Getting Ready To Hit The Road

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Wow…I can’t believe that we have been here in Apple Valley for nearly 3 months! We were supposed to spend the winter working at a KOA in Texas. We were so looking forward to it and loved the area and the folks. 10 days into our position we received a phone call…Terry’s 80 yo mother had fractured her back, falling off the roof. (Don’t even ask … we won’t go there!!!!) We explained the situation to our employers and hit the road for So Cal. Four days and one blow-out later, we arrived.

We own an RV lot in a resort in Apple Valley, CA that we bought 8 years ago. Both Moms live here as well as our son and family and we knew that at some point we would have to spend time here. We have used the lot very seldom, maybe 8 months total in 8 years, but we are glad we have it. We have been sitting here, trying to stay busy and not fret, but it is hard. His Mom was released for the Dr a week ago, so now we can start making tracks for ID.

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First Aid kit - How to pack one for hiking.

Today I want to talk about First Aid Kits, more specifically ones to carry hiking. First aid kits are like common sense — everyone thinks everyone else should have some. But it seems no one wants to do it themselves! But seriously, a first aid kit does not have to be huge to take hiking. The name says what it is to be the “first” aid rendered maybe not the last, if things are serious. There are several good hiking first aid kits out there. You can do a search on Dog Pile and find hundreds of pre-made kits on line, or you can go to places like REI, Camping World, Cabelas or Bass Proshop and find several. Heck, even Walmart has first aid kits.

But what I want you do to (as in may of my articles!) is THINK. Can a mass-produced kit ever be perfect for you? I would say maybe, IF you have no special needs. But what I want you to think about is do you have any special needs? For example, where do you hike? A person who stays within a mile of the road is going to need a different kit than the one who is going to climp Mount Rainer. Let us explore some other problems that might require a special kit. . .

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On the Trail…in Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston captivated us as few cities have ever done. We were in the area and thought we’d stop for a few days; we ended up staying for weeks. There is so much history here, so much beauty, and some of the friendliest people we’ve ever met.

Some of the beauty is man-made, such as the Arthur J. Ravenel Jr. bridge spanning the mouth of the Cooper River. This bridge is part of U.S. Highway 17, the major north-south route through the city. This particular picture was taken in late afternoon from a pier on the edge of the historic district.

FRED, DP, IFS, IRS, PB&J, What’s It All About Alfie?

We the people of this planet tend to talk in jargon. We tend to look for cutsie ways of saying something in plain english. Text messaging is a prime example of this.

Well in the RV community we short cut all the time. A 5ver, a fifth wheel trailer. That is an easy one. the 5th wheel trailer has become the high end norm in the towed industry because the 5th wheel trailer places the weight of the trailer and all of it’s applied side forces right over the rear wheels. A TT which is the term for a travel trailer hangs the weight and the forces well behind the rear wheels and at the very back of the vehicle. This can cause a sway to be magnified by the distance behind the rear wheels that the trailer is attached.

DP, is a diesel pusher. This chassis places the diesel engine at the very rear of the rig and is called a push because the engine is mounted backwards and it drives the rear axle that is located in front of it. One plus for the pusher is that the drive shaft is usually shorter and less prone to vibration. Also a lot cheaper to make. The DP moves the engine noise to the back of the rig and is usually a heavier rig and provides improved handling. The problems are that it is next to impossible to use ram air to cool the engine radiator so that it must run a huge power robbing fan.

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Overnight RV Parking at Flying J

The Flying J Truck Stop (the company calls them “Travel Plazas”) sign is familar to nearly everyone who travels on major highways in North America. With small beginnings in 1968 (four locations), the company has grown to have more than 250 locations in the USA and Canada. Catering primarily to long-haul truckers, Flying J goes beyond the usual truck-stop services of fuel, food and showers to offer such things as banking, bulk-fuel programs, fuel cost analysis, truck fleet sales, insurance and wireless Internet connections.

Flying J has also recognized the RVing market. Most (but not all) of their Travel Plazas provide dedicated fueling lanes for RVs, including both gasoline and diesel fuel. Often there’s also a dump station. Most locations are equipped to refill RV propane tanks, and many RVers use Flying J’s paid Wi-Fi service. Flying J also offers RVers a complimentary “Real Value Club” card, which gives cardholders a small discount on fuel.

In general at Flying J, trucks are trucks and cars are cars and never the twain shall meet, and RVs generally count as cars there. This satellite view of the Flying J at I-5 and SR 12 in Lodi, CA clearly shows the separation between the auto (lower) and truck (upper )areas. I’ve been told by both clerks and managers at more than one Flying J that the company strongly prefers that RVers needing diesel fuel should fill up at the RV pumps on the automobile side of the Travel Plaza, not on the truck side. Trucks are their major business, and they want to devote the truck side of the operation to trucks.

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Hydraulic or Air Leveling?

There are three popular automatic coach leveling devices found on diesel pusher type coaches, hydraulic, electric and air. Today, though, we will look at only the hydraulic and air systems. Some motor coaches come equipped with air level only or hydraulic only. Others have both as standard or as an available option.  We will look at HWH’s hyraulic automatic level and Hadley Air offerings only. Here is how each operates.

The HWH hydraulic automatic leveling system can be manually or fully automatically employed. The keypad allows manual chassis air down activation and manual extension or retraction of the jack rams. The jacks are controlled in four pair choices, both front, both rear, both right side or both left side. Additionally, all can be unloaded and retracted simultaneously at the touch of one button.

 

To operate automatically, press the “on” button twice. This will cause the red acquisition light on the keypad to start flashing. The coach will first air down, followed briefly by the automatic deployment of the first jack pair. In turn, the other jack pair will lower and adjust. The system will now quickly level the coach and will automatically shut the system down.

 

The Hadley Automatic Air leveling can not be manually employed. It levels only in the automatic mode. To properly level the coach requires the engine to be operating so that sufficient compressed air can be used as needed. Pressing the “SLS” button followed immediately by the “Set” button will cause the system to initiate the automatic leveling sequence. During this, the forward to back and side to side light indicators will flash orange until they are level, at which time they will turn green and stop flashing. Should the ground be such that the system is unable to complete leveling as the angle is out of range, the light indicator(s) will stop flashing but remain orange. The “Up” and “Down” arrow buttons are not used in the leveling feature. They are used to temporarily adjust the height of the rear or entire coach at or below a speed of 8 MPH or so. This function is not, however, part of our comparison, as generally this is not found on all similar air leveling systems.If you could have either, which would you choose? For comparison purposes, let’s look at the pro’s and con’s of each. We will use HWH hydraulic and Hadley Air as the selected subjects.

Hydraulic  (HWH Automatic)

Pro

• Relatively fast set up.
• Solid base with no swaying in wind or walking around within the coach.
• Automatically lowers coach via air prior to hydraulic extension.
• Can be manually operated.

Con

• Can damage asphalt surfaces.
• Can cause rust stains on pad surfaces.
• Can freeze to the ground in cold weather, making it very difficult to spring retract.

Air  (Hadley S.A.M. Air level)

Pro

• Leveling friendly to all asphalt or pad surfaces.
• Can operate without issue in freezing temperatures.

Con

• Requires the engine to run during set up (about 2 minutes).
• Coach is not solidly based and is subject to rocking and swaying on occasion.
• May need to recharge air system during extended stays.
• Can not be manually leveled .

My coach happens to be equipped with both HWH and Hadley leveling. I find I use air leveling only for those one night stops, that is, providing we don’t have to use the washer or dryer. The use of the laundry machines, with a slight off center load, can cause substantially more coach dancing than on solid jacks. For destination camping, or extended stays, I always select the hydraulic system. So, if I could only have one, which would it be? Hands down, it would be the hydraulic. In my last coach I had only hydraulic. For those one night stands I merely aired right down to the stops. That worked well, no complaints. But, folks with different camping needs or vastly different environments, may well prefer the air only feature. So, I guess there is no real right answer here. It’s really up to each owner or purchaser to choose which may be best to suit their needs.

Still On The Straight And Level        Lug_Nut

The Economy, The Cost of Oil and the RV Industry

I don’t know what your thoughts are regarding the economy, but it has been on my mind lately. I suppose that there are not many people that don’t have some worries. Read more

How Can I Take Better Pictures?

This is one of the most requested subjects for an article I have received, both here at the blog & in classes I teach. It is a tough subject because there is no concrete answer. But, since so many have asked, I’ll give it a try.

First question? Do you really mean it? It is very easy to get so carried away with all the rules, techniques, equipment, etc that taking pictures ceases to be fun. If your reason for taking pictures is to record your kids growing up, help remember trips, keep relatives informed about where you are & what you are doing, don’t get carried away with improving things. It is easy to become obsessive about the process of obtaining better technical images, and killing the joy of the get together or trip. When you notice your significant other groaning when you take out the camera, it is a sign you are overdoing it!

That said, read on for some suggestions:

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Fill ‘er up: Will that be ethanol or switchgrass, sir?

Gasoline. Diesel. Bio-diesel. Ethanol. E10. E85. Compressed air. Hydrogen fuel cell. Switchgrass. Miscanthus. Reclaimed cooking oil. Plug-in electricity. Lithium-ion batteries. Which of the above will not be the preferred source of fueling our RVs in a decade? If you said gasoline, you are right. At least in its present, unadulterated form.

Already some states (CA, MN, and others) require ethanol to be mixed with gasoline to reduce both the emission of greenhouse gasses (GHG) into the atmosphere and also to reduce our demand for foreign oil from unstable countries. As the price of oil rises, the urgency to develop (read: venture capital) alternate sources of energy heats up.

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On the Trail…in Bryce Canyon National Park

It’s hard to go wrong in southern Utah if you’re in search of the spectacular. Drive east Utah Highway 12, for example, a 130 mile road that starts just north of Zion National Park and ends at the gate to Capitol Reef National Park. Along the way it crosses Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument and Bryce Canyon National Park. The road itself is more spectacular that places in other states that have achieved national park status.

Bryce isn’t particularly large as national parks go. In fact, you could see all the roadside stuff in an afternoon if you hurry. However, what you see from the road is only going to whet your appetite. I took this picture not far from my parked car, standing on the rim of the canyon looking down one of the trails people use to access the canyon floor by either foot or horseback. Several trails lead down into the canyon, accessed from various points along the rim. Another trail more or less follows the rim. The latter is nice for the views and for the fact that you don’t have to climb back out of the canyon.

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