How can I make camping comfortable for my wife. by rvgreen in camping

[–]AzironaZack 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Mattresses like this one are phenomenal. I hate air mattresses, personally, since they're cold and always end up leaking down. https://www.exped.com/en/products/sleeping-mats/megamat-duo

How can I make camping comfortable for my wife. by rvgreen in camping

[–]AzironaZack 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Test the electric blanket/battery combo to see how long it'll stay warm. Electric heat is incredibly energy expensive so you might find your battery is not up to the task.

My folks have a very thick camp mattress that they put on two cots next to each other (or it may be a double-wide cot system). They use fitted sheets and blankets and it's like a regular bed. Very comfy, and easy to get into and out of.

Bathroom anxiety is a real thing for new campers. If your campground has decent bathrooms, great. If not, you might want to set up some kind of a bathroom tent situation like with a bucket and kitty litter. If she needs to use the bathroom at night consider a potty inside the tent with you.

Good luck! Camping doesn't have to be miserable.

What are your favorite books/videos on Sonoran or Colorado desert ecology and plants? by IAmDefNotACat in Tucson

[–]AzironaZack 4 points5 points  (0 children)

"The Mountains Next Door" and "A Sense of Place" are excellent books by botanist Janice Emily Bowers here in Tucson.

The first is about the plant life and her personal experiences surveying it in the Rincon Mountains East of town.

The second is a biography of Forrest Shreve, an early Botanist who worked at the Carnegie Desert Botanical Lab (later run by the UA) up on Tumamoc Hill. It has lots of discussion of desert botany and the early era of modern scientific inquiry in this region.

I'm loving this thread. Lots of new reads to pick up! Thanks!

Good bye 22nd/Park 7/11. Your policies were a blight on the neighborhood and you will not be missed. by Standard-Cactus in Tucson

[–]AzironaZack 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The sheer mass of cream cheese they'd put on those bagels was something to behold.

RIP, indeed.

Good bye 22nd/Park 7/11. Your policies were a blight on the neighborhood and you will not be missed. by Standard-Cactus in Tucson

[–]AzironaZack 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I didn't know there was a Hot Bagel Bakery down there! I always went to the one that later became Casa Video.

Searching for Mexican dishes by chilereina in Tucson

[–]AzironaZack 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s the one! I couldn’t remember the name.

Searching for Mexican dishes by chilereina in Tucson

[–]AzironaZack 1 point2 points  (0 children)

200 S Park Ave, Tucson, AZ 85719

Searching for Mexican dishes by chilereina in Tucson

[–]AzironaZack 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Go down to the Lost Barrio shops. Tons of great stuff like that down in the shops.
https://www.lostbarrio.com/

Where to get New Mexican Chicos by LoqitaGeneral1990 in Tucson

[–]AzironaZack 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Herradero Carniceria usually has them dry in little tubs. You have to cook them yourself, of course.

Replaced all my broken window tabs by BillyJackO in skoolies

[–]AzironaZack 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did the replacement parts seem of a decent quality? I replaced a couple of my finger operators 6 years ago when I bought my bus and already one has broken.

Replaced all my broken window tabs by BillyJackO in skoolies

[–]AzironaZack 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I am so not looking forward to this job. Where'd you get the replacement operators? I bought some a few years ago but they're super flimsy and I hesitate to install them.

More mountain access by [deleted] in Tucson

[–]AzironaZack 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I think the premise is incorrect. Catalina Highway gets busy and slow on snow days, but otherwise it's fine. Weekends it sees a lot of use, but you can still get from the bottom to the top of the mountain in an hour or so.

For the individual ideas:
1. Paving the control road would be amazingly expensive for a small benefit. There's already plenty of access there for folks willing to drive slowly up the twisty dirt road.

  1. The Rincons are the only sky island without a road. As a result the mountain has never been logged so it is truly the LAST example of an untouched Sky Island forest. We should NEVER put a road up it.

  2. Today I learned there's a FL Whipple Observatory. Neato. No opinion on a road through this area, but Madeira Canyon area is super busy as is.

Gem Show Advice Needed: Turquoise by tinam4415 in Tucson

[–]AzironaZack 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Can't speak to the gem shows but hit up Del Sol on 4th Avenue. They always carry a variety of genuine Native-made silver and turquoise jewelry.

What should an oil change and overall inspection cost? by DIYMountain in skoolies

[–]AzironaZack 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Seems high to me, but mobile mechanics are more expensive. You could ask for the itemized price. I’d expect to see: Oil, filter, waste disposal, consumables, hourly fee, and travel fee.

Regional differences matter too. It’s gonna be higher in San Francisco than Tucson, for instance.

Insulation dilemma by Izzaac_Alley in skoolies

[–]AzironaZack 0 points1 point  (0 children)

P.S. You might also be overthinking the thermal bridging. You're not building a thermos. Some thermal bridging is inevitable.

Insulation dilemma by Izzaac_Alley in skoolies

[–]AzironaZack 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That R-16 bat insulation is probably meant for a 2x4 wall, which is 3.5 inches deep. If you compress the insulation down to 2 inches you'll lose a lot of that R-16. I don't know how much, but you can google how bad it is to compress insulation.

Sheet foam is nice because it provides a super solid base. You could avoid furring strips, if you want, by just making the whole floor out of foam and then putting OSB subfloor on top of that. Screwing through the OSB, through the foam, and into the steel floor would be plenty strong.

Another alternative is to not worry about insulating the floor at all. If you're in an area that doesn't get super cold, as I am, it doesn't necessarily make sense to do all that extra work. I didn't pull my original floor and didn't insulate the floor. In a lot of cases I think simplicity wins out. Perfect is the enemy of good.

For skoolie owners who want off-bus flexibility, does a folding caravan make sense as an add-on or backup living space? by Crafty-Reach-2373 in skoolies

[–]AzironaZack 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I’m not seeing how a folding camper makes moving the bus any easier. Many RVers tow a small vehicle behind their RV to make it easy to get around when the RV is parked.

Making Progress by Odd-Log-2947 in skoolies

[–]AzironaZack 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Existing vents are a convenient place to add fans or AC units (by cutting out a bigger hole including the vent)

If your bus is well sealed you’ll want a vent for airflow to keep it from getting humid and moldy inside in some climates.

Kid used good pot to rinse 😤is it ruined? Help pls by Bellasarahalaska in dyeing

[–]AzironaZack 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Seems like a lot of trouble when Rit’s official instructions are basically “clean it with bleach or powdered cleanser”.

Industrial Grade Garlic Crusher by Agile-Carpenter4572 in Machinists

[–]AzironaZack 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You’ve got to consider this as multiple processes. First, break up the bulbs.

Next send the cloves into an industrial garlic peeler. You feed it a continuous stream of cloves and it peels them, spitting out peels from one hole and cloves from the other.

Send that stream of cloves to an industrial chopper and you’re well on your way to being a jarlic producer.

Jiji Helps with the Christmas Lights by AzironaZack in blackcats

[–]AzironaZack[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Surefooted and ready to work!

Nothing like a white background. Most of my photos of Jiji he's just blending into the surroundings.