by Nobes » Mon Aug 08, 2016 9:55 am
2nd trip is in the books. We had another great weekend in Ruidoso, NM. This weekend was "Old Lincoln Days" in Lincoln, NM, where legend says Billy the Kid got his start. If you're ever in SE NM, you ought to take a walk through this place--tons of buildings from the 1800s, it's a very interesting piece of the history of the American West. You don't just happen to be in Lincoln, you have to go there on purpose, but it is worth the drive.
Once again the TD towed well and got tons of compliments at stops on the road and at the campground. The campsite was nice, and it was great just to be outside in cool weather. And, I finally got my water test. We had several rains and we stayed dry. Except, of course, the time I left the vent open during some pretty heavy afternoon rain. I won't make that mistake again. Other than that, I'm proud to say the Bear's Lair performed excellently.
Since the first trip July 4 I've had a 'punch list' of items to finalize and my lazy butt has done next to nothing. We have a big event at the house next weekend, so this week my time will be spent getting ready for that but after that I'm back on the fast track to get these items done. We have a Labor Day trip and that starts football season so we'll be traveling quite a bit until early December.
The top things on the punch list are cabinet doors, bumper, fixing problems in the fiberglass, and clearcoat. I have completed my interior cabinet doors, and had two of them hung for this trip. After looking at them all weekend I think I am starting over. My doors sit on top of the cabinets, and they just seem kind of clunky. So, I'm going to disassemble and re-work them to be inset in the face frames, resulting (hopefully) in a cleaner, sleeker look.
The bumper shouldn't be that hard, I already have all the hardware and materials, so I just need some hours to get it done. Cut two pieces of alder, glue them together, create/rout the inset for the license plate and lights, sand/finish, bolt it on, run wires, install the lights and the license plate, done.
I have gone back and forth on the glass repairs. I have some drips and lines where my cloth doubled up, and they bug the fire out of me. The lovely and gracious Mrs. Nobes says leave 'em, but I can't stand it. So, I have decided to take one area and tackle that as a test. If I can make a real improvement I'll do the rest. I have enough resin for the test, so I'll wait to buy more until I know that I can made a difference.
Happy Camping, y'all!
Nobes