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Old 07-19-2017, 09:02 PM   #1221
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2006 22' Interstate
Mont Vernon , New Hampshire
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For the standard size 7 day pill case, I have found that one of the rubber bracelets will stretch just far enough to really secure the compartment lids while being just loose enough to get on and off relatively easily. One of the colored bracelets, like a yellow Live Strong. I had a free one from somewhere laying around. I have been using it for about 3 years and it hasn't stretched out. It works great!

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Old 07-20-2017, 05:42 AM   #1222
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League City , Texas
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Thanks, InterBlog.... I may have to ask a favor next time I'm down to Houston area and hope you'll let me buy a beer to listen.... ??

League City is an old haunt of mine when I flew pipeline patrol for S&S back in the early '70s. (Our old grass strip is now a neighborhood out west of I45).

http://www.airfields-freeman.com/TX/...n_SE.htm#sands
Interesting. I was unaware of any local airports other than Houston Gulf (SPX), which I actually worked on briefly as a contractor many years ago (1990's) prior to its conversion to the Tuscan Lakes subdivision.

If you want good eats around here, I'm told that LBX is the destination. Also years ago (but not quite as long), I got to view the Howard Hughes Sikorsky there. Someone eventually bought it and moved it to another location.

But this is off thread topic.
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Old 07-22-2017, 11:49 AM   #1223
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I'm not looking for a place to eat. I was hoping to listen to a compressor refer run to see if the noise would be bothersome.
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Old 07-25-2017, 06:49 AM   #1224
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I'm not looking for a place to eat. I was hoping to listen to a compressor refer run to see if the noise would be bothersome.
LOL... I thought you meant listen to the favor. You meant listen to the compressor. Sure - PM me / us, and if we're around at the time when you're here, we'll meet.
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Old 07-25-2017, 07:58 AM   #1225
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For those of you who have asked about small-space expansion options of the exterior variety, Let's Go Aero is releasing a new nylon tent-like product called the ArcRV, which has reportedly been optimized to fit the Sprinter.

I don't see it available for retail sale just yet, but LGA's analogous product, which is the tailgating tent, is about $300. (Edit: One of the products is listed "out of stock" (presumably not into production yet) for $389)).

I published a blog review for anyone who may be interested in this Sprinter-sized version.

PRODUCT REVIEW: LET'S GO AERO'S TENTRIS ARCRV
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Old 07-25-2017, 09:30 AM   #1226
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Paper Towel Holder

In our 2015 Lounge, we have a small shelf/storage area directly behind the drivers seat that we found was a good spot to hang a roll of paper towels. It is both out of the way, yet convenient to get to when needed!

We found an inexpensive over the cabinet door type paper towel rack at either C*mping W*rld or W*llyW*rld that had a cut out design in the middle.

I removed the middle screw to the trim piece and put the paper towel holder over the shelf lip and then reinserted the screw to hold it firmly in place.

The only problem we had was that it had a tendency to unroll when driving with the drivers window open. We corrected that issue with a large rubber band over the end of the roll while we are traveling.
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Old 07-28-2017, 04:15 PM   #1227
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Small Space Living, boondocking-style:

For those of us who don't have a trailer or toad and who'd rather not lug the chain saw, gas can, etc. etc. off the boondock site every time we run for groceries or to the beach, how about this to furnish a measure of security in an otherwise completely undeveloped area?

Buy one of these suckers on the internet (about ten bucks on Amazon), and as you get close to your destination, pick up 60 pounds of Quikrete, dig a nice post hole, dump it in, hydrate as directed, and then set this thing in there and let it harden. Chain up all the cumbersome valuables before your day trips. Cover with tarp, preferably camo.

Of course, have the property owner's permission before you do something like this. In my case, I do have the owner's permission (I looked in the mirror and asked nicely).

Everything is bigger in Texas, they said. Here's your proof.


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Old 07-28-2017, 04:36 PM   #1228
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"Walk softly, but carry a big eye bolt?"



Great solution for private property with permission. You could actually keep the top of the eye below grade and fill in the hole when you leave. That way there is nothing left -- projecting up-- to trip over or damage tires etc. the next time you come to the site.

For public sites, how about one of those screw-anchors for tenting? With lots of cables and chains from various objects like chain saws, gas cans, etc. attached to the anchor, it could not be unscrewed from the ground without a lot of commotion IMO, for instance:

https://www.amazon.com/MIDWEST-AIR-T...t+anchor+screw
https://www.amazon.com/MIDWEST-AIR-T...GG68NGC7K972Y0

NG in rocky or hard soil of course.

All we are trying to do is help the honest people stay honest, after all.

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Old 07-29-2017, 06:32 AM   #1229
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....You could actually keep the top of the eye below grade and fill in the hole when you leave. That way there is nothing left -- projecting up-- to trip over or damage tires etc. the next time you come to the site....
Yes, I had thought of this. And also, create the space behind the largest tree so that someone cannot chain it to their hitch and pull it straight out by force. The tree serves as a shield.

This may sound a bit absurd until one ponders the deeper logistics, but off-gridders are specifically targeted by criminals who assume there will be little to no security. They assume off-gridders are basically defenseless and thus are among the easiest of targets (this assumption in Canada, where handguns are generally not legal to own). I maintain a private road with three other landowners, one of whom is absent and two of whom are known to me personally - and who both happen to be electrical engineers (what are the odds?!). We have a camper van but the other two each have small self-built cottages on their tracts. Given that everything in the area is off-grid, one of the two sparkies designed a battery-operated security system that would send him a specific signal by CB radio if any of his sensors tripped. About a year ago, a group of young men broke into his cottage and panicked when they set off the alarm system as it was a complete surprise to them (what - an alarm with no utility lines running to the cottage?!). They raced out the private road so fast that they crashed the car in the ditch on my tract, then they fled on foot. The police recovered the car full of stolen goods from a series of burglaries. The thieves got away, however, as the car itself was stolen and their identities could not be traced. Apparently the police had no luck with fingerprints in the vehicle.

Moral of the story: Boondocking isolation does not guarantee that one will be crime-free. In fact, such isolation may be the very thing that attracts crime. Even in Canada, which is often portrayed by the American media as some kind of social utopia in which everyone wears politically-correct socks and waves politically-correct mini-flags and life is rumored to be so much better than in America.
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Old 07-29-2017, 09:00 AM   #1230
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Great comment, thanks for the laughs, especially in the moral of the story!

Have a good weekend.

Peter
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Old 07-29-2017, 09:56 AM   #1231
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You're welcome.

Big Orange Retail Giant sells Big Orange Retail Chain, plastic-coated steel. I bought a 3-foot length; obviously in this application, I would do better with 4.

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Old 07-29-2017, 10:31 AM   #1232
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The tree serves as a shield.

.... They assume off-gridders are basically defenseless and thus are among the easiest of targets (this assumption in Canada, where handguns are generally not legal to own).

..Canada... social utopia in which everyone wears politically-correct socks and waves politically-correct mini-flags and life is rumored to be so much better than in America.
The tree roots also shield the tree from hole-diggers.

Short-barrel shotguns are MUCH better than handguns, anyway.

Unless one speaks French in B.C.,... or English in Quebec.
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Old 07-29-2017, 01:54 PM   #1233
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IB you know that padlock is the weakest link in the chain? One quick cut with some bolt cutters would do it in.

I believe that some of the multi-stranded steel cables (for bicycles and motorcycles) are tougher to cut through, and that a larger padlock with hardened steel case and hasp would slow people down more IMO.

Any deterrence is better than none I guess.

Thanks again for the reminders,

Peter
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Old 07-29-2017, 01:57 PM   #1234
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BC is unique. Woods further east have less squatters and less trouble. There is saying in Canada - they ripped the pan in the East and all the nuts and bolts rolled west. Speaking as a displaced westerner.
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Old 07-29-2017, 02:20 PM   #1235
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IB you know that padlock is the weakest link in the chain? One quick cut with some bolt cutters would do it in.

I believe that some of the multi-stranded steel cables (for bicycles and motorcycles) are tougher to cut through, and that a larger padlock with hardened steel case and hasp would slow people down more IMO.

Any deterrence is better than none I guess.

Thanks again for the reminders,

Peter
Yeah, I know. Generally with these guys it's smash and grab, though, so I'm looking for the usual happy medium. They are looking for the quickest cash, and it's drug-driven, so they don't typically come armed with tools.

And I did order a camo tarp on Amazon a few hours ago, one that it optimized for the northern spruce forest floor (more browns than greens). So this lock-up will be layered with a concealment strategy.
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Old 07-29-2017, 02:26 PM   #1236
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Check out the lithium battery tool thread, for possible chain saws in the Milwaukee M18 line. We just started getting their M12 tools and the combination of small and powerful is amazing:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f44/...ls-170188.html

I don't see a battery electric chain saw in that line, but some other mfg. make them per the above thread. Amazing accessories in the M12 and M18 line, and they have a car charger for the batteries. Ditch the gas chain saw entirely maybe? We are going in that direction.

Gotta run.

Have a good weekend.

Peter
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Old 07-30-2017, 06:42 AM   #1237
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... Ditch the gas chain saw entirely maybe? We are going in that direction.
...
My husband and I had that discussion and concluded that there are pros and cons either way. For now, we're going with gas. In fact, my husband is working on an extension to our hitch carrier, an extension that is custom-fit to the Wavian jerry can that I picked up to go with the saw.

Of course there've been previous discussions about the safety issues with carrying any flammable material on the rear end, but I'll only have to do it for short local trips in remote areas (about a 40 mile round trip to the nearest gas station). Otherwise the can will be chained on but carried empty.
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Old 08-01-2017, 05:49 AM   #1238
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I'm torn, now, between adding ideas to Small Space Living vs. Rescue Lost Storage Space threads. The latter is really a subcategory of the former. This idea below is probably more toward the Rescue end of things, but I'll put it here to spread the love, so to speak.


As many forum participants know, my husband and I do a lot of DIY as a hobby (to put it mildly). We routinely ramp our Interstate onto four stackers that I built for it, in order to do some of the work that takes place under the chassis, because the Interstate is quite low to the ground and difficult to work on without being elevated.

About 2 weeks ago, we finally added a creeper to our tool list, which is one of those automotive devices that looks like a medical trauma board on wheels. You lie on your back and scoot yourself around under the chassis using it.



Well, that kind of mobility opens up a whole new perceptual paradigm because the entire 22 feet of length becomes accessible in a way that it wasn't previously. I can now whiz around under there like Speedy Gonzales, and I suddenly realize that there are a lot of storage opportunities under the Interstate chassis. Moving parts and hot parts have to be avoided, and of course one cannot put a weight load where it doesn't belong. But otherwise, there's ample opportunity for storing awkward items near the outer perimeter of the vehicle, in a way that makes retrieval in the later absence of stackers and a creeper pretty easy. The trick is to just establish the procedures in advance, under convenient conditions. Then at a camp site, lay down a body-sized piece of tarp on the ground, get down and pull the stuff out.

One case in point is the "battery well" storage rack we added this past weekend at the rear, to recapture a wasted void space (blog post here). That location is so close to the outer body wall that I can just squat and pull things out. I don't even have to get onto the ground.

Here's another example below, this camp fire basket (I like roasted vegetables). Where the heck would I put this in the interior?! Answer: Nowhere convenient. But it fits into a chassis slot on the other side of the ground effects, right under the driver's seat. I secured it using three small bungees on separate attachment points because I didn't want to hear any rattles. For this type of device, of course you'd want to wash it prior to use, but otherwise, why not carry it this way? It doesn't weigh anything, and it doesn't impede any air flow.

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Old 08-01-2017, 07:27 AM   #1239
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Personally....I think this is a SSL topic, which helps with rescuing lost storage space.

I will never be using one, nor storing anything underneath my rig....being highly claustrophobic and generally averse to dark and dirty spaces ...but this slider item seems conducive to working on any rig at home as well as for some carrying it on the road.

I have some campfire-use items in plastic bags, under one of the rear seats...roasting forks, and waffle and panini pie irons.

Maggie
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Old 08-01-2017, 09:38 AM   #1240
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Back in 2014 when we first purchased our rig, I couldn't handle it. It's not just the claustrophobia issue - it's the knowledge that many people see the underside of a truck chassis only as their very last moment here on earth, as they are being shredded like ground chuck and torn limb from limb during the process of being run over.


So I first stuck one arm under the chassis, and got used to the feeling of that. Then I stuck my head under there with one arm, and got used to that. Then I would crawl most of the way under, but only for 30 seconds because I couldn't handle it.

In that way, through the incremental-exposure-to-the-aversion process, I built up a stomach for it. But I really only got truly comfortable after I built our stackers. I built those ramps myself, and so I know that they are not going to fail. If we'd gotten store-bought ramps, I'd obsess over them possibly collapsing. It's a perception of control, and there's not much feeling of control when you are lying under an 8,500-pound motor vehicle. I drive the Interstate up onto the stackers - nobody else, if I'm the person going under there. I want to have the complete knowledge that it's done right.

All these things are what it took to make the process work for me.
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