Category Archives: Maintenance

Chillin’ and Grillin’ in Portland

Yesterday’s weather was hot and muggy. The thermometer registered a high of 90 degrees. We ran the air conditioners all afternoon.

For some unknown reason, I had lower back pain yesterday. I was uncomfortable most of the day. I managed to get out and ride the scooter over to WalMart where I bought propane canisters for the Weber Q grill. I also bought DAP caulking for the kitchen sink and backsplash in the bathroom. The caulk had dried out and was cracking around the kitchen sink. This was allowing water to seep past any time water collected on the rim of the sink (while doing dishes or whatnot).

Likewise, the seam where the backsplash and countertop meet in the bathroom needed to be resealed. I used almond colored caulk in the kitchen to match the Corian® countertop. In the bathroom I went with clear caulk. It took about one and half hours to complete the job. Most of that time was consumed in removing the old caulk and cleaning the area to prepare it for the new caulk.

Meanwhile, Donna went out for walk and scouted the bike route. She phoned me after 30 minutes or so to confirm her directions to loop back to the park. The roads around here can be confusing. They aren’t laid out in a straight grid and many roads have multiple names. Also, along the river many of the roads are dead ends.

I laid back and read most of the afternoon. My lower back hurt all day. I don’t what was up with that. My back feels fine this morning.

When Donna returned, she prepared a rack of lamb with a classic rosemary, thyme and garlic rub. She allowed it to marinate with a little olive oil in the refrigerator for about two hours before I grilled it. She served it with baked sweet potato and steamed green beans. Another delicious meal!

A colorful and delicious meal

A colorful and delicious meal

Donna is heading out for a bike ride this morning. We have another hot day ahead. The temperature is supposed to reach record territory in the lower 90s.

RV Awnings and Wind

Yesterday was another rainy day. We spent most of the day indoors. There was a short break from the rain around midday. Donna took advantage of the break by taking a walk on East Lake Goodwin Road. I drove Alana’s car to Costco and picked up a few items.

While I was out, I thought about wind. Although it’s been raining for two days, we haven’t had much wind. Wind can be a powerful and devastating force. This was demonstrated yesterday when a tornado touched down in a Virginia campground. RVs were overturned and trees were blown down. Two people were killed and more than 30 were injured.

I also saw a post on Facebook yesterday about a marina destroyed by a storm. There was a photo posted showing part of the dock on top of a boat.

The reason I was thinking about wind was because I left our awning out while Donna and I were away from the coach. Wind can quickly destroy an awning and damage an RV. I usually pull the awning in if we’re going to be away from the coach. I’ve become too complacent about it. With the rain, the awning is a nice convenience. It keeps the area around the door dry, making it nicer to exit and enter the coach while it’s raining.

Our awning is an AE WeatherPro power awning. The awning is electrically operated and opens or closes with the touch of a rocker switch. It isn’t hard to operate.

I prefer not to close the awning while it’s wet. If I have to close it while it’s wet, I’ll open it at the earliest opportunity to allow it to dry and prevent mildew. Although the fabric of the awning is mildew-resistant, dust and dirt can build up on the fabric and quickly create mildew if it’s rolled up wet.

The AE WeatherPro awning is supported by articulated arms. The design is clever. The support arm has a joint (the manual calls it a knee) about two and a half feet away from the coach. There’s an air spring that maintains pressure on the arm to hold the awning open and pull the fabric tight.

If the wind catches the awning, it billows up like a sail as the arm articulates at the knee (maybe they should call it an elbow), compressing the air spring. Once the wind passes, the air spring extends the awning back into position. This is a clever “bend don’t break” approach.

Linkage supporting the AE WeatherPro awning

Linkage supporting the AE WeatherPro awning

Our old coach had a manually operated awning. The arms were rigid and locked into place. I’ve seen people tie down or hang weights on the ends of the arms to keep them from banging around in the wind. In my opinion, if it’s windy enough to need tie downs or weights, the awning should probably be pulled in.

With a manual awning, I would extend one arm out higher than the other. This caused the awning to tilt to one side. When it rained, water would run off the lower end of the awning instead of pooling on the fabric.

The AE WeatherPro has different spring rates on the air springs. When water pools on the fabric, the spring on the left arm (the one with the lower spring rate), collapses up to nine inches from the weight of the water and the water runs off the left end of the awning. This happened many times over the last two days!

The AE WeatherPro comes with a wind sensor. This device will automatically retract the awning if sustained winds above 18mph are detected (that’s the factory default setting and it’s adjustable). Our wind sensor was turned off when we bought the coach. I’ve read many complaints on forums about erratic wind sensor operation, so I never bothered to activate it.

After thinking it through, I think I’ll activate the wind sensor and see how it works. The AE WeatherPro manual says that erratic operation is most likely due to an obstruction blocking or partially blocking the sensor.

That’s what I know about RV awnings.

Last night, Donna thawed a package of sea food medley, marinated the seafood for five minutes in lemon juice and then sauteed it with garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and white wine. She served it over whole wheat pasta. With a little grated parmesan and fresh basil, this simple meal was delicious.

Lemon - garlic seafood medley

Lemon-garlic seafood medley

This morning, I had written about 500 words of this post when it disappeared from my computer. I don’t know how it happened or why I couldn’t call up an autosaved version of it. All I could do was start over. Oh, well. I won’t let that ruin my day. Sunshine is in the forecast for today and the rest of the weekend.

High Voltage

We slept in and had a leisurely morning yesterday before we pulled out of the 50,000 Silver $ RV Park. We drove west on I-90 and climbed up over Lookout Pass. The climb wasn’t bad. I took it easy and climbed in fourth gear at 45-50 mph.

The challenge on I-90 is the road construction. The day before, west of Missoula, they were painting stripes on the new surface. Only one lane was open. They had plastic stanchions on my right along the center stripe to keep vehicles from driving on the fresh paint. There was a concrete barrier on the left. It was tight. Our coach is eight and a half feet wide (102″). I didn’t have much room for error. We made it through without hitting anything, but it wasn’t a pleasant drive.

Coming over Lookout Pass yesterday, as soon as we hit the Idaho border, the road surface deteriorated. The steep descent down the west side of the pass was rough and uneven. I had the Jake brake on the high setting and kept our speed at 50mph.

West of Wallace, Idaho, a light rain began. Of course, I just spent hours cleaning the coach and wheels. The coach was already dusty from going through construction zones during Monday’s drive on MT200. The drizzling rain made a mess of the exterior.

We had another pass to cross before we reached Coeur d’Alene – 4th of July Pass. Again, I took it easy and climbed in fourth gear and used the Jake brake to control the descent. The engine temperature stayed cool and pulled us past semi tractor-trailer rigs as we climbed.

We programmed Tamarack RV Park as our destination in Nally (our GPS). Nally has been super-reliable and I rarely question her directions. This was a rare case where I knew something wasn’t right. She took us into a private road with narrow residential streets. I could see on the screen that the road we were on was a dead end.

I quit listening to her directions and looked at the map on the screen. I made a turn at the next intersection, which looked like it would connect to a major road. Donna phoned the RV park for directions. We weren’t far off. For some reason, the GPS was taking us to the back of the park where there isn’t a way to enter.

Once I got out of the private residential development, I was on Kathleen Avenue. I could see the road we should have been on, a quarter mile to the west. We turned south on Government Way and found the park entrance.

The Tamarack RV Park has nice, paved roads. But there are many trees and tight quarters. We’re in one of the largest pull-through sites here. It took a lot of jockeying back and forth to get the trailer lined up and position the coach where I wanted it.

As I began to set up, I plugged our Progressive Industries Electrical Management System (PT50C) into the pedestal. It registered an error and showed 255 volts! I saw a park maintenance man and called him over. He had me plug into a couple of other pedestals. It registered the same fault every time. He told me the last pedestal I tried was wired to a different circuit.

This made me think the PT50C might be the problem. I checked the power pedestal with a multi-meter and found 122 volts on each leg of the 50 amp circuit. My PT50C was the problem. I think it was damaged by the over-voltage occurrence at the 50,000 Silver $ Park.

I plugged us straight into the power pedestal without the PT50C and continued setting up. Donna made our site comfortable with the mat, chairs and flower pots on the table cloth-covered picnic table. She also added decorative lights along the edge of our site.

Donna relaxing at Tamarack RV park

Donna relaxing at Tamarack RV Park

Last night, I grilled chicken breasts with strawberries. Donna drizzled the chicken and strawberries with a balsamic reduction and served it with a side of mixed grains – red and gold quinoa, brown rice, amaranth and wild rice.

Grilled chicken and strawberries

Grilled chicken and strawberries

There are lots of trees in Tamarack RV Park – pines, firs and spruce. I don’t see any tamaracks though. The trees are blocking the Dish Network satellite signal. I’ll have to rely on the park’s cable TV. I hope I can tune in the Moto GP race this weekend.

Lots of trees here

Lots of trees here

This morning, I placed a call to Progressive Industries and told them about the problem with my PT50C. They told me that an internal component fried, causing the 255-volt reading. They said to ship the unit to them with a note describing the issue. They will replace the circuit board and reseal the unit and ship it back to me. No charge. Now that’s good customer service.

Donna is out riding on the Northern Idaho Centennial Trail. When she returns, I think I’ll get my bike out.

Up Early

Maybe it’s a case of wanderlust. I don’t know. I woke up at 4:30am. An hour and a half later, I got out of bed. This isn’t my usual routine. Lately I’ve been sleeping in. Donna is usually the first one up while I linger in bed.

Yesterday, while Donna went for a bike ride, I finished my clean-up job on the coach. I polished the wheels, replaced the lug nut covers and treated the tire sidewalls with 303 Aerospace. It’s looking good!

Looking good!

Looking good!

Later, I scootered Donna over to Barnes and Noble. She worked on her book project again at the Starbucks there, utilizing the free wifi and enjoying a latte. I intended to go to a self-serve car wash to wash the scooter. I forgot to bring microfiber cloths along to dry the scooter though, so I scrapped that plan.

I came back to the RV park and organized the trailer and loaded the scooter. The trailer is set to go. When Donna returned, I grilled a pork tenderloin that she had marinated earlier. Paired with a Lagunitas IPA, it was scrumptious.

Pork tenderloin with sweet potato and broccoli

Pork tenderloin with sweet potato and broccoli

This morning, I’ll dump and flush the tanks, then it will be time to kick the tires and light the fires. We’ll head west on MT200 to Missoula. I know there’s some road construction on MT200, but I think it’s the best route for us.

The alternative is I-15 to Helena, then I-90. I think MT200 will be more scenic and we won’t have to climb Mullan Pass and McDonald Pass. I’m ready to say goodbye to the ubiquitous prairie dogs and cottontail rabbits in Great Falls. It’s time to move on!

Summer Solstice

Yesterday was the summer solstice. It marks the day with the longest period of sunlight. It would be more correct to call it the northern solstice, as it’s the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere. The southern hemisphere enjoys a summer solstice between December 20-23, depending on how the calendar falls in a given year.

We enjoyed a beautiful midsummer day. There were few clouds in the sky and the temperature reached a comfortable high of 74 degrees. More of the same is forecast for today and tomorrow.

Donna took advantage of the agreeable weather with a bike bike. She rode south on Fox Farm Road, along the Missouri River. She found a route she really enjoyed and put in 23 miles.

While Donna was out riding, I went to the office and paid $10 for the privilege of washing our rig. I started on the roof and then did the cargo trailer. I used Rain-X car wash with carnauba on the roof and trailer. I used NAPA (Mac’s) car wash on the rest of the coach. The Rain-X car wash left fewer water spots than the NAPA product. Next time I’ll use Rain-X on the entire coach. I spent over three hours washing the coach and cleaning all of the glass. It was 3pm by the time I finished and had some lunch. I was too whipped to do the wheels.

I scootered Donna over to Barnes and Noble, which is a mile from here. After being cooped up in our coach all week, she wanted to get some work done in fresh surroundings. She took advantage of the free wifi at the Starbucks inside Barnes and Noble. I came home and kicked back inside with the Formula One qualifying I recorded for Sunday’s race in Austria. It was great to see Filipe Massa take the pole position. Later, Donna walked home.

Last evening, a couple from Australia, Dave and Meredith, pulled into the site next to us. They flew from Australia to Washington State and bought a Ford truck and fifth wheel trailer. They plan to tour the USA and Canada over the next 12 months. What an adventuresome couple. This is their first RV experience and they’ve jumped into the deep end!

We chatted with them for a while. Dave wanted to buy beer, so I rode with him in his truck and showed him where the store was. I picked up a six-pack of IPA as well. Donna and I enjoyed happy hour snacks and drinks outdoors.

Donna enjoying happy hour

Donna enjoying happy hour

Today, after I watch the Formula One race, I’ll polish the wheels, put on the new lug nut covers and treat the rubber with 303 Aerospace Protectant. This is a great product to protect against UV degradation. I use it on the tire sidewalls and the lens covers on our coach. Some headlight lens covers can be damaged by UV rays and turn yellow.

New lug nut covers go on today

New lug nut covers go on today

I also need to organize the cargo trailer and prepare for travel. Tomorrow morning, we’ll pull out of Great Falls. We’re heading for Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, which is nearly 400 miles away. We’ll break the trip into two days, stopping in Missoula, Montana. We’ll probably stay overnight at the WalMart there.

Last week I neglected to post a photo of a great meal Donna prepared. She has the convection oven down and is getting the induction cooking down as well.

Cornish hen and roasted potatoes

Cornish hen and roasted potatoes

I don’t know if I’ll post again before we reach Couer d’Alene.

Tamale Tuesday

This morning I awoke to the sound of raindrops drumming on the roof of our coach – the same sound I heard yesterday and the day before that. The north and east ends of Dick’s RV Park are giant mud puddles. I’m happy to be in the drier southwest corner, even though we’re closer to the road noise.

On Tuesday afternoon, we had a break in the rain. The forecast called for about an hour lull in the rain showers. Donna went for a walk while it was dry out. I checked our batteries and puttered around. We had about 60 or 70 gallons of fresh water on board. I dumped the tank and refilled it with 100 gallons of the city water here in the park. Great Falls has great water! Much better than the water we’ve been carrying from the desert. When Donna returned, she told me she saw a tamale vendor on the street corner across the 6th Street bridge.

The next bout of rain showers hadn’t arrived yet, so I hustled over to check out the tamales. There was a trailer set up as a kitchen in the church parking lot at 6th Street and 10th Avenue. It had a sign that said “Electric City Concessions” on the side. Electric City is the nickname given to Great Falls, due to having the first hydroelectric generating plant on the Missouri River here.

They offered homemade tamales wrapped in corn husks. Two dollars each, six for $8.50 or $16.00 for a dozen. Tamales are a traditional Mesoamerican dish made from masa ( a corn based starchy dough). In  Mexico, tamales are made with different fillings and can be eaten for breakfast (usually with a sweet filling) or dinner. The masa is wrapped with corn husks or leaves and steamed.

I bought half a dozen tamales. These were savory with a ground pork filling. I brought them back to the coach and split them with Donna. They were fairly small, so three each was about right for lunch. Electric City Concessions sets up every Tuesday at the church (Tamale Tuesday). We won’t have another opportunity to buy them as we’ll be leaving Great Falls next Monday.

Yesterday, it  rained all day with only a brief break in the evening. Donna and I took a short walk through the park during the break. We avoided the muddy north side. Last night, Donna prepared fish tacos for dinner – one of my favorites.

I’m trying to use the RV park’s wifi as much as possible. With the rain and the park fairly full, their wifi is unreliable. Being inside all day means we are burning through our data allotment. Eight days into our cycle, we’ve used 59% of our current plan. I can raise our allotment and probably will before the cycle ends.

The rain is supposed clear up around noon today. I need to change the rear inner tube on Donna’s bike. I’ll also clean and lube the chain in preparation for tomorrow’s race. At some point, we need to scooter over to the Holiday Inn to pick up her race packet. We may have a shower or two this evening, but we should have clear, blue skies for tomorrow’s race.

Freaky Friday

We awoke to the sound of raindrops drumming on the roof yesterday morning. Actually it was the second time the rain woke me. Around 3:30am, I was awakened by wind gusts, heavy rain and lightning.

That’s how our freaky Friday began. Yesterday was the only Friday the 13th on the 2014 calendar. It also happened to be a full moon. It was the first full moon on Friday the 13th in 95 years. It won’t happen again until 2049.

The weather kept us hunkered down indoors for most of the day. It rained off and on with brief periods of sunshine in between. I saw a guy in the park washing his motorhome. When it would start to rain, he would go inside. As soon as the sun came out, he was back at it. I took a walk and asked the guy if he knew it was going to rain every time he started his wash job. He said this was his first opportunity to wash since he left Florida – 2,200 miles ago. Rain or shine, he was determined to remove the road grime.

I’m planning to wash our coach, but I’ll wait for the weather to clear. The weather guessers are calling for rain showers or thunderstorms daily until Thursday. The temperatures will warm and the skies will clear then.

When I wash the coach, I’ll also polish the alloy wheels and replace the lug nut covers. I lost one of the covers on the rough road to Page, Arizona. Some of the covers are pitted and are starting to corrode. I ordered 40 new chrome plated stainless steel lug nut covers from Amazon. The nice thing with Amazon Prime (besides the free shipping) is that my credit card is linked to my Amazon account. When I place an order, it automatically looks up my credit card rewards statement and asks me if I want to pay for the order with rewards points! It’s like getting stuff for free.

I also ordered a tire pressure gauge. I check our tire pressures regularly. I keep hearing how wonderful the Accutire digital gauge is. It’s inexpensive, accurate, lightweight and doesn’t take much space. What more could I ask for? When it arrived with the lug nut covers on Thursday, I checked it against the analog dial gauge I’ve been using. They read within 2% of each other. Most people believe the accuracy of a digital readout – especially one with 0.5 increments. I don’t believe digital is inherently more accurate. But, this site had me believing the Accutire.

Around 5pm, the skies cleared once again. We had an opening in the weather with blue skies and sunshine. Donna and I walked down 13th Avenue SW to the Beacon Icehouse. This is a bar that looks like a real dive from the street. I’d stopped in the other day and knew it wasn’t a dive at all. The place is clean, well-kept and has some history. There’s a framed poster on the wall describing the original bar in the 1930s and all of the ownership changes and significant happenings since then. It was interesting to read the ups and downs of the bar that coincided with the local economy.

Stage set for karaoke at the Beacon Icehouse

Stage set for karaoke at the Beacon Icehouse

View of Sun River from the deck of the Beacon Icehouse

View of Sun River from the deck of the Beacon Icehouse

When we returned to the coach, Donna made crab cakes for dinner and we ate outside, enjoying the sunshine.

The forecast calls for a high temperature of 58 today! I think I need to find a good book to read. I’m hoping the weather guessers have the next four days wrong.

Bernoulli’s Principle and Your RV

When we checked in at the Salt Lake City KOA, we were warned about high water pressure. They told us that the water pressure can run up to 120 psi here. Our escort told me a couple of horror stories of hoses blowing up like balloons and plumbing leaking inside of coaches.

It’s not unusual for municipal water companies to run high pressure through the main water supply lines. Sometimes it can be as high as 200 psi! They need high pressure to supply high rise buildings or other elevated  dwellings. Building codes require inline water pressure regulators to prevent lines from bursting, causing damage and potential for injury.

WalMart, RV Stores and some RV parks sell cheap brass restrictors that they call regulators. This is very misleading and somewhat dishonest in my view. I noticed our neighbor hooking one up when he pulled in today and I thought I should post something about it.

Our neighbors "regulator"

Our neighbor’s “regulator”

Back in 1738, a fellow named Daniel Bernoulli published a treatise called Hydrodynamica. In this publication, he gave us Bernoulli’s Principle.

Without going into fluid dynamics equations, I’ll give a simplified explanation of why these restrictors should not be called regulators. Bernoulli tells us that when a fluid flows through a restriction, velocity of the fluid increases. When velocity increases, pressure decreases.

The brass restrictor in the photo above provides restriction in the water supply to the RV in question. When a faucet or shower valve is open and water is flowing into the RV, the restrictor causes the velocity of the water to increase as it flows through the restriction and the water pressure drops. So far, so good, right?

I see two problems with this set-up. First, the restriction reduces the amount of water coming into the coach. The flow rate may not keep up with the demand at a shower head, for example. This is an inconvenience.

The second issue is more than an inconvenience – it’s a recipe for disaster. When the faucets and shower valves are closed, water no longer flows through the restrictor. No flow, no Bernoulli Principle. Pressure will equalize on both sides of the restrictor. Now you have unregulated static water pressure. Whatever the pressure is on the input side of the restrictor is equal to the pressure on the output side. The plumbing inside the RV is at full main pressure until water starts to flow again. Not a comforting thought as you lock up your RV and head out for the day.

What’s needed is a proper pressure regulator, such as a Watts regulator (also called a water pressure reducing valve). This is what’s used on residential plumbing. The Watts regulator is a true regulator. The pressure will remain at the specified setting, regardless of flow. It also doesn’t restrict the volume of water. The 3/4″ Watts regulator that I use can flow over 30 gallons per minute with the pressure cranked down to 25 psi! I keep mine set at 45 psi.

3/4" Watts pressure regulator

3/4″ Watts pressure regulator

The drawback to the Watts set-up is cost. You can get the restrictor type for about $12, but remember, it doesn’t protect your plumbing when the water isn’t flowing. I think I spent about $80 for a residential watts regulator and fittings (I posted about it here). To me, it’s worth it, because I know I won’t have my plumbing blown out by excessive pressure.

While Donna was out bicycling yesterday, I brought the ladders out. I used the smaller ladder to debug and clean the windshield. The Brillo Bug Scrubber has become a new favorite product. It cleans bugs off glass effortlessly.

I used the big ladder to climb onto the roof. I lubed the gears on the TV antenna (it was getting almost impossible to crank up and down) and checked the holding tank vents. The way the vent covers are attached and caulked into place, I couldn’t inspect visually. I probed the vent tubes with a long plastic zip-tie and didn’t find any obstructions.

When Donna returned, we emptied the contents of the refrigerator and freezer into coolers and turned off the unit to defrost it. RV refrigeration isn’t frost-free. We have to perform this task every few months. Donna says it’s a great excuse to clean the refrigerator.

I prepped the trailer for travel. Everything is set, I only need to load and tie down the scooter this morning.

Last evening, Donna prepared blackened Baja fish tacos for dinner – one of our favorite dishes. They were so good!

Blackened Baja fish tacos

Blackened Baja fish tacos

After dinner, we took a walk through the park. We talked with a couple that are on their first extended RV trip. They’re new to RVing and are having a blast. I’m starting to feel like an old hand when I talk to people who are just starting out and have many questions that I’m able to answer.

We saw a couple of interesting rigs. The first was a fifth-wheel trailer and what made it interesting was its size. It couldn’t have been more than 20 feet in length. It’s the smallest fifth-wheel I’ve seen. I bet it’s really maneuverable.

Compact fifth wheel rig

Compact fifth-wheel rig

Then we came across something totally unique. It was an old Mercedes Benz truck chassis converted to an RV. We met the owners and talked with them briefly. They’re from Austria. They started their adventure in Buenos Aires, Argentina and have made their way to the US. Their trip will take them to Alaska. Once they reach Alaska, they’re undecided on what to do or where to go next. I didn’t get their names. Between their rudimentary English and my pidgin German, we barely communicated.

Mercedes Benz truck chassis

Mercedes Benz truck chassis

Mercedes Benz RV conversion

Mercedes Benz RV conversion

We’re moving out this morning. We plan to stop overnight in Idaho, somewhere between Pocatello and Idaho Falls. Tomorrow, we’ll set up in West Yellowstone, Montana. I may not post for a day or two, depending on Internet access and time available.

 

 

A Beautiful Day

Donna sent me a text message at 12:49pm yesterday, telling me she boarded the light rail at the airport. I walked out to the rail stop on the corner of Redwood and North Temple to meet her. She had a great trip to the NAPO conference in Phoenix, but she was exhausted by the long days and short nights while she was there.

We talked for awhile and caught up on each other’s activities. I told Donna that playing guitar every day while she was away really helped. I even remembered how to play a few songs I haven’t played in over a year.

I watched the Moto GP race while Donna unpacked. It was an epic race. I won’t spoil the outcome. We decided to have take-out for dinner. Donna phoned in an order to a Chinese restaurant called East Sea. It’s about five blocks away from here. I rode the scooter and picked up our dinner, which we enjoyed outside at the picnic table.

After dinner, we took a walk through the RV park. I noticed a guy with a travel trailer at the dump station. His trailer tires looked low. I don’t like to interrupt anyone’s routine when they are setting up or dumping tanks, but I felt like I should mention the low tires. The guy said he would make a stop when he left the park to fill the tires.

I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ll repeat it again. Low tire pressure is the number one cause of tire failure. When tires are under-inflated, the sidewalls are subject to excess flexing which causes heat to build up. The overheated tire can lead to tread separation or sidewall failure – this means a blowout.

When it looked like the guy was finishing up at the dump station, I walked over and told him he could stop at my site on the way out. I offered to fill his tires with our Porter-Cable portable compressor.

He stopped by. I checked his trailer tires and found them inflated to 30 psi. This is very low, they should have been inflated to 50 psi. Driving down the highway at 30 psi surely would have caused a tire failure. We’ve seen numerous trailers on the side of the highway with blow-outs during our travels. I can’t help but think that many of these were avoidable, with proper tire maintenance.

Today is Monday and I have work to do. Sometimes it’s hard for me to keep track of the days. Clarke Hockwald (What’sNewell) calls Monday first Saturday. Tuesday is second Saturday and so on until Friday become fifth Saturday. Saturday is just Saturday and Sunday is Sunday to mark the week. This is too complicated for me to keep up with. I have enough trouble without numbering the days.

I’ll begin preparation for travel today. I need to go up on the roof and check our plumbing vents. The gray water tank drained a little slowly when I dumped it yesterday. There might be an obstruction in the vent. Then I’ll check the tire pressures and adjust if necessary. The windshield and mirrors need to be cleaned. We had a few raindrops the other day, just enough to mess up the mirrors. Then I’ll start loading the trailer.

The weather yesterday was near perfect with the temperature in the mid 70s, light wind and clear skies. I think it was the best weather day we’ve had in Salt Lake City. Today, the heat will return as the forecast calls for a  high temperature of 89 degrees.

Tomorrow, we’ll pull out of here. First stop will be the Pilot/Flying J fuel station I checked out on Saturday. Then we’ll head north on I-15. There are three Super WalMarts between Pocatello and Idaho Falls, Idaho. We’ll probably choose one them for an overnight stay and restock our food supplies while we’re there. On Wednesday, we’ll check in at the Buffalo Crossing RV Park in West Yellowstone, Montana. This park is a few hundred yards from the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park. We plan to stay there for three nights and make a couple of day trips into the park.

Unexpected Finds

Donna and I rode the scooter to the City Market in Fruita on Monday. She stocked up on groceries – mostly produce. We had a full load of goods when we rode home. Afterwards, I rode to the Liquor Barn and replenished my beer and vodka supply. I don’t want to deal with it while we’re traveling through Utah. The alcoholic beverage laws in Utah are so restrictive, and it’s expensive there. I spent most of the afternoon getting the trailer squared away and loading everything in it.

I was up early Tuesday morning. Donna had set an alarm for 7am. However, someone in the RV park fired up his Harley (equipped with straight pipes) and let it run for five minutes at 6:15am. Really considerate. I got up at 6:30am. I’d already dumped and flushed the holding tanks the night before. We had everything buttoned up and fired up the engine a little before 8am.

We made a five-mile loop through the area before pulling into Diesel Services, Inc (DSI) – right across the street from the RV park. I did this to get the transmission temperature up before they drained the fluid. Hot automatic transmission fluid (ATF) drains faster and more completely than cold fluid.

I dropped our trailer in their lot and then went inside. The service manager, David, had me back our coach in front of one of the service bays. The shop was full of commercial equipment being worked on. So Andrew, the mechanic assigned to the job, had to work on our coach on the ground in front of the service bay.

Old ATF filters removed from transmission

Old ATF filters removed from transmission

Andrew rolled under the coach on a creeper and recorded the serial number of the transmission. He did this to ensure that the right filters would be installed. DSI gets the filters from an Allison wholesale distributor nearby. He drained the fluid and removed the old filters. Andrew didn’t mind me watching him work and we talked as he went about his business. He told me the old fluid looked and felt like the TranSynd® synthetic fluid. The old filters looked good – there was no visible sign of debris. In the future, I’ll have fluid analysis performed to ensure that the fluid is good and no contaminates are present. Certain contaminates can indicate failure of various components.

The new filter kit included the filters, cover gaskets and new O-rings. Andrew did a thorough job of removing the old gaskets and cleaning the sealing surface. Once the new filters were installed and drain plug replaced, he began pumping TranSynd® ATF into the transmission. This led to a moment of confusion. The filter kit indicated that 16 quarts (four gallons) were required to refill the transmission. The Allison wholesale distributor said to put 17 quarts in. Overfilling the transmission would not be good. If it’s overfilled, the ATF gets aerated and foams, reducing its ability to lubricate and cool the transmission. Once overfilled, the drain plug would have to be removed and replaced before too much expensive ATF is drained out.

Andrew cleans the filter covers and preps for installation

Andrew cleans the filter covers and preps for installation

Andrew pumped four gallons of fluid into the transmission. We waited a few minutes for it to reach the sump, then I started the engine. At high idle, I put the transmission into gear and cycled it between drive, neutral and reverse to pump fluid throughout the transmission. Checking the ATF level can be a bit tricky. The dipstick is marked for checking cold and has another mark for checking when hot (the fluid expands with heat). The dipstick showed the fluid level to be inbetween the two marks. This seemed about right to me. Andrew and David agreed. The transmission was neither cold nor completely up to operating temperature. I paid the bill, including $42 for an extra gallon of TranSynd® ATF to take with me.

We stopped at the visitor center in Fruita, parked the coach and walked to El Tapatio for lunch. Then we drove west on I-70 into Utah. We stopped at the visitor center in Utah near Thompson Springs about an hour later. This is a nice stop. The center has attendants who can answer questions and they gave us a Utah road map. There are hiking trails leading off into the hills behind the center.

While we were stopped, I checked the ATF level, now that it was fully up to temperature. The level was low. I added about a quart of TranSynd® and we got back on the road. Our next stop was at Green River. Our plan was to check out a boondocking spot there, just outside of town. It sounded good – within walking distance to restaurants and a brewery.

When we pulled into the parking area, which looked to be an old, out-of-business gas station, the lot was fairly level. However, it was right next to the highway and railroad tracks. It was also totally exposed and the wind was blowing hard. To cap it off, there was a construction crew across the street with heavy dirt-moving equipment. It smelled like they uncovered a tar pit. We decided to move on northbound on US6. Before we moved, I checked the ATF again. Still low. I added another quart, bringing the total volume to 18 quarts. The transmission level is now at the full mark. I confirmed the ATF level by checking it electronically. The Allison shifter is electronic and it can check the fluid level through sensors. Apparently, we had a very good drain of the ATF. It’s always hard to tell how much fluid is still in the transmission before refilling.

The driving was tiring. We battled gusty wind all day. The wind was coming from the west, shifting to the south at times. On I-70, it was mostly headwind. On US6, it was a cross wind, occasionally shifting to a tailwind. I was tired by the time we reached Price.

We were planning to go to the only RV park we could find in Price, but then we saw a sign for fairgrounds which we decided to follow. We stopped at the RV dump station next to a ball field. Donna called the fairground office and obtained permission to camp overnight. The woman told her that from where we were, we just needed to continue on down the road to the fairgrounds. We drove out of the dump station, east on Fairground Road. We soon found ourselves back in town. Apparently, we were supposed to go the other way on Fairground Road. I turned around in a large parking lot and drove back the way we came. When we got to the fairgrounds, Donna phoned again to clarify where it would be permissible to park. The woman in the office was very nice. She gave us directions and told us we would be fine for one night – no charge. She gave Donna her cell phone number and told her to call if we encountered any problems.

We found a level spot in front of the grandstands. Ours is the only vehicle parked in this area. The restrooms are open. They have running water and are clean. There’s even free public wifi! Off to the west of us, there’s a motocross track. A couple of guys were riding on the track when we arrived, but they left a little while later.

After we set  up, we took a stroll. We found another motorhome back in a dirt lot, hidden by a large metal barn. We didn’t see anyone around though. This morning, I saw it pull out.

Today, we’ll move to Heber City. There’s another county fairgrounds in Heber City that has full hook-ups for $15/night. Nice! Our plan is to stay there for five nights before heading to Salt Lake City where we have reservations at a KOA campground.