Road Trips 2010

[Gene]

The installation of the Venetian blinds was pretty straight forward. I am not the first to do this. Barb and I saw it in eheffa's (Evan and Jane) trailer last year when they came down to canyon country and we visited with them. He was helpful with some instructions too. I think he found out about it from another thread, but I don't know where that thread is.

Having the blinds means we can have more light in the trailer, or more air when the window is open, without having curtains all the way open or closed.

The first photo shows the curtains can either extend to the edge of the blinds and be separated from the ones in the corner, or they can be kept together. It is possible to close the curtains over the blinds, but it's a little tight. The 2nd photo shows more detail.

We found the right color at Home Depot. They are Levolor and it may have been "brushed aluminum." They look just like the OEM blinds, except the brackets that hold them are metal, not plastic. They come with a valence, but you can't install it in this space and expect to close the curtains.

The blinds have to fit between the levers for the window. The plastic hold downs at the bottom which keep the blinds from moving back and forth when towing have to be installed on the screen frame. I ordered the blinds to be 47 3/4" to make sure they would have enough clearance between the window levers, but this made the bottom rail narrow enough so that it was difficult to install the hold downs. If I were to do it again, I would make the width 48". It would just fit between the levers and the hold downs would be easier to screw into the screen frame.

Getting the brackets which hold the top rail perfectly centered requires measuring very carefully—there's not much clearance. You have to unscrew the curtain rail (the thing that the curtains slide back and forth on) because there's not enough space between that rail and the screen frame to install the blinds' top rail. I also had to shim out the blind's brackets with some 3/8" pieces so that they would be flush with the bottom of the curtain rail. I unscrewed all the supports for the curtain rail except two that come just before the ends of the rail. Leaving 2 attached meant the rail would not fall down, but could be easily adjusted outward to fit in between the brackets and the top blinds rail. The ends of the curtain rail moved outward, but not so much to be a problem.

The brackets screw into the overhead cabinets and there seems to be a brace inside the cabinet that accepts 2" screws. You can't see what you are screwing into because the back of cabinet hides a void between the trailer interior wall and the cabinet back wall. It's important, therefore, when drilling a pilot hole not to get too aggressive and drill through the trailer interior wall (I suppose with a long enough bit you could drill outside, but I don't think there's a bit long enough for that).

I did not use any of the screws that came with the blinds. The ones for the brackets were too short, so I used 2" wood screws. The cabinet is made of fiberboard, so I wanted to get well into the brace inside and it should be solid wood. The screws for the hold downs are cheap and the heads broke off on 2 of them. I drilled the pilot holes in the screen frame too small to make sure the hold downs would be tightly installed. I ended up drilling new pilot holes next to the screws with the broken off heads and using better screws (ones for attaching metal ducts to each other). The hold downs hid the broken off screws.

This all took several hours. The hardest parts were measuring for the bracket to make sure the blinds were centered between the window levers and installing the hold downs. Between broken screws and broken drill bits (just one of those days), getting the hold downs in was very frustrating, but it got done and looks fine.

Photos follow.

Gene

[Lily&Me]

I think you and your wife should take a break from house-selling and trailer-fixin'-up and come to the Moraine View Rally here in central Illinois the second week in June.

Going to be a good crowd of folks, and plenty of good food.


Maggie

[eheffa]

That looks great Gene. Thanks for posting your results.

We did it slightly differently in that the blind was mounted directly to the the under cabinet surface but to the same effect. It's great having the venetians both front & back. I added a few Velcro strips on either side to allow the drapes to be tacked down for privacy.

OT: We're currently enjoying a sunny break from the almost incessant monsoons in Tofino. We've been camping for the last week here. Thankfully no leaks, (despite the torture test of horrific downpours). The shower valve packed it in - another Moen success story; but it's great to be out in the trailer again.

Greetings from the Bella Pacifica Campground in sunny Tofino.

- evan

[Gene]

Evan,

Perhaps I wasn't clear. I did mount it on the underside of the cabinet.

I am jealous—camping already on tropical Vancouver Is. at Tofino. It snowed 4" last night here, but it all melted by late morning.

Maggie,

I'm sure the rally would be a good time, but we have to sell the house this year before prices start to go up. If we don't, and prices are rising, we may get stuck in the "sell low, buy high" situation. This is the year of being serious (aside from serious traveling which I am already missing).

Gene

[eheffa]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

Evan,

Perhaps I wasn't clear. I did mount it on the underside of the cabinet.

I am jealous—camping already on tropical Vancouver Is. at Tofino. It snowed 4" last night here, but it all melted by late morning.

Gene

Hi. Yes camping already; but, like I said it has been remarkably wet. We've enjoyed our break from the usual routines though.

I see from your pics that you used a small shim or piece of wood to bring the blind bracket down slightly off the cupboard. That probably eased the cramped nature of mounting the bracket & having to redirect the curtain rail back away from the window. When I did mine, the resultant slightly shallower curve meant the ends of the track need to be trimmed & shortened. Either way seems to work. I will see if I can post a picture for you.

Cheers & Hi to Barb! Hopefully no more snow & the great campgrounds can lure you back out for a few short trips.

- evan

[eheffa]

The overall look when we're not in the unit....much too neat & tidy.



Here's a closeup of our installation: (Pretty similar to yours Gene but no Shim...)



And here's a little piece of the view as I write this: (Lots of Surfers out earlier...)



-evan

[Lily&Me]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

Maggie,

I'm sure the rally would be a good time, but we have to sell the house this year before prices start to go up. If we don't, and prices are rising, we may get stuck in the "sell low, buy high" situation. This is the year of being serious (aside from serious traveling which I am already missing).

Gene

I really do understand this, and wouldn't want you to miss a sell on account of a mere rally. Got to have your priorities firmly in hand.

Just thinkin', though, you can keep it in mind should you get a great price early on. And, there's always another year.

Good luck, will send positive house-selling karma your way.


Maggie

[Gene]

Evan, the shims kept the curtain rail from moving while I screwed things together. The tension of the rail pushing back toward the window kept the shims from falling down before the brackets were attached.

Yes, the trailer looks like it's in a showroom. Of course, we know Canadians are the neatest people on earth.

The photo of the Pacific Ocean makes me even more anxious to travel.

Maggie, we will probably take some short trips close to home for a few days at a time while we wait for that wise buyer who has found the perfect home (ours!). With the ability to communicate from almost anywhere and electronically send real estate contracts, we could travel, but the anxiety levels keep getting higher. It's now normal for houses to be on then market for 300 days or more, and we are getting close to that. No one really understands what's going on and the lack of any certainty makes me crazy. All data on real estate contradicts some other data. Someone was very interested in the adjoining lot we also own, but haven't heard from her in 3 weeks. Meanwhile we keep packing things that are not needed (yeh, there's a reference book buried in some box stacked in a closet waiting to move that I'll just have to forget about, but would have answered a question a couple of days ago), throwing away (many year collection of paint cans that local dump won't accept unless dried out with cat litter and/or shredded paper—what a pain), selling stuff. We have too much stuff!

Gene

[eheffa]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

Evan, the shims kept the curtain rail from moving while I screwed things together. The tension of the rail pushing back toward the window kept the shims from falling down before the brackets were attached.

Yes, the trailer looks like it's in a showroom. Of course, we know Canadians are the neatest people on earth.

The photo of the Pacific Ocean makes me even more anxious to travel.
Gene

Sorry Gene,

The "showroom" shot is from several years ago taken just after the blinds were installed. I only included it to show the overall effect in case anyone wondered how it looked. (The unit most definitely does not look like that right now as I type . I would include a more realistic image to balance the unrealistic one but I would be over-ruled by my camp-mate...)

As far as Canadians & neatness goes; you must be thinking of the other coast. The Newfoundlanders are impressively neat but here in BC?...I don't think we would warrant too many neatness awards.

Here's hoping you can resolve your selling / moving issues soon. I wish you could be planning & looking forward to your next trip instead of cleaning out the basement. (I dread the thought when it's our turn.)

-evan

[drew05]

Both are neat installs Having recently purchased a new Flying Cloud we have wondered why these were not installed at the factory...it seems like they cut corners...

[Gene]

Originally Posted by drew05

Having recently purchased a new Flying Cloud we have wondered why these were not installed at the factory...it seems like they cut corners...

They sure do cut corners. A fair amount of our repairs and enhancements are because of corner cutting.

Gene

[Aage]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

They sure do cut corners. A fair amount of our repairs and enhancements are because of corner cutting.

Gene

Yes Gene, but you have to admit, the corners DO look nice!

[Gene]

Aage, they cut the corners so much they are round.

Gene

[benjisgal]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

Last year I wrote of our trips short and long and started early: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/...ips-47817.html

Earlier this year I started a thread asking who was going to Alaska: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f290...ska-61581.html

I haven't really been spending a lot of time thinking about traveling or doing any work on the Safari until today. Since we returned from our last trip, the house has been the focus. Our first floor half bath/laundry room needed work. It had exposed pipes and I built my first soffits to hide them and put in new light fixtures. That was a difficult project that took too long (they all take too long). Then on to the kitchen—new cabinets, counter tops, floor. Big project but it went pretty fast. We have also been doing all sorts of smaller things that have been ignored for years. Updating the deck is next, then maybe spraying the logs with preservatives and putting some railings in for the front steps.

The reason—we want to put the house on the market and move to Santa Fe. It's time for a change.

But today we did some work on the trailer. These were small things, but important. A cabinet door roller catch to hold the bathroom door open. I installed one side on the lower end of a partition and the other on the bottom of the door. This is the partition along side the pull out pantry and now the thing doesn't pull out as far, but it's ok. Anything it better than propping things against the bathroom door because it won't stay open. Thanks to Chief (Ron) who had the idea, though he installed one differently and in a better place.

We found a simple clear plastic magazine rack at the Container Store and screwed it to the side of the cabinet I installed on the gaucho last year. More places for maps, magazines and crap.

I bought some large rubber washers to put under the water pump. Installation was difficult because of the location of the pump. One washer disappeared while I was doing this, but I had some grommets. So there are now three washers and one grommet between the pump and the floor where the screws are. We tried the pump and it seemed a lot quieter. We'll see how it runs when there's water in the system.

I mounted a thing with magnets to hold knives above the stove top and one the partition on the other side of the pantry slide out. When we met Evan and Jane (eheffa) in Utah several weeks ago, they had done that. Barb had the same knife holder—she had bought it decades ago and once she saw one in a Safari, she wanted hers mounted too.

Tried the furnace and it still works. I'll have to check other systems soon and start maintenance. I did check tire tread and they are all wearing about the same. The spare will be rotated with the most worn tire once I get the tires elevated to adjust brakes.

Somehow we'll get this done and finish house projects, have a visit from the in-laws, go to meetings, see my knee doctor, and plan the trip—after all we have all of three weeks. Three weeks? This is nuts! It's like this every year—stressed out and crazed trying to get it all done. And somehow, we pull it off.

Getting ready for an 8 week trip to NW Canada and Alaska shouldn't take much time (delusion sets in and helps get us through this).

Gene

I am heading to Alaska on or about June 8. I am going to take a leisurely trip up there from GA. I was trying to get on the WBCCI caravan that was heading there this year, but no luck. So, I'm thinking of joining the Jafari caravan (July 8 - August 15) that will be meeting in Dawson Creek, BC. I still go back and forth about this caravan because they are moving a little too fast for me, however, this will be my first long trip in my new Airstream and I am going solo! I wouldn't mind so much, but I'm 3 years out from a cancer diagnosis and don't feel that great on most days. But, this is my bucket list trip and I am determined to do it and my 'Stream is a little to small to share it with a friend. So, I am taking all the necessary precautions and have been prepping for the last few months with schedules, trip routes, parks, etc. Any advice is appreciated. I know I can do it. I've navigated ships, scuba dived, and did a lot of courageous things in my day. However, with age comes a little fear and too much caution (at least with me). Wish me luck!!!

[masseyfarm]

You will have the trip that you will always remember. Go for it!
Do a "Alaska" search on here and you will find a lot of info.
Have a great trip and good luck on your health situation.
Dave

Originally Posted by benjisgal

I am heading to Alaska on or about June 8. I am going to take a leisurely trip up there from GA. I was trying to get on the WBCCI caravan that was heading there this year, but no luck. So, I'm thinking of joining the Jafari caravan (July 8 - August 15) that will be meeting in Dawson Creek, BC. I still go back and forth about this caravan because they are moving a little too fast for me, however, this will be my first long trip in my new Airstream and I am going solo! I wouldn't mind so much, but I'm 3 years out from a cancer diagnosis and don't feel that great on most days. But, this is my bucket list trip and I am determined to do it and my 'Stream is a little to small to share it with a friend. So, I am taking all the necessary precautions and have been prepping for the last few months with schedules, trip routes, parks, etc. Any advice is appreciated. I know I can do it. I've navigated ships, scuba dived, and did a lot of courageous things in my day. However, with age comes a little fear and too much caution (at least with me). Wish me luck!!!

[Gene]

'gal,

If you "don't feel that great on most days", the quick moving caravan might not be for you. It's a lot of miles, more for you than it was for us.

Leisurely may be a lot more enjoyable for you. The further you get away from big cities, the more helpful people will be, so asking for help (and I hope you don't need it) is usually fruitful. Things break on long trips and small garages on the Alaska Hwy or other remote highways usually can improvise anything. We met people who had Good Sam road care coverage and they were towed in some cases hundreds and hundreds of miles to somewhere things could be fixed and didn't have to pay anything.

And the highways don't feel all that remote. There's more traffic than you might imagine on a lot of them—there aren't that many highways after all, so everyone is funneled onto a few. Towns are very far apart, but if you break down, people will be coming along pretty soon.

Life gets more precious when you realize how short it can be, so it is natural to be more cautious as we age. But we can still do a lot, although sometimes slower than before. I think you have a good attitude and go for it.

Gene

[Steamy1]

Gene,
I am curious if you took a generator on your trip to Alaska last summer. If you did, was it used enough to justify taking it?

Thanks,

[Gene]

We took a 1,000 watt Honda, but I don't think we ever used it. Since the sun doesn't set for very long in early summer and late spring, our solar panels provided enough for the times we were off grid, but we weren't off grid very much. When it's light so late (far enough north, the sun sets around 1 am and rises a few hours later; north of Arctic Circle, it doesn't set at all) there less need for lighting.

It depends where you go, whether you have solar, how cloudy it is, how cold it is and personal preference as to lighting and use of power for radio, CD's, furnace, fans and heat. If I were alone, I'd boondock more, but Barb likes hookups a lot.

I figure it's better to have the generator just in case. We started in late May and it snowed on us in southern Alberta and Calgary, so we needed heat. We were in a campground with power, but the next day we weren't. If we had stayed there it was cold enough to run the furnace at night. You don't know what you'll run into in the north (sort of like Streamboat), so I'm glad we had it. I bring lots and lots of tools and while I don't use most of them, this last trip I was glad to have a tire plug kit for a flat and on another trip, I had what I needed to replace fried wheel bearings and seals on one wheel.

Gene