Getting down and dirty under the big lady

This was the first day in a while that the weather was actually decent. 71F was forecast and so I waited and waited, anxiously looking at my phone to see the weather app for what the temperature outside was. Eventually about midday I had to go outside anyway. The 37F that my app was telling me was completely wrong. It was lovely outside. In fact today it went up to as high as 72F inside my bus. That tells you that it was pleasant outside. I’d looked up the weather forecast and the whole weekend looked pretty good.

The tasks of the day were to complete installing the one cable bundle and then to install a second cable bundle followed by looking at installing the battery hanger. Well, that’s what should have happened anyway. What actually happened was I spent forever looking for the wire with which I would extend the wires I cut so abysmally short. Then I spent a while looking for crimp connectors to fit the wires. Having not found any crimp connectors of a suitable size, the next task was to find my soldering iron and some solder.

Hunting for the soldering iron unearthed a soldering iron suitable only for microelectronics so I continued the hunt, looking idly at my mini blowtorch thinking that might do. Eventually though I did find the soldering iron and went under the bus to solder the wires. It was then I found that the soldering iron was rather puny for the task at hand. Out came the mini blowtorch and the challenge of soldering two swinging wires while holding a blowtorch and solder. I managed it though with some connections being better than others.

By the end of the day I’d secured the first cable bundle better than it was before but had not actually completed the task before it went dark. That was when I quit for the day. I’d spent pretty much the entire day rolling around on the sand underneath the bus.

As you can see, there was an awful lot of sand. Working there I found I needed more than just a battery powered drill. I needed my mains drill. Pulling that out revealed another issue. No extension cord so I had to hunt for an extension cord. The cord that plugs into the bus has a totally different fitting from the standard household plug. That’s because the bus takes a 30A supply whereas the household supply is 15A. Eventually one was located and work commenced.

That was my sky for most of the day. I spent most of my time joining short cables though I spent a considerable time adding cable clamps under the bus. As can be seen, the task is not completed. I need to secure more of the cable at the back of the bus and then I have the problem of reaching around the differential to secure the rest of the cable. It’s a very tight area in which to work! I’m not that keen on working in the area where I need to insert the cable through the bus floor. Not only is there a big cobweb but there’s also a gigantic spider. I’m not sure if it’s man-eating but the tattoos on its legs and the way it’s chewing tobacco and looking at me in a plain mean way is pretty scary.

Once this cable is brought into the bus and connected at each end then I should be able to combine the output of the solar panels at both ends of the bus to charge the battery. Not only that but I’ll be able to power my USB charger at the front of the bus using all bus power instead of a setup using just the front solar panel. There’s provision in the wiring to add a light in the galley too. That will be very welcome as these LED lanterns are pretty miserable.

Speaking of LED, I went to Walmart the other day. Instead of seeing packs of 4 incandescent bulbs for $3 and instead of seeing bulk packs of CFL bulbs for $6 I was seeing bulk packs of LED bulbs for $20. You’re probably familiar with my miserable experience of LED bulbs. I’ve tried a great many varieties and they just don’t last anywhere near the claimed 22 years. In fact more like 22 days and I’ve had some die faster than that. What a scam - eliminate choice and charge a premium for what’s left.

I looked online at LED bulbs and found that they were ridiculous prices. I’m talking several dollars each. I can see that candles will be making a comeback in many homes with prices like that! I looked for LED bulbs that produced 1200 lumens or at least a decent amount one can actually see by. Precious few! There were plenty of the 450 lumen varieties and those are just too dim. Putting two dim bulbs together does not make a bright light either. It just spreads the dimness more evenly. Really and truly the green imbeciles responsible for bringing us out of the 20th century back to caveman lighting should be dressed up as seals, tied to an iceberg and clubbed to death.

Meanwhile I readjusted my new curved mirrors more into line with their correct orientation. I have plenty work remaining to do on mirror alignment but they’re looking better. Really and truly I’d like the duo mirror system but I’m not prepared to fork out hundreds on mirrors.

Well, tomorrow might be good to work on the bus but I’ll have to see how the aches and pains are progressing. I’ve probably used muscles that would rather remain forgotten today. They’ll be complaining about it tomorrow! All is not lost though. Next week I have 5 days off in a row. Friday is Black Friday when people go nuts looking for mythical bargains which are actually end of line items and items that in 3 or 4 weeks will be reduced anyway. The roads are complete chaos then so it does not surprise me that work is off for that day. Thursday is Thanksgiving which is a holiday. Wednesday I can’t quite figure out why we’re not working that day. It’s just an ordinary day as far as I can see but it’s welcome anyway.

Looking at siting the battery at the back of the bus, I encountered an interesting issue in that it will be no easier than siting it where I’d originally thought - beside the existing battery compartment. I’ll have to give that extra thought. It’ll mean an extra section of cable wrap going around the differential - let joy be unsurpassed! I’m not that keen on the steel I’ve been using from the old bedframes. I think it’s way too heavy. I might be better off just breaking down and going to buy some more appropriate angle bracket, welding it together and welding it to the underside of the ribs.