A Few Items Added

Spending Again!

There were a few things Craig wanted to purchase for the LTV, so on our last trip we picked up the on-line orders from Betta Services, Oroville, Wa. 

1.  Wheel Alignment:  Tirecraft was the recommended service centre from Mercedes to perform the wheel alignment.  It was reasonably priced at $150.00 and they did find that the front end was out of alignment.  

LTV going in for wheel alignment at TireCraft!

2.  Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS): having dually tires on the rear of the motorhome come with a few unique challenges.  One, you have to have valve extensions to easily check the tire pressure with a gauge, another is that if one of the tires does loose air pressure a driver may not notice the lose and this will result in a damaged tire(s).

So the solution is a TPMS, we purchased a Tireminder TM66 system from Camping World (along with some other on-line items). 

TireMinder TM66 is the newest model
which is only available through Camping World

3. Windshield Cover:  living in a hot and sunny climate quickly increases the interior temperature of the motorhome.  One solution is to add a windshield cover.  We ordered one from Fanchers Upholstery out of Yipsilanti, MI and were very impressed with the quality and service.  Works great!

New Windshield Cover

Mesh marine quality material you can see out of.

Easy to install, uses magnets to hold bottom portion onto doors

3. Stebel Big Daddy Horn!  the original horn on the Mercedes Sprinter is not very loud and actually sounds pretty feeble.  Craig went on the internet and found something that sounds like a cross between a semi and a train; then ordered the Big Daddy Horn from  Stebel Engineered Sounds.

Big Daddy Installed on driver's side engine bay

This is a air horn which works great!

Video Sound!

Can only view videos on computer, not on tablets, phones, etc.

4. Extra 12V outlets:  on our trips we have found that when dry camping (without electricity and water hook ups) that the only way to charge or run 12V appliances is to either use the 12V outlets in the Mercedes Cab or the house inverter (600W).  We do not like depleting the starting battery and using the inverter takes additional 12V power from the house batteries.  

One outlet mounted in the first shelf next to the TV on our Unity 24MB

Second Outlet mounted low
so need to run a longer cord over to the Murphy Bed

5.  Bug Protection:  on our trip this spring we encountered lots and lots of bugs (mosquitos, black flies, horse flies) along the way.  They found their way inside some how, but in the mornings the fantastic fan interior screens were covered in them.  So we found the UltraBreeze Bug Screen which slides into the UltraBreeze Fan Covers we installed last year.  

Need to keep those bugs out!

Screen fits in the inside grill work of the Fan. 

6. Sprinter Grill Bug Screen:  also ordered the Fanchers Bug Screen as we were coated with bugs in our trip from Ontario to B.C. in June earlier this year.

Fanchers Bug Screen (photo from their website)

RV Service & Repair Provider: we have found the service/repair process used by most RV Dealerships to be frustrating to say the least.  That is because once you need either warranty work or want service there is both a wait to get in for an appointment as well as they want to keep your RV for days if not weeks to do a few hours worth of work?  

For example we needed some warranty work completed on our fresh water system and called the two dealerships which sell/service LTV products.  We called on the 20th July and the first appointment available was the 12th August and then they wanted the motorhome for 4 to 7 days.

Craig went online and found AJ at "Your RV Doctor" who is only 20 minutes away from us versus 60 minutes to the dealership.  "AJ" offers a mobile service and will come to where you are located or you have the option to take your RV to his shop.  The mobile service is charged at $100 per hour while the shop service is $75 an hour, more reasonable than a large dealership shop hourly rate.  

AJ booked us in within a couple of days and completed all the work within the same day!  He dealt with our warranty work, install two 12V outlets as well as the Big Daddy Horn.  

AJ and his team did an outstanding job, we cannot say enough about his work & customer service which are both excellent.  

AJ's mobile "Your RV Doctor" Accu-Tech Service

We will be using "AJ" for any and all of our RV service/repair needs.

Four Day Escape!

The Need To Get Away!

July 16 - 19, 2015

There has been a lot going on at home and we both felt some time away would be good for the soul!  We also needed to pick-up some mail-order items from Betta Parcel Service, Oroville, Wa.

Betta Services
A great place to have U.S. Parcels Delivered

We had only a few days so headed down to Washington State, driving down SR-97 and the North Cascade Highway SR-20 which provided us with spectacular views.  The vistas change from desert, to mountains to coastal; amazing drive.

South of Oroville - desert sage brush next to irrigated orchards!

Along this beautiful scenic by-way is the town of Winthrop
Winthrop has a western theme is a fun place to visit

North Cascade Mountain Drive

Cascade Mountain Pass

Glacial Lakes Along SR-20

Then it was on to Anacortes to get some time at the ocean; walking the docks and visiting our "old boating friends".

This is our first time taking an RV to Anacortes; surprise though as the place was packed and there was very limited space anywhere to stay.  We spent our first night at the Fidalgo Bay RV Resort which we were very pleased with.

Of course when we go to Anacortes there are a few things on our must do list!  For Craig it is walking the docks and drylands storage to get his boat fix, and for Jan it is hitting her favourite eatery, Gere-a-Deli for a large slice, or two, of carrot cake.

Jan's Favorite Deli in Anacortes!

Two Slices of Carrot Cake Please!

Walking the docks!
Our favourite boat - Nordhavn 46 

Anacortes has a large shipyard 
which custom builds a variety of vessels

 Then it was off to Freeland on Whitby Island, Wa. to visit our good friends Richard and Gwen.  It had been a couple of years since we had spent time together, was nice to reconnect and enjoy good food, good company and good times!

Beautiful back road drive from Anacortes to Freeland

Naval Air Station on Whidbey Island
You pass by this NAS on the way to Freeland from Anacortes

GreenBank Farm

We stayed two nights parked at Richard & Gwen's property

We took a day to drive the local area and do some exploring, including a stopping for a slice of pie at the Whidbey Pies & Cafe at the GreenBank Farm, well worth the visit!

Market time Coupeville, Wa.

Lunch at a great Taco Trailer in Oak Harbour, Wa.

Richard, Jan, Gwen & Craig

LTV Kozad parked behind Richard & Gwen's LTV "Duck'n Out"

View looking west from the Deception Pass Bridge
which connects Whitby Island to Fidalgo Island

View looking to the east from Deception Pass Bridge

Deception Pass Bridge
We have boated through Deception Pass 
going under this bridge Spectacular
Photo from TripAdvisor

This get-a-way was just what we needed!

Visiting good friends and spending some time by the ocean. 

These are some of our favourite things to do!