Almost time to hit the Road!!

It is almost time to get on the road. Less than 2 months and I have been busting my ass to finish this big boy so I can get my ass on the road! The outside still looks like 1976 but the inside is looking like an awesome beach house.

My plans for the trip have changed a little and I now have to go it alone with just the dogs. I recently lost my brother in law so my wife and daughter have gone home already to Washington. So rather than taking a 4,000 mile route to see the sights I will be taking the direct route and probably just camping in a parking lots along the way! So this is my new route and I would like people to give me ideas of stuff to see and visit along the way. I will be tweeting from the road along with some videos. I will also start to make some videos tomorrow of the projects progress. 

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My life on the road will still be fun and I am going to stop at any crazy middle america roadside attractions. I have the complete kitchen almost complete. From top to bottom it is almost all new and I will be cleaning the inside out and making it ready to go for the trip and I am sure people will love it.

Lots an lots of progress

I have gotten so much done and I am still working here is a photo update

Loss and Inspiration

Well it has taken me a while to update but I do have some major work done on the RV. Recently I lost my grandpa and he was a true road warrior and towed a travel trailer all over the US and even took it to Alaska.
I have come up with a tentative map plan for the adventure check it out and tell me what you think.


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I was also able to get some things on the RV completed.  That's right construction on the floor is complete it is now ready to lay down some laminate flooring and be done!!! I was so happy today but once I was finished cleaning up I took a seat in the El Dorado and I thought about my dad and my grandpa and how much they enjoyed the road and trips. I am excited for the trip and I hope my wife is wrong and I hope the El Dorado makes it with no problems at all.
Please stick with me and if you can chip in and help us out.

Fathers Day!

Well today is my second fathers day as a dad and it was a good day! I was awoken this morning with breakfast in bed and some donuts. We made a trip to the hardware store and got some more wood to work on the El Dorado.

I was able to get some more work accomplished and I even go the front step back in working order so now you can get in and out of the RV without falling through the floor! Yesterday I got above the cab framed so now there is something holding the roof up! I little bit closer to the finished goal. Pretty soon we will be re-paneling the front and then we will be ready for flooring.
Speaking of flooring I was thinking of going with a light color like this Living Laminate Flooring - Blonde Oak - Home Flooring and then a darker carpet in the couch/dining area. I figure we will use a 2 in 1 primer paint and make the inside look really nice!
The one thing I would want to do that may be way out of budget would be a solar system like this one Nature Power 50062 60 Watt High Efficiency Monocrystalline Solar Panel.

From Mrs. Schuman

My mom told me that our video isn't emotional enough, it's probably true because of everything we've been through but it's hard to still cry about something that is your reality. My husband is disabled. We are being discharged from the army. We will be jobless. But I'm not scared of the future. I embrace the future because with the future there is more opportunity. I've shed more than enough tears over our situation, I've sent up tons of prayers but all I can do is be strong and trust God.

 

On a happier note, moving to Tennessee has really made me feel blessed that I have such a great family. Our family isn't filled with money or expensive things, it's filled with love and support. That's more than anyone could ask for. I may not be rich in the world's sense but I'm rich with the love of my family. Money doesn't buy happiness, it does create less stress, probably A LOT less stress! haha but I'm ok with being poor as long as I have my family!

I know it's like a one in a million shot to get Ellen DeGeneres to help us but all we can do is try! And with your love and support and helping share our video (hint hint) we can try our best to make it a reality!! :) 

Thank you all for your support!!

Love,

Erica Schuman 

Limitations

I think that I am very adventuress. The only problem now is being limited by what I can do. I have always dreamed of summiting Mt. Rainier in Washington but now do to my disability I will probably never be able to do that. I will also never be able to play an intense game of backyard football with my son or run any distance for pretty much any reason.
If you are not familiar with my disability it basically causes my body to shut off because it thinks it is not getting blood flow to the brain when my heart rate is increased or when I am dehydrated, sick or just out of the blue. It's weird because I can go a month or two and be good or I can pass out twice in one day.

It is scary at times but recently I was able to be prescribed a service dog. I am using a dog I already own as my service dog and her training has gone faster than any dog my trainer has dealt with. She is my best friend and it does mean so much to have her by my side everyday and it also gives me some confidence.
I want to use this adventure to overcome limitations and to enjoy life. The freedom of the open road the wind in my hair. But the first limitation I need to overcome is to complete the El Dorado. I have some ideas of things I want to do but first I need to finish construction.
Tomorrow I will venture to the hardware store and pick up some supplies and get the framing finished. Then I can look into my finishing touches. Things like Rustoleum 1 Quart Magnetic Latex Primer 247596 which will allow me to make a wall to collect magnets from around the country. Or maybe a little mood lighting around the cabinets like this Sidewinderz LED Light Strip - WHITE - 24 Lights - RAD-2024-50. I am still brainstorming other ideas as my brain just does not stop working.

This is the Beginning

Welcome everyone to the El Dorado Adventure. I am sharing this entire adventure so that others will follow us along our trip and that maybe it will inspire other people to connect with their family and embark on a trip to see this beautiful country!
Let me start by telling you a little about myself. My name is Anthony and i am a solider in the US Army. I am currently waiting on medical separation for a condition I developed called vaso-depressor syndrome which causes me to pass out if my heart rate gets to high or even if I am slightly dehydrated. I am married and I have a wonderful one year old daughter named Madilyn. My beautiful wife Erica is also 6 weeks pregnant with our second child.
Well that's a little about me now here is my mission. A few months ago we made probably one of the dumbest decisions ever and we purchased the El Dorado. We bought it thinking it would not take us long to renovate some of the the damage on this motor home which was built in 1976. Well on the way home the motor home broke down and at that point we knew that this was going to be a bigger project than we had bargained for.

In the end we hope to take the El Dorado back across country when we move back from Tennessee to Washington state. Right now it might not make it down the block.


It has been slow going for renovations on the RV. Between caring for a toddler and my disability I can only get out there and work for a few hours at a time. The other thing that has held us back is the budget. We are not very well off and being that I will be losing my job soon and we will be relocating back accross country we need to be trying to put some money in the bank.

So far we have made some good steps in the El Dorado. We were able to finish all the demo work of the water damaged wood in the kitchen and the bathroom as well as the damage above the cab. It was a lot of damage more than I had expected. I was able to rip everything down to the studs and remove all the old insulation.

The next thing we got completed was to repair the floor joists and add in some extra bracing just for a little piece of mind. Some family came into town and was able to help us get this knocked out and we even got some of the floor insulated and put back down the kitchen piece.
The next project on the table is to finish above the cab so that that is all re paneled and we can use it for storage or for a bed. Then after that we will be doing the finishing touches which means some laminate flooring, some carpet, and some paint on the walls to brighten it up.
I hope that you will continue to follow us along our journey and maybe even help us along the way!