Turkey and Troubleshooting...or Troubleshooting Turkeys

I do hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. As we move into Christmas mode, I want to recap our first holiday in the Fox and a lesson learned.

The ever repeated mantra we heard over and over when we first purchased our rig, [just a couple months ago!] followed us around until Tuesday evening, when it's chance to mock us arrived. We entered the RV park after dark and proceeded to the back to bring the Fox out of their storage area. This was a large, grassy, unlit, fenced field. Lucky for us, the back of our truck has amazing lighting and for any other light, we need only to pull out our phones, which double as flashlights. Plus, there are various other appropriately placed LED lights on the outside of our rig that are available at the press of a button.

Everything was going well: the back jacks were up and the hitch was connected. Brad pushed the button to raise the front jacks. The lights dimmed and an error message appeared...low power. Great! What did we leave on?? We were both tired. It was late. Brad had worked a full day and then drove 4 hours. I had driven 5 hours the day before, camped out in the back of the truck, picked up our youngest grandson and then drove 5 hours back to then wait for Brad to get off work. This is my excuse for it taking us a few minutes to realize, "Hey, just plug it into the truck." A few minutes later we had enough juice to bring up the jacks. Time to get set up.

The rest of the evening went smooth, as did the following day. We began cooking early Thanksgiving Day. I could kick myself for not having any pictures of our feast. You will have to use your imagination to see what we managed to prepare in our cozy little kitchen. Brad started with the turkey; he removed the backbone and then smothered butter and seasonings under the skin. Then he poured butter over the top and added more seasonings. He said it was now a true 'butterball'. We also had a spiral cut ham, cheesy cauliflower casserole, shells and cheese, [you can't have too much cheese on a holiday], pecan and brown sugar butternut squash and cornbread and wild rice dressing with gravy. Of course, lets not forget dessert: pumpkin pie and glazed chocolate bundt cake. There was a lot of dancing around and bumping into each other but it made for a fun time.

If anyone is contemplating on whether to get a rig with an island or not, get it with one. It is well worth the space it takes up. I love ours! The added storage and work area are such big bonuses. The countertop extends past the drawers and has a barrel cabinet under it. A great added space for kitchen stuff. Also, I love the out of sight until you need it pull-up block of outlets on the top, perfect to plug in mixers and such without having cords dangle across walkways. We used it this day for prepping dinner and then later, for serving. Really, it is my favorite part of the rig...well, except for the fireplace.

This picture is from www.northwoodmfg.com but looks just like ours.

We enjoyed our meal with some new friends we met at the park and also with family that lives in town. I am so looking forward to doing more of this; sharing home cooked meals with people we meet along our way and with friends and family that are near by.

We were so confident of a good night's sleep, with all that turkey and food, it was pretty much a guarantee...but then, I woke up around 2 am to the sound of Brad's voice, 'do you hear that beeping?' Well, no. I hadn't heard the beeping because I was asleep, but, yes, now that I'm awake I hear it.

It was the fridge and it had an error code flashing. I looked up the code in our manual and it said to see a technician. Are you kidding me? Surely there has to be something we can do. About that time we noticed our lights were dim. We went outside to check the shore power. Brad used his meter and everything outside was good. In the meantime, I had gone back inside because it was raining. I googled it and watched a couple videos. This brought me to believe it had something to do with our power converter. However, we could not find ours. Possibly because it was now nearly 3 am and we did not have our brightest thinking caps on. I'm going to say it was that coupled with too much turkey. So, we crawled back into our warm bed and left it for morning.

We awoke to no lights except on the microwave. Brad removed a vented plate below a kitchen drawer and found what he thought was the converter although, it was much bigger and didn't look the same as the ones I was researching. He gave the dealer a quick call to verify and yes, it was the power converter. He also let us know that the microwave was still on because it was directly connected to shore power. I continued my search for a new converter. A bit later, I notice Brad pulling out a storage crate from under the sink, right next to the cupboard the converter is in. Then I hear, 'I think I got it.' and the lights come on... 'What did you do?', I ask. 'Plugged it back in.'.... Apparently, when the crate was put in or moved around, it unplugged it.

Just a couple of turkeys troubleshooting.

Dog...Dog...CAT!

Our ever present, cute and cuddly traveling companions are an extra large Corgi we rescued and a Chihuahua inherited from my mother-in-law; otherwise known as Lilly and Abby respectively. We treat them like children. I know that sounds weird to non-pet owners, it still sounds weird to me, but it is true.

Come on, babies, let's go...Daddy has a treat...Woah, don't run your little sis over like that...Aww, it's okay, let me hold ya...What did you do...No, No, No...Talk to me...Want to go for a ride...Outside? Ya, let's go play...

Just as we had to adjust to our new home and schedule, so did our puppies. Since I can't really read their minds I can only guess at this, but, I would say that the biggest adjustment for them is not having a fenced in area to run free in as often as they wanted. That also means no more chasing cats and squirrels that may have wandered to close, out of the yard or, more aptly, up a tree. Without a doubt, this was Lilly's favorite pastime. Even now, a mere, 'go get 'em' and she is up at attention, ears pointed to the sky, alert, searching with her eyes for the intruder. If she doesn't see it right off she inhales a large amount of air, quite noisily, as if she could draw it out into the open simply by willing it.

It always amazes us at just how fast she can move her big, burly, short-legged self towards her sworn enemy. My personal favorite was finding her intently staring out the sliding glass door. Her body language was screaming, 'Let me out! There's a squirrel I have to get. PLEASE!'  I would slowly slide the door open just enough for her to get out. She would drop down into stalking mode looking much like a lion sneaking up on it's prey. One foot forward, pause, step, pause, step; head and belly low to the ground. This would take minutes that to me felt like eternity and then, BAM, she was off like a bolt. Abby never seemed interested until Lilly made her move and then she would join in yapping all the way. They make a great team despite acting oblivious of each other most of the time. 

The other night I took the dogs out one last time before calling it a night. They were nosing around the grass looking for that prime piece of real estate when I noticed a black cat sitting under a railroad boom truck casually watching my beasts, not more than 25 feet away. I reflexively laughed out loud while shortening and wrapping leashes around my hands. Miss Kitty seemed to understand what I was previewing in my head and she began to look for a place to hide on the truck. Alas, it was too late. Lilly spotted her first and lounged hard. Abby looked up to see what the fuss was about, saw the cat slinking away and began bunny hop pulling. I call it that because she tries so hard with all her might to run after it and pull me along but can only manage a big leap in the air. Since she can't get me to budge she just keeps on trying leap after leap. She is a smart little thing though and figured out that if she puts her head down and backs up while there is slack in the leash, she can wiggle out of her harness. That left me in a bit of a predicament: Goliath's little sister tugging me with all her might and the Tasmanian Devil's cousin running for all she can as I imagine her barks saying, 'I'm free! I'm free!'

And so it is; our version of 'Duck, Duck, GOOSE!'

Say Hi to a Stranger

My husband is a people person. He can't help but talk to people; especially people in need. I remember a time at 4 am on a nearly deserted Chicago street hearing a man's distant voice call out, "Brad! Brad! Hi!" Looking around we saw a man standing half bent over a corner trash can. Brad recognized him as a homeless gentleman he had befriended some time earlier. Someone he hadn't seen in over 6 months. They exchanged pleasantries and 'how are you's' and then we entered the car and headed to Michigan. A smile grew on the inside as I began to see the man I had recently married had a much bigger heart than I imagined.

We met in Chicago, drawn there from opposite sides of the nation by very different reasons. We left as one, better for our experience and friendships forged there. Still, it is ever obvious to me that his heart is bigger and more giving than mine. Even so, as we follow Jesus' example, we reach out to those we meet as we can.

Earlier this week, I noticed an older, stately women sitting on a bench at the far end of  the patio. She was always looking away. As I walked our dogs, I mistakenly thought she was out just enjoying the good weather. Brad came in from work and mentioned he had seen a woman presumably praying, as she was doing the sign of the cross, when he came into the hotel. He said she seemed sad and wondered what we could do.  We had both seen the same woman but from different perspectives.

He took a shower and then we went to the truck to leave for dinner. She was not to be seen when we went out. Brad asked if I didn't mind, he would drive around the hotel and if we spotted her we would ask her to go eat with us. That is the man I married. He doesn't stop thinking about people; if they make it into his head, they have made it into his heart.

We found her walking on the far side of the building. We stopped and spoke with her. She smiled with emotion filling her face. A tissue in hand, she dabbed at her eyes. "Thank you so much," she said, "We buried my grandson today...." Those are the only words I remember. What was imprinted in me was the pain on her face and the broad smile that washed across it. She politely declined our offer but accepted our prayers.

Never underestimate the power of friendly words to a stranger. A smile, a hello, even something as simple as a nod can make a difference for someone. I believe it makes our heart grow. It stirs up compassion, thankfulness, and brightens attitudes. I am looking forward to this, my heart expanding, as we travel and meet others.

Adjustment...Transition...Change... Well Worth It

When we jumped into this new to us way of living, we hit the deep end with all the gusto we could muster and still never touched bottom but definitely went way over our head. As the saying goes, 'go big or go home', well, we went big going home.

There have been so many different changes going on at the same time, it has been hard to focus on just one thing and see it through. The biggest obstacle in this is that, although we call ourselves full time RVers, we are in fact half time RVers. The weeks that Brad works are the weeks we stay in a hotel. That's just the way it is. His crew stays in the same hotel to be able to leave together for their ever changing job sites. On his off days we live in our Arctic Fox [that I love!]. Since our main reason for our new chapter was time together, this works well but has some challenges.

I believe that most of the challenges will be conquered once we are fully set up in the Fox, have rid ourselves of everything we do not need or love and have our transition to hotel routine down to a simple move. Sounds easy, right? Well.... Ok, we have significantly reduced the amount of stuff we own but we still have a nearly full 8 x 10 storage unit. Obviously, we cannot pack all of it into the Fox and it still be comfortable to live in and light enough to pull. So, what we did to begin with was fill the basement [large storage area under the bedroom] with tubs to go through. The plan is to go through them and then grab more when we are in town. So far, our plan has taken a backseat to other issues. Getting Brad's health back on track was the main thing but also spending time with grandkids. Now, we have the holidays quickly approaching but I am determined to get this done. Once we find our groove, we will be able to do more of what we really want and that is to see and do all we can together, while we can.

Two other major adjustments have been financial and time spent together. The first was expected since we went from two incomes to one. There is nothing to do but adjust to the change when your expenses stay about the same but your income is considerably less. It would be easier if we were both conservative with money but where's the fun in that? Opposites attract, so, together we learn to keep an eye on what, where and why money is spent. At the same time, we also get to brush up on our communication skills.

Among other things, the new amount of time spent together also has us brushing and improving communication. Up until my last day of work, Brad and I were only together on his off days [not counting weekends I went to see him or vacations]. I worked 8 hours a day for five of those days. He would normally get in late on Tuesday and then leave around lunch the following Monday. [I am not complaining, just setting the scene.] The time we had to spend together was when I was back from work and the weekends. However, [Again, I am not complaining and would not have changed this for anything.] we shared that time with my dad while he lived and Brad's mom until her recent passing. My point is, we went from little face time to 24/7 'you're in my space' kind of time and that was... well... an Adjustment. I am laughing as I write this because it is laugh worthy. Not so funny when you are in the middle of it but soon, we will look back and it will be hilarious.

We have done a lot of running around on his last couple of sets of off days but this one coming up will see us in one place for the whole time. I am looking forward to getting much accomplished while also letting Brad have an actual off day or two. The man needs to rest so a day or so of veggin' out will be good for him and in turn, good for me.

So, You Like It Cold??

If you like it cold when you are indoors, do not, [repeat: DO NOT] let your salesman convince you one AC is all you need for a unit that has a separate bedroom. It is not.

Due to our affinity to the cold, we were skeptical when our salesman said, 'Oh, this AC is all you need!' 'It is vented throughout the whole unit. It will pump cold air up into the bedroom no problem.' Hmmm, really?? I am from Michigan and although Brad is from Texas, he likes it especially freezing inside...even more than me! He does work hard out in the hot Texas sun so I will be the last to give him a hard time about it. :-)

Anyway,... our RV came with a 15K BTU low profile AC with condensation resistant ducting. I will tell you, it keeps our main living space super chill. As in frosty nose hair chill. No kidding! If we ever needed to, I bet we could use it as a walk-in freezer. Our bathroom, even though it is in the upper part of the fifth wheel, also stays cold. It is a small room with a full size vent. If at least one door is closed, it will stay cool. However, the bedroom just doesn't get cold enough.

The bedroom houses a king bed with just enough space to walk around it and a dresser. I'm not including the large [very large] closet as it is enclosed. There is only one vent in this room but even if there were more, I don't think it would be enough. On its own, it takes the edge off but it never really gets cool.

If you find yourself in this situation, we have a couple of solutions short of installing another AC unit. The first is temporary: one of us will grab the remote for the fan vent and turn it on until we feel the temperature drop. It doesn't take long but it doesn't last either. The second [and one we use now] is to set a tower fan on top off our dresser so that it pulls the air into the room and across us. This works quite well now. We will see how it goes once the 100+ degree days get here. Conveniently, there is a nice sized sky light that could be used for an AC if the fans prove to be no match for the Texas summer.

If you have any other solutions you have implemented, please post in comments below. Would love to see what others are doing!

"You Don't Always Get What You Want"...but Sometimes You Do

What are we going to live in was the BIG question. There are so many options available: buses, diesel pushers, camper vans, fifth wheels, bumper pulls and many more having  multiple options in each sub category.

At first, Brad was sold on getting a diesel pusher while I was okay with staying in what we had for 6 months to a year. My contentedness was short lived. Although, I truly believe I could live in it if it were just me, more than happily. However, it becomes a bit more, shall we say, difficult when you add a spouse and a couple of dogs to the mix. It is even more interesting when you have guests. We have had our crew [2 adults and 2 dogs] plus 3 boys in the CampLite during a stormy weekend. It was so much....fun...haha

Brad and I are often at opposite ends but eventually, with much 'discussion', find each other in the middle. We began our search with 4 categories a) diesel pusher, b) class c, c) fifth wheel and d) bumper pull. We quickly dismissed bumper pull and then further narrowed it down to just fifth wheels. From there, we knew we needed something that would handle all the seasons, not just summer. We looked at true four season rigs and reviews from people actually living in them full time. We landed on the brand Arctic Fox by Northwood Manufacturing in OR. http://northwoodmfg.com/
We looked and looked and looked. We only found one here in Texas but it wasn't long enough and we didn't love the floor plan.

I began to look for used fifth wheels. Finding an Arctic Fox here was next to impossible so I also looked at a couple other brands. We nearly settled on a used Carriage that was in great shape, at a great price but already 8 years old. [Many RV parks have limits on how old an RV can be to stay at the park. Generally, nothing over 20 years.] We were so close! Even planned a trip to Dallas to get it but I just could not get Arctic Fox out of my head. It was what we really wanted. They seemed to fit us and our plans the best. So, I expanded the search to nationwide and found a 32-5M model that was significantly lower priced than anywhere. It was even much less than the one here that was also 6 feet shorter and a year older. The only drawback was the 31 hour road trip to pick it up. Of course, if you know me, you know that really isn't a drawback.

Well, here it is, in all it's glory. Our Arctic Fox 32-5M 

We spent part of last week moving some things from our storage and also our other camper. We decided the easiest way would be to stay at a nearby state park and have both campers there. It would not take long to transfer items from the small one so we only had it at the park for the weekend and invited a couple of friends to stay in it. Our youngest grandson was with us the whole time except while he was at school.  The weather was beautiful and we had a great time enjoying the outdoors while getting some needful things done. 

To give a visual comparison of our before and after RVs.

Still, there is much more to do. It became ever so apparent that we [I] hadn't pared down quite enough when we opened our storage room and looked at it through eyes much more full of understanding. It is a process. For me, much more than for Brad, it really is a process. I was once told by a young man that I was materialistic because something borrowed did not make it back and I wasn't happy about it.. He just didn't understand where I came from. I don't have things just to have them. I have always made it a point to get the best I can with what I have and then take care of it so I don't have to get it again. Few people have money to burn. So, items are acquired over time, taken care of and, hopefully, last as long as possible. With this philosophy, I ended up with a lot of stuff.  Things that didn't have memories or emotions attached were easy to get rid of. Everything else has been a bit more work, but there is light at the end of the tunnel and also freedom. 

First Thing First

The foundation for the beginning of our new chapter was being poured several months ago. At that time, my mother-in-law moved to a nursing home and we decided to live in our 16' CampLite camper until we found a place we wanted to move into. Thankfully, we ended up having much more time to pare down our things before leaving the house. In the process, we learned some things.

1. We had a lot of stuff...well, actually, I had a lot of stuff.
2. A 16' camper actually shrinks when 2 adults, 2 dogs and stuff needed for life are added.
3. It is hard, challenging at best, to eliminate a vast majority of your stuff.
4. Did I mention we had a lot of stuff?
5. Despite the difficult process of reducing one's stuff, it is incredibly freeing to do so.
6. Coming to terms with what is really important and what is not makes for a smoother transition.

A lot of life happened between then and now but to stay on point, I will move on.

Our 2013 Silverado 1500 and our 2015 LivinLite CampLite 16DBS

Our full time RV'ing experience started in the above setup. I hope it would be obvious we did not purchase this camper to live in. We bought it, a) because we wanted to move up from a tent for our weekend excursions/vacations and b) because it was the best and lightest camper we could find that our truck could pull comfortably. On those two marks, it was amazing. Weighing in at just under 3000 pounds, our truck pulled it easily. It was perfect for a weekend adventure with our dogs and grandson. Not so perfect for full time living.

Situated within was a full size queen bed, a couch in the slide out that folded down for additional sleep area, fridge with freezer, small counter top with 3 burners and a sink, large tv (for my husband) and a too small restroom with shower (that we used as a closet). It had all the conveniences needed except space. Due to the lack of space, pretty much everything we had left had to be put in a storage unit. So began our quest for a bigger living space.

Our search for a larger rv gave us a bit of an education. We learned many things about rvs that helped us make our decision, but, first, we dreamed big. We looked at what current full timers were using and then we window shopped... Then, we looked at our wallet...and groaned... There was no way we could go all out but we would get as close as we could.

However, before getting the rv, we would first need to find a truck. The Silverado was going to need to be upgraded. 6400 pounds of pulling power wasn't exactly power. Practicality and a not so thick wallet helped us eliminate the much heavier and larger luxury brands. This, in turn, narrowed our truck search since we knew for certain we would not need a dually. We settled on a 2016 Ram Laramie 2500 Heavy Duty Turbo Diesel. Some deciding factors were:

1. It had the Cummins 6.7 
2. It was already set up for fifth wheel and goose neck hitches.
3. It had the cold weather package. (We may live in Texas, but I am from Michigan. Cold weather is in our future.)
4. It can tow 17,200!
5. It had the all important (all important to me) side steps and the perfect backseat setup for our dogs.

Now that we had our truck, we could get serious about finding our new home on wheels.

And So It Began...

A few months ago, my husband calls me while I am at work and tells me to give my notice.

Wait! What?! You want me to do WHAT??

Ok, so this didn't come entirely from left field but it was still out there. We had previously talked, or, more aptly, speculated on life with me traveling with him full time. Basically, he works every other week and has the weeks in between off. As it was, he would go to work and I would be home without him. He would come home and I would work 8 to 5 Monday through Friday and have evenings and the weekend with him. We would talk of things all couples eventually speak of: getting older, health matters, quality time together, life and death. During these conversations we would dream of a day I would no longer need to work or stay home and be able to be with him 24/7. It is a tough thing to live half your married life without your spouse close. People do it successfully but it isn't what we really wanted.

Previously, we had responsibilities. My dad moved here when we did and needed our help more and more as he aged. After Brad's father passed, we lived with his mother to help her. As will happen to all of us at some point, our parents both passed and our circumstances were changed. It was after all of this that I received the call to give notice because 'we aren't getting any younger'.

With much excitement and sadness, I went to my boss and with a few tears, gave my notice. Even more difficult was telling my team that I was leaving. Not because I didn't want to leave but because I held them as family.

With all that being said, our journey did not begin without a hitch.

My last day at work was a Friday. The very next night I got a call from Brad saying he wasn't feeling well. A couple hours later, I got another call that he was driving himself to the emergency room. He was in a town six hours away. By the time I arrived, he was resting in his own room. We spent four days there. He had a severe kidney infection, kidney stone and diabetes out of control. It was a month before he went back to work. All in all it was a blessing in disguise. I was not working, which allowed my to give him my full attention.

We are now on the road together. We stay in a hotel while he is working and live in a RV on his off days. More on this later.