Things that Broke this Week ( TBW Issue #3)

But first, the winner of the RV naming contest is…. Me!  There wasn’t a contest ’cause I wanted to come up with my own name and as it would happen, while we were driving back from Banff down through the plains of Alberta I was looking through my nearly 5 foot tall,  8 foot wide  windshield like a huge computer monitor viewing the vastness that lie (lay?) before me.  While sitting in my large, comfortable, captains chair with all the controls of this massive machine at my fingertips like lightning flashing before my eyes it came to me!  I am Captain Kirk!   This is the “Enterprise”.  The original NCC-1701.   Tina was…  well Tina doesn’t like Star Trek so I’ll leave her out.  Hopefully she won’t nix the “Enterprise” name, but I don’t think she cares.

My cargo bays are not large enough to carry the shuttle craft so I tow it behind using a tractor beam. I christen thee “Enterprise”!

Now back to our show…  Most things I’ve fixed are holding up pretty well.

Issue #1

I knew when I installed the Eri-Co Power Cabl-izer System  that is was not mounted well enough to the roof of the power cable bay.  The screws I used were just not biting into good solid wood, but it was holding at the time.  After 4 rough weeks on the road the reel is starting to loosen.  So I decided it was time to beef up my mount by grabbing a 4 inch wood screw and plowing it in until it hit something solid.  I wasn’t quite sure what was directly above that area so I was hoping I wouldn’t hit anything sensitive.  That did the trick.  That screw dug into solid wood and the Cabl-izer system is solidly mounted.

Oh.  I found out what was directly above that mounting area.  The floor next to my side of the bed (in the captains quarters).  I do not know how I didn’t step on it the night before, but the next morning… Yowch!  That screw stuck up about 3/4″ out of the carpet in the bedroom.  Got a good gash on my bare foot!  Before I got a chance to tell Tina to watch out… BAM… she got it too…  It sure is holding that cable reel in place well though!  Good job!

Issue #2

Exactly one month after leaving on this trip (June 10th)  and getting showered with debris which ended up blowing out a tire we get showered with debris again (July 10th).  This time, heading south on I-15 outside of Great Falls (where we spent the night at Walmart) a pickup pulling a trailer changed into my lane ( a little too closely) and as he did a 2 foot piece of sheet metal from his trailer blows off, up into the air and straight back at the Enterprise!   The chunk of metal went hurtling straight at Tina like a photon torpedo and she thought she was a goner.  The sharp edge of the metal made hard and loud contact with the windshield!  I cannot believe it did not shatter!  It didn’t crack or even chip the windshield. I have to hand it to windshield makers… those shields can really take a lickin’ !  and boy did the Enterprise get christened…

I honked at the dude and tried to speed up to at least get his license plate number, in case there was more damage to the side of the rig or the jeep (shuttle craft) in back, but I’m not exactly driving a Porsche here… we were heading uphill and I had the pedal to the metal…putt…putt….putt…  (Warp drive is out)

The metal did leave about a 10 inch gouge on the windshield (my dylithium crystals are low which has weakened my shields allowing the metal to make contact) that hopefully I can buff out – my first attempt at buffing with a drimel, buff pad and baking powder as a grinding solution, did no good.  The first chance we got to stop I examined the roof and side of the ship and the shuttle craft.  The only other possible damage was the awning which I’d repaired from a previous mishap.  It was ripped open again as though the metal caught it as it flew back…

Fortunately nothing severe.

Next time I’m in space dock (Walmart) I’ll get some more duct tape.

         View from Tina’s seat.

Torn awning.