Not enough crap to keep track off? Here, let me help you.

So, a few days ago we pulled into the KOA at Missoula. Nice full hookups park.
Soon after we finished hooking up, 2 more Airstreams pulled to each side of us. An impromptu Airstream mini-rally!

As we all inspected our hookups, we started to exchange notes and stories...in other words, get your pop-corn and let the horror show begin.

The top horror story, involved electrical surges and fried appliances in the trailer...including the Inverter/Charger. The owner with the newest Airstream had its electric box covered with a plastic bag, he lifted the bag and uncovered a massive gadget.

A protect-from-all-electrical-maladies-amulet.

The story teller, uncovered a modest unit that only covered surges.

Me? All of the sudden I felt naked and with beads of sweat forming on my forehead.
Crap, one more thing to worry about. Visions of electrical storms and old faulty wiring at cheap campgrounds starting to form in my head.

So, I turned once more to Airforums.com to get the lowdown on Surge protectors.
It seems that the field is split on the benefit vs. cost opinion. The do-it-all amulet is expensive...$300 to $400. The surge protector, about $120

It seems that in "modern" camps, the circuit breaker will protect you against surges. But not against low voltage situations. Plus...some of this reading pointed out to the necessity of monitoring just exactly what your generator is outputting while dry camping.

So, I decided to postpone and shop around for a sanely priced 30amp surge protector, and in the meantime, I got me a new gadget:



I have been using this for some days now...and you would be surprised at just how low the voltage goes down at RV parks.

So, monitoring freaks...get your fix with an electrical monitoring unit!

Is it cold in here? Or I need to help with the dishes more often?

If you are new to RV'ing, you will notice that the laws of physics seem to cease at times inside the RV.

You wake up in the morning and take a look at the reported temp outside....45F? not bad.
You step outside in shorts and t-shirt and....pow! a swift 35F kick in the crotch catapults you back inside the RV.

What about the temperature inside the RV?
You set the thermostat at a cosy 65F, and your notice that although your upper body feels OK, your feet feel like a pair of ice cubes.

Progressively hiking the temp setting in the thermostat, only seems to accentuate this phenomenon. Continuous experimentation with this issue will land you in the nearest shoe isle in front of a fluffy pair of sleepers.



Once the sleepers are in place, your mind is free to pursue more relaxingly the new temperature monitoring neurosis. First step is to add two new thermometers to each side of the trailer to confirm temperature differentials.

Temperature on the shady side of the trailer...

Temperature on the sunny side of the trailer....

Reported temperature by the digital thermostat...

Reported temperature outside by the digital thermostat...

Notice the discrepancy in the temperatures. I took these readings on a sunny day, but the differences are also present in cold days.
This differentials make a reality the consideration on where to park the RV in hot sunny days. If it is cold...the only advantage is to know the real temperature outside, as the thermostat is a compulsive lair!

In the northern states we have notices how people install "skirts" on the bottom of their trailers (0h! the joke potential goes through the roof)....these skirts help alleviate the "cold at the bottom" phenomena.

Boondocking Marathon...

So we made it to Tetons National Park, one of my favorite National parks. Last time we visited in 2007, we stayed at Colter Bay campground, on the shores of Jackson Lake. But, at this time of the year, the only open campground is on the other end of the park, the south end, closer to Jackson Hole. The Gros Ventre campground. This campground is a -dry- campground, meaning no hookups at all. No water, no electricity and no sewer. Water and sewer at available at the exit dump station, and you are allowed to run your generator from 8am to 8pm.

So, since we like this park so much, we tried to stay as long as possible, and for the first time test just how long the Safari Airstream can sustain two carbon based bourgeois lifeforms.

We end up boondocking for 10 days! A record for us.
So far, it looks like the black and gray water tanks are not an issue for us, even at the end of the 10 days, they were not close to full.

Fresh water and battery reserve are a different story. We did OK on fresh water, only at the very end, we started to run low. Even then, we could have pulled the trailer to the entrance of the camp and re-fill. So not much of a critical issue there.

Even though we ran the generator every day for about 2-3 hours, our batteries barely recharged enough to keep up with the electric demands. We figure that the main source of electric drain was the furnace fan. We needed to turn on the furnace to ride some of the 18F nights in the Tetons. About the morning of 7th day, when I turned the water pump to drink some water, for the first time I heard the Converter/Inverter/Charger unit alarm indicating that the 12V juice was running too low.



I fired up the generator, but after a couple of hours, it just recharged the batteries enough to put them outside the "warning" level. This prompted me to research battery charge on Airforums resource and to Google the model of my converter unit, a Parallax 7300 series.

As it turns, it is somewhat of an art to boondock and keep your batteries up to snuff. You need to develop a strategy to conserve energy.
Then, there is the "solution" side of the equation, as in upgrades and equipment to battle the battery charge war. Options are...

- Solar panels
- 3 phase smart chargers built into the RV inverter unit
- A 3 phase smart charger connected to your generator to recharge the batteries
- Recharge the batteries with your tow vehicle

The optimal option as far of less hassle and just "plug and play" is to install a new Inverter unit that has a smart 3 phase charger. My current Parallax unit charges in just one phase and it is too slow. But this options is expen$ive. About $250 + labor.

For the remainder of this trip, I decided to buy a 110V/16 amp smart 3 phase recharger that I can plug into my generator (or 20 amp camp outlet) and clamp directly to the battery bank. This type units will start with a big boost to charge the battery, then tapper off slowly to top-off the battery.

The Teton Pass challange...

I have been super happy with Blue Bailout (the GMC Sierra 2500 Duramax/ Allison) pulling the Airstream trailer. We cruise along at 60/65 mph with the beast purring at 1500 rpm and sipping diesel at an incredible 14-16 mpg.

But one thing is to cruise on flat or rolling hills, and another is to pull your rig through a high mountain pass. On our way from Idaho Falls to Tetons, we got the option of cruise along HWY 26 to Jackson Hole, or...take HWY 32 and 33 through Teton Pass via Victor and Wilson to Jackson Hole.

This route is marked as scenic, and we are suckers for scenic routes, but as soon as we turned into HWY 32, we started to come across snow warnings, steep grade warnings, weight limit warnings, Tow truck service phone numbers...(kidding on the last one)

We hesitated and pulled over...is this a good idea? So we asked: "Can you do it Blue Bailout?" "Broom, Broom!" it roared in affirmation. So we pushed ahead.

(How wise is to ask critical decisions to inanimate objects?...and how did we know that Broom, Broom means "yes, yes" and not "no!, no!)

The truck handled the steep uphill switch backs like a champ, but as it turns, the hardest part of a mountain pass, is not the uphill...but the downhill. Here is your chance to bake your transmission or cook your brakes if you do not know how to do it.

If you rely solely on the TV brakes, you will cook them and loose them, you need to use your engine/transmission to downshift and brake...but this puts strain on your transmission and engine also, as you see the revs peaking and the temperature on your tranny soaring.

On the downhill from Tetons Pass, I feathered the brakes before every turn, and the Allison Transmission did the rest, sensing the trailer push and downshifting when necessary, and easing up when the temperature spiked. I monitored the transmission temperature through the pass.

We made it in one piece, and now I have the piece of mind on how the TV handles for future mountain passes and know that I do not need to take lengthy detours to avoid them.



I guess in the case of mountain passes, "scenic route" means a route where you will see the temperature of your transmission resemble the colors of a sunset.

Too Big to keep failing...

Remember this post? Too Big to Fail...



This was the post where we got our brakes repaired in Decatour Illinois. We thought that we were done with brakes issues...not quite.

On the morning that we were traveling from Idaho Falls to Grand Tetons National Park, I started to notice that the Primus brake controller started to report a "disconnect" and a "short circuit" on the trailer brakes. (By the way....this is a great controller....as it turns, it is also a great tool to diagnose brake issues.)

We stopped to check the TV to trailer connections, but the warnings persisted. So we turned around back to Idaho Falls and went straight to the RV shop that fixed our Sasquatch Sprayer.

Back in the shop, the mechanic unmounted all the trailer wheels to inspect the brakes.



There, we found that the shop that did the brake job back in Decatour Illinois, left too much slack in one of the magnet cables. This caused the cable to rub against the brake drum...and eventually peel and cause the short. On another wheel, the magnet cable just got cut by a bad routing through the brake assembly. This caused the "disconnect warning" in the brake controller.

Arrrrrgh! Mother !@#$%^&**



The guys at Perfection RV in Idaho Falls were quite nice. They fixed these issues fast, I didn't even have to unhitch, and they did not charge an arm and a leg for the fix.

After this pleasantry, we were back on our way to Tetons.

By the way, Idaho Falls turned out to be a super nice town, especially to use as a base between Yellowstone and Tetons. Up and down Yellowstone Ave, you can find cheap diesel, a well stocked RV parts store, and Perfection RV shop.

And not a bad looking place either!

Winterizing: The X files...

So, we got bitten by a Texas style winterizing....meaning, half ass winterizing.
Last winter, while still under preparations for this trip, we (and my wife is shouting "we??!! you mean, you") winterized the Airstream trailer because it was in storage. I read several articles and "how to" do it.

• I opened and drained all the faucets
• I flushed all the pipes and emptied the fresh water tank
• I pumped air to blow all the remaining water in the pipes
• I poured antifreeze in the water tank
• I manually purged the water pump and filled it with antifreeze
• I manually poured antifreeze in all the drains and water traps

Was that enough?

During the first weeks of out trip, we started to notice a bit of water under the kitchen mat. It looked like "condensation" just under the mat. Humm.....we started to monitor this "condensation". It appeared and disappeared randomly. At some point, the conspiracy theories started, what is the cause of this tiny amount of water?

a) Condensation

b) The wife is splashing water when she is cooking or washing dishes (filed under chauvinist theories)

c) Roof vent over that area is leaking.

d) Kitchen faucet is leaking due to water pump on while traveling

e) Sasquatch is messing in the kitchen while we are out of the trailer.

We systematically eliminated each theory with observation and experimentation until the only theory ramaining was the Sasquatch one. Pure logic.

But on one of those rare occasions, when I was the one doing the dishes, I noticed some water around the kitchen sprayer...we never use that stupid thing...why does it have water around it? Does Sasquatch likes to use it?

I pulled the darn thing out of its counter top fitting and...gasp! a drop or two of water was trickling down the hose. I removed the drawers from the kitchen cabinets and inspected the underlying plumbing. Yep...the sprayer was leaking and the little water was ending up under the kitchen mat.

We stopped in Idaho Falls at Perfection RV and they quickly replaced the whole thing with a new unit. As it turns, if water remains in the sprayer head, it freezes and cracks...and leaks.

So, add to the winterizing checklist...kitchen sprayer.
I think that Sasquatch messed my winterizing by putting a bit of water in the sprayer.

The best from Yellowstone...

Not sure how much reader cross-over I have from this blog, to my photography blog. But for the Levity readers...here it is, the best photos from Yellowstone:

Blog here...

Gallery here...

and

Slide-show here...



Enjoy!

Radio-Blog silence...

What's up with the Levity Ahead radio silence?

The last post was from Idaho Falls. Since then, we have been boondocking and back-country hiking and camping in the Grand Tetons National Park.



So, we have been pretty busy enjoying this stunning park. Taking lots of pictures and doing some serious hiking. We will be leaving soon back to Idaho Falls where I will probably expand on the details of the last week.

Vicky fully loaded with camping gear.

Adolfo loaded with camping gear + photo gear!

Enjoying a day hike at Black Tail Butte.

Keep it fresh...

If you are new to RV'ing, there is a bunch of RV terms that will make you feel young again...back in those years when you knew close to nothing.

What is your Dry Weight?....and your Curb Weight? How about your Tongue Weight. (Answers at the end of the post)

In this installment, I call to your attention: City Water vs. Fresh Water.
These terms were confusing to me initially. What?...City Water is not fresh? What happens if I am not near a city?

After a while it became clear that:

City Water = Camp Water Hookup
Fresh Water = Reserve Water Tank

We have been using our "Fresh Water" a lot. We use it when we are in National Parks and State Parks (no hookups) and when the temperature drops below 30F at night.

You will need a "Thingy" to fill your Fresh Water tank and achieve that composed and collected look of a RV veteran. Otherwise you will have to aim and miss for a while...and make a mess in the process, running back and fro like a headless chicken while the entire RV camp exhales: "look at the newbie".

Fresh Water helper...Thingy (TM). Available in the Thingies Aisle of your local RV shop.

But lets take it to the next level...I already filter our City Water



So I figured, lets also filter the Fresh Water intake...



Here is how the whole set up hangs handsomely, I may add, in the Fresh Water intake...while I sip my coffee and boast of RV'ing tale tales with other campers.


When the tank is full, just flip the valve...no need to run back to the water hookup and scramble to close the flow.



Bam! There you have it....a filter, an elbow, and the Thingy (TM) will help you fill your Fresh Water tank like a "Pro"...if there is such a thing as a RV pro.....I think that the term might be "Rubber Tramp"

Answers:

Dry Weight:
Your weight before sweating like a pig backing up your rig into a tight camping spot.

Curb Weight:
Your weight at the curb before going into a long RV trip and starve yourself to death with camping food.....or gain massive weight by constantly snacking junk.

Tongue Weight:
The weight that your tongue gains every time you bore your companions with long winded RV anecdotes....while you fill your fresh water tank.

Neat freak corner...

If you are a neat freak, RV'ing can send you over the edge.

If you are a closeted neat freak, RV'ing will blow your cover and send you screaming at the top of your lungs "I am a neat freak and !! I can not hide it anymore !!"

Luckily, there is help.
RV stores, have a Neat Freak isle, but since Neat Freak, is not a politically correct term, the isle is marked as "Tie-Downs & Straps".

These tie-downs and straps are not to tie down and strap a neat freak, although, this is a tempting idea. No, these tie downs are to arrange and put things in order.

After weeks of fighting with our water hoses, electrical cables and TV cables, I decided to put some order in the hook-ups trunk of our trailer.

This water hose "carrier/organizer" has been very ineffective.

The same hose under submission thanks these cool mini-bungees

Now lets move to the TV cable...

Ugh! look at that mess. Those bread-twisters are as effective as US Congress.

Now, if only we could elect a mini-bungee for Congress...things would get fixed like this!

In your next elections, vote for Mini-Bungee. A candidate that knows how to put things in order
(Ad paid by the Coalition of Mini Bungees for Equal Rights and Neat Freaks for a better America)

Now, lets move on to another neat freak concern: Dirt and mud inside the trailer.
Our trailer steps are covered with a rough carpet like material that we use to wipe our shoes before entering. But in messy weather, this is not nearly enough. So I got this shoe scrubber that broke in the first week. I duct-taped-repaired it, in trailer-trash fashion, but the piece of crap kept falling apart.

Broken promises of cleaner soles...and, no, not made in China. Made in USA.

Lets see if this new unit fares better.

Now lets move on to fulfilled dreams....

Finally I got a Water Bandit! Sweeeeet!

Those pesky photographers...

In this visit to Yellowstone I noticed something funny about the warnings that were handed out at the entrance, and in some dangerous thermal areas: The people depicted in the warnings are all carrying cameras.

But not only that, also, the choice of graphics to depict people is fairly realistic. Knowing that this is a fairly international location, I would have expected the typical generic, multicultural stick figure.

But instead, realistic depictions were chosen. Can you imagine the meeting, and you can rest assured that there was one, where a committee discussed and approved the graphics?

I bet that the graphic artist, initially submitted figures without cameras.
Then someone at the meeting suggested:

"Can we put a camera on that person? And while at it, make that Buffalo hit him harder. Make his hair go up from the impact and his hat fly away....yeah, and his camera should fly away also, yeah, I like that."



"Can we make the person getting 3rd degree burns younger? No, even younger, like a kid. And while at it, put a camera around his arm, and make him jump from the scolding water, yes...like that. Also, make his hat fly up...perfect.




"Now, if a kid was not deterred from carrying a camera and getting close to the geysers, lets put his sister in making fun of him...yes, that will get him scared enough. Also, put a parent or adult walking away and not paying attention to the kid. We do not want to encourage attention seeking behavior. Yes, like that, perfect. Meeting adjourned!"

Bozeman...trapped again.

After Yellowstone North, we drove to Bozeman Montana. There, bad weather struck again, this time even worse than Billings, with 5 to 7 inches of snow.

We gritted our teeth and finally forgot that we came from Texas, got our winter gear out and went outside for hikes and snow play....and stop being such babies afraid of snow. Gear up and chain up!



Attention readers, great travel tip to relieve couple's tensions while RV'ing: Snow fight!
Stack some tight snow balls and pound your loved one until his/her undies are wet and cold.

-You forgot to close the vent....Pow!
-You do not help with the dishes....Wham!
-Your paper map does not show enough detail....Zing!
-Your GPS always takes us the wrong way....Zork!

After this snow-couples- therapy, we hiked some of the canyons on the west side of Bozeman.




There we found some gruesome scenes. It seems that big cats come down the mountain to get deer dinner.

Yellowstone...frozen worm.

Finally we had good enough weather to get out of Billings and decided to gun for Yellowstone, since the North entrance opening date was upon us. We visited this NP in 2007, and spent just about 2 days there due to the insane crowds. So this time we were expecting to have the park for ourselves.

KOA outside Livingston Montana

Remember the Early Bird post? Well, we got our worm, a frozen solid white worm!
But, it was a beautiful glorious one

Higher valleys totally snowed

These sort of days are the kind that make all the so-so days pale and make for it in spades.

Higher valleys totally snowed

We drove to through Mammoth Springs and the road to Norris with spectacular views all along.
We scouted the Mammoth Springs campground inside the National Park. It was open, it had nice long pull-throughs, but...the campground has two loops, and the bigger loop was still closed. RV's over 25' need the bigger loop to get out of the campground. The smaller loop, has a hairpin turn, that is too tight for long RVs.

Mammoth Springs

More photographs here...