Winter Vacation, 2015-16

ClydesdaleKevin · December 21, 2015, 09:45 PM

Just a little advice about traveling with vape gear. If you are driving with vape tanks that are full of e-liquid and you aren't vaping them, STORE THEM UPSIDE DOWN!!! My tank that I was vaping was fine, and Patti's was fine...but the ones I had in the cabinet that were full started to leak as we gained elevation and then went back down. And my tanks are very high end gear. ALL vape tanks can leak when you go up and down in elevation, especially when the elevation changes are big ones. It causes and change in atmospheric pressure, which is what keeps the liquid in the tank. So store them upside down. I knew this already, but didn't think about it because of all the other important things I am always thinking about and checking while traveling. :)rotflmao

Kev

ClydesdaleKevin · December 22, 2015, 09:06 PM

So today we had a couple of adventures, but nothing we couldn't handle in short order, both by skill for the first one, and by luck for the second one.

We left the rest area in Kerrville, TX around 10am...after I told a lady she couldn't park in front of me because it was a no parking zone AND it was blocking us in. Snooty lady in a Lexus with Texas plates that gave us a dirty look, but did move her car. But that wasn't the first adventure.

We were driving along and all of a sudden we had a single soft backfire...and lost all engine power. I coasted to the side of the road, and Patti held the pups in the back while I troubleshot the problem. Gotta love carbureted engines with no computers!!!

Was there power to the fuel pump relay? Check. Was the fuel pump fuse good? Check. Was the fuel pump running? Check. Was gas getting to the carburetor? Check. So it wasn't a fuel problem.

Was there any spark? Nope. Was any voltage getting to the spark plug wires? Nope. Was 12 volts getting to the coil? Yep. Did the coil look okay? Yep. Did the cap and rotor look okay? NOPE! There was so much arching damage it was ridiculous, both on the cap contacts AND the rotor contacts. There was even a hole burned right through the rotor!

Solution? A couple of years ago, our friend and fellow member here, Froggy1936 (Frank) gave us a whole good set of spark plug wires, cap and rotor and coil, and ignition control module left over from his engine swap on his RV. So they were in my spare parts bin. I went ahead and replaced them all, ignition control module included. I had used enough heat sink grease when I put in a new ignition control module when we bought this rig 4 years ago that there was more than enough to coat the used module. I put it all in, and VROOM!!! Back on the road!

Even if I hadn't have had those parts on hand (which I'll be replacing when we get to AZ), we wouldn't have been stranded...the K5 Blazer's 350 engine uses the exact same HEI ignition system, so I COULD have cannibalized the parts to get us back on the road...but having the parts on hand saved us a WHOLE lot of hassles! Adventure number one literally lasted less than 20 minutes from the time we lost power and pulled over, to the time we were all repaired and back on the road.

Thanks Frank!!! We love you Frank!!! Next time we see you, we are buying you a six pack of your favorite beer, or a bottle of your favorite adult beverage! You rock sir!!!

Incidentally, I did notice some backfiring lately, some flat spots where we lost power, and not as much power as usual...which leads us to the second adventure.

I have never let the RV get below 1/4 tank on the gas gauge, and I usually calculate our MPG as we are traveling. But I didn't bother on this trip since gas is so cheap this year. I typically get 7 mpg.

So we are driving along, and like I said, there was some power loss and backfiring, but it was gradual, and I didn't really notice how bad it was until we broke down and I replaced the ignition components. INSTANT substantial increase in power! That said, it is 311 miles from the Flying J where we gassed up in San Antonio, to the Flying J in Ft Stockton, TX. We have a 60 gallon tank (totally confirmed now Rick...lol!). At 7mpg, we can expect 420 miles on a tank full, right?

Apparently the ignition problems that were gradually getting worse brought our MPG down to around 5mpg (range of 300 miles). And the gauge on the dash ceases to function about a millimeter above the Empty mark, which we didn't know because I have never let it drop below a quarter before gassing up. So yeah...you can mostly guess the rest of the story...lol!

We were just in sight of the town of Fort Stockton...we could even see the gas station signs...and the RV started to sputter and huff. I've been doing this long enough now that I KNEW what it was. We were on fumes! She kept running though, slowly, barely, up the last hill in the breakdown lane...and this is where the luck came in! We actually made it to the exit! Which was downhill...and there was an Exxon station at the base of the exit. And we coasted in still running, but sputtering. Right to the only open gas pump. Of course the only open gas pump was on the wrong side of the RV...but I grabbed my gas can out of the Blazer, filled it up, and dumped 5 gallons into the RV. Full power restored!

We drove the ONE LAST exit to the Flying J, and finished filling it up. It took 56 gallons at the Flying J, plus the 5 gallons from the Exxon. So yes...it is confirmed...we have exactly a 60 gallon fuel tank, plus the extra gallon from overfilling her...lol!

Luck was totally with us though! We actually made it to the gas station on fumes!!! Woohoo!!!

After filling her up, we drove one MORE exit to the Fort Stockton Walmart, where we are now staying the night in their parking lot. Patti went in and bought a few days worth of groceries and whatnot, and we called it a day.

Tomorrow I have to run back into Walmart to get some Christmas presents for the pups and kitty...and then we are driving to the nearest decent RV park, where we will be staying tomorrow night, and through Christmas, departing on the 26th to finish our trip to Safford, AZ. We won't make it to Safford, in time, so we'll celebrate Christmas together in an RV park, rather than on the road.

Fun and adventures were had by all!

Kev

beaverman · December 22, 2015, 09:33 PM

Talk about luck! Sometimes a fella has that proverbial horseshoe firmly implanted the posterior ! :)rotflmao better to be lucky than good I always say, sounds like today was a good day to pick up a lottery ticket !

HandyDan · December 23, 2015, 12:06 AM

Don't you love it when the engine quits and you lose all power to the steering and brakes!
Dan

tiinytina · December 23, 2015, 07:41 AM

We had the exact issue with Gone coming back from Ohio... severe loss of power, sputtering... AFter putting in a new cap and rotor in Ohio and then the iginition control module... turns out damage was done by bad rotor and cap on way out.. we were running on 4 cylinders! New plugs, new wires, a higher end iginition control module. made sure the cap and rotor were still clean etc. Of course then she developed a leak in the gas line directly on top of the tank and no we don't ahve a trap door there... Thus she is up at Brad's garage for a tank drop. may as well do the sending unit etc.... good for another 30 years! LOLOL.. Be well my friends.. and yes extra cap/rotor, wires plugs all in "the bin" too now..

Rickf1985 · December 23, 2015, 09:55 AM

Kev, think about it, no overfill. You used that extra gallon going to the next station. I don't know if I would have chanced that on only five gallons in a sixty gallon tank! Think of how thin of a layer of liquid that is on the bottom of the tank! W%

Your dogbox must be really easy to get off, it takes me almost that long to get my dogbox on and off! I am looking at the box from the Pace Arrow and thinking I may be able to bolt that one in my Winnebago with just a few mods. It is two piece, the flat part of the box on top comes off without having to remove the entire box.

legomybago · December 23, 2015, 10:23 AM

Great description Kev, reminds me of great memories. The ones you never forget!!

ClydesdaleKevin · December 23, 2015, 06:34 PM

Thanks Lego! I try! I have lots of funny stories, but these ones at least were funny and painless.

I wasn't worried, Rick. In Fort Stockton, the exits are literally one right after another. It was less than a mile away, if that. I can get our dogbox off in 1 minute flat...a very good design.

I hear you, Tina! SO glad I can get to the top of my gas tank without dropping it!

Yep Dan. We lost all power to the steering and brakes, but fortunately we were on a slight downhill on a straight road, with a good sized breakdown lane.

Beaverman...I think I really DO have more than my own share of luck! If I ever get another tattoo, it will be a horseshoe on my left buttock...lmao!!!

Kev

ClydesdaleKevin · December 23, 2015, 06:45 PM

We got a lazy start this morning, and then I went into the Walmart and bought a few supplies that Patti forgot, and of course Christmas presents for the dogs and the kitty! And a couple of little presents for Patti to make her smile, and give her a few more to open. All sold in paper bags, which is all the Fort Stockton Walmart is allowed to use.

Fort Stockton has certainly cleaned itself up! There is a citywide ban on selling anything in plastic bags. Fort Stockton used to be littered with them, everywhere...stuck to the brush, stuck to chainlink fences, stuck everywhere and fluttering in the wind. Now everyone has paper bags, and the town that was dying is now a prosperous little town again, and very clean! They did an amazing turn around in a very short time.

I then wrapped all the presents, got the rig ready to travel, and took the pups out for the second time this morning.

We left Walmart, and pulled into an RV park on the west side of town...and there was no one in the office. So we got back on I-10.

And drove all the way to Van Horn, Texas, where we are staying through Christmas at a nice little RV park. WOW was the trip here windy! Crosswinds in strong inconsistent gusts. I think we averaged about 40mph if that. But we made it no problem!

We are all paid up, hooked up, and set up. Its Christmas is Van Horn, Texas!!!

Patti is still feeling under the weather, and is already sleeping. Poor little baby girl.

We'll be leaving here the morning of the 26th after a bit of relaxation. Only 357 miles to go! Only 140 miles until we are out of Texas, and in New Mexico.

Kev

HandyDan · December 23, 2015, 07:36 PM

Do you have earplugs so you can sleep? The trains are quite active at night, or so I hear.
Dan

ClydesdaleKevin · December 24, 2015, 09:59 AM

Several trains have gone by, and they are pretty loud...but we can sleep through anything.

Kev

ClydesdaleKevin · December 24, 2015, 08:31 PM

It was a relaxing Christmas Eve so far, and Patti and the pups and cat are excited about Santa's arrival! The pups like this RV park...there is a large fenced in area where I took them to run and play for an hour or so chasing tennis balls.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Kev et al

ClydesdaleKevin · December 26, 2015, 07:23 PM

Christmas was a beautiful and relaxing day! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Here's another picture of the adorable Christmas Tree Patti decorates so lovingly every year.

Kev

ClydesdaleKevin · December 26, 2015, 07:39 PM

So we left Van Horn, TX this morning, with the intention of driving all the way to Lordsburg, NM. We only had 140 miles left of Texas to go. We made it all the way to the Flying J in El Paso, TX and decided to gas up...and as I was gassing up, I noticed...snow flakes! Like...real snow! And it wasn't all that cold out, but a lot colder than Van Horn.

It was only another 35 miles to the border and the skies didn't look THAT bad...so we decided to make it to at least the Flying J in Anthony, TX.

We made it most of the way, when it really started to snow! This is the first time we ever hit snow while traveling in the RV. Not a bid deal...we have windshield wipers that I just "fixed", right?

Well...we made it most of the way through El Paso and the windshield wipers died altogether in the halfway down position, at about a 45 degree angle. It wouldn't have been TOO big a deal with rain, since we just treated the windshield with Rain-X. But the heavy slushy snow was just sticking to the windshield, and not sliding off! I turned on the defrost, and it helped...but the slushy icebergs that started to slide off the windshield were getting caught up on the stuck windshield wipers! Visibility was getting next to zero!

And then we saw our exit, exit 0, where the Flying J is. We could see JUST well enough to get into the parking lot and into the RV parking slip. Where we will be staying tonight, and as long as it takes for this snow storm to pass.

And its coming down outside, like a blizzard!!!

This is the dog's first time ever seeing snow, and they thought it was interesting, but it isn't deep yet. I'm almost hoping it does get deep by morning so they can play in it...lol!

So here are some gratuitous pictures of our glacier covered windows, and the snow! Its sticking! The trees look lovely! Did I mention that we are on the border with New Mexico, pretty darn close to Mexico itself?

Its a day late, but we have a White Day After Christmas!!!

Kev

Rickf1985 · December 26, 2015, 09:41 PM

I thought you were going to hit that stuff. sucks about the wipers. At least you got out of the south before all hell broke loose there.

ClydesdaleKevin · December 27, 2015, 11:44 AM

So it snowed like heck all night long, and got really cold! Icicles all over the rig. We'll be staying another night at this Flying J before heading West to Lordsburg, NM, which will be our next overnight stop.

Batteries were down to 12.2 this morning, and since we can't really run the solar array with 8 inches of snow on them and more coming down, I fired up the generator and plugged the converter back in to charge the battery banks. The genny did not want to start right up, so I had to go out and coax her into running...but now she's running away like a champ! It takes about 2 hours to bring the batteries up to a full charge once they get down to 12.2.

And the pups LOVED the snow! They thought it was the neatest thing they have ever seen! Happy pups!

The Wave 8 heater kept the rig toasty all night long, even set on low. Gotta love how little propane these things use.

And now, some gratuitous pictures of the snow storm that has us snowbound, and happy puppies frolicking!!!

Kev

Rickf1985 · December 27, 2015, 11:44 AM

Hope all is well, looking at the weather and it looks pretty nasty there.

Rickf1985 · December 27, 2015, 11:45 AM

We both hit send at the same time.

ClydesdaleKevin · December 27, 2015, 11:49 AM

LOL! We are going to hole up here until tomorrow, late morning. Roads should be clear by then, and no ice.

Kev

ClydesdaleKevin · December 27, 2015, 10:56 PM

The sun came out early this afternoon, and melted off most of it. I cleared off the solar panels with our broom, so we had solar charging the rest of the day and didn't have to run the genny any longer. Although I did just fire it up to top off the battery charge for the evening.

The mountains here sure are pretty covered in snow!!!

This Flying J actually has Sam Adams!!! So I'm enjoying a few tonight, and a very pleasant vape!

We'll be hitting the road around noon tomorrow after the temp raises enough to get the ice off the roads. Smooth and clear sailing to the Flying J in Lordsburg, NM, 142 miles, where we will stay the evening tomorrow.

Kev

ClydesdaleKevin · December 28, 2015, 04:44 PM

It was a short and uneventful 142 mile trip today to the Flying J, in Lordsburg, NM. Roads were wet with lots of snow on the sides of the road from Anthony, TX to the other side of Las Cruces, NM...but after that the snow disappeared, the roads were dry, and only mountains were covered in snow.

So we arrived here safely, gassed up, dumped the grey water, filled the freshwater, and parked it for the night. Lots of bright sunshine, so the solar panels are on keeping the batteries charged. And its a good 20 degrees warmer here than in Anthony, TX.

Just 75 miles to go to Safford, AZ...our destination for the next 3 weeks. And then we head the last 120 miles or so to the Arizona Renaissance Festival to begin our work season.

I'm going to enjoy the next 3 weeks off!

Kev

Rickf1985 · December 28, 2015, 08:24 PM

Hey Kevin, Enjoy the next three weeks off! I have not had a chance to get back to that fridge, been running the wife to doctors appointments and it looks like lousy weather tomorrow but I will try again.

DRMousseau · December 28, 2015, 11:50 PM

Gotta luv havin' the skills, tools, knowledge AND PARTS to get ya outa trouble!!! Glad y'all missed the tragic portions of the weather,... and luv that your enjoying the venture in every way ya can.

The northern reaches of the storm are jus skimmin' us now here in N Michigan,... from the 50's of Christmas Day to the below 20 out now!!! Snow and sleet coverin' my tracks from jus an hour ago, and crusting EVERYTHING! And the wind gust are shakin' my home a bit too. But I'm comfy, having jus filled the propane day before Christmas Eve.

I got a bout 12 days yet, till I hit the road for the 1200mi trip southward,... with hopes that any other storm comin' holds off a bit longer.

Drivin' in snow is ALWAYS exciting,.... and having done so for years, it's still jus not my favorite activity. Stay safe out there!!!

ClydesdaleKevin · December 29, 2015, 08:19 PM

A short and uneventful 75 mile trip, and we are safe and sound at the Safford RV Resort, in Safford, AZ. We even have the same campsite number as last year, with a beautiful view of snow covered Mount Graham. Camp is all set up, and we are resting comfortably, about to start the 3 week "vacation" part of our winter vacation...lol!

There was one squirrely patch we hit on Route 70 once we were in Arizona. A shaded patch of road still had some black ice on it, and I could feel the rig slip just the slightest bit...but that was it!

After our 3 weeks here in Safford, we've only got a 120 miles left to the Arizona Renaissance Faire, in Gold Canyon, AZ.

Did I mention they have a hot tub here? A nice one?

Kev

Rickf1985 · December 30, 2015, 10:24 AM

Quote from: ClydesdaleKevin on December 29, 2015, 08:19 PM
A short and uneventful 75 mile trip, and we are safe and sound at the Safford RV Resort, in Safford, AZ. We even have the same campsite number as last year, with a beautiful view of snow covered Mount Graham. Camp is all set up, and we are resting comfortably, about to start the 3 week "vacation" part of our winter vacation...lol!

There was one squirrely patch we hit on Route 70 once we were in Arizona. A shaded patch of road still had some black ice on it, and I could feel the rig slip just the slightest bit...but that was it!

After our 3 weeks here in Safford, we've only got a 120 miles left to the Arizona Renaissance Faire, in Gold Canyon, AZ.

Did I mention they have a hot tub here? A nice one?

Kev

No, you didn't and you really shouldn't have. N:( (NOT what I wanted to say! Have to remain PC)

:)rotflmao :)rotflmao :)rotflmao