24/7 Chat About Anything

[Qxxx]

LOL, I had noticed the little things, like the rounded corner on the left side, but figured it was "artistic license". And of course, there are no square corners in those silly vans, so adaptation is the rule of the day. For that matter, everything I built in my own van used Artistic License as the master plan.

You have nice cantilevers, I have a suspension bed with no supports in the middle (and it doesn't sag either). Yours is much higher, so you have much more storage under the bed. Mine is just 2" above the wheel wells, so I can sit on the bed without banging my head on the ceiling. You used 3/4" plywood, and I couldn't even lift something that heavy. You have nice square cuts, whereas my 2 lower supports have 40 notches each, and match the curvature of the walls. (you did it the smart way, I did it the other way). I had one of those folding plastic steps that cost $30, and it broke the 2nd time I used it.

The only thing I'm not sure of is, if those metal pieces will keep the legs in place once things get on the road.

 

[travelaround]

I don't mean to get too personal, but I am curious:  will results from a bone density scan be helpful?

I don't know if I have osteoporosis (which is the reason for the bone density scan) but my mother had it at my age so I thought it would be good to check out my bones. I had one bone density scan about 20 years ago and had no bone loss at all at that time.

My mother was a traveler too. She had just completed another tour around the states in a class b rv when, at a rv park in Southern CA her lower back suddenly broke ... quite painfully. That's when she discovered her osteoporosis and she bought books about it for my sister and I so we'd be prepared and forearmed with knowledge, since it is often hereditary.

However - the procedure is voluntary, not totally necessary so far as I know, and I just didn't want to deal with it right now. I think after Covid is not such a big issue it would be a better time for this scan to happen.

 

[travelaround]

There are forest service roads all around your area. If I lived there, I'd be walking all over the place, and eventually up the mountain tops. That's the best exercise for people over 40. Builds bone density, strengthens the muscles, helps lose weight, increases lung performance, keeps the cardiovascular system healthy, and you'll start whistling and singing "Hi ho, hi ho, it's off for fun we go".

There are many great forest service roads and hiking trails near here. I had planned to do some hiking with a friend this summer but due to Covid and her injury our plans changed. Right now my walking is happening with some aerobic exercise type videos. Indoors. I don't like hiking in the forest alone. There are strange and scary things in the forest and I don't even have a dog to keep me company there. My son often goes into the forest on his dirt bike or ATV - but usually with a partner.

 

[travelaround]

It is kind of relaxing to sit here in the evening reading a book, listening to the apples fall off the tree and hit the roof. There are well over a hundred apples on the ground out there now. I occasionally go out and pick some up, and throw them in the wheelbarrow. They will look great in my compost pile. They are small and green, and don't look particularly edible. I have one in the kitchen. I'll try it out.

 

[travelaround]

Oh, and before I go - I also want to say... to Sofi: Nice bed! I'm very impressed with your building skills! I'd like to have something like that eventually. Right now my van bed is a double-decker cot (disk-o-bed). I sleep on the top and use the bottom for storage.

 

[B and C]

It is kind of relaxing to sit here in the evening reading a book, listening to the apples fall off the tree and hit the roof. There are well over a hundred apples on the ground out there now. I occasionally go out and pick some up, and throw them in the wheelbarrow. 

Hard apple cider!

 

[highdesertranger]

YUM apple pie. highdesertranger

 

[Qxxx]

. There are strange and scary things in the forest and I don't even have a dog to keep me company there.

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]I would have a dog if I lived there. Something fairly good sized and a[/font][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif] "[/font][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]non-whimpy"[/font][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif] breed. Also rememb[/font][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]er, the PCT goes right through the wildest part of[/font][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif] that area, crosses 97 at Seiad, and many hundreds of lone travelers go through there every summer. So it's not quite as bad as it might seem. Just 1 1/2 miles i[/font][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]n and back out makes a good hour long walk.[/font]

 

[Qxxx]

I'll  have to take  a LOT of artistic license  while doing all the rest, I'm afraid. I have a school compass to scribe, and I'll be cutting curves and notches on everything else. Wish me luck, I will need it...

I'm no carpenter, but I've seen people place a piece of cardboard next to the wall, align it to the center line of the van, then run one leg of the compass along the wall, and scribe a perfect curve on the cardboard. But you know that, no doubt.

My bed frame is totally different, the supports are just 14" tall and made out of 1x12 pine boards formed into an inverted U shape over the wheel wells on each side of the van. Then 1x4x72 Douglas Fir boards span the 4' gap. There are 6 such boards with 4" spacings inbetween. For some silly reason, I decided the supports should be flush against the walls, which required 40 cuts with the jig saw to make notches on each support. The spanning boards just lay on top the supports, and not attached, so the entire frame can come out in 2 minutes. No screws into the walls of the van. The mattress is 3 layer foam 8" thick, which thickness I need due to a bad hip.

I'm so lazy, I didn't want to sand anything, so I bought finished boards all around. The 1x12 pines are made for shelving. The Douglas Fir spanners have nice rounded edges. Really beautiful boards. I'm so lazy, I didn't even paint or seal the wood in any way.

 

[travelaround]

If I come to your area I'll make you one. I'll take the tools with me!

Thank you! I would love to have a bed like yours. I hope you get to far-Northern California someday. I'm only 20 miles from the Oregon border, in the State of Jefferson.

 

[Qxxx]

So TA, have you joined the Secessionist Movement now?

 

[VanFan]

I don't know if I have osteoporosis (which is the reason for the bone density scan) but my mother had it at my age...

Mine, too.  Broke in 3 places while carrying a very heavy sewing machine upstairs.  She recovered amazingly quickly and well.  At her age that's pretty amazing.  I just figure I have at least osteopenia by now, all things considered.  I'm not entirely current, but I think they've backed off recommendations for increased dietary calcium and Fosamax.  Weight bearing exercise (which, of course, walking is) still seems highly beneficial.  For now, I'll skip the radiation (had more than my share), expense (ditto) and COVID risk and just keep on truckin' .

 

[VanFan]

...I don't like hiking in the forest alone. There are strange and scary things in the forest...

I actually love hiking in the forest alone, but you are absolutely right about it being a good idea to buddy up!  Most of the really, really scary things I've experienced have been in the concrete jungle, though.

 

[VanFan]

I'm no carpenter...

I'm so lazy...

I'm decent at making things out of other things, cobbled together in an unlikely fashion to boot, but have no carpentry skills to speak of at all.

You think you're lazy?  My bed is on a steel frame fastened together with a few wingnuts and tied down with the old electric bed seatbelts.  It's full size, and takes up nearly the whole standard body van, but over time we've decided that's what we like.  Nothing like a super comfy bed!

 

[desert_sailing]

Always good to be secure online.

I found this little graphic and thought it would be nice to share. I am at the 12 characters level with numbers. upper and lower case, AND characters..putting it at 5 million years. Seems to good to be true.

 

[travelaround]

I wish I had only one password - but I have dozens. Frequently change them too. I have to have a password keeper software to keep track of them all.

 

[maki2]

It started raining around midnight but not too heavy, it let up alltogether by mid morning. Of course that also brought with it much lower temperatures which I  really appreciated. Working on projects of course but with errand running breaks. I did get my solar system up and functional but most of the day was overcast eith a few sunbreaks in the late afternoon. My used Engel/Norcopld fridge is now chilled down. It runs on 12v just fine. Not sure yet what its average power draw will be.

Lots of wiring to get done yet but I will get a few 12v sockets functional tomorrow and then focus on some wood trim around thfe windows so I can hang my roller blind shades up.  The rods and the fabric are taking up too much counter space that I need for other things, like working on projects.

My Covid weight gain lbs are all gone now plus a bit more. I will keep that trend going for quite a while longer!

When I was getting my brakes done on the sidewalk in front of the building next door was a paper bag with the wors "free tuna fish" on it. Inside were 12 cans of white Albacore tuna from Costco. Not even close to the expiration date; lots of tuna salad for lunches which I can do now that I have  the fridge running.

 

[travelaround]

Good score on the tuna! I wish I understood the electricity like you do. Also wish I could say my Covid weight gain was gone. Congratulations! I hope you're enjoying your traveling and trailer life!

 

[Qxxx]

TA, I was looking more at wildfires around your area, mainly because ... that's the sort of thing I do. Track the "huge" wildfires and mark them on my Benchmark and deLorme maps. Then, I can plan my summer trips throughout the far west (although these are on hold this summer), and as I've been wanting to travel down the Klamath from Yreka to the sea for some time.

So, there were 2 huge fires in your local area. I have already mentioned the Happy Camp Complex from 2014, 135,000 acres south of Seiad Valley. Turns out there was another huge fire in 2017, the Eclipse that burned 100,000 acres just to the southwest of HC. In a sense, this is good because these fires have already burned a large amount of combustible material in that region. 

This shows the extent of the HC fire.
https://wildfiretoday.com/2014/08/29/california-happy-camp-complex-of-fires/
https://www.capradio.org/articles/2...aims-homes-evacuation-orders-may-be-expanded/

This PDF shows details on the Eclipse fire.
https://www.klamathforestalliance.org/documents/2017_Eclipse_Fire_Report.pdf

 

[travelaround]

That 2014 fire nearly burned my friend's property south of Happy Camp. I remember hearing about it at the time. Hillsides across the river from the main part of town were affected. The damage is still visible.

Fire is pretty much a way of life for people here. When there's a fire they get well-paying jobs. The fires are "managed" not put out and so long as they burn people are getting paid. However - when the fires get close to town they all (so far) get magically contained and then put out.

People here work on the fire crews, serving food, making deliveries, etc. and the store and restaurants get a bit of extra funding too when out-of-area fire crews are camped here.