What I did in the garage today

[drlewall]

tnx

[campfire]

A great find!

How did you lift it?

The mill vices I've seen have been scary heavy. Good for working stability but terrible for my elbows/back when moving them.

For $20, I simply used brute stupidity and lifted it up, and carried it to the trailer in an old milk crate.
When I got it home, I did the same but put the old bathroom scales on the garage floor for curiosity............. 98 pounds.

Wife wanted a quiet Mothers Day, so yesterday afternoon I spent cleaning it up a bit. I'll post up some clean pictures of it soon.

[campfire]

Spent some more time cleaning today while the wife went to the hospital for her brother.

Tore it down some more and cleaned old chips out of every hiding place.




Then reassembled it and man does it work smoooooooth.

[drlewall]

I would like to find me an old vice like that

[campfire]

Out on the lathe yesterday with a small project and.............................

The dreaded phone call. My riding buddy, a retired PD motor officer.
"Hey, what'cha doing? Uh, how empty is your bike trailer? Think you could come and get me with your trailer? Please? I hit a deer."

"Are you OK?

Empty the trailer in a hurry of the small stuff, hook up and a 40 minute drive later I was there. Got the bike loaded first and then remembered to get pictures.





It's not too bad from this side.





But him? I'm going over to check on him this morning.

Bad leg.JPG

He texted after he got back from the hospital last night. Broken bone in that ankle, broken rib, and a chipped bone in the dislocated finger.
His pride is shattered though.

The deer? Made it over that embankment, cross the creek, and collapsed. Dead on the creek bank.

[Delicate Snowflake]

Hope that ankle heals up ok.

[drlewall]

I hit a car once, if that counts for anything..

It didn't kill the car tho.

[campfire]

Getting ready for our 2,800 mile road trip up to Wyoming, Utah, Idaho and trying to get the truck ready to pull the trailer...

Found a torn CV boot on the front axle, ordered a new axle to fix that, changing the oil in the diffs & transfer case, spilled 90w all over my workbench

Started it up the other day to run down and get the oil.... it's now developed an engine miss, so a quick diagnosis of that and I have eight new coils coming

Heat wave is starting but the concrete floor was cool to lay on.

Coils are supposed t be here tomorrow and I can get that fixed. Then drive it to my buddies shop to change the axle next week.

[campfire]

Axle changed out, all 8 ignition coils changed, all fluids changed, throttle body replaced and set.
Brakes checked, tire pressure set, trailer wiring checked, and I packed a scan tool.

I think I'm ready for the road trip vacation

[JimVonBaden]

Turned this:


To this:

[campfire]

[campfire]

I've ben pondering what the enclosed trailer needs next, and the porch light came up. Got on Amazon and found an inexpensive two pack of 6 LED lights.
$36?

Ordered and installed it yesterday.

Porch light BT.JPG

Went out last night and "tested it" in the dark...

Lit up the neighbor's driveway and entire front yard. Checked the amperage draw today to do calculations on battery life, 1.4 amps for the 6 LED's = around 23 hours of light time for the 55 hA battery.
It'll work.

[campfire]

Here's a sample of the porch light illumination ....

Dusk looking at the neighbors driveway... off



And with it on, this is six LED's. Glad I didn't go any bigger.
Not bad for 1.2 amp draw, it will work great for out in the desert or anywhere I camp.

[arcticdude]

That should work quite well. It may even be to bright in low light parks!

[campfire]

That should work quite well. It may even be to bright in low light parks!

90% of what I do in this trailer is WAY off the grid. Lots of desert camping, abandoned air fields, and then camping at my buddies place in Arizona. If I am in any low light restricted areas, I have small solar lights that work great for that.

[Oilhed]

That should work quite well. It may even be to bright in low light parks!

90% of what I do in this trailer is WAY off the grid. Lots of desert camping, abandoned air fields, and then camping at my buddies place in Arizona. If I am in any low light restricted areas, I have small solar lights that work great for that.

Are there a lot of abandoned airfields out west? I know there are in the UK. I think I know of one in Vermont and really just a field. Is it totally legit to camp there or more like nobody cares but probably illegal?

[campfire]

Are there a lot of abandoned airfields out west? I know there are in the UK. I think I know of one in Vermont and really just a field. Is it totally legit to camp there or more like nobody cares but probably illegal?

Most around Northern California have been swallowed up by urban sprawl, but if you get near the Mojave desert there are a lot out there. Just have to know where to look, how to stealth camp, and how to respect the rangers or law enforcement when they show up. We've been discovered in a couple of places and told that there is "NO CAMPING allowed around here, so keep it clean and NO campfires... I'll be back tomorrow to check. Have a nice night."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inyo_County_Airport



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorvil ... ary_fields

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagdad,_California

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Iron_Mountain

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice,_California

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Clipper

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolomite,_California

And then there is all of the BLM land that makes up the Mojave National Preserve. Rules to cvamp by, but no permit is needed. https://www.blm.gov/visit/amboy-crater- ... l-landmark

Even a few great $5 per night campgrounds around on the eastern side of the Sierra's.

[arcticdude]

When you were at Inyo (assuming that’s the first picture), what do you do to cook and what do you do to shower?

[campfire]

When you were at Inyo (assuming that’s the first picture), what do you do to cook and what do you do to shower?

Well, since you asked. I've had a great time building this little trailer up from an empty container to a tow around bivouac unit.
Added a counter top in the front with a 5 gallon water vacuum thermos on it, 2 gallon propane bottle feeds the vintage late 60's Coleman two burner stove, five cabinets mounted high for various stuff, Thetford Port-O-Potty is three steps away at 2:00AM, and a 45 quart RTIC cooler can keep ice for around three days in Death Valley.
I have a 2 liter sunshower that I can hang outside, or it's the mega pack of Handi-wipes for keeping the stench down a bit.


Bike out, there's plenty of room for comfort.


Next is a step for the doorway.


More on the build back on page two of this thread.
https://advbannedcamp.com/viewtopic.php?t=696&start=20

[arcticdude]

Do you set the Coleman and thermos down on the floor to travel or are they mounted on the counter?

How do you find stuff rides in the trailer, since they’re not really designed for smooth riding? I’m on an air ride suspension and still have to ensure stuff is put away before traveling.

Have you thought about insulating the roof to control the interior temps? Looks very functional!