With another beautiful day in paradise, we continued our quest to dewinterize the motorhome.  After reinstalling the drain plug on the hot water heater and filling the freshwater tank with chlorinated water, the lines and tank were evacuated to remove antifreeze—the pump worked and no leaks!  Since it had been a couple of months since the motorhome had been exercised, we opted to to kill two birds at once by exercising the motorhome and in doing so, allowing the chlorinated water to slosh around in the tank killing any bacteria and mold that might have developed over the winter.  Regrettably, the chassis battery was dead, forcing us to use the coach batteries for backup starting.  Driving did recharge the chassis battery, but some sulfate probably collected on the plates, so to maintain its longevity, it’s being desulfated.  While driving, we noted the driver’s side brake light and turn signal was not working, so we made that repair as well.  We also exercised the on-board generator.  After about 4 hours, the water tank was drained, fresh water was added, and faucets opened to evacuate the heavily chlorinated water.  (The latest issue of the Family Motor Coach Association magazine has a really good article on the whole process of dewinterization.)  Now, it time to pack for the RVing season.

Our record cold winter weather is finally abating, and we’re getting a bit itchy to begin another year of RVing.  This year, 2010,   promises to be exciting.  We opted to stay home for the winter, and with the weather in the Rio Grande Valley, it appears to have been the right decision, though we had record cold here at home in the Twin Lakes area of Arkansas.  Short, close-to-home RV trips are in the plans for the coming spring, including joining the Arkansas Travelers RV rally in Vidalia, LA, April 11-17 for sightseeing and touring in Natchez, MS.  In May, we will fly to Hawaii for a island-to-island cruise to celebrate our 10^th anniversary.  Colorado in on the calendar for July to do some western dry fly fishing.  In August, we’ll return to Quetico Wilderness in Ontario, Canada, for canoeing, camping, and fly fishing for smallmouth bass; this will be our first time to go late in the season.  In the fall, plans include driving the Skyline Drive, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the Natchez Trace Parkway as one continuous trip.  Finally, we will join the Arkansas Travelers for a November rally.

If these plans are going to come to fruition, we have to dewinterize the motorhome.  Consequently, today, we bought two new Group 27 deep cycle batteries to replace our old, mismatched pair, and with friend and neighbor Wayne’s help, the batteries got installed and are working great.  We had intended to sanitize the tanks, but will get to that later.  Also, in the coming days we’ll inflate the tires, exercise the generator, and take a short drive.  Our first official trip is a month away, but we are both wanting to go to Branson for a couple of days.