Callie stands guard as we work on the RV As we anticipate moving on later in March, we started looking to tie up loose ends and get the RV ready to move. As Sandy and Don and Bobbi were preparing to head out as well, it looked like things were winding down for the season for all of us. While packing up has happened less frequently the past few years, it still follows a mostly predictable routine. But we were snapped out of that routine, when our son arrived in his “skoolie” RV one Saturday afternoon.
Neither of us saw that coming. And we couldn’t have been more thrilled.
Neither of us saw that coming. And we couldn’t have been more thrilled.
Surprise Visit
“Do you want to come and see the bus? It is here.”
The email popped up on Cathy’s screen, but it took a second to make sense of it. Adam? The bus is near here, not Virginia? Is that the Walmart on Beach Blvd? It took only a few seconds to confirm that it was and to reply that we were on our way over.
Sure enough. Adam had come south to Jacksonville in his RV on its maiden “voyage”. He had done a lot of work since we saw it last November. But there were a number of electrical projects that could use Dave’s assistance to complete. We took him over to Faith to show him around. He planned to move the bus to Faith the next day, and we looked forward to spending some time together.
“Do you want to come and see the bus? It is here.”
The email popped up on Cathy’s screen, but it took a second to make sense of it. Adam? The bus is near here, not Virginia? Is that the Walmart on Beach Blvd? It took only a few seconds to confirm that it was and to reply that we were on our way over.
Sure enough. Adam had come south to Jacksonville in his RV on its maiden “voyage”. He had done a lot of work since we saw it last November. But there were a number of electrical projects that could use Dave’s assistance to complete. We took him over to Faith to show him around. He planned to move the bus to Faith the next day, and we looked forward to spending some time together.
Dave looks on as Fermin and Adam try to free the air brakes on the bus. But the next morning didn’t go quite as planned. Hoping to get into the campground at Faith before the Sunday morning activity began, Adam had tried to head out around 8:30. However, his air brakes were engaged and there was insufficient pressure to release them. We headed over to see what we could do, knowing we had little experience with air brakes. But Barry gave us several ideas of what to check.
Once on site, we started trying to diagnose the source of the pressure loss. Since it was Sunday morning, we were running out of time if we wanted more help from Barry before Sunday services began. However, we were able to get enough of his expertise to confirm that the compressor was producing the pressurized air, but that there was a leak – a big one – somewhere. As we spread out to find it, the source became obvious, but not the device causing it. Air was being expelled from a location underneath the bus just behind the engine on the driver’s side.
When we texted the picture to our friend, Fermin, who is a diesel mechanic, he quickly identified the problem as an air dryer. A short time later he was in the parking lot with a can of brake cleaner. After some repeated spraying, the valve on the air dryer freed up and the brakes came up to pressure. It wasn’t a permanent fix, Fermin cautioned, but it would get us back to Faith. And so it did. We now had some time to work on the problem. And to spend time with Adam, starting with dinner that night.
Once on site, we started trying to diagnose the source of the pressure loss. Since it was Sunday morning, we were running out of time if we wanted more help from Barry before Sunday services began. However, we were able to get enough of his expertise to confirm that the compressor was producing the pressurized air, but that there was a leak – a big one – somewhere. As we spread out to find it, the source became obvious, but not the device causing it. Air was being expelled from a location underneath the bus just behind the engine on the driver’s side.
When we texted the picture to our friend, Fermin, who is a diesel mechanic, he quickly identified the problem as an air dryer. A short time later he was in the parking lot with a can of brake cleaner. After some repeated spraying, the valve on the air dryer freed up and the brakes came up to pressure. It wasn’t a permanent fix, Fermin cautioned, but it would get us back to Faith. And so it did. We now had some time to work on the problem. And to spend time with Adam, starting with dinner that night.
Dave works on the bus running lights Dave and Adam made quick work of a problem that was preventing the running lights from lighting, although some would need new light bulbs. Then they turned their attention to the huge solar panels that Adam wanted to deploy on the bus roof. Their size made each step of installing them more complex than all those YouTube videos of easy installs. This would take a bit of time.
Dave installs lock cylinder Faith Work
With Joe having installed the doors in the Mission rooms, there was now some follow-on work to do. Sandy painted them and then we had another lockset to create. Since we already had an operating key identified, the process of keying the new lock went pretty smoothly (once we remembered how to do it). At the same time, we created an operating key for 2 classrooms (called P6 and P7), so they could be given to tenants using those rooms (such as the coach, whose referees used them during games). With that work done, we spent some time organizing the key room for our time away, ensuring there were key copies available as needed, and a separate set of masters that were marked clearly not to distribute.
As Sandy was working around the campus, we helped support her. When she started changing the AC filters in the gym one day, it was more challenging than she (or we) thought it would be. The 8 AC units are accessed via ladder, and the filters do not slide out or in with ease. Together, we made it through all 8, all glad that was done for this cycle. As she pressure-washed the sidewalks around the sanctuary, we helped move the machine and hoses around, even having to re-secure the power washer to its mounts when it started to separate. But by the 2nd week of March, she needed to move on to her next project, which started on the 15th. So we were saying goodbye and thank you as she prepared to pull out late on the 12th.
Of course, a month doesn’t go by without some computer work. Dave acquired and configured a new router in Wesley Hall and did the same for a new spare that could be deployed if problems arose in our absence. A printing problem in the office for Pastor Ricardo. Bringing up payroll when the office computer won’t start up. You get the idea.
With Joe having installed the doors in the Mission rooms, there was now some follow-on work to do. Sandy painted them and then we had another lockset to create. Since we already had an operating key identified, the process of keying the new lock went pretty smoothly (once we remembered how to do it). At the same time, we created an operating key for 2 classrooms (called P6 and P7), so they could be given to tenants using those rooms (such as the coach, whose referees used them during games). With that work done, we spent some time organizing the key room for our time away, ensuring there were key copies available as needed, and a separate set of masters that were marked clearly not to distribute.
As Sandy was working around the campus, we helped support her. When she started changing the AC filters in the gym one day, it was more challenging than she (or we) thought it would be. The 8 AC units are accessed via ladder, and the filters do not slide out or in with ease. Together, we made it through all 8, all glad that was done for this cycle. As she pressure-washed the sidewalks around the sanctuary, we helped move the machine and hoses around, even having to re-secure the power washer to its mounts when it started to separate. But by the 2nd week of March, she needed to move on to her next project, which started on the 15th. So we were saying goodbye and thank you as she prepared to pull out late on the 12th.
Of course, a month doesn’t go by without some computer work. Dave acquired and configured a new router in Wesley Hall and did the same for a new spare that could be deployed if problems arose in our absence. A printing problem in the office for Pastor Ricardo. Bringing up payroll when the office computer won’t start up. You get the idea.
Dave gives the RV its first bath RV Stuff
Knowing that travel is imminent clarifies some priorities regarding work to be done on the RV. We did some cleaning – washing and waxing both the truck and RV, as well as washing and waterproofing the tire covers. But more importantly, we needed to be better equipped to boondock, having more tools to make use of and monitor our batteries, making some upgrades to ensure wifi access, and finishing a few smaller improvements before we hit the road.
Knowing that travel is imminent clarifies some priorities regarding work to be done on the RV. We did some cleaning – washing and waxing both the truck and RV, as well as washing and waterproofing the tire covers. But more importantly, we needed to be better equipped to boondock, having more tools to make use of and monitor our batteries, making some upgrades to ensure wifi access, and finishing a few smaller improvements before we hit the road.
 New battery monitor |  Shunt installed in battery compartment that sends info to the monitor |
Knowing the state of charge of the batteries is of critical importance when off the grid. While the Cougar’s In-Command system provides battery voltage, David wanted more information about amperage. To accomplish this, he installed a wireless battery monitor that communicates with a shunt he installed in the battery compartment. Next we had to complete our inverter installation. This required severing the feed to the 3 inverter outlets to insert an outlet in the bay near the inverter. When connected to shore power, the plug installed on the wire would plug into the outlet and pass shore power up to the inverter outlets. When no shore power was present, we could switch the plug to the inverter and run these outlets off the inverter. A remote would allow us to be comfy inside the RV when starting and stopping the inverter, so it wouldn’t tax the batteries.
New router (on shelf) and Wifi extender (white box in foreground). For many years now, we have been using an internal router within the RV to deliver external WiFi signals to our computers and tablets. While this worked good for years, we were putting more demands on the router that was making it unreliable. Dave decided to upgrade to a Linksys router. It arrived packaged with a Wifi extender that was an add-on that we didn’t need. However, when he installed the router, it didn’t provide the improvement we expected. On a hunch, he installed the Wifi extender and all of sudden we had a much faster internet inside the RV. Guess we did need that extender.
However, once we start our duties in the state parks, the wifi is frequently non-existent. We’ve been using our phones, but it taxes the amount of data we have on our plan. As an alternative, we activated a Visible phone, which provides unlimited data for $25 a month. Since it uses Verizon towers, we’ll have to see what reception it gets as we travel to see how successful it will be. Anticipating its success however, we opted to buy a Roku device, which allows streaming some TV shows, movies and videos. So far, it works well, but again, there is more to be tested as we travel.
Since the source of our fresh water will be more variable as we travel, we decided to re-activate our water softener. In discussions with the manufacturer, we just needed to regen it with an extra lb of salt. We decided to run this regen process twice. To ensure the regen had worked, we purchased new water test strips, along with a bacteria test kit. All tested good, so we began using it here at Faith to keep it in good shape.
Finally, we had been struggling to lift our bed once we had added the extra weight of a mattress topper. Dave discussed a possible upgrade of the struts that lifted the bed and decided on a pair that would were a 20lb upgrade. When they arrived, Cathy kept the bed up while Dave popped out the old strut and installed the new one. It was a surprisingly easy switch, and we no longer throw out our backs trying to raise the bed. While working on the bed, we observed the hinges were the same as those that had failed on our Puma. We decided to reinforce them before they failed. So we added 2 additional hinges beside the originals. These should last a long time, even with the stronger struts.
However, once we start our duties in the state parks, the wifi is frequently non-existent. We’ve been using our phones, but it taxes the amount of data we have on our plan. As an alternative, we activated a Visible phone, which provides unlimited data for $25 a month. Since it uses Verizon towers, we’ll have to see what reception it gets as we travel to see how successful it will be. Anticipating its success however, we opted to buy a Roku device, which allows streaming some TV shows, movies and videos. So far, it works well, but again, there is more to be tested as we travel.
Since the source of our fresh water will be more variable as we travel, we decided to re-activate our water softener. In discussions with the manufacturer, we just needed to regen it with an extra lb of salt. We decided to run this regen process twice. To ensure the regen had worked, we purchased new water test strips, along with a bacteria test kit. All tested good, so we began using it here at Faith to keep it in good shape.
Finally, we had been struggling to lift our bed once we had added the extra weight of a mattress topper. Dave discussed a possible upgrade of the struts that lifted the bed and decided on a pair that would were a 20lb upgrade. When they arrived, Cathy kept the bed up while Dave popped out the old strut and installed the new one. It was a surprisingly easy switch, and we no longer throw out our backs trying to raise the bed. While working on the bed, we observed the hinges were the same as those that had failed on our Puma. We decided to reinforce them before they failed. So we added 2 additional hinges beside the originals. These should last a long time, even with the stronger struts.
Parting Shot
Spring is in bloom here at Faith. The azaleas are peaking everywhere you look.
