12 Days, 3000 Miles

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Another long trip is in the books. Over the winter in the RGV, I’d done repairs on both the RV and the truck and we were just hoping for an uneventful trip. HA! said the universe.

It started out well enough. On the first day northbound, I thought there might be a problem with the inverter (necessary to keep the refrigerator running while traveling). By the second day I was 100% certain. After checking breakers and fuses, Mary started calling around to find a new inverter. We found a few places that would work, for a cost of around $200. We made it to our second overnight stop and had to make a decision about the inverter. During the long drive, I had plenty of time to think and finally recalled a similar problem I had a few years ago with the inverter. When we got to the RV park, I completely disconnected the battery connected to the inverter, waited a minute or two, then reconnected it. Lo and behold, the inverter was working again. $$$ and time saved.

On we drove, ever westward. Going across New Mexico on I-40 we started hearing an unusual noise while braking. By the time we got to our scheduled casino RV park stop, it was very noticeable. We’d stopped early enough to start looking for a mechanic. Google is really great but sometimes the listings are real outdated. I called 3 or 4 nearby mechanics. I got voice mail for one and dutifully left a message (they never called back). One said they were very busy but he would check with his boss and call me back (he never did). The others came up with invalid numbers. By that time, most businesses were closed. I started looking further away, at a Dodge dealer, and settled on that for my last resort option. I also looked a little closer at the maps and found a few more options in a nearby town. Early the next morning, I called a small shop and they could see me right away. Within 2 minutes of arriving at the shop, me and my truck were on a lift. They’d pinpointed the problem and I had new front brake pads installed in under 30 minutes at a very reasonable price. We did a quick restock at Walmart and stayed another night at the casino just to rest up a little more.

While driving towards Albuquerque the next day we decided to skip one stop in Arizona. Between the price of diesel and the wind direction, it just wasn’t worth it. We did, however, stop at a small native American owned trading post (with RV park) long enough to tour the Grand Canyon for a day and enjoy a couple of good meals in their restaurant.

Now we’re heading northwest, over halfway to our final destination. Made it to our next stop in Utah without problems, although we were getting tired of the monotonous scenery. Because of the short driving day, we unhitched the truck to get some cheaper diesel and a local pizza. This particular park was mostly full of permanent RVers, much like many of the parks we’d stopped at. Getting out of the spot required some thought and consideration but we made it without any scratches. Then about 2 hours later a passing car notified us that we had a problem. Pulled over quickly at the end of an on ramp and walked around the RV. Well, halfway around. That’s all it took to notice a broken spring hanger and 2 tires touching each other. This was the same spring hanger that just got rewelded in San Antonio last December. Good Same Roadside Assistance was worthless in this situation. I Googled mobile welders and found one nearby (in Ogden) who responded immediately. Looks like he did an excellent job welding the hanger and even stayed to help me reattach the leaf spring. His price was very reasonable and we made it to our next scheduled stop without losing a day.

This should have been our last 1 night stay prior to arrival at our summer gig. We were all looking forward to fully setting up and settling in. We were heading north in Washington when we noticed another strange sound, this one coming from the transmission area. I just had the clutch and flywheel replaced a couple of months ago in Texas so this came as a real surprise. We had to backtrack about 20 miles to a Dodge dealer. After inspecting underneath the truck, they couldn’t definitively diagnose the problem further than a fluid leak. I found a nearby RV park that had room for us and setup there for a night with plans to return to the dealership when they opened the next morning to at least fix the leak. Dropped off the truck the next morning and while walking back to the RV park got another call from them. They admitted a mistake in the source of the leak, needed to order another part that would arrive the next day. That part was the most expensive repair of the trip but it arrived early enough in the day for the truck to be ready to go by noon. They also advised me that the guy in the RGV did NOT install all the parts he charged me for. I’m fighting over that now.

Anyway, after 12 days and 3000 miles, we finally made it safely to Copalis Beach Washington where we’ll settle in until the fall.

Ahhh, the sound of silence.

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Am I talking about a Simon & Garfunkel song? Or maybe camping in the deep woods? No on both counts. I’m talking about the annoying squeak of a bathroom faucet.

When I first got this 5th wheel, all was good. I could turn the hot and cold water faucets all day long and they would not make a single sound. Then the dreaded day came when they both started squeaking. I endured for awhile but it finally got to be too much. I started researching, then removed both handles and applied some plumber’s grease. That corrected the problem for a few months. When the squeaking started again I thought my only option was to buy a new faucet, something a little higher quality than the OEM faucet. Off to the hardware store I went in search of a replacement. I found the proper size, took it back to the RV and installed in under 1 hour.

I heaved a huge sigh of relief when I first tested the handles and heard nothing but running water. I was back in my happy place for over a year. Then these handles started squeaking. Back to the internet for more ideas. I finally determined that I needed to get way down in the guts of the faucet, or just resign myself to buying a new faucet every other year. Since I hate waste and always prefer to repair instead of replace, I got out a few more tools and began the disassembly. I faintly heard Johnny Five (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Circuit_(1986_film)) in the background saying ‘No disassemble’ but I pressed on.

During the disassembly, I narrowly averted disaster – or at least another trip to the hardware store. While holding one of the plastic pieces I heard something pop and saw a small rubber piece roll to a stop on the floor. I had no idea where it came from so I continued to disassemble the other side. Sure enough I found that piece and it had a spring under it. After a minute of searching, I found the other spring on the carpet. I slathered plumber’s grease everywhere I could and hoped for the best. I’m also ashamed to say that I wasn’t very conscientious about positioning of the plastic valves when I took it apart. I took my best educated guess when putting everything back together. Miraculously, when all was said and done, water flowed when and where it was supposed to. No water flowed, or even dripped, where it wasn’t supposed to. And best of all, there was nothing but blessed silence again when turning the handles. Hopefully, this fix will last longer than the last one.

When is my black tank really full?

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Bring up this question online and you’ll get lots of different opinions. Why does it really matter?

Well, it matters because you want a lot of liquid in your tank before dumping to help flush all the solids out. If you dump your black tank on a daily basis, or worse, just leave the black tank valve open, you’ll get the dreaded poop pyramid. All the liquids will drain out and leave the solids. The goal here is to make sure your black tank is over half full before dumping, which takes us back to the original question – when is it really full?

Tank sensors are inaccurate, at least after the first couple of uses. Some people use a set number of days. That might work – after you’ve figured it out some other way but tanks are different sizes and the way people use their toilets is infinitely variable. Some folks just get a feel for it, but verify by shining a flashlight down the toilet pipe. I guess that works but, ewwwww!

I personally wait until my toilet burps back at me. What????? Yes, when you flush your toilet and the tank is full enough to start covering the vent pipe, it will burp at you. You want to pay attention to this when it first starts burping. You really don’t want that to happen after taco Tuesday, if you get my drift. Some folks just can’t visualize a burping toilet so I made a video of it for your viewing pleasure. Feel free to rewind or use slo-mo.

Time for a new category

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After the last few posts, I realized that I need a category for RV maintenance. It seems to be taking up more and more of my time now that the 5th wheel is 5 years old.

After the wet bolt kit upgrade, the next project was (drum roll please) the toilet. It’s actually been an ongoing project for the last few months. For you non-RVers, our toilets are much different. There is no toilet tank holding several gallons of water to push stuff through the pipe. We basically have a 2 piece toilet – the bowl and the base. Between those 2 pieces is a flush valve to allow ‘stuff’ from the bowl to enter a pipe, which leads straight to a holding tank. We flush with a foot pedal. Besides opening the flush valve, it also sprays water into the toilet bowl. When you release the pedal it closes the flush valve and a small amount of fresh water remains in the bottom of the bowl. That small amount of standing water provides a barrier so that odors from the holding tank don’t come back up into the bathroom.

It’s fairly common for RV toilets to develop leaks around that flush valve so the bowl will no longer hold water. I’ve experienced this problem in the past and there are various solutions depending on the cause. Sometimes that opening just needs a thorough cleaning. Someone actually makes a special tool for it. I just use a circular toilet bowl brush. Sometimes a few ounces of vegetable oil in the bowl will recondition the rubber seal and make everything great again. And sometimes you just need to replace the seal. Not a fun job, but also fairly easy.

During my latest problem I tried the cleaning. That fixed the problem for a few days. I tried the vegetable oil. That lasted about a week. I changed the seal. That lasted about 3 weeks. So I started looking at other parts that could be changed. I changed a drive arm and the flush valve itself. Hell, I even tried some FlexSeal paint on the bottom of the bowl. Still no better. I’d been checking YouTube videos for other ideas and looking for more options in online forums. All the forum responses were ‘Buy a new toilet’. I found one YouTube video where the guy did a very good job of documenting 2 parts replacements. At the end of that video, he fessed up that given the same circumstances in the future, he would just buy a new base. That’s all I needed to hear at that point.

I checked online prices and shipping times, then found a local RV dealer that had one in stock for a reasonable price. That afternoon I installed the new base in under an hour (practice makes perfect). And it just felt different when I tested the flush. More solid. I didn’t mention it earlier but this particular toilet has a porcelain bowl but a plastic base. I’m not sure if the plastic got compressed enough to allow the leak or if an O ring just deteriorated. That O ring didn’t show up on any of the parts lists for the toilet but there was a definite difference between old and new. Just in case, I measured it and ordered a few spares for future use. So far so good on water staying in the bowl.

Wet Bolt Kit upgrade done!

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Finally! That really turned out to be an epic project. After arriving in the RGV I had no desire to jump back in and there was really no rush. My first priority was tires. I still needed to replace 1 wheel and tire entirely, and needed to get a recalled tire replaced. Plus a few minor things like wheel bearing dust covers and center caps for the wheels that came off.

It’s a good thing that etrailer https://www.etrailer.com/ had an exact replacement wheel for my RV because the local dealer wanted about 3 times as much for it. So I ordered that and a new tire to go on the side of the RV that already had the wet bolt kit. Everything came in within about 10 days and I got the spare stowed in its rightful place under the trailer. While I was swapping tires I did notice that I’d used an incorrect bolt in one place and got that corrected without too much trouble.

While I was doing all this I was also trying to get my recalled tire replaced. According to the national distributor there was a nearby Midas shop that could take care of me. I visited in person and the manager made it sound like the tire would arrive in 2 days. I gave it 5 days before calling him back and got a wishy-washy explanation and a distinct hint that I should just wait for him to call me. Naturally I ignored that hint. After I had received the tire (same brand/size/model as the recall tire) that I purchased online I called him back, patiently let him give me the same line of BS, then told him I’d already ordered a tire for a different reason and there was no excuse for him not getting my recall replacement. He thanked me profusely for that additional information and swore he would call me back in 15 or 20 minutes. That was about 3 weeks ago.

During that time I contacted the national distributor again and explained my problem. They offered me the option to buy the tire on my own and get reimbursed (with certain documentation). I’m so glad I bought the recalled tire from Walmart online since I was able to get the receipt from their website. Anyway, getting that replacement tire was the catalyst to continue the wet bolt kit upgrade on the other side.

With both tires off, I was able to get the bolts in the equalizer replaced pretty quickly. I did NOT make the same mistake as the other side (removing existing brass bushings) and that made the job much easier. The remaining 2 bolts for the ends of the leaf spring were a bit more challenging but still doable since I had quick access to a vise. The new dust caps and center caps got added before putting the tires back on.

Color this project done, and on to the next one!

Can we just skip December in the future?

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Sure, we’d miss out on Christmas and New Year’s Eve but the last two Decembers have been kind of brutal to me.

In 2020 I was traveling from Kentucky to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. I think I had 3 stops planned enroute before getting to my winter park. I made it to the first stop without any problems but when I left the next day only made it about 10 or 12 miles down the road before another driver flagged me down. I pulled over at an exit ramp and he was kind enough to stop on the shoulder to explain what he noticed. He was smelling burning rubber. I didn’t see any smoke as I pulled over but looked very closely at the tires anyway. One of the spring hangers had broken at the weld and the axle had shifted just enough for the tires to rub.

Well, it was early in the day and I was near a major city so it shouldn’t be a big problem. I called my roadside assistance and requested a mobile welder. About an hour later they called back, said they couldn’t find one, and I was on my own. I spent a few hours calling around and the best I could manage was a welder about 2 hours away who could make it the next morning. Wonderful! I was just getting settled into the truck for an overnighter on the shoulder of the interstate when someone tapped on my window. It was a state trooper who had noticed me earlier in the day. I walked back to his patrol car as he was explaining he knew a guy. Within a few minutes he had a tow service on the phone that just happened to have a mobile welder. Within an hour, a temporary weld was finished and I had a recommendation for a local welder to do a more permanent repair.

I made a slow, safe drive to a nearby RV park and settled in for a couple of nights. The next day was Sunday so I left a voicemail for the welder just to get on his radar. I also drove to his shop to make sure the 5th wheel could get in and out. On returning to the RV park I found the welder checking out the RV. We talked for a few minutes and made plans for the first thing Monday morning. The repairs took a little longer than anticipated so I spent another night in north Alabama

The next day I made it to Louisiana without problem and spent a restful night in an RV park. On the road again the next day, for about 100 miles. I pulled into a truck stop for fuel and walked around the RV to check things out. The first thing I noticed was a tire going flat. Then I noticed that 2 of the tires were closer together than they should’ve been. I pulled into the parking area and discovered a broken leaf spring. After the last experience with GEICO roadside assistance, I opted to start looking on my own. There was a trailer repair just 2 miles away. I could make that if I was real careful. I gave them a call and explained my situation. Unfortunately, it was the last week of December and they had no room on the schedule to squeeze me in. They did give me a number for mobile RV tech. The tech was also slammed but found time for me, at the end of the day. While waiting for him, I put the spare tire on and made reservations at the nearest RV park and found a local tire shop to get the flat repaired the next day. Sometime after dark, repairs were finished and I got some shuteye. Early the next morning I was the first one in line at the tire shop and was back on the road by 10.

I was very leery for the rest of the drive, especially when a trucker in Texas signaled that I needed to check the back of the RV. I pulled onto a nice wide shoulder immediately and checked everything very closely but didn’t see any problems. I continued down the road and remembered that I hadn’t retorqued the wheel after changing the spare. I took care of that at the next exit. There were a couple of lug nuts slightly loose. To this day, I still don’t know if he noticed a slight wobble or if it was something else. I finally made it to my winter home without any more problems.

So in December 2021 I was heading back to the Rio Grande Valley but this time the starting point was north Texas. I had just finished a warehouse gig outside of Fort Worth and we decided to sightsee and relax for a couple of weeks before heading down to our winter spot. One of our sightseeing spots was San Antonio. I had a spot reserved on Ft. Sam Houston for a week. Having stayed there before I knew all the sites were fairly level and had big concrete pads. A perfect spot to be on my back under the RV installing a wet bolt kit upgrade for the suspension. That would require all 4 tires being removed so before the slides went out I went around the RV breaking all the lug nuts so it would be easier getting them off while I was squatting under slideouts. The plan was to do one side at a time. I started on the street side and got the tires and equalizer off pretty quickly. Then the problems started. I had to make an extra trip to the auto hobby shop at Lackland AFB to punch out 2 brass bushings. That threw off the schedule by a few hours. It was late in the day when I finally got to the last spring hanger – and found that weld broken. Damn!! Start searching for another mobile welder on Sunday. I contacted one and he was ready to come out right then. In retrospect I should have taken him up on that even though his Sunday rates were higher. Since it wasn’t an emergency though I deferred until Monday morning. We coordinated on the phone and I sat back to wait for him. And wait. And wait. And wait. I started texting him and got no response so I continued my search. Found a big truck shop with a mobile welder and they quoted me a price. It was kind of high but I felt trapped. They agreed to send someone out and I waited again. And waited. And waited. Called them back and they confessed that they wouldn’t be able to help me. Not that day, not the next day, or the day after. I spent the next 2 days calling every possible welder I could find. Finally found one from a nearby town who actually showed up and did the work – the day before we were scheduled to leave. He welded the hanger back on and I finished the upgrade on that side of the RV. By that time I didn’t even consider trying the other side. Just buttoned up the street side and boogied down the road the next morning.

For about 100 miles. On US 281 south, in the middle of nowhere I heard a pop that could only be a blowout. Quickly pulled onto the shoulder and walked around the RV. I was NOT prepared for what I saw. Both wheels on the curb side were missing and all the lug studs were sheared off. I immediately realized what happened. I’d forgotten to tighten the lug nuts on that side before leaving San Antonio after a week of frustration. Time to call roadside assistance again, this time it was Good Sam. They wanted to send a tow truck even after I insisted on a mobile mechanic. Fortunately the tow company they found called me first before responding. They sent someone with mechanical abilities but not a lot of tools. I had the tools and jacks. While he was shopping for new studs and lug nuts, I backtracked and found one of the tires. The other had been completely demolished but I had a good spare. Late that afternoon we were able to continue our trip with an overnight stop at the nearest RV park.

The next morning as we were preparing to leave Mary smelled something like burning wires and we had several dead outlets. After determining nothing was actually burning I decided to pull out for the remaining 2 hour drive to our final destination. We arrived without further incident and got backed into a tight spot. Later that day the electrical problems became more pronounced. It would take a few more days of troubleshooting but what Mary smelled that morning was a capacitor frying itself inside the converter. Since we were on a full hookup site for several months I had the luxury of time and a plugged in battery charger to keep things running until I figured that out.

Slowly but surely I’m tackling the repairs and projects but I’m really, really, really glad that December is over. Maybe in 2022 I’ll just hunker down somewhere for the entire month.

Let’s talk water pressure

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No, not the pressure you get when you’re hooked up to city water. I’m talking about water pressure when you’re using your freshwater tank and water pump. Many RVers abhor using their water pump because the pressure is just not satisfactory.

My 2017 Open Range didn’t have a very good water pump from the factory. I can’t even remember the brand/model because it failed in the first year. I talked to the manufacturer and quickly rejected their offer to take it to the nearest dealer for replacement. As a full-timer who’s gotten fairly handy with tools, I felt a replacement would be well within my capabilities. They ultimately agreed so I purchased a new water pump and got reimbursed for it. When I chose it I really didn’t go top of the line since I rarely boondock. It was sufficient for the infrequent overnight in a rest area while traveling but certainly nothing to write home about.

Fast forward 3 years and that water pump failed. For the record, it was a Shurflo model 4028, 2.3 gallons per minute (gpm). How did I find out when it failed? Freezing temps. The kind where you fill the freshwater tank and disconnect your outside hose to prevent frozen hoses and filters. I started the water pump and just got a fast trickle from the faucet. Fortunately, I was in a decent size city with quick access to RV parts. Off I went in search of a replacement. This time I decided to spend more in hopes of much better water pressure when needed and hopefully longer lasting.

I bought a Remco 55 AquaJet, rated at 5.3 gpm. Swap out was simple but since it was a bit bigger than the last one I had to make some new holes when screwing down the base. The first test was a roaring success. I really couldn’t tell the difference between the water pump and city water. It came with a 2 year warranty so I’m hoping it lasts at least 6 years.

Wonderful World of Warehouse Work

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It’s not really that wonderful. I just felt like being alliterative.

I’m currently finishing up a seasonal warehouse gig at JC Penney in Haslet TX. I’ve seen a new method of picking that I never knew existed. It’s called ‘pick to lights’. Each picker is assigned to a zone, approximately 45 feet long with 3 levels of totes in a rack system. When you scan your tote, LEDs light up telling you the quantity you need to pick from each bin. You pick the required number of items, then extinguish the LED at that bin. When your hands are full, you put all the items in the tote you scanned. Typically, similar items are contained within a zone. I’m sure the system was designed by some efficiency expert to be as simple as possible, and it is. It’s also mind-numbingly boring. It’s very easy to let your mind wander just enough to pick the wrong number of items, or from the wrong bin, or put them in the wrong tote – because there are no built-in safeguards.

It’s also a lot more physical than I anticipated. Not as much walking as Amazon but just enough to feel it at the end of the night and a lot more tote slinging to make all the upper body muscles sore. Totes weigh about 11 lbs empty. They’re nested in threes and sometimes need a bit of persuasion to get out of the nest. Full totes aren’t usually a problem since you’re just sliding those around on the conveyor. Maybe I was sore since I’d just finished another warehouse job before coming here.

Oh well, I have a week to go and reached my goal – paying for the next 4 months in the RGV, plus a little sightseeing money between here and there.

Of the 3 warehouse jobs I’ve worked, I still consider Amazon the gold standard. For all the hit pieces you read about Amazon work online I enjoyed all 3 of my seasons there – mostly. There were a few bad shifts but it was mostly good. They treated me well and did everything they could to make sure I was successful. They also tried to make the best of the situation. Upbeat music over the speaker system on late shift, providing holiday meals and free snacks on breaks, contests during the shift.

DigiKey and JC Penney? Not so much. There are individuals at each location that make you feel like part of the team and help you to succeed but I never felt it was part of the company culture. JCP in particular has a very high turnover rate.

I may add a few more details after I’ve rested for a few weeks but this should suffice for now.

Long Distance Luck

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As I was mapping out my activities for this year, I decided to skip both Amazon and the sugar beet harvest. Amazon was kind of a no-brainer since they’d made some changes that made it tougher for CamperForce folks to secure affordable camping.

The sugar beet harvest was a different story. I was already going to be in the right part of the country but I had to balance that with my memories of previous harvests, mainly unpredictable weather. I opted to continue working for DigiKey (good pay, inside, consistent hours) instead of the harvest. And as I sit here watching the weather (very warm for this time of year) I slyly pat myself on the back. While the sugar beet harvest workers are still waiting for the harvest to start, I’m still getting my regular hours.

The other advantage is I’ll be out of MN before the middle of the month, instead of committing for entire month with the harvest. And it couldn’t come too soon. The job itself is very frustrating. For you FB folks, you can check out my review in this group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/765664136797525

Beyond that, the wind almost never stops up here and TV reception is terrible. We’re ready to head south.

An unexpected propane lesson

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A few months ago, I realized that the valve on one of my 20 lb propane cylinders would only turn fractionally. Of course, I discovered this shortly after I filled it. I started checking into valve replacements and soon realized that it would be more cost effective to just get a new cylinder. While exploring different options, I reconnected the cylinder in the RV. Surprise!! It opened just enough for gas to flow so I could at least get use of the existing propane.

When the cylinder finally ran out of propane, I headed down to the nearest L&M Fleet Supply store for a new cylinder. As luck would have it, they were right next door to a Tractor Supply that could purge and fill the tank. And that’s where the unexpected lesson took place.

I’ve been a certified propane dispenser for a few years, with actual training from the state of FL, so I was familiar with the purging requirement for new cylinders. Well, things have changed over the last few years and this cylinder had a sticker on it that said it had already been vacuum purged. Great! One less thing to do. The guy from TSC hooked up the hose and started pumping propane. At any other time, I would have insisted that he open the spit valve for safety reasons but since this was a brand new cylinder I let him proceed. Lo and behold, the OPD (overfill protection device) on this brand new cylinder did NOT work. He put over 5 gallons of liquid propane in that cylinder before shutting off the pump himself. Under normal circumstances, the OPD would have cut off around 4.8 gallons (max). So in this instance, bypassing normal safety procedures alerted me to a faulty OPD on a brand new cylinder. The propane guy bled off excess propane and I made arrangements with L&M Fleet Supply to replace the cylinder. When I got the replacement I was sure to ask the guy to leave the spit valve closed to check the OPD.