Friday, April 20, 2018

Upgrade and Maintenance While Visiting Family In Oklahoma.

After a year working at the Lake Conroe KOA we returned to visit family in Oklahoma. We will do some upgrades and regular maintenance while we are home. The first project will be upgrading the entrance door. First I replaced the worn looking and slightly damaged door latch and lock assembly to a tune of a $136.



 I dismantled the door to replace the latch so I decided to add insulation, paint the inner panels, and prepare it for some custom upholstery. I bought the reflective insulation at Lowes and chose gray as the color for the panel. I bought Plasti Dip paint as it's a rubberized paint and is supposed to adhere better to the plastic.




A fresh coat of gray Plasti Dip rubberized paint.


Kathy working on the insulation and material for the door. We purchased the material from Hobby Lobby, and used Gorilla Glue spray adhesive to attach it.



So we went from this to this! We have around $20 in materials for our custom door. We are proud of our project, not bad for amateurs.



 Then Kathy decided that the backsplash mirrors behind the stove have to go. She ordered the gel looking peel and stick backsplash and started the project.  First was to remove the mirrors and exposing the bare wall.

She has the eyes and the patience to cut and get things nice and straight.

When she got finished the project looks very nice, much better than the outdated mirrors.

Next we have to repair a baseboard in the state room. I accidentally got Gorilla tape on the wood and damaged the finish.
 Of course it's then time for fresh oil and filter to keep her running smooth. 6 gallons of Rotella and a Fleetguard filter will do just fine. Next are the two fuel filters.

While changing the oil I noticed a radiator hose that looked dry rotted and cracked. I lost about 8 gallons of coolant while removing this 8 inch long hose, so now a new hose and gallons of fresh antifreeze/coolant. Of course I put two new fuel filters on while I was down there, all the filters are the Cummins Fleetguard  type.



Sunday, April 8, 2018

Workamping with father-in-law. April 2017-2018

April of 2017 we brought Kathy's father, Jim, with us to Lake Conroe KOA to give him a taste of the real RV life and workamping. Our manager, Pat Childers, was gracious enough to give the 79 year old a job working at the pool, playground, and then later on doing some landscaping.
Jim had his own travel trailer and was parked next to us so we could all spend quality time together. Kathy helped Jim get his life back in order by setting up his bank account, medicare, social security, and other things he needed. Jim enjoyed the work and even built up his savings account with his earned wages.  Jim was plenty happy with his 30' travel trailer, it had all the comforts of home.






Jim, just like many other full time RVers, mentioned that he wished he would have done this a long time ago. The friends and the memories you make can be priceless. Kathy also got to spend quality time with him and make memories for herself.



Image may contain: one or more people, people playing sports and outdoor
Image may contain: one or more people, people playing sports and outdoor


The Conroe area has many nice restaurants and we visited most of them for the good food and entertainment. Sam's Boat was Jim's favorite for sure, followed by The Big Sombrero.



We enjoyed the music on the patio at Sam's Boat overlooking beautiful Lake Conroe.



After a year, Jim headed back to Lawton, OK to spend time with other members of his family. We all had a great time and hated to see him leave.