Our Motorhome Blog:

March 20, 2010 - In the wintertime it's hard to find anywhere nice to go so the motorhome usually just sits. I start it once a month, run the generator and generally check things out. After a recent hard rainstorm I found a place where the roof had leaked. It wasn't a lot, but there was no way to know how bad it was up inside the ceiling. A couple days ago I started stripping all the goop that had been poured all over the strip that holds the roof and the top of the nose together and found that the goop had cracked and helped water to get under and take out ther correct seal. So I scraped everything off and opened the roof seam to let the roof dry out inside. I don't see any mold, but I can't tell how far the water has traveled. Tomorrow I'll put the sealing strip back on along with the correct new seal and new stainless steel screws.

November 28, 2009 - In October we spent a week at the Pismo Coast Village RV Resort and we had a really nice time. Judy has posted up some of her favorite shots up on Flicker. Click HERE to see them. The MH did just fine with a couple small problems with the toilet and black water tank. The toilet sprang a leak (fresh water) and we had to keep a towel wrapped around the back of the toilet to soak up the water. At least it wasn't a big leak. The black water tank started to smell really bad by the end of the week. After talking to the RV shop, they think the rig was put away by the previous owner with the tank dirty. Since we've never used the tank this much before, the bacteria in the tank walls became activated and started to stink. I have since used new chemicals made for such a problem and it seems to be fine now. I guess we'll know for sure on our next week long outing!

October 3,2009 - Just noticed that I've not updated this page for a few months. I finished polishing the MH and It looks a lot better now. Unless you get up close and see the cracks in the graphics there's really no way to tell that it isn't a much newer rig.

I took it out only once this year for my usual event around Labor Day. Everything performed perfectly and it's now all cleaned up in preparation for a trip to Pismo Beach. We've not had any chances to get a proper vacation this year so I hope it will be a very pleasant week for both of us!

March 31, 2009 - Some people wax poetic, I just wax. It's time to get back to work of spiffing up the MH. The outside surface of the fiberglass is dull and oxidized. Just waxing it doesn't work. I tried several automotive waxes and polishing compounds but none of them worked. After doing a little research I found I have to take a 2 (perhaps 3) part approach to getting the shine back into the rig. The sides are not painted. Fiberglass has the color dyes built into the 'gel coat'. So first, the surface must be polished down with a mild abrasive made for fiberglass, then a gloss sealer has to be applied to fill in the remaining pits in the surface and restore the shine. Both steps require a LOT of surface work. Working the surface with a big buffer is the ONLY way to restore the surface, and by that I mean a LOT of polishing in each step. This is very hard and time consuming. So far I'm only 30% into the process. Below are photos of the products I found that work (I'm sure they're others) and results the that I'm getting:

The oxidation remover is the first product applied. The surface was so bad if you ran your hand on the fiberglass it would come away white. The first step requires the most polishing. The more exposed the surface, the more the area would have to be worked. areas around access doors and other tight places must be done by hand. Do not get either of these products on painted surfaces, such as the cab paint or the painted metal panels over the heater, etc.. It can soften the paint and ruin it. The oxidation remover will work the surface down and leave an uneven but prepped surface for the next step.

The gel-gloss Fills in the remaining pits and provides restorative chemistry to the gel coat. It also has waxes built in but I think to get a really good surface a uv-protective wax should be applied as an additional step and repeated every year. The two photos of the drivers-side show the difference between polished and unpolished areas of the panels. The polish dries out too fast in direct sunlight, so find some way to shade the rig while working the surfaces.

October 26, 2008 - Monterey. We took the rig over to the coast and stayed in the RV Park for 3 nights. We've put up some photos and a trip report. Click HERE to see them!

September 4, 2008 - I just got back from a week+ long trip to the Nevada desert and the motorhome did great! While having the rig parked in front of my house for preparations someone threw rotten eggs at it and stole about 12+ gallons of gas! I hate the fact that I can't park in front of my own house without getting vandalized. I guess I'll have to put a stronger gas cover over the gas cap. Anyway, The trip was about 500 miles round trip and it took about 50 gallons of gas. That's wonderful considering I went over the Sierras with fully loaded water tanks, loads of stuff, and towing a small car! I'm very proud of the motorhome!

July 6, 2008 - The RV went back in to the shop and had the bad valve replaced and the manifolds checked. Hopefully, the repair will also increase the mileage. I'm not sure we got more than 8 MPG. I'm really hoping for 10. I'm also having some issues with the black/gray water tanks not emptying and/or giving me correct readings. The manual says they're huge, but they fill up awfully quick. I've also started to polish out the outside. I have yet to find the correct combination of polishes that will make the surface smooth and shiny. And it's huge and a hell of a lot of work!

June 30, 2008 - We took our first trip with the RV! Only 10 miles out of town the EGR valve broke and blew the hose off. It was loud and messed with the engine management system but we did the trip (to Olema) anyway. Click HERE for photos (and soon) a description of the trip.

May 30, 2008 - We got the RV back today and at least it was on the low end of the estimate. It's still $2,800, but it could have been 3 times that much. Hopefully we're past the worst of the issues and can get on with actually using the thing. next up is a solid cleaning inside and out.

May 23, 2008 - Well, we've had some pretty bad luck with the motor home. It has warped exhaust manifolds and they need to be pulled and replaced/resurfaced. This is a VERY nasty, big job and it's super expensive. Village RV wouldn't touch it - even after we spent nearly $1K getting them to go over a bunch of other issues with the rig. The Ford Fleet center wanted between $2,500 and $6,800 to do the work! So today it's been taken to a machine shop that specializes in Ford motors. IF everything comes apart without breaking any bolts, the repairs will be closer to the low end of the Ford estimate. So, the bottom line is we have yet to have any chance to take it anywhere. We're also considering taking some sort of legal action against the fellow we bought it from.

March, 13, 2008 - A search of Craigslist turned up a 29' Itasca with 27K miles at a reasonable price. I went over in the afternoon to take a look and it was exactly what we were looking for. That night Judy and I had a long discussion and ran more numbers. We felt we could do it and resolved to move forward with an offer if it wasn't taken by morning. A mid-morning call confirmed it was available and Judy went to see it and also liked it. On Saturday we settled with the owner and drove it home. So far I say there are lots of little things to fix and there may be an exhaust leak on the passenger side of the engine. We'll have to get it to a proper RV shop for an inspection and see what we've gotten ourselves into. Here are some photos:

	See the official Itasca site here.	Search Craigslist for your own motorhome!

March, 2008 - After a successful trial with the travel trailer we've decided to move up to a full motorhome. We've been closely watching all the ads for a class C motorhome with specific specifications. We had toured several RV lots and looked at a really fine 31' Fleetwood for $17K, with 44K miles being sold by a private party. It was wonderful - if a bit large, mostly because it was based on a class A chassis. It had tons of storage space and enough power to pull a chunk of the continent. But we waffled on the decision and someone else beat us to it. The search continues..