Much more than a shade better!

February 25th, 2018

Today we went to the Dallas RV Supersale rv show, mainly because I won tickets online. They normally are $15 a piece! We just went to look at what's new in the rv industry, and see what Heartland products were there. We also heard the GM for Big Country would be there.

We saw lots of Heartland products this time, because Fun Town has started selling Heartland. We looked at Landmark, Big Country, and a variety of others, but we didn't see the GM for Big Country after all. Oh well.

However, we did run across a vendor at the show that we were interested in. Zarcor Solutions makes products for marine and rv applications,and they have a very unique window shade that we had both been interested in. We happened to see their advertisement in the latest issue of Trailer Life Magazine.

Tony talked to the owner, John Halter, for a while before I showed up, and we talked about our upcoming West Texas Chapter Rally. John was eager to work with us! We worked out a deal to buy a window shade, and Zarcor offered to send us some doorprize materials and flyers for our rally.

March 2nd, 2018

Today we recieved our new RV Door Window shutter and glass. Here are some pics of the unpacking:

Opening the box

Handle

Window Sealant

Window Shade

Clear Glass

The next day, we proceeded with the install:

Old frosted window

Instructions say to tape the window before loosening the screws.

Removing screws from inside frame.

Removed the inside frame and glass

Removed outside frame.

Cleaned the frames, and applied new sealant to inside and outside frames.

While one person holds the outside frame, the inside frame and glass are positioned and screwed into place. 

Note the now clear glass! Clean well before next step.

Carefully peel off the backing on the adhesive spots on the shade.

Tip the shade into place, and rub spots to make a good seal to the window. 

Determine the proper placement, and add handle with two new screws.

Vew with the shade open

View with the shade closed

View from the exterior, with the shade closed.

Overall, the install was very straightforward and easy to do. It's especially easy if you have ever removed the door window in the past and know how it's done.

The only snag we had was that the handle was not easily reachable in our screen door opening. I contacted Zarcor, and they priority shipped me a replacement handle that was longer, and worked PERFECTLY!

We are very happy with our Zarcor RV Door Window Blind, and I highly recommend it if you want to see out the front door window, or block the light/heat from coming in the front door window. This shade does both VERY WELL!

Mammoth gets "smarter" with a SmartPlug

Sunday, February 4th, 2018

Today was finally a nice day to do an outdoor project! So we decided to finally install our SmartPlug 50 amp Connector.

We had seen this product on display at Camping World this summer, and instantly thought it was a great idea. The folks at SmartPlug have redesigned the RV power inlet and power plug, stepping away from the old "Marine" style connection. When the old style connection has a securing ring (unlike the one pictured below), it's very difficult to get the ring secure in cold or damp weather. Even with the ring secure, the cord is able to twist in the inlet. This always made me nervous, was our cord properly connected?

BEFORE

AFTER

I contacted the company hoping to learn more about the product and see if they would help support our next  Heartland Owners Club - West Texas Chapter Rally. They agreed, and sent us a sample to install, as well.

We were very pleased with how easy the instructions appeared, with photos and written instructions that were very clear and exact.

Sample of instructions

Here are some pics of the install:

Packaging of the SmartPlug 50-amp RV Power Inlet

Packaging of SmartPlug 50-amp Connector (cord end)

A 50 amp cord we purchased separately, with no plug. We wanted to keep our original power cord intact, so we could sell it later if we wanted to.

Taking Apart the Cord End

Innards removed. Note the wire-color coding on the clear sections. This is where the wiring will feed into the plug itself.

Preparing the wires on the power cord. The instructions are very specific of the length of exposed wiring needed.

Adding the black rubber gasket to the plug housing. There are two sizes, depending on the wiring size used.

Feeding the wiring through the plug housing. The white cap is sized for the 4 wires, and is only used for this step. It makes it quite easy.

Inserting the prepared wires into the plug housing

Using the supplied allen wrench, tightening the screws that hold the wires in place.

Securing the clamp that secures the plug end to the wire housing.

Tightening the plug innards to the plug outer shell. 

(Not pictured, adding the rubber seal to the plug.)

Second project, swap out the RV's power inlet. This is the old inlet.

It takes some patience to keep unscrewing screws to get this all apart.

Preparing the wires. The instructions are very clear about how to do this.

Push wires into the plug... then using the allen wrench, tighten the screws to secure the wires.

Push unit until it is in place, and resecure with the original screws in the same location.

Finished inlet.

Inlet closed

Preparing to plug in

We have contact! the silver pieces on the side click to secure the plug. No twisting!

Fold the inlet cover down over the top, and it grips a ridge on the top of the plug to secure (3rd point).

Finished project!

Overall, the project took about 2 hours. We had no issues with the instructions, only slowdowns with stripping the wires or getting the right tools in the right location to do the job. We consider ourselves fairly DIY savvy, but most of the time, projects take WAAAAYYY longer than they should, and require a trip or two to the hardware store. 

This was probably the smoothest upgrade (that required multiple steps and tools) we've ever done!

We also discovered SmartPlug recently added 50-amp RV Cords that are already equipped with their connector already.

I highly recommend this product - for safety, for ease of use, and for durability.

Holiday Happenings

December 24th, 2017

Our original holiday plans got changed -- instead, we headed to Terrell to visit family, and have our "white elephant" Christmas. We left December 24th, and headed to Terrell. We stopped for lunch in Santo, and made good time, getting to Terrell about 3:30. We were staying at our favorite park in Terrell, Bluebonnet Ridge RV Resort and Cottages.

We arrived and got set up in time to get changed, and then headed to our home church, First United Methodist for the candlelight service. It was great to walk through the doors and see lots of familiar faces. Tony's folks and brother were already there, and we sat with them. Tori, Tony's sister sang a solo during the service. It was very moving.

I forgot to mention, a cold front was also moving in, and it was quite cold when we got out of the church. After church, we headed over to Braums, as they were still open. It was nice to get a burger and shake from Braums since they are not in our neck of the woods. After dinner, we headed home and enjoyed some TV.

Arrival at Bluebonnet Ridge. Even though the office was closed, our reservation packet was waiting, along with 2 cookies.

December 25th, 2017

Today we got up and did a bit of laundry and wrapped our White Elephant gifts. We had plans to do our Christmas with my folks and Tony's family, over at his sister's apartment in Forney. We arrived about 3pm to celebrate with them. We ate, and then played some cards, before swapping our White Elephant gifts. We had a good time and enjoyed Tori's hosting the event.

Dorsey/Lindsey White Elephant Christmas

December 26th, 2017

Today we got up and did some things around the rig, then headed over to my aunt's house in Dallas for Christmas with my side of the family. My cousin Scott was in town, so we especially enjoyed getting to see him. We had a nice potluck meal and enjoyed visiting and unwrapping some gifts my mom brought for folks. We headed home about 9PM.

December 27th, 2017 

Today we had planned to head back home to Cisco, but made arrangements to stay an extra day to spend more time with my folks and my cousin Scott. We met in mesquite for lunch and enjoyed a very long visit, before we headed back so I could do some work for some of my clients.

After I was able to complete the work, we decided to go see" Star Wars, The Last Jedi" at the theater in Terrell. They kept trying to sell us the popcorn-filled Chewbaca head, but we opted for a standard large instead, which came with free refills and no cheesy plastic "thing" to deal with. LOL! The movie was good in many ways, but perplexing in others. We both agreed we'll have to see it again!

December 28th, 2017 

We got up and got packed up, ready to hit the road about 10:30am. We stopped for lunch at the QT in Weatherford for a quick bite, and had an easy drive back to Cisco. We decided to go ahead and run to Cisco to get the trailer inspected, since we need to get our license tag renewed in January, and you must have an inspection to do that. It took about 15 minutes and $7 later, we were back home and set up.

It was a great trip, even though a fairly quick one!

December 30th, 2017 

 We prepared for an arctic cold front that would plummet temps into the teens at night, and cause freezing fog, freezing drizzle and some snow. We had no issues, thankfully, as Tony had our propane tanks filled and our heated hose was doing its job.

December 31st, 2017

We stayed put today, staying warm and staying inside out of the weather. Tony made his famous chili, and we really enjoyed it! We also made two pecan pies, with the gift Tony's mom had given us back a few weeks ago, "Pecan Pie in a Jar."

our home, with a thin layer of ice on everything

ice on the pines

January 1st, 2018

Happy New Years! Today was our 25th wedding anniversary! Unfortunately, due to the weather we didn't get out to celebrate -- We'll do that next week, when we head to the RV show.

Furnace flip

November 28th, 2017

After our RV Tech, Scott Paine, came to review the furnace in November, we found out that Suburban had authorized a replacement unit. Scott came back out to install the new innards into the housing. It did not take him very long, and thank goodness, as the temps were dropping that day to below freezing that night.

He left, and the furnace was producing the "new" smell, typical of a first time use. After running a while, the "new" smell burned off, but the old offensive smell remained, especially after the unit ran a while.

So, we felt there had to be another cause.

December 8th - 9th, 2017

We decided to do some more testing with the ductwork, thinking maybe that was the culprit. Since the area behind the basement wall is fairly easy to work in, we removed the 3 ducts that were in this area. It is called Hi-Tech Duravent M-KC Thermaflex Series Fiberglass Thermaflex Air/HVAC Duct Hose. Unfortunately, we had only one weekend to work on this project, so we opted to try another product, available at the local Home Depot. We picked up the Master Flow Insulated Flexible Duct R6 Silver Jacket, used in standard Heating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems. We replaced the ducts and tried again to run the furnace for a while.

Success! The ductwork change made quite a difference. We can still smell the smell, but not so much that it is difficult to breathe or that it gets worse. We ran the furnace over the next week, and it was a great improvement. I think we have solved the issue!

So what caused it? We aren't sure. But we*think* the furnace somehow overheated at some point, some way, causing the burned metallic smell to permeate the silver fiberglass ducts. Or, it could be related to the airflow -- the new vents are more insulated, and thus more efficient. They are pushing out more air into the bedroom, bath and hallway, possibly causing the furnace to perform more efficiently than the old ductwork. Either way, we are happy with the results.

New silver insulated ductwork installed.