When we came back to the shop the next Friday I had a surprise waiting for me......
The battery wires for the 12v system had been ran to a location under the sink, not where it was supposed to be. This was the work of the lead technician whom I had confronted on issues regarding the holding tank for the toilet.
I questioned him about it.
"I was trying to get more weight in front of the axle for the trailer to be stable", he said in a tone I was now recognizing as imperious.
The concept of weight distribution I already understood.
What he did not understand was I knew exactly what I was doing. You see, I had weighed everything that went in the trailer. The refrigerator, head board, mattress, water tank when full, battery, spare tire and mount, inverter, charger, sofas, dishes, pots, pans, and silverware, and even the bathroom door. I had calculated the weight distribution before I had designed the layout and I had a place for everything and the battery was not in it's proper place.
I questioned, "Can you please put the battery where I asked you to." "No Ma'am, that's a heavy battery and it needs to be in front of the axle", he stated firmly.
He was bracing for a response he did not get.
"Could you please gather up a bunch of the guys in a line over here, please", I said maintaining a piercing glare. "What for?", he asked quizzically. "I'm going to do an experiment", I said flatly.
Here came the guys.
Lined up, I asked them each their weight which was met with some uneasy chuckles. I said, "This isn't a beauty pageant, it's a weight distribution experiment", I said.
Guy one, "I'm about 240" Guy two, "I'm 180" and so on.
I picked the two heaviest and asked them to get in the back of the trailer as far as they could while I chose another to stand in the kitchen, and I stood in the front, while the last was outside the trailer by the tongue.
Then I said aloud, "You two in the back equal the weight of the mattress, headboard, spare tire and mount, battery, components, and filled water tank. You in the middle represents the refrigerator when full and all the dishes, pot, pans, and small appliances. I was in the sitting area and represented the weight of the sofas.
I had brought with me a 1950's metal bathroom scale and a step stool. Prior to everyone getting into the trailer, I had set up the scale on the stool at the towing level of the trailer. Lowering the tongue on to the scale would give the "tongue weight".
From inside the trailer I asked what the reading was. "Looks like about 26 pounds", the guy said. I got out to look and said, "That can't be right." The man said, "Maybe your scale is broken." "It's not I assure you", I clipped.
I raised the jack to find the scale had spun past it's max of 240lbs. So, the the figure was 266 pounds.
I hollered, "You all can come out now."
They lined up now curious. On a calculator, while talking it aloud, I divided the tongue weight into the gross weight of the trailer which I already knew from stopping at a Pilot Truck Stop and putting it on their scales. It's 4000 pounds. The result was 14.28%
Optimum tongue weight is variable but should always fall between 10 and 15% of the gross weight of what you're towing with a 60/40 ratio of distribution, 60% in front of the axle and 40% behind.
I held the calculator up and swept it slowly back and forth in front of their faces while enunciating my words clearly, "DO YOU SEE THIS ? I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR ANOTHER WORD ABOUT MOVING ANYTHING FROM WHERE I HAVE IT MARKED IN THIS TRAILER AGAIN."
There was a brief pause and then shuffling of feet. I thanked them for their help and they dispersed.
Once again, I had put the lead technician on the spot and called him out in front of his peers. I was tiring of this, rapidly. These were the people who were supposed to know this stuff.....
By this time, the furnace was installed and hooked up. The tire mount was welded on and the drains had all been attached.
There had been a lot of wires to run down. Porch lights that didn't work, making sure grounds were correct, the breaker panel to check (required a larger breaker for the a/c than was there) Dead plug on the exterior. There were shaved wires in the running light wiring in two places. Grounds in the running light wiring blows the fuse in your tow vehicle, believe me, I know.
The next week would see the arrival of a new pressure regulator for our vintage stove. A mint condition Dixie Stove I had found on eBay and had shipped from Indiana. The man who sold it to me said it belonged to his mother who had recently passed away and he was cleaning the house out to sell. It was her first stove when she married after WWII and kept it even though later they bought a new house in the early 60's. It was in the basement and he thought about hauling it to the dump and the friend who was going to help said, "Oh no! Sell it, someone will want this!" That someone was me.
Another pow wow with the lead technician consisted of him telling me, "You should know this is a very dangerous appliance....." * Like I had never used one of these things in my life, what was it? A cook stove? What's that for? Was this guy for real ? * The man was doing The Cabbage Patch on my Jack Ass Button but I kept my mouth shut and politely nodded and smiled like a nice Southern Lady should.
Insert eyelash flutter *here*
All the work had been completed with the exception of the components in the 12v array under the bed. It began to seem as if they were putting it off. The lead technician had to leave for a seminar and all the work stopped. We were not pleased losing an entire week. The paint shop was trying to keep their schedule open. We had a deadline to get the trailer back to us by Christmas so that we could finish many interior items before we headed to Palm Springs for Modernism Week.
I had questioned for two weeks prior about the delay in the electrical system. As it turned out, the seminar the lead technician went to was a class on how to install lithium iron phosphate battery systems. We were the first one for him to do and it was done in one day upon his return. This is new technology and where the industry is going. They are lighter in weight, do not leak or require maintenance, and have many more charging cycles to them than regular batteries.
Such are the things I've had to learn....
Now began the painting process. We had taped off the striping for the trailer and four colors would be used to replicate the paint on the train cars of The Orient Express. We also fitted the awning frames that I had designed and Harper Sheet Metal made, perfectly.
The paint shop was not far and we would visit the process weekly as it progressed. While the body was being primed and painted, the rv dealership shop would work on cleaning and prepping the windows for paint first with an acid wash which removed dirt and brightened the aluminum. The windows had their original screens and the process made them look brand new. Oh, I left out the part where I pulled a YouTube video and brought to the shop so they would know how to do it..... The Lord helps those who help themselves.
The windows had to be disassembled for painting and I ordered all new gaskets and butyl tape for reinstallation. That we would do ourselves. I wasn't trusting anyone when it came to water infiltration.
The paint turned out great, truly marvelous, exceeding our expectations. I can't say enough good things about Pro Auto who delivered our trailer a week early making up the time we lost at the rv repair shop.
Back to the rv shop our trailer went for the windows to be reinstalled. We worked until we could barely feel our fingers putting in all the windows. The paint shop had even prepainted all the screw heads for us.
Meanwhile, the shop was working under the trailer installing a belly pan. I had designed it one way but they did it the faster way. We didn't end up with enough time to do it the right way. It would do but not for long.
After all the hard work, there we were, towing our trailer home at 3pm on Christmas Eve. We arrived with just enough time to drop the trailer, clean up, and go to Christmas Eve Services at our Church. That Christmas was spent in pajamas. The day after Christmas, our carpenter whom we have worked with for over 30 years, Ron, came to the house and worked on the trailer with us in the driveway of our home. He had put off hernia surgery to be there for us in our time of need.
If I had to do it all over again, I would have asked Ron to help us from the beginning therefor avoiding a world of hurt. The man can do anything. I have never had to sign a lengthy, loop hole filled contract with him. Never a down payment. He never has an attitude about redoing anything I have asked over the 30 plus years we have worked together. Never has he ever thrown up his hands and quit. I just was not in that frame of mind at the time we began this trailer, thinking we could not do all of the things that we now can do. Sometimes, being forced into a situation, reveals talents you didn't know you had.
There was all the interior trim left to do. Baseboards, the strips between the paneling, cabinet doors to remake, all the hardware to install, a monstrosity of a bathroom door to rebuild, the bathroom itself to be reworked and sealed properly, closet doors to replace, the wonky pocket door and frame to be rebuilt, kitchen shelves to rework, the base of the bed to rework, the headboard to be reworked, bathroom sink to be set, toilet to be set, wires to be diverted, a wall panel to be redone, stove hood to duct, two screen doors to build, the front table to install, and all the trim around the windows had to be done.
Dave and I worked on the shellac and varnish over a five day weekend in January. I installed all the beveled mirrors and Sorrento inlaid wood doors. I put up the wallpaper medallion in the sitting area and hung all the 110v light fixtures. We installed the refrigerator door that I had refinished myself after cleaning, disassembling it, adding new insulation, and reassembling it which included the rechromed handle I had sent off. We hung the antique train rack I had also sent away to be refinished. The microwave went into place. I hooked up and tested the sound system along with the retractable flat screen tv.
There were cornices and draperies to hang that we had made together.
And on, and on, and on, I'm certain I left a lot out but you get the picture and it was not the Portrait of Dorian Gray...... I was not staying young for all that went wrong in my life!
All this activity went on while running a business, getting precious little sleep, and dealing with the pain from all the arching and bending involved. I went through countless manicures which is only important as it related to my professional appearance at work. By this time, the entirety of our clientele was living this project right along with us! They are all very kind and patient people.....
The duration of the punch list provided time for the paint to cure so that we could take it back to the shop for a final buff and then pull it to the sign shop for the logos and lettering to be done. As a side project, I had been in contact with Fast Signs regarding the insignias on the trailer. While looking like original logos from The Orient Express Train, they could not be exactly the same because of copyright infringement. So, we were referred to a computer graphics designer to come up with a custom plan echoing closely the original. That little project took a while.
By the time we finished the interior with all of it's challenges, we were all limping. Ron, Dave, and myself included. Ron finished and went to the surgeon, Dave to the massage therapist, and me to the bubble bath.
The trip to California was looming and I reflected on our Maiden Voyage in Sprocket, our first little camper. While the bubbles popped and the chocolate melted in my mouth, I kept thinking, "Oh Dear LORD, please don't let it be the same as THAT trip!"
We had tested everything and we were packed and ready to go on Sunday before the Thursday we left, February 16, 2017.
This would be an excursion to remember......
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