Community Forums

BBear · 12-28-2010, 08:55 AM

Hi guys,

First of all, I would like to thank the iRV2 community for all the support and help I had received since my RV purchase this spring season. Thanks for all the help with the silly questions and the mechanical questions. I really appreciated it.

It has been a great experience, working on Catalina every weekend for months, trying to figure out things and finally being able to complete my cross country trip.

It was definitely a very bumpy road without any sort of RV experience (i had never even been inside one before my purchase), but with the support of the community the trip was a success beyond my dreams.

At the end of the day we covered about 7,000 miles thru three weeks, replaced fuel pumps (tank and frame), water pump, ICM, and had multiple vaporlock situations and fan clutch issues. Catalina is a very sensitive girl, and despite the many issues, she safely gave us the freedom we were desperately looking for.

Here are some of our pictures:

Water Pump Issue found at Lake Manawa, Iowa

Catalina and the big boys

Fuel pump replaced on the hwy

BBear · 12-28-2010, 09:00 AM

She is demanding, one fuel pump is NOT enough, so we replace the tank pump:

Catalina again, one of my fav shots of her:

BBear · 12-28-2010, 09:04 AM

Going thru Nevada, heading to LV and then Reno:

Lake Tahoe, California

BBear · 12-28-2010, 09:07 AM

Surreal

We drove thru this area with a high concentration of mosquitoes

BBear · 12-28-2010, 09:10 AM

Heading to the Yellowstone

BBear · 12-28-2010, 09:12 AM

RickO · 12-28-2010, 09:21 AM

Welcome home! Glad you enjoyed your trip even with the problems you had. You'll get those bugs worked out and it'll be smooth sailing after that

Thanks for sharing the pics!

Rick

BBear · 12-28-2010, 10:15 AM

Thanks Rick,

The trip actually happened back in September, but I had more than 1,500 pics to edit, so just yesterday I finished the main bulk.

And regarding the bugs, we had to literally work on the RV everyday on the road, so all the work was done right there on the side of the road. The new water pump is leaking, and it is the only thing left to be done next season.

Cheers,

BB

Gary - K7GLD · 12-28-2010, 03:31 PM

Great pics- and looks like you were fully enjoying yourself in spite of a few problems - attitude makes a BIIIIiiiiig difference!

SO, any idea what your trip average MPG was - and what size engine in your RV?

BBear · 12-28-2010, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary - K7GLD

Great pics- and looks like you were fully enjoying yourself in spite of a few problems - attitude makes a BIIIIiiiiig difference!

SO, any idea what your trip average MPG was - and what size engine in your RV?

Thanks Gary, it was definitely a great time, and now me and my young brother are debating what to do next (sell it or do the trip again this coming year).

And yes, I had a laptop onboard and we recorded all 40 gas station stops, and we spent $2,346 on gas with an average of 8.52 mpg @ $2.92/gal average cost.

Catalina is powered by a Ford 460 7.5L.

I remember how strong she got after we replaced the in-tank fuel pump... wow.... lots of torque!

JMonroe · 12-28-2010, 08:41 PM

Nice photos. What kind of a camera were you using?

Midniteoyl · 12-28-2010, 10:18 PM

Cool pics! I liked the one with the fuel pump leaning on the wheel...yes, I think even having to fix things on the roadside is fun

The Wildbunch biker was great shot..

Looks like you had a great time... Dont sell, you just got it all sorted out! And, you'll start getting the bug to do it again in about 2 months... watch

BBear · 12-29-2010, 07:46 AM

Thanks Jay,

And I use Pentax gear. In this specifically trip I used an older K10D & and new Kx.

I also have 4,600 raw shots taken from the same angle (camera mounted on the window, see last picture) that I plan to convert to a stop-motion film of the road along the trip.

It is my first attempt at this, so I am a bit stuck right now.

BBear · 12-29-2010, 07:51 AM

Thanks Jim,

Now I wish I had taken more shots when the car was broken down, but when you are trying to fix things up, you forget about the camera!

My brother and I are trying to figure out what to do. He is more inclined to sell it, and I am trying to keep it. I even considered buying his share and keeping it, but it would not be the same without him.

I know I definitely want to hit the road again!

Cheers