Good morning

[B and C]

This was a simple drivers license renewal. The first two tries didn't want to take my eye Dr. orders that I don't need glasses. Today at the new place it was just all we need is the Dr.'s paperwork and I walked out three minutes later. When I called headquarters in Austin, it seems that each location kinda has their own discretion on how this is handled. I drove 90 miles one way to go to the one that removed my restriction in the first place. Got up at 3:45 to be first in line as I needed a family member there to hold my place in line while I stayed with my wife in the van. Got it done so am finally happy. I'll be having lunch with my ex co-workers downtown wednesday and the meeting some friends from australia afterwards for coffee, that is if my DIL will take care of my wife for that. I shall see how that goes. She is not dependable at all.

 

[maki2]

My cost was $249.00 for the title transfer and registration including some sales tax.

 

[maki2]

Sunny but cold morning, have the heat on. Today I have orders that came into my Etsy store to ship out and more inventory to get cut and packaged. October, November and December as well as January are always the busiest months. Not complaining about having work to do, the income is sufficient reward for doing it. Not having to go out and work for anyone else is also great.

 

[Cammalu]

Jeezzz. Half the cost of your camper! Those are some heavy fees!!

 

[travelaround]

Good morning. I'm considering buying a house. Another day to work on insulation. My electric heater arrived and makes evenings in the cargo trailer something to look forward to.

 

[bullfrog]

We pretty much stay in an RV in one spot six or more months a year in Utah because a rental space and utilities are so cheap compared to living in a house or trying to buy a lot. Seems everywhere we bought property something happened to cause us to move! The fact we could pick up and go made life much better for us, just knowing we could, that we have been here six months every year for 15 years now! We travel and try to stay out of the cold in the winter.

 

[maki2]

Good morning.  I'm considering buying a house. Another day to work on insulation. My electric heater arrived and makes evenings in the cargo trailer something to look forward to.

Buying a house?  That is a big turnaround for someone who just bought a van and a cargo trailer. But is very interesting twist of how life sometimes goes when you have laid out new plans.  

Of course I would not mind having a little cabin somewhere as long as I had a free caretaker who gets out of my way when I wanted to be there.

 

[travelaround]

Buying a house?  . . . a little cabin somewhere as long as I had a free caretaker who gets out of my way when I wanted to be there.

Yes, totally unexpected, but I met a real estate agent and told her what I wanted and she showed me a place yesterday. Both my son and daughter are into it... so I might have those free caretakers to help out and then I can go travel... knowing that there's a place for my adult children if they need it. Seems like the best use of my money right now... and we all know this place from when we lived here years ago. More information later... we'll see if my offer gets accepted.

 

[B and C]

Late again but I had an excuse. I got out today because it's my birthday, I won't say how old I am but the first number is a seven. Never thought I'd live this long.

Had lunch (BBQ) with my ex coworkers in downtown Houston. I hate big city traffic. Anyway, spent about an hour and a half with them and then headed over to a Starbucks near where some friends from Australia (down under) were staying. They have been having fun (not) driving on the wrong side of the road (for them) and got into the World Series traffic downtown last night right at game start time. Took them 2 hours to go to where their GPS said it would take 20 minutes. Had a great time at both places and was fun catching up.

Now, back to the grind.

Carry on.

 

[travelaround]

Your friends got a taste of the REAL USA culture! Glad you got out and re-energized, Brian.

 

[crofter]

Western OR: Last four nights below freezing with a high yesterday of 32 degrees and last night had a low of 21 degrees. Quite cold I must say for someone who is never cold due to bundling up so much, I was cold anyway. I came back north due to deadlines and commitments. Can't wait to go south again!! It only took a few days to adjust to 90 degrees every day. 

Good on you TA if you can afford property. You could develop a permanent van pad and rent out the house for income. A guy with a tiny house did this in South Dakota, renting out the existing house and setting up a pad for the tiny house in a scenic part of the property. He said he was quite happy with the arrangement and the income. Nice to have a home base. I am a part time dweller, and my winter gig involves taking care of animals while the owners travel. ~crofter

 

[maki2]

Yawn, I had to get up before daylight this morning. Of course that does not mean all that early at this time of year, still dark at 7 am. Went over to the welder's shop to see my newly built trailer frame, he is one of those get an early start on the day men. The frame looks great, he is a real master welder, and it is super strong but not overly heavy. Made with 2 x 3 for the primary framing rather than 2 x 2 of the original frame. This one won't have trouble with the tongue getting bent. The angle of the frame close to the tongue now has extra reinforcement to keep it nice and stable. As soon as the little bit of overcast clears off it will be rolled outside and I will go back over there and put on a coat of primer. Then it will go back inside before dark. If it is dry enough tomorrow I will go back and put on a coat of satin black.

He is in an older commercial building in the industrial area. He does vintage car restoration for fun. The whole length of the building has the floor covered in steel plate that has an heat treated oil finish on it. Quite the shop space! I am very fortunate woman to have his assistance in making it possible for me to fix up my fixer trailer.

 

[travelaround]

Nice frame, Maki - that ought to do it. Seems things are falling in place gradually this year.

Just bought blackout curtains from Amazon and put one over the trailer's window, then stepped outside. Wow... the light inside was totally blocked. You cannot tell there's anything going on inside - and that's with only one layer of blackout curtain. I'll be using these to make the insulated curtains for my van.

Halloween is happening. There was a children's parade today and my son invited me over to a party he put together for his friends and a few moms. Lots of children visiting for trick or treat candy... that was fun.

House purchase . . . I don't know. Real estate agent didn't get a response from the seller today. I hope he didn't already sell it to someone else. Maybe we'll hear something tomorrow.

 

[maki2]

So nice to wake up this morning to the minor miracle of having a brand new frame sitting right next to my travel trailer. I decided it was an event worth documenting with a quick overhead photo taken from the upstairs walkway. Not high enough for a full aerial shot of the whole travel trailer. But next week I will get some interesting photos at the boat yard as they pick the shell up in a sling and transfer it over to the new frame. Too bad I don't own a drone with a camera, that would be a fun thing to film.

 

[bullfrog]

I used a long wooden 4x4 jacked up sitting on blocks across the front and rolled the trailer underneath the camper and it worked pretty well. To get off the old trailer I unbolted the camper then I put supports under the rear of the camper with the tongue jack fully down, then cranked the tongue jack fully up and put the 4x4 on blocks under the front of the camper, lowered the tongue jack till the trailer was level and with the smaller wheels and tires I had put on was able to roll out the old trailer and roll in the new one, then just reversed the process.

 

[crofter]

I used a long wooden 4x4  jacked up sitting on blocks across the front and rolled the trailer underneath the camper and it worked pretty well.  To get off the old trailer I unbolted the camper then I put supports under the rear of the camper with the tongue jack fully down, then cranked the tongue jack fully up and put the 4x4 on blocks under the front of the camper,  lowered the tongue jack till the trailer was level and with the smaller wheels and tires I had put on was able to roll out the old trailer and roll in the new one, then just reversed the process.

So I suppose that makes you a jack of all trades, tee hee. We tried your method with a shed years ago, and I will never forget the slo motion descent of the shed, then it hit and all the siding fell off. It was just a dent though, shed is still in use and no one was hurt when one of the jacks shot out from under it.     ~crofter

 

[maki2]

I used a long wooden 4x4  jacked up sitting on blocks across the front and rolled the trailer underneath the camper and it worked pretty well.  To get off the old trailer I unbolted the camper then I put supports under the rear of the camper with the tongue jack fully down, then cranked the tongue jack fully up and put the 4x4 on blocks under the front of the camper,  lowered the tongue jack till the trailer was level and with the smaller wheels and tires I had put on was able to roll out the old trailer and roll in the new one, then just reversed the process.

I do know how to do the transfer with jacks and blocks, beams and engineering stacks and have those items. But I weighed all the other factors that are part of making decisions, and felt that letting the boat yard do the lift was a sensible choice given our ages, temporary physical limitations, time constraints, etc. The boat yard is just a few blocks away from me and their special rates for off season have started. It won't take long at all for them to slide the straps around, pick it up and set it back down on the new trailer. We will have removed all the bolts except for one in the front and one in the back as there is no risk of moving it that way over such a such distance.

 

[bullfrog]

Don't let them scratch it, it is way to nice looking! Good luck, hope everything goes well.

 

[Dean and Buster]

Hi dwellers getting colder here in Missouri

 

[crofter]

Howdy Dean & Buster! Good to hear from you. Nice day here in OR, 60's and a few clouds. I am taking a rest day today, I seem to need more of those. I did the budget today and found that I am over (again). Financial wizardry seems more difficult to do when you are not sposed to be working.    ~crofter