I’m A Happy Camper Once Again!!!!

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 5,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.
Sadly Mary is struggling with health issues. To see the latest about her situation, click here

To view past blogs, scroll to the bottom of this page and use the menu.

I’m currently in my 24th year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click here

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The motorhome is parked at Thousand Trails Lake Minden RV Resort in Nicolaus, California. I’m scheduled to depart here May 9th.

 

If you follow my blog on a regular basis, you know that one of my primary goals is to be in 65-75 degree temps all year long. I’ve lived this way so long that my body has really become acclimated to this temperature range.

 

As a matter of fact Mary used to call me the weather wimp. Whenever it got out of the 65-75 temp range I’d start complaining.  🙂

 

Two days ago, I was an unhappy camper. The normal average high temperature for my current location is 74 degrees. The west coast is currently in an unusual early heat wave with temps running 15+ degrees above normal.

 

I had to air conditioner all set to run at 75 degrees.

 

Instead of starting, I heard two clicks and then an acrid smelling puff of smoke came out of my front ceiling vent. Not good!!!!

 

I tried to get it running. The fan was operating okay, the compressor would attempt to start, but stop after about five seconds. No cooling… not good!!!!

 

 

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

 

Up on the roof I went to investigate. Here’s what the air conditioner shroud  looks like…

 

 

 

 

This is what the air conditioner looks like with the shroud removed…

 

I looked for obvious signs of what might be the problem… no luck.

 

So back into to the motorhome to get on the internet to do some research. After a couple of hours and several YouTube videos later, the problem appeared to be something called a start capacitor which jump-starts the compressor which creates the cool.

 

By then the temperature was in the mid 80’s. Too danged hot to go anywhere or get up on the roof again. Getting on the phone I found the part at an RV dealer in Yuba City, 20 miles distant.

 

By late in the day my weather station was indicting a temperature of 93 degrees!!!! With every fan I own on high, I struggled through a most uncomfortable day.

 

Early yesterday morning I was up on the roof to remove the suspected part. On the door of the capacitor area, was very red letters indicating… Shock Hazard Warning! Discharge capacitors properly. Failure to do so may result in high electric shock which can prove fatal!

 

Fortunately my YouTube videos showed how to do this properly, so I was able to remove the capacitor with no problems. Off to the RV dealer I went. I bought the part for $34.08. It was $20 on Amazon, but it was too danged hot to wait for a shipment.

 

Here’s what the part looks like…

 

 

 

 

It goes inside this compartment…

 

 

 

 

Here it is installed… the black thing closest to the edge…

 

I put everything back together and then it was time for the test!

 

Yes!!!! The air conditioner is working once again!

 

Once again yesterday’s outside temperature was 93 and inside was a comfortable 75.

 

Being somewhat of a tinkerer and assisted by my internet research, I was able to achieve the repair and saved myself some really big bucks!

 

I am a happy camper once again!!!!  🙂

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos.

Forecast for today is sunny and 86 degrees. Too Danged Hot!

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

 

 

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

 

“Let me recommend the best medicine in the world: a long journey, a mild season, through a pleasant country, in easy stages.” –James Madison

 

 

“Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all of one’s lifetime.” —Mark Twain

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2019