It Just Keeps Getting Better

Went to Ft. Davis in the Davis Mtns last weekend. Left Thursday afternoon got there just at dusk. 200 miles, about 4.5 hours at 55 mph. The paved road in, is rough, narrow, hilly and twisty for about 25 miles. But so little traffic maybe 1-3 cars, I drive a lot down the middle some.
We put in some carpeting a friend gave us. It helped with road & drive train noise. But it really helped keep the RV warmer and our feet never got cold. It was warmer also than our last trip to Leasburg Dam. This time: Mid 30's at night, 60's during late afternoon.
Friday we went to McDonald Observatory to see a Lunar observation. It was very interesting, informative, and views through a 16" computer run telescope were spectacular. It was semi-cloudy and we could still see much detail.
Linda lost and found her keys to the bike, we have more spares now. The rough road caused the coffee pot to 1/2 fall down and we found many more rattles, now fixed.
We saw many javelinas and deer. Luckily not at night back from the Observatory.
There is a 75 mile loop around the west side of the Davis Mtns we've take many times. It is very scenic and remote. Just to the south is Alpine and Marfa I drove to on Saturday by myself. Also less than 100 miles, but very scenic. We checked out the local reality company photos, homes are moderately expensive. But there is no shopping or medical help, except for 30 miles down in Alpine. Reselling a home probably would take years.
The return trip home was very windy, 15-30 mph headwinds. We took it better than the last trip thru there, more experience, and used the mtns to shield some of the winds.
Got 9.2 mpg going both ways. Last time it was windy only got 6-7 mpg. I slowed down (25-35-45 at times), rather than fight it. We were the slowest thing on the Interstate. Most RV's were still going 70 into the wind (That would be upwards of 100 mph headwind). There is NO conservation in this country. We still got home by 1:00 pm, Why rush? We're retired!

Our first

We went just a short distance to Leasburg Dam State Park on Friday in the RV. It is just 20 miles north of Las Cruses in Radium Springs.
Thursday was cold rainy and snowy day here, so it was not warm on Friday either. We arrived between 4 & 5 pm so we did not get a spot with electric. My first concern was no water, I only carry enough to flush the toilet a few times while we are traveling. We found water and hooked up twice for more.
As soon as the sun went down it turned cold in the high 30's. Got down to 23 overnight.
We put 3 blankets on the bed and went to bed about 8-8:30. I had the 12v propane heater on but turned it down to 50 inside. Getting out of bed to use the bathroom was a quick process. The heater both nights came on every 10 minutes.
Sat. I invited the motorcycle group to have lunch with us. 2 that said they were coming didn't, but Mark, Susy, Chris, Cristina, Mom and Helen did. It warmed up into the mid 50's, Linda cooked a great feast, and I did hamburgers on the grill. Great time. Before dark they all left. It did not get as cold Sat. night so we only had 2 blankets and I kept it warmer in the RV.
We only used about 30% of the propane tank with lots of cooking on the propane stove/oven. I had the run the generator 3 times in 2 days to charge up the 2 6v batteries that runs the lights and appliances.
So did we really miss not having 120v house power? Not really. The TV, stereo, computer (recharging) and electric heaters would not work but we all could survive without them. It was roughing it for us, still had lights (12v) and heat. There were 2 tenters in the park I would not do nor have done in 30+ years.
We only used about 1.5 gallons gasoline using the generator for 2 hours to recharge the batteries. Even with that we still got 8 MPG.
My new ScanGauge monitoring 30 engine functions works great too. Still debugging extra readings. It helped me find a sweat spot for holding the throttle in a fixed position for maximum MPG and got 11 mpg on the way home, after the 8 mpg fill up. The $131 spent will have a payback.
I was able to go for a 2 hour bike ride on Sunday morning. I drove up to Caballo dam and found many empty spots, so we could have had power. But it was 45 miles more north and our company may not have showed up Sat.
Good experience. We can stay anywhere now. But came home with a list of things needed if we dry camp again, also known as boondocking.
The Venture in the pic starts up in cold weather and after sitting for weeks. Love it too. It gets dirty fast behind the RV on dusty roads and in the rain.

I'm doing it again???

I'm thoroughly convinced that to be happy I need a hobby(s) like I've been doing lately. I've got to stay busy, be active physically and mentally, not just sit around and die like too many retirees do. Or some go back to work, or never quit because they don't have other interests/hobbies. My father was one of them. He worked until he was 70. His final year he got a new boss and kicked him out. This new boss was a real jerk, my father generated millions in business for his company.
But when he retired he didn't have any hobbies. He did go thru 3 RV's like who?
I'm on my 4th if I include the ones my mother in law had, and I maintained.
I really like this one, our best. Oh by the way I've been looking at what other ones cost versus ours. Most are $10-50k more. Just saw a 1993 38' Diesel on Craigslist he wanted $38,500 for! We paid $28,500 for our '05!
Ok back on subject: In order to be happy, to have a hobby it involves money. So far $3500 in everything to get it like we want. And again I'll say I wasn't going to do as much to this one as the last 16 footer Class "B", BUT we're up to 200 mods and fixes. Most don't show, like adding another closet rod, shelves, anti-rattle fixes, handles, lubrication, painting, touching up, converting backup lights to stop lights ( we never drive at night) and many more. I found a website for making mods to RVs, so I got many more ideas. Like covering up any holes with screening to keep critters out. The last RV had 5 pounds of wasp mud underneath.
And yes I have not added any aerodynamic aids to this one YET. How can I make a giant box less boxy? Bet my RV has more drag than the SR-71 Black Bird in the pic. But I get better gas mileage... at 50 mph...
So why did I write this? You'll find out...

What a difference 1 day can make

I slept better so today....
A loose wire on the wind direction indicator fixed it.
Went to Pepboys and found valve stems for the brown Suzuki that went right in and remounted the tire easily. Got a spare stem now. No leak, I hope, now.
Found a screwdriver in Lowell's black Suzuki's carb holding the throttle open. 45 minutes later I had it out in the driveway, put it in gear, let out the clutch and it didn't move. The clutch is gone now. Luckily it's here and not at his house. Ordered parts today. That's Rudy's Suzuki but is exactly like Lowell's.
Figured out a different way to hook up the "lights on buzzer" on the RV. The second fuse box is under the dash but in a bad place so I moved it. It was mounted with 3" long screws, idiots, 3/4" would have been long enough.
We got in 4 boxes of things ordered, shipped via FedEx and USPS today. No MLK day.
My ScanGauge I ordered arrived. Got it for $131 vs. $160 retail at most places but did not come in a box, I would have thrown away anyways. It has about 40 functions to read the RV and car's computer and gives mpg/mph/rpm/$per mile and much more. It is my birthday present from Linda.
My Credit Card bill was $25 less than I thought.
I got a $10 rebate check today.
It was 62 outside, no jacket needed.
No one tailgated me today, life's WONDERFUL....

Very Frustrating Day

My wind direction indicator I made quit working, Again. I just worked on it yesterday.
I started on some shelves for a RV bedroom closet and didn't finish them
Lowell came over with his Suzuki. It was running rough and stalling at low RPMs. We had many irritating moments trying to get it back together. I could not get my carb synchonizing tool to work. We could not get it to run smoothly until we took most everything apart.
He had 2 new ties put on it. He got his 2nd bolt in the rear tire in 3-4000 miles. Both about $150, each tire. They installed the front turning backwards. My back up synch tool would not work either.
We finally got it to run smoother by just guessing at the idle settings.
He got down to I-10 and then it decided to start racing at full throttle.
I was just starting a shower when he called.
We had to hook up the trailer to the RV and go get him.
The brown Suzuki kept leaking air in the front tire. Found the valve stem was ready to pop. If it had I would have been stranded. I ordered a new valve stem. When I tried to put it on today it was too big.
I was MLK day and I'm expecting a package. But there's no mail today.........

Maybe tomorrow will be better?

No pic, guess why......

Read the previous post first...

So why will I work on the 33', 15k lb, big everything RV?
1. It's a challenge, never worked on anything this big before.
2. Familiarity: It's not a whole lot different than working on a car, so the principles are the same.
3. It's new to me.
4. I saves me a bundle doing it myself.
5. Chassis (engine-suspension-frame) parts are accessible, I can even sit up under it, it does not need to be lifted up so I can get underneath.
6. It has 40 major systems, 140 total components, that need to be checked periodically, I can fix/replace.
7. I have the tools, knowledge and the time.
8. I look for potential problems before they get out of hand or get expensive.
9. It get's me out of El Paso. I can take a bike so I can ride on less familiar roads.
10. It's a potential: get rid of the expensive house, costing $10k per year to maintain. And yes the RV is even more expensive to maintain/operate.
11. It keeps me busy. I have 20-30 male friends but do you think I can get anyone to ride during the week?
12. I now have every service manual for all of the 40 major systems on either paper or .pdf files.
There is a copy in the RV.
13. Linda likes RV'g too. We will be going to Garland, IL, WI, MN and Nat. Parks this summer. Our daughter in law is due her first child in June.
14. It's a moving house, large enough to live in, get's decent gas mileage, won't have to listen to neighbor's dogs, or look at the same view once the non-moving house is gone.
15. We can bring it back to El Paso for family and medical for in network reduced rates.

IS THAT ENOUGH REASONS I would rather work on the RV over a CAR?

DIY

Yesterday Linda's mother car, a GM product, a 2000 Lumina, had the check engine light on. I think you all know what I think of GM "junk" products....
We brought it back to our house. I put a OBD II code reader on it. 2 codes came up. One was the EGR valve was not functioning. The 2nd was more important, it was the temperature gauge was none functioning also. I'm more knowledgeable than most on cars. If the temperature is not high enough the EGR won't function too. These 2 will turn on the Check Engine Light.
I hate working on cars anymore. The engines are in so tight and so many of the parts to be replaced you have to remove several other parts to get to them. Then these other parts get destroyed leading to more problems. And this was the case on the coolant temperature sensor that was bad after just 73k miles/10 years.
The OBD II code reader was $100. I've used it on 4? cars now. Shops charge about$50 to read the codes. So I'm now about $50 ahead.
It's a license to steal if you don't have one. Take it to a shop and say " The Check Engine Light is On, fix what's wrong" and they will soak you. Take it to a shop and say " replace the coolant temperature sensor only" and that's all they will can do.
It was $150 including a oil change. I figured at our local Firestone service center it would be $2-300!
I've been doing this type of thing for 45 years. I try to do all my own work. I don't do transmissions, roofs, floors, engine overhauls, etc. anymore. I'm sure it have saved me $100k by now.
I bought a Honda Accord Jan 07. To date it has been in the shop "0" (ZERO!) times. It has needed oil changes and tire rotations only. Why would I work on someone else's car when I don't want to work on my own car? Also there's not enough Thank You's or money (I don't need) for the time spent, cussing, busted knuckles, hurt shoulders and back leaning over. Wrong parts at the auto parts counter is another bitch I have. And there's always the potential for a accident or doing it wrong and having to start over...
Advice I will give... I will show you how to do it. I'm a good teacher/supervisor.
But working on the big A** RV is another thing, go figure....