Shamrock RV Park in Berrien Springs, MI the morning we left for the caravan

Judy captured the photo of our heros of the day.

 Motorhome Experiences of Judy and Lyle Dean Lebsack

September 27, 2016  Hello, again!  We're off to meet other Newmar motorhome owners in Pueblo, Colorado for a caravan that includes the Grand Canyon and four national parks in Utah.  Our first day of travel took us as far as Mulberry Grove, Illinois.  (Not Mayberry, but close).  Judy had closed on the sale of her home in Michigan early in the day, so we were pretty well tuckered out and went to bed early.

September 28, 2016  Underway at 7 a.m. across I-70.  Missed the worst of rush hour in St. Louis, but still plenty of traffic.  Stopped for lunch at a rest stop in Booneville, MO.  Lyle received a courtesy call from his bank to say he would be overdrawn if they put a check through.  Turns out he had paid a very large Visa bill twice.  Disappointing, because he couldn't blame Visa for the mistake!  Heading to Topeka, KS for the evening.  Deer River Valley RV Resort is close to I-70 and first class with concrete pads to rest our weary RV.  Actually, the RV is fine, but maneuvering Kansas City with the westbound lanes of I-70 complete shut down because of a crash--not fun.  Judy is pour wine.  Gotta go.

September 29, 2016  Down into the 40's overnight, so having a little heat was good.  Checked fluids in the engine and generator as usual before starting up.  About an hour after leaving Topeka, we heard an alarm.  It was the UPS system in search of power.  The generator had stopped.  Lyle restarted it and it quickly stopped again.  We found a rest stop along I-70 where he checked the codes that flash on the generator when it shuts down telling us what the problem is.  Low oil pressure?  Couldn't be, Lyle just checked it this morning.  Then he saw the pool of oil under the generator.  Cummins Coach Care in Elkhart had changed the oil and filters several weeks ago.  Lyle checked to see if the oil drain plug had fallen out.  Nope.  The next most obvious thing was the oil filter had worked its way loose.  Except that Lyle didn't know where the oil filter was and the bottom of the generator was an oily mess.  He went to the computer and found a Cummins Service Center in Colby, KS--about three hours away. The service manager, Mitch, said come on in and he would take a look.  We did.  It was, in fact, a loose spin-on oil filter.  Mitch tightened it, put in fresh oil and ran the generator to test for leaks.  None!!!.  We were back on the road in less than an hour.  Thank you, Cummins Central and Mitch!!

Tonight we're in Limon, CO at a KOA RV park. After a total of 9 hours on and off the road, we're glad to be parked.

September 30, 2016  First observation of the morning: 39 degrees in Limon, CO!  

Arrived at Colorado State Fair Grounds in Pueblo to meet with the other Newmar owners for the caravan to the SW.   Weather warmed up nicely!  Good view of Pikes Peak coming into Colorado Springs from U.S. 24.