We're gearing up for a year of full timing in the Scamp upon moving out of the cabin in the woods out in Saluda, NC. I've managed to get all of my belongings (aside from my guitars and pa system) into a knee high rubber bin. Less is more when you want nothing to do with society and it's foolish conformist expectations!
Monday we're headed out on the road for 3 weeks and I'll be playing at venues in Nashville, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, Lubbock and Phoenix to name a few. It will be nice to get back out on the road and shake off the winter cob webs. I was starting to lose my shit all holed up in the woods like a madman hunkered over the wood stove listening to the "Into the Wild" soundtrack.
I did a quick browse through the camper to see if anything suffered winter damage. Fortunately this past winter was super mild and the only issue I found was a seized up and rusted burner valve for the stove top (the gas knob would not turn at all, not even with a pair of pliers). Also when I tried to open the bathroom door, I pulled the knob right off. Both issues were caused by excessive moisture in the camper and rusting. Let this be a lesson to all you novice campers...always put a dry bucket in the camper upon winterizing to eat up that excessive moisture.
There was also a good amount of mold on the window sills and bathroom. With a quick google search I found that straight white vinegar in a spray bottle applied directly to mold kills about 80%.
The door knob was an easy fix...I actually found a screen door knob at a local hardware store that fit the holes.
The valve burner is something that I seem to have to change yearly. I'm thinking about taking them out of the camper in the fall and then just putting them back on the stove in the spring. Only issue is that it takes a while to install them. Here's a couple pics of that job...
Might be time for a new pan under the burners...we use this stove more than most people in a camper...in fact you'd think we're running a small cafe out of the Scamp.
The new burner valve in place...30 bucks, plus 8 dollars shipping...WTF? Is that thing sterling silver? Some of these parts companies for RV are criminals...always try the hardware store first!
Here's the stove all put back together...much prettier. Ready for some cruelty free meals on the road.
The job took me a couple of hours and a whole lot of talking to myself. I like to scream obscenities when something doesn't cooperate (I got that from my grandfather). I hope no children were walking by the camper while I was doing the fixin'!
We're all ready to go...wheels are greased, car is tuned up and she will hit 200,000 miles on this trip. I'm not big on advertising, in fact I hate it...but I will say that this car has been an absolute tank for me. From 100k miles to 200k miles the van needed not one repair...this is all while driving from Tampa Florida to Alaska (the long way) and back to Asheville. Transmission is getting a bit slow...I'm guessing thats from towing 1200 lbs worth of camper all over the place.
I'll keep you posted on the health of the van (Zelda) as the trip progresses. That will do it for me in this post. Remember, use your alarm clock less and your middle finger more. Thanks for reading!
Paul
