Hershey Trip Report

[Jim Stoltz]

Just returned from our annual trip to Hershey. Going out we ran into extremely heavy downpours and high winds despite a 0% chance of rain in the forecast. Visibility was 0 for many miles and there was a lot of standing water on the Interstate. We plodded on anyway, getting to Hershey to check in as the heaviest rain moved in. Motorhomes have their pros and cons, a definite pro was rolling into the site and leveling it with the bags and calling it done. When the rain stopped we hooked up all of the shore utilities.

The list of stuff to fix is getting longer. The generator isn't working right - it will surge under a load randomly. I tried running the a/c on the way home but it kept surging and stalling. I'm going to run some Sea Foam through it again.

Still haven't fixed the broken pilot tube on the fridge.

And, I know I always complain about my driveway, but I tore off the bayonet adapter for my dump pipe. I decided to try approaching the driveway at an angle rather than swinging wide and going straight up. I hit the curb with the left side, it rocked to the right and the dump plumbing scraped hard. It doesn't look like anything's cracked - it just tore the Thetford-to-bayonet adapter off. That thing stuck out a few inches and I was wondering if it would hit. It did.

I did change my top-of-the-driveway strategy. There's a big oak that keeps me from swinging the Allegro around before I hit my house. This time I got close to the tree, but not so close that I would hit it when I swung around to position it to back in. I was able to clear the tree with just one K-type turn. I think I had some room so I may actually be able to clear it without having to pull up and back up a couple of times like I usually do. All this is done on a pretty steep incline so it's nerve wracking. It feels like it's going to roll over but I know (hope) it won't. 

The ride back was windy, too. I need to do something about the steering on the thing. It was 3 hours of fighting to keep the thing in my lane. If I let go of the wheel it would go shooting off into the woods. I'm thinking proper springs and probably some steering parts (the name escapes me right now, but there's parts on both sides bolted to the frame that wear out). 

I'm so glad I invested in that new radiator at the end of last season. It hovered around 190 degrees most of the trip and jumped up to around 220 in stop and go traffic - 90 degree ambient temps. The dreaded hill climb on the last leg of my trip was awesome. Last year the needle on the temp gauge was buried on the HOT side and it wouldn't recover. Stop and go traffic leads up to the base of the hill. It crept up to 220. While climbing the hill it actually got a bit cooler. 

All in all a great time with the family. You may recall that my brother's trailer burned to the ground this time last year while preparing for the trip. This year he brought the 25-footer that my dad's friend gave him. It's a nice rear bunkhouse Shasta, but he has his sights set on something newer and lighter.

And - half a dozen people stopped to ask me about the Allegro, too. People are intrigued by it and I love telling the story of its resurrection. 

Rare pic of me driving today (I hate having my picture taken). That's the death grip I have on the wheel for 3 hours straight. Have to sort out the wandering.

[Martha Toler]

Nice, so glad that you had a nice trip! We will be taking ours on a trip soon, but right now still replacing small things like running lights etc, new awning fabric, luggage hook catches, etc.  Still trying to figure out what new sealant to put on top since we fixed all the leaks. Trying to get a good product at a cheap price is impossible. My son wants EDPM roof coating which isn't cheap but he heard good things about it! Took it on small runs less than an hour away but soon, going to take it to White Lake or N. Myrtle Beach, SC which is about 200 miles away. Small runs did great, son had to clean carburetor but now running smooth. Let it sit and run with AC for 6 hrs. on one trip, (no electricity) and it did great. Just doing the testing to make sure everything will hold up. Love your curtains in the pic, wish we had that color instead of the off white we have but they do the job of privacy. Love reading about your trips and everyone's tips. Thanks for all the posts!!

[Jim Stoltz]

Thanks Martha. The only difference between a small run and a big run is time and distance. I figure if mine will take me 10 miles it will take me 1,000. EPDM roof coating is not cheap but works very well and lasts a long time. I did mine when I first got it and it still looks great 3 years later. My awning is shot, too. Not just the fabric but the supports, too. I can still make it work but it's a lot of hassle. It's also a big expense.

[Martha Toler]

That's great to hear, whew! Ours is 23-25', not sure which,how much should we buy of the coating? We have our new awning fabric ordered it off of Ebay, just haven't had the time or people to help replace it. It was less than $200, but not sure how long it will last, hopefully as long as our Allegro.It completely tore away from the RV, not sure why unless they cut it before we bought it.  The support is in good condition.

[Jim Stoltz]

Mine's a 30-footer. I bought a gallon and used about 3/4 of it. I didn't do the entire roof - just around every protrusion through the roof (roof rack mounts, vents, fridge vent, antenna, etc.) and all of the seams. It worked great. I still have a couple of smaller leaks that I need to track down. One into the fridge box and another in the back bedroom. I think the back bedroom one is self-inflicted -  a leaking clearance light from when I swapped them out for LEDs.

[Martha Toler]

Thank you so much. We might just get about 3 gal or maybe a 4 gal bucket and hope that 's enough. We had a problem with leaks at the seams, around same areas you do, but my son put some sealant that he bought at Camper World and it seems to be working. The hardest one was in the back bedroom, it damaged some of the wall paneling, but he has worked diligently to stop that one and it seems to be working. Thanks again for all the help.

[Philip Wolsonovich]

Nice pic. What is that by your left leg? Looks like a c.b.

[Jim Stoltz]

That's the controller for the Jet Ride air suspension. It has an auto/manual switch and a switch to increase or decrease pressure in each side. 

The CB broke last season. Still wondering whether to replace it.

[Cristina Gouin]

Gone got a run this weekend as well.. Goose Bay Marina and campground.. our local hang out though we msised all last year due to new farm... nice to see our friends.. it was the first place local open the first spring we had Gone.. 10 years ago.. everyone loves her and all the dogs we bring along.

Gone ran fine though I still have yet to look at the ground in the wiring harness on the genny... I can turn it off from the dash just not on.  hot enough to have it on there and back.  Its only about 45 miles away.  Need to replace some chicken lights and fountd my right turn signal bulb had fallen out of the dash.. not just a burnt bulb.. easy fix.. also a mouse in dash somewhere.. new bait nicely chewed into though. so it won't be around much longer..  drivers side front window has had a pool in it each time I check after a rain so parked her on boards here so she drains away from there not to it.. 10 years... have yet to find all the front leaks which are not bad fortunately just pesky. 

and yup death grip on the steering.. Gone steers pretty straight but the freaking traffic of idiots who think I can stop o n a dime... yea...  Next trip will be Ohio most likely so will be loading for that as I feed 6-8 3x a day for most of the week.. Tiffin = food container in hindi I think.. too funny. 

[Jim Stoltz]

My windshield leaks, too. I ran a bead of silicone across the top of both front windows and it slowed it down significantly. Still get a puddle dead-center though. I can't get it level in its new home so the water runs down the back, left side. Easy fix :)

Jersey/PA drivers definitely don't help the white-knuckle situation. Particularly when traffic slows. I-78 has a lot of truck traffic as you approach NJ and points further east in NJ. Hills are steep and people will do ANYTHING to get around those trucks - and they see the Allegro as another truck. You can't go fast enough for them - they just don't want to be behind it. So I just chill in the right lane. The trucks slow down to 45 or so trying to climb the hills and I just hang out behind them and let the idiots be idiots.

[Jim Stoltz]

I forgot the best part of the story. This guy rolls up and asks my GF what year it is. She says 84, but he insists it's an '87. She came inside and brought me out to talk to him. Nice guy, Vietnam vet in town to visit the Hershey Medical Center. He said that his newish Allegro Bay was custom built. He said he had an '87 Allegro and pretty much every Allegro through the present. He said he popped into Bob Tiffin's office one day and demanded a washer and dryer in some model that they didn't offer it. He says Bob did it for him, and offered it as an option the next model year and he sold a thousand of them. Maybe a bit of a fish tale but he seemed on the up and up. He says they treat you like royalty if you show up with an old one in Red Bay, Alabama. He suggested I go...may do that some day.

[Cristina Gouin]

Yea I hope to get Gone down there one of these days... rocking her new paint etc. Heard Bob is awesome.  Last time I ordered a part from them the guy who I talked to had been there since they made our 87,,,, :-)...   then he reitred and last time I got sent robe hooks not hatch hooks and a tube containing 100ft of aluminum screw track, not the vinyl screw cover that goes in it..Siemens home breakers not thermal fuses... which they refunded me all the charges and let me keep.  

Hmm only a 13 hr drive from MD...  sounds like an Allegro Road trip if you want to join forces! meet up at some point and caravan our old girls down!    

[Jim Stoltz]

That would be cool. I just don't know when I'd have the time to do it. Maybe one day....