Fiddlin’ and Pickin’ in Chattanooga

Posted on by March 20, 2015
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Last Saturday, we decided that another short shakedown was in order after getting our brakes worked on again.  The 90th version of the Old Time Fiddler’s Convention was on tap for Chattanooga from noon to 7pm so we loaded ourselves into the Pleasure Way and headed South.

It was a pleasant drive down highway 27 to the convention where our favorite Old Time group was to be the starting act before the competition. Clark and Matt were great as expected and the competitive groups and individuals put on some fantastic performances as well.  The catered lunch of Cornbread, Collard Greens, Pinto Beans and Pulled Pork was delicious and helped set the mood.

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We headed home around 7 and had another comfortable ride home.  Fixed brakes and new tires all performed well and we’re starting to get the itch for our trip “Out West” starting late in April.

A visit to Harrison Bay

Posted on by April 13, 2018
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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOld man winter eased his grip on East Tennessee this past Friday and we packed up the Pleasure Way and headed to Harrison Bay State Park just North of Chattanooga.  This was just a short overnighter to shakedown the new rig and to visit the Tennessee Sandhills Crane Festival in Birchwood, TN.

We headed down US 411 South through great small towns Madisonville, Etowah and Benson then turned West on US 64 then on to Harrison Bay.  There is a lot of construction going on in the park but campground A is just about finished and we setup camp on site A15 right on the water. Continue reading →

Short shakedown to Citico Creek

Posted on by December 28, 2014
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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWe had planned to take the first 2-3 weeks in January for a “Shakedown run” in our Pleasure-Way RV but medical appointments and social obligations here in the village have made us reconsider and postpone that trip until later in January. Continue reading →

Christmas Eve Dinner

Posted on by December 24, 2014
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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOur friend Andrea posted this recipe a few weeks ago and we finally got around to serving it up.

Braised Brussels sprouts with bacon and pearl onions – YUM!

Throw in a perfect avocado and a Lamb Chop.

Oh, a glass of Syrah.and a home made Turtle for dessert’

We just plan to ignore the scale in the morning.

Life is good.

Bank and Driftwood at Shawneetown

Posted on by November 15, 2014
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Shawneetown Bank

Shawneetown Bank

Heading home from our Illinois weekend, we stopped at Old Shawneetown where Illinois Route 13 hits the Ohio River.  Today, Shawneetown isn’t much to write home about with a population of just 300 and perched precariously below the levee and called Old Shawneetown since the town was moved after the 1937 flood. it doesn’t have much to show of it’s prosperous glory days except for the old bank and boarded up buildings along the levee.

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Where the heck is Alto Pass?

Posted on by November 8, 2014
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The Yellow Moon

The Yellow Moon

We found ourselves with a couple of hours to kill before visiting with my great aunt this afternoon and Mary found a Winery, brewery, restaurant in a place called Alto Pass, Illinois.  We punched it up on Google Maps and it was just 35 miles away so we fired up the Ford beast and headed West to see what we might see.

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Ocracoke – Still a Jewel

Posted on by April 4, 2018
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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWe hadn’t stayed on Ocracoke since a rather exciting Pirate weekend  between tropical storm Henri and hurricane Isabel in 2003 so here we are heading back to the island with a major blow brewing.  We must just love excitement!  We have put 798 miles on the truck since leaving home 2 weeks ago with all but about 100 miles of that just getting here. Continue reading →

Outer Banks Here We Come!

Posted on by November 1, 2014
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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERALast Summer, Mary and I discussed taking  a trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  We mentioned it to a few friends and began to plan a trip for October.  Andrea and Jim from Lexington, NC (with their granddog Lu) and our Niece Vicki and her husband David also have travel trailers and we all decided to get together at the Sands of Time campground in Avon for a couple of weeks of R&R. Continue reading →

Solar for the Fun Finder #3

Posted on by October 22, 2015
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Front of controller

Front of controller

Disconnect one side of the battery (or activate your battery kill switch) and disconnect your trailer from shore power.  Ignore this at your peril! Your unit will differ from mine but you need to run 2 power cables from the your 12V battery or batteries to the controller.  The cables in my trailer were #8 AWG running from the battery bank to the 12 volt side of my power panel.  I disconnected them from the panel and spliced in additional cable to reach the controller.  Next. I ran a pair of #8 AWG cables from the power panel to the LOAD connections on the controller.

Wires and control panel connections go here

Wires and control panel connections go here

 

 

 

In my system, the negative 12V battery cable was attached to both the system ground and the negative side of the panel – I just ran the new battery negative cable from the system ground bus.to the controller negative battery terminal.  If the terminology here or electrical systems in general puzzle you – STOP and seek advice or someone competent to finish the install and make the connections!  You can cause a fire or damage components if you do not correctly connect the six wires to the controller and the proper destination and (if used) the seventh wire to the external display and control panel.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAfter you have connected all the cables and the panel meter, your controller will look something like the picture on the left.  The two black cables from the solar panels to the left,  The red/black battery pair in the middle and the red/black load pair on the right. The ribbon cable for the remote panel is on the right.

Connect the battery so the controller knows 12 or 24 volt. Setup the converter for battery type, amp hours and so-on.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Solar for the Fun Finder #2

Posted on by September 5, 2014
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MPPT Controller

MPPT Controller

As I mentioned in my first article about this solar project, I got a kit with an MPPT charge controller which seeks and transfers maximum power to the battery bank and the load.  You can find out more at this Wickipedia link. This one weighs about 2 pounds needs some room around it for ventilation of the heat sink on the back. It also needs connecting wires for the solar panels, battery bank and load as well as a ribbon cable to a remote meter if the unit is hidden.  Space is at a premium in the trailer but another FunFinder owner mentioned that there is room behind the microwave and cables can be routed there without too much difficulty.

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