I used to write blog entries on this site to talk about each trip we made with our GMC but, for some reason, I quit doing that with the Sunseeker. I guess I was just not that excited about it (like I was the GMC) so I didn’t feel like writing about it. Looking back – it is March of 2019 and we have had the Sunseeker for almost a year and a half and I can’t remember much about what we have done with it. Luckily, Carol has kept a very simple log of each trip – the dates (mostly) and the destinations. She did not keep track of the reasons for the trips or any notes about what happened or what we did. I decided to catch up so, using her notes and our recollections, I have tried to reconstruct what I missed.

We left Pennsylvania for trip number one on October 4th and arrived at home on October 13th. Since this was a 2015 model year motor home Carol expected a trouble-free trip and was surprised and disappointed when we had trouble. I was not. I knew better because there are so many systems involved in turning a truck into a motor home. Some of the issues showed up before we even left Pennsylvania.

The coach had apparently been stored without winterizing during the previous Winter and several things had frozen and been damaged. The first was a plastic water filter cartridge that Rick discovered while exploring the many cabinets in the coach. We visited the local hardware store and, because we could not find a replacement we decided to just eliminate the filter entirely with fittings we got there.

Next, while preparing to depart I discovered a big leak from a burst seam in the aluminum water heater. Rick and I made an emergency trip to a welding shop where they repaired the seam. We also discovered that the kitchen faucet had been damaged and the spray nozzle would not stay attached – that had to be replaced too.

On the way home our house batteries went bad for some strange reason. We had used them with no trouble on the first day and night – a WalMart parking lot – but after staying at an RV park and plugging into 30-amp power all night they were no good and had to be replaced that day.

Then, when trying to use the motor-generator for something like using the microwave, the automatic transfer switch acted up and eventually needed replacing after we got home.

The house water pump also was failing on the way home whenever the water tank would get below half. I later discovered that it too had suffered from the freezing and had to be replaced.

The Mercedes portion of the coach did really well as expected – by me.

Our second trip with the Sunseeker was to a Jetset (our Arizona GMC club) rally at the De Anza RV Resort in Amado, AZ from December 7-10, 2017. We had no issues that I can recall.

Our third trip was just up the road from our house – 30 miles or so – to the Picacho Peak area to visit Carol’s cousin Christopher and his wife who were spending the Winter in their 5th wheel trailer there at the resort. When we arrived we opened the door to step out of the coach and the automatic step collapsed and stopped working – a broken bolt in the mechanism. I fixed it myself with a replacement part ordered from the step manufacturer.

The fourth trip was to Roper Lake State Park in Safford, AZ from January 4th, 2018 until January 6th. The park was OK, the area was less than attractive and we probably won’t go back.

Trip number 5 was to another Jetset rally. This one at the Bluegrass Festival at the Pinal County fairgrouds in Casa Grande, AZ from January 26th to the 28th.

Number 6 was to an FMCA rally at the Pima County fairgrounds from February 5th until the 9th. We had our awning replaced and bought some tire pressure sensors for the tow car. We looked at every small RV they had there and decided we really like ours better than any of them – especially after seeing the prices.

Number 7 was another Jetset rally at the Cave Creek Regional Park in Cave Creek, AZ from March 15 to 18. This time, while setting up, the side slide-out that contains our recliners and dining table refused to go out. It would move an inch or so and then quit in both outward and inward movements. I recalled seeing a couple of electronic boards in the area where the water pump is located. I looked there and one of them was blinking a code which turned out to be saying that there was a problem with the cable between it and the slide-out. I managed to put it into “manual mode” and got the slide to work but I had to do that every time I needed to move it. It turned out that a packrat had gotten into an area of the coach where the cable passed through, made a nest, and tried to eat the cable breaking 3 of the 5 wires in the cable. The replacement cost $100 and had to be routed under the coach since the coach was built on top of the cables and they were no longer accessible.

Our eighth trip was to Prescott with Jae and Bridget (friends and neighbors) to visit the “Out of Africa” park in Camp Verde, AZ.

Our 9th trip was to California from June 2nd to the 15th for our grandson Kyle’s high school graduation in San Jose and then visits with our other family members in the Sacramento area.

From July 29th until August 7th was our 10th trip. This one was to Northern Arizona to get out of the heat and to change scenery. Carol’s Mom had passed away on July 12th and we had to get out of town to try and quit thinking about her. We spent time in the White Mountains in Pinetop-Lakeside and farther West on the Mogollon Rim in a couple of US Forest Service campgrounds – we really liked “Sinkhole”. We also visited the Tonto Bridge State Park.

Our 11th trip was to Mt. Hood, Oregon and back for a GMC Western States rally with Daniel and Marjon Jacobs from the Netherlands. This trip is written up as a two-part post in the “Sunseeker Trips” section of this web site.

The 12th, 13th and 14th trips were to Jetset rallies at Bisbee, AZ in November, Lake Havasu State Park in December, and Tombstone, AZ in January.

Our 15th trip is planned to be about 5 weeks in California for family and friend visits, sightseeing places we have not been and some we have, followed by a GMC Western States rally in San Diego. Look for a detailed post on this one under “Sunseeker Trips – 2019”.

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Until we get home, I will be updating this post as we go along so check back if you are interested.

Tuesday, October 9th – we left Mt. Hood Village this morning at about 9:45 or 10:00 and drove around Mt. Hood because it is supposed to be a very scenic drive. It was pretty nice but for the majority of the time we were in rain and fog and there was really not much to look at. The good news was that despite the R&R of the fuel filter, and removal and cleaning of the EGR valve the coach ran great – lots of power and no hint of any trouble. When the sun finally came out we stopped at the town of Hood River and had a little walk around. It has a nice main street and some very interesting shops. Our next destination was Multnoma Falls where we missed our turn – a left exit – and had to go 20 miles out of our way to get back but the scenery was beautiful regardless of the weather – more rain. 

We drove through Portland between 3:30 and 4:00 PM and hit some traffic but not too bad. We finished the day at Stub Stewart State Park just off Oregon highway 47 about 34 miles west of Portland.  Oregon state parks are very nice to say the least.

Wednesday, October 10th – we left the park this morning and headed for Cannon Beach where we stopped for a cup of coffee and a little walk on the beach. It was a nice little town with RV parking slots – 3 of them – in the little municipal lot with signs directing us to them. Our next destination was going to be a lookout on a back road off of US-101 but the engine acted up again. This time it gave a code 2454 which indicates a problem with the Diesel Particulate Filter the DPF. This must be the problem the guy in Bend was trying to tell me he could fix with a week of time and $3K-$4K of my money. After talking to a local mechanic about the problem and learning about these filters on the internet and talking to Daniel about his thoughts I decided to try to clean the filter by driving with the engine running at about 2500 RPM by using manual gear shifting. For now this would simulate what happens at highway speeds faster than I normally drive – this should allow the engine to clean the filter the way it is designed to clean it. If this doesn’t work I will have to investigate the sensor – maybe a tube is plugged between the filter and the sensor body which is located under the hood.

Thursday, October 11th – We spent the night at South Beach State Park in Newport, Oregon. We left this morning at about 9:00 and headed for Bandon, Oregon and a state park south of there but didn’t make it. The engine acted up again while climbing the curvy hills along the amazing ocean scenery. Hardly any power, won’t shift, etc. We continued on to Florence, Oregon and stopped in an empty parking lot for a cup of coffee and some serious thinking when I realized that Gene Fisher, a long-time GMC friend lived in Florence. I called Gene looking for a referral to a mechanic. Gene referred me to Tony at Tony’s Garage and mentioned ACR Automotive as another possibility. When I called Tony he said he did not have room for an RV and he worked on diesels, but not Mercedes or other foreign brands. He suggested that I call ACR Automotive, a shop just down the street about a half-mile that Gene had also mentioned. When I called them they said they were booked but would try to help with the diagnosis and maybe have their diesel guy look at it so bring it by at about 1:00 PM when he got back from lunch.

We did some shopping for groceries and had some lunch while waiting. They have some really nice people working there. Tammy, the lady who answered the phone, is the owner along with her mechanic husband, Joel. When we got there Joel sent Chris, one of the mechanics to read the codes from the engine computer – fortunately, the codes are stored in a long-term memory that is not cleared by normal OSB tools. When the diesel guy got there he took a look at the codes and did some research and found that our coach is in a batch of Sprinters that have a TSB written about them – a Technical Service Bulletin – that describes our problems and says to replace a wiring harness and to clean some particular electrical contacts. The parts are ordered and are to be shipped to the Mercedes dealer in Eugene, Oregon tomorrow, Friday, morning. I am to call in the morning to make sure the part is actually on its way. If so, Gene will let us use his tow car to drive the 60 miles to get the parts. Meanwhile we will spend the next couple of nights with Gene and Melissa and hope they can get it fixed tomorrow. If not tomorrow it will have to be Monday. Daniel and Marjon have gone on without us. We’ll maybe catch up or just head home depending on how long this takes.

Friday, October 12th – We called ACR Automotive this morning at 9:30 as directed to see if the Mercedes dealer in Eugene, Oregon could verify that the part were actually on their way via FEDEX. The parts were on their way so we drove to Eugene (Gene lent us his Tracker tow car), picked up the parts and returned by 1:00 PM when the diesel guy, Russ, would be back from lunch. We dropped the coach off at 1:00 and by 1:30 they had the coach in the yard and were working on it. The parts consisted of a new end for a sensor cable connection to the engine computer, some “sleeves” that had wires connected, and a cleaning kit. Russ, the tech, told me that the old connector was not sealed around the connections while the new cable end is. A bad connection! And only $400 – not bad considering the guy in Bend wanted $3K-$4K and probably would not have fixed anything. I went with the tech on a test drive. He is convinced it is fixed and I am very hopeful – seems like a good bet but… We will begin the real test drive tomorrow when we head farther down the coast. 

Saturday, October 13th – We spent the night in the RV area at Gene’s development with electricity and water and left at about 8:30 this morning to meet Daniel and Marjon at Harris Beach State Park in Brookings, Oregon. They managed to grab a first-come, first-served site right next to theirs when the previous occupant left this morning. The drive was 155 miles in great weather. The coach ran perfectly so I am real sure the problem is fixed. We arrived at the state park and our “reserved” site at about 1:00PM and got set up. The site is not real level but close enough and, otherwise, beautiful.

Sunday, October 14th – Spent the day driving east in a big arc that took us into California and then back into Oregon through some very hilly and winding roads. We spent the night at the McCloud RV Resort in McCloud, California where we spent the night in a rustic RV park whose prices were anything but rustic. It got below freezing but otherwise nice.

Monday, October 15th – we drove from McCloud to Reno where Daniel and I visited the National Automobile Museum which is the new name of the Harrah’s Automobile Museum. A bunch of really nice cars from late 1800’s to modern time. We are staying at the Comstock Country RV Resort where the use of the word “resort” is being stretched even more than yesterday.

Tuesday, October 16th – Bishop, CA at Boulder Creek RV Resort just 3 or 4 miles past town. It is on the left side and google doesn’t know about the left turn into the park – tried to send us miles down the road to do a U-turn. The park was really nice and we had the first good weather of the trip since before Mt. Hood. We broke out the Little Red Camp Fire and visited with Daniel and Marjon for the first time since we left Arizona I think.

Wednesday, October 17th – The drive from Bishop to Las Vegas is pretty boring at times but those times are balanced by moments requiring good concentration going up and down some pretty steep and curvy hills. The killer part – especially the first time entering Death Valley from the west – is that you drive a  long, boring stretch of road, climb a pretty good hill and then descend into what seems like it must be Death Valley only to discover that there is a higher hill and a really steep descent into the real valley miles later. After climbing back out of the valley on the shortest route available we had another long, boring drive to Las Vegas where the traffic gets pretty wild. We arrived at Sam’s Town KOA park which is about 7 miles southeast of the strip and got a site for the next 3 nights. The casino here is OK and doesn’t smell like cigarette smoke although people are smoking. They have a free shuttle to and from the strip or downtown that runs five times per day.

Thursday, we bought tickets to see the Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson show at Mandalay bay, toured around the Belagio casino a little, and, in the evening we saw the “fire and water” show at Sam’s Town casino and then the new movie, “A Star is Born” with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – a pretty good movie.

Friday, we worked on Daniel’s GMC a little and then took Ubers to and from Mandalay Bay for the show. Loved the Ubers.

Saturday, October 20th – we drove to Wickenburg, AZ where we spent the night at Desert Cypress RV Park dry camping in their storage lot – we don’t need power or water so why not? Home tomorrow.

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