Category Archives: Western RV/Alpine Coach

Behind Closed Doors

Today we’ll take a virtual tour of our Alpine Coach 40 MDTS. This is where we live.

Our coach has a mid-door entry. This is unusual for a diesel pusher layout. The floorplan works great for us though. I don’t understand why mid-door entries aren’t more popular. With a mid-door entry, you feel like you’re stepping into our home. The more common layout with a front door entry, in front of the passenger seat, feels like your stepping into a bus.

When we’re parked, I dump the air from the suspension. This lowers the coach before I level it. With the coach lowered, it’s an easy step up into the entry.

C’mon in

We’ll start the tour in the rear of the coach. Our bedroom has two slides, one on each side. This allows plenty of room for our full-length queen size bed. Most RVs have shorter queen size beds. Full length is 80″ versus 75″ for the short.

The mirrors in the back are the doors to the wardrobe.

Looking across our bed from the bathroom

The bed is situated east-west, with the headboard in the driver’s side slide-out.

From the foot of our queen size bed

With one of the wardrobe doors open, you can see Donna has plenty of room to hang her clothes.

Donna’s wardrobe at the rear of the coach

On the passenger side of the bedroom, a vanity is located in the slide-out. We have plenty of drawer space in the bedroom.

Bedroom vanity counter

We call this closet in the bathroom our laundry room. The Splendide washer/dryer combo is inside along with our hamper and shelves for detergent and other storage. The door is solid wood, just like the cabinetry and trim throughout the coach.

Laundry room door

Splendide 2100 washer/dryer

The bathroom is between the bedroom and the kitchen.

Bathroom basin

Toilet facility

Glass shower enclosure with skylight

In front of the bathroom door, our refrigerator is located on the passenger side. This is a full-size refrigerator/freezer.

Our refrigerator/freezer

The kitchen counter is opposite the refrigerator. Hidden in the back corner of the counter is a Keurig coffee maker and a Vitamix. At the left of the photo, behind the mirrored doors, are two large spice cabinets, one up and one down.

Donna’s kitchen

Another view of the kitchen counter with the induction cooktop.

Kitchen counter

In front of the entry, on the passenger side, there’s a table with free-standing chairs.

Dining table

The table has an extension that pulls out.

Dining table extended

In front of the kitchen on the driver’s side, we have a sofa. The sofa is a hide-a-bed.

Leather pullout sofa

The pilot and co-pilot seats swivel. They can be used for additional seating while parked. The 32″ LED TV is overhead in front. My guitar and amp-stand are stored behind the seats while we’re parked.

Cockpit view from kitchen

Between the table and passenger seat we have a Euro-recliner and ottoman. There’s a small storage cabinet beneath the window – the perfect spot for our Bose iPod player. Note the tall windows – one of our favorite interior features along with the wood floor.

Co-pilot’s seat and Euro recliner

Here’s a view looking back from the front seat area. We love the spacious feel of this floorplan.

Front to back (before we moved in)

Below is a view looking forward from the entry area. The window shades are down, but you can see the large windows. With the shades up, it feels very open and airy. The windows are dual-pane glass with solar shielding which provides good insulation.

Looking toward the front from the entry (also before we moved in)

That’s our wheel estate!

The Posse

In some areas of the country, the winter of 2013-14 will be one to remember. I’ve heard from friends back in Michigan how the snow has piled up and they continue to get slammed. I guess timing is everything. Donna says we picked the right time to sell our snow shovels.

In the southwest, we’re experiencing a very mild winter. Temperatures here in Arizona have been above historical averages. I don’t know if the weather is an influence, but the citrus crop is abundant this year.

Yesterday, we started with fresh picked grapefruit. The white grapefruit grown here in the RV park is very sweet – almost like a ruby red grapefruit. The rind is thick with pectin and the grapefruit can be easily peeled.

Fresh picked white grapefruit

Donna went out for a run in the morning. She covered almost seven miles. I futzed around while she was out. I retrieved my camera bag from the basement and started charging the batteries for my Canon DSLR. I checked the oil level and tire pressure on the scooter. Mostly, I caught up on a few blogs I follow.

After Donna returned and showered, we ate a light lunch outside. We decided to take a ride on the scooter out to Saguaro Lake for ice cream. On the way to the lake, we stopped at Phon D Sutton Recreation Area and visited Mark and Emily. We ended up sitting and talking with them for more than an hour!

They have a hummingbird feeder attached to a window of their fifth wheel trailer. The hummingbirds are constantly feeding. They are fairly tame, using the feeder while we were standing just a few feet away. Our hummingbird feeder sees some action, but nothing like theirs. I think it may be due to all of the choices the hummingbirds have here at the RV park. Not only are there multiple feeders to choose from, there are also many flowering plants and fruit trees.

We left Mark and Emily and continued our ride on the Bush Highway to Saguaro Lake. Donna and I each had a cup of vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup as we watched the boats on the lake.

Saguaro Lake

When we pulled out of the parking lot, there were a couple of motorcycles and a Can-Am BRP three-wheeler (one of those bikes with two front wheels and one in the rear) in front of us. More motorcycles pulled out behind us. At the stop sign at Bush Highway, a guy on an old Suzuki Intruder with un-muffled straight pipes pulled up next to us and said, “Are you riding with us?” Donna said, “No.” The guy said, “How about letting our posse pull on through?”

No problem. We followed them onto the highway. The last rider in their “posse” was riding a Harley with ape-hanger handlebars. I thought he was going to ride off the road into the desert as he struggled to get his bike around the left turn. They were a squirrely bunch. The guy who asked us to let them through passed a car on the right shoulder at one point.

When we reached the stop sign at Ellsworth, they rode straight on Bush Highway. I made the left on Ellsworth, just to get away from them. We rode over Usery Pass and turned west on McDowell. On the way home, we stopped at Basha’s grocery store. Donna bought shrimp and some veggies. She also caved and bought Girl Scout cookies from a stand in front of the store.

When we returned, the batteries for my Canon 10D were fully charged. I took photos of the interior of our coach. Donna whipped up a great guacamole and we had chips and dip for an appetizer.

For dinner, I grilled the shrimp and zucchini boats that Donna prepared. Zucchini boats are made by slicing a zucchini in half lengthwise. Then, the zucchini is hollowed out. The pulp is sauteed with onions in olive oil, and then you add garlic and panko bread crumbs and continue cooking until the bread crumbs brown a bit. After removing from the heat, she adds shredded mozzarella and chopped mint. The mixture is placed back into the hollowed zucchini half and topped with grated parmesan cheese and black pepper.

Grilled shrimp and zucchini boat

Today, I want to go to the pool and read. It was a little breezy this morning, but the wind has died down. I think we’ll be in for another warm day. I’ll try to get some guitar practice in – I finally put new strings on my ES-339.

A few of our friends have been asking to see the interior of our new home on wheels. Maybe I can post some shots tomorrow.

Tomorrow we’ll step inside

Mystery Panel

Tuesday was a lazy day. The weather was beautiful – the temperature hit 76 without a cloud in the sky. I went for a walk, then I set up a chair under the awning and read. I’m reading City of Falling Angels by John Berendt. It was published in 2005. It’s a non-fiction description of the fire that destroyed the Fenice Opera House in Venice, Italy in 1996. It’s really well-written and the story grabbed me.

Yesterday, I started my day early. I had an alarm set for 7am. I haven’t used an alarm for a while. I slept fitfully all night. The pollen counts here are high. I have severe pollen allergies. When the pollen count is high I often sleep poorly. Anyway, the reason for my early wake-up was a dental appointment. I had a 7:50am appointment for a check-up and cleaning.

My original appointment was at 8:40am. The dental office called on Monday and asked to move my appointment earlier. I don’t know why I agreed – I’m retired and have no need for an early morning apointment! The check-up revealed a small cavity under a gold onlay. The fix for that is to remove the onlay and replace it with a crown. Cavities were a rare issue for me until I had head and neck radiation treatment in 2002. The radiation damages the tooth enamel and that’s when problems start. The radiation also affects saliva production, which also promotes tooth decay. I try to be diligent in my tooth and mouth care, but it seems like it’s a losing battle. I’ve had a lot of work done over the past six or seven years.

After a poor night’s rest and early dental appointment, I decided another lazy day was in order. I didn’t post to the blog. The afternoon was warm with the temperature rising to 80 degrees. I put the awning out and sat outside to read.

Later, I pulled my Gibson ES-339 out of the basement and set up my amp-stand. I haven’t played guitar in weeks. I played for about 40 minutes. I need to put new strings on the guitar. Maybe that’s a task for today.

There was another thing on my mind. In our bedroom, between the side of the bed and the wardrobe, I found a strange seam in the carpet.

Seam in carpet

I thought this was curious. When I looked closely, I found a tag next to the bed. Pulling on the tag, a 20″ by 14″ panel came up. It was heat shielded on the bottom. Below the panel was a metal plate.

Heat shielding and plate under carpet panel

Now I wanted to know what this mystery panel was for. The metal plate was held in place by four screws with #2 square drive heads. I put a #2SD driver in my electric screw driver and removed the panel. It revealed the rear of the engine and transmission bell housing. I don’t think you would ever need this access unless something catastrophic occurred. It would be most helpful if you had to remove the exhaust manifold, the turbocharger or the complete engine. My curiosity was satisfied. Good-to-know information, but I hope I never need to use this access.

Access to rear of engine

Andy King, my friend going all the way back to junior high school days, stopped by at 4:30pm. I haven’t seen Andy in a long time. I think we figured it to be 36 years. The funny thing is, he was living in Gold Canyon, just a dozen miles or so from our old house in Mesa when Donna and I lived in Arizona. Neither of us used Facebook back then and we were out of touch with each other. We only connected recently with Facebook.

I gave him the nickel tour of our place, then he drove us to the Handlebar Grill and Pub in Apache Junction. This place is very unassuming. It’s on Apache Trail (Main Street) near Ironwood. From the street it looks like a dusty dive bar. It isn’t. There’s a nice outdoor patio and inside, the tables are covered with table cloths. The service is great and they cook a lot of their food over a wood-fired grill. They also have a great selection of beer on tap.

Andy’s wife, coincidentally also named Donna, joined us there. We had a great time enjoying the company, burgers and beer. The two Donnas split a bottle of wine. Entertainment was provided by The String ‘Em Up Band – a local bluegrass band. Andy was a regular member of this band, but now he sits in occasionally. He broke out his Fishook Dobro and joined the band for their second and third set.

Andy and I flanked by our Donnas

Andy takes center stage

It was a fun-filled night. Andy drove us back to Apache Wells a little after 9pm. We plan to get together again soon.

Today, the weather is forecast to continue the warming trend. We should see a high of over 80 degrees today and near 90 by Saturday. Maybe it’s time for me to hit the pool. But hey, it’s a dry heat. It’s not hot here until the thermometer hits 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

Nick of Time

We had beautiful weather yesterday. The sky was clear with a gentle breeze and the temperature reached 75 degrees. I went out for a walk, then got to work on the belt replacement project.

When I inspected our coach, I noticed some small cracks in the serpentine belt on the engine. I knew I would have to replace the belt sooner or later. The serpentine belt is flat, a little over an inch wide and has eight ribs. It’s driven by the crankshaft pulley, which has grooves to match the ribs. The belt drives the coolant pump, the alternator and an accessory drive on the engine (I’m not 100% sure, but I think that drive runs the compressor for the air suspension). A spring-loaded tensioner maintains the proper belt tension. If this belt breaks, you must stop immediately or the engine will quickly overheat and destroy itself.

The other day, I was looking things over in the engine compartment. I saw a crack in the serpentine belt that was alarming. When I last shut down the engine, the belt stopped in a position that revealed this crack where the belt wraps around the coolant pump pulley. I had to replace the belt sooner, rather than later.

Crack in belt

I spent a lot of time on the Internet trying to find the correct replacement part number. There was conflicting information. I found a part number for a Dayco belt in the Alpine Coach Owner’s Manual. Cross-referencing this part number, I found it was interchangeable with two other part numbers I found posted on the Alpine Coach forum. This is what was confusing me, but then it started to make sense.

I removed the belt. To get the serpentine belt off, I needed to remove the A/C compressor V-belt first. This entailed loosening the compressor bracket to create slack in the belt to remove it. This was easier said than done. Getting to the bolts on the bracket wasn’t easy.

A/C compressor

Once I had the A/C belt off, removing the serpentine belt was easy. The tensioner mount has a 1/2″ square hole in it. I used a 1/2″ drive ratchet with a short extension inserted into the hole to twist against the spring and release the belt tension. Once I did that, I popped the belt off the alternator pulley.

Serpentine belt tensioner

With the old belt in hand, I found the Cummins part number on the belt. This number was different from the part number in the owner’s manual and the online search. I went online and pulled up replacement cross-reference numbers again. The Cummins part number corresponded with the same replacement part number I had before.

I took the old belts with me and rode the scooter a few miles to NAPA Auto Parts. My online search showed the NAPA on Main Street had both belts in stock. The NAPA-branded belts are made by Gates, right here in the USA. I bought both belts and returned to install them.

The new serpentine belt was rather stiff. I threaded it through the pulleys, starting at the crankshaft. I placed the belt against the alternator pulley. Now, all I had to do was twist against the spring on the tensioner and place the belt over the alternator pulley. Easy, right?

With no belt, the tensioner was resting against the stop. I had to work against the spring and move the tensioner through its full travel to get enough slack to place the belt over the pulley. I reached down into the engine compartment and pulled on the ratchet. This was like doing an extended arm bicep curl. As I placed the belt over the alternator pulley, it came off of the coolant pump pulley. The belt wasn’t cooperating due to being new and stiff. I repeated the process over and over with the same result. My right bicep was getting sore. Finally, on about the tenth try, it went into place. In hindsight, I should have replaced the short ratchet with the long 1/2″ torque wrench in my tool box for added leverage. If I had my old tool box that was stolen by those Dirty, Rotten Thieves, I would have used a long breaker bar.

I took a short breather before installing the V-belt on the A/C drive. The belt I bought for the A/C compressor is a heavy-duty NAPA Fleetrunner Green Line model. This is top of the line, designed to withstand hot environments. These belts are used in commercial applications. I felt that spending a few extra bucks for a heavy-duty belt was worth it. I didn’t want to have to do this job again any time soon.

A/C compressor belt

Getting the A/C belt over the pulleys turned out to be a tough assignment. The old belt had enough wear to have the compressor mounted halfway up the adjuster travel. Belts can stretch a little, but what really causes the need for belt adjustment is wear along the sides of the belt. The pulley groove is a V profile. The side of the belt tapers from the outside to the inner circumference at a 38 degree angle. As the sides wear, the belt rides deeper in the pulley. To get the new belt on, I had to move the compressor all the way to end of its adjustment.

I had to loosen the bolts further. The compressor was stuck against the mount. I couldn’t see the bolts on the back side of the mount – it was all tactile work. I had to reach up and work with my arms outstretched. I’m glad I don’t do this sort of thing for a living. The A/C belt took me longer to install and adjust than the serpentine belt. I’m guessing I’ll need to re-adjust it after a short time as it seats in. The serpentine belt is self-adjusting.

Later, after I cleaned up, Donna and I rode over to the Red, White and Brew. We were meeting Mike Hall and his wife, Jodie at 4pm. We sat at the bar with them and talked. John Huff was there also. Donna ordered mussels vin blanc – it was her favorite dish when we used to come here. I had a chicken quesadilla with chipotle mayo dipping sauce. I washed it down with a Mirror Pond Pale Ale from Oregon.

Last night, we watched two more episodes of Breaking Bad. I don’t see this ending well for Walter, but I don’t want it to end at all.

Falcon Field

Here at Apache Wells RV Resort, we’re located about a mile away from Falcon Field Municipal Airport. Falcon Field is owned by the City of Mesa. In 2011, it was ranked the fifth busiest general aviation airport in the USA. Falcon Field is located on roughly a square mile of land. It’s bordered on the east by Higley Road and on the west by Greenfield Road. The northern boundary is McDowell Road and McKellips Road is to the south.

Falcon Field is mostly utilized by private, propeller-driven airplanes. Sitting here in the RV park, we hear them taking off and landing or just flying around the area. I don’t mind – I like small aircraft. It’s not like hearing large commercial jets overhead. Occasionally, a private business jet will take off or land, but it’s not a daily occurrence. Sometimes I see old warbirds fly by.

Yesterday I scootered over to the southwest side of Falcon Field to visit the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) museum. This is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historical aircraft. Admission to the museum costs $12. They also offer flights (for a hefty fee) in old warbirds.

CAF Museum entrance

I took a self-guided tour, starting with a hanger displaying aircraft. There were two P-51s in the hanger along with several other planes. The P-51 Mustang is one of my favorite old warbirds.

P-51 Mustang

In the maintenance hanger, they were putting the finishing touches on an overhaul of their first airplane. It’s a B-17 that was donated to the Arizona chapter of CAF in 1978. The plane is called “Sentimental Journey.”

B-17 in maintenance hangar

Back in 2008, when we were living here in Mesa, Donna gave me a birthday present. It was flight in a B-25 Mitchell bomber at Falcon Field. I sat in a gunner’s enclosure as we flew up to Canyon Lake and back.

B-25 Mitchell bomber

Yesterday, a guy was going up in an old navy trainer called an SNJ. The army used these planes as well. The army version was called an AT-6. About 15 years ago, my friend, Tom Stapleton gifted me with a flight in an AT-6 at Chehalis, Washington. After take-off, the pilot turned control of the plane over to me. I did a few maneuvers, loops and barrel rolls. That was a mistake. I started feeling sick to my stomach. It took a full day to recover.

SNJ preparing for flight

SNJ belches smoke upon start-up

SNJ flying by

There must have been residual oil in the lower cylinders of the SNJ’s radial engine. It put out a large smoke screen upon start-up.

Stearman military trainer – circa 1938

Donna sent me a message asking me to pick up a few groceries on the way home. I also picked up a cleanser called Barkeepers Friend. This cleanser was recommended for use on our Health Craft cookware. I washed our pans with it last night. It works really well.

Donna made chicken cordon bleu for dinner with with herb chicken tortellini. She’s loving the induction cooktop and new cookware. I’m loving the results!

Chicken cordon bleau with cherb chicken tortellini

Chicken cordon bleu with herb chicken tortellini

Today, I have another project. I noticed cracks in the serpentine belt on our Cummins ISL diesel engine. If this belt breaks, we would be dead in the water. It drives the coolant pump, the alternator and other accessories. I’ll see if i can pick up a new one locally and install it today.

All Trendy

Yesterday I posted about replacing the door check assembly. I couldn’t get the door to release from the locked open position unless the door latch was locked. It didn’t seem right. I was concerned about locking the door latch to activate the release mechanism, then closing the door and locking myself out. I posted a question about this on the Alpine Coach Owners Forum. Before long I had a reply with a link to instructions for properly setting the cable and door stop adjustments.

RV forums can be an excellent way to learn all about RVs. Of course, there’s the usual mix of people posting. Sometimes you have the know-it-all that doesn’t really know all and only posts his opinions. Then there are certain topics that aren’t so black or white and you find many diverging thoughts on the topic. That’s okay – there’s more than one way to do things. But I find a couple of forums to be really helpful. My favorite is IRV2.com. There are many sub-forums there, including owner groups for most of the major RV manufacturers. The Alpine Owner’s forum has been super helpful for me.

Another RV forum I frequently visit is RV.net. Again, there are many sub-forums there and lots of good information. I’ve also learned a ton of information by following a few blogs. Some of my favorites are Roadslesstraveled, Technomadia, Wheelingit, Our Odyssey and Whatsnewell. There are others I read, but these are the ones I find most helpful and read frequently.

Back to the Alpine Coach owners forum. The link that was provided to me there had great instructions and illustrations for adjustment from the manufacturer of the Pos-A-Loc door check assembly (PTL Engineering, Rochester, MI).

Our entry door opens 90 degrees. The door check locks open in this position. The photo looks like the door is open less than 90 degrees, but it’s an illusion. The door is fully opened.

Entry door locked in open position

I took off the door panel to access the operating cable and adjust the free play.

Door panel removed exposing latch assembly and cable

Making the adjustment was easy once I knew how much free play was correct. Then I got my ladder out and adjusted the stop set screw on top of the door. The stop set screw adjusts the amount of play in the door when it’s locked open. If there’s too much free play there, the door can wiggle back and forth if there’s wind or any other force on it. If there’s not enough free play, it won’t lock into position.

Door check

Once I made the adjustments, the door check operated perfectly. There was no need to put the latch into the locked position, the door check released as it should. Job done with a little help from the forum.

Donna went out for a 5-mile run while I was working on the door. She has about three more weeks to train before she competes in the duathlon at McDowell Mountain Regional Park.

Later, Donna prepared a spinach dip made with jalapeno, Monterrey jack cheese, green chiles and tomatoes. This dip is served hot. We were expecting guests later and wanted to have hors d’oeuvres.

Our guests were our friends, Howard and Sara Graff. We haven’t seen them since we moved away from Arizona in 2009. They arrived around 5pm. We sat inside and chatted for about an hour while enjoying a nice bottle of Argentine malbec they brought with them. They drove us to downtown Gilbert, stopping to give us a tour of their new house along the way.

We went to Liberty Market for dinner. They have an interesting service concept there. You take a menu and get in line, somewhat like a cafeteria line. The line moves fairly slowly. As you are in line, a server will take drink orders. Before you reach the register, where you order and pay, a hostess hands you a number and tells you the area where she will place a matching number on your table. After you order and pay, you find your table – we chose outdoor seating. We ordered another drink and shortly after, our food arrived. It’s an interesting way to handle the wait for tables in a busy restaurant. Traditional restaurants would have probably told us the wait was 15 – 20 minutes. Instead we whiled away the time in line looking over the menu.

Donna ordered the special, braised short ribs with cauliflower sauce. Sara ordered salmon cakes with curry sauce – they smelled heavenly. Howard had green chile pork and I ordered sweet and savory baby back ribs. Our meals were excellent.

Donna, Sara and Howard at Liberty Cafe

As we made a pit stop on the way out, a guy said something to Howard and me that really struck me funny. He said, “I remember when this place was a real market. Now it’s all trendy and sh!t.”

We walked across the street to another place that was all trendy and sh!t – Postino. We shared a bottle of excellent French malbec and talked for another hour. It was so much fun catching up with Sara and Howard. They’re headed off to a Hawaiian cruise next week. We made plans to get together again in a few weeks.

The weather improved yesterday. We had a high temperature just over 70 degrees. Today will be in the 70s again and in the coming week we’ll see a warming trend.

Is It Camping?

Yesterday I set to work on the door check assembly. Our coach has a mid-entry door. When the door is opened, the door check should lock the door in position once the door reaches 90 degrees. When we took delivery, ours was broken and wouldn’t hold the door open. The dealer had a replacement assembly on order. The part was back ordered and just arrived on Thursday.

I set up my Werner* multi-ladder as a tall step ladder by the door. Removing the old assembly was easy. Five screws attached it to the upper door frame and six screws attached it to the top of the door. Removing the cable bracket was little tricky, but it didn’t take too long. I installed the new assembly in reverse order of removal. I wish I had taken time to shoot a few pictures along the way. Most of the time, when I start rolling on a project like this, I’m on a mission to get it done. I was focused on the task at hand and didn’t think about photos for the blog.

Once I had everything put back together, the door locked open as it should. When I pulled the door handle to unlock it, it didn’t unlock. I thought something might be wrong with the cable that releases the latching mechanism.

I removed the inner door handle cover, dead bolt cover and door panel. When I pulled the handle, the cable didn’t move. I pushed the locking lever to the locked position. Now the cable would move when I pulled the handle and the latch on the door check released.

I put everything back together. It seemed strange to me that you would have to engage the door lock before the door could be closed. This seemed like a recipe for an inadvertent lock-out.

I posted a question about the door check operation on the Alpine Coach owner’s forum. A short time later, I had a reply with links to instructions on how to adjust the cable. I still don’t understand how locking the door affects the cable. I’m going to take the door panel off again and figure it out today.

Later, I rode the scooter over to our former neighbor’s house and picked up two NetFlix discs. More Breaking Bad. Some people have asked why we order Blu-Ray discs instead of just streaming the NetFlix. The answer is data usage. This month we’ve used 12 GB of data and the costs add up. I can only imagine what our usage would be if we streamed hours of video.

On the way back, I stopped at Lucky Lou’s and sat with Mike Hall, his wife Jodie, John Huff and a few others. We had a couple of beers and swapped stories. The subject of this alternate lifestyle being an endless camping trip came up. This is a misconception.

We’re not on an endless vacation or camping trip. We may boondock at times or stay at a place with limited facilities, like Usery Mountain Regional Park, which is more or less camping. But we also stay in RV parks where we lead a more “normal” lifestyle. I like mixing it up. Changing scenery and accommodations every few weeks suits me.

When we boondock, we have to conserve water. We take Navy showers, which means we turn on the shower and get wet. Then we turn the shower off and soap up. Then we turn the shower back on and rinse.

One of the first things I bought for our coach was an Oxygenics* shower head. I put one in our old coach as well after reading so many testimonials on RV forums and blogs. It’s a great upgrade. It uses less water while providing an accelerated spray. We really like it. The only thing I didn’t like was the shut-off button. This button stops the flow so you don’t have to constantly re-adjust the water temperature. Our last one leaked when shut off and I hear that’s a common complaint. When I installed this one, I added a separate shut-off valve on the shower head. No leaks.

Navy showers aren’t all that satisfying. After a few weeks of boondocking, it’s nice to pull into an RV park with full hook-ups and amenities. Full hook-ups mean unlimited water and sewer capacity. Long, hot showers are no problem. We can use our clothes washer/dryer. In most parks, we can have UPS or FedEx deliveries right to our site. We can also receive our mail.

Site 56, Apache Wells RV Resort

That’s why we enjoy moving and changing things up every few weeks. We alternate between awesome scenery with wide-open spaces and RV parks with tight spaces. We are still evolving in this lifestyle, but for now, that’s how we roll.

Chicken and peppers on the grill

Last night I grilled boneless chicken breasts and mini sweet peppers. Donna prepared salsa verde to serve over the chicken. Another delicious recipe.

Served with salsa verde

Time for me to get started on the door project. These things always end up taking longer than they should.

*Just so you know, if you decide to purchase one of these through the Amazon link in this post, I’ll earn a small commission. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!

Lost and Found

Yesterday, I continued packing things in the basement compartments. It takes a bit of trial and error to get it right. I’ll probably have to re-arrange again once we’re on the road. I mentioned in my last post that I realized I was missing a watch I had packed away. As I was arranging things in the basement, I opened each container so I was sure of what I placing where. I opened a long, shallow container and voila – there was my watch along with some other items I was also missing!

I rode the scooter over to Home Depot. I needed to buy another furniture blanket and some foam pipe insulation. When I walked into the store, the greeter girl asked if she could help me find anything. I told her I was looking for a furniture blanket. She said, “We don’t have those.” I asked her where the moving supplies, such as cardboard boxes were located. She said, “Aisle two, but I’ve never seen furniture blankets there.” I thanked her and walked to aisle two. Above the stack of cardboard, I found furniture blankets, just like at the Home Depot in San Diego.

I needed the furniture blanket to pack the two extra folding dining chairs. I didn’t want to ding the wood or wreck the upholstery. They were stored in our wardrobe, but we needed that space for Donna’s piano stand and chair and some other things. I also wanted foam pipe insulation to wrap the top foot or so of the extension ladder. I didn’t want to lay the metal ladder against the paint on the top cove of the motorhome when I use it to access the roof. I put the pipe insulation on the side rails of the ladder and held it in place with duct tape. This worked well.

While I was out, I stopped at Big Tex Trailer Sales on Main Street. I bought a wheel caster to use on the trailer. It fits on the foot of the front jack. It’s held in place with a pin, so it’s quick to install or remove. With it installed, I should be able to push the trailer by hand and place it where ever I want it. This will make “parking” the trailer a lot easier when we need we have a back-in rather than a pullthrough site.

Although the days are warm and sunny with temperatures in the low 70s, the nights are cool. Our coach is equipped with two – 15,000 BTU air conditioners which are also heat pumps. Heat pumps are a very efficient way to heat a space, as long as the outside air temperature isn’t too cold (they don’t work well below freezing temperature). We’ve been setting the heat pumps to 63 degrees at night. I think this is great! Our last coach didn’t have heat pumps. If we wanted heat, we had to plug in a space heater or turn on the propane gas furnace. The heat pumps on this coach don’t use propane, only a relatively small amount of electricity to transfer heat. If we were in an area where it’s really cold (below freezing), then I would have turn on the propane gas furnace.

Donna has been busy. She needs to get a manuscript in to her publisher today. I’ll change the motor oil and filter on the scooter and also change the gear oil. I’ll get a head start on organizing the trailer. I’m a little sore and tired from moving things around in the basement compartments yesterday.

Western RV

Yesterday was fairly uneventful. Donna went out on her bicycle and rode about 15 miles. I hung around the coach and puttered around. In the late afternoon, I stopped at a pub called Red, White and Brew. When we lived here before, it was my favorite place for a cold one after work. When we rolled into town last Friday, after new home shopping, I stopped at the pub and ran into a couple of friends there.

Last Friday, I had a draft beer (local brew, 8th Street Ale) and chatted with the guys a bit. When I was getting ready to leave, one of my old friends, Mike Hall, said he’d put my beer on his tab. Yesterday, when I stopped by again, I didn’t see any of the old crew. I sat at the bar and ordered a Hop Knot IPA. Heidi, the bartender said, “Hey, you left without paying the other day.” Apparently Mike neglected to tell her that he was paying for my beer. We had a good laugh when I told her what happened. Heidi worked here back in 2009 when I was a regular customer and remembered me.

Later, Donna and I decided to head down to the RV Resort community center. They had a Sloppy Joe buffet set up. I fixed a plate with a Sloppy Joe, cole slaw and salad. Donna skipped the buns and cole slaw. The people serving were from North Dakota and Iowa and they called the Sloppy Joe “barbeque.” Neither one of us had ever heard it called that before. But it was really good!

Once they finished serving, they started karaoke. There were some talented singers there and some not so talented. We didn’t hear anyone that was really bad though. Most of the song selections were from a time before my generation. We hung around for about half an hour and heard seven or eight songs before we left.

I’ve had a few comments on the blog and on Facebook asking about our new coach. As I mentioned before, it’s an Alpine Coach made by Western Recreational Vehicles (WRV). WRV started building recreational vehicles in 1972. They made travel trailers and 5th wheel trailers under the Alpinelite brand.

In 1997, they designed and built the first Alpine Coach. They designed and built the Peak chassis, then built the coach. Their approach was to build a coach with handling characteristics similar to a European touring sedan. Of course, no 31,000 lb (14,060 kg) coach will handle like a touring sedan, but it made good advertising copy. In comparison with other heavy-duty class A motorhome chassis, the Peak chassis offered superb handling with a smooth, but taut ride. When I drove the Alpine, I was struck by how smooth it handled without feeling mushy or wallow-y.

WRV built simple floor plans with high-quality components. For the most part, they stayed away from glitz and gadgetry and concentrated on building solid, reliable coaches. Their production facility in Yakima, Washington mostly built travel trailers and 5th wheel trailers. Their coach production consisted of only a couple of models in various lengths from 34′ to 40′. The coach production averaged about 10 units per month from 1997 to 2008. The Alpine Coach registry shows a total of approximately 1,400 coaches built.

The last Alpine Coach was built as a 2009 model. I don’t know the actual date of manufacture. Many RV manufacturers suffered during the financial crisis and some good coach builders went out of business. WRV was one of them – along with Country Coach, Travel Supreme, National RV and others. People weren’t buying luxury coaches and RV manufacturers saw their cash flow go negative while expensive inventory went unsold. WRV had plenty of parts in stock when they closed their doors. These parts were auctioned off and spare parts are still available. Aubrey RV in Union Gap, Washington bought most of the parts.

Spare parts aren’t really a big issue. Most of the items in a motorhome come from outside suppliers. Most of these suppliers are still in business. For our coach, Dometic supplied the refrigerator and A/C units, Suburban supplied the furnace, Onan supplied the generator, Splendide supplied the clothes washer/dryer. All of these companies are still doing business. On the chassis, wear items like brakes, shock absorbers, ball joints, steering gear and axles all came from suppliers that are still around. We have a Cummins ISL diesel engine and Allison six speed automatic transmission and of course both of these companies are still in business, too.

I’ve been asked to post more pictures of the coach. I have some photos that the dealer took. I’ll wait to shoot my own interior shots when we have the coach and Donna has a chance to do some decorating and you can see what our home really looks like. Here are a few exterior shots from the dealer.