Hot -n- Cold

There is one thing for sure, there will be no under the radar trips in Fillmore. Whether it is a little trip to test out something or a bigger journey to take him into the city for some work...he tends to turn heads. Generally it is a honk, a wave, a "thumbs up!" nod of approval. But every now and again it causes someone to follow me, or leave notes on the wind shield. The picture below is from when I brought Fillmore to work so that I could transit him down to Polar mobility for A/C work. This was a pic someone from another office took, and then proceeded to canvas the building looking for the owner.

Kind of neat to see it from a different view!

The guys down at Polar have been having a great time figuring things out. I had said I wanted nothing on the roof so they went through a variety of different options for locating the condenser for the A/C system. In the end they located it right where I suggested (and had hoped it would go) in the first place. At kneeling level this is all you can see.

When you crouch down on hands and knees and look under you get a bit better look.















As for the evaporators, the front dash unit kind of changed things up front....all of Randy and Trevor's hard work of measuring and mounting the heater cores in the front.....has been reconfigured. Sorry boys.....all in the name of progress.

Mid ship we'll use the heater core for supplemental running heat.

In the back you can see the second evaporator that will give the rear and mid ship heat and cool capabilities. All the while the compressor gets a new mounting bracket, and what you can't see is two new 14" fans above the engine in the chute. Progress!!

Playoffs!

It's that time of year....you know the time where you seem to get swept up in all the hoo-ha of NHL playoffs. I enjoy watching hockey, but I'm not a die hard or stats fanatic. But I enjoy a good ride on the band wagon as much as the next guy. Maybe Fillmore is a tail gate party just waiting to come of age!

Maybe you could consider me an opportunistic hockey fan. Cheer for the flames, but only really watch games in the playoffs.
Thankfully I have been doing more than just watching hockey, the other night Jeff and I had the opportunity to help finalize some supplies for the spring trip of Dentistry for All to El Ramate, Guatemala. It is the trip that I was supposed to go on, but last fall when I needed to make the call, I decided to error on the side of safety and bow out for another trip.

In the meantime I continue my hydraulic struggle....

As I mentioned in the last post I had an unsuccessful attempt at taking Fillmore into the city to Polar mobility for A/C installation. Once again while en route, I blew out the hydraulic filter. Along with Dave from Springbank Truck repair we pieced Fillmore back together and started doing some pressure testing. Unfortunately we did not come to any definitive conclusions. Everything seems to be correct, set up in a proper way. To the point that during function there is very little pressure build up at all. Our running theory is that when the fan is engaged right from engine start, pressures remain low and flow easily. If however the fan remains off until temps rise, then there is a spike in pressure and the filter blows.

So I put Fillmore back together, and kept the hydraulic system running from start and brought Fillmore to the city to continue on the A/C quest. So once again I left Fillmore in the hands of someone else.

Driving a '49 Flxible is a fun thing to do at the best of times, but I'm always a little surprised at the reactions I get when other people see the rig. Most of the time its a smile, a wave, a "thumbs up" with a honk. But every now and again something surprises me....like the note asking if I want to sell put under the windshield wiper!

Bowie said it all

 How many times have we struggled with time? Jim Croce said it the best:

"But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them"

 The issue is what I sheepishly call a first world problem. Having done a bit of traveling, and working in  Central America some times I feel guilty lamenting to myself about my greed for, when it really is, the luxury of time.
 Often I get frustrated because progress is slow on Fillmore either by my hand or someone elses'. In reality though I make choices each and every day. Do I work on Fillmore for a few hours or do I go for a run with my wife or help the kids with their homework?
 When you put it down on paper it is blatantly obvious, and thankfully-most of the time- I do the right things and spend my time where I should. As David Bowie said:

 Don't let me hear you say life's taking you nowhere, angel
Come get up my baby
Look at that sky, life's begun
Nights are warm and the days are young

 ...because these are the golden years.

 Progress does continue, a little here a little there. I was able to have the fittings moved on the grey water tank.

Anna came out one afternoon and helped with the Lounge seat diss-assembly.





I always encourage the kids to participate in activities outside, firewood, general maintenance, clearing the driveway. But I do keep a close eye on them because as much as they (and I) think that they are extremely capable for their age.....sometimes they mean well but don't make the best choices.
Yes I was happy that Jeff was able to diagnose a problem with the plow attachment for the quad.....

 On the positive side...we had a teachable moment on safety!

The last installment in the on going Fillmore saga, is I have a design problem with my Hydraulic system. I was driving into the city to get the A/C system installed, when....I started to climb in temp. I pulled over and sure enough I had blown the Hydraulic filter again. There seems to be a design flaw or a bottle neck. The system can't handle it. Thankfully I was close to STR (Mechanic) and they graciously allowed me to pull in unannounced. As a matter of fact David, the owner, gave me a ride to work. I might have to rethink the whole fan issue and move to electric fans. I have a couple of 16" fans which may allow me to put something to gather until I can limp home and revamp....stay tuned!

Easter Weekend

This past weekend has been great, busy.....action packed....full of surprises, but that's what life is isn't it? As the weather turned warm the snow began to melt, the birds started to sing, the animals started to scurry... and the 12 year old with cabin fever felt it was the perfect time to hone their off road unicycle skills. I really don't get it. The kid hasn't touched the thing in 9 months and he hops on it like it is an everyday thing. I guess it like they say it's like riding a bicycle except twice as hard.?

We managed to get the warm weather induced jobs done just in time for the snow....Yep....snow.
Realistically there is snow in the foothills of the Rockies anywhere from mid September to mid July, with a significant risk of a freak snow storm anywhere in between. I really wanted to proceed with some interior design
modifications/fabrications, however mother nature was throwing me a challenge. I need a safe way to run my 220V service to the bus shelter. And my cables (50'+25') need to be joined. About 3/4 of the way out there....in the exposed elements. So after looking around for something to "put over" the union, I came up with a plan. A silly little garbage pail, which I have always thought was a little poor in functional design, all of a sudden is absolutely perfect for the application! I love it when a plan comes together.

This then allowed me to proceed with a little nip/tuck wheel well plastic surgery.

Some special pieces to create the recess needed for the rear facing lounge seating. (formally known as the dinette)

And Viola! Just enough space created to tuck the seat in so we keep as much isle space open as we can. Now if I can just convince Jeff that I can tack weld this into place before he wants to head out to McLean Creek to quad.