BENEFITS

The benefits of converting our trailer’s G4 Halogen lights to LED’s keep on coming ! Our office slide is normally filled with geegaw’s and doodads’s from various projects, along with lots of wires, and a large Radio Shack power supply.

The power supply provided twelve volts to operate our satellite dome for television. The twelve volt office slide circuit was not able to carry the TV dome, halogen lights, entertainment center as well as all the other 12 volt stuff at the same time. Remove the halogen lights from the circuit and there is now enough capacity to carry the TV dome.

Here is a look at the leds in the light fixture with the fused circuit to power up the dome via the switch below..

Betty says, “ it’s about time some of that clutter went away !”

I respond, “clutter ? What clutter ! It’s hardly visible with the TV swung back in place !

FIRST

It is the first day of SUMMER  and we are not on the lake yet ! Things just keep coming up and getting in the way. When Family or friends need something, it just takes precedence.

Betty and I have been day tripping to the lake quite often, but it isn’t the same as camping there. Here is a couple of pix from yesterday on lake Ouachita with Brother in law Ron Graves.

Sun burned and smiling, Ron has just caught the big fish of the day. Here is a look at a large mouth Bass that he caught also.

It was a slot limit fish that was released right after the photo.

Got the generators test ran and checked out  and will start loading the support trailer with the water tank, blue boy and all that stuff today.

Lake, we still got it on our mind but just ain’t got there yet !

10,000

Our tour with the Oliver Legacy Elite II has came to a end. We made a South East and Gulf Coast and Eastern and New England loops, logging on ten thousand miles on the Pony Express !

Now  our focus is on catching up on Family events and fishing. Our first thing to do was to get the boat out of the barn, washed off, oil changed and refueled.

New traps are rigged up and ready to use. The old trap is on the bottom, the new ones will take up less space on the boat.  Between thunder storms the boat needed to be vaccumed out.

The jugs checked and loaded.

Now, if the weather will just give us a break, we’ll get the boat out on the water for the first time this year !

BOAT

Arrived at the docking port just after midnight. Got the boat out of the barn the next afternoon.  Went to the tire shop. Hey we want nothing to take time away from fishing, especially a flat. Then to the car wash. The boat is now in the yard charging and we are checking the battery’s.

The boat is a 2011 model, so the tires and battery’s can be getting near the end of service life.

When the boat came out of the barn it was dirtier than I have ever seen it ! After the initial blasting  of the dust and bird dropping away, a hand washing will get it ready for the lake !

 

Next will be a oil change, then look for a replacement bait trap or two.  We lost another bait trap last year, so today we will go to town to get oil, filter and a couple of bait traps.

Lake, we’re getting’ ready for it !

FUELING

As we travel around America showing the Oliver Travel Trailers, fuel prices will vary considerably. And likewise the fuel delivery pumps will vary vastly too. The Pony has several fuel tanks and it is possible to tear up a thousand dollar bill real quick when taking on diesel fuel. Here is a look.

We filled one tank and a small part of another in the above photo !

The fuel pumps delivery rate makes a big difference in how difficult the refuel session can be. So, we have developed some zany tricks to get it done. Here is a short  ( 29 second ) video  of a couple of those tricks that we sent to a friend.

Pony Express fueling trick

Ok, here comes the video disclaimer:

Like so many other things in life that I have been known to do, more cautious and prudent persons will find fault with my field expedient methods, and, question the sanity, safety and possibly even the legality of  them. No doubt I will receive a bit of “fan mail” over this tongue in cheek, “gag” video !

LEVEL

Now, we’ve all heard the expression, “half a bubble off” of level. But until you have had to spend a couple of days contending with “half a bubble off”, it may not have the same meaning. When parked on a campsite that is a “half of a bubble” off of  level it effects nearly all of your RV’s systems and can cause vertigo in some people.

The fluid levels in the various tanks are effected to the extent that they may run out sooner or fill up quicker.

The electric leveling jacks can cure many of these ailments, but, the step up from the ground will always have one larger or shorter step you have to take. Here is a look at our current step set up.

The first and third steps are standard, but that second step can fool you ! We can hardly wait for the new bi-folding step to reach us out on the road !

Here is a look at it. It will sure make a difference for those of that have had ankle, hip or knee surgery.

The bi-fold step, it’s one more step in the right direction !

FISHING

As we tour the New Oliver Legacy II around the country, piling up the miles and the back log of States behind us, this country boy's mind wanders more and more frequently to fishing. Yes, good times at the lake with good friends and, fishing ! We started our tour quite far South, and as we move progressively more to the North, we bump into Spring again. So, there you have it. Mother nature is telling me constantly that we are supposed to be fishing at this time of the year ! You know, this is such a cool job ! But, dang it, a Mountain Boy is supposed to be fishing this time of the year. Here is some pix that I remember of good times at the lake.

This is one of our favorite campsites. The Big fir campground out on Housley Point in Lake Ouachita. It is a Primitive campground with vault toilets, no water and no electricity. The greatest of Boondocking fish camps !

This is at Lake Greeson, a good cat fishing lake, but it has sewer, water and electricity. A very cool place, but not nearly as much fun.

This is our "live box", it is usually anchored out in the Lake just a bit, away from the shore break stirred up silt. Hey, gotta' keep them cat fish fresh !

The boat, with the jugs loaded and ready and the tackle box loaded. I an writing this as we are in the Charleston SC KOA, showing the Oliver, and, we will soon start up the East coast plumb up to Maine before looping back to the West below the Great Lakes. Looks like it will be July before we get to the lake this year. Oh, well, better late than never ! Betty and I hope to see you at the lake this year !