Once again, more complicated than expected

Yesterday morning I got into taking off the roof air conditioning unit with the intention of replacing it with a Maxxair powered vent. 

The first problem is actually separating the unit from the roof itself. The air conditioning unit itself is fairly heavy... it probably weighs about a hundred pounds. So the second problem is actually getting it off the roof!

Another RV renovation update

I completed the solar installation, and moved on to the DC-DC charger. This is a piece of electronic equipment that enables the lithium batteries to be charged at a high rate of current while the vehicle is being driven. 

But to handle that high current, and the distance between the engine battery and the house batteries, I had to use fairly heavy 6 gauge cable. And run it the distance between the two.

Igor's new electrical system is almost finished!

Because we like being self sufficient, solar electricity is a "must have" for us when it comes to RV'ing. And we've done it for so long now that we're aware of our electrical needs.

I had bought a 200 watt RV solar kit that includes two 100 watt solar panels, all the wiring, mounting brackets, and charge controller. It was on sale at the time.

More motorhome renovation fun!

This part was actually not all that fun! 

On Friday, our new kitchen faucet showed up. We were very limited as to which faucet we could buy because of the angle of the body of the van where the kitchen sink is located. So when it showed up, the first thing I did was set it into place. Fortunately, it fit... with a half an inch to spare!

Passport photo denied!

Bit of a rain day yesterday. It spit on and off for the morning, then it really came down for three hours or so in the afternoon.

So, not a lot accomplished on Igor, although I did get the remote keyless entry system properly wired up and working, so that was good.

Everything I try to tackle on Igor becomes more complicated than it should be!

Had a nice day with the family again yesterday. Weather was perfect. Beautiful and sunny with a high around 24C (75F). 

Started off with a drive up to Scots Bay at low tide to do some beachcombing. Along the way is the Blomidon Lookoff with a view of the tidal basin and Annapolis Valley.

We're all a bit sore today, but it was worth it!

Canada's Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world. And the volume of water rushing in and out of the bay causes waves that somebody decided would be fun to take people rafting on.

We've known about this adventure for a long time, but had never done it. So with all the family together, and the grandkids now at the right age, we decided to take everybody out for a day of water and mud!

Four projects on the go

I've got four major things to complete on Igor during our time here in Nova Scotia. Rebuild the upper bed frame, install the solar panels, install the DC to DC charger, and repair the water leak under the kitchen sink.

At least the temperature here is much more conducive to working. The forecast highs of 23C to 26C (73F to 79F) are far better than the heat and humidity we had in Ottawa during July.

Fun to be back with the family!

We said goodbye and thanks to Judi and Ian and hit the road again at 9:00am, planning to arrive at our daughters place around lunchtime.

We drove straight through, and pulled into the driveway at 12:10pm.

Almost at the Nova Scotia border!

We don't think we had ever been into the city of Fredericton, New Brunswick (pop 58,000) so we decided to find a spot close enough to the center and go for a walk around before hitting the highway.

We set off at 7:00am from a totally peaceful night at the quarry, and ended up in a city park parking lot where a lot of people were walking dogs and getting their morning exercise.

We are going to be a day later than planned...

Not because of any problems... we just remembered that we don't enjoy doing too many miles in a day!

We had originally thought we would end up at our daughter's place in Greenwich, Nova Scotia this Sunday afternoon. And we could have, but it's still 500 kms (300 miles) away. That's just too many miles in a day for us.

Enjoyed being able to practice our Spanish again!

Woke up Friday morning after a very quiet night in the municipal parking at the village of Fortierville, Quebec. 

Igor's left rear tire has had a slow leak. I've been topping it up every three days or so. Not enough to worry about, but it was getting worse. The rear tires normally take 80 psi, and when I checked it yesterday morning, it was visibly low, and at 35 psi. Time to do something about it!

July Expenses... not bad, for our first full month back in Canada

We're going to be spending (pun intended!) four full months back in Canada, so we're prepared for the living expenses that go along with that. Having said that, July was about what we expected.

We had a budget of $2,700 CAD ($1,980 USD) for the month of July, and we ended up a few hundred dollars over that, but mostly because of renewing our passports, which is something I forgot to include in the original July budget.

Ingleside, Ontario to Fortierville, Quebec

We set off from Bob and Denise's place in Ingleside on Thursday at about 11:30am. Headed east towards Quebec City, although by that point, we weren't sure if we would make it that far, and it really didn't matter either way. 

Our only deadline is that Igor has an appointment with a garage in Nova Scotia on Tuesday morning to do the provincial safety inspection there. Yes, he already has one from Ontario, but the provinces don't talk to each other in that regard. Oh well... this way he will be twice as safe!

Ottawa to Ingleside... day 1

Went over and said goodbye to my mother on Wednesday morning. We'll be back again in mid September, so won't be gone long this time around. 

Then it was back to finish packing up Igor, but we were almost done anyhow. It never did rain like they were forecasting, so that was good.