Monthly Archives: August 2013
Something Different . . .
A number of you have been doing your Amazon shopping through our blog, and your support is much appreciated.
——————————————————————————————————————–
In the last couple of days I’ve come across two familiar topics on some of the online RV forums and just couldn’t pass up an opportunity to weigh in.
the first one concerns the Economy Mode button found on most Diesel Pushers, and how it works and what it does. According to Spartan Chassis’ and Allison Transmissions it doesn’t do much.
It seems the most mistaken idea is that it’s an overdrive gear. It’s not.
Actually the only thing it does is to change the computer so that it delays the downshift point when you start up a hill and hurries the upshift point at the top.
So if you’re driving on the straight and level, staying in 6th and never downshifting, it does absolutely nothing. Zip, Zero, Nada.
And if you’re in hilly country, constantly downshifting and upshifting one or more gears, again it will make no real difference.
The only time it will make a difference is on gently rolling hills just the right height so that Economy Mode would keep you in 6th gear, rather than having to downshift without Economy Mode. And since this is very hard to anticipate, the only way to be sure is to just leave it on all the time. And of course you have to remember to turn it on again every time you crank up. Just don’t expect it to make a lot of difference.
The second topic is a perennial favorite: Black Tank Treatments. The packets, the tablets, the powder. The blue stuff, the green stuff, the clear stuff. Take your pick. It seems like everyone has their personal favorite. Some, like me, even mix their own.
After reading a lot of ideas and suggestions over the years, I came up with my own formula a while back that seems to keep the level sensors clean and eliminates any smells. And it’s simple and cheap, and can all be found at Wal-Mart
I buy a box of the cheapest powder laundry detergent I can find. In most cases, it’s a brand called Fab. Next up is a bottle of Calgon Water Softener and a box of RID-X Septic Tank Treatment.
Pretty much every time after I dump the black tank, I put in a scoop of detergent, a capful of Calgon, and a tablespoon of RID-X in the tank. The detergent cleans the tank, the Calgon acts as a surfactant cutting the film that blocks the level sensors, and the RID-X introduces enzymes and bacteria that help to break down and emulsify the waste, reducing the chance of a clog while draining the tank.
I’ve also seen posts saying the RID-X doesn’t do any good because we don’t have septic tanks. But at least in our case we do, in a way. We normally only dump our black tank every two weeks so the RID-X has plenty of time to do its thing. I guess it you dump every day or something, it might not work as well.
All I can say it that it works for me.
————————————————————————————————————–
Thought for the Day:
“The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.” – Thomas Jefferson
dsfasdf
The Circus is in Town . . .
We had hoped to leave Elkhart at 9am, but we did a little better, pulling out about 8:45. Our first stop was about 3 miles down I-90W at the BP Travel Plaza to top off our diesel tank. $345.00, 87 gallons of diesel, and 2 Starbuck’s Cinnamon Dolce Lattes later, we were back on the road by 9:40am. Of course it was 8:40 Central Time where we were headed, Vandalia, IL, about 330 miles away, so we were actually a little ahead of schedule for a change.
The rest of the day was two toll roads, and four Interstates; I-90, I-80, I-57, and finally I-70. Once we got on I-57S Jan took over for about 130 miles. I think she’s driven more this year than the past 5 years together.
Just north of Effingham, and about 50 miles from our destination, I took back over for the last section. We pulled into Timber Trails Campground in Mulberry Grove about 3:30 and went directly to our site. We’ve stayed here a number of times while we visited Jan’s sister, Debbie, and had talked to the campground early in the day today, so we just went straight there and parked.
After getting set up, we headed over to Debbie’s about 4:15, to meet up with everyone except Jason’s wife Laura, who was working. But we got to see all the rest, Debbie, her husband, Jim, son Jason, daughters Tanna and Christina, and the kids, Gwen, Avery Jane, Ella, and Annisten. And of course, the dogs, Murphy, Nacho, and Phoenix.
Yes, it was a circus.
Debbie had put together a great meal of Beef Stroganoff and Green Beans from their garden, along with hot buttered rolls to round out the feast.
Tomorrow, we’re meeting everyone at Denny’s for breakfast at 9am. Oh boy! Another morning to get up early.
——————————————————————————————————
Thought for the Day:
Heck Is Where People Go When Gosh Darns Them.
asdfadsf
