Thursday, July 25, 2024

Searching For A Power Solution

I never could get pictures from my Apple phone to load on Blogger but we made it back to the Lazy OD Ranch and I have the pictures I wanted to show you from Monday.

Jeff Rowe and Odie

The front steps are nearly finished. Here they are in December in transition from storage to entrance stairs.







This is what they look like on Monday almost finished. They look so much better than I imagined! Wow!


The bus is at Jeff Rowe's for several piddly things but the main event is the generator. It is original to the bus and was built in Ohio in July 1995, It is a 15 KW Martin generator with a Yanmar engine. It has served us well and we hope it will for years to come.

It has given me voltage problems for a few years but we could always work around it. Last spring the problems kicked into overdrive and became insurmountable. We had to work our travel schedule around available campgrounds and that is a travel nightmare for us. Not to mention more expensive.

I am oversimplifying the problem because the herts are unstable too. We think that is the root of it all. But maybe you get the idea.

We spent a few thousand dollars on campgrounds in the northeast alone last summer.. When you add the inconvenience of not finding appropriate campgrounds along our route or near churches, it is a large headache. We had to park over one hour from churches for three straight weeks. Ugh!

Maybe that gives you a glimpse of how important the generator is in our travels. We like to have electricity for a working fridge, hot water and especially air conditioning. Sometimes the generator is the only way to have electricity.

Jeff is elbow-deep into the problem and seems to be close to a solution and we are pulling for him. The nuclear option is replacement and we are ready to investigate that IF necessary but that is a bigger step than we really want to make. We will pull the trigger on that IF the time comes.

We intend to travel in the bus this fall so we are down to the wire. We are praying for the right solution at the right time. Thank you for reading and praying.

Davy