Monday, May 20, 2024

The pieces are coming together. And not.

I had a mystery yesterday. While driving the lovely Pacific Coast Highway, with the sun finally peeking through gaps in the cloud layer, I heard a KLANK-tink-a-tik from somewhere in the Rolling Steel Tent’s living quarters. And then a little later KLANK-a-DANK-tink-a-tik-foop. There was no place to pull off the highway to investigate. Whatever it was, it wasn’t causing an immediate problem. Things have fallen back there before. Oops, forgot to secure that.

When I arrived at my destination I discovered a AA battery on the side door threshold. What? Where did that come from? I found another battery and then a third inside the milk crate that holds my propane tank. The klanks must have been the batteries hitting the tank. What do I have above the tank that uses AA batteries? Ummmm… nothing? Had they somehow rolled off the lipped shelf after sneaking out of by lidded box of electrical stuff? Nah.

Then I realized the flashlight that attaches to the metal cabinet with a magnet uses AA batteries rather than being charged via USB. Ah-ha! The flashlight battery compartment was empty. The cover must have jarred loose when I drove over some speed bumps earlier in the day. Mystery solved!

Okay, so where is the battery cover? In the middle of my search a memory arrived in my conscious mind. OOOOOooooohh…

A couple of weeks ago, while still boondocking in the desert, I found a small rectangle of black plastic on the ground next to the van. “Looks like someone lost a battery cover.” I tossed it in the trash with other litter I had gathered at the site.

Sigh.

Well, now the batteries are held in place with duct tape.

1 comment: