I don’t think I mentioned this earlier, but it’s probably obvious that I didn’t get to take the RV to California.  I didn’t have time to get the furnace and water heater working… and a hot shower is something I couldn’t live without for long.  Plus, after much searching, I had a hard time finding a decent RV park to set up.  Nearly all those I contacted require the RV be 10 years old or newer.  Since my beast is an ‘83, it doesn’t quite qualify. Ugh!  So, she will sit back home in the driveway until I figure out something. 

Anyway… I made it to California. I finally posted some pictures I took during the drive, including those from Greensburg, KS. 

That’s one heckuva long, exhausting drive.

I meant to post earlier, but I’ve been busy driving.  Ugh.  So far, it’s been rather boring.  I left Tuesday afternoon and managed to get as far as Concordia, MO, which is about an hour east of Kansas City. Today, I got as far as Dalhart, TX. 

When I left, I expected my GPS to follow a similar route as what I looked up on Google which would take me south through Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona.  I didn’t notice until I got to Junction City, Kansas that instead the GPS was going to take me across Colorado and Utah, then down through Las Vegas.  I decided I didn’t really want to go that way, so I went as far as Saline, then turned south on 135.  The GPS argued for me to make a U-turn for about 45 minutes before it finally gave in and recalculated the route to take me through Witchita.  I really want to drive through NM and AZ as I’ve never been there before.

On the road today as I was almost through Kansas, I noticed a sign for the World’s Largest Hand-Dug Well in Greensburg, KS.  I needed to stretch my legs anyway, so I thought that would be a good attraction to stop and see.  I waIs shocked to find that the establishment was in shambles.  Then I looked around and noticed the whole town seemed to be under construction.  I mean… there were very few buildings standing.  On my way out of town, I noticed a sign referring to tornado clean-up… and that’s when it hit me.  You can read more about Greensburg at Wikipedia.

The other thing that has made this trip a little more interesting is that last night at the hotel I hunted for some GPS tracking/mapping software.  I tried 3D-Tracking but after using it for a day, I don’t like it much.  But tonight I found a new one, Reperion.  So far, I kinda’ like it.  It has too many features for me to worry about playing with right now, but knowing it has live tracking via GoogleEarth in addition to GoogleMaps, MapQuest, Yahoo!, etc is intriguing.  You can follow me for this trip using this link as I think it’s the easiest.  If you turn on ‘breadcrumbs’ you can see where I took the GPS outside as I walked around the motel.  You can read more at the site and, if you have GoogleEarth, give it a shot.

So, anyway… tomorrow I hope to get a few hours past Flagstaff, AZ so I can get to LA early in the afternoon on Friday and have some time to chill.

First, I thought I was going to have several more weeks to work on the RV before I really needed it.  Instead, I got a call last night confirming that I have a gig in Pasadena, CA, and I’m expected to be there onsite on Apr 7.  So, my RV project has to be rushed to get through some of the more high-priority items so that I can hopefully get on the road this weekend.

Second, don’t mind the tools and cleaning supplies laying around, but I posted some pictures of the interior for your viewing pleasure.

So, today I made a quick trip to Edmundson RV to ask some questions and pick up some parts.  I inquired about getting a tow-bar and a base-plate installed on my pickup so I could tow it around, and drive it once I reach my destination. Their prices were pretty steep, so I opted to hold-off and shop around.  I also asked about getting my fuel tank repaired, as it seems to be gunked up or something and right now I’m running completely off the auxiliary tank.  Turns out their service department is back-logged and no way they could get it fixed by Friday.  Ugh.

I did, however, get a replacement for the bad battery isolator that was bypassed and preventing the batteries from charging.  I also picked up a new LP gas regulator, since the original was broken off during the tire-blowout. 

I got the isolator installed and tested.  Everything seems to be working as it should and now I don’t have to jumpstart it every time I shut the RV down.   I would’ve installed the LP regulator, but it turns out I accidentally gave the clerk at Edmundson’s the fittings I needed.  Ugh.

I also managed to get the RV connected to a 15amp service from the house to make sure it could run off "shore power" (I’m starting to pick up the RV-ers lingo.)  The good news is that the microwave, TV, lights, and A/C all work.  Phew!  Next, I filled up the fresh-water tank about half-way and turned on the water pump. It worked too!  I got water out of the bath/shower and the faucets in the bath and kitchen.  But the water filter is so old that it started spitting out dirty water under the kitchen sink.  So, fixing that is on the to-do list for tomorrow.

So, the big things left to do are:

• Get the LP gas working so I can test the furnace and water heater,
• Replace a few burned-out light bulbs,
• Replace the water filter and fix the kitchen faucet leak, and
• Get a tow-bar and base-plate so I can tow the truck,

Things that need done but likely won’t be until I get settled are:

• Fix the main fuel tank. (The only reason I would really need this is to run the generator. But I don’t plan to be without access to shore power long enough to need it.  The hassle is that I’ll have to stop for gas more often on the way.),
• Repair the fiber-glass damage resulting from the tire blow-out, and
• Replace the old, yellowing vents and sky-lights.

So… I’m sure you’re wondering about this RV and its background. Well, I’m about to tell you. In addition, I need a name. My instinct tells me vehicles are normally girls, but on the other hand, sometimes this one acts like a guy. I mean, in my experience so far, it just kinda’ does what it wants to do and doesn’t mind a little nudging. But too much nudging and it gets offended. So maybe it’s a guy. Anyway…

The beast is a 30′ 1983 Executive Diplomat. It’s built on a Chevrolet P30 chassis and has a Chevy 454 engine. Executive Industries, the company that built it originally, no longer exists. They were bought out by a company called Monaco Coach Corporation, who, unfortunately, have little to no information to give about this model.

As I understand it, the original owner was a rather wealthy ex-Navy guy. He bought it, used it a few times, then parked it for almost 10 years. Eventually, he sold it to a guy whose intention was to ‘flip it’. The new owner did some minor fixes to make it run again, then sold it at a profit. That’s ok with me, because I think I still got a pretty good deal.

So… on to the name contest: if you have any ideas… I would appreciate the suggestions. It’s rather inconvenient to continue to refer to it as “the 1983 Executive Diplomat” and it seems too informal to simply call it the “RV”. Look closely at the pictures, and if you have an idea for a name, post a comment. Sharon and I will evaluate the suggestions and, in a few weeks, post the official new name.

I’ve created a new ‘category’ to document the work I’m about to do to bring this old 1983 Executive Diplomat back to its former glory. I’ve also created a new Photo Gallery where I’ve already uploaded a few new pictures now that we got her home.

Ever since I decided to get the RV, my biggest fear had been driving it up the hill and around the curves that lead to my house. Then I would have to manage to get it into my driveway and parked somewhere. Well, doing so wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought. The old Chevy engine still does a good job of pulling this rig around.

As you probably know, "RV" is the common colloquial abbreviation for "recreational vehicle".  Speaking of "RV", have you seen the movie?

Anyway… on to my own story.

A few years ago I had a great idea. Since my work requires me to travel to different cities around the country, sometimes for months at a time, I thought I could save dramatically on my travel/lodging expenses if I had an RV.   I could drive the RV and park at a campground for months at a fraction of the cost of living out of a hotel room or getting a short-term lease on a small apartment.   And, though my company was buying the thing, I could take the RV out for personal trips too. 

So, after months of debating and searching, I finally came across a beauty on eBay selling for much less than I thought it was worth.  I bought it.

My girlfriend and I drove down to Memphis, TN in her car.  The plan was that I would drive the RV home while she followed… just in case I ran into "any problems".  We would pick up the RV in Memphis, drive to Nashville, TN and stay the night there.  Then, on Sunday morning, we would drive the rest of the way home. 

"Any problems" turned out to be an understatement. 

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There have been several times when I have been elsewhere other than my truck when I wished I had the carputer with me… if only for the navigation system.  During my trip to the U.K. last month, I was really impressed with the Garmin.  Though I had thought about it before and never pursued it, I finally opted to go for a mobile, multi-use navigation solution.

Along with upgrading the carputer’s navigation software to iGuidance 4.0, I also grabbed a new BT-359 BlueTooth GPS Receiver.  What’s nice about the whole solution is:

1. The software is leaps ahead of v2.1 I’ve been using since 2003.  Not only are the maps updated, but they’ve added text-to-speech for announcing street names and the interface is much, much better for in-car use with a touch-screen. 

2. The software now allows multiple device installation with a single license.  That means I can install it on the carputer (which is fully integrated with the truck and not very mobile), my laptop (which is mobile, but really only useful if I’m a passenger and if the trip is shorter than my battery life), and best of all… my SmartPhone (which, when coupled with the BlueTooth receiver, I can use just walking down a street or when geo-caching in the woods). As you can see from the picture next to my phone, the GPS receiver is pretty small and would fit inconspicuously into a jacket/shirt pocket, handbag or even inside a half-full pack of cigarettes.

3. Though I’ve sort of already mentioned it, but it deserves a mention in-itself, v4.0 includes a WindowsMobile 5 version for SmartPhones.  What’s better than having nationwide maps and voice-guided navigation in your car?  Having it on your phone!

Ok, I’m guessing it isn’t THE worst, but it is pretty bad.  If you happen to live in the Bloomington or surrounding areas and were thinking of moving your banking to Members Choice Federal Credit Union, let me advise to to rethink that decision.

I’ve had accounts there since 1995.  Over the years, they’ve served me well.  But no more.  Check this out.

For years, my preferred credit card has been my MCFCU Visa.  When I first signed up, I had a checking account, savings account and car loan with the bank. In exchange, they gave me a few points off the Visa interest rate. Yay!

But, now that they’ve closed several branches and removed most of their ATM machines, and I’m not frequently in the area, banking there became a major pain in the ass.   I decided to move my checking and savings to a more convenient bank, but meant to keep my credit card (that has a decent interest rate and sufficient line of credit).   I found out when I went to close the checking and savings that, in order to keep the CC, I had to keep either the checking or savings open.  Ugh.  So, I opted to leave the savings open and figured I would just maintain a balance of $30 or so and collect the .01% interest.

A few months went by when I received a notice that I no longer met the $25 minimum balance requirement for a savings account. I got online to check, and damned if they weren’t charging me a $3 monthly account maintenance fee because my overall deposit balance was less than $600!  This meant, from a big-picture point-of-view, I was paying a $36 annual fee just to have this stupid credit card!

Option #1 was to deposit $600 into their savings account to avoid the fees, but draw less than 1% interest.  Since nearly all decent online banks are offering 3.5% or better (even with Bernanke’s rate-cuts), that would be a sin.

Option #2, and the one I’m going with, is to cancel them all. 

The moral of the story: don’t let Members Choice screw you too. 

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Atheist Sees Image of Big Bang in Piece of Toast

I’m too tired to write much. But I finally got all the pictures from the England trip uploaded. Tonight is my last night here… and I’m definitely ready to come home.