Roadrunner Rewind: RVing and Camping Through The Years

Though we didn't really know it at the time, our first "RV" was a 1978 VW Westphalia camper.  We got it in 1983 while we were stationed in Germany and had it shipped to our next assignment in Hawaii.  We were there for 3 years and then it was shipped to our next duty station in California in 1986.

Here is young son Adam who must have been about 5 or 6

 Our neighbors in San Bernardino, Bob and Sue, had a green one that was the same year.  I remember one windy camping trip with them to windy Camp Pendleton.  We had a lot of sand in our food that weekend!

We took plenty of trips from San Bernardino to Albuquerque to see Reid and Amy (who incidentally had a green VW camper van like Bob and Sue.

Here one of those "not exactly sure where this is" pictures.

After we moved to Albuquerque in 1988, a co-worker had a newer VW Westphalia camper.  His wife hated the thing and he sold it to us.  We sold our yellow/orange one and got the goldish color van and loved it.  It also was underpowered (weren't they all) but the heater actually worked which was nice.  

I took it on one our our Cub Scout overnighters with a few of the dads and boys.

We didn't have it too long before we decided we needed more seating and we ended up with a Ford Aerostar.

Here we are camping down in Elizabeth City, NC.  Even though we had the VWs we always had tents.  In fact, Pam and I bought a pup tent 4 months after we were married and camped our way from Fort Walton Beach FL to Travis AFB, CA en route to our assignment in Kunsan AB, Korea in 1979.

Here we are with long time friends Kirk and Susan camping near Mammoth Cave National Park in 1994.

After we became empty nesters, we went tent camping at Fort Story/Virginia Beach in our Tacoma pickup truck.

I am finding that the longer we do this, the more I want to capture our experiences here.  It was a long time before I started thinking about our VWs as 'RV' but they very much qualify for that tag.  Too bad back then we had no clue about how to use them more fully.  They had a propane stove, water and electrical hook ups but we had no idea how to work them nor whom to ask.

It was much simpler to pack our things into coolers and pack a couple of tents and away we went.

But isn't that part of this lifestyle?  There are so many ways to do it and no way is right.  We enjoyed it then and are enjoying it now.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Habitat Groupon Golf and Birthdays

Not knowing exactly what to call today's edition, I decided to 'focus' on four items:

Habitat for Humanity -

As you may know, we love working with local affiliates and are glad to be back in the South Hampton Roads area to work with some of the same group who befriended us here last year.  

Our latest assignment is an old house in nearby Portsmith that is being refurbished and redone.  

Our effort has been concentrated on the small back porch and deck.

What I loved about this project was that we got to learn about the whole thing from the beginning.  Joe measured out where the 4x4 foot posts went, we dug the holes, poured in cement, then we worked off that to attach the support runner from the house.   

It took us a couple of days and we are still not done, but we got the deck on and now are working on the steps, support posts and railing.

Golf/Groupon:

Pam and I also love to play golf and we have done that a few times while the weather has been good here.  I found a city course deal on Groupon.  $14 covered greens fees and carts so it was a bargain.

Also, we played three city courses in the area we normally would not have played:  Bow Creek,  Kempsville and Red Wing.

They are all on the rebound and the new management company that is managing them for the city is really doing a great job.  Apparently six months ago, they were in bad shape, but the new crew is really getting them in shape.

I loved them all but my favorite was the last one we played at Red Wing.  Pam enjoyed them also.  The thing I noticed is that they are not really long courses and they give the woman a 50-80 yard advantage off the tee box.  Their teeing area is well out in front of the men's but that makes it more fun and competitive for everyone.

We have seen some great deals lately on Groupon - Have you?  Do you use Groupon?

In addition to the Habitat and Golf, we have celebrated birthdays in the last couple of weeks.  

Kelly's friends from church usually get together during the week a couple of times and we joined up for a Sunday afternoon cookout and kickball time at the RV campground.  These 'kids' (late twenties are a great bunch and very welcoming to us.

In addition to Kelly and Pam's birthdays in the last few days, I think there must have been 5 or 6 other peoples as well.

It was a bit windy but we were able to eat and hangout and they even had a rousing game of kickball.  Some really got into it and it was fun.

Afterwards, we chatted some.

It was coolish so that didn't last long before everyone headed out.

We are thoroughly enjoying our time here in Virginia Beach and will be here two more weeks.  I love this time of the year and it is great to be near our kids!  Adam will be joining us next week for Thanksgiving and we are looking forward to it.

I hope you and yours are well and looking forward to the holidays also.  Thanks for joining on this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Reflections: Fulltiming 2 Years

It has gone by very quickly but at the same time it feels like we have been doing this for 20 years.  We still look forward to seeing more and meeting more people and trying new things.  We get to go places that are fantastic and sleep in our own beds every night.  So far full-timing has been one of the best choices we have ever made.

Our second year began the end of May 2010 and ended the first part of June 2011.
In May 2010 we were at Haas Lake RV Park in Novi, Michigan.

Later, we spent time in Ontario, Canada

And in July were near the Niagara Falls

In late summer we were on the white beaches of Florida

And Virginia Beach,

And in the snow of Virginia Beach (in December!)

And then we saw canyons of Big Bend in March

And the streets of Old Tombstone in April

And here we are in Spokane, WA.

We are still loving the life style and are learning lots.

• Recently we have learned how much we like the beauty and countryside of Utah and Montana.  Both are completely diffent but we love it.   
• Another thing I have learned recently is how to drive through mountains with using the foot brakes.  By downshifting and using the the 'jake brake', I am able to save the brakes going through 6% down grades.

Over the last year, we recognize that the RV spot where we stay is not as important as we thought it was going to be.  For example, we stayed in Tucson at the Davis-Monthan AFB where the campsites are pretty close together.  But we spend most of our time inside.  The only thing that ruins it for me are noisy neighbors or yapping dogs.  So far, we have had very little of either.

We like the way the inside of our motorhome is set up and it is not a big deal if we are in a crowded campsite or in a 'basic' campground.  I would rate the Santa Fe Rodeo grounds and the Kirtland AFB FamCamp as 'basic' yet we had a great time in both places.

When we dreamed about our future days of full-timing, we thought we would overnight more at WalMart and truckstops ~ but we usually pull into a decent RV camp instead.  Something about 50 amp hookup for heat and air conditioning.  We also thought we would do more dry camping (boondocking) with no hookups, but we haven't.  We didn't do any of that in Year 2.  We don't mind being without for a few days, but it is not something we are driven to do.

We have found our niche in volunteering with Habitat for Humanity and NOMADS.
- Habitat for Humanity at each city (affiliate) varies.  Each is run by there own board of directors and volunteer help.  Our favorites so far

• South Hampton Roads (Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Virginia Area)
• Tucson, Arizona
• Santa Fe, NM
• Our next gig is a Habitat (Care-A-Vanner) stay in Brookings, SD (Aug 2011)

- NOMADS has regular projects and 'Disaster Relief' projects.  Over the last year we enjoyed the work in Mississippi at a Disaster Relief project.  We had a month of mostly putting up sheet rock and painting a house with some odd jobs thrown in like repairing laminate flooring, putting up plywood on a porch ceiling and some painting.

The financials are working out.  I keep all our receipts and log it all onto a spreadsheet.  My goal is to post a monthly status of where we are.  I am way behind on that, but I have high hopes I can finish it up in the next few weeks? for Year 2. 

It is basically costing us about $4,000/month to do this RV thing.  That is a little more than what we take in from retirement.  But I have recently gotten more hours to work online and that is making up the shortfall.  

Our approach is to keep our savings at a certain level and not let it dip below that.  We have been successful so far.  And we have kept our 401Ks at a distance and never touch it.  When I turn 59 1/2 I'll have to withdraw some, but we have time to figure that out.  If we continue to be frugal, we can do this for quite a while.

The Roadrunner (motorhome) costs more than we figured it would.   Medical bills are expensive too. 

- The major RV expenses so far have been upgrades and remodeling.  The biggest repair has been a new toilet last year and a solenoid replacement for the air bags recently.  (both over $1,000)
- Other regular maintenance costs include things like diesel fuel filter replacements ($164); repairing windshield chips (free or <$30); replacing a clear tank water pump ($110).  

- The next biggest repair will be installing a new residential refrigerator.  About the time we decided to do that, I got more hours of online work.  We now have been able to save up enough money for the estimated $6850 it will take to replace our refrigerator.

- After that, our next biggest expense probably will be new tires (at ~$600 each), but we have about a year to save for that.
- Diesel fuel is way up again, but before we started full-timing we planned on the worst -- like $5.00/gal. As one full-timer said, "I worked for 40 years, I can find a way to pay for the fuel…".

- We have not had any major medical bills this year but we need to do something about dental.  Last month I heard that Progresso, Mexico is still a good alternative (e.g. safe) but we will not be there any time soon.

- After being in the hospital last year and getting some tests and physicals done, I took out a medical supplement insurance plan for hundreds ($764/yr) to save thousands $ if we need it.  

So here we are in the NorthWest.  We still love seeing the country.  We spent New Years Eve listening to a blue grass family group in Georgia, spent a great and warm winter/spring in Arizona and are loving the scenic Rockies, stark canyonlands of Utah and the beautiful mountains and mountain ranges of Montana.  Now we are going to explore Eastern Washington State where my mom grew up and where my folks got married in 1942.  Then on to the ocean cliffs of Oregon before we head east back through South Dakota.

I have learned I love the history of our country in the 1800's.  I have learned the impact the Catholic Church and the Railroad have had on the development and growth of our country.  You throw in a gold rush or two and a lot of folks moved west and settled this wonderful country.  And I find it interesting how they 'made do' back in those days.

I have learned to appreciate Pam more.  She is more than a great companion and friend and wife.  She likes this stuff as much as I do. She understands more of the mechanical/technical aspects of the motorhome than I do so that is a big plus.  She is also a great cook and likes to do that.  And she drives the motorhome.  

And we have gotten to see Adam and Kelly.  We spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with them so that was good.  We miss them, but they are doing good and each have come through a tough times grieving the loss of Meghan last year. 

And in the last year, we continue to meet wonderful people who are doing the same thing we are ~ living in an RV.  We get to see so much and meet many great folks.  And we get to catch up with old friends and see them again after many many years.  (Like yesterday we met up with Dick and Julie whom we first met in 1983 when we all lived in Hawaii.) We could not do that if we weren't full timing.

So in year two ~ I'd say it is a little different than year one, and we are still loving it.  We feel blessed to be able to do this.  It is different than year one because we feel a lot more comfortable and the learning curve is not so steep.  We can always learn more but we are not as leery of 'what might go wrong' and how we would deal with it.

So there is my recap of Year 2 on the Road.  We are looking forward to Year 3.  Hope you are having a wonderful summer and Happy Father's Day.

Thanks for your interest and comments on the Roadrunner Chronicles.  We enjoy and appreciate them.
Until next time...

Denver to Moab

We enjoyed our stay near Denver at Cherry Creek State Park.  Seems like a great location.  If you are in the area, we recommend it.  The sites are very spacious and the campsites have full hookups on a concrete pad.  And they are well maintained.  Very nice.

We left our campsite early in the morning.  Like 6:30 AM early.  The plan was to go from east Denver through northwest Denver and on to eastern Colorado on I-70 before the morning commuter traffic got to heavy.
The drive was pretty uneventful for about an hour.

Then the engine chugged a little.

It felt a little like it did 15 months ago when our fuel pump went out.  ugh....  we kept climbing the mountains, downshifting and using the jake brake where necessary.

When the 'Check Engine Light' came on, we knew we had an issue.  After we crested the mountain and approached the Exit for Breckinridge, we took it.

We pulled off and into a Safeway parking lot and made some calls.

We called our CoachNet number and weren't too pleased with the response.  I didn't know what kind of Cummins engine we had.  ISC or ISL or ??  I found out it is an ISL engine.  The technician I talked with gave me the impression he really didn't want to solve my problem and put me at ease.  He tried to talk me into driving it back to Denver.  I didn't expect that response.  I asked where would they tow me if I was uncomfortable doing that.  He said he'd call me back.

Meanwhile, we called Transwest Trucks in Commerce City on the west side of Denver.  I talked with Rob Draper, the manager of the RV and Bus section of the shop.  He was great.  He said an amber light 'Check Engine Light" meant we could still drive it.  He said I needed to make sure I kept the RPMs up to 2000 or 2200 and I should be OK.  He said he could get us in that day.

Then we talked again with the CoachNet technician.  He said he had us all fixed up and we could be seen sometime Thursday afternoon at a Freightliner shop in Denver.  Really?  How is a day and 1/2 wait acceptable?  I mentioned to him we had already called another place (Transwest Trucks) and we were headed there.

So we turned the Roadrunner around and backtracked to Denver, back up over the Continental Divide.  I kept the RPMs up over 2000 and the coach did fine.  I had one short lived hesitation but we made it to the shop 70 miles back to Commerce City.

Rob had Hasan check things out.  I removed the bike rack and he plugged in his laptop to the engine.

The data showed clogging in the fuel filters.  It had been 15 months since those were replaced.  Hasan replaced them both and it was an $164 bill.  Well worth it.

We hooked up the Honda again and stopped by the Freightliner office and were back on our way by 1:00 PM.

Through the Rockies and into Utah along the Colorado River.

It was a long day and we arrived at our Dead Horse Point State Park campground about sunset.

We found our site and shoehorned it in before calling it a day.  By the time we set our jacks and opened up the slides, it was dark...

It looked a lot better in the daytime.  That was our trip to Dead Horse Point State.

Glad you stopped by on the Roadrunner Chronicles.  Please join us tomorrow for another edition from the Arches National Park.

Roadrunner Repairs: Air Bag Solenoid

After a great stay in Albuquerque for six weeks, we were ready for the short and scenic drive up to Santa Fe.  We packed up on Friday and were ready for a leisurely departure from our FamCamp site at Kirtland AFB on Saturday morning.

But --- we had another problem with the air bags.  Again, they would not inflate.  We tried the same things that worked when we left Tucson.  We set down the jacks again and went through the whole sequence a couple of times.  We moved the coach and drove it to another spot in the campground hoping it would loosen something maybe and fill the bags and empty the bags.  No dice.

So we called the Freightliner dealer in Albuquerque.  To our surprise, they said, "bring it on in", they could work on it today.

Now for the hard part -- getting it there.  It was about a 14.5 mile ride to the dealer.  At 10-35 mph.  The coach was sitting so low to the ground I had to take it slow.  Plus I could feel every crack in the pavement or pothole since I had no air suspension.  It felt like my shocks were completely gone only worse.

So it was scary.  But I took it slowly with flashers on and Pam following with her flashers on and we made it to the Freightliner shop about 10:30.

They got us in quickly and started the troubleshooting.

 There were only a couple other rigs in the shop to work on so we were hoping to get out of their quickly.  But it took most of the day.

We left and ran some errands and went to lunch.  I tried the California burger from Burger King.  (I think that may be my first and last...)

We came back after a couple of hours and they found the problem.  The air suspension dump valve assembly was bad, causing air bags to always be in the dump mode.

(The photo is an example of a similar part.  I didn't think to take a picture of the real culprit when it was sitting on the counter.)

They went to see if they had a replacement.  We had two surprises:  1)they had the part and 2)it was a lot of money.  I should not have been surprised on the cost, but after it was all said and done, we were $1174 lighter.  But we were very glad to be rid of that issue.

There was still plenty of time to drive to Santa Fe and we left about 4:00.  The air bags were as they should be and we hitched up the car and drove out of the garage area.

It was a beautiful day for a drive and we arrived at the Rodeo de Santa Fe Campground without incident. It was not the day we planned on but we are glad we got the air bag issue resolved.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Until next time...

More Friends

Now and then I get an email from someone who says:  "We are in the area and would like to meet you".  Or, "You don't know us, but we follow your blog and thought it would be fun to get together in person", or some such thing...

Over the last two years we have sent similar notes to folks and found out it is fun to meet new friends that way.

Recently, we got an email from Allan and Jeanne who were traveling through Albuquerque and we were able to meet.  About 18 months ago we left Albuquerque and we just missed being able to see them.  They do a lot of volunteer work and I asked them some questions.

Since then we have more or less kept an eye on each other from a distance and last week we were able to get together.  They were on the other side of town, so we decided to meet downtown Albuquerque for lunch at the Flying Star Cafe.

So sight unseen, we met at the restaurant and sat down for lunch.  Allan and Jeanne have been full-timing 3 years.  Recently, they changed from a 5th Wheel to a 40' Phaeton motor home.  So far, so good and they are getting used to it.

After our lunch came, we asked to get a photo.  If you want to see a version of the same thing, go to their blog 'Dream Reachers' and you'll see something real similar...
It was very nice to meet them and strike up a new friendship.  They left Albuquerque for parts north and will be taking the train in Silverton, Colorado in the next day or two.

So that brings me to the question for the day:

How many of you have met people on your blog or via email and have had the chance to meet them in person?

That's if for this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles ~ thanks for stopping by and jotting down a comment or two.  We appreciate them.

Until next time...

Roadrunner Repairs: Pump and Switches

The longer we are in the Roadrunner, the more things need attention.  As in replacement and / or fixing attention.
But that is not to be unexpected.   A premise I embraced early on in this adventure was "there are 3,000 moving parts on this coach and it is ALL going to break at some point."

So I am not surprised or frustrated by maintenance challenges when they pop up.  We are very pleased with our Tiffin Motor Home and still feel like it is one of the best values out there.

But about a month ago we noticed the water pump went out.  Pam turned on the switch and nothing happened.  Then we checked it out and sure enough it was dead.

We wanted to replace it ourselves.  I looked at the make and model number and called around to a few RV parts stores here in Albuquerque.  Then I shopped online and decided to order a replacement from American RV Company.

Once it arrived, we spent about 30 minutes replacing it.
First I turned off the water.

Then I removed the water filter so I could get at it.

 Next, Pam removed the fuse which is located under the refrigerator.

 I got our my new DeWalt drill and found an extension Phillips head.

A few minutes later, I had the four screws removed.  I looked at the new pump and it has about 1/4 inch more of a rubber gasket on the bottom than the old one.  Because of that, I needed to put in longer screws.

Next, Pam looked over the three connecting wires and carefully disconnected them.  

After I positioned the new one into place, Pam reconnected it.  Then I carefully replaced the four screws.  I turned on the pump and it was very quiet.  I thought - wow!  This is great, it is SO much more quiet than the old one.

Oops -
I forgot to turn on the water and make sure it was flowing through the pump correctly.  Pam confirmed the 3.0 gallons per minute (gmp) water flow inside.  It was still quieter than the old one, but only a little.  But it worked perfectly.  Success!

In a related replacement, we had three of the water pump switch lights burn out in the last couple of months.  I ordered replacements and a spare from the Tiffin Parts Department.  They arrived in a few days.

 Pam popped off the top and figured out which side to attach and presto!

 More success!  She did the same thing for the one in the bathroom and the one near the water pump in the wet bay.

Even though this was a relatively easy repair, it helps us gain a little more confidence in what we can do.  For example, I have friends who have replaced toilets in the RV and it is something I think we could do on our own if we ever had to.  But I hope that doesn't happen since our toilet (expensive toilet) was replaced last year.

So we feel good about fixing up the water pump and replacing a few light switches.  Nothing like a little maintenance to put us in a good frame of mind.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles.  We love hearing from you and appreciate those comments.  Keep 'em coming...

Until next time,