Category: 4 Wheel Driving

I made a trip to Colorado in middle to late September to see fall colors and then down to the Bisti Badlands to shoot there while the temperature was not so hot, to explore new areas and to experiment with different lenses.

I was not at all sure that the colors would be good in Colorado, since I would be going a little earlier than the colors normally peak, but I only had a small window into which to fit this trip, so I took a chance.  I had seen reports that the colors were early in areas that were in drought conditions, so I knew that I had a good chance of seeing some color, even if not peak color.

As it turns out the colors were quite good with some trees past peak, but many just peaking or not even changed at all.  So it does look like the drought is affecting the timing of the color change and stretching out the color change interval.  Anyway, I’ll have more on the photography of the fall color in a subsequent post.

As the title of this post implies, this trip was fraught with some not so good experiences.  This post is just to vent these frustrations and to reveal the problems one might encounter in any such road trip.  I’m sure others, who do these type trips in camper vehicles, have encountered much more serious problems.

The first negative event happened on the first leg of the journey somewhere between Wichita Falls and Claude, Texas along US287, which is a four lane divided highway along most of that route.  Approaching an 18 wheeler, I pulled into the left hand lane to pass, then the 18 wheeler pulled into the lane in front of me, moving over for another 18 wheeler that had pulled off of the road with some problem.  No problem, I just backed off a bit and the 18 wheeler began to pull back into the right lane as soon as it cleared the 18 wheeler that was parked on the shoulder.  The highway surface there consists of aggregate and asphalt.  As the truck changed lanes, it apparently kicked up a rock which hit the left edge of my windshield with a loud crack, creating not only a rock chip, but a crack about six inches long.  That crack continued to grow throughout my road trip and is now more than double its original length.  When the sunlight falls on the crack at just the right angle, it creates a bright spot that flashes directly into my eyes.  A new windshield will be required and I just had a minor rock chip repaired after my first real road trip in the vehicle.

The second negative event happened that evening at my first stop in route.  I planned to sleep in the penthouse bed, since that is usually more comfortable and cooler than the bench seat bed in the back of the Sportsmobile.  I pushed the button to activate the motor to raise the penthouse top and immediately there were loud popping noises from the passenger side of the motorized mechanism.  I immediately lowered the roof (the driver’s side was going up and the other side went up less, creating a tilt to the roof).  I repeated this process, hoping that whatever was causing the problem would be cleared.  I gave up raising the penthouse after several attempts, not wanting to get the top stuck in an up position.  I had just had another issue with the penthouse installation repaired by Sportsmobile in Austin a few weeks prior and I had not tried to raise the roof until this trip.  (Lesson learned:  Always check anything that is worked on before driving away).

So what are the impacts of not being able to raise the top, other than not being able to use the penthouse bed?  Items stored on the platform behind the bench seat have to be distributed elsewhere in the vehicle to make the lower bed, then put back before traveling again.  This takes time and is somewhat of a pain to do.  The bedding (sheets, pillows, covers) all have to be packed away, while these can be left in place in the Penthouse.  The lower bed is much firmer than the upper bed (the bench seat and back platform are covered in leather and quite firm).  On the positive side, when it is cold outside, which it was several nights in the higher elevations, it is warmer sleeping below, rather than in the penthouse, since the penthouse walls are just canvas and/or plastic in the window areas.

A third concern, which turned out not to be a real issue, was noted when I returned from the first morning photo shoot.  I noted a small wet spot beneath the vehicle near the diesel furnace, which I had used for just a few minutes in the cold, early morning just after awakening.  Upon inspection, I saw a slow fluid drip beneath the vehicle.  My fear was that it was a diesel leak, but I quickly ruled that out by an inspection of the fluid, which had no odor or oiliness.  I knew the furnace used some type of coolant, so I figured it was a coolant leak from the furnace.  I had no cell signal where I was, so it was later in the day, as I moved around that I was able to communicate via messaging with Sportsmobile.  Since it was not diesel, it had to be a coolant leak or overflow and the coolant, as I learned from Sportsmobile, is just distilled water.  I did not see any continuation of the leak on subsequent mornings, after using the furnace, so I assume the drip was just an overflow of distilled water and I now know how to check and replenish the coolant.  I did note an electrical connection at the fuel pump for the furnace, that might need attention.  The electrical wiring is contained in a conduit up to near the pump, then the wires are exposed.  It appears that the conduit may have come loose at the pump.

The fourth issue was noted, when I came down from the mountain camping, setting up at Ridgway State Park for an overnight stay prior to heading to Bisti.  Since it was warm during the day and I had electrical hook up at the park, I turned on the A/C to keep the vehicle interior cool during the day.  It was only in the low 80s outside, but the interior of the vehicle can get much warmer in direct sunlight on a sunny day.  I had used the A/C the first night of my trip with no problems; but this time, the A/C ran for a few minutes then shut off.  It restarted after a few minutes, ran for a short time and shut off again.  It kept doing this and I knew that was not normal, since it usually ran continuously, until the target temperature on the thermostat was reached.  Going outside the vehicle, I noted that the sound from the A/C fans below the vehicle was not the normal sound.  Laying on the ground, looking up into the fans, I immediately saw the problem:  dried mud in the fans.  It had rained one day in the mountains and I had driven on muddy roads.  (I actually shifted into 4 wheel drive for the first time, as it felt as if the vehicle was sliding a bit on the muddy roads and there were many places where sliding off of the roadway would be a very undesirable event). The vehicle was quite muddy and I had gone into Montrose earlier that day to a self serve car wash to spray off most of the heavy mud from the upper body, the wheel wells, the wheels and whatever I could get to beneath the vehicle, including the edges of the A/C fans.  But I did not realize that there was mud inside the fan assembly  and the strong jet spray would probably not have been good for the fan and delicate vanes behind the fan, anyway.  I cleared the dried mud with a screwdriver, turned the fan blades manually to be sure there was no remaining obstruction and turned the A/C back on.  The A/C ran a few minutes longer, but still shut off and kept cycling on and off in an abnormal manner.  Since I had cell service, I put in a call to Sportsmobile.  We were able to confirm, via the battery monitor panel, that the current draw,  during the A/C operation was normal.  However, there is an internal automatic circuit breaker in the A/C unit that might be the problem.  It is possible that some damage was done to the system, when it was trying to run before the mud was cleared from the fans.  It would have been good to have been warned of this potential problem by Sportsmobile.  I’m sure this must have happened to others, since these vehicles are intended to be used off paved roads, where mud is frequently encountered.

Fortunately, opening the sliding doors and back doors with bug screens installed, the air flow through the vehicle was sufficient to keep the temperature inside in a comfortable range during the day and it got quite cool during the night, so I only needed to have the side awning window open during the night.

And another issue that I almost forgot:  There is a chirping sound, which I think is from the smoke detector, telling me that I need to replace its battery.  The problem is that the smoke detector is only accessible with the penthouse raised.  So I had to live with and try to sleep through the periodic chirping.

And yet another issue:  The fridge is noisy for a few seconds when its compressor first comes on.  It was not always this noisy.  It is normally rather quite when running.  The fridge comes on periodically and the initial noise is quite noticeable, when trying to sleep.

Other things that I learned and observed on this outing:  1.  I should make longer cables for the solar panels to allow for a greater range in placement to keep them in sunlight.  The downside to longer cables, is that these will result in a greater voltage loss  from the panels.  2.  The storage covers I made for the solar panels need revision.  The industrial strength velcro fasteners are stronger than the self adhesive, pulling some of the velcro off of the covers. 3.  I will need to get a monitor to use with the laptop for viewing and editing photos.  The 15inch MacBook Pro screen is just too small for me to adequately work with the photos and photo software.  I had hoped to live without a monitor, which is just another item to transport and secure within the Sportsmobile. 4.  I need to remember to use hand lotion on a regular basis in cold, dry climates.  My thumb print is apparently altered by dry cracked skin, (a painful, bleeding crack resulted, too) and the touch id on my iPhone still does not work.

As a result of all the noted problems, I will have to make another trip to Sportsmobile in Austin to have the noted issues checked out; but I have no time to do so prior to late October or early November.

On the positive side, I was able to survive off the grid for several days in the mountains, during my first real solo trip in the Sportsmobile.  I had more than enough food, water and beverages on board for the entire trip, the vehicle continues to get lots of attention and complements and I met friendly and interesting people on this trip.  There will be more about the people and photos in subsequent posts.

I know that this has not been a very interesting read for my followers, but I felt that I needed to post something in the interim, until I get time to review the photos from this trip.