Leak No More!!!

BE

FORE PICTURE

AFTER PICTURE

11:01PM - Thursday, February 9th

The end of a very long day, but you should see the smile on my face.....I purchased the

additional solenoid leveling valves for the suspension/leveling system....there are six in all for

can be detected by human ears. We lowered and raised the coach several times and all is good!

Before Tom got home from work I converted the rear of the coach. Tom McCloud and I sat on his garage floor for several hours disassembling and reassembling the 6 valves. Tom took a picture of everything before we

removed it and began "fixing it", and printed a blowup of it so we would be able see what it

used to look like, where all the hoses went, and where all the wires connected. We started

around 6pm, and finished just shy of 11pm......BUT....now there are no air leaks....at least that2 more fluorescent light fixtures to LED's....3 to go. Also did some more rearranging of things in the trailer.....slowly but surely getting the

storage figured out. The early part of the day was spent driving up to north Phoenix to get the

additional solenoid valves to fix the rear suspension, and rid our lives of air leaks! Tomorrow

several small projects, and then Saturday we will swap out refrigerators. Life is good!

Mesa, AZ

Courtesy parked in Mesa, AZ

T'Bird in the driveway of our friends and coach/trailer on the street

9:30am - Thursday, February 8th

With the help of my friend Tom McCloud we were able to troubleshoot, and solve a number of electrical issues involving the trailer lights, and coach brake lights. About 90% solved. We also worked on a couple of leaking "ride height" valves, and have found a source for replacements locally at a good price, so we'll get on that later today, or tomorrow. Later in the evening Tom spent a couple of hours showing me how to convert my fluorescent ceiling fixtures to LED's. Got one done last night and will begin tackling the others over the next few days. We are becoming so energy efficient!

Heading out to Home Depot in a few minutes to pick up some materials to complete the fluorescent light conversion. I have 13 more fixtures to go!

We are so grateful for the numerous new friends we have made through the NewellClassic.com users website. Tom and Darlene are two of the new friends, and have just rolled out the red carpet for us. We first met them when they were traveling through SoCal and stopped in Newport Beach to visit our other good Newell friends, Michael and George Day, who were spending the summer at Newport Dunes. We then got to know Tom and Darlene better at a Newell rally in Austin, TX and actually spent a few days traveling back home with them. Not only do we have a wonderfully made coach, but the new friendships are an unexpected blessing!

Will write more later today!

11:40pm - Thursday, February 8th

Made a run to Hei Tek in north Phoenix to buy suspension solenoids for the rear air suspension today, along with numerous other stops at AutoZone (replacement bulbs for running lights that had burned out), Home Depot to get things needed to replace our fluorescent light fixtures with LED lights, Radio Shak for 18 gauge stranded wire for the LED installation, Parker Hose Supply for air fittings. We left around 11am, and got back home around 3pm. I was able to replace the cove lights in the bedroom (totalling 8 fluorescent fixtures, each with 2 18" bulbs) with LED's in about an hour's time. About the time I finished up that project Tom, our host, arrived home from work and we promptly began working on replacing the two ride height solenoids. Took a couple of hours, and then we turned the coach back on and it aired up in about 2 minutes....used to take 8-10 minutes! Then we lowered the coach down again to raise it again and 3 and the 4 remaining original solenoids started leaking air....guess they didn't like being jostled and banged around while we replaced the others, so it's back to HeiTek tomorrow morning for 4 more....not going to wait for the 4th to go!

We didn't eat dinner until about 9:30pm, and sat talking and laughing with Tom and Darlene until almost 11pm. Well, it's time to hit the sack....a lot to do tomorrow, and Friday, and Saturday.

Thanks for stopping by!

Our dry camp spot....on solar baby!

7am - Monday, February 6th - Last morning in Indio

Nothing like sunrises in the desert! In a few hours we will pull up anchor again and merge on to I-10 going southeast into Arizona. It has been a week since we departed Rancho Jurupa, and somehow we have not managed to escape the vortex of Southern California, but today, barring an act of God, we should breach the Arizona border before Noon.

We had a wonderful 18 mile trike ride yesterday over to Palm Desert to a small Mexican restaurant for breakfast. The weather was perfect.....light breeze and 74 degrees. Was really great to get out on the trikes and do some distance!

Need to make some small alterations to the trailer interior storage before we put the 'Bird back in position to travel. Will post more later today after we are on the road!

10:30pm - Monday, February 6th

At last we pulled up anchor at around 11am and headed down to the local ARCO to put $200 of diesel in the tank to get us into Arizona where everything is less expensive. We got on I-10 about Noon and set our sights on the Arizona border. We just don't feel like we have "left" anywhere yet because until today we have been within an hour of our home. Our goal today was Mesa, AZ...about 265 miles southeast. Around 2:54pm we approached the Colorado River which is the dividing line between California and Arizona, and wondered if we could break free of the Southern California vortex and bust through the force field that thus far had kept us from really being on the road. Now that we have crossed that border we "feel" like we are finally underway.

Of course Arizona does not observe Daylight Savings Time....thank God, but escaping the nutty State of California means you have to give up something....that something was one hour of time....it was suddenly 3:54pm, not 2:54pm! As darkness approached I noticed the running lights on the trailer were not coming on, so we pulled off the interstate at exit 94 and checked to see what could be wrong. It turns out that the "fix" I did to get the brake lights on the trailer working nullifies the running lights when they are turned on, so I had to cut that splice in order to have the running lights come on. There appear to be several other issues that have developed today with our exterior lights that will have to be resolved tomorrow before we can haul anchor again.

A positive today was that since I replaced the air filter (you remember, that big behemoth!) I have regained power that had been slowly disappearing over the last year....apparently the old air filter was more clogged up than it appeared. Now that the Detroit Diesel is breathing better she is running like a thoroughbred again!

We will be here at our good friend's, Tom and Darlene, home in Mesa, AZ for about 5 days while we install the new refer, and diagnose the wiring issues that have developed in the last week, or so. With Tom's expertise I am sure we will figure it out quickly!

Thanks for stopping by!

I-10 headed southeast

Saturday, February 5th - We unhooked the Newell's umbilical cord around 8:50am, and drove down the hill (Jojoba Hills) to the boondocking area where we "dropped" our trailer when we came into the park on Monday. Today we were going to hookup the trailer, and then, for the first time in a long time, load the T'Bird for travel. As you will recall we spent parts of 3 days reorganizing the "stuff" inside the trailer, which included re-securing a number of items, and getting rid of others. We donated a large bag of clothing to Goodwill in Temecula we knew after a year at Rancho Jurupa we were not going to use. The loading went fine, I had forgotten how tight things can get in that trailer with the car in....haha! We had decided we would drive the 12 miles back to the outskirts of Temecula and find a large parking lot near Stater Bros. (SoCal supermarket chain) to park and check the load inside the trailer for "movement" while Elaine went in and did some shopping. Everything looked good, with the exception that the T'Bird had moved a few inches forward.....this is typical as it seems to find it's own sweet spot, and there is plenty of room in front. So I tightened up the large cargo straps front and rear and we headed on to I-15 which we would take north to CA 60, and then east to join up the I-10 eastbound traffic.

The drive was delightful with temps in the low 70's until we descended into the Coachella Valley where they rose slightly to the high 70's...this is why people flock to this area in the winter. Our destination for the day was Indio, CA where my good friend Claude Banker lives. I have done a number of extended bicycle trips over the years with Claude, as well as backpacking in the Sierra's. Our longest bike ride was 465 miles starting at his home in Indio and heading north through Yucca Valley into the Mojave National Preserve, continuing north into and out of Death Valley, ending at Lone Pine, CA, I kept a blog of this trip which can be found at Mystical Mojave Meanderings. We arrived at Sun City, where Claude lives, around 1:30pm. We are parked down the street from his home about 100 yards where there are no driveways to interfere with....we are a little over 60' long and these lots are not that wide...lol!

The solar panels are tilted toward the southern sky to catch the sun's rays as we are off the grid for two days! We will watch the Super Bowl with Claude and his wife Lindy, then then continue our trek southeast into Arizona on Monday morning.

Sunday, February 6th - Today, before the Super Bowl comes on we'll take a "trike" ride with Claude and Lindy to breakfast, and around town. I'll post some pictures of us on the trikes...you'll get a kick out of them!

Thanks for checking in!

Solar Powered - Day One

7:15am - Got up on the roof as the sun was cresting the local hills and tilted my solar panels for the first time in order to catch the maximum sun exposure. The process took less than 5 minutes. They can be tilted to the passenger side, or to the driver's side. Mike and Lisa (The RV Guy, Inc.) are attending their AGM for this SKP park, and will be back over at our coach sometime this afternoon to complete the installation and to give us a little instruction on the use of our system.

7:35pm - Last night our installer had me turn off the converter/charger so I could monitor our usage during the evening and early morning before the sun came up. We are still plugged in for our major AC appliances (TV, microwave, electric heaters) but everything else is off the house batteries since last night. Tomorrow we will turn on the inverter and start to experiment with the larger appliances to see what our electrical draw will be, and what we can use, and how long. To me this is the fun part. We will get to know our electrical system, and what the possibilities are for living off the grid as much as possible, and how many of our bad electrical habits we can live with....lol!

The sealant was applied this afternoon around 3pm, so we must sit still for another 24 hours before we can move the coach, which means we will not depart SKP Jojoba Hills until Saturday morning.

Elaine and I spent another couple of hours in the trailer securing everything that might come lose and hit the T'Bird. On Saturday, when we leave, Elaine will once again follow me back into Temecula where we will find a large parking lot to check out the interior of the trailer to be sure nothing has shifted, or come lose. If all is good then we will load the 'Bird in the trailer and head to Indio where we will spend a couple of days with an old friend, and take in the Super Bowl. On Monday we will get back on I-10 and head into Arizona....Mesa, AZ specifically, where we will spend a few days with a good Newell friend who is providing our replacement refrigerator, and who will help me install it. After a few days there we are off into Texas.

After we worked on the trailer Elaine did some laundry, and I started washing the coach....first time I have done that in a few years. I say "started" washing the coach, because I ran out of gas after doing the driver's side, back and front. Tomorrow morning the passenger side will be done before the sun gets too high in the sky. We had planned to have it washed before we left Rancho Jurupa, but it was very windy for several days prior to our departure, so it never got washed. I hate driving a dirty coach, so when we leave here on Saturday it will be clean again!

Thank you for stopping by today!

Heaven at 2750' elevation

This Escapees Park is a little slice of heaven......crystal clear winter views, light breezes, a few clouds, and temperatures in the 60's. We are really cherishing our time at this park, and as of this evening we will be here a least one more day than planned. There were a number of issues the last two days that have extended the instllation time, but all were overcome with good solutions, and we are very happy with the professionalism of the installation. Below are a few pictures of the step by step process of installing the solar panels. I will post more pictures tomorrow of the charge controller, and batter monitor.

Panel upside down to be "wired" up.

Panel now wired and attached to the roof.

How the panels are configured

"Combiner" box mounted on side of refer chimney

Cables now plugged into "Combiner" box and power flowing to batteries.

The panels come with tilt bars that can be used to tilt the panels left, or right to catch the sun when it is low in the sky as it is this time of year. Tomorrow the sealant will be applied to the areas where screws were used to attach the panels. By the time we finished hooking up the cabling it was too cold to apply the sealant. So, we will be here until at least Friday afternoon, BUT, frankly, that is not bad duty at all. We love it here and will probably take a bike ride tomorrow, and then finish up securing a few more items in the trailer to be sure nothing falls on, or into the T'Bird.

I was able to diagnose and fix a problem we were having with a brake signal making it to the trailer brake lights, so that was a major accomplishment today.

Life is good, and in another day and a half we will be on our way into Arizona.

Thanks, as always, for stopping by and visiting. We appreciate your interest!

The First Day of the REST of Our Lives

Our site for the next 2 days!

For the first time in one year we woke up to a different view....we are still in parkland, but now it is the hill country of Aguanga, CA. We stayed in the boondocking area of Jojoba Hills Escpaee (SKP) Park....our site, 224, was occupied until this morning. We moved up the hill at 9:30am, and at 10am Mike and Lisa Sylvester arrived to install our solar charging system.

Our view....

And more...

Today they ran all the cabling, and associated wiring for the Blue Sky Charge Controller, and battery monitor. Before they began Mike did a thorough inspection of all the possible routes we could follow, but trying to determine the most direct (shortest) route from the panels to the batteries. We came up with "Plan A" that was acceptable to Elaine and I, and then they began pulling wire. Amazingly, Plan A worked. The wiring was run through the refrigerator "chimney" and into the wire tunnel on the passenger side, through the cabinets on that side, and down the wire chase along the right side of the front windshield, and through the floor into the house battery compartment. Mike and Lisa (The RV Guy, Inc.) are wonderful technicians. They kept us involved in every decision along the way. We are very happy with their professionalism, and expertise. They are certified installers for A.M. Solar, whom we bought out solar panel kit from. A. M. Solar shipped the kit directly to Mike and Lisa here at Jojoba Hills, so everything was here waiting for our arrival.

Mike

Lisa

The "shunt" that will monitor all the in going voltage, and out going voltage.

That's it for today.......this retirement thing is really a lot of work!!! LOL! Thanks for stopping by and sharing our journey!

Tomorrow morning at 8am the installation will reconvene. The actual solar panels will be installed, along with the charge controller and monitor, and by this time tomorrow night we will be officially solar powered!