A Dozen Days (michael)

A Dozen Days Mrs. Jones has been in service for 12 days now and she is doing famously. We have had some leaks, the kitchen sink strainer basket and drain line. They were a quick fix. I have to shorten a drain line because it rubs a bay door and I moved the incoming fresh water line 3/4 inches to miss a bay door support among other things. We kept popping an electric breaker on the park pedestal but, we moved to a new spot and it stopped. We still have some trim to do, grout the kitchen floor and organize the bays a little better. No Joy on the 2 side windows Larry Hall had in his toy box, they were out of an MC9 and are shorter then ones from a A3. We have to keep looking. Did get some cabinet doors though. We are having a blast full-timing. What a life style. Of course it can't always be like this, could it? All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Ants (michael)

Ants Can't live with them and we can't live without them. I am finding that the ants that live in and around RV resorts seem to be smarter than regular neighborhood ants. They seem to lie in wait until you pull into your site and hook up your lines. As soon as you go inside they attack. Within an hour they are in your rig sweeping your floor. Two hours and they have found your counter tops and sugar bowl. Left alone they will be into everything you own. I found them using the TV cable as a supper HWY to our food stores. They crossed over to the water piping and found the kitchen sink. From there they split off in all directions. I sprayed all the lines and tires. Christi vacuumed up the little nasties and we were enjoying the resort life until I was out in the bays and placed a set of golf clubs up against the bus. That evening, the floor was moving, again! I went out and found their new route in and removed it. Now we are more attuned to resort living and "dem dar ants"! All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Mrs. Jones and a Busnut (michael)

Mrs. Jones and a Busnut Mrs. Jones had her 1st visit from a true Busnut yesterday. Larry & Carol Hall made a special trip down to St. David, AZ to see her. I have to say I was quite excited to have them come over to see our labor of love. Larry said his hellos then sat down in the driver's seat. With a touch of a switch, our baby roared to life. I kept looking for a sign of approval from Larry but he was giving me nothing. He shut her down and immediately dove into the engine compartment. He was poking and prodding like a doctor giving a 50 year old a physical. Still nothing. I think he was staying somber on purpose! He brought her to life again via the rear panel. He was playing her like a fine tuned instrument; listening, raving, a concerned look only to glance off to something else. I felt like I was in the waiting room awaiting news of a birth! After enduring 20-25 minutes of agony Larry finally blurted out...I'M IMPRESSED! The horns went off with fireworks, HALLELUJAH the choir sang. Then Larry said, "This coach keeps impressing me". Mrs. Jones has her 1st stamp of approval from a guru of the bus world. Thank you Larry, for your time and the nod of approval. It means alot to us. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Water Will Find A Way In (michael)

Water Will Find A Way In A big part about a bus conversion or an RV for that matter is water. We need to deal with the H2O factor. Water is an odd little beast that has a mind of its own. It can be very helpful at times and it can be very damaging if not kept in check. In the most extreme, water in large volumes can be very bad for your bus. Parked on the beach, a storm blows in and the waves have their way with your baby. Bad brakes at the lake and all of a sudden you own a very expensive boat anchor. Tsunamis, tornadoes and hurricanes are also very bad for buses. Other assaults by water the we need to consider are ice. Ice comes in many forms and conditions that can be very bad for a bus like black ice, snow, micro bursts and ice storms. We bus nuts have learned to avoid some of these conditions by putting the bus in gear and moving to better pastures. For those who didn't or couldn't move, our buses were built to shed water. The seams, doors and windows are water resistant. Paint and other coatings keep the rust at bay, for a time. There are other issues with water. We run elaborate piping systems all through our buses to bring us water on demand and discard it at will. We install tanks to hold our water in different forms like black, gray and fresh. We place water in sinks, buckets, pitchers and toilets. All is fine and well until a weak link develops that allows the beast to get out. In most cases you notice the leak and fix it in good time. But it is when a leak goes unnoticed that the real damage is done. I know, BLAH BLAH BLAH! Here's what happened that started this water rant. Day 4 we moved to a new site with shade. Beautiful cottonwoods sway over our new parking place with a great view of the lake, pool and clubhouse. We had the roof air on when a cloud bank moved over us. Then it started to rain, not outside, but inside the bus. Condensation had formed on/in the air conditioner and found its' way into our living space. It is just a clogged weep hole but it got me thinking. If that water did not drip straight down it could have found its way into the sub roof. Now that got me thinking of other drips that could happen at any time in a house on wheels. The bending, rattling and moving of a bus has and will place a never ending strain on all the systems. What else could I be missing? I need a bi-monthly inspection check list of all the bus systems that will/could help prevent water damage to our home. I will start putting together a list asap and post it. Until then I will ask the MAK board for their insight on this. My dad told me "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". I'm starting to sound like my dad? All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Waiting to Exhale (michael)

Waiting to Exhale We left our home in Tombstone for the last time... Just 20 miles from there seems like 2 hundred. We arrived at Western Horizons Resort St. David and was greeted by a friendly face at the front gate. A little paperwork and we were headed to our site. I am only 2 mins from parking and the rush goes through me. Wow, we built a home on wheels in 3 months. Will everything work? Well, leading up to this point our friendly neighborhood plumber changed our deal and said he would finish for $255.00 more. Well, spit on that. I don't know what is wrong with that town! Is it me? To me, a deal is a deal. How can one sleep at night when they say they will work for an agreed upon fee only to hold your dreams or life hostage. Well, again I say SPIT on THAT! It's like I can't breath. There it is, our moment of truth. A simple 40' long strip of gravel, a power plug, a hose bib, cable and sewer hole. It's only a standard RV site but to us, it is the moment of truth. It's shake down time. Mrs. Jones glided into the spot and I shut her down. Christi yells out the door, "I need more power captain!" I plug the ole girl in and hit the breaker. The electricity flowed through her veins and no breakers popped. I hooked up the water and the water flowed at our will. The cable came in loud and clear. We still have to get propane and a 3 inch spline to hook up the sewer. I'll do that tomorrow. That king size bed is gonna feel good. AAAAHhhhhhhhh!!!! Goodnight Bob (BOTN) All the Best, Michael & Christi P.S. Camera is still dead......Soon. See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

One More Day (michael)

One More Day! No pictures. Some how the camera stopped working. O well. Lets see, the battery pak is wired and the inverter is installed, part or the 12v lights are in and working, all the plumbing is done, our personal goods are getting into their new home along with the TV and food. Tomorrow is the day. We will finish packing with one more trip to the thrift store. Wow, one more day. All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

The Big Stuff Goes Through The Window (michael)

The Big Stuff Goes Through The Window Thank goodness for friends. Brother Larry Bowers, Ray, Jeff and Loyd came over to load the big stuff. I prepped the Ole' girl early. Took out the side window and removed the front door to the house. The guys showed up and took all of 20 mins to get the couch and the refrigerator through the window and in place.

Just fit.

Nice fit.

Tight fit.

Its all working out.

2 days left. Christi started nesting. Long day comming on Sunday.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Roof Air (michael)

Roof Air I was going to wait on the roof air for a week or so But, I took Christi on a "show off" drive and she said that the air had to be next. So I said to myself, Why don't I install the roof air next! And I did.

I didn't know what I was doing. I never installed one before.

I just solved one problem and took it one step at a time. It took about 4 hours in all. The cold air flowed on the 1st try. A little trim and paint then on to the next task.

Here is the Batt. bank and inverter that I have yet to hook up. Still reading on this one.

And the 20 gal. elec. water heater.

My $20.00 yard sale tool box. I can unmount the box, put the wheels and have a roll around work table.

My good friend and brother Mason Larry Bowers gave us a 33 gal. air compressor. Very nice. Thank you Bear.

Look what we've done to our bathroom. Our singing land cruiser is coming to life.

Another view.

More plumbing

A little table to travel with.

Christi still caulking and painting.

Only 4 days left till we move in and go to our 1st park.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Mrs. Jones is Now a RV (michael)

Mrs. Jones is Now an RV Me and Mrs. Jones had a thing going on today. We went to town, just her and I. We danced down the byways of Tombstone to Sierra Vista. I took her to get some new class, well classification that is. We went to the Motor Vehicle Division of AZ to get her inspection. It was great. The inspector and the manager came out for the grand tour. Oohs's & Aah's. I was so proud of her. She passed with no problems. Then the inspector told me that she was not registered and I needed to get her a tag before I hit the road. $83 bucks later (cheap date) we were a legal Bus Conversion and/or RV. Then I took her to Wally World to buy her something nice. OK, it was white water hose and sewer pipe. Hey, when you got to go, you got to go and we got to GO! All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Chunch Time (michael)

Crunch Time

So many things to do and we are running out of time. The house is sold, more like, passed on. Down to 1 car. 1 more trip left to the thrift store. 1 to the recycling center. Yard sales are over. Conversion inspection on Weds. Mean while, the plumber is plumbing, we are trimming, painting, fabricating, wiring, installing, tiling, flooring and well, you get the picture. There is a lot that we know how to do and we are finding that there is a lot we don't know. But on the bright side, we are learning more with every passing day. Oh, the passing day thing, we are down to just 8 days before "Shake Down". Things are coming along well. I would like to have a little more done like the roof airs. But, all in all things are well. A good thing is we have a 30 day shake down. The whole month of June to tweak Mrs. Jones. We will need it.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Got Windows? FedX Opps! (michael)

Got Windows? FedX Opps! Mrs. Jones got a big pak of windows on Thursday. Doug Olson of Langley, OK is converting his 1992 MCI 102C3, 6V92, HT740 and was kind to donated 5 side windows so Mrs. Jones can get her grove back. I could not wait to put them in. We picked them up from Tombstone Hardware & Feed. They have a forklift to unload the 350 lbs required by the handler. Mr. West, owner of the hardware store stated the FedX lady was mis-handling the package while putting it on a pallet. Doug did a great job of packing But, I could see that the bottom frame was out of place. We got them home and I got after it. Unpacked the 1st window, Perfect! Fit like a glove. Mrs. Jones cried for more. 2nd & 3rd were very nice too. Then came the bad news, windows 4 & 5 are broken! Rats! Ok, so there was wood sheeting on top and bottom, shrink wrap in over kill mode, windows were in their frames and signs that clearly stated "Glass, Handle with care". I guess some people just don't like glass! Well the cracked windows are better then nothing so I put them in also. I put the good ones on the drivers side so at least one side of the bus looks good. Christi call the FedX claims dept. and they sent forms fill out and hoops to jump through. After 49 years I still don't understand why we get punished for other peoples mistakes? Somethings never change. Christi, I & Mrs. Jones want to thank the Olsons for all their help and kindness. We owe them a big one.

In with good and out with the bad.

My balancing act.

A little to the right.

Ha!

Now thats a nice view!

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/

Start Modifications for Roof Airs (michael)

Start Modifications for Roof Airs Phil stopped by on Sat. He said he had some pressing things to do so he could not help out today. But he did bring a new face to play with Mrs. Jones. Pat Mulvena is a gen. contractor in Tucson, AZ. Phil told him that if he could come down and work with us, we would have a barbecue or a picnic or something. Phil dumped Pat off and sped off like we had the swine flu. I asked Pat what he would like to do and he said "Lets start modifications for the roof airs". So we got into it. The roof airs are used, but they are all that was in the budget. We had some problem solving to do. I have never installed a roof air before and by the end of the day, I still haven't. Pat did a great job converting the emergency hatches to hold the airs. We cut holes for the air flow. Removed the fiberglass insulation and the locking mechanism. Then we filled the void with foam. We put them back in place and we will install the airs on another day. We also installed new motor mounts on the temp. Coleman genny. Thank you Pat for all your help. I would work with you anytime. Sorry about the barbecue.

All the Best, Michael & Christi See our other Blog;http://michaelhargisshow.blogspot.com/