Working Around the House & Equipping the 5th Wheel - October 21, 2018

It just took 4 days, and I finished the solar/inverter install. I installed the batteries, charge controller, and inverter in the large basement compartment.

First time hanging the inverter.

A little smaller compartment, but perfect for the equipment and our stuff. We are no longer full time, so it works great.

Batteries in the center.

I brought down the cable that goes between the combiner box on the roof, and the charge controller in the basement, in our bedroom and enclosed it in wire molding.

The solar and inverter monitor displays.

And the panels on the roof.

This roof has been recently re-done, and looks great.

    


My home made combiner box.

And everything works great!


Here are some inside pictures.

We have since replaced the 'heater' with a 32 inch Visio TV.

Nice big closet.

The 2 chairs are fairly new too!

We are very happy with it.


It was a bear to back it in beside the house. There is an awning overhang, gate, and brick wall to look out for. And you know how the truck has to swing around to get the 5th wheel to maneuver. So I removed a section of my brick wall. I plan on re-installing the metal gate so that it is re-moveable. So much easier now.




A nice little spot to park right beside our house.

It was pretty tricky with the brick wall, gate, and awning overhang.

Now it is much easier!

And I have been enclosing our patio, turning it into an Arizona room. It is going to be nice when I get it done.

That's what's been going on here. Yuma is finally cooling down, and all the winter visitors are arriving back here for the winter. I have been planning some trips. We will head for So.Cal in January to meet up with my son's family at Disneyland. The Grandsons are going to have a blast ... and Donna & I too! We also want to take trips to Tucson and Apache Junction this winter too.

Done for now.

The Fergs out .......

We're Baaack!!! - October 10, 2018

You can't take it with you! And you know...it's only money. We have been thinking about my retirement and how far my $$$ would go. Our Edward Jones guy would love to just let my money grow, and grow, and grow. But why? So I can die and leave my retirement money to my family? It is a nice thought, but we decided we worked all of our days so we could ENJOY the retirement years. If our funerals are paid for and we make it last till we die, that's ok.




Now since we are really missing our RV travels, we jumped on an amazing opportunity.
My Brother-in-law's mother, Vera, and her husband, Jordan, come down here to Yuma every winter. They used to live just 3 houses away from where we lived in East Wenatchee, WA. Well, Jordan passed away last year and one of Vera's kids drove their rig back up to their home in WA. We were visiting my sister here in Yuma and were asking how Vera was doing. One thing led to another and we were talking about their fifth wheel and truck. She still had it and said she would give us a good deal if we wanted it. Hmmmmm....




Well.... we bought their Rv and truck!  We be RVers again!!






Donna had toured the RV while we were still living in WA. We also had visited them in their rig while we were both in Fort Mohave, AZ. The truck is a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD, extended crew cab, Duromax/Allison, clean as a whistle. With 132K miles on it. Jordan was a maintenance fanatic. He replaced all 5 tires every 3 years. I found a great big stack of maintenance paperwork in the glove box. He has had a ton of work done on the truck to include servicing both axles, new brakes and new injectors, all the belts, tranny, new oil every 3,000 miles. He would replace something just to be on the safe side.




The fifth wheel is a 2004 Arctic Fox M29-5T. Again with new tires, axles, brakes, roof coating, and lots of maintenance records. When he had the brakes redone, he didn't want toe drums turned, he wanted new ones. That's the kind of guy he was. Vera had towels all over the floor to protect the carpeting, and it was like new underneath. It had a new matteress and 2 new recliners. It has 2 slides and everything workes like a top!




All for 26K!


I contacted my Edward Jones guy and said send me a cashiers check. I then used my Alaska Airline miles (and $23.70) and got a one way ticket to Washington. I left Yuma on October 2nd. After a terrible layover (14 hours) in Phoenix, then to Seattle, and on to East Wenatchee, WA. A short Uber ride and I was at Vera's. We made the deal and she gave me a mountain of extras to go with the rigs. October 3rd, I left with our new rig, heading south. A couple hundred miles later, I spent the night in the Wildhorse Casino, Pendleton, OR.




It got pretty cold, in the 30s by morning. Everything worked like a charm.




Then After around 450 miles, I stopped for the night at the Mountain Shadows RV Park in Wells, NV. I did stop along the way and picked up an electric space heater. It got down to 32 that night. The next morning, I scraped ice off the windows and headed on down the road. The mounains around me were topped with snow. Very pretty.

Then a 500 mile drive day and I parked in the Avi Casino parking lot in Laughlin, NV.

October 6th, and 210 miles later, I was home. Donna helped guide me into our RV parking spot at our house.

A good fit.



I insured the truck and fifth wheel through Progressive, where we have our Nissan through. The RV was $257.00 for a year, and the truck was $401.50 for 6 months. Then I registered them in Arizona and got my plates. The RV was $63.34, and the truck was $69.28.

Now I have the fun of installing my 6 solar panels, 4 AGM batteries, Magnum Energy inverter, and the Solar controller (with all the goodies). I have installed this stuff on my last 4 RVs, our Cameo & Bighorn fifth wheels, our Southwind & Hurricane motorhomes, and now another fifth wheel. This is the LAST one! Really!!


Donna is decorating the rig and loading her up while I do the install stuff. We are happy!

The next post will include pictures of my install and of the inside.



The Fergs out .......