This morning we prepare to leave Sisters. (The town in Oregon, I don’t have any sisters myself, or brothers, either.)
We take our last walk (for now) with Kerry and Annabelle, and the dogs make the most of their new business, Stump Sniffers, Inc….SSI. Or we could call it SSSI, Sisters Stump Sniffers, Inc. Of course, I was snapping pictures:
Happy girl!
Busy! Busy! Much sniffing to do!
This particular stump got the once over, but good!
We have all enjoyed being together…being a pack, but moving on and saying good-bye is part of this Wandering Spirit life-style. (sometimes a hard part)
While in Sisters, it was necessary for me to get a new battery for Wandering Spirit. (The Casita). I had heard that when you need a new trailer battery ‘it will let you know’. I wondered how it would let me know? Well, I found out!
I have a monitor inside, placed there by the previous owner, indicating that the battery was still charging up to 12.7 amps, but it just wasn’t holding the charge for any length of time, even though it was only doing it’s basic job…no lights, fans, blowers, etc. Next time I’d glance at the monitor it would read 12.5 and then 12.3 or 12.2. I checked the water level in the battery and it was fine. I plugged into the generator for an hour, which would bring it back to 12.7, but only for minutes.
This is the monitor now, with the new battery plugged into electricity.
My battery was ‘letting me know’. It said, “I’m tired. I’m 5+ years old and fading fast.”
I considered 3 options. 1) Buying a battery and putting it in myself. 2) Going to a place that sells and installs batteries. 3) Having a mobil RV repair person bring a battery to me and install it.
I chose the third option, and yes it is the most expensive, ($229), however I’ve never changed a battery, I wanted to see it done and ask questions, and I was able to do that without packing up, hitching up, traveling to Bend or Redmond, and then coming back to Sisters. Not to mention, that 50 pound battery is difficult for me to deal with.
It fits tightly in it’s little ‘bat (tery) cave’, and it’s all I can do to get it out.
So the man from Accurate RV came, and I watched the process, asking questions the whole time. I paid, he left, and all was well. The monitor was indicating that the battery was charged to 12.7 like it should be, so Joy, Shiloh, and I left to explore Sisters.
Lovely view from town.
Views down the street.
One of the many parks in town.
This is the cutest little Florist Shop.
While I was in town I was interested in purchasing a new (taller) coffee mug…one in which I can foam my soy milk without it spilling over the top. (Joel, this is all your fault) 🙂
Back in a corner of town I found Canyon Creek Pottery and met the artist, Kenneth Merrill, who creates and sells his wares in a little shop next to his home. This mug will be a perfect remembrance of my time here. The 3 snow-covered mountains…The Three Sisters…are represented on the mug. I love it! I think you will hear more about the mug in an upcoming post. 🙂
Anyway, back to the battery story. When we returned from exploring town, there was no power! The fridge wasn’t working, lights and water pump wouldn’t work, etc, but the monitor was reading 13.2 which is normal when the solar system is charging the battery. What the…?
I call Accurate RV back and they tell me to hook up the generator for an hour. While on gen power, everything works normally. After an hour, I turn it off and nothing works. I resume generator power, mainly to keep the fridge working, until Accurate RV can return a few hours later, to trouble shoot. (my poor neighbors!…though my generator is pretty quiet.)
When the fella returns he takes the battery out of the bat(tery) cave, and finds some loose wires…not where he had hooked up the battery, but further into the system. He tightens them, and all systems are go. No charge for the 2nd service call. It’s been a few days and all is well. I haven’t needed to use the generator since the solar charge has been sufficient, even through the many tall trees that surround us. Now I’ve moved and have an electric hook-up.
So it turns out that when you put a new battery in this rig, nothing has to be done inside first…I thought something would have to be done to the converter, but no. The battery comes fully charged and already has distilled water in it. All you do is take the wires off of the old battery and put them on the new one EXACTLY THE SAME WAY. (Take pictures before you take it apart). Even with a permanent solar attachment. I know some of you who know about batteries may be rolling your eyes, but there may be some people like me who know nothing, and this may save them some $$$ someday!
I still have more Sisters stories, but this is getting long, so I think I’ll save them for another post!
We are in Washington now, on the Columbia River for a couple days…really pretty!
Wandering Spirit 
Those wonderful silly dogs! They look like blonde bears looking for honey in the stump. Love the mug!
You’re right Sharron, they do remind me of blond Pooh bears looking for honey. Really though, they must have been after some little critter, which they did NOT find!
I love hand made pottery. I took a class once and would love to do that again someday.
Micky, did you consider an AGM battery?
Love the pics of the sniffers!
Well, I did Patty, awhile back I read about them. But seeing as I know nothing, decided to go with what already worked before.
I understand. When we added 2 more batteries, we bit the bullet. They have worked well since we have not and may not upgrade our solar wiring. With very careful use, they stayed up after a week at the Strawberry Music Festival!
Most important is that you are good with what you have!!
Micky..lovin’ this post..as usual. The SSI are most impressive! My CoCo would fit right in..she never stops sniffing. Annebelle is a Choc. Lab, correct? Another of my favorite breeds! BTW, I only rolled my eyes slightly at your battery story. 🙂 But glad you got it taken care of, and best of all, you’ll be able to do it yourself next time……right?
Be safe my friend,
Pat
Hi Pat (Freespirit)
Annabelle is actually a mix, but yes, the lab chacteristics definatly win. Kerry sent me a picture this morning and Annabelle is carrying on the SSSI business all by herself…hard at work already. 😀
Yes hopefully next time I can take care of the battery, if I can still lift it!
Glad you got your battery replaced and I’m glad you chose the replacement option that worked best for YOU. You worked a lot of years and saved money so you could live a wandering spirit lifestyle. Now’s the time to enjoy the perks that those years provide.
Thanks for the vote of confidence in my decision Reine.
My niece used to live in Bend and showed me the sights when I visited her, including the lovely little town of Sisters. Once when I was there we drove past a tiny Airstream for sale, parked in a field. I really wanted it but had flown up and no way to get it back to California, so I passed on it, a decision I still sometimes regret.
Hi Ann, and we visited Bend, too. I still want to blog about that.
Yes, Airstreams are wonderful, aren’t they! A totally, beautifully OLD restored one came to the campground while we were in Sisters. It was smaller than WS and SO shiny!
I’m glad that you got your battery issues taken care of….I think that the mobile RV repair was a good choice. If you’d done it yourself, you would have still had to call the mobile repair to find the wiring issue anyway. It’s nice to have a camping host friend who can point you to the mobile RV repair guy! Sisters sure looks like a neat and tidy place….we’ll get there someday…(soon I hope!)
Hi Sharon, yes I was thinking that too…if I had tried to change the battery myself or taken it somewhere and they didn’t notice the loose wires, I’d still need for it to be seen again, so it all worked out.
Kerry had used this same RV service, and they made a second trip for her too, and didn’t charge for it. In the winter, they move down to Yuma Arizona!
It’s also refreshing to have you talk about the problems and pitfalls of the RV life….it is not always about puppydogs and sunsets, as we well know. Thanks for letting us know how you cope with the problems along the way..
Yes life is life, no matter where you live it. Life is good but not perfect. 🙃
Really enjoyed your post Mickey. Have a passion for those drip glazed mugs. It’s very pretty, and complete with memories. When we had our RV my downfall was not understanding the tech terms and wiring. You’re making it so clear and easy to remember. Thanks! You and the pups be safe🙂
You and me both Andrea! Lots of stuff I don’t understand or can’t ( or don’t want to) do. But it would be the same for me, living in a house. If the power went out and it wasn’t a circuit breaker or a fuse, I’d have to call someone.
Some things I can learn by watching, and (hopefully) remembering. ☺️
Glad it was helpful…that’s what I was aiming for.