This & That

While a bunch of my time has gone into doing mods for Jeff's RV, I've taken time out this month to get ready for a geocaching event to be held early next month. In the process, I spent some time talking with the Lost Dutchman, but he wasn't willing to tell where all the gold in the Superstitions is hidden.

I've been out to hunt for a handful of caches, including one First To Find on a wannabe stormy afternoon. The reality was that it was cloudy, but it never produced. I did find the cache, though.

My favorite time of day is to be on the trail at sunrise. I'm ahead of most hikers, the day is quiet, and sometimes the colors are beautiful. I've found I really appreciate the opportunity to wander through the desert watching it come alive.

The biggest  chunk of my time this month has been in the shop, building a series of  'gadget' caches. They'll all be finished and placed before the geocaching event, but it's too soon to publish more about that...

Just Chillin'

A couple months ago our air conditioner showed signs of distress and wasn't keeping up with our 100 degree+ weather. We called our son-in-law's cousin to check it out. He was able to get it working temporarily while we got a new unit on order.

Josh, and his helper, Josh showed up with a trailer load of new gear.

They started at both ends of the system - removing the old air handler & furnace combination and the really strange angled return air duct.

The pile in the front yard grew taller. It took ALL day for the two of them,

but by later afternoon the compressor was in place and the system was charged with freon. This unit uses a current version of freon which is supposedly safer for the environment.

By 7 p.m. or so they had the new furnace and air conditioning coil in place as well as new transition ducting. This return air box includes a filter at knee level instead of filters at 'top of the ladder' level like the old system. The supply duct is insulated like the old one should have been.

We selected the Goodman system because it is built in the US and is very basic in nature, making maintenance calls much easier. We should be good to go for years to come.

---

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We gave thanks for having a new air conditioner as we enjoyed a 90 degree day.

Too Much Ruckus

One of the cool items that was stock on Jeff's Vista XL is a set of automatic hydraulic levelers. So much nicer that stacking up boards or Lego blocks.

The manufacturer requires that the jacks are deployed before the slides can be extended. The engine must be running to deploy the jacks or slides, BUT... they're very concerned about someone driving away with the jacks still deployed.

They installed a warning light, but their ergonomics engineer was absent when they did the design. It's not at all visible when an average height person is in the driver's seat.

You must lean significantly forward to find the light shining brightly, but totally hidden behind the steering wheel.  It's just a light, installed in a hole in the plastic dash. Apparently no one has ever considered moving the light to a position much more obvious to the driver.

Since the light is essentially useless for its intended function, they also include a horn. The horn should have a warning to not use it near a cemetery because it will wake the dead!. It's so loud that it becomes a safety issue because you rush to get everything closed up so you can kill the horn. Of course, the horn is buried just about as deep as possible, forward of all the circuit breakers by the driver's left leg.

Removing the fairing around the circuit breaker panel provides hand access, but it also makes the horn more painfully loud while you try to locate it.

Removing the hydraulic leveler control panel gets an angle so you can get some light into some of the darkest recesses of this corner. It's fair to say access is neither easy nor comfortable.

Yup, it's this little critter that is making so much noise it can be heard 200' away with the coach door closed. We debated about removing it entirely, but decided to try a muffler first. I constructed a housing out of 1/2 inch foam that went over the horn. It's still loud, but at least it's not painful. He's going to use it a while and see if that's enough or if it needs even more muzzling.