Last Leg of our Muskegon Trip

 

Today was the last leg of our 3-day trip to Muskegon and back to pick up our trailer that had been in the shop for repairs following a tire blowout last March. We were hooked up and on the road by 7:30 this morning, stopping first at the St. Ignace Truck Stop for breakfast. Then it was a 215-mile drive home to Oconto. The weather forecast for today was rain. We did hit some rain, but it wasn't bad. We made it home around 11:30 AM. Ginny said she enjoyed her first long trip with me and looking forward to many more. That's good because our next long trip will take 6 to 7 months to complete.

Muskegon, MI

 

Yesterday was Ginny's and my first long trip together as we headed to Muskegon, MI, to pick up our trailer. The trailer had been in the shop for repairs for the last twelve weeks—mostly waiting for parts—after the door side of the trailer was damaged after a tire blowout in Colorado last March. The total bill came up to $4686, which included four new Goodyear G114 tires.

 

We left Oconto on our 490-mile trip around 5:30 AM (CDT), arriving at All Seasons RV SuperCenter around 3:30 PM (EDT). After picking up the trailer, we checked into Lake Sch-Nepp-A-Ho Campground in Muskegon. Today we will head back home, first staying at the Tiki RV Park in St Ignace, MI.

Trailer Repairs

 

I took my trailer to All Seasons RV Supercenter in Muskegon, MI, yesterday to repair the damage caused by the tire blowout at the end of March. I left at 7:15 yesterday morning and returned home at 5:15 this evening. Not too bad for a 1000-mile trip. It may take a month to do all the repairs. I can't wait to see that bill.

Blow Out

 

 

Well, yesterday started okay. I've been having problems sleeping and was awake around 2 AM. I stayed in bed, though, until around 4. I was on the road by 7:30 on my way to Big Springs, NE, a 260 mile, 5-hour drive. I'd be there by noon. A light snow was falling, and the traffic going through Colorado Springs was heavy. The winds picked up while I was on I-76 Eastbound. Everything was going well until about 11:30 when I noticed a wheel well fairing on the trailer had come loose. Then the day got BAD. I had blown a tire on the trailer. Not only that but the other tire was shredded, a brake line was ripped off.

 

I get on the phone and call my road service. I'm on I-76 at mile marker 167, and I need HELP. A heavy tow truck finely gets to me at 8:00 PM. Since it was late and everything was closed, the road service opted to take me 25 miles up the Interstate to Big Springs to get me off the side Interstate in a safe location. We got there at 11:30 PM. It took another 3 hours to get my truck and trailer off his trailer. I got to bed around 3:00 AM and was awake again around 5:00 AM. Today's mission is to find someone who can repair the damage enough that I can continue my trip to Wisconsin. I won't be back to Oconto on Saturday as planned.

Winter Trip 2016 - Day 4

We were at the RV service center at 7:40 for an 8:00 appointment this morning and back on the road heading toward Oklahoma City by 12:30 this afternoon. They had to remove one of the side windows to get the old refrigerator out and the new one in. Today's destination was the Catfish Round-up RV Park in Seminole, Oklahoma.

Winter Trip 2016 - Day 3

We left Independence, Missouri at 7:40 this morning. Today's destination was only 165 miles to the Beagle Bay RV Haven & Campground in Sarcoxie, Missouri, about 20 miles northeast of Joplin. Today's driving conditions was rain and thunderstorms. In route we stopped at the RV parts and salvage yard to check out the refrigerator that will be installed in the motorhome tomorrow. Tomorrow's destination will be Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City for a few days.

Winter trip 2016 - Day 1

Most of our bags were packed and we were about ready to hit the road. Destination today was just under 200 miles away, Fort McCoy, Wisconsin.  I spent 4 months there on a TDY assignment with the Army back in 1973. My first wife Chin and I were married just a couple of months prior to getting there so she went with me. We lived in a little house just out side of the base. Well that was a long time ago.

We were loading the last few things in the motorhome. Nancy was putting things in the refrigerator and I was putting some things away in the bedroom when all of a sudden the refrigerator door fell off. The bottom hinge just broke. OWFISH! It's made out of plastic and was only some 20 years old. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Stay calm I told myself. Lets see if I can find the parts to fix this thing.

While Nancy went to her nail appointment I got on the computer and started searching the internet for parts. I call the manufacturer and was told I was going to have to replace the whole door but they didn't have one, a dealer might be able to come up with one though. He gave me the name and number of a dealer in Rapid City, SD where I could have it fixed since our plans were to stop there for a few days. There was no door available. It was some 20 years old and discontinued years ago. OWFISH! My best bet was to try to find one in a RV salvage yard somewhere or replace the refrigerator with a new one. The replacement refrigerator was taller and deeper which would require some remodeling to get it in and then the retail price of it was some $4000. OWFISH! My best bet was to find a used refrigerator.

I got back on the computer searching the internet for a used refrigerator on ebay or somewhere. I found one at a RV salvage yard outside of Joplin, MO. $1500 and another $250 for truck shipping to Rapid City. But there was a RV shop right across the street from them who could install it for me. So... change of plans. We're not going to South Dakota and Montana like we had planned before heading to Tombstone. Got to be flexible while traveling in an old RV.

We were on the road by 12:30 with an appointment at the RV shop outside of Joplin. MO for Thursday morning to replace the refrigerator. I didn't know how far we were going to travel today, I just knew a direction. 350 miles later we pulled into a rest stop on I-480 between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City at 8:00 PM. Tomorrow we'll make an overnight stop in Independence, MO for some sightseeing. Wednesday we'll stop for the night at a RV park just down the road from the RV shop. I've been just about everywhere so we'll make a good trip out of this anyway.

New Awnings

We got the new awnings installed on the motorhome today. They look good. Some of the fabric was 20 years old so they were due to be replace.

Back on the road tomorrow with tomorrow's destination being Deming, New Mexico. Deming is where Steven Spielberg started filming the movie "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" on June 18, 2007. Our route will take us right through White Sands National Monument.

New Mexico, the "Land of Enchantment"

We have made it to New Mexico, the "Land of Enchantment". Nancy and I made it to Roswell, New Mexico around 12 noon today first stopping at the RV service center. They are going to replace the main awning and arms and all the fabric for the 3 window awnings and door awning. In the meanwhile, we'll be here for about a week staying at the Midway RV Park.

New Furnace

We've been having problems with our furnace ever since we started this trip. Some times it work work all day and night but many times it would just blow cold air. So after getting into Del Rio I called a mobile RV technician to check it out. He thought it was the circuit board in the furnace that was starting to go bad but he would have to pull it out and order parts for it. Since the furnace was 18 years old I went ahead and told him to order and install a new furnace. Last night he installed the new furnace and replaced the switch on the water heater so it would heat on AC. The furnace and the water heater now works great. Price to install the new furnace, replace the water heater switch and to replace a bad Kool-O-Matic exhaust fan motor that I will install was $1525.43.

Is this a test?

I know what it is... I think. The Coast Guard must still be testing me to see what I would do in some maintenance situation.

The new alternator came in yesterday. This morning I pulled the old one off. They're not the same. The old one has more wires hooked up to it because it's an Ignition Excited type alternator and has a lug for a Duvac System, whatever that is. I called the alternator shop in Green Bay to let them know. No problem they said. The new alternator is a Self-Excited type alternator. There is a modification that can be done so it will work with a Duvac System. Go ahead and put it on they said.

Well first I have to take the pulley off the old alternator to put on the new one. It takes an impact gun to get the nut off. No problem... my son-in-law has one here that I can use. But there was a problem. His air compressor couldn't supply enough air pressure. So I took the alternator into town and found a shop that could get it off for me. I went to pay they guy for his trouble and realized I left my wallet back at the motorhome.

Okay I've got the pulley off the old alternator and onto the new one. I get the wires hooked up and the new alternator mounted. I start the engine and... it's not charging. I pull the new alternator off and mount the old one again. It's charging... but erratically... the way it was before I pulled it off the first time. I called the alternator shop and talked to them about it. They told me sometimes a new alternator might have to be "flashed" before it will start charging the first time and told me how to go about "flashing" it.

So I pull the old alternator back off, change the pulley back to the new one and mount it a second time. I start the engine, the alternator isn't charging, so I "flashed" it as instructed. It starts working! Great... I thought. I shut the engine down and restart it. It's not charging. So I "flash" it again a second time... then a third time. I called the alternator shop in Green Bay. Sounds like a defective alternator. Maybe if I can "flash" the alternator each time I start the engine, when I get back up to Green Bay, bring the new alternator in and they will send it back giving me a $242 refund and fix the old alternator. Yeah right!  I have to crawl under the back of the motorhome to get to the back of the alternator to "flash" it. So... having a background as an electrical engineering technician, I rigged up a way so all I have to do is open the engine hatch that is under the bed in the motorhome and spark a wire I have going to the back of the alternator to "flash" the alternator. At least this will work until I get back up to Green Bay. OWFISH!

New alternator

The new 160 AMP alternator for the motorhome came in today. $242.92. It's a little rainy today so I'll get it changed out tomorrow morning. I also checked on the mount for my highway navigation computer system that I ordered a month ago. Supposedly it is being shipped out today so I should have it in the next few days.

 

Brakes fixed

The parts house called me this morning letting me know the rebuilt air dryer for the air brake system was in. I picked it up and installed it this afternoon. The brakes work like they are supposed to. In the process, I found a small air leak from a cracked air line and fixed that.

Brake Repair

I made to to my daughter's house Saturday somehow. The voltage regulator on the rebuilt alternator gave out but it was still keeping the batteries charged. I still need to take that off and have it fixed again. I don't know how I made it in without the air brakes locking up on me though. On Monday I bought a repair kit for the air brake air dryer system for $170. The fixed one problem but not all of it. With the engine running, the air drier purged the air a couple of times but it didn't seal after purging and was leaking air. I did find an air leak in a cracked air line and fixed that. Then I ran the engine at full RPM, the dryer purged then remained opened. I ordered a rebuilt air dryer today for another $335. It should be in tomorrow.

Hot water

A mobile RV technician came out to the cottage and fixed the hot water heater on the motorhome. It would try to ignite but wouldn't stay lit. Cost: $151.80.

Mattress bag and DryMesh

The new mattress bag and DryMesh came in today. It took almost an hour and a half to take the foam layers out of the old bag, clean them and stuff them into the new bag. Afterwards I placed the DryMesh anti-moisture layer under the mattress and cut it to size.

Rebuild alternator

I done some more work on the motor home this morning. I put the new battery in yesterday but the alternator wasn't charging. So I took the alternator off and took it into an alternator shop in Green Bay where they rebuild starters and alternators. That was at noon today. About 3 o'clock they called and told me the alternator was ready. Green Bay from where I was working on the boat this afternoon is about 25 miles so I told them I'd pick it up on Monday since they are closed on weekends. The technician told me he lives only about 5 miles from where I was so he'd just bring it home with him and I could pick it up there. I told him I'd meet his at his house in about a half hour. Darn I thought I was going to get the weekend off. lol Last time I had alternator problems with the motor home was in May 2005. We were down in Florida. For a rebuilt alternator plus labor to pull it and put it back on the bill come a little over $700. Today's bill was $116. But then I'm doing the labor myself of pulling it off and putting it back on.

New mattress bag

A few years ago we had a custom mattress made for our motor home while in Oklahoma. It was something that Barb just had to have after laying on one down in Florida. It had to be custom made because it's a non-standard size. It's made with a layer memory foam over a thick layer of latex rubber. We paid $1300 for that mattress. A couple of years ago, I noticed the bottom of the mattress bag had rotted after getting wet and not being able to dry out completely. I couldn't remember when or where we bought it but we were in Norman, Oklahoma at the time. I was able to go back through my travel blog and found the month we were there, then was able to go back through my computerized finance records and found the day and name of the company who made the mattress. A search on the Internet and I found their phone number. I was able to order a new $260 bag for the mattress. I'll make sure next time it will be able to dry out by placing an anti-moisture layer under the mattress called DryMesh.

New starting battery

Started working on the motor home to get it ready to go to Oklahoma with it the end of April or 1st week of May. It's been off the road since Barb & I moved into this house in October 2011. $195 to replace the starting battery. Also got with the service manager of a local RV dealer about doing some needed work on it. At 1st they didn't want to because it's a big Class A Diesel Pusher and the only RVs they handle are small Jayco travel trailers. But what I need fixed would be items that would also be on their trailers. So whenever the snow melts enough so I can get it out, they're going to take care of me.

It's emotional just thinking about going on a trip without Barb. Barb and I lived and traveled through most the United States for 8 years in this motor home before we had to stop because of her health. Last summer she told me she really missed living in it. I did too, but my health was getting bad because of the stress I was going through because of her health.

Blow Out

We were getting ready to leave Lake Arthur this morning when I found that my inside right rear dual tire was flat and wouldn't hold air. On the way here last Friday, I heard a noise and pulled over on the side of the highway but didn't see anything so I kept going.

Well I called our road service and they found someone about 40 miles from us who could bring us a new tire and put it on the motorhome. Total price for a new tire was $503.17.

Since it was already after noon by the time the repairs were completed, we opted to spend one more night and will leave out tomorrow morning on our trip to Oklahoma City.