After unloading and more huffing and puffing, I went to set up the stove and that went really bad. The connector to the propane bottle went bad. I thought maybe it was the propane canister because the propane was leaking out. I tried another canister and it really went bad, the pin from the connector broke off or came undone and stuck in the propane canister. This resulted in my thumb , index and middle finger getting freeze burn and the propane leaking out of the canister. I just set it on the ground and hoped it wouldn't explode. So know I'm left with no way to make coffee or heat up my food. Luckily my friend was there also and she had her propane stove in her new rig. She got that set up for me. OK got that out of the way and it was time to just sit back and catch my breath. The rest of the day wasn't bad.
I then opened the package for the new battery tester and found out that the guy at Walmart didn't have a clue about this battery. He told me it had a full charge, well it didn't and it was very low. The inverter wouldn't even work. I'm sure glad I didn't need to use the heater or charge my camera batteries.
Bed time was the real test, I had not used the new bed set up since it was installed a while back. It turned out to be way to hard even with the 4" memory foam and a folded over egg crate type thing under that. So I slept very little that night and had lots of pain in my hips and shoulders. And since this bed came out higher than the last one I kept getting the curtain wrapped up in the covers and pulling it down. I also didn't do a very good job of setting up for the morning so I was really having a hard time getting myself together and keep the curtain from falling out of the window while I tried to get dressed. Not wanting to moon anyone. haha Finally did the best I could so I could get poor Fred out for his business.
I finally got it all together and made me some coffee. The rest of the day was pretty good and I was breathing better.
As the sun was setting I gathered things up and put away so I could load up in the morning and get home.
I will have to pull everything out of the truck and redo it like I had the first time I set it up. Put back the original bed and stack my drawers in the corner. Part of the problem with the new bed besides being way to hard is I couldn't fit the drawers under it because of the middle leg. I was only able to use one drawer and still have room for Fred.
There wasn't much to photo out there and was surprised at how few birds were around.
As sun was rising it was creating these shadows and the Ocotillo is about to bloom
Here comes the moon
Ordered a new butane stove today, I know I could have ordered a new assembly for the propane but I just never liked hooking up the propane canisters it is really annoying trying to get those things on.
Good Night All
A shake down trip is a good thing because it does show you what needs to change. It took us about three trips before we got our Bungalow like we need it. But with practice we finally have got it all down. I hope. The new stove will be an asset. Good luck with the mattress. You still got some great shots of the mountains.
ReplyDeleteIt seems I have done more shake down trips in this truck and looks like the original set up was the best. really hard to make up more room when there just isn't any room to begin with.
DeleteWe will have our shake down next week in our Grand Design TT. Just 4 days and only 20 miles from home. What it is about RV beds! We could take the mattress off this one and lay on the plywood and it would be softer. Got a 2 inch foam for it. Now much better. We will see.
ReplyDeleteTrusting that new stove will do the job!
Wishing your shake down goes well. The biggest problem with these beds is that they lay on the plywood so there isn't any give. My original bed was a futon witch at least had some spring to it. So with the 4"in memory foam and the egg crate foam that I use under the memory foam was much better.
DeleteAs for the stomve one of my friends swears by hers so much easier to set up and stores in its own case so easier and lighter to carry around.
In was nice hat you had the chance to get out camping but it would have been better without the Calamity. As the say "Try-Try Again". It's strange that the Propane Connection failed like that.
ReplyDeleteBe Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
Hi Rick n Kathy,
ReplyDeleteYes I am not about to give up on this camper. New stove in on order will have it Tue. Will get one of my grandsons to help me get it changed around then hope to get out again to do another test.
At least it was just a trial run and you will be better prepared for your next real camping expedition.
ReplyDeleteHi Jo, at least you know what works and what don't now...you will love that butane stove I really enjoy mine. The new air bed I got after mine went flat if too long I had to shove it into place, glad it was an el'cheapo I will order another Coleman it is made out of much better materials and the last one did me good for 6 yrs!
ReplyDelete