Trip readiness.

Last week started off with a bang. Ugh.

 

It melted off after a few days though.  I went down and opened up the tiny house so I could grab some breakers.  No leaks or anything.  

 

Friday I went and got the railroad ties out of the back of the truck.  Anx is going to use them as a barrier to keep leaves out of his gravel garden thing.  

 

The sunset as I went to drop them off was real pretty.  Sadly my phone didn't do it justice.

 

Saturday was quite nice out.  A bit breezy, but nice.  I decided to go dig out my table saw.  I noticed on the way up that while the tunnel that the snow made this year was really cool looking, it looks like it bent some of the metal.  

 

I went and fetched my portable garage from behind the snowblowers.  

 

I also went and cleaned up the front of the shed, so the table saw was accessible again.  

 

I loaded up the portable garage.  It will most likely end up in the back when I drive down, but this keeps it out of the rain until then.  

 

While I had the truck out, I went and sprayed the engine compartment with pepper spray.  Twice this winter I had to evict mice out of the truck.  

 

I also moved everything over I will need on my trip, like my EZ Pass, the window coverings, etc.

 

I got one of these step things for the trailer hitch so I didn't feel the need to leave the multi-ball in it which has gotten really rusty.  I prefer to leave something in it, since otherwise the receiver rusts on the inside.

 

That evening, I started to get the inside stuff ready.  The second bedroom is ready; the futon is emptied as is the dresser Jess wanted.  

 

Sunday was more construction work.  I got everything ripped for building the drawers (except the front faceplates which I will do by hand), and should get them assembled this week.  My table saw was not happy, and I am not sure why, but it struggled a lot more than it should have for pine

 

I didn't grab a picture, but I got the mattress in a bag, and got the dresser emptied and wrapped so the drawers don't come flying out.

 

I also went and made a bunch of frozen meals, but then realized something: this trip I won't be out camping at all.  I have two days I will be sleeping in the truck, and that is it, the rest of the time I will either be in KY, at Mike's, or at Aunt's and Uncle's.  So I don't need frozen meals for this trip.

 

I had a couple of visitors in the evening.  Most of them ran away when I showed up with the camera, but there were four originally. 

 

All that the trip is waiting on at this point is weather.  This week looks too dicy, but next week doesn't look better in the 10 day.  Hmmm.  

 

I have been doing some thinking of how I want to do the roofover, and I have come up with three ideas: 

1. Attach it to the house.  This is the "traditional" extension where I would remove the fascia, and tie the two roofs together.
1. Pros - This is the "traditional" way to do it.  The units move as one throughout the seasons.  
2. Cons - this is the most work.  I need to tie the slabs together as well.  This does not give me more overhang on the south facing windows.  It also means no deck coverage.
2. Independent structure that overhangs the house roof
1. Pros - completely independent, easy to build.  Depending on how much overhang, might  get some window coverage but not door coverage.  Floor doesn't need to be concrete, though I prefer concrete anyways.
2. Cons - Will shift and move independent of the house.  If I mess up the tolerances, and a frost heave lifts the house, it could damage the house roof.  The house roof under the overhang will be impossible to work on should repairs be needed.
3. Independent structure with wing resting on front.  This is basically number 2, but where it meets the house, instead of just building outriggers and extending it over the roof, make a separate detachable piece bolted to the independent structure.
1. Pros - Not sure I have ever seen anything like it; unique.  Gives me overhang on the front I desire (I can't put a wing on the back because of roof protrusions).  Removable (in theory) if there is roof damage that needs repair.
2. Cons - Once built, would likely require a crane or disassembly to lift wing off roof (assuming I use metal roofing).  Unclear what prevents the wing from sliding, might be putting a lot of twist on the independent structure.  Not simple to design and build; will need a way to hinge it in case they frost heave differently.  

Spring still being stubborn.

The weather was quite miserable two weekends ago.  It was either raining, snowing, icing or some combination thereof.  I went over and helped Anx with some of his projects, most notably adding overhead lights to his living room.  Since all his rooms are wired with 3-way switches, it was a bigger adventure than anticipated.

 

That Saturday was raining and 60, and then Monday I had to scrape ice off the car.  

 

The cold stuck around for most of the week so I didn't do much outside.  I did finally get a nice day last weekend though on Friday, which oddly I had off this year.  I noticed that despite the cold spring, the dandelions are coming up.  I even opened up the windows for the first time this year.  Spring is coming, whether the weather likes it or not.  

 

 

 

Saturday was nicer, albeit not as warm, but I still got to work on some of my outdoor projects.  I got the exterior panel pulled off the tiny home.  It is going to be the sub-panel for the barn down in KY.

 

I noticed that apparently the silicone around the box had failed, and some of the siding has started to rot behind where the panel was.

It was still nice out, so I decided to do something with the mud at the bottom of the driveway.  I tried to dig some of the mud out and replace it with gravel.  It took longer than expected (and used a lot more gravel than expected), but it looks nice.  When I drove over it this morning to come into work it felt like it needs a little more smoothing though.  Time will tell if it is better or not.  

 

It used more of the rock than I expected.  I will have to get another load when the weight limits come off the road.  There is still enough here to get started on the deck though.

 

This is the mud that I dug out.

I got to looking in the bucket after I was done.  I will definitely need to take a grinding wheel and repaint the bucket this year.

I got another "Built Ford Tough" letter yesterday.  This recall is actually something I have seen before, where the trailer lights occasionally fail because Ford drastically overcomplicated trailer wiring.  There have been times I have had to stop and start the truck several times because it threw an error trying to detect whether there was a trailer plugged in or not.

 

Sunday was not as nice, so I worked on the cart for Jess and Heather.  It turns out the 22" drawer slides I had are too long.  I also had a set of 14" that will work though, even if they are shorter than ideal.

 

The box part is completed.  I also took my flush cut saw (not sure its actual name, it is a Japanese saw for making things smooth) and smoothed the top; it is now ready for the butcher block top.  All that is left is to install the center support, back panel, and 

 

I saw my woodchuck out this morning.  This one might be his kid, he isn't nearly as fat as the one that was living in the back yard, but I suppose that he just got out of hibernation.

 

Most of the stuff I needed to do before my spring trip is now done.  All that is left is pulling down the tent garage, build the planter base, whelping boxes, and the cart, which is getting close.  The trip is all planned, I just need to pick a weekend that isn't raining.

 

I have been thinking about the box truck and the long term plan some.  As is annoyingly often the case, it seems what I want is really hard to find.  I wanted single rear wheel because I don't want to lose more space inside and I am not going to be running so heavy that I need a dually, plus I don't want 2 more tires to keep maintained, but all the SRW options I have found have V6's under the hood.  To be honest, I am not sure how well that would work.  It feels rather undersized to me, but perhaps it would be okay.  My current truck only has a V6 in it (though it is a much beefier twin turbo V6 than what I am seeing).  My old white Chevy had a 4.3 V6 in it, and it was adequate for that truck, but I also never ran it with several thousand pounds in the bed, and the truck itself wasn't that heavy either.  But the 250 Transit cutaway I looked at only had a 3.7 V6 in it.  But even though I know it isn't the case, it feels like my options are either that or a Dually and a 6.0L V8 in it (which I don't want either; they aren't reliable and slurp gas).  Even  though I didn't want it as plan A, it makes the U-Haul look better every day (which has the small V8 that I want in it).

First throes of spring.

It warmed up for a day or two last week, and I went and looked at Otter Brook to see if it was passable.  The road in was clear, but the paths were still all thick ice.  Maybe another week or so it will be good, or if I can find my creepers.

 

The water level was high, which isn't surprising during meltoff season.  

The icicles dangling down into the water were cool looking.  

Last Saturday was cold, but dry.  I did go up and take a look at the carport.  Nothing appears damaged.  Some of the pieces fell over, but I will get over it. 

I also went out and picked up a couple new tires for my trailer.  The rims are the right size, but the tires look like lawn mower tires to be honest.  They are one size taller, which is fine.  I need to do something with the trailer soon, and it will be nice to have tires that haven't been flat for two years for it.  

Sunday was snowy and icy, so I went and helped Anx.  He is adding overhead lights in his house, and since it is a real pain to get into his attic, he wanted someone there in case he kicked the ladder or anything.  So we marked the lights, and he was able to find the source wire and all that.

Yesterday was actually quite nice, so I fired up my grill for the first time this year.  The drip pan has rotted completely off, but it still cooks fine, so I will probably just put a dollar store pan under it or something.

Looking at this weekend, it might actually be nice.  I only have a few weekends left before I need to finish planning my trip though.  It is looking cold but clear for this weekend, so I need to get a few things finished before the trip.  I still need to take down the electric box off the tiny home, finish up the cart (I didn't grab pictures, but the sides are built, I just need to finish the box and put a top on it).  Clean off the futon since I piled everything on there when I had the roof leak.  Build the planter base since those will need to be planted when I get back. Drag down the Harbor Freight tent garage thingy, dig out the landscape fabric and stuff, and if I have time Heather asked me to make some whelping boxes. I have extra plywood kicking around for it.  Plus since I am taking the truck (and won't have the car camper) and will be working for a decent chunk of the trip, I have to actually plan the trip and where I am stopping and when.  Busy times ahead.

Birthday and other odds and ends.

My birthday was the 12th.  So I got a small cake and ate it.  

 

I also went and got the larger door organizer.  I plan to use the extra shelves at the bottom for food prep stuff for making my own frozen meals.

 

I took the smaller unit and what remained of the baskets and put it in the third bedroom.  That room is a disaster so I figured it would benefit from more organization.  Since I put as many of them in the kitchen as would fit, this unit is a basket short but should still help. 

 

The tunnel collapsed late last week.  

 

We finally started to clear off the snow, and had gotten down to about 75-80% coverage.

 

But then the weekend happened. 

 

I didn't do much over the weekend.  I spent Saturday trying to find tools (my stapler and sander were both missing) and doing chores.  I did some stuff on Sunday, and started assembling the cabinet.  I have enough pieces to get started at least. 

 

Yesterday was actually rain like it was supposed to be.  We got quite a bit, and all that fresh snow is now gone and then some.  We are down to about 25% coverage now.  The wind last night was howling too and it was around 50 out most of the night.

 

The damage to the trailer from when I got the tractor stuck.  It actually isn't too bad, just the decking which is junk anyways.

 

The nice stretch of weather has ended, but  this week is supposed to be sunny at least.  Good enough to start working on projects and start planning my spring vacation.  I am thinking of taking an abbreviated vacation (I still want to visit Mike and see Assateague) and just making a trip to KY (including Mammoth Cave which I missed on my fall vacation) to save on vacation time.  This way I am not so tight on vacation for the holidays.