Tranquility Tour Extras: Lillie’s Gas Mileage

Kimberly and I were joking today that this blog is essentially the DVD extras for Tranquility Tour… so if you’re into odd ins and outs of the tour, you’ve found the right place.

This edition is an update on the most common question I get… what kind of gas mileage does the camper get?

The answer is… it depends. Actually that’s the answer to most of life’s questions, but I digress. I use an app called Mileage Keeper that tracks how Lillie is doing. We don’t exactly get great mileage but better than I expected. Our worst mileage tank was 7.2 MPG and the best will likely be this tank, but so far the record is 11.0 MPG. I might get all crazy and graph it. More to come…

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What to do with that old iPhone

Today, I finally justified saving my old iPhone 4 by making it into a true international phone. If you travel outside your home country and find yourself tethered to your phone’s data plan like I am, crossing a border can either be (a) beyond expensive from the roaming rates or (b) beyond frustrating as you realize how much you rely on cellular data to do… everything.

Crossing into Canada for the first time on Tranquility Tour meant my trusty iPhone 5 and it’s fancy turn by turn directions would go away… with International roaming turned off (as anyone without a huge bank account and desire to spend frivolously should do), your iPhone turns into a glorified iPod touch upon crossing a border from your home country. But I had a plan. But before that, a surprise. A nice one.

If you use the app Waze, apparently the app preloads the entire map with turn by turn before you cross the border… that was great, because it meant I didn’t need my copilot to read from a PDF’d version of the directions. You know… old school style. Instead, Waze behaved exactly the same as it would have had it been guzzling down data. Very cool… good to know when you cross a border. I only tried this once, so your effectiveness may vary.

On to the plan. Today, I walked into a Rogers store to pick up a SIM card for my old iPhone 4. I had previously worked with AT&T to “unlock” it (see info here on that). This means it isn’t usable only on AT&T. Once that’s done, any compatible network SIM card in any country that runs on the same system can work on your phone. In Canada, I decided Rogers was my best bet. For the next month, I have 1GB of data I can rock over cellular, plus a Montreal number and unlimited texts for about 70 bucks. Granted, not cheap, but WAY cheaper than roaming on my iPhone 5. This will come in super handy next week in Toronto and for the week or so we’ll be in Alberta and BC. I typical burn 2GB per month in the States, so 1GB ought to be more than enough. In tribute to my old phone becoming Canadian, it’s sporting a new look:

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So, now I have two iPhones that work… I’ll just switch back and forth as I hop across borders. Plus my Canadian one gives me street cred with my friends north of the border…

Serpentine belts are important

Keep up to date with all things Tranquility Tour at tranquilitytour.com…

By now you may have heard about the mechanical issues we’re facing with the busted serpentine belt. I thought I’d share what I learned in the moment and afterwards…

The serpentine belt runs everything that matters in a vehicle. If it goes, the click starts ticking on a few things…

– power, because you’re running purely on the charge in your battery. The alternator isn’t recharging without the belt! If your battery is old, the second you do t have enough juice to spark the spark plugs, you stop.

– heat buildup, because your water pump doesn’t cycle coolant into the engine. This is the number one issue because an whine that gets progressively hotter will eventually damage beyond reasonable repair. Pay attention to your heat guages!

– some things go away right away – power steering, AC… All the good stuff.

So, you hear a flutter and a snap like we did? You can drive a bit further… But I wouldn’t recommend it. We had 4 miles coming off the highway and getting “home” to the campground was such a compelling thing we risked it. If you’re not in a similar super close place, pull the heck over. Call AAA or roadside service of your choice… The belt is pretty easy to get and replace. Some savvy car types (cough cough not me) carry an extra one and are skilled enough to put one on. The things the belt loops around (tensioner and pulleys) are often to blame though, so a new belt can only get you so far.

Driving a vintage RV means parts aren’t always on hand – the dealer near here can get them all tomorrow but first appointment is Wednesday… So, we wait.

Super close to NYC.

Boo hoo, right?

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3 thoughts on planning the ultimate roadtrip

I have a strangely split personality. While I’d like to think I’m a laid back, take it as it comes person (which I am), I’m also an obsessive planner when it comes to travel. Obsessive. Chalk it up to watching my father’s frequent international travel when he was working all those decades before retiring, or my astrological burden of being a Virgo… obsessive.

So, as we embark on Tranquility Tour in a week, I’m beginning to pile up resources (apps! maps! stuff and things!), calendaring things (we’re here then, we go to there after!) and coming up with options upon options of places we can park and stay with our camper. So. Many. Details.

A few things I’m discovering:

My iPhone is my friend, except when it won’t be. In Canada.

I rely on connectivity through my iPhone like you wouldn’t believe. I have a few apps that show off camping spots, rest stops, and a few other things that are linked to the GPS and maps with turn-by-turn directions. Hugely helpful.

Now, in Canada, my data plan would need to be funded by Scrooge McDuck if I had it on. However, I have an old iPhone 4 that has been unlocked, so I hope to get a SIM card up there and have a pay as you go plan on that phone, allowing me to have the same capabilities north of the border. Plus, hey… I’d have a Montreal number all of the sudden 😉

I’ll say it. Thank you Walmart.

I didn’t grow up with Walmarts… in fact, the first one I ever went to wasn’t until I moved back to the east coast in 2001. Now, I’m swimming in them (there are two equidistant from my cabin in WV). With all the controversies and websites poking fun at Walmart shoppers, I have to say they are super friendly to RVers. Many, perhaps most of them, allow free overnight parking. That’s a huge potential savings considering most full-hookup RV campsites can run 40 bucks a night. Granted, there’s no plugging into the side of the store, but free is free. There’s even an app that helps you find which stores are cool with overnight parking. So thanks Walmart. We’ll table the talk about benefits and wages for now…

Timing is everything

Big road trips like Tranquility Tour are much, much easier after Labor Day. Straight up. So many campgrounds are booked solid in the late summer, so kicking this off now creates a lighter burden from the planning perspective. Also, I hate heat. Cool fall nights (and maybe even some cold ones in the mountains) will be a lot easier on us than hot humid ones.

So, onward with the obsessive planning!

Post RV renovation

A week later and here we are…

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this rug smelled like wet dog and contained more sand than a beach.
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under the rug was a shiny carpet pad, presumably to keep heat in.
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initial tile layout
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nearly done!
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fancy schmancy transition pieces… a professional look from an absolute amateur!

Camper renovation week

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This week, I’m working on our camper Lillie as we prepare for the Tranquility Tour in (!!!!) two (!!!) weeks. I’m planning on a video montage thing for it, but here’s the scoop on the tasks this week:

  • priming and cleaning up the (awful and fake) wood paneling
  • painting the newly less awful surfaces
  • shoring up some of the looser panels in the ceiling
  • installing a battery meter panel so we can tell how much juice we have when we’re not attached to an electrical line
  • cleaning and refilling the water tank
  • washing and waxing
  • cutting out the (very old) carpet and retiling with a new floor
  • re-attaching all the doors and drawers that have been removed for painting
  • getting a quote on a paint job (maybe)

I’ve already taken Lillie to a local mechanic and she got a clean bill of health outside of the cruise control. Apparently the part that is needed is no longer made… I might be able to replace it with a newer version of a cruise control system that doesn’t include a balloon (apparently that was how it worked back in the day… then we invented “computers” and Steve Jobs took all my money before he went to Valhalla or wherever he is now). We’ll see… but I digress.

More to come this week… I am currently covered in primer and need to take care of that.

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PS I have a lot to write about the bike trip still. I may need to do that soon.

Bonnard

When I left DC, I knew it was possible Kimberly’s beloved “first born” might not be there when I returned. We’ve known for months that he’s got a bad case of the big C, and I also know he’s burned through 8 of his 9 lives a few times over through hard living. At his peak weight, he was the equivalent (we were told) of a 400 lb. man.

And although he doesn’t care for me (at all) and although he definitely tried to kill me in my sleep once (suffocation, in case you were wondering) I’ll confess I’m going to miss the little devil. He was part of the package deal that came with Kimberly and I don’t know a day with her that doesn’t include her mean ol’ cat.

We’ll bid adieu to Bonnard this weekend, but oh the stories… we have enough to fill three lifetimes. Bonnard’s ghost will be with us through those.

Take care buddy…

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Wildlife + Ghosts

Yesterday I ran into two creatures that I shot…. with my iPhone camera:

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I also biked past a “ghost bike” for a guy who may very well have been struck on that spot:

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Very sad, and as you can see by the date, the incident probably happened since I was last biking here. I think bike touring is fundamentally safe, but like all things in life, there’s always a risk.

If you want to destroy my sweater

The title of this post comes from a Weezer song which has very little to do with sweaters. The post itself has very little to do with Weezer. So there’s that.

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Yesterday I lost my wool sweater. It fell out of my bags about 10 miles short of camp just over the California border. When I realized it was missing, I went through the seven stages of grief, sliding into acceptance. So be it. The bike tour gods willed it so.

Then something remarkable happened.

A guy from Utah piped up… “Hey, what color is it? I think I saw it.”

“Dark Green.”

“Yeah, that was it – it’s by the lilly farm about 10 miles back.”

“Ahhh, yeah.” Acceptance stage was already cooling. “Well, losing things happens on tour. It is what it is,” I said with a casually dismissive tone.

“Oh, I’ll go get it.”

“What?”

“I’ll go get it.., it was only about 10 or 15 miles back!”

After several minutes of profusely thanking him for his (batshit crazy) notion, I thought all was settled that he would not go bike 90 minutes and 20 miles to rescue a sweater for a guy he hardly knew.

About 87 minutes later, the group du jour sitting around the fire were enjoying a beer when someone asked where the guy from Utah went.

“No. No, he did not.”

“Didn’t do what?”

I explained the sweater rescue plan that was scuttled – or so I thought.

On cue, in the finest tradition of stage and screen, my sweater rolled into camp securely bungeed to the rear rack of a very, very crazy dude’s bike.

So, next time someone asks why I like bike touring, I’ll show them my sweater. Because there’s no way I can in good conscience lose it again…