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Monday, December 5, 2011

Finally, Our First Day On the Road, A Great Start...

A lovely morning, it was, no alarm clock to wake us, we slept in a bit and got out of bed around 8 am.  Corey and Amanda had already left for work, (the poor things), but we were still "Moochdocking" in their driveway.

Before we started to close up the Journey and get ready for the road, we hopped in the Element and zipped out to pick up two very important items, Dunkin Doughnuts coffee for Marti, and the famous New Jersey delicacy, buttered hard rolls. 

Back at the Journey, we pulled in the slides, backed out of the driveway, hooked up the car and off we went, free as birds.  To make it even better, we were able to top off the fuel tank with diesel at $3.68/gallon, a price we haven't seen in a long time.  New Jersey is close to the oil refineries so I guess the transportation costs are less and are reflected in the price.  No complaints here.

We drove North and were aiming to catch I-80 West, until I noticed a small detail:


The Voltmeter gauge on the dash showed the Cat diesel's alternator was not charging!  Seemed that Murphy hitched a ride with us after he got finished with Judy.

I pulled into a nearby rest area and double checked the battery voltage on the Journey's Electrical Management panel.  Yep, not charging.

I immediately lit off the generator, on Winnebagos, there is a small trickle charger that feeds a little voltage from the house battery circuit to the chassis batteries, not enough to charge them but at least give a little voltage.  Diesels usually don't need to have a battery once you get them started, (unlike a gas engine) but I wasn't sure if there needed to be some voltage for the engine's computer.  So I took no chances, and I didn't shut off the engine.

We went on line and called around.  We were about 10 miles down the road from a Cat dealer, we called and  they said they were so busy they could not look at us until Friday.  Umm, no thank you.

A few more calls and we found a Freightliner dealer in Harrisburg, PA that could look at us first thing Tuesday morning, so we drove the 100 plus miles to get there.


We're tucked alongside the building, snug as bugs in a rug, for the night. 



 The good news is we are staying here for free, the better news is the repair is covered under the Cat warranty.  The bad news is we have to be ready to bring the Journey into the service bay at 6 am!  And we thought we were done with alarm clocks! ;c)

The generator is running, we are all safe and secure for the night, so we're "enjoying" our first night on the road.  A Super Walmart is just down the street, so we got some food shopping done.

 We always knew as fulltimers we'd have all kinds of adventures!

Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment.


22 comments:

  1. Bummer! Hope it is a small, easy fix. The good news is, you are foot loose and fancy free. Only the weather to worry about. Glad you took advantage of the Walmart. Guess you have a little spare time for some of that organizing and stowing. :)))

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  2. Glad to hear you didn't let Murphy get you down. Hope it's a quick fix.

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  3. Glad you are taking the hiccup in stride. . .sorry to tell you there will be many more of those along the way. . .so just go with the flow. . .and enjoy the ride.

    Safe travels,
    Janice
    ReadyToGoFullTimeRVing.com

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  4. Well, at least you got out of the driveway! Murphy is a nasty fellow. Just don't send him down south. :)

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  5. But you DID get the DD coffee and the NJ Hard roll with butter! Hope that tomorrow is a quick fix and you are on your way.

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  6. Ahhhh the little hick-ups, at least it's under warrenty. Enjoy your first real day of adventure!!!

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  7. Welcome to the world of RVing. Never a dull moment. Hope it doesn't take too long to get it fixed and get you back on the road. And you are "on the road".

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  8. The best news of all is that you've got a great attitude to go along with the good news and the bad news. You're safe and happy. You no longer have a house with a yard and you're unemployed. It sounds perfect to me. What more could you want?

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  9. Well, it appears those 'speedbumps' are doing their job of slowing you two down a bit!!

    We love the attitude. It appears you are taking the speedbumps in stride...

    See we are watching and learning ;o)))

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  10. Hey, you're retired now! You have time for these little blips :)
    You'll be finished and back on the road shortly.

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  11. Well that's a LITTLE bummer to have a problem right out of the gate. BUT, better there than in South Dakota where there is not much south about it.

    But you are out there and houseless and on your way...almost!
    :-)

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  12. Just be careful in Harrisburg :-) Glad you found a place that will look at the Journey!

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  13. Welcome to the real world of full timing. Glad you were able to find a repair facility on your route. Wishing for a quick fix tomorrow!

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  14. aww but this alarm tomorrow is for a different reason other than work..so there is still a difference ;)..hopefully its a quick fix and glad to see its covered under warranty...run that 'murphy' over so he can't descend on the rest of us :) its just a little speed bump in the road...

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  15. Sounds like a good place to be if there is a problem with the Cat! Tucked in at the repair shop and not stuck somewhere.

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  16. Not exactly the kind of adventure we were hoping to hear about on your first day, but glad you were able to find someone to look at it tomorrow. Even happier to hear that you won't have to spend any $$$ on the repair!

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  17. one little ride for Murphy and then kick him to the curb!!...enjoy the wake up call!!

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  18. These are the things that make this life so interesting:) Still another free night is good:)

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  19. Good to see u folks finally f/t. I do have a question for Paul, do u know the size of the shower in the journey? I've been looking at r/v's, specifically at the 2006 journeys but can't seem to find the info on the shower size. Look forward to continuing reading you blog.

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  20. Not the start you envisioned, but better to have the problem where you have a better chance of getting it fixed quickly than in the middle of nowhere.

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  21. Thats not a good start to your Full Timing, but thats okay. Your break down time isn't eating into your holiday time because you are on a permanent holiday. Our first trip out in our Winnibego we just about lost our roof lol. Nothing like a free night of parking means more money to spend at the Walmart.

    Take Care
    Safe Travels
    Brenda

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  22. Wow! A problem the first day! That just might be a record. Good attitude. I always say that everything is not always perfect, but it's always an adventure.

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