Last weekend Donna took a flight to San Diego. She stayed at Mission Bay RV Resort with our friend Sini. She was there for Mona’s big birthday bash on Harbor Island. Donna and Sini went to the party Saturday afternoon and they went hiking on Sunday. Donna returned to Mesa on Monday around noon, so I only had to fend for myself for a couple of days.

My good friend, Mike Hall, works at the Orbital ATK plant here in Mesa, Arizona. I toured the place with Mike back in March, 2014 and posted about it here. Every now and then, usually when a management change comes about, ATK decides to reorganize some of the work areas. When they do this, they often scrap useful materials. Last week, Mike Hall told me they had several steel racks for storage tubs that were being scrapped and he offered to get one for me. I took him up on the offer – I wanted to use the rack in the cargo trailer to store some things that were on the floor. Mike dropped off the rack Monday evening.

Steel rack

Mike is recovering from a hernia operation and can’t lift anything heavy – the rack is fairly heavy, but Donna and I managed to unload it from Mike’s truck. On Tuesday, I cleared some space and put the rack in the trailer and secured it in place. I have eight tubs that came with the rack which I placed in the upper part and stowed two large plastic storage containers in the lower area. This is a great addition to the trailer – thanks, Mike!

Storage rack with plastic tubs

I wasn’t finished with the heavy lifting yet. We also took delivery on Tuesday of some new furniture we’d ordered. We wanted to take out our old hide-a-bed sofa and replace it with a new sofa. We don’t need a hide-a-bed. The old sofa had wear and tear and was very heavy.

Old hide-a-bed sofa – it wasn’t as dark as it appears in this photo

The dimensions of the sofa were too large to get out of the door to the coach. I had to remove the back and take it out in two pieces. Getting to the fasteners for the back section was a little tricky, but I got it done.

Old sofa with back removed

When the delivery truck dropped off the new furniture boxes, I saw a problem. One of the boxes was damaged and the piece inside – one of the sofa seat sections – was damaged as well. 

Damaged box

The seat sections of the new sofa have built-in storage areas under the cushion. The floor of the storage area on one of the sections was broken. It isn’t anything too serious, but we put in a claim and will get a replacement. Meanwhile, we had a carpet cleaner come by and clean the carpeted areas of the coach while the sofa was out. Our floor is hardwood laminate, but the area under the sofa – which is part of the living room slide-out – is carpeted as is the area in front of the driver’s and passenger’s seat and the bedroom.

After the carpet cleaner left, I went ahead and assembled the new furniture. Having it delivered in pieces with some assembly required made it easy to get it in the coach. I assembled the components inside so I wouldn’t have to try to fit it through the door.

Seat cushion lifts to open a storage area

The new sofa is slightly smaller than the old one – it’s not as long or as deep. The reduced depth seems to open up the living room space even though it’s only a difference of a couple inches. Hey, with all this new storage space under the seating area, maybe I can store another pair of boots! (Donna says, “No.”)

New sofa fully assembled

When the new seat section comes, I’ll have to disassemble the old one and install the new one.

Donna and I put the old sofa in the trailer and I reassembled it there. Rain was forecast to move into the area by evening and I didn’t want to leave it out in the rain. Today, a truck from St. VIncent De Paul came by to take the old sofa along with a few other odds and ends that we donated. I’m thankful I didn’t have to deal with disposal of the old sofa and hopefully someone will find a good use for it.

The weather here in Mesa has been cooler than average for the past week. The high for today is only expected to reach 60 degrees. Warmer temperatures are coming though. Beginning tomorrow, we should see daily highs in the 70s again.