Don & Christi's 6 x 10 Cargo Conversion

[d30gaijin]

Don,
God Speed. Be safe and take care of business. It can be a long drawn out affair. You & Christi are still in our prayers during the difficult time ahead.

Earnest

Earnest,

Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply. It has indeed been a long drawn out affair, a heart wrenching affair. Last Wednesday I brought my Mom home in a little box, less than a month since I last was with her and she was in such great spirits, alive and well. That's what hit me the hardest.

Dealing with the estate is something I, like many of us baby boomers, are only now having to deal with. To quote Warren Zevon, "It ain't that pretty at all."

Again, I want to thank everyone here for their support and compassion in my time of loss. All of you are the best!

Don

[pete42]

Don
Just when we think we can't handle the load He lets up a little so we can go on, He never gives you more than you can handle
while you think you have to travel the road alone He's with you as are your friends here.

take care.

pete

[roadinspector]

Amen Pete!

Don,
Read the Footprints In The Sand if you haven't already. http://www.footprints-inthe-sand.com/in ... m/Poem.php
It really sounds like you have done well. That feeling you had when you brought her home in the small box will flood you often. Sorry Brother but facts are facts. The blessing in this is that you are not alone. It will get easier as time goes on. There will be more smiles and laughter when she crosses your mind. Time will make things more tollerable. The way you talk about her, I know she is proud of you. Still praying.

Earnest

[d30gaijin]

Hello All,

Again, thank you so much for the continuing support. Things are slowly getting better for us. We miss Mom and talk about her antics often and enjoy the laughter we derive from the memories.

We're still here in Tahoe settling Mom's estate and are now down to figuring out what to do with her house. Still, we have a ways to go but getting back to our own home in Boise is within sight (we've been away from our home for well over three months). Now we will also have to deal with the weather as to when we can return home. Winters in the Sierra Nevada mountains can be brutal, and the road home to Boise even more so.

Later, as winter sets in in Boise, I won't care how cold it is. I plan to be out working in the CT over the winter and spring putting the final touches to the CT (mainly the wall paneling) and getting ready to go camping next spring, summer, and fall. We have a need to buy a late model truck to haul the CT and the Jayco and lots of camping to be done so that's another item to be dealt with in the near future. Once we get back to Boise we'll have time for it all and plan to be on the road a lot, camping, birding, and enjoying life as my Mom wanted us to do, and we'll continue to report on our progress and adventures here.

One chapter closes and another begins.

Don

[d30gaijin]

Finally back home from Tahoe and are trying to get back to our life and get going again on our CT build... but we do have to take another brief time out for three weeks in Hawaii to recoup.

Don

[roadinspector]

Don,
Glad to see you back home and trying to get things back to normal. You two do deserved some recoup time off, but HAWAII?! You really don't have to rub it in. Enjoy.

Earnest

[hankaye]

d30gaijin, Howdy;

Like what ya done with the place!!!
Truly a grand looking CT!!!

About your problem with the 2 burner stove and the propane ...

I fulltime in a 5th wheel and I attempt to stay up-to-date on a forum
that targets the Maker of my RV.

http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/index.php

Awhile back some of the folks there were
discussing the problems of hooking up their BBQ's to the RV's propane supply.
Consensus was that the RV's regulater was reducing the pressure below what
the BBQ required to function. As the BBQ's were designed to run streight from the small
bottles instead of from a regulated source.
The way I see it you have 2 options ... 1) remove the 30 to 10 psi reg that I saw in some of your pix...
or 2) Do what you've done and remove the regulater from the stove top They require close to 15 psi
to make their regulator function...
Toss a coin, either or ... your choise

That's one LOOOOOOONG thread you got started, kept me up till past 01:30 this am.

[roadinspector]

Don,

I remembered your propane issue while I was lurking around the net. I might have found something that might solve that problem.
http://www.rveparts.com/rv-lp-flow-longer-adapter-kit-mer470/

Earnest

[Shadow Catcher]

I am using a two stage regulator on our tear fed from a 25# tank. This feeds the three burner cook top water heater and I have a Bullfinch gas point feeding a small gas grill. I had the regulator checked against the one that came with the grill. You can build a water column to check it yourself http://westyventures.com/propex.html about half way down the page. Ours works fine but one thing to remember is that if you open up the valve at the tank or the grill too fast it will lock up, this is so that when the dog gnaws through the hose you do not have a huge flow.

[d30gaijin]

Don,

I remembered your propane issue while I was lurking around the net. I might have found something that might solve that problem.
http://www.rveparts.com/rv-lp-flow-longer-adapter-kit-mer470/

Earnest

Earnest,

I finally did get the counter top propane stove issue sorted out. The stove came with an internal regulator that was bad. The internal stove regulator was intended to take 10 PSI from the regulator at the tank and drop that down to 11 water column inches (whatever the heck that is) to run the stove. I tried adjusting the internal stove regulator but it wouldn't hold adjustment so I discarded the single stage regulator that attached to the propane tank and the internal regulator in the stove. I bought one of these http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/propane-two-stage-regulator/26059 and the necessary fittings and plumbing tubes and attached it to the tank then ran a hose to the stove sans internal regulator. The built in counter-top stove now works like it was intended to, much like my excellent Brunton two burner propane camp stove, although actually a bit better and hotter... but thank you for the tip and the link.

Merry Christmas to all!

Don

[d30gaijin]

I am using a two stage regulator on our tear fed from a 25# tank. This feeds the three burner cook top water heater and I have a Bullfinch gas point feeding a small gas grill. I had the regulator checked against the one that came with the grill. You can build a water column to check it yourself http://westyventures.com/propex.html about half way down the page. Ours works fine but one thing to remember is that if you open up the valve at the tank or the grill too fast it will lock up, this is so that when the dog gnaws through the hose you do not have a huge flow.

Shadow Catcher,

Thank you for the info and the link. I finally got my propane gas feed to the built in counter-top stove sorted out and it now works great from a one gallon refillable propane tank I bought at Home Depot (see above response to Ernest about the same subject) or will work the same if I take a larger 5 gallon propane tank along for extended trips. The counter-top stove is the only propance accessory we have in the CT, which is why I went with the one gallon tank (not to mention it tucks away nicely inside the lower left galley cabinet).

We've been back home for a month now, after four plus months gone, and are getting back into our lives, but that's temporary. Come January we are heading to Hawaii for three weeks there (Kauai) to spend some quality time with my Mother & Father-in-law and enjoy their company while we can. I recently lost my Mom & Dad so we're going to enjoy time with Christi's Mom & Dad while we can. Once we get back from Hawaii we'll be jumping back into our CT build to try and get it complete for 2013 camping (but even if we don't get it complete we'll be going camping anyway i.e., our CT will likely remain a work-in-progress for many years to come ). We have really missed camping and look forward to 2013. We've been saving for a new (used but new to us) big pick-up truck to better haul our Jayco TT and the CT. We're both retired now so are looking forward to hitting the road to explore remote areas of the Northwest as we have wanted to for years.

Don

[roadinspector]

Don,
Glad to hear it. Enjoy the vacation!
Merry Christmas!!

Earnest

[d30gaijin]

Don,
Glad to hear it. Enjoy the vacation!
Merry Christmas!!

Earnest

Earnest,

We're back from our Hawaii vacation. We had a great time. Christi, as a bird watcher, identified 26 new birds to add to her life list and I got some great bird, whale, sea turtle, and Hawaiian Monk seal photos. I will post some in the coming days.

The three weeks we were gone from Boise were three weeks not missed here. The Boise weather was horrible, sub-zero temps, inversion, and just all around nasty winter weather. Kauai was like upper 70's to mid 80's the whole time we were there. Had a few rainy days but for the most part it was great weather, albeit a bit more humid than I am used too living in the dry high desert of Idaho.

We now have to get ready for the 2013 camping season. I have a bunch of stuff stored in the CT sitting in our driveway that has to be unloaded so I can get in there and work to further finish our build. So far we are happy with our build, after a few rethought s and restarts. Now I need to concentrate on a suitable external shower, more internal storage, and a fold-away internal table, not to mention more suitable chairs for inside/outside the CT. Chairs that are comfortable but also foldable for storage. Any thoughts or suggestions are truly welcome.

Don

[OverTheTopCargoTrailer]

Hi Big Daddy Don

don't be so tight, drop a couple 100 pictures on us .....
For those who are too POOR to afford exotic vacations & just wanna dream a little

Jerry

[roadinspector]

Don,

Welcome back to reality! You did miss some nasty weather and I am sure that breaks your heart. Please do post some pics!! I'd like to see what its looks like to do nothing for 3 weeks.

What kind and size of table are you looking for. There is one floating around that look really nice. Fold down plus removable. Comes with two sets of mounts. pvangel has it on is build. He has a nice one going together. http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=52284&start=135

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Removable-Aluminum-Work-Station-Cabinet-Trailer-Shelf-/400401908060?_trksid=p2047675.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222001%26algo%3DSIC.CURRENT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D11%26meid%3D5230007031719643860%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D1005%26rk%3D1%26sd%3D400373656066%26
I will keep an eye out for chairs if I bumble across any.

I have not gotten much done on my build in a while. Working on building my dinette/bed combo has been slow. Everytime I have started something either comes up or I don't have what I need. My Mother is in real bad health too. Alzheimer has won that battle and her health is falling fast. She has a Lipoma that is inoperable due to location. They are treating with antibiotics but all it has done is slow it down. The infection has reached the bone. So that is where we are. The only thing that is to her advantage is with the alzheimer disease she does not have a clue how bad her health is. We suspect she has had several TIAs. Her weight is down to maybe 90 lbs and that is being generous. Good Lord just doesn't have her room ready yet.

Earnest