Category Archives: Maintenance

Dumping and Flushing

Yesterday, I dumped and flushed our holding tanks. I’ve written that sentence in this blog many times. It’s not the most pleasant task or subject, but I’m going to write what I know about it today.

To be self-contained, an RV must have the ability to store and pump fresh water. It also must be able to store wastewater for proper disposal. Fresh water capacity is usually the limiting factor regarding how long you can live without hook-ups. In some cases, gray water capacity may set the limit.

Most self-contained RVs have three water tanks – fresh water tank, gray water tank and black water tank.

Fresh water is potable water stored on board and is usually pumped through the plumbing with an electric pump. I always filter the water going into our motorhome. I never know if the water supply I’m hooked up to had recent work which may have left sediment or dislodged rust into the system. Our current set-up is a two-stage canister filtration system. The first stage is an inexpensive 5-micron spun-polypropylene filter that traps sediment or other solids. The second stage contains a 5-micron fiber-block activated-carbon filter. This filter removes chemicals, bacteria, lead and other heavy metals. We have another filter on a tap in the kitchen that is a one-micron carbon filter that will remove giardia and cryptosporidium cysts.

Fresh water supply pressure regulator and two stage canister filters

Fresh water supply pressure regulator and two-stage canister filters

I always use a pressure regulator on the fresh water supply. I wrote about that here. Our fresh water supply comes directly from the RV park water supply when we’re hooked up. When we don’t have a fresh water supply hooked up, we draw fresh water from our 100-gallon fresh water tank (total capacity is 110 gallons when you add the hot water heater volume).

So where does our fresh water go when we use it? The shower drain, kitchen sink and bathroom sink drain into the gray water tank (on some RVs, the bathroom sink may drain into the black water tank). Clothes washing machines and dishwashers also drain into the gray water tank. Gray water is generally considered to be harmless to the environment. Every drain has a P-trap. This is a U-shaped bend in the plumbing to trap and hold a small amount of water. This prevents the flow of gases from the tank coming out of the drain. Gray water can smell bad due to organic matter breaking down in the tank.

The tank has a vent that is piped up to the roof of the RV. It also has a drain pipe with a blade valve that exits under the RV. When we’re on full hook-ups, we aren’t concerned with how much gray water we create. We take regular showers and run the washing machine. I drain the gray water tank after two or three days – we have 100 gallons of gray water capacity in our coach. We average about 30 gallons of gray water per day for the two of us plus maybe another 8 gallons of black water. When we dry camp, we practice water conservation and use about 15 gallons of water per day. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average household uses a total of 80-100 gallons per person per day.

The toilet flushes into the black water tank. It’s important to understand how the black water tank functions. The most important thing is to have plenty of water in the black water tank. Solid waste matter and toilet paper needs to break down in the tank. If there isn’t sufficient water in the tank, solid waste can accumulate in one spot (below the toilet) and create the dreaded poo-pyramid.

Most RVers also add a chemical additive to the black water tank. There are many different additives on the market. They all have one thing in common – they claim to eliminate odor. Some mask odor by using scents. Some claim to break down solids as well as paper. Some claim to clean holding tank level sensors. Some of them claim to lubricate the blade valves.

I’ve tried several different brands. My comments on these brands are unscientific. I didn’t test or analyze. I’m just stating my observations.

Gray and black tank sewer manifold

Gray and black tank sewer manifold

The Oxy-Kem® brand controlled odors well. But I noticed paper in the black water when I drained the tank using Oxy-Kem®. By the way, it’s important to have a clear section in the sewer hook-up. It’s not a pleasant thing, but you need to be aware of the condition of your tanks by observing the discharge.

I was skeptical about brands that claimed to break down paper. I tried the Odorlos® treatment which claims to liquify all waste and tissue. To my surprise, I no longer saw any paper when I used this product. The odor control was not so good though.

The Walex Bio-Pak®was up next. it says it’s a natural enzyme deodorizer and waste digester. This product also broke down the paper, but isn’t the best odor controller. The packaging also doesn’t say it’s formaldehyde-free. Some holding tank treatments contain formaldehyde which isn’t environmentally friendly.

I’m currently using Happy Campers® treatment. So far, it seems to be the best. It breaks down the paper and seems to control odor well.

Holding tank treatments

Holding tank treatments

I drain the black water tank after five to seven days. Internet wisdom on various RV forums advises to have the black water tank at least 3/4 full before draining to ensure a forceful flow that will get everything out. This rule of thumb doesn’t make sense to me.

My old coach had a black water capacity of 40 gallons. At 3/4 full, it held 30 gallons of black water. It drained forcefully and I had no issues. My current coach has a black water capacity of about 90 gallons. The 3/4 rule means I should have more than 65 gallons before I drain the tank. Why? If thirty gallons worked on the smaller tank, why wouldn’t thirty gallons work on a large tank? They have the same size outlet and drain at the same rate.

I time how long it takes to drain the tank and I have a rough idea of how full the tank is. I usually have about 40 gallons when I drain the black water. We once went for 15 days without dumping tanks and I think the black tank was nearly full then.

Our coach is equipped with a black water tank flushing system. This consists of a hose connector and plumbing to a spray jet inside the black tank. I connect a water hose to the flush system and turn on the water before I open the black water blade valve. Do not use your fresh water supply hose on the black tank flushing system. I’ve seen people do this. Although the system has check valves, back flow is always a possibility. I let the flusher run for 10-15 seconds to agitate the wastewater, then I pull the valve open. Whoosh. After the tank drains, I leave the flushing system running for several minutes, then I close the valve. With the valve closed, I continue to run the flusher for 30-40 seconds to put a few gallons of water in the tank. Plenty of water in the black tank is a good thing. Then I go into the coach and flush the treatment down the toilet and into the tank.

I should mention the importance of having the sewer hose securely fastened to the sewer drain. If it can’t be screwed into the drain, it must be weighted down. The tank drains with enough force to lift the end of the sewer hose straight up and spew the contents. If you’ve seen the movie RV starring Robin Williams, you know what I’m talking about.

Sewer hose securely fastened to the drain pipe

Sewer hose securely fastened to the drain pipe

Once I’ve finished draining and flushing the black tank, I drain the gray water tank. Running 50 or 60 gallons of gray water through the sewer hose cleans out anything left behind after flushing the black tank. That’s how I do it.

I’m not sure if the cloud cover will burn off today. We have cloudy skies and a 90% chance of much-needed rain tonight.

The Solution

I haven’t posted since Sunday morning. This wasn’t due to laziness on my part – well maybe it was a factor. I just didn’t have much to say. My Sunday was consumed with NFL football. I watched the Chargers lose a nail biter when Kansas City kicked a field goal with 30 seconds left in the game. Donna went out for an easy spin on her bicycle, then spent the rest of the day taking care of business.

On Monday, I puttered around while Donna worked on her book revision. I did a lot of hand exercises with therapy putty and wasted time on a computer game called 2048. It doesn’t seem that hard until you try it. Then it becomes an obsession to score the 2048 tile. I have yet to get past 1024.

Yesterday, Donna went out on her bicycle at 8am to meet up with a training group on Fiesta Island. The group is part of a cycling club called Cyclo-Vets. This is a San Diego-based Masters Racing and recreational bicycling organization. Its members include dozens of national cycling champions and gold medalists in the Senior Olympics. The Tuesday morning ride is coached by a time trial coach, but is open to anyone wanting to improve speed and fitness. Donna learned some new techniques. They did intervals and high-cadence spinning over the 30-plus mile ride. She came back excited to join the club and plans to continue training with them every Tuesday morning. These coached sessions will surely help to increase her speed and racing confidence.

While Donna was out on her bike, I retrieved a ladder from the trailer and went to work cleaning our coach. We aren’t allowed to wash the coach with a hose and bucket of suds here in Mission Bay RV Resort. I did a waterless wash with a product called The Solution. This product was recommended by our friends and fellow Alpine Coach owners, Dave and Lynda Campbell. I purchased it at the FMCA Convention in Redmond, Oregon, but hadn’t tried it until yesterday.

The Solution waterless wash

The Solution waterless wash

The Solution comes in a gallon-size jug that contains a few ounces of a concentrated formula and an empty spray bottle. I added distilled water to the formula to make a full gallon. Then I poured The Solution from the gallon jug into the spray bottle. I applied a fine mist of the product to small sections of the coach and wiped it with a microfiber cloth. I used a second, clean microfiber cloth to buff the area. I cleaned the entire coach, from the roof line to the bottom of the basement compartments.

The Solution worked really well. It was a matter of spraying an area and wiping it clean. It took me two and a half hours and a little over a quart to clean the entire coach. I’m really pleased with its appearance – the coach is gleaming. Now it will be a matter of seeing how well the shine holds up. The Solution claims that waxing isn’t necessary when this product is applied.

Clean and shiny

Clean and shiny

Later, I rode the scooter to the Verizon store. I wrote in my last post about a discrepancy in the credit that the Verizon salesman, Christian, told us we would get for Donna’s old phone and what the Verizon customer service support person told me. Christian said we would receive a $200 credit while a one-hour chat session with the support person resulted in an offer of a $17 credit. I told Christian what had transpired. He said he would straighten it out and that we would definitely get $200. He got on the phone with the Verizon trade-in center. He was on the phone with them for 50 minutes!

It turns out the trade-in center was supposed to e-mail a promotional code to me. With this code, we will qualify for $200 versus the “normal” trade-in of $17. They said I would receive my code within 48 hours. There went another hour of my life dealing with Verizon.

After I left the Verizon store, I stopped at the Pacific Beach farmers’ market. I picked up San Diego wildflower honey for my daughter, Shauna. She has pollen allergies and wants to try the honey therapy. I also bought more Rickaroons. We love ’em. And I picked up a couple of bottles of extra virgin olive oil from a local family-owned business.

By the time I got home, it was time to go to the Offshore Tavern and Grill for my free football pool drink. Donna and I didn’t fare too well in our football picks, but at least I got a free drink.

Donna saw an Alpine Coach pull into the park while I was out. We also saw a Kymco Downtown 300i scooter, identical to ours, in one of the sites. Last evening, we took a walk through the park and introduced ourselves to the Alpine Coach owners, Marvin and Donna. Their coach is a 40-foot mid-door triple slide like ours, but it’s a 2008 model.

Marvin owned a construction business that specialized in building horse arenas, race tracks, rodeo and fairgrounds. He traveled throughout the country operating his business. Over the years (since the 1980s), he’s owned 13 different motorhomes that he used to travel to the construction sites. He’s owned his Alpine since 2008, when he bought it new. Like most Alpine Coach owners, he’s enthusiastic about the brand.

He sold his business and retired at the age of 50. They have a home in Boise, Idaho but do a lot of traveling. They come to San Diego several times a year. His wife, Donna has rheumatoid arthritis and gets regular infusion treatments here at Scripps. They agree that San Diego has the best doctors and medical facilities.

This morning, I broke out the ladder again and finished cleaning the windows on the coach. When I washed the coach yesterday, the front windows were too warm to clean them. I got on it early this morning before the sun heated them up.

Clean glass

Clean glass

We have another beautiful day ahead with temperatures in the mid 70s. I think I’ll ride my bicycle to the beach this afternoon.

Dings and Scratches

I took it easy and hung around the RV park again yesterday. The usual Friday influx was evident. It’s a long weekend for some people, Monday is Columbus Day. It seems like there are more kids in the park than usual.

In the afternoon, a Newmar Dutch Star diesel pusher backed into the site next to the driver’s side of our coach. Three youngsters ranging from about seven to 12 years old piled out – two boys and a girl. They pulled bicycles and skateboards from the basement of the coach. They were riding and skateboarding in between the two coaches. I saw one of  the kids run his bike into their coach. I was thinking of the dings and scratches I would find on our coach later.

Their mom packed beach towels and whatnot and they headed down to the beach. After they left, I went outside and looked our coach over. No worries, they didn’t hit it. I looked at their coach and saw several dings and scratches. I noticed the front tire was low on air pressure. This is not good. Low air pressure is the leading cause of tire failure. Having a blowout on a front (steer) tire could be a hair-raising experience.

Under-inflated front tire on our neighbor's coach

Under-inflated front tire on our neighbor’s coach

Later, I saw the mom outside. I mentioned the low tire. She looked at it and told me the tires were just put on before they left Utah. They’re planning to drive back to Utah on Sunday. I looked closer and I saw the cap was missing on the valve stem. The valve might not be seated well and it could be leaking. Today, I’ll break out my Porter-Cable compressor and fill the tire. I also found a spare metal valve stem cap that I’ll put on. I would hate to think of them driving down the freeway on an under-inflated tire.

Donna spent the afternoon shopping with her sister, Linda. When they returned, they told me a motorhome had a mishap at the other end of the park. While backing into their site, they hit a tree! I took a stroll around the park and surveyed the damage. It was minor, just cosmetic scratches.

While I was out, I took a walk along the path by the bay. The tides have been unusually high. The tide was going out and shore birds were feeding along the waterline. I snapped a photo of egrets and rails feeding together.

Egrets and rails feeding

Egrets and rails feeding

We have Shauna’s car again today. Donna dropped Shauna off at the airport last night. Shauna flew to Portland, Oregon to join her sisters for their maternal grandmother’s funeral service. RIP Delaurice Grams.

We plan to head over to the Verizon store today. Our friends at Technomadia and Nina at WheelingIt wrote about the great October offers from Verizon and AT&T. I think we’ll upgrade our phones to Samsung Galaxy S5s and contract a 30GB/month data plan. Our current data plan has us scrimping on our data usage. My only fear is that data usage seems to expand with data availability. How long will it be before we find 30GB is too low?

We’ve had mild weather and the trend continues. Highs in the mid 70s, overnight lows in the mid 60s. I can’t complain about that!

Settling in at Mission Bay

On Wednesday morning, Donna and I realized we’d been here for a full week already and could hardly believe it. The time gets away from me sometimes. I don’t know where the days go.

The usual RV park rhythm is taking shape here. The park was mostly empty mid-week and new arrivals started showing up on Thursday. I expect to see many more today. We’re experiencing another southern California heat wave. It will be a great weekend to be by the bay.

While we’re here in San Diego, we’re catching up on health care. We both went to the dentist for cleanings on Wednesday. Then, on Thursday, I went to see Dr. Leek, an orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Leek treated my trigger finger condition last December (I posted about it here). At that time, we opted for a cortisone injection. He told me the injection could be effective for a year, in which case, the injection would be worthwhile. On the other hand (no pun intended), if it lasted three months or less, we would probably have to release the tendon through surgery.

By the end of March, my finger started to stick again. If I made a fist, or gripped something small – like a pen for example – my ring finger wouldn’t straighten out. I had to pull it straight with a painful pop. We were leaving Mesa, Arizona at that time. We haven’t been in one place long enough for me to seek treatment since then. I was certain that a minor surgery would be required. Now, I have the time to get it done.

Dr. Leek examined my hand and we agreed to schedule the surgery. I’ll have the surgery done next Tuesday morning. My hand will have an incision with stitches and bandages for about 10 days.

After I left Dr. Leek’s office I stopped at a scooter shop on the frontage road by Pacific Highway. They carry Vespa and Kymco scooters. I was looking for an air filter element for our Kymco Downtown 300i. It’s overdue to be changed. They didn’t have it in stock. The parts counter guy told me he could order it and have in 10 days or so. Then he told me that I would be better off to order it myself, as I could get it cheaper online. I did an online search for it before and didn’t come up with anything. He told me to search “Kymco parts” instead of searching for “Kymco air filter.” I tried it and found a couple of sources that list the filter.

Scooter loaded up and ready to roll

Our Kymco Downtown 300i grocery – getter

Donna’s sister, Linda, came to our site in the late afternoon yesterday. She and Donna went to Solana Beach to attend a grand opening for Spark Health where their sister, Sheila, just opened her second location for Fitness Without Walls and her physical therapy services. She also provides services at her original location in Point Loma.

When they returned to the park a little past 6pm, I grilled a mojo marinated pork tenderloin for dinner. Donna served it with a sesame oil – lime vinaigrette cole slaw. My daughter, Shauna joined us. Donna, Linda and Shauna dined outdoors at the picnic table while I watched the Green Bay Packers destroy the Minnesota Vikings. I was preoccupied with the game and neglected to take a photo of the dinner plate.

Shauna is flying to Washington D.C. for the weekend. She left her car with us. We’ll have the car until Tuesday afternoon, so Donna can drive me to the surgery center Tuesday morning.

I mentioned the heat wave. Yesterday the temperature was near 90 degrees. Today and tomorrow will be the same before we cool off to the lower 80s on Sunday. I think I’ll head to the beach today where it will be cooler.

Simple Maintenance – Right!

We had some relief from the heat on Friday. The early morning cloud cover burned off, but it didn’t get too hot until late afternoon when the temperature hit the mid-80s.

I wanted to perform scheduled maintenance on the scooter and generator while I have the opportunity here at Jojoba Hills RV Resort. When we get to Mission Bay, they won’t allow me to do mechanical work there.

On Friday morning, I changed the engine oil and filter on the scooter. I also drained and refilled the gearbox with 75-90 gear oil. The Kymco maintenance schedule calls for these lubricants to be changed every 3,000 miles. We just turned over 6,000 miles, so it was due. Next week, when we’re in San Diego, I’ll have to find an air filter element for it – it’s time to change that too.

After I cleaned up, I took the scooter out for a test run, then I rode it to Temecula. I stopped at Best Buy and picked up another ink cartridge for the printer. The one we bought on Wednesday didn’t work. I forgot to bring the bad cartridge to see if they would exchange it, so I paid for another cartridge.

After Best Buy, I had a quick lunch at Subway. They had the six-inch sweet onion-teriyaki chicken sub on sale for three bucks. From there I rode to WalMart where I bought a few grocery items that Donna needed and three quarts of oil for the generator. I already had new filters for the generator on hand, but I didn’t have any oil for it. We have 544 hours on the generator now. The last oil change was at 400 hours. Onan calls for oil and filter changes every 150 hours. At 500 hours, I should have changed the fuel filter and air filter. This would be Saturday’s task.

After I returned, I kicked back and read while Donna was working at her laptop. We planned to go to a happy hour get-together at the pool around 4:30pm. Donna whipped up a plate of hors d’oeuvres and I put a few cans of beer in a small cooler and we walked down to the pool. There was a small gathering around a few tables that were pushed together. We were invited to take a seat and join them.

We met John Macon, a Jojoba member since 2010. He filled us in on some of the history of the place. He also scheduled a tour of the park for us to take with him on Saturday afternoon. Taking visitors on tours of the park is one of John’s specialties.

View across the pool at Happy Hour

View across the pool at happy hour

We finished the night off watching a movie – Rudy, the story of a kid who dreamed of playing football for Notre Dame. He didn’t have the size or talent, but he never gave up.

This morning, servicing the Onan Quiet Diesel generator was my main task for the day. Our generator is mounted on sliding rails that are hydraulically operated. I switched on the HWH hydraulics and opened the generator compartment, expecting a fairly easy job ahead.

7.5kW Onan Quiet Diesel generator

7.5kW Onan Quiet Diesel generator

Underneath the generator, there’s a door on the bottom panel to access the oil filter and fuel filter. I ran into a problem right from the start. The latches to open the door were jammed. I couldn’t get them to budge. I figured there was debris caught in the sliding latches behind the door. I decided to unbolt the hinge and see if I could get the door free. That was my next problem. The hinges were fastened with T30 torx head fasteners. I used to have every size of torx bit imaginable, but those Dirty Rotten Thieves took them when they stole my trailer. The biggest torx bit I had was a T20.

I jumped on the scooter and made the 15-mile ride to Temecula where I found torx bits at O’Reilly Auto Parts. I also bought a new strap wrench there. This time I remembered to bring the bad printer cartridge and receipt. I stopped at Best Buy to return it. I told the customer service girl that I bought the cartridge a couple of days ago and it didn’t work. I also said I bought another cartridge yesterday that works fine, confirming the first cartridge is defective.

She told me that printer cartridges are generally not a returnable item. They have no way of knowing if I used up all of the ink in it or not and had no way to test it. I showed her the test page from our printer with no black ink. She asked if I had the receipt from the second cartridge. I didn’t bring it with me. She asked how I paid. I paid with a Visa card. She looked up the transaction and said since I came back and bought another cartridge, she would make an exception and refund the cost of the first one. She said I should call the store immediately if I get another bad cartridge in the future or I wouldn’t be able to return it. Good to know. This is the second time we’ve had a bad ink cartridge.

I stopped at Ralph’s grocery store and bought a case of bottled water. I strapped it on the back of the scooter and headed back.

I crawled back underneath the generator and removed the access door. Then I loosened the oil filter. The filter is tucked up in a cramped space. I wanted to be sure I could get it off before I drained the oil. Then I decided to tackle the fuel filter.

I started by loosening the fuel supply fitting on the old fuel filter. Fuel began dripping from the line into a catch pan I had placed underneath. I expected a few ounces of fuel to drip. Once the dripping started, I saw my error. I should have removed the other filter fitting for the fuel line going to the engine first. I had to reach past a dripping line to access the other fitting. I started to remove the other fitting. It was very difficult because I couldn’t see it. With diesel fuel dripping down, I couldn’t get my head into position to see what I was doing.

When I started to loosen the second fitting, more fuel started dripping. It was running down my arm. I took a break and thought the fuel would stop dripping soon. After a few minutes, more than a pint of fuel was in the catch pan and it didn’t show any sign of slowing down. I came to the conclusion that changing the fuel filter was not a task for me. I’ll wait and have it done the next time we have the coach in for service.

I crawled back underneath to re-secure the fittings. I still had the same problem with fuel dripping and running down my arm while I tried to tighten the fittings by feel. I had fuel running down my arm for 15 minutes before I could get the unions tightened. That’s when I realized the fuel wasn’t running down to my elbow and dripping into the pan like I thought. It was running all the way to my shoulder and my shirt was soaked with fuel. Ugh!

I cleaned up a bit, then got on with the oil and filter change. I hadn’t paid much attention to the oil drain plug until now. That’s when I saw the drain plug looked like a pipe fitting with a square lug. There’s no room to get an open-ended wrench in there. I don’t have any square sockets.

I thought about it and came up with an idea. The square lug was 3/8″ across. I put a 1/4″ socket on my ratchet wrench, then put a 1/4″ hex driver into the socket. This left the square 3/8″ drive opening on the back of the driver. The 3/8″ drive opening fit perfectly on the drain plug and I removed it easily. The picture below is labelled – click on it to enlarge and you can see how I did it.

Driver set up to remove square drive plug

Driver set up to remove square drive plug

Tool assembled

Tool assembled

While the oil drained, I replaced the air filter. This was the only part of the job that went exactly as planned without a glitch.

I cleaned the latches on the  access door. I couldn’t see any reason for them to jam. They seemed to work once I had the door off. After I screwed it back onto the hinges, it worked fine.

After I filled the engine with oil and did a test run for leaks, I poured the waste oil from the pan into the empty oil containers. I’ll recycle the oil later. I dumped my tools onto a rag in the trailer and cleaned myself. I’ll clean up the tools and put them away later. I took off the fuel-soaked shirt before I entered the coach and took a long, hot shower. This was supposed to be a fairly easy job!

I relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Donna cancelled our tour of the park since the generator job took so long. I wasn’t up for a tour after I finished.

Tomorrow the Chargers play in Buffalo, so they will be the early game at 10am. My plan is to kick back and enjoy some football!

Jojoba Hills Co-op

The days here in Jojoba Hills have blended together. Each day has been much like the last. The hot afternoons keep us inside our air-conditioned coach. On Wednesday morning, Donna and I rode the scooter 15 miles to the Ralph’s grocery store in Temecula.

While Donna shopped for groceries, I walked over to Best Buy and picked up a black ink cartridge for the printer. Then I took the scooter to the gas station and filled up. By the time I came back, Donna was in the checkout line. Once again, we managed to fit half a dozen bags of groceries under the seat, in the tote bag and in a backpack.

Yesterday, I explored the Jojoba Hills RV Resort. This is an Escapees Co-op. As Escapees members, we can stay here a maximum of 28 days in a calendar year as visitors. Most of the people here have bought a “share” in Jojoba Hills. Owning a share entitles you to have a site assigned to you. You don’t own any real property, but you have your own site. Judging by license plates, it appears that most of the shareholders are not permanent California residents.  They’re domiciled in tax- and RV-friendly states. That means they cannot be here year ’round. By the way, the park requires all RVs here to have valid, current license plates even though many of the rigs look like they haven’t been on the road for a long time.

The price of a share is set by the board of directors every year. We heard it was around $30,000. There’s a waiting list for shares. If you’re on the waiting list and a share becomes available, you pay the owner of that share the share price plus any improvements or assessments. Now you have your own site. Electricity and propane are not included, but the monthly maintenance fee of around $250 includes water, maintenance of common areas and access to all of the amenities (pool, clubhouse, tennis courts, workshops, etc). If you are going to be away from the park, you can make your site available for visitors. The money from the rental of the site goes to the co-op, not the shareholder. The incentive for doing this is free maintenance of your site while you’re away. The co-op maintains all of the sites available for rental.

It’s an interesting concept. We don’t have any intention of settling in one place at this time, but who knows what the future may hold.

The weather was cooler yesterday, but still quite warm with a high of 86. Last night felt humid and this morning we have a low ceiling and high humidity. Today is supposed to clear up and the temperature will reach the mid 80s again. This morning, I’ll change the oil and filter in the scooter. I want to take care of a few maintenance items while we’re here because the resort does not have any restrictions against working on vehicles. I also plan to wash the coach before we leave next Wednesday.

Low overcast this morning

Low overcast this morning

Day Four Without Donna

I kept myself busy on Monday, day four without Donna. After I posted to the blog, I found a Costco store about five or six miles from here.  I wanted to get coffee K-cups and more bottled water. On an impulse, I bought a big bag of mixed rice crackers with nuts for snacking.

Scooter loaded up and ready to roll

Scooter loaded up and ready to roll

After I dropped the stuff off at the coach, I rode to Taco Del Mar for lunch. Then I went to WalMart to stock up on paper towels. I’m stocking up on these supplies in preparation for the month ahead. We have a few planned stops, but expect to be off the beaten path for much of the time. This will mean dry camping or boondocking at times without any idea of services available in the area. We’ll be in Tehachapi, California in a couple of weeks for Donna’s next bike race.

I spent most of the afternoon defrosting the refrigerator. After packing perishables in a cooler, I sat and read for awhile. Once the ice on the refrigerator cooling fins started to melt, I was able to pull loose chunks away. It took a little over two hours to defrost. Then I reloaded the refrigerator. The timing was good as supplies are currently low. We’ll re-supply on Wednesday.

Today, I plan to make another Costco run for more coffee and water. The Kirkland Signature Pacific Bold is a good dark roast coffee that Donna and I like. Costco sells it in 100-cup boxes that bring the cost down to about 35 cents per cup. We’ll have enough on board to get us to San Diego on September 24th.

Then I need to add air to the trailer tires and check the lug nuts for tightness. I’ll organize the trailer and load the scooter. Donna will return tonight. We will hit the road again tomorrow morning by 11am at the latest.

We have an appointment on Thursday with the guys at Amazing Creations in Junction City. They will remove our bedroom TV (which we don’t use) and add a shelf and cabinet doors in the space it occupies. We’ll use the cabinet to house a printer and provide additional storage. When we leave here tomorrow, we’ll dry camp somewhere near Junction City.

After we have the work done, we’re going off the grid for the long holiday weekend. We’ve been invited to stay at a friend’s vacation property near Cottage Grove, Oregon on the Row (rhymes with wow) River.

This isn’t the usual “courtesy park in my driveway” offer. His property is right on the river and has – wait for it – full RV hook ups! That’s right!  Water, sewer and 50-amp electrical service. There’s good biking in the area and, of course, recreation on the river. We know we won’t have cell phone service. We may have limited internet access. I won’t divulge a detailed description of his property location in consideration of our host’s privacy. The offer is most generous and we’ll be away from crowded campgrounds over the Labor Day weekend.

The forecast today calls for a high of 93 degrees, a few degrees warmer than yesterday. I have much to do, so I’d better get started.

 

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.

Alpines Everywhere

We’ve had some busy days since I last posted on Wednesday. It’s Saturday morning and I need to catch up.

Donna went out for a bike ride on Wednesday. She rode west on Marine Drive to Portland and followed the bike path along I-5 over the Columbia River. If she continued north on the path, she would cross the state line into Washington. Instead, she pulled off at Hayden Island. She rode there to visit her friend, Ramona Creel. Ramona is an organizing professional and full-time RVer.

Ramona was staying at the Jantzen Beach RV Park.  She has an Airstream travel trailer that she pulls with a Ford truck. She was stranded at the time due to engine trouble with her truck. An independent mechanic in Portland told her the engine had seized and would need replacement. His estimate for the repair was $6,000.

The truck ended up at a Ford dealer where they told her the engine wasn’t seized. The compressor was seized and wouldn’t allow the engine to turn over. Replacement of the compressor was $1,100.

Stories like this really frost me. The first mechanic condemned the engine without doing a proper diagnosis. He assumed the crankshaft was seized and never removed belts to confirm this. I don’t know if he was dishonest or incompetent, but people like that give the auto repair business a black eye.

Donna visited with Ramona for an hour or so before riding back. It was about a 30-mile round trip with a tailwind all the way home along the Columbia River.

While Donna was out, I washed our coach. I also treated the tire sidewalls with 303 Aerospace Protectant.

Around 4pm, we rode the scooter to the old downtown district of Troutdale and had an early dinner at a sushi restaurant. Downtown Troutdale is only a couple of blocks, but it has some cool shops.

Old downtown Troutdale

Old downtown Troutdale

At the end of the road is a museum and park overlooking the Sandy River. They roll up the sidewalks at 5pm though, so the museum was closed by the time we got there.

Old Union Pacific rail car in front of museum

Old Union Pacific rail car in front of museum

Thursday was a move day. We had to pack up and move from site 99 to site 28. We also had to drop our trailer. I walked up to office to check in for the move. Last Friday, the manager told me I would be dropping the trailer in site 2, 3 or 4 and I should check in before moving. The manager wasn’t there Thursday morning. The assistant manager, Debby, was on duty. I asked her which site I would be dropping the trailer in. She told me she didn’t have anything available, so I would have to leave it in the other end of the park by the pond!

I nearly lost it. I told her this was the second time they hadn’t come through. First of all, Debby had e-mailed me in April and said we would stay in the same site for our entire stay. That didn’t happen. Then the manager told me I would drop my trailer near our present site and now Debby was saying that wouldn’t happen either. After I pointed out to Debby how she had dropped the ball on me, she started looking through her reservations. She finally told me I could drop our trailer in site 6 as soon as the people there moved out, which would be by 11am. Site 28, where we had to move, was also currently occupied and should be available by 11am. I don’t understand all the juggling of sites. The people in site 28 weren’t leaving the park – they were being moved to another site as well!

At 11am, I dropped the trailer in site 6. Then we drove the coach down Sandy Boulevard a few miles west to a Union 76 station I had scouted. Their price for diesel fuel was $3.78/gallon. With my 5% Chase Freedom card cash back bonus, I filled up for less than $3.60/gallon.

Once we settled into our new site, the Alpine Coaches started rolling in. The Alpine Coach Association rally would officially kick off with cocktails and heavy hors d’oeuvres at 5pm.

Rows of Alpine Coaches

Rows of Alpine Coaches

The hors doeuvres turned out to be dinner. There was plenty of food, wine tasting and a variety of beers. I sampled a few beers while Donna enjoyed the wine. We sat with Dave Hobden and his wife, Stilla. They’re originally from Colorado Springs, Colorado. Actually, Stilla is from Germany. They’re full-timers now that Dave has retired for the second time. First, he retired from the army, then went back to work for the government as a contractor. Now, he’s fully retired and enjoying life on the road. Dave and I corresponded online through the Alpine forum and he follows our blog. It was great to meet in person. Events like this and life on the road in general are all about the people we meet.

Dave, Stilla and Donna along with other ACA members

Dave, Stilla and Donna along with other ACA members

A tour of the Roadmaster facility, where RV parts and accessories are manufactured in Vancouver, Washington was on the agenda Friday morning. Donna and Stilla weren’t interested in going. Dave and I decided to travel together in Dave’s truck.

Donna hung out with a group of women after I left at 7:30pm. I came back to the coach to watch the Chargers pre-season opener against the Dallas Cowboys. For some reason, the NFL Network showed the TV coverage kicking off at 7:30pm. The actual kick-off was at 7pm, so I missed most of the first quarter. The Chargers look promising. I think it will be a good season.

I’ll post about Friday’s activity later and bring us up to date. Today, Donna and I are heading to Portland’s downtown area to kick around.

 

 

Home on the Marina

Yesterday’s high temperature reached 90 degrees. It wasn’t a record breaker, but it was nine degrees above average. Today is supposed to be hotter – mid 90s.

Donna studied the map and went out for a bike ride in the late morning. She made one error on her course and ended up climbing to the top of Rocky Butte Park. She went through a tunnel going up plus lots of switchbacks to the top and back down the other side. She met another rider who helped her get back on course. She rode back along the bike path next to Marine Drive, on the Columbia River. Her loop covered about 20 miles.

After lunch, I took a ride on the scooter. I wanted to stop at Lowes and try to find 5/16″ self-tapping screws. I made a loop riding west, then north to Marine Drive where I turned back east. The Columbia River runs wide and deep along here.

I came upon a unique little community. It’s made up of floating houses at a marina. There were three or four different gated marinas with floating houses. The homeowners had parking areas in the marina lot and most of them also had floating garages for their boats.

Floating homes

Floating homes

Homes and toys

Homes and toys

More homes

More homes

These communities are located in a small strait between the south bank of the Columbia River and McGuire Island. This shields them from the main channel of the Columbia.

I also checked out the Blue Lake Regional Park and Chinook Landing Marine Park. Both parks were full of activity as lots of people were enjoying the sunny weather on the water. I just did a drive-by. The day-use fee to enter either park is five dollars.

I finally made my way to Lowes. They didn’t have the hardware I was looking for. The guy there suggested I try Fastenal, but they are closed on Sunday.

In the afternoon, Donna and I tackled a chore I’ve put off for too long. Our Weber Q grill needed a deep cleaning. It was quite a job, but it gave Donna a chance to try out the Reliable Pronto Steam Cleaner. We’ll be shooting a video review of this product for Camping World like the one we did for the Reliable Steamboy Pro T3 floor mop.

Last night, Donna did something different for dinner. She cubed spicy, pre-seasoned, boneless, skinless chicken thighs from Costco that my daughter, Alana, cooked for dinner one night when we were visiting. She browned the chicken then added broccoli, onions and peppers for a stir fry. She used the orange glaze sauce that came with the pre-seasoned chicken in the stir fry. She sprinkled sesame seeds over the stir fry once it was on the plate. It was a quick, simple meal that was very tasty. I would enjoy having it again.

Chicken stir fry with orange glaze sauce

Chicken stir fry with orange glaze sauce

This morning, we’ll work on the video review. I want to take my mountain bike out for a ride by the river. Later, I’ll see if I can find the Fastenal store and continue my quest for 5/16″ self-tapping screws. I think today will be mostly a working day for Donna.