Just got home from a two week trip to AZ and UT. Stayed at Kodachrome Basin CG 30 min outside Bryce and also at a CG just outside Flagstaff.
Two days before the trip I went to top off the tire pressure and one of my valve stems blew out. I've had the camper for 5 years so I figured its time to get the tires replaced anyway. Turns out the tires (including the spare) were 9, 11 and 15 years old! The year codes were all on the inside so I couldn't easily check them, and the tires looked in good condition. Don't go by how the tires look.
One day before the trip I tested trailer lights and noticed the driver side turn signal wasn't working. Opened the light enclosure and noticed a second bulb in addition to the expected tail/signal/brake bulb. Opened the right enclosure and it had just the one bulb, as expected. No worries, the second bulb looked like a standard bulb. Replaced it, tested, seemed ok.
Trip day, we planned to leave Los Angeles after 8 pm (to avoid traffic) and stay a couple nights in Vegas before heading to Kodachrome. Hooked up and checked lights. No tail lights on the TV and no trailer lights. relay fuse blown. Replaced. Blew the secondary relay. Replaced. Relay blown again... and no more spare fuses. Had to go 8 miles to find an all night auto parts place and get more fuses. Got home, and decided to take out the new turn signal bulb. No more blown fuses, but also no turn signal. Close enough to get on the road for me, at what was now midnight.
Got into Vegas at 5 am.
Arrived at Kodachrome and daytime temps were in the 90's but we had full hook ups and the home made swamp cooler helped keep the camper livable in the daytime and night time temps were in the 50's and 60's.
Flagstaff was also in the upper 80's to low 90's daytime and comfortable 60's at night, with no hookups. Switched to battery power and... nothing. The deep cycle marine battery was 9 years old and had given up the ghost. Into Flagstaff to get a replacement and we were up and running again on battery and solar power. The rest of the trip went beautifully with the exception of the gps putting us in the middle of a field one day, then deciding it wasn't going to help navigate us out again.
Heavy monsoons gave us some spectacular lightning shows, and actually saw a lightning strike hit the ground on a cinder cone and cause a red hot ball at the strike point.
The drive home was uneventful thankfully, as the temps coming back across the desert were in the 107 to 110 range.
Pics from the trip
http://www.apachepopups.net/smf/index.php?action=media;sa=album;in=622
