The Scrappy Inspection that Didn't Happen

One of the last things that must be done to Scrappy before we embark on our Great Land voyage is to get inspected by the Louisiana State Police.

We started out this morning with spending a few hours on the phone calling the various phone numbers listed on the State Police website.  Between Hunny and I, I don't think we spoke to even one person who knew what we were supposed to do.

See, Hunny bought Scrappy off Salvagebid.com.  We learned Scrappy was at a salvage yard just south of Jackson, MS.  We spent a day going up there to get her and bring her home.  She operated fine.

We got her home and started working on her, buying bits and pieces, putting on a new rubber roof, installing appliances, and getting new tires.  We then went to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get her registered and titled.  We hit a snag there.  The lady at the DMV handed us a packet of papers and tells us we have to list every little thing we've done to the vehicle.  We then contact the State Police to schedule an officer to come out to our house and inspect Scrappy before releasing her for road travel.

After spending all morning on the phone learning absolutely nothing, we decided to take a trip into Baton Rouge.  Having been instructed to go to Troop A on Highland Road, that's where we went.  We arrived, got out of the truck, and approached the door ... pulled on the handle and ... it was locked.  There was a sign taped next to the door that said, For Trailer Inspections, go to 7701 Independence Blvd, Inspections are done M-T, 9-4.  Well, Independence Blvd is another 20 minute ride.  We get over there and there are a whole commune of buildings.

So, we go to the main building (top and middle of the pic) and they directed us to the correct building (lower left of pic).  We were told that there's a sign at the back of the building that says "Physical Inspections".  So, we go over there and park the truck, get out of the truck and go to the door where we see yet ANOTHER sign.  This one says, "Closed, Will Be Back at 2:15 p.m."  We check the phone for the time and then get a tad confused when the phone tells us it is 2:33 p.m.  So, Um, now what?

We decided then to just leave and get something to eat, planning to come back before 4 p.m. and get the info we need.  We went to Cracker Barrel and while we were there, the bottom fell out of the sky.  Before we knew it, it was already 3:50 p.m. and raining cats and dogs.  There was no way we'd make it back to the DMV in 10 minutes with all the weather and traffic.  We decided to try again tomorrow.

At this rate, it'll be next summer before we get to go on this trip.

To Depart or Not To Depart

Today is the date we originally set for the big departure.  Sadly, the big departure did not happen.  There's still too much to do to Scrappy to get her ready.  Hopefully, we'll get to depart next week sometime.

Today, we made a visit up to Home Depot and Lowe's to purchase the refrigerator, microwave, and formica counter top.  Tomorrow, Hunny will be installing, gluing down, turning on, and hooking up all kinds of things. 

I think I'll spend the day cooking up a bunch of things "just in case" we actually get to start this adventure. 

Last week, we spent a whole day in New Orleans getting our passports because we were supposed to leave today for this big trip!

Here's the route we'll be taking ..... Hopefully .... someday.

Scrappy Gets a New Lid

When we got the rig home, the first thing we did was make a To-Do List.  Every time we stepped inside the rig, we'd add something to the list.  It got quite lengthy.  But the FIRST thing was to get a new roof on it.  There was obviously a little water damage and some black streaks on the ceiling.  I'm not sure that the streaks are from water.  They may just be from something else.  The ceiling is some sort of fabric/not fabric.  I sprayed diluted bleach on the black streaks and they faded to almost completely gone.  I can still see some discoloration but maybe that's because I was really looking for it.

The rig is covered with 2 large blue tarps to prevent anymore water damage.  Meanwhile, Hunny shops around for a roof kit.  We even drove out to the nearest Camper World and got a quote for a kit.  They wanted over $1000 for a 35 foot roll of rubber, 2 gallons glue, and whatever else comes with it!

We drove home and Hunny did some internet searching.

Evenutally, he found a Superflex Rubber Roof kit for only $460!!!  While he waited for the ordered roof kit to arrive via UPS, he got online again and started watching Youtube How To videos.  Within two days, the package arrived and he went to work.

The first thing he had to do was remove all the old stuff from the top.  

 That task revealed the thin wood foundation underneath the old stuff.  He saw a small 2 foot water damaged spot so he cut out the yucky stuff and replaced it with a fresh piece of wood foundation. 

His next task was to get this 35 foot roll of rubber up to the top of the rig!  Well, I'm a weakling so, I'm not gonna be much help in that effort.  But he tossed that stuff over his shoulder and climbed the ladder like a CHAMP!  Whaddaman my man is!!  

He got up there and laid that rubber down to get it started.  Here he is double checking his work.

In the middle of this, it started to rain.  So, he covered it back up with the tarp and then enlisted some help the next day.  Here they are finishing up the glue down.

Here he is finishing up the trim.

  

Working on getting vents and A/C's put back in.

  

It looks great so far and best of all, no leaks!

Naming the Motorhome

We've been thinking about naming the rig.  So far, I've called it The Rig or Coach. But I'm looking for something a little more personal.  I've seen the following on a few websites:

Birt                                        Phoebe                                    Daisy

The Mothership                    The Elephant                           The Big Rolling Turd

Tin Can Ann                          Mrs. Patmore                          Lucy

Grumilda                               Vixen                                       Quackers

Rolling Thunder                    Beulah                                     Road Mobile

Cerberus                                Rita                                         Thundercat

Helga                                     Yoda                                        Murphy

Tesseract                                Mo Caislean                           Trailer Swift

Freebird                                 Harvey the RV                        Cocoa   

I'm leaning towards calling our new motorhome "Scrappy"  (as in short for "The Scrap Heap") or Hop-Along (because it's a Fleetwood Bounder).                                                                  

Edited to Add:  By 11 p.m. the day of this post, we settled on "Scrappy".