Boy do I feel old....

I met with my Investment counselor today. He is 35 years old and runs the El Paso office single handed. He is really busy handling 400 accounts. There are several thousand in El Paso he could call on. They closed their office here 5 years and until he took it back, many people were really tick at this company with no one to talk to. He has more than made up for it. They may expand his office this year. I hope.
Today at lunch he knew more than I did about my own money. I had several thousand I had not reinvested, suggested I get back into the market. CD's are paying 1-2% which really sucks. Most Bonds are only paying 2-3%. The stock market looks like it is coming back after 18 or so months. So maybe on a conservative scale I will start reinvesting some.
We talked about family too. He has a 20 month old boy. I was able to give him some incites into what to expect in the next 20 years as a parent. Many things he had never though of as: a single child may not be as social as multiple siblings, losing both parents later in life can be devastating, expenses he could expect, and when they leave home, what a relief financially! But they never get out of your pocket until your dead, and then they get what we have left over. We love you kids but don't come back......
When you least expect it,it hits you in the face&^%#!%&(*), get it? See pic

My Holiday Cruise

I didn't get to go, but both of my children did and they haven't said a thing. One of them got a free ride...............

The Engineer in me....

I love spreadsheets and simple numbers.
I recently figured out there's never a payback in buying diesels over gas engines.
1. Diesels are just as complicated, maybe more. Tuneups on gas are 100k miles now. Diesels have more pumps.
2. Diesel fuel is 5-15% more expensive.
3. Diesel drive trains weight considerably more. My RV is <15k lbs, diesels weigh about 20k lbs.
4. Both require about the same maintenance (schedules).
5. Diesels use 20 qt's of oil vs. 6 in a gas, Oil changes are $85 for gas at Camping World and $200 for diesels! I do my own for less than $15. Getting rid of 5 gallons of oil is not fun!
6. Diesel engines cost $4-7,000 more to buy. Diesel RV Rigs are $10-20k more, why?
7. I can work on gas engines. How many can/will work on diesels? I meet a diesel mechanic who said he wouldn't service his own diesel RV.
8. Accessibility is easy on my gas RV. I've seen some diesel pushers crammed into the rear compartment.
9. Diesels are dirtier polluters. (or at least were)
10. Gas engines, at least my Ford V-10, have as much off the line power as diesels. (310hp-425ft# torque) 4 speed overdrive. (wish it was a 5 speed) . Most diesels are 300 hp & 600ft# torque.

The "Bad" about gas engines. They get 20% less mpg. Usually just 2 less mpg.
Gas does not have as much torque for hill climbing.
They don't last as long. Both serviced correctly will last, 200k miles for gas, vs Diesel, 300k, before overhauls. When did you ever hear someone wearing out on engine or keeping anything over 100-150 k miles? Longevity is not a reason, diesel people, to buy one.

Bottom line: This goes for diesel pick ups too:
Gas is $.20 per mile cheaper depending on miles used. $2000 every 10,000 miles. Even at 100,000 miles gas is $10k cheaper.
That includes: initial cost, depreciation, maintenance, and fuel.

Next time you keep your diesel til 200,000 miles you'll get a break even.

Do you need the extra torque for hill climbing if you live in non-hilly country? Can you leave 1/2 hour earlier to make up for the reduced hill climbing ability to save thousands?

I do get a documented 10 to 11 mpg at 55 mph. Diesels get 10 @ 70 mph -maybe 13-14 mpg at 55 mph. All mpg is dependent on speed. Oh, diesels are better in headwinds? Yes, but you'll lose to same mpg.

I'm retired. Do I need to get there 1-2 hours sooner? Oh, you work? Then don't go as far.....
As it has been said, "Smell the Roses" OR It's not the destination it's the trip getting there...

Got out this weekend

Linda needed a couple of days to relax. She's been with her mother 5 weeks every day. I loaded up the RV. The small one's gone. Only forgot a few things. We left Friday about Noon and went to Columbus NM, Pancho Villa State Park. We were going to Carlsbad but the winds (head) were not favorable, so we went with them in the opposite direction. I drove slow both ways. We lucked out Got 10.9 mph, gas!!! Take that again Diesels.
Sat we did go to Deming to Wal-mart to buy second electric heater on the bike in 20 mph
crosswinds and mid-high 40's. Our small one electric heater would not keep this RV warm and the Propane heater came on several times Fri. night. With a second one we did not use Propane except after the main circuit breaker blew after turning both on full heat. Too many amps. But in the AM with both heaters at reduced heat and 28 F. we had to start up the furnace again. The outside water line was frozen too.
The other thing I forgot, actually I did not know we needed, was silverware. 6 place setting for $10! Made you know where.
Deming has the St. Claire Winery. We popped a cork on a bottle of Blue Teal White Merlow we bought about 5 weeks earlier. It was surprisingly sweet. Had to have some more. It was 20% off so we bought 3 bottles, wine crackers and Jalapeno Orange Jelly.
Linda's back was bothering her so we did get into a second bottle.
We watched more "Outer Limits" episodes. Why did we think they were so good in the 60's? They are definitely outdated by today's standards. All Black and White too. The acting is TV terrible. The plots are trite. Went to bed about 8 pm both nights.
I kept waking up thinking about to heaters. The electric blanket was too hot and Linda kept stealing my side of the blanket all night. Then I would get cold. I never sleep as good as at home and Linda sleeps better away from home.
Was back home by 1:00 pm Sunday. Got a few things to work on. Gray water tank drain is mostly plugged and we have a new small high pressure water leak in a very concealed place.

Must be December

Last week it snowed 5-7" in two storms, was down to 22F. twice at night, rained 3 days and 4 days never got to 40 degrees. Today we had sustained 20-40 mph winds, many 50+ gusts and one at 66 mph. Yes the house shook. I stepped in to the RV while it was very windy and thought "Thank God, I'm not out driving in this". It was shaking 2" or more inside, standing still. It was not completely broadside to the wind, if it had been....
The balance of the week after today's cold front goes thru is suppose to be back in the low 60's. The very inconsistent weather people said 2-3 times last week it would be 10-15 degrees warmer than it ever got, so.... When it rains and is very cloudy it never gets as warm as they say it will.
We sold the 88 Dodge Conversion Van RV Sat. They showed up 2 1/2 hours late. Did not leave until 7 pm to go all the way back to Albq. NM. Got my price I wanted, Yaaa!
Linda's Mom still in rehab. Going on 4 weeks since operation. I'm really bored. Linda & I hope before Christmas we can take her on a RV trip. Thinking about going to Carlsbad to see the lights on the Pecos. They have a river boat evening trip for $17.50 I want take a bike and stay 2 nights. Depends on how well her Mom's doing.
I added a 24" 1080p full HD wide screen TV to the RV. Had to do some mods but it's got a great picture. It is 20 lbs lighter than the old cathode ray tube TV too. Won't need the HD tuner either.
Wiring is a pain, due to they left no way to get cables/wiring from the TV to the DVD and receiver up on top of the driving compartment. Want to add 5.1 surround sound, Blu-Ray player and better speakers next.
That's it in the pic, it's gone.

Finally A Subject Change

Tired like me bunky with all the "BUY ME, Get These Additional Services, You Need This, Save Save by spending more at...." I can't afford the savings.....
AT&T U-Verse won't give up, every week I get 2-3 advertisements.
I'm on the Do Not Call List and still get solicitations.
I let telemarketers talk until they tell me what their selling and then immediately say "Can you take me off your list" I've had them get testy, I don't care! But it works.
Junk mail: I throw out 75% of our mail. And I've stopped at least 1/2. I've got all the Credit Cards stopped too. I'm slowing down bills sent to the house too.
I'm still getting mail for my father who died 4-5 years ago.
Many web sites have advertising on them now. I ignore it. The big pisser is an ad on the ISP I pay for.
Radio and TV. Every 1/2 hour has 10-12 min. of ads. Notice TV turns up the volume when we go to the bathroom or kitchen during "THEIR" time. The Mute button gets lots of use.
After I retired I made it into a game to cut expenses NOT add more. I did by $1500 per month.
Newspapers, gee wonder why their dying? Almost every page has ads. The only good ones or the ads for items "On Sale". Does this make sense, that they have to pay extra for advertising to lower the price? Why not good low pricing all the time?
Bill Boards, on buses, now on pick ups the whole vehicle is an ad, every truck, more and more.
I buy less and less, but could afford more. I'll chose who I'll buy from.
I do use coupons, email discounts, Ebay, the Dollar Stores, Walmart, buy the cheapest gas (but don't go out of my way, it's all made by the same mfg'r!).
I do all my own work at home and on the vehicles. Figured I've saved over $100,000 in my life, get exercise, the satisfaction of doing it.
I do not have credit card debt and cars & house is paid for.
Best of all I'm retired because I think I'm wise with money. I don't waste much.
Last month's utilities were only $146, that's water, trash, electric, gas, phone, and DSL.
I don't have a cell phone at $50+ per month! I don't have Sat/cable at $40-50/month. I don't have OnStar, Sat. radio, and services I don't use.
BUT I can go on nice vacations and buy RV's and take it where I want.
It's all about self-control. Not like the wave above, wow!

Long dry spell

Linda's mother, Mildred, is in the hospital recovering from cancer surgery. After 50 years of smoking unfiltered cigarettes, at 81, she had a 2cm (2/3") stage 2 benign tumor removed. They took out 20% of one lung. She is/was very active and that has prolonged her life as well as stop smoking 10 years ago.
That leads me into the title. Her recovery is going slower that anticipated but she is improving faster now. The 4 of us in El Paso have cancelled our family reunion cruise. The rest are still going to the Mexican Riviera for a week. We won't be seeing our offspring this winter. Linda and Helen can not leave their mother.
I've finished up all the projects on the RV. About the time Mildred should be well enough to care for herself in late Dec. Linda starts federal jury duty in Jan. If she has to call in daily we won't be able to get out in the RV then either. Could be Feb for the next time. Really boring for me. I was so bored today I went for a bike ride. The Sat. riding group is almost dead. Most are too busy or just quit coming. Down to 4-6 guys.
Hoping small RV sells soon. I had to send my daughter money to buy another car after her beloved RSX was totalled when a stupid idiot in a SUV (I hate them and their drivers, especially when the 10 passenger vehicles have 1 person in them!!!) pulled out in front of her. Yes I drive a gas hog, but only on trips when both of us are in it, we actually live in it, pulling a bike, actually going somewhere, driving slow; not to a soccer game alone when a compact car would do!
I may not be posting much until there's more to say.

Ride or RV, OR Both!

For the next 6-12 weeks we won't be going RV'g. In Jan. Linda has to call in weekly for Federal jury duty. We do have the cruise coming up at Thanksgiving. The weather even here is cooling down (40's at night).
I love the idea I can pull a bike behind the RV to ride in different places. I'm about to run out off fixes/projects for the new RV.
The Sat. riding group seems to be dying. The alternative once Jan. is over go more RV'g!!!
We noticed sitting up so high in the RV the view is different, better. We can change it on a whim. Rarely do I hear dogs barking. Kids playing don't bother me. If they do we move.
Long dry spell coming up....

Liking new RV more

I'm so much more relaxed out RVing. Stress is even less. Drives good especially without cross or headwinds.
I like taking the bike to look for new roads, which I found on the west side of Deming.
It wasn't windy at all going both there and back so I know were back getting 10 mpg.
Even with Linda, Helen, Mildred and myself in it, with the slide out, we had plenty of room.
The view was fantastic looking over a 40 mile valley. The 2 sunsets were great. The weather was cool at night (hi-40's) and warm during day (hi-70's).
We were on the side of the Florida mountains and were not real level. I borrowed some 2x4's to help that. First time to use the automatic leveling system for it's intended purpose.
The dash noises are quieter. Everything seems to be working right.
Everyone is very nice in parks, were all there because we want to be. Usually a lot quieter than at the stationary house.

So why RV?

Isn't that a better view than the neighbor's house?
1. It get's ya out of the house.
2. It's something to do.
3. Ya gotta have something to do once you get there, scenery or activity.
4. It cheaper than moteling, if you don't consider the initial cost.
5. Ya won't go even moteling unless you got that expensive thing sitting in the front yard.
6. Park it in a storage area and it won't get used.
7. It keeps you busy loading and unloading it.
8. It will keep ya busy or broke fixing it, remember you have every system in a house and in a vehicle, all in one.
9. It has to be set up ad broke down every move: water, sewer, electric, and prepare the stuff inside so it doesn't roll around.
10. Ya both gotta wanna do it or you'll be doing all the work, it's a 2 person job especially backing up and parking.
11. Forget economy at 6-15 mpg, 35-75 gallon tank, and $3-4 per gallon it's a deep money pit.
12. You could live in it and save on house taxes, utilities, insurance, and maintenance, OH ya, you've got everything on a RV except taxes, but you do have lot rent, daily, weekly or monthly, $200-450/month.
13. It has a moving picture window.
14. NO barking dogs (on the move) and in most parks. I just turn up the A/C if they are.
15. Go back to #1

Well I'm doing it again

I said I wouldn't put as much time, money and effort into this newer RV as the old one. But after spending two weeks in it, it needs a few things to make life a little easier. The audio speakers that came with it are junk so I installed better ones I gave Linda years ago. I tied the DVD, HD Tuner, 5 disc CD into the Amplifier and the newer speakers. I installed my usual hand throttle which holds the throttle constant saving lots of fuel.
By the way, in hilly country do not use the Cruise Control they waste a lot of gas by increasing the throttle uphills and let off too much going downhill. Hold your foot steady.
The lights got left on twice because there is no buzzer telling us they are on with the ignition off. All the cabinets need another coat of varnish. The usual fluid and filters changes are next.
The carpeting is loose on the inside engine cover. Every cabinet door catch was loose.
We replaced the bed, it was lumpy and hard.
It was a rental so to get it back in better shape I will have to do more work. Oh, heck, I need something to keep me busy.

Back home to the barking, no view & cold

For 3 days we tried to out wait the bad weather but gave up on Thur. The consequences were a severe headwind (20-30 mph) all 370 miles on the last leg home. Top speed was 40-45 at times, twice in the 25 mph range climbing steep hills into the wind. 9 hours. And we paid for it with 6.5 mpg. At least 2/3 of the trip was into winds. Still ended up with 9.0 overall, so we could get average 10+ in moderate winds and temps. Better than to 6-7 mpg range I expected before leaving.
Linda has a better handle on where we went and did, see here blog. RV ran great, no major problems. Came back with a list of fixes needed. It was a rental and somethings were abused. All probably will be fixed before we go out on our next trip in Feb? Mildred's going in the hospital in early Dec and Linda has federal jury duty in Jan. Linda's also off the Israel and we have our yearly family reunion late Nov.
Was 84 in Brownsville yesterday, in 40's here. Was warmer in Madison and St. Paul than here too. 2' snow in Denver so I'm not bitching (much).
I enjoyed our trip. Wished there had been more to see in south Texas. The red tide prevented us from going to the sea shore. Coughing was bad, felt like a sore throat too. The roads were flat and straight. The wildlife in the preserves starts in Nov. thru April. The tourist season is the same time and RV parking is scarce. We now know where not to go. Texas is a dang big state. We drove 2140 miles never leaving to perimeter.
Looks like Florida or AZ is the winter spots. Summer is mountains or north USA.
The Venture really gets dirty in rains behind the RV. A problem needing a solution. I bought a cover but would just shred apart in the turbulence behind the RV.
Sincerely, your nomad friends (or family)
See Linda's photo album for more pics http://picasaweb.google.com/linda.french

No barking and a moving view from the picture window

Damn this is the life. Should have done this years ago. With 20 dogs around us at the house and only a view of neighbor's houses, is no life. Even though we are in one place we did not expect to stay more than one day it's better than El Paso. No traffic, I'm under even less stress than at home, I'm sleeping better, all the comforts of home including our own shower and a new soft pillow top bed. We're eating better because we're not eating out. Only twice in 2 weeks

The RV is running fine, getting 50+% more MPG than I thought before getting it. 9.5 mpg so far. RV monthly lot rents are $200 per month plus electric (<$100?).

I took the Venture and will be taking a 2nd bike on the next trips. The V10 in this puppy has 368 hp and 450 ft# torque. It does not even know it's pulling a trailer.

The cost of gas, lot rent or park fees, maintenance, license, inspections and utilities will be about the same as taxes ($3500), upkeep, & utilities on a house. No garbage & water fees, free Wi-Fi most places, no phone land line, no DSL, and no large house to heat/cool. Best of all NO POOL!

Sell the house and CD it. Interest alone could pay the gas.

Winter in the south, and summer in the north. We can visit New England, and many National parks we wanted to for years, staying days or even weeks where I haven't ridden the same roads a hundred times before.

It's time for a change. I'll miss my riding friends but we got to do this before we can't. LIKE due to the economy, age, health, global warming, Christ's return, an asteriod, a super volcano, a super nova....... did you see the bill boards in Dallas, watch out for 2012!

Oh it's big!

At 34.5 feet long, 8.5 wide, 12' high and 15,000 lbs it's almost intimidating. We sit as high as Semi-trucks, it is a house on a truck chassis. The slide out is 14' long. The Queen size bed will have to be replaced, it terrible. It was a rental so many small things need fixing, covering up or replacing.
If it wasn't a rental it would have been $37-47k. But we got it for $32k including 5 new tires, @ $325 each. It has 51,500 miles. For a truck this really not that much, but like cars are hard to sell if over 100k miles, when we do want to sell it. It's a 2005 Ford Fleetwood Fiesta 32S (32' on inside?)
It has much storage space. Enough to live in. We took all of the STUFF out of the 88 Dodge RV and put it in the new to us RV and have many empty compartments.
Now the bad. With a Ford 6.8 liter V10, even with Overdrive and Fuel Injection will only get 6-8 mpg. Has a 75 gallon gas tank. At $3/gal and a 60 gallon fill up = $180 for 400 miles.
It takes up the entire front yard from drive way to the north end of the lot.
The other bad, Camping World. Disclosed it was a rental when I called about picking it up, bad start. Went to pick it up, promised gas and LP, not done, no inspection sticker, no instruction manuals, no clock, wrong chassis battery, asked them not to clean it and they did. Drove it home everything seemed OK they did not have anything to do with.
The other good. We will be seeing family more and be out of the house more where I can ride the Venture in newer places. I'm really bored riding anywhere near El Paso. Sorry friends your leader is leaving you. You should have showed up more on Sat's.
Don't be surprised to see Linda's mother also on our wonderings.
When do you want to see us? You Yankees will have to wait for spring. 1st trip is to Garland and South Padre Island.

Too many options

We're thinking of upgrading our 16.5' Conversion Van RV Class B to something bigger. The fold down couch/bed is barely big enough for Linda and I to sleep on. It's like 30" wide, slightly wider than a twin bed. See Pic. Every time we want to roll over at night we have to wake up to do it. To get to the toilet we have to scoot to the bottom of the bed, turn around and lean backwards onto the toilet, up one step. A full size (double) bed would be like luxury.
The kitchen sink is in the corner hard to reach. The stove is out where it can be used but we don't use it, we don't fry foods, it's bad for you. We do have a microwave and toaster oven to cook in.
I like our present RV size and it get's good gas mileage even pulling the trailer and motorcycle. Easy to park anywhere, even at home. We only have room for a 24 footer at the house.
Most Class A's are 30' and up. They get 6-10 mpg compared to our 15-17 now. There are a 100's for sale in Dallas, Albq. , Tucson and Phoenix. Very few in El Paso, of course.
We started out looking at diesels but most are $40-50k. Gas engines are much less $10-30K. You can buy a lot of gas for $10,000. ~4000 gallons! or 30+k miles additional. Most RV's for sale have about 50k miles on them. So the drive train still has lots of life left.
Then if we ever wanted to live in it we need a washer/dryer combo. Most do not have one, most are not wired/plumbed (prep'ed). But I can do that. For $1200!
Then our health insurance is only good in El Paso. Linda's elderly mother is another problem.
But we want to get out of El Paso and do something else, other than just sit here on our lazyboys.... And then there's selling to house and doing something with all this "STUFF".
Nothing has jumped out at us to buy, YET!

HD's are not for me.

A new friend brought his Harley 2002 Road King (850# touring bike) over to my house to service it. I can't find the oil filter, but the owners manual says there is one SOMEWHERE!??
This has a 2nd generation older style engine. But it looks like it was designed in 1902, not late 1990's. It is way low to the ground but the owner is height challenged and needs it lowered 1-2" more. The handlebars are way out to the sides, great for leverage, but I road a 50's Harley and they were the same, don't they ever update? Not a lick of oil was ever put on any lever, rod or pivot. So everything squeaked. But the pipes are so loud you'd never hear that.
The saddle bags cover pivots weird but they don't fall off, surprising for an American made product. I had to get my American (English) tools out. Back to the crappy inch system. Harley's are still not using metric, which is way easier to use because everything is a whole number, in mm's.
It's a beautiful black bike, but shows every speck of dirt. They use 3 hidden screws for every 1 the Japs use. The Japs use the KISS system. Keep It Simple S........
I like the Harley's belt drive but 4 of 5 of my bikes have a drive shaft which is even better. Never needs replacing, belts should be replaced every 30-50k miles. I'm sure from Harley it is over $100 plus installation of $2-300.
It uses 20w-50 wt oil. Ancient heavy oil, which went out on Jap bikes back in the 80's. Not very energy conserving. Some oils now are 0w-20 wts., very thin. Harley's still leak oil, and the oil is so black when changed at 2000 miles looks like 10,000 on Jap bikes!
To say the least I'm NOT impressed. They are super expensive new ($15-35k), do hold up their value well (Why, I'll never figure out), are an American Icon, sell at least 50% of bikes sold in the US. They still do not have a good reliability reputation. In my opinion are 1900's butt ugly.
Oh Ya. It vibrates so bad they have to put in special rubber dampners in it so your hands and feet don't hurt or go to sleep in just a few miles.
Now that bike in the picture, is cheap ($5500 new, $2000 now), is reliable (will go 150k miles) with minimal work, fast (12 sec. qtr. mile, 145 mph), smooth (almost no vibration), was stylish in the early 1990's and still gets good comments, weighs 200 lbs less and gets 40-55 mpg (friend's HD gets only 38). The Suzuki has the same load capacity as a HD, has 100 hp vs 60 in a HD (so it walks away from HD's up hill) , handles as good or better on the twisties. Why have a Harley??? I have 5 bikes for the price of 1 Harley......

Part 2 "Would you out up with this?"

Found my old financial advisor who now works at Wells Fargo. Met with him 2 1/2 weeks ago after a 1 1/2 week delay setting up a meeting. Finally got tired of his delays and called Wachovia. Left a message with Mildred's consultant. He doesn't call back. Called Wachovia about 3:45 pm Friday and set up appointment with a different consultant for Tuesday 10 am.
At 4:10 pm on Friday, (who calls that late?), Mildred's guy calls, I told him forget it, too late. At 4:20 the first guy finally calls after 2 1/2 weeks says, he set up an appointment, guess what time on Tuesday, I tell him forget it, too late.
I called my present financial company I'm trying to drop. I talked to a young girl, with 0 (ZERO) knowledge, asking for a new advisor in Denver in our time zone. She calls the advisor that just ticked me off, the guy that did not call me for 2 1/2 weeks. She says, he will get me someone in Denver, which I asked for in the first place. I asked when I might get a call back, she doesn't know. I say to her "your company is on their way out".
Part 3 soon, in just 2 1/2 weeks.......... In the mean time we are losing money not invested.
Pic has nothing to do with this topic except it's retired like me. SR-71 Blackbird. Fastest plane ever.

I'm good

I can fix 90% of most broken things. My philosophy is: "If it is broken and you fix it, your ahead. If it is broken and you can't fix it, no loss" I've saved at least $100,000 doing things myself. That indirectly goes into the bank, not in someone else's pocket.
I don't feel sorry, if you don't even try. "But what if I make it worse?" I've heard so many, too many times. It's broke, what you got to lose?
You know how many things there are in this house, broken? ZERO. If I can't fix it it goes in the garbage. Threw out a 25+ year timer today. I tried.
That goes for replacing it. If it is necessary, I buy another, but I hate retail prices. Ebay has saved me $2-4000. 182 items bought so far. And you have to know pricing. The cruise control on the RV keeps accelerating, not safe. I tried 3 times to fix it. It's gone now. So onto Ebay. Found another used one for $3 MORE than a new one. BS.
So what did I do? I put in a manual one that holds the throttle steady. $10. AND it saves gas because a normal "hold the same speed" cruise control wastes gas in hilly country. Where do we live? Not out on the Permian Basin or the flat lands of the Midwest.
Today a friend came by. His EGR, A/C was not working, plus his wife was getting headaches. He described the problem. We hooked up a diagnostic tester I had ($100) and a vacuum gauge. The code readout said the EGR was not getting sufficient vacuum. The vacuum gauge confirmed it. Traced it down to a a melted vacuum line running against the hot exhaust. In 1/2 hr. it was fixed. Friend was amazed I did it so fast. He's suppose to buy us lunch next week. I'll remind him.
HONEY DO's, what are those? Rarely does Linda ask me to fix something. Oh, today he brought me a heart shaped "do-ma-thingy". It had a broken leg.
Get out there and fix something now!!!
But sometimes I get tired of hearing "Chuck, would you please (you finish the sentence)".
Pic: Oh! ya! She does not need any fixing...........................................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

7th trip

On the spur of the moment, bored, wanting to do something, nothing on TV, we went camping for the 7th time since we bought it in May. This time to a new destination, Ft. Stockton. Don't waste your time or gas. The reconstructed Ft. Stockton is there, as well as many older historic buildings. It took us about 3 hours to do everything. Hard to tell it is on flat desert land. Many trees. Population 8,000 Elevation 2800' Gas$2.59 at every station. A ton of motels, 6 RV parks. We stayed at what we thought was the best one SE of but in town. Nothing to write home about...
By noon we were looking for more to do. We headed east on I-10 to a non-existent winery and dinosaur tracks we never found. Still bored we went back to the RV and watch 3 episodes of Twilight Zone, which I slept through most of 3rd one. HO HUM.
The good news everything is getting better on the RV.
But we ran into headwinds both ways. 14.8 mpg overall, I was hoping for 15.5, we could get NEXT time if it doesn't get windy. Near the 2nd picnic area on Montana the winds were so high I could only get to 55 mph, downhill.
The other thing about west Texas is it's boring country, sagebrush only, no trees. But you can see for miles and miles of miles and miles. Oh ya, make sure you got a reliable vehicle and GAS! We drove 200 miles home with only one station and it was closed at the Dell City junction. I took this different way home, which on a map looks out of the way, but was only 6 miles further. If you go to Dallas I-10 drops way south at Sierra Blanca and Van Horn then loops back north at the I-10/20 split.
Well, we came home Tues afternoon and we're bored again Wed., so I did a few minor jobs, there is always something to do on the RV.
Looks like the rainy season finally hit us. Normally the rain stops mid Sept. Every season this year is 1-3 months late/off cycle.
Next trip Dallas, and South Padre Island. Return via Rio Grande.
Best news was we only spent $122 on everything! And know where NOT to go again. But we're running out of places within 200 miles, 1/2 day drive. In NM it was raining everywhere so Texas was our choice. We do love TEXAS.

Not much happening

Finished most of the projects on the RV. After the 15th will do a few more in preparation for our trip to East Texas later this year. Next week may go to NM ghost towns and Rio Grande wildlife areas. Got to watch for rain in mid NM, raining there a lot.
Found my old Financial Advisor who worked at one of the largest financial institutions in the USA. They fired him, now I'm firing them, if all the details work out. Local service is what I want and could do it with the same company there locally, if we ever moved. Good riddens to poor service. More later after we transition. This is an open to all forum so details withheld.
Rain here, heck no, were 2" below our average. Rains everywhere around but not in the city. Getting cooler, but still near 90 mid afternoon. My friend in Indy asked me if we got the sweatshirts out.
Yes that's an aircraft engine in a motorcycle. Ya, he can ride it around the block is all, it's only for show.
Finally getting to new TV programs, summer TV sucks. We won't pay for Cable or Satellite TV. Too many commercials, (pay for commercials?), too many repeat programs, too few channels we like, and pay for channels I don't watch?, money spent on "Pay for TV" could be used for vacations, things to do and more productive things could be done, like talk, read, research, look for projects... Savings is $360-750 per year!!!
Oh, ya, RED BOX is $1 per movie, Hollywood and BlockBuster are $4. Go where?

Would you put up with this?

Poor service from a very large financial institution? First they closed the local office in El Paso. Now all transactions have to be done via internet or phone. They kept the Midland office open. Aren't they like 1/4 our size? I'm passed over to a Minn. Mn office out of my time zone. The Advisor returns calls days later. Sometimes answers his emails. I ask for a Denver office advisor but get a Phoenix one which is only 1/2 the year on our same time. Now he's not returning calls or answering his emails. How far is MN and AZ from us? How can I get face to face communications?
I started using their Advisor Service with a fee of about 1% of my gross investments but in a year they go up on that 40%. I dropped it immediately, their response was it was only .4% more! Ya, several hundred dollars more.
Their own mutual funds pay out less than the market and their CD's are 3/4 or less than I can get by shopping around. Their CD's are paying a whopping 1-2%. Isn't inflation like 6-8+%?
I found their ex-employee they fired, when they closed the local office.. Also taking names of more local investment firms.
Who you using?

Dinosaur or Dragon?

Well should we called our RV
the "Dinosaur", "Dragon" or my son's "Carriage"?
The Wizard of ID has me confused.
What's your suggestion?

Figured out another biggy

Friend of mine in Indianapolis mentioned the area of the windshield was a big concave aerodynamic drag point. I was thinking how can I fill in in? When we brought the RV home from Garland in May I removed a very large ineffective unaerodynamic bug shield in front of the grill but was too low to stop bugs from hitting the windshield. Off it came.
Yesterday I thought about it again. I inverted it and it fit fairly well in the concave drag area.
Today I heated up the plastic bug shield with my 1500 watt heat gun and made it fit better. Used outdoor doubleback sticky tape and good aluminum duct tape (the gray cheap stuff lasts 2 days in the sun and the gluey adhesive makes a mess).
I did some calculations and it could give .4 more mpg!!!
It looks like another window. It could help our swaying every time a semi-truck is in front of us. Cost only $6 for the DB sticky tape.
Don't tell Linda I've still got more ideas. The "Dinosaur" has become a "Money Pit"
My goal was 17 mpg (got it) it may be 18 now. That's real good for almost 7000 #'s at 60 mph. Did you know that 60% of your gas spent is on pushing air out of the way? Takes almost twice as much energy at 80 mph vs. 60.

Oh No!

Temporarily out of projects on the RV. Over 315 now. Linda's bitching I've spent too much on it but it keeps me busy.
It's starting to cool down, only in the mid 90's now. Rain is 1.5 inches under our average. At 5.5" this year, WI, MN and IL wish we would get some of theirs.
Trying to encourage more guys to ride Sat's. Some, no one showed up. Tomorrow looks like 6. Going to Columbus, no not OH.
RV has a new nickname: "The Dinosaur". It's old and the Vortex Generators at the back look like the upper neck of animated dinosaurs.
You can see some of the changes in the pic, front and rear fender skirts, cleaned up front end aerodynamically. shortened step, Vortex Generators in rear, even more on other side.
Actually cleaned the 4 bikes in the garage today, they have gotten neglected since bringing the Dinosaur home in May.
Went for a ride to Sierra Blanca during the week I haven't ridden in the middle of the week in months. Been too hot (100 days of 100?). Rode the Brown Suzuki, it has 106,000 miles now, runs great.
Been in the pool 9 times, it's a recent record. If we go Sunday, 10, wow. Made a discovery this year, about 6-8 weeks ago it started turning green again. I got pissed (not unusual) and we bought cheapo bleach at $ store, poured 8 gallons in and it's never been so clear for so long. When the expensive pool chlorine runs out we're going to $ store for more.
Hip, hip my son & daughter blogged!

Shooting for the Stars

Well did you really think that was true? We did go to McDonald Observatory and look at the stars last week. No that's not what I'm talking about, you know me. Retirement? No, already there.
Then what? Ya the RV. I would like 17 mpg, oh geez he's back on that. Yes that would have to be without pulling the trailer and Yamaha Venture. They are about 1200#'s. About a 1.5 mpg loss.
I just added more aerodynamics to it! It now has 4 wheel well (fender) skirts. The rears look like 50's fender skirts. I tried to add a little styling to them, but the main objective was to reduce wind drag around the tires.
And yes the skirts had to be as unobtrusive as possible for servicing the tires for air and removing them. The rears are painted, fronts will be soon. Just put them on today.
But look closely there is other wind reducers. Around everything sticking out has silicone to smooth air flow. The headlights have clear covers to get rid of the concave surfaces. The grill is partially covered over to reduce air going into the engine compartment that is very turbulent. The rear has Vortex generators to fill in the vacuum around the rear doors. I drove the Virago today while Linda drove the RV and there is a lot of turbulence just a few feet behind it.
The steps do not have both the aluminum mudflaps anymore, they were almost a sq. foot each flat to the wind. The A/C air inlet below the windshield is 3/4 covered up. Still get the same cooling.
The rear view mirrors have tiny Vortex generators too, like, 16 on each.
The A/C on the roof was a large appendage. It's still there but has a special streamliner. This made a difference when speeding semi-trucks passed us. We would be tossed back and forth up to 2". Reduced but not stopped.
Underneath all 4 tires make less drag. The fronts have the front air dam and the rears have spats. Spats are air separators.
It only got 14 mpg on our first trip home and it gets almost 17 now? Cost about $500. Return on investment 15,000 miles. Got almost 4k in now.
Blame it on the Internet. I got all these ideas and more (300 + projects) doing a little research and applying it to our moving box.
And they say retirement is boring...

Answer to 2 previous ago post

In "HOT Water", heck yes. We heated the fresh water tank with 6 gallons for an hour. At first it was cold then turn comfortable for a short time than was very hot, wow!
Minor problems: circulating the water to mix the hot and cold in the tank. Heating element is at one end only. The second problem with the trailer still hooked up the hitch is in the way.
And the water tank does not stay hot long, the tank needs to be insulated. More problems = more projects.
We both only used 3 gallons of the 6.
Then I found the restroom/bathrooms/showers at the Davis Mtn SP were clean big and semi-new.....
And no, taking a shower (with our bathing suitson) is not like the pic.

Some Improvement

Just got back from Davis Mtns. 6500' elevation, we're at 3850' 200 miles to the SE. (Many Many hills between) Was 10-15d cooler there, still 100 in El Paso.
Linda & I took the bike around the Davis mtns on Thur. Fri we went to Alpine where we stayed before then drove a very smooth fast road towards Ft. Stockton but was getting hot so returned early afternoon. Later did the Marfa mystery lights again. Yes they are a MYSTERY because they DON"T show up. Don't waste your time, we have twice.
Got 15.3 mpg pulling Venture this trip. 16.5 last trip but no trailer and bike. I figure a 1.5 mpg loss pulling. So if 15.3 + 1.5 would be 16.8 but I was trying for full 60 mph rather than mostly 55. (Slight increase in speed). Also the 16.5 was no mtn. driving, but many hills.
Vacuum gauge on flat and level is 7", was >5 to 2" before many mods. This shows improvement so the engine is working less hard, helps longevity and reliability also.
Used 2 qts water in water injection both ways, probably not helping at this low consumption. Will add another syringe and larger bottle 1 gal. or use from fresh water tank.
Venture ran great, but speed sure effects MPG. at 45-55 mph got 47 mpg, sped up to 65 on the plains and it dropped into high 30's.
Next trip late Sept to Dallas, Austin, Brownsville, return via Rio Grande hiways IF weather cools and no hurricanes. 2 weeks.
Pic is fire rainbow.

I'm in HOT Water now.

No, not as you were thinking with Linda. Gee, I know I got a reputation, but...
This time it's with the RV. Oh, now your bored.
But I got your attention, what do I really mean?
We don't have a hot water in it, none came with the RV. We have put a pot on the stove but we took the LP gas tank out. We have warmed water in the microwave. Both methods are only good for a pint to quart. We, meaning me, want more so we could take a shower just off the back door. Linda could use more to do dishes.
We already have towels, hooks for towels, a shower curtain and a floor mat.
We also have a solar shower. Put 2-5 gallons water in a heavy vinyl black bag and set it in the sun for a few hours, hang it up over head, and it drains into a shower head. OK if the sun is out and it's warm outside.
Using the showers in a campground works too if they have them, sometimes they are dirty, have fungus's, no privacy, or no hot water.
So for the last 4 months I've been looking for a alternative for us.
Ebay. Several options available. There are shower heads that have heaters in them but they draw a lot of amperage and we can only pull 15 max if everything else is off. They also only raise the water temperature 10-20 degrees. There are small hot water heaters, 4-5 gallon but they take up a lot of space we don't have. There are tankless water heaters that don't take up a lot of space but are $125-500, most are $200.
My next idea was to take a small pump and copper tubing, bend and wrap it around the exhaust pipe while we were traveling. Free heat. The drawbacks were: we travel more in the morning & early afternoons and shower in the evenings. Water may get cold and using engine heat by idling later, expensive and very slow.
Found a website saying shower hot water needs to be about 100-105 d. It also had a calculation on how much wattage was needed to heat water. I converted from a 40 gallon home heater to the needed 5 gallons. A 1000 watt 120v heating element would take 1/2-1 hour to raise water from 60 to 100 d. 1000 watts is 8.3 amps, about 1/2 of our 15 max. Good.
I still needed a tank. We do not have room for a separate tank. But wait, why not use the fresh water tank in the RV already?
When we need cold water we use the campgrounds water from the hose. When we need hot water we heat our tank.
I need a temperature gauge on it. Also a safety device so we don't overheat the water. I have a 1 hour electric timer I rarely use. Enough time to heat but not over heat. Then I was going to run a separate electrical circuit to the campgrounds plug in. Then remembered our own electric service would work conservatively and safely.
Parts costs: Ebay water heater element $18, need a flexible hose and shower head about $20 connected to the sink, misc electric and plumbing parts $20, thermometer $5. Volla, cheap, easy to do, weighs very little, takes up almost no room.
Now will it work?

See I'm bored...

And I'm still adding a post.
TV is saving us money by not turning it on. Reruns, poor programing and junk TV. Money saved on electric could be spent doing more van projects. HUMMMM........
Using the REDBOX movie rentals, $1 vs 4 at Hollywood.
Went riding with my friends today. I did something I've never done before, bought frozen chiles in Hatch, NM. Now got to figure out how to cook and eat them.
Haven't been riding in a week, too hot, 100 everyday. I usually work (Bad Word) play on the RV until about 12-1 pm then shower and do more research on the internet. Found a website for getting more MPG out of the van. Ecomodder.com Many ideas there have lead to more projects, just 275 now. Somehow the blunt front end of the van has to be made to flow air better.
Unless I add a teardrop shape to the front and a tail (called a boat tail or like the back side a a tear) I'm approaching the end of my MPG improvements I can make.
My water injection system could get more sophisiticed so I my have to just improve on my improvements.
Next trip to Davis Mtns. again. See another Star or Lunar party.
Hoping for 15.5+ mpg pulling Venture this is like 17 without.
That's the Milky Way and it's black holes. OK so how do they get a pic of it from the outside when your inside of it and black holes don't let light out???? Answer: next week...

Just when I thought...

I might run out of projects on the RV I found a web site on "Hypermileing" Never heard of that? Hyper means in excess, Mileing, you know like Miles Per gallon. Of Course!
People, more like fanatics, get up to 90 miles per gal. on regular cars, but with a few "RADICAL" modifications. Like you wouldn't even recognize the car after they make the outside look like it was born in a wind tunnel. Nothing is left untouched, including gutted interiors, changed engines, & drive trains, windows, and are so low they never dare go over a speed bump. 65 changes possible.
And then there's driving techniques.
They shut off the engine on declines, stoplights, never idle, put on egg on top of the accelerator, have many fuel instruments, go shopping ONCE a month, use every known MPG improver made to man (most don't work). 108 techniques listed.
Me? I'm going to do the ones that are relatively inexpensive, really work, will work on our BOX (the RV), have a reasonable payback and Linda won't yell TOO much at me about.
But then we have gone from 14.1 to 16.5 mpg, a 14.5% improvement. Spent just over $400. Payback is 15k miles and we have plans for 40k miles in trips so...
The best one so far is having more power (dual exhaust) to make it up some of the steeper hills around here ABOVE 40 mph.
Got a list of 20 more projects from this website.... That'll keep me busy for a couple more weeks.
Mesas on Mars (in blue).

Savings

Money pits such as airplanes, boats, garage queens, extra motorcycles, swimming pools, RV's and long distance hobbies never have a payback. I know I had them all.
But what the hay, we gotta waste money on something. Ya, you do too. Why work if you can't spend part of it on what you like, then learn to hate it (especially pools).
These have money savings, sometimes. Take the RV for instance. We've spent $408 on things to get better gas mileage on it. IF we keep it, If it will get 16.5-17 mpg the payback is 15-18k miles. At $2.5 a gallon. But IF gas goes up, the savings will be faster! (Oh forget gas will be more).
So far spent $5800 on the RV. IF we use it, IF we stay at campgrounds, IF we don't eat out, it will save us versus driving a car on trips. The Accord costs $.50/mi. to drive due to depreciation and gets 27 mpg. But the RV costs only $.35/mi. and gets 15-16 MAYBE 17 mpg. The difference is depreciation, RV will only be $2-4k, not like the $25k on the car.
Car traveling means gas plus motels plus eating out. Flying and renting a car even more. The RV is gas, RV parks at half or less than a cheap motel, and eating out, and that can be $20-50 per person per day. Let's not forget which is better for you, eating too much poorly prepared OUT or eating correctly IN (and we can BBQ!).
Then there's, we'll take that trip next year... in the car and we never do. Or there's, we gotta use that damn expensive toy sitting in the driveway. And we will, MAYBE?
And then there's getting in trouble like in the pic.

Linda put me up to this....

It was her idea. Don't blame me. We don't use the cooking stove top in the RV. Maybe twice in 5 trips. HER idea was to take out the L.P. tank and use the small metal propane bottles instead. All well and good except it was a bitch to get out. When the side steps were installed after the tank was installed the brackets were in the way so I had to disassemble more than necessary. Then it fell out on the cement. Bang!!! Glad I wasn't under it.
I guessed it was 60#'s. After weighing it and the peripherals that go with it, it was almost 80. Wow. That's 200 we have taken out. But of course we've added about 235 so were 35 behind. BUT again if we hadn't it would be 435#'s extra.
Add to that: us (we won't talk how much), clothes, food, motorcycle stuff, trailer, must haves like microwaves, computers, maps, service manuals, tools, folding chairs, awning, jack, house battery, spare parts and a motorcycle we're at 6800 pounds! Poor little 318 c.i. engine has to push our box along at 55-65 mph, it's a wonder it gets 15-17 mpg.
I'm working on getting more aerodynamic drag points reduced. Found several small ones today.
Should get 17 mpg (14 before working on MPG) without the trailer and bike when I get through. (1100 lbs)
We went to Dollar stores today to find plastic boxes lighter than our suitcases for clothes. The storage area (above the driver's seat) is trapezoidal shaped so nothing really fits and it is 32" deep so something has to always be in front of what you want.

16.5

That's right gas mileage improved from 15.1 to 16.5 mpg. Went to Phoenix, more hot and humid than El Paso. Visited with Carolyn and Bill. We went antique shopping in Glendale on Friday.
Stayed in a Mobile home park, kinda weird staying between 2 mobile homes in a large lot.
Carolyn and Bill went to a furniture and accessory show. They bought a few things to continue their business.
Was 90 even at night. House A/C did keep up with heat due to hazy weather.
Left Thursday, came home Sat. 455 miles is a long way to go at 55-60 mph. 8 1/2 hours, only 7 in a car at 75. 350-400 miles should be our max. even with both of us driving.
Just a few easy things to do this time. But both cruise controls not working right. My throttle lock would not hold the throttle open, and the Dodge installed cruise would not hold speed either. Worked on both on return. No leaks, or problems except my air dams lost all the springs so they were not effective on return home.
One other note: sitting up high I can see down at the road directly in front of RV, it like hypnotises me, makes me feel very tired and irritated.
Pic is Carolyn, we were celebrating here 69th birthday, a few days early.

232 and more to come

Yep, 232 projects on the RV and trailer. Still got a few more up my sleeve.
Added Vortex Generators. See picture. 15 to a side, 11 on top. Suppose to reduce drag and therefore increase mileage.
Makes it look like a dragon's neck from behind.
This and reducing brake drag, reducing weight and other aerodynamic drags should get us to my next goal of 16-17 mpg. Have got 15 before many MPG improvements were made.
Won't be taking the trailer and any bike. They're about 1100#'s.
Going to Phoenix soon for Carolyn's birthday next week, we are going to celebrate, she will be 69.
Still about 100 here, and 110-115 in Phoenix and Indio. Ya,Ya... it's a dry heat like in hell! Except the rainy season is hitting PHX hard. So the humidity will be up.
Added a curtain behind front seats to keep cool in, heat out, hope it helps.

When Your Hot...

102 again. Been 100 for over a week. Pool is 98. 80 at 7:30 am. 91 at 7000' in Silver City. Too hot to work outside or even ride in the afternoon. Drove Venture to Glenwood NM, was in mid 90's. Carolyn's over 110 in Indio. Going to PHX will be about 110.
Oh but it's a dry heat!
Sweat by the glassful, can't drink enough. Got cover off the pool, windows open in the RV. Even opened up the shed over 110 in there.
Don't hear the dogs backing much lately. Hummm... TOO BAD!
75 in here, Evaporative coolers work great in less than 20% humidity. 18" insulation in attic really works and the triple panes in the kitchen make it much cooler, used to be hot while eating. The kitchen upduct helped too. Last month's electric bill, $65 includes pool 1 1/2 hp motor running 2 hours a day.
It was "Chili" in the field pic, pun intended!

Well the FIX list is getting smaller

1st trip 2 pages, 2nd trip 1 page, 3 trip 1/2 page, this the 4th trip only a few items. MPG actually went down .5 mpg, but I screwed up a front brake (image that), it was dragging. Fixed it in Silver City. Got so hot only had 1 front brake. And it's really hilly there.
Stayed 3 nights this time. 2 nights in a private RV park, the most expensive we've paid so far, $25/nite. They locked up the bathrooms at 8pm. 3rd night stayed in a State Park that was nicer and cheaper. But they too locked up the bathrooms. Also no dump station, you get the idea...
We rode the Venture up to the Gila cliff dwellings 1st full day in am, then I went by myself to Glenwood NM to check out their RV park (singular) in the pm.
2nd full day we rode up the Mimbres River then part way up more of the Gilas, and had brunch in Mimbres (town). Very dry in NM.
Got home to the 100 degree temps, screw it, wait until tomorrow to work on it.
Was chilly at night in Silver City, turned on heat after midnite. Then by 9 am A/C back on.
In 2 weeks to PHX to see sis and bro-in-law. Probably won't pull a bike too hot there, 110.
Ya, almost as hot as pic, but all we saw were deer.

More about the same

Ok it's more about the same, but it keeps me busy, thinking, active, creative and "out of trouble"?
Ordered parts to make the RV's exhaust system into dually. Figured it would be $150 but ended up at almost $180.
I was concerned about problems like, engine running too rich or lean, too noisy, weigh too much or have a lot of leaks. I ordered a 6' flex piece of exhaust piping but it came in almost a foot short. I called Summit Racing where I bought it from and they sent me another full 72" piece. So far I have not heard back they want the short one.
I had lots of time to plan everything out and it went by plan except all the pieces were a full 2 1/2" inside diameter (ID). No way to connect them. Went to Pepboys and they had all the parts I needed. But it cost the extra over what I thought I needed originally.
Then I had to cut the old exhaust pipe off the engine, it was a no return decision, I'm not regretting yet.
Every thing installed fairly easily, with a minimal cussing! Mostly tools not within reach.
I disconnected the engine computer (ECM) for fresh start up.
As soon as I hit the starter switch the engine fired right up, I had anticipated a short grind because I had worked on the fuel system.
Rolled it off the ramps and drove off. As soon as I turned out of the drive way, the throttle response was improved. The vacuum and the idle speed are up (that's good).
Right off the line at every light it has more power. Got up to 75 mph better, but it is 5700#'s without the trailer and bike, so it's no speed demon. Another 1100#'s for them.
Today were off the Silver City, camping. Hoping it is better thruout this trip and long term. I also put in new sway bar bushings and 4 new shocks in hopes of better handling and reduced swaying when semi's pass.
The steering when we bought it had about 30 degrees of slop. I tightened up the gear box and the wandering is almost gone.
As Linda keeps saying "It's our NEW vehicle" Just 21 years old...
Since it's truck size and an older vehicle it is a lot easier to work on than front wheel cars. Parts are much cheaper too. More when we return.

Now what?

I'm collecting parts to make the single exhaust on the RV into dual exhaust. Probably will end up about $175 was hoping for $150 but it always costs more than expected, takes longer to do and encures several problems in the installation.
Normally dual exhaust reduces exhaust gas back pressure, increases horsepower and increases gas mileage by 1-2 mpg. I don't expect that much with the RV because of the weight (6700#'s including the trailer and bike of 1000#'s) and aerodynamic drag. It's a big box going thru a fairly dense fluid (air) and drag increases exponientially with mph.
That's why I've slowed down to 55-60 mph.
Also put an air dam on the front under the radiator that pivots in case we hit sometime (tire shapenal or speed bumps). Hope this gives about a tenth of a gas mileage improvement.
From here on out major bucks would have to be spent to increase HP and MPG with little payback.
I start with the cheapest. Tune ups, free flowing air filter, open up the intake track and allow cooler inlet air. Then check the intake manifold, look for vac. leaks, check computer codes for failed sensors. Then the lengthier process of reducing any weight. I then remove as much outside, top and underneath air drag points as possible. (Mirrors can cause a .5 mpg loss!, dirty vehicle .1 mpg)
Then go for the exhaust. This one has two narrow 2" exhaust pipes going into a restrictive collector Y pipe that is only 2 1/4" down stream with a catalytic converter and a very quiet (restrictive) muffler and even narrower bends. I'm taking one whole bank of cyl's, 4 of the 8 and adding it's own exhaust system with less restritive cat. converter and muffler. This will add 25 lbs but as stated before "should add" HP (10?) and MPG (.5?)....
More after our next trip.
Pic is Linda drying out a cooler at Monahans Texas Sandhills State Park (& 105 degrees)

This is what a call a friend

For several months I have been emailing back and forth with a long distance friend in Indianapolis. He volunteered to help me via Internet and phone calls. It was Dec., I had my Yamaha Venture engine out fixing 2nd gear that goes out at 40-60k miles. My Venture at the time only had 19k miles. Being my anal self and having 5 bikes with lots of time on my hands let's fix it now. This is a touring bike Linda and I were planning to take to South Padre Island and then to Dallas to see our daughter. I wanted it reliable and fix everything long term.
It had sat for 24 years and only had 14.5k miles and body wise was perfect. Age had taken it's toll on many parts.
Anyways engine removal is not my most favorite mechanical things to do especially with my arthritis getting worse in my shoulders and hands. I'll just take my time...
When I got to parts unknown in disassembly, fixing the actual problem, (a $5 soft part Yamaha used instead of hardened part) and reassembly, Dan was there... Yes in Indianapolis, he had done he's in the last year.
He were there when I needed them, NOW.
Since then Dan and I have conversed many times. He's a better mechanic than me, even though I'm the best of all my friends in El Paso.
He's got a problem, he talks, I listen. I got a problem, I ask.
But he's the only one I know who will talk to me on a technical level and understand what I'm saying.
Thanks Dan
AND he has a RED 1984 YAMAHA VENTURE!!

Trip 3

Our 3rd trip was to Monahans, Tx to the Sand Hills State park. Very large white sand dunes up to 70 feet and very hot. RV park was in a depression with no where for heat to escape. Went there because it wasn't going to rain as it did on our 2 prior outings. We took the Venture and saw hundreds of crude oil pumps in the Permian Basin. About 1/2 were working.
When I got my pilots license I flew into Wink Cnty airport which we drove by. It is still manned, why I do not understand? 1 plane.
Went to Rosa's Cantina Restaurant in Odessa for dinner (I'm still not over impressed), but it was something to do in a dusty-dirty West Texas oil town.
Next day went into Midland which is nicer. Ate lunch in a park and was back to the RV just after noon. High 90's by that time. A/C in RV would just barely keep it cool. I walked up a couple of sand dunes, the 2nd time at dusk because the 1st time in the afternoon I got heat stroke!
We bought a TV converter for Linda's Laptop but we must have been too far from town. We wanted to watch the last episode of "I'm a Celebrity, Get me out of HERE!" No pic, bummer! But my favorite celebrity Lou won! We found out later.
Drove there 250 miles and back to Van Horn almost 375 miles total before we got gas. Tank is 35 gallons. I drove slower this time 55-60 and got 14.9 mpg, pulling the Venture on the trailer. That's much better than we have done before. Had a early 70's car that didn't do this good. Could drive 425-475 miles without stopping except for stretch and pee breaks.
Made many more improvements and fixed several leaks, every things working better.
Next trip late July to PHX to see my older sister and hubby.
We were NO where near anything like in the photo.

When will I ever get done?

With work? 6 years ago

With marriage? NEVER

With retirement? Hopefully when I can't ride motorcycles, work on bikes, car or house, in 20 years??

With bitching? Probably never...

With having fun? Never, well...

With riding? maybe sooner than I want, my arthitis is going to more joints every few months. My hands are getting worse fast.

With eating? The day before my last. But I'm eating better things for me now than ever.

With drinking? Water, several glasses a day, Alcohol is way slowed down hate hangovers and the draggy feeling after more than 2 beers, wines.

With blogging, RIGHT NOW, for now.

150+ And Counting

That's right folks I tend to over do things... Kept track of how many projects/fixes on the RV. I've been over, under, inside, out, front and rear, top to bottom on the RV and trailer. There is one consistency to the RV. That is if it wasn't painted it is rusty, especially underneath. Found more Mud-dubber nests, nestled up to the frame today, at least 2 pounds of dirt.
Can't get that transmission oil pan to stop leaking. Got it slowed down...
Found another seal on the transmission output shaft next to the universal joint leaking very minorly, will just keep my eye on it for now.
Covered the rear cooling fins on the A/C with screening so if it hails again it won't ruin them. Took almost 2 hours to straighten them out.
Started painting the 3 sets of red double stripes. A silver/gray strip I've already paint is in between. But when I covered the gray with tape it pulled the gray stripe paint off. So... I decided to just clear coat the red and gray. What a difference! In some spots it almost looks new, was very faded.
Found more storage. When I put in a heavy duty turn signal flasher for the added trailer lights, I had to take the glove box tray out. Looking inside there is a cavity 3 times larger than the tray, where nothing can fall out. Before the paperwork in it was in the way of the door catch. 2 problems solved.

Now the big project: how to get 30 mpg and all the "stuff" in the house in it!!!

That is NOT my bike inside that car. Can you imagine how fast he must have been going? RIP!

What's next?

Put in a rebuilt power steering pump last Thursday. Was leaking. Installed a transmission cooler to help with the temps in high 90's and going up Mtn's. Drained the transmission pan put in a new filter and 5 qts oil. Drained the coolant and put in the 5 year stuff.
Have eliminated about 140# of stuff we didn't need in the RV and watching every ounce we put back in. We have only added about 160#'s, so were only up 20#'s or so. Plus the trailer and bike of about 1100#'s. I've eliminated 2 of the 3 rails for bikes. Each was 29#'s and had flat (wind resistant) channels. Replaced with much lighter wood for my feet for balancing the bike in the center channel/rail, which I'm staining and varnishing.
Going to Glendale AZ to be with my sister and brother in law in July. We want to go to the White Mtn's in east AZ and the Magallon Mtn's in western NM later this month. The Cat Walk is there too.
Worked on my Red 92 Suzuki 1100. Bad spark plug, very frustrating trying to figure what was wrong.
Linda's Aunt Mary, 3 cousins (John, Sue, Shelly) and his wife, Miriam, were here Friday-Sunday, very much fun people. In pool twice (our 3rd time this yr). They went El Paso site seeing, shopping, "Viva El Paso" and to Carlsbad caverns.
Want to replace the fuel filter and change out the differential fluid on the RV next.
Just read that many people in the world recognize the shape of the GREAT STATE OF... (where?) in the pic.

Getting better

Fewer problems with RV. Ran good, got 13.4 mpg pulling Venture on trailer, with headwinds. Can't seem to get away from rain though. 0% chance turned into a down pour with hail. Everything wet, muddy and dirty. No leaks in RV this time.
Roads and surrounding areas in and out of Big Bend are extremely remote, rugged, rocky, dry, hot and beautiful. Linda took many great pics. Left early but was in mid 90's by 11-12 am in Presidio. Didn't stay long and returned to higher elevation where it was cooler.
Marfa lights was a bust. House and car lights 10-20 miles off is all we saw. You Tube videos were better than what we saw.
Visited Davis Mtns. State Park. Really nice. We will be going back there. Road between Alpine and Ft. Davis very pretty too.
Went to Marathon for breakfast, Gage Hotel only serves guests. Ate at a coffee shop, breakfast $23!
Home Friday afternoon hoping guys will show up to ride Sat. Group seems to be falling apart.
More camping trips maybe in late June, early July.
Linda and I laughed at ourselves. We could park 4-6 RV's in our bedroom alone. Our kingsize bed would take up the entire RV interior and more!

Ready for 2nd Outing

When we were out on our first camping trip we made a 2 page list of things to do and buy. It is done, plus many more. Linda's making curtains and I'm trying to make it more reliable long term. I've added gauges, new house battery, touching the paint up, and trying to get better MPG, only 14-15 now. Hoping for 13 pulling the bike.
We're going to Marfa to see the "lights". Also pulling the Venture on the trailer. Staying in THE ONLY RV park in Marfa (with low ratings). We will go for a ride thru the Davis and surrounding smaller hills or down to Big Bend. We will not go if it's raining like it did all day at Balmorhea.
More things should be working right like the charger not "PINGING" all night and the frig not vibrating the entire interior.
Pray for us. We are roughing it without TV, internet, radio, and a shower. Gee we might have to sponge bath, talk or read, novel idea ha?