Friday, March 01, 2019

SOME DAYS IF IT WASN'T FOR BAD LUCK WE'D HAVE NO LUCK AT ALL

THIS WAS THE VIEW IN MY SIDE MIRROR AS WE ROLLED EAST OUT OF FLAGSTAFF ARIZONA THIS MORNING
With Kelly following in the Jeep we left Ash Fork Arizona this morning around 8 and proceeded to put the notorious vehicle busting Williams grade in our rear view mirror.  We've done this grade both ways before with and without the Jeep hooked on.  Decided this time to un-hook and all went fine.  Hooked the Jeep back up at McDonalds near Camping World in Bellemont.  Excellent driving conditions today with clear and dry pavement, a light tail wind moving us along under cloudy skies.  Snow along the ditches and in the pine forests and fields in the Flagstaff area.  Would have been really pretty had the Sun been out.  Snow looked nice on the San Francisco mountains north of Flagstaff.  Don't know what the temperature was but it didn't feel cold despite the snow laying around.
STILL A FAIR BIT OF SNOW ON THE GROUND IN THE FLAGSTAFF AZ AREA


CLOUDS SITTING ON THE SAN FRANCISCO MOUNTAINS NORTH OF FLAGSTAFF



EAST OF FLAGSTAFF I GLANCED IN MY SIDEVIEW MIRROR

AND THIS IS THE REVERSED IMAGE I SAW


ONCE EAST OF FLAGSTAFF THE LANDSCAPE TEMPORARILY FLATTENS OUT NICELY

THIS IS OUR LAST ARIZONA MILE BEFORE ENTERING NEW MEXICO

PULLED INTO THIS ARIZONA/NEW MEXICO REST AREA 


SNOW STILL MELTING FROM A RECENT BIG DUMP OF SNOW


ALBUQUERQUE NM IS JUST OVER THAT NEXT RIDGE AND THAT WHITE BUILDING IS THE ROUTE 66 CASINO 
We really didn't have a destination today and we didn't have any plans to go all the way to Albuquerque New Mexico but that is where we went.  Everything went fine, until..........
On the West side of Albuquerque on I-40 is the Route 66 Casino and we have overnighted here a number of times over the past dozen plus years.  Rolled into our usual spot and shut things down for the day.  When I pressed the button on our hydraulic jacks and main slide panel I heard a 'pop' behind me.  Not a good sound.  Tried putting our main slide out and it wouldn't go at first and I thought I could smell something.  'Not good' After about the 4th try it moved out very slowly about 6 inches and stopped.  'Oh-Oh':((  I quickly hit the slide return button and luckily with Kelly pushing the slide retracted just as I then heard Kelly knocking on the side of the coach.  Out the door I went around to the driver's side.  Kelly said she saw fluid spraying out behind the front wheel and yes there was fluid on the ground.  Sound familiar!!  Yep, same place we had a hydraulic hose go about a month ago when we first arrived in Bouse.  At the time we had to get the whole passenger side rear hydraulic leveller line replaced.  The line that broke today we think is the line which operates our main slide.  Well that's the bad news but here's the good news......sorta.  We are only about a mile from a Camping World and they can have a look at the problem first thing Monday morning.  Not so good news is that it's Friday.  Good news is, with our main slide in we are still perfectly functional with the only small drawback being we don't have as much room as normal.  Now, we may stay where we are in the Casino parking lot or we may check into a nearby RV for a couple days.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Q: How many members of the U.S.S. Starship Enterprise does it take to change a light bulb?
A: All of them. Bones to say "Its dead Jim", Uhura to send a distress signal, Sulu to listen to Chekov saying "Light bulbs vere really an old russian invention", Spock to be fascinated by the illogic inherent in the early demise of the light bulb, Scotty to do the work, and Kirk to get the girl.
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Bill: Where did you get that gold watch Joe?  
Joe: I won it in a race.  
Bill: How many people participated in it?  Joe: Three, a policeman, the owner of the watch, and me!
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“The ditch-digger didn't just quit, he yelled, 'Take this job and shovel it!'”
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12 comments:

  1. Kevin ReadFriday, March 01, 2019

    After working at an RV dealership for two summers back in 2010 and 2011, I came to the conclusion that I don't ever want to own an RV with either slide-outs or leveling jacks... the two most common repair items in the service department! I know.. it's hard to buy an RV that doesn't have these items.

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  2. BritbabeFriday, March 01, 2019

    Flagstaff had snow and ice in town when we drove thru it to get to Winslow last year! Wow, you folks sure have hit the ‘time to fix almost everything’ window on that bus. What rotten luck!! :(

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  3. RunninglinerFriday, March 01, 2019

    Al
    First of all I am so sorry about mechanical mishaps...
    Don't move to East direction at present time.
    You have to wait till best weather on route. I am going to go home after 15 March....no way...Please do the same. You need rest.
    You have last chance turn to south to "South Monticello Campground" You can stay for $14 with gydro and water for day plus free hot shower. My best wishes. Alex Guelph Ontario.
    P.S At present time sitting in Yuma due to no stable weather conditions

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    Replies
    1. Al BossenceSaturday, March 02, 2019

      Thanks for your concern Alex. We've been doing this for 13 years and are very well aware of weather conditions ahead of us and have planned accordingly. I did explain our timing and route plans a few posts ago.

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    2. RunninglinerSaturday, March 02, 2019

      Sorry, I've missed this post. Just now read.
      I wish you good luck to fix the slide and safely continue the trip to home

      Delete
  4. Dizzy-DickFriday, March 01, 2019

    Just curious and I suppose that you explained it before, but I must ask. Why do you not tow your Jeep. My Jeep tows great with no trouble, just put the transfer case in neutral. Can even watch it with back-up camera turned on.

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    Replies
    1. Al BossenceSaturday, March 02, 2019

      We always tow our Jeep. There is a notoriously steep grade on I-40 west of Williams Arizona that has caused many RV'ers grief. For this particular grade I prefer not to stress our 16 year old gas Motorhome and drive it up the grade alone.

      Delete
    2. Dizzy-DickSaturday, March 02, 2019

      That is a good reason. I remember way back before I had motorhomes, I had a bumper pull travel trailer. I pulled it with a half ton pick-up with only a V-6 gas engine. I remember one hill I was down to about five miles per hour and wasn't sure that I was going to get over the top. That is when I bought my first motorhome.

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  5. Arrowhead GrammaSaturday, March 02, 2019

    Whenever something happened with our RV (like you issue today), my husband would say: "It's always something." Know how frustrating it is. Good luck with the repairs.

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  6. our awesome travelsSaturday, March 02, 2019

    Nice that had a good travel day. and can settle in for bit waiting to have your repair done. Also a good thing your coach is usable like ours with the slide in.

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  7. Dave Burdick (GoingRvWay.com)Saturday, March 02, 2019

    Al, GOOD NEWS, just wrote a blog about the Open Live Writer BETA fix which will allow you to use OLW just like you use to. Go to https://goingrvway.blogspot.com/2019/03/open-live-writer-beta-fix.html and essentially there are four easy (easy for Kelly at least) and your OLW will be up and operating like normal again. It took me under 5 minutes once I figured out the directions that others were giving about it, which is why I wrote up my own version. Tell Kelly that I am available through my email, dave at goingrvway.com (replacing the "at" with the "@" of course) if she needs any additional help. Sorry about your breakdown.... --Dave

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    Replies
    1. Al BossenceSunday, March 03, 2019

      Thanks for that Dave. Kelly's been looking at it but if OLW is going to fold up anyway in a couple weeks I don't know if I'll go back to it. As much as I dislike the Blogger format it is at least frustratingly usable. Must admit though since OLW quit working a month ago I have been steadily losing interest in blogging. It's a real effort some days and not enjoyable anymore. Maybe once we get home and I get myself re-organized I'll feel better about this whole blogging thing again...…..

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