Tuesday morning, Sept. 1
We left serene parking spot near Moran Jct. and started the drive west around the south end of the Tetons and heading for Idaho Falls. There were several long passes that we navigated where the coach was slowed to 30MPH to keep the engine temperature in check. We drove through Idaho Falls and got on I-15. We passed through Pocatello and on to Twin Falls to a small county park that was listed in one of my directories. Freeway driving is NOT fun, but it is a necessity in Idaho.
We arrived at the Rock Creek Park in Twin Falls and found another great little park with grassy sites and 30-amp electric and water hook-ups. It is secluded down in a small canyon so the wind isn’t a factor. We parked the coach, had a bite to eat, and went into town searching for an ATM.
We also drove out to the interstate to check out the Flying J for our morning fuel stop. Some of them are so poorly planned that a large RV can’t drive into the RV lanes without getting stuck. We asked and got permission to pull around to the truck refueling island the next morning.
We left Twin Falls around 9AM headed for either Caldwell, ID Elk’s Lodge, or Ontario, OR Elk’s Lodge. As we drove through Boise the radio quit. Then the engine started showing some erratic battery readings. I pulled off I-84 and into a Super Wal-Mart lot to check things out. My initial thought was another alternator failure or a battery gone bad. We started the generator to keep the batteries charged up and decided to press on to Bend. I phoned the Monaco Tech Support line and they suggested the Bend Service Center at the old Beaver factory. I phoned them and told of our dilemma. Ken Carpenter told us to press on and we could get the coach looked at first thing in the morning. We arrived in Bend at 7PM after 10 hours of driving and 485 miles! The road across Oregon is NOT enjoyable. There were several spots that road construction had us stopped and waiting for pilot cars to lead us through one lane while the other was torn up. The dust was heavy, rocks were the norm (so we kept our distance from the cars in front of us), and it was starting to get warm. With the generator running, we turned on the roof air and stayed reasonably comfortable.
This morning we were up early, had breakfast, and met the Service Tech, Allan, for discussions about the problem. He has diagnosed the issue as the battery isolator, so a replacement is in order. While we are here, I’m having them fix the entry door. Many of you are aware of Dottie’s problem opening the door. There is an adjustment that needs to be made and it will be fixed before we leave. We will probably be here overnight to get the 4-point wheel alignment and front wheel bearings repacked. This facility has been reviewed positively by several folks we know so we might as well get the work done here. They have the proper equipment and their service techs have quite an impressive background. We’ll take the chance and hope we don’t have to scrub the shop floors to pay for the completed work.
We don’t know how this will affect our schedule, but Bend, OR isn’t too shabby a place to stay. There’s enough to do and see that we can’t possible get bored. They allow us to go to the coach and watch their work, so I can get lots of questions answered while we’re here.
While we’re here I can take advantage of their wi-fi connection and send out this update. Verizon made some changes and I can’t use them to send out mail. The last update just went out this morning although it was written several days ago. When we leave here, we’ll be back to cell phone connections for email, so please hold on to those forwarded jokes, etc. The wi-fi sure is nice, though!
We left serene parking spot near Moran Jct. and started the drive west around the south end of the Tetons and heading for Idaho Falls. There were several long passes that we navigated where the coach was slowed to 30MPH to keep the engine temperature in check. We drove through Idaho Falls and got on I-15. We passed through Pocatello and on to Twin Falls to a small county park that was listed in one of my directories. Freeway driving is NOT fun, but it is a necessity in Idaho.
We arrived at the Rock Creek Park in Twin Falls and found another great little park with grassy sites and 30-amp electric and water hook-ups. It is secluded down in a small canyon so the wind isn’t a factor. We parked the coach, had a bite to eat, and went into town searching for an ATM.
We also drove out to the interstate to check out the Flying J for our morning fuel stop. Some of them are so poorly planned that a large RV can’t drive into the RV lanes without getting stuck. We asked and got permission to pull around to the truck refueling island the next morning.
We left Twin Falls around 9AM headed for either Caldwell, ID Elk’s Lodge, or Ontario, OR Elk’s Lodge. As we drove through Boise the radio quit. Then the engine started showing some erratic battery readings. I pulled off I-84 and into a Super Wal-Mart lot to check things out. My initial thought was another alternator failure or a battery gone bad. We started the generator to keep the batteries charged up and decided to press on to Bend. I phoned the Monaco Tech Support line and they suggested the Bend Service Center at the old Beaver factory. I phoned them and told of our dilemma. Ken Carpenter told us to press on and we could get the coach looked at first thing in the morning. We arrived in Bend at 7PM after 10 hours of driving and 485 miles! The road across Oregon is NOT enjoyable. There were several spots that road construction had us stopped and waiting for pilot cars to lead us through one lane while the other was torn up. The dust was heavy, rocks were the norm (so we kept our distance from the cars in front of us), and it was starting to get warm. With the generator running, we turned on the roof air and stayed reasonably comfortable.
This morning we were up early, had breakfast, and met the Service Tech, Allan, for discussions about the problem. He has diagnosed the issue as the battery isolator, so a replacement is in order. While we are here, I’m having them fix the entry door. Many of you are aware of Dottie’s problem opening the door. There is an adjustment that needs to be made and it will be fixed before we leave. We will probably be here overnight to get the 4-point wheel alignment and front wheel bearings repacked. This facility has been reviewed positively by several folks we know so we might as well get the work done here. They have the proper equipment and their service techs have quite an impressive background. We’ll take the chance and hope we don’t have to scrub the shop floors to pay for the completed work.
We don’t know how this will affect our schedule, but Bend, OR isn’t too shabby a place to stay. There’s enough to do and see that we can’t possible get bored. They allow us to go to the coach and watch their work, so I can get lots of questions answered while we’re here.
While we’re here I can take advantage of their wi-fi connection and send out this update. Verizon made some changes and I can’t use them to send out mail. The last update just went out this morning although it was written several days ago. When we leave here, we’ll be back to cell phone connections for email, so please hold on to those forwarded jokes, etc. The wi-fi sure is nice, though!
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