Yesterday seemed like a busy day, but when I think about what I actually accomplished, I’m a little disappointed. My goal was to start packing things in the basement compartment. We have a large pass-through compartment and a smaller, narrow pass-through. The access doors are fairly tall and  large on the passenger side and shorter (due to the living room slide-out) on the driver’s side.

Trying to pack these spaces efficiently is a challenge. I’m trying to place things that are rarely used in the center. Things that are occasionally used can go on the driver’s side. Things that we frequently use should go on the passenger side where the access is easiest.

Passenger side basement access

Driver’s side basement access

I thought the smaller, narrow pass-through compartment would be good for ladders and the Weber grill. It turned out to be too narrow for the grill. The small 6′ step ladder barely fits. The Werner Mt-17 telescoping Multi-ladder* definitely won’t fit there. By the way, the Werner ladder was delivered yesterday replacing the original MT-13 that I ordered. The literature with the ladder explains the size discrepancy – you might recall me mentioning that the MT-13 is advertised as a 13′ extension ladder but it’s only 10′ long. The 13′ they refer to is how high the average person can reach when standing on the third rung down from the top. Likewise, the MT-17 is called a 17′ extension ladder, but is only 14′ long. I digress.

Narrow pass-through compartment

Packing our storage bins intelligently means I need to know what’s in the bins and how often Donna or I will need to retrieve something from it. The bins we bought before we hit the road were sized to fit in the storage bays of the Gulfstream. The Alpine Coach bays are much different. Some of our bins are long and not so tall, others are tall and rectangular. It’s a real puzzle that I’ll have to continue today.

Yesterday, I also treated the tires on our coach with Aerospace 303*. This is a UV blocker that you spray on and wipe off. It really protects rubber, plastic and fiberglass from damaging UV degradation. I want to protect the new tires on our coach and get the maximum life out of them before they dry out and develop sidewall cracks. To further protect them, I bought a set of tire covers. I’ll put them on anytime we’re likely to be stationary for a week or more.

Wheel cover

I also treated the headlight and tail light lens with Aerospace 303.

We’re having an issue with the electrically actuated toilet in the new coach. The seal on the toilet bowl leaks, so it doesn’t hold water in the bowl. The dealer that sold us the coach sent their guy, Tim, over to our site to see if he could fix it. He worked on it and it’s much better, but the bowl still slowly drains. Tim will try to source a new seal for it.

While I was going through things and trying to decide what goes where, I thought about an item I hadn’t seen. I asked Donna where the container with my watch box was. Neither of us had seen it since we left Michigan. One of items in the container is a Martin Braun Teutonia watch, one of 400 in existence and it’s fairly valuable. Donna thought I might have left it in the pass through compartment of our old coach. I was certain that I had taken everything out of the basement compartments.

We decided I should go back to the dealer and look in the basement of our old coach. I rode the scooter out to the lot where we left our coach in Apache Junction. The Gulfstream wasn’t there. I asked one of the guys where the coach was. He told me it was at a detail shop a few miles west of there. I rode west past Power Road and finally found the shop. The Gulfstream wasn’t there. I asked the guy who was cleaning a coach where the Gulfstream was. He barely spoke English and I don’t speak Spanish, but I understood that he didn’t know anything about a Gulfstream.

I was getting frustrated at this point. I tried to shrug it off. I headed home, but I made a stop at Lucky Lou’s on the way for a cold one. I saw my old friend, John Huff, there and sat with him. While I was sipping my beer, a thought occurred to me. I called our salesman, Brad, and asked if he knew where the Gulfstream was. He said, “It’s here at the lot in Mesa, I’m looking right at it.”

I told John I had to run and dashed out of Lucky Lou’s. The coach was on the lot as Brad said. I started opening basement compartments, looking for my watch box. The coach hadn’t been cleaned yet, so I doubt if anyone had taken anything from it. Unfortunately, I didn’t find the watch box, but I did find a long, narrow container with our dress shoes in a small pass-through space. Riding back home on the scooter with that container between my knees and up to my chin must have been a sight to see!

Last night, I grilled New York Strip Steaks and sweet potato fries. Donna baked tomato-zucchini parmesan to serve on the side. I should have taken a picture of the plate. As usual, it was a great meal.

NY strips and sweet potato fries on the grill

This morning, Donna is saying that she clearly remembers packing the watch box in a long, shallow storage bin with a few other items. Today I’ll continue moving things into the basement and look in bins for the watch box as I pack.

*Just so you know, if you decide to purchase one of these through the Amazon link in this post, I’ll earn a small commission. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!