Silver Whale Time Zone...

During our trip to Lake Medina under freezing temperatures, I kept relying on my iPhone to gather current weather conditions, mainly temperature. Definitely overkill, and add to that the fact that 3G reception was minimal. Also, going in and out of the trailer, keep us wondering what was the actual temperature -inside- the trailer. As soon as we got back, I decided to move our favorite Atomic Clock + Outside/Inside temperature form our house to the trailer. I installed the clock next to the AC/Heat control panel.

and I installed the outside thermometer unit inside one of the trailer's trunks.

Now the trailer has its own time zone + temperature readouts.

The Silver Whale goes to the lake...

Meet the Silver Whale & Blue Bailout

Finally we had the chance to take the Airstream out for the "lets get acquainted" trip. Since we also became family courtesy card members of "1000 Trails" (thanks Ma & Pa Aeschbacher) we decided to go to the nearest 1000 Trails camp for our test drive. The destination: Medina Lake, about a 100 mile drive form our base.

We could not have picked a worse weekend weather wise. Record low temperatures all over the Texas Hill Country, with highs in the 30's during the day and low in the 10's during the night. We knew in advance what we were getting into, but we figured that it was a good test for winter conditions and to test the furnace to find out just how warm can we stay inside the Airstream while it's 10F outside.

We were also very nervous about frozen pipes. The Silver Whale was semi-winterized, i.e we drained the fresh water tank and water heater, and blew pressured air through the city water inlet, then poured RV antifreeze in the traps and tanks. But now, we needed to de-winterize it for the weekend and run the risk of frozen pipes, or leave it winterized and drink the morning dew.
We decided to go for the Full Monty experience and de-winterize and run the water. According to info in the Airforums.com the furnace system runs next to the water pipes to avoid freeze.
Yet, we knew that probably we needed to leave the faucets dripping to keep the external pipes from bursting overnight. We noticed that the camp maintenance crew left all the faucets dripping, yet the campsite in front of ours, had the dreadful "Busted Pipe Fountain" water show going. But if we left the faucets dripping....what about the Grey water tank? (more on this down below).

Hitching and unhitching is becoming easier each time we do it, and now I am curious about what it's like to pull a trailer without a Hensley Hitch, because so far, it has been a pretty easy drive to pull the trailer on and off the highways. I think I may be even getting too cocky.

We arrived at the camp around mid morning Saturday and started for the first time to hook everything up. Our immediate findings:

• Water hose toooooo long.
• That "Side Winder" thingy sounds pretty good now after this first trip.
• Leveling blocks also needed.
• How do you keep that black water hose to stay put?
• You really need those black water hose end caps.

But pretty soon, we were up and running and ready to cook our first meal.

Once the euphoria of hooking everything up and using the appliances wore off, we decide to actually check out the camp and Medina Lake. One of the first things that we noticed was that the campground was practically owned by roaming gangs of deer, not only not shy at all about human contact, but almost demanding their quota of scraps or, as we found out in the camp store, deer corn.

Where is my corn? Do not make me break you knee caps

The actual lake, looked pretty sad. It showed the results of the brutal 2009 Texas summer with record high temperatures and severe drought conditions. The water level was pretty low.

Dry bottom form Lake Medina Texas. The 2009 Texas drought was severe.

Past sunset, the temperature plunged quickly and we hurried back into the trailer. The furnace worked great. We also tried the "Heat Pump" and "Heat Strip" modes, but the furnace mode seemed to be the one apt for the frigid conditions. Vicky also tested the oven by cooking a batch of cookies.

When bed time came around we were all tired, sleepy, and cozy, but one nagging thing kept me from going worry free to bed: The grey water tank.

According to all the stuff that we have read, we were supposed to have both black and grey water tanks closed. Just open them on demand, when the Airstream status panel indicates that they are getting full. But with the water dripping...will the grey water tank get full in the middle of the night? Well, to make an already long story not so long, yes...the grey water tank got full in the middle of the (freezing) night. I got out of bed to go to the bathroom, and I noticed the red blinking light next to "Grey Water Tank" in the status panel. Well, time to test those new headlights and new fancy swivel hose fittings. Fortunately the Siberian temperatures kept us from assigning blame or arguing and expedited our teamwork to get it done and get back into the trailer.

Although we fixed the full grey water tank issue, next morning we faced the fact that now, the grey water tank valve was frozen in the open position, due to frozen grey water at the valve. Here we found use for a useless purchase that I made some weeks ago, a stupid "King Flush" elbow that is unnecessary and useless for this model Airstream.

As you can see, the black water pipe makes a 90 degree turn to the right to make the King Flush as effective as a Democrat Congressman.

But with the black water valve closed, the Democrat Flush was able to melt the ice on the left side, the grey water side. Thanks! vote Democrat.
This is the right way to flush the black water tank in the 30' Airstream:

Mid morning Sunday we headed back to have enough time to winterize the trailer again. This second time was faster, and this time I had a funnel to pour antifreeze in the fresh water tank, run the pump and get all the pipes primed. We are planning a couple more trips soon, but we have not decided where yet.

Airstream vs. Woodstream...

I have been spending and unordinary amount of time at Home Depot. Sometimes, you see unoridianry things there...in a store were you can buy all sorts of materials to "Do It Yourself" (DIY), people really take on to the challenge. I spotted this DIY Camper:

Notice the attention to aerodynamics.

Metrosexual vacum cleaner...

As we prepare the Silver Whale for the road ahead, we have found that the list of trinkets and gadgets needed to live the RV lifestyle is seemingly endless. We are about to become platinum members of Camping World and word on the street is that I am now in the REI's watch list for high treason.

From the list so far, we got:

• Rhino Flex hoses and fittings for the black water system. It seems that having the fittings at the end of the hoses freely swivel is a big plus when when "messing with the mess".
• Water hose with water pressure regulator.
• Tire chokers
• Water filter
• Fresh water tank fillers
• A bunch of chemicals for treating all sorts of water
• Electrical adapter
• Collapsible trash cans
• Cooking and diner ware suitable for traveling.
• Vacuum cleaner.
  

While acquiring all this stuff, I started to notice that some things have been clearly designed for RV usage, while other things have been just re-packaged and re-priced to the RV crowd.

But one particular item proved to be a challenge to get just right for the Airstream: The vacuum cleaner. Not too big, but not too small, able to do bare floors and carpets. We have been getting by with a broom, but the trailer has so many knocks and crannies that a vacuum is almost a must.

We searched high and low at local stores, but nothing was quite right. We came close to getting stung by a Scorpion Vacuum and then, Vicky found the amazing Metrosexual Vacuum.

This is a fuchsia colored vacuum that hangs out of your shoulder like a Gucci bag. To keep things androgynous, the savvy marketing people at the corporate offices slapped some Indi 500 looking stickers. Now you are off to the races vacuuming and looking fabulous.

How I wish it would come in black, red or yellow, because it is a great vacuum. Great suction power and plenty of accessories to clean every surface and corner in the Airstream.
As a matter of fact, Vicky liked so much the "Indi 500 Metro Vac" that she went bezerk cleaning all over the house before taking it to the trailer.

What's in a name?

When we decided to buy this particular Airstream trailer, a 2005 Safari 30' Bunk Bed, we did not know how special this model was. Just about 78 units were made, and as I read recently in Airstream Forums, this number is going down as some units have shipped outside the USA.

But also, as it turns out, we were lucky to get an Airstream with a documented pedigree of exploration and happiness. We have been able to contact the previous owners of the trailer and they have been gracious enough to answers some questions and share the trailer's past in their blog.

In the time honored tradition of baptizing objects of utility and/or desire, we have named the trailer Silver Whale--a clear, if not obvious morphological reference.
The trailer's former name was Shackleton. I have not asked, but I suspect it is a reference to Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, the Anglo-Irish explorer.

At the back of the trailer we found a small whiteboard with a heart-warming message wishing good luck and enjoyment signed by the former owners, the Welshes. We plan to leave the message in place as a remainder of this unique opportunity that we are about to embark upon.

Happy trails ahead!

Shameless plug...

OK, I know I wrote that this blog is not about photography. But since there is not much going on in the Trip Planning front, why not drop some promo here on the book that I just finished?

This selection of photographs comes from a collection of approximately 3,000 images taken during an excursion in the fall of 2006. One objective was to get photographically acquainted with the landscape characteristics of the North American Southwest and to lay the foundation for a personal body of work that portrays this remarkable area of the world.

As you may have started to guess, photography will be a big part of next year's trip. A lot of the route planning is based on hitting certain areas of the country at the time of the year when they are at their best. Besides expanding my current body of work of landscape photography, I am planning a couple of documentary projects.

You can preview and order the book here:

2006 Southwest...

By Adolfo Isassi

Book Preview

More info on this book here.

What separates humans from monkeys...

This is what I was thinking while I was struggling to unload a 150lb generator-inverter off the 33" tall bed of my truck. The crude use of a 2"x4", briefly upgraded me to "Missing Link" in the evolutionary scale. Tools...yes, that is it, humans use tools from Home Depot. But at the rate Home Depot is opening stores every 5 miles, soon even Monkeys will have access to these tools, and tall lattes.

Well, after priming the generator battery, filling its engine with SAE 10-30W oil and unleaded gas, the time came to put it back in the truck.

Here the relevant question became:
What separates humans with back injuries from humans with healthy skeletal-muscular systems?

The answer in my case:
- A 2000 lbs rated Come Along pull crank
- 4ft of 3000 lbs rated chain
- 2 1500 lbs rated 3/8" safety fasteners.
- And...a temporary plywood ramp soon to be replaced with a Lund aluminum loading ramp.

As you can see, I have discovered the pleasure of dispensing weight ratings way over their intended use. With these toys I was able to lift the generator into the truck while drinking a cup of dark roasted coffee, black one sugar, thank you.

Now the only missing part is the 3 prong trailer-to-generator adapter.

The truck...

It seems that the history of my cars has been a progression from small to huge.
My fist car was a Renault 5. I think that here in the USA it was referred to as the Renault Le Car. Later, I shared with my brothers and sister a Renault Routier. After that one, at some point, I was able to buy a junked Mustang 67 and restored it. The next one was one of my favorites, a Mazda RX7. After this one I got my worst car ever...a Chevy Cavalier. What a piece of crap. After this, a short stint with a WV Golf, and then a VW Jetta. Then a Mitsubishi Montero. After this, came the beloved Toyota 4Runnrer, what a great car. We had lots of fun with it.

But with the 4Runner we could not tow anything close to what we needed. So it came time to let go and..."Say hello to my little friend", the GMC 2500HD Duramax/Allison. This truck feels huge in comparison to anything that I have owned before. It is looooong and tall.
I remember driving around in my small cars and every time I came near one of these huge trucks they annoyed me and I tried to get away from them...slow, clumsy and out of place in the city. Well, now I am one of them big rig diesel types. From the high cabin I can see the compact cars like ants swarming and getting into my blind spots. I have learned to "lean" on them to scare them away from the blind spots...it is for their own good :)



Going around town, I have realized that this truck does not fit in any parking spot. The end of the bed always sticks out about 3 ft. For crying out loud, not even in the contractor section of Home Depot. Which by they way, I have noticed that in hardware stores, auto parts stores, you get these approval nods when you pull in the 2500. You can feel the testosterone levels going up, I have noticed that now I have to shave twice a day.

While doing all the research for the truck, I stumbled across the subculture of "diesel people"and the apparent pecking order of trucks. Anything gasoline and 1500 not really, really a truck. With 2500 you get your lil'training wheels until you graduate to the real stuff, a dually 3500.
Another funny thing is these diesel street competitions...no, they do not drag race, they see who can tow who, like a tow-hoe-down, take a look here, or here. The online forms get into passionate discussions of Cummings vs. Duramax, just like the photo people get into arguments of Canon vs. Nikon or PC vs. Mac.

A couple of days ago, I pulled into Cabelas, and to my surprise I discovered that all the parking spots were big enough for the truck. I teardrop rolled down my cheek. I looked left and right, and sure enough, I was amongst fellow 2500's and above (3500's), grills and gun racks galore. I felt welcomed and I found in Cabelas what I could not found in regular auto stores, a set of anchors for the pickup bed, appropriately branded: "Bully". By the way, every thing truck related is marketed with names like "exterminator", "crusher", "stumper", "dominator", "decider" ;)
I told Vicky that at this rate, if I keep driving this truck, Sara Pallin may start making sense. Alarmed, she told me to go around the block a couple of times in the Prius to clear the diesel fumes and get my head straight.



Cabelas...where every long bed fits with space to spare...Truck heaven.