Month: January 2020

Lots of things are coming to an end as this year comes to an end.

All good things.

It is the end of a decade. Who ever thought we would get through Y2K and here we are 20 years on.

Retirement, Finally.

It is time for my third and last retirement now from software development and consulting. The last retirement was 13 years ago when I stopped working for all but one client. They have a large software system that I have written over the years. It is used by many people every day in almost every aspect of their business. They really wanted me to keep on with support and some new work. That worked out to be about 15 hours a month. I have been working with these folks for more than 22 years, now it is time to stop. Lots of changes coming. Time for me to stop.

So as of the end of the year I was done, well almost. They asked me to do a final documentation task. I agreed. Completely done at the end of February. Period.

I will miss my good friends and colleagues there. Steve Knapp had the foresight to begin. Julie Westad has been a constant supporter and guide. John Berger was the steadying hand that made the collaboration endure. Brenda Bey was my everyday partner. We worked closely on each project along the way. She did a thorough job of testing our projects and having the perspective of the end user. She has been constantly learning and improving her own programming skills. In all that we accomplished together she deserves much credit and my appreciation.

Good Friends Standing Down.

One of the amazing things we discovered owning a Foretravel and traveling is all of the new friends we have gotten to know. This really was unexpected. And one of the things that is sometimes hard is when some of them stop traveling.

Our good friends Scott and Carol are hanging up the keys and putting their coach up for sale. They are building a small house behind their daughter’s house and will live there. We will miss seeing them on the road but will be in frequent contact. We plan on stopping to see them in early March.

Ted and Karen are also selling their coach and moving into a townhouse north of Cincinnati to be near their daughter and grandkids. The kids are five or less and Ted and Karen want to be there while they grow up and still think Grandma and Grandpa are cool. So after 13 years of full timing they are taking a break. They assure us that they will meet us at Custer State Park in September for the Buffalo Roundup.

All of these friends are experiencing change as are we relative to them. We are sure these are best choices and good changes for all. They will always be good friends.

So, many changes. Susan and I are moving past 70. We are approaching our 45th anniversary soon. Above all we are grateful to be experiencing every day together. An adventure, each one.

More Later with Much Love,

Roger and Susan

And there is always the shop.

Fine Woodworking

We have had a new two sink vanity for the bathroom downstairs in mind for some time. This fall before we left for warmth was the time. We had a collection of pictures of cabinets whose style we liked. One became the basis for some final design and detail adjustments to our tastes.

Downstairs we determined that the outlets in the wall were going to end up right over the middle of the sinks so they needed to get moved further apart, about 12 inches each way. Studs were in the way and there wasn’t enough wire to make this happen. That meant I needed to cut two 12″x20″ holes in the wall from near the original outlet outward on each side. An electrician told me about wire connectors for extending the wire that were OK to leave inside the wall. This was a big help. So I got some of those, made the wires longer, cut new pieces of sheet rock with holes for the new outlets and then installed them and patched up all the joints.

We went to a countertop place in town and looked at countertop material, picked out what we liked. They said once we had the cabinet installed they would come and measure and then it would take about two weeks to get the finished top installed. We bought nice rectangular sinks and single lever faucets.

I sorted through wood, made selections, and started cutting. A couple weeks later, a cabinet with four doors and four drawers was ready for finish. Craftsman style with influences from Stickley and Greene and Greene.

A few days later the finish was done.

With the drawers and doors off we moved it from the shop into the downstairs bathroom.and mounted it in place. Thanks to our neighbor Dan for his help with the moving. The countertop folks came and measured for the top and we were thinking it would be in by the end of the year.

Well the countertop didn’t get installed until Jan 13 which pushed out our window of departure dates. But it all worked out OK.

When we get home we will finish the plumbing, install the doors and drawers, paint the wall and post a finished picture.

And make a small bench like this one for the bathroom as well.

Recycling Stuff.

I hate throwing things away. Blame it on my Dad. I had the three batteries we removed from our coach, two batteries from Ted’s coach and an original battery from our coach from 2001. All charged up OK and held a charge. Their capacities were not quite what they were when new but still good enough for storing power.

Over many years I have been saving cut off pieces of 6×6 posts from Habitat projects. Normally they would just go into the dumpster. I cut some of them up and made a rack for the batteries. Big mortise and tenon joints pegged with dowels, fun to do.

This is more than 1,000 pounds of batteries so a sturdy rack was prudent. The batteries are all charged up. I removed all of the connecting wires while we are away. These will go into the garage and be charged by the solar panels on the roof. If the power in the house goes out, then using a small inverter they will power the refrigerator and some lights for more than two days.

So that’s it from the shop.

More Later, Much Love,

Roger and Susan.

Ted and Karen had a seven day Custer State Park pass and you pretty much have to go through the park to get up into the Black Hills. So we all rode together.

Yes, there are Bison in the Black Hills

We drove through all of Custer State Park, followed the Game Trail from one end to the other and saw antelope and all sorts of critters but only a couple bison off in the distance. At this time of the year the Park ranger explained, when we stopped at one of the Visitors Centers, they are further up in the hills and out of sight. Most but not all.

This guy was right next to the Game Lodge Campground just on the other side of a fence that wouldn’t have slowed him down in the least. Good thing that his only interest was eating grass. There was a campground trail on this side of the fence with regular traffic including folks walking their dogs. He was uninterested. No one was walking on the path on his side of the fence. This was a massive full grown bull, about 2,000 lbs. Absolutely stunning.

We drove a bit south from The Hart Ranch and in towards Custer State Park. And then followed the Iron Mountain Highway. This is a really twisting road with several tunnels. These were designed so that as you drove through the tunnel Mt Rushmore was framed as you came out.

Really, there is a tunnel ahead and a one lane one at that.

And another.

And the big giant heads.

And closer. Washington, Jefferson, TR Roosevelt and Lincoln.

We really appreciated the ride with Ted and Karen.

Pretty neat formations. This area is volcanic. It is the highest point between here and the Swiss Alps to the east.

We went out for a drive several times. We followed the Needles Highway one day. Followed the Game Trail twice.

One day we went to Keystone to ride on the train.

It is a frequent task to oil everything. The old steam engines don’t have fancy bearings like machinery today.

The train was made up of old restored cars. Maybe not something we would want to ride across country in but it was fun. The train followed old tracks over a couple big hills and through the woods to Hill City. There was a short stop where the steam engine uncoupled from the train and went to the other end of the trains and reconnected. Once they were all set we went back the same way.

Mark Crick had a trailer full of things he takes on Motorcade trips including tables and chairs and a big flat top grill. So one morning he and Donna made pancakes for everyone.

Marion Braum makes jewelry and has quite a collection of parts so one afternoon a bunch of folks got together in the Club Room and everyone made something. Susan made three sets of earrings.

It is always amazing the different skills and talents that these rallies bring together.

The last day of the rally we had a nice catered dinner in the Hart Ranch Club Room and a Chapter Meeting. Steve Crook was the President of the Motorcade Club at the time and he gave us an update on the Club.

Next Year

The last day we were in the Black Hills (after the rally) we went to the town of Custer with Ted and Karen because there was a good burger joint and we were all craving burgers. And of course the burgers were good. While waiting and eating we were talking about wanting to see the Buffalo Roundup in Custer State Park in late September every year. It all happens one afternoon in just a few hours when the bison are gathered up in the hills ad herded down in an area where there are corrals. They get sorted out, inoculated for this and that, some get sent to market and some get sent to other herds for breeding diversity. They are trying to keep the herd healthy and vital and manage the size.

Whenever we think of it there is no room at any of the campgrounds in the park. We thought at the table if we made reservations that day for one year away for two weeks we would see the bison roundup, see each other and explore the Black Hills in more depth. So we did. And we are in the Game Lodge Campground right near where the big bison at the beginning of this blog was having lunch.

Ted and I talked about posting this on the Owner’s forum. We debated a bit and then did. Within about 4 hours six other Foretravel owners from North Carolina to San Diego, CA. had signed up too. By the next morning the campground for that time frame was full. Something to look forward to.

Whew, that’s enough,

More Later, Much Love,

Roger and Susan

We left The Left Tailrace COE heading for the Hart Ranch RV Resort. Jeff and Sandy close behind.

Getting Closer to Where the Buffalo Roam.

Silly us we thought we would get there around 1 or 2 but forgot we were gaining an hour by moving into Mountain Time. No matter, our sites were available. We checked in, got maps and got sort of lost heading for Wyatt Earp Drive or whatever path through the campground we were on. And then there it was and our site too. We got backed in. Jeff and Sandy were down the road a few spaces and they were doing the same thing. Ted and Karen were already there as well as two coaches from Kansas, one from Georgia, one from Colorado, one from South Dakota. Maybe more, I need to think about it.

A nice bunch of folks.

We were having lunch at the State Game Lodge in Custer State Park. Great food. Buffalo (Bison actually) stew.

Roger and Susan. Jeff and Sandy

Kevin & Brenda Conway. Jack and Eilene Crick

Tom and Marion Braum. Ted and Karen

Carol Crook and Donna Crick. Steve Crook and Mark Crick

Brenda and Clint Volz and Dani Chapman were hiding.

Brenda and Clint are the Great Plains Chapter leaders. They do a great job to keep the chapter together. It covers Kansas north into Canada. Dani was the Wagon Master, sort of in charge of rounding up the wagons as it were. She made arrangements for the campground and for all of the activities and dinners. Thanks Dani.

The State Game Lodge

The first night we were there we had a simple catered supper in the Club Room at the Hart Ranch headquarters building. It was a meet and greet event. The Chapter Rallies are loosely scheduled, time for everyone to explore and discover on their own.

The second day we had a Chuck Wagon Dinner and show in the evening.

It was at a tourist sort of place with lots of old time things to look at and see. A nice blacksmith shop and an old fashioned drug store and lots more. When the dinner bell rang we all lined up and headed into a big auditorium sort of thing. Instead of chairs there we long rows of tables with a bench on one side and a stage up front. The Grub Master told us how it worked, we all went up in an orderly way, got a sliverware and napkin packet, a biscuit and honey, a roasted in foil baked potato, chicken or beef, their version of baked beans (not Boston), apple sauce and a piece of spice cake. Tenderfoot lemonade or cowboy coffee to wash it all down.

Tasty and fun. And then the music started. We figured it would be pretty corny and it was a bit but the five person band did a great job. A bunch of old time music (really old) and then a long rock and roll medley from the 50’s to the 80’s that appealed to the age of the crowd. The band leader was a retired music teacher, one of the guitar players was in the SD Music Hall of Fame, the fiddle player in her skirt and tall cowboy boots was a classical violinist and a HS student of the band leader. Each member played some solo parts, there was some sing along. All in all lots of fun and fun to share with friends.

We got back early enough to gather some of us in the Clubhouse for a couple games of Quidler.

More on exploring with Ted and Karen and a train ride coming up.

More Later, Much Love,

Susan and Roger

After all of the busy work earlier this summer we had to go somewhere.

On the Way to Where the Buffalo Roam

When Ted and Karen were here in August they said they were going to a Central Plains Rally somewhere in the Black Hills of South Dakota. There was another Great Lakes Rally in Michigan about the same time and we knew folks who were going to be at that one too. It was about the same distance either way. A tough choice. We decided on the Black Hills Rally.

It turned out that Jeff and Sandy from North Carolina were going too. We met them along the way at the Corp of Engineers Left Tailrace Campground on the Missouri River just west of Chamberlain, SD. The COE park is about 18 miles north of Interstate 90. It is a winding two lane road to the Missouri River and then a narrow road across the dam. Yikes! And then a tight right 180° turn to a road leading down the back side of the earth filled dam section to the campground.

Jeff and Sandy

Here is a different look at Jeff and Sandy’s GrandVilla. Very nice for a 26 year old coach.

Roger and Susan

We were just down the road from Jeff and Sandy. There was plenty of time to go for a walk around the campground, over by the river and the boat launch.

Big Bend Dam

This is a really nice campground, we have stayed here before. The main part of the Big Bend Dam is for electric power generation. The outflow from the generators comes down the left tailrace. The overflow and water released from the lake level control gates comes down the other side of the campground in the right tailrace.

It looked cold fishing.

The main reason most come here is for the fishing. Walleye fishing is supposed to be very good.

Just below the dam there were dozens of black tipped pelicans also fishing. They would work together in groups of three or four. It appeared that they were herding the fish in front of them and then they would all dive in at the same time and come up with fish.

Jaye and Pat Miller

While walking around we spotted another Foretravel. Somehow it looked familiar. It didn’t look like any one was home so I took a card over to leave at their door. But they were there. It was Jaye and Pat Miller that we met when we were in Nacogdoches about five years ago getting our new front steps and headlights done at Xtreme Paint and Graphics. Their coach was there at the same time getting repaired after a right front tire blew out and they hit a guard rail. It turned out there was a lot more damage than it appeared at first. Their generator was damaged as well and even more. They ended up staying at Xtreme for almost three months. In the end it was all done and ready to keep going as were the Millers. They are in their 80s now and thinking maybe its time to stop fulltiming

Next stop was the Hart Ranch RV Resort just south of Rapid City. It was a big park with a store, gas and fuel station, a nice meeting room and very nice sites.

More Later, Much Love

Roger and Susan

We have two battery banks. The three 8D Lifeline batteries that are more than 8 years old. The second bank is four Full River L16 6 volt batteries now just two years old. Between the two banks we have about 1500 amp hrs of capacity (lots). These batteries weigh about 1,000 lbs.

Ted and Karen Come for a Visit. Power to the People!

Our good friends Ted and Karen came for a visit in August. They are full-timers, have been here before and it is always fun to see them. This was all connected to the batteries.

My three Lifelines batteries are near the end of their useful life for the demands of the coach. I have been thinking about the newer technology of lithium batteries. LiFePO4 (Lithium Iron Phosphate) to be exact. Lithium batteries need some extra care compared to lead batteries so either an external battery management system is needed or as some are now equipped, an internal one. Charging is also different, they need a bit more control as the time at the different charging stage is different. The advantage is that a 100 amp hr battery has 100% usable power compared to a lead battery where they are limited to about 25% to maximize battery life. And a 100 amp hr lithium battery weighs 29 lbs compared to the 167 lbs each for the Lifelines.

In exploring this option I though if someone wanted to buy my almost new Full River L16s that would help offset the extra cost of the Lithiums. I checked in with some friends and Ted called back. His batteries were about due for replacement too and the 4 L16s gave him 60% more capacity. We came to a beneficial agreement and they headed our way from Indiana.

Ted and Karen at Camp Hastings. The grass on the left is starting to look thinner.

Before they got here I had my L16 batteries out and ready to go. I was not sure of the actual size of the battery bay in their coach so when they arrived we measured and made a new battery rack.

The new batteries were ready to go. Out with the old, in with the new.

The new battery rack was painted blue to match the batteries. We also added new disconnect switches, bus bars, a shunt to measure current flow and new connections for their solar panels.

We loaded in the four L16s, a perfect fit. Each battery is connected to the bus bars. These batteries take up only 2/3 of the floor space of the 2 8D sized batteries that came out of their coach.

Ted was pleased. He left his old batteries with me. I have a purpose for them. More on that later.

They were here for about a week. We made plans to meet up with them later in September in the Black Hills for a Foretravel Motorcade Club Central Plains Chapter rally.

I was glad to help them out with this for their coach. It helped me decide to make the change to Lithium. And now that 1/2 of my batteries were gone I had to get busy.

More Later, Much Love.

Roger and Susan

Let’s see, what was next. Oh, I remember.

Chasing Thin Air

Over the last couple years the pressure switch on our small compressor that supplies air to the slide seal and leveling system was sticking on occasion. When it stuck the compressor would not start. Not all the time but when it did I had to crawl into the basement, remove the cover on the switch and tap on the contact arm to get it to move. It always did but it was not something I wanted to do in the pouring rain (if it was raining) or the middle of the night.

So I got a new pressure switch. And then I just had to start chasing some nagging air leaks. I decided to check all of the plumbing from the compressor to the HWH tank (used for the slide seal) and to the two six packs which control ride height while driving and leveling when not. I replaced six check valves here and there that keep air going only one way. And two pressure protection valves that maintain a minimum pressure in the air brake tanks. We had air leaks in the air controller for the sliding floor section that covers the front steps while we drive. These were really hard to get to to fix so I added a 12v electric valve that only provides air to the leaking step slide when we switch it on.

I moved the safety valve, the water separator and the pressure switch to a much more accessible location on the rear wall of the bay and added an air drier and a secondary filter.

This is much easier to get to and to service as needed.

I added a pressure gauge for the pressure in the slide seal, 11 psi, just what it is supposed to be. The slide seal holds pressure for months. I added another gauge for the pressure at the compressor. I can see these when I open the bay door.

The compressor is in the same place but I swapped the much smaller original compressor for a bigger one and added an on/off switch to the switch panel in the coach next to the driver. Without all of the parts that got moved the compressor is much easier to service as well.

Air systems are very complicated on these coaches. Lots of connections and opportunities for leaks. And leaks are inevitable. So the goal is to get to a manageable state. Some leaks are OK. We are much closer to just very small leaks than we were. At this point I am happy. Days or weeks to get the last 1 or 2%, it is not really worth it. Even if you got to zero leaks just a few weeks later and something would start leaking again.

Be happy. 👍

More Later, Much Love,

Roger and Susan

More summer fun.

Jeff and Sandy Come for a Visit

Last summer we decided to make a new table for the coach. The original table was sort of football shaped and was somewhat awkward in actual use. We envisioned a rectangular table. We made a cardboard cutout to experiment with sizes. We graduated to a sheet of foam insulation of our best fit. That helped position the table on the pedestal mount. And then I made a prototype table out of black walnut because I had plenty of it. It had floating breadboard ends with black pegs.

We liked the result and used it for the summer. Now we could move ahead with the final table. I posted a picture of the walnut table on the Foretravel Owners Forum and asked if anyone would like it. Free to the first to ask.

https://www.foreforums.com/

Jeff and Sandy from North Carolina were the first of several who said they would take it. They were thinking they might get to MN in late 2018 but that didn’t work so they came in early June, 2019.

Jeff and Sandy have a very nice 1993 40 ft Foretravel Grandvilla U300 coach. This is the generation of coaches from Foretravel before ours. They have a very distinctive front end and an entry door mid-way down the passengers side. Their coach has a beautiful full body paint job. And it has a pretty unique 2 cycle Detroit Diesel engine. These coaches are popular, still on the road and well cared for. Jeff and Sandy travel with a couple of big yellow labs.

Look how much grass we had in the very shady east side of the front yard!

It was just what they wanted, matched the elegant walnut interior of their Grandvilla and seemed to be a perfect fit. I was glad to give it to them. I was surprised when they made a nice donation to Habitat for Humanity. Thanks!

It was a nice visit with Jeff and Sandy and the dogs. They are mostly retired from a small town in western North Carolina. They have a pet supply store that they are working at getting entirely retired from.

Our new table is inspired by the furniture of Greene and Greene. Cherry with mesquite inlays and ebony pegs and breadboard keys. The mesquite came from a Texas ranch near Austin via Foretravel friends. This summer I made a couple adjustments to allow the table to slide an inch closer to the side of the J shaped banquette when pushed in and an inch further away when pulled out. And I moved the table about an inch toward the front of the coach.

We have a table runner with matching placemats. It looks very nice with the cherry interior of our coach. The fabric rooster came from a fabric art guild in Tillamook, OR.

More Later, Much Love

Roger and Susan

I have heard from several of our followers, “When is the next blog coming?” We mostly stayed home this summer to try to get a couple of projects started and maybe finished. So here is some catch up…

Watching the Grass Grow

We live in the woods, shade is nice for almost everything but grass. After we built our house the grass seemed to grow pretty well for a while. Since then the trees have had almost 20 years to get taller and wider and now produce more shade. Lots more shade. The yard on north side of the house suffers the most. It also has a pretty good slope. We have tried to grow new grass with out much success. This year we raked up all the scruffy old grass, loosened up the soil, put down lots of lime, a bunch of stuff to prevent moss, starter fertilizer and about 5 times as much shade mix grass seed as they suggested at the Vermillion Elevator.

The Vermillion Elevator (in Vermillion, of course) is an old time, small town co-op feed and grain supplier to the local farms and a grain elevator. Trucks drive in, get weighed and dump their grain loads into large storage silos. They sell just about everything else you might need for your farm and yard there too. Grass seed mixes in bulk. I got 25 lbs of a shade mix. And two 8 ft wide by 100 ft long rolls of a straw mat cover too.

We covered the seeded hill side with the straw mats. We put in a temporary sprinkler system and watered a little bit often at first and then longer and less often as the grass started poking its way through the grass mat. Neat! More water, more time, more grass. Eventually we had to mow and that worked OK. Green is nice.

By mid-summer we had a pretty nice crop of grass! By September most of the fast, first up grasses in the mix were done and the whole new lawn looked thinner, not so green.

We got a suggestion to over-seed late in the season. That new grass should come up in the spring. Great idea. The suggested equipment was a slit seeder. It supposedly puts cuts in the ground into which the seed and starter fertilized falls and waits for spring. It sounded like a great idea. We rented a slit seeder, got more seed and starter fertilizer and got busy. On the shady, east side of the front yard it seemed to work well. The machine didn’t really have discs that made slits in the ground rather it had about a dozen spinning wheels a couple inches apart that looked more like circular saw blades with about 8 teeth each.

Down the hill and in the back yard where the straw mats were it didn’t work as well. The straw mats are made with a coarse mesh of very fine biodegradable fibers. The folks at the elevator said is should degrade by the end of the summer. Perhaps so if it had been in the sun. The whirling saw blades snagged the mats and wound them around the saw blades until the machine just stopped. It took an hour to cut off the tangled mess. This did a real number on what was left of our mats and remaining crop of grass.

Oh well. We finished over-seeding and are just going to hope for the best in the spring.

More Later, Much Love

Roger and Susan