How did you end up on the road, and why are you still here?

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It’s a hint! Lol!!! Those little knots add up so be careful!
Well, since the broken wire went up through the insulation, I decided to cut it off and run a new one along the frame. which I did, that part works now, furnace and hot water heater igniter. but now I have sand up my back and in my shorts, talk about your itch. I don't know how the girls do it on the beach with all that sand and their tight swim suits.
Well, I've chased the bad part down to the control board inside the fridge door and is a shorted transistor. Got the part number that does not cross reference so - I'm going with generic and hope for the best. Replacement control unit is no long available.
I've found that the best cure for most problems is a fresh cup of coffee or a nap.
 
Well, since the broken wire went up through the insulation, I decided to cut it off and run a new one along the frame. which I did, that part works now, furnace and hot water heater igniter. but now I have sand up my back and in my shorts, talk about your itch. I don't know how the girls do it on the beach with all that sand and their tight swim suits.
Well, I've chased the bad part down to the control board inside the fridge door and is a shorted transistor. Got the part number that does not cross reference so - I'm going with generic and hope for the best. Replacement control unit is no long available.
I've found that the best cure for most problems is a fresh cup of coffee or a nap.
Always love hearing from you Ken ~ Reminding me whether in an RV or a house there is always stuff to fix deal with. Lately doing so many projects I was already looking to a break by getting in the RV and taking off LOL ~ But I am enjoying the change of weather especially finally harvesting food that was refusing to grow until it warmed up. Best to ya and if you ever head west towards southern Colorado NM your welcome to pull up under a tree. We got early monsoons which knocked out the fires and smoke. Also gave some much needed relief from the heat and drought. Ok got to get back to projects and wish I could still drink several cups of coffee w/o ill affects. Have a sip for me ~ Sky
 
Well and richly said. I am happy for you as one who lived in a step van years ago and until recent was a snowbird. I ''get it'' some of us are true nomads and some of us are not or somewhere in the vast in between. But I believe you have to strive to know yourself and make your choices as suits you. I thought I'd get back out on the road by now but it is just not feasible as far as my personal values and goals. However it does seem from the ideological standpoint we here share similarities. I just like that I have a place to be free of hassles in nature without having to move and where I can garden and grow a lot of my food. So while I fought it, I was once told sometimes you have to grow where your planted and many years later have done so. But I thank- covid,climate changes and effects as well as increased urban sprawl and increased smog and congestion that like wildlife I crave getting away from civilization so that makes traveling less appealing to me now as well. Just prefer less moving around now in general which I believe I am more hobbit hermit than nomad, LOL. but I loath conventionality and for me which has only become less and less economically feasible. And my parents workaholic successful business folks yes ended up as aged loosing much of their gains to health care and ?? costs. I seriously feel they missed the boat entirely. If you make money and acquisition your priority all your life with no other regard for experiencing anything else and then end up having to maneuver as they did to keep anything, well forget it not for me. I best remain off the plantation a free slave. My nieces in laws same story too, wow ~.
For me, I am just a collection of chemicals and water, maybe a little beer.
After looking around me and examining "health care" and knowing that no mater what, my life is going to end! That is true for everyone and every living thing.
My choice is to go at the life remaining at high speed and great force. I'm going to show off for Linda, just as I've always done, Not for everyone, just for her, Hey look at me!
Yep and when my last fall down come and I know it, It's going to hurt and I'll be sick but still be macho and strong. Men don't cry! I'm not worth a million dollars of health care.
While I can still contribute worth while things, even just stories to kids, Life will have value.
When I say "kids" that is anyone that still thinks there is no end to "Do Overs" and second chances.
If I can show and demonstrate the value of honest hard work by example, I'll keep on keeping on. When I can show by example the reward for being honest and truthful, well my living will still have value.
When the time comes that there is no more value in living, I know how to let it go.
I do not mean doing anything foolish, I have no wish to be a coward and commit suicide.
What I WILL do is just do what comes naturally, just be what I am, Old and forgetful, quit trying so hard.
It's almost time now, Almost but just not quite yet. I'm not hungry but I did forget to have breakfast or lunch. Have to keep on so will do catch up.
See, I know what I'm doing and why. I am not depressed, I'm glad it Saturday, got things that need done. Better get to it. Catch me if you can-----
 
Hey Ken not sure what you have going on with the fridge but there is a company called Dinosaur Electronics that makes replacement boards for old RV fridges. The website makes it plain that they only sell thru dealerships. Dangit. https://dinosaurelectronics.com/

Hell I'm almost a dinosaur...seems like I should be able to fix a prehistoric RV fridge!

I always enjoy reading your thoughts Ken...and if it applies, Happy Fathers Day.
 
I’ve used Dinosaur boards in the past to get a few more years out of my RV fridge and they worked well but not always a direct replacement as I had some different colored wires and different terminal placement I believe. Since I have shore power most of the time I went eventually with a 110 volt house type fridge. When I go back to full time boondocking I’ll use a compressor 12 volt and solar rather than buying a high priced RV fridge.
 
Hey Ken not sure what you have going on with the fridge but there is a company called Dinosaur Electronics that makes replacement boards for old RV fridges. The website makes it plain that they only sell thru dealerships. Dangit. https://dinosaurelectronics.com/

Hell I'm almost a dinosaur...seems like I should be able to fix a prehistoric RV fridge!

I always enjoy reading your thoughts Ken...and if it applies, Happy Fathers Day.
Thanks so much for the heads up.
My thoughts after reading a few comments from others has been that the type of fridge that I have needs to be replaced or at least the cooling parts.
I do have a smaller fridge that works on 110 volts or 12 volts that uses a compressor, that just keeps chugging along but does not have a freezer compartment.
Anyhow, I've found J.C refrigeration in Indiana that makes a conversion kit for my unit.
Still looking for other options.
Yes I am a Dad, My son is living on a boat here on the Great Lakes, just turned 55 on the 15th, We drank a cold snack to celebrate. whoopeee.
I'm going to do something drastic shortly. The thing that is holding me back is the the looks of things, my abode is still nice and clean and orderly just like new.
For myself, I don't care all that much BUT, If I happen across some one of the softer verity that can cook coffee good, I want to make sure my space does not look like a cave or dungeon. One never knows.
As you can see, I do get carried away on the keyboard. That's what has happened to me as I grow older -- yak, yak, yak. beats walking to nowhere and back.
 
Got off my butt and moved into a van in July 2021. Almost 7 months full time Nomad living. It's still a struggle and a constant adjustment, but I was not going to do what I watched my grandparents and parents do: sit in a chair and wait to die. After being widowed 10-1/2 years ago, getting our sons to independent adulthood and running out of all savings and resources except SS, I started researching Tiny Home living which eventually led me to CheapRVliving.com. Then van life. Once I determined that I could do this, I purchased the best used van that I could and invested everything I could scrape together and the help of my still very young adult sons to get it liveable. I stealth/ urban camped for 6 weeks while the work continued, and hit the road bound for Nevada in late September. I've been learning to live the Nomad life ever since. Now, I am feeling more established and grounded and an beginning to think about heading back to the Midwest, or East/NE for the spring and summer months! Next winter is still undetermined. There are plenty of us retired, or just tired, "old" folks out here living without huge RV's and all the comforts of home! My personal opinion, if you don't want to just sit around being old, quit thinking like an "old" person, and get out there and live!
Happy things are working out for you! I have been trying to tell my husband this very same thing, I don't want to just sit in my chair and die! I guess it's not for everyone, but I am leaning towards just going for it with or without him. Life is too short, and I am a wanderer by nature. All the best for continued happiness.
 
Because my family didn't want me any more. I used to be noordinaryspider and/or Heather from the Trisquel boards.

That didn't sit too well with this chick who used her grandmother, a vulnerable adult in a nursing home, as a mechanical turk to write the prize winning essay for one of Mills College's very last scholarships.

It was intended for someone who had never had an ancestor who had been able to access a formal college education.

I could and I did, a long time ago; little pieces of paper with gold stickers on them are readily available at the dollar store, on line, or in the dumpster during "Hippie Christmas" after the universities kick the freshmen out for the summer to sanitize the toilets and throw us away.

So to make a short story long, same old same old. I'm Ali's friend.
 
I’ve used Dinosaur boards in the past to get a few more years out of my RV fridge and they worked well but not always a direct replacement as I had some different colored wires and different terminal placement I believe. Since I have shore power most of the time I went eventually with a 110 volt house type fridge. When I go back to full time boondocking I’ll use a compressor 12 volt and solar rather than buying a high priced RV fridge.
Good thoughts which seem to be fitting mine, little by little.
Here are some of my rambling thoughts.
Solar panels, one at a time plus one or two more batteries for a total of three would give me enough power to run a 12 volt only fridge?
Or an inverter to run a 110 volt fridge at a much lower initial cost. BUT the power loss to convert 12 volts to 110 volts would be about 40 percent..
Having a freezer large enough to keep frozen things frozen would cut my food costs way down since trips to the store would be fewer.
I have not given up on my absorption/ammonia fridge just yet and will do further research on the dinosaur boards that you have brought to my attention.
Further trouble shooting on my trailer wiring has indicated that the 12volt power wire inside the insulation and walls has shorted to ground and probably worn in two causing spikes to wreak havoc on the power board and temp control circuits for the fridge. before I go any further, I'm going to verify that thought. I think that supply wire also feeds the propane furnace which does not show power now either.. No use in ordering further parts until I know for sure. (My trailer is a 2003 modal lightly used)
Meanwhile, I am still trying to keep my health up. I am a very poor personal detail person. I forget to eat, and doing laundry keeps slipping my mind until I can't find any clean cloths., Then that puts a stop to other projects, Then going to the store ---- Well you get the idea. I'm not a very good single person, certainly not a multi tasker, or multi thinker. besides, thinking gives me a head ache. I've tried making lists, but then I forget where I put the list.
I did remember to go the the drug store --- but forgot what I went there for until the cash register lady reminded me that I had prescriptions to pick up.. I'm good till September when I have to go in for more needle pokes and all that doctor stuff.
Ya see, I really did rely on my wife to keep me headed in the right direction every day for the past 60 some years. That's why meals and cooking is so hard for me. And that's why I need a freezer for those ready to eat, microwave meals are so import. Did up my last one about an hour ago so that means I have to go to the store tomorrow, I hate stores. Oh well.
 
Because my family didn't want me any more. I used to be noordinaryspider and/or Heather from the Trisquel boards.

That didn't sit too well with this chick who used her grandmother, a vulnerable adult in a nursing home, as a mechanical turk to write the prize winning essay for one of Mills College's very last scholarships.

It was intended for someone who had never had an ancestor who had been able to access a formal college education.

I could and I did, a long time ago; little pieces of paper with gold stickers on them are readily available at the dollar store, on line, or in the dumpster during "Hippie Christmas" after the universities kick the freshmen out for the summer to sanitize the toilets and throw us away.

So to make a short story long, same old same old. I'm Ali's friend.
Well at least you have family - I'm the last of the tribe, well my son is the last and he has not given me any grand children and at 55 years old, that's not going to happen.
So, my time is short, no use in blathering about it. I do want to leave some tracks in the dirt somewhere though even if they don't last very long.
 
I found I couldn’t run an apartment fridge on a 300 watt panel and 2 100 amp hour AGM batteries for very long which would be required to keep things frozen. With SanTan solar panels being so cheap I have altered my roof to hold more panels which will mean more batteries and a larger controller. HDR, always said multiple 12 volt compressor fridges ( use one as a freezer you seldom get in) and lots of solar were the way to go for off grid boondocking. I’ve mostly been able to be somewhere with grid power, free ice or cheap local food by workamping. It isn’t going to be cheap to keep things frozen while boondocking but solar looks to be the cheapest to me. RV fridge with propane as an option just cost too much and is not very reliable and inverter systems just take too much power in my opinion. Different people seem to have different results when it comes to keeping things frozen off grid. The other option is to store foods that don’t require refrigeration which with what is available today could work but you have to make sure you can do portions with no leftovers to store in many cases or it will end up being wasteful and costly.
 
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I found I couldn’t run an apartment fridge on a 300 watt panel and 2 100 amp hour AGM batteries for very long which would be required to keep things frozen. With SanTan solar panels being so cheap I have altered my roof to hold more panels which will mean more batteries and a larger controller. HDR, always said multiple 12 volt compressor fridges ( use one as a freezer you seldom get in) and lots of solar were the way to go for off grid boondocking. I’ve mostly been able to be somewhere with grid power, free ice or cheap local food by workamping. It isn’t going to be cheap to keep things frozen while boondocking but solar looks to be the cheapest to me. RV fridge with propane as an option just cost too much and is not very reliable and inverter systems just take too much power in my opinion. Different people seem to have different results when it comes to keeping things frozen off grid. The other option is to store foods that don’t require refrigeration which with what is available today could work but you have to make sure you can do portions with no leftovers to store in many cases or it will end up being wasteful and costly.
 
I've not given up on the built in fridge/freezer yet. One thing that I must note is that my son lives on a boat here on the Great Lakes and uses a small 110 volt fridge with one 100 watt panel with a small back up Generator feeding 3 marine batteries with an inverter.
Panel with controller cost him about $200, Inverter was about $150. I bought him two deep cycle batteries to go along with what he already had. Very small freezer inside the fridge, Not enough space for frozen meals though. I need much more.
Anyway - I've got more problems that I'd not discovered until today. 12 volt system needs replaced , well not all of it, the converter works from 110 volts down to 12 volts and seems to keep the house battery up ok but the feed from the battery to the furnace, hot water heater and fridge is KA- Put..
Before I spend any more money on appliances, I'm going to re-wire, then go from there.
I want to see the specks on the 12 volt compressor fridge conversion from J.C. refrigeration in Northern Indiana before I go crazy on anything.
You guys responding here with what you know has helped a great deal.
Thank you
 
If you have any boat shop contacts Mercury repowers come with new power cables that usually are 10’ long. Most busy boat shops are happy to let you have the old ones if you can get them before they scrap them. I got mine just by asking and good marine electrical cable is expensive to buy new.
 
Oh- crap!
I've turned into an old man. Sink is full of dirty dishes, My shirt has a torn sleeve, cuff buttons are missing, sox don't mate with a hole in one toe. There is a fly in here and I have a fly swatter in my hand. I'm not going to chase it, I'm going to wait for it to come to me, talk about your lazy.
In addition to all that, The coffee is done but the pot is out of reach and am trying to decide how bad I want a cup, do I get up and take those two steps right now or wait for the mail lady to come and then make a move. to get both, What if there's no mail today?
I did take the trash out last night at about 2am.
Been thinkin' again don't ya know. What if I did snag an old lady to roam around with? What if we were both old? My shirt would still be torn, my sox would still not mate up and the hole in the toe would still be there, the fly would die of old age. There would be two torn shirts with buttons missing. Well that might not be so bad, depending on where the tear in the shirt was...I'm still a guy. (I should slap myself)
The fridge in the travel trailer is still not fixed, The one in here works fine, but this travel trailer is too big for two- sleeps eight, what would I do with seven old ladies? (shudder)
I did do a check on my bank account, can't do anything major till my pension and social security comes in. New fridge would come to $2 grand or more and it's hot outside. Been putting 1 grand a month in saving for the past 3 years and living and fixing with the rest.
I wonder how hot it is in southern Colorado and the price of fuel to get there, and if I did how long would I stay in one spot?
No matter what I think and finally decide to do it will be wrong, that's waffling!
I can think of all sorts of reasons NOT to do one thing or another, so nothing gets done and I end up getting older and older, Until one day I will be too old to do anything and thats what I am doing right now. Nothing!
Come to think of it, I am old.
Ok, I can either be old and do nothing or be old and do something even it's wrong. That sounds like more fun!
 
Ken, we're both old. If I keep reading your posts instead of a book, I'm going to wind up with the hots for you and that isn't going to end well.

Just saying.

You already changed my name from "Spazz" to a concept that is more important than winning first prize in a spelling bee so cut it the eff out.

I already tried that and it didn't work. When your center is a hole, you CAN'T cut it off. You, me, and my guitar all have that much in common anyway. Besides, I have way too many pets.

All of us do.

So cut it out or I am just going to have to.....

...pay my phone bill and take a nap so I can live long enough to read your next post.

< cringe >

Sincerely yours,

S. Citzen
 
Ken, we're both old. If I keep reading your posts instead of a book, I'm going to wind up with the hots for you and that isn't going to end well.

Just saying.

You already changed my name from "Spazz" to a concept that is more important than winning first prize in a spelling bee so cut it the eff out.

I already tried that and it didn't work. When your center is a hole, you CAN'T cut it off. You, me, and my guitar all have that much in common anyway. Besides, I have way too many pets.

All of us do.

So cut it out or I am just going to have to.....

...pay my phone bill and take a nap so I can live long enough to read your next post.

< cringe >

Sincerely yours,

S. Citzen
Ha-- pets, too many. In my case It's just one, a cat. This cat was Linda's pet more than mine. But now the cat has to be cared for.
In any case, the cat has to be let out to do cat stuff, hunting for mice and birds and what ever cats do, and of course the cat needs to be petted on my lap, doing the motor boat thing that cats do, digging claws in my legs, This cat does not travel well does not like the vet at all. Shots and all of that. Then mad at me for hours afterword's.
Went down to the boat docks to see my son-- He said lets go for a ride! where upon he backed out of the dock and we were gone for hours, I had to do the tiller while he did the sails and other nautical stuff. Didn't get back to my trailer till well after dark and tired, steering is hard work. Quiet though. He is making plans for me to go with him down to the gulf of Mexico -- He never asked as son's do..
He also informed me that I was going to build him an "auto tiller"
He has this big ol' dog that is so clumsy footed on the boat that he wags his tail so hard that he waged himself right off the boat, He is not a water dog but did stay afloat long enough to hook his collar and drag him back aboard three or four times.
---- well anyway, last night, --- I bypassed the fridge electrical controls and let it run all night on gas, freezer got down to zero. I can build a gas only control and bypass all of that complicated power board stuff, just won't have the 110 volt switching things, should be ok for me to do what I do.
OH-- I cooked this morning, well almost cooked, fried and egg and heated up some hash browns and some frozen sausages, and burnt some toast. Coffee I am a master at already. I remembered to take my blood pressure meds too, I think I have blood pressure. Last night while crawling around under my trailer looking for that broken wire I bumped my head again , something started getting in one eye, which made it hard to see, turned out that I was leaking that red stuff from my head again, So Since I didn't have any band aids, I stuck a piece of duct tape over the hole, that worked. I look kind of odd though.
Another thing that might be helpful to others, I cut myself with a knife pretty deep, Should have gotten stitches I suppose but being a DIY kind of guy, I patted at it for a bit till the bleeding slowed down, then squirted some super glue in the opening and squished it closed, then more duct tape. Checked it today, still closed up. super glue burns like heck. Good stuff! It was my right hand which I don't use all that much anyway.
Off I go to see what other mischief I can get into...
 
Hummm---- I've thought until my head hurts about the same things. Boondocking is my way of living, so 110 volt fridge even with solar and batteries just won' t work - now gas might be ok. (note I said might). Smaller group of cells and smaller group of batteries.
Still thinking in spurts.
 
Gas sounds good. There's a thread for that, but me too, my friend, me too.

Linda would want me to slow down so I am. You are still a hot dude, Ken, because that is what you have always been and what you will always be.

They can take your name but they can't touch what's inside. You are anything but a cheap plastic doll to shut Barbie(c) up.

We are a concept, not a place or a person, but we've got your back. You reap what you sow in this life.

Why would I want to boink Linda's husband? That's disgusting!

It's you we want, Ken. Not your money. Not your toys. You.

We just want you.
 
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