Filling a Trailer; Showering in Public

As you may recall I took an awful lot of stuff out of my rig and put it in a tent. Now that I have the trailer, I don't have to get rid of all that stuff in my tent (although some will go). Moreover, I've bought more stuff.

Hey! Stop laughing at me!

I've needed a cordless drill for some time now, and I found one for $14, so I splurged and got it (and used it to drill holes in my kayak so I could lock it up; . . . yes, of course, I drilled in the top!). I'm not a fan of those plastic RV mats one puts outside as a rug, so I found some patio carpets and splurged on them. Also finally got wheel covers for my tires. And an extend-a-stay rigged up. I'm still debating the size of the propane canister I'll get though. I also bought a better tire iron, as well as a grommet kit (may come in handy with the new patio carpets), solar x-mas lights, rv step rug (stones all over inside the rv!), a bike (!woo--hoo! I've missed it!) and a few other items.

Yep. Laid out some bucks my friends. But that should be it for a long time. Except for clothes - I've lost the weight that I gained while traveling and I can't keep hiking up my pants; one friend even called me a bag lady! (ie: baggy pants).

Okay, on to the topic you've all been waiting for...that teaser in the title: Showering in Public.

I find here that the outdoor shower by the bathrooms is not so cold. So after I go swimming, I'll rinse off there (the lake is colder than the shower). I can't stand paying for a shower, and I don't like to burn propane if I can avoid it, so what I often do is use a solar shower bag and hang it in my shower after the water has heated. But, after rinsing the lake off me several times, I thought why not shower here (at the outside shower by the bathrooms) in my bathing suit, as I never saw anyone there when I was rinsing.

Naturally, that was not the case once I decided to lug shampoo and soap down there with me. Every time I did, someone was there; in fact, once a group was down in the parking area there playing music! So much for showering then! However, I finally was there with shower supplies the other day when the area was deserted. So I plunged in, shampooing and soaping up as fast as I could. No sooner was I fully soaped up, when a car with 4 people in it, pulled up right next to the shower. And there I am, wet and soapy, doing my damnest to get the soap off me and a towel around me.

I think they were as scared of me (who the heck showers in public?), as I was of them, since they hesitated to exit the vehicle, and were looking at me rather aghast. One person did get out to use the facilites, but the others remained ensconced in the car. I smiled at the woman who walked by me into the bathroom, and then a man exited the vehicle, and bravely asked me if the lake was swimmable. To which I replied "Well, I think so, but then again, I'm a nut who showers in public, so go figure."

This drew chuckles and I think lessened the fear of me being a crazy person, and then the others exited the vehicle. There was a comment about not minding watching me shower, and I replied that I was sure he would be fine with that, and they walked away (mercifully), and I put my clothes on over my wet bathing suit, hopped on my scooter and skedaddled back to my rig to get dry.

I think I'll stick with my own solar shower from now on.

Trailer Trials

Well I took the plunge and bought a trailer. If I owned a rig with more cargo carrying capacity (the View is notoriously low in CCC), I suppose living full-time in it would preclude the necessity for a trailer, but, alas, I don't. And I don't want a bigger rig.

So! Off I went to get the trailer that I had looked at previously. I had planned on picking it up after I did some errands, but frankly, so many people in the campground were talking about the trailer I had found, and it's price, that I really wanted to get to the dealer and pick it up before someone else did. (Just fyi: the price on this one was too hard to pass up - $1950 - for a 2010, 5x8, single-axel haulmark with tie-downs, a ramp, and it's completely finished inside.) Thus, I went to the dealer first.

I will say that I do notice it back there....not via the engine, but rather just a rear weight, most especially on turns, wherein the hitch and ball seem to bounce around on each other a lot (yes...I'm going to check that out). I was also fairly concerned about lane-changes, since it can be difficult to estimate where your rear is in relation to a car coming up on you with just the RV (at least this has been so for me...but practice makes perfect I suppose.) Suffice it to say that I was pretty nervous driving around a city with the trailer. (In fact, I'm nervous driving the rig around the city - I still don't know the area too well, and that's due to missing so much for the need to focus on the road.)

Anywho, as I am approaching the pharmacy I had to go to, I look around quickly for a spot to park....I have 2 choices...1. Along the road; and 2. In 4 spots (off all by themselves) that are open at the rear of the parking lot. I don't like either choice, and I should have looked around more, but, dang it, I choose the parking lot. You know. So my rig and new trailer won't get hit. (*ahem*)

Well, no sooner is half my rig in the parking lot, when I realize the 4 spots are not going to cut it. Moreover, dead ahead is a one way exit, with a UPS truck parked at the stock door. The only other place to go is to the right, through the parking lot itself. Which, I can now see, is completely packed.

Again, because I don't want to come in contact with another vehicle (I will say, that I've never hit another vehicle in my life...it seems to be my penchant to choose, say, a tree over a vehicle), I choose to try the 4-spotter. I pull in. I see my trailer is still in the entrance of the parking lot. I squeeze up more. The trailer is still in the entrance. I pull up until my front tires bounce off the curb.

The trailer is still in the entrance.

And yes, ladies and gentlemen. I do it. I start to back up. (Well! Jeeze...had to do something). With the idea that I'll maneuver my way out.

To this day, I don't know what the heck that trailer was doing while I was backing up, and turning my wheel. First this way; then that way.

While all this is going on, cars are coming and going through the entrance. That has my trailer in it. They're scooting around me. Shaking their heads at me. Some smiling. I can't tell what the reactions are of the group standing by the entrance of the pharmacy down at the other end of the parking lot. But it seems a few employees decided to take their break just as the entertainment began.

I hear a crunching sound. A sound that sets my teeth tingling.

My brand new trailer has been in my possession a total of 10 minutes now.

Dats it! I say. I put the rig in park, climb out, unhook the trailer, get back in the rig, squeeze it this way and that way until I have enough room to pull the trailer out of the entrance of the parking lot. Get back in the RV, turn it around, hook the trailer back up (checking to make sure the damage won't preclude driving it), and get the hell out of there and back to camp.

I decided to take the highway back, rather than the other way home that has turns on it. When I reach camp, my wind break fence has blown down, as has many of my belongings. My nerves are shot, but I begin the clean up. (Hell, what else can you do.) It's then that I see what I've done to my new trailer: It seems that during one of the reverse turns, it smashed into my ladder. It's really just a small dent that I'm sure I can take out, and some scratches on my ladder.

Again. I'm a lucky gal: no other vehicle was damaged. Yeesh.

Here's some pics:


It's pretty short next to the View, huh? But I can stand up in it...sort of.



Here's the ramp door...you can just see my scooter carrier to the right. It's for sale now. Note the rubber bumpers at the top of the door...when the door is down it just sits on these bumpers.




It could be a great TV room too, huh? lol. I can stand in-between the cross bars on the ceiling...but I bet I'll hit my head a lot on those things.

Lastly, here's a pic of my new "blue boy" (my isn't actually that brand) to haul, erm, waste to the dump station. It means I won't have to pack up to dump, and thus, the kitties won't have to endure driving anymore than they have to. I had to dig a hole under my rig to fit it in there...and since mine has it's own attached hose, it makes dumping the rig easier (an internal hose on the hauler attaches right to my rig.)



It's 18 gallons, and not a problem to pull behind me as I walk. I tried it with the scooter, but that just jangled my nerves too much. So, what the heck, it's exercise. Sh***y exercise, but exercise nonetheless.

Cold? Flu? For Turkey Day

I think it's my turn to catch the campground cold/flu/what-have-you, and I'm glad I did so much today before it hit me, because it means I'm all set up to stay put and take care of myself.

It also means I get out of cooking the turkey for the potluck. And yet advil does dissipate the bleckyness enough for me to get up and blog/surf/read/veg with TV.

But the trailer trial will have to wait. Brain is woozy.

Holy cow...I just realized I could watch the football game tomorrow...I rarely miss the parade, but the game...well...dat was cookin' time.

Well...Happy T-day to all.

Topic Closed

Thank you all for your comments on the issue of my previous two posts, which now have been removed by me.

I have taken down the posts, and your comments (sorry, I usually just do that with people trying to promote their products, etc), because things have been worked out between me and a very important person.

I know you will be okay with my removing them, to show good faith to a person I do hold dear.

Gad, what a mess we can get ourselves into when our baggage explodes on each other.

Stay tuned for the story of my new trailer...and pics of it. And the dent I put into it. And the entertainment I provided for many people in a parking lot. (And you thought I was done with accidents, eh? HA!)

Updates

After a month without a TV, I finally broke down and bought a new HDTV, and managed to set it up myself so I'm now tuned into the world, besides having the internet.

I'm trying to get used to the idea of the trailer; letting the notion be slowly absorbed by my stubborn mind. And repeatedly telling myself that I really shouldn't be driving in many of the places a trailer will keep me out of anyway.

Also, I'm dang tired. I suppose everyone learns this, but I really did too much this past year, and I need to slow down - spend at least a month in one spot at a time, rather than packing up every 4-7 days to move on.

I'm still debating the Alaska trip, and right now, I'm leaning towards not going, but I'm sure that is because of all the traveling I've done this year; it's quite possible that after sitting still for 5 months I'll be chomping at the bit to move on, and Alaska will not look as daunting as it does now. (Just go to Google maps and get directions from the Mexican border to Fairbanks...you'll see what I mean about "daunting".)

My kitty seems to be getting over her cold. I've cleaned my house batteries and a friend pointed out (and tightened) some loose connections - you'd be amazed at how much difference it made, and I am now thinking about getting just one 130 watt solar panel, rather than outfitting the whole rig.

And the propane exhaust problem (did I not mention that? - sorry, too much going wrong to remember it all), which it seems all the View rigs have (the exhaust pipe ends under the rig...not outside it...thus, the propane leak alarm goes off often), may be fixed soon, as a friend is going to cut it down and bolt on a longer pipe. And the same friend put in a bracket for me today.

It's the same friend who fixed my awning. And is looking into an exterior propane connection for me. And changed my scooter fuel filter. And my scooter's spark plug. And has done more for me and my rig than can be imagined. As has his wife.

They don't let me thank them enough; just brushing me aside when I try to express my gratitude. So, I'll do it here, where they can't just poo-poo me. And so you can know that I've got some angels out here, that make my life easier than it otherwise would be.

SO, without any further ado: All Hail the D's. Without whom I would have even more cuts/bruises, worse foul language, a falling-apart rig, less laughter, less fun and who knows what else.

So, please, some applause for these two wonderful people. ((((((Ds)))))) <--- That's me hugging them. :)

Okay! Enough mushy stuff!

Procrastination and Multiple Little Controled Disasters: Into a Trailer They Go

I put off too many little things, and wound up with a pile of things to take care of, at the same time that several things started to go wrong - like my awning going over my roof. And my TV not working, thanks to the digital conversion and crappy box I have. And getting stranded on the road when my spark plug decided it was too full of gunk to allow my scooter to work anymore.

Of course, I didn't know the problem was the spark plug at the time. I was actually on my way back, for the second time, to a military base, from which I had been turned away due to improper attire (no shorts or short sleeve shirts). So, there I was, with every inch of me covered, pushing my scooter up the road, dreading the 2 miles I had yet to go, when another cyclist offered me a ride back to camp and I begged a neighbor with a pick-up truck to save my lonesome scooter. Which they did. Thank heavens.

Another neighbor bought me a fuel filter when he was in town to replace the first one - which yet another neighbor thought might be the problem. Turns out that while the filter did need replacing, the spark plug was the real problem. But it's all fixed now.

But one of my cats has a cold.

And I've put on some weight while traveling (on me, not my rig)

And I took everything I could do without out of my rig and re-weighted it at a CAT scale, only to find that without my scooter and kayak, and my chairs/table/rug/wind-break (all left in camp), and with completely empty tanks, and with hardly any groceries, I weigh 10,140 lbs...and that's without the awning, which is lying on the ground after being bent back into shape by the same friend who took care of my scooter. I figure the awning weighs about 50-60lbs.

My max allowable weight is 10,200. So, since I want my scooter; And kayak; And a chair to sit in and a table to sit at, and some food to eat, I have come to the difficult yet necessary conclusion that I must get a trailer. I have come to realize that a toad will not cut it, due to the weight of any and all cars I have looked at.

Well, I do hope that I've learned my lesson about going into spots I shouldn't, but since my enthusiasm can get me into trouble from time to time, perhaps the trailer will add a bit of necessary discipline.

Now, for those of you who so admired me for doing without such a thing, and who may want to snap at me for getting a trailer, let me just say this:

Poopyhead!!

So there.

It's Your Turn

Okay...I'm just bummed and working towards trying to get my sh*t together of late. So this time it's on you: What funny stories have you got for me? Any? Plumbing? Gardening? Snow??

Come on. What'cha got for me?