The Flooding Continues

After I was warned about the possibility of being trapped in the campground, I stocked up on supplies.  I filled up the gas can, and grabbed 8 more gallons of distilled water (LPT: go to the baby food aisle when the shelves are empty).

I actually wasn't worried about being flooded in, other than the fact I couldn't work.  I would be fine for a week or two cut off of the rest of the world.  In fact, there is a part of me looking forward to it.

Water flowing back through storm drains.

Monday after work, I found a piece of paper under a rock on my camper steps.  It  reiterated the possibility of being cut off by flooding.  The river was supposed to crest the next day, but there were no guarantees.  There was also a tropical storm headed up from the gulf threatening rain for the end of the week.  With the ground already saturated, and the water up to the roadway, I decided it was time to go.

Man, this old ford has been great.  I smile every time I start it.

I took Tuesday off of work to move the rig.  Nice thing about working 10 hour days, is that you have the chance of making one of them up if you're rained out or can't work one day.  I took advantage of it this week.

I headed toward a campground where some of my co-workers are staying.  The rent is reasonable, and there's free laundry.  The downside is that here aren't any bathrooms.

I pressure tested my system a few weeks ago.  It held pressure, sort of.  My hypothesis is that it was leaking through an internal check valve.  I had planned on water testing the system as soon as I cleared a path for the fresh water tank drain (drill a hole in the truck bed).  The pressure is on.

I made it through the week by using my extra purchased distilled water to flush the commode, and for taking showers.  I had purchased a "shower head" attachment (go ahead, click that link, and look at the 3rd picture down) that screwed on to a 2 liter bottle last year for boondocking.  It worked-ish.

By weeks end, I just opened a fresh gallon jug, and ran a pot of water through the coffee pot.  I then dumped the hot water back into the jug.  This got the temperature just about right for showering, and I used the remainder of the jug for flushing.  The biggest problem is that there wasn't a lot of ceiling height, and I lost the use of one hand to holding the bottle.  Imagine jamming yourself into your high school locker, and taking a shower one handed.  It was awkward, but it worked enough.  People outside the camper likely heard me squeeking against the shower walls, and saw the camper rocking, and assumed that there were porpoises mating inside or something.

I spent the weekend sorting out my water system.

But, uhh, what if I'm into that kind of thing?

WATER!

Plenty of pressure.  I soaked everything nearby when I opened the faucet.

Look how tidy that is.  The campground is super crowded.  Being small, and only needing a 30A plug makes me pretty flexible. Any port in the storm.

If you look closely, you can see some welding on the bottom step.  The edge closest the telephone pole broke loose while I was packing up.  The owner of the campground happens to have a welding shop, and had me fixed up in about half an hour.  This might come in handy during my stay.

Party at Warren's house.

I know it may seem trivial to some, but I've never used the water in any of the previous three RV's I've owned.  I sold the house in May of last year, meaning that this is the first time I've had running water in a year.  I feel like a king.

The better I get this rig sorted, the more I can get rid of, the less crowded I feel.  Getting the water working, means that I've added even more flexibility to an already very flexible setup.  The more flexible I can be, the easier it is to pick campgrounds.  If I can continue to follow through with my plans, I might not need hook-ups at all in the coming year...