Category Archives: Maintenance and Repair

Calling Coach-Net

I wonder what will happen next! We have more trouble. After I serviced the generator on Saturday, I left the generator slide open. I was more concerned with cleaning myself up and also allowing the fuel smell to dissipate.

Yesterday, I turned on the HWH hydraulic system and pushed the rocker switch to retract the generator. Nothing happened. No sound, no pump running, no movement of the generator slide. I tried the living room slide switch. Same result, no go.

I started checking ground connections. I looked up front to see if there were any connectors I might have accidentally bumped while I was working on the generator. There isn’t anything associated with the HWH pump up there. I cleaned ground connections anyway.

At that point, it was time to tune in the Charger game.  I was happy to see them win a tough match in Buffalo, but all the while, I was thinking about the HWH problem. I looked up information on the Internet during the Broncos versus Seahawks game. I posted a question on the iRV2.com Alpine Coach forum asking where I would find the HWH control box. One of the members replied, telling me it was behind the front console. I decided to wait until Monday morning to start taking things apart.

This morning I dove into the project.

There's an HWH control box in there somewhere

There’s an HWH control box in there somewhere.

Aha - there it is

Aha – there it is!

I poked around and finally located the control box. I examined connectors. I found the ground lug loose on the control box. I tightened it, thinking I had found the problem. Nope, still no action from the pump.

I broke out my Fluke Digital Multimeter and began the tedious troubleshooting procedure at the hydraulic pump. I started by testing the master relay. This was difficult as the master relay is hidden behind the pump motor. I had to use a mirror to locate the terminals and hook up the meter by feel. I found proper voltage on the terminals there. I checked all of the connectors at the relays and the motor. I re-checked continuity through the grounds. I had Donna operate the switch. I could hear the relay click. I think I have a bad motor.

That’s when I threw my hands up in the air and called Coach – Net. We’re members of their RV Roadside Assistance program. I explained the issue to the customer service girl. She said she would have a technician call me back shortly. An hour later, I called them again. The technician assigned to handle the call, Leonard, said he was just about to call me. He was doing research on the HWH system. I told him I had the HWH troubleshooting guide and told him the tests I’d performed. He said I had already done everything he wanted me to check. The next step was to find a qualified technician in the area who could come out to assist me.

As I was typing this, I got a call from an RV service outfit in Murrieta. Coach – Net had contacted them. I went over the issue with them on the phone. They will call me back to tell me when they can have someone here to help me. Coach – Net pays for the travel time and standard service call. I’ll have to pay for any parts and additional labor to install them.

Stay tuned.

 

No Escape from the Heat

After writing my post on Sunday, I tuned in the Patriots vs Vikings NFL game. At the half, I went outside and replaced the check valves in the HWH hydraulic pump. Meanwhile, Donna went for a walk and said she felt remarkably well after Saturday’s grueling bike race.

The new check valves didn’t make any difference. The right rear jack still won’t stay in the extended position. It slowly retracts itself. By the time I finished cleaning up, it was 11:45am. Donna and I drove to town and had lunch at a Mexican restaurant. Donna ordered seafood fajitas minus the tortillas (in keeping with her 21-Day Sugar Detox program) while I had enchiladas suiza. I would give the restaurant, Don Perico’s, a three on a scale of five. There wasn’t anything about the food or service that stood out, but it wasn’t bad either.

We made it back in time for the Chargers home opener against the Seattle Seahawks. It’s unseasonably warm in San Diego. The temperature on the field at Qualcomm Stadium was well over 100 degrees! The Chargers wisely chose to wear their white uniforms. It was an entertaining game. The Chargers beat the reigning Superbowl champs 30-21. It shouldn’t have been that close – the Seahawks were given a touchdown when their player clearly stepped out of bounds at the 21-yard line. At the end of the day, it didn’t matter though. A win is a win. While I was enjoying the game, Donna went to town and did some shopping like a good tourist.

On Monday morning, we prepared to hit the road. Things were a little out of sequence as I had to get the coach ready to roll, then hit the dump station to dump and flush the tanks on the way out of Mountain View RV Park. While I was doing that, Donna drove the rental car back to Enterprise in town. The Enterprise guy gave Donna a ride to the Tractor Supply store where we planned to meet. We checked out the parking lot there when we picked up the rental car. It would be an easy entry and exit in the motorhome and it’s right next to highway CA58, which was our route away from Tehachapi. From Tehachapi, CA58 east is mostly a downhill run.

We drove east and made a stop at a rest area near Boron. It felt good to get out and stretch our legs. I didn’t know when we would see another rest area. Our route would take us south on US395 then on to I-15 and I-215. I didn’t recall any rest areas along that stretch.

We stopped at the Pilot/Flying J truck stop at the junction of US395. I have a Pilot/Flying J – Good Sam RV fuel card. With this credit card, I get a discount of six cents per gallon off the cash price. This saves 11 to 15 cents per gallon off the normal credit price. I also can pump all the fuel I need in one go. At most stations, a Visa card will only allow you to pump $100 of fuel. Then you have to go inside and pre-pay at the counter if you want more fuel. Another benefit at the Pilot/Flying J stations is that the truck pumps have high-flow nozzles. And they have two pumps – a master pump on the driver’s side and a slave pump on the right side. Our Alpine Coach has two filler necks, one on each side. With two high-flow nozzles, I can top up our 100-gallon tank in a few minutes.

US395 south took us through Adelanto and Victorville with many stoplights. I-15 south climbed to the Cajon Summit at an elevation of 4,190 feet above sea level. It was very hot – the outside temperature was in the high 90s. I’m happy to report that our coolant temperature and automatic transmission fluid temperature never exceeded 205 degrees on the climb. Coming down into the San Bernadino Valley, we rode the Jake brake as we traversed miles of 6% downgrade.

Clarke Hockwald (whatsnewell) wrote a post about driving in metro areas that I totally agree with. As we travel around in our RV, we tend to spend much of the time driving through rural or semi-rural areas with no worry of having to avoid rush hours. Driving through scenic countryside is enjoyable. When we know we’ll be driving through a high-density metro area, there’s a certain tension that builds. Parts of I-15 are five lanes wide. Trucks coming down the hill into San Bernadino stay in the right two lanes and keep their speed down. Cars use what ever lane they feel like, some of them zooming downhill at 80+ miles per hour. The speed differential creates some hairy moments as car drivers don’t obey the rules of the road. They pass on the right, some of them weaving their way back and forth through the lanes. We saw a couple of cars panic braking as they came upon slower traffic.

We made our way through the worst of it without incident. I wanted to get to Temecula by 2pm, as I knew the traffic volume increases dramatically by 3pm. Our destination was Jojoba Hills SKP Resort, about 18 miles east of downtown Temecula. SKP parks are operated by the Escapees RV Club. We’re Escapees members. Jojoba Hills is a private park for members only. The official address shows us in Aguanga, California. Aguanga comprises a post office and a small general store.

We arrived a little past 2pm. The woman in the office drove us around in a golf cart and showed us four different sites we could choose from. We chose site 646. It has a nice view to the south and was long enough for us to pull through without dropping the trailer. We have full hook-ups with 50-amp electric service. The park is located on a hillside with the sites terraced along paved interior roads. Our site is fairly level. The sites are gravel with a concrete pad for chairs and tables. We booked nine nights here at a discounted rate of $126 – that’s $14 per night! Nice!

Last evening's view from our doorstep

Last evening’s view from our doorstep

Last evening, while I tuned in the Monday Night Football game, Donna went to the pool. The swimming pool is 65′ long. Donna said it was great for swimming laps. She swam a quarter mile last night and set a goal to swim a full mile before we leave here.

Today, the heat wave in southern California will continue. The forecast high for today is over 100 degrees! We should have relief in a few days when the forecast calls for highs around 80 degrees. Meanwhile, we can make good use of the pool.

All Jacked Up

Wednesday turned out to be a tough afternoon for me. My back was still jacked up, but I needed to get some things done. The right rear HWH leveling jack started acting up again while we were at Row River. It slowly retracts itself after I extend it. This shouldn’t happen. While we were at the FMCA convention in Redmond, Oregon, I had the solenoid replaced (twice) to correct the problem. All was good until we set up at Row River.

I made a big mistake when we set up there. Our site wasn’t level – the front of the coach was low. Since we were parked on dirt, I put down 12″ x 12″ wooden pads under the jacks to increase the area supporting the coach. This helps to keep the round metal foot on the bottom of the jack from sinking into the dirt. Since the front was quite low, I stacked two wooden pads under each front jack to reduce the amount of extension of the jack.

I’ve done this many times before. I’ve always leveled the coach manually when I stack the pads. Without thinking about it, this time I started the auto-level sequence. The HWH computerized auto-level system has a sensor that detects the pitch-and-roll degree of the coach. Then it commands the jack extension to correct the attitude and level the coach. It works fairly quickly. The front jacks extended automatically. When they hit the doubled-up pads, the front of the coach was lifted too high. The HWH system didn’t retract the front jacks, it extended the rear jacks to correct the pitch of the coach. When the weight was taken off the rear wheels, there wasn’t any braking effect. Due to the slope, the coach moved forward – the jacks slid off the pads and dug into the ground. Not a good thing.

HWH leveling jacks on wooden pads

HWH leveling jacks on wooden pads in normal use

After rectifying that situation, I lowered the coach and leveled it manually. Everything seemed fine. A few days later, the right rear jack started its slow retract again. I don’t know if it’s related to the sliding-off-the-pads incident. I don’t see how it could be. The only way for the hydraulic jack to retract is to bleed off the fluid pressure. When I want to retract the jacks, a solenoid is activated to allow the fluid to return to the reservoir as the springs pull the ram up. I don’t have any external leaks and all of the other jacks and room slides (which are hydraulically activated by the same system) work fine. Something is allowing the fluid from the right rear jack assembly to slowly flow back into the reservoir. The first suspect is the solenoid.

I phoned Paul Maddox, the HWH technician who replaced the solenoid in Redmond. Since he replaced the solenoid twice, he didn’t think replacing it again was the way to go. He thought I should look at the check valves. The fluid for each jack passes through two check valves. These valves allow fluid to flow in one direction, but block the fluid from reverse flow. The check valves are opened by differential pressure. If the pressure is lower on the downstream side of the valve than on the upstream side, the valve opens and fluid will flow. If the pressure is higher on the downstream side, the check valve is forced against its seat and blocks reverse flow.

Paul suggested removing the upper (sometimes referred to as outer) check valve and replacing the O-ring that seals the valve. I removed the check valve and went to Ace hardware and found the right size replacement O-ring. I reinstalled the check valve and the jack still retracted itself.

HWH hydraulic assembly

HWH hydraulic assembly

Upper check valve and O-ring

Upper check valve and O-ring

I talked to Paul again. He said there was another check valve, the inner check valve. This one is harder to access, but he said he would send me parts and instructions.

The parts arrived Wednesday afternoon. Since we would leave the following day, I thought I should try to fix the jack right away. In order to access the inner check valve, I needed to remove the solenoid. I rode the scooter to Pep Boys and bought a small-diameter strap wrench. It was a cheap Chinese-made tool, but I thought, “How can you screw up a strap wrench?” Well, the Chinese have found a way. This wrench is so poorly manufactured, it takes three hands to operate it. I futzed around for 20 minutes before I could make it turn the solenoid.

After I had the upper check valve and solenoid out, getting to the inner check valve was tricky. It sits in a machined passage directly under the upper check valve, below the solenoid. I tried to see it with a mirror, but couldn’t tell what I was looking at. I tried reaching through the upper passage with hemostats, but I couldn’t grasp it. I fished a magnet through the solenoid opening and a strange, tightly wound spring with a straight tail came out. I hadn’t seen this spring in any of the diagrams I studied and there was no mention of this spring in the manual. I fished around with the magnet again and the check valve came out.

Check valves, solenoid and strange spring

Check valves, solenoid and strange spring

I called Paul again. I told him about the strange looking spring. He had no idea what it was doing in there. He thought it may be the cause of the problem, as it didn’t belong in there. He thought I should reassemble everything with original parts, but without the spring. I reassembled everything. I lowered the jack and then watched it slowly retract again. Grrr.

While I was watching the jack retract, I noticed the tab that the retraction spring mounts to, was bent from the Row River incident. I decided to grab a large channel lock plier and straighten the tab. That’s when the real trouble started. As I cranked on the tab, the foot of the jack pivoted on the end of the ram and one of the springs came flying off! I’m lucky I didn’t lose a finger from the powerful spring. With no springs, the ram stopped retracting. I was in trouble now. I had to find a way to reinstall the foot and spring on the ram or we wouldn’t be going anywhere.

I used a piece of wood and a little ingenuity to force the ram into the fully retracted position. In this position, I would only have to stretch the springs a few inches to connect them to the foot. While I had the foot off, I used a hammer to ‘smith the tab straight before I attached the springs. Lying on my aching back under the coach, I pulled on the end of the spring with pliers. I used all my might and only managed to extend the spring about half an inch. Oh dear! These are powerful springs.

I tried different tactics for the next hour or so to try and lever the springs into place. I was beginning to think I needed a mobile RV tech. I saw one of our neighbors outside of his trailer. I borrowed a hydraulic bottle jack and a pry bar from him. The next half hour was spent trying to use hydraulic pressure from the bottle jack to lever the foot, with springs attached, over the end of the ram. Total frustration!

Then I just grabbed the pry bar, found a hard point to pry against and pulled the foot down, extending the springs as far as I could. The foot slipped off the pry bar, right onto the end of the ram! After two and a half hours of sweating and swearing, it was job done! By then it was beer-thirty and I was done in. You couldn’t pay me to do this type of work, but I’ll do it to avoid paying someone else.

On Thursday morning, I loaded the trailer and we made ready to travel. I usually load up the day before we leave, so it took extra time and work before we could hit the road. We still managed to depart by 10:30am. The drive to Tehachapi was a little over 40 miles. Highway CA58 has some steep climbs. We reached Tehachapi summit, a little over 4,000 feet above sea level, and exited the highway.

Currently we’re set up at the Mountain View RV Park. This is a small park with electric and water hook-ups, no sewer. There is a dump station we’ll hit when we leave. Originally we planned to dry camp in Tehachapi. The forecast calls for warm weather with highs near 90 degrees. We would have to run our generator all day for air conditioning if we dry camped, so we opted to pay for a site with 50-amp electric service. This RV park is unusual. It’s part of a private airport. The runway is in an open field 100 yards behind our coach.

View across runway from our door step

View across the end of the runway from our door step

We’re only a few miles from town. Donna and I rode the scooter to town yesterday and had a look around. It’s a quaint little town. The downtown area is clean and well-kept. Later, we grilled bacon-wrapped filets that Donna served with quinoa salad and green beans.

Grilled bacon wrapped filet

Grilled bacon-wrapped filet

Today, I plan to replace the rear tire on Donna’s bike. Her race is tomorrow, with a 7am start time. Then I’ll pull the check valves for the right rear jack again and replace them with new ones that Paul sent me.

At noon, Donna is picking up a rental car for the weekend so we have a way to get her bike to the race start and back. We plan to take advantage of the extra set of wheels and do a little sight-seeing this afternoon.

Our site at Mountain View RV Park

Our site at Mountain View RV Park

Visitors from Abroad

Cloudy skies were a welcome sight yesterday. We’ve had clear skies with intense sunshine since we arrived in Bakersfield. The heat has been relentless with daytime highs around 100 degrees and overnight lows of 70. The overnight low doesn’t occur until 6 or 7am. For most of the night, the outside temperature is in the 80s.

Donna took advantage of the cloud cover by going out on her bike in the morning. She followed the same route across town that she took on Saturday. This time, she rode the Kern River Parkway Trail in the opposite direction from Saturday’s ride. This was a shorter route. She had a good ride and covered 26 miles.

I’m still having issues with over-the-air TV reception. I don’t understand the problem. In our current location, I can pull in 20 strong stations, but they’re all analog broadcasts. I cannot receive any digital HD signals. I broke out the ladder and climbed on the roof to check the antenna. I cleaned the coax connections with electrical contact cleaner. They had some corrosion. I couldn’t think of anything else to do. The analog reception is good, but a digital HD image would be better. Maybe I need a new antenna or booster.

I took a walk through the RV park. It isn’t as large as some of the parks we’ve been in, but I was able to get some exercise. While I was out, I could smell rain. It was virga (I wrote about that here). The rain was evaporating before it hit the ground.

The park we’re in, Bakersfield Palms RV Resort, is split into two sections. The larger section is for long-term (one month or more) residents. The section we’re in is called the overnight area. There are only a handful of RVs in the overnight section, which is comprised of 20 large pull-through sites. Only three of us have been here for more than a day. Most of the RVers are using the park for an overnight stay as they travel through central California.

Yesterday, a class C rental RV pulled into the site next to us. There are two couples in the RV. They appear to be European. They’ve kept to themselves, so we haven’t had an opportunity to talk to them. We’ve met many Europeans on extended vacations in RV parks. Some of them have exhausting itineraries as they try to see all of the sights in the USA in four or five weeks. Others keep returning to complete their travels and do their sightseeing at a more reasonable pace.

A few of the European travelers we’ve met have their own RV that they store in the USA when they return home. Then they come back to continue their RV adventure. We met a Swiss couple that did this when we were in Mesa, Arizona. Their rig is pictured in this post. We met a couple from Austria in Salt Lake City that were traveling the country in their RV. They planned to end their adventure, which began in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in Alaska and maybe sell the RV there.

Class C rental RV

Class C rental RV

I would have liked to meet the people in the rig next to us, but they packed up and left as I’m typing this. Traveling to a foreign country and renting an RV has to be a real challenge. The thought of heading out in a rental RV is scary enough. There are so many things to learn in an RV, and most of us learn a few things the hard way.

I’ve driven cars in Europe many times. I know that driving where you may not fully understand the customs and laws can be stressful. I’m fine in Germany and Austria, but places like France, Slovakia and Italy give me heartburn.

And then there’s the whole issue of being in unfamiliar territory. Getting onto Fairview Avenue from the RV park is a bit confusing. I noticed that the rental RV that just left exited to the left, which would send them in the wrong direction if they were trying to reach the highway.

Clouds last evening

Clouds last evening

Yesterday’s cloud cover is long gone. Today, we have clear skies and the thermometer will reach north of 90 degrees. I don’t have a plan, other than to go grocery shopping with Donna later.

Endless Summer

Happy Labor Day first of all. I saw a post on Facebook commenting on the fact that many people don’t know what Labor Day is all about. Apparently people confuse it with Memorial Day. Here’s the explanation from the U.S. Department of Labor:

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

So, it’s a tribute to all American workers. We celebrate it by taking the day off! Traditionally, Memorial Day and Labor Day are the bookends of summer. One marks the beginning and the other the end. One of the great things about the nomadic way of life is, summer doesn’t have to end. We’ll chase the summer-like weather as we move south.

Yesterday’s weather here was much nicer. The high temperature reached 78 degrees, but it felt cooler than that to me. Today we should be in the 80s again. I worked on the coach yesterday. I drained and sanitized our fresh water tank. Then I refilled it with naturally soft, fresh water from Scott and Marcia’s well.

Donna went out to run on the bike trail while I was puttering around.

I also poked around in the engine compartment. The Engine Maint light on the dash (equivalent to a Check Engine Light in an OBD-II equipped car) lights up intermittently. I checked for fault codes and found a fault for low input from a sensor. I can’t find the part identifier in the code. I’ve searched online and this part identifier code (73) doesn’t appear in any of the documents I could find. I’m thinking that I have a loose or corroded wiring connector somewhere that’s causing the intermittent fault, but I don’t know which sensor it’s associated with.

Later, I rode the scooter to town. I took Row River Road around the east and north shore of Dorena Lake instead of the usual route down Shoreview Road. It was a nice ride and it was about the same travel time and distance either way. From this side of the lake, I found a couple of stopping points to take photos.

Dorena Lake view from the east on Row River Road

Dorena Lake view from the east on Row River Road

Dorena Lake is actually a reservoir created when the Army Corps of Engineers built a dam on the Row River in 1949. Prior to the dam, the valley was often flooded when spring snow melt was accompanied by heavy rains.

Dam at the west end of the reservoir

Dam at the west end of the reservoir

The campgrounds and parks around the lake were full of people and tent campers.

While I was out, I stopped at a roadside stand and bought half a dozen ears of fresh sweet corn. Cooking on the grill is a Labor Day weekend tradition. There’s nothing better than cooking on the grill by the riverside!

Grilling next to the river

Grilling next to the river

Today I’ll begin to prepare for travel. We’ll head out of here tomorrow. I think our next stop will be in Yreka, California.

Unexpected Ferry Crossing

Donna returned from New York on schedule Tuesday night. She told me all about her trip over a glass of wine. We turned in fairly early.

On Wednesday morning, we finished packing up and left the Portland Fairview RV Park at 10:45am. Our first stop was two miles away at the WalMart. We needed to restock the refrigerator and I bought a few other supplies. While we were stopped there, we walked over to Taco Del Mar for lunch.

Our destination for the day was near McMinnville, Oregon. I’d heard about dry camping in the large parking lot at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum. The Google Earth image looked like it had easy access and a huge parking area.

I punched the address into Nally (our GPS). Two routes came up. One route was only 50 miles, but it would take one hour and 17 minutes. The other route was 73 miles and it would take one hour and 26 minutes. Hmmm…23 miles longer but only 9 additional minutes. I figured that the shorter route must have some slow roads, probably routed through Portland. One shortcoming of the GPS is the inability to preview the route step by step. I can zoom out and see the whole route, but then I lose detail.

I usually take the fastest route, but 76 minutes to cover 50 miles sounded like a lot of stop-and-go driving. I chose the longer route with a higher average speed. Nearly an hour later, I realized it was a bad choice. My preference settings allow tolls. Apparently the GPS sees a ferry as a toll. Since I allowed tolls, the route would take us to Wheatland Road where there’s a ferry across the Willamette River. Once I realized this, I diverted over to River Road. I didn’t know anything about the Wheatland Ferry. If it couldn’t accommodate our size, I might not be able to turn around. I also didn’t know the cost. Later, I found information online. Vehicles over 42 feet long pay six dollars to cross the river.

My new route added a loop to get over the Willamette River on a highway bridge. The trip turned into 100 miles and over two hours of driving. I probably burned $10 worth of fuel to avoid a $6 ferry ride.

We arrived at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum. The front parking lots were full of cars, but the large rear lot was nearly empty. There were a couple of RVs parked back there. We found a level area and parked. Donna and I walked to the museum. There are several large, very modern buildings on the property. One is the main museum with aircraft on display, including the Spruce Goose. There’s another building housing more aircraft, a separate movie theater, and a large water park building.

Main museum building

Main museum building

Museum extension on east side of the lot

Museum extension on east side of the lot

Movie theater

Movie theater

Water park with Boeing 747 on the roof

Water park with Boeing 747 on the roof

It was very hot, over 90 degrees. The asphalt parking lot seemed to amplify the heat. Donna took her laptop to the museum building and sat in the restaurant area. She enjoyed some ice cream while she worked on her monthly organizing tips newsletter.

I’ve been in the Spruce Goose before, when it was displayed in Long Beach, California. I didn’t want to pay $25 to see it again. I went for a walk outside and looked at aircraft on display. The 747 on the roof of the water park is interesting. It has slides built into the exit doors. You enter the 747 and slide down into the enclosed pool below!

A relic of the Cold War - MIG 29 Fulcrum

A relic of the Cold War – Soviet MiG 29 Fulcrum

Delta Dart from the 1950s next to the MIG

Delta Dart from the 1950s next to the MiG

As I was walking back to the coach, I talked to a worker from the museum. I asked about the overnight parking policy. He told me they welcome overnight visitors to the museum as long as we’re fully self-contained and pack out whatever we brought in. He said to limit the stay to two nights maximum. With permission secured, I moved the coach to a shaded corner of the lot.

Our place in the shade

Our place in the shade – generator slide is open to release heat

The museum closed at 5pm and the parking lots emptied. We were the only RV left and had the place to ourselves. A private party was being held at the east building, but it was far enough away that we didn’t hear them.

Thursday we hit the road by 9am. We were going to Junction City, where we had an appointment at Amazing Creations. Scott Adams and Bobby Vodden were going to remove the rear TV and make the space into a cabinet for us.

Old bedroom TV

Old bedroom TV

I tried to remove the TV, but the wood surrounding the opening had been added after the TV was installed. The TV was larger than the opening. I didn’t want to break the trim, so I left it to the pros. Scott removed the wood on the right side and pulled the TV out. Then they built new trim, added a shelf and put doors over the opening.

New cabinet doors

New cabinet doors

The cabinet houses our printer, which was taking space in the closet before. We can use the shelf to store printing and office supplies.

Printer cabinet with shelf

Printer cabinet with shelf

They did a great job. The work was first class. It took a few hours to get the job done. This was mainly due to the time it took to stain the wood. They waited until we got there to match the wood stain. They stained the wood before their lunch break, so it was drying while they were out for lunch. Donna and I had lunch in the coach. We were out of there by 3pm.

We got back on the road and headed south to Cottage Grove, Oregon. Our destination was our present location on the Row (rhymes with wow) River. Our new friends, Scott and Marcia, who we met at the Alpine Coach Association rally, invited us to stay on their vacation property on the river outside of Cottage Grove.

The river runs along the north side of their property. They have a trailer and a few outbuildings on the property. One of the buildings is a workshop with a fresh water spigot, plus 20-, 30- and 50-amp electrical outlets and a sewer hook-up. We’re parked between the workshop and the river. The river is about 30 feet from our doorstep.

Row River view from our doorstep

Row River view from our doorstep

We’re far enough from town to have very little traffic on Row River Road. It’s very quiet and peaceful here, a welcome change from the time spent in RV parks over the last few weeks. We don’t have cell phone coverage. But Scott and Marcia’s generosity included the password to their wifi network in their trailer.

Last evening, Donna and I enjoyed cocktail hour outdoors, soaking in the sounds of the river. Scott told us we could stay as long we want. We want to stay forever, but we’ll have to start moving south next Tuesday.

Happy Hour in the shade, looking at the river

Happy hour in the shade, looking at the river

There’s a paved bike trail running along Row River Road. The path is on the south border of Scott and Marcia’s property. Today, Donna wants to go biking. I’ll do the same and explore the area.

Day Three Without Donna

Sunday was day three on my own while Donna is away. My plans for the day would have bored Donna. I spent the morning watching the coverage of the Formula 1 race in Spa, Belgium. The race was full of surprises – I won’t spoil it in case a reader has it recorded for viewing later.

Before I turned on the race, my neighbor was preparing to pull out of the park. I could see he was checking some wiring looms in a rear compartment. I stepped outside to see if I could help. He said the bedroom slide wouldn’t retract. It was a Power Gear system, which operates the slide via an electric motor. The connection on the circuit board was loose. He wiggled the connector while his wife tried operating the slide. It moved about an inch, then stopped again. He tried to unplug the wiring harness and the connector pulled out of the circuit board! The connector should have been soldered in place as it’s essentially part of the board. I suggested disconnecting the front slide harness from its circuit board, which was next to the board for the bedroom slide. Then we plugged the wiring harness for the rear slide into that board. His wife hit the switch and the slide retracted. He’ll have to replace the bedroom slide circuit board.

While I watched TV, I followed the progress of my friend, Allen Hutchinson, with my laptop. He was competing in the Ironman Triathlon in Louisville, Kentucky. I don’t know anything about the course, but the temperature was reported to be 90 degrees with high humidity. It had to be a tough grind.

I didn’t leave the coach until noon. It was warm out. Our temperature reached the low 80s. I rode the scooter to the store and picked up bottled water and beer.

At 1pm, I tuned in the Charger game. They played against the San Francisco 49ers at the new stadium in Santa Clara, California. Yesterday’s earthquake in the bay area was centered near Napa, north of San Francisco. Santa Clara is south of San Francisco, about 80 miles from Napa and didn’t suffer any damage.

The Chargers played their starters on the first three offensive series. They looked sharp and moved the ball well. Other than getting stopped on a fourth and one, they controlled San Francisco and finished the third possession with a touchdown. The defensive starters forced two turnovers, although the officials blew the call on the first one and San Francisco kept the ball. They tackled well and dominated San Francisco’s first team offense.

The second and third string back-ups didn’t fare as well. At the end, the score was 21-7, San Francisco. The pre-season games are all about getting some action for the starting team and then using the remainder of the game to evaluate the rest of the players. I’m encouraged by what I saw and I’m looking forward to a good season. The roster will be cut down from 90 players to 53 before the first regular season game.

After the game, I went out for a walk through the RV park. I needed to get some exercise. The park is large enough to take a 20-minute walk without retracing your steps.

After I returned, I checked my laptop and saw Allen had finished the race. He was out on the course for 12 and a half hours. He’s a 4-time Ironman finisher now.

Today, the forecast calls for a heat wave. We should hit 90 degrees over the next few days. I have no plans.

I forgot to include this photo in my last post – this is my new ScanGauge D mounted on the dash of our Alpine Coach.

ScanGauge D set to read out Oil Pressure, Coolant Temperature, Boost, Transmission Fluid Temperature

ScanGauge D set to read out oil pressure, coolant temperature, boost, transmission fluid temperature

 

Getting Wired

I’ve been keeping myself busy while Donna is away. Donna left Thursday night on a trip to New York. She’s celebrating her dad’s 80th birthday with family near Albany, then going to New York City for a couple of business commitments. She’ll fly back to Portland Tuesday evening.

I had a slow start to the day on Friday. My priority for the day was repairing the cable signal and over-the-air antenna signal on our television. I have no cable signal and very weak reception from the antenna. I haven’t worried about it, since we usually use the Dish satellite for programs or we watch movies and TV series recorded on a hard drive.

The San Diego Chargers pre-season football game on Sunday will be broadcast locally on Fox. The only way I can receive the broadcast is over the air or on the RV park’s cable.

I studied the wiring diagram in the Alpine Coach Owner’s Manual. The original TV had been replaced. The Dish receiver and satellite system weren’t original equipment either. Looking at the original diagram gave me a few clues though.

I removed the TV from the front cabinet. This was a tricky operation. I really wished for an extra set of hands, but I had to get it done. I made note of how everything was connected. When the TV was replaced, the installer ran the coax cable from the antenna directly to the TV. The Wineguard antenna on the roof of our coach is supposed to run through a signal booster before it connects to the TV. The signal booster connection is in the wall of the cabinet above the driver’s seat. To rewire this, I needed a short section of coax cable.

I found a Radio Shack store online, about five miles from here. I bought a six-foot coax cable with connectors on each end. I used this cable to connect from the antenna booster to the junction box that allows me to select various input sources for the TV. I connected the TV cable to the signal out connector of the junction box. This was simple enough, but time-consuming as I worked in a cramped overhead compartment.

With everything back in place, I turned on the TV and did a channel search. The TV picked up a dozen channels. Some of them were digital high-definition broadcasts. This was looking good. But I had no sound. I pulled the screws from the frame securing the TV to the cabinet and pulled it out again. I saw the audio connections had inadvertently been pulled loose. I re-connected the wires while balancing the TV on my shoulder because the wires aren’t long enough for me to set the TV down and connect everything.

Now I had a good picture and sound. But I couldn’t find the Fox broadcast. I had ABC, NBC, CBS and other programing. There were several stations that I should have been picking up, but I couldn’t lock on to them. I was only receiving the strongest signals.

I decided to focus on the cable connection. The external cable connector hadn’t been connected to the junction box. I re-purposed the six-foot coax I bought and connected the external cable input to the proper connector on the box. Now I had a cable connection, but I could only find a few cable channels. It was the same problem as the antenna. Once again, Fox was not one of the channels I could receive. I was tired and frustrated. I gave it a break and spent the evening watching the NFL Network on the Dish satellite.

I was thinking about the day ahead before I got out of bed Saturday morning. The TV problem became suddenly clear. It was so simple. What are the common elements between the TV and cable signal or the TV and the antenna signal? The junction box and the coax cable from the box to the TV! A bad coax cable or bad connector would only pass the strongest signal from the box to the TV.

My first order of business was washing the coach. I wanted to do that Saturday morning, before I had direct sun on the  coach. I got to work on the coach around 9am. I started by breaking out the ladder and washing the roof. I don’t like heights and climbing on the roof of the coach is no fun. Actually, it’s getting back down that is a little scary. I spent the next three hours spiffing up the coach, including washing all of the windows. While I was washing, the FedEx truck pulled up and delivered my ScanGauge D from Amazon.

After dining on leftover chicken stir fry and rice for lunch, I wanted to install the ScanGauge. To put it where I wanted it on the dash, I had to run the wiring from the J1708 diagnostic connector on the passenger side of the dash, behind the console and up on the driver’s side. The ScanGauge intercepts signals from the Engine Control Module (ECM) through the diagnostic port. Diesel truck platforms (including diesel RVs) use either a J1708 or J1939 connector and protocol. This serves the same function as an OBD-II diagnostic link on cars built since the 1990s. The ScanGauge will display information sent via digital signal to the ECM from various powertrain sensors. I can program it to display information from four sources at  a time. I can also interrogate the ECM for faults in the system.

I couldn’t get the cable from the passenger side to the driver’s side. It kept getting hung up behind the console. I took a break from it and rode to the Radio Shack store. I bought two three-foot sections of coax cable to rewire the TV. On the way back, I saw a Harbor Freight store. I stopped and bought a package of thin, flexible fiberglass rods designed for snaking cable through tight places. The rods are 12″ long and have threaded ends to join them together to make the length required.

When I returned, I ran four sections of rod through the back of the console, then used the rod to pull the cable through. Job done!

Then I pulled the TV again. With it balanced on my right shoulder, I removed the old coax cable and replaced it with the six-foot section I bought the day before. I made sure the audio cable was still connected before I reinstalled the TV. I used the two three-foot coax cables to connect the antenna booster and the external cable connection to the junction box. Whew!

I searched for channels over the air and on cable. It worked! I have Fox on channel 12!

I completed the installation of the ScanGauge on the dash. While I was relaxing with a cold one at the picnic table, a couple walking their dog stopped by. We had met briefly before at an RV park in Junction City, Colorado! I remembered his name was Mike (hard one for me to forget). They were on their way back from a trip to Alaska in their coach. We talked about our travels for a few minutes and then they continued their walk. Small world!

By then it was time to order a pizza and call it a day. I had pizza delivered from Tom’s Pizza and Sports Bar. Excellent pizza, I recommend them.

Today, I plan to kick back and watch the Formula 1 race, and then hopefully I can watch the Chargers game. I say hopefully due to the earthquake in the San Francisco Bay area this morning. The game is scheduled to be played in San Francisco at 1pm PDT.

 

 

Driving Big Al

Saturday was the last day of the “show.” Donna went to Bend with Willi Egg and shopped all day. I noticed my right rear jack was retracting again the night before and called Paul Maddox with HWH to let him know. He came back to our coach and replaced the solenoid. This time he installed a factory-new part rather than a re-manufactured solenoid. He told me he’s only had a few of the re-manufactured units fail, but since I had a problem, he felt better installing a new one.

I hung out with Dave Hobden for awhile, then went to look at more coaches. There was a display of pre-owned, high-end coaches for sale. It was fun to look at the premium level coaches.

Before the show closed, I went to the vendor area to see if I could score any deals before they packed up. I wanted to buy a Scan Gauge D, but couldn’t swing a deal that would beat Amazon Prime. But, I found another great deal.

I went to the Miller RV Insurance booth and got a quote. My current policy with Progressive expires this week on Wednesday. Cheryl Howarth from Miller found a policy for me that’s comparable to the coverage I have. The coach and scooter policies she quoted saved me more than $900 per year! Sign me up! Miller RV Insurance can provide policies in all 50 states. If you’re interested, contact Cheryl at cheryl@millerrvinsurance.com.

At 5pm, we had a potluck dinner for the Alpine group at the sites of Tom and Nancy Polk and Vic and Willi Egg. Donna made a chicken taco salad. The buffet table was filled with scrumptious dishes, including a plum cobbler that Lynda Campbell made with plums from their backyard.

Alpine group potluck dinner

Alpine group potluck dinner

Later, we sat outside our coach and visited with Dave and Stilla Hodben and Dave and Lynda Campbell. Donna and I didn’t turn in until midnight. This was unusually late for us.

Coaches started pulling out of here early yesterday. Our power was shut down by 9am. Donna went for a bike ride on the highway between Redmond and Prineville. Our fresh water tank was getting low, so I showered at the public showers. When I finished my shower, I heard my phone ring. It was Donna. She got a flat tire on her rear wheel out on the road.

I rode out on the scooter. After a bit of searching, I found her location and repaired the flat. She had ridden through glass when we were in Portland. A small shard worked its way through the tire. On the way back, I stopped at a bike shop in Redmond and picked up a new inner tube and two CO2 cartridges to replace what I used.

The temperature was in the 80s. I ran the generator from 3pm to 6pm to power the air conditioning units. I watched the Moto GP race I had recorded on the DVR. Then I sat outside in the shade of the awning and read another chapter of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I’ve read this book before. This time, I’m reading a chapter at a time and really trying to understand what Robert Pirsig is saying.

Last evening, Dave and Stilla joined us for dinner. Donna prepared prosciutto-wrapped shrimp skewers with nectarine slices, marinated in a honey-soy sauce. I grilled them and she served them over a bed of brown rice and grilled zucchini. Delicious!

Prosciutto wrapped shrimp

Prosciutto-wrapped shrimp

Today we’ll move over to the fairgrounds RV park. We’ll have full hook-ups, so we can dump the holding tanks, refill the fresh water and run the air conditioners without burning fuel in the generator.

Before we do that, Donna will practice driving the coach in the fairground parking lots. This is an excellent opportunity for her to learn how to drive this beast. She can practice making turns without fear of traffic or curbs and won’t have to worry about damaging Big Al (our Alpine coach).

 

 

FMCA Fun!

The Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA) Convention went into top gear on Thursday. The schedule was filled with seminars, coaches on display and two buildings full of vendors.

I wasn’t scheduled to work again until Friday morning. After Donna attended the Microwave and Convection Oven Cooking seminar, she spent the rest of the day working at her computer. I went to the big vendor hall at the Bank of the Cascades Center. My credit card got a good workout there!

The first item I bought was a quart of Howes Meaner Power Kleaner. This is a diesel fuel additive that adds lubricity to ultra-low-sulphur diesel fuel. It is also an algaecide and injector cleaner. Diesel fuel can develop a form of algae when excess water is in the fuel. Water can be in diesel fuel from many sources, such as the filling station’s tank or condensation from sitting in the motorhome fuel tank. One way to help prevent excess water is to keep the fuel tank as full as possible. With less air space in the tank, less condensation can form. Once algae forms in the water/fuel emulsion, it can plug fuel filters or damage injectors. One quart of Howes will treat 320 gallons of diesel fuel.

At the next vendor stop, I bought a gallon of The Solution waterless car wash. This product was recommended to me by Lynda Campbell. She and her husband Dave use it exclusively on their Alpine Coach. I wanted a waterless wash product so I can clean the coach when we’re in a park that doesn’t allow washing. One gallon should be enough to wash the coach four times.

After that I stopped at the Redlands Truck and RV Service booth. I had decided to buy the set of new Koni shock absorbers from Vic Egg. He had front and rear shocks, new in the box, that fit the Alpine Coach Western RV Peak chassis. Shock selection is like tires or oil – everyone has a favorite and will defend their choice vigorously. I was leaning toward the Bilstein gas pressure shock, but after checking the products at the various vendor tables and also discussing the matter with RV suspension expert, Robert Henderson (Henderson’s Line-Up, Grants Pass, OR), I went with the Koni shocks. I made arrangements with the guys at Redlands to install the new shocks onsite that afternoon.

Then I stopped at the booth selling products from The RV Water Filter Store. I’ve been using the Camco inline throw away filters for the water supply to our coach. These only last about three months and I’ve had two of them crack at the hose fittings. I wanted a more robust filtration system. I bought a two-stage canister type filter. The first canister contains a cotton filter media designed to mechanically remove sediment and any other particles in the water. The second canister contains activated charcoal and will remove chlorine and other chemical compounds from the water. The cotton cartridge in the first canister should last about six months, depending on water quality. This cartridge is inexpensive at $3.50. The second cartridge should last a full year and costs $13.00. Over time, this system will save money and provide better filtration compared to the inline throwaway filters.

The Redlands Truck and RV Service Center mechanics pulled up to our coach at 2:30pm. They went right to work and had the shocks changed out in about 45 minutes. The original shocks on our coach showed wear and tear. The right rear shock was completely blown out and was leaking fluid. This is most likely what I was feeling as we drove down the road. The fine handling qualities of our Alpine Coach had deteriorated since we left Arizona. No doubt, some of the rough roads we encountered contributed to failure of the original Bilstein shocks.

Original front Bilstein shock - doesn't look too bad

Original front Bilstein shock – doesn’t look too bad

New Koni FSD shock installed on front suspension

New Koni FSD shock installed on front suspension

Blown out rear Bilstein gas pressure shock

Blown out rear Bilstein gas pressure shock

Thursday evening we had a happy hour gathering next to the sites of Tom and Nancy Polk and Vic and Willi Egg. We were getting into the swing of things when it began to rain. We got cozy under an awning and an Easy-Up and carried on.

Braving the elements for happy hour

Braving the elements for happy hour

Yesterday, I was up at 6am for another shift of carting people around the fairgrounds. It was much busier than Wednesday’s shift. The weather was superb with abundant sunshine and the temperature topped out near 80 degrees. I was scheduled to work until 9:30am, but I couldn’t get back to the cart staging area until 10am. People needed rides and I couldn’t turn them down. I finally gave a person a ride to the small vendor building next to the cart area and turned it in.

Donna and I spent the afternoon kicking tires and looking at coaches for sale. We aren’t in the market, but it was fun to see different set-ups. We spent some time in a two-million dollar Prevost Marathon. It was nice, but we liked the 1.7 million dollar Newell better. I was impressed with the Entegra line of coaches also. Entegra came about when Travel Supreme was going out of business. Jayco bought the Travel Supreme business and retooled it into Entegra around 2009.

Last night, we enjoyed another happy hour with with our fellow Alpiners and tons of hors d’oeuvres. Today, Donna is going shopping in Bend with Willi Egg. I’ll check out more of the show and attend a seminar.