{"id":60,"date":"2010-08-13T12:26:03","date_gmt":"2010-08-13T19:26:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/minniebiz.com\/gmcmotorhome\/?p=60"},"modified":"2010-08-19T06:44:29","modified_gmt":"2010-08-19T13:44:29","slug":"day-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/minniebiz.com\/gmcmotorhome\/2010\/08\/13\/day-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 1 – minor problems and a bargain camp site"},"content":{"rendered":"

August 1st, the first day of our trip to the East Coast and back.\u00a0 I was a little concerned with the coach because the last thing that happened last night was I spotted a couple of puddles of what appeared to be antifreeze under the coach after our return from filling the gas tanks. I had just gotten an email from Carl Stouffer so I asked him what he thought and he said not to worry and have a good time – I took his advice.<\/p>\n

This is actually the shakedown cruise so we have to expect some issues – lots was done since the last trip and there are bound to be some problems.\u00a0 Problem 1 is the heater or defroster seems to be on.\u00a0 I had replaced the vacuum controlled valve some time ago and it was working well but now it seems to be constantly on.\u00a0 I have a manual shutoff valve and I will put that in when everything cools down – meanwhile I unplugged the heater fan motor since it is always on.\u00a0 Problem 2 is the engine temp is oscillating between 190 and 210 or so via the cooling fan and clutch.\u00a0 It seems that the engine wants to run a little hotter than the fan clutch wants it to so it keeps coming on and making tons of noise.\u00a0 I am theorizing that the air flow through and around the radiator – also new this trip – is the issue and not the engine since the fan clutch kicks on at different engine temps.\u00a0 Some baffeling and some venting seem to be in order.<\/p>\n

The drawers under the couch are having a problem.\u00a0 Problem is they are actually a little overloaded.\u00a0 A storage drawer under the bed and a storage cabinet under the dinette would really help a lot.\u00a0 We have temporarily added some catches to keep them from opening on left turns and straps to help us open them when we want.<\/p>\n

We stopped for the night at Elephant Butte State Park in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.\u00a0 This place is amazing<\/p>\n

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Our campsite at Elephant Butte State Park, New Mexico<\/p><\/div>\n

– for single night, with no reservation we paid $8 for a large site with electricity and water.\u00a0 The $8 included $3 (I think) for our tow car.\u00a0 There is no internet, of course, but the private campground in town wanted $32 and all they had to add was TV – cable I guess.<\/p>\n

Here is a slideshow of our visit.\n\n

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