Tuesday, June 23, 2020

More Fun On The Road

Ely, NV  High 85  Low 48

While parked at our beautiful spot at Stampede Campground, there were a couple of issues. The first one was the jet maneuvers from Nellis Air Force Base. There are signs warning about low flying aircraft and they aren't kidding. We had one jet go over us that felt and sounded like he was about ten feet above us. Even scared Skittlez and she is deaf. However, the maneuvers only went on for a few hours one day.

That bare spot up on the hill is where we were camped.


The other issue is our inverter decided to quit working. We watch TV, run our fan, and most important, run Jim's CPAP machine using the inverter. Without the inverter we can't boondock; we need electric in order to run the CPAP. Jim made several phone calls to Twin Falls, ID trying to find an inverter but nobody had them in stock. He found one at Amazon but it would not be delivered until next Wednesday. No next day delivery out here in the middle of nowhere. We called Valley View RV Park in Ely and made arrangements to spend a week with them until the new inverter could be delivered.

So here we sit in Ely. We have spent time in Ely previously when we rode the Ghost Train (Nevada Northern Railway Museum)   and explored the Ward Charcoal Ovens.  So staying isolated is not a problem.

We have had some more issues while waiting. I want to keep all of this information so I am blogging about it where I know I can find it again.

First, Jim didn't feel well. In this coronavirus world of ours, this is really scary. However, whatever bug hit him, it didn't last more than two days. And I think a lot of it was brought on by stress.

That's right - stress. Sunday morning Jim was going to go get drinking water and the truck would not start. Deader than a doornail. He checked both batteries (diesel trucks have two batteries) and they were definitely not cranking anything. He hooked up the battery charger to one battery and the generator to the other one. We had purchased these batteries in Mesa in February of 2018 at Batteries Plus. Well, the closest store is in Twin Falls, ID. Jim spent some time with them on the phone and they do have the battery and were able to contact the Mesa store to determine that they were under warranty.

Battery Update: Batteries Plus in Twin Falls called us back when they determined they don't have the battery we need. So we will have to have it ordered when we get to Canyon Ferry.

They also discussed the fact that it might possibly be our alternator. It took several hours for the batteries to charge but finally the truck started and Jim headed for NAPA here in Ely to have them check the batteries and alternator. All of them seemed to be doing their job except one battery was not putting out the cold cranking amps it should be.

And the fun continues - the grey tank valve is broken and needs to be replaced. Our sewer hose has a hole in it which Jim will be fixing before we need to dump again.

The weather has been really nice. In the 80's every day with a breeze and down into the 50s at night. This RV park has lots of permanent people living here but they have kept the front rows for overnighters (or in our case seven dayers).

Valley View RV Park


We are in the middle of the picture on the left side in the Salem travel trailer. We would definitely stay here again.


10 comments:

  1. Be certain the Inverter for Jim's CPAP is a Pure Sine Wave otherwise it will burn out his Machine.
    All kinds of Fun. Not!
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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  2. Sounds like you sat still so long your systems forgot how to travel. I hope things go better from here. At least the weather has improved a LOT!

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  3. Sounds like you're having more fun than you can stand. I hate those kind of trips.

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  4. And I thought I was the only person to have "fun" like you're having! Nice to know I'm not alone. ;c)

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  5. It sure sounds like you have your hands full. I hope Jim is feeling better and the remainder of the trip is smooth sailing.

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  6. I am sorry! The thing about RVing that was getting to us was always wondering "what will break next." I hope this will be all of it and the summer goes smoothly for you.

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  7. Hope you get everyting resolved with out to much trouble! I just went tru the battery issue with the Winnie View. While just aa battery, it still seems that is a big pain in the behind:) Stay safe!

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  8. Sorry to hear Jim wasn't feeling well but is fine now. It's always something when you get on the road after a long sit. Hope all the parts come in on time and you will have smooth sailing the rest of the way. Stay safe.

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  9. This blog reminds me of one I wrote last fall. Always something to be rapider on the RV but not so good to read about JIm. Happy he got better quickly. Those jets would have been fine the first two times but the thrill would were off because of the noise. We stay at that RV park in Ely every year both going and coming. Nice place.

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  10. OMG what a time yall have had. I've been through times like these that everything that can go wrong does. Often feels like it won't end but sounds like you are on the way to normal again.

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Thanks for visiting today. I look forward to reading your comments. Have a beautiful day.