Our RV Adventures

About 2pm, Jan and I headed back down to the Asian BBQ & Grill for lunch, but more of a business lunch. I mean we still had their delicious Vermicelli Bowls, Jan’s with Lemon Grass Chicken and mine with Grilled Pork and Shrimp,

but I’ve been talking to the owner about setting him up a website for his restaurant. I showed him how his two nearby direct competitors, China Delight and East Buffet, both have websites, and how the other restaurants in his area also had websites.

Then I showed him samples of some of the other websites I’d done for clients, which he liked. He does seem interested, but wants to talk with his wife when she gets back to town next week.

I told him we’ll be moving back to Columbus on Sunday and then would be back here in two weeks, but to give me a call in the meantime. He knows we’re RV’ers and are moving back and forth so that’s not a problem.

After we got home, I put the last panels and screws back in the microwave and then Jan finally got to finish cooking her Sopapilla Cheesecake in the convection oven that she’d prepared last week and then never got to cook.

It smelled great as it as cooking, and later tasted even better when it cooled. And, even better, the oven worked perfectly.

Sometime before we leave on Sunday I’m going to have to get back up on the roof and finish the AC evaporator coil cleaning. But with the forecast temps in the 97-98 degree range for the rest of the week, I’m not too enthusiastic about the whole thing. But I do at least need to get back up there and fasten the shroud down, because I don’t want to lose another one.

In 2008, a few weeks after we hit the road for the first time, we were traveling through the dunes between Yuma and San Diego, and a passing truck driver kept pointing to our roof. So I pulled over and took a look.

Even without getting up on the roof, I could see the the rear AC shroud was completely gone. Figuring there was no use in going back to look for pieces, and hoping it hadn’t hit anyone, since not one was chasing me, we kept on going.

It was about a week later we were parked at the Moose Lodge in Escondido CA and I finally found a Camping World that had two in stock.

I needed two because when I got up on the roof, it was easy to see what happened. The fiberglass/plastic? of the shroud was so deteriorated by the sun that it was brittle and cracking all over. In fact the shroud had just broken away from the screws leaving small pieces of the plastic underneath the heads. And the front shroud wasn’t far behind. So they both got replaced.

At the time they were replaced, the old ones were 9 years old,   so the new ones are now 8 years old. But happily they show no signs of deterioration at all.

So it looks like they’re good for a while longer.

My new Zero G hose is still working fine. Of course it’s only been one day, so it’s not much of a test. I noticed my shower last night had a kind of ‘new plastic’ smell, but it seems to have been gone today.

At least I shouldn’t get any more kinks that start swelling up like balloons.

There were 3 kinks like this, and if the water pressure was high, the hose looked kinda like a well-fed anaconda.

I used to wonder what it would be like to read other people’s minds. Then I got on Facebook and I’m over it.

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About 3pm Jan and I headed down to the Katy area to have dinner with Brandi, Lowell, and Landon, pick up our packages, and make a quick stop at the Camping World just past Brandi’s turn-off at FM-1463. Earlier in the afternoon I had called CW to double-check that they had the Zero G RV Hoses in stock.

The Zero G hose is a hybrid version of a regular RV water hose and one of those Pocket collapsible hoses.

I’d been waiting for someone to come out with drinking-water safe version of a soft, non-kinking hose. And this appears to be it.

The hose is normally $35, but if you’re a Good Sam member, it’s $30. And even better, if you’re a member, it’s Buy One, Get One at Half Price. So I got two of the 25ft 5/8 inch hoses for $45. Nice!

I presently have a 35ft heavy-duty ‘non-kinking RV hose that has kinked and crimped in three places. And this is my 2nd one.

I bought the first one at an RV Rally 4 or 5 years ago, and within a year or so, I had several kinked/weakened spots on it that were starting to bulge out like a bad tire. So much so that it would no longer really coil up, but would just kink and fold over at the crimp spot. So when I encountered the vendor at another rally a year or so later, I showed it to her and she swapped it out with a new one.

And it started crimping within six months. So much for a ‘Lifetime Warranty’.

We got to Brandi’s just as Lowell was leaving to pick up Landon, and when they got back, we waited until it was time to meet  Brandi at La Finca Mexican Restaurant, our favorite Katy Mexican place. Yeah, that’s right. We had Mexican two nights in a row. And that’s not our record.

Back in the 80’s when the kids were young, we actually ate at the same Mexican restaurant (the late, lamented Burrito King in Webster) seven nights in a row.

If Mexican is good one night, it’s good two nights . . . or seven nights.

Landon just had chips and queso, and pretty entertained himself.

But he kept cracking us all up with the faces he was making.

Finally, after a great meal and a great time, we headed back to Conroe about 6:30, taking the Grand Parkway once again to avoid the Houston going-home traffic.

As soon as we got home I went outside to install my new hose.

I was happy to see how heavy-duty it was,

with strong metal couplings and a thick nylon washer.

Unlike the Pocket hoses, this one does not expand or contract, but just firms up like a fire hose.

And when you turn the water off, it flattens down and can be smushed into a small ball. The canvas-feeling fabric seems to be durable and stretchy.

I’ll let you know how it holds up, but I like it so far.

Back in the rig, I thought I’d see how my replacement microwave door latch was going to work.

Here’s how I started the repair.  Easier Than I Thought . . .

The new part, the black one at the bottom, is heavier, and the piece that broke off the old is now beefed up. So hopefully it will be good for more than the 17 years that the first one lasted.

It only took about 5 minutes to snap the new door opener in place, push down the locking tab, put the control panel back on, and plug the power in.

Pushing the button in, the door opened, and when I heated up a cup of water, it worked great. It’s nice to be able to make a $6.80 repair, rather than $400-$500 for a new microwave.

Now Jan will be able bake her Sopapilla Cheesecake that she’s had waiting in the fridge since the oven broke.

I am free of all prejudices. I hate everyone equally. – W.C. Fields

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