March 2026
Will winter weather ever stop? Very cold New England winter this year and a super snowy February. Just when we thought we were past the snowy weather received three accumulating snowstorms in the past ten days. ARGH!!! But according to the weather channel, the second week of March has sixty-degree weather in our forecast! This will be welcome. Need to dig Coachella Birdy out and get her out for her yearly maintenance.
The scheduled trips this season now include Lake George, New York. We will be camping with close friends at the Lake George RV park. Later in the year, we will be adding Lone Oak Campground to our local trips. This year, as we’ve mentioned, we are sticking close to New England with trips to CT, VT, ME, MA, and NY. Our western trip in ’24 and southern trip in ’25 were exciting, and now it’s time to experience home. We will have a shake-down trip in April to ensure all is running properly before our longer trips.
February 2026
We are getting close to seeing dirt rather than just snow. Temperatures have risen over the past week, and most of the snow on the coach has melted away. Hopefully, I’ll get to move it out so some yearly maintenance can be done.
Wow! Temperatures here in Connecticut have been bone-chilling for the past few weeks. The lowest overnight temp was -5F, temps we have not seen in a number of years. Top that off with 16 inches of snow dropped on us just before the cold snap, and spells lots of snow sticking around for a while and on sunny days just creating a ton of ice all over the place. I make it a habit to start the coach every month to keep the engine battery topped off, and the generator I start and let run for 30 minutes to an hour every week to keep the carb cleaned out. Last week, the temps were so cold the steps wouldn’t work, and the generator would not start. Today, the temps approached 26F by 9:30AM, so I thought I’d give another try starting things up.
I clicked the remote door lock and “no dice.” The engine battery was dead, which explains why the steps would not work last week. I flipped the parallel switch on, which couples the house battery with the engine battery, and with a bit of difficulty, the engine cranked over. I let the engine run for 30 minutes, which helped to bring the inside temperature up to a balmy 50 degrees. The generator took two tries to start, but finally it fired up and ran it for 90 minutes at half load.
Today’s outcome was better than I thought. I was ready to purchase a new motor for the steps, but I just needed to have the battery charged up for the engine (may not be out of the woods with the battery). The battery voltage was 3.3V, so damage may have been done. I was ready to purchase a WEN 4500W portable generator if I couldn’t get the coach generator running, but very happy, no need to spend that money (yet). The coach gen is a Cummings generator and is very finicky; its carburetor is its weak spot.
Two more months of idleness before the season kicks off with us. The coach will be heading to the shop later this month to have the engine starter looked at. With 81k miles and hearing the starter stick sometimes, I think it’s better just to replace the starter than risk being stranded somewhere. Oil change, lube job, and inspection of Ball and U-Joints are on the short list of work to be done. I may have the leveling jacks’ fluid level inspected, but I will have to leave instructions for the garage on that process.
January 2026
2026 rang in, and goodbye to 2025. It is hard to believe we will be starting our 3rd season owning a Class C motorhome. 2023 was a short year and was spent mostly getting the RV roadworthy for the long 2024 season. 2024 saw us travel west to Wyoming, and 2025 had our adventures take us south to Georgia. 2026 will keep us close to New England and experiencing our neighboring states. Coachella has had some extensive updates since taking ownership, including revamped brakes and replacing all hydraulic and cooling lines, new tires, new roof, new A/C, improved leveling system, remounted water heater, new rear camera, and many other small improvements, including a weekly maintenance regimen for the generator.
This year, we are taking a slower approach, starting the season with the first shake-down trip happening late April. The plans are 2 or 3 Harvest Home sites: Home Range Winery, Big Elm Brewery, and Norbrook Farm Brewery. All three of these establishments are within 100 miles of our home and will be post-hard freeze warnings, so running water in the coach will be possible. Big Elm is a ‘perhaps’ since the business and property are up for sale, so we can’t make any long-range planning. If Big Elm is a no-go, then we will spend two nights at Norbrook Farm Brewery.
May will be a two-plus week trip on the road on the heels of shake down trip. We will be mixing some Harvest Host sites with RV / Campground stays. On the list of stops will be
- Vermont Distillers
- Prouty Beach Campground
- Sugar Ridge RV Village
- Pine Hollow Campground
- Skyline Beer Company
June is unscheduled at the moment, but we are thinking of Skyridge Campground in Torrington, while July is scheduled as;
- Cracker Barrel
- Boothbay Craft Brewery
- Bar Harbor Campground
- Gracepoint Church
- Skyview Minuteman Campground
August too is unscheduled, but perhaps the eastern New York area and October is still open at the moment.
October 2025
2025 is coming to a close, easily felt by the brisk fall mornings and the trees are beginning to drop their leaves. The coach has been put to bed for winter hibernation and will await the spring for yet another year of travels. For 2026 our initial plans were to head south to New Orleans and Texas but some health issues popped up in 2025 and helped to realize how fragile health can be. Being close to home with our local doctors and hospitals prompted us to limit our travels to the Northeast.
Our plans are coming out something like this:
We do have a local week-long stay at Sky Ridge RV park planned for August and several weekend get away trips to our local brew establishments.
Coachella 