SEPTEMBER 21-OCTOBER 7: Repair Work in Celina, OH

We came to Celina, OH, hoping that Kevin Mallory at Cruising America RV Service would find a solution to our roof A/C problems that we've been dealing with for over a year.  Several other shops have tried and all have failed.  Our schedule was clear for the near future, so Kevin had plenty of time for diagnostic work. After several days of testing he came to the conclusion that the Coleman A/C units were OK but the Atwood climate control system that controls all of the heating and A/C was not functioning correctly - and that system is no longer being manufactured!  There is only one company that can repair the electronics.  They have at least a 6 week turn around and you must ship them the entire system consisting of a circuit board at each of the 2 air conditioners, and the wall thermostat plus remote sensors and a few other components.  Without this equipment we would have no A/C and only portable heaters during the repair time.  This was obviously not a good solution!

Kevin suggested a complete change-out of the old Atwood controls to a new system from Dometic.  Also during this week Kevin fixed a newly acquired leak near the Aqua-Hot  heating system, and Hank got some heavier drawer latches and repaired two kitchen drawers that were giving us problems.  And Kevin's grandson gave Little House a much needed bath!

Week #2 began with Kevin filing a claim for the repairs with our extended warranty company, which was approved this past Monday without an inspection.  Parts were ordered, and over the next few days, the new system was put into place.

On Friday, October 6, everything seemed to be working as it should.  If the  the system continues operating well over the next few days, we'll consider the job a success!   Kevin also checked our coach and chassis batteries.  We have 4 big "house" batteries that supply power to an inverter that provides us with 117v AC (house) electricity when we are not connected to the power grid.  These are big golf cart type batteries and as we suspected they were quite weak.  We also have 2 "chassis" batteries that crank the big diesel engine and power all of the vehicle 12 volt electrical circuits.  One of those was weak and the other was very weak.  So all 6 batteries were replaced.   Kevin said they appear to be the original equipment from when the coach was built in late 2007.  Replacing these batteries is expensive, and since they're  considered a maintenance item, the replacement is not covered under our service agreement. But Kevin's prices are reasonable, lower than any  price we found online for the same batteries, and It's nice to know we now have a more reliable power source for those times  when we park without electrical hookups.

SEPTEMBER 20-21: BATH, NY TO CELINA, OH

Wednesday, September 20, we said good-bye to the Hickory Hills Family Campground in Bath, NY and set out for the two-day drive to Celina, OH.  The first part of our trip was southwest on I=86, a beautiful drive through woodlands and some farmland. Fall color is becoming more apparent, although the temperatures are still summer-like.  From I=86, we joined I-90 through Pennsylvania and into Ohio, eventually following I-271 around the east side of Cleveland.  That was our only slowdown of the two day trip with some stop and go as too many vehicles had to merge into too few lanes southeast of Cleveland. After that tie up, it was smooth driving to I-71 and our stop for the night - the Walmart in Ashland, OH. We parked in a nice spot along the grass so we could put out our driver's side slides, did some shopping after getting permission to stay, and enjoyed a quiet evening along with a few other RV's and a couple of trucks.

Thursday, September 21, we had a fairly short drive to Celina, OH and the Cruising America RV Service Center.  We were here a couple of weeks ago, hoping Kevin Mallory could diagnose our front rooftop A/C's problem, but we had to leave before he could come up with a solution.  Hank had done some more diagnostic work while we were camped in Bath, NY as per Kevin's instructions, but the next step was more than Hank wanted to tackle by himself, so we came back to Celina.



We're comfortably parked with an electric connection next to the service building. Kevin is very busy, but with no immediate future commitments, we don't mind waiting until he has time to deal with our problem once again.  This may not be a glamorous place to be, but it's clean, just across the road from Grand Lake, and we always have plenty of things to keep us busy.  And 3 more items needing service have popped up as well.  If we need to dump the tanks, we can use the facility at the Mercer County Fairgrounds about 1 mile away.  We would like to see cooler weather now that fall is officially here, but it appears that near 90 daytime temperatures will be with us for awhile.

SEPTEMBER 10-20, 2017: ACA Northeast Chapter Rally

Sunday, September 10, we said 'farewell' to our friends at the RV Radio Network Rally in Alexandria Bay, and hit the road once again. Our 4 hour trip took us to Bath, NY (population approx. 13,000) through beautiful countryside with vineyards, corn fields and small towns to the Finger Lakes area and Bath, NY. The Northeast Chapter of the American Coach Assn. was having their fall rally at the Hickory Hill Family Camping Resort on the outskirts of Bath, and had extended an invitation for us to join them. We already knew several of the members through other ACA rallies, so this was another chance to meet old friends and make new ones.

Hickory Hills Resort  (see photos here) is in a valley, surrounded by hills that were just starting to bloom here and there with fall color as we arrived.  The campground is a large one with many amenities, good hookups, and free cable TV and WiFi. There were about 23 RV's attending the rally,  and a few members who no longer have RVs  stayed in cabins.  We enjoyed daily happy hours, a group dinner outing, a huge chicken/clambake dinner catered by the campground at a very low cost, a pizza and wings dinner, a pot luck supper and a  meeting to celebrate the birthday of the chapter, as well as two breakfast gatherings.  There was plenty of free time to sight-see and visit some of the nearby attractions.

Tuesday, September 12, we spent part of the day driving an hour northwest to Letchworth State Park, near Castile, NY.


 Legdgeworth State Park is home to a deep gorge known as the Grand Canyon of the East (we've since seen that title given to other such areas in other states!). There is an inn/restaurant (Glen Iris) building that was the home of the man who donated much of the acreage to the state of New York.

The cost to enter the park is $10 per vehicle and we found out that our plan to eat in the Glen Iris restaurant would result in a refund of that $10 charge.  Our lunch was very good with large portions and excellent service.

There are 3 major waterfalls in the gorge.

















While the road to the Upper Falls was closed, the larger Middle falls are located right behind the Glen Iris Inn.

Back down the road a bit were the Lower Falls, another scenic spot.





Monday, Sept. 18, we drove a short distance to Hammondsport, NY on the shore of Keuka Lake - population around 800.  This area is the center of New York's grape and wine industry, with many vineyards and wineries on the hillsides surrounding the lake. There are also several breweries in the area.


We ate lunch at the Burgers and Beer restaurant in 'downtown' Hammondsport.

SEPTEMBER 6 - 10: RV Radio Network Rally

Wednesday, Sept. 6, our journey was short -  only about 30 minutes to Alexandria Bay, NY and the Swan Bay RV Resort - the location of the fall rally for the RV Radio Network.  The campground is located on the shore of the St. Lawrence River, aka St. Lawrence Seaway.  Although we did not have a waterfront site, we still had a good view of the large freighters, small cruise ships, tour boats and other river traffic.  The resort is well-run, very attractive, and quiet with concrete pads, full hookups, free WiFi, a marina, and many other amenities.



The weather during our stay was cool during our stay, but with the wind off the water, it felt very cold at times. Glad we had our winter clothes with us!  There were 16 people in attendance with several people staying in cottages since they no longer have an RV.  We enjoyed two breakfasts in the waterside tent, happy hour everyday, a club meeting, two forums (ARRL and D-Star), two restaurant dinners (Cavallario's Steak & Seafood and O'Brien's Restaurant & Bar), and lots of good conversations. We've visited this area two years ago so the only exploring we did was to drive about 30 miles west to the Tibbet's Point Lighthouse, where Lake Ontario meets the St. Lawrence River. 

"Where Lake and River Meet"

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017: Meeting Friends As We Travel

Tuesday, Sept. 5, we left The Ridge at Le Roy, NY for the day's journey to Watertown, NY.  Our morning drive took us north to the Rochester area then east to just north of Syracuse.  We met up with Fred and Ruth for lunch. They are ham radio friends whom we had never met, but talked with and listened to on the radio almost every day.

Our destination for the night was the Watertown, NY Walmart, where we were meeting with Tom, another ham radio/RV friend who is also an American Radio Relay League Director. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and good conversation at the Texas Steakhouse across the road.

The Watertown Walmart has a separate parking area out front as the preferred spot for trucks and RV's and when we arrived, there already were several vehicles in that lot. By morning, there were at least 10 RV's, several semi's, and one pickup towing a boat, where the owners spent the night. We're seldom alone when we stay overnight in a Walmart parking lot.

SEPTEMBER 1 - 4: Travel to Le Roy, NY

September 1 - It was time to leave Celina, OH and hit the road.  Our destination was the Walmart in Madison, OH.....east of Cleveland, and there was some very slow travel on the far eastern bypass around Cleveland.  We found a nice spot on the side of the Walmart parking lot along the grass so we could put the driver's side slides out, received permission to stay from Walmart Customer Service, did some shopping and had a quiet night.

September 2 - We finished our journey to Le Roy, NY using I-90 that included 2 toll sections, which we usually avoid. We needed to take the fastest route so decided it was better to pay the $18 cost and save some travel time.

Le Roy, NY is a small town southwest of Rochester and just south of I-90. Le Roy's claim to fame seems to be that it is the place where Jello was invented in 1897.  The Ridge Campground is located out in the country on the north side of town. The facility was a ski resort many years ago, but has been a campground since the 70's and has been expanded over the years.  The campsites in our section were terraced on the hillside, and while the sites were fairly level, getting into the sites to easily access the hookups provided a challenge, especially with a big rig.  Several of the neighbors immediately showed up to help direct Hank as he pulled in, then backed up to get our rear wheels positioned on a nob of ground without going back too far.  Sometimes the most interesting part of of a journey is the end!

With the Labor Day weekend in full swing, The Ridge had many extra activities going on. There is a large hill with a stage and dance area at the bottom that becomes an outdoor amphitheater for performances and large gatherings. Saturday night's entertainment was a blues band.  We were close enough to hear the music without going outside.  Sunday, a long slip 'n slide was laid out on the large hill, and all were welcome to take part in getting wet as they slid down the hill in view of our campsite.






 Sunday night there was music with a DJ on the stage, so the entertainment continued with occasional rain showers dampening the mood a little.

Labor Day was departure day for many campers, with more occasional rain.  Tuesday was our day to pull the jacks up and get the wheels moving once again as we continued our journey to northern New York.

CELINA, OH: A/C Checkup

Tuesday, August 29, we drove from Montague, MI to Cruising America RV Service in Celina, OH.  This is our most-trusted repair facility, and we wanted the owner, Kevin Mallory, to investigate our continuing problems with the rooftop front A/C unit.  The symptoms seem to indicate that the unit is freezing up which shuts off the compressor, then attempting to restart the compressor after only a few seconds.  But before restarting compressors are supposed to stay off long enough for the back pressure to bleed off.  This is not happening and when the compressor attempts to restart against that back pressure it draws a huge amount of current and trips the overload protection in the coach. The protection system then shuts down some loads, including the A/C, in order to reduce the current load.  After a several minute time delay it turns those loads back on and the A/C starts back up - but soon freezes up and starts the cycle all over again.

Kevin was unable to come up with a definite fix. We had to leave on Friday afternoon, September 1, due to upcoming commitments elsewhere.  He said he will contact the manufacturers of both the A/C and the overload protection equipment to see if they have seen this before or have any suggestions.  If he gets any potential solutions we'll return in mid-September.

Another of our day/night shades had broken, so while we were there Kevin removed that item for us and reinstalled it after Hank replaced the strings.

Also during our stay, we enjoyed a dinner outing at the local Moose Lodge with Kevin and his wife, and several other customers. The special was 15 wings, french fries and coleslaw for $6.95 - quite a bargain!