At the end of the month of January 2026, this vehicle will have been with me for three complete years, having purchased it In South Miami, on 30 January 2023 and since then, has continued to provide me with reliable transportation.

Too, since I have been drive the 1996 Aerostar, now for three years, I have added a little over 30,000 miles to the odometer.

Furthermore, during September of last year (2025), I left Oak Harbor, Washington and resumed my full time RV traveling. From Washington, I traveled east upon my Northern Tier Route and when I left then northeasternmost corner of Washington, I then drove eastbound across the Northern Tier Route through Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, and into Minnesota. However, by the time I had reached the Lake of the Woods and the Northwest Angle, the nighttime temperatures were dropping into the mid to low thirties, and that was just way to cold for me to continue at that latitude. In fact, I was sleeping with all three of my blankets and I was still not sleeping warm. So, I turned right just past Baudette, Minnesota, drove south out SH 72 to Blackduck, Minnesota, the south on US 71, through Bermidji, overnighted one night at Lake Itasca State Park and the next morning, resumed my my drive southbound and in a couple of days, found myself in the Texas Panhandle where there were much better temperatures. Then, as the year ended, I arrived at the Rio Grande Valley in the South of Texas and this is where I have been staying all of the month of January 2026.

Then, I drive to the shower house for a hot shower after which, I drive to the Recreation Hall for hot coffee. Later, after the Recreation Hall closes at noon, I return to the campsite, back into the concrete again and then get out to begin the work that I have been planing to to for some time now. I open the rear lift door, get out my tool box, set it on a foot stool and then begin removing the two storage bins from the rear passenger side of the jammer.

After the bins are emptied and cleaned, I then remove the side wall panel from the right rear of the inside of the van. Once it is out of the way, I next cut a new window shade panel to the right size and begin taping it in place over the window glass. This entire process takes nearly five hours to accomplish.

Too, because I still had another couple of hours of daylight, I used my white bucket to retrieve some water from the spigot and use it to wash the exterior of the jammer. It had been needing a good bath for a while.

Once I have completed installing this light blocking window shade, I then begin putting the now dry storage bins back inside the jammer and tnen moving all the content back into the bins. Once everything is back inside the jammer, I grab my phone and take a couple of photos.

The next two photos shows what the window looks like, first the exterior and then the interior.

This now completes two of the three rear windows that I have been planing to install the new light blocking window shades over. Previously, during January two years ago, in 2024, I had done the rear lift door window. A note about the installation of the light blocking shade on the rear lift door window. I did have to remove the door panel but did not have to remove any storage bins.

The third and last panel that I will be installing the light blocking shade will be on the rear left window (drivers side) and this window will likely be the hardest and most time consuming job out of all three windows. The reason is because the wall-window panel covers the entire left side of the jammer all the way up to the drivers door.

This side panel will require me to take out only one storage box as well as my office desk, and then remove a lot more panel screws to get it out. Too, this job will likely take a much longer time, possibly even eight hours.

As you can see in the above photo, the old light blocking shade is falling down from the top left. I have taped it up using duct tape but that only last for a few weeks before it separates again.