Fandango made it through trip #2 by ringing in the New Year. Elway and his family were well into their week-long camping trip at Bastrop State Park and I was hoping to camp over New Years Eve. The camp had been sold out for New Year's Eve but Elway swung by the office right when a cancellation came in and we were set for three nights. I find myself, yet again, saying thanks to Elway for his help.
It was great to spend New Years Eve by having the kids watch another movie projected on the side of Fandango. Of course we did put the kids to bed and the adults watched "Blazing Saddles" as midnight truly approached. Happy New Year everyone!
OK, my wonderful, loving wife made me take this picture and said I had to put it on the blog.
OK, my wonderful, loving wife made me take this picture and said I had to put it on the blog.
No, it is not as bad as it looks but when you drag your wife and 3-year old out to pick up the RV and the RV will not start right away...well, you better start doing something. It had been around 3 weeks since I had last tried to start Fandango and like any 1972 engine, it takes some time for a true cold start. The voltmeter did show both batteries to be just a shade below 12V so I figured it wouldn't hurt. I am not sure if it helped but it started when I had the jumper cables hooked up and my wife and kid did not have to keep staring at Dad trying to get the vacation started. It started just fine ever since so I am just writing it off to an old, cold engine which is best off if I swing by and start it at least every two weeks or so.
The first fun part of the trip was that the first day was just Daddy and daughter. Mommy came out the next day so I got to have a lot of quality time with Danielle. Danielle also got to break out her new sleeping bag and Xmas PJ's.
Bastrop State Park is great and there was plenty of things the kids can enjoy. Danielle got to play with friends and perfect her tricycle riding skills.
Yes, kitchen stadium made a second appearance. Marcus was busy replacing the floor of his Airstream over the holidays but Dave got a Xmas present that kept kitchen stadium in good shape. We will just have to look forward to when all of the RV's are back together and Kitchen Stadium can reach even new levels.
Elway also taught me how to set up my canopy to get a wider clearance.
For those keeping track, the brakes are working great. I had no problems during the trip and the fluid level in the master cylinder is holding. I also found the drive to and from Bastrop to be very smooth. It was really windy on the drive out there but even then it held its speed well and everything just worked really well.
I did not take any pictures regarding this but the really fun part, from a new RV user's standpoint was that this was the first time I had an RV spot with full hookups. Having the sewer connection allowed me to really use the sinks and toilet more. This was also the first time I could use my hot water heater which worked great. That set up was a good test for all of the connections. The kitchen sink drain does have a small leak but it leaks into one of the drawers below and I contained it with a towel. That is pretty simple work. I just wished the Pasarrella's could have found a spot with sewer for their week-long stay. I bet that family of six put some stress on their tanks!
The one issue that resurfaced is the breaker for the electrical systems for the rear half of Fandango. I found a loose connection during our first trip which caused the rear lights to come on and off. I tightened it but that lug likely needed to be recrimped. Well the fuse blew this time and I never bothered to throw a few extra fuses in my glove box. It didn't happen until the last full day of camping so it was not that big of a deal. That connection on the terminal block is not mechanically sound anymore but there are unused terminals. It is a pretty quick job where I can just make a new wire, with new lugs crimped and put it on an unused terminal with a new fuse (Which I had lying in my junk drawer at home). I will take some pictures of it when I fix it sometime in the next month or so.
Other than that, things went really well (knock on wood). We invested in a simple electric heater that we set on our kitchen counter top during the cold nights and it oscillates so the front and back beds were comfortable. The whole family had a lot of fun and it made me make sure to start looking early for our future camping spots.
And thanks again to the entire Passarella family. Danielle, of course, loved playing with all of the kids, Denise loved talking with Sharon about the fact they both married camping geeks and I had a blast playing with all of the kids and cooking up a storm with Dave in Kitchen Stadium. We missed not having the Moyers out but we know we will get more folks out soon.
