We’re often on the road in May. This year, we’re trying something different. We’ve typically traveled during the summer. We spent last summer in Eastern Canada, ending our travels with a an extra credit loop to Michigan to attend Doug’s blues guitar meetup. This year the group is having a meetup in Albuquerque, NM in late September, just in time for the weather to start cooling off in the southwest, where there’re lots of things we haven’t seen because it’s just too hot in the summer. Let’s try for a fall trip! In the meantime…
…hey, we couldn’t simply not travel in the summer. And, you know, during our longer trips we’ve not spent much time with many of our friends who live kind-of-nearby-but-not-next-door… So, we’re planning to spend most of June in Maine, arriving back home before Independence Day, then we’ll swing up to Toronto again later in July to attend another Drumeo meetup. That’ll give us time to get caught up on house and yard chores between trips, spend time with friends on summer activities, and do some hiking again in our own backyard.
This year’s June departure (as opposed to April or May) also gave us time to catch up on some maintenance on our now 16-year-old RV. After the 100,000 miles we’ve travelled during the 9 years we’ve owned it, including thousands of miles on unpaved roads, the old truck needs a bit of TLC.
Most critical was to replace the cargo door to the storage space accessed from the outside. The seal around the door edge failed a couple years ago, and the inside of the door was filling with water and slowly turning to mush. Winnebago was able to build us a (watertight!) replacement door with a new frame to the exact specifications of the original, which we ordered over the winter. Once the snow was gone, with a little prep work Doug was able to swap the doors in a day.
Readers may remember the nasty roof leak around our A/C unit from last year in Goose Bay, Labrador. There was no major structural damage from the soaking, though it did leave behind some ugly water stains. Lots of ’em! Fortunately, the ceiling is relatively easy to clean with a carpet cleaner. I was able to get about 90% of the water stains to disappear, which is close enough for our aging eyes.
Over time, several of the panels that skirt the bottom of the RV have become loose. Doug was able to reattach most of these, and the RV has never been so quiet! Our retractable awning framework, discontinued and no longer supported by the manufacturer, has been limping along for a couple of years, gradually losing parts and shedding paint. Doug was able to find, modify or fabricate a few critical replacement parts to restore its sturdiness and operability, and he threw a little paint on it to make it look good (or, well, better…). While he was at it, he went around the RV scraping and painting hinges, brackets, steps and other small pieces also showing signs of their age. Lastly, with a thorough cleaning both inside and out, followed by deoxidizing and a coat of wax, this RV sparkles! There’s more to be done, but that can wait until we’re back in July. Overall, the look and feel is much improved!
And we’re off…
PS Regarding the top photo – remember the garden project?