RV FHU $50 Mo. Hosts Needed in CA. Workamping. Unsticking RV. Toughest Bridge! MH Toad Backing. Solar. Batteries. Propane On? Inverter. Love Your Wife. Valentine’s? Oranges. Penicillin.

 

For”tRaVersing Thursday, or RV Day”:

4 RV Parks offering $50 a month, FHU in Yuma, AZ!

“Four 55+ RV parks in Yuma, Arizona and one to the east along I-8 in Tacna are offering a Spring Special — one month of full-hookup camping for $50. No strings are attached except you pay for your electricity. The offer is good within the March 1 to April 15 time frame. The parks are SunRidge RV Park, Adobe Village RV Park, SunSet Palm RV Park, Western Sands RV Park and Copper Mountain RV Park (in Tacna). Info: 928-750-6652.”

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Hosts needed in Northern California’s Trinity County

“Opportunities to live and work in beautiful northern California outdoor settings are being offered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), in volunteer host positions in Trinity County.  Along the Trinity River, the BLM needs campground hosts at Douglas City, Steelbridge, and Junction City campgrounds for a season that runs from May through November.

Volunteer hosts live on site in their own campers or camp trailers.  The BLM provides varying levels of services such as water, septic, phone and power connections, depending on the site.  There is no salary, but the BLM provides allowances to cover living expenses.  Hosts provide visitor information and complete light maintenance work.

For more information, contact Bill Kuntz, at wkuntz@blm.gov, or Sky Zaffarano at szaffarano@blm.gov.  Interested volunteers can also telephone the BLM Redding Field Office, (530) 224-2100.”  More at: http://blog.rv.net/2013/02/hosts-needed-in-northern-californias-trinity-county/

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Workamping and volunteering a good mix

“If you're looking for a different kind of workamping job, consider volunteering at one of many non-profit groups in need of workampers. Opportunities at charitable organizations range from building fences at animal rescue properties to handling guest services at church retreats. In addition to receiving the usual perks, like a paid-for campsite in exchange for a designated number of work hours, you get the satisfaction of knowing that you are making the world a better place for someone in need. Here are some resources for finding volunteer positions.”

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Off main road with your RV--getting unstuck

“Camping away from "civilization" in your RV is a great way to get away from noise and hassles and bring you closer to nature. It can also provide its own set of challenges: Getting your rig stuck off the road is an example, and one you really don't want to experience. Experienced RVers can tell you: The best way to get your RV unstuck is not to get stuck in the first place. But what if you do?” Here are tips.

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World's Toughest Bridge...

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Why can't a motorhome be backed while towing a dinghy?

Dear Mark,
”I can’t find the answer to my burning question. In your eBook The Complete Guide to Dinghy Towing you say to never back up a motorhome when pulling a dinghy. My question is: You see many motorhomes pulling boats. If you can’t back up a toad, how do boaters back up to launch their boats?” --Jim Walker.  Read Mark's reply.

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Random RV Thought
”Be sure you exercise your RV generator at least once a month. Let it run for 30 minutes with many power accessories turned on. Have you exercised your generator lately?”

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How much maintenance is required on solar panels?

“The answer is "not much!" There is very little maintenance required on a well designed solar electric battery charging system. Solar panels have no moving parts to wear out, no fuel to consume and no filters to replace. All you have to do is clean them occasionally with a non-abrasive cleaner and check the mounts and fasteners to make sure they are tight. Vibration, expansion and contraction from temperature changes have a way of loosening up hardware.

Modern charge controllers also have no moving parts to wear out since most are solid state electronics. However, you might want to check the wire connections once a year to make sure they are clean and secure. A loose connection causes resistance and heat, both of which are detrimental to performance.

You should check the battery water level at least quarterly (preferably monthly) and add only pure, distilled water when necessary. The batteries and the wire connections made on or near them are where most of the maintenance is needed. This is because when batteries gas some of the sulfuric acid in the electrolyte might escape as an acid mist and land on the terminals and cause some corrosion. Inspect the wire connections and clean away any corrosion you find. Clean the terminals and make sure all connections at the battery are snug. This unpleasant task is unnecessary if you are using maintenance free lifeline AGM batteries.”

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Dry camping? Remember your batteries

“There's a lot of beauty that can be reached only when "dry camping" or boondocking. If you're new to the idea of RVing without hookups, here's a good reminder regarding battery life.  RV batteries take a LONG time to charge, particularly if you're trying to charge them with the typical RV converter-charger.

Here's a scenario: "I've been out here a couple of days and my lights started going dim. So I fired up the generator and it's been running for hours, but my battery is still low!"

The standard "factory equipped" converter-charger rarely sends more than 3 or 4 amps to the battery when "shore power" or generator power is available. At that rate it can take many, many hours to really charge up the RV battery. If you don't have solar or wind power and don't have a built-in high current charging system, here's how to make your RV
generator help out:
Use a fairly high current freestanding battery charger -- like you'd pick up at an auto parts store -- and hook it directly to the RV "house" battery -- the one that operates your interior lights and water pump. If you need an extension cord, be sure to use a suitably "gauged" (heavy enough) cord for the charger.”   By Russ and Tina De Maris

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Traveling With the Propane On

“Is it okay to travel with the propane furnace on, when traveling when outside temps are below freezing? Is it okay to travel with the refrigerator operating on LP?”

“Traveling with the propane furnace on is NOT okay. A furnace has a full flame and the turbulence from the wind outside the rig can raise havoc with the air intake and exhaust of the unit. This could potentially cause propane to back up, exhaust to back up, burping, and maybe an explosion or fire.
Turn the furnace off and let it finish running through the cycle before you start down the road. After you stop, fire up the furnace and start warming up the RV.

As for the refrigerator, the official line is, no, it is not okay to travel with the refrigerator running on propane. Many people do. That doesn't make it right. The flame of the refrigerator is about the size of a pilot light for appliances without electronic spark ignition. Metal shielding usually surrounds this little flame. It may seem safe enough, but the wind can still cause problems. When you are stopped for fuel, the fumes from fueling can float up to the flame, and could cause an explosion.
I believe it is illegal to have the propane turned on while going through certain tunnels, over certain bridges, and through some industrial areas.

It's always best to err on the safe side. Like your mother probably said, just because someone else does it, doesn't make it right. Travel safely.”     http://www.rv-life-and-travel.com/traveling-with-the-propane-on.html

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For less than $30, a power inverter can save you on hookups

“A small power inverter can provide some household power needs without the use of a generator or a utility hookup. Most of my electric needs while traveling in my motorhome are minor -- to power my laptop computer (and its portable printer and scanner on occasion), and to charge batteries of my other electronic devices -- iPhone and camera batteries for the most part. For RVs without a built-in inverter, a device like mine comes in very handy, and saves money. While my motorhome's onboard 12-volt power system powers the lights of my coach, its water pump and heater fan, it isn't good for much more.

 
And that's where my nifty little $30 power inverter saves the day. All I need to do is insert it into my RV's 12-volt plug (be careful if you use the "cigarette lighter" in the cab as you can run the automotive battery down), and then plug whatever I need to power or charge into the inverter. The inverter converts the 12-volt power into regular household current. There is absolutely no noise (or maintenance) like a generator
and no need to find an RV park just for the hookups. Granted, it will not power a microwave or air conditioner -- not nearly
enough juice. But it will do just fine with items that require small amounts of power.

 
My first portable power inverter changed my life as an RVer by allowing me to have household power when shore power was not available. It has saved me thousands of dollars through the years in hookup fees and generator costs. These small devices can typically be purchased for $30 or less at any big box store.”    By Chuck Woodbury  (from RVTravel.com)

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Love Your Wife

“Gentlemen, if you are thinking about doing something nice for a loved one for Valentine’s Day, I have one word of advice:  Fuhggedaboutit!  Why? The answer may surprise you.

Please understand; we should do nice things for our loved ones more often than we probably do. Every husband ought to give his wife an abundance of love, affection and attention! Treating your spouse to a meal at a nice restaurant, or giving a gift of flowers—these are good and welcome gifts.

But not for Valentine’s Day! Think for a moment about what that day represents, and where it came from. The real origin of Valentine’s Day goes back to the earliest centuries of human civilization, in which the warrior Nimrod was portrayed as “Cupid”—meaning desire. That “desire” was the lust Nimrod’s mother had for her son! Her desire grew so deep that she eventually married her own son! In Egypt, Nimrod was known as Osiris, and ancient inscriptions call him “the husband of his mother.” He became the childhood hero many women desired—he became their “Cupid.” But whether going by the names of Adonis and Venus, Osiris and Nut, or the Babylonian Tammuz and Ishtar, these figures represented ancient idols that were associated with all manner of “abominations” and vile sexual practices (Deuteronomy 12:30-32).”   More at: http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/commentary/love-your-wife

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Where did Valentine's Day come from? Is it wrong for a Christian to celebrate it?

“Like many of the world's major holidays, St. Valentine's Day is an annual observance with its roots entrenched firmly in pagan beliefs and customs. What would God think about Valentine's Day?

Answer: The ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, an annual three-day ritual believed to ward off evil spirits and increase fertility, was held on Feb. 13 to 15.

Lupercalia (also known as Februatio, which is where we get the name for our month of February) was popular among many of the new converts to the quick-rising Catholic Church, and as Celebrations: The Complete Book of American Holidays notes, "Everywhere that [mainstream] Christians came into power they immediately adapted the holidays and customs of the people to their own creed”… More at: http://www.ucg.org/bible-faq/where-did-valentines-day-come-it-wrong-christian-celebrate-it

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On This Day:

First trainload of oranges leaves Los Angeles, Feb 14, 1886:

“Destined to become one of the state's major exports, the first trainload of oranges grown by southern California farmers leaves Los Angeles via the transcontinental railroad.

The Spanish had established Los Angeles, one of the oldest cities in the Far West, in 1781 to help colonize the region. For several decades, the city was the largest center of population in Mexican California. Mexican settlement and development of California, however, proceeded very slowly, and Los Angeles developed little real economic or political power during this period. By the time the U.S. took control of California in 1848, Los Angeles still only had just over 1,610 inhabitants.

As Anglo-Americans began to assert their control over California, they gradually broke up the large Hispanic ranches and replaced them with a more diversified farming economy. With irrigation, southern California proved an ideal environment for growing many crops, particularly valuable fruits like oranges. During the 1870s and 1880s, state railroad lines linking Los Angeles into the new system of transcontinental railways created additional moneymaking opportunities. Settlers, tourists, and health seekers all boarded trains to travel to the Pacific, where the sunny climate and beautiful scenery promised a new and better life.

The healthful new California lifestyle became closely associated in the public mind with the sweet fruits that grew so abundantly in the orchards around Los Angeles. Taking advantage of the rapid transportation capabilities of the transcontinental lines, Los Angeles area orchard owners began shipping their oranges to the East in 1886. As the city grew, it subdivided many nearby orchards and pushed the orange growers out into regions like Orange County. There the orange growers steadily increased the size of their orchards to the point where local supplies of water for irrigation were inadequate. Determined to sustain their agricultural and real estate booms, Los Angeles residents undertook a massive program of hydraulic engineering in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Engineers took water from the distant mountains to transform the arid southern California ecosystem into a green agricultural and residential paradise.

The resulting growth was astonishing. In 1880, just before the first trainload of oranges departed, Los Angeles had 11,183 inhabitants. A decade later, the population had ballooned to 102,479. By 1920, there would be more than half a million residents. Los Angeles was already well on its way to becoming the largest urban center in the American West.”

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Penicillin discovered, Feb 14, 1929:

“Sir Alexander Fleming was a young bacteriologist when an accidental discovery led to one of the great developments of modern medicine on this day in 1929. Having left a plate of staphylococcus bacteria uncovered, Fleming noticed that a mold that had fallen on the culture had killed many of the bacteria. He identified the mold as penicillium notatum, similar to the kind found on bread. On February 14, 1929, Fleming introduced his mold by-product called penicillin to cure bacterial infections.”

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Yesterday:

Misty and I walked around Jay’s area when we went to get him for shopping day.

We couldn’t spend too much time in town, as Jay had to get back by noon to do some work on a mobile home.  We stopped at the first thrift shop, unloaded all the paper recycling, and gave them a bunch of good used plastic grocery bags. 

At Lowes, I showed the man in the electrical dept. the picture of where Jay had put screws in the loose bus-bar in my breaker box, and he said it was safe. But I am still going to get another opinion.  At Krogers, we gave them an enormous bag of plastic for recycling, and picked up a few items.  But we didn’t have time to take all the metal recycling, so that will have to wait until another time.

When we got back here, we loaded a bunch of tools, sawhorses and lumber into the Puddle Jumper, and I took it to Jay’s jobsite. He couldn’t carry all that on his ATV.

In the afternoon, I happened to mention that I would like an ancient cat for my very own, not a foster that has to be relinquished to a ‘furever’ home.  Word got around, and I was given a 10 year old beautiful, sweet, orange, neutered tomcat, that his people didn’t want to keep, as they were moving.  Poor old man, he has been declawed on all four paws, his whiskers had been singed off, is skinny, and needs dental work.  He will start to have a happier, healthier life when I pick him up today.