My toes hurt

This new job is killing my toes. Well, actually it’s my shoes that are killing my toes. I can’t remember the last time I wore a pair of shoes. It’s been flip-flops for quite some time now. On the job I still wear my shorts and t-shirts but I figured I should wear shoes rather than flip-flops. My feet are not used to being cooped up in a pair of shoes and it feels like someone took a hammer to my big toes. I remember last year when the weather forced me into shoes my big toes ended up all bruised under the nails. This time I see no bruising but they sure do hurt.

The working man

As I watched our manager here at the resort suffer through the summer trying to keep this place up by himself, I thought, it would be nice if they hired me to help out around here. My investments are down and I have gone into a conserve mode as far as spending so a little extra spending money would be nice. I help out around here a lot so why not get pain for it. So one day I asked the managers what they thought about hiring me. Well the other day while I was raking out the horseshoe pits the manager came over to me and asked if I was still interested in some work. After answering with “Sure” he said lets go into the office. I got hired on the spot. So now I am the new maintenance man for Havasu RV Resort. It’s just a part time gig and I can take time off to enjoy the activities here so that’s cool.

We had the big one

The big car show in town that is. Each year Lake Havasu City’s Relics and Rods Car Clubs puts on the Run to the Sun car show. This year there were 782 entries in the show, of which 263 were Lake Havasu City residents. 132 car clubs participated from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming and 4 contenders from Canada. It is said that there are more classic cars per capita in Lake Havasu City than anywhere else in the country. Sure were some nice cars!

The resort here is filling up quite fast. There are a lot of owners, return visitors and pass troughs coming into the park every day now. It won’t be long before we are full again. Activities are starting back up and so are the cocktail parties. The weather has just been perfect during this transition between the hot summer and cool winter.

Mixed feelings

So recently I called my Financial Advisor and suggested we sell some of my stocks and put the money in a cash account until the market starts to recover from this slump it is in. He agreed so the move took place. The mixed feelings come now when I see the market move in either direction. When the market is up I think I should have left my stocks alone, yet I’m happy because I still have some money in there. When the market is down I am glad I moved some money out of stocks, yet I am sad because I still have stocks that aren’t doing well. I guess the good thing is no matter where my money is it isn’t doing much for me right now. Did I just say that is a good thing? Huh.

It’s starting

We are getting into the “Snow Bird” season here in Lake Havasu City so things are starting to happen. Today they had the Big Boys Toy Show downtown.

Above is a photo of one of the Big Boy Toys…or should I say a Big Toy. This is an example of what was at the show.

After the BBTS I headed out to the Island where they were in the final stages of the 30th Annual IJSBA World Finals.

This is an International Jet Sport Boat Association competition where Jet Skiers from all over the world come to compete. There is also a race tonight at the Speedway in town but we will not be seeing that this time.

Hey I fixed the Stock Market

I got sick of seeing my investments going away day after day as the Market continues to drop so I gave my financial advisor a call. We discussed the situation and both agreed the best thing to do right now is to dump at least half my stocks and put the money in a cash account for now. And when he sees some opportunities he would move some money back in. Well as soon as I did that the market turned around and has been up for the last three days so I guess I fixed the Market. I at least still have the other half in there working for me

I found a real gas tank for my golf cart. I posted a message on one of the golf cart forums on the internet and got a response. After communicating with the guy we settled on a price and he sent it out. I received it today but have to make a couple of minor modes since it is for a different year. Tomorrow I should have it all back together and ready to move on to the next project. I’ve got to say though, the gas can mod worked quite well in the mean time. I have been driving it around for close to 2 weeks with the gas can in there.

It’s that time of year again

Last night I was awakened to the sound of a mouse in the house. This morning I cleaned up the traps, loaded them up with peanut butter, set them and put them in place. It didn’t take long. Shortly after sunset we heard the snap. Sure enough, we got one. The trap is reset and ready for the next one.

Desperate measures

Since I have been having such a tough time finding a gas tank for my golf cart I decided to improvise.

I know I got too much time on my hands. Well I pulled out my little 2 gallon gas can and it fits pretty well. When I need gas I just slip the hose out of the gas can and head on down to the gas station to fill it up. Susan asked if it works and my reply was, “I don’t know. I haven’t got any gas yet.” This is just temporary until I get a real replacement.

Still here

Wow has it been over 10 days? Not much going on here lately. I am still looking for a gas tank for our golf cart, can’t believe it is so difficult to find a used gas tank for this thing. I need to get on the ball since people are coming back soon and I will have to give up the carts I am taking care of for the summer.

The managers went on vacation and I agreed to help out here if anything that the workampers can’t handle needs attention. Well, the security gate crapped out and I had to fix that. Then it crapped out again so I just opened it up and shut it down until the managers get back. The pool guy decided to fire up the pool heater for the winter and it wouldn’t stay lit so I got involved with that. That was a matter of calling the manufacturer since it is still under warranty. They sent a repair guy out and he was an idiot. I had to call him back 2 more times and it still doesn’t work. I wish I could fix it myself but don’t want to void the warranty.

People are starting to trickle in for the winter here at the resort. Soon this place will be busy again. It has been a quiet summer.

OH GROSS!

One of the things I really dislike about working on vehicles is the smell of 90 weight gear oil. This is what I have in my front wheel hubs that keep leaking. Well today I got to know what 90 weight gear oil taste like. I decided to remove some of the oil in my leaking hub thinking it was over filled and may be contributing to the leak. The only way I can do this without jacking up the motorhome and rotating the wheel so that the drain plug is at the bottom is to suck the oil out. So I got a bit of tubing, removed the drain plug, stuck it in and started to suck. Now this is one thing they tell you NOT to do but every mechanic has done it. Well I sucked a little too hard and got a bit of the oil in my mouth.

My senses were shocked with the smell and taste of the oil. I tried spitting it out but 90 weight oil is some thick stuff. I tried water. I even tried a mouth full of Hydrogen Peroxide and sloshed it around. Then I tried Pepsi. I figured if it will remove acid from batteries it might remove oil from my mouth. Ever try gargling with Pepsi? That actually helped a bit. I still have a nasty taste in my mouth but it is going away.

In your face California

I have mentioned a number of times about the heat here in Havasu this summer but today it was actually hotter in Southern California than it was here. We had a nice low 90s day with cloudy skies and a few drizzles throughout the day. Other than the humidity it was a really nice day. California was seeing high 90s along the coast to over 100 inland today.

Is it fixed

Today we ran our home into the shop to get the leaking seal replaced…again…for the 4th time. I also had them take a look at the dash A/C system. The compressor has been making a rattley noise and I was afraid it might seize up and toss a belt, and since I drive across the deserts, this would not be good. First the seal. They found the hub it mounts into was out of round so after installing a new seal they gooped silicone around it to keep it from leaking. Sounds kind of “Mickey Mouse” but I feel it is acceptable. Time will tell. I took it for a 30 mile test drive and all looks dry so far. Well dry on the inside. I pulled the hub cap to check the oil level in the hub and it appears they over filled it and there is oil on the outside now.

Note the Minimum Oil Level circle and where the level actually is.

I will drain some and clean it all up tomorrow. As far as the A/C, everything worked well, except when I was setting up on our lot I left it idling and I heard a sound that sounded like a pressure relief valve going off for a few seconds and there is what looks like compressor oil on the engine. Another reason I took it for the test drive is because I wanted to check my shroud replacement. Everything was great there. Of course, I did that myself.

Where are my followers

Not sure if you noticed but in the right hand column there is a heading called Followers but nothing shows up under it. This doesn’t mean I have no followers. This is a Blogger software glitch. I actually have 12 followers. I can’t even see them when I go into my account. Hopefully they will figure it out soon.

Job done!

What a PITA. The old upper shroud came out fairly easy since it was mostly missing and flexible. The new upper shroud being complete and stiffer was a real pain to get up in there. I tried the driver side. I tried the passenger side. I tried going between the wheel wells and the frame. Finally I had to disconnect the tube from the throttle body and the PCM/TCM assembly and push, yank, and bend. Finally it slid into place without further damage to the radiator. The lower was a bit tricky but a lot easier. After that everything bolted up without too much trouble. It wasn’t too easy to get to the 3 top mount bolts but do able. I hit the key and it started right up, and no warning lights came on so I guess I didn’t break anything or knock anything loose. My arms and hands look like I got into a fight with a wildcat though.

Before I started the job this morning I took the time to straighten the radiator fins that were bent when the shroud got shredded. There wasn’t too many of them fortunately. Then I got out the hose and shot some water through the backside of the radiator. I was surprised at the junk that came out. Looks like it might have been more pieces of the fan shroud. I still need to run it into the shop to have them look at the leaky front wheel seal again so when I do I will take it for a run up some hills here in the Arizona heat and see if it stays cool.

Now on to the next project.

I added more pictures to the photo site..

Shroud replacement

Well they wanted about $200 labor so I decided to attempt the shroud replacement on the motorhome myself. I figured I would start with removing the old one and see how that goes. Not too bad. The shroud is out and I started cleaning everything up until I was soaked in sweat. I decided to give it up for a day since it was 110 outside and I am not going anywhere for a while. Here is a link to the photos
I went to order the shroud this afternoon and they actually had them in stock. They say they have replaced a lot of them. I am a little concerned though. The new shroud is an exact match with numerous improvements. I added some photos of the new shroud to the photo site (link above). My concern is the new shroud is much stiffer than the original, which means it might be more difficult to get it back in since I had to flex the old one to get it out. I was able to get the old one out (upper and lower) from the bottom without removing anything.

They sure want a lot for 2 pieces of molded plastic. I have a price list that lists the upper at $14.04 and lower at $13.53. Apparently these are wholesale prices because I paid $42.78 each, $95.31 total with tax and $2.87 for some hardware.

No more whining

My Saturn had developed a whine. At first it wasn’t too bad so I just ignored it. But of course it got louder. I did some investigating and found that it was coming from the idler pulley. This is a somewhat common thing for these Saturns. In fact there is even a video on how to replace the pulley on Youtube. I figured it would get a lot worse before it downright fails so I mostly ignored it. The last couple of months here in Havasu have been so hot that when in the car we have the AC running with the fan on high so it mostly drowns out the whine. While in California I could really hear it since we didn’t run the air on high. Even my daughter’s husband asked what the noise was. So I figured it’s time to fix it. Yesterday I bought the part but by then it was afternoon and 110 here in Havasu so I really didn’t feel much like fooling around under the hood of the car. This morning while it was still only 90 I brought out the tools. It took me less than an hour and the whine is gone.

Back in Havasu

We arrived back in Havasu today but now without mishaps. We were traveling through the California Desert when my cooling fan decided to suck the fan shroud in, chew it up and spit it out. Suddenly we heard a WAM then a high speed buzz and had no idea what it was. I immediately pulled over, took a quick glance at all the gauges (which were normal) and shut it down. I first thought I threw a belt because my AC compressor has been making an odd sound lately. I thought it froze up and threw the belt. On first inspection I noticed the belt was still there and in good shape. I looked around and was at a loss. Then I started it up again and gave it a few revs of the accelerator. That’s when I noticed the fan sucking in the shroud, which on closer inspection was missing a few chunks.

So I assessed the situation and found if I drill a hole in what’s left of the shroud I could tie wrap it out of the way. Back on the road for a test run proved it wasn’t completely secured so I found a safer place to pull over and shimmied under again with drill and tie wraps in hand. Back on the road and no more shroud eating fan. However not all was well. Since the shroud was munched the fan was sucking air around the shroud instead of through the radiator so it ran a bit hotter than normal. I kept an eye on it for the next 3 hours and managed to get back to the resort in Havasu. Fortunately the pieces of shroud didn’t punch through the radiator or AC condenser so it looks like no major damage was done. I will probably replace the shroud myself but I still need to take it into the shop because the front wheel oil seal is leaking again…for the third time. I will have them check out the air conditioner while it’s there too.

Left Disney

We left Disneyland (Garden Grove) this morning and are now at our Daughters house in Encinitas California parked in their driveway. We dropped off our grandson at his dads this afternoon, sad, and tomorrow morning we head back to Havasu. We are not really looking forward to going back to the 100+ temperatures but Susan wants to get back and help her parents with a few things. It should only be another month of heat before it gets better.

Disneyland

We arrived in Garden Grove California yesterday. We are here to take the Grandson to Disneyland before we drop him off back at his dad’s for school. We spent 14 hours at Disneyland today and are going back tomorrow.

Our daughter is driving up from San Diego tomorrow in the morning to go with us. We bought a 3 day Park Hopper pass that lets go between Disneyland and California Adventure. Our daughter bought the tickets under a Southern California resident discount since we are now Zoners (Arizonians). We are only going 2 days but the 3 day discount passes were cheaper than a regulator 2 day pass.

Strange sighting

Landen and I went to the lake the other day for a day at the beach.

While he was playing in the water with his newfound friend I spotted this strange contraption.

What the heck is it? Looks like a water tractor. It has paddle wheels for propulsion. Turns out it is basically a lawn mower. He was cruising up and down the channel cleaning the grass that grows on the bottom. What a cool job…well not so cool since the temperature is still over 100 everyday. Even though it has been hot the weather has been fairly comfortable since the monsoons have stayed away and the humidity is low. With a breeze, it is tolerable.
We are getting ready to head out on Tuesday. Landen has to get back to California to go back to school. We tried to enroll him in school here but his Father wouldn’t allow it. Since we didn’t go anywhere this summer we are going to head over to Disneyland for a couple of days before dropping him off at his dads.