Home for Family & Repairs

On the way back, we stopped by the New River Gorge and Mammoth Caves National Parks but the government shutdown impacted what we could see and do. The parks were open for hiking and things like that but all the visitor centers and cave tours were shutdown. We were able to view the New River Gorge Bridge from a lookout and see the gorge and we were able to walk down to the historic entrance to Mammoth Cave though only 20 or so yards back in. It was amazing how cool the air was coming out of the mouth of the cave.

We got back into Texas and visited family first and then went to a Grand Design Texas Fall Rally in Kerrville that we had helped arrange this year. It was a lot of fun and if you have an RV, I would suggest you attend a general rally or a specific manufacturer one. There's tons to learn and everyone attending has a lot in common!

Now that we are home, we have taken stock of our trips over the last year and realized we covered over 35,000 miles in 5 trips averaging 7,000 each! We burned up an entire set of tires on both the truck and RV. I guess that's the cost of our kind of travel! We are definitely living up to our motto of "Puttin some miles on it" for sure!

Now, we are settling in to work on some of the maintenance items that have cropped up during the last couple of trips. We had our kitchen slide support bar breaking welds probably due to the weight of the refrigerator on that side. The refrigerator is larger than the standard but came with the rig. That side of the RV is about 700 lbs heavier than the other side so we do what we can to spread the weight out where we can. The fridge, stove, pantry and fireplace/TV are all on that slide and then the master bed, bathroom and battery are all located on the same side adding to the burden. We have to watch our weight very carefully! Texas Custom Coach ordered a replacement but were sent the wrong size and the metal it was made of was so shabby that they decided to fabricate a much stronger bar to handle the extra weight of the refrigerator.

We also found two cracks in the frame just aft of the center hanger for the suspension. They are both small and horizontal so they aren't the really dangerous kind but they do need to be fixed and we are working with Lippert to get it fixed under warranty. We have tires on the RV to replace and while I do that, I'm going to repack the bearings and check the brakes again. They recommend 12K miles or 12 months whichever comes first and I'm now a few thou over the 12K these last two trips though that's based on truck miles not trailer miles.

In addition we have the usual side panels popping off the cabinets flanking the couch that we've fixed twice already! The bathroom sink needed caulking and the kitchen sink cabinet has a door that isn't swinging right. So, as you can see there's always stuff to get done.

On the truck, we needed to check out a "regeneration frequency" engine code and a "perform service" and "service DEF" message on the panel ... as well as new tires. The spare fuel tank pump motor went out while we were traveling. Apparently, sooner or later these DPI pumps get some moisture in the motor that then rusts and refuses to spin. That was a simple repair after some of the rest.

Finally, we are looking at upgrading some stuff as well. We found that the 108 AH lithium battery (twice the power of the lead-acid it replaced) still isn't enough power storage and only barely gets us through one night running the 12V refrigerator and occasional heat fans. Looking to upgrade to a 300 AH battery that will triple that so we should be able to boondock for up to 3 days. Now, the issue is recharging that beast so we are looking to add a DC-to-DC charger that let's the truck charge it while we are driving. We are planning to add 1000W of solar panels also down the road. We're taking a building block approach so we don't overspend. It's easy to dump $20K into a solar system if you aren't careful! it also adds a lot of weight so again, we have to be careful.