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Power Failure
Sep. 7th, 2016 07:34 amYesterday evening after work, I went out to the Rolling Stone and found that I'd left the headlights on and drained the battery. If I'd had jumper cables, I could have jump-started myself, using the "coach" battery that powers the RV's on-board services. So I called AAA, then passed the time until they arrived calling and talking with Lisa about how things are going at home.
AAA arrived presently and jump-started the RV. I drove away. 20-30 minutes later I stopped for dinner. Bad move. When I came back out, I found that the vehicle had insufficiently recharged, and I had to call AAA again. I'm glad it wasn't the same technician. That would have been more embarrassing.
Not wanting to take any chances, I spent the next hour driving an "orbit" around the South Bay freeways, which is relatively easy to do at full freeway speed at 9:30 PM. By then I also needed to stop for fuel for the gas-hungry RV. With some trepidation, I stopped the motor to refuel. To my relief, it restarted without hesitation after I topped off the tank. No long-term harm, but it cost me a couple of hours before I could go lay up for the night, and that's annoying, because I really don't get enough sleep most of the time I'm working in the Bay Area.
Yes, the RV has an alarm to tell you that your lights are on. But it only activates when you open the driver's side door with the lights on. I typically climb into the rear of the RV, collect my stuff, then exit the side door, which isn't alarmed that way. I'll need to be more careful.
AAA arrived presently and jump-started the RV. I drove away. 20-30 minutes later I stopped for dinner. Bad move. When I came back out, I found that the vehicle had insufficiently recharged, and I had to call AAA again. I'm glad it wasn't the same technician. That would have been more embarrassing.
Not wanting to take any chances, I spent the next hour driving an "orbit" around the South Bay freeways, which is relatively easy to do at full freeway speed at 9:30 PM. By then I also needed to stop for fuel for the gas-hungry RV. With some trepidation, I stopped the motor to refuel. To my relief, it restarted without hesitation after I topped off the tank. No long-term harm, but it cost me a couple of hours before I could go lay up for the night, and that's annoying, because I really don't get enough sleep most of the time I'm working in the Bay Area.
Yes, the RV has an alarm to tell you that your lights are on. But it only activates when you open the driver's side door with the lights on. I typically climb into the rear of the RV, collect my stuff, then exit the side door, which isn't alarmed that way. I'll need to be more careful.
