Our First Extended RV Motor Home Trip – Part 2: The Electrical Problem
Jan 17th, 2009 Day 2 of our very first extended RV trip.
As we left off, we had traveled from Spokane (Deer Park) Washington and had made it to the Rest Stop just south of where I-84 and I-5 meet on Interstate 5 exit 282 outside Portland Oregon.
We got there yesterday just before the sun went down and we parked in the very back of the extended parking and picnicking area in this large beautiful rest area. The parking spots were large enough that we were able to extend the slides and enjoy the space in the motorhome to its fullest. My folks (Wes’ parents, Leo and Donna Waddell) met us there from Tacoma and had arrived about an hour before we did.
RV Tip: When traveling with others in separate RV’s, the CB radio is invaluable. It made it easy to find where they were parked in this expansive Rest Area with multiple parking/picnicking areas and made planning stops and site seeing a pleasure.
While Cell phones are great for long distance, when you have coverage, the CB (Citizens Band Radio) and it’s instant transmit/receive are far more convenient than dialing a cell phone each time you wish to make a comment. The new FM radios may sometimes have more range, but unless you have a base unit installed with a hand mic and everyone you travel has the same channel capabilities, the CB and it’s true universal compatibility are still today your best bet. That’s why it’s still the truckers primary communications tool yet today. The hand held walkie talkies are a pain to use while driving and hard to hear with road noise.
Back to our story…
After a good nights sleep, we were up about 7am and on the road by 7:30 am, planning to catch breakfast down the road a ways. With all of yesterdays driving, we also needed to gas up the motorhome and check all the fluids. After all, it was our first extended trip and we wanted to make sure all was working properly.
We hit Salem OR about 8:15 am and gassed up the motorhome (53 gallons – about 11 MPG) and had breakfast there at Denney’s. Good food and wonderful service. In just under an hour, we were fed, awake and ready to travel on down the road again.
By 2:15 pm, we found ourselves in Cottage Grove OR and in need of lunch. We picked up some bottled water and a few groceries there. When traveling, not all water is as drinkable as others, so it’s always good to have a supply on hand that you know is good to drink. Either that of equip your RV with a good reverse osmosis system for making your own on the road.
While there, my dad and mom discovered that the batteries in their 5th Wheel (5er) had totally discharged from use the night before and didn’t charge while going down the road. That led us to discover that my dad’s alternator on his pickup wasn’t working at full capacity.
There’s more to that story later on as we discovered, but for now, we were lucky enough to find a parts store just up the road in Roseburg OR that had the right part. One more short drive, a quick stop and we had the new part in hand. Dad decided to wait until evening to swap them out as it was keeping his truck battery from totally discharging. Just meant that we would need to hook up to power tonight or run his generator for a while to charge things up.
We had a plan and we were on the road again.
The original plan had always been to spend the night at the 7 Feathers Casino and RV park in Canyonville OR. That made for a nice drive from Portland OR without any stress of driving too late in the day. We easily arrived about 4 pm even with the extra stop for truck parts along the way.
Since we had some time before dinner, Kathy and my mom (Donna) headed to the Casino to play while dad (Leo) and I took on the alternator before it got too dark.
While checking out the owners manual for alternator quirks, we found that there was a separate fuse for the trailer charge system coming off the alternator. In checking that, we found it had blown. This made for a very quick fix and some happy campers that that’s all it was… at least for the most part. Again, there’s more, but I’ll get to it as it happened.
So, dinner at the 7 Feathers Casino, Free parking in the Dry Camp area for the night and a nice leisurely start in the morning.
Mom and Dad moved over to the full hookups area that night so they could charge their batteries in the 5er with shore power (external hookup power) from the campsite. We were already parked and needed no power for battery charging, so we stayed put in the dry hookup area free of charge.
Just a quick note: 7 Feathers is a popular stopping point for RVers, so get there early if you want the non reservation dry camp (no hookups, water or sewer) or make reservations for the beautiful new full hookup campsites on the other side (west side) of the Freeway.
18 Jan, 2009 – Day 3 of our trip.
By the time we got up, brought in the slides, topped off with propane and gas, it was a not so early 9 am departure from Canyonville. That’s O.K. though as we were on no set in stone schedule and had, as we planned, left ourselves with lots of extra time to get to our set destination with reservations.
So, on the road again, with a stop just up the road at the Heaven on Earth restaurant in Azalia OR off I-5, Exit 89. This is a must stop for some of the best food, especially the home made desserts. If you are in the area, this is absolutely a must stop! Breakfast is best, but lunch and dinner are also wonderful.
The rest of the story…
Since we were stopped again, dad decided to check on the RV charging again. To our dismay, the fuse was again blown and the batteries week. This meant only one thing, something was grounding out and blowing the fuse with hooked up to the 5er.
Long story short, we traced the line and found that one of the wires in the 5er lights/break harness was loose. We disassembled the plug, tightened all the connections and replaced the fuse once again. Everything worked as it should the rest of the trip. Goes to show that it’s always good to have a few hand tools on board especially on long trips.
Well, that’s more than enough for another day. Let’s cut off the BLOG entry here for today. We’ll pick it up on Day 4 with our trip over the mountains and our first Truck/Motorhome Wash experience next time.
Until then, here’s a couple of wonderful Camping themed digital scrapbook page topper downloads for you. As always, no hassles and no signups needed. Just enjoy the scrapbook elements and embellishments and think of us when you use them. If you like them, be sure and tell your friends and family so they can get them too.
http://www.freescrapbooktraining.com/freebies/free_scrapbook_elements.htm
Free Scrapbook Downloads
Happy Scrapbook Travels,
Wes & Kathy
http://www.FreeTravelScrapbook.info
http://www.FreeScrapbookTraining.com
http://www.Free-Stationery.com
FREE Stationery
