A tale of two tire shops

While I was in Quartzsite I wanted to have the tires on The Palms checked, rotated and balanced, and also have the front end aligned.  A shop in Blythe was highly recommended, so I made an appointment with Standage Tire & Auto.

I highly recommend this tire shop - they started working on The Palms right away, the work was done faster than estimated, and the final bill was less than estimated.  What more could you want? 

The owner of the store, Mr. Standage, behind the desk:

Here is the tire store - it's a Goodyear shop:

Standage Tire & Auto
420 W. Hobson Way
Blythe, CA  92225
(760) 922-3191

I was feeling good that my tires were good to go!

Then - when the tires were check, rotated, and everything was fine, I ran over that big rock.  It was recommend that I have those two rear tires checked to make sure they weren't damaged.  So when I was planning to leave Quartzsite and drive on the freeways again, I took The Palms to the only tire place in town, American Custom Tire.  I called them and explained what happened with the rock getting stuck between the dualies on the right rear of the motor home, and David said to come in any time and they would check out the tires. 

I called last Thursday morning and asked if they had room to check out my tires, and got a 10:00 appointment.  When I got there, I was directed to the last bay, shown below.  Lots of room!

This is the front door of American Customer Tire which shows the address, hours and phone number.

Below is the rest of the work area, it was a slow morning with the Big Tent Event over and lots of RVers gone.

Here comes Rigo with the jack.

Rigo removed the tires and checked them for damage the rock might have caused.

Below is the inside of the outer tire.  You can see where the rubber was scratched, but it was surface discoloration only.

The inside of the inner tire had even less marking from the rock, and looked fine.

Rigo put the tires back on and checked the pressure.  See the little white label at 4 o'clock on the rim?  After I had The Palms weighed and got the individual tire pressure for front and rear tires, I made labels and stuck them on the rims of each tire - 70 PSI for the front tires and 65 PSI for the rear tires.  Now I always point to the labels when I'm having the tire pressure checked and tell them to use that number, not whatever is recommended.

Here's their card:

I would definitely recommend this company.  They were very nice, did the work asked, gave me their opinion on whether or not there was damage to the tires.  I agreed with them after seeing the inside of the tires, but they could have told me they were bad and tried to up-sell two new tires.  I would have gotten a second opinion, but it was nice to be treated fairly.

But, here's a question for you. Look at the letters on this tire:

Another photo of the same tire is below.  Rigo said the scraping or whatever that is on the letters was caused by riding on the tire when it was low on air.  That couldn't have happened.  These tires were put on when I bought The Palms in 2010 and I've never run them low.  A few pounds maybe, but that's it. When I was in Blythe having the tires rotated, they checked the tires and said they were all okay, so I'm thinking this scraping isn't damaging to the tire.

I'm wondering what would cause this discoloration/scraping looking change to the letters on the tire.  It's only on one, which I think was a front tire before they were rotated.  Any ideas?  Someone saw some "feathering" on the front tires and he was the one who suggested that I need a front end alignment and recommended Standage.  Is this feathering?  Have you seen this before? 

From me and Katie, have a great day, everybody!  :)

RV Maintenance - changing out the Anode Rod step by step

This whole post is about changing out the old anode rod in The Palms' hot water heater tank.  Pretty exciting stuff!  I checked various places to make sure I did it all correctly, so now I have the steps here in one post for next year.  :)

Last Tuesday I changed out my hot water heater's anode rod.  I had checked it early September 2013 and it looked pretty good so I left it in place, but I knew I should check it again in a few months.  It's now almost four months later, and I was glad I checked it.  It has deteriorated quite a bit since September.

I went through all the steps I did in September, except this time I put a new rod in.  I always have my water off unless I'm using it, so I didn't have to turn it off, but I did double check the switch.  I also never heat water unless I need it, so there was no hot water to worry about.  All I did to start was turn on all the taps so there was no water in the lines.

Suburban hot water heater:

Old rusty head of the anode rod below - it's normal for the head of the anode rod to be rusty after a year of use. 

Using my special 1 1/16 wrench to remove the anode rod:

I used the closed end first, from the side, and then came at it from the top.

There isn't much room to maneuver and I use both ends of the wrench to get things started, so next I used the open end and got it a little looser from the side.

Then I used the open end from the top.

Little by little, using both ends of the wrench switching from the side to the top, it started really loosening, and finally I was able to unscrew the last part by hand and take out the anode rod.  I was really curious about how much more would have worn away in the last four months, and there was a definite difference.

As soon as the rod was out, the water in the hot water heater tank came flowing out, and with it some residue from the inside of the tank.

My tank holds 6 gallons, and here it is on the desert floor.

The water flows out until the tank is empty.

I have the tool that attaches to a hose that can be used to REALLY flush out the tank.  It shoots water into the tank, and you wiggle it around to hit all the sides, top and bottom, dislodging anything that's attached to the walls.  You're supposed to do that for 15 minutes.  Since I don't have a water spigot here in the site, I didn't do that this time.  The water coming out was pretty clear, so while there was still water flowing, I decided to get my small bottle brush and wiggle IT around and pull it back to bring out additional debris, and it seemed to work well.  More while flakes came out with the water.

Wow, look at that huge piece!

Then I got the new anode rod ready.  I wrapped some plumbing tape around the threads and brought it outside.

Here it is, ready to install.

And in it goes - perfect!

Unfortunately I couldn't get it to start screwing in, so I got out a little wire brush to clean away some of the rust inside the opening.

The brush didn't fit inside the opening, but the little bit at the top worked well to clean around the threads in the front.

I used a water filled catsup squeeze bottle and shot some clean water onto the threads.

Meanwhile, I gave myself this badge for thinking of the wire brush and catsup bottle to flush out the rust:

So then I tried again, and it still wouldn't start threading.  Oh yeah, I remembered then - When Ron changed the first one for me, he said to put the tape on the outside half of the threads, otherwise it won't screw in. So I took the tape off the inside threads . . .

. . . and it worked.  I couldn't get the entire head of the rod screwed in, though, I think there is just too much rust inside for the threads to go any further, but it looks like this is going to work.  I'm going to have to find something to clean away more of the rusted threads, but it looks like this will work.

Looking good:

Then I turned on the water switch inside The Palms, and turned off the  kitchen and bathroom faucets.  When the water heater seemed full, I checked for leaks, and there were a few drops, less than in September, though, so I put a small piece of paper towel under the rod so I could monitor it and make sure it is only a little and will stop.  When I checked later, there were no leaks.

I turned on the taps in the kitchen and bathroom.  Some air in the lines came sputtering out, and then a good stream of water started flowing.

Below are the three anode rods we've used so far in The Palms.  The top one was removed on October 4, 2012 by Ron, the RV Master Tech who checked out The Palms when we were at Bluewater Lake State Park in NM.  We thought it was the original rod.

Here's the anode rod for my model Suburban hot water heater in it's package.  I already have a link to Amazon.com on the right side of my blog if you need to order one.  Check your user's guide, though, and make sure you get the right model number for your Suburban HWH.

That's a good job done - for another year.  If your hot water heater uses anode rods, make sure you check it every year.  The first rod was changed out on October 4, 2012 and lasted 15 months, so I think checking them once a year is about right for the places I've been and the water I've used in my tanks from those places.  Note to calendar - Check Anode Rod every January.  :)

NOTE:  After reading Andy Baird's comment (thanks Andy) - and please read his comment on this post about the tape on the threads - I thought I'd better repeat this warning and not just leave a link to the first time I had my anode rode changed out in October 2012: 

There are two kinds of RV water heaters, Atwood and Suburban.  I have a Suburban and this kind uses the anode rods that wear away instead of the inside of the tank wearing away.  I need to check mine at least every six months.  The Atwood water heaters don't use these, and although Atwood makes anode rods for their tanks, according to Ron, they shouldn't be used.  They are not needed and will eventually cause problems with the Atwood tanks.

This is confirmed by info posted on the RVing message boards; Tech Talk.  A question was asked about using an anode rod in an Atwood water heater:

"The principal behind the sacrificial anode is that it attracts the charged water particles which cause rust.  Those particles then corrode the anode instead of the walls and seams of the water heater, thereby extending the life of the water heater. Atwood tanks are aluminum and should not need an anode rod. Suburban's are not and do need the rod. Talk to Atwood. I recall the the new tanks are aluminum and do not need an anode. It also may void your warranty. Check with Atwood."

If you're still reading, you love this stuff as much as I do.  LOL   Thanks for reading to the end.

Welcome to our newest Follower, Jan Mains! Jan and her husband, Bill, live in Casa Grande, AZ in a Stick and Bricks house, and travel part time in their RV, a Montana.  This year they stayed in Pilot Knob, Parker and Quartzsite, and in her last post about this season, she said this was the perfect year, and I couldn't agree more.  Jan, I've enjoyed the posts I've read in your blog, and plan to go back further to catch up a little more.  It looks really interesting!  I'm happy you are following along with me and Katie, Jan.   Welcome Aboard!.

From me and Katie, have a great Saturday, everybody!  I hope your team wins tomorrow!   :)

More RVer/Blog friend visits

Since we've moved across the road to La Posa North, Katie and I had visits from three of our favorite people - I'm going to miss this place where so many of our friends are.  It's funny, I don't even think of them as RVers or Bloggers any more.  They've become just friends now, and that's "a good thing."  (I'm channeling Martha.)

First Hazel and the two Big Dogs, her Greyhounds, Fleur and Power, have been by a few times.  The first time just to visit - with the dogs, and on Monday Hazel came back without the dogs and we went into town to do laundry and have lunch.  Yesterday we went to Parker for lunch and a Wal-Mart run.  She is still across the road in La Posa South camping with the Dingbats. 

Her dogs are perfectly behaved and always a pleasure to have around, whether we all sit inside The Palms, or outside in the shade.  I see Hazel so much, I seldom think of getting the camera out, and I forgot to get pictures again.  The photo below was taken on another day, but Hazel and Fleur and Power and the desert all still look the same.  :)  Check the link here to see Hazel and her beautiful dogs.

Then Denise came over for a visit on Tuesday afternoon. We always get together at least a couple of times.  We were camped in the same area early in the season and saw each other frequently then.  We're both in different LTVAs now, she likes to move around like I do.

Denise knows just about everyone it seems and rides her Harley to visit.  I always watch for her when I know she's coming so I can get photos.  :)  It's always kind of exciting to watch her roar up on that monster bike - she's so graceful riding it.

Geez, her bike looks bigger than my house!

She gave me some good information about tire monitors and I'm looking forward to her post when she gets hers in the mail and installs them. I might get the same ones next year when I'm in Quartzsite.  We sat in the yard and talked and talked and talked.

Denise wanted to get up on my roof and take a 360 degree video of the desert around us.  While we were up there she took a look at my tilting arms for the solar panels.  She's got some hardware that she doesn't use anymore that will make it easier for me to bring the panels up and down, and said she'd come by again to drop them off.  Thanks, Denise, I appreciate it!  We cleaned the dust off the panels while we were there - they were really dirty!  Then Denise roared off to the fresh water area to fill up her water bottles.  She didn't have Bennie with her because of the box of large empty bottles on the back of the bike. 

Nancy McKenna came by on Wednesday - she's camping with the Lazy Daze group right now, across the road from where Katie and I are camped and she walked over for a visit. 

We first met Nancy here - gosh, that was a great FREE campground!  Remember when Katie got bitten by the ferocious RED ANTS?  Nancy really helped me out that day.  Of course, I also got large critters in the engine compartment while we were there and left soon afterward to overnight a few nights at Wal-Mart - but still, beautiful campground.  And did I mention FREE? 
 

We had a great visit.  The weather was really nice so we sat outside and got caught up on each others lives since we last met.  And of course, Katie was a total pest - she still LOVES Nancy and kept trying to lick her face.  Nancy, you're such a good sport - looking at the photo above makes me laugh.  Katie is going to get that kiss in if it kills her!  :)

I'm going to make myself some homemade hand/body cream and have been looking for some essential oils - and asked Nancy if she new anything about them.  I want Lavender and Orange, and it just so happens she has some Orange that she doesn't need anymore - and she's going to bring it over on Friday for me.  Thanks, Nancy!  I'll have all my ingredients on board to make my cream.  Can't wait to see how it turns out.  Thanks for visiting - I look forward to seeing you again soon.  :)

By the way, remember the lump that Katie had on her ankle?  Just thought I'd let you know it finally went down, and it's gone.  It's been gone for a while, so I don't think I have to worry about it. 

WELCOME to our two new Followers:

First, Audrey the Redbone.  Audrey is actually a dog, and her mom (who I assume is really our newest follower) has a blog about Audrey called Audrey the Redbone, a Dog with Cancer, which is about her 5-year-old Redbone Coonhound. The author is a very good writer, this is what she said in the first post, "I will share what is happening with our dog and if you are ever faced with these decisions, perhaps you will gain insight into what it involves."   If you decide to click on the link, go back to the very first post - it gave me goose bumps and I had tears in my eyes.  In the most recent post, the writer shares that Audrey is now in remission, which is a reason to rejoice, for sure. Thanks for following along with us - Welcome Aboard to you and Audrey - Katie sends kisses.  :)

Welcome also to Denis and Sandy Leterndre!  Their blog is HAPPY TRAILS, and according to her profile, they started traveling full-time in 2007 (WOW) in their 2006 Triple E Commander 38' motor coach, and they are loving it!   They've been to most of the states and it looks like about half of Canada.  Even though theirs is an RV blog, the current post has a recipe for kale, and I'm on the verge of getting some. I LOVE veggies, but have never had kale, so I'm going to try her recipe - thanks Sandy!  And thank you for following our blog, me and Katie appreciate it - Welcome Aboard!!  :)

Super windy today and it looks like a lot of cloudy days in the forecast with temps somewhere in the 60s.  We've been here for the perfect weather, and now it's almost time to head south.

We're going into town to have the two rear tires checked before we get on the road to Hot Springs LTVA.   I want to make sure that huge rock that was stuck between the two tires didn't do any damage.  I'm not expecting any damage, but want to make sure.  This is definitely a better safe than sorry situation.  Keep your fingers cross for me.  We do not want to buy two new tires!!!  I'll let you know what happens.

Really pretty skies at sunset last night:

From me and Katie, have a GREAT Thursday everyone!   :)

Wordless Wednesday - Creative naps

This mom is super creative, and this baby is a REALLY sound sleeper!

The Mom, Sioin Queenie Liao, is a free-lance artist living in California.  She has three sons, and these photos are of her youngest, Wengenn.  Check out her site, Wengenn in Wonderland, for more info and photos. 

From me and Katie, have a Wonderful Wordless Wednesday, everyone!  :)