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Old 03-19-2016, 12:56 PM   #1
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Fun with the motorhome this year.

Headed out in January - leaving Calgary for Puyallup WA, eventually travelling to Portland, San Francisco, Fresno, Desert Hot Springs, and San Diego, then back via San Francisco and Snohomish WA to Calgary. All in all spent 65 days in the coach, our longest trip ever.

We stopped in Harrisburg Oregon for two days to have Elite RnR fix some issues with the coach and give us an estimate for some remodelling. Strongly recommend them.

The big Cat handled the mountain passes including the Crowsnest, Snoqualmie, Grants, as well as the Grapevine with ease, and the coach performed well.

Had a bit of a problem on the I805 moving from Chula Vista to Del Mar in the San Diego area. Got the Check Engine and Engine Warning lights and the Aladdin showed engine temp of 250F. Pulled off the highway and found the red heater hose from the engine to the Aquahot had developed a 1 inch split about an inch from where it connects to the outside of the Aquahot.

This is the second time I've had a split at that connector, a few years ago I had a slow leak where the hose clamp compressed the hose. I cut off a few inches and re-attached it and had to go find what turned out to be 13 gallons of coolant. The repair got us home but I decided it was time to deal with it.

Decided to have the oil changed at the Cat dealer in Monroe WA on the way home. The tech was good enough to pull the engine history. It had reached 237F for 44 seconds according to the engine log, not enough to cause any concern.

He pointed out that we had a very old flash on the ECM and offered to update it while he was changing the oil. The flash is free, and since I was already paying him for his time to do the oil (and check the calibration on the dipstick) it wouldn't cost any extra. Why not?

Turned out it took almost 4 hours to get it to take the flash once it had deleted the software on the ECM. Ten tries later he had it installed and checked and we were on our way home.

Interesting that I set up a new trip monitor as we left, and my fuel mileage was down to 5.8 mpg - all my other trips where I've run a monitor it comes in at about 7.1 for mountain driving, or 7.3 on more or less flat ground. Bit of a source of inquiry now.

Got home, took the coach in to a diesel shop for new heater hoses and check the starter (it is growling before it engages), and I'll have the Allison serviced - and I may have it in for a code dump from the Allison ECM as it seems to be shifting a bit harshly and it may be part of the lower fuel mileage.

While the tech was under the coach looking at the hose routing to the engine he noticed a 5 inch by 2 inch hole in the exhaust cross over pipe. Luckily it is downstream from the turbo, but it needs to be replaced.

All I can say is motorhomes are cheaper than boats.
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Old 03-19-2016, 01:55 PM   #2
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Thank you for your trip info. Our experiences are similar. You last sentence said it all. I can only add, it is a lot cheaper than an airplane too!
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Old 03-19-2016, 02:02 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by distaff View Post
All I can say is motorhomes are cheaper than boats.
Sold the boat, the boat house, moorage space and quit the yacht club some 30 years ago. Think I'm $1,000's ahead with RV's!
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Old 03-21-2016, 05:52 AM   #4
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Been through 6 rv's, 2 planes/hangers, and 3 boats/slips.

.... but NONE of those compare to marital-upkeep . I guess we just need to choose our poisons carefully .



(Oh, this is so gonna hurt if she ever sees it )

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Old 03-23-2016, 08:57 AM   #5
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Final report on the trip - cost of repairs.

Had new hoses run, upgraded them to the best quality available. Replaced the starter with a remanufactured unit. New cross over pipe for the exhaust.

Hoses were a nasty job because of how they route through the vehicle, but they did a nice job.

Exhaust pipe was replaced with two flexible sections and a piece of straight pipe. Starter is a Delco-Remy, original had a Caterpillar tag on it, hard to say who made it.

Total cost $2,800 Canadian or about $2,150 US. Add to that $400 US for the oil change and we are at around $3,000 Canadian, $2,500 US for the year.

Hope that's it.
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Old 03-24-2016, 12:35 PM   #6
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Where did you stay when you were in Fresno?

I'm in Clovis which borders Fresno and there are only a few places I know to stay.
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Old 03-24-2016, 05:50 PM   #7
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Arch,

Funny you should ask. I wouldn't recommend the one we used. We stayed at River Bend & Kings Canyon RV park near Sanger.

We stayed there a few years ago and it was a unique experience then. It was a KOA affiliate, but to get into it you drove through a pretty down market mobile home park, but once inside it was an Oak preserve. Very old oak trees that they can't cut down, and fabulous bird variety. We say woodpeckers, snowy egrets, herons, blue birds, hawks, and what I though were vultures drifting over on the wind.

Aside from someone who came in as we were leaving (late January or early February) we were alone. The place was not in great shape, but the bird life and setting were astonishing.

We decided to try it again, even though they had lost their KOA association. Called first, confirmed they were still open, and was assured I didn't need a reservation. Got there, it is under new "management", and found a kind of combination nature preserve and homeless camp, and a huge reduction in bird life. They have promoted it to the hopeless and desperate as a permanent place to live, and it is full of beat up units, and the place is littered with dog excrement.

Since we were there for a dog show, and had to walk dogs pretty frequently, the number of dogs loose or tied out was a problem too.

We will be looking for a new place if we ever get back that way.
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Old 03-24-2016, 10:21 PM   #8
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distaff...we stayed at River Bend & Kings Canyon RV park once many years ago. Never again. That place is scary to say the least.

That's why I asked where you stayed as there isn't much in the way of a nice RV Park in the Fresno area.

The next time you head down this way get a hold of me, I can get you in at the Elks RV Park in Fresno.
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