Arizona 2019!!!

[Rickf1985]

You can put the biocide in whenever, and yes I am sure it is available at the truck stops although probably a bit more expensive there than off the highway. The air filter, I try to stay away from Fram products, Wix is top shelf and all I use on my stuff in oil filters and fuel filters but Fleetguard is a good brand as far as air filters go. Fleetguard has kept many thousands of trucks alive for many millions of miles with all types of filters.

[Rickf1985]

With the biocide, just follow the directions on how much to add to the fuel on your next fill up. If when you get to Utah and your fuel filter is crappy then keep using the biocide until the filter changes look clean and then you can stop. With your kind of traveling you will not have to worry about algae forming in the tank for the short times you are sitting. One thing you definitely want to add is a lubricity formula at every fill up though since the ultra low sulfur diesel fuel does not have the lubrication that the fuel had when that engine was made. Tyhis stuff is inexpensive and goes a long way. This is what I use in all my diesels. Get a bottle or three and remember to add it at every fill up. Since you are on short notice you can find it at Tractor Supply or any place that has truck supplies.


https://www.amazon.com/Power-Service-3025-Cetane-Additive/dp/B004YYIF6Y/ref=pd_day0_hl_0_8?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B004YYIF6Y&pd_rd_r=9a556089-5882-11e9-9c56-b9e9f5e85b72&pd_rd_w=9Jl8b&pd_rd_wg=2GfHu&pf_rd_p=ad07871c-e646-4161-82c7-5ed0d4c85b07&pf_rd_r=FZQQ81HFAPZC4MPMK8M0&psc=1&refRID=FZQQ81HFAPZC4MPMK8M0

[ClydesdaleKevin]

You can put the biocide in whenever, and yes I am sure it is available at the truck stops although probably a bit more expensive there than off the highway. The air filter, I try to stay away from Fram products, Wix is top shelf and all I use on my stuff in oil filters and fuel filters but Fleetguard is a good brand as far as air filters go. Fleetguard has kept many thousands of trucks alive for many millions of miles with all types of filters.

Thanks Rick!

Napa has an air filter in stock, Napa Gold FIL 6755, and will have a fuel filter in stock by the time I get there, Napa Gold FIL 3242.  They are right near the local Tractor Supply, so I'll look for the Diesel Kleen when I go out to pick up the filters here shortly.  What brand of biocide do you recommend?  Sta-Bil makes one.

Kev

[Froggy1936]

Hi Kev , Good Advice to stay away from Fram Filters . The post about filters did a lot of research . And Fram was the  worst.  Wix and NAPA Were both top of the line . I thoroughly believe in additives Not much experience with diesel though, Except preventing waxing in the cold temps . I would follow Ricks advice as he has a diesel R/V,  They require different maintenance than over the road trucks, Due to long periods of sitting 30 days is long ! Have a safe trip and i hope you see a mileage improvement right away to help offset a $100.00 Air filter   Frank &  Louie

[ClydesdaleKevin]

So I went to Napa about bought the filters and the Diesel Kleen.  Tractor Supply wanted 40 bucks for Biocide, so I decided to shop around, and am glad I did!  O'Reilly's had the same brand (Diesel Kleen Biocide) in the same size bottle for 25.00.  I'll add both the Diesel Kleen and the recommended amount of the biocide to the tank (which holds 80 gallons) at our first fill-up. 

Tomorrow morning I'll install the air filter.  No wonder it was so expensive!  Napa charged me 141.00 for it (it is branded as Napa Gold, but they told me it was made by Wix).  It is HUGE!!!  It is actually a big metal canister with the filter built in.  I think that is why I was surprised by the price:  I had assumed that the big metal canister under our rig was a filter HOUSING, with a replaceable element inside...but nope!  You replace the whole thing.  I hope I get at least 10K miles on this filter for the price...lol!

The fuel filter will stay in my compartment as a spare, in case the biocide starts to clog up the old one...and then when we get to Utah, I'll check the drain bowl and see how clean or dirty the diesel looks...and change it then, even if it looks clean in the bowl.  That filter wasn't cheap either: 30 bucks!

On the way back to camp, I stopped and picked up my friend's weedwacker to mow down the weeds in our camp tomorrow morning as well.

Lots to do!

Kev

[Rickf1985]

The air filter should very easily go 10,000 miles. NAPA used to use WIX for all of their filters, glad to see they still are. Most of the rest of their parts have gone to China. Checking the fuel at Utah will not help, you will have to check the filter itself. You will always get clean fuel out of the drain with the exception of maybe a little water. If the filter is clean you could put it back in but I would recommend putting in a new one but then you know you have a clean tank and unless you get a bad load of fuel you are good for at least 5,000 miles. The only time you will need the biocide after this is if you sit for a couple months and then it is more of a preventative, you put it in before you park and it will protect you until you are moving again. The fuel additive on the other hand should be used on every fill up. The ratio does not have to measured with a cup, just guestimate it, you can't put too much in. Better to have too much than not enough.


Frank, I wish I had a diesel RV! No, My diesel knowledge comes from many, many years of working on them.

[LJ-TJ]

Kev Once upon a time a long long time a go. A very ingenuous ad man wrote and it has stuck with me for ever.  YOU CAN PAY ME NOW or YOU CAN PAY ME LATER. D:oH! Usually when you payed him later it got real expensive. Take it from a 70 year old. Some times you gots to put your big boy panties on and step up to the plate and pay for what you get. Cause if'n you don't trust me it will cost you a hole lot more than you expect. Then you fall into the wood a, could a, should a and now HOLY Shamoly is this going to be expensive. Hm?

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Don't worry LJ-TJ...I'm totally down with spending a little preventative money now to avoid HUGE costs later.  I trust Rick and his diesel knowledge, which is why I went and bought the filter, biocide, and Diesel Kleen additive he recommended today.  If it wasn't for ALL of the gurus on this group, I never would have made it THIS far with gasoline vintage RVs.

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

quote author=Rickf1985 link=topic=14776.msg92174#msg92174 date=1554600374] The fuel additive on the other hand should be used on every fill up. The ratio does not have to measured with a cup, just guestimate it, you can't put too much in. Better to have too much than not enough.

Yikes!  The Diesel Kleen additive you recommended was 14 bucks a bottle, and is only good to treat 100 gallons (our tank is 80 gallons).  So I should just get used to paying an extra 14 bucks at every fill up?  Is there a cheaper place to get this stuff?  It is what it is and I'll take your advice...but dang...lol!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

WOW am I beat!



But we got a LOT done today!   

After I went to town and got the filters and the fuel treatments, I got back to work on building the last run of ballistae catapults, while Patti strung up the oak machines I finished yesterday.  Because there is drying time for glue and wood putty between steps, I kept plugging away at cleaning the shop, bagging up 2 months of debris and garbage in the shop, and staging everything for tomorrow. 

By dark, I was finished staining the last of the catapults and ballistae, the shop is completely broken down, everything we store here is ready to stow away tomorrow, all the garbage and scrap wood is staged to bring to the dumpster tomorrow, everything we carry with us in the Jeep and the RV is staged for the tetris-style load up tomorrow, and I am all showered up.  Sure is dusty here in Arizona!

Tomorrow I'll install the air filter, do all my air pressure and fluid checks, fill the freshwater tank, weedwack our campsite and bring the weeds and all the workshop debris to the dumpster, return my friend's weedwacker, stow everything we store here for the off season in my friend Dave's booth, and then go to town with Patti to do laundry and stock up on road food groceries (we already stocked up on doggo food and kitty food).

Then I'll rinse down the rig, especially the roof and the solar panels, wash the windshield, wash the doggos, take another shower, and drive the RV from our campsite to the outer parking lot.  And then hook up the Jeep so we can leave first thing Monday morning.

Almost done with the hard work!  Utah here we come!



Kev

[Rickf1985]

Sorry! It is much cheaper here. Here is a link to Amazon for the 80 ounce size which will give you 250 gallons worth for roughly 25.00.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001JT1FJ6/ref=dp_olp_new_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=new

[Rickf1985]

Here is my local Tractor supply. Looks like my 80 ounce is the same as what you paid for the smaller size!!!


https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/search/diesel%20Kleen

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Here is my local Tractor supply. Looks like my 80 ounce is the same as what you paid for the smaller size!!!


https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/search/diesel%20Kleen

Yeah...I'll shop around more next time.  And if Amazon is the cheapest way to go, I'll stock up on some in Utah before we head east to upstate NY.

So Rick.  After I have my morning coffee and wake up a little, I'm going to install the new air filter.  Anything I should know before I get started?  Am I going to be surprised by some weird inverted Torx bolts like I was when I changed out the transmission on my Jeep?  LOL!

Kev

[Rickf1985]

Well, I am guessing you got it done by now. It was 75 degrees here today and I spent the entire day cleaning out the garage and the one next to it. FAR overdue!! There was an article in the local paper one time about five years ago. They had an "Expert" on spiders on there and he exclaimed that "there are NO black widows in NJ". Well, I beg to differ, and I really wish I had kept that article because I have them by the hundreds. And yes, I know my spiders. I don't really mind the Black widows but they do keep you aware of where you are reaching. They are not aggressive at all but you don't want to grab onto one by accident.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Well, I am guessing you got it done by now. It was 75 degrees here today and I spent the entire day cleaning out the garage and the one next to it. FAR overdue!! There was an article in the local paper one time about five years ago. They had an "Expert" on spiders on there and he exclaimed that "there are NO black widows in NJ". Well, I beg to differ, and I really wish I had kept that article because I have them by the hundreds. And yes, I know my spiders. I don't really mind the Black widows but they do keep you aware of where you are reaching. They are not aggressive at all but you don't want to grab onto one by accident.

Its all good, Rick!  The install went fairly easily...just big clamps with levers holding the assembly, and some big clamps on either end that used 7/8 inch nuts, and a huge hose clamp on the intake hose.

I ran into one little snag...and that was that the old filter was slightly smaller in diameter than the new filter...and the ABS housing on the intake end cracked slightly getting it over the new filter.  So off to Walgreens I went, and bought some Gorilla Tape. 

While I was at it, I don't know if you remember telling me to make sure I got the intake hose off the exhaust...so I shortened it by 6 inches, which was just enough to raise the intake duct hose safely away from the exhaust.

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Ah...the best laid plans of mice and men...

D:oH! D:oH! D:oH! D:oH! D:oH!

The first thing I did this morning was install the air filter.  The install went fairly easily...just big clamps with levers holding the assembly, and some big clamps on either end that used 7/8 inch nuts, and a huge hose clamp on the intake hose.

I ran into one little snag...and that was that the old filter was slightly smaller in diameter than the new filter...and the ABS housing on the intake end cracked slightly getting it over the new filter.  So off to Walgreens I went, and bought some Gorilla Tape. 

While I was at it, I shortened the intake duct hose by 6 inches, which was just enough to raise the intake duct hose safely away from the exhaust, as it was touching the exhaust before.

Then I took all the trash to the dumpster.

Then I took all my tools and workshop equipment and stowed them in my friend Dave's booth.

Then I played Tetris and loaded up the RV compartments.

After that, I washed the solar panels, rinsed off the roof, rinsed all the Arizona dust off the RV and the Jeep, washed both windshields, washed our porch carpet and welcome mat, disconnected the doggo kennel from the RV (we leave it at our campsite), rolled in the awning (which I also rinsed off), then checked the tire pressures on the RV and Jeep, checked all the fluids...and all the while, Patti was inside cleaning the RV and sorting laundry.

So I weedwacked our campsite and returned the weedwacker to my friend Steve.

By the time everything was almost done for us to leave, it was only 3pm...so we decided to do all the laundry at the local laundromat.  We got back to camp at 5:45pm...and then we made plans to go to the Apache Junction, AZ Walmart to load up on groceries and road food, and we planned to stay the night and leave by 6am to beat the Phoenix traffic.

And those were our "best laid plans" that changed on us.

We got the Jeep hooked up and headed out just as it got dark.

And drove to the Walmart.

I had just kicked off my sandals and we were just about to settle in...when some fat little Walmart manager knocked on the door.  Now bear in mind that we had just finished our shopping and putting everything away, and hadn't been in the parking lot more than an hour.

"Excuse me sir...you can't stay the night here.  City ordinance."  I told him we planned on resting a while before moving on, and he got irritable:  "If you aren't out by midnight, you'll be getting a visit from the police!"  What a jerk!

So off we went!

Our new plan was to just keep driving toward our next show by way of Vegas to pick up I-15 North.  We ended up driving all the way through Phoenix, picked up the 303 Loop North, turned onto Route 60 West...and just as I thought we were going to end up driving another 120 miles to a Flying J on I-40...we saw a rest stop!  And pulled in for the night!

We had climbed out of the valley!  There are actual trees here in this rest stop!  Which is nice, because the Phoenix area is supposed to hit temperatures of 96 degrees tomorrow.

We pulled into the rest area at 12:20AM.

So I would say that this is a win!  Even though we are exhausted!  We'll even get to sleep in a bit tomorrow instead of getting up a 5am to get on the road by 6am.  SWEET!!!



That's it for tonight!  Off to bed soon!

Kev

[Rickf1985]

Wal-Marts are changing. There is one by me that has the same camper in it that has been there for the most part for over a year. He moves around the lot to different areas and disappears for a few days now and then but always comes back. This is what ruins it for the rest of us. And there is a local ordinance that pretty much covers most of NJ about staying overnight on parking lots. This IS NJ after all. N:( N:( W%

[ClydesdaleKevin]

It is a beautiful sunny morning here in Wickenburg, AZ.  The rest stop is actually lovely with lots of trees...but I was wrong about climbing out of the valley yet.  The hills above the rest stop are lined with saguaro cacti and choilla cacti...and the weather report says it will reach 92 here today.

After our morning coffee, we will be headed back to 93N, which crosses onto I-40 West...and our next destination will be the Flying J in Kingman, AZ...only about a 120 mile trip.  It is also supposed to be warm there as well, but we will fill the propane tank and just run the generator to keep the AC going until it gets dark.

On the bright side, our final destination in Ogden, UT is MUCH cooler, with a high of only 68 degrees today.  That is about 700 miles north of where we are right now...lol!

So time to end this chapter!

I'll start a new one, Arizona to Utah, 2019, here in a moment.



Kev

[Froggy1936]

Opps, my error Rick , I thought you drove a Diesel R/V .  With all the required maintenance and cost, and fuel no longer being a bargain. I do not see any great advantage any longer . Frank

[RedneckExpress]

Hey Postman.  I don't really remember the number of views on GoFundMe and have since taken down the campaign since we are all set now.

The sanitation/porta-potty company that services the Arizona Renaissance Festival charges us vendors and participants 65.00 each time they pump out our RV tanks.  Renting a big tank from them is also highway robbery at 400.00 a month plus 150.00 each time they pump out the big tank.  No thank you!  They are a bunch of thieves, but we have no choice if we want to use our own RV bathrooms...and those crooks know it.

Kev

Kevin, gotta get you a large cargo trailer now that you have all that pulling power so can put your shop in the front with all your tools, auxiliary holding tanks so you can use a macerator pump to transfer your waste water onboard the trailer's tank and a garage in the rear to store the jeep in, which you can then turn around and use to tow the trailer into town when the auxiliary tanks are full to use a dump station to empty the waste.