I knew we should have held of on dry camping until I switched out the house batteries!! But OHHHHH NOOOOOO,,, we can make do for another stopover before we find the batteries. And this is a great spot right on the lake and it's right in our path and it's pretty empty,, and the weather is sooo nice and and and LOL!!!
We had been on full hookups for a week and the batteries have just been float charging so I know they are charged the best they could be anyway. So we had reservations at Lake Havasu State Park for 3 night. We pulled in and set up,, all good. We took Steve and Dianes advice and reserved site #10 on the lake,, a great spot. It's so good in fact that I went up and paid for a extra 3 nights making it a total of 6.
The inverter was turned off,, nothing running so we took off to drive around town and came back to camp,,, batteries still showed good as they should. So we spend some time outside until sunset and came inside. Batteries still showed good. Time to have some dinner so I turned on the genny for about 20 min while Diane used the microwave for about 2 min.
After dinner it was time for some TV so I turned on the inverter let the satalite antenna do it's search thing and got things going and BAM the low battery beeper goes off!! Crap,,,. So I turned the genny back on and we watched tv for about an hour then turned the TV off and let the genny run another 1/2 hour I guess before heading to bed. Of course the inverter was off all night. So I got up this morning and only used one LED light for about a half hour and decided it was time for coffee so I turned on the inverter and hit the genny button only to find that the batteries were so low it wouldn't start. Thats pretty pathetic!!
We planned to stop in Parker to dry camp for a few days before heading to Quartziite where we will by 4 new Lifeline batteries but maybe we will head straight there from here. It's amazing that in a town the size of Lake Havasu no body has Lifeline batteries,,, according to Lifeline themselves.
Oh well,,,, remember the good old tents days,,,, things could be worse LOL!!!
Lucky Mike said
04:58 PM Dec 6, 2012
The Murphey's wouldnt happen to be staying on the site next to you?
PIEERE said
05:12 PM Dec 6, 2012
Dang; I hate it when things like that happen! At least I see you having a sense of humor about the sicchyation! LOL! Thanks for sharing your adventures. Pieere
The Bear II said
07:42 PM Dec 6, 2012
We were on a trip through Grand Canyon and Brice/Zion Canyons. We had another couple with us in our TT. We had stopped in one of the campgrounds for the night, it was early spring so it was cold and we turned on the heater to warm up the trailer. We had dinner and my buddy asked if he could take a shower. He had gotten all lathered up and the battery died. I went out and plugged into the truck, he was able to finish.
I meant to unplug from the truck but forgot. So the next morning we hopped in the truck to go to our next destination and the battery was dead. I had to jump from the TT battery to the truck to get enough juice to start.
Trabuco said
09:45 PM Dec 6, 2012
I think batteries have bitten us at one time or another. Whether it's a car or the RV it's never at the right time or the right place.
Hdrider said
01:35 AM Dec 7, 2012
Ahhhh,,, whats a guy to do. It's my own darn fault. I knew the batteries were old,,, I also knew that I didn't take proper care of them like I should have and they STILL lasted this long with the abuse I gave them so how can I really be mad.
Plus I was at Guarranty RV having the Air Force 1 brake system put on and should have had them replaced then,, they had the Lifeline batteries I want. So all fingers point back to me.
Now I'm just thinking,,,, what else did I put off that might come bite me in the ars LOL!!!
Jwar said
01:52 AM Dec 7, 2012
Hdrider wrote:
Now I'm just thinking,,,, what else did I put off that might come bite me in the ars LOL!!!
Now that is one question I never ask my wife...er...I shall refrase that..."I will never ask that ..Twice."LOL
Trabuco said
02:11 AM Dec 7, 2012
Dave,
Nothing like kicking yourself when you're down......LOL
Terry and Jo said
04:17 AM Dec 7, 2012
Well, when it comes right down to it, I would imagine that all of us would have to make "confessions," and I am no different. For many years, we had small 16-foot and 21-foot campers. We eventually had to get rid of them because we just weren't able to go camping due to job circumstances and other issues.
When we finally bought another camper, it was a 26-foot Salem travel trailer. If you go to this link, you will see that trailer as the last picture in my blog post. Kindly note that the camper has 2 (yes, count them....two) doors. That means that there are two sets of steps with which to gain entry to the interior. If you could look closely, you could see that the rear step in this photo is not deployed. If you look REALLY close, you would notice that the steps are bent to the point that they couldn't be deployed.
When going to our favorite Colorado campground, there are two turn-offs going to the road up that are about 1/4 mile apart. The second entrance is a really good one in that the dirt road that one takes up to the campground is at about the same level as the highway one turns off from. However, in my hurry to get to Purgatoire River Campground, I took the first road. When taking that road, the dirt road dips down from the edge of the highway when exiting that highway.
When the wheels of a camper go over a dip, guess what the rear of the camper does with the "high side" of the road prior to the dip.
Yep.....the rear comes down on the high spot. It caught the step and really bent it back, although we were lucky and it didn't do any damage to the body of the coach. All we had to do to fix it was have a new set of steps put on in place of the bent one.
Now, I am especially pleased that I have a fifth wheel with the steps in front of the axles, thus avoiding a "dumb" moment.
Terry
nightsky said
06:17 PM Dec 7, 2012
My dumb confession also has nothing to do with batteries, but rather a hitch coupler. I have a 5x10 open trailer that I use frequently to haul all sorts of things. I was getting ready to help my daughter's boyfriend move, so I hooked up the trailer at my farm in MN and drove to Sioux Falls SD, about an hour trip down I-90. Turned off the interstate and went about a block when all of a sudden there was a horrible grinding/scraping noise from the rear of the truck. I was in the left lane so got over to the center turn lane immediately and stopped. Yep, I forgot to flip the latch down to secure the ball in the coupler so the trailer was flying around on the end of the safety chains.
I had to replace the wiring on the trailer because it was tore up, and it really did a number on the bumper of my truck. A fellow stopped and helped me get the trailer tongue out from under the truck where it was jammed. Boy, did I feel like an idiot! I've hitched that trailer hundreds of times, and never forgot to secure it before. All I can say is I'm VERY thankful the trailer wasn't loaded or I wasn't traveling at interstate speed when it happened!
Trabuco said
06:41 PM Dec 7, 2012
Sounds like the safety chains did their job! When tasks become routine mistakes can be made. When break camp we have a set routine we follow. When we're ready to pull out and the toad is hooked, the engine in the MH is running I do one last walk around. I triple check the toad hook make sure jacks are up etc.
No one got hurt in your situation which is a good thing! Another life earning event!!
charles said
05:39 AM Dec 9, 2012
Dave, we are migrants from long time cruising on our boat, now doing the TT thing. In boating the definition of "cruising" is having the opportunity to repair your boat in exotic places. Fits here as well. Needless to say we have all done such sometime somewhere and anyone who says that they have not has never been anywhere or is playing loose with the truth! CCC
Hdrider said
05:17 PM Dec 9, 2012
Yep,, we all have stories if we have lived any sort of life at all. And I certainly have worse stories than this battery one,, LOL,, but we won't go there. Not now anyway.
This one hasn't been all that bad with a little adjusting and a little extra genny time each day.
We did decide to bipass Parker and head straight to Quartzite on Tuesday to a campground with full hookups for a week. While there we will get batteries. I think I have some lined up.
None the less it's another nice sunny day,, hmmm,, solar should would come in handy about now.
Lucky Mike said
07:44 PM Dec 9, 2012
Well hopefully that one unexpected fun thing will pop up and make it all worth while!!!!!!............while your at the dealers you should check on a used solar unit or if they have any parts you can use to start building yours!!
I knew we should have held of on dry camping until I switched out the house batteries!! But OHHHHH NOOOOOO,,, we can make do for another stopover before we find the batteries. And this is a great spot right on the lake and it's right in our path and it's pretty empty,, and the weather is sooo nice and and and LOL!!!
We had been on full hookups for a week and the batteries have just been float charging so I know they are charged the best they could be anyway. So we had reservations at Lake Havasu State Park for 3 night. We pulled in and set up,, all good. We took Steve and Dianes advice and reserved site #10 on the lake,, a great spot. It's so good in fact that I went up and paid for a extra 3 nights making it a total of 6.
The inverter was turned off,, nothing running so we took off to drive around town and came back to camp,,, batteries still showed good as they should. So we spend some time outside until sunset and came inside. Batteries still showed good. Time to have some dinner so I turned on the genny for about 20 min while Diane used the microwave for about 2 min.
After dinner it was time for some TV so I turned on the inverter let the satalite antenna do it's search thing and got things going and BAM the low battery beeper goes off!! Crap,,,. So I turned the genny back on and we watched tv for about an hour then turned the TV off and let the genny run another 1/2 hour I guess before heading to bed. Of course the inverter was off all night. So I got up this morning and only used one LED light for about a half hour and decided it was time for coffee so I turned on the inverter and hit the genny button only to find that the batteries were so low it wouldn't start. Thats pretty pathetic!!
We planned to stop in Parker to dry camp for a few days before heading to Quartziite where we will by 4 new Lifeline batteries but maybe we will head straight there from here. It's amazing that in a town the size of Lake Havasu no body has Lifeline batteries,,, according to Lifeline themselves.
Oh well,,,, remember the good old tents days,,,, things could be worse LOL!!!
I meant to unplug from the truck but forgot. So the next morning we hopped in the truck to go to our next destination and the battery was dead. I had to jump from the TT battery to the truck to get enough juice to start.
Ahhhh,,, whats a guy to do. It's my own darn fault. I knew the batteries were old,,, I also knew that I didn't take proper care of them like I should have and they STILL lasted this long with the abuse I gave them so how can I really be mad.
Plus I was at Guarranty RV having the Air Force 1 brake system put on and should have had them replaced then,, they had the Lifeline batteries I want. So all fingers point back to me.
Now I'm just thinking,,,, what else did I put off that might come bite me in the ars LOL!!!
Now that is one question I never ask my wife...er...I shall refrase that..."I will never ask that ..Twice."LOL
Nothing like kicking yourself when you're down......LOL
Well, when it comes right down to it, I would imagine that all of us would have to make "confessions," and I am no different. For many years, we had small 16-foot and 21-foot campers. We eventually had to get rid of them because we just weren't able to go camping due to job circumstances and other issues.
When we finally bought another camper, it was a 26-foot Salem travel trailer. If you go to this link, you will see that trailer as the last picture in my blog post. Kindly note that the camper has 2 (yes, count them....two) doors. That means that there are two sets of steps with which to gain entry to the interior. If you could look closely, you could see that the rear step in this photo is not deployed. If you look REALLY close, you would notice that the steps are bent to the point that they couldn't be deployed.
When going to our favorite Colorado campground, there are two turn-offs going to the road up that are about 1/4 mile apart. The second entrance is a really good one in that the dirt road that one takes up to the campground is at about the same level as the highway one turns off from. However, in my hurry to get to Purgatoire River Campground, I took the first road. When taking that road, the dirt road dips down from the edge of the highway when exiting that highway.
When the wheels of a camper go over a dip, guess what the rear of the camper does with the "high side" of the road prior to the dip.
Yep.....the rear comes down on the high spot. It caught the step and really bent it back, although we were lucky and it didn't do any damage to the body of the coach. All we had to do to fix it was have a new set of steps put on in place of the bent one.
Now, I am especially pleased that I have a fifth wheel with the steps in front of the axles, thus avoiding a "dumb" moment.
Terry
I had to replace the wiring on the trailer because it was tore up, and it really did a number on the bumper of my truck. A fellow stopped and helped me get the trailer tongue out from under the truck where it was jammed. Boy, did I feel like an idiot! I've hitched that trailer hundreds of times, and never forgot to secure it before. All I can say is I'm VERY thankful the trailer wasn't loaded or I wasn't traveling at interstate speed when it happened!
No one got hurt in your situation which is a good thing! Another life earning event!!
In boating the definition of "cruising" is having the opportunity to repair your boat in exotic places.
Fits here as well.
Needless to say we have all done such sometime somewhere and anyone who says that they have not has never been anywhere or is playing loose with the truth!
CCC
Yep,, we all have stories if we have lived any sort of life at all. And I certainly have worse stories than this battery one,, LOL,, but we won't go there. Not now anyway.
This one hasn't been all that bad with a little adjusting and a little extra genny time each day.
We did decide to bipass Parker and head straight to Quartzite on Tuesday to a campground with full hookups for a week. While there we will get batteries. I think I have some lined up.
None the less it's another nice sunny day,, hmmm,, solar should would come in handy about now.