I want it known that we have not died or dropped off the map. We've been so busy with other areas of life that it's been hard to get bus work done. I did get MOST of the wall and roof insulation done, and I got a couple of sheets of 1/4" oak plywood on the wall in the galley, but not much else to report. This winter has proven more survivable than last. That's partly thanks to better insulation, but it's mostly a factor of this dramatically milder winter. Winter is not yet over, however, and we're supposed to see single digits (F) over then next few days.
We put about 2500 miles on the bus in October, and other than the broken Vanner battery equalizer that slowed us down getting back from central Pennsylvania, it behaved like a champ. Part of the reason I'm not getting more done on the conversion is that, primitive though it may be, Sophia is reasonably comfortable. Especially at home base. We have several short trips planned over the next few months, but we're not even leaving the property until I get the wood stove bolted down. That's a larger project than it may seem.
Another reason that we're not getting much conversion done is a string of breakdowns. We returned in early November to a broken refrigerator. It's in my shop running on grid power, and it's the only cold storage we have. Took me a while to troubleshoot and fix a couple of minor problems. It also got a freon top up at a commercial refrigeration shop, but that was a less than satisfactory experience. It's working fine now.
Late in November my wood splitter quit. It was built in '75. I bought it used in '92. It attaches to, and is powered by, either of my Italian walking tractors. (A BCS and a Grillo.) Would have taken about two grand to replace it, and the old machine is still in sound condition other than hydraulic issues. A bad valve led to replacing the pump with a higher capacity model which led to serious reengineering which involved a new tractor coupler, etc., and etc. In the middle of that project, our only local tractor dealership went out of business, and there went my source for new hoses. Oh well.... I'm still splitting by hand, but I'm getting closer.
In December I spilled water on my nearly new MacBook Pro. You guessed it, warranty would not cover that. $941 and change. That would have done a lot of conversion work, but what can you do?
Three weeks ago the old Mazda sprung a coolant leak. We kept digging deeper and deeper until.... The heads are being surfaced and checked for cracks as we speak. With the head set and the timing belt kit and oil and coolant and stuff, I have about $800 in just parts. Too good a car to junk, and I don't want to replace it.
You get the picture. We've been distracted, so no bus update. On top of everything, my mother's failing heath takes ever larger slices of our time.
On the other hand, spring is just around the corner. My body and paint man is standing by to finish the paint job as soon as we get some "nice" weather. That will make an inestimable difference in the bus. AND, today I finished assembling a project that's been long on my mind. It's a large and capable garden cart. Much better than anything on the market. I made it from plans offered by Whizbang Books. Herrick Kimball is the man behind many useful project plans and an excellent blog if you happen to be into the sort thinking that I am. Check out his stuff. Here are a few photos of the cart. The cosmetic work is not yet done, and the handle is obviously not finished.
No front panel in this shot.
The axle is 3/4" cold rolled rod, and the tires are flat proof from Northern Tool.
She'll look better with the cosmetic work done, but I can assure you that it already does a marvelous job of hauling firewood. I needed this cart years ago.
So, there's a little catch up. I will post more about the bus when I have a little more done. In the meanwhile, just don't forget us.
Best to all,
Jim