Thursday, February 11, 2021

It's That Time Again...

     


Our stay here in Southern California's Coachella Valley is soon coming to an end. Our daughter, Allie is expecting her second child in early April and we'd kinda like to be home a few weeks before the blessed event. By the time we get home we will have been on the road for nearly 5 months and we are very much looking forward to spending time with family... and welcoming a new member into the fold! 

     Having remained static here at Indian Wells RV Resort in Indio, California for the past couple of months, I haven't been particularly motivated to blog on a regular basis. It's not that Suzanne and I haven't done anything blog-worthy during our stay here, but the things we see and experience while on the road, to my way of thinking, seem to make for more compelling reading. 

     Rather than a chronological accounting of our time here in the California desert I thought I'd simply  upload a bunch of photos with a bit of added commentary. 

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     There are always projects to be done on the coach. For a long time I have wanted to do something about the entryway. I've always thought it looked a little cheesy and it has always been very difficult to keep clean. There is a hidden platform at the top of the stairs that, with the push of a button, moves out and up, closing/capping off the stairwell while the vehicle is in motion. There has always been a gooey, greasy residue around that contraption that I assumed was lubrication for its moving parts. Much of Travis' shedded hair finds its way into the stairwell and cleaning the resulting hairy, sticky mess has been a frequent and unpleasant task. As it turns out, the goo was some sort of adhesive for the vinyl & carpet stair and wall coverings. I'm not sure if it is supposed to be that way or if it just never set properly. At any rate, getting rid of it, after peeling off the vinyl & carpet, was a bear, and took three days. A heat gun, various scrappers, putty knives, razors, steel wool, caustic chemicals and patience finally got the the job done. 

 

Factory Stair Treatment


Yuk!

Clean And Ready For Something New 



The Finished Product



   Other projects included changing the coach's oil, oil filter & air filter. Rust abatement in the chassis battery compartment...




Done!

   Rust abatement under the chassis battery compartment and DEF tank...

Before

After

     Wheel polishing...


     With the help of my friend, Tim I also reinstalled the 30' vinyl slide-topper that blew off during a wind storm in Sparks, Nevada back in November.

     I cleaned the coach's radiator with a nifty little electric pressure washer I ordered on Amazon.

   
     We bought a very nice dash cover...


     Over the past couple years I've made several attempts to repair the reservoir for the coach's leveling system. The plastic welding job I did last year proved not to be the answer to my problem and I finally decided to replace it with an aftermarket tank I bought and modified a year or so ago. HWH, the manufacturer of the system, doesn't sell just the replacement tank. You have to purchase the entire pump/tank assembly - which is very expensive. 

New Tank In Place

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     It hasn't been all work and no play. I took a bunch of great bike rides. And then there was...

Coachella Valley Preserve

Joshua Tree National Park

Cousin's Maine Lobster

Several Movie Nights

Use Of Our Friend Tim's Golf Cart

Beautiful Sunsets

       We head for home tomorrow morning. Our first stop is in Casa Grande, Arizona where we plan to spend a week before continuing our 3 to 4 week journey eastward. It's always a little sad hauling anchor and leaving our Southern California family and friends. 

      And who wants to leave this weather behind?   

      Thanks for checking out the blog!




















 






   

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