DIY Slide

And so the repairs begin.  RVs have compartments which "slideout" and are known as slides.  Clever, huh?  Anyway, that allows the living space to expand when you are camping and to contract while travelling.  We have a total of 4 slides, two on each side.  You can see the driver's side slides here.

The larger one in front expands the kitchen, while the one in back slides the bed out.  The two on the passenger side expand the living room and the wardrobe in the bedroom.  The wardrobe slide became a problem in North Platte back in July.  It decided to not slide out. 

The slide is run through a series of pulleys powered by a small electric motor.  Some slides are run using hydraulics.  Luckily, our slide decided to break while it was contracted, so we could still drive down the road and not have to manually put it back using a drill.  The slide on the opposite side still slid out enough to still get our underwear from the wardrobe.  We may be broken, but we refuse to be dirty!

So we pulled down some decorative trim pieces and started to inspect the system.  The problem was quickly identified.  The  copper drive shaft between the motor and the gearbox was severed:

 

 

Here is a close up of the part and my reaction. (This might be a reenactment after it was fixed):

Through a search of the Forest River forums, I found that this is a common problem.  The 1/8" drive shafts tend to break down.  The resolution is to either replace the 1/8" drive shaft or move to the 3/16" drive shaft, which requires replacing the motor/gearbox combination.  For the frugal among us, the choice is between an $8 part or several hundred dollars.  So I ordered 2 of the $8 parts. 

The installation was a bit more difficult than I had hoped.  I was hoping I would be able to just reinsert it as easy as I pulled out the old one.  Nope.  The chains had to be loosened and the gearbox had to be disconnected and rotated so that the drive shaft could be installed.  There might have been a few choice words spoken as that was accomplished. But finally, the job was accomplished:

And now I am a Happy BOY!

Total cost:  $16, 4 hours of my time.  I am not included the cost of Lisa and I worrying about how to get this completed.

Colorado KOA West Denver

We made it back to Colorado after our long trip to Pennsylvania to see family for a few months. My sister recovered from her surgery and Dad having to move to assisted living was a big job, but now it is time to move on.

During a quick stop in Strasburg, Todd had to fly to Chicago for a few days and I was able to hang out with 2 of our 3 kids. Then off we went to Black Hawk/Central City KOA for a month or so.

We attended a family reunion in Granby, CO and left the rig at the KOA while we were in the mountains for a few days. Then Todd was off for a three day trip with his parents, aunt, and uncle to tour Wyoming. I stayed behind with our Corgi Buddy Girl.

And now, back to the KOA.

This KOA is very nice. The bathrooms and showers are clean and warm. There are two hot tubs but we have not used them. As usual, this KOA will deliver pizza to your site if you would like. The people who work here are very friendly and helpful. The views are beautiful as usual in Colorado. We have been to the Casino a few times to play cards and found a game called High Card Flush. It is FUN!

Our site is nice with very nice neighbors. The only problem so far is our water is not heating up very well. There has been a bear poking around but no problems so far.

We just moved to another spot here at the KOA for the next 2 days. This spot is very nice and private. We are tucked in next to the forest and have great views all around.

Today was cleaning day, so lots of scrubbing of our water supply closet and bins. Cleaning the sewer box and hoses. We will move again within the campground on Saturday to our next spot for 12 days.

We are finishing up our final touches getting the Jeep ready to tow so we can hit the road for the winter. I was driving our jeep behind the Rig across the country when we went back east. I am looking forward to being able to travel together.

It looks like we will be going south over the next few months pointing the rig towards warmer weather and leaving Colorado in the rear view mirror until spring of 2016.

I will miss being close to the kids and our family this winter but the Rig is calling for the open road and we must abide. Our plans are New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas,Oklahoma and back to Colorado. Of course life happens and plans change, so we are definitely flexible.

The adventure continues...

Homeless?

It is official.  Lisa and I are homeless.  We sold our condo and no longer have the comfort of "sticks and bricks".

It was a little weird, but we quickly became excited at the prospect of fully committing to the road.  The funny thing was that we weren't really saying goodbye to Granby, CO.  We know we can come back and park our little home there anytime, but we have the leisure of taking our home anywhere.  We are taking a quick lap around Colorado and Wyoming  through September, but will start adding up the miles after that.  Oddly, we are drawn towards Texas first. 

So if you are along that route, please keep the light on.  :)

Nebraska

Nebraska, I'm trying, I really am.  But after traveling about 240 miles from Lincoln to North Platte, I could try to wane poetic and try to describe your state.  But South Park describes it best:

Mostly, this state is here to drive through on our way to other places.  The second best description of this state is from Bruce Springsteen's song, Nebraska.  Basically, you drive around until you go crazy and earn a spot in the electric chair.

But back to me trying.  I drove all the way across this state and noticed the sign that Pioneer Village is the #1 attraction state.  I have been there, and unfortunately, this might be true.  I haven't been to the SAC museum, but I hold out hope that it is a better attraction.  Since I plan to criss-cross this nation, I guess I will cross this state many times.  I will try to be patient, but if I could rearrange the states, I would move Nebraska up to a corner so it would be out of the way.

Good luck on the football season....