Day 72, 73 - Harlingen, TX - RPI

Tuesday (72) - Quite the change from last week. I’m enjoying the pool again between test sessions. I also went to Walmart this morning to pick up some groceries. The only item that I wanted but they didn’t have were eggs. There was enough of just about anything else.  And no one had overflowing carts. In some cases, I ended up getting a more expensive version of an item.

The last test had a candidate testing from outside the country. He was a U.S. citizen but at a university in Europe. I learned how to enter this info into the FCC batch file that gets uploaded. I’m participating in all the sessions until we move on Thursday. From what I remember, Verizon was kind of barely there at our next location, Medina Lake TT. It’s about an hour west of San Antonio. 

Since we will be traveling with a full water tank, I started up the engine and used the engine-driven air compressor to fill all of the rear tires to the same air pressure. The engine started up easily (no smoke!) and I filled up the four rear tires to 100psi on the gauge. I'm not sure what the TPMS system will say but I tried to make them consistent. The engine-driven compressor inflates those tires much faster than the little 12volt compressor I usually use.

Wednesday (73) - It’s another warm day. The low last night was 70°F so the A/C ended up running (not continuously) all night. It’s 11am and very nice in the pool. We are starting to get ready to head north and west. The next stop is Medina Lake TT. This park has a lot of infrastructure issues such as roads and electric but it’s a nice location. And about 45 minutes from San Antonio. 

There have been numerous updates to the HomeAssistant software that I have been running for the last 9 months or so on a Raspberry Pi 3. I haven't added anything for a while but I have had to rebuild the server after some updates. I have an idea for another addition. I may have some time while in Medina Lake but it sort of depends on if there is sufficient Internet.

Day 41, 42 - Bullhead City, AZ - RPI

Thursday (41) - The tech returned this morning around 8:30 to finish the water pump installation. There were a lot of O-rings included in the box as all of the fittings from the old pump needed to be moved to the new part. And all of the fittings had O-rings. We added 8 gallons of the special “red” antifreeze that CAT requires and started the engine to check for leaks. BTW, not much smoke. 

Tomorrow morning, we’ll drive back to Henderson to get our core deposit back. I also called the service manager and mentioned that this tech didn’t seem to have any experience with this engine. So we negotiated a discount. I appreciated that. 

Friday (42) - This morning, we headed back to Henderson to return the old water pump to get our $210 core deposit back. We took advantage of the food options to have lunch. We also wandered through Costco but didn’t purchase anything. The Mediterranean Grill was very good and dramatically different from what we’ve had for quite a while. 

This gave us enough time to go back to the pool at the RV park in the afternoon. 

Later - It is nice at the pool. Just a slight breeze to keep you cool. Yesterday evening, I went to the other pool near the store/deli. Initially, I was thinking of leaving as a mother and teenage daughter were arguing. I offered to leave but they said it wasn’t necessary. Later on, the couple from across the street came by and we must’ve talked for half an hour. 

We head out tomorrow for an Encore park east of Mesa. 

Day 38, 39, 40 - Bullhead City, AZ - RPI

Monday (38) - Windy as of last night. By this morning, the gusts were down to 54 mph. We went ahead and brought in all of the slides and things quieted down significantly after that. The noise was from the really worn out slide toppers flapping. We plan on replacing the fabric this winter.

This is the view from the campground towards the Colorado River and Laughlin, NV. The large casinos are across the river on the Nevada side. The wind is from the north so it was blowing straight towards you while standing in this location. 

By 6pm the wind seems to have died down. 

Tuesday (39) - The sites here are pretty nice and it looks like we may need to extend our stay. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing as I like this rv park. Nice location, nice scenery, and I like the pool and jacuzzi. 

Now the reason for the extension is, guess what, that Caterpillar C7 engine again. The water pump is leaking from the front seal or from the weep hole. Either way, the water pump will need to be replaced. I am waiting for a call back from a mobile diesel repair shop in Laughlin, NV. They are looking to see about scheduling a time for the repair. It sort of depends on parts availability. This is a picture looking up from under the engine. The block is at the bottom of the picture.

This is a photo of the weep hole just behind and under the pulley. This engine uses a separate v-belt for just the water pump. A serpentine belt is used for the other accessories. This is not an unusual problem for the smaller Cat engines according to YouTube (AdeptApe, author of some incredibly useful videos). There is even a video on replacing the water pump on this series of engines. I had even considered having the water pump replace proactively last year when we were in Tucson having the rest of the cooling system worked on. 20/20 hindsight says I should've…

My Wednesday(30) - It turns out that this RV park has a second pool and jacuzzi. It’s near the entrance building which also has a small store and deli. 

The last shop I called that had mobile mechanics, mentioned that they could do the job but are based out of Las Vegas so there would be about some significant travel time. I found another business that had a mechanic out of Kingman, AZ. We’ll see how they do. Since we wanted the job done quickly, Bridget is driving into Henderson, NV, to pick up the part. This means a second trip to get our core deposit back. 

She mentioned bumper-to-bumper traffic near the casinos in Laughlin due to a Trump rally but called back later that traffic had cleared up and she should be able to make it to the CAT shop before it closes. 

In the short video you can see that the water pump bearings and seals are shot. 

Day 36, 37 - Pahrump, NV and Bullhead City, AZ - RPI

Saturday (36) - Today being the weekend, we did not go anywhere. Avoid potential crowds. We were originally planning on driving today but opted for an additional day. We are using the one year RPI membership that was included with our TT membership. This is the first time we used it. The stays aren’t free but the cost is modest compared to the normal daily rate. 

Tomorrow, we head south into NW Arizona to another RPI park. 

Today’s tasks were just checking things on the RV. I had gotten a low coolant message once when the engine was cold and on a slight slope starboard. The coolant level sensor is on the port side of the overflow tank. I picked up a gallon of the CAT approved coolant while at the glass shop so I added half a gallon. The oil level is still above the”full” mark and shows no evidence of water. The inside right rear tire is slightly less than the other rear tires so I’ll try to get a better match. The other rear tires are at 103 psi at today’s 81°F.

And, sent in my absentee ballot today. Alaska doesn’t make it easy. Apply for an email absentee ballot no more than 15 days before the election. Apply early and your request will be discarded. Fill out the online form, print it out, sign it, scan it back in and send via email or fax. A couple of days later they send a link to an online ballot. Vote, then print out the completed ballot, a ballot cover, the verification page (to sign and provide identifying info), and the envelope. Assemble the whole package being careful to fold on the lines. Tape the envelope only in the labeled places, add postage, and mail.

Phew! Time to sit in the pool...

Sunday (37) - A three hour drive to another RPI park in Bullhead City, AZ. I must admit, this is a nice place. The deserted pool is open and two large spas are open. This may be the first since February. The site is just a large gravel pad but it’s flat with plenty of room for the car next to or in front of the RV. It was hectic driving through Las Vegas on a weekend but we survived. 

We are here for several days before heading to an Encore Park east of Mesa. 

Day 32, 33 - Pahrump, NV

Tuesday (32) - Another 280 mile day got us to Pahrump, NV. We are staying at an RV resort using our RPI membership for the first time. It’s $10/day plus a utility charge if you are plugged into a 50amp circuit. And, surprisingly, the pool is open. This place feels more “resort-y” than many other places that call themselves resorts.

It has definitely warmed up from southern WA. And it did feel kind of nice especially after finding out that the pool was open. We added an additional day so we are here through Saturday night. I thought it would be good to not leave at the beginning of the weekend. 

We met up with Lynne and Jerry (motoblogger Curvyroads) for dinner at their RV park. They are staying at the one we were at the last time we were in Pahrump, Nevada Treasure RV Resort. It was good to see them again.

We still aren’t sure where to go from here. 

Wednesday (33) - It’s 88°F right now at 2pm but it’s nice to be able to sit outside again. A mobile RV wash business was driving through looking for business and Bridget nabbed them. $82 for a much needed RV wash. 

There is a cactus garden with in the park with a koi pond. Lots of large, spoiled fish. They must get fed often. As soon as you are spotted, they swarm to your location with mouths wide open.

 

Also nearby is a picnic area complete with gas grill and a water wheel.  

Bridget is doing a ton of research, planning and reservations for the next couple of months. A big job.