Trailer Report, June 4, 2010

7:30 PM Wednesday, June 3, 2010:
Wednesday morning I pulled out of the Bolt Hole hauling The Trailer behind the Tundra and headed southwest to Ives Run campground on Hammond Lake just outside of Tioga Junction. The campground will serve as a learning center as Terry and I prepare for a far larger adventure. This little trip was a mere 220 miles while starting next Wednesday we will be off on a journey of approximately 12,000 miles.

Ives Run Campground is run by the Army Corps of Engineers as Hammond Lake and adjoining Tioga Lake were created as flood control structures after the devastation of hurricane Agnes in 1972. In addition to camping there are boat ramps for fishing, biking and hiking trails, and a swimming beach. Some of the facilities are day use as well as open to the overnighters.

A short distance north, and almost in New York State, Cowenesque Lake serves the same purpose and also has a smaller, and I’m told, quieter campground. As the crow flies, Cowenesque is a short distance north, but by road, it’s almost 15 to 20 miles further from the Aerie, which is why The Trailer is parked at Ives Run which is still some 25 miles from the Aerie.

Each site at the campground has a paved, wide, level pad upon which to park your trailer, RV or motor home. Tent campers can use it as a driveway/parking lot. I had little trouble backing The Trailer into the slot. The site I chose has both water and electrical hook-ups. There’s a communal dump station where you can empty your gray and black water tanks. We will be making use of that facility when we leave as there’s no reason to be hauling the extra weight across long distances.

I’ve made that mistake before. Hauling extra weight, I mean. On our first trip with The Trailer we went to Colorado Springs. Not knowing any better, I filled the fresh water tank at the Bolt Hole and hauled a massive amount of water to Colorado. And we didn’t use any of it, since every campsite we stopped at had water hook-ups. That certainly put a huge dent in our mpg readings! It’s tough enough going across Kansas on I-70 when it’s constantly up hill (the lowest point on the highway is at the eastern border and the highest on the western end) and against the constant wind. Put a hundred gallons of water in the tank at 7.5 pounds per and things get tough. I think we got something like 4.5 miles to the gallon going across Kansas east to west.

The Trailer is parked, leveled and hooked up to the water and electrical services. Everything seems to be working fine. The bump-out functioned properly and nearly doubled the size of the living quarters inside. The AC is pumping out refreshingly cold, dry air. The fridge/freezer is cooling down nicely and will be ready for some foodstuffs by Friday afternoon. The hot water heater is producing scalding hot water. The stove top lights--although I’ve nothing but water to cook so far. All the lights seem to work as they are supposed to. Things are shaping up pretty well. Perhaps Terry and I were a little over concerned about the need for a shakedown outing.

Nah. Probably not. There are things to do to make life more comfortable for the next three months and it’s easier to do them here than up at the Bolt Hole. Take the kitchen closet. It needs another shelf. I’ve got the plywood and the Aerie has the table saw and other necessary tools to make an easy job of it. Then there’s all the clothes and food that need to get packed away. Plus Terry’s sewing projects--you didn’t think she’d leave without taking some along, did you?—and my camera equipment. And we’ll need to take both of our computers for keeping journals and, when we have access, checking emails, posting to the blog, etc. Already, we’ve moved several Rubber Maid bins of clothes into storage beneath the bed, got the floor vacuumed, brought in some pots and pans, hauled out some Corningware (the stuff that didn’t break!) and generally made The Trailer more of a living place. And we’ve got five more days to get’er even more so.

Of course, during those five days we’ll also have to get the cats over to Adam’s place, “close up” the Aerie, have dinner with Gary and his wife, do some banking, see about another spare tire for both The Trailer and the Tundra, and go shopping for a few little items o go in the “just in case” drawer (extra fuses for both, maybe some 12 volt light bulbs for The Trailer, and…).

9 PM Wednesday, June 3, 2010:
Aha! The first project has already reared its head. The hot water faucet in the bathroom has a leak. It will probably be just a new washer but that will be the first thing I will take apart Friday morning after I’ve had a cup of coffee. Shut the water off at the outside faucet, run the inside until there’s no more drip, take the inside faucet apart to see what type of washer it requires and then go off to the Aerie (or the hardware store if need be) to get a replacement. The second project will be to cut the shelf for the kitchen closet. Then back to The Trailer to make repairs and installations. Should be a snap.

11:30 AM Thursday:

Note to self: Remember to attach the water pressure regulator to the faucet when hooking up the trailer. That (and maybe the dissembling the sink’s faucet) fixed the water leak in about 10 minutes.

Extra bulbs for The Trailer and fuses for both The Trailer and Tundra were located and purchased at Auto Zone.

The local mechanic says he’ll have little to no problem getting a spare to the trailer. The Tundra might be a different story. Seems it’s 1) an odd size and 2) too new (2007).

The shelf is cut and ready for installation.

Step-by-step.