# [2007] Trailer Roulette.



## AwayWeGo (Apr 19, 2007)

This weekend we will be in Delaware for _Site Selection Day_ at Port Delmarva, year-round home of our dinky 34-foot CoachMen travel travel that never travels but just stays right there on the postage-stamp-size lot assigned for us to use. 

_Site Selection Day_ happens because each year some lots are given up by former users who move away, lose interest, change parks, or pass away (R.I.P.)   The sites that become available that way are up for grabs, but only via an orderly procedure based on seniority. 

Even though the trailer sites are all approximately the same size, & even though the entire park is so small that none of the sites are remote or inconvenient, certain sites are more to be desired than the rest -- mainly the 1s close to the water or with nice views of the surrounding land & water instead of views of a bunch of other trailers. 

The Chief Of Staff & I are way, way down on the seniority list, so chances are our dinky trailer will stay right where it is again this year.  The Chief Of Staff's sister already has a prime site right on the circle with a wonderful view of Rehoboth Bay.  Our nephew, however (son of The Chief Of Staff's sister), is up there high enough on the seniority list that there is a chance he'll be able to switch sites.  So the whole bunch of us will be on the edges of our chairs as the names & available site numbers are called.  And The Chief Of Staff & her sister will have their heads together -- figuratively if not literally -- to zero in on the choicest remaining open sites as the process unfolds.  

Once _Site Selection_ is all settled, then the Trailer Moving Committee fires up the park tractor & the actual _DoSaDo_ & the physical _Right & Left Grand_ of trailers on the move gets underway.  Pretty soon every rig is where it's supposed to be & the people with new lot assignments can get busy leveling & blocking their box trailers & AirStreams for another fun season at The Port. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 22, 2007)

*Stood Pat In Trailer Roulette.*

Our trailer is still on the same site.  Ditto The Chief Of Staff's sister's trailer.  But our nephew (son of The Chief Of Staff's sister) moved his from an OK site to a superior site with a nice view of the lagoon, no trailers behind his site, off the main park road between the circle & the clubhouse. 

Even though the guys on the tractor committee did the actual trailer moving, lots of preparation beforehand & re-setup afterward were involved.  The whole bunch of us pitched in to get that done in short order.  No blood was shed, no fingers pinched, no flesh bruised, no serious harm to any people or property all during the move. 

At our own dinky 34-foot trailer (The Chief Of Staff's & mine), we had a heck of a time getting the water supply hose connection to quit leaking, & we discovered that the propane-gas water heater no longer works.  Fortunately, there's a back-up electric water heater, so nobody had to take a cold shower.  Also fortunately, the propane-gas furnace works, so we slept cozy even though night-time temperatures were down in the low 50s. 

A friend & neighbor who just came into the park this year had her trailer installed on a site that had been without a trailer for at least 1 full season.  Grass & weeds had completely grown over the sewer pipe connection, so before we could get her wastewater drain connected to the sewer we had to use a screwdriver for poka-poka-poka in the ground till we found the sealed-up sewer opening, followed by digga-digga-digga to get access.  Fortunately we had 2 pairs of wide-jaw pliers in the hands of 2 men with strong grips for twista-twista-twista to get the drain seal unscrewed. 

Saturday evening after most of the trailers were in place, there was a pizza party in the clubhouse & a good time was had by all. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## teachingmyown (Apr 23, 2007)

It all sounds like so much fun!!!  I want to join in!  <Heavy sigh> Guess we'll have to wait awhile, though.  All discretionary funds for the next decade (at least!) are already earmarked for tuition, a new roof, replacement vehicles, etc.  You'll just have to enjoy the lagoon and the great outdoors in our stead...

Thanks for sharing the experience.  It's a nice life to live vicariously...


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## DianeH (Apr 24, 2007)

Alan,
I got a kick out of your description for your *34* ft trailer.

We only have a 30' Cardinal fifth wheel and to me its the size of a palace!  Well, except when we travel with our rather large lab, and our rather large cat (with her personal stuff  )!

Ours is on wheels, as in we tow it here and there, mostly there.  

Diane


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## susieq (Apr 24, 2007)

Alan,

Had to stop and read this post ~ for curiosity's sake if nothing else. I love reading your posts. Your descriptions are always so vivid!! Glad all went well, enjoy your commune with nature!!

Sue


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## Passepartout (Apr 24, 2007)

*Thanks for keeping the group informed*

I too enjoy Alan's posts, though sometimes wonder if in this case he is just telling us "I'll be away over the weekend."

My 'Chief of Staff', or in our case, the Commander in Chief, also a horn player, and I are checking around our local area- roughly a couple hour drive- for a spot on a body of water, flowing or otherwise, and hopefully populated with edible fishy things, to park our 21.5 foot 5th wheel for the summer. Gosh, you folks with those 30+ footers sound like Lairds of the Manor. Note when they are as small as ours, the .5 foot really matters. Kinda when we were 9 1/2 years old, going on 10. Now at....well, older, those halfs don't seem to mean so much!

Meanwhile back at the ranch... my turn to cook!

Jim Ricks


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 24, 2007)

*Dinky Is As Dinky Does.*




DianeH said:


> Alan,
> I got a kick out of your description for your *34* ft trailer.
> 
> We only have a 30' Cardinal fifth wheel and to me its the size of a palace!  Well, except when we travel with our rather large lab, and our rather large cat (with her personal stuff  )!
> ...


Our nephew's trailer is 35 feet.  The park limit is 36 feet, measured from the tip of the hitch in front to the back of the bumper in the rear.  So much as a half-inch over & you're out.  No 5th wheel trailers -- although there were some AirStream & Avion 6-wheelers in the park for a while, but that's another story.  The park started out as an AirStream-only operation, but they had to give that up years ago as box trailers gained in popularity. 

Well, to keep our nephew's 35-foot trailer within park limits (36 feet), the factory equipped it with a clever retractable hitch assembly.  You simply unbolt the hitch assembly from the forward hitch mounts used for towing & moving, then rebolt the hitch assembly onto the rearward hitch mounts.  No problem. 

No problem, that is, except that somebody has to get down on the ground under the trailer, with wrenches, for twista-twista-twista.  The man elected for that chore was our nephew, who got the job done in a flash -- due in large part no doubt to the expert supervision offered by his father & me & the other old guys standing around watching.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 24, 2007)

*Busted!*




jtricks said:


> I too enjoy Alan's posts, though sometimes wonder if in this case he is just telling us "I'll be away over the weekend."
> 
> My 'Chief of Staff', or in our case, the Commander in Chief, also a horn player, and I are checking around our local area- roughly a couple hour drive- for a spot on a body of water, flowing or otherwise, and hopefully populated with edible fishy things, to park our 21.5 foot 5th wheel for the summer. Gosh, you folks with those 30+ footers sound like Lairds of the Manor. Note when they are as small as ours, the .5 foot really matters. Kinda when we were 9 1/2 years old, going on 10. Now at....well, older, those halfs don't seem to mean so much!
> 
> ...


Whoa!  Twin Falls got horn players?  Who knew? 

And, yes, telling the (true) _Trailer Roulette_ story was just Uncle Alan's way of saying I'd be off-line over the weekend.  You're on to me.  So it goes.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 27, 2007)

*Free Gas*

Our friend whose trailer we helped install on its overgrown site at the park (poka-poka-poka & digga-digga-digga so we could get the sewer line connected) found some unwanted items in the storage shed that goes with her site.  Some of the stuff went straight into the dumpster en route to Mt. Trashmore.  Other stuff was still good, including a mostly full oddball LP gas tank that our friend wanted nothing to do with -- get it out of here, she said.  So we took it away for her. 

The gas is not oddball, but the tank is -- same height as a regular barbecue-size propane tank, but not as fat.  Not only non-compliant with current OPD safety requirements, but also equipped with the old-style POL gas hose connection right there by the valve.  Plus, instead of a valve-wheel parallel to the ground & a sideways POL gas hose connection, its POL gas hose connection points straight up & the valve-wheel is perpendicular to the ground -- a real oddball LP gas tank. 

Fortunately, Uncle Alan just happened to have on hand a reverse-threaded POL adapter off another old non-compliant empty propane tank.  The adapter was just the thing for connecting that oddball tank to our recent-vintage gas barbecue.  Being non-compliant just means the tank can't be refilled, not that I can't use up the gas already in it.  So tonight we fired up the barbecue grill on free gas & cooked some outstanding beef.  Yum.  

Steak tastes better grilled on free gas. 

Waste not, want not. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Jun 25, 2007)

*Goodbye Dinky 34-Foot Travel Trailer.*

With the recent completion of rugga-rugga-rugga & other fix-up-clean-up-spruce-up activities, The Chief Of Staff sold off our dinky 34-foot travel trailer that never traveled but always just sat there on its postage stamp size lot at our little family-oriented trailer park near Rehoboth Beach DE. 

She put lots of great looking large-dimension (pre-rugga)  photos of it on eBay, attracted a "best offer" purchaser who bought it sight-unseen and showed up with his family in a big honking F-250 Super Duty diesel-powered crew-cab Ford pick up truck last Saturday all ready to hook it up & tow it back to Oklahoma. 

She bought it off eBay a couple of years ago, so it's only fitting that she resold it via eBay. 

Some time by mid-July, a dinky 35-foot park model trailer will take the place of our non-traveling travel trailer at the park.  The Chief Of Staff & her sister checked it out in person a few weeks back & gave it their seal of approval.  The Chief Of Staff was going to let it go, however, because there was too little wiggle room in the seller's asking price (because of the loan balance on the trailer). 

Upon further reflection, however, The Chief Of Staff realized she's unlikely to find a park model trailer any time sooon that she likes any better for a lower price.  So she decided to go for it, reached agreement on price with the seller, wired the money to the bank holding the note on the trailer, & made arrangements to go get it between now & the middle of July.  

That means we have another adventure in store within just a few weeks.  So it goes. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Kona Lovers (Jun 25, 2007)

And we're looking forward to the next installment of "Alan's Dinky Trailer" stories.  Really, keep them coming, they're a blast to read!  Enjoy the new one.

Regards,

Marty


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## AwayWeGo (Jun 26, 2007)

*OK -- You Asked For It.*




martygeorge79 said:


> And we're looking forward to the next installment of "Alan's Dinky Trailer" stories.  Really, keep them coming, they're a blast to read!  Enjoy the new one.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Marty


Our trailer adventures (so far) are never as simple & straight-forward as these little stories might lead 1 to believe.  For example, our Oklahoma trailer buyers in their big honking F-250 diesel pick up had never towed trailers before & were not properly equipped to cruise the Interstates with their newly bought 34-foot CoachMen hooked up.  Mainly, they didn't have the recommended sway-control tension bars needed to fight back against the trailer's tendency to fishtail behind the tow vehicle at speed.  Neither did we.  We never tow, but just stay right there at the park.  (That's partly why we're giving up the travel trailer for a park model.) 

Fortunately the park is populated with some knowledgeable old timers who are not stingy with advice & recomendations & practical help.  The guy right behind our site, known throughout the park as Mr. AirStream, helped our buyer make a connection with somebody willing to sell off a complete Reese hitch & swaybar set he no longer needed because he sold off his AirStream.  That was 1 problem solved. 

Next problem -- how to hook up the sway bars.  Fortunately, the Reese set was complete.  Unfortunately, it was made for AirStream, not CoachMen, so the U-bolts for fastening the bar clamps to the hitch tongue were just a tiny tad too short.  No problem.  I go roaring off to Lowe's on a quest for bigger U-bolts -- plus nuts & lock washers & flat washers.  All the U-bolts at Lowe's are shorter & wimpier, so I buy some threaded rods, plus nuts etc. 

Back at the site, Mr. AirStream starts to bend the threaded rods into U-bolts.  As it happens, the threaded rods don't bend -- they break.  Plan B is to use the shorter lengths of threaded rod as bolts, making shackles to bolt the bar brackets on to the trailer tongue in place of U-bolts.  All we need are some flat metal bars the right length & strength, with holes in the right places. 

By now other old timers, forming a kind of committee, have shown up offering more advice & coming up with other possibilities.  Somebody comes up with a flat bar.  Mr. AirStream marks the lengths & hole centers.  Somebody comes up with a drill & a hacksaw.  Another committee member says Best's Ace Hardware stays in business against competition from Lowe's & Home Depot by stocking items -- possibly including U-bolts -- tht the big stores don't have. 

By then The Chief Of Staff shows up & volunteers to head up to Best's & see what they have.  She comes back with an assortment of possibilities, none exactly filling the bill.  Following other committee suggestions she goes back several more times (receiving amended suggestions en route via cell phone) -- in all about 11 trips through the Ace Hardware check-out.

Inventory shows the nearest we have to the right U-bolts are some that are long enough & tough enough, but too wide at the closed end.  A committee guy comes up with a flash of insight.  Brilliance is not too strong a word.  Use the too-wide U-bolts, he said, but instead of aligning them straight across the steel beam of the trailer tongue, where they're too wide, crisscross them so that the threaded end on the outside of the steel beam goes through a forward bolt hole & the other threaded end goes through a rearward bolt hole.  Then put the other oversize U-bolt through the opposite corner bolt holes.  If -- _if_ -- the bolts are long enough to fit the extra height needed to cover having the flat side of 1 U-bolt bolt cross over the other, then we're good to go.  The bolts were just almost long enough.  Tightening down the nuts caused the topmost bolt to bend down just slightly over the top of the bolt that was flat against the top of the steel beam, & that gave just enough length for a nut plus lock washer.  Whew! 

The place where the U-bolts crossed was right under the propane tank base, so that had to come off.  Fortunately the holes lined up & the mounting screws for them were long enough to screw back into the mounting holes, even with the tank base sitting on the crossed U-bolts.  The gas tanks just ride an inch higher than before.  

While the great minds of the committee were at work on all this, 1 member noticed the Oklahomans sitting there bored -- specially the teenage son & daughter -- so he suggested the parents taken them to see the ocean.  They had driven all that way to a Delaware beach town & then had extra time on their hands, so why not?   The out-of-towners got in their F-250 & dieseled off somewhere while the committee completed a nifty improvisational installation of the anti-sway tension bars. 

With everything mostly together, there was down time till the F-250 got back.  Actual distances of where to fasten things depend on how the hitch ball on the truck lines up with the sway bar mountings.  Another committee member eliminated the down time by bringing over his hitch, minus truck -- just the hitch -- & fitted that to the trailer as a gauge for setting all the rest of the stuff.  

By & by the Oklahomans dieseled up in their F-250, backed into position, & the committee hooked'm up good & proper.  Earler in the day the Oklahoma buyer had checked the trailer tire inflation, cranked in the slide-out extensions, etc.  I disconnected the waste drain pipes & the fresh water supply.  We left the power connected so the family could sit inside in air conditioned comfort instead of hanging around outside in the blazing sun.  (It was a stroke of luck that the hitch end of the trailer was in the shade.)  Mr. AirStream supervised hooking up the truck-to-trailer electrical connection & went through a safety check of all the trailer signal lights.  He also pulled out the outside mirror extensions on the F-250 to maximum width -- a safety feature the Oklahomans may not have known the truck had. 

It was getting on toward 5PM when the Oklahomans shifted into _Drive_ & eased on out over the speed-control humps to exit the park.  Mr. AirStream walked along beside the trailer hollering out electric brake control adjustment advice till the Oklahomans made their last turn out of the park & began their homeward trip west.  I prayed that they would encounter no mishaps -- would cruise trouble-free across the Cheasapeake Bay Bridge & continue in safety all the way home.  

They did.  The Chief Of Staff got a call from the Oklahomans just to let us know they had been on the road a couple of days & were right then just about 20 minutes from home.  No trouble anywhere along the way, they said, only they just couldn't go very fast -- not much more than 65 miles per hours -- & that's why the trip home took so long.  

Earlier on the day of all that committee work on the improvisational sway bar installation, The Chief Of Staff got the trailer interior all spic & span while I de-installed the regular household-type flush toilet & re-installed the ThetFord AquaMagic RV-type toilet.  The Chief Of Staff shrewdly rented a mini-storage locker in town where we stowed all the stuff out of the travel trailer that we're apt to need later for the park model trailer -- & several trips to mini-storage were sandwiched in between all these other activities. 

It's a good thing all this worka-worka-worka is so much fun.  Otherwise I would recommend vacationing in luxury timeshares instead. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Miss Marty (Jun 26, 2007)

*Enjoy you new Vacation Home at Port Delmarva Delaware*

Years ago we owned a vacation home in Montego Bay 
in North Ocean City, Md near the MD & Delaware line. 

We have been thinking about picking up a camper and 
putting it down the ocean during the spring & summer 
then taking it to Florida during the fall & winter months 

Do you know if there are any lots still available for 2007
Can you give me a idea of what the lot rent is going for
at Port Delmarva  Are they open seasonal or year round.

Thanks 
Marty


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## Keitht (Jun 26, 2007)

Alan certainly paints very vivid 'word pictures' of the whole Oklahoman trailer hitching story.  What scared the ***** (complete as desired  )  was the comment about *only* being able to travel at 65mph with a 34 foot trailer.  Speed limit in the UK for trailers is 60 and that always seems to fast to me.


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## AwayWeGo (Jun 26, 2007)

*Oklahoma.*




Keitht said:


> Alan certainly paints very vivid 'word pictures' of the whole Oklahoman trailer hitching story.  What scared the ***** (complete as desired  )  was the comment about *only* being able to travel at 65mph with a 34 foot trailer.  Speed limit in the UK for trailers is 60 and that always seems to fast to me.


I'm guessing it's an Oklahoma thing.  

Out there it's 55 or so in school zones. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Jun 26, 2007)

*Port Delmarva.*




Marty Giggard said:


> Do you know if there are any lots still available for 2007 Can you give me a idea of what the lot rent is going for at Port Delmarva  Are they open seasonal or year round.


Port Delmarva is strictly seasonal.  They shut the water off in the fall & turn it on again in the spring. 

Fortunately lot rental at Port Delmava not high -- no more than $1*,*000 per season, as I recall, & lower for stockholders.  The annual rental fee includes water & sewer.  Electric power charges are billed separately based on actual meter readings. 

Unfortunately there are no vacancies at the park.  Not only that, there's a 4- or 5-year waiting list to get in.  So it goes. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Jun 29, 2007)

*Plug For The Purchaser.*

His day job is USAF Master Sergeant & on his own time he's a talented country & western songwriter & performer*.* 




Who'd a-thunk ? 

He gave a copy of his CD as a thank-you to each member of the committee of knowledgeable trailer guys who got him all hooked up & good to go. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Jul 11, 2007)

*Hello Dinky 35-Foot Park Model Trailer.*

This week's trailer adventure consisted of transporting our newly bought dinky 35-foot 2005 park model trailer from Lakewood NJ down to Rehoboth Beach DE via the Cape May NJ & Lewes DE Ferry. 

The Chief Of Staff's sister drove the tow vehicle -- an AirStream 190 Class B motor home, which is basically a high-end mini-RV built into a Ford E-350.  She not only tows trailers, she knows about anti-sway stabilizer bars & how to put'm on -- in the rain.  No rain during the drive up from Cape May.  No rain during the drive back down to the ferry terminal.  Thirty minutes of _el drencho_ during trailer hook-up.  So it goes.   (Even so, hooking up in the rain is much to be preferred over _driving_ in the rain.) 

We feared we'd be late for the 4:15 ferry, & if the departure had actually been at 4:15 we might have missed the boat.  As it was, the scheduled departure was actually 4:30, so we got on the boat with minutes to spare.  The loadmaster directed the van-trailer rig right up front, 2nd in line in the center row -- & thus 1 of the 1st off at the ferry terminal in Lewes DE. 

A park director met us when the 2005 trailer reached the park, about 6:15.  After the trailer was inspected & found to be OK with park rules & regulations governing style & size, The Chief Of Staff's sister's husband got behind the wheel of the B-van, started it up, put it in _Reverse_, & snicked that 35-foot Hy-Line trailer right into position with amazing precision _exactly_ on the chalk marks indicating the correct place on the site.  He made it look easy.  Who'd a-thunk ? 

The newer trailer is basically OK, although there are some issues remaining to resolve -- i.e., fix defunct air conditioning, find & install missing plugs in water intake line, replace plastic RV-style toilet with regular china household-style toilet, replace full-size mattress with queen-size mattress, level & stabilize the trailer on the site, etc.  It's always something. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​
PS:  Pictures of the old trailer mentioned on this thread in Post No. 10 are _gone_ -- erased from the Internet only to conserve server space, bandwidth, whatever they call it.  Sorry about that.  -AC.​


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## Kona Lovers (Jul 12, 2007)

Thanks for the update.  It certainly sounds like it went a lot smoother than the Oklahoma hook-up party.  Have fun!

Marty


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## AwayWeGo (Jul 19, 2007)

*The Good News & The Bad News.  (And More Good News & More Bad News.)*

Fortunately, the trailer air conditioning is working OK now.  Unfortunately, it took a service call from an RV maintenance & repair company to get it going.  (I'll know _how_ unfortunate it was once we get the bill.) 

Fortunately, we found the little plastic plugs for the water intake line drains.  Unfortunately, we had already installed make-shift brass plugs.  Fortunately, the brass plugs worked -- kind-of.  Unfortunately, they dripped slightly.  Fortunately, I was able to tighten the brass plug, gently & carefullly.  Unfortunately, that's all it took to break the plastic socket the plug screws into.  Fortunately, Home Depot had some little brass valves just the right size to insert into the plastic tubes & clamp in place where the ruined drain socket used to be.  

Fortunately, our dinky 34-foot 2005 Hy-Line trailer came with a set of 4 leveling jack-stands.  Unfortunately, the trailer is still semi-bouncy even with those 4 installed on top of stacks of concrete blocks near the 4 corners of the trailer.  Fortunately, we still have lots more concrete blocks we can use to shore up several mid-points under the trailer.  Unfortunately, we don't have any more jack-stands.  Fortunately, there's a Wal*Mart just up the street. 

Fortunately, the plumbing geometry & fittings of the dinky 34-foot 2005 Hy-Line trailer are OK to accommodate a household-style tank-type china toilet (in place of the nasty factory-installed squatty little plastic boat-RV standard equipment trailer potty).  Unfortunately, The Chief Of Staff decided we needed a new & slightly taller china toilet (instead of the perfectly good china toilet we de-installed & saved out of our old trailer).  Fortunately, Lowe's had exactly the right _new_ toilet, in stock.  Unfortunately, their price was $3 more than the same item over at Home Depot.  Fortunately, Loew's lived up to its advertised policy of guaranteeing the lowest price on everything they sell -- not only selling at the competitor's lower price but also taking an additional 10% off -- tax-free (at their Delaware store). 

Fortunately, removing the RV potty & installing the china toilet in its place were a snap (relatively speaking).  Unfortunately, I had forgotten to hand-tighten 1 of the water supply connections in the adapter between the trailer water line & the toilet water supply tube.  Fortunately, hand tightening the connection stopped the leak.  Unfortunately, by then water was all over the floor.  Fortunately, cleaning up the water also cleaned up the bathroom floor.  Unfortunately, residual moisture in the cleaned-up area made it harder to tell whether the new installation was leakproof -- upstream & downstream & all round.  Fortunately, after I got everything cleaned & dried, there were no leaks anywhere.  Not only that, The Chief Of Staff is happy with the new installation. 

Fortunately, the trailer bedroom accommodates the queen-size mattress that we saved out of the old trailer.  Unfortunately, the queen mattress was in a mini-storage locker.  Fortunately, the mini-storage place was just a mile or 2 away.  Unfortunately, storm clouds were gathering.  Fortunately, the rain held off while we tied the mattress to the top of the car & headed back to the trailer park.  Unfortunately, the rain caught up with us halfway back to the trailer.  Fortunately, the mattress did not soak all the way through.  Unfortunately, the upside of the mattress got plenty wet.  Fortunately, the rain quit by the time we got back to the trailer.  Unfortunately, the mattress was way too wet for sleeping.  Fortunately, we were able to prop it up inside the trailer to start drying out.  Unfortunately, it was going to take a _l-o-n-g_ time to dry.  Fortunately, we were able to sleep on the double-bed mattress that came with the trailer.  Unfortunately, we had to go get that & put it back in place. 

Fortunately,the queen mattress had pretty much dried out overnight.  Unfortunately, it was still damp.  Fortunately, the weather that day was bright & sunny, so we took the mattress outside & propped it up on lawn chairs for a morning & afternoon of exposure to the brilliant sunshine to dry it out good & proper.  

It's always something. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Oct 31, 2007)

*Erased In The Interests Of Avoiding Duplication.*

Content Erased After I Discovered The Same Thing Went In Twice. 

( Appropriate for an entry on the topic of doofusness, no? ) ​


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## AwayWeGo (Oct 31, 2007)

*End-Of-Season Doofusness At The Trailer Park.*

The Chief Of Staff & I just got back from this season's last hurrah at our dinky 35-foot non-traveling trailer, closing it up & locking it down & getting it ready for the RV folks to get it all winterized.   While we were away, more evidence of my doofus nature popped up, as though any more were needed. 

I was on antibiotics following tooth extraction & implant & discovered -- after we were 3 hours from home at the recreational trailer park -- that I had left the prescription bottle at home.  After worrying about it for an hour or so, I went to the prescription desk at a supermarket in the same chain as the pharmacy that dispensed my forgotten meds.  After I described my predicament, the pharmacist got on the phone, established contact with the appropriate person, & fixed me up with a partial refill.  I got through that particular doofus experience with just 1 missed dose. 

A few days later, we were all packed up & locked up & headed home till next spring.  I had told the RV winterizing folks that I'd leave the trailer unlocked for them, with the key inside on the kitchen table so they could lock up & send me the key after they got the trailer all freeze-proofed.  That would have been fine -- if I hadn't locked the trailer in my usual doofus way before getting in the car to drive home*,* with the trailer key in my pocket.  

We left a message with the winterizing folks, outlining Plan B for getting access to the trailer, which will be more tedious for them than just going in through an unlocked door & locking up afterward.  But adaptability is required when dealing with a doofus, so there we are. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 28, 2008)

*Trailer Roulette 2008 . . .*

. . . in some ways was a replay of Trailer Roulette 2007. 

The Chief Of Staff & I didn't move our trailer. 

Chief Of Staff's sister did not move hers.  

However, there were some moves. 

Our nephew was able to pick a splendid new site -- right across the road from his old site -- with a great view of Rehoboth Bay.  On clear days the view extends all the way to the bay side of Dewey Beach DE.  Moving across the road takes just as much preparation ahead of time & just as much work afterward as moving from 1 end of the park to the other.  Fortunately, all that was accomplished with no injuries to anybody & no damage except 1 broken drinking glass that rolled off a shelf.  

Our son & daughter-in-law got a site in the park this year, so their trailer moved from its temporary parking place to a spot on the row right behind ours & just a few spaces up from ours -- easy for our grandson to come visit Papa Alan & Grandma Carol when everybody's down at The Port. 

Our nephew's mother-in-law also moved up the waiting list & got a spot, & likewise her trailer was moved from a temporary site to a place of its own in the interior of the park. 

Once we got our nephew's trailer all ( -- i.e., mostly -- ) squared away, everybody set about getting our son's trailer & our nephew's mother-in-law's trailer likewise squared away.  None of these travel trailers actually travel, so they get stabilized with stacks of concrete blocks & rigid sewer connections, not just crank-down stabilizer jacks & flex-drain waste lines. 

"Squared away" means different things to different campers.  To me, it means lined up, leveled, blocked, connected, etc.  To others in the clan, it means the satellite dishes are aimed accurately for optimal Direct-TV reception. 

Just because we're all "camping" doesn't mean we're roughing it in any significant way. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Jul 8, 2008)

*Drilla-Drilla-Drilla (Non-Dental Division).*

For awning-anchoring projects at our dinky non-traveling travel trailer (The Chief Of Staff's & mine) & at our nephew's swankier trailer 1/4 mile down the scenic roadway through the park, it was necessary to drill some half-inch holes near the edges of the concrete pads next to the trailers.  

Thinking ahead, I got out all my masonry bits.  I also got a coupon booklet from the outlet mall office & headed over to the Black & Decker outlet store with my coupon good for $5 off any $40 purchase.  

As it happened Black & Decker had "reconditioned" 6.5-amp variable-speed reversible hammer drills on sale for $39.97.  I don't know what's "reconditioned" about their "reconditioned" merchandise, except that it comes in plainer cardboard cartons.  Inside, it looks the same as the all-new equivalent merchandise.  And it's guaranteed 2 years -- replacement within 90 days, repair or replacement (their choice) after that. 

So beside the 6.5-amp hammer drill, I bought a new 1/2-inch masonry bit to go with the bits I'd already collected.  Then I drove back to the park & got to drilling.  

After 2 holes through old concrete, the drill chuck would no longer hold its grip on the bit.  By re-tightening the key-style chuck every half-minute or so, I managed to drill 2 more holes.  Then I thought about that 2-year guarantee & took the hammer drill back to the Black & Decker outlet store.  The guy behind the counter gave me a new 1 with minimal hassle -- just gave my phone number & signed a receipt, then I was good to go with my replacement "reconditioned" hammer drill, plus 2 more 1/2-inch masonry bits I bought just in case. 

The guy behind the counter said, "Here's your receipt for your new 2-year guarantee." 

"Thanks," I said.  "I might need that because I'm going to beat hell out of this drill." 

Back at the park with my replacement hammer drill deployed, I refined my drilling technique.  Instead of starting out with the 1/2-inch bit installed, I started by drilling a narrower hole to the right depth, then widening the starter hole by using a slightly larger bit, then doing the same thing again with the 1/2-inch bit spinning.  

I got 2 more half-inch holes done & 2 more 1/4-inch starter holes drilled before the replacement hammer drill just quit.  The chuck gripped the bits OK, but the drill would no longer turn.  Fiddling with the forward-reverse switch got it going for another second or 2, then nothing. 

Back to Black & Decker with the 2nd defunct drill & the 2nd receipt.  Then back to the park armed with my 3rd 6.5-amp "reconditioned" variable speed hammer drill.  Hammer drill No. 3 kept on drilling, so I was able to finish all the holes & place anchors in each 1 & use lag screws to bolt down the awning support poles. 

A park neighbor 1 trailer row away offered to bring his hammer drill from home -- a $350 power tool he got from Home Depot or Lowes on sale for $175 or so.  It's 13.5-amps, he said, & drills through concrete like butter. A Black & Decker 6.5-amp hammer drill is obviously just a pale imitation.  However that may be, we finally completed our drill job done even though it took three -- 3 -- Black & Decker hammer drills to get it done. 

Who'd a-thunk ? 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 28, 2009)

*Trailer Roulette -- 2009.*

We're still in the same spot we were in last year & the year before that.  

(Physical spot as in trailer site, I mean, not _spot_ as in predicament or tricky situation.)

Ditto everybody else in our circle of friends & extended family. 

Not much excitement that way -- but lots less work. 

Click here for the web site of our dinky park (only 147 travel trailer sites). 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Aug 21, 2009)

*Dinky Trailer Blues.*

Some annoying problems surfaced when we showed up last Tuesday afternoon for a few days at our little vacation trailer park near Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. 

While we were away, somebody -- most likely the lawn mowing people -- had stumbled over the power wire right near where it plugs in, just enough to dislodge the plug from the 50-amp receptacle & de-energize the trailer.  Everything in the refrigerator had thawed out & gone bad.  Plus, the fridge stank till I washed it out using baking soda water.  

Not only that, the water supply hose (which connects out near the power plug-in) had been nicked, possibly by a weed wacker or some such.  In any case, it leaked bad -- meaning it made a fountain when I turned on the water.  Fortunately, my son (who was already at the park in his own dinky trailer) gave me a new hose that he just happened to have on hand, so that problem was solved semi- quickly.

Unfortunately, in the aftermath of the power outage, the air conditioner would not turn on.  Plus, there was a blown circuit breaker in the service panel that would not re-set -- every time I switched it on, it immediately tripped again, indicating a dead-short or serious overload in the circuit it controls.  

The label inside the service panel said that circuit breaker was for the bathroom lights.  It was, but that wasn't the whole story.  The air conditioning thermostat -- not the roof-mounted unit itself, but the heating-cooling thermostat & control -- was on the same circuit. 

I took all the bulbs out of the bathroom overhead & cabinet light fixtures, then tried re-setting the circuit breaker again.  Nothing happened the 1st time.  The second time, something went _BLAM !_ 

From where I was standing in the back, it sounded like it was coming from the front.  From where The Chief Of Staff was located at the time, it sounded like it was coming from the back.  In any case, after that the circuit breaker remained on after resetting, & kept on working after the bulbs were replaced in the fixtures & the air conditioner was switched on.  

I never did determine the cause or the source of the loud noise, so we may be in for another surprise at some point down the line. 

Meanwhile, although the air conditioner was blowing air like crazy, the air being blown wasn't specially cool.  Before long we noticed that the fan control was set to "on" instead of "automatic" & that the thermostat was set to 90℉ instead of 75℉.  When we changed the thermostat & control settings, we were rewarded with a refreshing current of chilled air out all the vents. 

Case closed -- for now. 

While we were at the park, we replaced an automatic-switchover 2-tank LP gas regulator on our son's trailer -- but that's another story. 

When vacationing in our dinky trailer, it's always something (pretty much).  No wonder I prefer vacationing at luxury timeshare resorts. 

So it goes.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Rose Pink (Aug 21, 2009)

Alan, I prefer luxury as well.  I hope all goes well with your vacation trailer home and that you don't have any further problems.  Might as well be home if you're going to have to do home maintenance.


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## AwayWeGo (Aug 21, 2009)

*Luxury Is As Luxury Does.*




Rose Pink said:


> Alan, I prefer luxury as well.  I hope all goes well with your vacation trailer home and that you don't have any further problems.  Might as well be home if you're going to have to do home maintenance.


It's always something (just about).

Even so, compared with tent camping in the olden days, trailer camping today is luxurious beyond all imagining. 

Air conditioning.  Gas stove.  Microwave.  Mr. Coffee.  Gas heat in cool weather.  Electric power & lighting.  Frost-free refrigerator-freezer.  Satellite TV.  AM-FM-CD Stereo.  Hot & cold running water.  Stand-up shower.  Flush toilet.  Queen-size (generic) tempurpedic bed.  Etc. (Not to mention tax-free Delaware shopping & all the nearby attractions of the resort area.) 

It's just that keeping everything going sometimes involves a certain amount of _worka-worka-worka_ in an unpredictable kind of way -- unlike timeshare resorts, which take care of everything as part of the operating services paid for via maintenance fees.

In the recent past we have done _fixa-fixa-fixa_ on 2 dual-tank automatic-switchover LP gas regulators -- i.e., took out the bad regulators & installed new replacement regulators.  

We did _fixa-fixa-fixa_ on a roof-vent exhaust fan that didn't work.  (Bad interlock switch that won't let the fan run when the lid is down.)  While we were at it we swapped out the opaque lid for a smoke-tinted lid that lets the roof vent cover perform double-duty as a bathroom skylight.  

That's all just recent.  You can research this TUG-BBS discussion topic for more examples -- e.g., The Saga Of Jimmy Lee, trailer toilet swap-out, _rugga-rugga-rugga,_ & I don't know what-all. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## SueDonJ (Aug 21, 2009)

I don't know, Alan, a big BLAM! would scare me into maybe not staying in that trailer for the first night anyway ...  Thank goodness you're surrounded by friends there who can take you into a pup tent or something if need be.   

I love tent camping, but like you I much prefer the timeshares with their indoor kitchens and the big fluffy beds and the living rooms to spread out and the balconies to watch the birds ...  And I think my tent camping days are over, at least if I want to share them with Don.  About midway through our first timeshare week he said, "I AM DONE WITH TENT CAMPING."  That loudly, from the balcony.  From down below somewhere we heard, "You and me BOTH, buddy!"  :hysterical:


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## MuranoJo (Aug 22, 2009)

Alan,

I'd never encountered this 'musical chairs (or trailers)' until 4 years ago when some friends invited us up to their trailer park along a river in Idaho.  It was beautiful--hidden out of site from the highway, very scenic, and I'd guess about 50 trailers maximum.  They paid a ridiculously low yearly fee to park there, and it was very 'exclusive'--meaning you had to know someone who would recommend you for the waiting list.

Our friends had worked their way to riverfront with a huge, grassy lawn with shade trees between the trailer and the river.  (The guys all go fly fishing along this stretch, so they take out at the trailer park.)

Man, I wanted to get on that list--alas, we have two very 'athletic' dogs who wouldn't adjust well with the leash law in such a fun place for dogs.


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## M. Henley (Aug 22, 2009)

*Dinky?!?*

Dinky?  I lived with a wife and 3 kids in a 23 foot trailer while an undergrad student (coming off a 4-year Air Force tour).  
 



AwayWeGo said:


> ...At our own dinky 34-foot trailer (The Chief Of Staff's & mine...
> -- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Aug 25, 2009)

*Some Trailers Are Dinkier Than Others.*




M. Henley said:


> Dinky?  I lived with a wife and 3 kids in a 23 foot trailer while an undergrad student (coming off a 4-year Air Force tour).


34 feet is plenty dinky for The Chief Of Staff & me -- plus our grandson when he stays with us. 

I can't imagine a whole family jammed into a trailer just 23 feet long. 

Congratulations on surviving the experience. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Sep 21, 2009)

*Another Plumbing Adventure Down At The Dinky Trailer.*

We decided to spend the final summer weekend of 2009 down at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, in our dinky non-traveling travel trailer that just sits there on its postage-stamp-size lot in a nice little recreational trailer park close to Rehoboth Bay.  

This time, the water supply hose was OK, the electrical system & air conditioning were OK, & everything appeared good to go.  

Unfortunately, when I flushed the (household style) toilet, about 8 oz. or so of clean water from the tank ran out onto the top of the bowl near where the toilet seat fastens on.  The rubber doughnut-style seal between the bottom of the tank & the top of the bowl -- basically, the gasket for the opening through which flush water cascades down from the tank & into the bowl -- was not doing the job. 

Fortunately, replacing the rubber seal is not a huge job, although it does involve disconnecting the water supply & removing the tank.  Plus, hardware stores & Lowe's & Home Depot, etc., sell conventional toilet tank seal-gaskets in their plumbing departments. 

Unfortunately, we needed a 3-inch rubber seal -- a non-standard size -- & Home Depot & the hardware store only stocked the standard size, which is way too small. 

Fortunately, there are 2 commercial plumbing supply companies nearby. 

Unfortunately, both of those were closed by the time we got there when it was going on 4PM Friday afternoon. 

Fortunately, Lowe's did carry 1 brand of 3-inch rubber toilet tank seal, & they had it in stock. 

Unfortunately, the 1 at Lowe's is for American-Standard & I needed 1 for Kohler.  I had to put everything back together anyhow, leak or no leak, even if I had to use the original non-sealing rubber seal.  So I decided to take a chance on the American-Standard seal based on the possibility it might work even though it was not exactly the right configuration.  I mean, at least it was the right size.  If I tried it & it didn't work, all I was out was $3*.*88 -- the cost of the wrong seal of the right size. 

Fortunately, the American-Standard seal works OK & the trailer potty is now back in operation, leak-free.  

We took out the RV-style trailer potty & installed the new tank-style potty ourselves when we got the dinky 34-foot trailer about 2 years ago, & by me the rubber seal should not have gone bad in just 2 years.  

All's well that ends well, I suppose, & as it turned out the worst part of the whole experience was running round from store to store in search of an item nobody had -- pretty well used up all of our Friday afternoon.  

So it goes. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 25, 2010)

*Trailer Roulette -- 2010.*

The Chief Of Staff thought we might get a chance this year to move to 1 of the choice spots in the park, but when our turn came round nothing worth moving to was still on the board. 

Maybe next year. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## timeos2 (Apr 25, 2010)

AwayWeGo said:


> The Chief Of Staff thought we might get a chance this year to move to 1 of the choice spots in the park, but when our turn came round nothing worth moving to was still on the board.
> 
> Maybe next year.
> 
> -- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​



Alan - Do they still get extra for overlooking the weasel pond?


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 25, 2010)

*You Got To Play To Win.*




timeos2 said:


> Do they still get extra for overlooking the weasel pond?


Within the park, there's The Circle & there's The Field.  

The Circle is a long row of trailers, all side-by-side, with space alongside each for parking & for a small patio, arrayed along the main road through the park & around the outside of the circle down by the back side of Rehoboth Bay, & up the other side of the road.  Some sites have a nice view of the neighboring marina, & the rest mainly have a view of the bay.  That piece of the park is basically a narrow peninsula out into the bay.

The Field is a block-shaped layout of trailer spaces along 4 short parallel streets.  Trailer sites are back-to-back along both side of the inner parallel streets & along 1 side only of the 2 outermost parallel streets.  

Our site is on the outside of the street closest to the main road through the park.  Another trailer spot is right in back of ours, but we're on the outside of the outermost parallel road, so there's nothing in front of our site but the the road & an open area on the other side of the road, then another parallel road for travel only (i.e., no trailer sites along it), & boat-trailer parking spots on the other side of that road. 

The whole park has only 147 trailer sites, & there really aren't any bad ones -- although The Circle is what everybody wants.  Site selection is strictly by seniority, & the only sites up for selection are those whose tenants have not renewed their leases.  Turnover is minimal -- typically under a dozen openings each year.  This year 6 sites came up for selection.  The waiting list has 66 people on it. 

Our site is only about 6 trailers away from our son's & daughter-in-law's trailer.  When they are at the park with their little boy, the day typically starts when he runs down to our trailer for breakfast & for a morning of various fun activities with Papa Alan & Grandma Carol while his mom & dad catch some extra snooze time.  

I have not yet located the weasel pond, but I will keep on a-looking. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## teepeeca (Apr 26, 2010)

*weasel pond*

Hi,

I'm not sure, but I think the "weasel pond" is where timeshare salesmen/sales-women either go to swim, OR, go to drown.  I vote fore the "drowning" aspect.

Should make for some great entertainment.

Tony


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 30, 2011)

*Trailer Roulette 2011 -- Same As Trailer Roulette 2010.*




AwayWeGo said:


> The Chief Of Staff thought we might get a chance this year to move to 1 of the choice spots in the park, but when our turn came round nothing worth moving to was still on the board.
> 
> Maybe next year.


Same outcome this year as last year & the year before.  

The Chief Of Staff went into it fearing that we wouldn't get to move our dinky trailer to a better site. 

I went into it fearing that we would. 

Even so, after all the sites were assigned, we pitched in with the chores involved in helping the folks behind our site & 1 site over, who snagged 1 of the choice locations when their number came up.  Many hands make light work.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 17, 2012)

*Trailer Roulette 2012 -- We Won !*

It had to happen, eventually.  

Site selection is based on seniority.  The senior-most residents already have the choicest sites sewn up long since.  That means mid-seniority folks like us have a chance to move out of the pack simply by hanging in there till 1 of the nicer spots opens up.   That's what happened this year. 

Our old site was OK -- on the main road with more trailers in back of us but none to look at in front of us.  Plus, it's just a few sites away from our son's & daughter-in-law's & grandson's trailer, making it super-easy for our grandson to come on down early in the morning for breakfast, etc., while his mom & dad enjoy some extra snooze time when we're all at the park together. 

But the whole park comprises only 147 travel-trailer sites, so if we were at opposite ends of the park it would still be an easy walk & a quick bike ride. 

Our new spot is at a bend in the road across the road from the park office & clubhouse.  Beside location, its main attraction is just a few feet of extra width & a nice view of the marina out the back.  We're now roughly in the middle of the park, about halfway distant from both our son & daughter-in-law & grandson at 1 end & The Chief Of Staff's sister at the far end of the park.  

The main complication with winning at trailer roulette is the physical work --  _worka-worka-worka_, as I think of it -- involved in getting the trailer all set to move, then getting it set up again after the park elders at the controls of the park's official diesel-powered tractor do the actual move.  Fortunately, members of the extended family were on hand to help with all that, & various friends & neighbors willingly pitched in as well (as we have done for others at prior site selection events). 

Once our trailer got settled & installed at its new site, then we faced up to the realities of all the other extra physical work it will take (and that it has already taken) to get things just the way The Chief Of Staff wants them.  Part of that is simply ongoing reality, one of the many charms of married life.  

The more immediate part is taking advantage of the new site's bonus width -- i.e., getting ready to have the concrete "pad" next to where the trailer is parked extended slightly (3 feet) to accommodate a nice awning & possibly someday a nice screen room.  That meant chopping down & uprooting an overgrown cedar tree right by the rear trailer door.  Fortunately, a man who has previously done work for The Chief Of Staff's sister was available to do the bulk of that labor, & the park elders used the official diesel-powered park tractor to uproot & cart off the stump.  (Even so, it took lots of swings of the ax to cut loose the stump, which was anchored by major serious roots.) 

The hired man also leveled & stabilized the trailer under stacks of concrete blocks, removed overgrown hedges, buried the satellite TV cable, secured some insulation that had some loose under the trailer, & I don't know what-all.  I helped, but (appropriately) the young & strong guy did most of the work.  

We're back from Delaware for the time being, but we'll be going back again & again this season -- not just for continuing _worka-worka-worka_, but also for enjoying life in our dinky non-traveling travel trailer whenever we get the chance. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Passepartout (Apr 17, 2012)

I'll be doing something sorta similar this weekend. I just bought a membership in an RV resort in the mountains on a reservoir a little over an hour away. We already have the not-so-dinky 5th wheel trailer, so we will tote it up there. They will allow us to leave it for 2 weeks at a time, then pull it off a site for a week. Then we can go back on for 2 more weeks. This is included in the membership. If we pay for 'storage' for the 'off' week, we can leave it on one site for the entire season. It seems some Snowbird folks do just that with a place at the lake all Summer and a place in Arizona all Winter.

Fishin' is said to be good. I'll provide a report next week. 

Jim


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## SOS8260456 (Apr 17, 2012)

Alan,
Your posts always make me smile  !

Glad you won the trailer park roulette this year.  I dont know much about these things, but you make it sound like fun.

Lisa


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## SueDonJ (Apr 17, 2012)

Oh, I'm so happy the CoS has gotten what she wants, a new address for the summer home!  I love the sound of that screen room over the new cement pad, can practically picture the two of you sitting out there sipping tea while the sun goes down over the marina.  Nice, very nice.  Congratulations.


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## BevL (Apr 17, 2012)

That is a great thing, glad to hear you are moving up the ladder.

We have a non-travel travel trailer too "across the line" in WA state.  It's camping with internet, a shower and a queen size bed. 

Love it and the grandkids have a great time down there.  

Enjoy.


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## PigsDad (Apr 17, 2012)

AwayWeGo said:


> Site selection is based on seniority.  The senior-most residents already have the choicest sites sewn up long since.  That means mid-seniority folks like us have a chance to move out of the pack simply by hanging in there till 1 of the nicer spots opens up.   That's what happened this year.


Sort of sounds like what happens at Thanksgiving.  As a youngin', you are stuck at the "kid's table" until either a) someone dies, or b) someone gets divorced / disenfranchised from the family.  

Kurt


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## amycurl (Apr 17, 2012)

Congrats! I love that part of the country; growing up, we had close family friends who lived full-time in an apartment one-house back from the boardwalk in Ocean City, Md. I worked there many summers as well, staying with them. They eventually moved inland to Berlin, MD, but it was still a great spot for "lightning trips" down during summer weekends from where we lived in SE PA.

During the summers I lived in OC, we'd go to Rehobeth on our days off. Is Harpoon Hannah's still in business?


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## chrispy08 (Apr 17, 2012)

man, my face is hurting from laughing at all those posts. We upgraded from our dinky 24 foot no bedrooms but 2 bunk non travel- travel trailer to a 37 foot non travel-park model last year...tear apart deck, move deck, unpack 24 ft trailer, cut down trees with a saws-all (no chainsaws allowed in park) install 37 foot on same lot, raise and lengthen deck to 30 feet....etc etc etc...all with many people watching and offering advise.. and drinking beer (we are Canadian).it took 6 members of relocation comittee to back said 37 ft trailer on lot! I just sat back because these guys obviously knew how to back up better than me and the guy with the dually truck I hired to do it! This was in Aug last season, next weekend we open up and I hope no sign of squatter critters in the trailer. Chris


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## AwayWeGo (Jun 2, 2012)

*In Business Since 1983.*




amycurl said:


> Is Harpoon Hannah's still in business?


Still there -- not at Rehoboth Beach but at Fenwick Island, closer to Ocean City MD (i.e., right on the Delaware side of the Delaware-Maryland line). 

Click here for the web site. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## ampaholic (Jun 2, 2012)

Alan we got rid of our 30' Zepplin ultra light - but this thread and this pictured "spot" has me rethinking that ...


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## Passepartout (Jun 2, 2012)

I did mention that I would check in with a report 'next week' about 3 weeks ago. We placed the 5th wheel at our membership campground back then. Turns out DW is not so ready to forsake work and worldly comforts for the wilds just yet. We have gone 'up to the lake' every week for a long getway since putting the trailer there. We can't leave it placed on a specific site in our absence except for 36 hour vacancies. That's OK, there is a storage area with plug-ins so we can leave food in the fridge/freezer while we return to civilization. Not having to bring the trailer home really makes the place usable. Not to mention saving $50-60 in gas a week. After the yard/garden get working on autopilot, I'll stay at the lake longer and DW can commute in her car if she wishes.

The fishin' isn't bad with a few 2-3 lb. trouts taken. Sometimes though, the fishin' is better than the catchin'. Blame the angler (me). DW paints while we are there. I fish and/or read. Life is good. There are somewhere around a hundred owners and every week there are potlucks and bingo and pool (both the kind on a green-felt covered table and the wet kind) parties. 

It's a little bit timeshare-ish, but with the same owners on site all summer and not too many exchangers.

Jim


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## Rose Pink (Jun 2, 2012)

We bought a lovely RV lot on a hill overlooking Bear Lake, Utah, decades ago.  We've never used it and I don't foresee us ever using it.  We don't fish or boat or water ski--although I do eat raspberries.  Worth the drive just to get fresh raspberry shakes in the season.

We've had it on the market for a few years but the only interest was a guy who wanted us to carry the loan.  I wasnt in the mood to play banker.

I wish we had never purchased it but we were young, had a newborn who  was crying and the salesman must have trained in the timeshare industry.

Add to that the two lots in Rio Rancho, NM, my FIL deeded over to us, that are nearly worthless.


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## AwayWeGo (Jun 2, 2012)

*Resort 2nd Home Acreage Out In The Country.*




Rose Pink said:


> We bought a lovely RV lot on a hill overlooking Bear Lake, Utah, decades ago.  We've never used it and I don't foresee us ever using it.  We don't fish or boat or water ski--although I do eat raspberries.  Worth the drive just to get fresh raspberry shakes in the season.
> 
> We've had it on the market for a few years but the only interest was a guy who wanted us to carry the loan.  I wasnt in the mood to play banker.
> 
> I wish we had never purchased it but we were young, had a newborn who  was crying and the salesman must have trained in the timeshare industry.


After I was grown & gone, my parents bought a double-lot across the street from the waterfront sites in a planned development on the Northern Neck of Virginia, down by Callao in Northumberland County. 

They talked of building a nice retirement home there some day, but both their lives ended before they ever got round to looking at designs or talking to builders.  

As executor of their estate, I sold the land to the owner of an adjoining lot, & divvied up the proceeds with my brother & sister.  (Even though I was executor, the buyer's attorney made me get my brother & sister to sign quitclaim deeds.  Suspenders plus a belt, I suppose.)

The Chief Of Staff & I are well enough satisfied with our modest timeshare holdings & our dinky non-traveling travel trailer so that we feel no need for a permanent 2nd home in some nice getaway location.  My parents' experience in buying rural resort land that they never used only reinforces that feeling. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## amycurl (Jun 2, 2012)

Thanks, Alan! That website takes me right back...we probably started going there right after it opened in '83. We loved that place. Our friends knew Mr. Hanna, which helped in getting a table in the height of summer (call in, let the hostess know we were coming, by the time we got there, our table was ready, and we could walk right past the mystified crowds....) It's probably been almost a decade since I've been there. 

I wonder if they still have the folks who do nothing but walk around with the baskets of freshly baked bread goodies (I couldn't tell from the website.)

And it is in Fenwick, of course....we tended to group anything over the state line as Rehobeth or on-the-way-to/from-Rehobeth.


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## AwayWeGo (Jun 4, 2012)

*Bethany Beach & South <-- oOo --> Rehoboth Beach & North.*




amycurl said:


> And it is in Fenwick, of course....we tended to group anything over the state line as Rehobeth or on-the-way-to/from-Rehobeth.


In pretty much the same way, I guess, every place south of the state line is Ocean City MD. 

We once rented (for a week) an apartment above the apartment over a garage -- not sure whether it was in Rehoboth Beach or Ocean City.  When you went up the outdoor wooden stairs to 1 level above the garage, you had to go up 1 more flight to get to the top, where our shaky vacation rental apartment was perched -- a far cry from the luxury & stability of timeshare resorts.  The Chief Of Staff & the kids & I had a nice time anyhow.   

Ever since we got our dinky non-traveling travel trailer, we've found ourselves gravitating more in the direction of Lewes DE & less in the direction of Bethany Beach DE & Ocean City MD.  The road to our little recreational trailer park is up by the Wal-Mart store, way north of Rehoboth Beach proper.  The park is on the back side of Rehoboth Bay, a short boat ride from the bay side of Dewey Beach but a significantly longer car ride.  

As old folks & grandparents, we have developed a preference for Lewes Beach, which is on the mouth of Delaware Bay right around Cape Helopen from the Atlantic Ocean.  The bayside beach has wimpy waves by contrast with the surf you hear & see & feel smashing & crashing on the sands of the ocean beaches, & that's fine with us -- specially when we are on child-watch duty.  (For years we thought the way to say Lewes was _Looz_.  Later we caught on that you say it _Lewis_.  Who knew?)

Our location is up by the 3 (tax-free) Tanger outlet malls & all the commercial development that has sprung up -- Kmart & Wal-Mart & Safeway & Food Lion & Super Fresh & Kick'n Chicken & Outback Steakhouse & I don't know what-all.  A surprise this season was noticing that the Ledo Pizza place is no longer Ledo but just some generic unaffiliated pizza joint, also that both Black & Decker locations are _GONE !_ -- the 1 in the Tanger outlet mall as well as their clearance store up by the former Ledo Pizza parlor.  So it goes. 

Friends we've known since before any of us got married bought an outstanding luxury Ocean City condo a couple of seasons ago -- more like a Wyndham Presidential Reserve timeshare suite than your regular, plain-vanilla everyday condominium apartment.  We've visited them there a couple of times, enjoying their ocean view from the vista out their large 4th floor balcony.  Very nice.  Extremely nice, & an extreme contrast with our dinky trailer, but not so extreme that we're tempted to go into hock for something similar.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Jun 5, 2012)

*What A Doofus.  (Me, Not You.)*




AwayWeGo said:


> The hired man also leveled & stabilized the trailer under stacks of concrete blocks, removed overgrown hedges, buried the satellite TV cable, secured some insulation that had some loose under the trailer, & I don't know what-all.  I helped, but (appropriately) the young & strong guy did most of the work.


More correctly, the leveling stacks of blocks are under the trailer; the trailer (obviously) is not under the blocks.  And the insulation the guy secured had come loose (not some loose). 

What a doofus.  (Me, not you.)  



AwayWeGo said:


> We're back from Delaware for the time being, but we'll be going back again & again this season -- not just for continuing _worka-worka-worka_, but also for enjoying life in our dinky non-traveling travel trailer whenever we get the chance.


We're at our dinky trailer again right now -- got here about 10:30 last night after a leisurely evening drive featuring no traffic congestion whatever because rush hour was over when we started out.  No doubt more _worka-worka-worka_ will show up on the agenda while we're here.  When it does, I will deal with it at the time.  

Is this a great country or what?

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## theo (Jun 5, 2012)

*A "flashback" question...*



AwayWeGo said:


> <snip> ...we have developed a preference for Lewes Beach, which is on the mouth of Delaware Bay right around Cape Helopen from the Atlantic Ocean. <snip>



Alan:
In a previous era of my life, while on a 2 year job assignment to Cape May, NJ, I would occasionally take the the ferry with some friends over to Lewes, Delaware for crabs and cold beer at a place called *Lou Ianiere's*. 
Good times and fond memories. 

I haven't been back to the mid-Atlantic in many years now; do you happen to know whether or not that  place even still exists? (...Lou Ianiere's, I mean --- I'm pretty sure Lewes, DE itself is still there...)?


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## AwayWeGo (Jun 5, 2012)

*Blast From The Past.*




theo said:


> In a previous era of my life, while on a 2 year job assignment to Cape May, NJ, I would occasionally take the the ferry with some friends over to Lewes, Delaware for crabs and cold beer at a place called *Lou Ianiere's*.
> Good times and fond memories.
> 
> I haven't been back to the mid-Atlantic in many years now; do you happen to know whether or not that  place even still exists? (...Lou Ianiere's, I mean --- I'm pretty sure Lewes, DE itself is still there...)?


Apparently that place belongs to history & nostalgia -- but I can't say for sure, because we haven't been up that way lately.

Click here for an internet picture from the wayback machine.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Jul 4, 2012)

*A Great Country For Sure.*




AwayWeGo said:


> We're at our dinky trailer again right now -- got here about 10:30 last night after a leisurely evening drive featuring no traffic congestion whatever because rush hour was over when we started out.  No doubt more _worka-worka-worka_ will show up on the agenda while we're here.  When it does, I will deal with it at the time.
> 
> Is this a great country or what?


Even though our little Fairfax County neighborhood in the Washington DC suburbs had power when all the surrounding neighborhoods were still powerless & without a/c in the sweltering July heat, & with the stuff in their fridges & freezers relentlessly warming up, we jumped in the car Sunday morning for a week-long stay in our dinky non-traveling travel trailer in a pleasant little Delaware campground on the back side of Rehoboth Bay, roughly halfway between Rehoboth Beach & Lewes, Delaware. 

Power & internet & cell service here are OK.  We have virtually all the comforts & conveniences of home, except on a very small scale.  But the power problems on the western side of the Chesapeake Bay were widespread when we headed east.  We aimed to have supper at a favorite barbecue place outside Annapolis MD Sunday evening.  When we got there, the parking lot was empty & the place was locked -- no power.  We drove over the bridge & chowed down on the Eastern Shore, where everything was working OK. 

When we're here, I settle into a pattern of drinking coffee & typing on the portable computer & otherwise pretty much going with the flow.  I am easily entertained.  Plus, I try to be helpful around the house dinky trailer. 

The Chief Of Staff by contrast likes to be out & about & doing stuff, not just shopping, etc., but trailer improvement & trailer modification & I don't know what-all.  This week's project has been building a new set of wooden steps for entering the trailer.  The steel fold-down steps that are part of the trailer won't do -- too steep & too shaky.  Ugly, too.  The ready-made fiberglass-over-plywood steps that look like concrete also aren't exactly right -- too high with a top platform right outside the trailer door that's too large.  So we bought ready-cut stringers at Lowe's plus a bunch of pressure-treated 2x4s & a 4x4 & a box of outstanding deck screws & went to work.  An electric circular saw & some electric drills with various bits, including screwdriver bits, stay here as part of the stuff we keep at our dinky trailer, so all it takes is brainpower (Chief Of Staff) & manpower (the old man) to cut & assemble.  

We did the work on the installment plan in fits & starts over several days, rather than diving in & sticking with it till completion.  That has several advantages.  It allows for design modifications on the fly (Chief Of Staff) plus rest & recuperation between bouts of physical work out in the July heat (both of us).  A few more days & I'm guessing it will be Case Closed on the new steps.  After that, there surely will be more _worka-worka-worka_ projects -- I just don't know what those will be.  (But I'm sure I will find out.)

I have been using an outstanding 20-year-old Schwinn 5-speed mountain-style bike to pedal around the campground for the past few years.  It still had its original tires & tubes on it.  The back wheel went flat from tire & tube deterioration, & no doubt the front wheel was about go to likewise.  So I took the bike to the shop yesterday for new tires & tubes & a handbrake check -- will pick it up before early closing today (July 4) at the bike shop.  Taking the bike in for that work is a special indulgence.  I have installed new inner tubes on bicycles (mostly kid bikes) several times in the past with minimal trouble.  For the big bike with the 5-speed rear sprocket & chain-moving speed changer on it, I decided to enjoy the luxury of leaving it to the pros. 

Fireworks on the beach are set for 9:15 PM or so, with remote parking & a free shuttle to the Boardwalk area.  We're more apt to keep clear of the crowds & the heat & view the aerial display from our end of Rehoboth Bay.

Here's wishing a safe & sane & fun Independence Day to all my USA friends. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Passepartout (Jul 4, 2012)

Alan, thanks for the report. I had wondered how you fared with the aftermath of the storm that tried to blow the mid-Atlantic out to sea. Glad you and the dinky trailer did OK.

We are at our seasonably non-traveling RV at the lake for the holiday and have been here since last week sometime. The county is under a burn ban. No fireworks, campfires or open flames. Tended BBQs are allowed. Did I mention it is dry?

We have a similar division of labor here. DW enjoys her time to be painting. She dives right into the watercolors soon after we get situated at the camp. I paddle my pontoon boat around the 'pond' doing a lot more 'fishing' than 'catching.' I am a little envious of your access steps. We are relegated to the OEM folding metal ones because we are more mobile than your assigned space situation.

We took a 90 mile loop out and around though some of the rural mountain communities and other lakes yesterday. Lots of family groups set up to enjoy the nation's birthday. We will probably button up the RV later today and make the almost 2 hour trek home for tonight's municipal fireworks and band extravaganza. I get to stand with all the other veterans to bask in the annual warm feeling of love outpouring from the citizenry.

Life is good.

Jim


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## AwayWeGo (Aug 19, 2012)

*Anything Worth Doing Is Worth Doing Twice.*

After we won at trailer roulette 2012 & got done with all the work involved in moving out of the old site & getting squared away in our new spot, the big workload shifted to our son's old trailer, & then his new 1.  He bought a 2010 Coachmen as an upgrade for his 2005 Wildwood.  Both are comparable, except the Coachmen is not only newer, but also has a nicer 2nd bedroom in back for our grandson (age 9).  

Campground rules limit the total length of any trailer here to 36 feet from the back of the rear bumper to the very front of the trailer hitch.  (That's why I call'm dinky trailers.)  The Coachmen trailer exactly fits, just barely.  Rules also limit the width of slide-out extensions to 36 inches.  Our son's Coachmen trailer has 2 slide-outs that are nominally 36 inches -- except they're 37½ inches by actual measurement (done by the park BOD president), so the Coachmen trailer was not allowed in.

Unfortunately, the Coachmen was already here.  The Chief Of Staff's sister hooked it up behind her Ford E-350 & brought it here from Westminster MD via the northern route (up I-95 to Newark DE, then down Delaware Route 1, avoiding the Chesapeake Bay Bridge).  We stashed the new trailer at a storage lot while grappling with the issue of the extra inch & a half.

Meanwhile, The Chief Of Staffl had already found a buyer for the old trailer -- a lady who showed up with money in hand for the agreed upon amount, which was only $500 below the asking price.  The Chief Of Staff put the buyer off while while trying to come up with a solution.  Before long, the buyer got cold feet & backed out.

We learned that another family in the park brought in a new trailer that had to be modified because its slide-outs went out an inch or 2 too far, like our son's.  The RV dealer who did the modification was willing to modify our son's trailer too -- for $450 or so.  Plus, we would have to tow the Coachmen trailer from here to a Baltimore suburb to get the work done, then back here again once the trailer was modified -- across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge & back.

After trying & failing to get somebody local who knew what he was doing to take on the job, we decided to do it ourselves.  We bought dense, closed-cell PVC foam sheets.  We cut those into 3-inch strips, which we glued to both wide sides of 2x3 boards using 3M industrial spray adhesive.  We cut 2 of the foam-covered boards to match the lengths of the 2 trailer slide-outs, & we cut 4 more to match the height.  We joined the ends of each long board at right angles to 2 boards the height of the slides & placed the upside-down squared-off U-shape foam-covered wooden contraptions on top of the side-out room extensions, which are basically large boxes open on the inside, so that when the slides were pushed out, they were blocked from full extension by the wood, & sealed inside & out by the dense waterproof foam that's squeezed against the outside of the slide-out frame & against the inside of the opening in the trailer that the extension slides through. 

It worked. The trailer was re-measured & officially OKd -- a good thing, too, because we had already repositioned the 2 trailers, new 1 out of storage lot & onto our son's site, old 1 moved into storage. For that, the Chief Of Staff hailed a guy at the marina who had a trailer hitch on his pick-up. She got him to do-si-do the 2 trailers -- swap their respective places in storage & in the park -- for an agreed upon sum.

After some last-minute repairs to the old trailer, The Chief Of Staff found another buyer for it.  We met him at his bank in Elkton MD, way up close to Newark DE.  With cash money in hand, we drove back down to the Rehoboth Beach campground & let out a deep breath.  Later that day, the new owner arrived at the storage lot & hooked up his newly bought 2005 Wildwood trailer & drove off with it.

With the modified Coachmen trailer approved & installed, The Chief Of Staff hired a loal guy to level & stabilize it over stacks of concrete blocks.  Son & family moved in & settled in.  Our daughter-in-law, who had been skeptical, was very happy.

Meanwhile, the new owner of the old trailer phoned to let us know that the fabric moisture barrier under the larger of that trailer's 2 slide-outs had ripped asunder when he activated the extension mechanism.  Repairs, estimated at $2*,*500, could not be put off.  The last-minute repairs we had done on the old trailer had to do with the switch & solenoid on the in-out slide mechanism, not the structure or sub-floor fabric of the slide outs.  Nobody knew anything was wrong with the moisture barrier, which looked OK & was OK.  Can't account for why it ripped up after ownership changed hands.  We felt bad enough about the situation, though, to pay $500 toward the repair & the guy found an RV service place that did it for less than the 1st estimate -- $1*,*700 or so.

The very next time we were here, a member of the park HOA came to see us when we were in our trailer just relaxing in the a/c.  "I don't know if this will make you mad or glad," he said.  "The board just now decided to change the size limit on slide-outs.  Now it's 40 inches.  There was heated discussion about it, but now it's official -- no more 36-inch limit."

Well, we sure could have been mad after all the work we did to meet the old limit.  But instead we were glad that we could now remove our home-made improvised slide barriers & let the slide-outs extend their full intended distance, which would make them more apt to seal out the weather & the moisture than our questionable foam-padded lumber block system.

We removed the foam-padded 2x3s.  The Chief Of Staff got some other guy with a truck to come move the trailer over two _-- 2 --_ inches toward the curb side to accommodate the extra inch & a half that the unblocked slide-outs now extend on the street side.  Repositioning the trailer meant removing all the stabilizing stacks of concrete blocks.  Same guy who stabilized before came back to stabilize it all over again, 2 inches over from where it was when he did the job before.

Even though anything worth doing is worth doing over again, here's hoping that particular job will not have to be done again any time soon.  Twice is enough.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Nov 17, 2012)

*Trailer Storm Preparations & After-Storm Recovery.*

Ahead of the big East Coast storm, we packed up & secured everything we could at our little trailer campground in Delaware,  That included taking down & securely tying our rigid-panel patio roof, which we felt would be vulnerable to hurricane force winds.  Tied down that way, while still hinged by the awning rail at the top edge of the trailer, it was like a big storm shutter on the curb side of the trailer.

Trouble is, hanging down that way it blocked not only the front door but also the water heater outdoor access panel, which the people winterizing the trailer had to be able to get at.  So after the storm The Chief Of Staff & I drove back to Rehoboth Beach & untied the roof panel & set it up on its support posts again. 

As it happens we likely would have been OK if we had not tied down the patio roof panels.  None of the others like it in the park had been taken down, & they all came through the storm mostly OK.  After the storm, 1 support post at somebody else's awning was semi-tilted, still connected but causing the roof to sag a bit at 1 end.  That was it.

Our dinky trailer is all winterized now, disconnected from power & water, just sitting there in the cold till we go back & start the 2013 camping season with another rousing session of Trailer Roulette. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## susieq (Nov 18, 2012)

Glad you made it! Guess you were all pretty lucky! :whoopie:


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## AwayWeGo (Mar 29, 2013)

*Getting A Jump On The 2013 Camping Season.*




AwayWeGo said:


> Our dinky trailer is all winterized now, disconnected from power & water, just sitting there in the cold till we go back & start the 2013 camping season with another rousing session of Trailer Roulette.


Trailer Roulette is still a few weeks off but we're here in our dinky non-traveling travel trailer ahead of time anyway. 

The trailer survived the rigors of winter in all respects (so far as we can tell) except 2. 

The leveling blocks on the street side have settled into the sand to the degree that the trailer no longer sits level -- tilts slightly & will have to be re-leveled & re-blocked before long (i.e., when the weather warms up).

The bathroom sink faucet sprang a leak under the cabinet.  We didn't notice it till puddles appeared on the floor.  Fortunately, it did not leak except when the water was running, meaning that the faucet assembly itself sprang a leak, not the water supply lines.  

The leaky OEM faucet assembly was 100% cheap plastic.  Amazing it lasted as long as it did.  

Fortunately installing a whole new replacement faucet was not much trouble.  The new Moen faucet from Home Depot is solid brass.  No doubt it will last longer than the rest of the trailer.  

So far, so good. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Passepartout (Mar 29, 2013)

I'm envious. Our 5th wheel is still residing in an unused (for the original purpose) potato cellar along with several dozen others. I plan to wrestle the bad mat out of my pickup, put the hitch in it and retrieve the trailer sometime next week. The RV resort at the lake where we park it over the Summer is all paid up and will be open April 15. The owner/managers try to organize work crews of the inhabitants to do a Spring clean-up, paint, prune, etc. It's a good weekend to have someplace else to be.

We will be hauling it to the Midwest fairly soon to oversee the rehabilitation of the late FIL's house. We'll live in the trailer instead of 'hoteling' it. A long journey,  but it will show me one way or the other whether I want to play snowbird.


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## vacationhopeful (Mar 29, 2013)

Passepartout said:


> ....We will be hauling it to the Midwest fairly soon to oversee the rehabilitation of the late FIL's house. We'll live in the trailer instead of 'hoteling' it. A long journey,  but it will show me one way or the other whether I want to play snowbird.



Is this the lake house you mentioned in VivianLynne's Poconos house saga?


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## Passepartout (Mar 29, 2013)

vacationhopeful said:


> Is this the lake house you mentioned in VivianLynne's Poconos house saga?



I don't think so. FIL's place is near Madison WI- not on a lake. We normally keep the trailer at a reservoir in Idaho for the summer.


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## AwayWeGo (Mar 31, 2013)

*Who Needs Warm Weather For Stacking Up Concrete Blocks ?*




AwayWeGo said:


> The leveling blocks on the street side have settled into the sand to the degree that the trailer no longer sits level -- tilts slightly & will have to be re-leveled & re-blocked before long (i.e., when the weather warms up).


Turns out it was not necessary for the weather to warm up any at all. 

Before lunch, we re-leveled & re-stabilized the trailer.  Now it's sturdy & steady & straight & non-bouncy once again. 

After that work, we came inside for lunch. 

After lunch, it started raining -- so that was that for outside work today. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 13, 2013)

*Trailer Roulette 2013.*

Only 4 spots opened up this year (out of 147 sites in the whole park).  

Nobody in our extended family moved. 

That didn't keep us from _worka-worka-worka_ all afternoon, mainly in helping with the installation of a SilverTop awning on The Chief Of Staff's sister's trailer, which is already in a prime location right on the bay.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Denise (Apr 14, 2013)

Congratulations on your upgrade!  Hurry back, we miss you already!


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 6, 2015)

*Defunct Trailer Water Heater.*

Trailer Roulette 2015 is coming up in just a few weeks.  To get ready, we spent Easter weekend at our Rehoboth Beach campground -- our 1st Delaware trip of the year -- opening up our dinky non-traveling travel trailer, getting it all ready for the season, & having fun.  

Only problem that cropped up is the 10-gallon gas-electric RV-style water heater.  Everything else that we know of worked OK -- although we did not check the air conditioner because the weather never got hot while we were there. 

The trailer water heater does not work on gas & as luck would have it also does not work on electric power.  It might be repairable, I don't know.  But I don't know how to fix it & at my advanced age I am not much inclined to learn.  Having it fixed by an RV service company is a possibility.  Then again, the repair bill is bound to be pretty steep -- possibly too steep to be practical for fixing a 10-year-old unit that's close to the end of its designed useful life.  

That got us thinking more about replacing the defunct water heater & less about repairing it.  

After some internet & in-store research, we have just about decided against an exact replacement RV water heater.  Instead, we are leaning strongly toward installing a 12-gallon 1*,*500-watt Whirlpool electric water heater*.* 

After checking out that model at Lowe's in Lewes DE, we took measurements at the trailer & did a mental assessment of what it will take to remove the defunct gas-electric water heater & install the 12-gallon all-electric water heater in its place.  

Water connections (in & out) will require 3/4-inch to 1/2-inch adapters.  The gas connection will have to be disconnected & capped off.  The existing 110V-120A power supply is adequate.  

So unless we talk ourselves out of it, we're going ahead next time we're at the campground.  I'm expecting that if we're patient & take it step by step, maintaining peace of mind as much as possible, we'll be able to do the project in a day.  

We'll see. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Passepartout (Apr 6, 2015)

Ahhh, the adventure of non-traveling RVing. I haven't retrieved our 5th wheel from where it resides over the winter. Inside a gigantic potato cellar. Indoors, out of the weather and virtually never freezing. Our winter was pretty mild this winter anyway, so it's unlikely to have frozen in the storage place at all. Mox nix anyway, it was all winterized.

Since tucking it away last Fall, we've bought an urban loft apartment, so the trailer will be in search of a new owner and home. Or maybe (probably) I will be doing the search for a buyer. After retrieving and 'summerizing' and detailing it. I put my foot down that I have no interest in being the one keeping up the maintenance on the homestead, an office, an RV, and now a townhouse. Somethin's gotta go- and by consensus, it's the trailer. We've just about run out of time to enjoy all that AND timeshares too.

The RVing has taken us through 3 RVs and ownership (timeshare-like) in  a private RV campground. DW put that up on Craigslist a couple weeks ago. It sold within a couple of hours for what we paid for it some years ago. 

I can sympathize- and fully understand your reluctance, Alan on replacing the water heater. RV's are notorious for small spaces, stuff installed before walls are built, then with a water heater, you're into the water, gas, and electric circuits. Monster PITA!

Enjoy your time at the Bay. Sounds nice.

Jim


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## MuranoJo (Apr 7, 2015)

Jim, You do (did) have your hands full.  
We've never had an RV campground ownership, but we also don't want a second home--hard to take care of what we have as it is.  Really prefer not to have the maintenance issues that tend to tie you down and cost money you could be putting towards other interests.  Glad to hear you got it sold so quickly.  

Alan, good luck with the water heater.  Sounds like a very nice spot you have.


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 24, 2015)

*The Water, She Is Hot.*




AwayWeGo said:


> So unless we talk ourselves out of it, we're going ahead [with water heater installation] next time we're at the campground.  I'm expecting that if we're patient & take it step by step, maintaining peace of mind as much as possible, we'll be able to do the project in a day.


New 12-gallon Whirlpool electric water heater is in & hooked up & working.  

The project took about 6 hours, starting with picking up the new water heater & associated installation parts at the nearby Lowe's on the way to our campground, then taking out the defunct RV gas/electric water heater, & completing installation of the new replacement household-type all-electric water heater.  

Midway through the job, we had to go to Home Depot to buy the right kind of flexible water lines after discovering the ones from Lowe's weren't exactly right (different size connectors on the 2 ends that for our project needed to be both the same size).  Fortunately Home Depot had'm, so we got'm & used'm -- will return the wrong-end lines to Lowe's along with some extra unused installation parts that we bought just in case. 

No blood was shed.  No curse words uttered.  No collateral damage done.  The new water heater works. 

When thinking through the project over the past few weeks, 2 potential issues stood out *. . .* 

A product reviewer at the Lowe's web site said the plugs in the side water connections were in so tight that he could not unscrew them, meaning he had to use the conventional water-in & water-out connections on the top of the water heater.  We planned on using the side connection holes.  Fortunately, we got the side-hole plugs unscrewed OK & used'm to plug the top holes.  Then we connected the tank via the side openings, as planned.

I wasn't sure how to cap off the gas line after it was disconnected from the old water heater.  I bought a variety of caps & plugs from Lowe's, figuring I would have to get down in the dirt under the trailer to find the pipe leading from the propane tanks to the water heater, disconnecting the branch feeding the water heater, & capping or plugging it out there.  Instead, after unscrewing the flare fitting connecting the gas line to the old water heater, I also removed the brass elbow screwed into the gas valve.  Then I screwed a brass cap onto the threaded end of the elbow & reconnected the gas line (via original flare fitting) to the other end.  The gas line is connected to the same fitting as before, but now the line dead-ends at the capped-off fitting instead of allowing gas to flow.

Most of the water connections were OK.  We checked before connecting electrical power to the water heater & checked again before switching on the power.  Tiny drops seeped out of 2 connections, so I tightened those carefully till I saw no more droplets.  I'll go out & check'm again in the morning.  

With hot water on tap, our dinky non-traveling trailer once again has most of the comforts of home (gas heat, hot & cold water, fridge, gas stove, air conditioning, microwave, satellite TV, queen-size bed, internet, flush toilet, etc.).  The Chief Of Staff is a happy camper again.  

Is this a great country or what ?

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## swditz (Apr 24, 2015)

Alan I loved reading of your campground adventures. We started at our seasonal site 12 years ago with 6 kids and a pop up. That was a very crowded summer!. The next year we "upgraded to a 30 ft camper with bunks in the back, and a "real Bathroom". The next year evolved into a 38 ft park model. The year after we added a Florida room and rented the site next to us. we found a 20 year old camper and put the 3 boys in that. From there we added a third site which has the 3 girls. Now Dw and I have our own little retreat with the others in easy eye site. We have a beautiful location on a brook out in the woods. Great place to spend our summers and Lots of great memories. All this twenty minutes from our regular Home! Like yours its a small no frills campground with wonderful friends and extended family. Thanks for sharing!
Scott


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 25, 2015)

*Trailer Roulette 2015.*




AwayWeGo said:


> I tightened those [water connections] carefully till I saw no more droplets.  I'll go out & check'm again in the morning.


One easily accessible connection needed just a little more tightening.  Now it's all dry all the time.  (Even so, I'll be checking again occasionally till it's time to go home.  Can't hurt.  Might help.)

Completion of the water heater swap-out left us with the problem of what to do with the old defunct RV-style gas/electric water heater that we removed.  It was 10 years old, but its tank did not leak & it was potentially repairable, or possibly useful as a parts donor someone could use to fix another RV water heater.  We didn't want to heave it into a dumpster if it might be useful to somebody else. 

So we took pictures & offered it as a Craig's List giveaway.  This morning somebody local showed up & took it away.  Waste not, want not. 

Right before that, the park's annual Site Selection Day event took place -- _Trailer Roulette_.  

The Chief Of Staff & I are content with our current spot, so we were not inclined to pick another choice lot even if 1 had been available when it was our turn to pick.  (Turns are based on seniority -- i.e., people's starting date in the park.)  Not only that, none of our extended family members wanted to move to any sites available when their turns came round.  So everybody in our bunch stayed put this year, meaning we all got to relax & enjoy ourselves all day instead of throwing ourselves into major serious trailer relocation.  

So it goes -- till Trailer Roulette 2016.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Jun 23, 2015)

*Trailer Vacationing 2015.*




AwayWeGo said:


> So everybody in our bunch stayed put this year, meaning we all got to relax & enjoy ourselves all day instead of throwing ourselves into major serious trailer relocation.


We're vacationing this week at our dinky 35-foot non-traveling travel trailer on the back shore of Rehoboth Bay in Delaware.  Mainly, we're just enjoying time together without a work agenda -- unlike 2 earlier trips to the beach this year which involved installing a new water heater 1 time & adding a 4-foot extension our permanent hard-shell awning the other time.

Even so, unscheduled chores can pop up without warning.  Yesterday our nephew (who's here with his wife & 6-year-old son) had major serious electrical trouble at his 36-foot non-traveling travel trailer.  All the fuses & circuit breakers in the trailer were OK.  Ditto the ground-fault devices.  The outside breaker where the trailer plugs into 50-amp, 240-volt power was not tripped.  Inside the trailer, the a/c was out & some of the regular circuits were on, the rest out.  

Using a neon tester, nephew & I determined that power was coming off 1 side of the outdoor breaker but no power was coming off the other side.  

Something similar happened at home 30 years ago.  It turned out a buried cable upstream of the electric meter had been nicked.  Over time, the conductor corroded at the damaged spot, to the point that the wire burned through & power was out on 1/2 of the circuits.  The power company found the break using special instruments, then dug down 3 feet or so, & fixed the break via permanent splice & waterproof insulated covering. 

At the RV park yesterday, nephew & I got help from 2 of the park elders.  One guy,  using a meter, verified that half the power was out at the load side of 1 breaker, but determined that power was present at the line side of both breakers --meaning that the problem was right there in the outdoor box in the form of a bad 50-amp double-pole circuit breaker.  

The other guy brought back a box of miscellaneous circuit breakers from the park supply cabinet.  Unfortunately the assortment did not include a replacement for the bad breaker.  

By then the electrical supply stores were closed for the day.  Nephew drove straight to Home Depot & came back with an exact replacement for the bad breaker.  Making sure power was switched off at the meter, he quickly & carefully installed the new 50-amp breaker.  With power switched on again at the meter, the neon tester glowed red for each of the 2 sides of the newly installed circuit breaker.  So we put the panel cover on, plugged in the trailer & -- _Whooom !_ -- the trailer rooftop air conditioner jumped into action & everything inside worked the way it was spozed to.  

Is this a great country or what ?

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Fern Modena (Jun 23, 2015)

My hero! You amaze me, Alan, at all the things you know how to do or can figure out!

Fern


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## AwayWeGo (Jun 23, 2015)

*Families Should Stick Together, Not Spaghetti.*




Fern Modena said:


> You amaze me, Alan, at all the things you know how to do or can figure out!


Nice of you to say -- but it was my nephew who did all the hard work.  All I did was provide a little coaching based on experience. 

Everything I know about electricity & wiring I learned from my late father-in-law (my nephew's grandfather).  He was not only the most technically accomplished man I ever knew, he was also a rock-solid family man & exemplary father to 2 daughters.  I am extremely fortunate to have married into his family.   

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Jul 11, 2015)

*More Power To You.*




AwayWeGo said:


> Even so, unscheduled chores can pop up without warning.


We spent Independence Day weekend at our Rehoboth Beach campground, along with family members spending the holiday at their own non-traveling travel trailers at the park.  

It turned out our nephew had 1 more electrical wiring so solve, minor by comparison with his other recent electrical glitch*.*

A previous occupant of his site in the campground had run a Type UF electrical cable underground from the site's plug-in panel to the outdoor storage shed on the other side of the trailer space.  The wire was 12-gauge (intended for 20 amps at 110 volts), but it was plugged into a 30-amp receptacle.  Not only that, the circuit was not equipped with a ground-fault current interrupter safety device (as it should have been, because the shed is basically outdoors & the whole site is close to the edge of Rehoboth Bay).   

None of that was the main problem at the time.  That's because the shed circuit did not work -- no power in any shed outlet, no light from the twisty bulb overhead, nothing.  Yet our simple neon circuit tester lit up OK when applied to that 30-amp receptacle.  That meant the problem was somewhere in the buried Type UF cable. 

As it happened, the UF cable was too short -- did not reach the trailer site's power panel.  Never did reach far enough & in fact was spliced inside a standard hardware-store junction box with blank cover.  The box was the kind made for interior wiring, so it had been covered up in layers of thick & sticky, tarry wrapping -- not ideal, & not the way I would have done it, but potentially OK in a rough & ready way.  The box was not buried. It just lay there on the ground about midway between the power panel & the spot where the UF cable dipped underground.  

After checking out everything else & not finding any obvious trouble spots, we (my son & my nephew & I) focused our suspicion on the junction box covered in (supposedly) waterproof wrap.  

Before getting all the tarry stuff cut off, we found the problem.  Outside the box but inside the covering was a break in the UF cable -- a bad break.  Two of the 3 12-gauge wires were broken & burnt off.  

The buried UF cable that was already too short was even shorter when we cut off the junction box.  We talked about getting a new junction box & cover designed for outdoor use -- & we may still do that in the future.  

Instead, as an interim quick fix, we stripped & cleaned the exposed end of the buried UF cable, getting the copper wires clean & bright, & to those wires we connected an outdoor-type heavy-duty plug.  We plugged that into a 6-foot extension cord made for major appliances, & we plugged the other end of the extension cord into the power panel's 20-amp GFCI receptacle.  

Rather than attempting to waterproof the plug-in connection between the above-ground end of the buried UF cable & the heavy extension cord, we used a PVC tube to hold the UF cable vertical where it comes out of the ground & connects to the extension cord.  Then we put a yellow plastic bucket over the PVC tube, so that the plug-in connection is high & dry & out of the rain.  

It's not ideal, but it works -- shed light & receptacles all work. 

We started out trying to fix 1 problem -- no power.  Instead, we fixed 3 things at once -- (1) no power, (2) 20-amp circuit plugged into 30-amp receptacle, (3) no GFCI protection for outdoor shed circuit.  

The remaining problem, which can wait, is better way of protecting & waterproofing the connection to the buried UF cable.   

It's always something. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## vacationhopeful (Jul 12, 2015)

Seems you 3 guys had a wonderful bonding experience ... better than a fishing story as you all got your prey!


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 19, 2016)

*Trailer Roulette Next Weekend.*

We'll be heading back to Port Delmarva next weekend for the annual event formally known as Site Selection Day (referred to around here as _Trailer Roulette_). 

We're not playing this year, just observing.  But it's a spectacle we don't like to miss. 

To get ready for the season, we spent last weekend at our trailer, de-winterizing the plumbing & checking for leaks, etc.  Only 1 leak -- at an elbow connection on the plastic tube supplying cold water to the electric water heater that we installed last season.  We got that fixed using 1 new supply tube & some hose clamps that we bought from Home Depot*.* 

My own bonehead blunder burned out the electric water heater.  After the leak was fixed, I switched on the water heater without first checking to make sure it had filled with water.  The element burned out in a matter of minutes.  

Fortunately Lowe's had a replacement element in stock for just under $10.  I bought 1 & got it installed without too much trouble.  

Only thing not working now is satellite TV.  We hooked up a brand-new box, went through the set-up routine step by step, completed everything, but never got past a screen saying there was no signal -- even though the diagnostic screen showed high signal strength from all transponders.  No problem.  We caught the network shows we wanted to see via over-the-air digital TV.  If we don't get the satellite TV squared away, we won't suffer from lack of televised entertainment. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 27, 2016)

*Trailer Roulette -- Observers Only This Time, Not Participants.*




AwayWeGo said:


> Trailer Roulette Next Weekend.


Trailer Roulette 2016 has come & gone.  

We did not move -- totally OK with us because we are in a nice site already. 

Our nephew's mother-in-law changed sites.  Fortunately there were enough other family members on hand to help with the move so that we were not called upon to do any actual, uh, er, ah -- you know, _work_.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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