20030917                  Open new window with today’s pictures.

September 17, 2003
Wednesday


Start:   Coachmen's Terrace RV, Lake Geneva WI
End:     Seagull Marina & RV Park, Two Rivers WI
Miles:   143
Hi Temp: 86.4
Lo Temp: 57.2


The day was a repeat of yesterday; warm, dry, clear, sunny.

We saddled up and hit the road DeHaan Auto & RV Center, Inc. in Elkhorn, WI.

The shop made a good first impression by being clean and neat. Dave DeHaan put a good mechanic on the problem within 15 minutes.  The problem turned out not to be that one wheel was hot, but that three wheels were cold.  All the wheels should get hot after some braking.

The front legs of the trailer were put down and the truck unhooked and pulled away.  Both sides of the trailer were jacked up and put on jackstands.  All four wheel hubs were pulled off so obervations could be made. A trailer brake tester was plugged into the trailer. The brakes were switched on after a wheel was spun.  Only the left rear wheel stopped (quickly) when the brakes were switched on.

The tech got onto a creeper and did a long inspection under the trailer, stopping at each wheel.

He noted that all four wheel seals were leaking grease.  He found that the right rear magnet was defective. He found the front axle brakes weren't engaging due to poor wiring that had corroded and opened; the rear axle also had poorly installed wiring (this would have been done at the shop in Manassas, where both axles were replaced, one of them twice). In one case, the factory wiring was cut and the new axle connected using butt-splices; the other was done with scotch-locks.

He replaced the seals and packed the bearings in a special jig that forces grease through the bearing before re-installing them. He adjusted the brakes but warned that the right side would be slightly more aggressive than the left side, because the brakes on the left are stiffer and won't respond as quickly.

During the shop lunch hour, Dolores and I went downtown to "Someplace Else" for lunch. We were both happy with our stop there.

After lunch, the tech took me on a test ride, then I drove back. He cautioned me on the correct placement of the controller, and set up the brake controller sensitivity the way he likes it (I like it more sensitive than he did, but left it his way).

The tech noted the brake pads are worn about halfway and that I should open the wheels, remove the pads, and clean & lube the backing plates when winterizing this year.

The folks at DeHaan's were universally friendly and helpful. They've won customer satisfaction awards and it's easy to see why they've won them. The most laid back of the staff is the cat that settles in a chair next to you while you're waiting.

I paid the $344 and we went on our way, feeling happy about our stop at DeHaan's.  I got an education, the brakes got fixed, and some things were done that we won't have to do again in the spring.

When we got back on the road, we headed up I-43 to Milwaukee and continued on it up the west side of Lake Michigan to Manitowoc. There, we split off on WI-42 to Two Rivers and the campground.  We checked in and set up. The two rivers merge at the USCG station and go into the big lake as one, between two concrete walls. We can walk to the channel, and out the small breakwaters.  We took a very short walk on the beach that is also near us.  This might be a good campground to spend a month or so in summer.

I took a hike up the main drag to a no-fee ATM to get some cash.

We made a simple dinner in the trailer and enjoyed it very much after being so well treated by cousins over the past few days.

Then we settled in, reading and doing the computer chores. For some crazy reason, channel 13 (WZZM-TV in Grand Rapids, Michigan, over 100 miles away across the lake) is the clearest channel tonight.

Hurricane Isabel's outer layers are beginning to come ashore at Cape Hatteras.

 

20030918                    Open new window with today’s pictures.

September 18, 2003
Thursday


Start:   Seagull Marina & RV Park, Two Rivers WI
End:     same
Miles:   0
Hi Temp: 79.5
Lo Temp: 57.2


We got up at a normal time and went across the street to a lunchroom for breakfast.  The food was nice and the view of the West River and its boats & gulls was also nice.

Then we went riding to see the east coast of Wisconsin.  We went north on WI-42 as far as it goes, to Northport, WI.  This took us through Keewaunee, Algoma, Sturgeon Bay, and Sisters Bay. We returned via WI-57 through Bailey's Harbor, then returned to WI-42.

Then we went to Manitowoc to find the carferry dock so we don't have to search around tomorrow with the trailer attached.  We stopped, but didn't enter, the Wisconsin Maritime Museum and the USS Cobia submarine exhibit on the river downtown. The museum looked impressive, but I was feeling like a maritime museum piece myself. The submarine looks to be in fairly good shape - a little rust here and there.

We returned to the trailer.  There, we called son Bill to find out the status at home of the hurricane. Isabel came ashore this afternoon; the center is still down on the VA-NC border.  Bill said the rain wasn't bad, but the wind was quite brisk.  He had stopped at our house this afternoon to put inside anything that could become a missile. The Washington-area federal government is closed today and tomorrow for the hurricane; Bill's customer in Charlottesville didn't open, so he worked at the job in Chantilly until they closed about noon.

We also called the trailer resort in Fennville, MI, to assure ourselves that we'll have a site there when we arrive on Saturday. I think we're ok now.

I took a hike through downtown Two Rivers. There's not much downtown for stores and the industries (Eggers and Fisher-Hamilton) don't look very healthy, either. The homes prices in the free real estate flyer show a depressed market except for lakeshore property. 

We're going to loaf and read tonight and most of the morning - we don't have to arrive at the boat dock until 1:00pm for the 2:00pm sailing. A good excuse to take it easy in the morning.