Monroe, Washington – Day 6 (GA626)

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 in Thousand Trails RV Resort in Seaside, Oregon. I’m scheduled to depart here June 2nd.

 

 

Since my RVing life is changing (see above), I’m starting to re-visit previously visited places. So rather than constantly re-blogging past entries, I’ve decided to do something different.

  In 2011-2013, Mary and I did a 682 day, 12,679 miles in the motorhome and 8,000 miles in the Bronco, circumnavigation of the United States, which I called The Great Adventure. I called it so because other than my oldest granddaughter’s high school graduation in June in Connecticut, I didn’t know where we would be going or when we would be there!

So, unless I do something really different and unusual warranting a new blog entry, I’ll be posting entries from that trip.

This entry was posted September 30, 2013…

 

 

 

The motorhome is currently parked at Thousand Trails Thunderbird RV Resort in Monroe, Washington.

Yesterday the day started with some light rain. The Snohomish River level has risen noticeably from the last few days of rain…

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…

Despite the rain, my friend and mechanic called and said let’s get the tune-up on your Bronco done. We lucked out that the heavy rains came later in the day after we had finished…

The weather is supposed to clear starting on Thursday. I’m planning to leave here despite the forecast for rain showers on Wednesday. My current location is noted by the yellow dot…

It was chilly yesterday with the rain. High temperature was only 57 degrees.

Last night I watched another movie from the 1930’s. This time it was 1933 – Dracula starring Bela Lagosi. A classic!

Enjoying Thousand Trails RV Resorts 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 Washington. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! MARY WROTE A MANY GREAT BLOGS…SO WHENEVER SHE PUBLISHED A BLOG POSTING THE SAME DAY THAT I DID…YOU WILL BE ABLE TO READ HER BLOG BY CLICKING THE BELOW LINK! DO IT NOW!

https://otrwjam.wordpress.com/2013/09/30/assisted-living-in-chico/

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos.

Forecast for today is cloudy and 53 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 Oregon. 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

33 Years Of Service…

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.

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 Shady Acres RV Park in Yuma, Arizona. I’ll depart here later this morning.

 

 

 

About a week ago the Bronco started running a little warmer than usual. Fortunately I was still in Yuma where I had access to my favorite mechanic. Since then I have replaced the oxygen sensor, water pump, fan and radiator….all factory original from 33 years ago! Simply amazing.

 

After that length of service, I have no grudges about spending a few bucks to replace them. Vehicles are simply nothing more than electrical and mechanical devices. They work hard and occasionally a part needs to be replaced. I do so with happily hoping I’ll get another 33 years of service.

 

Hmmmm… let’s see, if that happens I’ll be 111 years old!  🙂

 

Here’s a few 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…

 

 

 

Here’s Polo’s phone number in case you are in Yuma and need a good mechanic…

 

 

 

 

The old radiator…

 

 

 

 

The new radiator…

 

 

 

 

Polo doing his thing…

 

 

 

 

In goes the new radiator…

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos.

Forecast for today is sunny and 78 degrees.

 

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

Bronco Repaint Progress Day 9 & Still Searching…

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 4,500+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

I’m currently in my 23rd year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click Here

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The motorhome is parked at American Legion Post #19 in Yuma, Arizona. I expect to depart here March 1st.

 

 

 

Several days ago I reported that I had made arrangements to have my towed Ford Bronco II repainted. It went into the shop Monday February 12th. Yesterday morning I went by to check on the progress of the work.

 

The photos below show the condition as yesterday morning. The red paint  and clear coat are on. The tan strip remained to be painted yesterday afternoon. Then all the parts need to be reattached to the vehicle. They told me that I can expect to pick it up later today…

 

Here’s the progress so far…

 

 

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…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the mean time, I continue searching for a solution to the intermittent low power problem that I have been pursuing since October 2016. Four days ago I took the motorhome to go grocery shopping and there it was again…the intermittent low power problem.

 

Since my good Mexican mechanic is here in Yuma, so I had him replace the next probable component in the search for a solution… the mass air flow sensor connector. I saw a number of YouTube videos with others having the same problem and they claimed changing this component fixed their problem.

 

Here you can see the component in place…

 

 

 

 

Here’s the old connector…

 

 

 

 

Here’s the new connector…

 

 

 

 

In place…

 

 

 

Those who replaced their connector indicated the problem was an internal electrical contact. Here’s hoping this resolves my problem!!!

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos.

Forecast for today is mostly sunny and 62 degrees. Cool for Yuma.

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 Arizona. 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 at Rogue River, Oregon, October, 2017…

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 600 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver

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 -2018

Some Maintenance Work…

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 Thousand Trails Thunderbird RV Resort along the bank of the Skykomish River in Monroe, Washington. I’ll depart here July 5th.

 

Yesterday I drove the motorhome 25 miles to Everett, Washington and the workshop on my good friend and cracker-jack mechanic, Kenny Coleman. He replaced the serpentine and air conditioning belts, spark plugs and wires, cleaned the throttle body and replaced a MAP sensor.

 

Here are some photos I took…

 

 

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…

 

 

 

 

A good portion of the work was done thru the hole in the doghouse cover…

 

 

 

 

Here’s Kenny at work…

 

 

 

 

Down in that hole gives access to the throttle body valve…

 

 

 

 

I’ve been suspicious that a dirty throttle body valve is behind the STILL intermittent reduced engine power problem I’ve had for the last year or so…

 

Kenny said he did not think that’s the problem, but cleaned it anyways. He convinced me to replace a $78 small sensor that he believes will fix that problem. I’ve got my fingers crossed that’s what will happen.

 

 

 

 

Here’s Kenny changing the belts…

 

2.5 hours later all the work was completed. In addition to being a cracker-jack mechanic, Kenny is also a cracker-jack computer guy. I described a problem that first started showing up on my six-year laptop computer a few days ago and he confirmed that my video card is getting ready to bite the dust. A non-repairable item. So, it looks like a new computer will be coming into my life in the near future.

 

A nice one-hour long phone call this morning from my son made my Fathers Day! That’s why today’s posting is late.

 

Life is good! Onward and forward we go!!!  🙂

 

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE PHOTOS.

 Yesterday was mostly cloudy and 62 degrees. Forecast for today is partly sunny and 72 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 Washington. 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

New Front Shocks And Brake Pads For The Motorhome…

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 21st 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 28th. While here, I’ll do cleaning, routine maintenance and minor repairs to both vehicles.

 

 

Today’s Subject…New Front Shocks And Brake Pads For The Motorhome…

 

 

Yesterday I drove the motorhome 30 miles to Sonora, California. Parts are hard to find for the motorhome and after several hours online, I finally figured it all out.

 

If you remember last year I took the motorhome to the same shop to have the fuel pump replaced. Good service, fair prices…reasons to return!

 

 

Here are some of the photos that I took…

 

 

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…

 

 

 

It’s a tight fit to back part-way in…

 

 

 

Only a few inches to spare…

 

 

 

 

The work begins…

 

 

 

 

The old brake pads had only about 1/4″ left. Not bad after 10 years and 61,355 miles…

 

 

 

 

The new brake pads are almost 1″ thick…

 

 

 

 

 

The old original shocks…

 

 

 

 

Are replaced with identical new shocks…

 

 

 

Miguel Nieves, the shop owner…did the work himself. He’s a very personable and knowledgeable guy. I liked the fact that his shop is a NAPA Car Care Center and he himself is an RV owner…

 

 

 

 

His shop is only about five miles north of Sonora, California. If you need a good mechanic while in that area…I can highly recommend him to you. He’s located at 20591 N. Sunshine Road, Sonora, California. His phone number is 209-533-4770.

 

 

 

 

It’s about an a hour’s drive back to Mary’s home and the motorhome ran just fine. In six days, I’ll depart Mary’s home to head to the sunny and warmer southland next Monday. It’s starting to get chilly around here. Time for me to get out of Dodge!!!

 

 

 

 

To read all about Murphys, click this link…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphys,_California

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos!

Yesterday was mostly sunny and 57 degrees. Forecast for today is partly sunny with a morning shower and 56 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 2016

Here’s Hoping…

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

---

The motorhome is parked at Thousand Trails Palm Springs RV Resort in Palm Desert, California. I’m scheduled to depart here December 23rd.

About three weeks back I posted a blog entry about having a new fuel pump installed in the gas tank of my motorhome. During the installation, the mechanic noticed my left rear shock was leaking and the my rear brake pads were getting low and needing replacement. I like using factory original parts, although expensive. They were a little difficult to identify part numbers and find a vendor. I finally accomplished that and the new shocks and brake pads finally arrived three days ago.

While awaiting the parts I began scoping out local garages to install the parts. When in this part of the world I always try to find small-shop, local Mexican mechanics. Over the years I have found them great mechanics, hard-working and honest.

I finally found a two Mexican-man shop, Cesar’s Auto Repair in nearby Indio, California….

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…

 

 

Located in a small strip-mall type building is a little usual for a garage…

 

 

The one-bay shop is entered at the back of the building. I backed about 3/4’s of the motorhome into the work area…

 

 

Looking behind the motorhome, the rest of the work area…

 

 

First task was to replace the shocks…not an easy job…

 

 

Here are the old shocks. The top one is the leaker…

 

 

Next came replacing the brake pads…

 

 

Occasionally requiring both men…

 

 

Here are the old brake pads. They were ready to be changed after 58,000 miles…

 

 

In recent blog entries, I’ve also identified an intermittent cold-start, lower-power for a few minutes problem. Replacing the fuel pump and filter did not remedy the problem. The next suspected cause was the electrical connector for the Mass Air Flow Sensor. The sensor is located in the housing directly behind the engine air filter. In addition to cleaning the electrical connector…I also elected to clean the sensor as well. Here the air filter cover with the sensor sits on the pavement drying after cleaning…

 

 

The thin wires in the Mass Air Flow sensor monitors incoming air to the engine and the engine computer directs fuel flow to the engine. I’m HOPING the cleaning of the Mass Air Flow Sensor and its connector will rectify my intermittent cold-start, low-power problem. Only time will tell whether it has cured the problem. If not, on to the next suspected probable cause…

 

 

As long as we were right there I had the mechanic cleaner my life-time K&N Air Filter…

 

 

It’s air-dryed before re-installation…

HERE’S HOPING…my low-power start problem is gone!

If you are in the area and need a good mechanic, I highly recommend them to you…

Cesar’s Auto Repair
45116 Commerce St.Space #10
Indio, California 92201
760-541-6713 Ask for Beto.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos.

 Yesterday was partly sunny and 76 degrees. Forecast for today is partly sunny and 75 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 600 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver

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 -2015