Maiden Voyage of the Roan

Well we made our first camping trip. We both came back alive.

We went to a camp site about 1.5 hours from Amityville, where we keep the RV. It is on the north fork of Long Island in a town called Greenport. The camp site is Eastern Long Island Kampgrounds. We stayed only one night but had a great time.

All the practice paid off. The site was in a open area so it was easy, for me anyway, to back in.

The two of us are getting to be a real team with setting up and breaking camp. After getting the coach into the right position we unhitched the truck, deployed the automatic levelers, connected the electric, water and sewer hoses.

After connecting the water I noticed that the city water pressure at the faucet seemed low. I check the pressure gauge on the water regulator and saw it was 0, which could not be because there was some water flowing. I replace one of the water filters cartridges and the flow improved, but still seemed a little slow. Without knowing what the pressure at the source is, it is hard to know where the problem lies. It was good enough for the one day we were going to be there.

I sent up the Satellite dish and it locked onto the three satellites it is supposed to. I turned on the satellite box and the TV. It scanned for the satellites and downloaded the programming guide, but kept on trying to lock onto the satellites. So no TV, OMG. To be fixed when I get back.

Next I setup the WiFi hotspot to connect to the internet through their WiFi system. The reason I did this is two fold. One, My WiFi system has a high gain antenna on it to bring in weak or intermittent signals from the local system. Second, my system has it’s own router and firewall for extra security.

We then setup inside the coach.

I helped too, but someone had to take the pictures. ( I didn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea.)

We then relaxed outside for a little while under the awning. I relaxed too, but someone had to take the pictures. ( I didn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea.)

We took a ride around the area. We wanted to check out the area, there are a lot of wineries and farm stands in the area. We found a place that had both.

We bought two bottles of Chardonnay. One to have with dinner and one to bring home.

There is something that I have to tell you about Ann that no one knows except me, I know, no one who reads this will tell anyone. Ann has this “thing “ for Carousels, whenever she sees one or hears about one she has to go on it. No matter the cost or where in the world it is (she has ridden carousels in France; Washington, DC; NY). Well, she read that there is a Carousel in the town of Greenport, so we had to go and find it. After some time looking we finally found it. It is housed in it’s own building in a beautiful park on the waters edge.

See Ann’s new hat.

When we got back to the campsite it was time for supper. I setup the new propane grill, sorry I forgot to take a picture. While Ann baked a potatoe in the microwave. I made a nice London Broil and we ate dinner under the awning at the picnic table, with the bottle of wine of course.

After dinner we walked around the campsite for a while and decided to just go inside and relax because it was getting a bit cool.

I relaxed too, but someone had to take the pictures. ( I didn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea.)

The next day, after breakfast we disconnected everything dumped the tanks hitched up and brought Roan IV back to Amityville.

To be continued…….

Practice, Practice, Practice

 

The plan for this Memorial day Weekend was to go to a local campsite.  Well that didn’t happen.  All of the campsites have been reserved since January.

So yesterday Ann and I went for a practice run.  We closed up the camper and got it ready for travel using a check list.

Backed up the Truck hitched up connected the camera system, locked down the hitch and retracted the auto level jacks. 

With the use of radios Ann did an excellent job (as usual)guiding me while I backed out of the driveway.

We drove around a while to see if I could find an open parking lot to do some practice backing into a spot similar to a camp site. Finding none we came back and pulled back into the spot where we are parked in Amityville.

It was worth the practice.

To  be continued ………

New Satellite Antenna

When I bought the coach it came with a Winegard Moving View satellite antenna.

The Moving View is not setup for HDTV.  One cannot  Rough it without HDTV.  I tried to get it to work on regular TV but all it did is keep searching for a satellite but could not lock in on one.

I purchased the Winegard SK-1000 that is setup for Dish service.

Since I already have an account with Dish TV at home I just purchased a new receiver and set it up in the coach. When it comes time to Full Time, I will just transfer my boxes at home to the Camper as well as the Dish account.

This model dish has 3 LNBs to lock in on 3 different satellites at the same time, so it can get all HD channels.  We also ran another cable to the bedroom where there will be another TV.  Hi def of course!

The Antenna is amazing.  After powering it up, it raised itself, spun around a few times, twisted its head, searched for the proper satellites and locked right on.

HDTV, Satellite TV, Internet, Hot and Cold running water, shower, and refrigerator for chilled wine.  Life is going to be Rough on the Road for a homeless couple!

High Gain Wi-Fi Antenna

 

This is the outside High Gain Antenna that we installed to help bring in Wi-Fi signals when stopping in RV parks that offer free Wi-Fi.  The Antenna is a  Hawking Antenna 9dBi OMNI Directional which I ordered through Walmart.

We first cut  a 12”X12” plastic plate and using Stainless Steel Screws and RTV sealant attached it to the side of the RV.  We then attached the antenna to the plate. The cable was fed down the refrigerator vent and into the cabinet above the refrigerator where all of the equipment is to be placed.

We ran 12VDC up through the back of the pantry closet, next to the refrigerator, to supply power to the routers. 

Also we ran two CAT 5 cables (one spare for future use) from the router down the pantry closet and over to the entertainment center where the desktop computer will act as a server to store all of the pictures, music files and documents are stored.

avandia

Installation of OTA antenna

 

The work continues….

The OTA  (Over The Air) antenna has been installed. We installed a Winegard Sensar IV   We spent a lot of time tracing the wiring and figuring out how the existing wires were run.  We have them all done except one coax cable which we cannot find where it terminates. We will keep working on that. 

We drilled a hole in the roof to bring the crank handle down through the roof.

 

The crank handle raises and lowers the antenna and turns the antenna when it is raised so you can get the best picture on the TV.

We brought the coax cable down into the closet where the Bedroom TV will go.

Sealed and screwed down the antenna and cable.

Connected it to the plate supplied with the antenna.

The Plate lets you connect two TVs and brings 12VDC up to the amplifier in the antenna.  We tapped off the light in the closet for the 12VDC.

We connected the second TV connection to  the existing coax that goes over to the entertainment center in the living room.  So now we have OTA Digital cannels in the bedroom and the Living room.

When I say We above I am referring to Myself and my good friend Ralph, who has helped me all through these upgrades. For that matter has helped me renovate my house and just about anything. Thanks Ralph, I could not do this without you.

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avandia

Waking up from a winters sleep

The winter is over and spring is here.  The trees are blooming and getting green.

Time to pull the 5th wheeler out of it’s long winter sleep. 

First thing is to de winterize the water system.  I connected my water hose to the City water system to flush the antifreeze out of the water lines and all I heard was water pouring out of some place.  I looked in the basement and saw water on the floor of the basement.

There are two water filters in line with the City water connection and the water was coming from that area.

It seems that when I winterized the rig in the Fall I used the water pump to pull the antifreeze through the system and never drained the water filters and put  antifreeze in the City water side. 

Oops! The bottom of both filters broke. 

I looked up the web site of the manufacturer of the water filters and found a dealer near me.  I called and explained my problem.  He said they did not have any in stock and would call his distributor and get back to me. Of coarse he never did even after several more calls.  I then called another dealer of the filter in New Jersey and same thing.

I then emailed Richard Dahl at the RV Water Filter Store who was very helpful. He said he did not have the exact brand but the brands he did carry should fit and work the same.  He also recommended a different filter cartridge setup that works better.

I ordered the new filters brackets and cartridges from the web site.  I installed them.  They were a perfect fit. All I had to do was unscrew the brackets holding the filters to the wall and disconnect all of the fittings.

After that the process went  smoothly, The filters filled with water and the water flowed properly. I filled the fresh water tank and ran the water to flush out all of the antifreeze.

I guess I won’t make the mistake again.

Next is to power wash the rig and clean the solar panels.

The work never ends!!

avandia

The Beginning

Being that this is the first post for my blog I will start at the beginning.

About 6 years ago my wife, Ann, and I went to a party at a cousin's house.  There we met a cousin of theirs.  That is a cousin of a cousin. is that a second cousin or a cousin once removed. I never can figure which is which.

The cousin of a cousin had a 5th wheeler and they were Full timers.  That is what started it all.

The plan is to sell the house and to hit the Road around January 2011.  Until then we will use the RV on weekends and Vacation.

I started doing research on the internet and finally decided on the New Horizons 5th wheeler. After much searching,  emailing, going to camping shows and talking we finally talked to Drew at New Horizons and decided on a 2005 36ft pre-owned unit they just got in on consignment.

In July  2009, we took a trip from New York, where we live, to the factory in Kansas to look at it.  I brought a long list of questions and upgrades I wanted.

We bought it and had the factory up grade the trailer.

We had disk breaks on all 6 wheels,

4 panel solar package with 4 - 6 volt AGM batteries installed.

Also we had the slide out with the entertainment center upgraded to the new style. (That’s Ann, DW, at the computer.)

  A 5.5kw generator was added.

  On the power side we had a 2000 watt inverter/charger and an EMS monitor system installed.

We had the carpet in the living room removed and tiles put down for ease of cleaning.

We had all the tanks insulated and headed.

The intent is to have a full self contained all weather 5th wheeler because this will be our Home.

Also added was a 3 camera video system.  One in the back of the trailer and one on each side. With a 4 camera monitor in the truck cab.

Now we needed a tow vehicle. Drew at New Horizons was selling theirs.  It is a 2008 Ford F450 superduty with every possible option available, things I would not get if I bought it new, but nice to have.

It is the one that was on the cover of the October 2009 issue of Trailer Life Magazine.

We left a deposit and flew home. 

In November, I flew to the factory alone to check out the  work that was was completed and to have some instructions on the unit.  Two weeks later Ann and I flew to the factory .

We spent a few days camping at the New Horizons parking lot getting familiar with the Unit.  Ken from New Horizons went through all of the systems and took us for a driving lesson.

And then we drove “The Roan” home.

It took us three days to get home. We stopped in Flying J truck stops over night. 

We drove until about 5PM ate supper at the Flying J, since we did not have any food in the camper. Went to bed around 8PM, got up around 3AM and drove.  We started in the dark and watched the sunrise on the road.

When we reached home. I parked the 5th wheeler by my office, which has a large parking lot with a raiser wire fence around it.  Winterized the water system for the winter.

On the truck I installed a backup camera to the 4th input on the monitor, since most of the time I will be driving the truck without the trailer.  A solid Tourneau cover for the bed of the truck that can be folded forward when I am pulling the 5th wheeler. I also installed a Pressure Pro TPMS from Pat and Mice McFall of Pressure Pro System.

The next task is to work on the 5th wheeler. 

Hope to see you down the Road!

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