After our hair-raising trip home in the Big Lebowski the brakes were the first project completed. Two days later and twenty visits to the auto parts store, Tracy was on a first name basis with the guys at O'Rileys. I really do not look at being on a first named basis with the employees at an auto parts store as a good thing.
Once Tracy was ready to bleed the brake lines I was the only person around to help him. I am sure everyone that had been standing around watching him work on the brakes decided to hide before they were asked to perform the task of pumping the brakes. This meant I had to sit in the Captains seat and pump on the brakes. I am sure you all know what I am talking about, you pump and pump and pump, and then pump some more. By the time its all done your legs feel like spaghetti and it hurts to walk for two days.
I pumped until my right knee gave out, which did not take long because it was still healing from when I got thrown in the floor on our maiden voyage. I don't normally use my left foot on the brakes and so I felt a little spastic. My brain and left leg would not communicate and so the effort was a little uncoordinated. Tracy was yelling "Pump the brakes!" from underneath the Big Lebowski. All the while my brain was screaming "Pump, Pump, Pump!", but my left leg was screaming "WHAT?"
Once Tracy was ready to bleed the brake lines I was the only person around to help him. I am sure everyone that had been standing around watching him work on the brakes decided to hide before they were asked to perform the task of pumping the brakes. This meant I had to sit in the Captains seat and pump on the brakes. I am sure you all know what I am talking about, you pump and pump and pump, and then pump some more. By the time its all done your legs feel like spaghetti and it hurts to walk for two days.
I pumped until my right knee gave out, which did not take long because it was still healing from when I got thrown in the floor on our maiden voyage. I don't normally use my left foot on the brakes and so I felt a little spastic. My brain and left leg would not communicate and so the effort was a little uncoordinated. Tracy was yelling "Pump the brakes!" from underneath the Big Lebowski. All the while my brain was screaming "Pump, Pump, Pump!", but my left leg was screaming "WHAT?"
In total the new rotors, calipers, hoses, pads, and fluids costs us just over $300. I was surprised because if we had taken the Big Lebowski to a shop we would have easily paid over $1,200 and taken about "two weeks". Below are the pictures of the old brakes.
We also spent around $300 on a new custom radiator and Tracy installed it in just a couple of hours.
I still get chills when I look at the photos, and give thanks for our safe return home.
We also spent around $300 on a new custom radiator and Tracy installed it in just a couple of hours.
I still get chills when I look at the photos, and give thanks for our safe return home.
I think we still need a louder horn.
You know the large air horns found on big rigs? The kind that make you jump and pay attention when they get blown. That's the kind I want. I have become convinced we will not die in a fiery crash, but rather get mauled by bears. I think one of those big air horns will be an excellent deterrent when a bear decides he wants to come visit us in the middle of the night.
You know the large air horns found on big rigs? The kind that make you jump and pay attention when they get blown. That's the kind I want. I have become convinced we will not die in a fiery crash, but rather get mauled by bears. I think one of those big air horns will be an excellent deterrent when a bear decides he wants to come visit us in the middle of the night.
We have only taken the Big Lebowski out a few times but each time we have had a little car dart out in front of us and slow down, or just stop. I understand people don't realize how much longer it takes for a 12,000 pound vehicle to stop. I think hearing this horn would make some people stop and think, or move out of the way, or at least flip us off. Either way, they are going to want to put some space between us and them.
So when you are out and about and see an RV, remember they may have brake trouble.
Once we got the brakes fixed we moved on to the interior of the Big Lebowski. We removed all the unwanted furniture, fixtures, and flooring. We opted for vinyl planks and bought the Traffic Master Allure in the Alpine Elm color. I was little hesitant about the color because it is so light. I had to remind myself that I have no decorator skills and Tracy is much better at matching colors than I am. I tease him and tell him he knows far too many interior decorators, but if your a remodeling contractor the interior decorators are your best friends. The floor turned out beautifully, and I love the end result. However getting there was a chore.
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| Interior with all fixtures removed |
We were in staple hell.
There must have been ten staples for every square inch. The lead time on the new flooring was two weeks. Which turned out to be a good thing. Since we could only work on the Big Lebowski in the evenings, after work, it took us every bit of the two weeks to get the staples pulled. By the end of the second week our knees were aching and we opted to pay our son $40 to pull the remaining staples. It took him about 5 hours to finish, and he earned every penny.
It took Tracy about three evenings to lay the floor. There were a lot of specialty cuts and some of the pieces had to be molded with a heat gun.
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| Flooring After: Facing forward - Dog house and Navigators side unfinished |
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| Flooring After: Navigators side |
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| Flooring After: Dinning area |
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| Flooring After: Facing towards the back |
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| Flooring After: Dinning area and Galley |
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| Flooring After: Hallway and Bathroom |
Who let the dogs out?
The dog house is the large piece that sits between the Captains and Navigators seats. It covers the motor, so taking it out is not an option. After a few days we decided to recover it using some marine grade vinyl. I had purchase a whole roll to recover the walls on the Big Lebowski so we had plenty.
The dog house is made of fiberglass and had been covered in the same faded mauve carpeting as the original flooring. We pulled the old carpeting off and used it as a pattern to cut the vinyl. Before we could apply the new covering the fiberglass needed to be sanded so that the adhesive would adhere to the surface. The process of sanding took Tracy a couple of hours. Tracy did an awesome job recovering the dog house, it matches the floor, and the end result looks great.
Breaking Bad reruns.
The morning after recovering the dog house, as Tracy and I were getting ready to walk out the back door to leave for work, there was a knock on the door. We never have visitors early in the morning. Tracy and I looked at each other, really confused about why the police were knocking on our door at seven o'clock in the morning. The first thought that rushed through my head was that something had happened to one of my kids. My heart raced.
We opened the door and one of the officers informed us that they had received a complaint about our RV. I felt relieved and even more confused. He went on to say that the complaint was that there was a smell coming from the RV and the accuser thought we were manufacturing drugs in our RV. Tracy let our a roar of a laugh. I did not find this accusation funny at all. We offered to unlock the Big Lebowski and let the officers take a look inside, but they informed us that they had already done so. This slightly angered me.
Are there not laws about that kind of thing? Illegal search or something. I mean what were they doing standing on their car hood peeping in the two windows that did not have the blinds pulled?
Dog haters revenge.
While speaking with the cops they were eager to point out that we were legally parked and within our rights to have the RV where it was. They asked us a few questions about the RV and the remodeling work. Tracy told them about the flooring and sanding the dog house. That's when the cops determined the smell that was reported was from Tracy sanding the fiberglass and using the spray adhesive. Evidently fiberglass lets off a horrible odor when heated from the sanding and the spray adhesive is a little noxious.
The cops were eager to point out that one of our neighbors did not like us. Tracy was surprised to hear that statement. He was sure all of our neighbors loved us. The instant the cop said that I knew it was the Dog Hater that lived about four houses down. So no, not all of our neighbors loved us. That's all I have to say on the subject.
The cops were eager to point out that one of our neighbors did not like us. Tracy was surprised to hear that statement. He was sure all of our neighbors loved us. The instant the cop said that I knew it was the Dog Hater that lived about four houses down. So no, not all of our neighbors loved us. That's all I have to say on the subject.
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| Dog House After |
City Scape.
I made new drapes and for the Big Lebowski and they turned out petty well. I chose a city scape pattern. What do you think?
I made new drapes for the Big Lebowski. I chose a city scape pattern. The scissors in the picture to the right are for scale. I was thinking of eventually putting little LED twinkle lights in some of the windows.
The pattern makes me think of all the places we will go. I think they turned out pretty well. The finished picture of the front end with the drapes is below. Let me know what you think.
While installing the new flooring and covering the dog house Tracy took advantage of the fact that we had to pull out the seats. He used this time to relocate the Captains seat so that it could turn all the way around. In it's original location the seat could only turn side to side. By moving it back an inch we gained enough room for the chair to turn completely around. He reinstalled the seats with all new nuts and bolts.
Having the seats out also gave us the opportunity give them a good cleaning and inspect the hardware and seat belts. Everything was in good working order. We decided against recovering them for now because they were in good shape and the blue is not a horrible color. We did look into new seat covers and they were going to cost around $200 each. We put them on the "When We Win the Lotto" list and used the $400 for a new shower.
Let us know what you think so far and leave us a comment.
I will reveal photos of the new bathroom in my next post. There is a subscription option on the right side, near the top. You will be notified by email as soon as a new post is made. Be sure to share us with your friends and family on any of the social media sites listed below.
I made new drapes and for the Big Lebowski and they turned out petty well. I chose a city scape pattern. What do you think?
I made new drapes for the Big Lebowski. I chose a city scape pattern. The scissors in the picture to the right are for scale. I was thinking of eventually putting little LED twinkle lights in some of the windows.The pattern makes me think of all the places we will go. I think they turned out pretty well. The finished picture of the front end with the drapes is below. Let me know what you think.
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| Finished Front: New drapes, cleaned seats, and recovered dog house. |
Having the seats out also gave us the opportunity give them a good cleaning and inspect the hardware and seat belts. Everything was in good working order. We decided against recovering them for now because they were in good shape and the blue is not a horrible color. We did look into new seat covers and they were going to cost around $200 each. We put them on the "When We Win the Lotto" list and used the $400 for a new shower.
Let us know what you think so far and leave us a comment.
I will reveal photos of the new bathroom in my next post. There is a subscription option on the right side, near the top. You will be notified by email as soon as a new post is made. Be sure to share us with your friends and family on any of the social media sites listed below.
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