On the road

I was up by 5 o'clock this morning. I took the clothes the drier I had put in the night before. I watched the sun came up as I made my morning coffee. A red ball on the horizon. Then it disappeared behind the clouds. After a cup, I went in and took my morning shower before making breakfast. By then it was 7 o'clock. I knew I had to finish packing everything in the motorhome if I wanted to leave by noon.

The mail came in around 11:00 o'clock. Just a cell phone bill and a piece of junk mail. The post office will hold my mail starting tomorrow until I got back. I had everything packed up, the truck was hooked up behind the motorhome and I was ready to go. I thought I might as well stop and get some lunch before my hearing test appointment so I was on the road by 11:30. I hope I didn't leave anything behind.

Twenty miles down the road I stopped to top off the fuel tank and get a bite of lunch. Then headed over to the medical center for my hearing test. Now just to find a place to park a 60' long vehicle. I'm glad I looked at it on Google Earth the night before so I would have an idea of what the parking lot looked like. I found a place, now hope they don't give me a ticket for parking there for an hour.

It was 1 PM by then, my appointment was for 1:30. I went in and done the paperwork they wanted me to do and went into the sound chamber as scheduled. The hearing test was completed, I pass with a 92%. I needed at least a 90%. They charged $175 on my credit card and I was out of there and back on the road.

It started to rain and I was hoping my wipers were going to work. Several  things haven't been working right on this rig since I parked it two years ago after our last trip. Good they work but I'll need to change the blades first chance I get. Not everyone carries wiper blades big enough for a bus. I got into Madison a little before 5 PM so I hit the city before the traffic rush. I still have to get to the south side of the city though to beat the traffic. No, didn't make it. Not to bad though. Only about 5 miles of traffic before I turn off the freeway.

I made my exit onto US-151S going out of Madison, got in the left lane and continued out of the city heading to Dubuque, IA. Everything is going okay... I thought.  About 20 miles south of Madison I notice the volt meter surging. Now what I thought. My destination for the night was a rest area on the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River at Dubuque. If I can make it there I'll check things out.

I got to the rest area at about 6:35, turned off my headlights and the meter is still surging. I get out, open the engine hatch. Everything looks okay. I was hoping may be the belt was loose but it wasn't. I grab my volt meter out of my electrical tool kit and check the voltages at the battery with the engine running. The voltage is surging between 13 to 15 volts. I turned my headlights back on and watch them. They are fluctuating along with the alternator surging.  Well all I can do is shut down and spend the night here. I'll call the alternator shop tomorrow and see what they think.