USB

Day 51

Something Weird Happening

10am - In yesterday's Blog, I wrote to you about losing my iPhone Personal Hotspot connection. In order to get online, Skyline Ford's WiFi was used.

This morning, we are online. However, we do NOT know how we are online! It is really weird!

iPhone has a USB cable plugged in. Network system preferences reports that the USB is currently active and has an IP address that allows us to be online.

Cabinets

Day 50

Getting Squared Away

8am - Yesterday evening at The Home Depot, we bought lumber to replace the corners of the cabinet drawers. The old corners got messed up over several times being assembled and disassembled.

In a prior Blog post, we wrote to you that the cabinet drawers were to be rebuilt while we were on-the-road with Tránsito. We have to do that rebuilding soon. Because Tránsito's storage is a jumbled mess. We need those cabinets to be in working in order to have a place to put stuff as things are sorted out.

Ready

Day 49

Tránsito and Scampy

Ready to Roll

7am - Yesterday it was learned that Tránsito would not start because his battery had a very low voltage. We went over to O'Reilly Auto Parts and bought a real good battery charger. A Schumacher #SSC-1500A-CA charger.

The Schumacher was left to charge all nite. This morning we checked Tránsito's battery's specific gravity. The SG is 1.25! That is SG pretty good. Around 85% of a fully charged lead-acid battery. 100% would be 12.65 SG.

8am - First run!
George, Tránsito and Scampy drove out of U-Haul and headed toward O'Reilly Auto Parts. We need something there. But the reality of this drive is to test out how Tránsito is as a tow vehicle.

Tránsito is terrific! Little Honda is not even in the same league as Tránsito!

Tránsito, Scampy and George

First run!

Fascinating Photos

Walton's Five and Dime
First Wal-Mart
Opened 1962

William Harley 
and Arthur Davidson
1914

Winston Churchill
1890

7pm - Little Honda went home 

Little Honda went home this evening with a very nice guy. He's the manager of a video/TV store in the City of Salem.

If all works out as we believe that it might, Little Honda shall live with this guy forever more! ♥️

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Nite Camp Location Map
Elevation: 217 feet

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Status

Day 48

Where Are We At Now?

➜ Tránsito is our new tow vehicle.

➜ Tránsito has much more storage than Little Honda. Tránsito has built-in steel cabinets. In addition for storage, Tránsito is to have the wood cabinet drawers that were in Honda.

➜ Tránsito will have a class-3 hitch [vs class-1 hitch for Honda]. 
Tránsito's hitch is to be installed this morning. Honda's brake controller for Scampy will be transferred to Tránsito.
➜ Tránsito is a truck. His chassis contains heavy duty "C" shaped rails vs Honda whose chassis is a light duty sheet metal unibody. 

➜ There is no rush to complete the installation of the wood drawer cabinets into Tránsito. We may complete that installation 
while we are on-the-road.

➜ Little Honda must be sold. We are leaning toward selling to CarFax in Beaverton.

➜ We are thinking about continuing to travel until we become members of Jojoba Hills RV Park. This means not returning to Lone Wolf RV Park in Apple Valley, California.
➜ Jojoba Hills RV Park is located about 1/2 hour east of the City of Temecula, California. The weather in this desert climate may be 
hot, +100°. We likely shall leave Jojoba during the summer and search for adventure with MsScampy and Tránsito in cooler climes.

Little Honda and Tránsito
Out with the old in with the new
June 27 2017 U-Haul Salem Oregon

Readers pay a visit!

Jim & Jeanette Scott
RVers and Bird Watchers

12:45pm - Tránsito won't start! 
After U-Haul installed the hitch, Tránsito would not start! The starter would not turn over. John the U-Haul installer and myself made a stab at what could be wrong. We came up that the problem was Tránsito's security system. Somehow, the key code got messed up!

Here is what happened after that:
➜ We phoned service at Skyline Ford, a close-by dealer. We asked service to tell us what may be wrong with security system. Service informed that the best they could do is to make an appointment. And the earliest appointment was July 14th. Wow!
➜ We phoned Ford customer service. The lady we spoke with stated that it would be necessary first, to get information. However when she asked my date of birth, my address, the name of the dealer who sold me Tránsito, it seemed that we were NOT going get help from her.
➜ We phoned a locksmith who informed that the problem was likely a bad coded ignition key. They could provide one and go into Tránsito's computer and sync Tránsito's computer with the new coded key. But not before July 12th.
➜ Just about that time, John the U-Haul installer began pushing the car out of the service bay [remember - Tránsito's starter would not turn over]. John mentioned to me that he had checked Tránsito's battery and it had a voltage of only 10 volts!!!! John hooked up a battery charger. But that charger was sooooo tiny. I figured that it would take more than a day to bring the voltage up with that tiny charger.
➜ I went out and bought a 15 amp charger at an auto supply right down the street. I asked for that battery to be checked out. But the guy waiting on me did not pay attention to my request.
➜ I bought that charger, and hooked it up. But the LED read-out did not work! I could tell without that read-out whether this battery charger worked or not! I phoned the charger manufacturer for help. The answering device asked me to leave my name and number. Somebody would phone back!
➜ I returned that charger and went to an AutoZone to buy another battery charger. AutoZone was pretty much out of stock in the battery charger department.
➜ I went to O'Reilly Auto Parts. They had a bunch of chargers for sale. And, would you believe, O'Reilly had the same charger model that I had just returned!! I asked for that charger [Schumacher #SSC-1500A-CA] to be checked. It so happened that I was speaking with the store manager. He opened the box, got a battery from his stock, and checked the charger out. It worked!!!!
➜ I returned to U-Haul. Hooked up the charger. Only 1/2 hour later, Tránsito's starter turned over! 

5pm - The engine started!!!

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Nite Camp Location Map
Elevation: 170 feet

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Leak

Day 47

Les Schwab Tires

7:30am - Scampy and The Team are at Les Schwab in Lincoln City. In yesterday's Blog post, we wrote to you that we found out that one of Honda's tires seems to have a slow leak.

Besides having the leak repaired, Scampy asked for her tires to be rotated. It may not be absolutely necessary for Scampy's tires to be rotated. Even so, it' a good idea, don't you think?

➜ Honda's right-rear tire had a screw sticking thru it.
➜ Scampy's tires were at 40 psi. They were topped off to 50 psi.
➜ Scamp's fresh water tank was filled at Les Schwab.

10:30am - Heading to Salem
It's cooled down a bit in Salem. Today's high is only 74℉. Last weekend in Salem the high was 100℉.

I wonder if Tránsito missed us?

1:15pm - Back with Tránsito

We just checked out Tránsito. Everything OK with him.

On the drive from Lincoln City, we happened upon a scale alongside the highway:

➜ MsScampy weighs 1,700 lbs
➜ Little Honda weighs 3,100 lbs


3:30pm - Annie Lennox
My youngest child [who will reach the age of 50 this year!] turned me on to Annie Lennox, singer and songwriter. "Don't Let It Bring You Down"

I bought that song on iTunes. I like it! Now it resides on my iPhone.
Click [Here] to view and listen!


6:30pm - Insurance for Tránsito
Do you recall that we could not get insurance for Tránsito because of a proof of address thing?

Yesterday, for some unexplained reason, all of that Proof Of Address stuff just went away. Poooof! Gone!

We obtained the insurance from Progressive. This is the same insurance company insuring MsTwayler and MsScampy.

Tránsito is expensive to insure because he is rated as a commercial vehicle. That's what the insurance company told us.

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Nite Camp Location Map
Elevation: 170 feet

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Lincoln City

Day 46

J's Fish & Chips

8am - Brother Pete Olson [His pic is on the right side of my Blog], turned me on to J's Fish & Chips in Lincoln City. 

I was going to prepare French Toast with bacon for breakfast this morning. Instead, I am going to tough it out with a snack in order to save my appetite for J's!!

Ain't life grand?

J's Fish & Chips
[Pete-Wish you were here!]

12 noon - J's is sooooo busy!
J's opened at 11:30am. Almost immediately, customers descended on this restaurant! I waited a 1/2 hour thinking that J's would empty out.

No! It just got busier! When I returned at 12 noon, every table was taken! I got lucky, and somebody got up from a small 2-person table. I put my Mac computer on that table to reserve it, and got into the order line.

Not knowing what fish to order, I bought a 4 pc Combo:
[1 Pc Cod, 1 Pc Halibut & 2 Shrimp]  $8.50

I also ordered a Pepsi, which only cost $1. Wow! And that Pepsi got delivered to my table. Amazing!

Why is J's sooooo popular?
➜ The fish tastes great.
➜ The fry coating is fresh, not oily at all.
➜ A cup of fresh cole slaw comes with each basket
➜ Prices are good for this high quality
➜ Lots of food!


2pm - Abraham Lincoln Memorial
We saw a sign pointing east for a Memorial Tribute to Abraham Lincoln. It took awhile to find it. We were looking for a bigger memorial, instead of Abe sitting on a horse located on a quiet street corner.

The second time driving passed the memorial, we spotted it!

Abe Lincoln in 1849

5pm - Afternoon Camp
The Scampy Team has made an Afternoon Camp on a quiet street in Lincoln City.

We had some strange things occur today:
➜ This morning, when we headed out from our Nite Camp, the low tire pressure alert turned on.
➜ We went to a gas station for air. Two tires were a bit low. We topped off all tires.
➜ Scampy needs water in his Fresh Water Tank. However, our hoses are back with Tránsito in Salem.
➜ We went to Ace Hardware in Salem to buy a hose. Ace closed 15 minutes before our arrival. Sears closed also.
➜ The low tire pressure alert came on again.
➜ We had a Team Meeting to decide whether to head back to Salem or stay here in Lincoln City for the nite here. Lincoln City won!

So, we are going to Brave-It-Out a with low fresh water tank and low tire pressure.

PS: We asked a guy washing his car to allow us to fill our 8-gallon tank. He seemed to be kinda hostile toward Little Honda's California license plate. He didn't wanna let us get water.

9pm - Lincoln City
On Sunday, this town shuts down early in the evening. But Dairy Queen is open tonite until 10pm. I am there now. A steady stream of customers are in the order line.

I was messing around with a new TV. Trying to see how the TV works. Lost track of time and nearly missed supper! I'm not able to prepare my own supper in Scampy this evening. The Dometic fridge got a bit over heated yesterday and spoiled food.

So here I am in DQ with a $5 buck lunch [served all day].

9:30pm - Driving in Oregon
It may be my imagination. But driving in Oregon seems really different.

When I'm pulling out of a gas station, for example, the cars coming at me do not let me into the traffic stream. The cars just come toward me, in a somewhat never ending stream.

It kinda reminds me of driving in Mexico. Where the driver in the rear has the right-of-way over the driver in front.

I began driving in the 1950s. Back then we used the "fake-out" move to get into traffic. Do you know that move? You just move forward a bit to get the opposing driver to put on brakes. And then you move on thru! Faking out that guy!

Gotta love it! 😍

Cryptocurrency
I do not understand cryptocurrency. Don't know how to buy, exchange and trade Bitcoin. Same with blockchain.

When I search Google for: "What is a Bitcoin?", I get:
"a type of digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of funds, operating independently of a central bank."

When I search Google for: "What is a dollar?", I get:
"the basic monetary unit of the US, Canada, Australia, and certain countries in the Pacific, Caribbean, Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America."

So, when you read these two definitions, do they make sense? Do you understand them? Why do we trust a dollar? Why do most of not trust Bitcoin?

I am beginning to study cryptocurrency.
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Insurance

Day 45

Proof of Address

10:30am - I do not have an actual place where I live. I have a mailing [billing] address. However, that address is a Mailbox Location, which is known by anybody willing to check, to be only a mailbox company.

In order to provide insurance for Tránsito, I am required to furnish proof of address:
➜ Utility bill with my name

➜ W2

An insurance person informed me yesterday, that this government requirement is necessary because of insurance fraud.

11am - Try mailbox address
I've decided to give my mailbox address a try. That address includes an apartment number [my mailbox number].

I am asking my bank to mail me a bank statement. Perhaps this will work as Proof of Address?


Insurance Brokers
On Monday, I'm giving insurance brokers in Salem, Oregon a try.

11:30am - Honda to Tránsito review

Changing our tow vehicle from Honda to Tránsito is costing a $bundle$. Perhaps $3,000 dollars.

However, Tránsito will prove to be a superior tow vehicle.  The hitch! The storage space!

It's going to be great! We on the Scampy Team just got to muscle on thru this transition time. 😎

1pm - The Burger Business
I consider myself extremely knowledgeable about the Burger Business. I owned three restaurants [1976 to 1989]. Two of these were burger joints. One burger joint was a roller skating car hop drive in!

I was extremely competitive. Advertised in the Contra Costa Times and a local FM station. Nearby burger joints suffered loss of business because of me.

Right now, I am eating lunch in a "Nancy Burgers & Fries" in Salem, Oregon. It is my opinion, that Nancy's is the best burger joint that I have ever seen. Much better than my burger joints!

Nancy's does EVERYTHING right. No big burger chain comes even close. Well, except for In-N-Out Burger [which is a thing unto itself. A magic burger chain].

Our country has turned to shit!
I was watching PBS when Shields and Brooks spoke about healthcare here in the United States. Healthcare in the USA is, in my opinion, an abomination!

Mexico has a better system [Link]. 

We the people of the United States need to rebel. We need a rebellion like we need blood!

Note: Click on Thomas Jefferson to enlarge.

2:30pm -  everybody heading to the coast!
 We are   Making this blog post from our iPhone traffic jam. . There is a 30 minute   Traffic jam all the way to the coast.

We should not be affected by the huge population increase near the Pacific becaus because we are still campers!

 Making a blog post with an iPhone is pretty much ridiculous!


3:45pm - Hwy 101 north
When we arrived at Hwy 101, all of the traffic headed south. Sooooo, being the contrarians that we are, we headed north!

Our RVing experience since 2003 has been, when folks are heading to the Ocean, we head to the hills [near the ocean].

Pano from a view point along Hwy 101

7pm - Staying here
After thoroughly exploring the lovely beaches along Hwy 101, we chose our Nite Camp.

You may view this place by using the Nite Camp link below.

7:30pm - Revealing my eclectic music taste
In times gone by, I've Blogged about the music I like. My iPhone collection recently grew a bit.

➜ Tears for Fears "Songs from the Big Chair" [1981 to present]

➜ The Platters "All-Time Greatest Hits" [1954 to 1970]

My collection has, in my opinion, huge extremes. From Nirvana to Johnny Mathis!

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Nite Camp Location Map
Elevation: 160 feet

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Body shop

Day 44

Paint Little Honda Day

9am - Little Honda has an appointment this morning at Trachsel Body. Honda's rear bumper is to be replaced. Also, right-rear tail light.

It seems that George bumped that bumper numerous times while hitching up to Scampy! Also, just recently, some guy was guiding while we were backing up. He guided us into a pole! That was the coup de gras for the bumper.

Coup de gras for the bumper

10am - Trachsel Body & Paint
Would you care to see Little Honda's new parts?

$642 new bumper

$220 new tail light

PS: Total cost of repairs = $867.63


12 noon - Selling Honda
I've begun the learning experience of how to sell a car.

Interesting!


1pm - 24 Hour Fitness
Did you believe that we would race back to Tránsito to work on the cabinet installation? Ha! Nope! Plenty time for that!

Every other day we go to 24 Hour Fitness, if there's one close by.

PS: We like Salem, Oregon!




4pm - Back with Tránsito
We are now back with Tránsito, across the road from Mohr Motors.

This afternoon, Scampy's battery was checked and although specific gravity is in the Good Range, it's not good enough.

The battery is now being charged by our Renogy solar system.

Renogy solar panels

6:30pm - Insurance for Tránsito

Getting auto insurance for a person who travels around is odd.
➜  Insurance company: What is your physical address?
      Me: In front of Scampy.
➜  Insurance company: Where is your vehicle garaged?
     Me: There is no garage address.
➜ Where is your vehicle located at this time?
     Me: Salem, Oregon
➜ Insurance company: We need a street address.
     Me: I have no street address.
➜ Insurance company: Insurance regulations require a street address.
     Me: I guess that means no auto insurance for me!  

9:45pm - When the going gets tough......
......the tough go out to eat!
Today is the shits! Everything was hard.

I checked into an RV park because Scampy's battery would not send power thru our inverter. First time that happened!

I wanted to prepare a steak for supper. But! My grill is inside Tránsito. And Tránsito is back where we left him, across from Mohr Motors.

So, I went out to eat. I chose Shari's Cafe.

At Shari's, I wanted a milk shake. The price is $3.99 on the menu.

Me: I'd like this shake [pointing to the menu]
Waitress: What kind of burger to you want?
Me: I don't want a burger.
Waitress: The shake is $5.99 if you don't get a burger.
Me: I pay $2 more if the shake is not ordered with a burger?
Waitress: Yes.

Wow! $2 more!? Can you imagine that?

I asked to see the manager.
Me: I would like to receive a $3.99 shake with something else on the menu.
Manager: You will be charged $5.99 for a shake if you do not order a burger.

Gotta love it!

11pm - Guess what happened?
The manager came back after I had finished my meal and asked, "How was the food?"

I told her that the food was good. Service was good too. My only problem here was the $2 premium on my shake.

She told me, that she comped my meal! Wow! So I gave my waitress a $5 tip.

.

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Nite Camp Location Map
Elevation: 142 feet

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Twayler has it!

Day 43

Pink Slip Dilemma

9:30am - I've come to a decision about the pink slip for Little Honda. In yesterday's Blog, I wrote to you about that pink slip. It's in Apple Valley. Inside Twayler. At the Lone Wolf RV Park's storage yard.

Several Readers sent comments suggesting that a duplicate pink slip could be obtained from California DMV. And that would save a 2,000 mile round trip to obtain that pink slip.

This is correct. However, when I apply to California DMV for a new pink slip, the old pink slip becomes invalid.

Then, what happens if:
➡︎ The new pink slip gets lost in the mail?
➡︎ California DMV fouls up with the application?

If either of these two things would happen, I would have no way to transfer Honda's title to a new owner!

The safest thing for me to do is to make the trip to Twayler. What do you think about this?




11:45am - Introducing Tránsito!
In the pic below is Tránsito, Little Honda and Scampy. We are Day Camped across the street from Mohr Motors. On a Dead End street. Perfect place!

I drove Tránsito from Mohr Motors, looking for a nearby place for all of us to be together. And there it was!

After parking Transito, I took the short walk back to where Little Honda and Scampy were parked and made our Day Camp behind Transito!

Tránsito, Little Honda, Scampy

PS: Tránsito may be understood in Spanish to be "Passage."


1pm - Frying pan to fire!
Reader Big Ben emailed with a question.

Big Ben wrote:
"Why did you buy such a small tow vehicle? Going from Honda to Ford Transit is like jumping from the frying pan into the fire."

Big Ben asks a good question. And we on the Scampy RV Team have a good answer to that question!

No, Ben. Ford Transit has a lot more capacity. Can tow a bigger trailer. Will have a Class 3 hitch.

The trick in choosing an RV
Anybody with $dough$ may buy a large RV. The trick is buying the smallest RV possible and live comfortably in that right sized RV.


2:30pm - Little Honda's stuff to Tránsito
We just finished moving all of the stuff that was stored in Little Honda to Tránsito.

Yes! Tránsito is a mess at the moment. But George really needs to rest before doing more work. He's 79½ years old you know!

The Mess

5pm - Mailed Twayler's door key
Did you read the comment from Brilliant Vera?

Vera wrote:
"Make a duplicate key for twayler, send it to someone you trust and get that person to mail you the slip. That would be the most cost effective way and you would not have to make so many trips."

I've just returned from the US Post Office where the key was mailed to Lone Wolf RV Park. That's where Twayler is in storage.

Thank you Vera!!


8:30pm - Halted install
Have you ever installed sliding drawers into cabinets? Those extension slides are a bear cat to assemble. You must get them just right. Or you will not get them together at all.

When I worked as an apprentice cabinet maker I was about 59 years old. Now, at 79+, it's a whole lot harder to do!

So, I put a halt to that work for today. I hate to stop. Something inside me wants to keep on going.

Come to think about it, that's why I started RVing again. I saw seniors at Guava Gardens just plain stagnating. I had to get out of there. Away from them. I'm old, But I can still do! Just that I can't do as much as fast.

That something inside me will not let me stop. There's plenty of stop time after my last day on Earth.

Installing cabinets into  Tránsito

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Apple Valley

Day 42

Honda's Pink Slip

7:45am - Yesterday I phoned Rowena. During the conversation, I mentioned that I had to return to Apple Valley for Honda's pink slip.

In order to transfer ownership to the buyer, that pink slip has to be delivered. The pink slip is back in Apple Valley at Lone Wolf, inside sweet Twayler.

Rowena asked if I am going to fly? Flying never crossed my mind! I had planned to drive there with the Ford towing Scampy.

9am - Breakfast by George
When I made my breakfast this morning, Little iPhone captured a pic. Little iPhone told me, "That's a nice looking breakfast, George. Let's put it on the Blog!"

2pm - Little Honda to body shop
We made an appointment with Nels at Trachsel Body & Paint. Nels needed a paint sample from Honda.

We have an appointment for Honda to return on Friday, June 23rd at 10am. Honda should only be in the shop about an hour or so.

We don't know what it is about Oregonians! They are sooooo nice and polite. It's like all of the people in Oregon are from a small town.

3pm - Dealing with California DMV
It may seem to you that obtaining a Title of Ownership from California DMV would be an easy thing to do. It may turn out to be easy to do. However, keep in mind, this is California that we are dealing with.

Right at this moment, I have a phone call scheduled to come to me during the next hour or so from a DMV tech person. I'll report to you what happens!

3:40pm - Straight dope from the tech person!

I will be sending two forms to CA DMV:
➡︎ Change of address for Little Honda
➡︎ Application for duplicate or paperless title [pink slip] for Little Honda

The "pink slip" requires a $20 payment.

Since it will take about one month to receive the title [pink slip], I may be able to use that month to find a buyer for Honda so that I may receive the best
$price$. 😀

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Nite Camp Location Map
Elevation: 235 feet

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Good Bye Scampy

Day 41

New RV

5:30am - Yesterday, with all the hullabaloo about buying a new tow vehicle, we went ahead and sold Little Honda and Scampy. We also stopped the buy of the Ford Transit.

We bought the RV below! It's a fantastic all-in-one RV! No tow vehicle required!

Our New Futuristic RV!

8am - Ha! Me make big joke!


1pm - The Plan
➡︎ Trailer hitch - The 2012 Ford Transit connect needs a trailer hitch. We have an appointment at U-Haul in the City of Salem for that. The Tekonsha brake controller that is now in Honda will be removed and installed in the Ford.

➡︎ Sell Honda In order to sell Honda we have to fix her up nice. Honda needs the rear bumper replaced. Tomorrow we go to Trachsel Auto Body in Salem to arrange for that bumper. Honda needs all of the stuff in the rear [cabinets, etc] removed. Then get Honda detailed.

We have not determined how to go about selling Honda. Direct to a buyer? To a dealer?


3pm - Lance 650 Truck Camper
Highway Trailer Sales here in Salem, Oregon has in their inventory a couple of Lance 650s. We like the way the 650 looks online. So, went over to take a look.

Wow! We were sooooo surprised to find out that our Scampy has much more interior storage than a Lance 650!

Salesman Tim told me, "Truck campers are not known for their storage. A roof box may be used to increase storage!"

Man-O-Man! What a sales pitch!

Now, with that Lance 650 viewing behind us, we are sooooo happy with our Scampy. We were happy before. But now, really, really happy!

Nice looking interior though!

6pm - State Capitol Building
Little iPhone was begging to go capture a pic of the State Capitol Building here in the City of Salem, Oregon. So, of course we went!

Capitol building in Salem

Sunday, June 18th - Sunday Market
Rowena and I took the MAX train to Portland last Sunday. That was the day of the Pride Parade.

We walked around the Sunday Marketplace. Looking at all the stalls with things for sale or display.

Little iPhone captured the pics below. iPhone would like to share them with you.

A City

John Lennon and Elvis Presley

Mushroom and plants in a bowl 

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Nite Camp Location Map
Elevation: 237 feet

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Hitch

Day 40

What caused problem?

8am - My decision that Scampy's brakes did not need to be hooked up, led to the hitch failure. I came to the conclusion about not hooking up Scampy's brakes because Little Honda's brakes brought Scampy to a stop so easily.

However, I did not recognize that without Scampy's brakes, all of the load would be borne by the hitch.

Many Readers, because of the hitch failure, are of the opinion that Little Honda should be replaced with a larger vehicle. With the above explanation in mind, I disagree with this opinion.

Getting a different tow vehicle

There is no doubt that a Honda FIT is not the best tow vehicle for Scampy. So, I am going to shop for a different tow vehicle.

Perhaps a Ford Transit?

4pm - 2012 Ford Transit
Here is a pic of George in Salem, Oregon with our new tow vehicle!

 George and 2012 Ford Transit!

This Ford Transit is a small size van with built-in cabinets in the cargo area that have slide out drawers!


6pm - Specifications: 
2012 Ford Transit Connect trailer hitch:

Trailer Hitch Size:
2 Inch Hitch Opening

Towing Capacity:
350 Pound Tongue Weight
3500 Pound Towing

Weight Distribution Towing Capacity:
400 lbs WD TW Pound Tongue Weight
4000 lbs WD GTW Pound Towing

PS: Click [Here] to view page with the above specifications.



7pm - Bush's Pasture Park
We have made an Evening Camp in Bush's Pasture Park. Right after this Blog post, Little iPhone is sooooo anxious to take a walk about this lovely place.

There is a sign here reading:
"Park closed midnight to 5am"

In Scampanese, this translates to:
"OK to remain here until midnite!"

Scampy and Little Honda in Bush's Park

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Nite Camp Location Map
Elevation: 219 feet

Clearance

Day 39

2" Riser

7:30am - In several past Blog posts, we have mentioned having air suspension installed into Honda's rear. However, we now believe that the adjustable feature of air suspension is not needed.

Honda's road clearance is 2" lower in the rear than in the front. So, we want to get 2" risers installed in Honda's rear in order to level out.

10am - Buy another tow vehicle?

Readers commenting have many suggestions on how to resolve the low clearance issue. 

Reader Rita commented:

"I'm thinking trade in your Honda for vehicle that can tow Scampi....why mess with tweaking this and that. The hitch might come off while towing....scary."

Of course Rita is correct. Another tow vehicle would do the trick. And the hitch could possibly come off.

However, it is my feeling that if I want to spend money, a truck with a camper would be the way to go.

Here would be that plan:

➜ Sell Scampy
➜ Sell Honda
➜ Sell Twayler
➜ Buy a Lance 650 Truck Camper and a truck [Link]





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Install

Day 38

New hitch & brake controller

8:20am - While the Scampy team is staying in the City of Beaverton, we receive our mail and packages at Marjie's home. We introduced you to Margie when we Blogged about Rowena's birthday party.

Yesterday, Rowena picked up two packages delivered to Marjie's and brought them home where we got them. One of those packages contained our new Curt trailer hitch and Tekonsha brake controller!

Now we have to select a shop to install the hitch and controller.

George hefts the Curt hitch!

9am - Installation!
We just made an appointment to install the trailer hitch and brake controller
at U-Haul here in the City of Beaverton today, June 17th at 12:15pm.

Yaayy!

4pm - Test drive
Wow! It took almost four hours for U-Haul to complete the installation. Only 1/2-hour for the hitch. The rest of the time for the brake controller.

We took Scampy and Honda for a test drive. When passing thru a steep driveway, there still remains a little scraping of the hitch on the driveway. Not as much as before the new hitch was installed.

The bottom of the hitch appears to be about an inch higher now.

New hitch side view

The forward section of the hitch
[Area repaired by welding shop]

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Tweaking

Day 37

Always Making Improvements

9:20am - Not a day goes by where we are not tweaking something in order to be better. Today we are installing guides to keep Scampy's stainless stove top in place.

We have tried using plastic bottle caps for this guide. And rectangular wood blocks. Now we are using wood rounds, cut to length. These rounds seem to work best. The rounds are held in place using Gorilla Glue.

We on the Scampy RV Team enjoy sooooo much this kind of work!

Round wood guide held in place with Gorilla Glue

PS: It is now 12:45pm. Maybe long enough for the round wood guide to be secure with Gorilla Glue. We tried it. Worked perfect. Nice and tight!

2pm - Waxed Scampy's floor
It took a few tries to get down how to go about cleaning and waxing Scampy's floor.

Half of the floor is cleaned and left to dry. Then, liquid wax is applied. Left to dry. Then waxed again. It took about 3-applications of wax to look good.

Then, when the waxed half of the floor is dry, the same thing is done to the other half of the floor.

Do you like to clean and wax a floor too?


5pm - Hanging out and watch movie
Rowena sent a text invitation to me. "Do you want to hang out and then later watch a movie?"

Sounds good to me!

Rowena bought finger food. Crackers and hummus. Yummmm! And, she prepared prepared deviled eggs. Double yummmm!

Doesn't this look really good?

Rowena talking to her sister who lives in Singapore

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