Before I unwind my tale – let me mention D and W campground outside Champaign Illinois.  They are just off I-57 and Marketplace.  They are a family owned and operated campground.  It has a nice spring fed lake and lots of trees.  The grounds are well maintained including the roads.  It is a great place to stay overnight or for months.

We are back on the road, sort of.  We spent several months near our home base – working on landscaping, selling stuff from the house, giving away more and lots of other chores.  We plan to sell the house next year, so there is so much downsizing to do.  We sold our electric bikes and bought a new pair we liked better.  Then there was the sump drainpipe that needed expensive repair work and the new computer we hope will extend the life of the very old laptop I type these blogs on.  We are both photographers and edit pictures and videos.

We also replaced the shade motors on the windshield sun and night shades.  The night shade started acting wonky, stopping in the wrong place, refusing to reprogram. I found the motors on Amazon.  When I went to replace them, I found two things.  There is a brown wire that is supposed to be connected ignition so the night shade can’t be lowered too far while driving.  It was connected only to thin air.  No ignition wire to be found nearby.  The other thing I found; as I was untangling the cables – one spade connector on the night shade (the one with the problem) just fell off as it wasn’t crimped well.  So, both motors were replaced and went into storage as they might just be ok.

We traveled north to Wisconsin to spend a week with family – then will head back to home base for a week for one last medical test before we head out west.

Of course, every trip has its problems.  When we left the campground that we had been at for a couple of months, everything worked fine.  The slide even worked several times when we were there (we pull in the main slide whenever we have storm winds forecasted in the 60 mph range).

We pull into our Wisconsin park and neither the jacks nor the main hydraulic slide would work.  Now we had problems previously with the HWH hydraulic system and I ended up replacing both of the solenoids mounted on the pump system.  And the repair seemed to work.  It did work for a short trip and several uses while parked.

But when we arrived, the leveling panel was dark and nothing, even the emergency push buttons wouldn’t work.  Big Sigh…..  When we pushed the extend button for the main slide, it moved out just a little and that was it.  Basically – the hydraulic controller released the pressure holding the slide cylinder in and it moved on its own.  I jumped power directly to the hydraulic motor and the slide extended.  I think we were just lucky on that.

After looking through what HWH hydraulic diagrams I had, I went looking for a 5-amp fuse – and found one inside the dash.  Blown.  Wonderful place Tiffin.  When I replaced it, the leveling control panel powered up.  That panel talks to a controller (included in the front left storage bay) via a CAN bus and that controller talks to the hydraulic valve controller mounted with the pump.

There are two solenoids at the pump.  The MASTER solenoid provides power to the valve control body mounted on top of the pump AND provides power to the second solenoid.  The MASTER solenoid is turned on any time Ignition is on.  This along with the controller and the dash panel let you know if the jacks are in Travel Mode – or not, whenever you are driving.  However, that means that the MASTER solenoid must be a Continuous Duty solenoid – one that can stay energized for long periods of time.  If you just to go Amazon and order a 12V solenoid it likely is an intermittent version – like what you might use for a

starter.  I had mistakenly replaced my MASTER with just such a solenoid, and it did not survive the 7-hour trip between campgrounds.  I had a spare intermittent solenoid that I installed temporarily, and everything worked.  And I ordered a new, Continuous Duty solenoid that will be installed before our return trip.

Great – that is solved or will be once the correct solenoid arrives from Amazon.  Moving on – before we left home base, we purchased a new TPMS system.  The RVIBrake system got to be too big a hassle.  We bought a TST 507 with 10 sensors.  I went to program the sensors into the display – and they wouldn’t load in.  I tried multiple times.  I replaced a couple of sensor batteries just in case.  I watched four different Youtube videos on how to program these things and read two different instruction manuals on the process.  I was doing everything just exactly how it was shown.  Hold the sensor next to the bottom left side of the display, hit the GO button……  Nope, nadda, zilch…. So, I watched again, and again and realized that they often hit the go button first, then as the sensor got near the display, pop, the serial number was read.  When I tried mine, the serial number read – TWO inches away from the display.  Being too close, the signal must have been too hot to read properly.  I went on to load all 10 sensors and install them on the RV and pickup truck.

The TPMS worked on the way up to Wisconsin but a couple were a little flakey and as I suspected, the batteries weren’t new.  As I was replacing the batteries in the sensors, I noticed oil on the left rear wheel rim of the RV.  The axle seal was leaking…..  More videos.  With the F53, the entire wheel/brake disk/hub assembly freewheels on bearings on the end of the transaxle body.  A half shaft slides through the hub, into the transaxle, mating with a spline into the planetary gears and bolts to the outside of the hub.  Transaxle oil floods that space and is sealed in – with a paper gasket where the half-shaft bolts to the hub. Apparently leaks there is a thing with F53 transaxles.  The only socket wrench I had with me was an 8 inch 3/8ths drive. I put that on – and what were supposed to be 180 lb-ft tightened nuts moved with only moderate force.  Also, apparently insufficiently torqued axle flange bolts is also a thing with F53 transaxles.  There are Youtube videos showing people finding paper seals blown out, falling apart etc.  Mine were in place, so I bought a breaker bar and tightened all the nuts.  I cleaned up all the oil, so I could tell if it leaks again – added some oil to the transaxle (was only a little low).  Then I checked the other side too – loose but not leaking.

We are headed back to home base in less than a week – I’ll keep an eye on it and if it leaks, I’ll have to replace the seal.

A week at home base, then head west young man (and woman).