Saturday, February 25, 2012

Canadian Prairie Sunset Tour


It is winter in Alberta, with snow on the ground and temperatures going down to minus 15 degrees Celsius.  I am yearning for some travel.
Perhaps a remedy for today would be to share my travel itinerary for a trip we did with friends in the summer of 2009.
Sunset at Grasslands National Park
We called this the Canadian Prairie Sunset Tour.  This lovely circuit through Southern Saskatchewan involves gravel roads and lots of natural areas. It will give you a chance to appreciate the incredible beauty of the prairie landscape. 

Here is a Google map with all of the highlights: 


Enjoy!
Our Campsite at Grasslands National Park
St. Victor Petroglyphs Provincial Park

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Glendale RV - Some History



Glendale RV was a Canadian manufacturer of recreational vehicles from 1950 until they filed for bankruptcy in January 2010.  At one time they sold more RVs in Canada than any other manufacturer.
Glendale was based out of Strathroy Ontario (100 workers), and owned a plant in Red Deer Alberta (60 workers) manufacturing Travelaire brand RVs and oilfield equipment.
RV maker Glendale falls prey to high gasoline prices, loonie (Globe and Mail, Jan. 20, 2010)
The Glendale RV website is now defunct, but was located at www.glendalerv.com .  The following quote was obtained from the Internet Archive Wayback Machine, December 16th, 2009.
"Glendale RV began producing Recreational Vehicles in 1950 which quickly became known as some of the finest RV’s built in North America. Our innovation and attention to detail has made Glendale Recreational Vehicles into what we are today, the largest Canadian RV manufacturer in the business. Glendale sells more RV's in Canada than any other RV manufacturer.
Glendale manufactures a full line of Fifth Wheels, class “C” Motorhomes and Park Trailers. Brand names such as Titanium, Golden Falcon, Travelaire and Royal Classic are identified throughout Parks and highways across North America, and represents a great reputation in Craftmanship, and Quality built Recreational Vehicles. It is estimated that over 120,000 Glendale RV's are registered and in use today. Our RV’s are sold and serviced throughout North America.
The Glendale Plant is very unique as compared to many other RV production facilities. What sets Glendale apart from many other RV manufacturers is our complete production facility. We don't just assemble RV's, we manufacture a great many of the items you will find in every new Glendale unit. The manufacturing facility encompasses over 200,000 square feet with dedicated skilled craftsmen heading up each unit. The combined skills of our engineers, and innovative management team at Glendale are easily reflected in the finished products. Glendale RV has always been an industry leader in the recreational vehicle market and our dedication and commitment to quality shows in every RV unit we build."

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Upholstery

The dinette cushions have been looking really tired the last few years, despite a good annual steam cleaning.



The covers have a zipper on the end, but I have never removed them, because the tufting (buttons) is sewn straight through from top to bottom.  The other upholstery is also a little tired and in need of either covering or replacement, but that will be a later post. 


I took the dinette cushions to an upholstery shop to look into re-covering them.  Here's the quote from Simmering Upholstery www.simmeringupholstery.ca/

4 cushions flippable no buttons: re-use the foam:

Description
Unit
Net
Labour
$145/Cushion
X 4 = $580
Fabric = 6 yards
$75/yard
X 6 = $450
Total
$1030


That's right, $1030.00 for a set of four cushions!  That's clearly not a reasonable option.

So I consulted a fabric store and found that the tufting can be removed because each button has a shank on the underside which is shaped like a hook, and the upholstery thread can just be unhooked from the shank and pulled out.


The fabric store carries long needles that I can use to pull the thread back through the cushions after I wash the covers.  So, the covers are now off and being washed in a washing machine for the first time.  I'll update this post later when I reassemble everything.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

I Love My Motorhome.

I am a busy guy, but if I had time for a fetish, this would be it: this is my 24-foot 1988 Glendale Sterling.
Tunnel Mountain, Banff Alberta
View of the Whaleback from Porcupine Hills, Alberta

We purchased this barely-used beauty in 2001. Our first voyage was a one-month trip to New Mexico, where my son was attending college.  After that trip, LOML* said "that was the finest trip of my entire life."
Since then we have been hooked.


Molly reading the book Backroads of Southern Alberta
I fantasize about becoming a backroading fulltimer but that must remain a fantasy for many years to come. I'll have to content myself with the occasional trip, the joy of maintenance, and admiring my prized possession on the driveway.
My intention for this blog: 
  1. to document my improvements, repairs, maintenance and camping tips to share what I learn,
  2. to post some trip highlights, and
  3. to muse about my fantasy - becoming a backroading fulltimer.  
* LOML = "Love of my life"