MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
It is over. Our ballots are completed and dropped in an official ballot box. I no longer need to pay attention to political ads, signs, Facebook postings or others' opinions on the subject. Doesn’t it seem like this has been the longest election season, ever?
Now that I have all this free time, it’s time to get back to more important things. Upgrades to the Alpine, planning for next summer’s Oregon Coast Rally, fall garden cleanup, a new laptop and daily walks in the woods, all seem like worthy endeavors moving forward.
Speaking of the Alpine, I have embarked on the great solar and lithium battery upgrade. First step was replacing my original Xantrex RS2000, with a slightly used SW3012. Next will be pulling out the 6-year-old flooded batteries, and then agonizing over which LiFePO4 battery to buy. I’m a miser at heart, so the temptation to buy cells from China to build my own battery bank is very tempting. I will be showing off whatever I finally decide, to everyone who comes up for the Oregon Coast Rally.
Speaking of Rallies, our very next SoCal rally will be March 4-9 in Morro Bay, hosted by the Collinses and Hasmans, one of my favorite areas on the CA coast. Northwest rallies seem to be the thing in 2021. First up is ACA’s Salem Rally end of May (with possible Rhody Days ‘spot rally’ the week before – more details later), then my Oregon Coast rolling rally around June 15 to 23, and finally another ACA rally on the Olympic Peninsula in September.
In spirit with the current social distancing we are experiencing, I held our very first SoCal Zoom membership meeting in September. Several members and the Board joined in. It was great to see everyone and be able to chat with them.
The Club is healthy with 64 coaches. I conducted an informal poll to check willingness to attend a rally at this point in time. Approximately half of those at the Zoom meeting are ready to rally now, with additional members likely willing to attend a rally by March of 2021, and an even greater number by next summer. We recognize that everyone has a different level of comfort going out and about, and we will be making every effort to modify how we conduct future rallies to provide the safest possible environment.
We also welcomed our newest members Eric and Wendi Moen from Sparks, NV who joined the Zoom meeting. You will find Eric’s article in this newsletter.
Please take a moment to review the minutes, if you haven’t already done so. Stephanie emailed minutes to all members shortly after the meeting.
I hope to hold our next all members virtual meeting in January, as we (I hope) will be looking at more of a back-to-normal club schedule. I encourage you to join us. Marcia and I are happy to help those who are not familiar with Zoom ahead of time. No masks required. And no limit to the numbers attending!
Please stay healthy and happy. Hope to see you at the next virtual meeting or live rally!
-Scott Hicks
MEMBERSHIP REPORT
Janet Prodanovich/lst V.P. Membership
Alpine Cornhole Challenge:
Our bean bag toss game has become a favorite pre-happy hour gathering. To inspire and challenge you to new heights, please see this video and start practicing😉
From Your FMCA NATIONAL DIRECTOR
Gayle Picha
Steve (NorCal FMCA National Director) and I have been continually monitoring the FMCA activities over the last few months. There has been a lot of indecision and disagreement as to how to move forward. The cost of the FMCA Assist program as you know, has risen and was controversial. Raising dues again was discussed as a possible solution but was turned down. There was serious discussion on many subjects that made a significant impact on balancing the budget and the future of FMCA. Covid of course has also impacted membership as well, and membership continues to drop.
Rather than paraphrase, I have copied and pasted a portion of the last notification we received that explains the decisions that were made moving forward. As far as I know, this is the final decision for the remaining portion of 2020 and for 2021.
NEW YEAR, NEW BUDGET, SAME PROBLEM, NO SOLUTION
I am happy to report to you that due to the efforts of your Risk Management Committee, headed by Ned Boston, F226166, the FMCAssist medical evacuation insurance policy premium was reduced to the point that it cleared the deficit in your 2021 budget. The new budget, which takes effect on October 1, 2020, will have a positive surplus, will keep the medical evacuation insurance, and will keep the dues at the $75 per year level.
The bad news is that since the dues were raised from $50 to $75 one year ago, FMCA has lost almost 5,000 members. Of those who chose not to renew their dues at the $75 rate, almost half said it was because the dues are too high. Our dues are two-and-a-half times higher than our nearest RV club competitor.
Here are some facts for you to ponder:
August 2016 to August 2017 ($50 dues) — GAIN of 4,104 memberships
August 2017 to August 2018 ($50 dues) — GAIN of 3,561 memberships
August 2018 to August 2019 ($50 dues) — GAIN of 3,162 memberships
Last year at the new $75 dues:
August 2019 to August 2020 ($75 dues) — LOSS of 4,696 memberships
Here are the hard facts surrounding the loss of 4,696 memberships during this past year:
1. New member acquisition was down 27.4 percent.
2. Renewal rate was down 6 percent.
3. Towable membership grew by 516 this past year. That is a severe drop from the gain of 2,422 the year before that.
FMCA brought in Membership Corporation of America (MCA) five years ago to help us develop a plan to stop the membership loss and return us to growth. Much time and money was spent to adopt and execute their recommended initiatives. MCA advised us that we must do whatever it takes to “churn that positive membership growth machine”. I think they quoted the famous William S. Burroughs as saying, “When you stop growing, you start dying.”
We must do whatever it takes to stop this membership loss. That is the biggest challenge for this board this coming year.
Despite the membership loss, I am very proud of our National Treasurer, John Reynolds, and his highly qualified finance committee members. They have worked tirelessly to find ways to keep our finances positive. Remember, I told you one of my three platforms was to leave office with FMCA on a positive financial position. Here is what John, his committee, and our staff have done:
May 2020 — Gain of $35,053
June 2020 — Gain of $7,877
July 2020 — Gain of $33,648
WEBMASTER ARTICLEJim ArcherThe website
keeps going and going, just like the Energizer Bunny. Unfortunately there has not been too much to
do with it this year, with the cancellation of our rallies. We have had some new members join us this
year, so Janet Prodanovich has gotten a few chances to make sure everything is
still functioning. Hopefully we will be
starting to schedule some rallies in the near future, so keep checking the rally
schedule. Hopefully the restrictions on
gatherings will relax soon and we can start to assemble once again.
Please
contact Janet if you want to submit an updated photo for our membership roster or if you need to change your address or other contact information. And contact me if you find any broken links
on the website. I try to keep them up to
date, but some links get changed without my knowledge.
Speaking of
changes without my knowledge, the software version hosting our website is
going to be obsolete at the end of the year, so I will have to update to a
newer version. I would like to say that
it will be a seamless conversion, but based on past experiences, I don’t expect
that to be true. These updates have
never gone smoothly in the past, so based on everything else that has gone on
in 2020, I am not counting on this being any different! So if one day you visit our website and can’t
find it, rest assured I will be blaming it on COVID 19.
Be safe out
there.
TIME TO MARK YOUR CALENDARS…
Although some of us have been traveling during this pandemic others have not been comfortable in doing so. During our last membership meeting via Zoom in September approximately half of the members in attendance felt that they would be ready to start traveling in 2021. With that in mind we have been working on getting some rallies in place as follows:
Morro Dunes RV Park, Morro Bay, CA, March 4-9, Collins / Hasmans
“Social Distancing” Rally. No large gatherings or group activities planned. Encouraging attendees to do things in small groups. Lots of ideas provided for things to do in the area. RV park is directly across the street from the beach, within walking distance to downtown Morro Bay.
Oregon Coast 9-Day Rolling Rally, June 15/16 – 23/24, Hicks / Matthews
Gold Beach to Winchester Bay to Newport. Mail boat run up the Rogue River. Visit Bandon, Coos Bay, Sunset Bay Arboretum, Charleston (best fish and chips in OR), Aquarium in Newport. Go on Scott’s infamous walking tour of downtown Florence.
Black Oak Casino RV Park, Sonora, CA, Sept 23-28, Matthews / Polks
Beautiful RV Park, Fishing pond – possible fishing derby. Inexpensive day trip to Yosemite National Park available. Details still in the works.
Pala RV Resort, Pala, CA, November 5-8, Hambarians / Lacys
Newport Dunes has been replaced by Pala due to the time of year to assure that we will have a clubhouse for activities in case of any bad weather. Details are still in the works.
A Big Thank You to our Wagon Masters who are stepping up to reestablish our rally gatherings for next year!
We look forward to seeing you at one or all of the rallies. Stay safe.
RALLY REMINISCINGS
Views from a Newcomer
My wife Wendi and I purchased a 36 foot Alpine Coach and joined the Alpine Coach club last fall. We purchased our coach at an RV show from a dealer. After over three hours of instruction at the dealership I was getting in my coach to drive off and the last words from the service manager were, “They have an Alpine coach club, you should join it.”
We took his word for it and joined. Wendi and I took our coach out for the first time to the Temecula rally in February of 2020. I always tell people that if I had not gone to that rally on my first trip and received so much instruction and encouragement from the other twelve coach owners I may have just pushed my new coach off a cliff because, as you all know, they have a bit of a learning curve.
We made friends at that first rally who have stuck with us and helped us through so many learning curves. Scott Hicks has answered my calls and texts saving us too many times to count. Because of this group we have really learned to enjoy our coach. We also found out that it does rain in Southern California and have since had our roof sealed and a new skylight put it.
Our second rally was in Cody, Wyoming which took place in the nicest RV park. The super sharp wagon masters put us with our husky facing the dog park. Our husky, Kaci, helped us make many new friends. There was a rodeo to go to, a wonderful breakfast every day, too many steak dinners to count, and beautiful country to see. We were invited to a home overlooking the city to watch fireworks on the 4th of July and had a wonderful tour of the city. So many good memories and more new friends.
Our third rally was the Apple Hill rally in Placerville. We camped on a large lawn at the fairgrounds in a semi-circle that gave a wonderful sense of intimacy to the gathering. We had delicious meals and even went gold mining where I panned a little flake of gold for the first time since I worked my own gold mines in the seventies.
I was parked next to engineer Mike who guided me to fix the leak in my slide out that was pouring water on my inverter charger. Others who helped us are too numerous too mention but Dan let us drive his new Jeep Rubicon which led us to get our own a week later.
Wendi and I have already spent over one hundred nights in our new Alpine coach and are leaving on a one year trip to Florida, the Maritime Provinces, and Alaska. We love our coach, in a large part, because of so many new friends who have helped us and cared for us through this first year. We look forward to many more rallies in the future. Thanks to all of you who have made owning an Alpine Coach such a wonderful experience.
ACA Cody Rally, June 29-July 7, 2020
I was asked to give a report on the Cody Wyoming Rally held back
over the 4th of July. This Rally was co-hosted by Tom and Jackie Keating and
Tom and Nancy Polk. My hat is off to both couples for a fantastic rally. Many
of our rallies are very structured. There are so many interesting things to see
and do around Cody, a structure would have been very limiting. I liked the feel
of this rally as it was a nice balance of optional but planned events, and free
time. Since Gayle and I have been to Cody several times in the past, it gave us
plenty of opportunity to see things for the first time as well as attend the
planned events.
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Keating's coach in the July 4th parade
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Planned events included the Rodeo and the 4th of July parade, in
which both of our hosts actually drove their coaches in the parade. Cody loves
the 4th of July parade so much, they hold it on three consecutive days. Downtown
merchants participated in an Alpine scavenger hunt, complete with prizes. The
Cody Eagles Lodge prepared a fantastic meal one night for the group. Not only
did they do a great job, the Lodge members were having a ball doing it and were
very welcoming. There was also a trolley tour explaining the history of Cody
and town points of interest. Dinner and a show occupied one evening, beginning
with an old west gunfight in the street, followed by dinner at Wild Bill Cody’s
historic Irma Hotel. After dinner we attended a really fun stage music show
next door. The performers were top notch.
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Polks' Alpine in the parade
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During our free time, there was the Cody museum, which should truly be a bucket list item if you
have never been there. The Keatings were able
to score a discount for the museum, good for the entire time we were there, so
everyone had an opportunity to go and even multiple times if needed.
Cody is
close enough to take day trips into Yellowstone National Park. Several of us took a trip over
the Bear Tooth Pass through some of the most spectacular scenery the Rockies
have to offer. We also watched a wonderful
fireworks display July 4th from the comfort of the Keating’s back yard which
sits on a hill overlooking the town and had a perfect view of the fireworks. Most
evenings there was a cocktail party at the Keating’s RV and several nights
dinner was provided, both catered and BBQ’d on site.
These were just some of the highlights we enjoyed at the Cody
Rally. Thank you to the Keatings and Polks once again. It was not only a
memorable rally, but also a much needed break from life in the midst of the
Covid crisis. Gayle and I enjoyed every minute we were there.
MEMBERS SHARE
It was a dark and stormy night...
…No, it wasn’t, it was 7:30 in the morning on September 8th, 2020, and we needed a flashlight to walk the dog and headlights to drive the coach.
Overhead, it was completely dark. I located east and then west. As we all know, the sun rises in the east but it was brighter in the west! And Google told us the sun rose at 6:30 AM.
What was going on you ask? So did we! I laughingly told Mikey that our one granddaughter might be right about the zombie apocalypse after all!
It turned out that the entire sky was blocked by smoke from wildfires and clouds. In the east, the cloud cover came down to the nearest mountain tops, totally obscuring the sun. In the west, the clouds ended way off in the distance but sunlight was visible. Weird, dark in the east and light in the west early in the morning. And where we were in Corning, CA (on I-5) it was quite dark. Daylight finally arrived around 10:00 am up around Mount Shasta.
From there to Ashland, OR the weather and sky were normal and great. Just north of Ashland we saw some remnants of a wildfire along one side of the freeway, then the other. Then some smoke and firefighters, some of whom slowed and stopped traffic (about 30 minutes delay). Then portions of Talent and Phoenix, OR, visible from the freeway, were burned to the ground! From there on it was smoky skies to that day’s destination of Coburg (Eugene), OR. Coburg remained smoky for our entire 3-day stay there.
There were three very large wildfires, all just east of I-5: one at Roseburg, one at Eugene/Springfield, and one at Salem. The air quality was currently terrible and forecast to stay unhealthy. We took stock of our existing plan which was to spend a couple of nights in Salem, then head west to Pacific City for a few nights, and then back south through Lincoln City to Florence.
However, there was a fire at Lincoln City which had forced evacuation of most of the town. So, we checked with the local fire department in Coburg and learned that the small fire at Mapleton (on Hwy. 126 between Eugene and Florence) had been put out and the road was safe. This ended up being our best bet and we went straight to Florence after cancelling our stays in Salem and Pacific City.
How do you now when you’re safe and when you might not be? We wondered about that on our first night in Coburg with the smoke swirling around us and ash landing on our campsite. We travel with two NOAA emergency weather alert radios but use them so infrequently that we weren’t sure if they were set up properly to come on automatically with an emergency broadcast. It was so nerve-racking that Mikey stayed up most of the night with the curtains open, watching local TV news to keep abreast of the developing situation.
The next day we went and found the Coburg fire person to talk to. We asked about Emergency Alert Systems which would send an alert to your phone as a text (we have this locally in California by Zip Code but couldn’t find that available in Oregon). The fire department pointed us to a couple of information websites:
They also suggested the app for the local network TV channel which sends Notifications to my Android phone home screen when they’ve got important news bulletins to pass along (like evacuation notices).
And here are a couple of my favorites:
Cell phone apps:
I’ve got an Android and I really like MyRadar by ACME AtronOmatic (4.7 stars for the free version). The iPhone version says it’s by Aviation Data Systems. I’ve used this app for rain information for years and just realized it’s got a layer for wildfire information too.
During our 2-week stay in Florence, we continually reevaluated our situation and whether we should just pack it in and head for home and go camping during better conditions. But, with the help of the last two websites, we determined that we’d have less exposure to wildfires and bad air if we just stayed where we were.
So, hopefully this is some food for thought on emergency radios and websites and cell phone apps that you may wish to look into before your next trip.
Our Full-timing experience during the Covid Pandemic
Steve Picha
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camping along the Mississippi
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It comes as no surprise that 2020 was, and continues to be an entirely new experience in an RV. Travel restrictions have closed borders. Hours of operation for businesses and points of interest to be open have been mandated. Services and supplies were cut to a minimum… It’s been completely different than any years previously. All this being said, Gayle and I are very glad we have had the opportunity to be gone from our home State of Nevada during this pandemic.
We left our RV lot in Yuma much later than planned due to uncertainty regarding travel restrictions. Gayle was supposed to be on a plane to Italy the first week of April… as you can probably guess, that plan was obviously shot in the foot. When we left Yuma at the end of May, there were no real confirmed cases of Corona. In fact, the standing joke was, “We did have a couple of cases show up, but we drank them all”. California was in a semi-lockdown situation by that time, and Nevada was scheduled to follow suit.
Not wanting to remain in that strict environment, we elected to go on the road making a one week stop at home near Reno. Once things were secure at home, it was time to “get the hell out of Dodge!” Once on the road, things began to tame down noticeably and didn’t reappear until spending 10 days just outside Denver. Rioting was all around us, highways were taken over and closed down by protestors. Chaos best describes the metropolitan area. We were there to see my brand new great niece but after that visit we couldn’t wait to get out and headed north to Wyoming.
There was little fear of Covid in Wyoming. Life was for the most part normal, with a twinge of Covid awareness, and, what I considered common sense precautions, being practiced. It was this attitude that we sought out for the rest of the trip. There was no reason to go into population centers so we avoided them as much as possible. We selected places to camp, slightly off the beaten path, and elected to avoid “mask mandatory” areas.
The following isn’t meant to sound like a political statement. It is simply a fact based on personal observation. States and cities with Democratic governors and mayors were worse to be in. Government is clearly not a reliable source for what makes sense or to determine what an “essential” business actually is. We also encountered “blue bubbles” in predominantly red areas, where ridiculous rules and laws were strictly enforced but then the next town over showed no signs of there even being a crisis.
I wanted to go to specific museums I did not go to because of a requirement to wear a mask for the 6-7 hours recommended to enjoy the museum. Also, wearing a mask fogged my glasses with every breath, and the more humid the day, the worse that seemed. The price for museums was still the same, but they closed displays I wanted to see because people tended to linger longer causing social distancing violations, so they closed them or made you wait outside for people to clear out.
We broke down at the side of the road. Finding a repair shop open or one that is still operating with a full staff, as far as I am concerned, can be pretty essential. Yet several shops I called had laid off staff, and due to Covid had cut back days and hours, and now were booked weeks in advance. Although we were able to work around it, this was a major issue.
Yes, there were challenges but all this being said, traveling in these times has still been good. We have not always been free to go where we want, when we want, but we found plenty of interesting places to visit, great campgrounds with friendly people, often wanting personal interaction they could not get at home. We have discovered we tend to spend more time staying longer in one place and take longer bike rides.
It is my opinion that meeting new people in new places and not focusing on fear and anxiety provides a healthier lifestyle than sheltering at home, and having the news media telling us how the rest of the country is doing. What we are seeing in these travels is not what is being reported.
RV-ing allows many of us this unique experience. Should you have a compromised immune system or are subject to catching bugs, traveling now may not be a wise choice. On the other hand… yes, things are different today but you can continue to enjoy your RV, escape fear and anxiety, and when appropriate, practice common sense precautions. We want everyone to stay healthy and see all of you at future rallies once this whole thing blows over.
Stay safe!
You're laughing with me, right???
Stephanie Archer
During this pandemic, I’ve limited my in-store shopping to two local grocery stores and to Costco. As you’ve all experienced, there are certain items that are seldom in stock at the grocery stores or at Costco. Rather than traipse through multiple stores looking for these nearly always out of stock items, I try to buy the items online and have them delivered. Or worst case, I’ll buy them online and use the store’s curbside delivery service. The following laugh “WITH” me event occurred when I went to Wal-Mart to pick up an online grocery order. Easy, Peasy..or so you'd think.... Follow the orange signs to the designated pick up parking spaces, use the Wal-Mart app to tell them what space you're parked in and wait for the groceries to be delivered to your car...
Before I continue the story, it's time for you to queue up the circus tune that's played on a calliope, usually when the group of clowns is getting out of the tiny clown car.....only this time it's one clown driving a Subaru!
I drive down the main aisle of Wal-Mart's parking lot, toward the front door. An orange arrow is on the asphalt pointing toward the store. I must be going the correct way. At the end of the aisle there are TWO orange "Pick up" signs, one pointing right and one pointing left. Hmmm... there must be 2 separate pick up areas. I turn right and right to go back up the next aisle...no marked "Pick up" spaces. So I drive back down the main aisle, turn left and left again to drive back up THAT aisle. Again, no marked "Pick up" spaces. So back down the main aisle I drive… for a third time...it's suppose to be the charm. I turn right at the end of the aisle and drive to the end of the road, which is also at the end of the Wal-Mart building. To the left are the loading docks for the store AND a small sign that says the "Pick up" area has been moved in front of the Garden Center portion of the store. I know where that is! So I hang a U and drive toward the Garden Center until I see the large orange "Pick up" signs in front of a group of parking spaces. I know I'm in the correct area because several cars are parked with the trunk lids up and Wal-Mart employees are loading bags into their trunks. I park in space number Lucky 13 and type 13 into the Wal-Mart app. Unfortunately, the app requires you select the space number from a set of numbers displayed across the top of the app. Since I'd already typed in "13", the app recognized the "3" and highlighted it as the space I was in. I wanted to correct the space number to 13. But the screen was locked. I finally found the "change" button which unlocked the screen. So I scrolled right looking for "13". My only choices were 1-9 and A-G. Are you laughing yet? So I start the engine, pull out of space 13 and move over an aisle to space 3. Thankfully, it was empty. The groceries were delivered to space 3 in less than 5 minutes.
This entire parking lot adventure took less than 10 minutes. I was laughing and shaking my head by the time I had the groceries. The guys reviewing the surveillance tapes of the parking lot activity probably got a chuckle as well. Yes, I'd use the pick up option again. It beats traipsing through the store looking for items which are frequently out of stock. You are laughing WITH me, right???? You’re Welcome!
Maintenance and Repairs - Planned and Unplanned
Michael Weitz
First, the Planned Repairs
Our 2001 Alpine Coach was originally sold to the first owner in July 2000, so this summer it passed its 20th birthday. To celebrate the milestone I decided to give it a facelift with new halo LED headlights, and new bright LED spotlights. The headlight installation was not exactly a “plug & play” process. Even though the E39 lights I bought were listed online as 1997 – 2001 BMW models, the mounting holes were slightly different. In addition, the left and right cut-outs in the Alpine’s front cap are not exactly the same, so the right headlight went in more easily than the left. Both will require some further adjustment as we found on our latest trip that they are aimed too low. But they look pretty and give our Alpine a cleaner updated appearance. The spotlights are powerful and light up the night, and proved to be excellent in finding our RV park site in the dark.
I also added thermostat-controlled fans to our fridge vent. The 20-year-old vent was brittle and cracked, and the Dicor caulking needed to be replaced. So I got a new Dometic vent, and mounted four 14cm waterproof fans into the base. The fans cover the entire vent opening. One pair is controlled by a thermostat mounted at the top of the cooling fins of the refrigerator, and the other pair has a controller module with 6 speeds depending on the temperature. I hope this will keep our old fridge working efficiently for a long time to come.
Then, the Unplanned Repairs
A few weeks ago we took a trip to Oregon. The Alpine needed some exercise to keep its fluids flowing, and we had errands to run, picking up a few furniture items from my sister in Bend. But first we made a stop at our favorite Oregon Coast beach, Cape Kiwanda. We arranged to meet with Sandy & Debi Johnson who were heading to Oregon after the Placerville rally to stay away from the heat and wildfire smoke in California.
The first leg of our trip southbound on I-5 seemed uneventful but when we filled up after 240 miles I noticed our fuel mileage, which has always been a consistent 9 MPG, had dropped to 6.6 MPG. I half justified it from having exercised the Alpine and generator by doing a few 20-mile local runs to keep things moving. However the low mileage was still a puzzle.
Then about 100 miles further on Teresa noticed that the inside dual tire had increased pressure about 10 PSI higher than the outside tire on the tire pressure monitor – they are normally within 1 or 2 psi of each other. The inside was also running much hotter than the outside. Shortly after that she smelled a hot brake smell and I realized something was wrong. Just then on the narrow Route 101 coast road, we came up behind a cyclist ahead in our lane. A truck and trailer were approaching in the opposite direction and I hit the brakes to stay behind the cyclist until the truck passed, but my foot went to the floor! No brakes!
I blasted the air horn, pumped the brakes again, and aimed for the narrow gap. The cyclist raised his arm (or his fist, or finger) and I swerved left as the trailer passed by. The next vehicle approaching ahead saw the problem and pulled over into the gravel shoulder. We missed the cyclist! Phew! It was a no-contact scary event. Fortunately we had been going slowly. Our dash cam captured the narrow miss:
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No brakes and a narrow gap ahead!
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Cyclist acknowledges air horn, but doesn't move over.
The oncoming truck goes wide |
Subsequent pumping on the brake pedal restored some squishy brake function, so with only 3 miles to our destination we continued on, driving slowly in low gear with the engine brake on. We arrived and checked in, and I felt the hot wheel hub and hot-smelling brakes. Then I called Coach Net.
After first determining that we were in a safe place, Coach Net called all around coastal Oregon, but all they could find was a diesel shop in Tillamook that could send a repairman out 3 days later. That’s OK, we were planning to stay a few days anyway. But on the appointed day I got another call from Coach Net to say that the repair shop was too busy to send anyone, so could I rather drive to their shop 24 miles away. It was our only option, so we carefully drove to Tillamook.
At Tillamook Diesel Repair the nimble 80-year-old owner crawled under the Alpine and examined the brake discs. He saw that there was apparent damage to the brakes – the heat had “cooked” the brake pads and some pad material had bonded to the rotor which was discolored. He said the pads were likely glazed over and needed to be replaced. But the rotor was not overheating after our 24 mile drive, and was a similar temperature to the other rear disc, so the brakes were no longer binding. But the bad news was that his shop was completely jammed with important jobs, and he couldn’t accommodate us until the following week. So back to Coach Net again!
I also called a few places, and none of them could accommodate us for several weeks! Coach Net searched far and wide, and the only shop they found that agreed to look at our brakes was Peterson Trucks in Eugene, 140 miles away. So with a little more comfort that our stuck brakes had somehow become unstuck, we drove to Eugene and booked a couple of nights at Premier RV Resort in Coburg right next to Interstate 5 (the only thing that is Premier about the resort is the continual noise from the highway!!).
The first question from Peterson was “what kind of brakes does the Alpine have?” The 2001 Alpine Coach brochure says they’re Meritor four wheel hydraulic four piston anti-lock disc brakes. The ACA Tech Library says 1997 – 2001 Alpines have Bosch Pin Slide 2 Piston Brakes. It turns out the brochure is wrong and the tech library correct, they’re Bosch brakes. And how fortunate for us that Peterson Truck repair had them in stock.
We spent two days at Peterson Trucks having both rear brake sets, calipers, rotors and pads replaced. Since we have adopted a Covid principle of “essential contacts only”, we chose not to use their drivers’ lounge, and opted to hang out in our Jeep and occasionally go into the shop to use the Alpine bathroom. They are a good team at Peterson, both supervisors and technicians, and kept us well informed about progress. I was able to go into the shop and see what they were doing. Their diagnosis of the problem was that a piston got stuck in the extended position, keeping the pad pressed against the rotor.
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| The old calipers, pad and slide pins |
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| Wheel hub with damaged brake rotor |
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| New brake caliper |
They only got the job finished at 7PM on Friday evening, so we spent the night at Guaranty RV Park in Junction City, a much nicer, quieter, and less expensive park compared with Premier. The next morning we drove in rain to Bend, Oregon on Route 126 along the McKenzie River through about 25 miles of fire devastation; dozens of homes burned to the ground, vehicle carcasses scattered around, and occasionally a house or two standing untouched in a small patch of green surrounded by blackened forest. A somber end to an eventful week. It could have been a lot worse. We were very fortunate.
I Heard it through the Grapevine...
Teresa Weitz
I Heard it through the Grapevine... what happens in the Alpine community is meant to be shared....😀
- The Collinses have a new puppy! Rozzy is Harley's baby sister. She is nine-and-a-half weeks old and very cute. The Collinses are enjoying her even though she doesn't sleep through the night yet. They take turns getting up to her during the night so one of them can sleep undisturbed. Hmmm... this certainly sounds like having a baby in the house again. We look forward to meeting Rozzy at a future rally and welcoming her to the SoCal traveling pets.
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Rozzy at 4 weeks
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Big Sister with Mini Me Sister
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- Ava, The Archer's travelling cat, appears to have developed a penchant for cantaloupe during these months of social distancing. Or, perhaps she is sending a message that she misses her feline travels....And in case you may wonder who really wears the pants in the Archer household -
IN MEMORIAM
It is with great sadness that Mike and Donna Hambarian write about the passing of a member and friend, Orville McGee.
Orville and MaryAnn bought their 2001 Alpine in 2004. Eventually they looked for a group to camp with and found Alpine SoCal. Both drove the rig, and their dogs were their traveling companions. They were a great couple who were always seen together. A relative said they were like peanut butter and jelly. Orville's love of flying and guns made him a real man's man. Last year they finished their beautiful home in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, with plenty of room for the motorhome and display space for Orville's gun collection. At this time, MaryAnn plans to keep the motorhome and continue traveling.
The following is a copy of the obituary published in the newspaper that MaryAnn asked we share with the group:
McGee, Orville Wayne, 80, of Lake Havasu City, AZ passed away on July 28, 2020 from a heart attack while returning from an RV trip. A loving Husband, Brother, Father, and Grandfather. No services are planned due to the Covid pandemic, but a Celebration of Life will be planned after the first of next year, most likely at the Garden Grove Elks Lodge, of which he was a Lifetime Member. He is survived by his wife, Mary Ann Ratliff-McGee; son, Robert Wayne McGee; daughter Linda Susan (Jim) Rhodes (McGee); Grand children (5) and Great grandchildren (7) too numerous to name all; his Mother Juanita Ribacchi-McGee, and father Jeptha Anderson McGee preceded him in death; three brothers, Robert (Mary) McGee; Danny (Connie) McGee; and Jimmy Dale, only 11 who also preceded him in death. Imogene Hearn, a sister also preceded him in death. He also has numerous nieces and nephews, cousins and a large extended family and so many friends that loved and adored him! He was quite a story teller, successful business man, Private-instrument rated Pilot, gun enthusiast, leather crafter (made quick draw holsters) and even took a dance lesson or two! He will be greatly missed!
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Paso Robles June 2016
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