Category Archives: Maintenance

Clean Machines

I rode the scooter into Grand Junction on Saturday. I went to a self-serve car wash and washed our scooter. This works well. I bring along a few microfiber cloths and wipe down the scooter after I power wash it. The car wash had a soft water rinse, so there weren’t too many water spots to deal with.

While I was out, I stopped at the Liquor Barn. I found a potato vodka made in Idaho. It’s called Blue Ice. They market it as “Handcrafted American Potato Vodka – made from Idaho russet potatoes.” It’s priced right, so I thought I’d try it. It makes a great martini. This is my new standard. I think I’ll stock up before we head back to Utah.

Donna spent the afternoon preparing for a video shoot. We shot a demo video of the Reliable Steamboy PRO T3 steam mop. We use this steam mop on the wood floors in our motorhome. It’s also perfect for tile or linoleum and can even clean grout and freshen up carpets. The video we shot will be sent to Reliable’s PR firm for review. Ultimately, the video will be used in Camping World’s online catalog. We have a couple more products to demo, but we’ll see how this one works out before we produce another video.

After we finished the video, I checked the lug nuts on the cargo trailer. I’ve written about this before. Trailer lug nuts need to be checked periodically. I don’t know why, but they have a way of loosening. I set my torque wrench to 100 ft-lbs and checked the tightness of the lug nuts. Three out of 10 nuts moved slightly before the torque wrench clicked. If you tow a trailer, please check your lug nuts.

We both had a late lunch, so Saturday evening, we just snacked. Donna set out an hors d’oeuvres plate with sun-dried tomato and basil hummus that she made along with veggies and shrimp cocktail.

Saturday night snack dinner

Yesterday, the forecast called for the temperature to reach the upper 80s by late afternoon. Donna went out for a bike ride early to beat the heat. She intended to ride 30 miles, but ended up riding out to Highline Lake State Park. She checked out the campground there, then rode back home. The round trip was about 45 miles and she really enjoyed it.

While she was out, I decided to wash our coach and trailer. I saw a guy washing his coach the day before and talked to him. I thought I remembered seeing a sign in the office that prohibited washing in the park. Many RV parks prohibit washing your coach, trailer or vehicle on site. He told me they will allow you to wash on site if you buy a $10 wash ticket. Ten bucks for the privilege of washing my own coach! I paid the fee and got started a little before 10am.

I used a soft bristle washing brush on an extendable handle to reach the top of the coach. I washed the entire coach and our cargo trailer. Then I got the ladder out and did the windows. Donna found a new product from Brillo called a bug scrubber. This is a sponge-like pad that’s intended for use on windshield glass. It works like charm. The bugs came off the glass easily with the scrubber. It’s a new favorite product. I detest the usual battle trying to remove the bug remains and smearing the glass. It took about three hours to finish the entire wash job. Our coach is looking good!

Afterwards. I relaxed and read for awhile. By the time Donna returned from her bicycle ride, I was watching the Moto GP race from Le Mans, France that I’d recorded. A few years ago, Donna and I attended the Moto GP race at Indianapolis. Moto GP is the premier series worldwide for motorcycle road racing. There are two other GP classes that serve as feeders for Moto GP – Moto 2 and Moto 3. While we were at Indy, I told Donna to watch a kid in the Moto 2 class, Marc Marquez. This kid was fast. He made the most daring overtaking maneuvers.

Last year, Marc Marquez graduated to the Moto GP class, riding for Honda. He won the championship in his rookie year, becoming the youngest Moto GP World Champion in history. This season, after five races, Marc Marquez qualified on pole all five times. He’s won all five races. He’s only 21 years old and he’s destined to smash all of the records. So far, the only rider that’s been able to even stay close to him is nine-time champion, Valentino Rossi.

Last evening Donna prepared pork tenderloin, dry-rubbed with fajita spices. I blackened the tenderloin on the grill. It was superb! Donna also made a red potato and egg salad to serve on the side, which was a real treat.

Pork Tenderloin with fajita spice rub

Today will be another warm day. I have a few errands to run, then I need to pack the trailer. I want to have the trailer packed and the holding tanks dumped by the end of the day. If I have everything done, we can pull out early tomorrow morning. The first stop will be at DSI to have our transmission serviced. Then we’ll head west, back into Utah.

Shopping for Service

The weather was fickle yesterday. It was a mostly cloudy day, however the temperature reached the upper 70s. This is higher than we’ve experienced all week. We felt a stray rain drop or two before dinner, but there wasn’t enough to wet anything.

I’ve decided to have our transmission serviced before we leave Grand Junction. Our coach is equipped with an Allison 3000 MH 6-speed automatic transmission. It came from the factory filled with Allison – Castrol TranSynd® synthetic automatic transmission fluid (ATF). The service records are incomplete, but I see where the transmission was serviced at least once in the past. It appears that the fluid was changed to standard Dexron III ATF.

There’s nothing wrong with running Dexron III in this transmission. The issue is the longevity of this fluid. In this application, the Dexron III ATF breaks down and needs to be changed every 25,000 miles. The Allison – Castrol TranSynd® synthetic ATF is very robust. It can hold up for up to 300,000 miles, but should be monitored through fluid analysis annually.

The downside to the TranSynd® ATF is initial cost. The retail price runs from $40 to $55/gallon, depending on where you buy it. When I was at the Cummins dealer the other day, I asked about having the transmission service performed. They told me that changing the ATF and both filters would take about three hours and the cost would be $499 with Dexron III ATF or $599 with synthetic ATF. They didn’t use the Allison-approved TranSynd®. They used Valvoline SynGard®. This sounded high to me, so I held off and said I would get back to them for an appointment.

The higher initial cost of synthetic ATF is more than offset by its longevity. I was about to make the appointment when Donna mentioned the diesel truck service center across the street from the RV park. She thought I should talk to them and get another quote for the work.

I went to Diesel Services, Inc. (DSI) yesterday. I talked to the service manager, Dave. He told me they use genuine Allison high-capacity filters and genuine Allison – Castrol TranSynd® fluid. He said the cost for a transmission service on our coach would run about $300. I was surprised. On the RV forums (IRV2 and RVNet), most people say they pay $450 to $600 for this service.

I asked Dave how he could do the job for that price. He said, “It’s not rocket science.” They would pull the coach into the service pit, drain the fluid, change the filters and add new fluid – about an hour’s worth of work. It takes four to five gallons of ATF @ $42/gallon. Add $40 for the filters and an hour of shop time. I said, “Sign me up.”

We have an appointment for Tuesday morning, when we pull out of Junction West RV Park. We’ll see how it works out. I’ll probably have the ATF and filters changed again in a year. There will be some of the old Dexron III fluid left in the transmission torque convertor which will blend with the synthetic fluid. After that, I’ll only change the filters and top up. We’ll pull a sample when the filters are changed and have it analyzed for contamination. We should be set for the life of the transmission at that point.

While I was out, Donna went out for a bike ride and got in another 25 miles and came back with a smile on her face. The Montana State Senior Olympics is just one month out, so she’s trying to get in as much riding as she can. Her race is 40K (25 miles).

Last evening, I grilled Jamaican jerk boneless chicken thighs for dinner. Donna served it with mango salsa and steamed asparagus. This is one of my favorites.

Jamaican jerk chicken thighs with mango salsa

After dinner we took a stroll through the park. We met a woman, Linda. She pulled into the park earlier in the day with a 35′ travel trailer. She’s been on the road, alone, for about a year and a half. We talked with her for a while and learned that she’s 71 years old and enjoys hiking, mountain biking and mountain climbing! You meet the most interesting people in this lifestyle.

Today, the temperature is projected to reach the mid 80s. I don’t have an agenda for the day, so I’ll just see what comes next.

Colorado National Monument

I rode the scooter to the Cummins Rocky Mountain Service Center yesterday. It’s in Grand Junction, a few miles from our location. I picked up a fuel filter and air filter for our Onan 7.5 KW Quiet Diesel generator. The filters are due for replacement after 500 hours of run time. We have about 470 hours on the generator now. So, I picked up the parts while it was convenient and will do the maintenance work later.

The highlight of the day came when Donna and I rode the scooter through Grand Junction to the east entrance of the Colorado National Monument. We brought our America the Beautiful National Parks Pass. Without the pass, there is a day use fee to enter the monument. When we pulled up to the entrance kiosk, it was closed. There was a sign directing us to pay upon exiting the park. Seemed strange, but we rode in and immediately began climbing a steep, twisty road.

At one point, we entered a tunnel and felt the coolness deep inside the rock. After passing through the tunnel, we stopped at Cold Shivers Point. The elevation was about 6,200 feet – we’d climbed nearly 2,000 feet in seven miles. Cold Shivers Point overlooks Columbus Canyon. I took many photos, so today’s post is picture heavy. However, I couldn’t capture the enormity, the steepness and the depth of the canyons.

View from the road climbing from the east entrance

Looking towards the head of Columbus Canyon

Looking toward the head of Columbus Canyon

The walls of Columbus Canyon are sheer drops of several hundred if not more than 1,000 feet. I’ll admit that parts of the overlook were frightening. You can stand on the edge of the canyon wall, unrestrained and look down.

We continued riding westbound along Rim Rock Drive, stopping at view points along the way. This is a road you don’t want to make a mistake on. It snakes along the rim of the canyons with no guardrail between the road and rim. At times, the shoulder is only a couple of feet wide before the terrain drops vertically.

Donna at the Red Rock Canyon Overlook

Narrow Red Rock Canyon, looking north

Again, the photos do not capture the scale of the landscape. The floor of Red Rock Canyon covers a few miles before it drops away to the Colorado River to the north. The juniper and pinon pine trees on the bottom are mature and much larger than they appear.

Colorful rock on the south side of Rim Rock Drive

The largest canyon in the Colorado National Monument is Ute Canyon. We stopped at several view points overlooking this enormous canyon. We hiked down a couple of trails that had placards identifying the plants and some of the animals found in the park. The road topped out at 6,640 feet above sea level. We began a gradual descent along the rim of Ute Canyon. I’ve run out of adjectives to describe the view. Below are a few images of Ute Canyon.

Ute Canyon

View from Artists Point

Coke Oven Overlook

Monument Canyon view

Monument Canyon

There are a number of hiking trails throughout the park, many of which are described as “difficult.” It’s also a popular cycling route that requires lights on front and back to travel safely through the tunnels.

We stopped briefly at the visitor center, then made the rapid descent to the west park entrance. I pulled up to the kiosk, ready to show my park pass. It was empty. There was a sign posted that said “Temporarily Closed.” I guess entry into the Colorado National Monument was a freebie yesterday.

We rode on CO340 into Fruita. We stopped at Suds Brothers Brewery downtown and had a cold one with a plate of hummus and veggies with warm pita bread. The Red Monkey Butt amber ale was very good, full-bodied and well-balanced.

Last night I grilled teriyaki salmon on a cedar plank. Donna served it with pineapple salsa and sauteed spinach.

Teriyaki salmon with pineapple salsa

Today, Donna will catch up on some work and then get out for a bike ride. I’ll see if I can make arrangements to have the transmission in our coach serviced next week.

Cactus Garden

Yesterday was a laid back day. In the morning, after I posted to the blog, Donna went for a hike. While she was out, I took care of a couple of chores that needed to be done before we head out of here on Sunday. I cleaned and lubed the chains on our bicycles. The chain on my mountain bike picked up a lot of grit from the dusty trails around here.

I used to have a complete bicycle mechanic tool set from Park Tools, but they were stolen along with our cargo trailer by those Dirty, Rotten Thieves. I didn’t replace the complete set, but I did buy a Park CM-5 Cyclone Chain Cleaner from Amazon. This makes getting the chain clean a breeze. I use a 50/50 Simple Green and water mixture to scrub the chain. Then I follow up with plain water to rinse it clean and dry the chain. Then I lube it with DuMonde Tech chain lube.

Once I had that job done, I hung the bikes in the trailer. I need to straighten out a few more things in the trailer before we can load the scooter.

Brett Miller posted a comment in yesterday’s blog about the cactus garden here at North Ranch RV Park. After lunch, we walked over to office to ask about it. It turned out to be a little park at the end of the street where we are parked. It’s on the north end of the street, which is basically a dead end. We hadn’t been down there and didn’t know about it. It’s a beautiful garden with many of the plants labeled. We strolled through and I took pictures. Many of the plants were blooming. You’ll want to click on the photos to enlarge them.

Chenille prickly pear blooms

There are two large, old saguaros in the park. This begs the question (again). Why do these saguaros survive here while only one saguaro stands in the desert for miles around the park? These saguaros were here long before the park existed. We have a few theories, but that’s all they are.

There’s an ancient, giant saguaro called Methuselah in the park. A placard claims it dates back to 1600. I’m not sure how that was determined. The Arizona – Sonoran Desert Museum says saguaros can live up to 150 – 200 years. Having said that, I’ll add that Kevin Hultine, a plant physiologist at Phoenix’s Desert Botanical Garden says that a typical saguaro can live up to 200 years but adds, “We are not entirely sure of the true age of the largest individuals.”

Methuselah – an ancient saguaro

There’s another old saguaro called Sheba. The placard says “circa 1870”. This could very well be true. We saw a Gila woodpecker nesting in Sheba. You can see some flowers blooming and others ready to blossom on the ends of the “arms.”

Sheba – another old saguaro

Some of the prickly pear cacti had pretty blossoms, especially the Santa Rita prickly pear cactus with its yellow flowers.

Santa Rita prickly pear

The park is very clean and nicely laid out. The paths wind around the cactus displays with groomed gravel over a hard packed base.

Saguaro Park

Santa Rita (right) and purple prickly pear (left)

Cow tongue cactus

The wind picked up in the afternoon as we were enjoying the cactus garden.

Windblown Donna taking a break

At the other end of the park we saw a sign warning about an active javelina visiting the park to forage.

Javelina spotted in the park

We didn’t encounter javelina, however we did see a couple of interesting lizards. The first was a desert spiny lizard. He was trying to hide beneath a prickly pear cactus.

Desert spiny lizard

He’s there in the circled area

The other lizard we saw was a Western whiptail. He didn’t let me get too close. As I closed in for a photo, he would scramble away.

Western whiptail lizard

Last night we watched a movie called Waterproof, starring Burt Reynolds. What a flop. No wonder I never heard of it before. Donna will return it to the park library, where she borrowed it.

The wind was still blowing at bedtime. I battened down the hatches in anticipation of more wind and rain. The wind woke me up a few times as the coach rocked. The rain came early this morning, but moved out of the area by 9:30am.

We have a project for later today, then I need to pack the scooter and prepare to leave tomorrow. We’ll head over to the Camp Verde – Cottonwood area first. Then I think we’ll go to the Grand Canyon.

Scorpion Bay

Yesterday, Donna started her day with what turned out to be about a 6-mile hike. She followed the dirt road down from the bluff to the water. The road wrapped around to the boat launch behind the point of the bluff where we are dry camped. She saw a dirt road leading up from the water on the other side of the boat launch ramp and decided to bushwack her way across a rocky slope to get to it.

This trail ended after about a quarter of a mile at the water’s edge of a cove. She saw a small building at the end of a peninsula and figured she would set her sights on getting there to check it out, which meant more scrambling along the shore. She remembered seeing what she thought was a dirt road along the peninsula and looking up from the water’s edge, thought she saw what could be that road. More bushwacking took her up to what was not a dirt road, but a wide trail that she followed. It was a marked trail, well-used by hikers and horseback riders, which she later learned is called the Honeymoon Cove Trail. This trail meandered along the peninsula with sweeping vistas of the lake and the occasional informational placard. It looped around the peninsula and on the return trip, she noticed several large buildings up in the hills. She followed the trail toward the buildings and found its origin. It was the Maricopa County Outdoor Desert Center. A man and a woman were sitting on bench outside the building. When Donna approached, the woman asked, “Can I help you?”

She told Donna the center was open for use by reservation only. This is due to the fact that it’s mostly used for school field trips. Children are bussed from schools in the greater Phoenix area to learn about the desert they live in. The woman added that many children don’t even realize they live in a desert! Adults have to make a reservation to enter the center. This is for the protection of the children. It’s sad, but true. Donna was basically trespassing.

She had been out for about an hour and a half at that point. She called to tell me she had wandered farther than she expected and it would take another 30 minutes to return. She had tired legs and quite a story when she got back. She took a lot of photographs with her cell phone, but unfortunately, can’t get them to download because she doesn’t have a good cell signal.

We ate lunch outside at the covered picnic table. Our chipmunk friend didn’t join us this time. After lunch, I was feeling a little restless and suggested a scooter ride to look around the area outside of Pleasant Harbor.

As we were leaving, Donna suggested that we follow the road she hiked down to the edge of the water. As soon as I started down the road, I knew it wasn’t the best idea. This is a scooter made for pavement – not a motocross bike. We went down a steep, rocky hill to the lake. I stopped and took a picture, looking west to Scorpion Bay on the other side of the lake. If you look closely, you can see the marina just to the left of center in the photograph. As always, clicking on the picture will enlarge it.

Looking across the lake to Scorpion Bay

Getting back onto the road from the edge of the lake was challenging. We had to climb a steep hill which was a mixture of hard packed rocky surfaces and soft sand. The back wheel was spinning as we fishtailed our way up. We made it without incident, but I have to admit there were a few dicey moments on the way up.

We went out the gate, onto the road. I wanted to find a way to cross the dam and see the Lake Pleasant Regional Park on the other side. The dam isn’t accessible though. The road is closed and it’s fenced off. We took the long way around, riding down to the Carefree Highway, then headed west for a few miles before turning on to the road to the park.

There are wild burros in the area, but the only signs we saw of them were on the side of the road.

Watch for wild burros - this and a few droppings were the only sign we saw

Watch for wild burros – this and a few droppings were the only signs we saw

The road to the park winds along for five miles or so before you find the actual park entrance. Day use of the park costs six dollars for entry. We sweet talked our way in, telling the gate attendant we just wanted to take a ride through and see if it was suitable for a big rig motorhome. She gave us a 30-minute guest pass.

We pulled over to take in the view and shoot a photo or two on the way in to the Scorpion Bay Marina.

Looking south towards the dam from a high vista point

The park has a 10-lane boat ramp on the south side and a smaller four-lane ramp to the north. The marina sits below a bluff with a parking area. You have to climb down a stairway to access the marina. There’s a restaurant called Dillon’s there that we heard was good. There’s also a convenience store.

Scorpion Bay Marina

We didn’t walk down to the marina. We only had 30 minutes and wanted to check out the campgrounds. We looked around and took a few pictures.

Looking north from Scorpion Bay

Looking east from Scorpion Bay – you can see Pleasant Harbor Marina just left of center

We rode through the Desert Tortoise camp sites. I didn’t see any sites that were appealing for our 40-foot rig and trailer. The area is nice, but the sites are too small for us. Many of the sites weren’t level. We didn’t go out to the Roadrunner Campground. If there were big enough sites, this would be a great place to visit and hike around the area. We were told that most weekends are booked six months in advance though.

When we returned, I dropped Donna off at the pool. She had her bathing suit on under her shirt and shorts. I came back to our motorhome and picked up our toiletry bags, towels and clean clothes. We showered down at the resort. While I was enjoying a hot shower, a thought occurred to me. I was wondering why our house battery bank goes down so quickly when we use the inverter. I have to run the generator twice a day to recharge the battery bank.

The hot shower had me thinking, what if the hot water heater is running off of the inverter? It didn’t make sense to me to have it wired that way, but what if? When we came home, I checked the hot water. Sure enough, it was heated by 120V AC power off of the inverter. Heating elements can draw a lot of current. I tripped the breaker for the hot water heater so it wouldn’t be drawing from the inverter. It didn’t make sense to me to wire it this way. I checked the wiring schematic to see if something was wrong, but the schematic shows it is wired correctly with a feed from the inverter.

From now on, when we dry camp, I’ll trip the circuit breaker for the water heater. If we need hot water, we can turn on the propane switch and have hot water in about ten minutes.

Donna fixed blackened tilapia Baja fish tacos for dinner. She said it’s a simple recipe. I said it was delicious!

Blackened tilapia fish tacos

Today, we’ll rent a kayak and continue to explore.

Farewell to Mesa

Today is our last full day in Mesa, Arizona. Yesterday, I spent the morning preparing for travel. I cleaned and treated the tires on the right side of the coach with 303 Aerospace. I polished the alloy wheels with Nevr-Dull. I drained the 20 gallons or so of fresh water that’s been in our tank for a while and refilled it with 100 gallons of fresh water. I checked the tire pressure on the coach and trailer.

I checked the lug nuts on the trailer. With my torque wrench set at 100 ft/lbs, a few of the nuts moved slightly. I don’t know what it is about trailer lug nuts that causes them to loosen, but I know checking them for proper torque periodically is necessary.

I cleaned the windows and installed new rubber inserts in the wiper blades. The inserts I bought didn’t match the old ones. I had to reset (that means bend) the metal blade to fit the new inserts. Next time I’ll need to replace the complete blade assembly.

Donna rode the scooter to WalMart and Staples. She was out for a couple of hours shopping and came home with the scooter fully loaded. She stocked up the refrigerator and also bought some office supplies. One of the things she bought at Staples was a Targus Lap Chill Mat for my laptop. My laptop has been running hot. It sits on our dining table. Lately, we’ve used coasters to prop it up and allow air to circulate underneath. The lap chill mat lifts it at an ergonomic angle and has a fan that plugs into the laptop USB port. Hopefully this will work better.

I made my last stop for the year at the Red, White and Brew and said my goodbyes to the crew there. It’s a great pub. I always meet interesting, friendly people there. The Offshore Tavern and Grill in San Diego is the only other place that compares in my opinion.

We’ve really enjoyed our time here. The boondocking at Phon D Sutton was a great find. We’ll go there again. We also want to return to Usery Regional Park again next year. The climate and scenery are hard to beat in the first quarter of the year. But now, it’s time to move on.

Palm trees in the neighborhood

Last night Donna and I sat outside and enjoyed the evening. We grilled an old favorite – jerk chicken with mango salsa. Later we sat with our neighbor across from us and had a nightcap. She is leaving tomorrow as well.

Grilled jerk chicken with mango salsa

Donna went out this morning for a farewell bike ride with her friend, Dara. When she returns, I’ll pack the trailer. I want to have everything in place so I’ll only need to load the scooter later. We’ll make a stop at Lucky Lou’s for lunch. It’s their 10th anniversary celebration and a few of our friends reserved tables. We’ll say our goodbyes until next year, then finish packing.

Tomorrow, Donna will do her usual job of organizing the interior of the coach while I dump the holding tanks and disconnect our sewer and power. I created a checklist to make sure we haven’t forgotten anything. We’ve been stationary for so long, we might forget part of our routine.

Checklist

I’m looking forward to kicking the tires and lighting the fires. Our route tomorrow will take us west on the Carefree Highway (AZ 74). We’ll make a stop at Lake Pleasant and have a look around. We may boondock overnight there, depending on what we find. Our next stop will be near Wickenburg, Arizona at the Escapees RV Park. I’m not sure if we’ll have good Internet access in the next few days. I’ll post again when I can.

Bluehost and Amazon

Yesterday I completed my task for the day before noon as I knew the day was going to heat up. I had the air conditioners running in the coach from noon until after dark. Today’s weather will be more of the same.

The task I set for myself yesterday was cleaning the wheels on the left side of the coach. First, I wiped the tire sidewalls and treated them with 303 Aerospace Protectant. Tire sidewall rubber degrades from exposure to ultra-violet (UV) light and to a lesser degree from exposure to ozone. Tire manufacturers use an inexpensive compound called carbon black to protect against UV degradation. By the way, that’s why tires are black. The carbon black eventually absorbs enough UV light to degrade and turn gray. That’s why old rubber looks gray. 303 Aerospace Protectant contains a powerful UV stabilizer and no solvents that can harm tires.

When we’re parked for more than a few days, I use tire covers to keep direct sunlight off our tires. Since we’ll be on the road again, I wanted extra protection on the sidewalls. I’ve mentioned it before – RVs rarely wear out their tires. They degrade from age. I’d like to get as much time as possible out of our tires before they degrade.

After I treated the sidewalls of the tires, I started cleaning the Accuride alloy wheels. After wiping the surface, I used Nevr-Dull wadding to clean and polish the wheels. Nevr-Dull wadding is a felt-like cotton material treated with a chemical that removes tarnish and dirt without scratching or harming metal surfaces. I like this product. There’s no messy liquid to deal with and it’s super easy to use. Tomorrow, when we have a little cooler weather, I’ll do the wheels on the right side of the coach. The way we’re parked right now, the right side of the coach is facing east and has full sun all morning.

Left wheels shiny and tires treated

After lunch, Donna took a few files and went to the Apache Wells RV Resort card room. She had the place to herself and was able to spread out and organize her work. While she was there, I rode the scooter over to WalMart to pick up a couple of things.

I bought an Omron electro-therapy device (these are generically called tens units). My chiropractor suggested I get one of these to relieve muscle tension while we’re on the road. It sends electrical pulses through pads that are attached to the skin near the affected area. The electrical pulses stimulate the muscle and provide relief from muscle spasm. I’ve used this therapy many times before, but only with a physical therapist. Nowadays, these devices are readily available and inexpensive. I thought it was worth a try.

Last night’s dinner was grilled hot Italian chicken sausage served with whole wheat spaghetti with a blender sauce made with fresh tomatoes, basil, garlic and olive oil, topped off with grated parmesan cheese. Donna sauteed sliced green peppers to serve on the side.

Hot Italian chicken sausage plate

Hopefully, we’ll finish our taxes and get that out of the way today. It’s been a struggle trying to get it right with all of the changes we went through last year between selling the house, me retiring and us becoming full-time RVers. Next year should be easier.

I’ve added a few items to the right sidebar of this page. First is the Bluehost link. People have asked me how my blog is set up. I use WordPress for the blog template and Bluehost for web hosting. Below that, is the Amazon link. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a few pennies if you use my link to buy from Amazon. You pay the same price as always, but I earn a small referral commission.The last new item is a map with the states we’ve been through since we hit the road full-time colored in blue.

Red Wings

Yesterday, while Donna went out for a bicycle ride, I puttered around and continued preparations to move on. No offense to my friends in the area, but when you’re a nomad, staying in one place this long becomes stale. I have one more appointment at the chiropractor tomorrow, then we’ll tie up loose ends over the weekend. We’ll roll out of here on Monday.

We’re thinking about making a stop near Wickenburg at the Escapees RV park. Then we’ll move on to Lake Mead and do some boondocking there. Our travel plans over the next two months are pretty loose. We need to be mindful of Donna’s business travel and be near major airports at certain times. Our current thought is to hit Las Vegas, then head east through Zion National Park and on to Denver. We’ll see how that pans out.

FedEx dropped off the coolant additive I ordered (I wrote about coolant testing and additives in this post). I used Fleetguard DCA4 supplemental coolant additive. I’ll test the coolant additive concentration again when we’re at our next stop.

Supplemental coolant additive

The temperature rose well into the 90s yesterday. I had both air conditioning units running by noon. Today, the forecast calls for a high of 98. Tomorrow will also be very warm before the temperatures drop back into the 80s over the weekend. We’ll have to take advantage of the pool while we can.

After my chiropractor appointment in the afternoon and a stop for a cold one at Red, White and Brew, I came home and watched the Detroit Red Wings versus the Pittsburgh Penguins. At the end of regulation play, the game was tied 3-3. This gave Detroit one point, which was exactly what they needed to clinch a playoff spot for the 23rd consecutive season.

After the game, Donna and I watched a couple of recorded episodes of Dexter and called it a night.

Today, I want to clean and polish the wheels on the left side of the coach. It’s shaded on that side in the morning. I’ll wait until we have cooler weather to do the right side.

Getting Ready to Roam

Yesterday, after Donna returned from her morning bicycle ride, I took the scooter over to the NAPA store on Main Street. They had ordered coolant test strips for me and they were in. Coolant test strips are strips of paper with three treated pads on them. They work like litmus paper. One pad tests the PH of the coolant, one tests the coolant freeze point and one tests the concentration of coolant additive (nitrite). After dipping the strip in coolant, you compare the color of the pads against charts to read the levels.

The nitrite level is important for heavy-duty diesel engines. The additive protects the cylinder liners from damage. There’s a very technical theory on how coolant can be knocked away from the liners by vibration, which creates an area of vacuum that the coolant rushes back into, colliding with the liner and eventually eroding the steel liner. The additive, which protects against this, slowly depletes. Heavy-duty diesel coolant should be tested periodically and if necessary, supplemental coolant additive (SCA) needs to be added to the coolant.

After testing our coolant, I see that we need a maintenance dose of SCA. Today I’ll see if I can find SCA at a car or truck dealership. I need to add one pint per 20 gallons of coolant.

I also changed the external fuel filter in preparation of our summer travels. I’ll get started on the trailer re-organization today. Every time we sit in one place for a while, we seem to accumulate more stuff. In the last month, I’ve added another bicycle and Donna added a new bin and two boxes containing steam cleaners – Reliable Brio and Reliable Pronto. You’ll be hearing more about the steam cleaners because Donna has been asked to create videos for Camping World’s online catalog. I’ll find a way to make it all fit in the trailer.

Last night, we grilled cheeseburgers for dinner and hung out, watching television. Today, I have a follow-up visit with the chiropractor. Later, we’ll pick up a car our friend, Lana Jansen, generously offered to us. This will allow me to drive Donna and her bicycle to the start of tomorrow’s bike race. I expect a busy weekend ahead as we prepare to start roaming again.

Out of Alignment

Yesterday, I got ambitious in the morning. I put up the ladder and finally cleaned and polished the fiberglass crown around the roof. At one point, wind gusts kicked up and I had to move away from the edge of the roof and wait it out. It only lasted for a few minutes, then I was back at it. I did small sections at a time. It took me a little over an hour.

I’ve had a knot in a muscle between my spine and left shoulder blade, along with pain in my left shoulder for the last two weeks. After I put the ladder away, the knot in my back was worse. I made an appointment with a chiropractor who was recommended by Donna’s friend, Audrey. After lunch, I showered and rode the scooter to her office.

It turned out that I have some alignment issues in my neck and upper spine. This was no surprise. With the damage and surgeries I’ve had on my neck and shoulders, everything is out of balance. She made some adjustments. After two weeks of living with the knot in my back, I finally had some relief.

She didn’t think my shoulder pain was related to the alignment issues. It seems that I have two separate problems. Although the shoulder is painful, I have full range of motion, so I don’t think it’s anything too serious. They treated my shoulder with an ultrasonic device and electrical stimulation. Before I left, they taped my shoulder and advised me not to lift anything heavier than 12 ounces with my left arm. I’ll go back tomorrow for another treatment.

By the time I was finished with the treatment, it was 4pm. I went out to the scooter and found the temperature had dropped into the 60s. It was windy and dark clouds were coming from the west. I rode back home, chilled all the way. About 20 minutes after I returned, we had a little rain shower.

Last night, Donna cooked indoors. She made tilapia filets stuffed with crab meat – something her mother prepared for her on her recent visit. She served it with sauteed pearl onions, mushrooms and red peppers. I enjoyed a big bottle of Decadent Imperial IPA from Ska Brewing with the meal. Delicious.

Tilapia stuffed with crabmeat stuffing

Today, I have a few errands to take care of. I need to remove the aero bars from Donna’s bike. They aren’t allowed in the race she’s riding on Saturday. We still haven’t decided where we’ll go when we pull out of here on Monday.

Flying The Koop

…from real estate to wheel estate and back again

Category Archives: Maintenance

Clean Machines

Shopping for Service

Colorado National Monument

Cactus Garden

Scorpion Bay

Farewell to Mesa

Bluehost and Amazon

Red Wings

Getting Ready to Roam

Out of Alignment

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