After procrastinating as usual (hey, I'm a busy guy, OK?), I got around to building the rack for the solar panels. Since the panels were wider than the rack, I had toyed with the idea of mounting the panels at angles, like the roof of a house. Too complicated and only one panel would get sun. Anyway, after lots of running around getting materials, changing the layout, going back for more bolts, nuts, etc, I ended up with this. It has proven to be very stable and I was happy to find out that the trailer lid shocks were strong enough to support the panels' weight - no ugly prop.
Bike and trailer are over 17 feet long and I have the trailer loaded as you can see. I chose to put my clothes in a T-Bag because it makes a good arm rest and I didn't have room in the trailer for them anyway. The battery and inverter take up very little space (the inverter is anchored to the spare wheel).
The trailer pulls fine, I'm not used to such a load behind me and slow maneuvers are awkward. But highway riding is great. Because I got so far behind today, I ended up just taking the interstate to Columbia, TN. It rained from about Black Mountain, NC through Knoxville, TN. Not fun! In Columbia, I had a short visit with my friend and former co-worker, Mike Hayes and his wife Jan. I forgot to take a picture but I will post an old one of us on Route 66. Here is one of Braxton, me and Mike, ready to leave Donna & Eric's house on Route 66.
I headed out from Mike's house along TN Route 50, back up to I-40 for a 5 mile jog over to the KOA where I am posting this blog. Unfortunately, it is a REAL crappy connection and I won't be able to add pictures until later. Sorry!
Currently, I am sitting in this humongous tent (I wanted a tent in which I could stand up). I connected the inverter as well as a 12VDC outlet and am running a string of Christmas lights across the center of the tent. The lamp on the table is a rechargeable I snuck from our sunroom. I am also running a 12VDC fan which feels absolutely breathtaking in this muggy heat. As soon as I had everything setup, I stripped down to my skivvies and reviewed some maps from AAA (thank you, Waldo Miller). I forgot an air pump for the mattress, so I'll be sleeping on the ground tonight - roughing it!
Time to rest, I have 800 miles to go tomorrow to get to Margot and HotSauce's ranch. The noise from the Interstate - not 75 feet away - is terrible. Either a set of Jack brakes go off every two minutes or someone rides the rumble strip. I should get an hour or two. From OK on, the pace should slow down all the way to San Francisco.
1 comment:
I have to say that I love the lamp! nothing like a little piece of home on the road. Question is, where is the kithcen sink?
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