Casino Camping!

    For Valentine's the last couple years we've made it a tradition to kick out the kids at the grandparents and go to casino's in south west corner of Missouri. We don't gamble but a few dollars but it's a nice little break and change of atmosphere. Although the smoke was extremely bad at both (usually not so), we might change next year.

    Stop #1 Indigo Sky or Whispering Woods RV park. Nothing but a basic parking lot. The shower house is extremely clean! $15 a night.. went up this year. Note there are train tracks close. Our procedure is to run the overhead fan and electric heaters for this reason. On occasion there's campers pulling in at midnight also.

The next day we decided to head to Arkansas for a scenic break, quite a drive! 

43 highway and 59 would probably be a nightmare for big RV's. Careful around Noel MO! 13-11 height limitation. Going to look into rafting the boys would love it. 

Didn't see anything new around Bentonville -Rogers, have visited the museum and town square previously.  But we did stop by.. 

This was my Valentine dinner. I love hamburgers, what can I say? 

Headed back north after a stop at Walmart (Rogers Walmart has everything they sell it seemed) and Cabela's. Destination was Downstream Casino. First night is free with the Q card which is also free. There's 2 locations, one east of the casino check in at the gift shop. The other by gas station going into the casino, check in at the gas station. We always stay at the closer one so we can walk, there are shuttle's regardless. It can be noisy with trucks at this location, we run the fan here also. 

523 miles and averaged around 8mpg for the trip. 

New front rubber!

After 3 years and not quite 20k the flat spots finally wore me down. I think it wore down the shocks also. Felt like the tire was bouncing it warmed up. You can see the flat spot on this one. Based on rust on the pulley's and these tires the RV must of set for a long period of time. 

Stopped by the local Firestone... (excellent job!)

And went with Primewell Valera HT LT225/75/16 Load E. 

Went cheap this time. The Firestone Transforces are 08's with unknown mileage. I cover them when not traveling and they still look great, small cracking. Hoping to replace the back 4 at the 10 year mark and may replace the Primewells depending on how they perform. 

Electrical mods and additions

     The Jayco in the stock location holds a 29HM Marine Battery. Somewhere between 125-150Ah (amp hours). Always worried about draining the battery down on cold nights. 

     Last winter added the 2 meters, the 4 dots just don't cut it. After a long night with the heater running still showed 12.6! I credit this to the Iota 30 amp charger with IQ4 Smart Charge Controller. The 14.2 is the absorption mode. 14.8 is bulk and 13.8 is float.. stage 4 is a equalization stage which occurs every 7 days. "This protects the life of your battery by dissolving any sulfate layer on the battery's internal plates and avoids stratification that can occur when a battery has not been in use for extended periods." 

     Still would to like to go a couple days without running the generator. Or at least once a day. So in comes the 6v golf cart batteries. According to specs 232Ah, 350Ah(ish) if you include the 29HM. Used 2 gauge battery to battery. Next mod will be 2 gauge from battery to DC power panel and the Iota. 

     Note reinforced the compartment below! 120lbs of batteries requires it.

    Bin before shot!

Misc not battery related... 

      

       DC to AC for the TV. Got this Stanley 100w converter for $20 a Walmart. Isn't a pure but works fine. Also have a HF 400w but rarely use it. Going to get another similar for the back TV and bathroom.

     Save a bit on propane. Plus the propane throws tons of moisture in the air. Both are 1500w.

Various RV Mods

   Since we've purchased this RV I've continually strive to make it more livable. The Escapade is the plain jane of the Jayco line. For example it didn't even have cup holders in the back! (Yes I added those to the sofa and table areas). I figured it's cheaper than upgrading.. more money for trips!

  All the switches for the lights including the bathroom fan is on the lights and fan itself. With 2 small kids this isn't ideal. Tried running through the walls but was a no-go. Used some stick on conduit reinforced with screws and household light switches. No issues after a year of use.

     This is a plus and a minus. The original vent had a flapper.. that well flapped all the time. The holder was long gone. Changed it out for this one.. was a bear to take off! Unfortunately have to cover it inside during the winter.

      The only storage in the bathroom was a plastic useless medicine cabinet. One thing I learned from this.. MAKE SURE YOU KNOW HOW LONG YOUR SCREWS ARE! But hey it's going to be great place for a scare light.

     Last little thing before I bore you to death. Had to make a emergency auto parts stop in the middle of Kansas for a new gas cap.. and it was pouring down rain. I got lucky. Last time I'll forget the gas cap! Also put the chain on the sewer cap.

Water modifications and conservation

  With 4 people every little bit helps. Per the Jayco brochure it lists 38 gallons including the water heater which is 6 gallons. We could go about 3 days total with all of us showering and minimal dishwashing. This was with only the Oxygenics ETL 26781. Well worth the money and recommend it to anyone.

  This winter (2015) I've made several improvements which aiming for 5 days, 7 days would be a great goal. Added a 21 gallon freshwater tank under the bed. Originally was going to place it under the dinette but the framing interfered. I regret not buying at my local RV parts place. I would of returned it for a 42 gallon. The Jayco is only a 3/4 ton chassis so also worry about weight!

    The bottom valve is for the belly tank, top the new tank. Also would note that the interior tank was for winter use also.

     The Oxygenics shutoff is actually a trickle shutoff. Reduces the temperature swings. But dry camping every little bit helps so added a complete shutoff. I might relocate those to the shower head end.

    One more was changing out the aerator on the bathroom faucet with the .25 gallon version from Lowes. No pictures but the link below. There isn't alot of flow but still does the job. If I can find a .5 I'll replace the kitchen sinks.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_387152-1366-10492_1z0vija__?productId=3647028&pl=1&Ntt=aerators

     One quick shot of the water pump area. I'm pretty the engineer was drunk on the factory design. The pump was turned 180 degrees from the position below and setting on it's head! Used a relocation kit to turn it, I'd also never recommend the Shurflo relocation kit. The hoses are too stiff and everything can be purchased separately just as cheap!

     Not much more I can do unless I leave the kids at home!