Sun Shinning , winter first full day 2009
Well, on the first full day of WINTER, we had a welcome guest up here in Traverse City, the SUN !!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have not seen much of him lately, it has been snowing almost everyday for the past 2 weeks.
It's going to be a white christmas for sure.
Some pictures of our snow .
Also .this year I am going to try to keep the area in front of my 5er clean of snow......................the last few years I had to dig it out, to attend my first spring rally in April .
Oh, and of course, my new rig looks like it's resting in a blanket of snow.
First Big Snow 2009
The pic with no snow on the ground, was last wed.
Well, after a slow start........winter hit us with a BANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We got a fooot of snow, the past few days, we had nothing on the ground last thur, and we had a storm roll in tue eve.
We had about 4-5 inches on the ground, as of tue morn, packed down a bit due to a sunny day ...but this storm hit tue eve starting about 10:00pm.
Well, we are sure to get more snow this winter,, but it is amazing how we go from nothing, to about a foot and a half on the ground, in a matter of days.
Cardinal Plant tour.
A while after I bought my "New Cardinal", I went down to Elkhart to buy some "stuff", for my rig ( Duhh, you have to get some goodies), and after I finished shopping at R.V Surplus, a GREAT STORE in Elkhart, I stopped by the Birthplace, of my rig.
I showed up un-announced and inquired if I could get a tour.......The Folks at Cardinal ( A Forest River Division) were MORE THAN HAPPY to help me out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I found out a lot of interesting things about my rig, and how it was Built!! I was impressed with their Quality control, and saw some of the Engineering staff, on the line, looking things over....nice. I found out a number if things, to identify which features a rig had built into it, and learned a lot more about my own rig. Thanks Guys!!!
Soo Trip.
Well, shortly after I bought my NEW RIG, I set out to clean it up, swapped the tires for NEWER ones, etc................... THEN..............It was time for a ROAD TRIP!!!!!!!!!
I went up to one of my Fav. Places,.... Soo, St. Marie , Then a stop at the Mackinaw bridge.
My view out the bedroom window, of a Freighter Upbound at the Soo Locks.
More pics, at Home and Inside.
You can see my Old Rig, in background. Just a little change.Huh??
More Pics of My New Rig.
I had to fix the fun day night shade.
What I like to do on my "Day's off"
When we say we are a "Full service" Fire Dept, we mean it !!!!!!!!!!
This is my completed mount, for the Honda Genny.
This set up would be pertty expensive, unless you are creative.
The angle steel, 2x1/4 I hunted up in SALVAGE piles, while I was at a Grand Rapids steel recycling place.
The alum. plate, for the cover, I came across, as a Machinist was cleaning out his garage, as he retired. The Diamond plate, which would sell for at least $50-$80, as I looked at Tractor supply, menards etc. I paid a whole $10 !!!!!!!!!!
The angle, one piece was close to $40.at a new steel suppply outlet.............. I got from salvage for a whopping $13.50 TOTAL...ALL the angle, plate..etc.... , course , I had to buy the bolts, etc. But, at T.S C , you buy for bulk.(tractor supply Co.) The bolts are grade 8., most of the main ones.........It ain't going anywhere!!!!!!!!!
Christmas Lights
Heartland Tour
Tank placement in a BIG Toyhauler
Heavy Duty Framework!!
Labels: Toyhauler
Factory tour
More pictures of our tour.
Labels: Looking over production
Heartland Tour, 2007
Well, when I am down in Elkhart , at our spring rally, I like to go to R.V. Factories , and see how well (or poorly) they are built.
This spring, when we were down at the 2007 Elkhart Rally, we toured the Bigfoot R.V. Plant. Scott, one of the owners, took a group of about 15-20 of us on a COMPLETE tour of the plants- all the product lines.
Scott spent a couple of hours with us, and let us TAKE PICTURES !!!! ( most tours do not let you , are they hiding something?? ) We went from start to finish, on 3 lines that were in production that day.
They are very well built, and the workers are committed to their jobs. They do not appear too rushed, and I , and others , saw MANY quality control items in place, that we had not seen in many other plant tours, we had toured, at other times.
They are a little more expensive , than some other R.V.'s , but now we know why. You do get what you pay for.
Labels: Heartland Factory Tour
