Jan. 25, 2012 – San Antonio Freightliner

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This morning we packed up to head down to Pharr for a week with friends.   The coach hadn’t been started since we parked it in October.  When it started, the check engine light was flashing.  We read out the diagnostic code and it indicated a problem with cylinder 3.  Called CoachNet and they got us an appointment at San Antonio Freightliner as soon as we could get there.  It’s about 40 miles from the lot so it took us about an hour as we couldn’t go over 50mph.

We got there about 11:00am and the coach was in the shop at noon.  At 1:00pm the computer showed problem with the number 3 fuel injector.  As some of you may recall, we just had all new injectors installed in October, so this was unexpected, to say the least.  Some additional testing determined it was the injector that had failed.  It will be noon tomorrow before the part can get here from Waco, and since the engine was already opened up, the coach has to stay in the shop.  So we’re at a La Quinta for the night.  They think they can get us on the road tomorrow in time to drive to Pharr before dark.

The only good news in this is that the injector is warrantied by Freightliner so our cost should be minimal, other than the $71 for the motel.

Dec. 9, 2011 – Wildlife in Spring Branch

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This morning while Lorna was out walking Sasha, she saw a young bull grazing across the street in front of Buddy and Mary’s house.  After awhile, he wandered to our next door neighbor’s yard for some green grass and and a drink.  He actually turned the faucet to get more water from the spigot.  Before the owner could get here to pick him up, he wandered back down to the fence and probably through the hole that let him out in the first place.

Oct.-Nov., 2011

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The time since we arrived back in Spring Branch has been busy.  On Oct. 22, Vic and Mo Wexler came to our lot and stayed for 10 days.  At the same time, Don and Mary Ann Nesbitt were here for a couple of days.  We parked them on our neighbors RV site.  The next few weeks were taken up with chores around the lot, Lorna doing her volunteer work at the Bulverde/Spring Branch Library, and just settling in for the winter.  On Nov. 12, Joe and Lynn Grano from Houston came and stayed on the buddy pad for 3 nights.

Ned has also been volunteering at the library helping them with various computer and network related projects that they had been paying lots of money for previously.  With all the computers they have I’m sure there will be work for him to do any time he goes in.

Earlier this month we had DSL internet service installed and put the HughesNet satellite service on suspension until we leave in the spring.  After the fast response of DSL it will be painful to go back to satellite when we leave.

On Tuesday, we had a surprise visit from Jim and Pat Dick, on their way home from work camping at Yellowstone NP to their home base in Florida.  While they could only stay 2 nights, it was really good to see them again.

And how about those Packers?

 

 

 

 

Oct. 8, 2011 – Finally at home in Spring Branch

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After 12 long days of camping at Freightliner, the engine was finally fixed yesterday.  We got out of there around 3:00pm after paying the $6968 bill and headed to Cowtown RV Park in Aledo, about 20 miles.  4 miles from the campground, our Pressure Pro tire pressure monitor sounded an alarm.  The left rear outside tire was losing air, fast.  Normally at 95-100psi, it was down to 60psi by the time we got to the campground.  Got parked and called CoachNet, our roadside assistance provider.  They located a service facility, Wingfoot in Fort Worth, and said a truck would be out in about 2 hours with a new tire, if we couldn’t patch the bad one.  One hour later, Wingfoot service arrived.  He dismounted the tire and removed the 1″ sheet metal screw that had penetrated the tread.  Although he had brought a new tire, we opted to try a patch as the tire would have cost over $500, I’m sure.  About one hour later, the tire was patched, holding air, and mounted on the motorhome.  Total cost, $0!  Thank you, CoachNet.

The tire held up on the 230 mile drive home today and I expect it will hold up indefinitely.  We’re parked on our home site and are watching the sporadic rain showers bringing some much needed water to this area.  I’m afraid it’s not nearly enough, but we’ll take it.  Lorna is catching up on several weeks of laundry and I’m catching up on some computer tasks from a week ago.  We’re going to be stationary for several months, at least.  It may take that long to recover from our unintentionally long trip back from Wisconsin.

Sept. 26-Oct. 3, 2011 – Fort Worth Freightliner

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Last Sunday, the motorhome had a serious problem and we couldn’t go over 45mph driving down from Sunset, TX, to Fort Worth.  On Monday, we limped over the Freightliner and it was determined that our fuel injection pressure pump had failed and would need to be replaced, along with all the fuel injectors and all the engine oil.  As we had an extended warranty that covered us completely, we had Freightliner submit a claim.  After 2 days, on Thursday the warranty company stated that they wouldn’t cover the pump as it was a “100% failure item”.  No such exclusion was listed in our contract but the adjuster began ranting at me on the telephone and actually hung up.  Very unprofessional of him, as I believe he wrote a contract and when a claim was going to cost more than the premium, he made up a bogus excuse to deny it.  We may pursue this through legal channels yet, but right now we will be stuck with the bill, over $7000.  I’ve requested a full refund of our premium and a cancellation of the policy, since they aren’t going to honor it.  It’s now Friday and all that’s been done so far is the top of the engine is open so we can’t move anywhere even if we wanted to.   The service writer told me we should be out of here on Tuesday, 8 days after we got here.

We’re parked at the Freightliner shop with a 15A electrical connection, just enough to run the refrigerator, computers, TV, and keep the batteries topped off.  Until today, it’s been in the 90s and we’ve been running our generator 8-10 hours a day to power the air conditioner.  Oh, we only have one working A/C unit too, and need to get the rear one fixed when we finally get home.

A cold front came through last night, accompanied by a thunderstorm and lots of rain, so it’s cooled off enough that we don’t need the generator any longer.  We only had a half tank of fresh water when we got here, but fortunately the holding tanks were empty.  I found a source of water so we won’t run out of that resource.  I think the holding tanks will be ok until we leave but we’ll need a night at a campground to empty them.  We’ll also need diesel fuel as we’ve probably burned about 20 gallons using the generator and no longer have enough to get to Spring Branch.

September 6, 2011 – Near Des Moines, IA

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We’re at a very nice Corp of Engineers park just north of Des Moines where we’ve stayed several times before to visit with our friend Russ and let the Texas temperatures and wildfires die down. From here, we’ll continue to work our way south, but not very quickly. We expect to be just north of Kansas City, MO, on Sunday.

August 24, 2011 – Boscobel, WI

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We’re parked at a friend’s farm for a couple weeks before heading down to hot, dry Texas.  Lorna drove to St. Paul last Sunday to spend 2 weeks with her grand daughters and family.  I get to just relax and enjoy the hot, humid Wisconsin weather.  Yesterday morning we had a tremendous thunderstorm.  It started sometime around 5:00am and continued until well after 6:00am.  Sasha shook the entire time, she has never liked thunderstorms.  Sure wish we could send some of this rain down to Spring Branch.

Here’s the view from the front porch:

Aug. 5, 2011 – Getting ready to hit the road

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Our time in Milwaukee is coming to a close in just 2 more weeks.  It’s been a typical summer as far as activities, with Lorna doing volunteer work at the Greendale library and tending the new flowers at the yacht club.  Ned worked on the race committee for the Queen’s Cup again and Lorna again sold Queen’s Cup merchandise for the yacht club auxiliary.  We’ve visited with our friends and family, had friends from Arizona stop for 4 days this past weekend, and all of a sudden, our time is just about up.  The weather has been hotter than normal, as it has been in much of the country.  One of our air conditioners failed last month so we’ve been getting by with just the one, and it can barely keep it livable inside on the hottest days.  We will probably wait until we get back to the lot to have it fixed or replaced.

From here, we’ll be heading to Boscobel, WI, to stay on a friend’s farm while Lorna goes to St. Paul to see her grand daughters and family one more time this year.  We’ll be heading south right after Labor Day.  Sure hope it cools down some by then.

June 4, 2011 – In Oak Creek for the summer

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Not much to report for the past few weeks.  We spent a week in Ham Lake, MN, visiting with family members and just catching our breath after our 6 day/6 state trip from Spring Branch.  Memorial Day weekend was in Wisconsin Rapids with more family.  We arrived in Oak Creek on Wednesday, June 1, and will be here until sometime in late August.  Ned has been fighting his annual summer cold since May 29 but is getting better every day.  Lorna is doing her usual cleaning up of the motorhome and truck after the 1700 mile trip.  No photos this time as we didn’t do any sightseeing on the way.

The only notable event on the trip was high water pressure in a campground in Kansas that broke a fitting on our water heater and we had to have that replaced in Ham Lake.  More of a minor inconvenience than a real problem, but it says the motorhome is showing her age (16 years old now).

We have now been on the road for 14+ years.  In that time we have visited 49 states and made lots of friends.  It’s an experience that few people get to enjoy.  We expect to continue doing this for the foreseeable future, although we may spend more time at our lot in Spring Branch.  We have such great neighbors there that it’s hard to leave.

May 16, 2011 – On the way to Milwaukee

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Things have been pretty quiet since our return from Arizona at the end of March.  We did go to a RV Forum rally in Marble Falls, TX, in April to see old and new friends.  Since then, we’ve just been staying put on the lot.  Lorna did paint the shed with another coat of the off white and dark green on the trim.  It looks very nice now.

We’re on our way to Milwaukee for the summer.  This week we will visit 6 states in 6 days, no grass growing under our wheels.  See our itinerary pages for the details, if you’re interested.  We’ll be in Ham Lake, MN, for a week starting this Friday, then on to Wisconsin Rapids on May 27 for 5 days before we arrive in Oak Creek on June 1.  We’ll be there until sometime in late August, enjoying the Wisconsin summer weather and participating in various events at South Shore Yacht Club.