Nikki J
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Adventures in Yellowstone: Spring 2021
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KevinM
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I had a bad feeling that the generator might have been one of your problems, Steve, and I do have an idea what was going on. Again, damn, just....damn. We were so lucky because we have a huge driveway and were able to park our coach at home. I could spend a couple of weeks before our trips checking everything out.
I remain astounded at your willingness to tackle tasks like a generator oil change, Steve. I can’t wait for the next installment. Kevin
I remain astounded at your willingness to tackle tasks like a generator oil change, Steve. I can’t wait for the next installment. Kevin
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So far, I have told you about the week or so leading up to our departure for Yellowstone. I have left out quite a few things that happened along the way. So what I have described so far are just the highlights of preparing to leave.
I will pick up the story on Saturday morning, the day we were supposed to leave. My wife and I had already decided that we would try to make the trip happen, but that we could only do what was physically possible. We were not going to stress out over having to postpone or cancel the trip. But, we were not going to give up unless and until it was obviously impossible to depart on Saturday. That was easier said than done, but that was how we both approached the situation.
So, we got up late Saturday morning. We were both tired and really needed the rest. Then, we packed the motorhome in record time. My wife did an amazing job. Due to my health issues, I require a special diet, meaning that we must take all the food I need. We had prepared the food ahead of time, but we had to fit a month's worth of food into the relatively small refrigerator/freezer in the motorhome.
We also had to pack our two adorable cats. We did all that and were ready to depart by 1:30pm. We considered delaying until the next day, but I reasoned that even if we could only make it a few hours, we would be that much closer to Yellowstone. So, we started what would turn out to be a very eventful drive. I was driving the motorhome and my wife was following in the wheelchair van.
We had reservations at an RV park just south of Boulder, Wyoming. We have driven the route many times, so I was very familiar with the roads. I knew that most of the route was on narrow, winding two-lane mountain roads, with only about 100 miles of the entire journey on interstate highways.
Everything was fine for the first 40 miles of the trip, and then we encountered the first sustained uphill stretch. Kevin gets full credit for predicting what would happen. The engine started to hesitate and cut out. I suspected it was a fuel starvation issue, but I did not have anyway to seriously diagnose it at the time.
As we continued the drive, the engine would start missing anytime it was under a load. There were many uphill stretches. I had to downshift and go up some of those sections at very slow speeds (15 miles per hour). After hours of this, we finally made it to the first significant city, Craig, Colorado, which was about 120 miles from home.
Craig is not a major city. There is no place to have a diesel engine looked at there, especially on a Saturday. At this point, I was debating what we should do. Should we return home and arrange to have the engine looked at the following week? Should we drive to a town that had a diesel shop, spend Sunday resting and then have them look at it on Monday (or whenever they could get to it)? What to do.
I finally decided that we should keep pressing on. We would be passing through a town large enough to have several diesel shops and if things went really badly, we could just wait there until they were open and could fit us in.
Selfishly, I had not confessed to my wife that the motorhome was having engine problems. Later, she admitted to wondering why I was going up the hills so slowly
.
After having a very late lunch (dinner) at Craig, we headed out toward Creston Junction, Wyoming. This route takes us through over 90 miles of very desolate country. There is one small town (Baggs, Wyoming) about halfway there.
Unfortunately, there was significant road construction on this route! After travelling about 30 miles, we came to a complete stop. The road surface had been removed and the road had been replaced with a temporary, one-lane dirt road. This had significant sections of uphill grades, of course.
As we were stopped waiting for our turn to go, I finally radioed my wife and confessed that the motorhome had been having engine problems. The engine problems had only gotten worse. I could only use about 1/8 to 1/4 throttle before the engine would start to cut out.
As we made our way through the 10 mile temporary road, my wife was amazed that the motorhome made it. Many sections were soft sand and the wheels would sink in significantly. I tried to keep momentum going and was able to make it through.
We continued on our journey and reached Creston Junction, Wyoming just before dusk. Creston Junction is not a town. It is just a junction. The only thing there is a small store that sells fireworks. This is where our route joined up with an interstate highway, I 80.
So far, we had been on back country roads that had very little traffic. In contrast, I 80 is a major east west corridor and is crowded with trucks. We would need to go 85 miles on I 80 to reach Rock Springs, Wyoming, the largest town we go through on our way to Yellowstone. I was not at all comfortable trying to drive with a lot of high speed traffic in a motorhome that was having the problems ours was having.
I pulled the motorhome over on the shoulder at Creston Junction and my wife and I discussed what we should do. This was the first time we had cell phone coverage since we left Craig, Colorado.
Finally, we decided it was time to call roadside assistance (provided through our insurance policy). They were very kind and patient. Based on where we were and the situation they described, they told us the only thing they could offer was to have us towed the 85 miles to the Cummins dealership in Rock Springs (coincidentally, our motorhome has a Cummins engine).
That dealership would open on Monday and we would have to wait there until they could fit us into their schedule.
Our motorhome id 38 feet long and has a Gross Vehicle Weight Restriction of over 44,000 pounds (20,000 kilograms). Towing such a large motorhome is not a trivial undertaking. Towing it 85 miles seemed a bit over the top.
So, I said I would try to make it to Rock Springs without the tow, and if things got worse I would call back and request the tow.
Fortunately, most of the route from Creston Junction to Rock Springs is downhill. I made it onto the interstate and very, very slowly built my speed up to about 55 miles per hour. The speed limit was 80.
We made our way to Rock Springs, encountering about 10 miles of construction that reduced westbound traffic (us!) to one lane. Unfortunately, I did not have much of a choice but to hold everyone up as I poked along. Fortunately, the speed limit in the construction zone was quite low and I was driving the speed limit. No one else wanted to drive that slow, though.
It was dark by the time we arrived in Rock Springs. Thinking that perhaps we were dealing some bad gas, I had intentionally avoided filling up before then and the tank was now less than 1/4 full by.
Since owning our motorhome, I have learned that diesel fuel can grow organic things. This can be controlled by using a biocide, which I regularly add to the fuel tank. Unfortunately, as Kevin surmised, we had not driven the motorhome much during Covid (just that necessary to get it worked on). And, I had not added biocide to the fuel when we topped off the tank a week earlier.
When I stopped to get gas, I added the "shock" quantity of biocide. Interestingly, as I pulled out of the gas station, I did not notice the engine missing. Wow, what a relief.
We had seriously considered stopping short of our planned destination and finding a place to stay in Rock Springs. After that fuel stop, the engine would only miss under a very, very heavy load. It was a significant improvement.
With the engine seeming to run OK, we decided to keep going the next 90 miles to our planned destination at an RV park near Boulder, Wyoming.
One of my wife's former co workers had coincidentally planned to visit Yellowstone during the first week of our trip. They were also staying at the RV park near Boulder, Wyoming that night and we wanted to join up with them if we could.
So, we drove after dark over a two-lane road that has lots and lots of wildlife crossing it (mostly deer, moose, and antelope). We drove carefully and finally approached our destination.
We missed the turn and my wife unwisely followed google map instructions on how to recover from the missed turn. Even more unwisely, I followed my wife. I probably should have stopped at the first turn it had us make. I definitely should have stopped at the second turn it had us make.
That second turn led us onto a dirt road that eventually was a dead end. I had to turn the motorhome around in the dark on an unlit dirt road in the middle of nowhere. By this time, I was pretty darned tired. I did get the motorhome turned around without incident (more by luck that skill) and we went back to the main road. We then took the correct way to the RV park and checked in at 11:00 PM.
Lori's coworker greeted us there. We parked the motorhome, ate a light dinner, and I went to bed, totally exhausted.
That is it for now. I will pick up the story in the next installment.
I will pick up the story on Saturday morning, the day we were supposed to leave. My wife and I had already decided that we would try to make the trip happen, but that we could only do what was physically possible. We were not going to stress out over having to postpone or cancel the trip. But, we were not going to give up unless and until it was obviously impossible to depart on Saturday. That was easier said than done, but that was how we both approached the situation.
So, we got up late Saturday morning. We were both tired and really needed the rest. Then, we packed the motorhome in record time. My wife did an amazing job. Due to my health issues, I require a special diet, meaning that we must take all the food I need. We had prepared the food ahead of time, but we had to fit a month's worth of food into the relatively small refrigerator/freezer in the motorhome.
We also had to pack our two adorable cats. We did all that and were ready to depart by 1:30pm. We considered delaying until the next day, but I reasoned that even if we could only make it a few hours, we would be that much closer to Yellowstone. So, we started what would turn out to be a very eventful drive. I was driving the motorhome and my wife was following in the wheelchair van.
We had reservations at an RV park just south of Boulder, Wyoming. We have driven the route many times, so I was very familiar with the roads. I knew that most of the route was on narrow, winding two-lane mountain roads, with only about 100 miles of the entire journey on interstate highways.
Everything was fine for the first 40 miles of the trip, and then we encountered the first sustained uphill stretch. Kevin gets full credit for predicting what would happen. The engine started to hesitate and cut out. I suspected it was a fuel starvation issue, but I did not have anyway to seriously diagnose it at the time.
As we continued the drive, the engine would start missing anytime it was under a load. There were many uphill stretches. I had to downshift and go up some of those sections at very slow speeds (15 miles per hour). After hours of this, we finally made it to the first significant city, Craig, Colorado, which was about 120 miles from home.
Craig is not a major city. There is no place to have a diesel engine looked at there, especially on a Saturday. At this point, I was debating what we should do. Should we return home and arrange to have the engine looked at the following week? Should we drive to a town that had a diesel shop, spend Sunday resting and then have them look at it on Monday (or whenever they could get to it)? What to do.
I finally decided that we should keep pressing on. We would be passing through a town large enough to have several diesel shops and if things went really badly, we could just wait there until they were open and could fit us in.
Selfishly, I had not confessed to my wife that the motorhome was having engine problems. Later, she admitted to wondering why I was going up the hills so slowly
.After having a very late lunch (dinner) at Craig, we headed out toward Creston Junction, Wyoming. This route takes us through over 90 miles of very desolate country. There is one small town (Baggs, Wyoming) about halfway there.
Unfortunately, there was significant road construction on this route! After travelling about 30 miles, we came to a complete stop. The road surface had been removed and the road had been replaced with a temporary, one-lane dirt road. This had significant sections of uphill grades, of course.
As we were stopped waiting for our turn to go, I finally radioed my wife and confessed that the motorhome had been having engine problems. The engine problems had only gotten worse. I could only use about 1/8 to 1/4 throttle before the engine would start to cut out.
As we made our way through the 10 mile temporary road, my wife was amazed that the motorhome made it. Many sections were soft sand and the wheels would sink in significantly. I tried to keep momentum going and was able to make it through.
We continued on our journey and reached Creston Junction, Wyoming just before dusk. Creston Junction is not a town. It is just a junction. The only thing there is a small store that sells fireworks. This is where our route joined up with an interstate highway, I 80.
So far, we had been on back country roads that had very little traffic. In contrast, I 80 is a major east west corridor and is crowded with trucks. We would need to go 85 miles on I 80 to reach Rock Springs, Wyoming, the largest town we go through on our way to Yellowstone. I was not at all comfortable trying to drive with a lot of high speed traffic in a motorhome that was having the problems ours was having.
I pulled the motorhome over on the shoulder at Creston Junction and my wife and I discussed what we should do. This was the first time we had cell phone coverage since we left Craig, Colorado.
Finally, we decided it was time to call roadside assistance (provided through our insurance policy). They were very kind and patient. Based on where we were and the situation they described, they told us the only thing they could offer was to have us towed the 85 miles to the Cummins dealership in Rock Springs (coincidentally, our motorhome has a Cummins engine).
That dealership would open on Monday and we would have to wait there until they could fit us into their schedule.
Our motorhome id 38 feet long and has a Gross Vehicle Weight Restriction of over 44,000 pounds (20,000 kilograms). Towing such a large motorhome is not a trivial undertaking. Towing it 85 miles seemed a bit over the top.
So, I said I would try to make it to Rock Springs without the tow, and if things got worse I would call back and request the tow.
Fortunately, most of the route from Creston Junction to Rock Springs is downhill. I made it onto the interstate and very, very slowly built my speed up to about 55 miles per hour. The speed limit was 80.
We made our way to Rock Springs, encountering about 10 miles of construction that reduced westbound traffic (us!) to one lane. Unfortunately, I did not have much of a choice but to hold everyone up as I poked along. Fortunately, the speed limit in the construction zone was quite low and I was driving the speed limit. No one else wanted to drive that slow, though.
It was dark by the time we arrived in Rock Springs. Thinking that perhaps we were dealing some bad gas, I had intentionally avoided filling up before then and the tank was now less than 1/4 full by.
Since owning our motorhome, I have learned that diesel fuel can grow organic things. This can be controlled by using a biocide, which I regularly add to the fuel tank. Unfortunately, as Kevin surmised, we had not driven the motorhome much during Covid (just that necessary to get it worked on). And, I had not added biocide to the fuel when we topped off the tank a week earlier.
When I stopped to get gas, I added the "shock" quantity of biocide. Interestingly, as I pulled out of the gas station, I did not notice the engine missing. Wow, what a relief.
We had seriously considered stopping short of our planned destination and finding a place to stay in Rock Springs. After that fuel stop, the engine would only miss under a very, very heavy load. It was a significant improvement.
With the engine seeming to run OK, we decided to keep going the next 90 miles to our planned destination at an RV park near Boulder, Wyoming.
One of my wife's former co workers had coincidentally planned to visit Yellowstone during the first week of our trip. They were also staying at the RV park near Boulder, Wyoming that night and we wanted to join up with them if we could.
So, we drove after dark over a two-lane road that has lots and lots of wildlife crossing it (mostly deer, moose, and antelope). We drove carefully and finally approached our destination.
We missed the turn and my wife unwisely followed google map instructions on how to recover from the missed turn. Even more unwisely, I followed my wife. I probably should have stopped at the first turn it had us make. I definitely should have stopped at the second turn it had us make.
That second turn led us onto a dirt road that eventually was a dead end. I had to turn the motorhome around in the dark on an unlit dirt road in the middle of nowhere. By this time, I was pretty darned tired. I did get the motorhome turned around without incident (more by luck that skill) and we went back to the main road. We then took the correct way to the RV park and checked in at 11:00 PM.
Lori's coworker greeted us there. We parked the motorhome, ate a light dinner, and I went to bed, totally exhausted.
That is it for now. I will pick up the story in the next installment.
KevinM
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No doubt about it, Steve, at that point I would have said “No Mas” and headed home. When I listed some potential issues, those were things we encountered over six years of trips, not all at once! After our experience with debris in the tank and the primary fuel filter, I always carried two extras. Also, when you mentioned you got down to a 1/4 tank, my heart missed a beat. We learned the hard way that even with 25 gallons of fuel, if you park on a steep incline and turn off the engine, it might not start again because the electric fuel pump can‘t pull enough to prime. Oh, the joy of owning fancy, incredibly complex motor homes and boats!
Google screwed us several times, too, usually resulting in one of my loud, cursing mini-meltdowns. Our problem was even worse than yours because we had a tow vehicle, so we couldn’t back up without unhooking. I think I once had to drive forty miles past our missed turn on a shitty road with no place to unhook just to find a large enough area to turn the train around.
I can’t believe you crammed a months worth of food into those Norcold units. After our second year (and many problems) we upgraded to a residential unit. Best upgrade we made. It ran on the inverter, and since we usually limited our dry camping (for folks reading along, that means camping without electric, water, or sewer hookups at the campsite) to about three days at a time, it did fine. We could shut it off at night to save battery power and everything stayed cold until the next day.
The other thing we realized early on was most of the national park campgrounds were built many years ago and the sites weren’t designed for large motorhomes. As much as we would have liked to camp in the heart of the NP as you did an wake up in those surroundings, we found it easier to establish a home base at relatively nearby city or state park, a National Forest campground that could accommodate large coaches, or a nice private park, and use our tow vehicle to visit. Sometimes we would have an hour or longer drive to the NP, but it made life easier. We were big fans of state park and Corps of Engineer campgrounds, but there aren’t too many COE campgrounds out west. I’m glad you were able to find a large enough site In the park.
You‘ve got all of us on the edge of our seat. Author, Author! Kevin
Google screwed us several times, too, usually resulting in one of my loud, cursing mini-meltdowns. Our problem was even worse than yours because we had a tow vehicle, so we couldn’t back up without unhooking. I think I once had to drive forty miles past our missed turn on a shitty road with no place to unhook just to find a large enough area to turn the train around.
I can’t believe you crammed a months worth of food into those Norcold units. After our second year (and many problems) we upgraded to a residential unit. Best upgrade we made. It ran on the inverter, and since we usually limited our dry camping (for folks reading along, that means camping without electric, water, or sewer hookups at the campsite) to about three days at a time, it did fine. We could shut it off at night to save battery power and everything stayed cold until the next day.
The other thing we realized early on was most of the national park campgrounds were built many years ago and the sites weren’t designed for large motorhomes. As much as we would have liked to camp in the heart of the NP as you did an wake up in those surroundings, we found it easier to establish a home base at relatively nearby city or state park, a National Forest campground that could accommodate large coaches, or a nice private park, and use our tow vehicle to visit. Sometimes we would have an hour or longer drive to the NP, but it made life easier. We were big fans of state park and Corps of Engineer campgrounds, but there aren’t too many COE campgrounds out west. I’m glad you were able to find a large enough site In the park.
You‘ve got all of us on the edge of our seat. Author, Author! Kevin
jonico
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I just want to say that I am getting a real charge out the telling of your great adventure Steve, and almost equally, Kevin's responses to it.
Carry on gents... Jon
Carry on gents... Jon
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Kevin, I sure wish you would have been around to advise me from your vast store of knowledge! I think it would have been a lot of fun to go on a trip together!
We did a lot of research before deciding to get a motorhome. One of the criteria was to get one small enough to fit in campgrounds at Yellowstone, the Tetons, and the Grand Canyon. We knew those campgrounds well and even carefully measured a few campsites. Our analysis showed that a 38 foot motorhome would fit, but that a 40 foot motorhome likely would not.
On that front, we have been successful. We have camped with our motorhome at all 3 of those national parks and it has fit in the campsites as we expected it to. It is very tight in the Yellowstone campsite, but it does fit.
I will now pick up the story where I left off.
After a very eventful first day of our trip, we went to bed and slept soundly. We slept in, got up the next morning (Sunday), and got everything ready to leave the RV Park near Boulder, Wyoming.
My spirits were pretty high. We had faced and overcome some significant challenges. The only thing we knew of that was not working correctly was the generator. The motorhome's engine had run fine after putting good fuel in the tank (with biocide) and every other system in the motorhome had been tested and repaired as necessary. It was a beautiful day and we only had to drive about 200 more miles to reach our campsite.
Before we left the RV park, I checked the motorhome engine's oil. I was surprised to find that it was down over a quart. That was unexpected. We added 1.5 quarts to it and made a note to check it regularly.
We headed out and drove the beautiful 75 miles to Jackson, Wyoming. On the way there, we went over the pass at Rim Station, Wyoming, which is at 8,000 ft above sea level. That was a climb of 1,000 feet in about 40 miles. The motorhome behaved very well the whole way. What a relief!
We continued on into Jackson where we filled up with diesel (being sure to add biocide to the tank). We then drove to the Tetons and had lunch at the Teton Glacier View pullout, which has an amazing view of the main Teton mountains.
After that, we kept driving toward the south entrance to Yellowstone National Park, which was another 30 or so miles away.
After entering Yellowstone, we drove over roads that were narrower with many curves. I have done it before, but there are places where I hope not to encounter large vehicles coming the other direction! Most of the motorhomes in Yellowstone are rentals, and some folks driving those rental motorhomes are obviously inexperienced.
We made it though that stretch and continued on to the Old Faithful area. We passed through there without stopping and drove the remaining 16 miles to the campground without much excitement.
We stayed at the Madison campground, which is about 54 miles north of Yellowstone's south entrance. We crossed the continental divide 3 times on that stretch of road. Needless to say, there is a lot of uphill and downhill driving!
We checked into the campground and parked the motorhome in the campsite we had been assigned (which is the one we had requested). After we got the motorhome all set up, I took a well-deserved break!
For most of the drive that day, I had been thinking about what could be wrong with the generator. I decided there was a possibility that it was having a fuel starvation problem, potentially caused by the same bad fuel that was causing the motorhome's engine to miss and sputter the previous day.
I reasoned that if I could run the generator long enough to clear out the fuel lines and draw fuel treated with biocide through those lines (and the fuel filter), the generator might actually run under a load.
Fortunately, the generator has a circuit breaker that can be turned off to remove any load from it. I turned that off and started the generator. It fired right up and seemed to run OK. I let it run for about 20 minutes and then turned the circuit breaker on. The generator handled the load just fine. I turned on various things (air conditioners, etc.) and the generator just kept running. What a relief.
We used the generator several hours each day for our 3-week stay in Yellowstone and it worked great the whole time.
We went to bed early that night and slept very late the next morning. We did not make it out of the motorhome until well after noon the next day!
All my medical equipment worked just as planned. I used the Resmed Astral 150 NIV with its internal battery and had two external batteries for it as well. It is rated for 22 hours of operation that way and it easily got me through a long night of sleep without using any of the internal battery's capacity (it uses the external batteries first, by design).
So, we made it Yellowstone. It had been a challenge, but we were there and I was ecstatic. Of course, this was not the end of our adventures, just the beginning. We still had many more incidents occur during our trip. I will tell more stories in subsequent posts.
Steve
We did a lot of research before deciding to get a motorhome. One of the criteria was to get one small enough to fit in campgrounds at Yellowstone, the Tetons, and the Grand Canyon. We knew those campgrounds well and even carefully measured a few campsites. Our analysis showed that a 38 foot motorhome would fit, but that a 40 foot motorhome likely would not.
On that front, we have been successful. We have camped with our motorhome at all 3 of those national parks and it has fit in the campsites as we expected it to. It is very tight in the Yellowstone campsite, but it does fit.
I will now pick up the story where I left off.
After a very eventful first day of our trip, we went to bed and slept soundly. We slept in, got up the next morning (Sunday), and got everything ready to leave the RV Park near Boulder, Wyoming.
My spirits were pretty high. We had faced and overcome some significant challenges. The only thing we knew of that was not working correctly was the generator. The motorhome's engine had run fine after putting good fuel in the tank (with biocide) and every other system in the motorhome had been tested and repaired as necessary. It was a beautiful day and we only had to drive about 200 more miles to reach our campsite.
Before we left the RV park, I checked the motorhome engine's oil. I was surprised to find that it was down over a quart. That was unexpected. We added 1.5 quarts to it and made a note to check it regularly.
We headed out and drove the beautiful 75 miles to Jackson, Wyoming. On the way there, we went over the pass at Rim Station, Wyoming, which is at 8,000 ft above sea level. That was a climb of 1,000 feet in about 40 miles. The motorhome behaved very well the whole way. What a relief!
We continued on into Jackson where we filled up with diesel (being sure to add biocide to the tank). We then drove to the Tetons and had lunch at the Teton Glacier View pullout, which has an amazing view of the main Teton mountains.
After that, we kept driving toward the south entrance to Yellowstone National Park, which was another 30 or so miles away.
After entering Yellowstone, we drove over roads that were narrower with many curves. I have done it before, but there are places where I hope not to encounter large vehicles coming the other direction! Most of the motorhomes in Yellowstone are rentals, and some folks driving those rental motorhomes are obviously inexperienced.
We made it though that stretch and continued on to the Old Faithful area. We passed through there without stopping and drove the remaining 16 miles to the campground without much excitement.
We stayed at the Madison campground, which is about 54 miles north of Yellowstone's south entrance. We crossed the continental divide 3 times on that stretch of road. Needless to say, there is a lot of uphill and downhill driving!
We checked into the campground and parked the motorhome in the campsite we had been assigned (which is the one we had requested). After we got the motorhome all set up, I took a well-deserved break!
For most of the drive that day, I had been thinking about what could be wrong with the generator. I decided there was a possibility that it was having a fuel starvation problem, potentially caused by the same bad fuel that was causing the motorhome's engine to miss and sputter the previous day.
I reasoned that if I could run the generator long enough to clear out the fuel lines and draw fuel treated with biocide through those lines (and the fuel filter), the generator might actually run under a load.
Fortunately, the generator has a circuit breaker that can be turned off to remove any load from it. I turned that off and started the generator. It fired right up and seemed to run OK. I let it run for about 20 minutes and then turned the circuit breaker on. The generator handled the load just fine. I turned on various things (air conditioners, etc.) and the generator just kept running. What a relief.
We used the generator several hours each day for our 3-week stay in Yellowstone and it worked great the whole time.
We went to bed early that night and slept very late the next morning. We did not make it out of the motorhome until well after noon the next day!
All my medical equipment worked just as planned. I used the Resmed Astral 150 NIV with its internal battery and had two external batteries for it as well. It is rated for 22 hours of operation that way and it easily got me through a long night of sleep without using any of the internal battery's capacity (it uses the external batteries first, by design).
So, we made it Yellowstone. It had been a challenge, but we were there and I was ecstatic. Of course, this was not the end of our adventures, just the beginning. We still had many more incidents occur during our trip. I will tell more stories in subsequent posts.
Steve
KevinM
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Whew! I can take a breath for today after your last post, Steve. So glad everything worked and you settled in to the campsite in good fashion. Of course with your foreshadowing, I’m waiting for the next shoe to drop.
With generator issues it is usually fuel or electrical. I had actually guessed electrical, so i was wrong on that count. We had the exact same thing happen to us once, when the generator would shut down after about 20 seconds the moment the transfer switch kicked in. The solution was so simple I laugh about it now, but I was stressed at the time. I’m sure you probably know these things but I had to learn them since the manual cant account for every detail.
1) make sure your inverter is turned off before starting the generator;
2) make sure both A/C thermostats are in the off position before starting it. We had run the A/C on shore power before leaving a campground and I had forgotten to switch them off. Since they weren’t running, I forgot about it.
We stopped for lunch down the road and decided to run the generator to cool things down, but each time it shut down the moment power kicked in, exactly as you described. But ours wasn’t fuel related, and we had one of those RV “learn as you go” moments.
We discovered that even though the A/C units hadn’t kicked on yet yet because of their 2-minute delay, thus no load, simply having the thermostats in the on position was enough to shut down the generator. After about an hour ruminating over it I figured it out, turned off the thermostats, problem solved. Little crap like that would crop up at least once a trip, and I’d go bat-shit crazy for a couple of hours until I figured it out (or not).
So my image for today is one of you and Lori nestled in your campsite, relaxing after a tense and exhausting few days. Please let me keep that image for while! K
With generator issues it is usually fuel or electrical. I had actually guessed electrical, so i was wrong on that count. We had the exact same thing happen to us once, when the generator would shut down after about 20 seconds the moment the transfer switch kicked in. The solution was so simple I laugh about it now, but I was stressed at the time. I’m sure you probably know these things but I had to learn them since the manual cant account for every detail.
1) make sure your inverter is turned off before starting the generator;
2) make sure both A/C thermostats are in the off position before starting it. We had run the A/C on shore power before leaving a campground and I had forgotten to switch them off. Since they weren’t running, I forgot about it.
We stopped for lunch down the road and decided to run the generator to cool things down, but each time it shut down the moment power kicked in, exactly as you described. But ours wasn’t fuel related, and we had one of those RV “learn as you go” moments.
We discovered that even though the A/C units hadn’t kicked on yet yet because of their 2-minute delay, thus no load, simply having the thermostats in the on position was enough to shut down the generator. After about an hour ruminating over it I figured it out, turned off the thermostats, problem solved. Little crap like that would crop up at least once a trip, and I’d go bat-shit crazy for a couple of hours until I figured it out (or not).
So my image for today is one of you and Lori nestled in your campsite, relaxing after a tense and exhausting few days. Please let me keep that image for while! K
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I want to say a big thanks to everyone who has responded to or liked, etc. my posts about our trip. I want to assure you all that I hope telling this story will bring a bit of joy into the lives of others.
Kevin, we are still new to motorhomes. Every day of every trip is a "learn as you go" moment. I am starting to get a deeper understanding of just about every major system in our motorhome. Some of that education has been a bit exciting at times!
And now to resume the story.
We woke up Monday morning for our first full day in Yellowstone. We had looked forward to this trip with great anticipation and excitement. We had cancelled all our travel for 2020 due to COVID. Our last trip to Yellowstone was in the fall of 2019, which seemed a long, long time ago. That trip was also our first with the motorhome, where we discovered several critical deficiencies that we had spent the last 18 months or so addressing.
The forecast was for good weather for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The forecast was for warmer than normal temperatures during the day with temperatures near freezing overnight. Then, a series of weather systems was supposed to move in bringing wetter and colder weather. No problem for us. We have a motorhome!
I am a bit hard of hearing due to having Meniere's disease. I slept soundly Sunday night and did not notice anything amiss. When we woke up Monday morning, however, my wife reported that she had heard the heater short cycling throughout the night. Rats!
That was the same symptom we had with our heater in our fall, 2019 trip. We had the heater worked on and had thoroughly tested it (or so we thought) before this trip.
So, Kevin gets another point for anticipating problems with the heater. He said "Aqua Hot", which is one of the 3 major heaters used in these types of motorhomes. He was wrong about that, as we have a competing product made by ITR, called a Hurricane.
They are the same basic design. They are hydronic heating systems. Our Hurricane system has a diesel-fired boiler. There is plumbing throughout the motorhome to route antifreeze through the motorhome's big diesel engine, the Hurricane heater's boiler, the water heater, and various heat exchange registers. There is a circulating pump that circulates this liquid when the heater is working OK. For the diesel-fired boiler to operate, a fan must first be started that blows the exhaust out an exhaust pipe.
I spent quite a bit of time reading about and investigating the potential causes of the heater short cycling. A short cycle is when the boiler tries to fire, and then shuts down after a few second or minutes.
I was able to read an error code and watch the pattern of how that error code was displayed. This led me to conclude that the most likely culprit was that the exhaust fan's motor was wearing out, causing it to have too much resistance. The safety systems in the heater did not like this, so would shut the diesel-fired boiler down.
The safety would only shut down the boiler when the voltage dropped below about 12.7 volts. So, when we were running from shore power or the generator, it would work fine. If we ran it for the first half hours after completely charging our house batteries, it would also work fine. Unfortunately, it would not work when we needed it the most, which was overnight when we were not allowed to run a generator. Of course, I had not considered that it might be sensitive to voltage, so, before we left home for this trip, had only tested it when we were connected to shore power or running the generator.
During that week, the predicted weather system arrived and temperatures dropped. We had snow, hail, sleet, and a bit of rain. The temperatures were well below freezing overnight. I was quite concerned about the various water lines in the coach freezing and causing significant damage.
We were allowed to run the generator from 8 AM to 8 PM. We would try to get back to camp at 6 PM each day, fire up the generator, run the heater, and get the motorhome heat soaked. We would then turn everything off at 8:00 PM, hoping the water lines would not freeze overnight. Then, we would get up the next morning at 8:00 AM to turn on the generator and the heater once again. Ah, the joys of camping in a motorhome.
On Friday we drove our van the 14 miles from the campground to West Yellowstone for my wife to attend a Yoga class with an instructor she really likes. There is no cell phone coverage or WiFi at the Madison campground, But, in West Yellowstone, I had good coverage. I was able to do a bit more research and then call the manufacturer of our Hurricane heating system.
Our motorhome is 19 years old and the manufacturer has long since discontinued the Hurricane system, replacing it with the Oasis model. I was not hopeful the manufacturer would be able to provide much help with our older system.
To my surprise, the phone was answered by someone with deep knowledge of our system! Even better, he agreed that my diagnosis was likely correct. Surprisingly, they had a replacement fan motor on the shelf and could ship it that day.
Based on our conversation, there were a few other things I needed to check out before being certain that the fan motor was the problem. So I foolishly decided to do a bit more diagnosis over the weekend and place the order on Monday.
I called back on Monday and was told that they had actually sold the last of those motors earlier in the day! Rats again. So, I left my information with them to give me a call when they got one in stock.
It was the end of that week (our second of three weeks in Yellowstone) when I was finally able to place the order. By that time, it made sense to just have the motor shipped to our house rather than getting it shipped to us on the road.
We had a 10 day stretch of cold, wet weather. Most nights during those 10 days the temperatures were significantly below freezing. We missed out on a lot of evening wildlife watching so that we could race back to the motorhome and get it heat soaked before 8:00 PM.
Jumping ahead in the story, the Hurricane heater fan motor was waiting for us when we arrived home. We were able to install it without too much difficulty. We have not been able to test it extensively, but with the testing we have done so far it works great!
Steve
Kevin, we are still new to motorhomes. Every day of every trip is a "learn as you go" moment. I am starting to get a deeper understanding of just about every major system in our motorhome. Some of that education has been a bit exciting at times!
And now to resume the story.
We woke up Monday morning for our first full day in Yellowstone. We had looked forward to this trip with great anticipation and excitement. We had cancelled all our travel for 2020 due to COVID. Our last trip to Yellowstone was in the fall of 2019, which seemed a long, long time ago. That trip was also our first with the motorhome, where we discovered several critical deficiencies that we had spent the last 18 months or so addressing.
The forecast was for good weather for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The forecast was for warmer than normal temperatures during the day with temperatures near freezing overnight. Then, a series of weather systems was supposed to move in bringing wetter and colder weather. No problem for us. We have a motorhome!
I am a bit hard of hearing due to having Meniere's disease. I slept soundly Sunday night and did not notice anything amiss. When we woke up Monday morning, however, my wife reported that she had heard the heater short cycling throughout the night. Rats!
That was the same symptom we had with our heater in our fall, 2019 trip. We had the heater worked on and had thoroughly tested it (or so we thought) before this trip.
So, Kevin gets another point for anticipating problems with the heater. He said "Aqua Hot", which is one of the 3 major heaters used in these types of motorhomes. He was wrong about that, as we have a competing product made by ITR, called a Hurricane.
They are the same basic design. They are hydronic heating systems. Our Hurricane system has a diesel-fired boiler. There is plumbing throughout the motorhome to route antifreeze through the motorhome's big diesel engine, the Hurricane heater's boiler, the water heater, and various heat exchange registers. There is a circulating pump that circulates this liquid when the heater is working OK. For the diesel-fired boiler to operate, a fan must first be started that blows the exhaust out an exhaust pipe.
I spent quite a bit of time reading about and investigating the potential causes of the heater short cycling. A short cycle is when the boiler tries to fire, and then shuts down after a few second or minutes.
I was able to read an error code and watch the pattern of how that error code was displayed. This led me to conclude that the most likely culprit was that the exhaust fan's motor was wearing out, causing it to have too much resistance. The safety systems in the heater did not like this, so would shut the diesel-fired boiler down.
The safety would only shut down the boiler when the voltage dropped below about 12.7 volts. So, when we were running from shore power or the generator, it would work fine. If we ran it for the first half hours after completely charging our house batteries, it would also work fine. Unfortunately, it would not work when we needed it the most, which was overnight when we were not allowed to run a generator. Of course, I had not considered that it might be sensitive to voltage, so, before we left home for this trip, had only tested it when we were connected to shore power or running the generator.
During that week, the predicted weather system arrived and temperatures dropped. We had snow, hail, sleet, and a bit of rain. The temperatures were well below freezing overnight. I was quite concerned about the various water lines in the coach freezing and causing significant damage.
We were allowed to run the generator from 8 AM to 8 PM. We would try to get back to camp at 6 PM each day, fire up the generator, run the heater, and get the motorhome heat soaked. We would then turn everything off at 8:00 PM, hoping the water lines would not freeze overnight. Then, we would get up the next morning at 8:00 AM to turn on the generator and the heater once again. Ah, the joys of camping in a motorhome
.On Friday we drove our van the 14 miles from the campground to West Yellowstone for my wife to attend a Yoga class with an instructor she really likes. There is no cell phone coverage or WiFi at the Madison campground, But, in West Yellowstone, I had good coverage. I was able to do a bit more research and then call the manufacturer of our Hurricane heating system.
Our motorhome is 19 years old and the manufacturer has long since discontinued the Hurricane system, replacing it with the Oasis model. I was not hopeful the manufacturer would be able to provide much help with our older system.
To my surprise, the phone was answered by someone with deep knowledge of our system! Even better, he agreed that my diagnosis was likely correct. Surprisingly, they had a replacement fan motor on the shelf and could ship it that day.
Based on our conversation, there were a few other things I needed to check out before being certain that the fan motor was the problem. So I foolishly decided to do a bit more diagnosis over the weekend and place the order on Monday.
I called back on Monday and was told that they had actually sold the last of those motors earlier in the day! Rats again. So, I left my information with them to give me a call when they got one in stock.
It was the end of that week (our second of three weeks in Yellowstone) when I was finally able to place the order. By that time, it made sense to just have the motor shipped to our house rather than getting it shipped to us on the road.
We had a 10 day stretch of cold, wet weather. Most nights during those 10 days the temperatures were significantly below freezing. We missed out on a lot of evening wildlife watching so that we could race back to the motorhome and get it heat soaked before 8:00 PM.
Jumping ahead in the story, the Hurricane heater fan motor was waiting for us when we arrived home. We were able to install it without too much difficulty. We have not been able to test it extensively, but with the testing we have done so far it works great!
Steve
Last edited:
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this has to be the best thread of story-telling we have ever had on this forum Steve! and I agree with everyone, Kevin's responses just bring the story to new levels in between each instalment. Talk about on the edge of the seat!
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Just go back on line. Boy that was fun. Love backroads and could really picture the drive up. On Google maps, by the time I got to Rock Springs, as the next destination, all I had to do was put an “R.” And, your dialogue added the drama! Thanks.
After we “did” Yellowstone/Tetons, years ago, we headed east to Casper via the Wind River Reservation. Had the morning sun on the Wind River Mtns. Really nice. Have you ever taken that route?
And, your dialogue added the drama! Thanks.After we “did” Yellowstone/Tetons, years ago, we headed east to Casper via the Wind River Reservation. Had the morning sun on the Wind River Mtns. Really nice. Have you ever taken that route?
KevinM
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We would have loved to have been there with you two, Steve. Between the two of us, I think we could figure most things out, but frankly you are such a master diagnostician that I am not sure how much help I would have been! Brilliant analysis. My first guess would have been the ignition coil, but that usually prevents the burner from igniting, or at best does it sporadically. The low voltage cut off pointed right where you surmised.
I might have tried to handle it like you two did if I were alone, but my wife is a Miami Cuban who basically goes numb below 45 degrees. I can virtually guarantee that she would have insisted (and I’m being kind here) that we relocate to an RV park within an hour or two of Yellowstone that had shore power. But you two are much hardier, cold weather souls than us wimpy Floridians! Plus, it was just bad luck you had such a long stretch of crummy, cold weather.
i have to say one other thing to your enraptured audience. It took me almost seven years to know our coach inside and out...Steve has done this over two trips, combined with an amazing grasp of how systems work and what to look for. He’s light years beyond where I was after two years.
One other point. For anyone with a passing thought that perhaps the coach Steve and Lori purchased was poorly designed or used substandard materials, let me assure you that Country Coach, the manufacturer, produced some of the best built and most highly regarded luxury coaches of that era until they ceased production in 2009. We had a Monaco of the same era and same basic design, which was also a well built coach, but a step below Country Coach. The sticker prices on those coaches in 2003 and 2004 ranged between $400-$700k, with the Country Coach being at the high end. They were really well built.
Interestingly, one of the first things all of us look for when buying a used car is whether it has low mileage, but that is way down the list when buying a used diesel motorhome. In fact if you look at a 15 year old coach with 10,000 miles, you probably shouldn’t consider it. They were made to be driven, thus keeping gaskets, seals, etc. lubricated, and the many different burner coils and nozzles free of debris and clogs.10,000 miles means it sat in a storage unit or under cover for much of its time, which is not good.
The Cummins or CAT diesels in these coaches are rated for 250-300k miles, so they are usually not the source of problems, other than burning oil, especially in very steep terrain. It’s the “house“ part of the coach that usually has issues, like heating units, slide out motors and seals, and some of the complex electrical systems. I know this sounds a little perverse, but after my initial frustration, I found great satisfaction in solving the problem. Pretty sure Steve has the same attitude.
Keep the story flowing, brother. This is something....K
I might have tried to handle it like you two did if I were alone, but my wife is a Miami Cuban who basically goes numb below 45 degrees. I can virtually guarantee that she would have insisted (and I’m being kind here) that we relocate to an RV park within an hour or two of Yellowstone that had shore power. But you two are much hardier, cold weather souls than us wimpy Floridians! Plus, it was just bad luck you had such a long stretch of crummy, cold weather.
i have to say one other thing to your enraptured audience. It took me almost seven years to know our coach inside and out...Steve has done this over two trips, combined with an amazing grasp of how systems work and what to look for. He’s light years beyond where I was after two years.
One other point. For anyone with a passing thought that perhaps the coach Steve and Lori purchased was poorly designed or used substandard materials, let me assure you that Country Coach, the manufacturer, produced some of the best built and most highly regarded luxury coaches of that era until they ceased production in 2009. We had a Monaco of the same era and same basic design, which was also a well built coach, but a step below Country Coach. The sticker prices on those coaches in 2003 and 2004 ranged between $400-$700k, with the Country Coach being at the high end. They were really well built.
Interestingly, one of the first things all of us look for when buying a used car is whether it has low mileage, but that is way down the list when buying a used diesel motorhome. In fact if you look at a 15 year old coach with 10,000 miles, you probably shouldn’t consider it. They were made to be driven, thus keeping gaskets, seals, etc. lubricated, and the many different burner coils and nozzles free of debris and clogs.10,000 miles means it sat in a storage unit or under cover for much of its time, which is not good.
The Cummins or CAT diesels in these coaches are rated for 250-300k miles, so they are usually not the source of problems, other than burning oil, especially in very steep terrain. It’s the “house“ part of the coach that usually has issues, like heating units, slide out motors and seals, and some of the complex electrical systems. I know this sounds a little perverse, but after my initial frustration, I found great satisfaction in solving the problem. Pretty sure Steve has the same attitude.
Keep the story flowing, brother. This is something....K
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Kevin certainly knows motorhomes. When we were looking for a motorhome, we decided our combination of budget and desire for durability would lead us to buying an older, higher-quality motorhome. If well-maintained, an older motorhome should be pretty trouble free.
We seriously considered the brand and model that Kevin had. It is a wonderful motorhome, for sure. We also looked at other higher-end brands, such as Foretravel, Beaver, and Country Coach. We settled on the Country Coach for a variety of reasons, including the overall quality, its towing capacity (it can tow a full-size van or pickup), size, and features. I think we have a fundamentally good motorhome, we just have not sorted out all the issues yet.
Our use of this motorhome differs from the typical use of this kind of motorhome. We want to camp. That means we are often in a place with no power, water, or sewer connections. This is called boondocking. That forces us to completely rely of systems in the motorhome that have probably not been used much in the past 5 or10 years. However, over the 19 year life of the coach, either by use or age, some of those things have degraded to a point that they do not function properly. We are slowly discovering those items that need to be repaired or replaced. We will get it all sorted out, we just need to use the motorhome more to do so.
When we bought our motorhome, we had a thorough (and expensive) set of inspections done on it. One of the items that came up was that the seals around the front slide out were near end of life and would have to be replaced sometime. We kept an eye on those, and they seemed to be holding up OK. Replacing them is very expensive, because there is a lot of labor involved.
When we had our motorhome in the shop being worked on before our trip, they let us know that it was time to replace the seals around the front slide. This was not a big surprise and we had budgeted for the repair. We told them to go ahead and replace them. Thus, we went to Yellowstone with high confidence that we would have no leaks around the slides.
As I said in my previous post, we had great weather for the first 3 days in Yellowstone. Then, it turned cold and wet. Imagine my disappointment when we woke up one morning and my wife informed me that the carpet around the front slide out was wet. Rats again!
The previous night, we had about 5 inches of snow that had melted down to about 1 to 2 inches of slush. The slush on top of the motorhome was melting and running off the roof onto the awnings over the slides. From there, a surprising amount of the water was making its way onto the top of the slideout (which was extended). From there, it should have drained off the slide top with the new seals preventing any meaningful amount of water from making its way into the coach.
Instead, we discovered that the seal on the top portion of the slideout was significantly too short and that there was a gap of an inch or more at both sides of it. The water was just pouring into the motorhome at these gaps.
We were able to use duck tape (actually gaffer's tape that does not leave any residue when removed) to divert the water away from those areas. This stemmed the flow, but there was still an amazing amount of water inside the motorhome! My wife spent several days periodically trying to blot it out of the carpet.
We had a break in the weather of several hours and the slide out exterior dried out enough so that we could retract the slide. We did so and spent most of the rest of the trip without our large front slide deployed. We could only extend it when we were sure there was not going to be any precipitation.
Jumping ahead to the end of the trip, when we returned home we drove the motorhome to the repair shop (150 miles away). They confirmed the job had been done improperly and redoing it was covered under their warranty. That work is being done now and is almost complete. I am hopeful that we will be able to take a trip in wet weather without significant leaks around a slide.
Steve
We seriously considered the brand and model that Kevin had. It is a wonderful motorhome, for sure. We also looked at other higher-end brands, such as Foretravel, Beaver, and Country Coach. We settled on the Country Coach for a variety of reasons, including the overall quality, its towing capacity (it can tow a full-size van or pickup), size, and features. I think we have a fundamentally good motorhome, we just have not sorted out all the issues yet.
Our use of this motorhome differs from the typical use of this kind of motorhome. We want to camp. That means we are often in a place with no power, water, or sewer connections. This is called boondocking. That forces us to completely rely of systems in the motorhome that have probably not been used much in the past 5 or10 years. However, over the 19 year life of the coach, either by use or age, some of those things have degraded to a point that they do not function properly. We are slowly discovering those items that need to be repaired or replaced. We will get it all sorted out, we just need to use the motorhome more to do so.
When we bought our motorhome, we had a thorough (and expensive) set of inspections done on it. One of the items that came up was that the seals around the front slide out were near end of life and would have to be replaced sometime. We kept an eye on those, and they seemed to be holding up OK. Replacing them is very expensive, because there is a lot of labor involved.
When we had our motorhome in the shop being worked on before our trip, they let us know that it was time to replace the seals around the front slide. This was not a big surprise and we had budgeted for the repair. We told them to go ahead and replace them. Thus, we went to Yellowstone with high confidence that we would have no leaks around the slides.
As I said in my previous post, we had great weather for the first 3 days in Yellowstone. Then, it turned cold and wet. Imagine my disappointment when we woke up one morning and my wife informed me that the carpet around the front slide out was wet. Rats again!
The previous night, we had about 5 inches of snow that had melted down to about 1 to 2 inches of slush. The slush on top of the motorhome was melting and running off the roof onto the awnings over the slides. From there, a surprising amount of the water was making its way onto the top of the slideout (which was extended). From there, it should have drained off the slide top with the new seals preventing any meaningful amount of water from making its way into the coach.
Instead, we discovered that the seal on the top portion of the slideout was significantly too short and that there was a gap of an inch or more at both sides of it. The water was just pouring into the motorhome at these gaps.
We were able to use duck tape (actually gaffer's tape that does not leave any residue when removed) to divert the water away from those areas. This stemmed the flow, but there was still an amazing amount of water inside the motorhome! My wife spent several days periodically trying to blot it out of the carpet.
We had a break in the weather of several hours and the slide out exterior dried out enough so that we could retract the slide. We did so and spent most of the rest of the trip without our large front slide deployed. We could only extend it when we were sure there was not going to be any precipitation.
Jumping ahead to the end of the trip, when we returned home we drove the motorhome to the repair shop (150 miles away). They confirmed the job had been done improperly and redoing it was covered under their warranty. That work is being done now and is almost complete. I am hopeful that we will be able to take a trip in wet weather without significant leaks around a slide.
Steve
KevinM
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Oh, Steve, it’s bad enough when you know something might be on its last legs and you hope you get by for your trip, but it’s another level of frustration altogether when you anticipated an issue and paid big money to have it repaired, then still have it fail because of shoddy repair work. You are also at a big disadvantage because of the lack of nearby, trustworthy RV service centers. If the leaks were into the carpet, it is damn tough to get them dry before mildew sets in. One bad soaking was bad enough, but two? Damn...
I might have mentioned in a post after your 2019 trip that we were fortunate to live in Florida, where there are dozens of good quality repair shops that specialize in luxury coaches. I never cease to be amazed at the number of Prevosts, Newell’s, and Foretravels—all $1 million+—that I pass on the interstate in November and December as all the wealthy snowbirds head south for the winter.
I may have mentioned in your 2019 posts that a major decision in our choice of the Monaco was based on the fact that their main east coast service center, before they were absorbed by a large conglomerate after the Great Recession, was a 3 hour drive from our home. The couple that bought the center from Monaco in 2009 retained all the techs that knew the brand better than any other techs on this coast. They had 45 bays and a campground, so I would make a punch list and spend 2-3 days there getting all the work done. They let the coach owners in the bays to watch every repair, and as such I learned a hell of a lot.
Once you finish with repairs, it might be worth a 2-3 day trip to one of the really nice state parks near your home to troubleshoot before another major trip. Rifle Falls SP, Mueller SP, and Ridgeway SP offer lovely settings and nice campgrounds that have both electric sites and no hookup sites. Our goal was always to escape the heat, and at 9600’ Mueller SP was the perfect respite for us sunburned Floridians.
The slides make a huge difference in space, and I just hate that your main slide had to stay closed for a good amount of your trip. I would have probably come unglued at that point, knowing it was a half-ass repair. K
I might have mentioned in a post after your 2019 trip that we were fortunate to live in Florida, where there are dozens of good quality repair shops that specialize in luxury coaches. I never cease to be amazed at the number of Prevosts, Newell’s, and Foretravels—all $1 million+—that I pass on the interstate in November and December as all the wealthy snowbirds head south for the winter.
I may have mentioned in your 2019 posts that a major decision in our choice of the Monaco was based on the fact that their main east coast service center, before they were absorbed by a large conglomerate after the Great Recession, was a 3 hour drive from our home. The couple that bought the center from Monaco in 2009 retained all the techs that knew the brand better than any other techs on this coast. They had 45 bays and a campground, so I would make a punch list and spend 2-3 days there getting all the work done. They let the coach owners in the bays to watch every repair, and as such I learned a hell of a lot.
Once you finish with repairs, it might be worth a 2-3 day trip to one of the really nice state parks near your home to troubleshoot before another major trip. Rifle Falls SP, Mueller SP, and Ridgeway SP offer lovely settings and nice campgrounds that have both electric sites and no hookup sites. Our goal was always to escape the heat, and at 9600’ Mueller SP was the perfect respite for us sunburned Floridians.
The slides make a huge difference in space, and I just hate that your main slide had to stay closed for a good amount of your trip. I would have probably come unglued at that point, knowing it was a half-ass repair. K
KevinM
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I meant to add that every new post brings me jaw dropping amazement and great joy that you and Lori not only dealt with the grand slam of RV issues, but in spite of that still found time to enjoy the beauty and wonder of two of the most awe-inspiring places on earth. This takes “inspiring” to a whole new level.
Had it been us, my bitching and moaning and gnashing of teeth would have driven my wife to find lodging elsewhere, and very well might have had my campsite neighbors issue a formal complaint. There is a remote possibility I would have seriously damaged our relationship, at least for a couple of months.
I wish I had your personality, Steve. Pretty sure my wife would as well....K
Had it been us, my bitching and moaning and gnashing of teeth would have driven my wife to find lodging elsewhere, and very well might have had my campsite neighbors issue a formal complaint. There is a remote possibility I would have seriously damaged our relationship, at least for a couple of months.
I wish I had your personality, Steve. Pretty sure my wife would as well....K
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