Musings!

Accomplished quite a few Christmas related things these past few days.  Yippee!

Being a recent blogger, I wanted to take this opportunity to acknowledge our followers.  Thanks for dropping by and for your colourful and insightful musings too.

- Stargeezer Al and the Bayfield Bunch
- Cuzin2some
- Wil Mosher
- MargieAnne
- Susan Bidniak
- Margie and Roger
- Karen
- Randy and Pam Warner
- Through Gates of Grace
- Sam & Donna
- Kate
- Rick & Paulette

We have been following your blogs for some time now and truly appreciate the valuable information and tips.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas.

Soon to take the 5th wheel out of storage and bring her home for our travel preparations.

Testing the 5th wheel back end TV colour monitoring system

White Rock beach...where we live.

I've got a story to tell but these photos bear no relevance to today's musings. They are there for the colour only.  The story is positive though.

Soon to cruise

Well there is not much to report on - nor has there been - these past few days.  Oh yes, we have been busy but mainly with trivial things that need to be done but hardly warrant writing about.  You know of what I speak.  It's the mundane stuff of every day life.

I thought that today would be a good day to test out the new colour camera and the in-cab TV monitor for the 5th wheel.  I ordered and received a high quality - hard wired - colour camera that will be mounted at the top centre of the back end of the 5th wheel.  With a seven inch (7") colour TV for in-cab monitoring, Jeanette and I will be able to keep an eye on the swivel-wheel - with motorcycle loaded - and it will come in handy when backing into parking spaces.  Although we utilize Motorola radios to communicate when backing into or driving out of tight spaces, this camera will be most helpful.  We can install a recording device - in the 5th wheel - that will continuously record the swivel-wheel and motorcycle when we are camped or simply parked somewhere.  That could keep the honest crook honest - if you get my meaning!!!

Mt. Rushmore.  Loved it there and we'll be back there again.  The Black Hills of South Dakota are a big tourist draw. This is a beautiful part of North America.

Also a beautiful part of North America.  Late Fall on the west coast of Canada

So I hooked everything up to the F-350 - plugged into the 12 volt receptacle - placed the camera about 35 ft away and was rewarded with a great quality TV image in the truck cab.  The camera lived up to its billing by the seller.  It is of very high quality.  One can also install two more cameras if required.  Examples would be to install one camera for each side of the 5th wheel.  I do not plan to do that.  A good quality image out back of the 5th suits us just fine. This TV monitor also has a USB port and and SD card port to view photos or video wile traveling.  Jeanette can always insert the SD card from her camera, while I am driving, and screen the multitude of photos she takes.  The monitor also has two mini speakers with controls. It comes with a full function remote control too.  How good is that?

One of our most favourite motorcycle rides - North Cascades of Washington State.  There are so many great rides in the Canadian and US Pacific Northwest.

I chose the hard wired monitoring system over the wireless system based on strong evidence from the serious research I put into this.  The wireless systems are OK but they tend to suffer from frequency interference - especially in high frequency areas.  Cell phone and short wave frequencies can have a negative effect too.  I read many complaints about the wireless systems and that influenced my decision to go with the tried and true hard wired system.  The signal I saw today was crisp and clear.  Incredible quality, really!

Soon to travel to.....

I did not take photos of the monitoring system today but I will post shots and thoughts when I do the complete install in the coming weeks.

That pretty much colours today's major event.

Thanks for dropping by.

Readying the Motorcycle swivelwheel

Finally a day with no rain!!!  Yes....I can finally 

ready the motorcycle swivelwheel for a test run.

Good so far.  Got it attached to the dually.

NOTE:  Click on any photo for a full screen view - or double click 
             for a two   time full screen view.

 This swivelwheel will be attached to the receiver on the 5th wheel.  The objective today was to complete the assembly, install all relevant components, load the motorcycle and take the swivelwheel for a test run.

This is a direct connection to the receiver.  There is no ball.  The swivelwheel acts like a welded attachment... it is not considered a trailer...or 'B' train when attached to the 5th wheel.

\

This bolt is actually threaded through the solid piece of steel that directly connects into the hitch receiver.

Because this loading ramp is welded aluminum which is very slippery when wet- and we live in a wet winter climate - I chose to cut, paint, and glue sand onto 1/4" plywood pieces and mount these to the aluminum rails using self taping metal screws.

Folding aluminum motorcycle loading ramp.

Painted sand boards.

Close up of my custom made anti slip boards.

Preparing to attach the anti slip boards to the aluminum rails with self tapping metal screws.

Once this was completed, I attached the ramp to the swivelwheel and walked up and down.  No slipping...no sliding! This is most important when loading a 750 lbs motorcycle.  You do not want to have your feet slip.  OUCH!!!!  This worked out really well! Should I have to stop, part way up the ramp, my feet will stick to the ramp and the bike will not fall over due to slippage.  My feet will not fall through the ladder rails either.  That would really hurt!!!    Safety is key when loading and unloading.

The ramp safety chains required the installation of two safety hooks....one for each side. The ramp will not fall down when loading or unloading. 

These hook latches were installed with bolts, washers and locking nuts.

Once that was accomplished the next step was to center, drill holes for and mount the motorcycle wheel chalk.

Once the locking nuts were tightened, the deck was ready to receive the motorcycle.

Chalk is opened to receive the front wheel.

Line her up.....with a view from this side....

...and a view from that side.  OK, we're ready! Sorry....no photos of the ride up the ramp.  My co-pilot was off running errands.

Motorcycle is loaded and strapped down.

Swivelwheel is checked for pressure brake and air pressure settings.

After I drove it around the neighbourhood for a test drive, my co-pilot took the wheel of the F-350 and I followed to observe how well this swivelwheel system works.

Looks great from the side....and it tracks very well.

It tracks very well from this vantage point too.

Signal, running and brake lights all work well.

It takes the corners very well.  The driver reports no sense of sway.  I observe from behind that this swivelwheel system tracks very well indeed.

Test is completed and my co-pilot is returning to the driveway @ home.

Our impressions:

Very cool indeed.  Although we have not tested this system with the 5th wheel, that will happen in the next few weeks when it will be brought out of storage and readied for our journey to the sunny Arizona, California and Texas climes.  That will happen shortly after Christmas day. Based on today's trials, we don't foresee any problems when the swivelwheel is attached to the back of the 5th wheel. It was a productive day indeed......and to top it off, the Christmas lights were installed on the house too. Photos to come at a later date.

Solutions

Not a lot to report on today. Just working away at the preparation list before heading south after Christmas and New Years.

A few winters back.  (Arizona)

This little tidbit was kind of interesting so I thought I would throw it out there.

(Author unknown)
Everyone  concentrates on the problems Americans are having lately:
Illegal  immigration, hurricane recovery, alligators attacking people  in Florida  ...  

Here's some thoughts on that.
Concentrate on solutions for the problems -- it's a  win-win situation.   

Illegal Immigration:  
* Dig a moat the length of the  Mexican border.
* Send the dirt to  New  Orleans  to raise the level of the levees.
* Put the  Florida  alligators in the moat along the Mexican border and the problem is solved.     
 Think  about this:
1.  Cows
2.  The Constitution
3.  The Ten Commandments          

COWS: 
Is it  just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that during the mad  cow epidemic US Agriculture could track a single cow, born in  Canada almost three years ago, right to the stall where she slept  in the state of Washington?  And, they tracked her calves to  their stalls.  But US Immigration is unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens wandering around the country. Maybe we should  give each of them a cow. 
 
THE  CONSTITUTION:  
They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for  Iraq ...why not just give them the US Constitution or the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?  These were written by a lot of  really smart guys (girls too, one would think), it has worked for over 200 years, and it appears they are not being used much anymore in these respective countries.   
 
THE  10 COMMANDMENTS: The  real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments posted in a  courthouse is this -- you cannot post 'Thou Shalt Not Steal', 'Thou  Shalt Not Commit Adultery' , and 'Thou Shall Not Lie' in a building  full of lawyers, judges and politicians, it creates a hostile work  environment.


Author still unknown

Looking forward to riding there soon.  (Southern Nevada)

 

OPEN MIKE ! It's all about nothing!!

Sunday ritual calls for a meeting of dissimilar minds at a local Tim's to discuss the pressing issues or diatribe of the week.

Webster's Dictionary
di'atribe ...is bitter speech of criticism, invective. (G.= a wearing away of time)

That definition, in short, colours our discussions.  There is a great amount of bitter speech, a whole lot of invective and, by and large, a great wearing away of time!!  

You can stop reading here.......or read on if you really have to. 
It takes several coffee re-fills to keep this group of deep minds going.

We discuss all topics in depth, solve all the world's problems, and then we go home!

This is Mike.....better known as Open Mike!  Notice the finger pointing?

Mike chairs this forum of intelligence, wit and deep thought.  He loves to control the agenda.  What agenda you may ask?

Some of the intelligentsia who attend on a regular basis.

Note the seriousness of this cast of characters.  They bring a combined wealth of wisdom to the discussions.  I dare not look at Webster's definition of wisdom.....at least as far as this group goes.  Because it is a drop in, others show up too from time to time. 

Chris, on the left, is formulating his opinion and would speak once the guy on the right stops talking!

Today's topics included serious discussion on the two Koreas - North & South - and how the cold war issue (and retaliation to recent bombardments) should be handled. 

 Sarah Palin could learn a thing or two from this group!

Dr. Bill could still be suffering from imbibing in Xmas partying the previous night or he completely disagrees with Open Mike....which is quite common.  We're not quite sure!!!  Note that finger point again!!!

This guy shows up - late I might add - and decided to throw in his two cents (or is that sense)!  In any case, the discussion - Open Mike's agenda - was completely derailed and the intelligentsia began discussion on a completely different topic. 


The summation of this gathering - by this writer - is but one example of why government leaders are so often thrown off of their own stated agendas.  There is always someone (or something) that throws these things off the rails.  


In the end, we all agreed to disagree, but we also agreed to meet again in one week in the hopes of formulating agreements on the issues or diatribe of the week.  

Not sure you will wish to stay tuned into this.


Now you know why this gathering is officially known as 
'OPEN MIKE.....It's All About Nothing'.  

Beautiful Sunny Day

It's a frosty start to a beautiful and sunny day here on the coast.

It has been a very busy week with Jeanette away in Alberta assisting her folks with some much needed intermediate care facilitation.  At age 86 her father, John continues to work his small farm in central Alberta. 

September, 2010 - 90 minutes east of Edmonton, Alberta

Jeanette with her Aunt Annie (left) and mom, Mary (right)

John and Mary appear to be leaning towards renting the land this coming spring....but are insistent on continuing to live in their farm house.  A plan was put in place to assist them to continue to live in the country with 'Lifeline' emergency contact and some intermediate home care.

Back to Edmonton last night, Jeanette will spend a few days with our daughter, Ginette and son-in-law, Trevor, before leaving for Calgary to spend some time with her sister, Ded before flying back to Abbotsford Airport on Tuesday.

Ginette & Trevor

Jeanette & Deb walking along the Bow River, Calgary, Alberta

Time to get on with the day and all of the planned activities and chores.

Wishing a productive day.

Off to Alberta

Jeanette left for Edmonton yesterday.  She'll be away for one week.  She spent last evening assisting our daughter, Ginette with the Christmas tree. 


On the home front here on the coast, we are counting down the days for our departure to the sunnier climes of southern California, Arizona and Texas.  We received our motorcycle assist lift - called a swivel wheel -  http://www.cruiserlift.com/swivelwheel58.html
last Wednesday.  With the help of two of my neighbours, we installed the wheel on the motorcycle deck, installed and connected the lights, and figured out the hitch receiver assembly system.  It is a well thought out motorcycle deck that is a direct connect into the receiver of the 5th wheel.  It works as a direct extension to the existing 5th wheel frame. Refer to the WEB site and you will find all the required information on this swivel wheel system.

That sums things up from here.


Wishing you a productive day.