BETTER THAN NEW

Saturday, August 2 – In the previous post, we mentioned Paul had a little project to do on the 5^th wheel. That involved the installation of a “wet-bolt kit” on the suspension.

Old shackles are on the bottom; new replacements on top.

This was a pretty “heavy lift” project, and Paul was a little hesitant to take it on by himself. Luckily, he now has a boy in the family, new son-in-law, Dave, and Rick, visiting for a few days from Mission, TX. Together they tackled this project.

The biggest and scariest part of the job involved jacking the 12,000+ fifth wheel off the ground and securing it on jack stands so it would be safe to crawl under. Dave is experienced working on automotive projects, and Paul felt confident that with his help we could “getter done.”

Great to have a young man around – the young have no fear!

Notice the heavy duty jack (20-ton hydraulic) and the big jack stand.  No fair looking at those boxers.

It took a while but we were successful in jacking up and securing the trailer on several jack stands. Then we dismantled the suspension system that holds the springs and axles onto the trailer. The object was to replace the under-sized shackles and bolts the manufacture installed during construction and that have been reported to break while driving down the road. Any maintenance to prevent roadside breakdowns is a good thing!

Notice Dave has detached the spring from the trailer.  We are holding up the axle with  a floor jack.

Paul is working to remove the spring from the front hanger.

Dave’s electric impact wrench sure came in handy breaking loose those bolts.  A little scary crawling around under the trailer and around all those jacks and stands.

We were amazed to see the difference in construction of the new shackles compared to those installed during construction. What were those builders thinking?

Check-out the new shackles on the left compared to the old on the right.  If you look carefully, you can see the wear on those old bolts. 

The new bolts even have grease fitting for applying grease to the inside of the spring eyes to prevent the bolts from wearing and eventually breaking.

See the grease zerks.  Look carefully at the bolts on the right and you can see the holes the grease comes out of to keep the bolts well oiled. After installation, we greased them up and they squirted grease nicely.  Again, you can see the wear on those old bolts.

Rick, our guest from Texas, hammers home a new copper bushing inside one of the spring eyes.  The old install had plastic bushings.

Check out the new shiny shackles!

It was a dirty, greasy, and sometimes scary job, but with the help of Dave and Rick, it was successfully completed and Paul tucked the 5^th wheel back into its parking space until we depart in early September. Thanks Dave and Rick for all the help!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

2014 HALL OF FAME PARADE

Wednesday, August 6 - Saturday, found Marsha and Angie attending the Hall of Fame Parade. This is actually one of the largest parades in the country. They enjoyed the morning. Paul and Rick stayed home to do a little “5^th wheel job” which you'll read about in a future blog.

There were bands.

Floats

Horses

Clowns
 

Tons of balloons

Mascots
 

Past Enshrinees

Gale Sayers chose to walk the route and interact with the fans.

2014 Enshrinees
Andre Reed
 

Michael Strahan

2014 Class

Marsha said it was the best Hall of Fame parade she has seen in awhile.

Saturday night was “off to the races” without leaving home. We had nine family and friends over to gather around the kitchen table and play the horse racing game that the gang made (Actually, we made 49 sets.) several years ago down in the Rio Grande Valley over the winter. That was a fun night enjoyed by all.

After church Sunday, Angie and Rick headed toward Chicago to spend several days with other “Winter Texan” friends. We had a nice visit and will seem them in October when we spend several weeks in Mission, TX.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

TEXANS VISIT

AUGUST 5, 2014 – Angie and Rick, our best of friends from the great state of Texas, visited us for a couple of days starting on Thursday, July 31. They are on their first “car trip” since selling their motor home.

Of course, this put Marsha in her “Tour Guide” mode and “Memory Creating” attitude. They arrived on Thursday, July 31, and we spent the evening catching up since we last saw them in October, 2013.

Bright and early, Friday morning we were off on Marsha's “Tour of Canton.” With the Football Hall of Fame activities in full swing, things were pretty busy at Marsha's normal tour stops. We did get to drive by the Football Hall of Fame and a few spots downtown but the beautiful Women's Club Gardens were blocked off.

They did get the treat of climbing the 105 steps up the hill to President McKinley's Monument....a “Rocky” moment indeed.

 

Since Rick is a Vietnam Veteran, Marsha thought it would be a nice idea to show him the Stark County Veterans Memorial.

We then headed to Berlin, OH, and Amish Country were we visited several tourist areas and sampled some wine at three wineries.

Breitenbach Winery

Swiss Heritage Winery

Perennial Vineyards

Our favorite signs of the day.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!