snail powered
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A new Windows icon just came up on the right side of my taskbar. When I clicked on it, it was an offer for a free upgrade to Windows 10 from Microsoft. Has anyone else had this offer? Does anyone know anything about Windows 10?
This is supposedly a full version of 10, limited time offer, 3 Gb download.
Looking at the internet to see what it is about is that is an advert from Microsoft that loaded when you did your standard automatic update. It is essentially a reservation for a free upgrade to Windows 10 when it does finally become available. Supposedly there will be a free upgrade from Windows 7 and 8 and 8.1 that will be good for one year after the release of the non beta version of Windows 10.
What you want to be aware of is if you click on that icon to reserve the free upgrade then as soon as it becomes available it will automatically upload it to your computer as part of an automatic normal everyday type of update. Of course it can't install it without some extra clicks from you to do the final install authorization so don't panic about it uploading and then taking over your machine. But a long automatic upload into my computer of a large program is not something I would want to have happen when I fire it up to do work. You would want to have time to plan out a backup of your computer and files. You would want to know before you upgrade if all of your hardware components and programs are going to be compatible. I myself would prefer to wait until the last couple of months of the free period to make the switch if I did decide to make it and quit likely I will as there are things about 8 and 8.1 that I don't care for. Waiting longer gives the hardware component companies and software companies more time to get the bugs out of the software coding they created at the early end of the release of Windows 10.
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You could make your own brackets. It is not difficult to bend some up out of aluminum or lightweight sheet metal. You can paint them to match if you need to do so. It is a minor issue to have a leg of the bracket with a mounting screw exposed versus having the trap door style that comes with the blinds. The valance will pretty much hide it. Perfect DIY project to learn a bit of basic sheet metal skills on. You can do this!
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Anyone who can shake a rattle can could have the ability to do a good paint job....if they know how to move it correctly across the surface to get an even application. Most people who spray paint think they know how to do it without any instruction but they generally tend to stand still and sweep the spray paint applicator in an arc which results in uneven coverage. The trick is to keep your hand at the same angle, always parallel and exactly the same distance to the surface. You must move your arm instead of pivoting your wrist and on larger areas you must move your whole body while keeping your hand at that same parallel angle and consistent distance to the surface. There are also optimal patterns of movement across the surface to ensure even coverage. You also have to pay attention to the speed of your movements so that the coverage is of the same thickness.
Some people will develop the feel for the "dance" with the spray gun faster than others. Those persons might not even be aware of what it is they are doing which is why they might think everyone can do it without any instruction. The rest of us have to be constantly focused and aware that we must do a tightly choreographed body dance pattern with the sprayer as your partner and that it is set to an internal music with a specific pace. Some folks never will be good painters as they can't feel that required and acquired coordinated rhythm. However do remember that learning a new skill does require a little practice so don't give up too fast if it is not achieved in one minute's time. Go through a few cans of paint practicing on flattened cardboard boxes as your test surface before you start on your real project. Stay focused on what you are doing and always be "in the moment" instead of letting your mind drift off into over-spray.
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Hotshot No Pest Strips work very well at killing insects. Note that the instructions say use them for stored vehicles not for occupied vehicles. I have cut them into smaller sections for closets where winter clothes were stored. I also used them in unfinished basements to keep the spiders under control. Good for a quick overnight solution to a sudden fruit fly issue in your home. Also handy to bring out if you get a pesky mosquito or three you just can't seem to catch. It will get rid of sugar ants too although for those I have good results by putting a small amount of Borax laundry detergent booster on their trails.
A small piece of the No Pest Strip will do the trick inside the outside control compartment of a water heater, generator or bumper storage box. Wear gloves to handle it when you cut off a piece. Store the rest of the strip in an airtight container and it will still be good for when you need to replace the first small piece.
When I need one I head to a neighborhood hardware store to find them.
http://www.amazon.com/Hot-Shot-5580-Unscented-Repellent/dp/B0019BK8AG
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Not Really, If your going to do it right for a full load draw with AC on my idea is the best, less drain on batteries and recharge time is alot faster than the solar panel.
Already have the 2k draw set up and is working fine for small busts of use.
Useless your going for all green all off the grid than by all means bolt as many solar panels or even put them around your rig for extra power.
One day we might need green machines if the govt does not ban them first like their doing with homes in some states.
The states that currently subsidize and encourage solar installations are not going to ban them in the future. But the time might come when they don't provide subsidies and start adding more taxes for having the panels. The states that are currently making it difficult are all about getting taxes from energy sold to consumers. It is hard to tax something if you can't install a meter on it. Those have not banned the installation of solar panels, they have banned the practice of companies leasing solar panels to customers because those companies have skirted around the laws governing public utility companies.The leasing companies are in competition with existing utilities but the state can't tax the energy because they can't meter it. In those states if you purchase your own panels you can install them but there is an installation permit tax for doing so to discourage the practice.
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Pretty much done now with my aluminum support frames for my lower cabinets. Today I built the aluminum support frame for the rear recliner/ dining seat/bed/low workbench. It has to perform lots of functions including storage underneath. I gained a lot of storage space getting rid of the traditional rear dinette layout.
The other week when I was in the hardware store I noticed some large steel shelf brackets from Fast Cap. I checked them out with a high quality square as to their accuracy of being bent at exactly 90 degree angles and they were spot on. I got the 8 inch by 12 inch Speed Brace Brackets. They have made the task of getting the framing installed nice and vertical so much easier. No helper needed! I screw the bottom to the floor in the position where I want to stand up the framing and then clamp the frame to the upright part of the shelf brackets. In the inside corner they have a notch that is meant to fit over a 2 x 2 and that allows me clearance to drill holes for the pop rivets that hold the aluminum frames together. When I am done I fill in the screw holes in the plywood floor with epoxy putty, which for this back bench framing job was only two screw holes. The brackets are very strong.
So now I have almost 18 linear feet of workbench surfaces installed plus storage space underneath as well as my tall closet full of drawers done. One 5' long bench, one 6' long and one 6'6" long. It won't be a struggle anymore to find a good place to work while I make all the wood face frames for the cabinets as well as building the overhead cabinets.
Next up I am taking a break from creating the cabinets to take advantage of the good weather to the cab interior refurbished.
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Rough day. Bought lunch for my friend in exchange for his doing the bending work of removing my old water pump and converter.
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No one has an opinion on this question? Darn! Well, I am writing to the nearby Toyota Dealership and see what they say
It is a 3 day holiday weekend at the start of the camping season and the forum members are doing what they bought their Toyhomes for. Be patient, they will be back...sooner or later.
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That Dolphin won't be able to come up to the surface.
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Rialtas are not all that rare in the Seattle area. There is often one of them on craigslist, today there are three listings. The older ones cost generally between 17k to 24k. Models from 2000 and later tend to cost more.
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Hi Guys,
So I went to look ans test drive it.It drove good . I got it to 65 -70 on the freeway but it liked running at 60. Chassis is straight . Brakes are good. Tires are so so. Axle has been upgraded , 5 lugs in front and 6 in the rear. No signs of water leak or molds . Maybe 95 to 98 percent original. He hooked it up to a power outlet and the fridge and AC ran. There was no propane or water so I could not tell if any of that worked. I assume there was no water leaks under or visible because there was no water in it. It has not passed smog and he is trying to get it to pass. He wants 4,800. What is the best way to test everything. Load it up with water & propane and then turn everything on ? Attached are some pics. Your 2'cs appreciated . Best
The seller should be willing to put in some propane and water. Be suspicious if he is not willing to do so. Appliances are budget busters so you need to know if they work.
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We're thinking of buying our first Sundrader, The comfort sounds good, after decades of tents and then a Class B hi-top van that was ALMOST wide enough to sleep in. But we don't know how many primitive campsites we'll have to forgo.
So we would love to know others' experiences on dirt mountain roads, especially narrow ones. Do you have to back up often to let a car in the
opposite direction get by? What's the most remote place you've taken your Sunrader?
And what about steep, curvy hard surface roads? Colorado owners:--Brainard Lake, Mt, Evans, Sugarloaf Mountain Road?
Or are the Sunraders more for highways and good two lane back country roads? We live in Colorado at 8000 feet.
Thanks for your help
You should stick to good back country roads because:
There is not a lot of bottom clearance on a two wheel drive Sunrader. You will be taking your chances on ruining the plastic waste tanks by scraping them over high spots or slamming then down on high spots. Also you can scrape the rear bumper under certain types of grade conditions.
On really rough roads you take your chances on the cabinets coming apart. The interior walls on a Sunrader are supported by being clamped in place by the windows and are generally only fastened to the structure of the motorhome at the floor level. Essentially the walls float inside the structure other than at the windows and the floor. The blocking the cabinets are screwed into at the top edge of the base cabinets and lower edge of the upper cabinets is glued to the back of the wall paneling, they are not secured to the shell itself, only to that floating wall panel. The upper cabinets are screwed into the plywood of the ceiling which is glued to foam that is glued to the fiberglass. So therefore those screws that hold the cabinets up are only going through less than one half inch of grip length into any kind of solid structure. The cabinets themselves are held together with staples and some glue. So therefore they could not be considered as suitable for rough road travel.
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how high is each block?
I like that but I am thinking a little bit longer top surface to add stops for the tires.
They go together like Legos, You can make the sections as long as you want with more blocks and even create stops at the end if you want to do that. Some versions do have a stop block option.
There are a number of companies making these systems. But lumber is a lot less expensive although heavier. Of course it is firewood in an emergency!
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I agree, I may go talk to him this weekend
Hopefully he has legal title to it.
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I don't see any problems just putting your ramps under 1 rear tire.
as long is it is not the outer tire on a pair of "foolies"
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Look around for a brake shop that can make custom length cables to fit or order them made to length by an online outfit.
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I am thinking of making an wooden ramp out of 10x2s
say
20 inch wide
6 inch tall
about 24 inches long.
This will be dual use, once I am done servicing the rear diffy, I want to use these to tilt the camper to drain any standing water pooling around the rear seam edge.
Can anyone tell me that width of the dual rear wheels pls.
Thanks,
You just put two pairs of the blocks under the wheels side by side as shown in this photo
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Going to the "Kinetic Grand Sculpture Race" this weekend, 23/25th. The race starts in Arcata, CA and ends in Ferndale, CA.
That will be fun. I have visited their space on the main street in Ferndale where they house and build some of the vehicles.
Sometimes I see people from the Ferndale contingent at the fall Kinetic Sculpture race in Pt. Townsend, WA.
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Low voltage thermostats are most reliable when they are located relatively close to the furnace. The length of the wire matters. So look at the manual of the thermostat for the recommendation of how long that wire run can be. In my shorty Sunrader it could have been run behind the bathroom and fed through the panel to the overcab wall. But then it would not have been convenient to reach when not in bed.
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I make scrapers out of acrylic plastic, 1/4" is a good thickness for making the tool. Cut it into inch wide strips about 6 to 8 inches long. Then on both ends of the strip I sand a bevel, 45 degrees works best. I power sand the bevel but keep a piece of board with sandpaper glued to it for quick sharpening touch ups. You are after a knife edge for the bevel but of course not so thin it is overly fragile. It is actually a professional tool design that I copied from the ones I used when I worked at Boeing.
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All installed, iPad and iPhone charging away! And with my recent solar instal I'm using the sun to charge my devices.
The dual port USB splits the rated power up when two devices are plugged into it. You will get faster charging if you put a USB adapter into each of the two 12 Volt outlets and put one device on each of them. That way each device will have its own power at the stated rate instead of just half of the power.
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The Sunrader owner's here have fiberglass coach bodies so there will be plenty in common for that area. Of course a lot of the things such as water heaters, furnaces, stoves, fridges, vent openings, etc may be a match up as well.
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Trees are carbon neutral. Proper forest management is all that is needed for sustainable growth. Clear cutting for more housing and farming is not is not sustainable.
Things would be balanced without humans on the planet but since that is not the case we need them to be better than carbon neutral to offset stuff like driving around in cars using carbon from eons ago that was once sequestered under the ground. We are the ones upsetting the carbon neutral balance.
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Too many tire kickers out there who are dreamers and never will commit. Too many low ballers looking for the deal of a lifetime which of course is not compatible with your goal. You can't weed those types out of the responders. Those types are addicted to the treasure hunting roller coaster thrill ride of endorphins coursing through their blood. They need the fix of the hunt. Its part of why people keep on looking at and then re-posting craigslist ads. They can't shut it off. They don't care that they are wasting the seller's time and resources because in the long run you are not a real person to them, you are just another form of free video game entertainment. But since you are not a professional seller you don't know how to sort out that type quickly so you get sucked into their routine.
If you had that Toy listed in Seattle (at this time of the year) it would have sold within a few day's time.
Since you are in a location that does not seem to be super hot for Sunraders:
Put together a temporary blog with photos, specifications. copies of the original brochures and a short video tour. Post the link in the ads.
If you end up needing to list it on Ebay then that temporary website will also keep people from pestering you with a lot of questions. If you do keep getting the same question over and over it means you need to edit the blog and provide the answer to that question. Once it is sold delete the blog.
Window Blinds - 93' Winnebago Warrior
in General Discussion
Posted
repair parts are available for blinds with headrail size 1 x 3/4. That will fix your problems. From what I can see all the new blinds are now 1 x 1 headrails so your option to keep with the same size is going to be to refurbish the ones you have, This website has all the parts you need as well as the instructions for doing the work.
This would be a good link to put in the reference archives for parts repair sources.
http://www.fixmyblinds.com/Mini-Blind-Parts-s/435.htm