Mammoth goes to get away

Friday, May 18, 2012

We decided we needed a trip to test out the new Sleep Number Bed that we bought, in anticipation of our longer trip this summer. We opted for a place we've been before, but is an easy drive from home and is a nice park: Choctaw RV Park at the Choctaw Casino, in Durant, OKlahoma. 


A little history... We decided that before we install this new Sleep Number Bed mattress, we should complete a mod we saw on the Heartland Forum: add vinyl tiles to the mattress platform, and this will make the surface slicker and easier to move the mattress when we are changing sheets, as well as protect the mattress from the rough surface of the wafer-board. We also decided to upgrade our vent fan, and replace the door window frame and glass with a new one.


Well, the first new vent fan was a fiasco, as seen in the previous blog. We returned it, and decided to try the same brand, but the variable speed version. I found a good deal on eBay, and bought it. It took 9 days to get here from Indiana, and we installed it, much more quickly this time, and with less fuss. Unfortunately, it was just as whiny as the last one, and reverse low did not work at all! So, back to the seller this one goes, too. I guess we'll have to spend a little more to get a good quality replacement.


We were able to successfully install the window in the door in about 5 minutes. However, it took an hour and a trip to Home Depot to get the old one out! We had taken it out last fall, thinking we could paint the frame and reinstall it. We had some mishaps during that process, and the results were never that good looking. Now we have a nice black framed window, which complements the other window frames very well.

New window frame and glass

The Sleep Number Bed arrived in two boxes, and had to be assembled. It has two air chambers, hoses, a pump, foam for the outside edges and center support, and the fabric "box". I was able to assemble the mattress components on the floor in the house, and test it out. It was much easier to do this at home, rather than the confines of the bedroom in the Mammoth. Once it was ready to go in, we decided to add the vinyl tiles to the bed platform. We found some tiles that would complement the cherry wood, and were not that expensive. They were quite easy to lay down, and didn't take long at all. Somehow I miscalculated and we were short 5 tiles, but [another] run to Home Depot solved that.

Boxes of Bed

Bed assembly

Adding the vinyl tiles

We decided to put the pump for the bed in the compartment under the platform. It is plenty big enough, and out of the way. We decided to route the air hoses through the thin wallboard of the compartment and then up through the bed platform, so it could take a more direct route to the head of the mattress. We also cut a hole into the outside wall to route the pump's power cord close to the outlet.

Pump under bed

New holes for cord and hose routing

Hole in bed platform, where hoses come out.

Cords exit base of bed

All that, to say, mods to our Mammoth always seem to come up, but we enjoy working on it in between trips!


Now back to the trip! We have had Mammoth at home for a few weeks while we did the mods, so we pulled her out to the street (Thursday evening) and had her ready to go when Tony got off work on Friday. Since I'm self employed now, I was able to get most everything ready to go, so we could head out the door as soon as he got home. We got on the road about 3:45. The only excitement on the trip was when an impatient pickup decided to pass us, just as we were slowing for a car that was turning left in front of us. It looked like the truck just missed plowing into the turning car, and startled us pretty good. But he never even hit the brakes, I guess he was able to swerve enough to miss the car. It would not have been a pretty sight.


We arrived and got set up, had dinner, then went for a walk around the park. It was very pleasant, with the temps cooling off just a bit and a good breeze. We met our neighbors in a motor home, they are from McKinney. There is a rally going on here too, and the other side of the park is filled with motor homes, a camping club from Oklahoma.

In our site

View of the sunset

After our walk we watched the Rangers beat the Astros on TV, and turned in for the night. We each adjusted our sides of the Sleep Number Bed, and settled in. It's nice to be able to adjust the bed to "just right" for me!

Saturday, May 19, 2012

This morning we got up and discussed our 1st night sleep on the new bed. It was great! Tony said he slept well. I tossed and turned, but I always do our first night in the Mammoth. But I still feel better rested with no aches and pains, which is a first! Tony cooked sweet rolls, and we enjoyed lounging and the peace and quiet, till about 9AM. Then the noise started... landscaping crews were trimming the bushes! Yes, they need to be trimmed, but at 9AM on Saturday?


We'll see what the rest of the day has in store for us.