Alternator Woes on our Motorhome

By the time I finish writing this blog post, I hope it's all fixed!!!

It seems our Safari coaches have alternator loads that wear them out pretty fast. Other Safari owners of our vintage years in the mid 90's seem to say the same thing.  I believe it's strained not only the maintaining of two batteries needed to start the big diesel 3126 CAT engine, but also charging up the four 6volt batteries we have on the coach.   We do not run the inverter while in transit, so that helps lessen the draw on it.

We do have 500 watts of solar panels to recharge the coach batteries during the day, but when taking off early for travel days, the coach batteries are low too. Some suggest starting the generator for an hour or so before take-off to charge up the coach batteries and lessen the draw on the engine's alternator.  Hmmmmm sounds like a good idea too, but sometimes not feasible if it's an early driving day.  Many campgrounds have set hours for noise or generator operation. Or many campgrounds prohibit the running of generators altogether.

Anyhooooo   We have already replaced our alternator in 2006, 2008, 2013 and 2015.  Steve said it is strange because it seems to always be failing for different reasons, and different parts that go out in the alternator itself.  Perhaps it's just bad workmanship and manufacturing on the alternator components?  He usually replaces it with the cheapest alternator you can get.  It's a Delco 21 si 160 amp, J 180 mounting.  If he changes to a larger alternator, then he also has to change the isolator.  Arggghhhhh   It's like he is always throwing parts at this motorhome, but after all, being 20 years old, we need to do this no matter what.

Last week on our way back from Sun Coast Designers in Hudson, FL, Steve noticed that our alternator was not putting out enough charge.  It was only about 11-12 volts.  It should be reading between 13.5 to 14 on the gauge and the Silverleaf vmspec computer in our dash.

We had enough battery power to get back to mom's yard... and he pulled the alternator out to examine it. Inside there was grease from the bearing that appeared to get all over inside on the windings and the brushes.  ewwwwww  

So Steve ordered a rebuild kit and a new set of brushes to rebuild the unit himself.  In between all the other projects he has been doing, he installed the repaired alternator and hoped for the best. He also cleaned all the connections and wires. Fired up the engine, and sadly, nope.... no go.

Okay, now it was time to get serious here, because we have to leave in a week to head back to Wisconsin!    He ordered another alternator and it was to arrive by UPS yesterday.  Say what you will about bad UPS service, but we tracked that package and it said it was going to arrive yesterday.  We watched for the truck all day long.  Last night about 8 pm, there was a knock on the door. Sure enough, out in the darkness was mom's friendly UPS guy. He had a flashlight and made his way from the truck out on the road into her yard and set the package on the front porch.  He wanted to be sure we knew it was there, so he knocked and wished us a great evening.  What a nice guy!

Well, the coffee is done here, so I might be able to gulp down a cup before I have to help Steve install this new alternator first thing this morning.  Perhaps I will even get some pics .... it's not a hard install, just two bolts and three wires. He is getting so good at this, I think he can do it in his sleep!

ON EDIT

yup.. we got the old alternator out, swapped the pulley over onto the new one, and installed...  

yippeeeee  13.6 volts and not even driving it, 

just idling in the yard! 

This is our fourth week in Florida.  We are working on many projects for mom.  The details around her getting settled back into her home are too many to mention.  We are handling what we can to help her out.  Paperwork, accounts, billings, name changes and legal issues are daunting at times.  We are so glad we can be here to help.

In between all the other stuff, we have managed a few more shopping trips to Gainesville with Auntie Lois.  These two gals are a hoot to take to Walmart because they get going with those carts and there is NO stopping them!

They wear us out for sure... after an hour of Walmart shopping, 

Steve and I found a good spot out in the Garden Center to relax 

while those two were still zooming the aisles! 

While sitting there, Steve found a great deal on a clearance price of the Weber Q1000... with a stand!~  It was marked down from $199 to only $99!  He has been wanting one of these for quite a while, so I think it's his vacation souvenir! 

We also hit Trader Joes again... our friends Conny and Jack sent us a gift card, and we really put it to good use.  Yummmmmm   I sure wish there was a Trader Joes closer to our house.

On leap year day, Mom decided to surprise us with a full blown Thanksgiving Meal... turkey and all the trimmings!   She said it was because we didn't get to have Thanksgiving together in November, so on leap year day, we can make up for it and have the holiday we missed with our loved ones!  Like a make-up day! 

The dogs are enjoying the warm weather and we take evening walks as often as we can around the rural location of mom's place in Florida.  It's all sandy roads, and they come back pretty grubby.  Added to the humid conditions and damp fur, the sand and dirt just clings to them.  If you pet them, you get a puff of dust in the air!   I can see why most folks in Florida have short haired dogs....  LOL.  it was bath time, even if they didn't totally appreciate it.

Last night, Auntie Lois invited us out to Fish Fry at her church!  

She is part of the kitchen crew, 

and took a moment to come out to speak with us at our table... 

Ahhh the Master Chef!  How I love that smile! 

In between tasks and errands and things, I am also working on some quilt blocks.  I carry an extra sewing machine in our motorhome, and of course there are quilting shops all over to get more and more fabric.  I am working on a blue quilt to go on our front porch back home.

With so many details to work out here in Florida, we are also keeping an eye on things back home with our housesitter, snow plow man and neighbors.  The snow coming down right now in Chilton makes me kinda homesick, but the nice sunny 75 degree day here in Florida is enjoyable too.  Hmmm

We know about the big landslide in Jelico at the Tenn/Kentucky border on I-75.  We have heard the auto detour is bad enough with the twists and turns and grades, and we should avoid it with our motorhome and toad.  Also, the big truck detour route is about 140 miles around out of the way.  So we are making plans for a different route further to the west on our way home next week. That means missing a visit with our friends Linda and Mark in Tennessee.  Sigh.

Well, coffee is done and Steveio is raring to get to the alternator replacement.  I better get off this computer and get to work.  I am his "gopher assistant" and photographer/reporter to take photos and write the articles!

Steveio the Grill-Meister and his love affairs.....

I said in my last blog that I would post about Steveio and his love affair with grills.....(not GIRLS... GRILLS!)

When I first met him, he said he did a lot of cooking over a grill.. even pizzas!   And because he was remodeling the house he was living in, he didn't even have a stove yet till the cabinets were in.  So ALL his cooking was over the grill out in the back yard.   What a guy, eh?   Little did I know where this love affair with grills would lead.......

When we got married, I already owned a huge Webber kettle charcoal grill, it was larger than the regular Weber and it was great for large gatherings.    We always had to wait for the coals to be ready, but he liked cooking over it and did a lot of family parties and big meals over that grill.  Four hungry teens and their friends would be about the right size family for a grill like that.   He has now brought it to work and they have company cookouts using that grill.

Once we built the house up in Oconto, I got him a regular propane grill like everyone else has on their decks. You think that would have kept him happy?  One grill, easy start, quick, and he could cook on it.   Fine?

He cooked and cooked on that grill,  and I think he had to replace the innards 2 or 3 times over the years.  But he said he was thinking of getting a tabletop grill that we could take camping too.   I had no idea what kind of Monster I was creating.  I said I thought that was a good idea and we could look at new portable propane grills....

So when Heather got her first apartment, he gave this regular normal deck one to her to cook on.

And after looking around, for his birthday I bought him this:

A Coleman Roadtrip grill--   I bought the extra griddle piece and the extra grid to make one side a burner.  And it's blue so it matches our motorhome .. heh heh   The X legs collapse down so he can just slide it right in a basement compartment.    So I thought I did the best thing, by getting him a grill that can be out on our deck or take along in the motorhome.   It cooks wonderfully, but  the enamel coated cooking grids are kinda strange and very hard to clean.  They are not wire racks like most grills.   We have to clean this grill right away each time or things bake on and it's really really grodey, and takes a lot more elbow grease to clean it than just leaving it sit there all icky.

Then one day he saw THIS on a special sale from the website RV Toy Outlet..

http://www.rvtoyoutlet.com/

It was regular priced $69 on sale for only $19.99 ....  (but $18 shipping!)    Well he liked THIS grill so much he kinda stopped using the big Roadtrip unless we had a lot of company to cook for!

That was about three years ago.. and now it's all worn out and won't work anymore.  The innards aren't even replaceable, so now it was time for shopping for another grill!


He saw this Party Grill from Coleman and wanted it.   He said it would be great in the motorhome too.  It works great and is perfect for 2 people ....  here he has it loaded up with ribs for 6!   But it's still kinda small, and he said the one drawback is that there is no lid, to help cook foods on the grill, ya gotta be able to cover the food sometimes to get better heat and through and through cooking on some meats.

So the hunt was on again for another grill besides the three he already owns....  oh geesh.  

He saw a nice cheap Charbroil at Fleet Farm and hinted it would be good for his birthday.  $20.    Soooo I went in April and bought it, just a nice table top grill with a lid that ran off propane.   Okay...  hidden away till his birthday, I am thinking all is good.   But 2 days before his birthday, WHAT does he come home with???   The very same Charbroil grill!!!   He said he knew they were on sale and he had a co-worker pick it up on a tool run from work!  ARGGGHHHHH   WHY does he go and buy things for himself right before his birthday, Father's Day, Xmas etc. ?  He does that very often.

So he opened one of the grills up and used it.... works great!   And the other one we kept new in the box and donated it to my brotherinlaw's cancer benefit to be raffled off.  

So now he has the Charbroil for at home on the deck, the bigger Coleman Roadtrip if we have company, and huge Weber for at work, and the small Coleman Party grill in the motorhome..... 

Then two weeks ago..... he was thinking out loud:
"HEY.. WILL IT MAKE SENSE TO HAVE **TWO** OF THOSE CHARBROIL GRILLS?  KEEP ONE IN THE MOTORHOME AND ONE AT THE HOUSE!   THEN I DON'T HAVE TO LOAD OR UNLOAD THE CHAR-BROIL!!!! "

So now he wants ANOTHER grill???

We said we would pick one up next time it went on sale, but then we were shopping in Aldi's grocery store, and he saw THIS one!   No name brand, but larger than the Charbroil, but smaller than the Roadtrip.....

He said this one is a winner... and he should buy a couple new in boxes  to store away when this one burns through or wears out.   Oh really???


But please keep in mind that he also likes cooking over a campfire!   Sometimes he cooks over the grids that are in place in the national forest camgrounds we often go to.....

Then of course if there is no grid over the fire, he needs to cook over a tripod too..... 

Not only cooking meats or corn right on the grid, he also does big pot meals too......

Now, my sister is the one who carries my tripod all over for camping, even through it collapses, it's grubby and sooty and would make a mess in our carpeted motorhome compartments.  So they carry it around in the back of their pickup truck, and bring it to wherever we go camping together.   

So what if Steveio wants to cook over the fire when it's just the two of US camping???   My crafty creative guy Steveio made this cooking grid and metal stake.  Yup, he designed it, welded it up and it is comprised of the one stake and the one flat grid/handle piece.  The weight of the handle keeps the grid at various heights by just sliding it up and down on the slanted stake, and it stays put whatever height you set it at.   It stores flat in a heavy duty plastic bag in a basement compartment of the motorhome.   

Then sometimes when we are with the whole family, my brothers bring along THE QUAD POD!!!    This is a tripod made out of a swing set, with a cable, pulley and a boat winch to raise or lower the grill, and has accessories like a big flat griddle for 16 pancakes, or a big cast iron dutch oven.  This is for SERIOUS cooking outdoors!   It can come apart into pieces and be hauled from place to place. 

Sometimes we also cook over the fire with pudgy pie irons, not quite a grill, but still cooking over a fire, right?   We have a collection of I think 4 or 5 right now, and whenever I see them at rummage sales, I snap them up!~   The newer aluminum ones are not as good as the old cast iron ones, take my word for it.

And last, but not least, is the Redneck part of Steveio who always wants to cook a turkey, by deep-frying it!

So I bought him a turkey deep-fryer one year.   Honestly, I use the burner and stand more for canning pickles or tomatoes or dyeing wool out of doors, but we do a bird every now and then too.

He has also used the deep-fryer (with salt water in it)  to steam up Alaskan Snow Crabs legs for my birthday!

Now, as I write this and look back over it...  

I realize that **I** am the one who keeps buying him 

all of these grilling toys!!  

GASP!  I am an *ENABLER* to his addiction!!!!

See why I said he has a love affair with grills????  

Better than with WOMEN!  LOL LOL