29 - Napa Valley Trip (and goof)

We had a planned trip to Stockton, CA, in mid-June which extended to visiting relatives in St. Helena in the Napa Valley. Our first two nights were dry camping on Lake Dillon near Frisco, CO, at 9,000 ft. altitude. And it was cold. Down to upper 30's at night. We ran the furnace for a bit and I went to check the propane level gauge, which I forgot to do before. I thought we had plenty, having filled the tank the season before and not using much. I was shocked to see "empty" on the gauge. So we used the furnace sparingly to save propane for cooking until I could refill. In the morning, I tried to start the generator to have electric heat, but that was no-go due to altitude and low temp. I got in the Smart car and drove to Frisco to the propane dealer only to find, being it was Saturday, they were closed for the weekend. I finally found the only open propane outlet a few miles away in Silverthorne, so I returned to the Orion and we got it ready to drive. At the propane store, a seemingly competent young man hooked up the supply hose and started to fill. He stopped after about two gallons saying the tank vent was stuck and he couldn't put any more in. I figured, oh great, another thing to deal with. But I was happy to get enough propane to get us through the weekend and on to a service shop.

Our first overnight after Frisco was Green River, UT. I took the coach to a Pilot station to see if they could do any better filling the propane tank. And they did as if there was no problem at all. I don't know if the Silverthorne guy just didn't do it right, or maybe altitude and temperature were factors. Anyway, there was no problem after all and we proceeded with the trip.

Now all that is a result of operator error on my part. When I put the coach in storage around the first of May, I unknowingly left the furnace on. I did have the battery disconnect switch off for some of the time, but I turned it on for some work and the furnace must have run some during cool periods, which depleted the propane supply. Another lesson learned..... I hope.

From Green River, we traveled Highway 50 across to Carson City, NV. The "loneliest road in America" was sometimes that, but a very scenic and mostly good drive. There are a lot of up and down passes through the various mountain ranges which the Orion handled just fine towing the new Smart. Carson City was a very pleasant stop for a couple of days including a trip to Lake Tahoe in the Smart. From Carson City, we took Highway 88 over the Sierras to Stockton. That had an amazing 50 mile downgrade it seemed from the high point. I really appreciate the tow-haul transmission mode and manual gear shifting. Sure saves on the brakes.

We had a great time in Stockton, the Napa area, and made the return via Interstate 80 to Cheyenne and back home. All coach systems continue to perform well. Driving and living in the Orion suit us perfectly. Calculated mileage for the 2,600 mile trip was 13.4 mpg. The drain valves even behaved and didn't leak. The new Smart (now aka "Baby Mac") towed as well as the previous one. I couldn't tell any difference in how it trailed or impacted the coach performance, even though it is about 150 pounds heavier. The procedure to set it up to tow is different than the older car, but it got routine after a few times. I did have a dead battery in the Smart after three days of continuous towing. I thought I was disconnecting the battery via a knife switch, but discovered two non-OEM ground wire still connected that were keeping the computer and some systems on. Rerouting those ground wires cured the problem.

I have one issue now; the side/rear-view camera system. I get no picture from the left turn signal, and the rear view sometimes goes out. I don't have any changes planned for the Orion except minor ones; adding hanger hooks and adding a shelf to the over sink cabinets. Removing the outside TV to provide storage space for the sewer hose is working well. The driver-side storage compartment is now better organized. Time for an oil change and good wash and wax.

28 - New Smart Towed Car

We upgraded our towed car. Per my previous post, the choice was a newer Smart to stay within the Orion's towing capacity. I found this 2016 Smart Passion model at a Denver dealer at the lowest price I had seen in looking for a few months. The price was even better when I saw that the car already was equipped with a tow baseplate, through wiring to the tail lights, breakaway switch, and battery cut-off switch, all worth at least $1500 more as installed. The trade deal for my 2013 wasn't good, so I bought the car outright and sold the '13 for a better price.

Old (left) and new (right) Smarts

I did have to do some work to get the new car compatible with the Orion. I had Roadmaster equipment--tow bar and Smart baseplate. The new Smart has a Blue Ox baseplate. Fortunately, I could get Blue Ox inserts for the baseplate and Roadmaster to Blue Ox tow bar adapters much cheaper than buying a new tow bar.

Tow bar end with new Blue Ox parts (top), old Roadmaster adapter (bottom)

27 - Remove TV-Gain Storage

Like many current RVs, the Orion comes with an outside TV. We have absolutely no use for an outside TV in our travel and camping style. Taking inspiration from another Orion owner, I removed the TV which opened up a decent bit of storage potential. The lower unit containing the DVD player and speakers is a pretty complicated installation with lots of wiring and impossible to remove from the outside without destroying the unit, so I decided to just leave it be.

Another motive was that I wanted a separate place to keep the sewer hose. I was putting it in a tote tray inside the small outside storage compartment behind the driver's door. That took a lot of space and also was where I stored my water hose and some spare parts. There is really no other outside area on the Orion to put a sewer hose container. The little compartment Coachmen provides is too small to stow a longer hose with the fittings attached.

I constructed a box to fit in the space where the TV had been. It is just big enough to hold a 15 ft. hose with fittings and the end adapter. Now I have extra space in the other compartment for tools.

26 - Hail Damage

One of the hazards of living around the Rocky Mountain front range in Colorado is hail. A hail storm came through where I store the Orion just a couple of weeks after our late April 2019 return from Yuma. When I checked, I found the front and rear roof vent covers were broken from the hail. I put some tape over the cracks and holes to keep rain out until I could replace the covers.

I ordered replacement covers through Wal Mart online, which were delivered in a few days. I bought Camco brand, hoping they were made of a sturdier and more UV resistant plastic. The forward vent is over the drop-down bed. The old covers were translucent white. I ordered a black tint cover for over the bed thinking it would be darker to keep night light out, and cooler. Wrong. I could see through it better than the white one. So I coated it with white Flex Shield spray. I ended up with a white translucent cover after all, although it cuts the outside light more, and maybe the coating will protect it better.

25 - Ramblings

Feb-Mar 2019. As I mentioned in the last post, we did a 500 mile round-trip from Yuma to Oceanside and Temecula, CA in late Feb. Towing the Smart, got 13.2 MPG average. We dodged snow, cold weather, and rain but were comfortable. SoCal driving is nuts, but we manage. No new issues have surfaced in either the Transit or the Coachmen systems. The water system worked fine other than continuing to fight leaky drain valves as previously posted. Love the new faucet.

Studying the layout of the drain valve plumbing under the range, everything is really tight under there. I don't see enough room to put in the type of valve I pictured. All piping is PEX with crimp connections, and there is very little room to even reach in there, let alone work with tools. I think some major component removal will be necessary, like taking out all drawers, divider panels, and the microwave. Hate doing that. Maybe talk to the dealer or a RV repair shop for an opinion.

I have read about the changes Ford will be making starting with the 2020 Transit. There are many that will be improvements for RV use. From what I see, there will be new more powerful engines, a 10-speed automatic transmission, swiveling front seats option (are they moving the parking brake handle?), and lots of electronic options. Looks like a new dash design. It will be interesting to see what new RVs will become available based on the redesigned Transit. I would like to see a little more GVWR and towing capacity. A possible trade in our future? A #11 RV? Never say never. I still want a McLaren, but that will require some lottery success. Well, dream on...

24 - Those Darn Drain Valves

Back in Post 21, I described the problem I had with the little plastic low-point drain valves located under the cook top in the cabinet at floor level. I took both apart and replaced the O-rings. On the first use on our trip to Yuma in December, the valves held pressure, didn't leak through, and didn't cause the water pump to cycle every so often to rebuild pressure.

We are in Oceanside, CA, on Feb. 20, and the valves are leaking. The pump started cycling right after we set up camp. I looked under the coach and the drain line from the cold valve had a steady trickle. I opened and shut and turned the valve handle trying to get the O-ring to seat better and only managed to slow it a bit.

Those valves are going to be replaced. They are not suitable for regular line pressure. There's not much room to work with under there, so it will require some engineering and thinking about what parts would work better, and if I can do it myself. Or maybe hand the problem off to a shop?

These look like a possible solution...  Stay tuned.

23 - Stuck with 2000# Tow Capacity

After considerable research, I finally verified that this Orion tow hitch is rated for 2000 lb. There is no label or stamping on the hitch itself, but I confirmed the rating on a factory spec sheet. I went to a Yuma tow specialty and welding shop to see if it would be feasible to strengthen the existing hitch, or it could be replaced by a 3000 lb. hitch. The purpose of all this was because we would like to tow a slightly bigger car than the Smart. It would be nice to have the extra seats and room. I looked at a Ford Fiesta hatchback that weighs about 2700 lb., is flat towable, and we liked a lot.

The analysis was that replacing the hitch without strengthening the frame was not advisable. Beefing up the existing hitch would involve considerable modification and add weight to the coach. Plus, the shop really didn't want to try for liability reasons.

The pictures below show the issues. The first shows the hitch mount at the rear of the motorhome. The hitch end brackets are attached to the frame extension with only two bolts on each side (circled). I have to trust that Coachmen provided strong enough bolts for the rating, but four bolts are probably not sufficient for 3000 lb.

Even if the hitch was stronger, the frame extensions that Coachmen used are bolted to the Transit frame using eight bolts total. One side of the frame is shown below. This design may be sufficient to support both the weight of the rear part of the coach body and 2000 lb. of towing, but who knows what the reserve capability is? And that hitch connection is five feet back of the frame to extension joint, which means amplifying the sideways and vertical forces from the tow bar to the hitch.

So, I will take the safe route and stick with the current tow setup. That will limit our car options to a newer Smart at best, as any other towable car weighs at least 2300 lb.