The Great Winter Boondocking Vacation, 2012-2013

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Thanks everyone!  Looks like it will definitely pay off down the road.  We intend to do a LOT more boondocking in our off time, now that we know the system is functioning flawlessly, even without being super stingy with power usage.

We cleared up the internet problem as well...I moved the tablet we use as our internet hot spot to the passenger side of the RV instead of the drivers, and its a good fast signal now.

So yesterday was a nice quiet and relaxing day.  I nearly finished a book about John Wayne I've been reading, "Duke, we're glad we knew you."  We soaked in the hot tubs, and then last evening watched 3 great John Wayne movies, "The Alamo", "Eldorado", and "Chism."  Gotta love the Duke!  Patti's watching McClintock right now...lol!

Late last night the ATVers started showing up, and were riding their 4 wheelers until around 2 am.  And whooping and hollering...lol!  Glad they are only here on the weekends!  Looks like I'll have to dust my solar panels off today, tomorrow, and Monday.  Those guys kick up a LOT of dust!  We'll be hitting up the hot tubs around 11am, so hopefully they aren't full of a bunch of dusty hungover ATVers.

Today I'll also finish up my John Wayne book, and then a whole lot of nothin'.  Vacation is going to be over before we know it, so we are making the most of our quiet time now.

I still have to get around to troubleshooting the genny, but I'll get to it.

Kev

[HandyDan]

Ah, McClintock!  My first date with my wife was to the drive-in theater to see McClintock.  I don't think we saw much of the movie, LOL, but I do remember something about a hat on a weather vane.  Brings back old memories, but not of the movie.   
Soaking in a hot tub sounds pretty good right now.  In fact, you are probably in the tub as I write this, unless the ATVers have monopolized it.  Have fun on the vacation and keep us posted.  Even dull routine stuff is fun reading. 

[ClydesdaleKevin]

LOL Dan!  We got lucky with the hot tubs.  One was filled with screaming kids...apparently the ATVers like to leave their kids at the hot tub while they play in the sand dunes...but the other was empty.  I'd rather have shared it with a bunch of hungover dirt bikers than screaming kids, I tell ya!

Dusted off the panels...they weren't too bad being so high up...then finished the book I was reading.  Cleaned my Henry rifle...just a little dusty and needed a fresh coat of gun oil and the brass polished up a bit. 

And that was pretty much the day yesterday.  Found out my new freshwater tank was still leaking...not sure from where...and must have lost half the water on the way here.  I'll have to pull the tank sometime at the AZ Faire and permanently repair it...probably a polypropylene weld.  Ran out of water in that tank yesterday and switched to the main original tank.

Today it'll be more of the same...just another relaxing vacation day out here in the middle of God's Country!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Decided to drive the Jeep into town (Safford) yesterday to get some more water (15 gallons) since my new freshwater tank leaked out a LOT of water on the way here.  And of course discovered that the rear shock mount I had welded in NY this year gave up the ghost again.  Looks like I'll be searching junk yards and Craigslist for another rear axle...one from Arizona that ISN'T rusted all to heck.

Picked up some groceries and whatnot while there, and made the 32 mile drive back to camp.  Patti stayed home with the pups, and when I got back to camp discovered that our friend Arlene had arrived with her Itasca.  She's a nice lady.

Today is going to be more relaxing, soaking in the hot tub, etc.  Ah, vacation.  It'll be over before we know it!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Not a whole lot yesterday...just the hot tub, playing with the pups, read the genny manual (turns out I have points after all, and a very limited troubleshooting guide in the manual), and then a whole lot more relaxing and doing nothing.  Dusted off the solar panels again.  And watched The Horse Soldiers last night...great movie by the way!

Today...its more of the same...lol!

Kev

[jkilbert]

Kevin,
Instead of burning cash on a new axle for the Jeep. Try Quadratech.com. They have rear shock mounts $30. These are for custom / replacement applications.


John

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Thanks John.  I get most of my parts from Quadratec...great prices and service.  I'll look into it.

I decided to go on a little adventure yesterday, so I drove the Jeep down to the nearest little town called Bowie...and wow, its almost a ghost town itself.  Just a post office and two tiny overpriced general stores.  It looks like it used to be a pretty busy little town, but all the businesses...even the bars...are closed down, with missing or boarded up windows.  So I drove a bit further to see the town of Willcox, which at least had a few gas stations and a supermarket.  Note to self:  Next year, the only town worth going to for supplies is Safford when visiting Hot Wells Dunes...lol!

Today we'll be doing some more relaxing and of course the hot tubs...then I'm going to help our friend Arlene install her solar panel on her roof.  And that is pretty much it.  Tomorrow I'm going to troubleshoot the genny...starting with the coil.

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Installing the solar panel and charge controller on our friend Arlene's rig was a piece of cake...took about an hour or two.  Then I had to fight off an angry swarm of killer bees that decided they were going to defend a glass of rootbeer that Patti left on their porch to the bitter end.  Ended up taking a whole can of wasp and hornet spray to dispatch them.  Good thing I left the driver's side door unlocked...we couldn't get anywhere near the main door until I killed the nasty buggers, and the hornet spray was in the house under the sink.  Aggressive things...they stung Arlene twice a couple of days ago.

Today its going to only be partly sunny all day, and then overcast for the next few days.  Which means we'll have to be pretty sparing with power consumption.  I hope the panels put out enough power when its cloudy! 

I'm going to run some static tests on the genny today...but don't want to do any power tests on it since we are limited on battery power until the sun comes back.

We'll see what happens!

Kev

[joanfenn]

More power to you Kevin

[ClydesdaleKevin]

LOL Joan!

After our soak in the tubs, I came back to camp and took out the garbage, then dumped the pee bottle in the Nature's Head, and then it was time to troubleshoot the genny.

Actually got it to start, but playing around with it killed either the starter, solenoid, or the circuit board...already covered it in another post, so I won't go into it here.  Suffice it to say its gonna more than likely be an involved and expensive fix...grrrrrrrrr...

And that was it!  Even with the clouds the panels are bringing the batteries back to a full recharge.  Back up to 12.6 right now and climbing.

A couple more hours of charging and we should be good to go for the evening.

I'm actually typing on my little netbook computer, which I fully charged some time ago.  This little computer goes over 4 hours on a charge, whereas my main laptop has a bad battery and can't run at all without being plugged in.

Tomorrow?  Hot tubs, relaxing, etc...lol!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Made a trip into town yesterday for water and cigs, and that was pretty much it besides the hot tubs and some movies.

Overcast again yesterday, but enough sun to charge the battery bank back up to full.  Woke up this morning to rain...going to be rainy and cloudy for the next 3 days...but the bank is slowly charging back up from 12.2. 

Good thing I went so heavy on the solar power!  Any less and they wouldn't charge the batteries in these weather conditions.

Heck...I might even want to add a couple of smaller Kyocera panels for next year.  We'll see how she does for the next 3 rainy days.  Worst case scenario I could run the engine for a while, but I don't think we'll have to.

What we've been doing in the rain and clouds is to not use the inverter at all in the mornings.  We charge the laptops and tablet up at night while the inverter is on for a few hours, and then run them off their own batteries in the morning.  That way there is no draw on the batteries while the weak sun charges them.

Its a challenge!  I hope the bank fully charges over the course of the day.  Its pretty bleak outside.

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

So we made the decision that today will be our last day here at Hot Wells Dunes.  Between the overcast conditions and all the rain, its getting pretty boring.

Also, Patti is almost out of bloodpressure meds, and the doc told her she'd need to come in for an appointment if she wanted a refill...damn crooks!  She has enough to last until Wednesday, so we need to be in the Apache Junction area by then.  So we decided to pick up stakes and drive the RV to the Renfaire site tomorrow.  Power, water, a good TV and internet signal...yep.

We'll still be on vacation, just on site.

Patti is looking up local cardiologists now, so she can make an appointment tomorrow when everything opens.

I think we need about another 300 watts of panels to deal with overcast and rainy conditions, especially in the winter months.  The charge controller can handle another couple of panels, maybe some smaller 150 watt Kyoceras.  I mean, if the genny was working, we could run it and the Powermax Boondocker to quick charge on rain days, but it would be pretty nice if we didn't have to.  I'll think about it.  Either way, I'll fix the genny.  I do a more thorough troubleshooting of the beast when we are hooked up to power.

Let me clarify the statement though.  IF we are super careful and don't run the inverter at all in the mornings...and don't turn it on until 5pm...and charge our laptops and tablet up at night while watching movies...AND turn off the inverter at midnight, the system is working remarkably well in the rain and overcast conditions with the winter sun.  Using the power like this, the battery bank reads 12.2 in the morning...and by 5pm is reading 12.5-12.6.  So yeah...maybe I won't add more panels.  We'll just bring more books and board games for our next boondocking trip...lol!

In any event, we'll enjoy the hot tubs today, and tomorrow morning...and hit the road by noon tomorrow.  Only 118 miles to camp, all on back roads, we have 3/4 tank of gas so we won't even have to stop for fuel, and its a pretty drive through parts of the Apache reservation and Tonto National Forest.

Back to civilization!  About 2 weeks more of vacation and relaxing (aside from setting up camp and our pavilion tent), and then its back to work!

Kev

[cosmic]

The great winter boondocking vacation. Heck ya been boondocking a few days. lol.  you sure must have alot of $$$ tied up in all those pannels to be sitting in a pay camp. No??
Was your plan in the begining not to boondock (for free) more? As i have always gone to camp sites i was very curius as to how well you would make out off the grid. With your genny out this must make things harder as well.
Do you have plans to go off the grid again once ya stock up on meds. and hopefully get the genny going again. Or when you travel with the fair or what ever it is you travel for. do you have plug in power? or just stay in parking lots?
Safe travels.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Hey Cosmic,

This year we had an itinerary of things we wanted to do and go see, like San Antonio and Tombstone, but we designed the system and sank a ton of money into the RV so we could boondock a lot more often.  As it happened this year, we spent more time in my sister's driveway than we planned, more time in Louisiana near New Orleans than planned, and the same in San Antonio and Tombstone.  And then we got to Safford with the intention of staying a day or so before moving out to the desert, and we had an unexpected cold snap, where night time temps were down in the low teens.  We stayed almost a week there in a campground waiting for the cold snap to pass, since we didn't want frozen pipes.  I figured out a way to bring heat to the compartment, so we'll implement that plan before next winter.  So we ended up with just two weeks left of vacation to boondock in the desert. 

If we left on Wednesday instead of today, it would be two weeks...a good first test of the system, which aside from the additional water tank having a bad leak worked quite well...and the generator giving us problems, which limits our power usage on multiple overcast and rainy days in a row, which is what we've been getting.

At a Renaissance Faire, which is our next stop in Apache Junction, AZ, we get a campsite with power and water included in our contract fees.  Its the rest of the year...the time in between shows...for which we set up our rig to boondock.

So after this show ends on March 31st, we'll be driving up to the Grand Canyon and boondocking for a couple of weeks at the national forest or BLM lands near it in the month of April.  Then its on to our next faire in Oklahoma for the month of May.  Then we have 2 more months off, which we plan on mostly boondocking through.  Our plans are to see Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, then probably head west to Yellowstone and maybe even the Grand Tetons...boondocking all the way.

This winter's trip was more of a test of the system, to see what was lacking and what had to be addressed.  We now know what the system is capable of, and where its lacking...which is basically just a repair of the freshwater tank, a repair to the generator, and adding a muffin fan to the heater duct system in the sewer compartment to bring warm air to the plumbing from the coach during the winter.

So yep, we did all this to boondock during the off season...spend our money on gas to get places and enjoy them rather than paying campgrounds for hookups and burning through our cash too fast.

Things held us back this winter...fun things...but it was a great success all in all, with very little to fix for the rest of the year's boondocking trips.

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

About to feed the pups, trim my beard, then go down to the hot tubs one last time to clean up and shave...and soak in the awesome hot water.

I already packed up the porch furniture into the Jeep and loaded up the bicycles, checked all the air pressures and fluids, and we're almost ready to hit the road.  I did all that yesterday.  After bathing in the hot tubs, all we'll have to do is warm up the RV, drive it to a flat wide part in the road, hook up the Jeep, and hit the road!  We should be ready to go no later than noon, which will put us at the Faire around 3pm.

It rained HARD in Apache Junction the last few days, so the faire site is pretty muddy...or more like quick sand...lol!  We might have to wait a few days in the parking lot...some more boondocking...until the campground dries up and the ground hardens again.  We'll see.

Now, a totally off topic question about our 1992 Jeep Wrangler YJ.  Anyone have any experience with these?  The reason I'm asking is that the rear axle shock mounts are rusting away (one is broken), and it has significant frame rust that will have to be welded and repaired.

That said, I've been looking on Craigslist, and I can get a similar year YJ with a perfect rust free Arizona frame (there are several listed), lift kits, big expensive tires and rims, etc., for less than 2000 bucks!  Now, for that price, most of them listed have really banged up and dented bodies, or a blown motor or transmission, or both. 

What I'm asking is...how hard is it to change out the tub (body) on a Jeep YJ?  Mechanically and tub wise, ours is perfect, even the interior.  We have less than 67K on the 4.0 inline 6 engine and drivetrain.

My plan would be to buy one of these lifted project Jeeps, then remove the tub, put my engine and transfer case and transmission in the clean AZ frame, then remove the tub from my Jeep, interior and all, and install it on the donor frame.

I know what is involved in the engine and transmission swap, but how hard is it to remove the tub and swap them?  Anyone ever do this before?  Anything I should look out for? 

This would save me a ton of money down the road.  Just repairing my frame and rear shock mounts would cost me almost 2 grand...and then when I eventually want to lift it, call it at least another grand, then a grand in rims and more in tires.

Thanks!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Made it safe and sound to Apache Junction, but didn't make it in time to check in at the office.  So we're out in the parking lot.  Might be here for a couple of days if the site is too wet to drive the RV to the campsite and park it.  No biggie though!

A very strong headwind the whole way, and the total trip was more like 165 miles than 118...forgot to add the distance from Hot Wells Dunes to Safford into my calculations.  And I forgot about the HUGE climb in elevation from Safford to Globe...and then up up up to the aptly named town of Top Of The World, and nearly 5000 feet!  Then more climbing and coasting until finally hitting the town of Superior...and then it was mostly downhill from there.  Still got about 7mpg even with all the climbing and headwinds...driving an average speed of 45mph.  I was expecting better...like the 10 we got from Tombstone to Safford...but I really can't complain about 7 in the conditions we just drove in!  And when I say high headwinds, I mean rocking the rig all over the road, not being able to coast to pick up speed in the winding mountains since the wind made it unsafe, and so strong that if it wasn't a steep decline, coasting downhill the wind still slowed us down.  That strong...lol!  Not bad mileage for all that!

So we didn't get to boondock as things turned out very much this winter, but we had a great shakedown cruise!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

We got camp all set up yesterday (except the awning...gonna leave that up for a while since its not supposed to rain for some time now).

The Faire built a stage in our old spot...so we got moved to another spot, with a new campsite as well.  Hopefully the traffic will be just as good in the new spot!  The campsite is nicer though...we actually have neighbors and its closer to a place to walk the pups.

Patti has her doctor's appointment this morning at 8:45am, so we have to leave soon.  Maybe this doctor can figure exactly WHY she has high blood pressure, since none of the others we've seen could.

Kev

[LJ-TJ]

Gezzzzz Couldn't have anything to do with being married to you could it?  :)rotflmao

[ClydesdaleKevin]

LOL!  Could be!

As the doctor ordered, Patti and I and the pups went for a mile walk yesterday...and then I hopped on my mountain bike and went for a hard 1 hour ride.  MAN that Fat Chance Wicked rides nice!

You have to watch out for the troilla balls though...they sit in the trails like landmines, just waiting to impale your tires or get kicked up by the back wheel and nail you in the back...I skillfully avoided them of course  .

Gonna do it again today...just another day in perfect weather...its still vacation after all!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Another nice walk yesterday and another fast paced solo mountain bike ride...and then Patti was delighted to have all day to do her hair and makeup and whatnot.

Almost scored a free old Banner motorhome yesterday to use as a workshop, but the Faire had first dibs, and they took it...dangit...lol!  Would have been a perfect mobile workshop to use at the faire, and then store here the rest of the year.  The owner said I could have the genny for free, an old Onan CCK series, 4.0 KW, and I thought about it, but when I got back to our rig, our genny turned over no problems...it didn't start, but it turned over vigorously.  I'm thinking my battery bank must have been too low when I tried it last, which made me think the starter was bad.  I'll check it sometime in the next few weeks with a gas can and fuel line to eliminate fuel deliver problems from the equation.

About to go down to the pharmacy and pick up Patti's medicine, then when we get back it'll be another nice walk and a bike ride!

Kev

[HandyDan]

Hey Kevin,
Look what I scored on eBay!  Anybody with a Holiday Rambler knows how rare these are.  There is a "however", though.  The ones on my motorhome are wedge shaped where these are flat.  They still fit and are like new.   Colaws RV salvage charges $35 a lens, when they have them (very seldom).  I got the whole set with shipping for $20. 







And the postlady brought my $.75 book.  This is a cool book.  Well worth the $3.00 shipping costs.  I know what I'll be doing tonight,  When I ordered it, the website said it was hardback, but it isn't.  It's still in excellent shape, though.

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

HandyDan

You mean this book in our CW store?   D:oH!

http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php?action=store;sa=view;id=184

Dave

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Nice score on the lenses and book!  My lenses are also wedge shaped.  Thankfully they weren't too damaged and the epoxy I used should keep them nice for years.  And yep, that book is awesome!  A wealth of information, some of which I tested on our trip out here.  For instance, ideal speed for MPG in a gas motorhome is NOT 55mph.  Its closer to 38mph, taking into account wind drag and gearing.  My fuel economy went from 7mpg to 10mpg by just sticking to back roads (long Arizona back roads with very few towns and stop lights) and staying at right around 40mph.  I have yet to read the rest of the book, which I have on the computer.

Yesterday was a pretty lazy day.  We went grocery shopping, stopped by the gun shop (where I traded in my Bersa .380 on another stainless Ruger Security Six...lol...LOVE those things!...still on layaway for 30 days...I owe another 150), and then came back home and took the pups for their mile walk.  Didn't have time to squeeze in the bike ride before dark.

Today will be a nice long walk with the pups again, and then another bike ride...and I might set up the awning.  Other than that, nothing planned at all.

Kev

[HandyDan]

HandyDan

You mean this book in our CW store?   D:oH!

http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php?action=store;sa=view;id=184

Dave

Yep, that's the one, except I wanted a hardcopy instead of a computer file.  After reading through it, I think it should be a standard item in every motorhome.   However, if you only drive a P-32 based chassis, then quite a bit of the book doesn't pertain.  Same goes if you only drive a Ford or a Dodge chassis.  I don't think I would spend $102 for a hardback edition at Barnes and Nobel, but it is well worth the forum cost for it. 

[cosmic]

I bought that book for .99cents last week on ebay and 4 dollars shipping to my P.O. box in Niagara fall NY.  probably wont pick it up for a month or two but that for that price i couldn't let it pass. glad to here its a good book.