Rigadoon has an Adventure

Nov 7, 2017

Leaving Russel Cave, I went south to Arab, AL (pronounced A-rab) for the night.  Rigadoon was making a curious ticking noise so after Googling a bit I decided to get the oil changed in case sticky valves were part of the issue.  For some reason Walmart thinks the truck wants 5w- oil but the manual suggests 10w- or 20w- and I hoped thicker oil might help.  Post oil-change the truck was making the same noise and after consulting the WM auto guys (who clarified that they weren't qualified to comment) I decided to drive to Cullman, the first town big enough to have a mechanic.

Well, in the metropolis of Baileyton, a place not even large enough to be called a wide spot, the dash lights came on and I pulled over into the edge of someone's driveway.  Popped the hood and discovered the shreds of the alternator belt calmly NOT spinning anything anymore.  Well, I can't fix this and I have no cell reception so kindness-of-strangers here I come.

First house across the street had no one home so I trudged up the long driveway where I was parked.  This is farm country and houses are back aways.

Lovely older woman opened the door and invited me in to use the phone when I explained the problem.  Her husband was also there and had some kind of dementia.  He kept politely but firmly demanding to know who I was and I kept politely explaining that I needed the phone for a toll-free call.

Except their phone didn't work.  After multiple tries that only resulted in a dial tone the woman explained that the phone had been acting up lately.

Okay....

I thanked her and went back to the road to ponder waiting for someone to stop.  Decided that was a waste of time and pointed my feet back in the direction I came where a road branched off the little highway and some houses were visible.  And a business!  Woot!   Mimi's Hair Salon (run by Madge, I think) is in the back room of her house and she was kind enough to let me in while doing a color-and-cut and let me use her phone.

It took more than an hour, but Progressive located the flat bed I wanted (remember the pic of the rv in Virginia?   wanted to keep my valves and tanks in one piece).  They also phoned the potential auto shop to verify they could work on my vehicle since I didn't want an rv shop.

I thanked Madge and trekked back up the road to wait for the tow which was 90 minutes away.  I played on the ipad and the cats napped while we waited.  When the guy showed up he was awesome. I fussed about smooshing the back end and he nodded and said he would be careful.  The guy watched the back end as he winched the truck up and when it got close to the ground he put boards under the wheels to give it enough lift to keep from hitting the ground.

The entire area has no street names, only numbers, and the tow driver had to call someone to get directions.  He was at least 80 and the inside of his truck was held together with duct tape in places but it ran and and he seemed pretty sturdy as well.

I was a little nervous when we made it to the shop but I guess combining home and business is common in that area and the owner came out with a big grin, saying that his uncle had the same camper.  Well, not quite the same, his uncle's is a V6 but the guy knew what he was doing anyway.

I had him replace all the belts since they all had to come out anyway and another of them was all cracked and ready to break on some other deserted rural highway.  The only belt in good shape was the AC belt - and I don't use the AC (not updated).  Ah well.  Alabama did herself proud taking care of hapless traveler.

One of the Newer Parks

October 15-17, 2017

So many battlefields in this area that it would be impossible (and draining) to see them all.  Cedar Creek and Belle Grove has only been part of the park system for a few years and there are several historical entities involved in keeping it going.  The Park Service Visitor Center is in a little strip mall in Middleton but they have an amazing CD they've recorded to provide details as you drive through the historic areas.  Be sure to pick up a map as well because there aren't any signs yet and you're driving through so rural areas.  Some wrong turns dead end on small roads that are really tricky to turn around on.  Trust me on this - get a map.

Back at Walmart for the evening I did get to call the fire department on an older RV with a for sale sign that was dripping something caustic from a tank.

Not sure which tank but it smelled like acetone.

Fire department showed up followed by a hazmat truck.  Looked like most of the group is volunteer so I guess this was kind of training for a true hazardous situation without much actual danger.

I think eventually someone called the number on the 'for sale' sign because a car showed up and eventually a tow truck.  See how close that rear end is to the ground?  A minute ago it was on the ground.  I hate to see what the underparts looked like at the end of the tow.

Right next to this area is the undoubtedly phenomenal Shenandoah National Park and Blue Ridge Parkway but I had reached my limit on twisty mountain roads.  I headed south through the valley between two mountain ranges.

Heating Up In the North

September 5 - 6, 2017

Leaving Toronto was even less fun than getting there.  I thought the going might be easier if I stayed out of the center of town but not only was there a ton of construction, the roads are also potholed and narrow in some places. To make things even more exciting there was a storm building and the bumpy roads in the city seemed to have made the engine heating issue even worse.  The truck was running warm even on the flats and being buffeted by winds while worrying about the rig made me very unhappy. 

I did a roundabout route into Hamilton avoiding the Skyway Bridge and the accompanying gusts of wind. Of course, since I didn't have any cell reception in Canada and only had a vague idea of where Walmart was in the city, I did a lot of slow driving until I got close enough to allow Google Maps to show me the location.  I originally looked up the location in the U.S. and this allowed Maps to show me more detail of that area.

I also discovered that Canada celebrates labor day by allowing laborers to stay home.  Lots of closed businesses and presumably fewer people on the roads. Other than the plants from Lowes being rolled across the road by the wind, it seems like a more civilized way to have a holiday.

Parked for the night and decided to go back to Niagara instead of seeing what Fort Erie was all about in case the heating situation got even worse.  Ah well, another thing to do later.

The border crossing was just as easy although the U.S. border guard spent a little more time looking in my vehicle.  It seems like a pointless exercise to me since he just kind of peeked and maybe opened a cupboard or something.  Really, if I were going to smuggle something into the country I wouldn't leave it lying on floor in plain sight. 

Or maybe no sensible smuggler would be driving a thirty year old vehicle.

Filled up with gas as soon as I was back in the states (SOOO expensive in Canada!) And drove towards Buffalo.  I figured I'd find a place to stop and then look for a muffler shop in hopes that fixing the muffler would solve the heating issue.

I stopped on the edge of the city and found out that most shops were in the center of the city.  Um....no.  Shops that were close to where I was parked had bad reviews except for one, but he didn't think he could fit my vehicle on his lift.  I didn't feel like describing the camper on a Toyota truck base because really, if you can't figure that out then I don't want you looking at my vehicle anyway.

Found a shop in Springville with good reviews and drove there.  Turned out that not only had I lost one of the hangers (twisty tailpipe) but there was also a couple holes in the muffler and it needed to be replaced.  Well let's do that then.

While chatting with the desk guy he told me about a pretty place to visit if I didn't want to do the standard Buffalo-DC route.  Not wanting to do anything standard I went east instead of south and found an absolutely amazing state park.

The Great White North - Or At Least a Nice City on the Lake

August 31 - September 4, 2017

I was a little apprehensive about crossing the border mainly because of the cats but it was a snap.  The lovely young border patrol guard with a melting French accent peered into the rig, spotted the cats' eyes peering at him from under the table and said thanks.  Awesome. 

I decided to stick with the short distance driving scheme and randomly chose Hamilton as a stopping place.  I am so glad I did this 1) because it's all city between Niagara and Toronto and 2) I happened upon a fabulous park.

Lake Ontario looks to have a lot of park space along its shores and Confederation Beach Park is part of that trail system.  I parked in the lot and spent a couple hours walking the trail.  There are some great views of the lake and I found unexpected art work that is adorable.

I just loved these carvings!

The next day it was on to Toronto.  Turns out there IS a big hill but it comes in the form of a bridge and wasn't too daunting.  I also didn't realize that there were so many (...any...) wineries in Canada.  Could be a fun wine tasting trip some time.

Although the roads and traffic suck, Toronto is gorgeous.  Once my Canadian friend pointed out that there is a subway and I didn't have to drive downtown the city looked even nicer.  

Plus they have cool black squirrels.

I wandered downtown a bit, had a great time having lunch with old friends I had never met and discovered that even our extra polite neighbours to the north will ditch an overgrown zucchini if they think they can get away with it.

Niagara Is Worth a Second Visit

August 12 - 30, 2017

I spent more time camping in the woods a bit south of Utica in an area that seems to be mainly used by local folks as a picnic area.  I'm a happy introvert and empty campgrounds suit me well, plus the forest rangers always seem to check on lone campers and marvel over a single woman on her own in the trees.  The engine is still getting warm and the flatness between Utica and Niagara Falls is welcome.  I tend to stress when things aren't working correctly despite not panicking about it.

The other thing that needed to be dealt with was rabies vaccines for the cats.  Canada does not like the idea of people's pets infecting their critters (understandably) and will not let in pets without a rabies certificate.  Cool. $170 dollars and a couple pissed off cats and I'll be set, right?  Except that New York doesn't issue certificates for cats, only dogs.  Sigh.  Fortunately the receptionist was willing to work with me to create a document that looked official and had all of the required information on it.  Hopefully I won't have to haul the cats out at the border for an inspection.

Stopped at the Walmart instead of the casino to be close enough to the gym for a morning shower.  Thought I'd be somewhat clean for meeting the Canadians.  Thankfully I wasn't in a hurry because oddly, in a giant parking lot, people couldn't come up with a better place to park than right in front and behind me.

Clearly I wasn't going anywhere any time soon so I decide to check the muffler - one of my possible sources for an extra warm engine.  I grabbed the tailpipe to jiggle it and found the entire thing twisted in my hands. Welp . . . even if that wasn't the source of the problem it definitely needed to be addressed.  I looked for a national muffler shop in Niagara Falls but didn't find anything closer than Buffalo.  Oh well. The way to Toronto is mostly flat anyway. It can wait. 

I debating walking to the gym since it was only a mile away but dithered long enough that the guy sleeping in the van eventually left.  The folks in the big RV seemed to be planning a longer stay and were still there when I left around noon.  I only went as far as the casino anyway.  No point in hurrying since I wanted to take a stroll around Goat Island and hang out for the evening light show.

No, that isn't a picture of the light show because my camera doesn't do dark well. I also think the view would be much better from the Canadian side but I wasn't up for a walk across the bridge.

Wanting to get an early start across the bridge in the morning, and also getting cold from the spray and wind, I left before full dark and went 'home'.

A Big F***ing Bridge

May 10 -16, 2017

I wanted to see the ponies on Assateague Island and was hoping to connect with a friend in New Jersey, both of which required crossing a really, really long bridge.  To delay the crossing I planned to camp overnight at the boat launch for the Great Dismal Swamp (because how can you pass up visiting a place with that name?) but Mr. Ranger politely asked me if I thought I was planning on camping there, and I just as politely so "No!  Of course not!  This is a parking area!"

Oh well.  At least I got a few pictures.

Just as well, I guess.  People that stayed in the real campgrounds left reviews complaining that it was like sleeping in a swamp.  Gee.

Now for that bridge.  I never quite realized this before, but I seem to have a thing about driving over bridges - and not a good thing.  Even the small ones are a little freaky and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge crosses, well, an entire bay.

It's 23 miles of bridge and tunnel (they made islands in the bay to anchor two tunnels) with a minimum speed (strictly enforced, according to the signs) and a sturdy breeze that all watery places seem to have.  I fell below the 50 mph limit coming up out of the tunnels (well what did they expect?  Stupid steep tunnels) but managed to be reasonably speedy the rest of the way.  There really weren't any gusts of wind but I was so intent on not being blown sideways IF a gust hit that I was pretty tense the whole drive.  Luckily there's a rest stop at the end that allows 48 hour parking.  I stayed one night and met a lovely gentleman who told me he's been rving for 25 years and offered up all kinds of advice. 

Deep breaths.  No bridges for a while.

Another Cylinder Head Post

March 24 - April 16, 2017

One of the nicest things about not being able to achieve freeway speeds is the opportunity to see a lot of rural America.  Churches seem to cluster together (I saw seven in one two-mile stretch) and little cemeteries are everywhere.  Small town Walmarts are also interesting in that they adapt to the local situation.  This one in Trion, Georgia sells straw.

You also meet some lovely people in small towns, like the wonderful guys at ARI Auto Repair.  I was fortunate enough to meet them after deciding that changing the spark plugs really didn't help and Rigadoon was doing the same sorts of things she had been doing earlier in the trip.  The shop did a quick look, thought it might be a burned cylinder, got everything set up so that they could do a complete rebuild if necessary, and then discovered that it just needed adjustment again.  Phew.  They also thought that the first shop back in El Paso had reused the gasket (they had) and it had failed.  They replaced it, suggested I use 100% ethanol-free gas when possible, and wished me luck.  Although I ended up spending more than a week at the Cleveland Walmart while waiting for parts and waiting out storms, time in the shop was only two mornings.

In addition to aiming for 100% gas, I got some Marvel's Mystery Oil to add to the gas.  The thinking here is that the ethanol dries things out and older vehicles aren't really designed for that.  By using pure gas and adding a splash of lubricant, the pistons should move smoothly and not cause more problems.  It's a cheap remedy if it works.

Running from the Cold

January 2 - 5, 2017

After a scary storm at the lake (semis were blown over closer to Fort Worth) and a look at the weather forecast I decided it was time to head south.  We had had several days of 15 degree nights while in Fort Worth and it isn't any fun at all. And we were plugged in.  Even with the electric heater I used 1/2 a tank of propane running the furnace to try to keep everything from freezing.  It didn't work and the water heater froze but thawed with no leaks so it's all good.

The cats were done with the lake after all the wind and rain.

Ever hopeful we headed towards Waco.  My only plan was 'go south.  avoid cities' which makes planning pretty easy.  Mostly it was a series of small town Walmarts but not bad.  The cold weather caught us a bit south of Austin and we shivered through a couple of freezing nights.  Still happy I didn't have any leaks, I turned on the water pump to do some dishes and suddenly wasn't happy anymore.  No water came out.  Actually water did come out but it came out underneath the camper.  Not good.

I spent some time thinking about what to do while driving to Victoria.  Victoria is big enough to have hardware stores and an RV repair shop.  Rather than give up and drive to a repair place I decided to try and figure it out.

Only leaks when the water pump is run. Dry under the sink - not the pump.  Follow the lines.  Under the sink all looks good, check the next compartment.  Yeah, that one is wet.  We start here.

The lines were all covered with insulating wrap so I pulled that off to check them.  Turns out they are all carefully labeled.  Damn.  Always buy an RV from a compulsive person.  Started feeling the lines from the wall that connects to the sink and kept going until I discovered that one corner had popped out of its connector.

That's it.  No cracks, just a Herculean effort required to get the hose back into the corner connector.  I couldn't get it in perfectly and I wonder if the previous owner couldn't either and that's why it separated.  

I patted the area as dry as I could and stuffed a bucket of drying crystals into the compartment.  I also tossed out about 15 pounds of wood pieces that had been used for leveling.

While in the big city I hoofed it to Home Depot to get some weather stripping.  The door is a little warped and I can see daylight through the bottom when it's closed.  Actually the door is irrelevant because of the frig:

Remember this picture?  That's daylight coming in through the vents that were needed for the propane frig.  The one that fit completely into the space and sealed off all the drafts.  Now it's like a wind tunnel When the wind is from that side.  I'll need to do something about this at some point.

The New Refrigerator

The transmission took a week and the boys and I moved into Bro's new trailer for the repairs.  They have two cats also and apparently their adorable little Rexs are extremely territorial and no one wanted to listen to a week of cats howling at each other through a closed door.

While Rigadoon was out, the refrigerator arrived - and everyone but me went back home.  Lucky for me my SIL is a well-bred southern lady and managed to put up with me without using a baseball bat.  She even helped me with the frig.

I consulted Google for how to proceed.  First step is to turn off the propane and disconnect it from the frig.  Easy, as long as you follow one recommendation I saw and use two wrenches, one on either side of the connection because otherwise the whole thing twists. 

 

You then have to get a special plug to close off the gas line and we roadtripped to the local propane place to get the fitting.  Hardware stores sell them also but the part was less than $2 and I knew it was a quality piece.

Next you disconnect the 110 electricity.  I was expecting a complicated dealing requiring capping wires and whatnot but it turned out that they had simply installed and outlet in the back and plugged the frig into that.  Pull the plug and done.

Removing the frig was a matter of removing all the front screws, taking off the door, and unscrewing two back screws.  Then with SIL's help we squiggled that heavy, awkward box through the tiny interior and out the passenger side door.  It wouldn't fit through the house door and I suspect that had the passenger seat still been installed I would have had to remove it to get it out.

Through the wonders of Craigslist, the old frig was taken away by some hopeful with grand plans.  Saved me the trouble of hauling it to the dump.

The new frig was a bit smaller.  When I bought the rig I researched 12v compressor refrigerators and had decided I really wanted one.  They are super-efficient and and can run for a couple days off a battery that isn't recharged.  They also don't require you to be level.  The price difference between the small one I got and the next larger size was too much so I chose the little guy.  I think the ad said something about 6 six-packs.  Not huge, but big enough.

So easy to hook up - the wires that attach to the frig have a small connector at the ends and a fuse wired in.  You just get some wire, attach it to the fuse and run it straight to the battery.

From the closet I drilled a small hole in the wall for the wires. Actually, I didn't have a drill and there isn't much space anyway so I used progressively larger screwdrivers to make the hole.  The wood is thin panelboard and easy to screw through.

From there I followed the other wired down through the closet and popped them on top of the battery.

From the photos you can tell that there's quite a bit of space left from the old, larger refrigerator.  A neighbor of SIL came over, measured the space and made me a drawer that now sits under the frig. 

Power on, Green light comes on.  Compressor starts up.  Dandy.  After more than a month in Fort Worth I can finally take off

Almost There

I did short hops for the next few days on my way to Fort Worth.  Traveling the interstate wasn't quite as much fun as doing small towns but I was more confident about finding places to stop.  And I needed that confidence because the transmission was starting to complain a lot when it got hot and a slight roughness that I'd noticed going up to Carlsbad was becoming noticeably worse.  I was hoping it had something to do with spark plugs rather than the cylinder, but I know nothing about engines and I didn't know if this was an intelligent thought - or just a hopeful one.

Around the 15th of November I called my SIL to ask about arrival timing.  She said the next day would be fine so I settled in at the truck stop and made plans to stop a a store for provisions before heading up to the house.

In the morning I opened my frig to get breakfast and discovered that the inside was less than cold.  It was decidedly warm, actually.  My 31 year old refrigerator had decided to retire in Texas.

Well then.  With nothing else to delay me, assuming neither the transmission nor the engine would give out before the last 100 miles I set out for the big city.

I spent several days hanging out with my SIL before my brother and dad arrived and I spent the next several days not worrying about anything.  We had a lovely Thanksgiving and then I set about addressing the assorted issues that had come up.

Turns out that Walmart has vendors that sell through their site (like Amazon) so I found  good price on a refrigerator through a small company in Florida and ordered it.

Transmission was a little more annoying to deal with but I (well, my SIL, called their Toyota guy and he recommended a tranny person.  Who would be back after a holiday break.  At least there's a plan.

Why is it Raining in the Desert?

November 2-6, 2016

Poor little 'Rigadoon is still stalling whenever I stop.  At this point I'm still hopeful it has something to do with the altitude and I noticed that the octane in the fuel has gone from 87 to 85 so maybe using higher octane fuel will help?  Stopped just outside Albuquerque and filled up with 89 octane to see if it helped.  Nope.  The road leads downhill from hill so dropping altitude is my last hope.

Stopped at Truth or Consequences, a spa town that changed its name in 1950 for the radio show of the same name.  A series of thunderstorms were forecast and I was happy to see that the Walmart had covered parking - made of solar panels.

Not entirely waterproof since there was a pretty good stream of water coming from between the panels but still not bad.

I hung out here until mid afternoon when it looked as though the storms had run there course.  As I was getting back on the highway the sky stared looking a bit scary but I figured it wouldn't be too bad and headed into a rainstorm for the next rest area.

I had just about enough time to fill my water bottles and wash my hair before the next storm came in.  And then another one, and then the doozy.

It started with lightning off in the clouds.  Not ordinary flashes - this was close-encounters-of-the-third-kind warning lights.  Along with the hide-from-the-aliens lightning there was thunder, rain and pounding hail.  Although the sound was deafening it wasn't loud enough to mask the sound of the giant hail globs smashing into my roof vents - and then through them.

It's a funny thing about taking things apart.  I had been idly looking at the vents trying to figure out how to take the screen off so I could clear out some tree debris that had been collecting there.  Had to be something about taking off the handle but I hadn't gotten around to discovering how that handle unscrewed.  

Somehow when rain is hitting you in the face and ice is collecting on the screen above you it becomes much easier to understand dismantling things.  One screw, pull the handle, shimmy the screen out.  Simple.

By the time I had the screens out and thawing in the sink the storm had passed, leaving lingering lightning in its wake.  And big holes in two of my vent covers.

New Mexico is flat and I could see at least one more storm (or spaceship) heading towards the rest area so I did the only sensible fix.  Duct tape.

For good measure I slid a couple trash bags over the open vents and closed them firmly to keep the bags tight.  Super-classy, I know, but I was going for dry, not stylish.

Got up the next morning and drove to the outer edge of El Paso.  Wonder if they sell vent covers here?

Monsoons and Hopi Pueblos

October 22-24, 2016

The truck started and ran so I decided to find a better place to relax for a couple days.  The Sam's club was in an industrial area and not very relaxing but I found a casino a few miles outside of town.

Casino's are great places to chill if you don't feel like interacting or want to hang out with a crowd of strangers.  This one had tons of empty parking lots with a few RVs and trucks scattered around them even though the casino itself was small and smoky.  There's no shade anywhere in the state of Arizona (I'm convinced) and as far as I'm concerned a cement lot is as nice as a dirt one when the view is flat anyway.

There's a small puddle of transmission fluid under the truck but I can't get under to see where it's dripping.  Crap.  At least it's a small puddle.  After a day of doing absolutely nothing it looks even smaller.  Relaxation is a good thing.

The next town on I40 is Winslow, AZ which means I had to stop there.  I didn't see a whole lot of exciting things to do in town but it was convenient for doing laundry and pondering the difficulties of water while in the desert.  I was out of water and there hadn't been anywhere to fill up since . . . somewhere in California.  I had jugs I could fill at rest areas but the tanks were empty and that needed to be rectified.  It turned out that I could solve the water, full holding tanks, sleeping and cool place to visit all in one spot.

Homolovi State Park has remains from early Hopi settlements that can be wandered through along with a campsite that comes with water, dump station and, glory of glories - a SHOWER.  I could write an entire entry about how wondrous it was to take a shower after weeks of desert heat and naught but a washcloth and baby wipes to clean with.  And I had clean sheets.  It was going to be an amazing night.

But first the pueblos.

One site is uncovered but there is little to see except pits.  It's a lonely, windy hill with nothing to see for miles and the solitude is perfect for contemplating what life would have been like in 6000 BC.

Undoubtedly many people take potsherds as mementos but I was happy to see that many people would place potsherds on rocks for other visitors to see.

Cultural note:  The Hopi consider the area spiritually alive and do not want the word "ruins" used.  When I walked through the second site that has been reburied to protect the artifacts I could feel what they mean.  I have a new respect and perspective for ancient living areas.

All in all a great day.  I had water, empty holding tanks and a lovely (treeless) place to spend the night.

Sometime in the middle of the night I awakened to thunder and panicked cats.  No rain, just thunder and lightening.

And then it rained.  Hard.  I sat up and closed the vent over the bed as soon as the rain started and then sat there for a few seconds trying to figure out why I was still getting wet.

The rain was coming in the cabover window hard enough to reach the middle of the camper.  I slammed the window closed and closed all the other open windows and vents.  In the short time it took me to close the cabover window the bedding on that side of the camper was soaked.  Zowie.  At least most of the rest of the bed was dry so I went back to sleep.

Butch, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with wet sheets.

Financial Reckonings

I really dislike discussing personal finances but I found it frustrating while reading other blogs that many folks don't talk about costs.  Everyone starts from a different financial springboard and how can you know if your plans are realistic if the only numbers you see are for people working on the road and spending $2000 to $5000 a month to live?  I can't do that with having to work, and the whole point of this is to not work any more.  So for other cheapskates exploring ideas, here's the breakdown so far:

'Rigadoon:  $4000 + $450 for tax and license.
She came with an excellent engine, new shocks and new tires.  All the appliances worked when they had the rig and so far each one I've tested has worked for me.  I did have to shell out $45 to get the belts tightened and have a bracket thingy replaced on the tailpipe.

She has no generator, air conditioning or tv - and this is exactly what I wanted.  Generators are noisy, air conditioners require shore power and I've got piles of dvds to keep me entertained without trying to manage finding tv stations.

Solar:  $450.  Includes 2 100-watt panels and an mppt controller.  I estimate that this is twice what I'll need, but it's only a guess based on other peoples' experiences.  They sell these things as kits for your rv so really, there's no excuse to not get one.  Installation can be pricey, I've heard, but the Main Man (MM) will install this one when I head back to Western WA,

Inverter:  $160.  1000W Pure Sine Wave.  Since I will mainly be using it for computers and other finicky electronics I wanted the more spendy pure sine wave type to protect my stuff.  The 1000W I estimate to be 4X what I'll need, but the MM pointed out that you can always use less, but if you need more, you're in trouble.

Sealants:  $120.  Includes a variety of supplies.

Toilet Seat: $51.  Yes, a FIFTY DOLLAR cheap-ass plastic toilet seat.  Makes me mad every time I think about it but the one in the rig was both broken at the hinge and cracked on the seat.  I would have happily duct-taped it to the bowl to keep it from sliding, but sitting on cracked plastic is just not something I'm prepared to do in support of frugality.  Curiously, the broken seat has the remnants of self-stick Velcro on it.  I just can't imagine what they were doing...

Upgrades and small fixes: ~$50.  Includes led lights, new porch light cover, adapter so seatbelt doesn't smack me in the neck.

Foam pad: $90.  The over-cab bed is very firm and has a few bumpy spots where the cab-cover is.  I ordered a custom size slab of medium-soft foam to put on top to make it more comfortable.  It comes tightly wrapped in what seems like six rolls of plastic wrap.  Remove all that and it springs back into shape like magic.

    


Assuming I've forgotten a few things, my total so far is right around $5400.  Less than the cost of a used car and far less than paying rent in Seattle.  'Rigadoon gets around 15mpg so she's also my only vehicle.  Insurance for full-timing in her is about $27/month including towing - less than what I was paying for the Chevy S10 although with a bigger deductible.

Cheap sleeps

The first thing you learn when planning a low-budget RV trip is that most Walmarts allow you to spend the night in their parking lot for free. The second thing you learn is that most casinos offer the same benefit.

The Walmart thing is so well known that there are lists of every store in the country along with a notation about allowed parking. Most of the 24-hour stores are okay with it although a few cities don't allow overnight parking anywhere except a street or your own house – and that's assuming you aren't asleep in your vehicle.

I've done a couple WM parking lots now and it isn't too bad, if you can get past the floodlighting that create a perpetual dawn in your rig and the occasional semi groaning by to make a delivery. If you have felines in your camper you also have to put up with being trampled half the night as your travel companions need to race from window to window to watch what's going on.

Most of what they see is late-night shoppers and other sleepy travelers, but I did come across one vehicle that appears to have taken up a permanent residence in the parking lot and they came with a lot of shouting and name-calling in the middle of the night. The cats were enthralled.

Last night I tried my first casino parking and it wasn't bad either. Also flood-lit but much less traffic and there doesn't appear to be any permanent residents, although maybe it was the lot I chose. The Tulalip Casino has signs directing Rvs to a specific area which actually feels welcoming and reassuring – and I imagine it makes them popular with the retired travelling crowd that enjoy a good meal and don't mind dropping a few coins in the slot machines. The lot is spacious with lots of pull-through slots, close to the entrance of the casino.

It looks a lot like a campground without hookups.

I ended up in the employee overflow parking lot along with a few other introverts that all attempted to park as far away from each other as possible. The early arrivers got the prime areas along the edge next to the trees while everyone else kind of staked their claim on a row of parking spots.

It was glorious. No generators running half the night, no late-night partyers making a commotion as they came home, just background traffic noise and the whistle of the train somewhere off in the distance.

I still got the occasional ice-cold paw in the middle of my back since the lighting meant something might be visible, but for the most part the kitties seemed content to settle at one window and wait for the show to come to them.

Sadly this casino does not appear to offer free coffee, but there's always another one a little further down the road.