Getting Ready for a Trip

Wednesday - I picked up a 95Wh battery to charge my phone when power isn’t available. I had a small battery that I’ve been using for almost 8 years. I had picked it up on one of my university trips before planes had USB ports at every seat. This one will charge my iPhone 13 mini almost ten times. Bridget decided that she needed one as well so I just ordered another. The first one was delivered in under 24 hours. Amazon Prime works well most of the time. 

I picked up a couple of electronic rodent repellers. Ultrasonic sounds, strobe lights, and flashing leds. All tied to a motion detector. We’ll see how well it works. 

I needed a couple of grocery items and it seemed like a good enough reason for a Ural ride. It had warmed up to mid-50s so it was warm enough. I still need exhaust manifold gaskets. Raceway in Salem, OR, sent me inline fuel filters by mistake. They sent the gaskets and I believe that they should arrive today. And, they told me to keep the filters. I’ll install the gaskets tomorrow. 

My task of the day was defrosting the refrigerator. I emptied the freezer and only partially emptied the refrigerator. Mostly meat and dairy. It’s taking the freezer a while to cool back down but the contents are in the portable freezer so no rush. The refrigerator is at 40°F and it is filled back up. 

On Saturday, we head out on a non-RV trip. A Western Caribbean cruise out of Galveston. Hopefully no weather issues as the forecast is for winter weather next week. 

Jeep Software

Monday - I picked up a BT OBD2 reader and the security cable needed to save changes to the ECM on the Jeep. We were still occasionally getting the service transmission message on the dashboard display. Searches on the Jeep JL forums showed what needed to be done to eliminate the message and the potential issues that it can cause i.e. limp mode. It’s something that the dealer in Fairbanks should have done after performing the clutch replacement recall. Oh well, it’s done now. I now have software to read/reset codes and enable features if needed, such as changing the speedometer with tire size changes. 

It took a bit of digging to find the area within the software to do the reset. There are a ton of options. 

Tuesday - Today's high temperature is only in the mid-50s (°F) and it's overcast. At least it isn't windy. I had a couple of bananas that were getting old so I am making a couple of loaves of Hawaiian banana bread. Basically, it has pineapple and coconut added to the bread. It's pretty tasty and I am planning on tossing them into the freezer as we will be out of town for a bit. So it smells pretty nice in the RV right now. 

This afternoon’s project. Hawaiian banana bread with coconut and pineapple.

A/C Repaired - Not

Tuesday - Last night, the temperature dropped to 30°F. There were no water issues, as it wasn't below freezing for very long. This cold spell is forecast to last for the rest of the week with areas just a little north of here are actually forecast to get freezing rain, sleet, and even snow. 

The air conditioning parts arrived yesterday. Essentially a new starting capacitor and the PTCR. I replaced both components but had very little faith that it would resolve the problem. It didn’t make any difference. I will order a replacement next month as we will definitely be needing A/C soon. 

Since it’s an electrical component, I’m not going to try and return it but just set it aside as a spare. The start capacitor is a common part to fail.

I had the RV propane tank filled today. It was down to 2% according to the SeeLevel gauge. The built in gauge had it below 0%. They put in 22.4 gallons for just under $100. Propane had gotten more expensive. It makes the small diesel heaters an attractive option. We have been running off of the bulk tank since arriving at the SKP park. The propane to fill that tank is much cheaper than the smaller RV tank.

Wednesday - While I was up on the roof, I noticed that one of the vent pipes seemed to be sticking up higher than before. So the Dicor around the base was pulled up from the roof. Dicor needs to be applied when the air temperature is in the 70s (°F) and it's barely 40°F today. So I will use some Eternabond tape for now until things warm up. It's supposed to rain today or tomorrow so I need to seal up the opening. This will work for now. I heated up the tape with the heat gun after applying it to the roof.

I'm not sure why the vent pipe pushed up. I did fill up the water tank and the grey tank sits on top of the fresh water tank. Maybe the fresh water tank expanded and pushed up the empty grey tank...

Thursday - It feels colder today probably due to the humidity. It has already sprinkled and rain is in the forecast for the rest of the day into tomorrow morning. Lots of concern here in TX due to all of the snow forecasted for northern TX. I suspect that Dallas is going to be a mess.

RV A/C & Maintenance Fees

Sunday - After talking with some people in the park about our A/C problem, I did a little more digging. I pulled out the start and run capacitors and checked them. No shorts and they are within specs. I did not realize until today that my new multimeter will measure capacitance. There is another component called a PTCR aka Positive Temperature Coefficient Resistor. This component has a very low resistance at room temperature but as it heats up, the resistance increases. It is in series with the start capacitor giving an extra current boost to the compressor when it starts up. 

Monday - This qualifies as winter in this part of Texas. The lows for the next week are in the low 30s (°F), and there will be some rain. I went for a short walk and the temperature was fine but there is still a north wind that makes if feel colder. Needless to say, I'm participating in the morning test session from inside the RV. 

I just paid the annual maintenance fee for this lot which covers all of the fees and utilities except electricity and propane. It comes out to $137 per month. I'm going into town to pay our property taxes for the year. It's around $26. Pretty cheap living. 

There’s no significance to the water tower except it was near the downtown area when I paid the tax. It’s pretty nice as long as you aren’t in the wind. I was thinking about taking the Ural into town but it would have been a 25mph crosswind. I’ll pass on that. I drove the Jeep towards San Antonio yesterday to drop off an Amazon return and you could feel the crosswind while on the highway. Especially the gusts.