October 1 - 22, 2026 Homer Door Lock - Sanitizing - Homer's Rear Air Bags - Fob fix - Hood Rod Clip - Cookies - Rend Lake - Pumpkins

MY BLOG REFLECTION

If you can't do it with feeling, don't.

Patsy Cline

October 1, 2026:

While camping a couple of weeks ago at Hahn State Park I noticed the fob would not unlock either passenger door on Homer. The at least ten year old fob battery was dead. New batteries were obtained for the two fobs.

With new batteries the fob would still not unlock the passenger door although I could hear the actuator (the electric plunger inside the door that is activated by the fob) working. I also found that I could not unlock the passenger door with a key either.

I took the inside door panel off to investigate. This involves removing eleven screws, the arm rest, and the window crank.

Once it is off there are a couple of openings in the metal door which allow limited access to the workings inside. For the lock there is mechanism where the key is inserted, another that engages when the door is closed, which you can see on the door's edge, and a third mechanism which pushes the button up. 

I know next to nothing about how all this works but looking online I found that the most common problem with door locks is lack of lubrication and lack of use. Guilty on both counts with Homer.

With the door panel off I could spray lubricant on all of these door lock components. I drowned every mechanism I could see with silicone lubricant to the point it was dripping out the bottom of the door. After the lubrication was sprayed the lock worked sometimes and sometimes it did not. It never worked with the fob. 

The actuator is an electric solenoid that pushes a rod in and out when the key fob is pressed to lock and unlock the door.  The actuator worked but nothing happened. After a solid hour I was ready to give up and put the door panel back on when I noticed a thin metal rod attached to the top of the actuator but to nothing else. I knew that couldn't be right. Upon studying what I could see through the 4 inch by 6 inch hole in the door, I found a nearby rod with a clip on it. The clip had two tightening screws but nothing was in the second hole on the clip. Right or wrong, I surmised that the dangling rod from the actuator should be in that hole and began work to reinsert it. 

I worked for about another hour trying to get the actuator rod into the hole on the clip with no success. I was again about to give up when the clip turned and I saw that the larger rod slid into the clip from the side and then was tightened with a screw. I loosened that screw and the clip came off in my hand. I could then easily feed the actuator rod into the clip and tighten the screw. From there I could reinsert the clip on the main rod and tighten down the screw to hold it in place. 

Once both screws were tight the actuator worked but it needed adjusting which I could easily do by loosening the screws and moving the rods. Once that was complete the fob locked and unlocked the door perfectly. 

I still had the problem that the key would lock the door but not unlock it. No matter how much I fiddled, sprayed lube, and operated the rod manually. it just wouldn't work. I was giving up on the key lock when I realized that if I turned the key to unlock the door and at the same time pulled on the handle, it would unlock. Good enough!  I put the door panel back on and considered it a "WIN".

In taking the door panel off I was careful to lay the eleven screws out on the floor mat for reinstalling them. As I put everything back in place I found that I was missing one plastic screw on the door panel. Here is a picture of where the screw goes. These clips are pretty important to keep the door panel from rattling.

I looked everywhere in the area and could not find it. I was frustrated that I had lost it despite my care in keeping all screws in a safe place. I was walking to the house to hunt in my shop for a similar screw when I saw laying there on the concrete driveway, believe it or not, the plastic screw, which is only 3/4 of an inch long. Here is a picture.

It must have stuck to a tool I was putting away earlier on my trip to the toolbox in the garage. What are the chances of finding this small screw in the middle of the driveway after the car had rolled over that area several times? Quite the good luck I'd say.

October 2, 2026:

The second set of airbags I ordered for Homer were incorrect as well. The mechanic talked about welding on a plate, etc. to make the ones I had ordered work. I decided I would be better off searching more for the correct replacement bags than paying for a lot of labor to mount these which may or may not work properly.

On Firestone's website I found the exact replacement airbags. They should arrive on Monday and I will then make an appointment to get them installed. I had to order the airbags directly from Firestone so rather than $100.00 for a pair ordered from an aftermarket vender, it cost me $440.00 for a pair from Firestone. What are you going to do? Pay the piper I did.

I will step back. There is a\All this talk about purchasing new rear airbags and no explanation as to why. The airbags supplement the springs and raise the coach. The rear airbags on Homer are over thirty years old and I was told by a mechanic that they do not hold air. Here is a picture of Homer as he sits in the driveway. Looking at the driveway under Homer you may be able to see that the back end sags.

Here is a close up of the front wheel. See how high the tire is from the fender?

Here is the rear wheel. With new airbags the suspension will be higher so that the rear tire will at least clear the fender skirt.

New airbags will keep the rear of Homer up and more level. They should also help with bumps in the road as we travel.

October 3, 2026:

It was such a nice day I decided to do some maintenance on Homer's RV side. I emptied the hot water tank and sanitized the fresh water system. Motorhomes sit a lot and if you let water sit in the hot water tank it quickly gets a sulphur smell. I decided to empty it today and to flush it out. Periodically you need to flush the tank out using a wand to get any sediment out of the bottom of the tank once it is empty. I was surprised that no sediment came out despite several rinses. I left the tank empty and put the drain plug back in so Homer is ready to go on his next adventure.

Fresh water systems in motorhomes need to be sanitized at least yearly because they sit for long periods of time with no flushing of the water. I drained the fresh water that remained in the tank from the last campout. I then closed the drain valve and added a 1/2 cup of household bleach. I then filled the tank and drew water through all of the faucets and the toilet. This gets the chlorinated (sanitized) water throughout the pipe system. I will let this sit for a couple of days then drain everything again. It will then be ready for fresh water for our next trip.

The other day I found that the key ring section of one of Homer's fobs broke off. (Did I mention I hate plastic?) While I do hate plastic, I can't complain about a plastic fob that has held up for over thirty-two years. Over the last couple of days I was able to mold a repair section onto the fob with my trusty old "JB Weld". After I filed the repair into shape I painted it black to match the rest of the fob. Here are two pictures with arrows pointing to the area that broke off and was repaired. The first shows a tiny screw it came with to help reinforce the area.

This fob should last another thirty-two years even if it is plastic and JB Weld.

 

October 8, 2027:

I received the correct replacement rear airbags for Homer. He is in the shop today to get them installed. The first shop wanted $1,200.00 to install new air bags. I declined. I found a shop that would install them for $75.00 per hour with me procuring the air bags. After two wrong sets for about $100.00 per pair, I had to go directly to Firestone and buy them for $440.00 per pair. I figure with about four hours labor it will still be about $500.00 cheaper than the first shop.

October 9, 2026:

In the morning the shop called and said that before removing the old airbags, upon inspecting everything, they found that the airbags were not leaking but the fittings connecting the airbags to the airlines were leaking. They had to shop around but were able to find the correct replacement fittings and install them. The bags held air overnight. The total parts and labor bill was $261.00. I can return the $440.00 air bags for a refund. Yippee!

I picked Homer up and brought him home to prepare him for a campout next week when Annie gets in from California. It will be nice fall camping weather.

October 10, 2026:

Last week upon closing the hood the plastic clip that holds the hood rod in place broke. You know my thoughts on plastic. LOL. Here is a picture of the broken clip. The top part that holds the rod in place broke off.

I pried the remaining piece out and this is the opening that it clips into on the truck. A little odd I thought.

Try as I might, I was unable to find an exact replacement clip. I finally took a chance and purchased a hood clip for a Mustang. It arrived today and with a little trimming it fit in the square. Unfortunately the extra metal cut out below the square on Homer allowed the clip to immediately pull out. My fix was to use E6000 to glue the clip in place. Here is what it looks like with the glue and with the rod in place.

Many plastics are hard to glue but I have good luck with E600. This clip looked to be made from nylon not plastic so maybe it will last more than thirty-three years. LOL

October 10, 2026:

The glued-in clip works perfectly. Problem solved.

When I was a kid my dad made all of the Christmas cookies at our house. One type he made that I never saw anywhere else was "Cornflake Cookies". My sister found mom's handwritten recipe and sent it to me. I decided today to make my first batch to see how it measured up to my boyhood memories.

Here is a picture of how they turned out. 

Apparently I made my dough scoops too large. LOL. My taster is off but Kelly said they tasted great. We didn't have any Crisco so I used Coconut Oil, which is creamy like shortening, instead. Coconut is an optional ingredient, which I didn't add, so it shouldn't have influenced the flavor much.

October 13, 2026:

We are going camping on Thursday so today I filled Homer's water tank and hot water tank after sanitizing and draining both. The loop we usually camp in at Rend Lake does not have a water or sewer hookup, only electric. I also plugged in the refrigerator to get it cold before we load it. I also loaded a crate of kindling and a crate of cardboard for firestarters.

October 14, 2026:

The refrigerator is nice and cold and the batteries are charged. I loaded my clothes. 

October 15, 2026:

Alexa and I jumped in Homer and headed to Rend Lake. Kelly had an appointment in St. Louis so she and Annie will meet us there. Homer is always on the dash ready for another adventure.

A tradition is to have hot dogs and chili on the first night of camping. This campout was no different,

After the chili was served we all dug in and filled our bellies before making the first night's fire.  

The gate attendant told us where we could buy some firewood. Alexa and I made a run there.

October 16, 2026: 

We drove around all of the campgrounds to check things out, the entire time being on the lookout for any firewood left behind by campers. Alexa and Annie found several large pieces and we brought them back to the campsite.  A couple of the logs were quite large so Alexa called on her Paul Bunyan muscles to split a few of the bigger pieces.

 Small pieces catch fire better and burn better.

Friday and Saturday were mostly sunny but much cooler. I found a way to stay warm next to the fire.

The ladies had hats on and multiple layers of clothing.

On our drive around the lake we saw hundreds of Pelicans resting and feeding on the water on their way south for the winter. So cool!

In the early afternoon on Saturday we drove into Sesser looking for thrift and antique stores. They are mostly gone these days. We did find a nice place to get a cup of coffee and a muffin at "Brewed on Broadway". They closed at 1:00 p.m. so we took a few pictures and headed back to the campsite.

Alexa bought a pumpkin in Sesser and once back at the campground carved it to set on her porch at home.

One of the items Annie bought at an antique store in Benton was a printer's letter drawer. We brought it home, cleaned it up, and put hangers on the back. She can't take it back on the plane so we will drop it off at her mother-in-law's home in St. Louis when we take Annie to the airport on Friday. Carol and her husband, John, will be driving out to California in a few days for a visit. Annie collects a lot of miniatures and now she will have a way to display them.

The campout was great fun. We hadn't been to Rend Lake in decades. It is where we took the girls as often as possible when they were growing up . We made lots of memories there back in the day.

October 22, 2026:

Alexa and Aaron bought three large pumpkins to carve. I volunteered to be the photographer.  Here they are starting the carve.

Here are the three pumpkins which will sit on Alexa's porch with candles in them for all the "Trick or Treaters" to examine. They did a nice job on the carving. Kelly baked the seeds. Annie will take them back to California for the granddaughters to enjoy.

After the mess was cleaned up we had nice BLTs for Annie's last supper this visit. She flies home tomorrow. We had a great visit with her. She planned a trip for her family to spend some time with us in Florida in February.