Well, all our best intentions were to take it easy today in preparation for our long ride tomorrow, but I just couldn’t stand looking at how dirty the van was, so I set out to give it a “quick” wash, which, of course, never turns out to be the case. I did manage to get it cleaned up, and then, while doing the final spritzing of the windsheild, I managed to pull a muscle in my back, twisting it “just so” in that way when you know it’s going to hurt very soon. Just what I didn’t need! At least the van was clean! We took a quick ride over to Jupiter Farms Park to register for the ride tomorrow, then came back and hooked it up to the horse trailer so we would be all set to go in the morning. I took some painkillers, and we went to bed early, alarm set for before dawn.
Archives for 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012 – Battery Replacement
After being on the charger trickling all night, the van started up immediately this morning, with no problems with fuel or ignition. Yeah!! I left Hubby behind to rest up (he’s still feeling a bit woozy), and headed down to Advance Auto in town, where a woman quickly diagnosed and replaced my battery. As we suspected, though it had a full charge, the cold cranking was down to about 300, so it wouldn’t be long before it needed replacing, and I’d rather do it now while it’s still working a little than wait until one cold morning when we really needed it to work and it wouldn’t. Just glad the fuel pump seems to be working okay! Did a few errands, then got home in time for our ice cream lunch, then settled down for the evening, having run ourselves ragged this week solving problems!
Thursday, February 23, 2012 – Van Day
Part arrived early this morning (finally, FedEx does something right for a change!), and Hubby got busy working on the van. Unfortunately, it was a pretty hot day, and he had a few dizzy spells during the morning, so I ended up coming out to give him a hand in the afternoon. He spent several hours trying to release some piping which, in the end, we decided didn’t need to really come off. After that, it was fairly straightforward to drop the tank, change the fuel pump, and re-hang the tank again, though it took the rest of the day. Then, when we were ready to test the system, the battery failed. This didn’t really surprise us, as it had really died quickly when our flashers were on while we were dead by the side of the road, but we’ve never had any trouble with it before so we never thought about it. Turns out the battery is original equipment from 2003! Guess we got our money’s worth out of those nine years! Put it on the charge so that tomorrow we’ll be able to go get another battery. No way to really test the system until then, but we have no reason to suspect it’s anything other than the fuel pump (famous last words!) A bit concerned about Hubby’s dizzy spells, he had several bad ones during the day, but I’m thinking it’s probably the heat and dehydration, I can never get him to drink enough fluids, and it’s something all of this doctors keep telling him to do. Well you can lead a horse to water, but… Hot showers and to bed!
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 – More Spring Cleaning
Spent most of the day doing more spring cleaning, while Hubby started to work on the van, in preparation for receiving the fuel pump, which is due tomorrow.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 – Ride Day
One thing we’re determined to do is to make sure that we don’t neglect our preparation for our upcoming rides, both for us and for our horses. Despite the pile of work staring at us, we decided we had to get back on the horses and go for a ride, so that’s what we did. Since we didn’t have the van to go anywhere, we decided to cross to the south side of Indiantown Rd and follow the canals a while, something I had done last year with my brother, but never with Hubby. So off we went, this time with GPS in hand to get our first taste of mapping as we go. A long learning curve on one of these things if you’re not used to them! So many choices, it’s going to take awhile to get the hang of it. Anyway, we rode along the canal all the way down to an area called the Loxahatchee Slough (pronounced “slew”), where another wildlife public land area began, and one we’ll have to explore another day, as there’s a minor water crossover at the canal at this point, which evidently leads into several well-marked equestrian trails. Saw lots of birds and turtles, and possibly even one baby alligator under water (looked like a log but it was moving), and had quite a few trots and canters along the way. A couple of workers were out with some heavy equipment bush-hogging along the trail, but they were very respectful of us and turn everything off whenever we came up to pass them, which turned out to be several times, coming in and going out. Total distance out and back was almost 13 miles, so another good workout for the horses and for us!Monday, February 20, 2012 – Waxing and Shopping Day
Got up early again and started waxing the RV, using an excellent marine wax that is pretty easy to apply and remove, thank goodness. Managed to get all of one side and the back done during the course of the day. Hubby spent the day draining the gas tank. Fortunately, my brother happened to have recently acquired a holding tank with a pump on it, and though we couldn’t get the pump reversed to pump it out, at least we’ll have it to pump it back in. Meanwhile, he pumped it out mostly by siphon and by hand, which took about five hours. Afterward, we went out to do some shopping for essentials.
Sunday, February 19, 2012 – Day OFF!!!
Doing NOTHING today!! Just slept as late as possible, then spent the day watching TV, napping, resting, and otherwise taking it easy today. Doesn’t feel like one day is enough, but it’s all we can afford!
Saturday, February 18, 2012 – RV Wash Day
Perfect, cloudy day to wash the RV, so I got out early and got one side finished before breakfast, and finished up the rest during the day. Nice to finally get the dirt off!
Friday, February 17, 2012 – More Spring Cleaning
Spent more time in the RV trying to move along the spring cleaning, slowly but thoroughly working on another set of cupboards in the kitchen. Amazing how long a thorough clean takes, even in a confined space like an RV! Hubby spent the day trying to find out what is wrong with the van, and after numerous tests, determined that the fuel pump had given out. Unfortunately, the fuel pump access is at the top of the gas tank, which means we have to drop the tank to get to it. That’s problematic, since we had just finished filling the tank (31 gallons) just before the pump went, so that’s our first challenge. I ordered the pump online (locally the price was double), so it will be next week before we get to that job anyway. Not looking forward to that, but it must be done!
Thursday, February 16, 2012 – Truck Wash and Hay Day
Started the day off emptying out the last few bales of hay out of the back of the pickup and washing it before heading out to Okeechobee, about an hour’s drive, to pick up a load of hay. Locally hay is between $11 and $18 a bale, vs. $6 a bale out in Okeechobee. There’s been quite a drought in the area the last few months, but it seems like there’s been more rain lately, so maybe the price will come down later. Meanwhile, it’s an easy drive, and fuel is cheaper out there anyway, so we filled up while we were out there anyway. Another day just getting the usual chores done, not making any progress on our list of things to do!