Tiny Homes Digest Magazine

06/10/2024

NO #487 UPDATE TODAY EXCEPT FOR AN ESTIMATE OF HOW MUCH DAMAGE WAS INFLICTED ON MY RV.

Not too much to report today. Mark Fletcher and I took the last of the valuables out of #487. Mark, who has experience doing classic car appraisals, estimated all the costs including the damaged exhaust system, the exhaust manifolds, the transmission issue that started the problem, addressing the front end issues and the power steering, replacing the air conditioning system that was stolen, and the damage to the cabinets. The total is $9,600. and that doesn’t include the more than $6,000 of personal possessions, mostly the two Nikon DSLRs and the Cannon digital camcorder that will not be recovered.

I want to note and thank those who contributed to the GoFundMe campaign set up by Keith Lehmann and Amy Gilroy. It’s now over $6,000. As I have 5,000 Facebook friends and followers and if 10% (500 people) contribute $10—the equivalent of two cups of coffee at Starbucks—we will reach and surpass the $10,000 campaign goal. So if you can contribute, here’s a direct link to the campaign.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/friend-and-colleague-richard-truesdell-restore-his-home

This will be the final time I mention the GoFundMe campaign here directly. I will continue to post updates on #487’s restoration as it seems that some of you are following its progress. I want to get it back to the way it looked when I bought it five years ago, as in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDjcQy3SZmc

I’m hoping to start work on #487 this week and although Mark thinks I’m crazy, I believe that I can get everything essential done by November 1. That is if I can find a shop to handle the mechanical issues so I will need to tow it just once. So finding a suitable shop to handle the repairs is now a top priority.

Keith changed the header image for the GoFundMe campaign from the video tour from just after I bought #487 to my Facebook inset photo. That photo is one of my favorites, a picture of Max and me on a trip up to the mountain town of Idyllwild in October 2020, just before Max passed in January 2021 at the height of the COVID pandemic.

Of everything that’s happened, the loss of Savannah and Max’s remains that bothers me the most. That this criminal could callously throw away their remains tells me that he has no heart, no soul. I want to think that there is a special place in Hell awaiting him.

So again, let me thank everyone who has contributed to the GoFundMe. Your kindness is greatly appreciated more than you’ll ever know.

04/10/2024

QUICK UPDATE ON THE SAGA OF FMC 2900R #487

I took a Lyft out to #487 yesterday in an attempt to get it running, to look for Savannah and Max's remains (they weren't there), to document the damage, and take an inventory of what missing (I realized that I had two 4K drones in one of the cabinets).

It was 103 degrees and I was out here alone and I came very close to hitting 911. I stopped what I was doing and called for Lyft instead. I got back to my motel room and tried to recuperate and eat dinner.

The plan is to get out there early, if it wasn't towed overnight, get it moved, hopefully into a secure location, and continue to clean things up.

Let me thank everyone who has contributed to the GoFundMe set up by Keith Lehmann and Amy Gilroy. It's almost to the halfway goal of $10K that Keith established. With everything going on in the hurricane disaster, I feel guilty about it but realize that I'm in a not dissimilar situation. I lost my home and need to rebuild.

So thanks to everyone who is helping to support this effort. All I can say that this is just another challenge that I have to overcome now 27 months of challenges. It doesn't get easier as I approach the Big 7-0 next month.

The photos show the indiscriminate damage this guy has left me with and the apparent damage to the rear bumper and the exhaust system. Among my friends and followers, are there any lawyers among you? I haven't been asked by the sheriff to formally file charges but I am investigating what civil actions I can take against the thief. Can anyone give me some guidance? If so, please leave your suggestions in the comments below.

If you would like to help in the rebuild of #487, here's a direct link to the GFM page that Keith and Amy have set up. We're approaching the halfway point of the campaign.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/friend-and-colleague-richard-truesdell-restore-his-home

03/10/2024

I WISH THIS WASN'T NECESSARY BUT IT IS

Two of my best friends in the 12-volt industry, Amy Gilroy from CEoutlook and Keith Lehmann, who has known me for the better part of 40 years—going back to my retail days when he worked for Alpine Electronics, Harman, MB Quart, and Kenwood—have teamed up to set up a GoFundMe. Tomorrow I will be going over to my motorhome to fully assess the damage in daylight. I just got ff the phone with my FMC guru Stephen Heinrichs who is well connected in that community and turned me on to sources for most of the parts I'm likely to need to bring back my home.

I also just got off the phone with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department and the thief will be spending his third night in jail. I hesitated to return to the scene of the crime but the deputy assured me he will be staying where he is for the foreseeable future. No one has stepped up to bail him out.

If you can help, that would be great, if not that's OK as so many of your messages have helped to pick up my spirits over the last 10 days.

And the best part of this has been twofold. First, I'm hearing back from many people that I haven't heard back from in a while. And second, some of the kindest words have come from some friends who disagree with me on many topics. It proves once again that some of the things that separate us are at the end of the day, pretty damn meaningless.

GoFundMe for Rich Truesdell, Contributing Editor to CEoutlook and long- time automotive journalist.

30/09/2024

IT'S GONE.

If you haven't noticed but over the last 10 days or so I haven't posted much here. Part of the reason why is that I am just sick of Facebook shadowbanning my posts, all my posts.

But the main reason why is last Saturday I moved my motorhome from one park to a park I've a waited long time to get into seven miles away. Along the way something let go in the transmission stalling me 1.7 miles from my destination.

On Monday, I got a mobile mechanic to my RV, to seal the leak but decided to let the sealant set overnight before driving it to my new park. This decision turned out to be the wrong one because between 5 PM Monday when I left and Tuesday morning when I returned, it had disappeared. All that was left behind was a frayed and broken tow strap. This leads me to believe it wasn't taken far away (it weighs 10,000 pounds).

On Tuesday at the site I filled the police report and Mark Fletcher and I drove around a large area (quite sketchy) nearby to see if we could spot it. We didn't.

I stayed with my American Greatness writing colleague Keith Lehmann since Thursday, moving back to Lake Elsinore today because I have doctor's appointments. Keith wants to start a GoFundMe for me and while I appreciate the idea—pretty much everything I owned—was inside my coach (including the remains of Savannah and Max) which has sentimental value to me.

That, and a lot of photos and memorabilia were inside. Some going back to the photo I took of Susan Page that I took in Mr. Ruf's 11th grade US History 1 honors class wearing what amounts to a tunic that barely made it to mid-thigh. Of all the photos I've taken of Susan in our travels together over the last 15 years, it's my favorite. Whenever I looked at it I think of the Rod Stewart song, Forever Young. It was from 52 years ago when I was very young.

So now I'm getting ready to post some notices in the various FMC 2900R communities to keep their eyes open if any parts from my coach ( #00487) show up online. I think that's my one hope that I'll recover it, hopefully in one piece.

When I woke up this morning I thought of two things. Because I slept in the coach Saturday and Sunday nights before getting a hotel room Monday night. I was so dead tired so I wanted to get a good night's sleep, but what might have happened if I was inside when they attempted to tow it away. It probably wouldn't have ended well.

But second, what gives whoever took it, the right to take my home? Once they broke into it, it was obvious that someone was living in it. This was someone's home. Some people are truly evil and the person who took my home from me are truly evil. I will be determined to find out who you and my retribution will make them wish they ever eff-ed with me.

22/06/2024

THINGS GOT CRAZY POST BREAKFAST…

…but I want to curate additional photos I took this morning at the Drifters Car Club of Southern California twice a month breakfast.

I’m going to try to separate the photos into two posts, prewar (mostly traditional street rods) and postwar, which is pretty much everything else. Enjoy the photos and please like and leave comments on your favorites.

23/02/2024

PLEASE HELP MY COUSIN DAWN'S HANNAH GET ACROSS THE FINISH LINE...
..in her quest to become America's Favorite Pet. She's currently in second place.

https://americasfavpet.com/2024/hannah-ab9a?fbclid=IwAR2pQ5db_r3JPuueUMDQeFfIeuanHMKFX7mXhTW8-LrcSRndkGEVVIxF5hw

She is my healing angel! When i lost a beloved fur baby, I found Hannah. (I should say she found me). She's my reason to wake every day!