NL 34

We are back on the road!

Folks,

Acccck!  Our new rig has sure taught us that we are creatures of habit. OK we got it almost a month ago and the first thing we did was swap the new white 16" rims and tires on the new rig with the 10 ply Toyos and chrome rims we bought for the HH (HitchHiker.)  The insurance folks said there was no problem with swapping like new for like items.  Then we noticed that there were no fluorescent fixtures or second battery for boondocking (parking with no power or water or sewage.)  So I installed a fluorescent in every area, and made a dual battery box and hooked two batteries up to the rig.  Now we might be able to stay the night at a truck stop or on the side of the road with enough power to make it through a cold night.  Next is a slide out drawer for the batteries.

Then we found the wet basement!  Accck!  The water inlet was a plastic cheap fixture that wobbled if you touched the water hose.  From the inside of the water inlet to the main plumbing, the factory used "cheesy" half-inch clear hose with the nylon cord in it.  That may have been OK, even though the rest of the plumbing is good ol' 1/2 inch PEX tubing.  But they used 1/2" hose for the first 15 inches into the rig and hose clamped it to 3/8 inch connectors!  Acccck!  That was how I spent Thanksgiving morning - replacing the inlet fixture and the cheesy leaking hose with the right 1/2" PEX tubing and connectors.  By the way, I don't use the gray "qest" connectors that have the metal ring and plastic cone.  There is a new design that is white and has only an inside nipple that goes in the tubing and a collar to secure the connection.  (It is a lot easier if ya borrow yer significant harassment's hair dryer and warm the tubing up a bit first) The collar then twists on with no effort and seals with hand pressure alone!  These are a lifesaver for the DIY type.  They are called Flair-it fittings and can be found here:

The next issue was the shower enclosure that was never caulked at the factory.  However, before I could caulk that, I found that the floor was moving about an eighth of an inch when we walked by, and needed reinforcement or it would separate the caulking!  I found they used 2 by 2's instead of two by fours for the floor supports!  I screwed and glued three 2 by 4's in the area that needed support only, and voila!  No more floor movement, and only five pounds or so added weight!  Then I borrowed an air compressor and blew the shower enclosure dry, caulked it the way the instructions (that came with the trailer) clearly said it should have been done, and that was it!

So now, we were ready to try the awning, which had never been used.  It had no pull strap on it (another QC item forgotten) but we lowered it by hand and it was perfect.  Good tension, and nice colors.  I got de-flappers from Camping World and it was very nice.  (Just wait)  Three days later we went to roll it up and . . . it had no spring tension!  I had to roll it up by hand!  Sheesh!  It's a Faulkner and my last one was a Faulkner.  I love em, but they really should survive their first unfurling.  I am going to call the factory and see if they will make good on it.

The scooter?  Ha ha!  It will not beat me.  I decided to take it back to Louisiana by carrying it inside.  Yep, inside.  After pondering the problem for a week or so I came up with a possible design.  I got two 1X12's 39 inches long and screwed and glued two by fours at right angles on the front edge of each.  Then I added big eye bolts on each end.  I positioned the scooter on the first one, with the tire against the 2X4, and then positioned the other one for the rear wheel, again pressured against the 2X4.  Then I attached the tie-downs to the eyebolts, which were perfect!  It worked like a charm until the front end came loose on the actual trip!  Not to worry, the back held it fine!  Whew!  I only had to engage the front brake to stabilize the front wheel (by strapping the brake lever tight) and it has ridden fine ever since.  I could just see gas all over the new rig's floor.  Lynn would eat me alive! 

Well we then decided to test the scooter tie downs and the Challenger fiver on the road.  We decided to kill two birds with one stone and make our first trip to the truck wash and wash off all the road salt from the delivery through the storm.  At the TRAVIS AFB Fam-Camp Park (where we were parked) you weren't allowed to wash your rig or truck.  It had salt and sand all over it from coming over Donner Pass when it was delivered to us, and had spent seven hours stuck at the top on 11 Nov from the first snow storm of the season.  Lynn rode in the back with one of our Motorola FRS units to watch the scooter and see if my design worked.  It did!  But when we arrived at the truck wash, we smelled burning brakes or bearings from the trailer rims!  Well they had not been used for a month and had been full of salt and water from their delivery during a major storm, so they may just be burning off rust and corrosion.  Then again, maybe not. 

So we made another trip to Camping world in Fairfield California.  Since the rig had been stationary for two years the tech there said that it would need a bearing re-pack as soon as possible.   But they were booked till Dec. 27th!  Accck!  We also couldn't get the 12-volt water pump to work and found that the water tank was reading 1/3 full when it was empty!  Oh well, we filled it up and the water pump made a racket that was not normal.  No we hadn't run it empty for more than a few minutes.  So we replaced it in the Camping World parking lot and the new one worked fine.  Well, we drove the rig back to the park and the rims were cool!  Cool!  It was crud and the trip was back on for the next day.

We set out and decided to test the new chrome lug nuts for looseness, the scooter for stability, and the rims for heat, on the first day of traveling every 50 miles.  This schedule coincided nicely with my significant harassment's bladder capacity!  LOL!  I think it's a woman thing.  They never seem to be able to go just seven or eight hours without a potty break!  Sheesh! Wimmins!  (Don't ever let em drink even a sip of yer coffee or you'll be stoppin every 15 min.!)   That's a big advantage to a motorhome-they can use the can without having to stop. 

Well the new rims seated nicely after the first three stops and the scooter rode fine with one minor adjustment to the front brake.  But we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere after dark and were trying to find an RV park or even a truck stop to rest overnight.  Look on the map and see I-5 in California between Bakersfield and Stockton-zip, nada!  We finally found a sign for camping and pulled off to find The Almond Tree RV Park and plenty of available spaces.  As we drove around and looked at spaces, we noticed a real problem.  The rig seemed to have the brakes grabbing and squeaking rhythmically!  Accck!  We were near Coalinga, which has only one stoplight!  No!  Not a bearing here!  Please!

The next morning I unhitched the truck and we found that it was all coming from it!  I asked Jeannie, the asst. mgr. if there were any good repair places in town.  She told me she had a few referrals in town, but to remember that we were in Coalinga, and that parts may be a problem.  <sigh> I called Scott at Tripp Industrial and asked him if they were familiar with my Dodge and it's rear end.  He told me they were, but that they were jammed that day.  They could squeeze me in the next morning at 9:00.  Well, there went our schedule. 

I drove the ten miles into town and it really did have only one stoplight.  I was not full of confidence as I pulled into the parking lot.  Scott had Randy check the truck out and before we did a test drive he told me that he had done many Spicer rear ends, and we needed to R&R the axles to see what we had.  Hey!  This guy talked like he really knew his stuff!  Nevertheless, having been down this road before, I decided to wait and see. 

I was in the front of the shop, which turned out to be a NAPA store, when Randy came out to tell me that it looked bad, before he went further he wanted me to see for myself what he had found so far!  Accck!  The outer edge of the bearings were dried and obviously burned!  It looked bad.  The differential oil (that also lubricates the bearings) was so burned on the end that it had to be cut off with a knife!  He told me that if the axle was burned on the ends that I'd need a new housing!  He further added that since there were a lot of metal shavings around the axle nut, (there were a lot!  Accck!) he wanted me to watch the rest of the disassembly to be prepared for a very expensive repair.  My heart sank.  I had maintained everything on the truck, or had it done, well ahead of schedule, and couldn't handle any more expenses on this trip.  <sigh> All I could do was wait for the rest of the disassembly and find out just how bad it was going to be. 

He finished taking the axle apart and . . . and . . . the axle was fine!  There was just enough oil getting to the other side of the bearings to keep the housing itself intact!  YES!  He said that the bearings would have burned up completely in the next 3-300 miles!  God knows what would have happened if they had seized and the duallys fell off on the road!  Randy smiled (he was as happy about it as I was! LOL!) and told me that since the axle was fine, he'd have me back on the road in a couple of hours, since they had the bearings and seals in stock at minimal cost! 

He pointed out that the brake shoes were down to the rivets as well (I just had them done the past spring! - 2000 miles!)  Which they were!  Randy was beyond competent, loved having the customer watch him work, and explained whatever you asked.  And I was worried about being in a small town!  Sheesh!  I just had my HitchHiker broken during a simple procedure in a big city!  If you are on I-5 and need anything done, stop in Coalinga and stay at the Almond Tree RV Park, and have your work done at Tripp's in Coalinga.  In addition to their excellent work, the owner is a big Game hunter and has heads from all over the world displayed in the shop.   I'm talking Cape buffalo to huge ungulates!  It's like a museum.  Who'd a thunk?  I would detour to use them again.  The whole shop is fantastic!  And, in the proverbial middle of nowhere.  We decided to go back and give Randy one of our last three pints of smoked Alaskan Salmon.  (I found he loves the stuff during our conversation)  G.A.s again or what??

Because of Collins Diesel injection in Stockton, The Beast (our truck) pulls this heavier trailer, and 600 pounds of fuel in our auxiliary tank, better than it pulled the lighter load before, and our fuel mileage is better!  Tripps got our bearings right, and the rig now tows like a dream.  Today is 9 December, we are in San Diego, and it looks like we might make it home for Christmas after all. 

Sometimes, when things look the worst, they are only changing for the better.  This year has certainly proven that to us.  Ya just gotta hang in there, and keep on counting blessings.  It helps if your significant harassment is also the love of your life.  And doesn't get hincky over a few problems.  (Or as in our case this year, lots of "interesting times" as the ancient Chinese curse goes-LOL!)  Now we start the longest leg of the trip and hope that it is uneventful from here.  The bearings on the trailer are acting kinda weird again, and are very warm sometimes, and cool sometimes.  But they made it fine through LA and San Diego rush hour traffic.  I'll be checking them every stop.  Then we will have them repacked in Yuma, which is earlier than the 3k miles between bearing packing called for by Hayes Axle.  Will it finally all come together?  I have everything crossed! 

Safe travels and happy holidays

RV/dg, Lynn, and Bogart The Wonder Dog