December 11 - 14, 2022 - Golf, Pool, Decorating, Woodcarving, and Block Party

Sunday I took a picture of these two guys walking around on our lot. At another time I saw four of them walking down the street liked they owned the place.

Monday I played golf for the first time this season. The golfing group goes to an RV resort ten miles away that has a nine-hole course. It isn't the fanciest course around, but you can't beat it for $18.00 for nine holes including the cart. I laughed because the carts are 1995 models. I'm sure this helps keep down the costs. We played at 10:00 a.m. and it was really overcast and cool. I didn't take my jacket off until the 6th hole. I played terribly, as usual, but the guys I played with weren't a whole lot better and could care less how poorly I played. 

Tuesday morning Kelly went to the pool for the first time here. In six plus years at Roberts RV Park neither of us ever went to the pool. The pool and surrounding pool area here is quite large and there are periodic pool parties. Here are two pictures

Tuesday morning we received an invitation to the first "D Street Block Party", which is held the second Wednesday of every month. You bring your drinks, your chairs, and a snack to share. A nice way to meet the neighbors. 

Tuesday afternoon Kelly decorated Marge for Christmas. We do not have room for a tree, so we hang various items around, including two Santas that Kelly painted by number. (Those are my Christmas presents up on the shelf.)

Wednesday woodcarving was at 10:00 a.m. As I continued to work on my boot I screwed up and punched a hole in it. A dumb beginner's mistake. Someone suggested plastic wood to the rescue. I didn't know if he was kidding or not. I think the picture makes the boot look rougher than it really is.

These guys are serious carvers. Look at the tools they have and their skills. The arrow points to the top of a walking stick. The top has balls inside that roll around. Unreal.

Wednesday evening was the first "D Street Block Party". There were about eight couples. A number of people aren't here yet. It was nice meeting the neighbors from Ontario, South Dakota, New York, Indiana, Ohio, and Minnesota. You brought your own drinks and only one guy besides me had a beer. Everyone else was drinking water and bottled tea. I learned it is a block party, not a "Happy Hour". Kelly brought a tray of her homemade Christmas cookies, and they were a hit. The food provided was great and there was enough that we didn't need to make supper. A nice group. Some of them have been coming here for twenty years. 

After the block party we took down the sunshade and put the awning up because thunderstorms are predicted for tomorrow with winds up to 20 mph. No sense taking any chances.

Kelly said tomorrow is the pool party so we will see how that goes. It is two hours long around the pool with live music. Should be fun.

December 6 - 9, 2022 - Laundry/Sunshade /Night Lights/Reef Shoes/Woodcarving/Christmas Party/Woodcarving/Medication

FIRST LAUNDRY DAY: 

At 7:00 a.m. Tuesday I used my pull cart to take clothes to the laundry house a block away. Early risers are few and far between, so I had the place to myself until 9:00 a.m. I found one dryer that gave a lot more time than the one next to it so I will make it one of my default dryers. In the laundry room there is this sign:

The small print was helpful and if this was the setup at Roberts RV Park we might still be there. Not only is there a sign about repairs, but there are also actually repair forms and a pen available under the sign. Cool.

While I was doing laundry, at 8:00 a.m. an employee came through, asked me if I had any issues, and then checked out the other machines before leaving. Again, unlike Roberts RV Park. Also it is nice that all the employees great you and talk to you, again unlike Roberts RV Park where they were forbidden to talk to the residents or barely acknowledge your existence.

While waiting for the clothes to dry, neighbor, Don, came through. Monday morning at the resort meeting I had heard him say he played golf, so I asked him - when, where, and how much. He said on Mondays at 9:00 a.m. I told him I was a terrible golfer. He said is also so I should not worry about embarrassing myself. (I'm sure I will anyway.) He said I need to pay George on Wednesday at the Woodcarving session. The cost is $18:00 for nine holes including a cart. You can’t beat that.

SUNSHADE INSTALLED:

Lots of sun on our lot. Tuesday afternoon the sunshade I ordered from Amazon arrived. I am not one to wait around so I opened the box and proceeded to install it in the heat of the day (much to Kelly's dismay).  The top section slides into a slot in the awning tube. I thought this would be a simple install, but I soon learned that the motor head on each of the awning arms is too close to the awning tube to get the cord started. I studied it for a minute to find a solution. I got on the ladder and had Kelly run the electric awning forward and backward a little until the awning slot was above the motor housing. Doing this allowed the cord to slip right in and I could feed it in a few inches at a time. As I fed it in the slot Kelly slowly pulled the shade across from below. As we were working the neighbor behind us, Ralph (from Ontario), walked over and introduced himself and asked if we needed any help. We accepted his offer.

The sunshade comes in two pieces. The top piece hangs down from the awning about three feet and the bottom part is zippered to it. It is made this way so you can take the bottom off and roll up the awning if the shade needs to be taken down in a hurry due to wind issues. The three of us had the top section installed and the bottom section zipped on in no time.

We took a beer break and got acquainted with Ralph. Ralph’s wife died seven years ago, and he comes down six months of the year because his only son lives in Lakeland, about forty miles from here. He bought a fifth wheel from a friend and leaves it down here, putting it in storage when he isn’t here. A really nice fellow. After the beer break, I staked the sunshade to the ground. Here is a picture:

We are quite happy with the results and the quality of the awning we ordered. It blocks about 85% of the sun, which helps a lot.

WOODCARVING DAY ONE:

Wednesday morning was my first session of wood carving. Alexa bought me a woodcarving set a couple of years ago and I had never used it. The club at the park carves in the clubhouse every Wednesday and Friday starting at 10:00 a.m. The clubhouse is all carpeted except for the dance floor. Due to all the wood chips, tables are set up on the dance floor for an easy cleanup. By noon each day all wood shavings are cleaned up and tables put away. On Wednesday I was one of several total woodcarving newbies, so Earl took me under his wing. I was surprised that there were at least twenty folks there, all men and one woman. They suggest I start off making a boot. The basic shape is cut out on a band saw and a hole drilled for carving out the inside. The wood used is basswood because it has good grain and no knots. They charge for the wood blanks but as a newbie I got mine free. I quickly learned I was only semi-equipped. Everyone had a board they carved over and tool bags or toolboxes full of tools and supplies, etc. Earl was very helpful in getting me started with the proper tool from the club's collection. Most folks wore gloves. I didn’t have any. I previously made some glove fingers covered in duct tape to go over my index finger and thumb. I had read about this idea some time back and made them at home. These finger coverings help avoid splinters and cutting yourself. I quickly learned carving is a slow process. Trying to take too much wood off at a time is a big mistake, which I made several times. 

Wednesday afternoon there was a meeting to sign up volunteers for the car show in January. It is open to the public so my assignment is to ride my bike leading outside guests to areas in the park where they can park their cars. A golf cart then picks them up and takes them to the show area.

NIGHT LIGHT IMPROVMENT:

The blue courtesy lights I installed a couple of years ago in the hallway, bathroom, and bedroom, ended up being too bright. They were made for lighting boat decks at night. I ordered some material which is made to put over LED lights to dim them down. The material arrived so I cut pieces to cover each of the four lights and installed them. The hall light looked like this before and after.

The two bedroom lights looked like this before and after.

A major improvement! We now still have plenty of light to see our way around in the dark without the entire room being lit up.

REEF WASHABLE SHOES:

Daughter Annie bought me some Reef, machine washable, slip-on shoes. They arrived just in time to bring to Florida. I love the color and the feel. When I walked by the lake in them yesterday, I found that they are a magnet for cockleburs though. Here they are after I picked the cockleburs off.

CHRISTMAS PARTY:

Thursday evening was the park Christmas Party. We bought tickets earlier and it's a good thing we did because it was a sell-out. It’s really not a party, just a dance with live music. You bring your own snacks and drinks. Here are some pictures:

A fellow was going around taking pictures. The first is a group picture of our table. The second is a picture of Kelly and me at the table.

These people take these events seriously. Some were up at the Clubhouse at 3:30 p.m. to reserve their spots and they bring lots of snacks to eat. Most of the spots were taken when we got there just before 6:00 p.m. We ended up at the end of a table with some really nice people. Ron and Denise from Michigan went out of their way to welcome us. The music was seventies and eighties, and it was a dancing crowd.

WOODCARVING DAY 2:

Friday morning was woodcarving - day two. I got there a little early to help set up the tables. Here is a picture of my boot after working on it for two days. It is about three inches tall. There is a lot left to do as you can plainly see. I should have taken a picture of the block I began with. Woodcarving is all about patience.

I quickly learned that everyone has a "spot" where they sit at every session. Earl made a spot for me next to him. He is carving a foot-long chain with interlocked links. It will be long time before I get that proficient, if ever. There are different people with different abilities, and everyone offers help whenever asked. 

MEDICATION:

Since coming down last year I began a medication that I receive monthly from the Siteman Center in St. Louis. It is so expensive that if I don't pick it up in person, they send it by FedEx and someone has to be home to sign for it. On my last visit I learned that the Siteman Center cannot mail a prescription out of state. They told me to call Washington University downtown to get the prescription sent from down here. I called downtown the other day and learned that they cannot ship interstate either. I called the doctor back and they sent the prescription to Express Scripts and said I would hear from them in a day or two. I did not so I called back yesterday. They checked into it and today I got a call from Express Scripts telling me the medication will be delivered on the 13th - just in time. It will be a load off my mind when it shows up. 

POST SCRIPT:

Nothing is going on the rest of the day. Tomorrow we may go to a boat regatta on Lake Jackson in Sebring. 

December 5, 2022 - First Resort Meeting to Get the Scoop

At this park every Monday there is a meeting at 8:30 a.m. where everyone is advised of activities, etc. coming up. Free coffee and donuts are provided. I sat with a nice bunch of people. I am sure I will not remember most of their names. LOL The clubhouse is large and really nice. Here is a picture taken from the back just in front of the kitchen. Almost all the tables filled up before the meeting started.

They play a lot of Pickle Ball here every day and can accommodate sixteen players on the courts at a time. They have about thirty-two wanting to play at all times. A fellow announced that he had set up a time to teach the rules and show newbies how the game is played. It filled up immediately and he had to cutoff participants at this time. Crazy.

On my way back to the RV I went by the Corn Hole Courts. The Cornhole boxes are made out of concrete. It doesn't seem to me that the bags would slide very well on that surface. I don't know if you have to bring your own bags or if some are available somewhere. I'll have to check that out. Here is a picture of the courts and a concrete Corn Hole box up close.

The surface isn’t all that smooth, so I don’t think you get much sliding into the hole action.

This resort is more like a mobile home park than an RV park despite lots of RVs here. There are no games like Corn Hole, or any other games, played in the street like we did at Roberts. Many more golf carts go up and down the streets than cars. The place is really quiet, and no gas golf carts are allowed.

Also, on my way back I stopped in the mail room next to the office. Getting mail here is also different from other parks where we have stayed. There is an actual "Mail Room" by the office. Your mail is placed in a pigeonhole with your lot number on it. If you get a package that won't fit a pink card is put in the pigeonhole and the carrier places the package on top of the mail rack as close to your lot number as possible. If the package is too large to sit up there it is placed on the floor along the wall. We had no mail, which wasn't a surprise. Our mail is being collected and mailed to us once per week on Wednesday.

Kelly’s first activity was playing Bunco this afternoon.  I passed on that and rode my bike down to Lake Adelaide in the back of the resort. Here is a picture of the lake from the shore and from the dock. The lake isn't nearly as big as I expected.

As I rode along on the sidewalk I noticed these guys hanging out nearby pecking around.

I turned around at the end of the sidewalk and as I was riding back a lady walking her dog told me there were no bicycles allowed on the path. I told her I didn't see a sign when I came in. She said "Yes, there is a sign". I said "okay". I exited by a different path, which is in the middle of the resort, and sure enough where the path intersected with the road there was a sign saying, "no bicycles or golf carts allowed". I then peddled over to where I entered the path at the far end of the resort and THERE WAS NO SIGN SAYING 'NO BICYCLES OR GOLF CARTS'! So, she was right, and I was right. Anyway, I don't want to get kicked out, so I'll stay off the sidewalk to the lake. In fact, I'll probably never go back down to the lake. It isn't much to see although someone said you can see the alligators' eyes at night. That might be fun.

Kelly got back from Bunco and didn't win. Surprise, surprise. Kelly will be helping with Bingo tomorrow and will play "Card Bingo" (Bingo using playing cards rather than Bingo cards) on Wednesday. Wednesday and Friday they have woodcarving so I may go check that out. Busy, busy, busy.

December 2-3, 2022 - I Hate Dish With a Passion!

 Kelly insists on having Dish TV here in Florida even though we can get cable TV in the park. Every year it is an ordeal for me to set up the antenna and find the satellites. Normally it takes a couple hours. This year was a MAJOR exception. I hooked it all up on Friday morning and spent six hours on the phone with Dish trying to get connected. We finally got one satellite. They said that since the receiver hadn’t been on for almost a year, in order to get the other two satellites we had to leave the receiver on overnight so it could download the software upgrades. I did that and this morning we had nothing, not even the one satellite from yesterday.

I talked with Dish for over an hour this morning and gave up. Kelly and I talked about ordering an antenna that automatically finds the satellite. One of these costs about $350.00 but we don’t think it has all the features Kelly wants for recording programs. We were going to order one anyway but I decided to look for an installer in the area to see if he could get the satellites locked in. If something was wrong with the equipment and we bought the $350.00 automatic antenna, we still wouldn’t have things up and running. I googled and found an installer with a five star rating. I called him and he said $100.00 to get it up and running. I agreed and in 45 minutes he was at the campsite. He found several things wrong with the Dish antenna and the connecting cables. He fixed all of them then worked on getting the antenna aimed correctly. Even he had trouble with that and had to get out his meter to verify the antenna was locked in correctly on the satellites. We then had to go through all the Dish upgrades, etc. These take a long time so he said he was leaving. He had done all he could. He gave me his address and said to send him a check. If it didn’t work call him back. Here is the culprit and my nemesis every year.

Bob used to be a Dish technician but quit some years back. He said their setup takes forever. After he left the screen was stuck for a half hour on the screen looking for a signal. I called Dish once again. The technician had me reset the Wally receiver once again. This was probably the tenth time I had done this in the last two days. The screen sat there for well over twenty minutes with the same message. Then FINALLY it started to load. After another hour we had programming. Everything was working as it should so I mailed Bob a check. I wish I had called him yesterday!

The next issue to deal with here on our lot is the sun. We have shade in the morning but sun all afternoon and it has been hot -  80, feels like 82. Here is a picture. No trees in sight.

A number of campers here have sunshades like this attached to their awning. They cut out 85% of the sun.

We decided to order one from Amazon. It will be here December 7th. It should be an easy install. Hopefully much easier than the Dish antenna! We then did a little grocery shopping, ate supper, and turned on the AC. When it gets dark it cools down to about 60 degrees and we can turn it off. 

We will give the Dish network a workout tonight to make up for lost time.

There is no recycling at the park because it costs them more than just dumping the trash. They have a big dumpster at the storage lot so I rode my bike up there with the trash. I hate throwing away aluminum cans but I’m not going to accumulate them for fourth months.

Settling in slowly.

December 1, 2022 - we Arrived At Adelaide Shores RV Resort

We arrived at Adelaide Shores RV Park today at 12:30 p.m. 70 degrees and sunny. We got checked in and headed to our site. I had my Missouri clothes on (long sleeve shirt and blue jeans) so I was soaking wet by the time Marge was set up. The xfinity installer was scheduled to arrive between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. to install our internet. He arrived at 4:00 p.m., which was great. In fifteen minutes he had the wires run and modem installed. A half our after that we were online. Yippee. 

Here are two pictures of our lot. The lots are huge compared to the prior parks we stayed in.

 

You can’t park on the grass so we had to pay to put the truck in the storage lot because both vehicles would not fit on our concrete drive.

I took a walk to the next block over to check out the shower house and laundry. The building is only about 300 feet away from our site. Very convenient. Both the showers and the laundry are immaculate. Here is a picture of the Men’s Shower Room and a picture of the laundry. Nice!

We are two lots off the side street where the laundry-shower house is located. Here is a picture looking down the side street, which is lined with Palm Trees (a little windy today). There are no Palm Trees, or an other trees, on our street.

Wayne and Judy Smith stopped by on their golf cart. They are in our RV club and the only people we know in this park. They have a park model and got here in October. We will have plenty of time o visit with them.

My project for tomorrow is getting the Dish satellite set up. It is a very frustrating process every year and usually takes a couple of hours on the phone with Dish to get it up and working. Once that is done mama will be happy and we can settle in and drive around to get the lay of the land.

This morning the breakfast at the Comfort Suites was great. I had bacon and eggs, yogurt, and a banana. It was interesting how the utensils were wrapped. Instead of the entire utensil being wrapped, just the eating portion was sealed. A great way to save on plastic wrap. Here is a picture.

It is supposed to be around 80 for the high for the entire next week then in the 70s. Hard to take.

November 30, 2022 - We Made It To Florida!!!

We left Dalton, Georgia at 8:00 a.m. after the storm passed through. The Baymont Motel breakfast was awful for me. I’m on a flour-free and sugar-free diet so the only thing I could eat was buttered grits (yuck) and yogurt. They had no eggs, no sausage, just biscuits and gravy, waffles and toast. Lots of cheap carbs!

As we headed South we had to watch the storm ahead. We drove through a little light rain most of the day and surprisingly flew through downtown Atlanta. There was a lot of traffic but it kept moving. I’ve found the drivers there to be very good about letting you  I’ve into the correct lane as you navigate the multiple Interstates down there. We just took our time to let the storm pass through before we got there. 

Our second stop was Lake City, Florida. I saw a billboard for Comfort Suites with truck parking. Much appreciated. I got Marge parked on the lot before we registered. Here she is sitting proud this evening with the big boys.

This motel is a LOT nicer than the Baymont but much pricier as well. They even have a breakfast menu!

The front desk lady gave us a list of several suggested restaurants for supper. We picked a seafood place and headed there. Kelly started off with a beer to celebrate our arrival in Florida.

I ordered a seafood platter and got much more than I bargained for but I managed to get most of it down.

We could have split my entree but Kelly wanted a bowl of clam chowder and the crab cake appetizer. She said the clam chowder was in the top ten she has ever tasted (and believe me she is particular about her clam chowder). Mama was happy and that’s always a good thing. In the morning we have a 3 1/2 hour drive to the RV park. The rain we were expecting upon our arrival has been called off and we can expect cloudy and 78 degrees when we arrive. I’ll need to break out my shorts in a hurry!

November 29, 2022 - Departure Plans Changed Because of Weather

Our plan was to leave at 8:00 a.m. for a seven hour drive day. The weather indicated a major storm could affect our travel so we left at 6:30 a.m., hoping to get ahead of it. I’m not real fond of hooking up the trailer in the dark but I did it this morning so we could get on the road. A bonus for setting out in the dark is getting to watch a nice sunrise as you drive. Kelly took this picture around 7:00 a.m. while driving down I-55.

Traffic was not bad. There was one spot near Nashville where traffic slowed to 10 mph for three miles for no reason that we could see. South of Nashville I pulled off to head into a Cracker Barrel for lunch. We stop at Cracker Barrel often because they usually have RV parking in the back. When I pulled off the highway at this location it was apparent there was no way I was going to get on the lot. There was a driveway next to the car parking. I thought maybe it led to RV parking in the back. As I pulled in I quickly realized that was not the case. It was a dead end. There was a driveway entrance to a warehouse building on the left. I turned in there looking for a place to turn around. The further I went the worse it got. The lot was also a dead end. I was in a bind. I ended up having to jackknife the trailer and jump two curbs to get out of there. When I pulled around Kelly was out of her car and by the door waiting for me. I blew the horn several times to get her attention and headed back onto the highway. At the next town we stopped at another Cracker Barrel. It didn’t have any RV parking either but there was a huge vacant asphalt lot next door. We finally had lunch.

Our destination for the day was Dalton, Georgia. We lost an hour with the time change and arrived around 4:00 p.m. The Baymont Motel had room to park the fifth wheel so we got a room. The place isn’t the Ritz but it isn’t bad. I’m glad we decided to stay at motels on the way down because a major storm is headed this way. Luckily we are just on the edge of it. High winds, possible hail, etc. Not bad campground weather. Here is the radar. The coming storm is all over the news. It should be over by morning. We are the blue dot. Hope breakfast is good!

November 28, 2022 - Dangerous Issue with Marge That Needed to be Repaired Today

Today we loaded all the food in Marge for the trip to Florida tomorrow. While doing so Kelly said she smelled something like glue or nail polish remover. I hadn’t used anything in Marge recently so I couldn’t imagine what it was she was smelling. After all the food was loaded I pulled all the slides in for traveling. I opened the front compartment to get out the folding step which I use to reach the fifth wheel hitch lock in the bed. When I opened the compartment I immediately saw what Kelly was smelling - gasoline.

The generator and fuel tank are in that front compartment. Yesterday I put five gallons of gasoline in the fuel tank and ran the generator for its monthly exercise. There was no gasoline leak. Today gasoline was dripping steadily from the right side of the fuel filter. Tightening the clamp did not help. Here is a picture of the filter after I pinched the hose to stop the gas flow and wiped it all off to see what was up.

I loosened the clamp and pulled off the hose. The hose was cracked. I cut off about an inch of the hose. I tried to put the old filter back on but in doing so the stretching of the hose caused it to crack again. This section of the hose has been in a severe bend for some time. I think that lead to its cracking in conjunction with the fuel filter fitting being larger and stretching the hose more than normal. I checked the rest of the hose and it was good. I couldn’t make it crack anymore. I decided it was a good time to change the filter so I drove to O’Reilly’s Auto Parts and bought a new filter with a smaller diameter fitting and installed it. Here is a picture of the generator running with the new filter and no leak.

I’m really, really, glad this happpened before we left home. Marge is going to be sitting overnight on a couple of motel parking lots on the way down to Avon Park. Leaking gasoline would not have been a good thing!

In the morning I’ll unplug the electric, hook Marge to the truck, and off we will go for another winter adventure!

November 9, 2022 - First Repair Getting Marge Ready for the Trip South for the Winter

Last week we brought Marge home to get her ready for the trip South for the winter. 

There are always items to address with RVs, whether from being used or from sitting. Last winter I noticed that one of the light bulbs in the electric fireplace had burned out. I took it apart today to replace that bulb. While doing that learned how the "embers" and "flames" are created. The fireplace uses six candelabra-type light bulbs. The top two bulbs can be dimmed to create the ambiance you want. The bottom four bulbs light up the logs from below to create "glowing embers". 

After taking the cover and the glass off I quickly found the burned-out bulb on the top right side. I had some candelabra bulbs and put a new one in. The new bulb is either a little more wattage than the old one, or the other bulb has just lost some intensity due to aging, or both. Here is a picture. 

Here is a picture of the bottom bulbs, all of which are working. They light up the logs from below but do not dim.

The logs are made of three pieces of sculptured Styrofoam screwed together. The entire log unit just lifts out. I took the opportunity to clean the logs, especially the reflective areas on each that create the ember effect. Here are pictures of the logs together and apart.

   

The "flames" are made by a slowly spinning rod, with bent aluminum pieces attached. The rod stretches from one side of the fire box to the other behind an opaque second glass pane. The rod is turned by a motor on one end, which can be slowed down or sped up, again for the ambiance you want. The aluminum fins are different in shape and bent in different directions to make the flames "dance" as the rod turns. Pretty cool. Here is a picture of the aluminum fins. 

Since the shaft makes a little noise as it turns, I took the opportunity to oil each end. Surprisingly the unit was pretty clean even though it is sixteen years old. After cleaning where I could reach, I put everything back together for a picture.

The fireplace is not just for looks. It also has a 1500 electric space heater built in. We use it almost daily in Florida to take the morning chill off the living area. Good for another season!

  

October 15, 2022 - Winterizing and a Small Improvement-Fix to Homer

The temperature is going to be down to 25 degrees on Monday and each morning for a few days thereafter. We had hoped to get another campout in before winter, but our calendar had not cooperated. Thus, Homer needs to be winterized. My process is to winterize the water system and then remove the batteries and put them on a trickle charger in the garage for the winter. 

We purchased Homer for a long trip to Alaska upon my retirement. We anticipated that many nights in the RV we would not have electrical hookups and thus would be consuming a lot of battery power. To address this issue, I removed the 12-volt battery and installed two 6-volt golf cart batteries for more battery storage. They have worked well. 

While Homer's battery box is wide enough for two 6-volt batteries, they are taller than 12-volt batteries. It has been a problem from day one getting them in and out and for checking them. There is literally only about a 1/4-inch clearance between the battery posts and the top of the metal battery box. To make matters worse, the bottom of the outside compartment door that hides everything inside, is higher than the battery box. To get the batteries out they have to come up on angle. In pulling the batteries out this way the terminals are prone to touching the top of the metal battery cabinet, causing an arc. 

To solve the arcing problem, I cut plastic insulators out of milk jugs and wire-tied them in place over the terminals. This worked fine up until this year.  Upon removing the batteries this year, I found that at some point over the season the batteries must have bounced up while going over a rough road. This movement was enough to cause the insulators to touch the top of the battery box a time or two.  The thin plastic was not robust enough and the batteries arced, melting the thin plastic insulators. Here is a picture of what I found on the insulators.

On the first picture you can see that the current burned through the top of the insulator. On the second picture you can see that it not only burned the top of the insulator but also on the bottom.  I clearly need a better insulator. I made some new insulators out of heavy plastic tubing. They are three times as thick but may be too thick to slide the batteries back in next spring. I won't know until I reinstall the batteries. Here is a picture of one of the new insulators. 

If the thickness of these insulators makes it impossible to install the batteries I will have to come up with plan "B". Plan "B", as of today, is to slide a piece of plexiglass over the top of the batteries once installed. I had thought of this before, but this fix will only help once the batteries are installed not with any arcing upon installation. Stay tuned for reinstallation next spring.

The second problem with the batteries being so tall is that I cannot put a meter on them to check their voltage. I have a digital meter inside the coach but checking the voltage at the batteries once in a while is more accurate. Last year I attached an 18-inch-long wire from the positive and negative terminals to an area in the battery compartment where I could access them for a voltage check. I could also use these wires to attach an external battery charger if needed. I needed to do this one time when the battery relay malfunctioned. When this happened the internal converter/charger was not charging the batteries as needed. Trying to hold the meter probes on each wire to get a reading was also a pain.

These wires just hung loose in the battery box with wire nuts on the end of each.  I didn't like this system because at times the wires would fall out while going down the road and hang in the breeze. I temporarily solved this problem by securing them to other wires in the battery box. While this worked, it still did not address the problem I had when connecting the wires to spring clips on an external battery charger.  For whatever reason the wires would want to seek each other out and arc if I wasn't careful. This weekend I solved this problem permanently by attaching insulated connecting blocks for the positive and negative terminals on the side wall of the metal box. The wires are now bolted in place. I can easily attach battery charger spring clips to the blocks without worrying about any arcing. Since the wires are locked in place it is also much easier to get a reading with a voltmeter. Here is a picture. The arrows point to the new insulated blocks.

A side note: I think it is a terrible design to have all the electrical components and connections you see in the picture in the battery box where they are open to the elements. Batteries have to be vented and on Homer the entire front of the battery box is open to the elements as you go down the road. The compartment door is several inches away so lots of dirt and moisture gets in there.

 

Homer will go into the storage shed the end of the month and Marge will come home to get ready for a winter in Florida. It is crazy how quickly that time is approaching.