Custer State Park In All It's Glory

We made it to Custer State Park, one of my favorite places to visit and make a day of it on the Wildlife Loop Road. Ditto loved it.

Ditto loved it.

Roadblock ahead! Some rather aggressive pedestrians crossing the road.

And in my rearview mirror, a young bull bison satisfies an itch as he rubs his head on my taillight. Luckily, no damage.

2017 West Day 1

Leaving Stephen's Tuesday morning, heading north along the Lewis and Clark Trail. Our first stop is Riverview SRA located beside the Missouri River just north of Nebraska City.

Ditto took Joyce for a walk.

Eclipse!

We finally got away, headed for the Great Out West. But first, we want to observe the full solar eclipse. And what better place to do this than at our son, Steven's house in St. Joseph, Mo., directly under the path of the full eclipse and mostly on the way on our western trip. We were in for a treat.

Steven lived in a duplex apartment with a good paved driveway perfect for parking Pumpkin for a few nights. We can watch the eclipse from our lawn chairs right there in the driveway.

We're ready for the once in a lifetime eclipse, but the weather is not. It is very cloudy and threatening rain. The view overhead doesn't look promising.

We were very disappointed. We were unable to see the moon shadow pass in front of the sun. The only evidence we could see was it got dark and the streetlights came on for a few minutes.

That was it.

Oh, well. There's always 2024 when a solar eclipse passes directly over the Bootheel area and Cape Girardeau, Mo. Maybe Wapapello State Park will be a good place to view it...if it doesn't cloud up.

Making Preparations

We've been busy lately, making preparations to get underway - we're heading west again.  Our first stop will be at son, Stephen's, new home in St. Joseph, MO.  He has just taken a new job at Missouri Western State University as General Manager over all food service at the college.  He's pretty busy right now as the Kansas City Chiefs have their summer camp there and Stephen has to see to feeding a bunch of prima donnas.

Anyway, we plan to hit the road no later than Sunday, Aug. 20 but will likely make it a day or two earlier as traffic is expected to be fierce for the total eclipse on Monday, Aug. 21.  We don't have to worry about a place to stay, just getting there intact.  We'll be staying in Stephen's driveway and should have a spectacular spot for eclipse viewing.

I had new tires put on Pumpkin and a front-end alignment done several weeks ago in preparation for this trip.  In addition, I've been doing some fine tuning on electronics (GPS, phone, tablet), hoping to improve our navigation.  At least, if we get lost I should be able to find some bread crumbs to follow.

I, also, got a special gizmo that plugs into the OBD II test port and sends the codes and other info via Bluetooth to my tablet.  I can use it to monitor stuff like transmission and coolant temps in the mountains, stuff like that.  Plus if I do pop a check engine light, I can reset it myself.

Over winter, my engine start battery went south.  When I tried to start it, it wouldn't even click.  Most RV's, mine included, have a special switch to interconnect the engine's start battery with the RV house batteries.  Sort of like giving yourself a jump start, but that didn't work.  Turned out that the solenoid that it supposed to do the interconnecting was burned out.  So, I had to replace that before I did anything else.

I, also, added another gizmo to help keep the engine battery charged when just sitting plugged in.  It's called a Trik-L-Start.  The solenoid and these circuit breakers are located in the front passenger seat base.

Today, I flushed the fresh water tank.  It had gotten kinda funky over winter so I had drained it and refilled with an extra shot of bleach to kill whatever.  Today, I drained that bleach mixture and refilled with fresh water.  I'll probably drain and flush one more time before we leave home.  Maybe even rinse with a bicarb solution to 'sweeten' it a bit.

I built a simple headboard for the beds.  Our pillows tended to travel north while sleeping.  They wouldn't fall off or anything, but they tended to mess with the rear roll down shade and we were afraid the shade would get damaged.  The headboard is just a 1x12 attached at either end.  It needs a finish put on it, but there's not enough time to let the odor clear before we leave, so it will just have to wait.

The headboard has some other advantages, too.  I installed some hooks and clips to mount the water hose, power cord, awning crank and a couple other items that previously have been stored on top of the folding chairs and the big storage tub I have in the back.  This makes them easier to access and frees up space for whatever.

Tomorrow I'm going to the tire shop that installed the new tires and get some work done on the rear valve stems.  They need bent a little so I can access them with a tire chuck.  Then later this week I'll have the oil changed.  I normally change it every 10,000 miles.  I'm a little shy of that, but would have to have it done on the trip and not just any oil change shop can handle it.  Having the oil changed in this beast is not cheap either.  It takes 13.5 quarts at about $8-$10 per quart...plus a $10 filter.  Thank goodness it doesn't need changed for 10,000 miles.

Phooey

For reasons beyond my control, Pumpkin hasn't gone anywhere for quite a while.  So, a couple of weeks ago I went out to do something out there, hit the "unlock" button on my key fob and...nothing.  I unlocked it with the key and got in.  When I put the key in the ignition, nothing happened.  Usually, the instrument panel lights up, but nada.  Dead battery.  No problem, though.  Most motorhomes, including Pumpkin, have two sets of batteries.  One is the main engine or chassis battery, the other is one or more deep cycle batteries for the "house" portion, the power for "stuff" in the back.  Because motorhomes are often parked in the boondocks for a while, having a dead battery when you get ready to leave can be a major inconvenience.  So, in their vast wisdom, the RV makers decided to put a special "Battery Boost" switch on the dash that, when energized, connects both battery sets together which effectively boosts the chassis battery enough to get the engine started.  It's like a built-in jump start.

So, finding a dead battery, I hit the Battery Boost switch to give it a jump start...nothing.  Well, almost nothing.  I could hear the solenoid click that indicated the Battery Boost solenoid was energizing.  When that happens, the house batteries should be connected to the chassis battery for a boost.  But, nothing.

The house batteries (there are two connected together to act as one big battery) were fully charged.  Pumpkin had been plugged into power from my workshop.  When plugged in, the house batteries are kept charged by the converter.  But, not the chassis battery.  For whatever reason (cost, no doubt), most manufacturers don't include the charging of the chassis battery in that process.  But, they do include the Battery Boost switch to take care of this...when it works.  Pumpkin's Battery Boost switch did not work.

I put a charger on the totally dead chassis battery.  It took about 24 hours for my 10 amp charger to get the battery back up enough to start the engine.  After I got the battery charged, I tackled the no Battery Boost problem.  It wasn't too difficult to determine the problem, but getting to it was another story.

The Battery Boost solenoid has to connect a big heavy battery cable from the house batteries and a big heavy cable from the chassis battery.  Its location is hidden under the front passenger seat.  So, first, I had to remove the seat.  Of course, Mercedes used unusual bolts.  Well, at least, unusual enough that it sent me to O'Reilly's to buy some special sockets.  They are called Torx heads, but I don't think Mercedes calls them that.  I had a large Torx bit set, but not a Torx socket set.  That's all I need, more tools.

Seat removed.  Once I located the four bolts and also realized the seat had to be swiveled a little to come off, it was done.

Now to expose the Battery Boost solenoid.  The solenoid is the round silver thing with the battery cables connecting to it.  When it is energized, the two large terminals on either side are shorted together - or, at least, supposed to be.

Here's what the solenoid looks like.  The smaller center terminal is where the wire connects that comes from the dash Battery Boost switch.

Here's a photo of an "exploded" view of the defective solenoid.  The copper bolts are the heavy terminals.  One bolt (on the right) has a black coating on the side of the bolt head while the other (on the left) I have cleaned up.  The round thingy with the spring on it is the plunger with a copper washer that was also blackened (I have already it cleaned).  For normal operation, when the solenoid is energized, the plunger is pulled down so the copper washer connects with both bolt heads.  I probably could repair this solenoid by cleaning it up good, but since it is not easy to get to, I'll install a new one.

Now it's time to start reassembling.  I received the new solenoid in the mail yesterday.  But, what about the original problem - chassis battery run down?  Well, there's a gizmo available that is connected across the two battery systems and will maintain trickle charging for the chassis battery so when the RV is plugged into "shore power", the chassis battery is trickle charged.  The device I got is named Trik-L-Start.

A convenient place to connect the Trik-L-Start is right there on the Battery Boost solenoid, so that will be part of my reassembly process.  I've elected to mount it on the outside of the seat base where I can see the three monitor lights on it.  I'll run the three wires from it through a hole in the seat base into the area where the solenoid is located.  Easy-peasy.

Here's the finished product.  Trik-L-Start mounted on the outside next to circuit breakers.

The solenoid is mounted and connected with the Trik-L-Start yellow and blue wires connected to appropriate sides of the solenoid and the black wire connected to ground.  The two heavy battery cables coming together on the right post of the solenoid are the house battery cables.  The short one of the two going to the right connects to the battery disconnect solenoid which is controlled by the Aux Batt (battery disconnect or "salesman") switch in the coach.  This solenoid disconnects most of the devices that use 12-volt power in the coach, but not all (co2 sensor, LP sensor, etc.).

The Battery Boost switch works and so does the Trik-L-Start.  Will wonders never cease?

Now to reinstall the seat and it's done.  But first, a nap.

Okay, that's done - both a nap and seat reinstalled.  But, before reinstalling the seat, I made one more voltage check.  While plugged into shore power, the coach battery measured 13.86 volts and the chassis battery measured 13.31 volts.  The measurement of the chassis battery indicates the chassis battery charge is being maintained by the Trik-L-Start.  Otherwise, it would measure 12.7 volts or less.  Now if this dead battery episode hasn't done too much damage to my chassis battery.

Day 20

Beautiful morning.  However, it had been a chilly night and our little electric heater got a workout.  Sure would have been cold if we hadn’t had power.

I was sitting at the table having coffee when I saw the park ranger pull up.  He got out and checked the registration tag that I had placed on the site post last night.  Then he headed toward Lil Pumpkin.  So, I grabbed the envelope and hopped out of the RV.  The guy acted more like a cop on a night-time traffic stop.  He questioned me like I was doing something wrong, all the while looking around like he expected to see some contraband, drugs or something bad.  Almost made me feel like I had done something wrong.  He took the envelope and felt it, then asked if I had provided correct change or if someone needed to bring some change back.  His question sounded more accusing than simply asking if I needed change.  I told him it was a check and he just turned and walked back to his SUV and left.  The guy may be the nicest guy in Pennsylvania, but he sure seemed to me to be a little prick, angry because he was a ranger and not a real cop.  First impressions are usually correct.

Today’s trip was interesting.  We let Gypsy guide from Worlds End to Lake Raystown.  The route was supposed to take us down Hwy 15 to Hwy 220 most of the way.  But, Gypsy or Joyce (I don’t remember who) sent us off down State Hwy 64 which turned to 26 just outside State College.  It was a nice drive, one of those with the dots all along indicating a scenic route.  That took us smack dab through the middle of State College, right alongside Penn State University.  The traffic was stop and go so we had a lot of opportunities to watch the next generation (kids were everywhere!) staring at their phones.  Those not staring at phones were riding bikes.

Shortly after leaving State College, Gypsy wanted me to take Hwy 45.  After a few miles, it took a quick, almost hidden left turn and disappeared.  I rounded the turn and right there just a few feet ahead was an old stone railroad overpass with a big sign…8’2” clearance!  We failed to take a photo of it, but Google Earth was there before us.  So, here's a shot from Google Earth.  Our vertical clearance is 9'7".

I stopped just a few feet past the intersection.  I had to back up into the intersection so I could head on straight down another road.  But, there was a lot of traffic.  It was afternoon rush hour and it seemed half of Pennsylvania was rounding the turn behind me…the other half was coming out from under the underpass heading right at me.  All I could do was wave cars on from behind me when traffic thinned coming at me.  Finally, I was able to back up enough to head on straight.  What’s that?!!  Down the road a few hundred feet was another overpass with 8’6” clearance!  I managed to get turned completely around and we back-tracked until I spied Hwy 45 truck route.  I figured, if a truck can make it, I can make it.  Finally, we reached Hwy 22 which took us to the turn-off to Lake Raystown and Seven Points Rec. Area.  So, now, after a long but interesting day, we’re camped by the lake…well, we did see it, but not from our camp site.  But, another nice Corp of Eng. Campground which means ½ price for us old farts…and we have Internet and phone access.

Day 19

After checking with many campgrounds in the northeastern states and Canada, I found that our early side trip to Tom and Julie’s at Altmar had made us too late.  Most campgrounds closed just about the time we’d get there (we had originally intended to stop at Altmar after Nova Scotia).  So, C'est la vie.  We decided to just run up to the 1000 Islands area, cross into Canada and spend one or two nights then cut down across New York through the middle of the Adirondacks.  From there we’d decide what to do because hurricane Matthew might throw a kink in our east coast plans.  But, all that turned to worms before we left Altmar.  I had prepped Lil’ Pumpkin for the trip and the last thing I did was test the generator.  Many of the campgrounds in Canada and the eastern states that were still open were “dry” camps, which mean no power.  Lil’ Pumpkin has enough battery power to get through several nights if only lights and other minor current draws are used.  But, it’s getting cold at night and the furnace would probably be needed and the furnace blower would drain the batteries much faster.  We would need the generator.  But, it wouldn’t start.  It was doing the same thing as earlier this year.  The generator is fueled with propane and the propane regulator was not feeding enough gas to run the generator.  This will be the 4th regulator since we bought Lil Pumpkin in 2013, but that another story.  In the meantime, we now were faced with no generator and cold nights.  It just wasn’t worth it.  We headed south into Pennsylvania.  We stopped to camp at Worlds End State Park just west of Hwy 220 at Forksville, Pa.

Worlds End is a beautiful, well-kept park on the Loyalsock River.  It was mostly vacant except for a few campers sprinkled throughout the park.  No one was manning the office when we arrived so I grabbed a self-pay envelope and we drove on in to find a sight.  Interestingly, they had a special section for campers with dogs.  I’d never seen that before.  The “dog” section was just as nice as the rest of the park, so we weren’t treated as 2nd class campers.  We were just across the road from the river which was beautiful noisy rapids in that area.

I was tired and hit the sack early.  The self-pay envelope stated the payment could be made the next morning if we wished…and I wished.  Joyce filled out the requested info and wrote a check which she stuck in the envelope.  It was ready to drop off as we leave tomorrow morning.