Category Archives: Western RV/Alpine Coach

Chicken or Egg?

Yesterday was a fairly lazy day. I had a couple of chores to attend to, but nothing big. The night before, I sat in the Euro-recliner and felt it tilt to the side a bit. I thought one of the legs must be on the heater vent. I moved the chair and sat down. Crunch! One of the legs went askew. The bolt that holds the lower portion of the leg had backed out. The last few threads of the bolt stripped when I put my weight on the chair.

Stuff happens when your home frequently rolls down the road. Things like furniture are subjected to vibrations that they aren’t necessarily designed for. I went to Ace hardware and bought two replacement bolts – one for the repair and one to have as a spare. It was an easy fix.

After the chair fix, I read for a while. I went online and joined the Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA). I’m not sure if we’ll see much benefit from FMCA, but I joined in order to be eligible for the Alpine Coach Association (ACA). ACA is a chapter of FMCA – you must be a member of FMCA before you can join ACA.

ACA provides a lot of support for Alpine Coach owners. They schedule several rallies every year. We’re planning to sign up and attend the event in Portland, Oregon in August. It will be a good opportunity to meet other Alpine Coach owners and learn more about our coach.

After I showered, it was time to dump the tanks. I had the gray water valve closed over the weekend to build up some gray water. After I dump and flush the black water tank, I like to run gray water through the sewer hose. Soapy gray water is always my final flush. After I opened the door to the wet bay, my neighbor came over and started talking to me. I was sociable, but I really don’t like interruptions when I’m doing things like setting up, breaking camp or dumping tanks. So I stopped what I was doing and we talked for a while.

We talked about some of the other interesting people in the park. I found out that Forrest, the guy I helped retrieve a wrench from his engine compartment, isn’t 70 years old like I thought. He’s actually 87 years old! Donna and I talked about this once. What is it about the RV lifestyle? Do older people gravitate towards it? Or, does the relatively stress-free lifestyle contribute to long life? It’s one of those chicken or egg type questions that can’t be answered.

Around 4pm, I rode the scooter over to Lucky Lou’s. I saw the usual suspects out on the patio. I sat and ordered a Guinness stout in honor of St. Patrick’s day. I arranged to borrow Mike Hall’s Jeep on Wednesday to pick up Donna’s bike from the bike shop. I’ll also use it to go to the Handlebar Grill Wednesday evening to meet up with Andy King and enjoy some live bluegrass performances.

The people at the next table on the patio were obviously very intoxicated. I couldn’t handle how noisy and obnoxious they were. I guess I’m getting old. I finished my pint of Guinness and departed. I went to the Red, White and Brew Bar and Grill for a traditional St. Patrick’s day meal of corned beef and cabbage with potatoes and carrots.

The plate was good, but it doesn’t compare with Donna’s traditional St. Patrick’s day plate. Every year, Donna makes corned beef, cabbage, champ (Irish mashed potatoes blended with scallions) and Irish soda bread. She’s at her folks’ house near Albany, New York this week, so I settled for the plate on offer at the Brew. It’s the first time since I met Donna that I went out for St. Patrick’s day dinner.

Today, the temperature will reach about 80 degrees, as it has for the past several days. This morning I’ll start on the washing and waxing job. I’ll start by washing and waxing the rear cap. Once I see how that goes, I’ll decide on how to proceed.

Later, I’ll go for a bike ride, then hang out at the pool.

 

 

Glutton for Punishment

I didn’t post yesterday, so I’ll post the weekend update today.

On Saturday, I wrote my blog post first thing in the morning. Then I caught up on a few other blogs I follow. I also looked at the site that mapped the Hawes Trail System. I wanted to ride my mountain bike there.

Around 11am, I rode my mountain bike out of the RV park. I rode a mile up Recker Road to Thomas, then I turned east and rode another mile past the intersection with Power Road. This is the entrance to Las Sendas, where Thomas Road becomes Eagle Crest. I crossed the canal and saw a trail next it, just like I remembered on the map.

However, this trail was gated with a “No Trespassing” sign. I was confused by this. It looked like people had gone in, around the gate, but I didn’t think that was a good idea.

No Trespassing

No Trespassing

I continued up the road another 30 yards and found another trail. There were no markings or signs and the trail entrance was subtle. Once I left the road and followed the trail, it quickly became obvious that this was a well-used trail.

The trail meandered along between the canal and the Las Sendas housing development. It was fairly easy and fast at first, but I ran into technical sections before too long. A couple of other bikers passed me. I wasn’t ready to ride at their pace. I didn’t want to hit a ditch or drop into a ravine at speed, so I rode at a reasonable pace.

Hawes Trail

Hawes Trail

I passed a few people running on the trail as I climbed up towards Usery Mountain. As I gained elevation, I stopped to take in the view.

 

Red Mountain to the north

Red Mountain to the north

I could see for miles across the Valley of the Sun to the southwest. Although Phoenix claims to be located in the Valley of the Sun, it’s really more of a wide basin than a valley. Most of the desert southwest is a series of basins. It’s never as flat as many people imagine.

Valley of the Sun

Valley of the Sun

As the trail climbed, it became more challenging. There were many sections where the trail was narrow and climbed steeply. Other sections dropped into sandy ravines, then climbed up onto decomposed granite or hardpack.

Hawes Trail

Hawes Trail

I missed the turn off for the trail that would take me to the road in Las Sendas. I found myself at the base of a long, steep climb that the locals call “Cardiac Hill.” I decided to turn back. I wasn’t up for that challenge. When I reached Thomas Road again, I’d been out for an hour and a half. I was whipped.

When I returned, I reheated leftovers for lunch, then put on my trunks and walked to the pool. I showered there, then soaked in the Jacuzzi. It felt good. I kicked back on a lounge chair and read a book until I was dry.

I shaved and showered back at the coach and took a nap. I was supposed to hook up with Mike and Jodie Hall, to go to a party in Chandler, but I was too tired to go anywhere. I visited with my neighbor, Peter, from Switzerland. He had been out on his road bike and put in 50 miles. He rode to Saguaro Lake, then did the Usery loop twice!

Yesterday I woke up feeling refreshed and well-rested. I wanted to try another part of the Hawes Trail System. This time I rode up to the north end of Recker Road. I couldn’t find the trail entrance once again. Then I saw a couple of guys on mountain bikes. They pointed out the trail head at the end of a cul-de-sac, next to a house.

This trail led me away from the housing tract. It was fairly fast, with sweeping turns that banked against small hillsides. After fifteen minutes of this, it became more technical with difficult drop-offs and climbs. The last half mile was mostly uphill. When I reached the end, at Power Road, I was huffing and puffing for breath.

Once I caught my breath, I crossed over to the trail on the east side of Power Road. I asked a mountain biker on the road how the trail was. He said it had some technical sections, but wasn’t bad. I wanted to ride this trail back to Thomas Road and loop back to the park.

Ten minutes later, I found out what he meant by “some technical sections.” I came to a stop at a steep drop-off. The trail dropped into a ravine. It was a nearly vertical drop of six or seven feet. Then it crossed the bottom for about 10 feet, then climbed the nearly vertical wall on the other side about eight feet high. It was shaped somewhat like the concrete half pipe where you see extreme riders or skateboarders do stunts on TV.

I looked it over, found a line I thought I could follow and went for it. I extended my butt off the seat, over the back wheel. This kept my weight well back and prevented me from going over the bars when I hit the bottom. Half way up the opposite side, when my bike slowed, I pedaled madly with my weight on the front of the seat and made it to the top. After I crested the hill, the trail dropped into another half pipe ravine. I did the same as I did on the last, pedaling like crazy in a granny gear. At the top, I stopped. I was looking down into another, deeper half pipe type section. My upper body was quickly wearing out. I made it through the third one and decided I’d had enough. I saw the trail flattened out and curved next to the road. I may be a glutton for punishment, but I knew when to quit. At the curve, I bailed out and got on the road.

I need to work on developing more upper body strength and endurance. Mountain biking uses different muscle groups than road biking. I was trying to do too much, too soon. I knew if I kept pushing through the technical sections, fatigue would inevitably lead to a crash.

I stopped at Subway on the way home and bought a Footlong Cold Cut Combo. I ate half of it for lunch, then followed Saturday’s routine of Jacuzzi and poolside reading. The other half of the sandwich was dinner. I miss Donna and I miss her cooking too!

Later, I decided to take on a project that I’d back-burnered for awhile. Our surround sound system has a hissing noise, especially from the rear speakers. It sounded like distortion from an amp that has too much gain. The amplifier is a Don Hamilton System that takes the 2-channel signal from the TV and converts it to 5.1 QSurround sound. I thought the amplifier might have an adjustable potentiometer on it somewhere to set the gain. The amplifier is mounted in a cabinet, next to the  TV. I removed the amplifier, but couldn’t find any adjustment for gain.

Surround sound amplifier

Surround sound amplifier – the picture isn’t upside down, the amp is mounted this way

As I was reconnecting the wiring and preparing to mount the amp back in the cabinet, I noticed the wiring ran through a choke. I followed the wiring on the choke and found that the TV sound ran through it. This choke is designed to remove hum from the radio signal. Radios can pick up noise from the alternator through the 12-volt system.

Choke to cancel noise in the 12 volt system

Choke to cancel noise in the 12-volt system

The TV runs on the 120-volt AC system. The choke might be useful if the TV was operating off the invertor, otherwise I couldn’t see any sense in it. Most motorhomes built before 2007 have had TVs replaced with newer flat screen models. This is the case in our coach. Who knows who wired the sound through the choke.

I rewired the TV directly to the amplifier and ran the radio wiring through the choke. I tested the TV and radio – no hiss or hum! Job done!

Today, I plan on a little rest and relaxation. I need to recover from three straight days of biking. Our neighbors, Peter and Ruth Zaug will be leaving. They’re taking the ActionMobil coach I wrote about in my last post to Apache Junction and putting it into storage there. They’ll fly back to Switzerland this afternoon. They plan to return in September and continue their journey through the USA.

Happy St. Patricks Day! At some point, I’ll probably go to the Red, White and Brew for a pint or two of Guiness.

Eat at Joe’s

Yesterday was yet another day with clear skies, abundant sunshine and warm temperatures. We drove the rental car to the Old Town district in Gilbert. We met Tom and Diane Rowe at Joe’s Real BBQ. This is a cafeteria-style restaurant housed in a brick building that dates back to 1929. It’s a popular place – the line to order stretched all the way out the front door.

We all ordered the half slab of pork ribs. All of the barbeque is cooked over a pecan wood fire. It was delicious. I had cut sweet corn and BBQ pit beans on the side. The beans were outstanding. If you have the opportunity, you should eat at Joe’s.

Joe's half rack of BBQ pork ribs

Half slab of Joe’s BBQ pork ribs

We sat outside and enjoyed our meal while we talked. I think we were there for about an hour and a half. The time always flies by when we’re catching up with our friends.

On the way home, we took advantage of the Enterprise rental car. First we stopped and shopped at Trader Joe’s. Then we made a Costco run.

Last night I was reading about mishaps of some fellow RVers on the IRV2.com forum. This got me thinking about the things we do to ensure that everything is properly stowed and road ready before we leave. It’s important to have a system or checklist; otherwise it’s too easy to overlook something.

One mistake we’ve seen other people make a couple of times is driving off with the TV antenna still up. I have a method to ensure that won’t happen to us. The antenna has a handle in the ceiling of the coach. I crank the handle clockwise to raise the antenna, counter-clockwise to lower it.

Whenever I raise the antenna, I immediately hang the ignition key for the motorhome on the crank handle. That way, when we’re getting ready to leave, I find my keys on the handle and crank the antenna down.

Ignition key hanging from antenna handle

Ignition key hanging from antenna handle

Donna has a checklist. She goes over it and asks me if everything has been done.That’s our method of hitting the road with everything safely stowed as it should be.

Today, we’ll return the rental car. Nothing too exciting on the agenda.

 

Five Dollar Card

Yesterday I spent time getting settled in. It’s a little bit of an adjustment, going from the wide open spaces in the desert back to a city setting. As I’ve said before, both places have their pluses and minuses. There’s always a trade-off. That’s the beauty of this lifestyle – we’re not locked into one or the other. We’ve committed to a month here at Apache Wells RV Resort. The monthly rate is favorable. It works out to about $23/day plus electricity. At this time of year, we don’t really need to use air conditioning or heat, so our electric bill should be low.

Yesterday, I used the on-site laundry facility to catch up on 10 days worth of laundry. We didn’t do any laundry at McDowell Mountain Regional Park, because the washer/dryer on board would put too much water into the gray tank. Our Splendide washer/dryer combo works really well, but it can only handle small loads. I thought it would be best to use the large, commercial machines here to catch up all at once. Then we can keep up on the laundry as usual with the Splendide.

The washing machines in the Laundromat here don’t accept coins or cash. You have to purchase a card in a separate machine at the office, then insert that card into the washer or dryer. I read the instructions and put a five-dollar bill in the card machine and pressed the “New Card” button. The machine dispensed a card with a micro-chip in it.

I loaded two large washing machines in the laundry room. Then I inserted the card. The display on the machine read “Card Value $0.00.” What happened to the five bucks I put in the card machine? I walked back to the office and asked about it. They told me the five bucks paid for the card and that I have to re-insert the card along with another $5 minimum.

I didn’t have any more cash on me, so I walked back to our site and got a $20 bill from Donna. I took that to office, had them break the $20 (I didn’t want to load the card with $20) and loaded the card with $5. Then I walked back to the laundry room. There was a guy standing in front of the machines I had put the clothes in. He asked if I was finished with those machines. I told him what happened and he said he went through the same thing. What a rip-off. Five bucks to be the proud owner of a card with no value! Each washing machine costs $1.25 per load – same for the dryers. So my two loads of laundry cost five bucks. Add the price of the card and I’m out $10 for two loads of laundry.

I was told the card doesn’t expire for three years. So I can reload the card anytime I want to use the laundry facilities. I guess if we were to use it regularly, the price of the initial card purchase would average down. I don’t want to sound like a cheapskate, but I feel like I was taken for five bucks.

Later, I washed the scooter. Although I covered the scooter, the storm last weekend left it a bit of a mess. The wind and heavy rain found its way past the cover. I really should buy a good fitted cover for it.

I want to take advantage of the ability to wash our coach while we’re here. The coach looks good. I wiped it down with microfiber cloths after the storm. But I want  to wash and wax it. I’m thinking I’ll do it in sections, maybe spend two or three days at it instead of trying to do it all at once. I’ll spend two or three more days thinking about it.

Donna had a visitor in the afternoon. Kathleen Romagnoli drove over from Estrella on the west side to visit. It was the first time she and Donna met face to face. They connected online four years ago and were both looking forward to finally getting together. While we were sitting outside talking, we saw our neighbor across the street start to back his truck out of the driveway next to his 5th wheel trailer. There was a small step ladder behind his truck. We yelled, “Stop!”

I walked over and removed the ladder from beneath his bumper. He got out of the truck and thanked me. He said he was only moving a couple of feet and forgot about the ladder. I would guess he’s about 70 years old. He said he was working on the truck, lubing the Pac brake when he spilled some oil. He also dropped a wrench and it was stuck between the radiator and frame. With the truck back a couple of feet, he could clean the oil spill, but wasn’t sure how to retrieve the wrench.

I looked it over. It was indeed stuck in a difficult to reach place. I got a mechanics magnet from my tool box and tried to lift the wrench, but it was too heavy for the magnet. Once he cleaned the oil spill, I crawled underneath the truck. I could just reach the wrench and was able to remove it. That’s how it is in RV parks. People watch out for each other and help out whenever they can.

Today I have a dental appointment at 1:30pm. I need to have an onlay removed and replaced with a crown. They’ll remove the onlay and grind the tooth, then install a temporary cap today. In about two weeks, I’ll have to return to have the crown fitted.

 

Forum Fighters

Sunday was fairly uneventful. Donna went for a bike ride and quickly realized that the race organizers had made the right decision to cancel the duathlon. As we feared, flood water had left sand and debris across the road in the low spots. Also, there were signs at the entrance to the park asking visitors to stay off the trails to give them a chance to dry out. While she was out, I started organizing the trailer and the main basement compartment.

I waited to load the scooter until we had the slides in and the jacks up yesterday. With the coach leveled on the jacks, the trailer was nose high. It’s hard to secure the scooter with the trailer at this attitude. The scooter rolls back away from the wheel chock while I’m trying to attach the tie-downs. With the jacks up and the air dumped from the suspension air bags, the trailer is slightly nose down. Then gravity works in my favor as the front wheel stays tight against the wheel chock and I can secure the tie-downs.

We fired up the engine around 10:30 a.m. While the engine was warming and the air bags were pumping up, I did a walk-around inspection before we drove off. We decided to take a different route back to Apache Wells RV Resort in Mesa. We left Fountain Hills and took a left on the Beeline Highway (Rt. 87). This took us east about 10 miles to the junction of the Bush Highway. We took the Bush Highway through the Tonto National Forest past Saguaro Lake and followed along the Salt River. We drove past our old camping area at the Phon D Sutton Recreation Area.

As were were cruising along, I remarked to Donna how much I enjoyed driving this coach. It’s so easy to drive, it rides smoothly and handles well. We have more than adequate power. On the RV forums I visit (check out my new Resources page), threads start from time to time regarding gas-powered motorhomes versus diesel. Just like threads asking which is the best oil or what are the best tires, people start defending their choices and it devolves into a forum fight.

I try to stay out of these types of threads, but I get sucked in on occasion. In the gas-versus-diesel argument, there’s no right or wrong. You choose what works for you. In the beginning, we chose a gas-powered rig. The purchase price was more affordable and I could do all of the maintenance work myself. We didn’t know at the time that we would be full-timing.

After living in it for five months and traveling 7,000+ miles, we found it didn’t really fit our needs. We wanted a different floor plan, one that was more open and conducive to setting up a work station. Although the big 8.1 liter (496 cu. in.) GM Vortec engine was powerful, we found ourselves struggling at times, especially at altitude crossing mountain ranges. I detailed some of the experience in this post.

I test drove several gasoline-powered motorhomes before we bought our first rig. Ours was built on a Workhorse chassis that had upgraded shock absorbers, a beefy rear track bar and a steer-safe steering damper added to it. It was the best handling rig of all the coaches I test-drove. But it was difficult to handle in windy conditions. Semi tractor-trailer rigs passing by would cause it to sway. Even with the suspension upgrades, the coach would roll and lean through turns. Coming down long, steep grades required good braking technique and concentration to avoid overheating the brakes. Was it a bad vehicle? No. Was it un-driveable? No. But it was exhausting at times. If we were weekend warriors, we might have kept that coach.

When we decided to look for a replacement, we set certain parameters. First of all, we wanted a rear-engine diesel pusher. We wanted certain considerations with regard to floor plan. We looked online and compared rigs for several weeks before we settled down to a few choices that met our requirements. Now that we own a diesel pusher, the higher purchase price, fuel costs and maintenance seem to be well worth it for us.

The big Cummins ISL diesel engine makes plenty of power. The engine also provides two stages of compression braking. I wrote about that in this post. The air-bag suspension rides smoothly and there’s very little body roll. For us, diesel is the right choice. I couldn’t go back to a gas engine, steel-spring chassis.

I guess I went off on this subject so I won’t have to jump into the fray on the RV forums!

We’re set up in a nice site at Apache Wells RV Resort. Our site has a large concrete pad. Donna directed me in as I backed the trailer onto the pad. Once I put the wheel on the front jack of the trailer, rolling it where I wanted it was a piece of cake. Then we positioned our coach next to the pad. We have our patio carpet out and chairs set up under the porch awning. The only downside to this site is spotty wifi. When we were here before, in site 56, we had a smaller concrete pad – the site was mostly gravel. However, we had great wifi there. There always seems to be some kind of trade-off.

Our new site

Our new site

By the time we were set up yesterday, we were starving. It was nearly 2pm and all I had to eat all day was a cup of yogurt and coffee. We hopped on the scooter and rode over to an old favorite, Senor Taco. I had rolled tacos with guacamole and Donna had fish tacos with a Corona beer. That hit the spot.

After we returned, I took a long, hot, luxurious shower. That’s the big plus of a place with full hook-ups. Unlimited water and sewer usage! Of course the trade-off is that we’re in a tight site with neighbors close to us and were not surrounded by nature. This will work for us until we get the hitch itch again.

Today I’ll catch up on laundry at the park laundromat. I also need to wash the scooter. Maybe we’ll lounge around the pool this afternoon. No real plan, just go with the flow!

Hail Jinx

Yesterday the weather guessers had it right. As predicted, after a short pause in the rainfall, we were slammed by thunderstorms. The precipitation fell in short, heavy bursts, then would taper off. At times, the sun broke through the clouds. At one point, I had the door open and let some warm, fresh air in through the screen door. That didn’t last long though.

Donna’s friend, Julia, picked her up around 1:30pm and they went to a Cabi clothing party in Fountain Hills. While she was out, I thought it would be a good time to practice guitar. I plugged in my guitar amp stand next to the co-pilot’s seat and got my Gibson ES-339 out. I played for about an hour and had fun rocking out in the coach.

On their way back from the party, Donna and Julia stopped at the Fountain Hills bike shop. Donna picked up her race packet there. The packet included her race numbers to be displayed on her bike, helmet and jersey. It also had a bar glass stenciled with the race logo and a few small goodies.

After Donna returned, we saw a large storm cell to the north of us. I thought it might pass by without much effect as it seemed to be far enough away. I was wrong. We started experiencing high winds as the cell approached. Then we were blasted with intense rain fall. Sheets of big, heavy rain drops. I jinxed us when I said, “At least it’s not hail.” Within minutes, we had pea-sized hail drumming on the roof of our coach.

Large storm cell

Large storm cell

The heavy rain from this cell caused water to puddle on top of the living room slide-out. Water puddled faster than it could drain. After a while, we had water intrusion through the slide seal near the microwave oven. I used the hydraulic jacks to lower the left side as well as the rear of the coach. This allowed the water to run off of the top of the slide. I left the coach tilted overnight and leveled it this morning.

After each thunder storm passed by, there would be areas of flooding. Our site had a large puddle under the coach.

Rain water puddling in our site

Rain water puddling in our site

The ground would drain quickly though between bouts of rain.

The puddle didn't last long when the rain stopped

The puddle didn’t last long once the rain stopped

Storm cells continued to pass through the area. Around 8:30pm, Donna received a call from her training partner alerting her to the email message she just received from the race organizers. They had canceled the race. She was disappointed, but felt some relief at the same time. She wasn’t looking forward to rising from bed at dark-thirty to ride to the race start area on a cold, wet morning. Also, parts of the road were likely to be flooded in the morning and could have sand and debris in places.

Donna is planning to ride the road course later today, once it warms up. The forecast is calling for temperatures to reach the upper 60s today. I’ll start organizing the trailer in preparation for tomorrow’s move back to Mesa. Tomorrow will be a busy move day, so I don’t think I’ll post again until Tuesday.

Donna signed up for another race in Mesa on April 5th. I guess we’ll extend our stay there.

 

Cooling Systems

Yesterday’s weather was fabulous. The temperature was in the mid-70s with mostly clear skies. Today looks like more of the same. This won’t be the case this weekend though. A large storm system is supposed to hit southern California tonight. In San Diego, they’re forecasting more than two inches of rain this weekend. This storm system should reach us by Saturday. We may have a wet weekend ahead.

Yesterday, after I posted, I went to work on my project of the day. It was a fairly simple task. I needed to adjust the v-belt that drives the A/C compressor. When I replaced the belt, it seemed tight. I knew it would loosen up after the engine was run for a while. The 25-mile drive from Mesa to McDowell Mountain Regional Park (MMRP) was enough to seat the belt.

When a new belt is first installed, it’s almost impossible to put enough tension on it to fully seat it in the groove of the pulley. You need to run the engine so the belt seats in, then adjust it again. I didn’t want to fire up our big diesel while we were at the Apache Wells RV Resort just so I could adjust the belt. I knew the short drive to MMRP would seat it in. Also, since it’s the drive belt for the air conditioner compressor and I wasn’t running the A/C, having a little slack in it wasn’t going to be a problem.

After I completed that task, I poked around the engine compartment. I was trying to figure out why some coolant was spit out of the overflow hose when I was parking our coach here. I brainstormed a bit the other day with my friend and former colleague, Keith Burk, and we came up with a couple of possible causes. Then I studied the cooling system on our Cummins ISL engine.

The cooling systems in these diesel pusher coaches are unique to each brand. When Cummins supplies the engine to the chassis builder, they specify certain cooling system requirements. The engine comes with the water pump and hose fittings in place. It’s up to the chassis manufacturer to provide a suitable radiator and plumbing for the cooling system.

Back to the problem at hand, it made sense to start with the easiest thing to check – pressure testing the radiator cap. The cooling system in a liquid-cooled internal combustion engine is held under pressure once the engine is running. The system is sealed. As the coolant starts to warm up, it begins to expand. With a sealed system, this expansion creates pressure. The radiator cap is designed to relieve the pressure at a specific point.

Having the coolant under pressure raises the boiling point. For each pound per square inch (PSI), the boiling point is raised three degrees Fahrenheit. In most systems, when the pressure exceeds the specified value, a valve in the cap opens and allows coolant to flow into an external, vented container. When the coolant cools, it contracts, creating vacuum in the system. Another valve in the cap allows the coolant to be drawn back from the external container into the system.

On our coach, there isn’t an external container. The Peak chassis utilizes a surge tank with enough volume to accommodate expansion of the coolant. The radiator cap is on the surge tank.

Cooling system surge tank

Cooling system surge tank

The other thoughts on why the cooling system overflowed weren’t so simple. One possibility would be a leaking exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) cooler. This would be bad, however, our Cummins ISL doesn’t have an EGR system. So that’s not an issue.

Another possibility would be a leaking head gasket. This also would be very bad news. I didn’t think this was happening because leaking head gaskets leave other tell-tale signs. I didn’t have any other symptoms.

My thought was to take the radiator cap into town and have it pressure tested at the auto parts store. Most auto parts stores will test them for free, and this was true at the O’Reilly Auto Parts in Fountain Hills.

I removed the cap and saw there was no need to test it. The seal was visibly bad. It was distorted and had ruptured. There’s no way it was holding pressure in the system. Although the fluid in the surge tank wasn’t boiling, this may not be true of hot spots in the engine. With no pressure in the system, the coolant will boil at about 223 degrees Fahrenheit. Parts of the cylinder liners and cylinder head may have had localized coolant boiling, pushing the coolant out of the cap seal.

Old radiator cap with bad seal

Old radiator cap with bad seal

My next task was to determine what pressure the system should be limited to. I searched online, posted questions on forums and went through my manuals. The only definitive specification I could find was in the Cummins engine manual. It specified seven PSI minimum pressure. That’s really low. Online I found anything from 10 PSI to 15 PSI. The old cap didn’t have a part number on it, but it was stamped with the number 14, leading me to believe it was probably rated at 14 PSI.

I didn’t want to over-pressurize the system and create a new problem. I found a 13 PSI cap that was dimensionally correct and bought it. Using the formula of a three degree rise in boiling point for every PSI, this would raise the boiling point by 39 degrees, making the coolant boiling point 262 degrees Fahrenheit instead of 223 degrees.

New radiator cap

New radiator cap

This is a long-winded, technical explanation for what amounted to unscrewing the old cap and screwing a new one on. If you’ve read this far, it must have some value though.

Today, I’ll head back to town to look for more effective allergy medicine. Donna is going for a run to test her new cooling system. She just picked up an Osprey Rev 1.5 Hydration Pack – a small backpack with a 1.5-liter water reservoir with a hose to sip from while she runs and rides her bike. She used to have a Camelback hydration pack, but the Dirty, Rotten Thieves got that when they stole our cargo trailer back in San Diego.

I also need to talk to Mike Hall this afternoon and see when he wants me to return his Jeep. It would be good if we had it on Sunday so I could pick up Donna and her bicycle after the race. On the other hand, the Jeep is open and if it rains on Saturday I don’t have a covered parking area for it at MMRP.

Are You Handy?

Yesterday the sky remained overcast all afternoon. The temperature was in the low 70s. Donna went for a run in the morning while I played around on the Internet. The pollen count is so high now, I’m really suffering from allergies. I’m taking three medications to fight the symptoms. I use a prescription nasal spray, Opcon-A eye drops and an over-the-counter antihistamine tablet. I hope whatever is producing all the pollen quits soon.

After Donna returned from her run and showered, we decided to drive down to Fountain Hills for lunch. We went to a Mexican restaurant called El Encanto that her friend Julia recommended. There are three El Encanto restaurants in the greater Phoenix area. The original opened in 1989 at Cave Creek. About 10 years later, the second opened on Carefree Highway. In 2009, they opened the third in Fountain Hills and called it El Encanto de la Fuente (of the fountain). I had the special, which was a carne asada burro and a taco. Donna ordered a fish taco with black beans. Great food and the service was good too. I recommend this place.

While we were in town, we drove to where Donna used to live to visit her next door neighbors, Dwight and Marianne. Donna last visited them a little over a year ago when she was in Phoenix. Dwight suffered a stroke a couple of years ago and is confined to a wheelchair. We were happy to note that his condition has improved considerably though since the last time Donna visited.

On the way home, we stopped at the Fountain Hills Bicycle Shop. We met the owner, Doug, and chatted with him. Donna picked up a few items while I checked out the mountain bikes. Watching people riding mountain bikes on the trails around here has me thinking about getting one.

When we returned, I put new handlebar tape on Donna’s bike. The tape cushions the rider’s hands and she was due for new tape before her race this weekend. Then I read a book while Donna continued to edit her book. Basically, I had a lazy day with no real projects. I didn’t even muster enough ambition to  practice guitar. Most days, I have a project of some kind. There’s always something I can improve on our coach, scooter or bicycles.

Donna told me that a friend of hers, Paula Switzer, wondered my if blog might make some people leery of hitting the road. She was referring to all of the projects I post about. She thought that maybe people would think they would need to be handy and have the tools and knowledge to work on the various systems that make up a motorhome.

I don’t mean to make it seem scary or beat my chest about my mechanical ability. If you’re handy and have some mechanical inclination, it helps. Some people wouldn’t think of turning a wrench on their RV. They follow the manufacturer’s maintenance schedule and have a dealer or shop do the work. When the recommended maintenance is performed, the RV is inspected. Any shortcomings can be handled by the shop. From what I’ve read on forums and other blogs, most people in this category buy new or nearly new RVs with a warranty.

There are others that defer maintenance and only have work performed when something breaks, leaks or quits working. I saw a lot of this when we were at Mission Bay RV Resort. It seemed like mobile RV technicians were at the park daily to fix someone’s RV. This approach is a little scary to me. Deferring preventive maintenance until something breaks can lead to expensive repairs.

My approach is to perform the maintenance tasks I’m capable of. I don’t do everything at once like a professional workshop would. I try to prioritize the work and spread it out. I try to take care of little issues before they become big issues. This doesn’t guarantee things will never break, but it lowers the odds. On our old coach, I would change my own engine oil and filter. It was powered by a gasoline engine and held about seven quarts of oil. Our present coach has a diesel engine that takes about 25 quarts of oil. I’ll take it to a shop and pay to have the oil changed because I have no way of containing and disposing of more than six gallons of oil!

The other work I perform on our coach are things that I have the ability, tools and time to do. I wouldn’t do this work for pay on someone else’s coach. But I’ll do it on my coach to avoid paying someone else to do it.

Donna is kind of like that in the kitchen. She cooks dinners that are worthy of fine restaurant fare. We go out to eat on occasion, but probably not as often as many people do. Though Donna is a good cook and enjoys serving good food, she wouldn’t want to open a restaurant and do it for a living.

Speaking of food, I forgot to mention in yesterday’s post about the dinner we had Monday night. In the morning, Donna seasoned boneless country-style pork ribs. I browned them on the grill, then Donna put them in our 4-quart Health Craft pot on her slow cooker base with sliced onion and apple with a homemade BBQ sauce. They cooked all day. By dinner time, they were ready and so tender!

Boneless country style pork ribs

Country-style BBQ pork ribs over egg noodles

Today, I’ll readjust the air conditioner compressor belt I replaced last week. As I expected, after running for a while, it’s loosened up a little. The sky is clear and the day is quickly warming. I better get this project going before it gets too hot.

 

Struttin’

One of the things that took me by surprise when I started blogging about eight months ago is the number of spam comments that get posted. I wrote about this before. I’ve added software that quarantines comments that appear to be spam. This software is very effective and filters out about 100 spam comments per day.

Some spammers will work around the software though. One guy started adding comments that appeared to be genuine. The comments would pertain specifically to the content of the post. After having his comments approved several times, the spam software saw him as a trusted contributor. Then he spammed me! I was really disappointed by this. All of his comments have been removed.

I like receiving comments on posts. The spammers make it difficult though. It’s frustrating at times, but we’ll hang in there. Please add comments if you wish, but please – no spam.

Yesterday, I started on my project of the day as soon as I finished my blog post. It was a project that appeared simple enough, but my track record has proven that even the simplest task can run into complications.

The doors on the basement storage compartments on our coach have struts that are gas springs that assist in raising the door to its open position and then hold it open. Gas springs are cylinders filled with an inert gas (usually nitrogen) to a specific pressure. The gas pressure extends the shaft of the strut. On the passenger side, just ahead of the entry door, we have a large, pass-through compartment with a big door.

Large pass-through basement compartment

Large pass-through basement compartment

There are two struts (gas springs), one on each end of the door. This is the bin that we use the most. Things that we need on a daily basis are stored here. It’s convenient as it’s right next to the entry door. The opening is large, making it easy to retrieve things.

The gas springs on this door were a little weak. The door wouldn’t fully open on its own – we had to lift a little to get it open. Sometimes it wouldn’t hold fully open and the door would come back down a few inches. It makes sense to me that this door would show wear on the gas springs. It’s the largest, heaviest door and it gets the most use.

I found a thread on the Alpine Coach Owner’s forum about these gas springs. It turns out that these aren’t standard parts. They were built specifically for Western RV. One post had contact info for a company in California that built the SPD gas springs and supposedly they had the parts. I tried calling the number listed, but it was no longer in service.

I did a Google search and came up with a company in Maumee, Ohio called Associated Spring Raymond (ASR) that carried SPD gas springs. The part number on our struts is SPD-GS-6711. Their online catalog didn’t list this part number.

I called their customer service number to see if they had a part that had similar specifications. Gas springs come in different lengths, diameters and spring rates (pressure). When I told the woman at ASR customer service that I needed to replace SPD-GS-6711 gas springs, she told me they had an exact replacement part. The only difference was their part had a nitride coated shaft but other than that, the specifications were the same. She said it’s a non-standard part that’s not listed in their catalog. The part number is GSNI-6711. Bingo! I ordered two.

Old Gas spring strut on top, new one with black nitride shaft on bottom

Old gas spring strut on top, new one with black nitride shaft on bottom

The spring pressure of the struts is very high. I tried to compress the gas spring by hand and couldn’t get the shaft to move at all. Fully extended, the length of the shaft is about half an inch longer than the dimension between the two mounting points when the door is fully opened. The strut mounts near the pivot point of the door, leveraging the weight of the door against the gas spring. This is the reason for such a high-pressure specification.

Gas spring strut on compartment door

Gas spring strut on compartment door

When I woke up yesterday morning, I was lying in bed thinking of how to get the gas spring compressed to enable me to mount it. I came up with a plan.

I removed one of the gas spring struts. I installed the new gas spring strut on the upper mounting point on the door. Then, I used a foot long section of 4×4 wood that’s normally a wheel chock for our cargo trailer as a lever to compress the gas spring from the bottom. Once I compressed it enough to align with the bottom mounting point, I snapped it in place with my free hand using channel lock pliers.

It worked perfectly. I repeated the process on the other side. For once, I had a project done with no complications. I was finished with the job before Donna left for her 11am dental appointment! Now, when I open this compartment, it fully extends itself and stays open.

After lunch, I scootered Donna to her eye exam appointment on Brown Road, about two and half miles from here. She hasn’t had her eyes checked in three years and was pretty sure she needed a stronger prescription for reading (she was right). She opted to walk home from her exam. I completed a few errands before stopping at Red, White and Brew for a cold one. I had Kiltlifter, a locally brewed Scottish style ale from Four Peaks Brewing.

Last night, Donna prepared prosciutto wrapped scallops and sliced summer squash. I grilled the scallops and squash. Donna served the scallops over steamed spinach with a lemon vinaigrette. Yummy!

Grilled prosciutto wrapped scallops and summer squash

Grilled prosciutto wrapped scallops and summer squash

Today, I’ll start preparing for our move to McDowell Mountain Regional Park (MMRP). Our friend, Mike Hall, is lending us his Jeep for the weekend. I’ll ride the scooter over to his place tomorrow morning. The plan is to leave the scooter in his shop and drive the Jeep back here. Then I’ll finish our preparation for the 25-mile drive to MMRP. Donna will follow me there in the Jeep. I don’t think I’ll post tomorrow as we’ll be busy.

Water Log

Yesterday’s virtual tour of our coach turned out to be a popular post. By the end of the day, we had 322 visitors take the tour!

Yesterday, I finally got around to a project I’ve been meaning to do for more than a week.

The fresh water hose from the spigot to our coach has an inline water filter. This filter prevents sediment from entering our fresh water system. It also has activated carbon to neutralize odors and remove chlorine. This filter simply screws on to the end of the hose. I need to replace it after about 90 days of use.

Under the sink, we have another filter for the purified drinking water tap. Western RV specified a proprietary filter design for the Alpenlite trailers and Alpine Coaches they built. This filter is bacteriostatic, removes heavy metals and chemicals and generally improves the taste of the water. This filter should be replaced annually.

When we were in Quartzsite, I took a picture of this filter and showed it to vendors, trying to find a replacement. I was told it’s a special design and no one has them anymore. I searched online and found The RV Water Filter Store. I’ve taken to liberty of copying the description of the filter they offer for Alpine and Alpenlite owners:

Alpine and Alpenlite RVs are outfitted with water filters that are non-standard, and until now, owners had difficulty finding a reasonably-priced replacement unit.  We now have a well-built solution to this problem.  Our replacements are 2 1/2″ in diameter and about 8″ long.  They are made of granular activated carbon and they include KDF.  Our units actually contain more filter media than the factory units, so they should last longer.  We sell these filters with or without the brass fittings needed to hook them to your plumbing system.  If you are handy, you can remove the fittings from the old filter and install them on the new one.  If you don’t want to fool with changing fittings, buy the unit with the fittings included.

I think I’m fairly handy, so I ordered a filter without the fittings. It arrived a few days later. Yesterday, I shut off the water supply and opened the faucet in the kitchen to relieve the water pressure. The filter is mounted against the wall under the kitchen sink.

Old water filter

Old water filter

The filter has quick-connect brass fittings. All I had to do was pull the brass sleeve and the fitting released the filter. Then the filter will unsnap from the mount. I placed towels under the filter to sop up water that would drain out of the line and I was able to release the couplers.

Old filter with quick release mounts

Old filter with quick release couplers

I used a 9/16″ wrench to remove the fittings from the old filter.

New filter without couplers

New filter without couplers

I sanitized the fittings, wrapped the threads with Teflon tape and screwed them into the new filter.

New filter with couplers installed

New filter with couplers installed

Easy stuff, so why all the procrastination? Getting the new filter in place was the hard part. I told Donna I need to grow longer arms. To install the new filter, I had to pull the sleeve on the brass fitting and insert the filter coupler before I released the sleeve. This required both hands at the back of the cabinet where the water lines are. My arms aren’t long enough to reach both hands back there. I had to squeeze my head and shoulders between the sink drain pipes and the shelf in order to get both hands back there.

I need longer arms to do this

I needed longer arms to do this

After flailing about under the counter, I finally managed to get the filter installed. Job done.

Later, Donna asked me to soak a cedar plank in water for a few hours. Meanwhile, she prepared steelhead trout with a miso rub. If you’ve never had steelhead, it tastes a lot like salmon and is usually more favorably priced.

Steelhead trout spiced and ready to grill

Steelhead trout spiced and ready to grill

I fired up the Weber Q and let it pre-heat. I adjusted the burner to medium and placed the cedar plank on the grill. I closed the lid and let the grill do its thing.

About 18 minutes later, we had steelhead trout grilled to perfection!

Ready to serve

Ready to serve

Donna served it with coconut basmati rice and steamed broccoli. She continues to feed me well!

Cedar planked Steelhead served with coconut basmati rice and steamed broccoli

Cedar planked steelhead trout with coconut basmati rice and steamed broccoli

Yesterday, the UPS driver dropped off a package for me. Today, I’ll have another project to tackle. Again, it’s one that seems simple at first glance, but I expect a challenge.

 

*Just so you know, if you follow one of my links to Amazon and decide to make a purchase, I’ll earn a small commission. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!