The DisFort's Chit Chat Cafe

[Teamubr]

Definitely a good move. I had problems with the trailer the last trip, coming home from Gulf Shores and had to rebuild the brakes and bearings. Donna ended up driving the Jeep home the last 250 miles. That accelerated the conversion process. The trailer sold quickly, so that made the cash flow acceptable for the CFO (Donna).

I never had problems finding a place to put the trailer at a cg, but it was a hassle to un-strap, unhitch and move things around instead of just pulling a couple of pins and taking out the BrakeBuddy.

j

 

[jbrostek]

I never had problems finding a place to put the trailer at a cg, but it was a hassle to un-strap, unhitch and move things around instead of just pulling a couple of pins and taking out the BrakeBuddy.

j

Right. Never had an issue of space, more convenience, parking it sometimes in a designated area, etc.

Start on writing my list for the season started, I found the old end of season list which included check truck shocks. Well right front looks like it might be leaking, so gonna have to make a point to unbolt the lower and test rebound. not too hateful if they are bad. Plus those ranchos never really ride well if you ask me.

Also reminder to look into possible sumo spring or shock kit for the Rv to help with the chucking and bouncing. No commitment to doing anything, just interest in YouTube’s on them for now.

Also on the list is internet build 2.0, this time with a more powerful 5g modem sled and router connected to a power conditioner off the 12v. going to replace the plastic check valves and related pex connections. Adding a water sensor behind the water bay, and last looking ad splicing in my EMS kind of making it a bypass capable hard wire setup.

 

[Teamubr]

Start on writing my list for the season started,

This may be the first Spring in a while that the house projects outnumber the RV projects. The only things I need/want to do to the coach is check all the house batteries and likely replace some/all and get a battery watering system you recommended. I'm waiting for the weatehr to get better before I do that. I may need new chassis batteries too. I went to start up the coach and let it run for a bit 2 weeks ago and I had to jump start it. I start it and the generator and let both run for an hour once a month in the winter and this is the first time it wouldn't start. It had been about 5 weeks instead of 4. I'm going to fire them up again this weekend after only 2 weeks to see if that makes a difference.

The only other "want" is to look into adding LED lights under the awning. My coach is just old enough to not have them. They would be easy to add and there are a number of places I can tap into a 12 volt source on the slide.

j

 

[jbrostek]

I went to start up the coach and let it run for a bit 2 weeks ago and I had to jump start it. I start it and the generator and let both run for an hour once a month in the winter and this is the first time it wouldn't start. It had been about 5 weeks instead of 4. I'm going to fire them up again this weekend after only 2 weeks to see if that makes a difference.

The only other "want" is to look into adding LED lights under the awning. My coach is just old enough to not have them. They would be easy to add and there are a number of places I can tap into a 12 volt source on the slide.

j

Pretty sure my house project list is just as long as the RV one. However, my goal is to take care of what I can in batches rather then have to empty the front storage twice. So somehow I will make time for this to happen, I am thankful none of the house projects require a full remodel though.

I found that keeping the chassis up over winter required monthly starting and running on high idle, standard idle was never enough juice out of the altenator. I hope it makes a difference, if not test the batteries after a proper full charge.

Awning LEDs are great, I think I might try to put he second strip on like I planned last time. The current awning lights only work when the awning is extended. Great for not blinding neighbors, sucks when you need light on a stormy night.

 

[jbrostek]

Internet router 2.0 showed up this afternoon. I am not sure I will get out to the RV to grab the old one and SIM tonight. But it is here which means one o the projects gets to start. End goal is going to have it direct wired to the RV 12v through a power conditioner. I was going to use a USB-C PD cable, but I am not sure if that can support the 2-3a of 12v power this new modem module needs. I am excited to see what some carrier aggregation can get me this year knowing I could do 2-20M without it in most areas.


Today we started with 62F moring and down to 44F already and windy. Gonna drop to probably high 20s tonight and I might use it to test and see how well it can hold some heat into the garage. I have not had much cold weather to work with for testing.

 

[Teamubr]

James,

You should be good. USB-C is rated at a minimum of 3amps at 20v. We have some scanners that pull 5amps/12v at work and they do fine.

We had the big temp drop yesterday. Had a little dusting of snow over night. Chilly today, but 50s tomorrow and 60 on Sunday. We haven't had a bad winter except for a nasty spell in December.

j

 

[jbrostek]

I know the rating, but wondering if I should test its abilities first before buying a 12v to USB-C hard wire or just go get the power conditioner and put a 2.1mm jack on it and call it done. The usb method I feel is a little more universal though. So I am leaing that direction.

Major milesone complete. The cabinet is not only done, but a good friend stopped by and helped me move it into the dinning room. It looks great and all that is left is clean the glass shelves and put them back in and then finally unpack things. (photo to come)

The table is comming along nicely. I just put the last coat on the top today and once it cures by tomorrow it will be done. I have 3 leaf inserts to refinish next. The chairs will be a through the spring item as that is alot of detailed sanding and a little repair on a few. Then comes the fun of new cousion covers...

Still not a rush as with all the big items out of the garage I can start to reorganize again and finally make it a home for Melissa's car, plus a space for detailing work out of the sun, repair work I don't want to drag to the shop for..you name it.

Yesterday was my Birthday, I have made it to the next level in life. I wish to conitnue that trend till I meet the final boss. We had a nice day with no chores planned. Breakfast at home, followed by a trip to our favorite winery. This was the odd part as we where sitting outside on my Feburary Birtday far from any fire pits...and I got sun burnt. And of course no birthday should be celebrated without your Disney Birthday pin.

Afterwards was a nice massage appointment (where I realized I got sunburnt in February, near home, from being outside for hours because it was 65 not 35 like it usually is.) We went home for a bit with the pups and out to dinner at a local Hibachi for Birthday dinner!

 

[Teamubr]

Happy B-Day, James! You're still young, regardless of the "next stage".

Pics of the cabinet and table, please. You can't make posts like that without showing it off.

I'd go with USB-C. Quickly becoming the standard and easier to have a replacement if something needs to be replaced. I wouldn't worry about a few amps.

A little bathroom demo update. I knew the floor under the shower tile would be in bad shape, but even this surprised me. It did reveal why the floor rotted. I thought the grout at the edges or the floor/wall had failed and repeated showers did it in. This part of the bathroom was added on sometime in the 50s or 60s. It had a nearly flat roof and was not joined to the house and garage roof correctly. There was a trough that collected rain, leaves and anything else. The seams in the roofing had been tarred over many times when I bought the house, but it would still leak. It was most apparent in the garage (wall the the back of the shower connected to. Long ago, I redid the roof with a proper pitch and valley so things drained correctly. When I remodeled this bathroom right after we moved in 27 years ago, the wall seemed ok. Apparently years of water getting between the walls of the bathroom and garage were being soaked up by the floor under the shower. There was actually 2 layers of wood (1X10 pine boards on angle and plywood over that) and the concrete base I used under the shower tile. The only thing left was the concrete and tile.



I'll be sistering to the floor joists as they are supporting the outside (left) wall. The joists look bad but are structurally OK. The entire back wall (not load bearing) will get reframed. The base plate is completely gone and the wall studs are free floating right now. There is another garage wall behind it that I fixed a long time ago, not realizing this was a double wall.

Old houses always come with surprises.

j

 

[Sjm9911]

That dosent look that bad, you got it.

 

[garneska]

@jbrostek happy birthday. Winery is a great way to celebrate. Love me some cab franc.

RV still in the shop. Don’t even ask, not sure when I will get it back. On the good news side, Bert is keeping his job. Coke on his side was doing a restructuring, today we found out he lives to see another day, him and his entire team. we were not expecting anything bad, but you also never know what can happen.

took Whisky on a hike Saturday. Tried to keep her from drinking from streams but she did anyway. We had squirts this morning. Trip to the vet to test poop for girardia and some metrozonadale. She is fine except for squirts.

 

[Teamubr]

I posted the other pic from my phone and didn't realize it was so dark. He is a better (or worse) pic showing the full(er) extent. This bathroom add on was put over an existing sidewalk next to the house, so it is flat concrete under all the mess. I'm debating how to get in there and clean it up. I have some insulation I stuffed along the outside wall, but I really need to seal it up better. This scrawl space is open to the basement under the rest of the house through an old basement window. In the winter, cold air just streams into the basement. It is better with the insulation and sealing around the base of the brick foundation, but still cold. I've been tempted to seal in the window opening with insulation, but there are water lines to the toilet and up to the shower (right side of pic) under there. As cold as we get, sealing that up would surely freeze them.



j

 

[bama_ed]

Sad day yesterday.

I was supposed to hitch up the Aliner and head west to Spring Training in Arizona this week which opens Friday and watch my Cleveland Indians. But something came up and the bucket list item that it is will have to be postponed till next year.

The camper needed a little work after last season and I didn't have time to get to it anyway.

At least college baseball started last week and Bama has a pulse this year. Got my season ticket seats moved to 2nd row behind the visitor dugout (so I have a good view into the Bama dugout) and it's amazing how much more you can hear that close to the field.

Oh spring is definitely coming because DD's pollen allergies are acting up.

Bama Ed

 

[Teamubr]

Sorry you are missing Spring Training again. Unfortunately, life gets in the way. I'm considering checking out Cardinal's Spring training next year. You're welcome to join us. Jupiter, FL is a lot closer than Arizona.

j

 

[bama_ed]

Sorry you are missing Spring Training again. Unfortunately, life gets in the way. I'm considering checking out Cardinal's Spring training next year. You're welcome to join us. Jupiter, FL is a lot closer than Arizona.

j

Well, Jim, Florida is always a possibility (as you say) given its relative closeness for us in Alabama versus Arizona. Hanging with you in Jupiter would be fun of course. I've done a couple spring training games in Florida over the years (Astros, Tigers 2x, Mets, Braves, and even the Indians before they left Winter Haven).

But I still want to get to Arizona once. So hopefully we can both provide updates in 2024 with me doing the Cactus League and you doing the Grapefruit League.

I was always up around Disney or Port Canaveral and had to do a bit of a drive to get to/from my Florida games. Have you booked a date yet for next year? Don't underestimate the snowbirds' ability to lock in their calendars as early as possible for next year's migration. Jupiter was the first town DW and I lived in after we got married and it's sure grown up around there.

If I can get Arizona done next year with DW, I feel like I can come back to Florida after that.

Ed

 

[jbrostek]

@Teamubr I did plan to post pictures, but once I pulled them up on a PC it did not to the work justice. The table looks great! While it was not cold Monday I was able to run the heater on medium and keep the garage at 60. Thanks to the optimal conditions the last coat on the table top went down like glass.



Cured coat and legs will be installed later today and put into the dinning room.



Today with better lighting in the room I got a good picture of the cabinet all together. I will get a final when the glass shelves are in and then let Melissa decide what is going into that display case. I bought a wifi enabled LED strip, the strip works but cannot get it to join my IoT wifi/vlan. Not critical, just annoying and ill figure it out later.

 

[Teamubr]

James,

Table and cabinet look fantastic. I don't have the finesse to do that kind of carpentry. I'm the hammer and saw kind of guy. Don't look at the trim work in my house. I'm fair at finish carpentry, but definitely not great.

Have you booked a date yet for next year? Don't underestimate the snowbirds' ability to lock in their calendars as early as possible for next year's migration. Jupiter was the first town DW and I lived in after we got married and it's sure grown up around there.

I have looked at a few places around Jupiter and sent out some inquiries a month ago. Nothing booked yet. I'd likely be looking at 1st or 2nd week of March. Some places weren't booking more than 12 months.

I remember you saying you and DW lived in Jupiter back in the day. If next year happens, we may try to make it a regular thing, so get your Arizona fix and then head back to the Florida side.

Port Canaveral is on my list of places to get to, but it is a little too far from Jupiter for Spring training. If you have any recommendations for something closer to town, let me know.

j

 

[jbrostek]

Thankfully that kind of carpentry is just refinishing work and by changing stain and hardware to take a 60's cabinet and make it look a bit more modern. Reality it was sanding, prep, staining and polyurothane. I will say that ALL of it takes patience and a little practice on throw away pieces. I started small until I got comfortable with my process before I hit the big stuff. I don't feel it is any more difficult then final prep and painting of a newly remodeled room.

@bama_ed Stinks when life redirects us away from what we want. I hope you get out there in 24 and check off that bucket. We are reviving our original 2020 bucket list item for the 4 of us to head out to CA and drive the costal (including a DL visit).

And one last little brag. Yesterday it was announced my amazing wife was offcially selected as a nominee for teacher of the year for our county. She has been busting her butt this year with a combined 4th/5th grade classroom. When she accepted doing she had envisioned being able to blend the two curriculums when possible, teaching basics or review to the higher grade and going into more detail with them. Instead she found the new superintendant has a very strict date based metric collection pacing for each subject in each grade and none of them align even close. I am so proud of her, though I did ask if should could stick to 5th grade next year so every weekend isn't spent planning two grades worth of lesson plans.

 

[bama_ed]

Port Canaveral is on my list of places to get to, but it is a little too far from Jupiter for Spring training. If you have any recommendations for something closer to town, let me know.

I had looked at this place. It would be the first place I would try for.

https://junooceanwalkrvresort.com/rentals/

It's an equity (ownership) rv/trailer home resort (very nice) in Juno Beach, FL. Weekly Peak Season (Dec-Mar) goes as high as $760 per the website with wifi/tv included for the couple sites that rent. Has a Publix grocery next door and can walk across US Highway 1 to US Highway A1A to the beach and nice fishing pier. Also a Loggerhead Turtle rescue agency nearby and the Jupiter Lighthouse for sight seeing.

15 Minutes to Roger Dean and 30 Minutes to the ballpark in West Palm Beach.

Ed

PS - Juno Beach was where I lived my first month after moving to Florida after college graduation. 30 days of hotel life and meal money - it was wonderful in May. I think that hotel is a HIX now. About day 28 I started looking for a place to live - had to look FAST!

 

[Teamubr]

I had looked at this place. It would be the first place I would try for.

https://junooceanwalkrvresort.com/rentals/

I think I sent that one an email a month ago. I was also looking at Jonathan Dickinson SP. It has a literal 12 month window, but I suspect it books up in seconds for Spring Training. I have my calendar marked and may try for that in a few weeks.

j

 

[Teamubr]

Here's a little more progress on the bathroom. I pulled the insulation out on the back wall and it was much worse than I expected. There essentially was nothing of substance left. What appeared to be studs, crumbled when you touched them. If they hadn't been stuck to the insulations, they would have been dust.

Before I pulled out the insulate/wall remnant.



After the insulation was gone. This is what is left of the sheathing on the old outside garage wall. The bathroom wall is completely gone. The sheathing crumbled too, but thankfully, the garage framing was OK.



Garage sheathing is off and I have a new door into the garage. I have new floor joists sistered in and a baseplate for the new wall.



From the garage side. Hi Donna!



Framing done.



And buttoned up enough for the night. I'll staple in the insulation and get a vapor barrier in tomorrow. I'll start getting subfloor and the neoprene liner for the shower over the weekend.



j