My Path to (No)Madness!

[NoMadYesHappy]

Give her the hose, or bottle of water, better yet a fire extinguisher & teach her how to pull the pin, aim, squeeze direct yada yada, tell her to stand back and watch & be ready to rescue the testee

Can we say testee? 
Sorry, from one nut to another, it HAD to be done!

 

[NoMadYesHappy]

Ahead of schedule ... we launch TODAY!

Watch for stuff as the build progresses ...

 

[Saunterer]

Ahead of schedule ... we launch TODAY!

Watch for stuff as the build progresses ...

Congratulations! You and your daughter appear very content. Looking forward to your build-out.

 

[waldenbound]

Another one making it to freedom. Congrats NoMad.

 

[SoulRaven]

Ahead of schedule ... we launch TODAY!

Watch for stuff as the build progresses ...

Test - ee is the one doing test  Like Employ - ee who does all the work. 

I don't use Google, so I could not "like" your latest video, but I did like it. Rachel is a very sweet young lady. You will both find you have more hours than you know what to do with, at first. It gets better and better with time. Stay positive. You are never homeless when you have a vehicle, you're both nomads in a traveling home. 
Be like the cute & funny little doggies, kicking it and happy just being doggies going with the flow while on the go and feeling free.

Mike has some good ideas for his vans, might help you in your trailer buildup decisions. Backroads Vanner - Mike
I got a lot of good ideas from his early videos on cabinets & other storage plus solar, but I didn't find the Yeti useful for me. We don't know where Mike's hanging out lately. I'm sure he's lost in the wilderness & very happy, somewhere.

 

[tx2sturgis]

I watched the video too...good luck on this!

The fold out sleeping pods are called 'tip outs' in the industry...but it will involve modifying and strenghtening the side wall framing.

I would suggest you make use of the ramp door and create a fold out room there.

With stands for the ramp, and some sort of heavy canvas and a frame made of aluminum or heavy tubing you could set it up when camped and add a lot of floor space. 

Good luck...and yeah lots of places around ABQ to park for a night. If you will be heading south on I-25 in the morning, the WMT on the south end of ABQ at Rio Bravo and Coors Blvd is a nice mostly quiet store to park at. Use the NE corner of the lot if available. 



If you will be headed west, on I-40, then a good place to park overnight is at the WMT at I-40 and Coors Blvd, parking on the SW corner.



If you only make it to Las Vegas NM and need a good place to overnite, Pino's is a nice quiet place with a good restaurant in the morning...take exit 347 off I-25:







Of course you may already be parked by the time you see this message...but others might have use for the information.

 

[NoMadYesHappy]

If you will be headed west, on I-40, then a good place to park overnight is ...

tx2sturgis ...
Man!  Pics and everything!  Too cool!  Thanks! 
South AZ by tomorrow!

 

[tx2sturgis]

How's the Hyundai handling the grades with the trailer?

Raton pass is a long steep climb.. and oh yeah, the ride down is steep too!

 

[NoMadYesHappy]

How's the Hyundai handling the grades ...

Surprisingly well!  I mean, I ain't winin' no races, but I pulled up Raton without a headwind at about 60-65 and averaged about 11 miles a gallon.  It went south after that ... ugly headwinds most of the ride through NM to Albuquerque and about 9MPG.  Still managed 55 or better.  Even flirted with 75mph once and got about 7mpg.  I have to say, it's pulling better than I expected.

Having said that, I think I'm going to get something bigger eventually.  Excursions have caught my eye.  But, the Hyundai will do for now. 

 

[NoMadYesHappy]

A Saturday evening post ...

Launch, Day II
~9 1/2 minutes

 

[SoulRaven]

A Saturday evening post ...

I find it more than annoying; I go to watch your video, YT says my player can't play YT videos. 
But, it plays all other older vids on YT. 
Tomorrow, it will play yours, the same one it said YT could not play today. 
It does the same thing to me on Oppenheimer Ranch's videos of today.
Tomorrow, today's vids will play just fine and it's now a rerun 

 

[SoulRaven]

A Saturday evening post ...

5 mins later, it played. Haha!
It's a ChiPom   

Where are you to be on Monday?

 

[tx2sturgis]

I find it more than annoying; I go to watch your video, YT says my player can't play YT videos. 
But, it plays all other older vids on YT. 
Tomorrow, it will play yours, the same one it said YT could not play today. 
It does the same thing to me on Oppenheimer Ranch's videos of today.
Tomorrow, today's vids will play just fine and it's now a rerun 

This probably has to do with the way that freshly uploaded videos are processed by YouTube. The native upload format is available right away, but the other formats are encoded over the next few hours with a lower priority.

 

[NoMadYesHappy]

I find it more than annoying; I go to watch your video, YT says my player can't play YT videos. 
But, it plays all other older vids on YT. 
Tomorrow, it will play yours, the same one it said YT could not play today. 
It does the same thing to me on Oppenheimer Ranch's videos of today.
Tomorrow, today's vids will play just fine and it's now a rerun 

My daughter had trouble playing it too ... wonder what's up?
Any YT experts out there?
Maybe the FBI/NSA/WTF is vetting my content ... LOL!

 

[NoMadYesHappy]

5 mins later, it played. Haha!
It's a ChiPom   

Where are you to be on Monday?

I think tx2sturgis has the inside scoop.  Thx! 
He thinks he's a Rottweiler!
I will be in Yuma sometime on Monday, walking into Algodones for my blood pressure medicine and a new belt.

 

[SoulRaven]

I think tx2sturgis has the inside scoop.  Thx! 
He thinks he's a Rottweiler!
I will be in Yuma sometime on Monday, walking into Algodones for my blood pressure medicine and a new belt.

Yer not going to need BP medicine in a year, if your play your legs right walking about, and diet gets cleaner d/t necessity & eating for simplicity while on road. 

 

[John61CT]

> How's the Hyundai handling the grades?

Are you clocking transmission temp real-time?

 

[NoMadYesHappy]

> How's the Hyundai handling the grades?

Are you clocking transmission temp real-time?

As scary as my answer is, John61CT ... no. 
But, we've just gotten to a part of the country where temps have been above freezing for part of the day.
With low temps and slower speeds, I am hoping that we're keeping the transmission happy.  A quick check of the dip stick on a stop for gas felt about 150-175F to my touch.
Once in the San Bernardinos, a visit to the mechanic is on the list for the Hyundai.  I wanted to do it before we left, but I ran out of time. I want to add a cooler and some means to monitor temp.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Apparently at least some of the Hyundai cars have the ability to send the transmission temps to the OBD port....

Here is a list of commands that work with the ScanGaugeII to pull that data and provide a display for it.

https://www.scangauge.com/support/x-gauge-commands/hyundai-kia/

I would assume that other OBD2 gauges and dongles could so the same thing....

I'm currently trying to get my new one to access the transmission temp sensor on my new truck...I had the old one (installed in my van) doing this but the new one has new firmware updates and I spent some time yesterday working with it....with no success so far...but I will let you know when I get it figured out.

 

[VJG1977]

You might want to pick up an infrared thermometer like this one.  Around $15 on Amazon.

 

Not ideal for checking transmission temps but can give you a relative guide.  Find a spot on the tranny that you can see without getting on the ground, maybe where the transmission cooling line leaves the transmission.  Check the temp after an easy pull to get a starting number, then check when ever you stop, especially after a hard pull.  I also check my van and trailer tires and wheel hub temps at every stop.  One tire having a higher temperature can indicate low air pressure.

If your trailer came with the E-Z Lube Grease Caps you might also want to pick up a grease gun and lube.

Wishing you safe travels.  Vic