The "Smoke Test" Campout

Martha and I went camping Monday of this week to test the modifications, repairs, replacement and additions we've made since last December.

Our campsite this week was Withrow Springs State Park, Arkansas.  We really enjoyed this place. There are only 30 campsites in this park so, should you want to go, book early after school is out and on holidays.

The Trip Wasn't All Roses

In fact the coach is still at the park because the living room slide out once again refuses to close. I have a repair guy that is going to come out to the park with me and look at it and I have printed a .pdf of the repair procedure in case he is clueless. This slide room problem stuff is eating our lunch. It is however, why we decided to smoke test the fixes. Now we just got to get it repaired correctly so that we don't worry about it again.

Here are some photos of our RV, the park and of the woods and hiking trails.  The trails are just gorgeous in the spring.

How did the testing go?  Well.....

Progressive Industries Surge Protector

I was really worried about this one. I'm color blind so wiring has been the bane of my existence since forever.  Originally I wired the SP and found as I went that the colors (as they look to me) didn't seem to be quite right.  According to the wiring diagram there was a red and a green wire (yes, I'm red/green color blind). After I wire the device in line I got to looking and those particular wires were not as prominent as I thought they might be. So, I asked a bystander to verify which was red and which was green. Sure enough, I had them reversed.  So, I rewired again and hoped for the best.  And you know what?  It works as it should.  Phew!!!!

Black and Grey Water Blade Valves

Since we brought our coach home last year I had valve leakage into the clear 90* pipe that our sewage line connects to.  The previous owner kept the cap on the bottom and each time you would hook up the sewer line about a quart of nasty liquid would pour out.  As a result I replaced both blade valves with new ones. No more worries, they close tight.

Black Water Sprayer Supply Line Vacuum Breaker

Three times I tried to make the black water sprayer operate and three times the inside of the bathroom lavatory sink base got cleaned instead of the black water tank.  I did a lot of research and found that this line has a vacuum breaker that prevents siphoning of contaminated water back into the parks water supply system.  Our vacuum breaker was not functioning and water would come out of the vents in the vacuum breaker instead of flowing on into the black tank sprayer.  I replaced the vacuum breaker and I am happy to say all works well again.

Ubiquiti High Power Antenna and WIFI

In order to optimize our possibilities for internet I purchased, set up and installed a Ubiquiti NanoStation Loco M2 and Ubiquiti Air Gateway in our coach. These two pieces of equipment let me used a high powered antenna to located and amplify RV Park WIFI systems to optimize the use of WIFI so that we can enhance our possibility of staying connected in a crowded park. The best part is that the entire system is less than $100 in cost.  I used this tutorial to set up my coaches personal WIFI:

David Bott's Ubiquiti High Powered Inexpensive Park to RV WIFI System 

Cell Phone Signal Booster

Withrow Springs proved to us that communications is needed. We had no cell signal what so ever. This screwed us over because of the slide room problem. We had to travel to the nearest Ozark Mountain top to get a signal to call the repair guy for help.  It might have been more palatable to call from the coach to arrange him coming to help.  Maybe after we pay for another slide room repair we can afford the booster. 

That's all for now, I have a few more photos from Withrow to post but Martha needs to download them before I place them on the blog. 

Tomorrow We Camp - or Will We?

Tomorrow we are camping at Withrow Springs Park in Arkansas. It's only about an hour from our home in Fayetteville. I am anxious to test our surge protector, the sewage valves and dewinterize the coach.

Once again we picked an iffy weekend weather wise but we're going anyway.  I checked our reservations tonight and found them to be flawed.  Arkansas has contracted with "Reserve America" to make their reservations.  I reserved the nights of Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and the reservation confirmation shows Monday and Tuesday nights.  I don't think it will be a problem as only 10 of 41 sites are reserved but just the same I find it annoying that after I talked with a human and made the reservations they still screwed them up.

Screw it, if I have to move to another site to get the reservation I want I'll do it.  I can't wait to get out of the house for a few days.  I intend to take photos and video of our coach and campsite this weekend. Yeah, yeah...I haven't been so good at that lately but things have been hectic for us.

I continue to sell stuff from the house and I am narrowing down what gets sold and what doesn't. Also, on a brighter note my son has now made arrangements to move out ahead of our lease expiration.  He will be taking a lot of our furniture that I thought I might have to sell. This is good because now I know it will be out of the house at lease termination.

The weather is supposed to be marginal with rain and thunderstorms but this park is deep in a valley so we should be ok, but wet, maybe.

Martha and I both need a few days off. I am glad to get the opportunity.  I likely will not be able to update the page until our return because this park has no cell signal. Bear with us and after we return, unload and normalize I will post up and let you know what, if anything, didn't work properly.

I'm Still Here - Not Much To Report At The Moment

We are just about finished getting the camper ready for travel. Yesterday I too a stab at consolidating and organizing stuff in the basement. I tried hard to find places for stuff that actually made logical sense. For instance, hoses near the wet bay but separate from the sewage bay. Tools where I can get to them quickly but away from the areas where lawn furniture, patio rug and BBQ grill are placed.

My bay doors all open like a gulls wing, they swing up. So, before deploying the slides I want to be able to quickly hook up water and sewer as well as throw the patio stuff out of the bays.  Sounds like an easy storage task doesn't it?  Those of you that RV know it's not as easy as it sounds.  In fact storage is a giant jigsaw puzzle. When departing a location you put everything aboard and hope all of those pieces are back where they belong or, "poof" you start over again.

We now have some nice pieces of art placed on the walls on a hook with velcro on the bottom backs to keep them on the wall and from swinging or shifting when we move.   I've slowly loaded what I can into the coach in preparation for our "smoke test" camp out next weekend.  Yes, we're going to try again! This time we'll likely get a tornado. The last reservations at a campground resulted in the first snow of 2017 in NW Arkansas.  Yeah, we're that good.

Before we leave next Saturday afternoon I will need to take on some propane. Our last camp out and my brother in laws was when we last had any in the tank. Once that's done look out Withrow Springs State Park, here we come for a few days.

I know I promised pictures from the coach and I apologize for not having them here but I forgot. I will try not to forget when I go to the coach today.

Surge Protector, Valances, Wall Art, Prop Rods, Dinnerware, Camping Chairs, Camping

Surge Protector

Yesterday I spent about four hours hard wiring my new Progressive Industries surge protector. I didn't take into account just how stout the shore power cord is. It took all these arthritic hands could do to make the necessary connections.  I had one side all done when I realized that I had actually wired reverse of what was called for in the installation instructions. It took about 40 minutes to correct that problem.

At this point I am wired in to only protect the shore power connection. I will do some research and figure out how to install the device to protect from surges from my generator and then change as required. But for now, done with that project.

Valances and Artwork

Since we took down the window valances Martha wanted to add some cheery decor so we have been going through some of our art that's been stored. We came up with three small portraits that are going to be hung in the living area.  We still have three or four places that we place some art but we need to get the coach out, leveled and have the rooms out to see what will work best and where it should go.

Gas Strut Prop Rods

My next project was to replace the gas strut prop rods on my "pegboard bay." My replacements took all of five minutes to install. For those of you who don't know what this item does, it is simply a mini-shock that acts as a hold open device for your bay door, they also raise the door automatically after you unlock and pull on the bay door handle.

New Correlle Dinnerware

In the spirit of shedding old stuff and selling it we purchased some new Correlle dinnerware.  It's lighter and tougher and fits our needs.

New Zero Gravity Chair

We are hard on camping chairs. I have broken two in recent months. Since we had to replace at least one chair we bought Martha a new Zero Gravity Chair.

Camping This Weekend 

In our infinite wisdom we've decided to camp Sunday and Monday night (Martha's days off). Well guess what?  It's going to be below freezing for a week now at night.  Highs in the low fifties and lows around thirty. Typical for us.

The idea is to test the repairs I've made. To see if the black water clean out leaks is truly repaired, to test the black and grey water valves, and to insure the Progressive Industries Surge Protector works properly.

Wish us luck.

Continued Work On The Newmar - Window Valance Removal - LED Tail Light Replacements - Progressive Industries Surge Protector Ordered

Valance Removal

I've been nibbling away at repairs and improvements on our coach.  The other day I asked my regular readers what they thought about taking the factory window valances down. Well the results are in, they've been removed (pictures to follow).  We are people that are not comfortable with ornate decorations and these valances were definitely ornate.

Tail Light bulb replacement to LED 

My rear tail lights were a bit dated. I decided to remove them from the coach so that they could be cleaned inside and out.  I replaced the incandescent's with "Zeta" brand ultra bright LED's.  To this point I have now replaced four of the six light positions and still have two to go (the buggers are $24.00 a pair for 1156's and $29.00 a pair for 1157's).  The old bulbs were standard automotive lighting and were 12 volt 1156 and 1157 lights.  The are being replaced with the LED equivalent lights which will draw 1/10 of the amperage and burn much cooler.  The turn signals and brake lights are 1157's and the running lights are 1156.   The differences in the incandescent's and LED's is startling. I'm pretty sure I will be seen now.

Surge Protector now ordered

The Progressive Industries Surge Protector is now on order. I should get it on the 7th. This unit has a lot of features:

• Over/Under voltage Protection

• Open Ground, Open Neutral & Reverse Polarity Detection

• Open Ground, Open Neutral & Reverse Polarity Protection 

• Accidental 240V Protection

• Miswired Pedestal Indication

• Surge Failure Indicator

• Amperage Meter Display

• Previous Error Code

• A/C Frequency Protection

• Time Delay (136 seconds)

• Adjustable Time Delay

• Thermally Protected

• Built-in Scrolling Digital Display
• Field Servicable with a lifetime warranty

Each unit includes a digital display, scrolling continuously through the power source information: Voltage(s), current, frequency, error code, and previous error code (if applicable). Replacement parts are simply plug-and-play, making repairs quick and easy.  Should the software ever change, EMS owners can receive a free upgrade at no cost.

I think that is a pretty darn good product.  My plans are to install it so that my coach is protected from both shore power and generator power anomalies.

Bay Door Gas Struts

In my vintage Newmar there is a basement bay known as the "Pegboard Bay."  This bay is my catch all for grease, spare oil, spray penetrating oil, silicone spray ect. It also has a peg board that carries various tools and other daily use items.  The gas struts in this bay are kaput.  I ordered a new pair today. They got me again though. $20.95 for the product and $14.50 for shipping. Have I mentioned how much I hate being ripped off on shipping? These buggers weigh just two pounds combined and the company offers no option for USPS only UPS. That sucks. Anyway, they are on the way.

Miscellaneous improvements

Other improvements today were more subtle. I finally found a silverware organizer that will fit in our measly 9" wide drawers and I bought new clear 90* elbow for my sewer discharge. 

What's left?

I need to install a 110 volt outlet in our bedroom for my CPAP.  Currently I am using an extension cord which goes from our dresser at the foot of the bed across the floor to the my side of the bed. It works fine but tends to be a pain when bringing the slides in.  I still need to indentify a circuit that I can tap into for this.  Maybe Harry (a regular reader with the same coach) can suggest a place to get power from the Northern Star bedroom?  How about it Harry?

I will post up when I receive the Surge Protector and also include some photos of what the coach looks like without the valances.