Our Second Flat Continued

Here is a photo of part of one of the compartments that had damage and melted.  You can see the propane line that comes out to the side of the RV for hooking up our outside grill.   We do not drive with the propane on, if we did there could have been a big fire or explosion if the line was damaged.  You can see the melted back of the compartment and white plastic drippings on the bottom by the opening plus some damage from the tire blowing the day before.

The current estimate for all the damage is just under seven thousand dollars and we are covered by our insurance thankfully.  Another point, the replacement black water tank and the melted compartments are made as needed at the factory (for our older model) so it will be weeks before they can reach our repair facility and be installed. In another few years when we go full time (retired).  We will continue to keep good insurance and road service, plus an emergency fund of about this much for none insured topics. 

 

What are these topics?  Once full time in a few years we will not have a house to while the RV is in the shop.  With no home and no RV we will need to pay to live somewhere for this down time. 

See you on our next post.

Launching Soon Again!

We should have our RV back in a couple weeks and are eager to re-launch our adventures.

This photo of Kathy and I in front of an Atlas Rocket at Kennedy Space Center reminds us of what we are missing without the motor home.  While anyone can drive to any location, having a motor home allows us to retire to our RV for a meal and a quick nap without having to leave the center.

More soon.

Our Second Flat in Twenty Years this Summer

Our second flat in twenty years.  Our first flat (twenty years ago) was simple we were on the interstate in Utah heading back to Wyoming.  Temp's were over 100 degrees and a tire blew, so I started coasting and pulled over quickly.   We had AAA RV plus back than and called with our bag cell phone.  In less then two hours we were back on the road.

 

This summer we had our second RV flat about fifteen miles west of Cheyenne, Wyoming.   Again we coasted to a stop on the side of the road.  We called our insurance company (with our flip phone) and they sent out road service, they changed the tire in less than two hours.  While waiting we also saw that at least two of our basement compartments had heavy damage from the tire exploding.  With the tire changed our rig looked safe to drive so we went back to Cheyenne Wyoming. That night we also got a new spare and stayed the night.

 

The next day we again headed west with the idea we would have the compartments repaired once we got back to our home area.  However, about twelve miles west of Cheyenne we noticed smoke coming from the damaged area and pulled over.  In twelve miles the end piece of our muffler had fallen off, it must of came lose from the tire blowing.  With the end piece of the muffler off the heat from the exhaust had melted more of the compartments and part of our black water holding tank.  This time we needed a tow back to Cheyenne (Good Sam Road Service).  Oh what fun!!!

 

Here you can see some of the melting from the muffler all the way to the outer panel of the basement.  We have the spare on with a new tire on the spare drop down cable under the home further back.  It was OK.  Our road service was again great and has now paid for its self plus some.  That is it for this post more to follow in another week.

Motor Home/Trailer as a back up home.

Last night we had a two hour power outage and it made me think even more. 

1. I am on oxygen at night so a power outage means switching to my emergency oxygen bottle, which will last about four hours.  Four hours is just enough for a recharge to my blood stream but if the outage lasted longer I could be in trouble.
2. In our motor home. I will have solar panels, 1000 watt pure sine inverter and a battery bank so I can keep my oxygen concentrator and CPAP going for a few more days.  Plus, it has a generator that could add a few more days (needs gas) if needed.
3. If the weather gets cold out I could be in trouble.  I only have enough propane for the heater for a few days tops. 
4. I have just over a 30 day supply of meds.
5. Big problem with the motor home it is currently in the shop! So for now I really have no backup.

Now back to the house last night.

1. Once we flush a toilet it can stop working if no more water is in the tank for the flushing action.  We have a bucket and trash bags, thankfully we did not need to use them.  We could also dig a pit in the back yard, but the city would not be happy with us.
2. Water, we only have about 8 gallons of water so for two of us it could last up to 3 days.  If we use a gallon in a bucket to flush the toilet each time it will go much quicker.
3. We also had to remind each other not to open the refrigerator till morning.  You only get about two quick openings before you lose the cool air in there.  With the freezer you may get several quick openings because of ice build up.

What if this outage would last several days?

Winds Shape the Rocks

In the red desert much of the rock is sand stone which the wind can carve with little problems.  Birds also often help out by painting the rocks with their droppings.

This rock looks like one of those science fiction movies where the monster comes up out of the ground.

The wind is contently reshaping the face of cliffs around the desert and the world.

 

 

Early Fall Walk

Walking on the edge of the desert is always interesting and exciting.  Rabbit hunting season is open so it is fun to see their habitat out here.  Here they should be called "Rock Bunnies".

 

Bone pile after a predator has finished with its prey in the red desert in Southwest Wyoming in the summer of 2014.

Checking out the valley below. In this photo there is a wide ledge about four feet down from where this individual is standing.  Please note you never want to stand on the edge of a cliff, every year people fall off cliffs.

 

 

Coming back into town I stopped and took a photo of a bee on a flower with my canon rebel with a 18-55mm lens.