Category Archives: Spyder

Sleeping with Leesa

In yesterday’s post, I mentioned the poor workmanship on the installation of the side door handle on our new cargo trailer. The guy at TrailersPlus called me in the afternoon. He said he reviewed the photo I sent and talked to his District Manager. They’re having a new door skin sent from the factory in Kingman, Arizona to replace the one that was mis-drilled. All I have to do is stop by and have it put on.

Wait a minute. Just stop by? Some people don’t understand what that may entail. I already told him that we were in an RV park and the trailer is towed behind a motorhome. Just stop by means packing up our home and making it ready for travel, securing everything in the trailer, hitching up the trailer and maneuvering our 65″ total length out of the RV park, drive 40 miles to have the door fixed – then come back, maneuver back into our site and set up all over again. He said he would call me when they get the new door skin and we’ll figure something out.

I rode the Spyder to Costco yesterday. I picked up a 42-lb. bag of kitty litter and a 40-bottle case of water. That had the Spyder loaded to capacity. At checkout, the guy told me I needed to renew my membership – he would add it to the bill. I didn’t pay enough attention. He renewed at the Executive membership level at a cost of $110. We used to pay for the Executive level when we lived in a sticks-and-bricks home and shopped at Costco frequently enough to make it worthwhile. Since we’ve been on the road, we’ve cut back to the standard level and pay $55/year. I’ll go back today and see if I can get it changed and get a refund. I’ll buy some paper products while I’m there.

When I got home from Costco, I saw we had a delivery. The mattress that came with our motor home is a Simmons Beautyrest which was brand new when we bought this coach two years ago. We never did like it much. We added a memory foam pad and a synthetic fiber breathable topper to it, but it still wasn’t the most comfortable bed. Last week I ordered a new mattress. It’s a three-layer foam mattress from a company called Leesa. I read numerous reviews and comparisons online. Everyone seems pleased with the Leesa mattress.

Leesa foam mattress packed in a box

Leesa mattresses are sold factory direct. At the factory, they compress the foam mattress, wrap it in plastic then pack it in a 15.5″ x 15.5″ x 45″ box. It weighs about 70 lbs. Donna and I pulled the old mattress off the bed and wrestled it outdoors. We put it in the trailer temporarily. Then I carried the box inside and unpacked the Leesa. It began to expand to the 60″ x 80″ queen size dimension and take shape immediately.

Queen size Leesa mattress

The instructions say to allow an hour for it to fully expand. It didn’t seem to take that long. They also say it will become more comfortable after the first night – in fact, some of the reviews I read said it gets better after a few days. I can’t imagine it getting much better. I slept in comfort last night and Donna feels the same.

If you’re interested in a Leesa mattress, you can use this link to receive a discount and I’ll get a referral fee. I’ll post about it again in few days after I see it if it does get any better with time. Even if nothing changes, I’m very satisfied.

Donna rode the Spyder to her piano lesson. After she returned, I rode it over to Steve’s Cycle shop. When I was there a couple of weeks ago, I tried on a helmet and really liked it. When I was racing, I always wore top-of-the-line Arai or Suomy helmets. Even when I was riding sportbikes or touring, I insisted on the top-of-the-line (expensive) helmets. When we got the scooter, I needed a new helmet. I went with Cycle Gear’s house brand – an inexpensive helmet with some kind of inexpensive molded plastic shell. With less than three years of use, it’s very worn. The cheek pads and neck roll fabric is worn and the padding has compacted.

The helmet I looked at was made by a Korean company called HJC. They are the biggest selling motorcycle helmet company in America. The helmet is well-constructed with a polycarbonate shell that’s much lighter than than the cheap Cycle Gear helmet. I like light helmets because they don’t create as much neck strain. It’s very comfortable and well-made – but the thing is, HJC helmets are reasonably priced. I could hardly believe a helmet of this quality could be sold for under $100. I bought it.

Last night, one of the long-time residents of Towerpoint RV Resort organized a potluck dinner for residents of J Street – where we are – and friends. About 100 people attended – I heard one count of 88 but someone else said they counted 100. There were chairs and tables in the street and we all brought food. Donna made a chicken and broccoli stir-fry over brown rice.

Donna at the J Street potluck

It was a fun time and we met some nice people, including some pickleball players.

Today we started the day on the pickleball courts. After I go to Costco, I think I’ll be shopping for new court shoes. The warm weather will continue through Saturday before we cool down to the lower 80s on Sunday.

Leap Day Hijinks

Sunday was a rest and relaxation day for me. I finished a book I was reading and watched the coverage of NHRA eliminations from Wild Horse Pass on TV. In the evening, Donna rode the Can Am Spyder over to Sara Graff’s house to watch the Academy Awards program.

Nice sunset after a relaxing day

We hit the pickleball courts around 8:15 on Monday morning. We had short breaks between games and played steadily until 10am. Pickleball players are rated by ability through a system that numbers players between one and five. One is a beginner while five is expert level play. As you progress in skill, you go through stages. At 10am, they had a class for 3.0 level players. Donna attended and went through drills. The class used two courts. The other two courts were reserved for 3.0 players. I played there although I’m at about a 3.5 level. The guys I played with were all 3.0 to 4.0 players and we had very competitive games. I ended up playing for about three hours total and got a lot of steps in – measured by the Samsung Galaxy S Health app.

Look at the activity between 8 and 11am

Our neighbors were preparing to pull out with their fifth-wheel trailer but they had a problem. The right rear jack wouldn’t retract. They have a Lippert electric jack system on their Durango trailer. I took a look at it but without a wiring diagram, I couldn’t do much. I looked for a simple solution like a blown fuse or loose connector at the jack motor but didn’t come up with anything. They had to stay another day and wait for a mobile RV technician to come out.

I had a repair to make on our new car carrier trailer. When I picked up the trailer, I had the guys at TrailersPlus install a handle on the side door. I noticed right away that the upper mount of the handle was only screwed through the door skin into the plywood. The guy missed the steel beam inside the door. I had him redo it by moving the handle 1/4″ to the right and reinstall the screw. It seemed secure.

The heat sometimes makes the door seals on the trailer stick. This happened yesterday. When I pulled on the handle the lower mount pulled loose – he had missed the steel beam on the lower mount as well! I measured the correct distance and saw I had to move the lower mounting screw 1/4″ to the right. When I removed the existing screw to move the handle, I found bad news. It was amateur hour at TrailersPlus. Not only had the guy missed the beam, he missed twice! I found two holes in the door skin – one had the screw into the plywood and the other was hidden by the edge of the handle. Moving the handle to the right to screw it into the beam exposed the first hole. I wasn’t too happy about it.

Poor workmanship

I phoned TrailersPlus when they opened this morning – they’re closed on Mondays. I e-mailed the photo of the hole in the door skin and I’m waiting to hear what the solution will be.

Donna ordered a new trash receptacle for our coach. It’s larger than what we were using and has two compartments – one for garbage and one for recyclables. It has a foot-operated lid that closes slowly and silently when you remove your foot from the pedal. She found it online at Bed, Bath and Beyond. It’s made by a company called Simple Human.

New trash can

Lid slowly closing over two compartments

Last night, Donna made turkey burgers with a special sauce recipe she got from our friend Karin Von Kay. I grilled them on the Weber Q.

Turkey burger with green chilies and special sauce

Turkey burger with special sauce

Last night, Ozark went crazy with catnip. I gave her a small amount and she kept begging for more. After awhile I think she was a little loopy.

Ozark feeling the catnip

This morning I took it easy on the pickleball courts. I played for about an hour and half while Donna went to the gym and worked out. This afternoon I have some errands to run. We need kitty litter and water from Costco. I need to shop for court shoes and I’m thinking of buying a new motorcycle helmet I saw at Steve’s Cycles.

Drag Racing

On Friday evening, Donna and I went to Red, White and Brew for dinner. We sat at the bar and had a cold one before ordering from their appetizer menu. Donna had her favorite – mussels vin blanc – which are green lip mussels sauteed with white wine, lemon, garlic and butter.

Mussels vin blanc

I ordered a quesadilla with spicy chicken sausage, three cheeses and hatch chile peppers. It was delicious.

After we ate, we decided to swing by Lucky Lou’s and see who was there. We found all the usual suspects – Mike and Jodi Hall, Mike’s brother Brian, Pat, Leendert, Ray and John. Pat, Leendert and I firmed up our plans for the NHRA drag races. Pat would pick me up a little before 8am Saturday morning, then we would drive to Scottsdale to pick up Leendert and head out to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park – formerly Firebird Raceway (map).

Leendert had made arrangements with his friend Ray. We would join Ray and his crew in the RV section where Ray had his motorhome parked right next to the track near the finish line. For $50 each we got admission, breakfast and lunch and unlimited beer, soda and water all day.

One of the things I enjoy at the NHRA events is the access. Your ticket for admission is also a pit pass. You can wander around the pit area and watch the teams prepare the cars. You meet drivers and crew – they’re all very accessible and friendly. I took a few pictures of the cars and bikes being prepared for the afternoon qualifying sessions. One of the new events here was nitro Harley top fuel bikes.

I won’t go into all of the technical details of the cars – but suffice to say that any motor burning nitromethane is going make huge power and they tend to break parts. The top fuel dragsters and funny cars get a complete teardown and rebuild after every run. That’s right – the engines only last for a minute or two of running time. They get fired up after assembly to make adjustments and make sure nothing is leaking. Then they are started when the cars approach the staging area. They do a burnout to heat and clean the tires. Then they make the full power pass that propels them to speeds over 320 mph in 1,000 feet – it takes less than four seconds.

The guys doing this on two wheels are crazy. They are laid out in a superman position with their arms cradling a nitro-burning grenade of a motor as they accelerate down the 1/4 mile dragstrip to speeds of 220 mph in about six seconds.

Del Worsham’s funny car chassis

Top fuel dragster

Funny car chassis – wheelie bar on the rear

Nitro Harley chassis

Nitro Harley ready to run

Although there’s nothing to compare to these nitro-burning contraptions, I also enjoy watching the Pro Stock class. These cars are very sophisticated. They’re powered by gasoline burning 500 cubic-inch V8 engines. This year they’re using fuel injection – in the past they used carburetors. Most of the teams are secretive about their set-ups and often cover the engine or intake manifold with towels in the pit area.

Pro Stock car – note large intake snorkel and towel over intake manifold

Mike Hall and his brother Brian showed up around 10:30am and joined us.

Mike, Pat and Leendert in front of the big screen at the finish line

We had a fun afternoon. It was hot out – the temperature reached 88 degrees. I stayed hydrated with plenty of water in the morning and cold beer in the afternoon. Ray’s crew cooked up fixings for breakfast burritos in the morning – scrambled eggs with cheese and sausage and hash browns wrapped in a toasted flour tortilla. In the afternoon cheeseburgers and hot dogs were on the grill served with potato salad.

Cheeseburgers and hot dogs on the grill

While I was at the races, Donna planned to ride the Spyder over to Sara Graff’s house. She and Sara would drive to Singh Farms – a local working farm that has a farmers’ market on the weekend – and meet up with their friend Stevie Ann. Donna’s plan was dashed when she reached Gilbert & Brown. Gilbert Road was closed for the Phoenix Marathon as were the main roads north of Brown. The only way Donna could get to Sara’s house would be to backtrack and get on the Loop 202 freeway. She wasn’t dressed for a blast down the freeway at 70 mph. After exploring her options, she gave up and told Sara she wasn’t going to make it over there.

A funny thing happened in the morning while I was on the way to the races. Sara’s husband Howard sent me a text telling me to let Donna know that Sara was in the shower and would call her back. Apparently Howard saw the missed call from Donna on Sara’s phone. He sent the text to me because he didn’t have Donna’s number in his phone. I, in turn, sent the message to Donna. I thought Donna would wonder how I knew she called Sara and how I knew Sara was in the shower!

I walked more than 11,000 steps at the races yesterday. That and all of the pickleball I’ve been playing lately left me with a little soreness in my feet and stiff joints. I think I’ll take it easy today – read a book and try to stay cool as the temperature will be in the upper 80s again today.

Tire Hassle

I drove Donna to her hair appointment on the Spyder yesterday. After I dropped her off, I rode over to Total Wine at the Tempe Marketplace. Total Wine is a big beer, wine and liquor store. They have outdone BevMo in my opinion – bigger selection, great prices and they have tastings as well. I found Blue Ice potato vodka there – it’s become my favorite for a martini. I also stopped at Cost Plus World Market there to pick up some Old South Tomolives – one of my favorite martini garnishes along with bleu cheese stuffed olives.

I had time to kill so I rode over to Old Town Scottsdale. I was looking for a particular jewelry shop. About 10 years ago, I sold my Rolex Daytona watch there. I have another watch I want to sell, but I couldn’t find the shop.

After an hour and half, I went back to the hair salon to pick Donna up. I was too early but I didn’t get the text she sent – I was already heading to the shop when she sent it. I waited in the reception area for about half an hour, then we were on our way.

After dropping Donna off at home, my next stop was the Mesa Elks Lodge. I decided to apply for membership there instead of the Tempe lodge. We usually stay in Mesa, so it’s more convenient. The reason for joining the Elks is because many of their lodges have RV hook-ups and low rates for members, but you need to be a member to stay there. That will come in handy when we’re traveling and need a friendly place to stay for a night or two.

Donna bought a whole chicken at Sprouts market. I seasoned it with Lambert’s Sweet Rub O’Mine and cooked it on the Traeger. The Sweet Rub O’Mine has become a favorite rub for chicken – it comes out so good on the Traeger. Donna served it with steamed asparagus and baked acorn squash with butter and brown sugar.

Traeger roasted chicken with asparagus and acorn squash

Asparagus is cheap right now. Donna found it for $0.98/lb!

This morning, I had a project. I strapped a new 225/50R15 tire on the back of the Spyder and rode it over to Mike Hall’s house. We set up the Spyder in his shop and jacked up the rear with a floor jack. Removing the rear wheel involves a number of steps and we took more time to get it off than I anticipated. We loaded the wheel and new tire in the back of his Jeep and drove to Discount Tire. The guy there said he couldn’t mount a tire on a Spyder wheel – something about too much risk of cracking the wheel with his machine.

I think the real deal is they don’t want to a mount a passenger car tire on a vehicle classified as a motorcycle. If the Can Am Spyder leaned through turns like a motorcycle, I would agree that it should have motorcycle tires. But it doesn’t. The rear tire tracks through a turn just like the rear tire on a rear-wheel drive car. Plenty of Spyder owners have replaced the original equipment Kenda tire with higher performance car tires. On the Spyder forums, everyone claims better performance and longer tire life. I believe it. There’s nothing special about the Kenda tire supplied by BRP. It’s a cheap Chinese tire that flexes too much and wears out quickly – and it’s priced higher than a good passenger car tire.

Next we stopped at a small neighborhood tire shop. They were willing, but couldn’t fit the Spyder wheel on their machine. So, we went to Steve’s Cycle Shop. They broke down the old tire and installed the new tire while we waited. They charged me $21 – I think it was a fair deal.

By now I had taken so much of Mike’s time, I wanted to get the wheel back on the Spyder and let him get on with his day.

New Kumho Ecsta 225/50R15 on the Spyder

I didn’t take time to get photos of the rear wheel removal and installation. We only took about 20 minutes to get the wheel remounted. Thanks for the help and use of your shop, Mike!

The temperature is expected to hit 88 degrees today. The forecast calls for the high 80s into next week. Tomorrow I’ll go to the NHRA drag racing qualifying sessions at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park – formerly Firebird Raceway. My friend Pat is picking me up at 8am. Then we’ll pick up our friend Leendert Hartoog and the three of us will spend the day at the races. Donna is planning to spend the morning at Singh Farms with two of her girlfriends.

*Just so you know, if you follow one of my links to Amazon and decide to make a purchase, you pay the same price as usual and I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!

Up Against the Wall

I’ve written about the RV community and how we have made many new friends. We find ourselves in the same areas at the same time every now and then and it’s fun to get together and reconnect. On Tuesday we had a different experience. Blog reader Michelle Zenkovich and her husband Matt were visiting Mesa, Arizona. Michelle messaged me and we arranged to meet up at 5:30pm at the Beer Research Institute (BRI).

Donna and I rode the Spyder and arrived a few minutes early. Matt and Michelle were already there and had a table. After introducing ourselves we sat together and ordered beers. Donna, Michelle and Matt each ordered a flight of four four-ounce samplers while I went for a pint of 48OG IPA brewed onsite.

Matt, Michelle and Donna at BRI

After a bit of conversation, we ordered food. Donna and I split a machaca taco plate.

BRI machaca taco plate

Matt had the machaca tacos also while Michelle ordered the southwest poutine.

Southwest poutine

We ate and talked until 7pm, then it was time to head for home. I’m sure Matt and Michelle were jet-lagged after a long day of travel from West Virginia.

On Wednesday morning, I hit the pickleball courts early. They weren’t as crowded as last week and I hardly had a break between games. I ended playing 12 games and I was getting a little sore.

Towerpoint RV Resort had a free lunch scheduled for newcomers at the courtyard by the swimming pool. Donna and I attended and had a plate of sliced beef – I think it was a tri-tip – that was overcooked and tough. If it wasn’t for the mashed potatoes with a generous serving of gravy, I don’t think I could’ve choked the meat down. I’m exaggerating, of course. It wasn’t that bad and you can’t beat free lunch! We also had green beans and a salad with it. We met other park visitors along with the activities director and chatted for about an hour.

After lunch, I went to the hardware store to buy clips to hang some things in the trailer. Our new trailer is taller than the old one. This gives me plenty of room to mount things on the walls instead of stacking everything on the floor.

Kayak paddles and washing brushes mounted on the trailer front wall

I’ve been looking at cabinets to mount on the side walls and a solution for securing the bicycles. I have a mountain bike and a road bike and Donna has her road bike. In our old trailer, I tied the bikes to the roof bows and suspended them. I’d like to find a way to either hang them from the side walls or even mount them securely to the floor. They would be much easier to load and unload and I have the space to do that now.

I shot a couple of photos to give a sense of the size of this trailer. The external dimensions are 24′ 8″ overall length, 8′ 6″ wide and 9′ high.

Trailer tight in our site

Close fit by our neighbor’s place

It will be interesting when the time comes to leave Towerpoint RV Resort and tow the trailer out of here. We won’t leave until April 15th. Hopefully some of the sites around us will be empty by then, giving us more room to maneuver.

I got another seven games of pickleball in this morning. Later, I’ll drop Donna off for a hair appointment. While she’s there, I’ll head over to the Elks Lodge in Tempe and see about joining. Our friend Dave Hobden sponsored us and I have an application. Elks Lodges usually have RV parking and inexpensive hook-ups. This will give us another alternative for places to stay while we travel about. It’s another sunny, beautiful day. The forecast calls for warm weather and sunny skies with no rain in the next 10 days.

Barrio Queen

My last post described shopping for a new trailer and getting ready to sell the old one. There were a few comments about moving up in trailer size and how that dovetails with a more minimalist lifestyle. Well, here’s my reasoning – we aren’t getting a larger trailer so we can collect and haul more stuff.

Our 6 x 12 Loadrunner trailer has been packed to the gills for some time. It is, after all, my rolling garage. Things were packed so tightly that our scooter suffered cosmetic damage from things moving and rubbing against it. I don’t want that to happen to our Spyder – which has a larger footprint than the scooter. I also don’t want to damage the Spyder loading and unloading with so little clearance for the front wheels.

With the trailer packed, I had tools and spare parts in plastic bins stacked on top of each other. This made accessing parts a chore. I would have to partially unload the trailer and move bins to find what I needed. Even getting my tool chest open could be difficult at times as I had supplies stacked on it.

The new trailer is large. It’s nominally 8.5 x 20 feet. The interior length actually measures 20′ 5″ and the overall length is 24′ 8″. Hooked up to our motorhome we’ll be at the maximum length of 65 feet in many states including California, where we spend a lot of time.

On Friday afternoon, I unloaded our old trailer and cleaned the interior. I piled everything at the rear of our site. I locked the bikes back inside the trailer overnight. With the Traeger out of the trailer, I put it to good use and grilled bone-in chicken thighs dry rubbed with Sweet Rub O’mine. Donna served it with a baked potato and lemony green beans.

Dry rubbed chicken thighs, baked potato and lemony green beans

On Saturday morning, our friend Howard Graff showed up with his Ford F150 truck. We hooked up the old trailer and moved it to a lot on the north side of the RV park where I had secured permission to temporarily store it. Then we headed out to TrailersPlus to pick up the new trailer. We had a few different mounts for the receiver and a larger ball. The old trailer used a 2″ ball, the new one requires a 2-5/16″ ball. It took us over an hour to get through the paperwork and get the mount set up with the right amount of drop, and then we were on our way.

Howard drove the trailer back to Towerpoint RV Resort and we had no issues. I backed the trailer into our site – it was a tight turn and a bit of a squeeze to get the 8.5 foot wide trailer in place. Thanks for the help, Howard!

As always with a new trailer, my first order of business is to sweep the floor and put a coat of paint on it. The 3/4″ plywood floor is undercoated on the bottom side but bare on top. I like to seal the wood with good paint to prevent any liquids that may be spilled on the floor from penetrating and damaging the floor.

I thought the task would take me two hours – one hour of prep and about an hour to paint. I had the floor clean and masked with painter’s tape in about 45 minutes. I get better at the masking job every time I do this.

Trailer prepped for paint

Entry step masked and ready for paint

I opened a gallon of Glidden Porch and Floor paint and found a problem. When I bought the paint at Walmart a couple of days ago, I pulled a can off the shelf. It had a smear of gray paint on the side of the can – just what I was looking for. But there was also some paint around the lid making me think someone had returned this can and it might not be full. Their paint counter wasn’t manned by a store employee, so I grabbed the next can behind the one that had been opened. I paid for it and took it home without another thought.

When I opened the can of paint, it was a vile-looking yellowish liquid. I read the label closely and saw that it was a base coat that needed to have pigments added for color. I took the paint back to Walmart and after waiting for half an hour to get someone who could help me, I had the paint mixed to a color called granite gray. Using a base coat without pigment doesn’t work – it covers with a mostly clear, streak-filled finish.

By the time I got back at it, I’d lost about an hour. I set to work painting with a brush first to cover all of the corners and around the tie-downs and other metal work. Then I took a roller to cover the rest of the floor. It took me about 75 minutes and I was whipped by the time I was done. I should have bought a long handled roller – the short roller I had meant I was bending over to reach the floor the whole time. The job came out nice though and I finished cleaning up around 5pm.

Floor covered with Glidden Porch and Floor paint

You can clearly see the slope of the rear floor beaver tail section

The rear floor section of the car carrier trailer is what they call a beaver tail. It slopes down at the rear making it match the angle of the ramp and lowering the loading height. I’ll add a couple of tie-downs and this is where the Spyder will ride. I’ll have several weeks to plan and organize the front section to store my tools, spare parts and whatnot.

At 6:30pm, Howard and his wife Sara came by and picked us up. We went to Old Town Gilbert to the Barrio Queen restaurant. This is a popular and acclaimed Mexican restaurant that’s been featured in national media. They also have a huge selection of tequila (tequila menu here) and make a variety of margaritas.

We enjoyed the Skinny Chola margaritas at the bar while we waited for a table. Then we were seated outside on the patio. First up, we had fresh guacamole made at our table. The waiter blends the ingredients which, in this case, included pomegranate seeds.

Our waiter, Carlos, making guacamole

A tasty guacamole with pomegranate

The food was outstanding and the service great. It’s well worth the wait for a table. We enjoyed the ambience and conversation and before we knew it, it was 9pm. Howard and Sara dropped us off at home – of course, they had to stop in to say hi to Ozark the cat. It was a lovely way to spend the evening as I lamented my sore back from painting.

Today I’ll begin to loosely arrange some of our stuff in the trailer. The weather is nice but likely to be on the hot side this afternoon. The forecast calls for a high of 87 with sunny skies and more of the same tomorrow. I think I’ll relax and read a book.

Trailer for Sale

It’s been a busy week but we’re settling into a routine here at Towerpoint RV Resort in Mesa, Arizona. I rode the Spyder out to TrailersPlus on the west side of Phoenix off of I-17 Tuesday. It was a 38-mile blast on the Interstate each way. The trailer I had found online there turned out to be the one I want. I looked at several trailers online, then stopped at two dealers to see them up close before going to TrailersPlus. I made a deal on a 8.5 x 20 foot Interstate car carrier. Then I had to figure out how I would pick it up. I certainly didn’t want to pack up the coach and drive out there with the motorhome just to haul the trailer back here.

A couple of friends were willing to help. John Huff said his wife would lend her truck to Mike Hall if he could drive out to pick up the trailer. Mike was willing, but he has a family ski trip in Show Low planned for the weekend starting this afternoon when he gets off work. TrailersPlus is holding the trailer for me until tomorrow, so I needed to find another way to get it.

I asked my friend Howard Graff for a favor. That’s what happens when you own a truck with a towing package – people ask for favors. Howard said he could do it tomorrow morning. Problem solved. Next I had to figure out what to do with the old trailer. My plan is to empty the old trailer in our site this afternoon. I can stack the stuff at the back of our site. The weather is dry and no rain is expected in the near future. I got permission to move the empty old trailer to a lot on the north side of the RV park while I find a buyer for it.

I ordered an Ultraguard cover for the Spyder from Amazon and it arrived on Wednesday. I want to keep it covered to protect it from the elements which here in Arizona includes the intense sun.

Spyder under cover

I also ordered a new rear tire for the Spyder. The original equipment tire is a proprietary tire made in China by Kenda. These tires don’t hold up very well and don’t offer the highest grip level. There are alternatives in the size 225/50R15 with higher speed ratings, better wear and higher grip levels. I went with a Kumho Ecsta made in South Korea. It’s a better tire at half the price of the BRP-sourced Kenda. The tire arrived Wednesday and so I needed ti find someone to mount it. This wasn’t as easy as I expected. I checked at Steve’s Cycle on Main Street where I had the front tire on the scooter replaced last fall. They weren’t equipped to lift a Spyder. They suggested I go to Apache Motorcycles on Power Road – the local Can Am dealer.

I had a dental appointment on Thursday – I was cavity-free for about thirty years. Just routine cleaning, no issues. After head and neck radiation treatment for cancer, my teeth don’t hold up very well. I’m always having work done now. After my dental appointment on Power Road, I stopped in at Apache Motorcycles to see about getting the tire mounted. The guy told me he was booked a week out, but he could do it a week from Saturday. Then he told me he would charge $200 labor! What?! I said, “I’ll get back to you on that.”

Later I met up with the guys for a cold one at Lucky Lou’s. Mike Hall and I made a plan to pull the rear wheel at his shop next Friday and we can take the wheel and new tire to a tire shop nearby to have it mounted. Another problem solved.

I’m back at it on the pickleball courts. They have four courts here at Towerpoint RV Resort and it’s not enough. There’s such a long line waiting to play, I only got four games in on Wednesday after two hours and on Thursday, I got five games in two and half hours. Donna hasn’t joined me on the courts yet. She spent the first part of the week following a Shakeology Three-Day Refresh which is a strict diet of nutrient-dense shakes, fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats. My oldest daughter Alana became a Beach Body coach after losing 45 pounds last year and gifted the package to Donna. Donna’s lost 20 pounds doing her own thing since May. She decided to try the refresh after over-indulging the past week at the Alpine Coach rally. She’s happy with the results.

After starting the week with high temperatures in the mid 80s, we had high thin clouds and cooler weather on Thursday. Donna and I enjoyed a happy hour together outside in camp chairs. We have yet to set up our outdoor living space – we’ve been waiting on getting the new trailer.

Happy hour outside

The high clouds made a colorful sunset.

Sunset and palm trees at Towerpoint

No pickleball today. I need to get cracking on the trailer project. I need to buy a new mount rated for 10,000 lbs. and a 2-5/16″ ball. Then I’ll empty the old trailer and clean it so I can put it up for sale.

Tight Squeeze

The weekend weather was true to the forecast. The temperatures reached the low to mid-80s which felt nice in this dry climate. I had a task to accomplish on Saturday. Our generator was showing 855 hours of run time. It was due for an oil and filter change at 850 hours, so I didn’t want to wait any longer – especially since we’ve been running the generator for a couple of hours in the morning and few more hours in the evening each day while we were dry camped at the Lake Havasu City rodeo grounds.

While I tackled the generator service, Donna went for a hike with some of our Alpine Coach friends. It turned out to be a good thing I got to the generator service when I did. When I opened the trap door to the compartment where the oil filter is located, I found a mess in there. The oil filter seal had a small leak. The filter had worked loose. I’m not sure how that happened – I installed the filter myself. I was sure I had tightened it properly, but I must have made a mistake. The filter is up inside a small compartment and you have to install it by feel while lying on your back underneath it. I was extra careful to be sure I tightened the new filter more than half a turn after the seal made contact.

The big event for Saturday was the Cowboy Barbeque. We had tickets – $10 each – for the dinner. They had a bandstand and a few dozen tables on a large concrete patio behind the rodeo grandstands. They also had a beer bar featuring ales from a local brewery called Mudshark Brewing. This was a fund raiser for the rodeo association.

Live music at the barbeque

We had a choice of chicken or beef tri-tip for the entree. I chose the beef while Donna went for the chicken. We also had a tossed salad, beans and garlic bread with it. It was very good and a fun time. Donna brought her hoops along and did some hoop dancing to the music before we ate. She even persuaded a couple of guys in our group to give it a try.

Ed working the hoop

You know how they say a picture is worth a thousand words? Well, pictures can also be deceiving. Ed looks like a hoop master in the photo. He actually got one revolution of the hoop – that’s when I snapped the photo – before the hoop fell to the ground. But he gave it a good try!

Saturday night sunset in the desert

After a spectacular sunset, we watched fireworks again. Saturday night’s show was the biggest of the weekend.

The wind picked up on Sunday. Donna went for a group hike up Picnic Table Mountain – the name comes from the picnic table someone carried – presumably in pieces – up the rugged mountain trail. I ran a few errands including grocery shopping with a list Donna gave me.

The wind really increased as the day wore on. Our Alpine Coach Association happy hour and dinner was cancelled due to the wind blowing tables, chairs and mats away. Our wagon master, Dave Guhse, served roasted chicken halves with potato salad and broccoli slaw on paper plates at his coach. We lined up, got our plates and retreated back to our individual coaches to eat dinner out of the wind.

The day before, the guys surreptitiously got together to put icing on cupcakes one of the women in the group made. After dinner we retrieved our cupcakes and gave them to our valentines. I missed the photo opportunity before Donna ate the cake decorated with a pink heart shaped icing topped with a dollop of purple icing. Donna had a valentine gift for me as well. It was a red ale from Alesmith called My Bloody Valentine Ale.

My Bloody Valentine Ale

Before dinner, I spent the afternoon rearranging the trailer to make room for the Can Am Spyder. It took some doing but I managed to make enough room. The tricky part was backing the Spyder into the trailer. I rode it in reverse up the ramp. There are spring-loaded cables on each side of the ramp door. These cables are about 61″ apart from each other. The Spyder is over 59″ wide at the front wheels giving me about 3/4″ clearance on each side. With Donna and our friend Dave Hobden watching the wheels and cables and guiding me, I got past them without scraping the wheels or fenders. But then I had a problem. Backing slowly past the cables I had to open the throttle to provide enough power to get up the ramp. The rear wheel lost traction and fishtailed off to the side. I rolled back down the ramp and repeated the procedure three times with the same result each time.

I told Donna I needed her to get on the back seat of the Spyder so I would have enough weight over the rear wheel for traction. That did the trick. The next issue was getting her out of the trailer – the Spyder completely blocked her in. She was able to climb over the front suspension without doing any damage. In the photo it looks like there’s plenty of clearance for the Spyder. The interior width of the trailer is 68″, giving me about four inches of clearance on each side. The challenge was getting past the cables and through the 63″ door opening.

Spyder shoehorned into the trailer

The wind didn’t abate after dark – if anything it grew in intensity. I slept fitfully as gusts made noises. I got up in the night to roll up the bedroom window awning. We both got out of bed tired the next morning. The poor night’s sleep coupled with the weekend activities caught up with us. We made our final preparations and said “until next time’ to our Alpine Coach friends and headed out a little after 10am.

A row of Alpine Coaches getting ready to depart

We headed south on AZ95 toward Quartzsite, then followed AZ68 to I-10 east. The wind diminished – we had mostly a tailwind all day. The trip was a little over 200 miles. I stopped at the Pilot/Flying J in Avondale and took on 65 gallons of diesel fuel at $1.78/gallon – the lowest price we’ve ever paid for fuel since hitting the road in 2013.

We checked into Towerpoint RV Resort in Mesa Arizona (map) where we’ve booked a two-month stay. After dropping the trailer in our site, we were set up quickly. After a full week of dry camping, it’s good to be on full hook-ups again. I dumped and flushed the tanks first thing before showering and making a run to Red, White and Brew for a cold one.

Today Donna has a dentist appointment this morning. She’ll ride the Spyder (her inaugural ride) over to the dentist on Power Road. When she comes home, I’ll be off trailer shopping. I’m looking at 8.5 x 20 enclosed car carriers.

Western Winter Blast

We’ve had a busy and fun-filled time the past few days. On Thursday, the Alpine Coach Association SoCal chapter rally officially opened. Donna hiked the Crack in the Mountain trail in the morning. The trailhead is across the road from the rodeo grounds, about a quarter of mile from our coach. It goes down through a slot canyon and includes a dry waterfall slide before you reach the river – about three miles down the trail. Here are a few photos from her hike.

Down through the slot

Tight trail

Sandy wash

Colorado River

Our first social event was happy hour and a pizza dinner Thursday afternoon and evening.

Marcie and Donna in the foreground at happy hour

Marcy and Donna in the foreground at happy hour

On Friday morning, we had a BYOC (Bring Your Own Coffee) breakfast with the group – fresh fruit, pastries, yogurt, hard boiled eggs and toasted bagels were on the buffet.

Later, Donna and I rode the Spyder up to the mall on the north side of town. The large parking lot in front of Dillard’s where they had the RV show last weekend was mostly empty. We thought this would be an ideal place for Donna to take a few test runs on the Spyder. She started out with some low speed maneuvering, then picked up speed and worked on upshifting and downshifting. She took to it like a duck to water and had fun riding it. I’m totally comfortable on it now and I think Donna will have an easy transition from motorcycling to the Spyder.

Later I got her bicycle out of the trailer and she rode the paved bike path that runs along US95. It was an out and back ride – mostly downhill on the way out which meant she had a climb coming back. She rode about 20 miles.

When she returned, we joined a group of friends for happy hour and a potluck heavy hors d’oeuvres dinner. The reason for this gathering at Lake Havasu City is the Western Pyrotechnic Association Western Winter Blast. The Western Winter Blast is a convention put on by the association and it includes a lot of activities for their members including training, seminars, certifications and vendor exhibits. This is for various municipalities and private companies that wish to put on fireworks displays. Some of the training is for firemen to learn how to best handle fires containing various chemicals and compounds used in the fireworks. There are also classes to learn how to construct class B and Class C fireworks. All this stuff is for Western Pyrotechnic Association members. The rest of us are here just to watch the show.

During the daytime, we heard a few loud booms – I could feel the concussion from one inside our coach! I think they were simulating firework accidents for training purposes across the wash to the east of us.

Open shooting happens from 6:30pm to 7:30pm – open shooting is where members practice with fireworks. From 7:30pm to 8:30pm is the public display where vendors show off their latest and greatest fireworks. Open Shooting resumes from 8:30pm to 10:30pm. That’s a lot of fireworks.

The rodeo grounds are separated from the race track area east of us by a large sandy wash. The pyrotechnics are fired from the race track area over the empty wash. Each night a big boom and large fire is visible near the race track area – I think this is part of the training for firemen.

I attempted a few photos with my smartphone. The results aren’t stellar, but I’m compelled to include a few in this post.

Watching the fireworks from our ACA viewing area

Ooohh

Aaahh

Grand finale

The temperature is in the low 80s and will continue to be warm until we leave on Monday. Donna is going to hike the Crack in the Mountain trail again today with Alpine friends we met a few years ago at the FMCA Redmond pre-rally in Portland. I need to change the oil on our generator – It’s about five hours overdue.

Along Came a Spyder

In my last post, I wrote about us wanting to move on from the scooter. Our Kymco Downtown 300i scooter has served us well for nearly three years. It limits our mobility though. It was great for running to the store or going to the beach as long as we didn’t have to travel much more than 10 miles each way. Longer rides became uncomfortable. Also, even though it could cruise easily at 60 mph, high-speed riding wasn’t its forte. So we avoided fast highways and interstates.

We started seriously thinking about replacing it with something that we could easily trailer behind our coach. We aren’t ready to give up the trailer. It’s my rolling garage where I keep my tools, our bicycles and kayak along with a few bins filled with spare parts and whatnot.

After seeing a number of Utility Task Vehicles (UTVs) licensed for the street here in Arizona, we thought that might be a viable option. We liked the look of the Reeper I wrote about in my last post. It seemed to be more suited for street use than most UTVs and was also capable of playing in the desert. After test driving one, two things became apparent. It wasn’t very exciting to drive. In fact, it was under-powered and a little squirrelly. Also, Donna realized she doesn’t like off-roading – it scared her.

On Tuesday, I went to another dealer to look at Polaris UTVs. I thought I should look past the Reeper and see if I couldn’t find something that drove better. Maybe Donna could learn to like off-roading too. The Polaris and Arctic Cat dealer here in Lake Havasu City is AZ West. They had a large inventory of vehicles including the Polaris Slingshot. This is a wild, side-by-side two-seat tricycle made for street driving, not off-roading. I nixed that idea though – too expensive, too big and not practical for our needs.

In the showroom, I was asked several times if I needed help finding anything. I said I was just browsing and went outside to have a look around. I saw something that caught my eye. It was another tricycle type vehicle, but it was laid out more like a motorcycle. It was a Can Am Spyder they had taken in on trade. When I went back into the showroom, I was asked if I found what I was looking for. I said, “No, but I found something that I wasn’t looking for and I’m interested.” I found out the Spyder had a trunk for storage in the front and was reasonably priced.

I came home and did some research on Spyder prices. Then I told Donna I wanted to test drive it and she should come along. We went back to AZ West and arranged a test drive. I was in for a surprise. After 45 years of riding motorcycles I thought I knew what I was getting into. I’ve never ridden a vehicle with this layout before though. We put on our helmets and Donna hopped on back. We were to follow one of the employees on a loop that took us past the rodeo grounds on back roads, then blast down highway AZ95 back to the dealership.

I barely made it out of the parking lot. This thing felt so awkward, I was fighting it. The thing is, with your butt in the saddle, feet on foot pegs and hands gripping the handle bars with the throttle on the right grip, it seems like riding a motorcycle. But it isn’t. It’s more like a small sports car, but it isn’t quite like a car either. It’s neither fish nor fowl – it’s something unique.

This Spyder Roadster was the SE5 model with a semi-automatic transmission. It idles at about 1,400 rpm. Twist the throttle and at 1,800 rpm, the centrifugal clutch begins to engage and is fully locked up by 3,000 rpm. The engine is a powerful Rotax 998cc V-twin – the same engine that powered the Aprillia 1000R and Mille superbikes. In the superbikes, it was tuned to produce over 140 hp. In the Spyder, it’s de-tuned to 106 hp making it more tractable with a broad powerband. The acceleration is snappy – it will go from 0 to 60 mph in just over 4 seconds. By the left grip is a paddle shifter. A flick of the paddle with your thumb shifts up to the next higher gear. Pulling the paddle back with your index finger downshifts to the next lower gear. It automatically cuts power to upshift and blips the throttle to match rpms with road speed when you downshift. The gearshifts are quick – 200 milliseconds (0.2 seconds). It has a reverse gear and also has ABS brakes, traction control and electronic stabilization. It’s a sophisticated vehicle.

But in my mind, I was riding a motorcycle. As we rode through curves, I leaned into the turn and the Spyder didn’t. In fact, it rolled to outside of the turn, completely counter to what I was used to feeling on a motorcycle. Instead of swooping smoothly through the turns like I can on a motorcycle, I was choppy and fighting my way through.

I can get a motorcycle through the turns

After a while it began to make sense. The front suspension was acting like a car. As I went through a turn instead of leaning into the turn as a motorcycle would, centrifugal force was rolling the vehicle toward the outside of the turn and compressing the front suspension on the outer wheel. Once I understood this, I got over the out-of-control feeling and started driving smoother. That’s right, driving – not riding. It’s more like a car than a motorcycle.

Donna didn’t enjoy the test drive. She could tell I was having issues and felt like I was struggling for control. I was at first. She thought if I was having such a hard time, she would never be able to ride this machine. After the test drive we told Jack, the salesman, that we would have to think it over. We came home and I explained to Donna what was happening. I felt confident that I had it figured out and would get over trying to ride it like a motorcycle. I also felt confident that she could learn to ride it easily enough.

We did some more online research and slept on it. On Wednesday morning, I went back to AZ West and struck a deal. I traded in the scooter and left with the Spyder. Donna and I took a drive down to Parker Dam on the Spyder. She could see that I had indeed adjusted my style and could drive it competently. The drive was 20 miles each way and we took AZ95 at 65-70mph the whole way. It was a nice ride.

Donna and the Can AM Spyder at a scenic overlook

Donna and our Can AM Spyder at a scenic overlook

Another view of the Spyder

View from overlook

We rode over the dam and parked. We walked around and took in the views of the Colorado River.

Parker Dam

Colorado River behind the dam

View from the west end of the dam

I cancelled the policy on the scooter and insured the Spyder. Our premium increased by only $56 annually. It’ll be a tight squeeze to shoehorn the Spyder into our trailer. When we get to Mesa, I plan to get a bigger trailer.

The Alpine Coach rally officially opens this evening. We have 25 Alpines registered along with a few hundred other RVs at the rodeo grounds. The pyrotechnic display begins tonight. The weather is nice – clear, sunny skies with the temperature reaching the low 80s. Humidity is under 20%. I’ll write more about the Winter Blast Western Pyrotechnic Association show in another post.

Flying The Koop

…from real estate to wheel estate and back again

Category Archives: Spyder

Sleeping with Leesa

Leap Day Hijinks

Drag Racing

Tire Hassle

Up Against the Wall

Barrio Queen

Trailer for Sale

Tight Squeeze

Western Winter Blast

Along Came a Spyder

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