There are a lot of reasons I think Al Gore needs a mouth transplant, and his theory of global warming is just one of them. Spend a day or two here in northern Indiana this time of year, and I bet you’ll agree that global warming is an urban legend. Damn, it’s cold!
Our Winnebago Ultimate Advantage has a heat pump, which is new to us. The idea is that down to a certain temperature, we can run the heat pump instead of the gas furnace, and save propane.
At this point, I’m not all that impressed with this option. The heat pump is okay during the day, but it is part of the basement air conditioning system, which is mounted under the motorhome, about where our bed is inside. At night it is very loud, and I’m a light sleeper, so when it’s cold enough to need heat at night, I’ll opt for the gas furnace. I’d rather buy some propane than be cold, or have my sleep interrupted every time the heat pump comes on.
Better yet, I’ll go someplace warm. And you can bet that as soon as we get the new issue of the Gypsy Journal printed and mailed, we’ll be out of here.
Old diesel engines don’t like the cold weather any better than I do. Yesterday Ron Speidel and I tried to help Al Hesselbart, from the RV Hall of Fame Museum, get the diesel engine and diesel generator on his vintage Newell motorhome to start, without any success.
Our MCI bus conversion is parked next to Al’s rig, and I know that with the block heater we had installed last year it will fire right up, but I hope whoever buys the bus has the good sense to head for the sunbelt too. We spent several months living in our first motorhome in northern Michigan during the winter years ago while Miss Terry was being treated for cancer, and we vowed never to do that again. My motto is, if it snows, Nick goes!
Even with all of the filthy talk from the truckers, I still find having a CB radio in an RV to be very handy. Our CB has alerted us to traffic accidents and bad weather ahead, helped us find a way around traffic backups, and the built in weather radio can be a life saver.
Our Winnebago came with a CB antenna pre-installed, and it was pre-wired to hook up a CB radio. So yesterday, after we finally gave up on starting Al’s rig, Ron Speidel installed my Cobra CB radio.
I’ve also been thinking about downloading the free Silverleaf VMSpc software, which allows diesel owners to monitor their engine’s performance and keep up with the maintenance schedule. While the program is a free download, you do need to purchase a cable that plugs into the engine data port under the dash and connects to a laptop computer.
While Ron was prowling around under the dashboard hooking up the CB, he located the data port for me, and marked it so I can plug in the data cable if I decide to go with the Silverleaf. I’d be interested in hearing from any readers who use the Silverleaf, and getting your feedback on it. Some people call it a very handy tool, and others say it’s just another gadget. What do you think?
While I was outside freezing my butt off yesterday, Bad Nick was inside snug and warm, hard at work postng a new blog titled The Sky Is Still Falling!
Thought For The Day – You are the creator of your own reality show. If you don’t like your part in it, rewrite the script.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
Nick, you should have two heat pumps/ACs, front and rear. A few minutes before we go to bed, we fire up the rear heat pump, get the bedroom all toasty warm, then shut it off and turn on the front unit and let it run all night as needed. It is much quieter, and as long as you leave the bedroom door open, the heat gets back there pretty well. We find our furnace fan to be much noisier than the heat pump (2004 Dutch Star).
You can also run either of them with the fan on LOW so it won’t cycle on and off all night.
Or get a little electric space heater…
Our heat pump will also shut down and turn on the furnace automatically if the outside temp goes below about 40 degrees.
Global warming took a vacation about 11 years ago… and it hasn’t come back yet.
Despite what you hear in the media, global temperatures have been stable or dropping for over a decade. The warmest year on record was 1998. Some scientists are predicting 30 years of cooling…
Mike Goad
currently at home in Arkansas.
Don’t bash “AlGore” too bad. Remember HE invented the internet and without that you and Bad Nick wouldn’t have a forum!!!!! Ha Ha Ha!!!
Susan is right about the space heater. We have a little DeLonghi SafeHeat unit that we can set in the doorway to the bedroom on chilly nights. It is quiet and efficient. We set the dial fairly low, and it gently warms us to sleep. We call the heater R2D2 bcause it looks like the little guy in Star Wars — the original one, which is all we’ve ever seen of the series.
Our Winnebago-made heat pump is also right by our bed and, yes, it’s noisy, but very efficient during the day — unless it’s cold outside, which is when you need it most!
Nick,
I’ve had the Silverleaf PC interface for several years and think it was worth the money. It is a great training tool for learning to maximize mileage. I like to see which gear I am in, not just which is selected so that I can quickly push the up/down buttons and select the right gear for hills. It is nice to be able to push the accelerator and see 24psi boost and know that the blower and exaust components are probably ok. We did have a cracked manifold once. The engine error codes might someday be helpful, but they are pretty criptic. It’s one of those gadgets that you get hooked on pretty quickly. Like the auto gen start, I just want it.
John
Nick, Heat pumps work great at temps that really aren’t that cold. They also do a good job of heating the ceiling and leaving all that nice cold air near the floor. When you really want to irritate the neighbors, turn your TV up loud enough so you can hear it over the heat pump blower.
I love the propane furnace, but it is one of the most inefficient and wasteful heating devices ever invented. We spend most of our winters in places at or above 5,000 ft and got an Olympian Wave 8 catalytic heater which is just about the right size for our 40 ft. motorhome. It is silent, radiates good heat and makes a tank of propane last forever. Just remember to crack a couple of windows or vents.
Right now we are in Reno NV, although we were supposed to have been back at our leased lot in Deming , NM (where we have our Wave 8 stored) last August. I’ll never leave it behind again!
Nick, our country coach came with a silverleaf and I watch it closly. I cannot fix many things if they go wrong, but it is nice to have something to watch and make sure things look like they are working ok. Like your tire monitor, I believe you would get piece of mind having one added.
We are also glad we are not in northern In.