Cruising under control once again......

7:57 am - Sunday - March 31st - Fontana, CA - 57° F, 36% humidity, wind 11 mph out of the north......crystal clear blue skies on this day with a forecast high of 83° F.

As I alluded in yesterday's blog entry Saturday was dedicated to removing the signal generator assembly from the transmission, and replacing the broken drive tip.....at least I hoped it was a broken drive tip.  Of course, my mind always goes to the worst thing, which would have either been a non-functioning signal generator, or a broken gear drive, either of which would have required I find a replacement somewhere for this at least 37 year old device.  A broken drive tip would be the best for which I could hope....after all, it has been that the last 3 times.  

Removing the signal generator assembly is not terribly hard, or physical, just tedious, and time consuming.  To get to it I must slither under the coach on my back and then fully extend my arms to reach the assembly.  First I detach the signal generator (on the left in the picture) from the gear drive (center of picture) as it is connected to wires which I have no desire to disconnect.  Next I must remove the gear drive from the transmission.  The suspected broken drive tip is between the gear drive and the transmission.....if it is broken.....

......and, alas, it was a broken drive tip.......broken drive tip on left, and replacement drive tip on the right......↴

.....the missing part of the broken drive tip was stuck in the gear shaft which is threaded into the transmission, and very difficult to get at........↴

.....I only have one 15/16ths SAE socket, which I purchased specifically to remove this gear shaft a few years ago when the drive tip last broke.  Then as now the broken piece stuck in this shaft, and I had to remove it (gear shaft), and then apply heat via a butane torch to get it (broken piece) to drop out of the shaft.  This gear shaft is about 4" long, and most of that length is buried inside the transmission.  The 15/16ths socket barely fits inside that quite small space.  It took me a while to find that socket which is only used a few times a decade, but I did find it, and after a few minutes of struggling to get it squarely over the gear shaft I successfully removed it.  As I did three years ago I heated the shaft up while tapping it on a piece of 2 x 4 wood until the broken piece dropped onto the wood.  Once the broken piece was removed it was just a matter of repacking the gear drive with grease (the grease from 3 years ago had dried out, and the gears had frozen up causing the drive tip to twist, and break.....need to remember to pull it out and lube it once a year!), inserting the new drive tip, reattach the gear drive to the signal generator, reinstall the gear shaft into the transmission, and finally reattach the assembly to the gear shaft.  By the time I was finished putting everything away some 4 hours had passed, I was filthy dirty, and ready for a long, hot shower.

We had agreed to meet my son Tim, his wife Laila, and their 2 month old son, Crosby at Mariscos del Pacifico at 5 pm for dinner.  This place is one of the best, if not the best, Mexican seafood places at which I have ever eaten.  Yelp gives them 4.5 stars on 288 reviews.....I would be at 5.0.....no question, no debate.

Little Crosby was quite well behaved, as he always is, and we lad a lovely time talking about everything under the sun.  We, of course, ate way too much, but every single bite was thoroughly cherished.  Tim, Laila and I ordered their Picositos Tacos (Shrimp), which are simply otherworldly, and TLE their Shrimp Cocktail, which I have had several times.  It is all mind blowingly good.  They are located on Foothill Blvd. and Tamarind Ave. in Fontana, CA.

We bid adieu to Tim, Laila and Crosby around 6:20 pm and headed for home where we would immediately change into loose, comfortable clothing.  There were a couple more March Madness NCAA basketball games, and both were close until the very end.

So, the biggest project, for me, has now been completed.  In order to utilize my beloved cruise control I must have a functioning speedometer, and it is now functioning once again, and that makes me a happy guy once again.  Well, I was already happy before, so now I'm just a little happier than I was before.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel.

Newell life.....

7:40 am - Saturday - March 30th - Fontana, CA - 53° F, 54% humidity, wind 11 mph out of the north.....clear blue skies with a forecast high of 81° F.

After many successive days of long work days I decided to take it easy Friday.  I was awaiting the arrival of several packages containing the necessary ingredients for various projects still on my list.  TLE had a hair appointment in Claremont, so she volunteered to drop by my son's office on the way home to pick up the three packages which were scheduled to arrive Friday.

I stayed home to rest, and to watch the latest PGA event starring Tiger Woods.....a match play event held in Austin, TX called the World Championship of Golf - Dell Technologies match play tournament.  Tiger entered Friday having won one match play event, and lost one.  He needed to win his match on Friday to advance to the round of 16 on Saturday, and he did so handily winning 4 & 2......up four with 2 holes to play.

I received a message from the eBay seller from whom I purchased the non-functioning Seaflo water pump advising me to ship it back to them, and they would in turn send me a new one under warranty, so I boxed it up in preparation for delivery to the USPS.  Additionally, I boxed up the worn out TRICO pneumatic wiper motor for shipment back to Rome Truck Parts in Rome, Georgia in order to have my $75 core charge refunded to my credit card upon receipt by them.

TLE returned from her hair appointment bearing gifts.....well, really just the three packages I was expecting.  One of the packages contained the much anticipated new Drive Tips for my speedometer signal generator, so you already know one of the projects I'll be working on Saturday.  I bought some extras this time in case it breaks again.

We finished the day watching the NCAA March Madness Sweet Sixteen games, and saw some pretty good college basketball.  The final two games of the night featuring Duke v. Virginia Tech and then Kentucky v. Houston were both decided by 2 points with the losing team in both cases having a chance to win at the buzzer.  Duke and Kentucky did prevail, however, and advanced to the 'Elite Eight' round.

So, that was how the 29th day of March went for us.....nothing dramatic, just life in a Newell....thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel.

When the stars are out of alignment......

7:56 am - Friday - March 29th - Fontana, CA - 49° F, 72% humidity, wind 1 mph out of the west by northwest.....clear blue skies today with a forecast high of 73° F.

There are some days, whether or not you live in an RV, that everything seems to conspire against you.  Nothing comes easy.  Everything is 'knock down, drag out'.  Kinda like 'pulling teeth'.  My goals for Thursday were quite modest by my standards as of late.  I wanted to troubleshoot the new Seaflo water pump, get it working, and then dump our black tank.  If I managed to get through those two endeavors I thought I might take on another project, but it was not to be.

I contacted the folks on eBay from whom I bought the Seaflo water pump about my problem and they suggested two tests to run on the pump. First off I was to supply power to the pump and then, using an Allen wrench, adjust the pressure setting to see if it was the pressure switch which was keeping it from operating.  No luck.  Next up I was to disconnect one of the wires from the pressure switch, thereby bypassing the switch, and supply power directly to the motor.  No luck.  The seller advised that if it was the switch they would send a new switch, but if it was the motor they would replace the entire pump.  So, now I must remove the new Seaflo pump and reinstall the Surflo pump, which I just removed.  In all it took me a little over an hour to reinstall the Surflo pump. 

Then, being a curious sort of fellow, I decided to take apart the old Shurflo pump I had removed back in Mississippi to see why it stopped working.  No harm, no foul, right?  Maybe it's something simple, and then I'll have another backup pump.  As I disassembled the pump I could see no obvious reason why it wasn't working.  I have this electrical component spray (Gaig Pro Gold Connector Enhancer, which is now manufactured under the name Hosa Deoxit Gold) that I use sometimes when electrical stuff stops working, and there is no obvious problem.  It cleans all the contacts, and stuff.  Once that was done I reassembled the pump, and hooked it up to my 12 volt 'bench tester' and it worked!  I should have done that before I bought the new pump.

This stuff works like a charm!

By the time I finished working on the old Shurflo motor it was approaching 11 am, and it was time to get out my Shurflo macerator pump assembly and dump the black tank.  I hooked everything up as I always do, and before opening the dump valve flipped the switch on the pump to be sure it was working.....it wouldn't run....no sound....just total silence.  This pump has worked flawlessly for 3 years, so why does it decide not to work today?  I disconnected everything and took the pump into the trailer to take it apart and see why it would not run.  When I had the 'top' off the motor the motor would run just fine, but once it was reassembled nothing.  It appeared to me that the rubber impeller was causing everything to bind up, so I applied a little lube to it, then put it back together and that seemed to do the trick.  So, I took it back out and hooked it up again, and then tested it before I opened the dump valve, and it ran.  Once the dump valve is open you have about 2/3's of a gallon of effluent in the tube, and if the pump will not turn on you must close the dump valve again, and then prepare to deal with 2/3's of a gallon of very nasty stuff.  I usually put a large Rubbermaid tub under it, which is sufficient to catch it all, but it is not pleasant at all.  Anyway, I opened the dump valve and then flipped the switch to the 'ON' position.....nothing!  Oh no, here we go.

I won't bore you with the gruesome details of what followed over the next 2.5 hours of dumping the black tank, or provide any pictures.....no that would not be a good idea.....but I did get it done after about two plus hours of mind numbing effort.  It usually takes me about 20 minutes to dump the tank using the macerator pump.  I had to detach the pump 3 times from the dump valve to take it apart, and get it running again, so that was three more times dealing with a Rubbermaid tub of effluent.  I did finally manage to finish about 1:30 pm, and then it took me another 30 minutes to clean up, and put everything away, except that Shurflo pump, which I thoroughly cleaned and then took inside the trailer to investigate why it is not working properly.  I discovered after disassembling it on my workbench once again that I had inadvertently reinstalled the rubber impeller upside down during one of the numerous times I took it apart to figure out why it was not working, and although it worked well enough to finish dumping the black tank it was causing the pump motor to labor, and to stop periodically.....doh!  Just to be on the safe side I have ordered a new macerator pump, and will have it before I dump the tank again in about 8-9 days.

By this time it was after 2:30 pm, and I was ready for a nap....it was a nice nap.  Anther thing I wanted to do Thursday was take another bike ride,  so about 4:30 pm I changed clothes, got the Cannondale Bad Boy out of the trailer and headed west on the Pacific Electric Trail to Cherry Ave. and back.  As is often the case in the late afternoon there was a strong breeze coming directly out of the west, which buffeted me all the way to Cherry Ave., but then I got to turn around and head eastward enjoying the wonderful tailwind.  Going both directions I tried to push a little harder than I had the first 3 times, and got very good results on my Garmin.  You will recall that on my last ride I averaged 11.8 mph and covered the 11 miles in just over 56 minutes.......

.....well on Thursday I made the round trip ride in 53 minutes and 41 seconds, and averaged 12.2 mph burning 574 caloric units.....2.5 minutes faster than the previous time, and 4/10's of a mile per hour faster.....nice!

Well, that was my star crossed Thursday.  I'm very thankful those days are rare, and far in between....thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel.

Three in one......almost.....

7:58 am - Thursday - March 28th - Fontana, CA - 53° F, 89% humidity, wind 3 mph out of the southeast.......partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 69° F.

I began Wednesday trouble shooting a 12 volt electrical issue with my bedroom aisle lights.  The one on the driver side of the bed had a bad connection, and would not come on consistently, and  I would have to wiggle the wires to get it to work.  After living with this problem for about a year I decided Wednesday was the day it would be fixed.  I had never really looked closely, apparently, at the fixture, and if I had I would have seen it was damaged.  I have had an extra one of these for years, but I always thought it was a bad ground connection that was causing the problem.  Once I saw what the problem was I got out the extra one and installed it in about 10 minutes, and now it comes on every single time.....↴

They both work now!

.....next up was the removal and replacement of the passenger side TRICO pneumatic wiper motor.  The most difficult part of the replacement operation was to remove the wiper assembly, but once that is off it goes pretty fast.....  

Old TRICO pneumatic wiper motor removed.....air hoses on left, and vacuum hose on right

.....I had to transfer the mounting plate from the old motor to the new one, and then the two brass fittings.....↴

 Mounting plate removed from old TRICO and installed on new TRICO

 Brass fittings removed from old TRICO and installed in the new one

......once the mounting plate and brass fittings were transferred it was just a matter of reconnecting the two air hoses, and the vacuum hose, reinstalling the exterior trim, and then the wiper blade assembly.......

 TRICO pneumatic wiper motor installed, and

exterior trim in place

Wiper assembly reinstalled......it works!

.....all that remained was to air up the Newell, then turn on the passenger side wiper to verify it worked, and it did.....smooth as a baby's butt.

I took a short break before continuing on to the next project.....the installation of the new Seaflo water pump.  I got it all installed by 4 pm, but it would not run when I turned on the power.......hmmmm?  Well, it was 4 pm, and I do belong to the Scarlet O'Hara school of thought......"I'll think about that tomorrow....", and that was the end of my work day.  I'll troubleshoot the problem Thursday and then go from there.  So, I came close to finishing 3 projects in one day.....so very close, but no cigar.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel.

Jello and brake lights do not mix well........

7:48 am - Wednesday - March 27th - Fontana, CA - 51° F, 78% humidity, wind 1 mph out of the north.....overcast today with a forecast high of 71° F.

Tuesday began slowly, and ended with a whimper.  We drove over to my son's office to pick up the two package which have arrived.....the new SeaFlo house water pump, and the remanufactured (new to us) TRICO pneumatic wiper motor....bet you know what I'll be doing Wednesay, huh?

On the way to the office a gentleman pulled up beside us and motioned for TLE to 'roll' down her window (they're electric, right?).  He quickly advised her our  two lower brake lights were not working, but the center one above the hatchback window was working.....so we did have a brake light.  Wow, I just replaced the left brake light bulb in September while we were still in Southwest Harbor.  How could both bulbs go out at the same time?

When we arrived at my son's I had TLE go to the back of the car to verify what the man hold told us, and she confirmed he was telling the truth......no brake lights.  She also advised that it appeared there was water inside each of the lenses.  When I went to examine them I found each had several cracks in the lens, which must have allowed water to ingress causing the bulbs to fail, so it appeared a visit to the local Autozone was in order.

After we picked up the packages and mail we headed over to Rubio's Coastal Grill on Foothill for some of their 'original' fish tacos.  We love Rubio's, and had not yet stopped by for lunch since we arrived in SoCal two weeks ago......↴

Picture courtesy 'Yelp'

.....they have a great alfresco dining area, of which we always avail ourselves.    We lingered over our fish tacos for the better part of an hour before heading to the local Autozone to buy new brake/tail lights (these bulbs are dual filament).  Once that was accomplished we headed further east on Foothill Blvd. to the local Walmart to pickup a few things, and then headed for home.

I spent the rest of the afternoon pulling both taillight assemblies out of the rear of the VW, then draining the water out of them, and letting them sit in the sun drying out for a couple of hours.  It turned out only one bulb was bad, so now I have two extra bulbs (one from Southwest Harbor) for the future.  I used super glue to weld the cracks in the plastic lenses, but as a precaution I have ordered two used replacement lenses off eBay at $50 each....new ones cost $149.....EACH.  By the time I put everything back together and we verified all was working it was after 4 pm and time for a nap.

It was nice to take off a day from major painting projects, but it will be time get back to work on Wednesday installing the 'new' TRICO pneumatic wiper motor, and the new SeaFlo house water pump.... ↴

'New' TRICO pneumatic wiper motor

New SeaFlo house water pump

.....so that was our Tuesday......nothing major happened.....just a lot of jiggling Jello....thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel.

Improving our home......

8:05 am - Tuesday - March 26th - Fontana, CA - 53° F, 61% humidity, wind - CALM.....again, wow!  Partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 76° F.

Two painting projects down, two to go......the passenger side chassis battery compartment, and the LPG compartment.  Monday it was time to repaint the remaining chassis battery compartment.  This one was a little more involved than the one on the driver side, as it also involved the rebuilding of the shelving unit above the 8d battery upon which my two 16 ton bottle jacks sit, plus three emergency road reflectors, a lug wrench (which I will probably never use), and a few other assorted items.  The original shelf was built from particle board,which was probably fine 37 years ago, but it has not aged well, and was beginning to crumble.....↴

.....I began my work just before 10 am, and after a trip to Home Depot (about 2 blocks from the Elks Lodge!) to buy the plywood for the shelving project, put everything back together and finished around 4 pm.....↴

Home Depot....just 2 blocks away!

 Everything is removed, and it is time to prepare the metal surface for primer, and mask off the things I do not wish to paint

  Before....not nearly as bad as the driver side, but bad, nevertheless

 White primer/rust inhibitor applied

 The new shelving unit made of  3/4" Birch Plywood.  Took 

me about an hour to fabricate it.

 2nd coat of Rustoleum Gloss Gray applied

 Rebuilt shelving unit installed

Everything put away.....finished!

.....it was a revelation to me that I could work 6 straight hours without a break......I was so engrossed in this project I didn't even stop for lunch.  Towards the end of the afternoon the temp got close to 80°  F, but we were never tempted to turn on the A/C.

So, now we have completed three of the four painting projects, and all that remains is to repaint, and rust proof the LPG (Liquid Propane Gas) compartment.  That will probably come on Wednesday as my son, Chris, texted me on Monday that a couple of my packages have arrived......the new house water pump, and I believe the replacement TRICO pneumatic wiper motor.  Hopefully the new drive tips for the speedo signal generator will arrive from Canada soon!

We watched a few recorded shows and were in bed a little after 11 pm.....another project is in the books and the project list is getting smaller.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel.

Sunday funday........

7:53 am - Monday - March 25th - Fontana, CA - 50º F, 70% humidity, wind 1 mph out of the west......clear blue skies today with a forecast high of 78º F.

For at least 2 years now every time we stop to 'pay the rent' and I open up the fuel bay door I think to myself "It's time to repaint the fuel tank", but life goes on, I forget for the next 8-900 miles and am faced with the same rusty condition when I open the fuel bay door the next time we 'pay the rent'.  Sunday I was determined to finally escape from my circle of regret and paint it....

The 'before' shot

 Masking tape applied, and first coat of white 

primer/rust inhibitor drying

 Got out my Dremel knockoff tool and polished up the '

gas cap'

 First coat of gray drying.....very glossy, no?

 The 'after' two coasts have been applied, 

and masking tape removed picture 

......most of the work involved the preparation and application of the masking tape, which took around 90 minutes.  The actual time to apply two coats of primer, two coats of glossy gray, and remove the masking tape consumed less than 15 minutes.  Of course there was the waiting in between coats for each coat to dry, so the entire project covered several hours of the late morning, and early afternoon.  Of course there were NCAA March Madness basketball games playing all the while in the background as the work progressed.  

You might be thinking "Did he paint the whole 180 gallon tank?", but the answer to that would be "no".  There is no way for me to paint all six sides of the tank unless it was completely removed.  I am just painting the part that is readily visible when open the fuel bay door.  The rust I covered over (unlike the rust in the battery bay) is just very mild surface rust, and it has looked like that since we bought our Newell back in March of 2008.  If the rust were very serious I would have to have the tank removed, but that is not the case.

I spent the afternoon watching one NCAA game after another, but about 4 pm I decided I needed to don my riding attire and take another 11 mile bike ride just to see if I could do it 2 days in a row.  In yesterday's blog offering I said my goal was to ride to Sierra Ave, but that was incorrect......my goal was Cherry Ave.  On my first ride I rode to Sierra Ave. and back for a total of 6.2 miles.  Usually the wind comes up out of the west in the afternoon, and Sunday was no exception to the rule, so I found myself battling a moderate headwind all the way to Cherry.  I think I averaged about 10 mph up to Cherry, but as is most always the case, when you turn around you now have a tailwind.......

......once I made the turnaround at Cherry my speed picked up significantly and by the time I arrived back at the Elk's Lodge my average speed had increased (for the entire ride) all the way up to 11.9 mph......1/10th mph faster than Saturday.  In all I once again covered exactly 11 miles, averaged 11.9 mph, and burned 563 caloric units in a few seconds over 55 minutes.

We spent the rest of the afternoon watching March Madness games.....there were no upsets in Sunday's lineup, but of the favorites, Duke (#1 seed), came the closest to losing, winning their game over UCF (#9 seed) by just one point.  The game could really have gone either way in the last 50 seconds.  Otherwise, all the other favored teams won, and some by large margins.  Right now Oregon (#12 seed) is the lowest seed to make the Sweet 16 (final 16 teams).

So, it has been one month since I had the cyst in my right cheek removed.  The post surgical swelling is all but gone, as well as all of the discomfort.  My energy levels have returned to what I would call normal, so it is full speed ahead on the remaining Newell projects before we head north.  Here is a partial list of projects left to complete:

1) Replace drive tip in speedometer signal generator. It apparently broke as we left Tom and Darlene's on the 13th, so I have no speedometer right now......no speedometer, no cruise control. The part is in transit, and I should have it this week.

2) Replace the current house water pump with one that provides more PSI, and more GPM (gallons per minute).....it has arrived at my son's office, so I will pick it up Monday.  The current pump will return to it's box to serve as a backup water pump, just as it did for 11 years prior to it being pressed into service in Mississippi.

3) Replace the TRICO air operated motor which operates my passenger side windshield wiper.  You will recall I was able to get it working again while we were in Wittmann, but when it rained on our way home it would not come on, so time to bite the bullet and get it fixed.  That motor is in transit as I write.

4) Repaint the passenger side chassis battery bay.

5) Repaint the LPG tank with Rustoleum....again not the whole tank, but that which is visible when you open the LPG bay door.

6) Thoroughly clean the roof for the first time in a few years.

7) Pull the wheels off the trailer and repack the bearings with grease, and check the brake pads.

8) Haul the last, and final load of stuff we are not taking with us to Alaska to my son's office warehouse.....that will be just a few days before we begin our trek north.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel.

Celebrating birth......

7:39 am - Sunday - March 24th - Fontana, CA - 49º F, 84% humidity, wind - CALM.....wow, 3 days in a row!  Sunny today with a forecast high of 73º F.....warmin' right back up!

It was quite overcast first thing Saturday, and quite cold, so I stayed inside watching some NCAA March Madness games, but by 12 pm I had changed into my cycling clothes, and was headed west on the Pacific Electric Trail.  My goal this day was to ride to Cherry Ave., about 5.5 miles distant, and then retrace my steps to the Fontana/Rialto Elks Lodge.  The air was still cool as I rode westward, but the sun had begun to peek through the clouds warming it up just a little.  I was back by 1:32 pm after covering exactly 11 miles, which consumed 576 caloric units at an average speed of 11.8 mph in just over 56 minutes......↴

......that's the furthest I have ridden since Inverness, FL when I did around 20 miles with Richard and Rhonda on a local bike path!

After a quick shower, and a change of clothes we were on our way to my daughter's (Kate) home in Jurupa Valley to celebrate her husband's 33rd birthday.  They were expecting over 50 people for the party.  We had barely arrived when my brother Philip arrived with his wife Jeannie....we haven't seen them since last April when we met them for dinner at the Pomona Valley Mining Company in Pomona......

 My brother Philip and his wife Jeannie

.....Philip was the 'baby' of the family, and is around 14 years younger than I, however, he is only 9 years older than my oldest son Chris.  We have had many great RVing adventures with them over the years.  He just recently moved up from a travel trailer to a class A motorhome......↴

.....over the next 30 minutes our other kids began to arrive....

 Me and my firstborn son.....Chris

 Group picture.....Ali (Nick's sister) taking the 'usie'

Left to right: Moi, Tim (son), Chris (son), Nick (son-in-law), Jonathan (Ali's significant other)

 Moi, Meredith (oldest daughter) and Jake (her significant other)

....and then the person whom I had been wanting to meet since we returned home, Jake, arrived.  He and Meredith have been dating for a few months now, and she wanted us to meet him.   Jake is a biologist, and includes in his interests the making of craft beer.  He recently posted about a Tangerine IPA he had just finished, and I was anxious to taste it, and talk brewing with him.  He brought three 5 gallon kegs of his brews to the party.....Tangerine IPA, American Porter, and Irish Red.......↴

 Jake brews beer as a hobby.....he's a keeper Meredith!

......I loved all three, especially the Irish Red which had a hint of caramel at first blush.  We had a wonderful time with family and friends.......

 Had to stand on a tall bar stool to get this 'usie'....I'm too old be standing on tall bar stools....what was I thinking?

 Moi with daughter Kate, and her bestie Shonda.....lifelong friend of the family, too

 Mt. Rubidoux beckoning to me in the distance

Me with daughter Sharon, daughter-in-law, Laila, and first grand daughter Cynthia.....I am surround by so many beautiful women in my family!

......all good things eventually come to an appropriate end, and around 7 pm we tapped out and headed home.  We are so proud of the lives our children are building for themselves, and that they love to spend time with each other.  These are the kind of events that will burn bright in my memory for years to come.......life is so good, and we are so blessed.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel.

De-Rusting.......

7:36 am - Saturday - March 23rd - Fontana, CA  - 49º F, 84% humidity, wind - CALM.....wow, 2 days in a row!  Cloudy today with a forecast high of 66º F.

A couple of years ago I noticed that the driver side chassis battery compartment door must have been leaking when it rained and water had been ingressing over a period of time, and pooling on the floor of the compartment causing it to rust.  I was eventually able to fix the leak, and now it was time to pull the 8d battery out of the way, clean up the rust, apply a primer with a rust inhibitor, and then repaint it gloss gray to match the other compartments.  

I began the project about 10 am, and finished about 12:30 pm.  As is often the case, most of the work involves cleaning and preparing the surface for paint.  The actual painting time was about 30 minutes.  I failed to take a 'before' picture, but trust me, the rust was really bad.  Here is are pictures just after I applied the primer/rust inhibitor......↴

.....while I was waiting for the primer to dry sufficiently I cleaned up the battery, and checked the water.....as usual the water level was fine.  I don't think I've had to add water to any of my four 8d batteries in about 2 years, but I keep checking nonetheless.......↴

......I also greased the bearings on the slide tray which holds the battery so it will pull out and push back in much easier...........↴

 
......finally it was time to apply the Rustoleum Gray Gloss paint, reinstall the 8d battery, then reattach the large positive (red)  and ground (black) cables.......↴

.....it was a perfect day for working outside, and the time just flew.  Now I can turn my attention to the passenger side chassis battery compartment, which is not too rusty, and paint it so both will look pristine once again.

For those who may be wondering about the status of the 'sister ship' the owner (Steve) has decided to delay the sale of their coach for another year.  We were all very disappointed, but totally understood Steve's reasoning.  All four of us (TLE, me, Glenn and Laureen) went through sort of a 'death of the vision' grieving period, but another Newell Classic has come along.  It is a 1984 Newell located near Sacremento, and has been stored inside an enclosed building for 25 of its 35 year existence.  It has been well taken care of by the current owner, and Glenn and Laureen will be flying there in the next few weeks to complete the purchase, and we are very excited, to say the least....↴

.....so, that was our Friday.  I spent the afternoon and evening watching more NCAA March Madness, and was in bed by 10:25 pm dreaming sweet dreams!

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel.