Getting stuff done

Skip called us early on Friday morning to let us know that Newmar (the manufacturer of our rig) has been out stock on the part that we need for several weeks, but that thankfully National Indoor RV in Atlanta (a sister location) has one and can send it. He wanted to know if we wanted to pay to expedite it (we had already discussed this and Carl was about to send an email to Skip to tell him that we would want to expedite if that was an option). Skip said that Atlanta had been having some difficult winter weather, so we don't know if expediting it will mean that it left Atlanta on Friday or not... but... we're still in hopes that it will come in soon enough that it can be installed and we can join our friends at the Christian Fellowship gathering in Quartzsite this next week.

We still have a number of projects that we had wanted to complete on Gracie, so, since we knew they would not be taking the rig on Friday, we set about to get to work on those. I wanted to cook a few things that are easier if we have electric hookups, so I assembled and baked meat, cheese, and tomato casserole (like lasagna without the noodles), and cooked up some pumpkin that we still have from when we were in Virginia (https://journeyinamazinggrace.blogspot.com/2021/10/visiting-pumpkin-patch.html).

Carl has been wanting to install the water softener in a more permanent location in the rig -- I have wanted this too because I don't think it is good for him to have to move it every time we hook up and disconnect water... so we decided to tackle that project Friday.

Carl's plan was to install it in the wet bay, but on the opposite side of the coach from where we normally do hookups. The coach had a pegboard installed in that location, and we had a number of bottles and cans of "stuff" stored there.

The water softener that we need to install in that area.

Bottles and cans removed, pegboard removed, and support pieces for pegboard removed -- will the water softener fit?

Yes! It fits...

It will only fit right in the middle of the area due to the configuration of the tanks.

Carl had customized the hose to run across the wet bay back when we were in Wisconsin in the summer (https://journeyinamazinggrace.blogspot.com/2021/07/start-of-next-project-and-walk-around.html). After placing the tank, he ran a fish tape across the top of the fresh water tank to the wet bay, I attached the hose that he had put together when we were in Wisconsin, and he pulled it back across. In this picture, he has the hose ready to attach to the water softener.

Carl put quick disconnects on each end - we will still need to take the water softener out of the bay once every 5-6 weeks to recharge the softener, but this will be easier than connecting and disconnecting it each time we move.

He cut shorter pieces from the metal pieces that were originally used for mounting the pegboard in order to provide a little support at the base of the water softener. In reality, the tank cannot move much - once the door is down, it is pretty much wedged in between the door and the fresh and waste tanks.

We decided that we should put a little bit of padding around the hoses near the water softener as there is a metal strap that goes over the fresh tank which could cause wearing on the hose.

Bottles and cans back in place. We are hoping to get some containers and possibly shelves that will neaten this area, but it is okay for now.

We don't have access to water from where we are parked (it is available in the parking lot down from us, but we can't drive the rig with the slide stuck out) - so we still need to test the connections to make sure there are no leaks, but... we think this projects is pretty near completion!