than the step ladder rung.

The igniter for the gas stove in Homer isn't working consistently. It is a 27 year old Piezo lighter. I am replacing it with a battery operated one like the ones used in outdoor grills. I ordered one off eBay yesterday and then was notified it would be her by OCTOBER 13TH. Almost a month? Crazy. Good thing I'm not in a hurry for it. Should be an easy install if I measured the available space correctly.

August 11-12, 2020 - Waxing Homer and Fridge Drain Replacement

Yesterday I started early in the morning waxing the driver side of Homer while it was shady. I use a foam applicator on my Porter-Cable Polisher to apply the wax. I then buff it off by hand. I finished about a third of the side when my form applicator exploded. Here is a picture.

A new foam applicator like this one is about $19.00. I figured no one in town would have one and I was correct. I got online and ordered a pack of five foam pads for $15.00. These pads Velcro to a plate I have that is screwed into the polisher. Thanks to Amazon the new ones will arrive today so the waxing project has been delayed because of that plus it is raining a little this morning.

While I was waxing yesterday I heard a noise and looked over and saw a major portion of a dead tree on the Conservation property fell down onto our brick pile about fifty feet away from me. Here is a picture. 

 

I am glad that didn't happen while I was mowing there the other day. I have another project now to cut it up and get it out of the way. Half of it is on my neighbor's side so I won't mess with that.

A while back I noticed that the drain tube for the refrigerator was brittle and breaking off. I assumed it was still good at the top where it came out of the refrigerator. Without the drain tube when the refrigerator defrosts water would just run down all over the electrical wires.  Not good. I cut the tubing to a non-brittle spot and used a connector to add a piece of tubing for it to drain properly.  Here is a picture of that repair with an arrow.

The repair worked but unfortunately I soon learned that the tubing was broken up higher where it connected to the refrigerator. This meant the fridge had to be pulled out to replace the tubing. In disconnecting everything to move the fridge out I noticed that the 120 volt ac plug was in a bind behind a metal guard. Here is what it looked like. The red arrow shows how the plug was behind the metal housing. It worked but I didn't like it. The green arrow shows how the outlet mounting plate was connected to the wall. 

There were two other holes in the plate to the right. By using one of those holes to mount the plate I could get the plug out from behind the metal housing.  Here is a picture of the plate remounted in a different hole and the plug clear.

I couldn't move the refrigerator out and work on it by myself so I got John to help me. In most cases the tube from the inside drain sticks out through the insulation so it is a simple matter of pulling the refrigerator out about half way to be able to remove the spring clip then put on the new tubing and spring clip. I wasn't so lucky. On this refrigerator the connection to the drain was actually inside the insulation. Here is a picture of the tubing broken off inside the insulation. You can see how far inside the smaller inside drain was. 

I used a needle nose pliers to get the old tubing off. The only way to put the new tubing on was to pull the drain out inside the refrigerator, feed the new tubing through the insulation from the back, and connect it to the inside drain before pushing it all back in place. The new tubing was a little larger in diameter than the old one. It would not stay on with the spring clip so we used a wire tie to fasten it on before pushing it back through the insulation. We then fed the tubing down through the refrigerator coils and moved the refrigerator back into place. Here is a picture of the new tubing before putting the access cover back on. We water checked it to make sure water came out the end and not from above. Mission accomplished.

Here is a picture of the finished project with the access door back on and drain tube sticking out for drainage. 

It was a little more involved than I expected but still only took and hour because I had everything disconnected before we started.  Good for another 15 years.

 

 

August 9, 2020 - Headlight Renew on Homer

A problem we all face as our vehicles get older is the plastic headlight lenses turning yellow and fogging up. There are all kinds of products sold to make them look like new. Most involve cleaning, sanding, spraying, etc. Today I was browsing an RV website when someone asked what was the best product for getting the yellow off of headlights. The first answers given were to get "OFF" bug spray with Deet in it. Spray it on and wipe it off. I had some 'OFF' in Homer so I decided to try it. Here is the result.

I was astounded. It took all of 30 seconds to do two applications to the headlight on the left. I am really impressed. I don't know how long it will last but it is so cheap and fast to do that having to do it every few months would be no big deal.  Maybe it will keep bugs away so they don't splatter on the headlights as well. (LOL) Cool tip I'm sharing.

August 5th-7th - Anniversary Campout at Lake Perry

With Covid-19 we could not go out to eat for our 49th anniversary so we decided to camp at the lake. The weather had cooled off after a long heat wave. Tuesday morning we set up camp in no time. We aren't used to making such a short trip to camp. Here is a picture of Homer all settled in on our lot. You can see all the weeds in the gravel. Before I backed him in I sprayed the whole area with weed killer. It is hard to keep the weeds down because of all the debris that falls from the trees all year long. 

We have great shade on our lot. Here is a picture from a different perspective.

The cedar tree in the foreground is going to get cut down as well as another. Both are mostly dead and need to be removed. Removing them will not decrease our shade.

Sitting around enjoying the day we decided we would like to get a little dirt work done and have more gravel spread on the driveway and parking area. A future project.

  

I was up early on Wednesday and while sitting in the quiet drinking my coffee I took this shot of the lake behind us with the fog lifting. The lake was like glass. 

Alexa and her friend, Aaron, came down for the day Wednesday so we had a nice visit topped off with grilled brats for supper.

I almost always make breakfast when we are camping. Thursday for our anniversary breakfast Kelly requested Corned Beef Hash and eggs. Here is a picture. I think Corned Beef Hash looks like dog food but it tastes good.

We had a nice leisurely day for our anniversary. For dessert after supper I had tapioca which Kelly made before we left home. It is rare to have tapioca because Kelly does not like it and I don't think to make it. It was nice of her to make me some. I enjoyed it sitting around the fire.

Early Friday morning we packed up for home which was only about a thirty minute drive. This had been the first time we camped on our lot in about five years. We enjoyed it and definitely need to use it more often.

Everybody needs a fire poker to keep the fire going at a campout. Years ago I made my first poker out of a piece of rebar and a hand-whittled handle. After using it the last couple of days I decided I needed to "upgrade" it with a better handle so I brought it home to work on it. Here is a picture of it with the original handle.

Here is a close up of the handle. It was pretty crude but it served the purpose for years. I paint the pokers I make so you can see them in the dark. (I learned that the hard way.) This one has been painted red for many years and will stay that color.

Last year Alexa bought me a small lathe so I got busy after we got home and made a new handle for my poker. I say "my" poker because Kelly has her own which I made her some years back and has her named carved in it.  (Some things we don't share well.) Kelly's poker is stored in Marge right now. Here is a picture of the new handle on the poker. It is made of oak and will last a long time.

Everything worked flawlessly in Homer so nothing to repair when we got home. Ready for the next outing.

August 4, 2020 - Homer Hubcap Fix and Headed to the Lake

I noticed when they mounted the new tires on Homer they did not reinstall the front hubcaps correctly. There is a cutout for the valve stem. Instead of lining the valve stem up with the opening made for that they just stuck the valve stem out a hole.  Here is a picture with arrows showing you what I am talking about.

I took both hubcaps off yesterday and positioned them correctly. Here is a picture. How hard could it have been to do it right?

In an hour or two we will be off to the lake in Homer for a few days. It is supposed to be cool and no rain. Yippee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!