Archive for August, 2010
Project Niagara: Sewer Line Storage
Posted by Michael Livingston in Project Niagara (Camper) on August 30th, 2010
Because our new PUP comes equipped with a sink, shower, and flushing toilet (!), it has both gray-water and black-water tanks. This means, among other things, that when we’re done camping we need to stop by a dump station to dispose of all the waste.
To connect our holding tanks to the dump station we bought ourselves an RV sewage line and the requisite attachments. There were several everything-you-need kits available at our local Camping World to choose from, but we bought the one that was not only very highly recommended by the staff, but also happened to be on sale: The RhinoFLEX Swivel kit.
For very obvious reasons, once this lovely piece of equipment has been used once, you don’t want to store it where it might come in contact with, well, anything. As a result, these kinds of sewer lines are designed to fit in a 4” square bumper, which is essentially the standard size in the RV industry. Pop a little rubber cap on the end of the bumper, and you should be able to slip the sewer hose inside it, thus simultaneously storing the hose away from everything else and making efficient use of otherwise wasted space.
I say “should be able to slip” because, as it turns out, either our 4” bumper is no longer a 4” bumper — due to warping, rusting, or whatever — or the housings in the RhinoFLEX kit will not let it fit, as it advertises, in a 4” bumper. Regardless of the explanation, the fact of the matter was clear: our PUP’s sewer hose wasn’t going in the bumper.
Putting the hose inside the PUP was out of the question. But if not in the bumper, where?
In a vinyl fencepost, of course! It’s the first thing you thought of, right?
Christmas in August
Posted by Michael Livingston in Homelife on August 28th, 2010
A few years back, we spent an enjoyable few days staying at the Albuquerque home of some long-time friends. One evening, Tom — a stalwart friend since middle school — took me out onto his back patio one evening and hit a switch. At once, the patio was awash in the heart-warming glow of Christmas lights that had been strung around the patio roof.
It was really cool, and I wanted it.
Of course, we don’t really have a patio like they do, and most of the time it’s too bloody buggy here at El Cid to use one if we had it.
The solution? Bring the lights indoors. Into the house. That, I figured, would be really cool.
I’ve been wanting to do this project ever since, but I also didn’t want to spend much money on it. As with the new tent trailer (or the Commander, or …), this was a patience project: we figured out exactly what we wanted (in this case enough commercial-grade white-strand lights to encircle the family room) and then waited, waited, and waited some more until we found what we wanted at a price we could afford.
I’m pleased, then, to announce that the lights have arrived in our house. Install took about an hour (we have crown moulding, so most of it is just tucked up). Now when you flick a switch, you get an illuminated gloriousness that just instinctively makes you happy. Here’s a shot of one corner to give you a feel for the thing (don’t mind the mess):
It's Christmas in August! Happy Hannukwanzmastide, everybody!
Am I the only one who can’t help but smile at that?
Project Niagara: Cubby in a Cabinet
Posted by Michael Livingston in Project Niagara (Camper) on August 26th, 2010
A few days ago, when I introduced our new Niagara pop-up (the people in the “know” apparently like to call them simply PUPs), I concluded the post thus:
Being the kind of fellow I am, of course, I’m now looking to start modifying the trailer. Going to start small, I think, by just cutting apart a cabinet or two.
It’s possible that some people out there thought I was joking. Those people, it hardly needs to be said, don’t know me very well.
Project Niagara
Posted by Michael Livingston in Homelife, Project Niagara (Camper) on August 23rd, 2010
In the midst of all the other things going on as I try to transition from the “no job” days of summer to the “whole bunch of jobs” days of the school year (like, say, having minor surgery), we bought a tent trailer.
We’d been looking for an RV of some kind for a number of years now: tent trailers, hybrid trailers, and travel trailers. Given my summers off and our love of the outdoors, having an RV suited our style. We just had to find the right one at the right price, which was very difficult to do.
Thankfully, we think we have it now: a 2007 Fleetwood Niagara. I grew up with a couple of tent trailers (around here they call them a “pop-up”), and I can tell you this ain’t much like what I’m used to: it’s got high walls that provide high counters, massive king-sized bunks, a slide-out dinette, and even an interior shower/potty. It’s very nice. Have a look:
Back at El Cid, with New Job
Posted by Michael Livingston in Homelife, Project XK (Jeep) on August 8th, 2010
So I’m back at The Citadel, getting ready for a new year of the old job — medieval literature professor and all that — but I come back from Colorado with a new job, too. The preparation for it has been a big reason for my silence this summer, in addition to the fact I spend a good chunk of my time too far out in the wilds of the West to have internet or even (gasp!) cellular service, of course.
If you know me only as a writer or a professor, the new job surely will sound strange. My brother and I — and our saintly patient wives — are for at least a while slipping into management of the family business that our dad started as a “hobby” in his retirement: 4xGuard.
Super manly logo.
We’d already been doing some work for 4xG — redesigning its website and logo, working through new product design, and just generally talking through issues as they came up — but things are much more official now. Yes, I am now collecting a paycheck to help design and sell skidplates and other off-road accessories for Jeeps.
Strange for a specialist in medieval literature, I suppose, though it does sort of make sense when you think about it. After all, what 4xGuard makes is simply the modern equivalent of this:
Medieval skidplates, baby.
The new job means a bit less free time in my life, obviously, but it’s also something I really enjoy doing. Plus, well, it gives me a good excuse to build new goodies for my Commander. It’s work, right?
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