Truck canopy, slide tray, lift kit

We had a tonneau cover for our truck:

Truck with tonneau cover

Enabling us to securely store our folding bikes and a bunch of other stuff in our truck bed:

Truck bed

But to be able to store the bikes vertically for easier access, and better access to other stuff, we wanted to get a canopy, aka truck cap. We saved for it, and ordered one several months ahead from a Portland company. When back in Portland, we emptied out the truck bed, took the tonneau cover to our storage unit (we’ll probably sell it eventually), and cleaned out the bed as best we could:

Truck

Then we headed to Northwest Auto & Truck Accessories to get it installed:

Northwest Auto Accessories

They had a decent waiting area, where we spent the day, working on our laptops:

Northwest Auto Accessories

We also got them to install a lift kit to raise up the front by a couple of inches, to make it level with the rear, and give a little more clearance for dirt roads:

Lift kit

Here’s the installed canopy, the ARE MX, paint-matched to our truck:

Canopy

More pics of it at our campsite:

Canopy

We also got a CargoGlide CG1000 slide tray from them, to make it easier to access stuff at the back:

Slide tray

The window at the back of the bed:

Window

It folds down for cleaning:

Window

The canopy is attached via four of these clamps:

Clamp

We also got some 50-gallon totes for our folding bikes:

Totes

The bikes in the totes:

Bikes in totes

Less-frequently accessed stuff in the back of the bed:

Stuff in back of bed

The telescoping ladder is strapped to the side, so it doesn’t interfere with the slide tray:

Ladder

Fully loaded for a travel day; we sometimes remove the mats and folding chairs while at a campsite, or they can be shoved to the sides to provide a rearview mirror visibility tunnel:

Fully loaded

We added Grand Teton and Yellowstone stickers to the back (with our coach’s Magne Shade reflected in the window):

Grand Teton and Yellowstone stickers

Truck with canopy

Some very useful additions.

15 amp to 50 amp power adapter

While staying at our Washington home base, we “moochdocked”, plugging our coach in to the house power.

15 amp power from a house isn’t enough to run air conditioners or multiple heavy-draw gadgets like the microwave, but is enough to keep our fridge going, power computers, and keep the batteries charged for the 12 volt lights and such.

To do this, I previously used a 15-to-30 amp adapter and a 30-to-50 amp adapter (“dogbone”). But this time I bought an adapter that goes straight from the 15 amps to 50 amps plugs, along with a surge protector:

15-to-50 amp adapter

I also bought a heavy-duty 30-foot, 50-amp extension cord to reach from inside the house to our coach (in addition to the cord on the reel built in to the coach):

Extension cord

I plugged the power cord from our coach into my Power Watchdog smart surge protector, as usual, then connected that to the extension cord, which went through a window into the house:

Cable through window

And into the adapter, which was plugged in to an outlet in the house:

Plugged in to house

(We did try plugging in to an outside outlet, but it popped the breaker, as that was on the same circuit as a freezer in the garage.)

We had to be careful not to use too much power at a time. The Power Watchdog was useful in monitoring this, since it has an app that connects via Bluetooth that shows the current power usage. But we managed.

Staying at campgrounds, we won’t need this adapter and extension cable, but useful to have when moochdocking.

Baseball: Ferry to Seattle, Mariners team store

We took the fast ferry from Bremerton to Seattle, Washington, to go to the Mariners team store, and walk a little around the city.

Fast ferry

Lumen Field for feetball:

Lumen Field

T-Mobile Park baseball field:

T-Mobile Park

Mariners Team Store:

Mariners Team Store

Pioneer Square and environs:

Pioneer Square

MOD Pizza for dinner:

MOD Pizza

Seattle

Skylight for underground area:

Skylight for underground

Seattle

Line for ferry:

Line for ferry

Glimpse of stadiums:

Glimpse of stadiums

Tire covers

Back when we purchased the Magne Shades for our windshield and other front windows, we also purchased mirror covers and tire covers.

We used the mirror covers for a while, but don’t bother anymore. And we’d never used the tire covers, since we typically travel every week or so. But while staying at a sunny location for a couple of weeks a while back, we decided to use them, and have been using them regularly since then.

The idea of the tire covers is to protect the tires from harmful UV rays, that can degrade the rubber. We use 303 Protectant on the tires, which also provides UV protection, but more is better.

These EZ Fold Tire Shades are quite nice; they fold up compactly into a handy bag:

Tire covers

And are unobtrusive when in place, only covering the tire itself, not the rims, so you wouldn’t notice them without looking closely:

Tire cover

They are held on by straps that go over the top of the tire, and on either side.

Replaced chassis batteries and more at Oregon Motorcoach Center

We had a service appointment at Oregon Motorcoach Center in Eugene, Oregon:

Oregon Motorcoach Center

Several other Tiffins being serviced, which (along with our previous experience here) helps gives us confidence that they know what they’re doing:

Several other Tiffins

Waiting room:

Waiting room

We had them replace our engine air filter, an important annual maintenance item. Plus got them to fix a noise with our driver-side bedroom slide-out.

Lastly, we got them to replace our chassis batteries, as they weren’t holding their charge well. Our original batteries:

Original chassis batteries

New batteries (and nicely cleaned out):

New chassis batteries

Once done, they moved our coach so we could hook up our truck:

Moving our coach

Preparing to toad up

A nice easy half-day service visit.

Open Roads Freedom Pass toll transponders

As we travel around the country, we occasionally encounter toll roads. But different parts of the country have different systems:

Tolls

Our diesel fuel discount program also has a solution to that problem, called Freedom Pass. It is a set of transponders that support toll systems around much of the country:

The transponders come as a package with self-adhesive that can be mounted to the windshield:

Toll transponders

We have it mounted in the top-center of the windshield, behind the TV (shown here with our Magne-Shade on):

Toll transponders

It works well. The toll charges go on the same account as our fuel purchases. Very convenient.

Extended cup holders

The cup holders that are built in to our coach are a little small for some of our water bottles and travel mugs, so we added extended cup holders to enable fitting larger bottles:

Cup holder extender

Napa and Sonoma wineries: Domaine Carneros, Iron Horse, Korbel

Paso Robles isn’t the only wine region in California; while in Petaluma we visited three Napa and Sonoma wineries, sampling their sparkling wines.

First was Domaine Carneros, a fancy winery:

Sign

Driveway

Steps

Fountain

Building

Steps

Tasting room

Charcuterie platter and sparkling tastings:

Charcuterie platter and sparking tastings

Charcuterie platter

Sparkling tastings

Wine list:

Wine list

Jenn:

Jenn

David:

David

Next was Iron Horse Vineyards:

Iron Horse Vineyards

Lastly, something a little different: the industrial Korbel winery:

Korbel

We had lunch at their deli:

Korbel Deli

Then a tasting:

Korbel

David

Jenn

A bubble level helps us check when leveling our coach

Our coach has built-in hydraulic and air leveling systems, with a display that shows the level:

Leveling control panel

We pretty much always use hydraulic leveling, as it is more stable. In theory we just use Auto mode and it works… but sometimes on a rather unlevel site we have to switch to Manual to convince it to actually be level:

Leveling control panel

A useful addition to help check how level it is is a bubble level that shows two dimensions at once:

Bubble level

We put it on the floor to help see how level the coach is, and guide adjustments to get it level.

Paso Robles wineries: McPrice Myers Vineyards, Calcareous Vineyard, DAOU Vineyards, Parrish Family Vineyard, Le Cuvier Winery

While staying in Paso Robles, we visited a few wineries. Coming from the Pacific Northwest, we figured we’d just head out on a Saturday for a bit of wine tasting, stopping by wineries that looked good. Imagine our surprise when we learned that that is not how things are done in California — apparently one needs reservations pretty much everywhere.

We did manage to get an inside table at one place without a reservation, but that surprise really put a damper on the experience that day.

The place that took pity on our backward ways was McPrice Myers Vineyards:

Tables

Tasting room

Wine tasting

We purchased a couple of bottles:

Bottles

After that, we didn’t try any other wineries that day; instead we went to Rustic Fire for a tasty lunch:

Rustic Fire pizza

Learning from our experience, we made reservations for some vineyards on subsequent days. The first was Calcareous Vineyard:

Entrance

Inside the tasting room:

Inside the tasting room

Outdoor table:

Outdoor table

Tasting menu:

Tasting menu

Food menu:

Food menu

Order form:

Order form

View:

View

Outdoor seating:

Outdoor seating

Jenn:

Jenn

Tasty food:

Food

We bought three bottles (provided with a nice box):

We bought three bottles

Another vineyard, DAOU Vineyards and Winery:

Entrance

Vines:

Vines

The security station on the driveway; we were turned away here the previous weekend, but this time we had a reservation (and nobody was staffing it this time, of course):

Security