Here’s Hoping…

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 4,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

I’m currently in my 22nd year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click Here

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The motorhome is parked at Mary’s home in Murphys, California. I am scheduled to depart November 27th. While here, I’ll be doing cleaning, routine maintenance and minor repairs to both vehicles.

 

For slightly more than two years I’ve been plagued by an intermittent low power problem with the motorhome. Since it is only an intermittent problem makes it extremely hard to rectify. Of course, it will not act up in the presence of a professional mechanic. No check engine light or scanner codes from the on-board computer adds to the difficulty trying to figure out the problem.

 

When a situation like this arises, you analyze the symptoms and start by replacing the mostly part that might be the cause of the problem. I’ve replaced several parts in the last two years chasing this problem.

 

I’ve long believed the problem is electrical in nature…the hardest to analyze.

 

Yesterday I replaced all eight ignition coils, one for each cylinder……

 

 

 

 

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…

 

 

 

 

They came in eight individual boxes…

 

 

 

 

They look like this…

 

 

 

 

You access the engine through the top of the dog house…

 

 

 

 

A closer look at the top of the engine…

 

 

 

 

You see how they are mounted on the engine…

 

 

For some reason, I’m feeling really good that this will solve the problem. Only time will tell. Here’s hoping…

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos!

Forecast for today is mostly cloudy and 74 degrees.

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

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

There are more than 700 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://get.google.com/albumarchive/110455945462646142273?source=pwa

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 2017

SHOPPING FOR EVERYTHING.

Shopping for everything that  goes into a new house is  pretty daunting. Two days, Jim and I have been at it and we return home tired and hit the sack early after unloading  a car full of boxes.

We go to Spicer’s for lunch, near Lowes. Lowes is our choice because they give a military discount. What a friendly, nice store in which to do business.

But, now that we’ve purchased all of the lighting fixtures except one,  sinks and toilets for kitchen and bath, medicine cabinets, grab bars, towel bars, robe hooks, refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, microwave, and myriad other accoutrements, we have to consider inside doors, curtain rods, carpet and padding, closet doors, shelving,  blinds, composite decking, a solar alarm system. The cabinets and hardwood flooring will be delivered tomorrow. Counter tops in a few days. There is brackets and closet poles and door hinges and stains, and the list goes on and on. For me it is fun in a way, but still daunting details.

My house in Murphys takes a great deal of maintenance. This one is built to reduce maintenance.

Even so, it isn’t easy. Jim likes the simplicity of being a rambler. But this little poem probably fits my life style:

The Example

Here’s an example from
A Butterfly;
That on a rough, hard rock
Happy can lie;
Friendless and all alone
On this unsweetened stone.

Now let my bed be hard
No care take I;
I’ll make my joy like this
Small Butterfly;
Whose happy heart has power
To make a stone a flower.

By William Henry Davies

This poem is in the public domain.

 

And here, the entertainment is built-in. Last night while we ate dinner, we had a visitor. The lettuce Jim threw to the deer is gone.

I’d thrown out an apple core, simply because I compost. but this little skunk thought it made a great desert. We don’t know what creature ate the rest of the lettuce.

Cute to watch. We couldn’t smell it.  Our windows were closed and we watched it duck through a small opening in the fence and be gone.

Normally when I visit here, we see wild turkeys. We’ve seen plenty of geese and I hear them land on my little creek as they come flying down and advertise their presence.

Doug arrives today, Jim and I out early for another round of shopping. It does seem strange to be buying a “house” from a shopping mall store.

Bark River, Michigan – Day 4

The motorhome is parked in the yard of Mary’s old friend, Bernice, at Bark River, Michigan. We expect to depart here later this morning..

In yesterday’s Blog I mentioned my continuing problem with the electrical connection between the motorhome and the Bronco. While Mary went off in search of memories with her friend Bernice,  I attempted to rewire the connector on the umbilical cord and after several frustrating hours finally gave up with only partial success. So, with turn signals finally working and no left brake light on the Bronco we’ll head out this morning. Fortunately at our next planned destination of Iron Mountain, Michigan, there appears to be a shop there which hopefully can resolve the problem.

99% of the time when I set out to fix something it gets fixed. This is the 1% when its time to throw in the towel and turn to the pros. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do!

Being around a farm for the last four days has greatly increased my knowledge and made me more appreciative of this lifestyle. Like Casey Johnson in yesterday’s Blog said…”If you like long hours and little money, farming might be for you!”

A farm is also a great place to take photos. I’ve taken a lot more, but because we are once again bumping up against our gigabyte limit on our Internet service, today you only get to see twelve photos…

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…

Enjoying visiting old friends is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Michigan. 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

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

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

It Helps To Be Technically Minded…

when you are a full-time RVer.

RV’s simply are basically mechanical/electrical/propane devices on wheels with dozens of systems and thousands of parts. The best way to operate…as much as possible… is to be big on preventative maintenance. In other words…do routine maintenance to hopefully prevent future breakdowns which are especially bad when they happen out on the open road.

For instance…here is an easy example…once a month I lubricate the electric steps of the motorhome. If I stop lubricating them…eventually they will stop working. Where did I hear the saying…you only have to brush the teeth you want to keep? Kinda-sorta..the same thing.

An RVer has basically two choices…do the work yourself or pay a technician $120 an hour. Pretty simple. Unless you are rolling in money most RVers do what work they can…and only when the job exceeds the RVers abilities/tool box do we turn to professional help.

Fortunately I enjoy the challenge of chasing down…figuring out…and fixing these types of problems. It challenges my mental and physical capabilities and I especially feel good when I fix a problem where I would have had to pay some technician to fix for me.

Just to give you an idea…here’s a photo showing a stack of manuals eight inches tall.

With so many systems that can be a problem…it seems like it’s not very long since I last fixed another…than another one pops up. Don’t get me wrong…I’m not complaining and I would not ever consider abandoning the full-time RVing lifestyle because of these seemingly regular happenings.

Like I’ve said so many times….IT’S A LOUSY JOB…BUT SOMEONES GOT TO DO IT!  🙂

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2011
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://lulu.com/panamaorbust