Man…the weather has been back and forth, to and fro. Makes it pretty hard to not go crazy for Spring and traveling. I’ve been getting out for a few drives but I’m ready to get the trailer out for some overnights.

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Today was a nice, sunny day around 45° F with a slight breeze – a day too warm for a coat but too cool for short sleeves. I needed to get out and take care of a few things outside. It was good to get out in the sun, especially after the stupid time change messing with me. I got my stuff taken care of and ended up bloody after fighting with some blackberry bushes, but I didn’t find any ticks crawling on me…yet!

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I did a little cleaning in the trailer a few weeks ago but it needs a good Spring tune-up. You know…windows need washed, surfaces wiped down, supplies checked and restocked. I’ll wait as long as possible to get the water system ready (usually just before the first trip) since water sitting in the system can turn nasty and then you have to just sanitize the system all over again like the first time of the season.

Admittedly, I am also still a bit intimidated by doing the shower repair myself and have not completely decided against hiring it out. I know it’s probably going to be around $1000 to $1500 to hire it out so now that I have some downtime I need to get an estimate, make that decision, and get it done.

I can still use it (if somewhat careful) without leaking but I need to just get it fixed. I’ve been wanting/needing to get this done for a couple of years now but time as well as other priorities have reared their ugly heads and delayed doing the repair.

The upholstery is now starting to show some wear and the cushions don’t cushion. I know that’s definitely something I cannot do myself and it will be spendy. I really love my comfy bed in the back and have been debating just leaving it that way permanently. I hate to give up the dinette in the back but it’s just me and my two dogs so I don’t really need the extra seating; the front dinette seats three so that’s plenty. The bed is big enough for two so it’s bigger than the bed the front dinette turns into.

Leaving it as a bed full-time has it’s operational issues but I think I can work around it with some modifications. The rear-center storage area is completely unusable right now because I have no easy access. The same issue applies to the side compartments. The left side is the water tank and pump; the right side is the water heater and both sides have a little storage space. I have had to work in the compartments under the mattress and it is a real struggle to do.

If I leave it as a full-time bed I don’t need to find storage for the extra cushions at night. It is also going to be MUCH cheaper to redo the upholstery since it would only mean covering four cushions (two single cushions and two double) for the front dinette – something that never crossed my mind until I typed this! It is also a great place to put things while traveling and is a good spot for fragile things.

I’ll have to cut access doors into the inside panels but I have a rotary tool I could cut those with then figure out a way to keep them in place. I already have ideas on how to make it work and when I start on it I’ll post pictures.

I think I am going to break down and put a TV on the wall inside. I have a TV I can use and I can plug my iPad in to watch movies or if I am at a campground with amenities I can hook up cable. It could even be used as a computer monitor for my Mac Mini or a other computer to watch movies.

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In anticipation of some traveling I paid for the pro version of a travel app. It gives me all camping/campground options as well as a road trip planner that you can plan a route and add stops from things like food, lodging, sights and camping that come up on the map. This is something new for me to plan trips this way but I’m open to trying it out. It could save some time and money.

I played with the app and created a trip to see what the app would do for me. It is kind of similar to the old TripTik from AAA but a digital version. It’s cool because as you zoom in on the map more details pop up and you can click and add them to your route.

That’s about all for this lengthy post.