Monthly Archives: August 2015
Cold Air . . .
I was up about 10am this morning to prep things before getting up on the rig roof and swapping out the old and new Air Conditioners.
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My first task was to remove the 4 bolts from the inside flange and pull it all out. The outside unit was now free.
Then it was up on the roof to actually swap out the AC units. I don’t really trust the 16 year old ladder on the back of our rig so I always back it up with my own.
This is the old unit before I unbolted the cover.
Once the cover was off, I turned the unit on its side to remove the wires for power, and the thermostat.
Once the wiring was removed, I slid the old unit off to the side on a piece of cardboard. This left just the opening in the roof ready to place the new unit in its place.
I then slid the new unit over the hole and lined it up.
That finishes up my work on the roof. Now it’s all inside the rig.
Being the impatient sort that I am, after I fastened the unit down with the new flange and four bolts, I temporarily hooked up the control box, turned the breaker back on, and turned the AC on.
And had nice cold air. So I know it works.
And after a little bit more work, this was the finished project.
“I love it when a plan comes together.”
A little before 4pm Jan and I headed for La Grange and the Wal-Mart to stock up on gate guard supplies. But our first stop was Peter’s BBQ in Ellinger for dinner one last time. Good BBQ.
Tomorrow we’ll head out about 9am for a 260 mile run up to Henderson, TX. We’ll spend the night there, and then head out to our new gate about 18 miles away.
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Thought for the Day:
“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand.” – Milton Friedman
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Two Minutes . . .
is all it took.
Today was Landon’s 5th birthday party, so after a quick stop for breakfast at the Columbus Whataburger, we headed into Katy to meet up at Brandi’s before heading over to Smith Ranch north of Katy. Smith Ranch is an entertainment center in a rural sitting, hosting birthday parties, weddings, and other special events. In fact it’s the same place Landon had his birthday party last year, and he wanted to go back again this year.
What the kids really like is the huge water slide they have there, and the kids make really good use of it. Of course sometimes it’s hard to get out of the way of the next slider and you just get bowled over.
But it’s still fun
And why slide when you can just leap?
Of course the highlight of the party was the piñata.
And yes, that’s a mustache-shaped piñata. For some reason Landon decided he wanted a mustache-themed party, so that’s what he got. A mustache piñata, a mustache cake, and mustache balloons and tablecloths.
Unfortunately there was a problem with the piñata. It was just too tough. Everybody wailed away at it, but it wouldn’t break. But what did break was the stick.
Finally after some help by one of the big kids, the goodies were released and the kids scrambled. I told Brandi that next year don’t get a piñata made out of plywood.
It started raining hard toward the end of the party, so Landon took his presents back to the house to open.
Once that was done, we all adjourned to Little V’s Vietnamese Bistro about 3:30 for an early dinner. It was Chris, Linda, and Miss Piper’s first time and they really enjoyed as much as we do.
Then came my surprise. While we were at the party, our son Chris, and our son-in-law Lowell told me they were going to follow us back to the rig and help get the new AC on the roof.
And it couldn’t have been more simple. And yes, it only took a couple of minutes.
They pulled the picnic table up against the rig,
And with me on the roof holding a big piece of cardboard to slide it on, Chris and Lowell just picked up the AC and handed it up to me.
Easy Peezy.
Tomorrow I’ll go up and swap the units out. I don’t expect to take more than a hour or two.
Thanks guys. We really appreciate it.
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In late-breaking news, we have a gate. We leave Monday morning for a gate between Henderson, TX and Carthage, TX , about 260 miles away. We’re back with Jamie and Gate Guard Services again, and back in East Texas.
We’re supposed to be on the job Tuesday morning at 8am, so that means we’ve got a lot to do before we leave here on Monday.
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Thought for the Day:
If you can’t figure out which way to hang the toilet paper roll, you don’t have a cat.
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