Regular Maintenance

On By JohnIn vehiclesLeave a comment

UPGRAYEDD started displaying an annoying symptom when we were up at deer camp recently: stalling shortly after starting.

Been there, done that – just hadn’t got round to repairing the issue just yet.

Helpful onlookers would say, “oh, that’s your injectors – those Duramax engines are notorious for that. That’s too bad.”

Oh, injectors! $600 each and it uses 8 of them…and one would need to tear down all of the intake to get valve covers off to replace them. It’s more expensive and time consuming than it sounds.

But, no, it isn’t. And, no, they aren’t.

Actually, the biggest problem with the Duramax is that it doesn’t have a lift pump to push fuel up to the motor and instead uses vacuum from the high pressure pump on top of the engine to suck diesel fuel uphill three feet through 16 foot of fuel line.

Means it’s very, very prone to sucking air.

Very.

Solution?

1. Check for and correct loose fittings on the vacuum side. $0

2. Ensure it has a properly installed fuel filter and WIF sensor. $0 – $25

3. Rebuild the fuel filter head. $20

Usually campgrounds frown on doing much more than maybe checking the oil in your tow vehicle. But I knocked out all three this morning before most people got their day started.

Eastward!

On By JohnIn outdoors, travelLeave a comment

Deer season is still underway in Colorado, but we could only stay for the opening weekend. On the plus side, of all the other hunters in the area, it seems we were most successful in finding deer. On the down side, we weren’t successful in harvesting one. But there’s always next year!

The reason, of course, that we it stayed for the opening weekend is that I’m using the rest of this vacation week for our drive out to Indiana to pick up our new fifth wheel!

Currently, in the road in Kansas where the temperature is a very warm 93F, with that classic Kansas wind pushing us around.

Kanz Outdoors | Field Power Desk

On By JohnIn outdoors, projectsLeave a comment

I’ve been looking for many weeks for a nice, safe, contained box to keep my work laptop and assorted work necessities well-protected and accessible. This, I absolutely love, but I’ve no need at all for the power options – it’ll be forever connected to our RV and its power.

I should call them and see if they’d sell just the box without all of the power/charging/distribution parts.

Kanz Outdoors | Field Power Desk

Broadband a “Core Utility”?

On By JohnIn techLeave a comment

Broadband is a “core utility” like electricity, White House report says – Ars Technica

In particular, it calls out wired broadband. And I read the article from a wireless device, while in our house on wheels, parked in an entirely empty campground that has no running water or sewer hookups.

You know: core utilities.

Actually, this got me to thinking: we should see about getting the obscene cost of RV dumps lowered to something realistic and make potable water hookups more accessible.

RVing is, of course–as long as one isn’t constantly in transit–far less expensive than a house or apartment.