9-23-2016

9-23-2016

Kanasket-Palmer State Park

Mileage: ?? (No cell phones out here)

Shake Down Cruise 

Rained most of the day.  Overcast, damp, cool.  

We purchased a camper truck combo off Craigslist thinking it would be nice to stop sleeping on the ground and in tents. (Purchase date 9/13/2016) 1990 Ford F-250 Super Cab and a 1990 Lance LC-300.  It's an 8.5 foot camper, so not real big.  For the kind of camping we do it should be fairly luxurious.  The truck and camper were owned previously by Richard and Bylle Bowser.  When Richard retired from the merchant marines he bought them new.  They towed a large tandem axle boat that was not part of the package.  Richard was a chief engineer aboard a container ship, so you can imagine how the maintenance was performed on these two.  He had every manual for every piece of equipment.  He even had the service manual for the truck.  

Apparently it has sat unused for the past two years.  Richard is 90 years old and knew he should not be driving any more.  They were experiencing some sellers remorse and having difficulty coming to terms with the need to sell something they had spent so much of their retirement years in and had so many good memories tied up in.  I happened to have Grandpa Doty's camping journal and brought it with me for the transaction when I took custody of the vehicle.  It gave them much comfort to know it would be used by a family and loved and cared for as much as they had. 

So here we are on the milk run.  I spent the previous week working on some of the maintenance items one might expect on a camper that's been unused for a couple of years.  Resealed outside seams, re-caulked the windows, put down some Eternabond tape on the roof vents.  There is still more to do, but nothing critical. There's a leak in one of the water lines at the holding tank dump, the kitchen sink faucet needs tightening, the O ring is leaking.  The truck is mechanically sound.  One of the cab-over shocks needs replacing, but everything else is cosmetic.  

Camping is pretty expensive here.  $25 per night for off season.  I doubt we will be inclined to camp here again, but I wanted something close and easy for the shakedown cruse.  This was the first time I loaded the camper on the truck and it took 45 minutes.  I failed to get the camping gear stowed in the camper this week so it took extra long to throw everything in and be ready to go.  Now that things are stowed we should only need to get clothes and food on future trips.  Looking forward to it.

9-24-16

Lazy day of not doing much.  Camper is nice and warm.  Cooking really heats the place up.  Humidity is a problem this time of year.  The fan over the stove works very well to take the humidity out, but is rather noisy.  I should look into a replacement fan that is quieter.  It would also be an idea to put a 12 volt fan pointing out the top vent. Something like a Fantastic Fan, only not $200.  There's a handy 12 volt outlet right by the vent.  

Noticed some water damage at the front cab over window on the passenger side.  May need some attention.  I want to reseal the outside running lights on the front as well.  The kitchen faucet needs more attention than I first thought.  There's a leak on the underside in the lower cupboard.  I should take the whole thing apart and see what's going on.  I'm not optimistic about finding repair parts.  Probably will end up replacing the whole thing.  

The campground is not terrible.  State parks tend to be crowded and noisy.  This one has lots of space between sights and isn't noisy.  At least this time of year.  There's some fairly advanced rapids on the river.  Swimming wont be an option. Its still fun to sit on the rocks and watch the boys explore river bank and play with bugs.

9-25-16

Last day.  Will pack up before checkout and park in the day-use area.  Spend a few hours playing by the river. Quick drive home again and wrap up a successful maiden voyage.  Over all I'm very satisfied with the truck and camper.  It feels like such a luxury to wake up to a warm camper, cook breakfast in my pajamas and not have to bundle up for the morning chill.  The camper is very warm.  Especially when cooking.  The fan over the stove is a lot more efficient than I'd give it credit for.  Too noisy though.  

Kept an eye on the system monitor.  Looks like we used up at least half the battery and 1/3 the fresh water. We didn't use the toilet except at night so the black water is essentially empty, the grey water is 2/3 full though.  For a weekend that's not too shabby, for the times we are out for a week at a time I may need to come up with a way of dumping the grey water. If I can dump to a bucket there shouldn't be a problem dumping it in the forest or, if they are available, those waste water dumps things by the faucets in some parks. 

Checked fluids on the truck this morning.  Everything is full and looks good.  Noticed that the air filter needs changing, along with the breather filter.  Looks like the idler needs replacing too.  The plastic spacer is falling apart. I should change cap, rotor, plugs, and wires too. The Bowsers said it had been something like 25,000 miles since that was done.