Short timer....

Less than 48 hours until I hit the road!   Today I took Waddles for a little spin... ran errands in town to get more comfortable driving in traffic and on city streets.  All went well.   Took some photos on the way home, although Mt Hood didn't completely cooperate.

One of the items I went to town for was a memory foam mattress cover.  I've been sleeping in Waddles for the last week, and the bed is not the most comfortable.   I put a smaller foam pad on it, but that wasn't doing it, and my back was starting to react.  So I sprung for a bad boy, 4" pad.    In order to put the foam in, I had to completely clear the bed of bedding, so took advantage and vacuumed and emptied the area under the bed platform (there is about a 3" deep space, good for storing extra things I don't need to get at every day). I stripped off the bedding and threw it in the laundry.   Replaced the things I had stashed under the bed, and added a few more things like extra towels and bedding (no sense is wasting empty space). Then replaced the mattress, put the foam on, and re-made the bed with FLANNEL sheets because the first part of my journey is going to be in Wyoming and Colorado where it is still QUITE cold.

While all this was going on I was testing the battery.  Waddles seems to have some phantom battery drains, so when I'm running nothing except the display on the radio/DVD player, the battery runs down pretty quickly.  I have unplugged the TV (which I may eventually take out), and turned the display brightness down to nothing on the radio.  Still draining.   So it was recommended to me (by the collective T@g on-line brain trust) that I remove the fuse from the battery when I'm not using it.  The phantom drain is normal it seems.  I monitored it all day, and that seems to fix the problem.   I've been charging with the solar panel, and that is working quite well.

Waddles does not have a heater, so I have a very small electric heater that plugs into the wall for when I am somewhere with 'shore power'.   For the times I'm not, I have a 'Heater Buddy' propane heater.  I've been trying both of these and they are working perfectly.   I always have the vent open when I'm in Waddles and she came with not only a smoke detecter but a CO2 detector.   I DO NOT go to sleep with the heater running.  Just use it to take the chill off before going to sleep, and in the morning.

I also have decided to not use the battery powered cooler/refrigerator because when I'm not plugged into shore power it seriously sucks the battery.   Instead I'm just going to use it like an ice chest.  I'm not going to be that far from civilization for any length of time that I can't just buy fresh fruits and veggies when I need them.   Because the cooler doesn't have a drain hole (it is not designed to put ice in), I now have a syphon hose to suck the water out of the bottom.  The cooler has a motor in it, so lifting it out of its spot, with water in it, would be really heavy.   Hoping this works!  I'll let you know.

I am doing the final car packing.   I think I'll have lots of room.  I'm trying to not store things in the sleeping space of Waddles, but in the car.  And I'm trying to keep the things I don't need every day stashed in the middle and have easy access to the daily use stuff.  I imagine I'll be moving things around a lot as my journey progresses.  It won't be this messy when I'm done... this was mid packing! Blue bin is kitchen stuff, black case in the middle is the solar panel.  Striped bag is the electric cords, yellow box has bungie cords and tie-downs.  Sleeping bag is for extra warmth if I need it.  Red thing on the bottom is the wheel lock.   Black bag next to the striped bag is all the trailer security and parking gear.   There is a small folding table, a bag of tools, lawn chair, a door mat (because that is important!) and oh so much more!

Oil is changed in the car.  New windshield wipers installed.  Propane is full, battery is charged.  Tires are good. I replaced a bunch of the trailer locking things (tongue lock, hitch socket lock) and now ALL 5 keys for the trailer and it's associated security locks are different.  Before I had a terrible time telling them apart.   Small things make me happy!

So tomorrow is my final day to prepare!   I'll be planting tomatoes in the garden and hoping it doesn't freeze, doing final laundry, packing and loading of the car.   I have to go into town to buy cat food so they don't run out while I'm away.    I think I'm just about ready!~