Fall Camping in Michigan

 

We haven't had the rPod on the road since last year. We finally found some time when we did not have medical appointments (mostly the four different dentists of different types I need or at least pay) and the campgrounds have some openings. This is a great time of the year to travel up North with crisp temperatures and the leaves beginning to turn.

Getting things going always presents some challenges. The first barrier was tire pressure. Our car informs us when a tire is low and which tire is at fault. However, our car is getting along in years and some quirks are beginning to surface. Trying to get the tire pressure within an acceptable range might seem simple, but the auto sensors and my tire gauge do not provide consistent readings. It also takes some time for the sensors to adjust to adding air and the tires warm up as you drive. Cold days lower the pressure which changes when you drive. Too many things to figure out, but I am cautious about having a tire explode which did happen to me once when we lived in Grand Forks. When I get anxious about this problem, Cindy reminds we drove for many years with no clue what our tire pressure was and survived with no problems. I like to have something to worry about.

The State Campgrounds tend to have electrical, but not water hookups. This means you fill a large water tank in our camper when you arrive and use a pump within the vehicle rather than the pressure from a tap to pressure the system. The pump would run, but no water would come from the faucets. It took several hours to finally find the problem. When you winterwise a camper, you use a type of antifreeze to keep the plumbing from freezing. There is a hose provided that sucks antifreeze from a container into the system. The system includes a valve to switch the input from the water supply to the antifreeze hose and back. When the rPod was winterized by a dealer a year ago, the technician left the valve turned to the antifreeze setting and this turned out to be the problem. The water pump is under the bed and cramped quarters make removing the mattress and the wood panels underneath to get at the pump a challenge. YouTube provided a hint about the issue with camper water systems from a different camper and we made the leap. A frustrating issue, but a satisfying problem-solving experience for us. Hopefully, we have solved our problems for this trip.