Day 601: Las Vegas Urban RVing, Day 6

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Ben

Passover preparations continue apace, and we’re taking advantage of the limitless dumpster and A/C here. Did I mention what a tight fit it is here at the RV park?

Day 600: Las Vegas Urban RVing, Day 5

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Ben

This morning the kids went with Bubbe to the Henderson library:

Since we’ve used up our 72 hours of curbside RV parking at my parents’ house, we moved over to a local RV park. Thanks to our Passport America membership, we’re only paying $13.50 a night here. We would have camped down at Jean Lake, but temperatures are expected to be in the low 90s this week, and it will be nice to have unlimited water and electricity as we prepare for Passover in earnest over the next few days:

I can’t wait to get back to dispersed camping.

Day 599: Installing the New Oven

Posted on March 29, 2015 by Ben

Shabbos was just a bit on the hot side of comfortable, with highs in the high 80s. We had lunch with Rabbi and Mrs. H and their children, which is always a pleasure!

Today we moved back to my parents’ house from the synagogue. This will use up the last 24 hours of the 72 hours per month we’re allowed to be parked in front of their house, so tomorrow we will have to move on.

Today’s project was to replace the RV range with a residential range. Our current oven is about the size of a microwave oven, and Trish could really use more space for cooking more elaborate Shabbos and holiday meals. Here’s what we started with:

The first step was to remove the range:

Next I removed the cabinetry and countertop around the range, leaving a 34” wide alcove for the new range:

Next I added an outlet for the residential range and modified the propane plumbing to attach to the new range while preserving the quick release propane connector for our catalytic heater:

After replacing the natural gas orifices in the cooktop and making a few other adjustments in the oven, the new range was ready to run on propane instead of natural gas. After attaching the propane line and plugging into the new outlet, the new range is ready to go:

The only down side is that the oven seems to keep the 400-watt electric igniter on whenever the oven is heating (as opposed to turning off once the gas is ignited), so we will have to be careful not to use the oven for several hours when the solar system isn’t charging the battery.

Day 597: Las Vegas Urban RVing, Day 2

Posted on March 27, 2015 by Ben

This morning M and I drove down to our usual Las Vegas area camping location, Jean Dry Lake, so I could get in a morning flight:

Flight #46 take off:

There’s nothing to run into out here, so flying low isn’t a problem:

During my flight, I flew over a group of folks getting ready to launch R/C planes. Joining them was aviation photographer Eric B, who was testing out a new videography accessory for his DSLR and filmed me waving as I flew by:

Since we were running up against 3 hours after sunrise, which is the latest recommended morning flying time due to thermals potentially building as the ground heats up, I only flew for ten minutes or so:

After landing, we drove over to visit the R/C plane crowd. M had fun with Eric’s dog, which was quite large:

Barry and his friend flew a variety of planes:

This afternoon I went for a nice ride in the hills of Anthem. I’m waiting to receive a new clip for my cycling shoe, as I broke one mountain biking in Sedona, so my foot pulled out of the pedal half a dozen times on the ride:

Later this afternoon we moved the RV over to my parents’ synagogue, where it will be parked for Shabbos. Unlike curbside parking at my parents’ house, we can put out our slides here, but there’s only one circuit for the building’s exterior outlets, so we will have to make do with just one air conditioner. Hopefully it won’t be too hot.

Good Shabbos from Las Vegas!

Day 596: Las Vegas Urban RVing, Day 1

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Ben

Today promises to be a normal weather day here in Las Vegas, which is about ten degrees hotter than Cottonwood. So long as we keep the slides in, the neighborhood watch doesn’t bother us:

We are considering replacing our 3 burner, 1ish cubic foot RV range with a four burner, 5 cubic foot residential gas range. This would involve tearing out cabinetry, adding electrical service behind the range, and modifying the range to run on propane rather than natural gas. We visited a few stores to see what’s available in black and stainless:

Trish has been wanting to replace the RV sofa with a living room set that takes up less space. This set has ottomans that come out from under the chairs. L’Chaim!