ELTORO Repaired for under a buck

Woke up to light fog and cloudy skies this Morning. Decided to re-route to the south as fast as we can go rather than through Kentucky/Tennessee. Headed south down Interstate 29 - Lots of construction going on, on the highway to upgrade, What is good is very good, What is bad is quite bad. We stopped at a rest area and looked up RV Parks open all year long, ahead of us. Found one,"Basswood Resort" near Platte City Missouri. We called ahead to confirm reservations. Although only a couple of hundred miles travel, decided to stop there. As it is now raining steadily, we knew that was far enough for the day. (ELTORO behaved well in the rain - see note below) Arrived at about 2:30PM and checked in. Very nice park and friendly people. We reserved for 3 days. We were ready for a rest. They have a nice store and some take-out food. We ordered a Pizza and 10 hot wings. They delivered them to us at about 4:30PM, and they were well worth waiting for.
--- ELTORO -- I think you have heard me speak of him as being a "Fair Weather Vehicle" who does not like rain. Whenever in the past we have been in rain it is inevitable that it will soon start missing, and soon after the windshield wipers will start acting up, either start without turning on, or not be able to shut them off. I have spend at least $1500 trying to find a solution to both these problems. Been to some of the best service centers on both sides of the border. Installed new Spark Plug Wires, a new Wiper module for $800, and $100 here and $100 there at several diferent shops. No one seems to be able to solve the riddle.

Well I think I have.

At Shaw GMC they said they thought that the missing was from moisture getting into the air intake, not a wiring problem. Their solution was to extend the air intake higher into the front compartment, to be above moisture sucking in. I did that, but to no avail. But I was looking at the problem before I left High River, it just dawned on me that there was a little rubber valve arrangment at the bottom of the intake pipe to allow any dust that might accumulate there to escape. I inspected it and found when I pulled it off that it was not closed completely, and concluded that moisture could easily be sucked in there. My solution, 3" of duck tape!!! As for the wipers, I sprayed water on the electrical junction, and sure enough the wipers started on their own. Out with the black electrical tape, and taped it up firmly. Tried spraying water there again. Voila, success!! But when sprayed around the wiper moter they started again. Solution, one baggy completely covering the motor and electrical connections, secured by tightly wrapped electrical tape. Soak again with water. Everything working just great!!
Moral of the story:
After spending nearly $1500 at some of the best service departments in the country, yours truly fixed it with a 3" piece of "Duck Tape" and one large baggy from our kitchen. Lets hope that it is a perminant fix.

November 15th

Whats that white stuff??

Fairly long day traveling - from Roundup to Spearfish SD. Good highways all the way. Stop in Billings and buy cell phone with 300 minutes airtime. Phone number 406-671-2957. Arrive in Spearfish, just across the SD border just before dark - found a great RV Park called Elhorn Resort.

Nov 16th

Left Elkhorn at 9:00AM and traveled down to Wall Drug at 11:30AM. Stopped for a couple of hours until 1:30PM - had lunch. Then on east on I-90 - trouble finding a RV Park that was open - most closed at the end of October. Called ahead to Cedar Shores in Chamberlain - they were closed but allowed us to park in the lot anyway - power was supposed to be on but wasn't, so we used the gen set as required to make sure water compartments did not freeze during the night

Nov 17th
Left Cedar Shores by about 8:30AM and headed south again - sure looking for some warm weather - last night in ELTORO was cold. Started Gen set at 9:00PM, 12 Midnight, and 3:00AM and let run for a half hour to warm things up - especially underneath to ensure water lines did not freeze. At 3:30AM after shutting Gen set off, turned thermostat down to 50 F but left furnace on to run from batteries. Between then and about 7:30AM furnace started quite often, but batteries worked well. Was a little cool in bed but we covered up well with blankets and an afgan. Didn't drive too far today. Down past Sioux Falls, SD and Sioux City, IA. Stopped at a rest area and set up international calling in our new cell phone. No big deal, just have to call 1-800-584-7652, then 1 for English, the the long distance number you want to call in Canada, including the 1- Area code - number. Our Cell number is 1-406-584-2957. We also were looking for an RV Park open all year and found one about 25 miles south of Sioux City, right on the banks of the Missouri River, a little rustic, but all hookups, except cable TV. We had called ahead and got directions to their site. Found it quite easily, and with help of hired hand set up on a grass site. Complete by about 3:00PM. Early supper of bacon, eggs and Hash Browns. By then sun dipping lower in western sky, so went and took some sundown pics across the Missouri.

South into Winter - Hmmm - somethings the matter here

Up and Have breakfast with Tom and Linda, Say our goodbye's and on the road south before 9:00AM. Long line up at Coutts border, but it moves quite well. No difficult questions this time, just the usual, firearms, booze, where you goin, how long you all going to be gone. I told him 120 days for sure and possibly 180 days. His comment, "Better come home in 120 days, we don't like you to stay any longer and we don't care how much money you spend" Don't know where that come from, but I thought a little uncalled for. OH WELL !!!!!!! Uneventfull from there on to Great Falls and then on to Roundup on Highway 87 where we stopped for the night. RV park next to motel. Manager allowed us to park right up beside the motel so we would not have to unhook TOAD. Couldn't make to corner into the yard, so Co-Pilot Denice to the rescue. Sit in TOAD an hold the steering wheel while I did some creative driving maneuvers. Highways were good all the way,but fields covered with up to 6" snow. Are we really traveling south??