60+ year old thread.

Happy Easter Porch Folks
Have a great day and enjoy the chocolate bunnies .

Happy Anniversary to Bob and Travlr .

I got my new set of wheels yesterday .


Now I can go cruising. Beats crutches

 

I hold a different view of crutches. Years ago, when I worked for a living, I had had two separate foot injuries, one on each foot at different times. Both times required crutches for extended periods, during which time I enjoyed racing with the neighborhood preteen kids. The results always the same, nobody ever beat the old man on crutches. With crutches you can span raging rivers and leap tall buildings in a single bound!

 

What is your goal? Weekend getaways? Ice Fishing? Epic eight-week cross-country tours?

Ventilation when parked. I like stealth; those rooftop vents are not stealth and create wind drag. Look at holes in the floor with "blast gates."
(simple sheet metal shutter; open when parked but close when on the road to prevent CO poisoning for leaking exhaust or odd backdraft). Stop in a woodworking store to look at vacuum systems with those gates. Most are $20 plastic, but I make my own from sheet metal for $1. 12V computer fans to keep air moving. Breathing creates moisture at night; nothing worst than condensation dripping off the interior.

Something as simple as an electric blanket or a small 120V space heater will heat that space to take the chill off.

Ice fishing, time to look at those 12V diesel heaters. You have a ton of space under the van, so good place for auxiliary batteries, a freshwater tank, diesel heater. Mock up everything in the cardboard boxes; think of crazy kicked up from rear tires. Steel protection boxes to deflect rocks aren't a bad idea. Lithium Ion batteries will work at -20C (-4F) but need to be above 0C to charge. So internal heated batteries (charge current goes to the heater until batteries are warm enough to be charged) are required for super cold rigs, or keep batteries in the interior where it is warmer.

Dometic and others have 12V Airconditioners that you can run when parked. Big Rig Truckers have come up with great solutions using lithium-ion batteries. You could tuck the condenser & fan under the van, evaporator, and drip pan inside. Georgia, in 80F, 90% humidity is too hot to sleep; the air conditioner will help reduce humidity for a better night's sleep. I see $850 solutions from China. It would be best to have a big battery (400Wh battery, about $1500), but having cool, dry air at night makes it worth it. Random eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/394535583938?

Add a small 12V fridge (ideally powered off a separate battery, not the starter battery). Having salads/fresh fruit on the road is good. I'm not too fond of fast food. Hence grocery stores once or twice a week for food. A loaf of bread, cheese, cold cuts, and mustard is good. My sense of smell and taste is off, so I must be cautious to avoid food poisoning.

On my Ford Transit, I had a front seat swivel so that I could spin 180 and, with a map light, made a nice easy chair. It blocked the right-hand mirror, so I always spun it back into place before getting on the road.

I like old Chevy Vans. Looks like a church retreat bus (doesn't draw attention or scream stealth camper).

 

Great story Alan . I had one similar. Tore up my,knee before 2 weeks of vacation in San Francisco and Hawaii. On crutches for 8 weeks. Did the cable cars in San Fran, the feern Grotto in Hawaii, as well as helicopter ride around Mauai. I got so good with them the wife couldn't keep up with me . At this age, a,little shaky on crutches so the scooter is good.

 

Afternoon all:
Break time, changing oil on the Scag Z turn, what a PITB just getting at the oil drain plug and then having a mess when oil runs all over everything, they don't make it easy!

Sorry to hear about your mother Bryan, condolences to you and the family.

My sign painter buddy (Jims dad) called me this morning and told me I was welcome to show up for Easter dinner, he then told me that his mom is in hospice and that she doesn't have too much time left.

 

I put an aerodynamic roof vent on the camper van I built (30 years back) and added a second later on. Didn't use a powered vent but now it seems like a decent idea. Also got a set of screens to clamp in the front windows (from JC Whitney I think) - to keep out the skeeters. We did our camping in Wyo mountains so cooling wasn't so much of an issue but heating in September could be.

I also put a brush guard on the front and put the spare on there - the delivery van I used had huge radiator so cooling wasn't an issue.

 

Can't like this post Carl.
Sorry Bryan, I missed the post about your Mom. My sincerest condolences for you and the family. So sorry.

Sorry to hear about your your buddies Mom Carl. Positive thoughts and for her and the family.

 

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Happy Easter everyone, Byran sorry to hear of your mother's passing. I understand how you feel with the blessing in having no more suffering. Congratulations on our 2 anniversaries 45 yrs all good we had ours this earlier this year. Must have been a good year to get married. We hit 50 today if it wasn't for the 3ft of snow on the ground we would have been in the 70's.

 

Good morning fellow Porchatonians!!! Very sorry for your loss, Bryan.

 

Morning 60+

 

Moved all the leftover firewood off the patio yesterday. Also some freshly split stuff for next season . Breaking out the patio furniture next !

 

Good morning Porch Pals and Gal. Beautiful week of weather forecast for Connecticut...maybe 88° Friday. Taking it easy today after working like a rented mule yesterday feeding the family.

 

Dam, bill, green grass. I can't wait to see mine. It will be nice to have nice weather again, going on 6 months with snow on the ground. Any way have a great week everyone.

 

Sorry for the loss of your mom. I miss my mom every day. Sounds like you have a great family day.

Good morning. Busy day the entire day yesterday. Alarm went off at 6am today, turned it off, and woke up at 7:45. Today will be interesting. Almost all the work around the home is finished for this week.

 

Good Morning Porch Pals & Sue! Dentist for a cleaning, errands, and a plethora of putz from which to choose. Happy Monday!

 

My people are tropical people……..don’t know if I could survive this………

 

Good morning fellow Porchatonians!!!

 

Good morning. Off to the gym and running a few errands today.

 

You could, many do, that come from areas of warmth. The first winter or 2 are brutal for them. The cold isn't that bad, it's the wind with the cold that that cuts. People build homes and other buildings all winter long. Before I retired I did warranty work on windows many times I was outside in conditions that kept you tough or stupid. I remember one of the worst jobs I was sent on, wasn't warranty but nessasary on a new home, his neighbor/contractor had a shingle blow off the home in wind a freakishly took out a small window in a lived in home that I was asked to replace the glass in . 18 feet in the air, 30 mph wind on a ladder doing the outside work. Had a partner on inside he was scared of the hight outside in the conditions so he handled the glass and inside work and I did the glazing and replacement. It's those conditions that got you to get it done in about 15 minutes.