Adventures With Rooby Ohio to Glacier National Park

[4kmprs]

We are embarking on a three week adventure in our 2004 f150 super crew and our new 2012 Roo 233s. This will be my longest vacation ever and will be the first time our family visits the wild west.

Our adventures began this morning with a delayed departure. DD#1 also referred to as "B", in her enthusiasm to help us pack, banged up her elbow really bad so DW is now taking her to Urgent Care. We figured it was best to check it out now instead of trying to find a urgent care along the way.

In the meantime, I am rereading Herk's 50+ page check list and realizing that his 5er is better stocked and organized than my house!

I will take this opportunity to mow the lawn one more time and try to find a way to not pace the driveway until the family returns.

Thanks to some wonderful folks from Texas who are members of this forum, we have our first (and only) destination preplanned. We will be visiting what appears to be a very nice RV park in Michigan's UP. They generously invited us to stay on their camp site as they will not be using it this weekend. Stay tuned for pictures and a review.

We are so excited and fortunate to have this opportunity. Our schedules and destinations will ebb and flow with the interests and "moods" of our two preteen girls. Some days may include frequent stops at the tourist traps and low mileage while others may be marathon hauls.

We will be heading west from the UP across a northerly route. We welcome questions comments and suggestions and we will post often.

Our new FRF oval stickers, ordered Monday night, arrived Thursday via regular mail. The sticker company definitely is treating our members well. Our stickers are bright blue with orange letters. So look for us on the road.

Safe and happy travels,

[Oakman]

I'm looking forward to more reports of your upcoming trip. I hope "B" is OK and your trip starts soon.

[4kmprs]

Good news, no broken arm. Ice, wrap and sling. Finally on the road!

[Terier]

Glad to hear that "B" doesn't have any broken bones and that you are on the road now.

[4kmprs]

The adventure continues. Found a great little park in Munising and stopped early to enjoy some hiking along Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore.

During my set up process, I stopped extending the slide for a moment to ensure I was clear. Climbed back in and the slide was "dead".. It will not go in or out.

Grabbed the crank and was able to get it almost 100% extended and then the cotter pin that holds the manual crank extension snapped.

I can McGyver a solution for the Cotter Pin, but am seeking guidance on where the fuse for the Slide might be located. I checked the panel under the fridge and nothing was labeled.

thanks in advance for any tips you can provide that will enable me to trouble shoot a little more before night fall,

There is a rv store in Ishpiming about an hour a way so I guess we will be adding this little town onto our route tomorrow morning.

[TURBS]

Fuse should be in distribution panel 15 amp I am sure .
If not it may be located within 12 to 18 inches of battery in a fuse holder.

A little advice would be when you find it replace it with an auto reseting circuit breaker of the same amperage !

such as this >>>>>>>

[4kmprs]

Originally Posted by f1100turbo

Fuse should be in distribution panel 15 amp I am sure .
If not it may be located within 12 to 18 inches of battery in a fuse holder.

A little advice would be when you find it replace it with an auto reseting circuit breaker of the same amperage !

such as this >>>>>>>

Thx for the tip and pic. I will seek this replacement out tomorrow.

Am I correct to assume there are two panels. I is directly below the fridge. Is the other up front under the front bunk and behind a false door that must be unscrewed?

[4kmprs]

Originally Posted by 4kmprs

Thx for the tip and pic. I will seek this replacement out tomorrow.

Am I correct to assume there are two panels. I is directly below the fridge. Is the other up front under the front bunk and behind a false door that must be unscrewed?

Both 20 amp and 30amp circuits in the electrical tower at my site are reading below 120. Dont know if this contributed to true problem. I had nothing else running when I tried to open the slide too.

[Nigels]

Originally Posted by 4kmprs

Attachment 16902

Both 20 amp and 30amp circuits in the electrical tower at my site are reading below 120. Dont know if this contributed to true problem. I had nothing else running when I tried to open the slide too.

Your slide runs off your 12V system, assuming your battery is giving close to 12 V then your problem is probably Fuse. How many DC Volts do you have at battery?

[4kmprs]

Originally Posted by Nigels

Your slide runs off your 12V system, assuming your battery is giving close to 12 V then your problem is probably Fuse. How many DC Volts do you have at battery?

I unplugged my 30 amp service. The built in battery tester at the main panel by the door reflects a 2/3 charge when I press the battery test button. Everything else, lights, awning etc worked.

Checked the main panel (under the fridge). All circuits are in and no red lights appear next to them.


Took out 15 amp circuits and reinserted them one at a time. Checked status of each when circuit was removed and red light was lit for each slot lot.

I have an extra six volt rv battery in my truck but I don't think swapping batteries will work since the existing battery still is able to power everything else.

When I looked under the camper, the slide motor had a label with 30 amp on it.

Googling RV stores now to see when they open in the morning. Hopefully my McGyver cotter pin fist will enable me too manually crank the slide closed in the AM.

Thanks all for your help

[Nigels]

So there must be a 30amp+ fuse or trip for that motor somewhere, forget the 15 amp fuses, did you check in the manual that came with your rig about fuses? It should be on the board with other fuses, did you turn all the trips on and off? Are there any fuses near the battery?

[4kmprs]

Originally Posted by Nigels

So there must be a 30amp+ fuse or trip for that motor somewhere, forget the 15 amp fuses, did you check in the manual that came with your rig about fuses? It should be on the board with other fuses, did you turn all the trips on and off? Are there any fuses near the battery?

i flipped all circuit breakers in the main panel. i will search for other circuit breakers tomorrow. i read the generic manuals that cover pop ups to 5th wheels but they are essentially worthless.

[4kmprs]

Day 1 - 500 miles, 9.0 mpg averaging a little over 60 mph.

After a slower than desired start due to a last min urgent care trip, the drive was in eventful. Loved stopping at rest areas, opening the door of the camper and getting our own healthy food out to eat. Not one stop at a fast food joint all day. We crossed the Mighty Mackinaw Bridge while listening to and seeing signs warning of heavy winds and 20 mph speeds for trucks with campers. Definitely made it an adventure crossing it!

John and Sharri own the Cedarville RV Park in the Lescheneaux Islands in th UP. It's a 55 site park with deeded lots or rentals. A fellow FRF member graciously offered his site, #54, for the night. The water and shoreline was so pretty. Boats of all sizes and license plates from Michigan to Florida and Texas greeted us when we arrived. Cedarville is a quaint little town with a maritime museum, some arts and crafts shops and an ice cream parlor that is all within walking distance to the RV park.

Although i grew up in Michigan, my visits to the UP were limited and my wife and I hadn't crossed the bridge in over 20 years. This trip reinforced our love for this part of the country and it will be the focus of a dedicated trip next year.


Day 2 - 190 miles, 8.4 mph. We didn't drive far today but made up for it in scenery. We left Cedarville Michigan about 10 am and arrived at the Locks just as an east bound and west bound ship was entering it. We got to see both ships pass through the locks. This is such an amazing engineering feat and we were so fortunate to see ships go through it today. Turns out that these were the only 2 ships scheduled to pass through in over 16 hours and we just stumbled on to them.

We left the Soo and drove about 2 hours to Munising. We found a campground that had 4 open slots so we snatched one, dropped the camper and then headed up to Pictured Rocks. The water in this area is crystal clear. The scenery and elevation changes were awesome and we really enjoyed the approx. four miles of hiking to the overlooks and to Miners Falls. We had a quick dinner at a local restaurant that was nothing to write about and took the girls back to the campground for an evening swim. The gradual slope of the beach/ swimming area enabled them to walk at least 100 yards in the clear calm waters.

Another great sunset greeted us this evening and we now sit out with a nice cool lake breeze and just SMILE. This is everything we hoped for....

Except, our electric slide stopped working while it was halfway extended. I have read the manuals, got out screw drivers, pulled circuits and NOTHING.

We now have a new destination planned for tomorrow. We will be heading to Ishpiming to see of the local RV dealer can help us.

Rooby, our camper, is definitely contributing to our adventures.

Hopefully we will get Rooby fixed early and still get about 500 miles behind us tomorrow.

Time to go check out the stars.

[youroo]

Hilltop RV in Ish. are great people. Your Batt. charge should be 100% unless you have been unpluged for a while. Was your A/C on when your 115V meter was showing LOW? You said you had another 6V Batt in the truck,are you running 2 6V Batt. system? Youroo!!

[4kmprs]

Originally Posted by youroo

Hilltop RV in Ish. are great people. Your Batt. charge should be 100% unless you have been unpluged for a while. Was your A/C on when your 115V meter was showing LOW? You said you had another 6V Batt in the truck,are you running 2 6V Batt. system? Youroo!!

No AC tonight and nothing running, when i snapped the picture of the volt meter. we are operating on a single battery system. Threw the second battery in the bed of the truck at the last minute for emergency use.

questioning the battery and will have it checked out tomorrow too.

thanks all.

[youroo]

Originally Posted by 4kmprs

I unplugged my 30 amp service. The built in battery tester at the main panel by the door reflects a 2/3 charge when I press the battery test button. Everything else, lights, awning etc worked.

Checked the main panel (under the fridge). All circuits are in and no red lights appear next to them.


Took out 15 amp circuits and reinserted them one at a time. Checked status of each when circuit was removed and red light was lit for each slot lot.

I have an extra six volt rv battery in my truck but I don't think swapping batteries will work since the existing battery still is able to power everything else.

When I looked under the camper, the slide motor had a label with 30 amp on it.

Googling RV stores now to see when they open in the morning. Hopefully my McGyver cotter pin fist will enable me too manually crank the slide closed in the AM.

Thanks all for your help

The statement about (another 6V RV battery) in my truck is the odd part of this. Youroo!!

[4kmprs]

The 2nd battery in my truck was a last minute add. I had pulled it out of my old pop up when I traded it inane thought I should bring it along just in case I needed it.

[Nigels]

Sounds like you are all having a whale of a time and not letting the slide issue spoil things, good on you, thats what camping is about. Thanks for the details of your trip

[4kmprs]

Sharing a couple pics of our trip so far.

[4kmprs]

Coach-Net and Good Sam Roadside Assistance

I got online purchase happy on the Camping World Site before our trip and bought a 1 year Platinum Roadside Assistance Membership only to later remember that my NEW Roo came with a 1 year Coach-Net service plan.

Sharing this news to alert NOOBs to wait until year 2 before buying additional coverage.

Now that i know i am covered by 2 programs i decided to give Coach-Net a call to see how they approach slide out technical issues. I spoke to an agent, provided my info and am waiting for a call back. The technical department opens at 7 EST so I will give them a try first and the try Good Sam second.

In the mean time, I will enjoy the blue skies and sun rise. The Munising Travel and RV park is nice and inexpensive. $25 a night for electric and water. They have a very large number of water front sites. The sites over all are big and there are some trees. The only drawback is the road noise coming from route 28. I would stay here again.