JdFinley.com

Fulltime RV Living Adventures

Elusive Vibration – Wheel Centering

I learned something this week about vibration and I hope it will save someone from spending the money I have spent to learn about it. It may be common knowledge which makes me an idiot – but no big surprise there. I have been fighting a vibration in Missy at cruise speed. It has been… [Read More]

Tracking Down an Oil Leak??

I think I’ve previously mentioned that I have (had??) an oil leak on the passenger side of the engine compartment. One shop looked at it and they thought they had found a loose power steering hose connection that was the source. I drove it a few hundred miles and it seemed “better”. Of course, I… [Read More]

Programming Solar Charge Controller for Lithium

I have a Morningstar TS-MPPT-60 solar charge controller and an LFMP Lithium battery bank. This charge controller has a series of DIP switches that allow for various pre-configured charge settings. However; none of them are appropriate for a Lithium battery (the correct absorption and float voltages) so one must configure the system “manually.” Thankfully, that… [Read More]

The Slippery Slope of Health Care

Many of you know what a slippery slope the health care industry can be.  I suspect all of us with some miles under our tires have experienced it.  Once they have you in their grasp it seems that more and more things go wrong.  A simple issue leads to a life threatening issue… This week,… [Read More]

Tire Explosion – The Aftermath: Repairs

Fixing Missy’s rear fender… wheel cover… panel… thing… following the tire explosion that damaged it, has been high on my list. I’ve just been moving slowly… You probably recall the tire adventure in Iowa. If not, you can read about it here. When the tire came apart, the carcass took the wheel panel off. This… [Read More]

Missy goes to the doctor – The foot doctor!

After our little adventure in SE Iowa, I was done playing around. It was time for Missy to have a new set of tires. I found pretty good pricing at a shop in St. Cloud, MN, scheduled an appointment, and off we went. Just like the last time we went to the doctor, Missy was very well… [Read More]

Do Tires make a BANG? Definitely a BANG!!

It was a calm and sunny Sunday morning. The birds were singing and the bees were buzzing. All was well in the world. Well… I would have been singing if I were a bird. I couldn’t actually hear them as Missy and I were trucking up the road at a nice 65 mph. What road?… [Read More]

Missy goes to the Doctor

Yep, Missy went to see the Doctor this past week. Nothing too serious, mostly just a checkup – preventative maintenance, if you will. She needed her fluids and filters changed, had a tire issue to be dealt with, was leaking some oil/fluid, and just needed a good going over by a professional. So off she… [Read More]

Prepping the Boat for Launch

The flight from the States to St. Lucia was wonderful and all my bags made it without issue. Cheers to Delta Airlines!! As one would expect, paradise is a really nice place!! Obviously, it is warmer than Missouri was when I left – in a snow storm. The sailboat is wonderful! I am definitely in… [Read More]

Lithium Batteries for RV’s

Update from JD:  I have now installed a 10kWh Lithium (LFMP) battery bank in Missy. Details are here. Lithium batteries offer some pretty great capabilities! Used in an RV, they can be really incredible! The RV world seems to be divided into those that depend on their battery bank and those that don’t even know… [Read More]