Rude awakening

This morning we were awakened by Osage oranges bouncing off the roof of the RV!!  They are about the size of a tennis ball and hard as a rock.  When they drop from a tree and hit the roof of the RV at 6:43 AM you are up for the day.  We pulled in the sides, raised the leveling jacks and moved out from under the tree.  No damage, but a rude awakening!

Change in Strategy for GRR

Up until now our Great River Road journey was really one where we would park the RV for several days and then use the Jeep to back track on the GRR one day then drive south for awhile another day.  This was dictated by the roads we were on as they often were not really roads but gravel or thru a city.  This is hard on the RV and hard driving.  This was particularly true north of the Twin Cities.  The GRR from St. Paul, MN to Wabasha, MN would have been fine with the RV pulling the Jeep.  Also, the GRR from La Crosse, WI to Wabasha would have been fine.  So on our trip from La Crosse to Rock Island, IL we decided to try using the RV while pulling the Jeep.  This will save backtracking, time and gasoline.  We like saving gasoline!!!

The roads were fine and we had no issues at all.  There was one area that was narrow and windy but it was no problem for me because Diana was driving.  We had switched about 10 minutes earlier, so I lucked out.

The drive was beautiful, with the trees showing lots of color and there was plenty of sun.  We drove down the Wisconsin and Illinois side so we were looking across to Minnesota or Iowa.  Cliffs on the left, the river on the right.  As we drove southward the cliffs gave way to open and rolling farms with lots of corn.  As we were coming toward Rock Island we left the GRR and found the campground.  The next day we covered the area from our campground north to I-80 then crossed over to IA and came back south.  Today's drive was not a pretty one as it was a rain and snow mix.  Plus we have noticed that near the big towns or cities the river view is often blocked by industry.

We will continue this new strategy of traveling the GRR in the RV with the Jeep in tow.

Awnings are cool!

We have a large awning that is extended or retraced with a remote(yep, it has a remote) or by the switch at the entry.  It also has a wind sensor so if the wind comes up over the programmable wind speed setting, the awning will automatically retract to keep it from ripping.  We use the awning a lot unless it is windy.  Today it is cold with a mix of snow and rain, but no wind.  So when we were getting ready to go outside to get some cleaning supplies we thought we would extend the awning to give us some protection from the snow and rain.  Diana pushed the button and nothing happened.  Well, shoot, one more thing gone wrong.  She got out the manual and learned that at temperatures of 32 or below the awning will not extend.  Not sure why, but it won't.  At that time it was 32 degrees.  So I got wet getting the cleaning supplies.  The learning continues.

Where are we anyway?

The last few nights we have been at Pettibone Campground near La Crosse, Wisconsin.  And technically speaking we are in Wisconsin.  At this point, Wisconsin and Minnesota are separated by the Mississippi River.  Also, at this point the river is wide and has a lot of islands.  We are on one of those islands.  So when we take the Jeep to drive some where we must cross part of the Mississippi.  As we pull out of the campground if we turn right we travel about 2 miles crossing a bridge and end up in La Crosse, WI.  If we turn left, we travel about 3 miles, cross a bridge and end up in La Cresent, MN.  So I feel like we are really in neither the state of Wisconsin nor in the state of Minnesota.  We are really in a state of limbo that is neither here nor there!

Heating

We have 3 heat sources on the RV.  A propane furnace that will run whether we are hooked up to shore power or not, an electric fire place that will run when we have shore power or if the generator is running and a heat pump that will run on shore power or when the generator is running.  There are advantages and disadvantages to each so we try to optimize their use.

As the weather here in Wisconsin turns cooler we have learned a little more about the heating systems.  Up until now we have relied mostly on the fire place and the heat pump to warm the RV.  Both are electric and since we pay the same price for a camp site no matter how much electricity using these 2 heat sources make the most cents (pun intended).  This week we have learned that the heat pump produces little to no heat when the outside temperature gets to about 40 degrees or less.  This means that on a morning like today when it is 32 degrees at 5 AM the heat pump is running full time but producing no heat.  So then the propane furnace kicks in and warms the place very nicely.

I know that heat pumps are less efficient as the temps drop, which is why nobody has them for their house in cold climates.  But it is now good to know where our cut off point is.  And we are warm and toasty in cool Wisconsin...but heading south tomorrow!!!

Great River Road continues

When we last left the GRR we were in Coon Rapids, MN.  So while we were in Prior Lake we took a day and drove back to Coon Rapids and followed the river in to Minneapolis and stopped for lunch at Nicolette Island.

This was a wonderful island in the river and a very pleasant day.

 Down town Minneapolis from Nicolette Island

 St. Anthony Falls

The Grain Belt sign is a Minneapolis landmark.  Grain Belt is the second worst beer ever.

We continued along the river into St. Paul.  The roads along the river parkway were all lined with barricades in preparation for the Twin Cities Marathon that was coming up Saturday.  The ride along the river was beautiful.

Braking or lack of it

On the road from the Green Bay area to Eau Claire and from there to Prior Lake we got an alarm from our supplemental braking system on the Jeep that we had a low battery.  This meant the system was not working properly and we really did not have a supplemental braking system.  The purpose of the system is to apply brakes to the Jeep when it is in tow and we apply the brakes in the RV.  It is a safety system that is required in many states and in Canada.  We bought it as a safety feature and to reduce ware on the RV brakes.  Now it stopped working.  We still have brakes but it is entirely up to the RV to stop both vehicles.

The brake pack plugs into the 12 volt DC plug in the Jeep for power.  The RVi web site (maker of the braking system) said the DC plug may not be providing enough power to the unit and therefore causing the "low battery" alarm.  The solution was to order and install a direct power line to the battery.  Before I spent the money and did that I took the Jeep to a dealer and had the system tested and it tested out fine.  The dealer did tell me that the wiring for the DC outlet had a lower gauge wire than the braking system specified and that the direct wire would solve that.  They could do it but for considerably more than me buying the kit and doing it myself.  So I got the kit and installed it.  Many of you know that I am not really a car guy so I was a little concerned, but it was simple.  We tested the braking system and got the alarm again.  So I contacted the manufacturer.  They had me plug in the unit and the guy listened to it start up over the phone.  He immediately determine the vacuum seal was leaking and that would cause it to recharge too often and thus drain the battery.  Good news, there are 2 solutions.

One solution is that I could return the brake pack, they would repair it and send it back to me at no charge. The process would take about 2 weeks.  The other solution is that I could upgrade to the new and improved RVi2 and I could have that new pack in a few days.  It also would give me a 4 year warranty.  Because we were scheduled to leave MN in a few days and liking the idea of a new unit rather than a rebuilt one I went for the upgrade.

On the 17th we hooked everything up and drove about 2.5 hours with no problem with the braking system. 

Twin Cities

What a great visit we had in the Twin Cities area.  We were actually in Prior Lake south and west of the cities.  We visited with Diana's cousin and her husband, mom and her husband, with Diana's brother Charlie and his wife Betty.  We met up with a former pastor and friend of mine from from my church in Irwin, PA, hit the Mall of America, we visited some former coworkers and friends of mine, visited our friends the MacKenzies plus had time to continue the Great River Road exploration.  We were there for about 3 1/2 weeks.  That is the longest we have stayed anywhere since we left VA.  We had a blast!  We left there on 10/17/13 and rolled south east to La Crosse, WI.  We'll be here about a week then continues down the GRR moving south as the weather cools.