Friday, August 31, 2012

Repairs in Elkhart

We made it to Elkhart to the Morryde facility last Tuesday.  Come 7am Wednesday morning, hubby was backing in our big rig into one of the service bays to have our spindle replaced.  Our spindle was damaged when we had the wheel bearing failure on our trip to Kansas a couple of months ago.  No one seemed to know why the bearings failed, but since Morryde didn't supply the bearings, they took no responsibility for their failure.  They did however, cover those parts that were effected by the bearing failure.  We only had to pay for the labor to put the replacement parts in place.  Better than nothing.....end the end our total cost for the initial repair in Illinois and the replacement of damaged parts here in Elkhart came to around $800 dollars.  We left Morryde around 3pm Wednesday and headed over to another Elkhart Service center who also happens to have a small camping area with full hookups next door.  We were not having any work done here, we just needed a couple of nights before heading over to Recreational Specialties.  Nothing to write home about here, but ok for a couple of nights at $25 dollars a night.  The spot they gave us was a bit of a challenge.
Where you see the red circle is the remains of an old concrete lamp post base.  We needed to pull in between that and the hookups on the other side and manage to keep room for our slides.  Not easily done! 
This is a photo of our water source.  Billy had to get out the ax and remove a small tree that had grown up around it.  Maybe we should send them a bill for tree removal?
This is the lovely view of the barb wire in front of the site.....guess they don't want anyone messing around over there!  Today (Friday) we head over to Recreational Specialties, where Ron Green (the owner) has graciously offered to let us park over the labor day weekend.  Come Tuesday they will begin work on our fifth wheel.  We have a list of items and I'll share more about that once the work begins.  Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!


Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Hurray! The Bench is Done!

We brought the bench home last night and slide it into place.....love it!  Here are some photos.....
It fits perfectly in it's little nook.....don't mind the blue tape, that is just giving the corners a little support while the glue dries.
Here is a view from the top.....nice piano hinge across the back for easy access
Here is the inside.  As you can see, I've already put some of our construction stuff in there for another project we will be starting soon.  Eventually though, this will house some of our larger kitchen appliances.
Yep!  We are very proud of our bench.  I'll be making a nice cushion for the top and adding a few more pillows to make it a comfy place to lounge.  Something tells me it will become a favorite hang out for our furballs.  Hubby and I have never attempted to make anything like this before and although we butted heads a few times on design and "how tos", we think it turned out fantastic!
One last pic before I end this post.......
This is the new advertisement wrap my son had put on his truck.  Pretty neat!  Yep, Mom had a hand in the design and I think it is pretty darn nifty.  That handsome guy you see there is my "baby boy".   So proud of him....starting a new business from scratch...all on his own....and doing well!  LOVE THAT!  LOVE HIM!  LIFE IS GOODE!

Monday, August 13, 2012

Bench Project

I had really hoped we would be further along on our lovely bench project...but ya know how that goes......

Here are a couple of pics of the progress
Here ya see we have our basic box...kinda looks like a coffin!  Yes, it will get some cross bracing in the middle to support the lid.
And here is the little gizmo that allowed us to make all the nifty joint connections quickly and easily.  It allows you to pre-drill and sink your screw holes at just the right angle and depth.  Today we will start applying the bead board.
We do have some travel plans in the works as well.  Going to be heading back to MorRyde to have a new "spindle" put on the axle that had the tire almost fall off.  We had the old spindled repaired, but Bill decided to replace it.  Safety is our big motivator on that one.  Next it will be up to Elkhart to have a few odds and ends taken care of and installing a second AC!  Enough of the HOT weather already!!  Finally we will head over to Starved Rock State Park in IL.  Love that area and will be visiting some new friends!  This adventure starts the end of August and the bench will be installed and ready to roll down the road with us.....I hope!