We are in the middle of an extended trip. I've cataloged my travel adventures before, but rather than add to an old topic, I think it is time to begin a new one.
We left home and this time, we didn't forget anything significant. The refrigerator was working well, the gas tanks were full, the fresh water full, the black and gray tanks empty. Everything seemed to be good for the trip.
By the time we reached Oklahoma, I noticed that the refrigerator did not seem to be cooling adequately. I did bring the Free Piston Sterling Cooler so that we could have something that would keep proper cold temperatures. It is small, but held the majority of our perishable items, leaving ones not quite so sensitive to ride in the Dometic unit. I thought it might be a dirty orifice, so I shut the refrigerator off and cleaned the orifice. When I went to start it up again -- Nothing! No lights, no fans, no sounds. The refrigerator had died. I checked both 120V and 12V power and both were present. A quiick trip to a Walmart to purchase another cooler (Lifetime 28 qt) which is heavier duty than the regular coolers. It also claims to be bear resistant. It is similar to a Yeti, but it likely isn't quite the quality. It was much less expensive though, and it meeting the needs for the additional space to store items that won't fit in the FPSC cooler. Unfortunately, this situation will be the norm until we get home and can get it looked at to see if it can be fixed or if it is time for a replacement. It is not quite 6 years old.
Second mishap was at a tight gas station. I now have yellow paint on the water heater door, along the bottom metal strip, and the fender has a little bend. Hopefully, I can straighten the fender and buff off the yellow paint. It could have been worse..
Third was that the two-way connector for our DC to DC charger came out of the socket and was dragged along the road enough to wear it down to where it can't be used. I have another one on order to be delivered to our older daughter's house. When we get there, I will install it and also figure out a way to tie it up so that if it were to come loose again, it would not be able to drag on the road.
Fourth was that my cell phone was not behaving properly. It was discharging and shutting down, even though it was plugged in. I was running the Torque app. I purchased a higher power charger along the way, but it was still not doing right. I found a USB-C to USB-C cord which would be used with the highest power outlet on the charger. That seems to be working, but it is time to either get a new phone or find someone who could replace the battery in the Moto X4 I have been using. I opted for a new phone, ordering it from Google Fi to be delivered to my daughter. It arrived today and will be waiting for me when we arrive.
Fifth was that the propane hose I use to connect the 20 lb cylinder to our grill-stove quit working properly. I thought it was the regulator, so we purchased a new stove. When I connected it, it did not work. I had used some silicone spray in the hose and it was working well enough so that I could see that the old regulator and stove was okay. Still, I connected the new stove and it did not work. Turns out the regulator for the new stove was bad. I returned it and purchased a replacement propane hose instead.
Enough of the woes. We spent a week with our younger daughter and grandsons. I installed a 30A RV outlet for her. That meant that we could run the AC, which is important when the temperatures are up over 100F We also did some other projects that were helpful to our daughter. All too soon, it was time to leave to head to see our older daughter and grandchildren.
We drove up toward the Grand Canyon on 89, which took us toward the Glen Canyon Dam near Page, Arizona. We continued on into Utah, hoping to stop at an RV park so we could have power for the AC since it was still quite hot. That was not to be. They were booked. One young man suggested a horse camp. We missed that turn-off because it was not well marked an instead headed toward the Coral Pink Dunes State Park. It tuns out that they were also booked, but I had seen some vehicles pulled off in an open area. I asked it it would be okay to stop there as it was getting toward dusk and we needed a place to stop for the night. He said yes, and dry camping is not unusual for us. The heat of the day had passed, and it does get cool in the desert at night. Pulling into the area, I did not know that the harder packed surface was at the perimeter so I headed into the center area and got stuck. The truck does have 4WD, but the tires were not off-road, so I could not get enough traction to move us and the RPod. A young man came over with an off-road 4-wheeler and connected a tow strap to the front of the Frontier. Between his 4-wheeler and the RPod, we got moving and onto a harder-packed surface so we were able to set up for the night.
It was in the morning as we were preparing to leave that I noticed that the 2-way connector had fallen out and dragged. I am very glad I installed the LiFePO4 battery. It had the power to run the FPSC cooler, even without being recharged during the drive. I do have a generator with us that I could have started for recharging, but it was not needed. We left and drove though Zion National Park. I had hped that there would be space available for camping, but all sites were booked. I was thinking it might be like Yellowstone with some first-come, first-served sites. It was an absolutely beautiful drive. We stopped a few times for pictures at pull-offs when there was room. Because I have the Access Pass, the drive did not cost anything for the truck and us. I did have to pay a $15 fee for the trailer for the tunnel. Our RPod could have made it no problem, but we were told that we would need to drive down the center of the tunnel for clearance. Traffic was limited to one way for this. There were larger RVs which needed the additional space.
Since we could not find a space in the park, I used RV Parky to look for an RV park that would not cost too much. We ended up at MCArthur's Templeview RV Resort in St. George. The outside temperature was 107F when we arrived, so the first thing to get connected was the power so I could get the AC going. It took a while, but the inside of the RPod is finally comfortable. We will only spend the night here before heading up to our daughter's house. If we could have gotten a site in Zion NP, we would have spent two nights there.
That pretty much gets us up to date. Even with everything, it is a nice trip and we have seen some beautiful scenery. These are things that can't be seen at 30,000 feet. I am glad we are making this one at ground level, even though it does take much longer. It is worth it.
------------- StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...
http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS
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