With the 2019 Grand Adventure just about a week away, I decided to take Amerigo for a Pre-Trip Trip. I wanted to just ensure that everything was working properly before the big push-off.  And I am sure glad I did.

The trip to the mountains was uneventful.  Just me and the puppies heading up to McWilliams Campground, part of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest (and only about an hour outside of Las Vegas).  The campground is well maintained and has 75 campsites. You can make reservations online but half of the sites are walk-ups (first come).  I went up on a Thursday and the place was nearly deserted, so it was easy to find a perfect site. Friday morning was a different story. The place was buzzing with people trying to stake their claim for the weekend. I just got some popcorn and pulled up a chair.

The campsites are for dry camping (no hook-ups) but there are plenty of toilets around and running water nearby.  The best part (or the worst), depending on your perspective, is that there is NO CELLUAR COVERAGE or WIFI.

Amerigo did great, with one minor glitch.  I recently had the generator serviced and although it started, it would quickly die out once any type of load was put on it.  I discovered this on the first morning when I was trying to make my coffee (Keurig). At first (because I wasn’t getting any coffee) I wanted to cuss out the service shop but quickly put on my thinking cap instead.

The Problem was ——- are you ready for it??  I was at 8,600 ft.  At that altitude, my generator (Cummings Onan RV 4000) was running rich.  Although there is a small limiter adjustment, it just wasn’t enough to allow the generator function normally.  Not a big deal, I can go a few days without coffee – right?

However, the saga continued when it was time to leave.  Without the generator, which charges the house batteries, I was unable to retract the slides or raise the levelers.  Oh, fuck!  My house batteries were below 9v.  Time for the thinking cap again — since the generator would start but die anytime a load was put on, I decided to shut off the circuit breakers to anything that I didn’t need.  For example, the outside refrigerator and the microwave oven – both drew power as soon as the generator started, even though I wasn’t using them.  I also made sure that all of the lights, fans, and stereo were all off.  This conserved enough power to charge the house batteries enough to retract the slides and raise the levelers.

SO HERE ARE THE BIG LESSONS:

Don’t Panic! Shit is going to happen and getting upset does not solve the puzzle.  Take a deep breath – walk away – and start to think with a new attitude.

Conserve Energy – I never thought about it when I was watching TV, playing the stereo, and lighting up the site like a Christmas tree, that I was using up power that I was going to need later.  Power is not an unlimited resource – a good thing to remember when you are at home or on the road.

Continue to DO FUN SHIT ALWAYS – don’t let the minor hiccups ruin your trip. 

#dofunshitalways #resist