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Hey all, I have a New Mexico state park pass DAY USE ONLY that is valid through December and I won't be using it anymore (sniff, sniff). I would be happy to gift it to someone who sends me, via private message, a mailing address that is in New Mexico or a neighboring state. First come first served (I only have one).
PASS IS FOR DAY USE ONLY
PLEASE USE PRIVATE MESSAGE, don't post your address here.
I'll post again if/when it has a taker.

maki2 said:

Another day another small task attempted only to find the issue is not a quick and easy fix.

The weep holes in my trailer’s sliding windows are not letting water drain out at first thought was dirt in the weep holes No such luck for an easy fix. The problem is the fixed glass pane in the slider unit has slid down to the bottom of the frame groove and is blocking the weep holes.

So I think this chore will have to wait until I get to Lake Havasu City or Flagstaff where there are better resources.

My first attempt when I get there will be to soak all along the edges of the glass with repeated baths of hot soapy water. Then I will try shifting the pane upwards using those big suction cups used to install glass. I will have to get some as I do not own any. If I can shift it I will add some small plastic spacers under the glass at the wide weep holes and then do some perimeter clear caulk to keep it from shifting down again.

Plan B: If I can’t shift the pane with suction cups I will have to remove the windows. Drill some rivets out of a join plate on the frame and use spreader bar clamps to spread the frame open to relocate the glass higher. That is a whole lot more work and new putty tape will be required to reinstall the windows. If I break the pane at least in a big town I can get a new safety glass one cut or buy some polycarbonate to cut one myself.

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You might want to try two old fashioned rubber cup toilet plungers, fairly cheap and gives a good grip.

scooterdog said:

You might want to try two old fashioned rubber cup toilet plungers, fairly cheap and gives a good grip.

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I plan on getting the Window Suction Cups from Harbor Freight. They do have a reuse in the nomadic world as they can be used on top of a vehicle to anchor shade cloth and tarps. Toilet plungers have no reuse, not even for their intended purpose.

I did forget to mention a design issue with using toilet plungers. The handle on them is designed to apply force on a single axis direction and sideways sliding is not that direction. The handles on the window suction cups are easier to grip and can better handle sideways moves. As a woman in my mid 70s I need all the mechanical advantage of control I can get out of my tools.

If the window is large enough, you should consider the dual suction with the handle in middle. It'll give you an easier handle to grasp, and should be easier to release. Plug, there's more surface to attach straps without addressing the release as well.

I've used the singles and they can definitely work as well.

But these just seem more comfy than a plunger handle lol.

Happy Camper said:

If the window is large enough, you should consider the dual suction with the handle in middle. It'll give you an easier handle to grasp, and should be easier to release. Plug, there's more surface to attach straps without addressing the release as well.

I've used the singles and they can definitely work as well.View attachment 35143

But these just seem more comfy than a plunger handle lol.

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That is what I plan on using. Just one of them might even be good enough the job as the window pane is not huge, it is approx 24” X 14”. But that project is likely 4 to 6 weeks away depending on the weather. Could be I won’t get to it for 8 to 10 weeks. But for sure I want to get it done before the monsoon rains start in early July.

Spent part of the morning at the Carl Junior’s in Quartzsite sorting on some issues on my laptop. It is easier to do such things there as they have a Starlink public connection (I use a VPN on public Wi-Fi) as well as they have some tables with electrical outlets by them. Of course I always purchase food. This time a biscuit with sausage and cheese. Very yummy, better breakfast food there than at McDonald’s or Burger King. Hopefully I got that laptop’s connection to the internet issues sorted out as well as the connection to my phone plus the issue that it was not searching and indexing the files on the laptop itself properly. Nice having the phone to look up stuff to get to the utilities needed to fix things. Connection speed to Verizon is too slow in the daytime at my campsite to do that type of trouble shooting work. But Carl Jr’s is right next door to the Verizon cell tower so that is also nice when I do not want to be on public Wi-Fi.

In the early afternoon I dropped in on the every Wednesday after lunch wood carving group that meets at the QIA (Quartzsite Improvement Association) building. A nice easy going group and they do have some carving tools and wood pieces available for people who want to drop in and try carving some wood. I travel with my own wood carving tools but I was not in the mood for starting on any carving projects as I have way too many other projects on my to-do-list to get back into carving right now. Not in the mood for any more chores today so I guess I will just relax and get back to them tomorrow.

My new screen room needs a little more modification for wind resistance. I noticed from the beginning that the vertical poles on each side of the front opening wall seemed a little too insubstantial. The weekend windstorm that arrived today put them to the test, the pole facing the strong southeast wind did not break but it is also doing way too much bending. Somewhere in the rear of my Honda Elena I have the two front corner poled from my first screen room. I saved them back as potential useful camping items. They weigh very little and are not at all bulky. I might just sister them up with these other poles. But the wind on Saturday is going to have strong gust of around 43+mph. That is not going to be a good day to try to take things out of the back of my Honda in a search for hidden treasures.
So my fix for this weekend was on the interior of the tent to stack up a couple of rubbermaid bin boxes with some one gallon water filled jugs for added weight and then back that stack up with my scaffold table to apply some gentle backup pressure at the midpoint height tent pole. Of course a bit of fabric padding so the tent screening does not get abrasions.

Everything is doing just fine in the wind storm except those two front wall tent pole. My newly modified wind panels with full length zippers are working as good as I had hoped. The new rainfly on the roof is doing OK as are the new webbing hold downs at the lower and upper corners. I will one way or another resolve that last issue by modifying to strengthen or else purchasing heavier duty poles for that front opening side. It is not an insurmountable issue

My experience was when I made the frame to where it didn’t flex it eventually was too much strain on the material and it ripped, just saying nature is hard to tame! Lol!!!

bullfrog ! said:

My experience was when I made the frame to where it didn’t flex it eventually was too much strain on the material and it ripped, just saying nature is hard to tame! Lol!!!

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Do not fret yourself about my making the tent poles too strong. While I do have adjustable height steel poles that I carry for holding up shade cloth you did not see me saying I was going to use those for supports did you? I did not bother to get them out because I already understand the engineering dynamics that are required to keep the poles on a hub style tent tensioned in a bow shape for this type of structure. I will begin with replacing or reinforcing those too weak tent poles very soon because starting on Monday the days return to winds under 10mph and sunny with a high temp in the 70s. This weekends storm was a good test to sort out the final reinforcements I needed to make to my new hub style screen room project.

My style of engineering is trail and error, with lots more error! Lol!!!

bullfrog ! said:

My style of engineering is trail and error, with lots more error! Lol!!!

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The strongest wind gust time of day has just arrived! Results from my trial and error engineering temporary fix measures will be known before much longer. The tent really wants to go into free flight in the near 30mph constant strength wind with long, strong gust exceeding 45mph. I have it tied down to the ground…so far. No free flight allowed. This is my thrill seeker mode. I could easily have taken the tent down the other day but instead I chose to test the limits of my modifications in this moderately strong wind storm. If it had been in the 55 to 60!mile an hour gusts range I definetly would have taken it down. For future wind gust of mid 40s I will likely take it down. This is just a bit of fun after all that tedious seeing work in previous weeks. Tommorow there will likely be tents parts left out for free to scavenge at the La Posa South dumpster area.

bullfrog ! said:

My style of engineering is trail and error, with lots more error! Lol!!!

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So you are human!!! Haha! So much is learned by error in this world you’d think we would have everything figured out by now!? It’s why I’m single… the only gal that would be compatible with me would be Miss stake!!! Not to be mistaken by Miss Cellanious.. but I degress…
Anyways, Maki is smart being cautious and improvising with her investment…
Sun, wind, and the desert in general really tests the limits of most things today…
Everything we do out here is potentially a test of ingenuity… that is the best part I think. Definitely a fuller life… not to be mistaken by fuller brush!

Last time I was in Yuma was 1990.
LOL where did they put Yuma?
My old landlady (where I just left) said "Yuma! I love that little town."
LOL again, I don't think she's been here much more recently.

I was hoping for a strong 45mph gust but just got 30 mph somewhat steady wind in the short recording. As you can see my screen room is reasonably stable at that wind speed. The wind panels and sunroof top are also secure. But for this strong wind storm on this windward
side I added two extra clamps on the edge of sun top to help keep the keep the wind getting under it. The screen room is tethered with a combination of mule tape line and 2’ long bungees down by the ground. Staked down with long hex head timber screws meant for use on 4x4 lumber. Pounding rebar stakes into rocky ground amounts to a hostile attack on the joints in my hands and wrists so I use screws and a cordless driver.

Looks pretty good for 30mph.

maki2 said:

Pounding rebar stakes into rocky ground amounts to a hostile attack on the joints in my hands and wrists so I use screws and a cordless driver.

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Would something like these work for you? I assume you have a battery powered drill or impact driver that might make this easier on your hands. You probably have already tried them, but you never know.

16In Tent Stakes, Ground Anchors Screw in, with 1PCS Tent Stakes Heavy Duty Adapter, for Screw Ground Anchors, Tree Straightening Kit, Anchors Tent, Mobile Home Anchors (Color : Black, Size : 6PCS) https://a.co/d/bMaJJjJ

15 Pack Heavy Duty Threaded Tent Stakes - Drill in Style Ground Anchor Pegs - Tent Stakes Heavy Duty with Hex Head Driver and Convenient Storage Bag https://a.co/d/gSLK9Tn

^^^ thanks for thinking of me. However I am working on year 4 of full time camping and staking things down. I have it figured out and I have everything I need for staking lines down. What I use takes up a fractional amount of storage space versus ground anchors, they weigh a fraction compared to those ground anchors and cost considerably less than those ground anchors. It is also easier to use in the very rocky desert soils in Southern AZ where I winter and woks equally good in forest areas. My method was taught to me by “Abnorm”, another long time forum member who has been full time for a lot of years.

I figured you had it optimized. Maybe those links can help someone else.

NctryBen said:

So you are human!!! Haha! So much is learned by error in this world you’d think we would have everything figured out by now!? It’s why I’m single… the only gal that would be compatible with me would be Miss stake!!! …

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Did you just Miss Spell her name? Wouldn’t the correct spelling have been Miss Steak!