A few random shots and an Update

There has been quite a bit of activity in and around Margarita lately. My husband comes home everyday from his day job and works on her until dark sets in and he runs the risk of mosquitoes carrying him away.

• All of the windows have now been resealed.
• The rims have been replaced and she has brand new tires.
• Dan broke the toilet getting it out...I'm still not quite sure why that had to come out...but an new one is on it's way.
• New blinds are on order.
• I am working on the curtains for the front windshield and the back window.
• Lots of mechanical stuff got looked at, updated, and/or fixed.
• Headliner fabric is awaiting our pick up as well as the thin plywood for that job.
  
• All of the molded plastic ceiling/wall parts got repaired and repainted.
  
• A Fantastic Fan went in and the AC is working great!
• I think the power inverter was replaced but that could have been something else.
• The two seats from the rear and the top bunk have received a good outside scrubbing and are ready to go back in. The dinette and the bottom bunk are next.
• Expensive mattress topper was purchased for the "Bed" in the back.
• Fresh water tank has been repaired
• Hot water tank got resealed and has been replaced
• Black water tank was repaired
• Foam insulation added in various locations
  

I am betting that there is a whole lot of other stuff done...either that or my husband just likes to lay underneath it for the sheer joy of it.





I'm happy that the dog is making her self at home in there. Nothing says "OURS" like a good ol' layer her dog fur covering it. Seriously though, she is not much of a car traveler and is even rather uncomfortable in other people's homes. I am really hoping that the motorhome will be just an extension of the house for her so that her travel anxiety is reduced.

I will be adding specific blog topics on the tires, the headliner, the plastic ceiling/wall pieces, the blinds, the window seals, the curtains and anything else I have receipts and pictures for.

More to come!

New stuff coming

We are currently pricing out window seals and tires. When we find the best deal possible with the best customer service, I will post our findings here for everyone.

Magarita gets her Groove on!

Well, thanks to a recall by Alcoa, Margarita got some brand spankin' new rims today. I'm sure the UPS dude LOVED us today.
Here is the info on this recall- http://www.gmcmotorhome.com/tech/alcoa_recall/index.html

Near as we know, the dates are 9/93 to 6/99

New phone number is 1-800-242-9898. Before you call, get part number and date code from inside of rim (Example is shown in that link above).

Scenes from Margaritaville

So I asked the lead project engineer for this project if he just so happened to have kept a tally of just how many parts have come out of Margarita. Sadly he hasn't.

I really can't say for certain exactly WHEN replacement of the head liner became a priority but apparently it has become one now.



Looks a little rough in there now.



I must admit...and keep in mind that I just sit in the house until I am asked to come out and help with a part...that stuff comes out of this thing pretty easily.



Don't forget to LABEL everything!!!



And I do mean everything!!



These are parts I'm pretty sure we won't need anymore. They are headliner holders for when the headline is old and sags. I will be selling them at $5 a piece on ebay. Or you can just get them from any office supply store. (The screwdriver will not be part of the ebay auction.)



We should keep count of just how many tools have been pulled out to be used. We should try to keep track of these tools as well.




Here are the parts that have come out.

This is...something with some cabinets and a couple of those padded thingies that go somewhere.



More cabinet stuff and a motorcycle that needs to be sold.



Same stuff, different shot.



That big ol' piece is the back cap inside thingy. "We" took it out through one of the back side windows. Well I just stood on the ice of the driveway trying to hold my balance while my dear of a husband feed it through to me.





And because I know EVERYONE was wondering what ever happened to the green shag... I found it!!!

He gets credit for trying

Well, I do have to give my husband credit for trying. He worked very hard to get Margarita in out of the cold. He says it can be done but he just didn't feel like pulling the AC unit off. My bet is that he will indeed end up with the AC unit off and "Rita" will make her way into the shop for the rest of the winter.













He took these pictures by the way as it was agreed that he would try this stunt without me home to witness it.

Pictures of stuff I know nothing about.

Here is a collection of pictures I know nothing about. They are obviously important things as my husband is quite involved in repairing, replacing cleaning these things.



This tart pan looking thing controls something about air flow. The term actuator or something like that was used in the general description around the same time this thing came out so that might be what it is. It had a huge crack all the way around it and a new one could not be located so this was the repair. My husband demoed it by blowing into it and apparently it works like it should now. That's a good thing, right?




We're (my husband) is excited about this brand name on this thingy that he is holding. It's a heat core or heater coil or something like that ...I think.




Same thing just top view. Please do the proper ooohs and ahhs.. I'm sure this is much cleaner now than when it came out.



I got nothing for this. Sorry. Hood was open (can I call it a hood?) and I snapped a picture.





Minus the green shag. Which is good when you think about it because all that work he has been doing surely would have have gotten it dirty. Pardon me while I pick myself up off the floor. Sometimes I slay myself.




Again, got nothing...I do recognize some tools there.




More stuff. Hey, that's my volt meter. I was wondering where that ended up!



That's a lot of wires. I sure hope my husband knows what goes where and how.




I'm really not sure but I'm betting that one thing is not supposed to be just hanging out like that.




This one I do remember why I took the picture. Notice the nice new paint job on that black plate thingy. And yes, thingy is a perfectly acceptable name for it.




Same painted thingy, different angle.

We (my husband really) has more freshly painted thingies hanging all over the place. Not sure what they are either.


I hope you enjoyed this post ...for humors sake at least because there was absolutely NOTHING informative about it.

The carpet

I've really been waiting to post this one...until it became funny, because when it happened, it really was not all that funny.

During the trip home with the motorhome, it rained. It rained a lot! By the time we stopped for the night, the carpet was soaked inside the unit. The ceiling and windows were fine. We figured there was a leak somewhere in the floor and the water was coming up from the road. Actually, first we thought, or hoped, that it was the storage pod that was stowed inside the unit for the ride home. We had thought that maybe there was some water in there that leaked out. Upon a later inspection, we discovered that the storage pod could not even hold as much water that the unit took on.

So, this blog entry is a story of carpet. A saga really as it really just seems to have taken on a life of it's own.



The motorhome had the original green shag carpet which even I must admit, added a great deal of vintage charm to the unit. By the time we made it home on Sunday, that carpet was soaked, especially in the rear of the unit. We soaked up as much water as we could, actually my husband did, and then set a fan out there. The weather was chilly and damp so the fan seemed to be doing nothing.

By Monday, I set some heaters out there which did nothing but blow the circuit in the house. My husband left for a business trip on Monday as well. I will admit that at one point on Monday, I had my blow dryer out there as well in an effort to dry the carpet.

By Tuesday, I had dragged the dehumidifier out of the basement. That was no easy task. I let that run all day Tuesday only to discover that it sucked absolutely nothing out of the air in there. Tuesday is when the unit started to get a bit of a stench about it.

By Wednesday, the unit really stunk! I also declared that the carpet was going to have to come out. I called my husband and told him that I was going to rip the carpet out. He felt surely there must be other options but I assured him that there were none at this point. I told my 11 year old son that the carpet needed to come out and he cried. I mean CRIED. Big crocodile tears while he uttered something about the motorhome no longer being vintage.



The carpet came out quite easy and in one piece. I am not a big girl and I don't consider myself to be in the best of shape. So for little 'o me to be able to get that carpet out on my own just goes to show how easy it is. Entertaining I'm sure as well.

Because I obviously inhaled too much mold and muck from the carpet, I did not think things through and tossed the carpet into the garage where my husband usually parks his butt hauler (our old minivan). Thursday morning I went out to the garage and nearly DIED from the incredible STENCH emanating from that oh so vintage, green shag carpet.

As soon as I could get to it, I dragged the carpet out to the driveway and set it up on buckets to dry. Why? My only reasoning is that my husband and my son were both so emotionally attached to this wretched carpet that I felt I had to try to save it.



Thursday evening rolled around and I was happy to discover that the carpet had dried in the sun. I also had a couple of glasses of wine and reasoned with myself that it would not hurt the carpet to sit out over night.

Friday morning I woke the the sound of blowing wind and rain. OOOPPS. No seriously, I did not mean for the carpet to get wet again. REALLY!!! Oh how I wish I would have taken a picture of it Friday morning.

My darling husband came home Friday evening and actually refused to talk to me. He then layed a huge tarp over the now resoaked carpet in an effort to save it. I bet he pick off all the leaves that were embedded in it as well from the wind. (Gosh, I don't sound that supportive do I?)



The carpet stayed under the tarp in the driveway for a couple of days before being moved into my husband's shop...his big huge garage. It is now finally dry and he does plan to take my nice Kenmore Carpet Cleaner to the carpet so that it can be cleaned and returned to the unit after the leak is discovered and repaired.



To be continued...