Before I set up camp, I gave the teardrop a wash. I also protected all the rubber gaskets with a UV protector so that they'll stay pliable and keep the moisture out.
Before
After
One of the things from last year's list was to replace the screws on the door and hatch handles. The problem was that they are at a severe angle and I tried installing them with my drill; it tended to strip out the phillip's head screws causing a very painful scratch every time you opened the door. So, thanks to the guy at the hardware store, I found these very cool angle drivers.
Angled driver.
Stripped screws!
Wish I had known about this tool a long time ago!
I'm actually quite glad that I opted to stay 'at home' on this trip. It gave me the opportunity to take care of a lot of items from last year's list and some that weren't on there that should have been. For example: last year I added the stone guard foam pad to the front of the teardrop. We had lots of problems with water getting caught between it and the skin of the teardrop. So, I added a strip of aluminum and caulked the heck out of it to ensure that the strip remained affixed to the skin of the teardrop and 'sealed' the neoprene. (I did not put any screws in the aluminum, so the caulk/adhesive was all that was holding it on.) Well, it worked well, but I was less than perfect about how I applied the caulk/adhesive. The result was a less than lovely 'line' where the aluminum met the skin of the teardrop. In addition to that, the caulk, which was clear, turned black when dirt collected on it. So, I decided to mask off the area and use my hammered paint to 'cover it.' It worked perfectly and looks a million times better.
This was also my first 'trip' in which I used my CPAP machine in the teardrop. I learned that the 'fault' I kept getting on my AC Converter was due to the fact that it requires the DC Battery to be at 12 volts or more in order to properly convert it into AC power. I am probably going to want to add an AC 'direct' plug in the cabin so that I'm essentially going directly from the Marinco power inlet to my AC device. I'm not sure how to deal with this when we are off the grid. I'll need to look into this for future trips for sure. I know that there is an available battery system for the CPAP, but it was prohibitively expensive. I've seen some devices at Harbor Freight that would work just as well, but are much less expensive.
Here is one I was considering from Harbor Freight. Could be useful for all kinds of camping trips; especially when the battery on the tow vehicle dies like it has on us several times!
I've got several more tiny items on my list that I want to try to accomplish before making the 'long' trip back to the concrete pad where the Carpe Diem rests. In the meanwhile, here is my view this morning from the teardrop's open door.
Happy Memorial Day everyone!
