Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Tightening the show head wall attachment -- FINALLY!


We have enjoyed our Tour motorhome, but I noticed that the shower head mount constantly loosened after a few days of use. I tried first to simply re-tighten the screws, but quickly found that the sheet metal screws used to hold the mount to the fiberglass enclosure had stripped the holes. Rats!


Rick tried first to shim the hole with filler, wood, etc., but after a couple weeks, the holes enlarged and the screws loosened up again. 


Finally, while wandering in our local Ace Hardware Store, Rick found these rubber and brass compression inserts. When a bolt is threaded into the insert and tightened, the brass threads compress the rubber and expand the insert so that it holds tightly.


These are simple to install -- just drill a hole in the fiberglass enclosure just large enough for the insert to fit tightly. 


I used a small expanding grinding bit to open the holes in the enclosure. Just go easy with this step and make sure the holes do not get too big to force fit the inserts in,


The inserts just slip in, no glue is needed. 


 Now, the new stainless steel machine screws are used to re-mount the shower head holder. I was delighted to find that the screws snugged down perfectly and held the mount firmly to the fiberglass. Plus, the rubber inserts eliminate any possible leaks behind the mount.

A simple repair and it worked great.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

The Museum of Osteology in Oklahoma City -- LOTS of bones!

 We visited our son who is in the Air Force and based in Oklahoma City and had a great week. We stayed at the Roadrunnner RV park which is a pretty nice park and located close to most things in the city. As you can see, we had a nice site and everything worked well.

 Located nearby, is the very unique Museum of Osteology -- which is literally a boneyard! This is a fascinating place where the skeletons of all manner of creatures are displayed.

 Orinda was in her glory with the grandkids who really liked the museum -- and Grandma! To their right is a small glass display showing how the bones are cleaned for display. They actually use bugs that eat everything, right down to the bones.

 When you enter the museum, you are greeted by this amazing display of all kinds of skeletons, including whales, giraffes, rhinos, and many, many more.

 This killer whale is remarkable and is a swimming mode. It was interesting to see how these skeletons are put together and the museum does a great job in displaying them.

 This hippopotamus was huge, even in the bone view. We were impressed by the size of the skull and the other bone structures.

 This display of monkeys was very well done and showed the animals in all different poses. These displays are very challenging to create and must take many hours to prepare.

 Our son and his boy loved the place. Our grandson is about 3 and was full of questions about every animal and bone. This turned out to be a great place to visit for all ages.

 Orinda was impressed by this elephant skull -- it is almost the same size as she is! The tusks are several feet long and we would have hated to see one of these charging us in the wild!

 The museum also has a hands-on area where kids of all ages can handle the various bones. Our son was amazed at the jaw size of this alligator and it is easy to see why these animals can do some serious damage with these jaws!

Here's trouble! Our grandson, Caleb, wondered how he would look if he had horns like many animals. Fortunately, the museum had some you could try on and this made for a very happy 3 year old! Equally happily, we were able to leave the horn in the museum when we left, so every one was happy.

The "Bone Museum" is a great place to visit and offers some unique displays that are well worth the time.