Hello from Huntington Beach State Park.....

Happy Friday everyone!! As you can see above, it still here, the Sun, Sand, and Surf!  Greeting from Huntington Beach State Park in Murrels Inlet, SC.  

We got here Thursday afternoon, and in just a little while had camp all set up.  Then we drove into Murrels Inlet to eat supper at the Inlet Crab House, followed by a little shopping at the Lazy Gator.  

Then it was back to the camper for a nice evening spent in the dome by the Little Red Campfire.  

Here's a picture of our campsite, #74.

Friday morning dawned clear and cold.  We got into some fun adventures, but you'll have to check back tomorrow to hear about them.  

Until next time, stay safe out there.....-R, T, but no J (Grandma sitting again!)

Holiday Wishes.......

Wow!  It has been almost a month since our last post.  We sure hope everyone is doing good.  Our house has been sorta like a three ring circus!

Just today alone we have one family member in the hospital hoping to be able to come home today (Ann), one family member at the hospital hoping they don't have to stay (Roy), and we just found out about passing of another family member after a long, courageous struggle with cancer (Barbara).  

We wish to each of them and their families all the Joy, Happiness, and Peace this Holiday Season can bring to each of us.  

We hope to be off December 26th to Murrell's Inlet, SC for the last camping trip of the season.  Here's hoping Santa is good to each and every one of you....

Until next time, stay safe out there.....-R,T,&J.

Giving Thanks......

As we begin the craziness of the year's Holiday Season, we just wanted to pause to give THANKS for all our family, friends, and adventures from this past year.

While we still have one more Podding trip scheduled, 2013 is slipping away fast.  No matter where today finds you, with family, friends, or neither, but far away.  We are thankful for each and everyone of you.  

Until next time, stay safe out there.....-R,T,&J.

We Be Camping Y'all.....

Happy Weekend everyone!  We be camping and we be so happy!!  (Please excuse the grammar, but we just couldn't resist!)  It seems like forever since our last camping trip the end of September. 

We've both been busy with school, and looking after our parents.  On top of all that, Rob managed to work in a Root Canal and Crown during the last few weeks.  

But all is good now.  We're at the season ending (for some) Tanglewood Toast Un-Rally  here at Tanglewood Park in Clemmons, NC.

There are T@B's, T@DA's, a vintage DeVille, and of course Pod.  Rob and Pod rolled in around 10:30 Friday morning.  Trisha got here about 4:30 Friday afternoon.  This campground and park is less than 40 miles from home, so it's like camping in our backyard.  This is a huge park containing a great campground, aquatic center, golf course, par-3 golf, the Manor House B&B, picnic shelters, fishing lakes, an Aboretum, and much more to see and do.

We rode around this morning to do some exploring in the park.  Once back at the campground, Trisha went "junking" with a group, while Rob got beef stew going for supper and just planned on relaxing the day away.

Here are a few pictures of our weekend so far to enjoy......

  

As always, thanks for checking by today.  Enjoy your weekend!  

Until next time, stay safe out there.....-R,T, but no J!  (Grandma sitting again!)

Pod's New Tool Box.....

Happy Sunday afternoon everyone.  Here in my part of North Carolina it's a sunny, beautiful, 70 degree kinda day.  It's Pod here, and I am taking over the blogging duties today.  

I had noticed it had been awhile since Rob and Trisha had made a blog post.  I guess with school, looking after their parents, and the house, they have been real busy.  But that's OK, because this coming Friday, we're off to the Tanglewood Toast Un-Rally!  YIPEE!!

For a long while now, I have been trying to tell Rob he needed to get me a tool box for my trailer tongue to give me some more storage.  I told him he could also store my battery inside such a box and keep it locked away out of sight.

This morning, here came Rob with a tape measure and I just knew good things were going to happen.  Pretty soon, I saw Rob and Trisha hop in Truck and take off.  About an hour later, Truck backs up in my driveway and well, just read all about it.....

First thing Rob did was to unplug my power cord since he was going to be disconnecting the battery.

Here's what I looked like before Rob started the install.

Here you can see my battery and battery box removed.  Rob also had to remove the old propane tank cover.  But he says he is going to put a snap on it later one so he can reuse it.

Here's what Rob and Trisha bought for me at Lowes to use for the install.  The tool box, a mat for the bottom of the inside of the box, three hole grommets, two vent covers, and a back of one inch self taping screws.

After test fitting the tool box.  Rob marked where the positive and negative battery wires needed to enter the box.  He also marked where the power wire for the tongue jack needed to go also.  He then drilled these holes and put rubber grommets in them to protect the wires from chafing.

Rob also drilled several  holes on each of the tool box sides.  These are to allow air flow for the gasses from the battery.

Rob then covered the holes on the outside with simple air louvers to keep out rain, etc.

Next, Rob then put the tool box back into place, and worked the wires through each of their holes he had added to the box.  

Here are the wires on the inside of the box.  Rob uses some "zip-ties" as strain reliefs for the wires. 

Then it was time to attach the tool box to the frame with self-tapping bolts.  Next, Rob put the battery box in place, attached it to the tool box, and drilled a few drain holes.  Rob then installed and hooked up the battery.  

Finally, Rob put all the items in the tool box he normally needed when he first gets to the campground to unhook and set me up.

Below, you can see me enjoying this warm sunny day with my shiny new tool box.  Don't I look grand!!  

I am so excited about getting to go camping this coming weekend.  I am looking forward to spending time next to my cousin Splash T@B and catching up on all of our comings and goings.

This is Pod wishing everyone a great week.  

Until next time, stay safe out there.....-Just Pod today!

Winterizing 101.....

Happy Tuesday afternoon everyone.  We hope everyone's week is sailing along smoothly.  Our week has been good so far, but tomorrow afternoon Rob is going to an Oral Surgeon for a consultation, so keep your fingers crossed everything will be OK.

Right now it's 68 degrees, humid, and cloudy outside.  Those conditions are supposed to change rapidly over the next 24 to 48 hours.  It's going to finally get cold around these parts.  So this afternoon after school, Rob winterized the Pod.

Since our freezing temps are not super, super low, and generally last only a few hours during the early morning hours, Rob doesn't have to take some of the extra precautions those of you in other parts of the country have too.

He did take his camera with him and took a few pictures to document the steps taken.

#1.  Find the left over RV antifreeze from last winter.

#2.  Open the taps on the sink and shower. 

#3.  Pour about a cup of pink stuff down the drains.

Now our holding tanks are empty, so this is basically to protect the p-traps on the sink drain, and any liquid in the tank drain pipe extensions themselves.

#4.  Remove the "low-point" drain caps on the outside of Pod.

  
Now on our 175 model, these are located directly over the axle on the "street-side" of Pod.

 Here's a picture of the drain caps and the 7/8's wrench you may need if the fitting just turns in your hand.  The first time Rob took the caps off, they were on Gorilla tight.  Now he only tightens them hand tight.

Here's what your water heater looks like with the access panel removed.  

Now if you've opened the low point drains, and opened all the water taps in the Pod, there should be no pressure in the WH.  It's still a good idea to not to skip step #5.

#5.  Open the pressure release valve at the top of the WH access, to release any pressure left in the WH tank.

Rob keeps a dedicated socket and ratchet in Pod just for this next step.

#6.  Remove the anode rod from the WH to drain the WH tank.

STAND BACK.....or you will get wet!

The socket size is 1-1/16th's.

Here you can see water calmly pouring out of the WH.  

IF you forget to release all pressure on the WH before performing step #6, this release of water will NOT be so calm!

You have been warned!!

Here's a picture of the anode rod and the socket/ratchet used.

Rob just stores the anode rod and low point drain caps in the back of the water heater.  

All that's left is......

#7.  Hold the flush valve open on the toilet for at least 15 seconds to let any water in that line back-flow out of the system

#8.  Run the pump for about 15-20 seconds to make sure all water is out of the system.

Now the lines won't be perfectly dry, but in our climate, the moisture left won't cause any issues.

Also, since we have trips planed in November, December, and you never know possibly January and February, it's easy to reverse the above procedure and be able to use our water system.

Thanks for checking in today.  

Until next time, stay safe out there.....-R,T,&J.

A Small Repair.....

Welcome on a Wednesday afternoon.  We hope everyone is having a great week so far.  If you recall, on our last camping trip we had a switch to fail on the the power tongue jack.  We were still able to raise and lower it manually so all was good.

Rob did contact Forest River for a replacement switch.  We are still waiting on that switch to arrive.  In the mean time, Rob did some searching for this switch online.  From the manufacturer of the tongue jack the switch was $65.00 plus shipping.  WOW!  From etrailer the same switch was a bit cheaper at $55.00 plus shipping.  Oh my!  But Rob finally crossed-referenced the same switch (minus the pretty lettering) for $14.99 plus shipping from Northern Tools.  Bet you can guess where he ordered a new switch from!!

So with the delivery of this afternoon's mail, the new switch was here.  So after getting supper started, Rob installed the new switch.

Here are a few pictures detailing the repair.....

Here you can see the broken switch.

ANYTIME you work with any electrical components, disconnect the electricity.  So the FIRST thing Rob did was remove the fuse for the power jack.

Here are the tools used for this repair.

Here's the new switch as we received it in the mail.

Here you can see the top cover of the jack removed.  Rob said to be sure to note which wires were connected where on the old switch.

Here's the wiring diagram that came with the new switch.  Rob said that thankfully the new switch hooked-up identically to the old switch.

And finally, here the new switch is all installed and tested.  Like we said above, it doesn't have the lettering, but to save $40 to $50 dollars, we don't mind one bit!








Thanks for checking by today.  Have a great rest of the week.

Until next time, stay safe out there.....-R,T,&J.