 After our diesel turbo issue en route to Flagstaff, Arizona, our friend Ron posed a great question: “What are you doing to avoid a repeat of the turbo fault?” he asked. “Limping with a big rig behind doesn’t sound like fun.” That didn’t sound like fun to us either. Although Bob had successfully reset the codes the truck had pulled, we wanted to make sure we didn’t have a repeat incident. Having sensed some issues with our two truck batteries, we decided to proactively replace them — in a Walmart parking lot in Page, Arizona. After all, they were more than three years old. We parked near a collection of RVs and got to work. About 45 minutes later, we returned the old batteries to Walmart to regain our core charges and stock up on supplies.  Finding a fix We knew that wasn’t enough to correct the turbo fault. When we had our truck’s turbo replaced in December 2024, the shop that completed the work had recommended tuning the diesel engine as well. That would have been another couple of thousand dollars on top of the $6,600 we were already forking out, so we opted not to pursue it. After our turbo issue near Flagstaff, however, we thought the tuner might be worth the investment, especially once we realized we faced an 11,000-foot mountain pass on our route across Southern Colorado. We had the tuner shipped to a Boondockers Welcome host’s site in Yellow Jacket, Colorado, near the Four Corners, and paid for expedited shipping to ensure we’d receive it in time. It arrived a day late but was nowhere to be found after the UPS driver had called us and confirmed he left it at our rig. A stressful hour later, the host’s grandson delivered the package to us. He had picked it up thinking it was for his grandmother, whose name appeared on it in addition to ours. Installing the tuner The next day, Bob installed the tuner. The process required inserting a bypass cable for the On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) sensor under the truck’s dash to allow the tune to take place. Bob loaded an app onto his phone and then downloaded the tune settings the company had made specifically for our Dodge Ram 3500 dually through the app. He applied those to the vehicle following the guided instructions in the app. After that, Bob attached a switch under the dash and connected it to the OBD port. It enables us to manually transition between five tuner settings:
With the installation complete, Bob took Gulliver for a test-drive to see if he could detect any performance increase. Assessing the new tuner We knew the real test would come when towing our 18,000-pound fifth wheel, Tagalong. A couple of camping stops later, an 11,000-foot peak and the Continental Divide loomed between us and our next destination. With snow in the forecast, we were eager to get beyond the summit. We set out, trying to stay ahead of predicted windy conditions. But our stop at a gas station to dump our wastewater tanks, refill our propane, and add air to a tire with a slow leak turned into an hour. The tire wouldn’t take air. Bob put in as much as he could as the wind picked up. Butterflies in our stomachs, we headed toward the pass with the tuner set to heavy tow, hoping and praying we’d make it up and over with no issues. The climb started gradually, with two lanes for ascent. Faster vehicles passed on us on the left as the speed limit dropped, making the wind less of a concern.  We reached the summit safely with plenty of power and successfully began our descent, noticing the truck automatically downshifting, something it hadn’t done before. As we passed small towns with flags flapping in the wind, we counted our blessings.
We’re pleased with the tuner and glad we invested in it. In addition to increasing our truck’s performance, it gives us diagnostic data about the operation of the truck. You might also like Our top RV lessons in 5 years of RV travel.
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 When you hear the word Colorado, you likely think of mountains, snow, and skiing — and for good reason. Even the state’s license plates depict snowcapped mountains. The state boasts 4,053 named mountains, including 58 peaks higher than 14,000 feet, according to PeakVisor. And it averages 67.3 inches of snowfall each year, according to Uncover Colorado. That’s more than 5.5 feet. With those statistics, we weren’t surprised to awake to a white blanket outside our windows near Alamosa in April. Fortunately, it wasn’t a travel day. We lay low, and the snow melted before noon.  We were, however, amazed not to find a muddy mess as a result. We attributed that to Southern Colorado’s high desert geology. Sand covered the ground. Even more surprising was our realization that Colorado hosts Great Sand Dunes National Park, a strange phenomenon surrounded by towering, snowcapped mountains that reach the sky. In fact, the park is home to the tallest sand dunes in North America, rising up to 750 feet from base to crest, according to the National Park Service. The U.S. Geological Survey reports that average sand dunes measure up to 100 meters (328 feet) high. Intrigued, we decided to check them out for ourselves. Visiting Great Sand Dunes National Park As we drew near to the park, the dunes came into view. They didn’t seem like much in light of the colossal peaks looming behind them. And they definitely looked out of place. Like many others, we wondered what had caused sand dunes to be in such a mountainous location.  The 20-minute film in the visitor center gave us the answer: Every year, the surrounding Sangre de Cristo Mountains and San Juan Mountains shed their snow. As they do, the snowmelt carries sediment and pebbles from the mountains to the flatter ground. Over time, that accumulated to create these sandy hills that continue to be shaped by the wind. Satisfied with that answer, we loaded into Gulliver and drove to the dunes to see these marvels up close. With the wind in our faces, we started hiking, not an easy feat in the oxygen-deprived 7,500-foot elevation. The sand gave way under our feet, making us work for each step forward. Our hearts beat hard, and breath didn’t come easily. We reached a midway crest and sat down to rest and take in our surroundings. Unlike White Sands National Park, where lots of visitors sled down on round saucers, the mode of choice here was a sandboard. Similar to a snowboard, it has footholds. We watched a young man gracefully navigate down a slope, only to fall at the end. The sand, quite the opposite of fluffy snow, has no cushioning qualities. He lay on the ground for a while before eventually getting up. We opted not to attempt a high-speed descent here. As we sat on our perch, wind blew the sand grains all around us, covering our clothes and even filling our pockets. We relished the cooling breeze and magnificent views before making our descent, grateful we had made a point to visit this amazing wonder. You might also like Experiencing the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.   Durango, Colorado, in the Four Corners area, has a long railroad history. In fact, the city was founded by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad in 1880 for mining purposes, and the railroad arrived the following year. Today, the city is still known for railroads — specifically, the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Narrow gauge means the rails are about 3 feet, 6 inches apart. As a result, they can maneuver tighter curves than their standard gauge counterparts (4 feet, 8.5 inches apart), making them ideal for mountainous areas. Although most narrow gauge railroads in the U.S. have ended operations, a couple of them are still in service for passenger rides. The Durango and Silverton is one of them. The White Pass and Yukon Route in Alaska is the other. While journeying across Southern Colorado, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go back in time and experience the railroad in Durango. Here’s what it was like to ride the Durango-Silverton train. Climbing aboard Since the train line isn’t open to Silverton until early May, and we were in Durango in April, we opted for the five-hour Cascade Canyon round trip. Not knowing if we’d ever be in Durango again, we splurged for a first-class car, which gave us each a window seat with a wooden table between us, complimentary soft drinks, a breakfast muffin, souvenir cups, and a tote bag.  After getting our fifth wheel situated at the La Plata County Fairgrounds (for much cheaper than a campground in the area), we nestled in for the night, eager for our adventure the next day. We arrived a half hour early for our 9:15 a.m. departure time, parked, and followed volunteers’ guidance across the railroad tracks to get our first glimpse of the train. Heat emanated from engine 482, and white smoke floated into the bright blue sky. We snapped some photos, boarded our car, and settled into 20th-century luxury.  The interior decor beckoned back to the 1880s: wooden beams and tables, padded wooden chairs, wire racks above our heads for luggage, a wooden counter, and a uniformed attendant who served us and shared stories about the train and the experience we were about to embark on.  Chugging along Two long, loud whistles sounded from the engine, and the train chugged into action, moving slowly as we meandered through town, passing people waving and taking pictures. The car moved back and forth, feeling less stable than a B-25 WWII bomber, as it followed the Animas River, offering beautiful views. The curvy, climbing route ascended through the San Juan Mountains, part of the Rocky Mountain Range, as the train rocked to and fro. The smell of burning oil from the engine drifted through the open windows, which offered breathtaking views of steep cliff faces, deep canyons, and the winding river.  Letting off steam One long whistle burst from the engine as the train slowed to a stop to refill its water supply. A few minutes and whistles later, the train roared back into action. After a couple of hours, we had navigated 26 miles and climbed about 1,500 feet in elevation to the Cascade Wye, where the train stopped moving and then backed up to get into position to take us back down to Durango. It came to a complete halt and let all 200 passengers off to wander the expansive area and enjoy lunch while the crew recharged. The destination gave us opportunities to capture more pictures with the train, this time in a mountain setting. We ambled away from the group to the rushing river and basked in its peaceful burbling, the wind in our faces. We lingered there, exploring the variety of colorful rocks. After trekking to the last of the 16 train cars, we noticed a wooden pedestrian bridge spanning the river and hurried toward it for a different perspective on the location, which featured fire pits and picnic tables. Contented, we slowly worked our way back to the train, not wanting to get left behind. Although we found the area inviting, we had been warned that the next train wouldn’t arrive until the following day. Backtracking We returned to our seats about five minutes before the engineer blasted the train’s whistle to warn passengers that we were about to depart. Since the train had made an about face, the journey back into town highlighted different scenery. We traded stunning glimpses of canyons and valleys for close-ups of craggy rocks that nearly hugged the train in places. We walked to the deck on the back of our car to experience the outside views for a bit before settling in for the duration. The way down the mountains offered different sensations as the couplers between train cars jerked from slack to taut. Still, we enjoyed the excursion into the valley and the captivating scenery it provided.  After two hours of descent, the train reached the end (er, beginning?) of the line and pulled back into the Durango station. We exited our car grateful that we had taken advantage of the opportunity to embark on such an amazing adventure.
You might also like 3 adventurous things to do in Alamogordo, New Mexico.  In five years of full-time RVing, we’ve seen a lot that this great country has to offer, from vast oceans to towering mountains to broad prairies to rolling hills to expansive deserts. Although we had managed to stand in three states at one point — South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa — one goal eluded us: visiting the Four Corners Monument, the only place in America where you can stand in four states at once. A brass plate in the ground marks the junction of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona.  Much of the Four Corners region belongs to the Navajo Nation, as does the monument. Getting there from any direction requires driving through reservation land. We had traveled through the Navajo Nation from north to south on two different occasions — once on the western portion and once on the eastern. But we’d never driven through it west to east or vice versa. We used the Page, Arizona, area as our jumping-off point. After spending a week about 45 minutes southeast of Page in alluring Marble Canyon near Lees Ferry, we were ready to move on. We navigated to U.S. Route 160, which, coincidentally, is also known as the Navajo Trail — for good reason. It starts in the midwest section of the Navajo Nation and takes travelers northeast, directly to Four Corners before continuing into and across Southern Colorado and ending in Southeastern Missouri. In a three-hour span, stretching high desert gave way to beautiful red rocks, fascinating formations, and panoramic views. Eight flags flying in the wind signified we had reached the Four Corners Monument. We stopped at a booth, paid our $8 per-person entrance fee, and found a parking spot to take advantage of this rare opportunity and snap photos as proof.  Where to from here? From Four Corners, exploration opportunities abound in every direction, all rich in Native American history. Northeastern Arizona showcases Monument Valley, also part of the Navajo Nation and the most famous area of the Four Corners region. Featured in numerous movies and popularized by Forrest Gump’s enduring run in the eponymous film, the spectacular red rock formations draw more than 400,000 annual visitors to see the marvels for themselves, according to bluffutah.org. We had the privilege of glimpsing the incredible buttes in 2021 and found ourselves in awe of the amazing landscape, although we opted not to pay the fee to get up close.  Southeastern Utah boasts its own red rocks and magnificent formations en route to Moab and stunning national parks, including Canyonlands and Arches. Northwestern New Mexico features the largest city of the Four Corners region, Farmington, with a population greater than 46,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The area is also home to Zuni Pueblo, the state’s largest, as well as Aztec Ruins National Monument and Navajo Lake State Park. In Southwestern Colorado, vast farmlands coexist with historical sites, including Canyons of the Ancients National Monument and Mesa Verde National Park, which displays one of the best-preserved cliff dwellings. Finding direction Having spent ample time in Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico — though more in the Albuquerque area than the northwest — we opted to head to Southern Colorado. We had originally planned to spend much of our 2025 travel season in Colorado but changed our minds after driving Interstate 25 from Wyoming to Albuquerque in 2024. The traffic congestion, on a Saturday, made us want to avoid our old stomping grounds in the Denver area, where we had lived as newlyweds. During that time, we didn’t explore much of Colorado outside of Denver. The state offers a different landscape and climate than the other parts of the Four Corners region, with breathtaking views of snow-capped mountains that make us grateful for our Creator and the RV life we get to lead. You might also like 3 cool things to do in Yuma, Arizona.   We started our sixth year of full-time RV living in slow motion. We only moved 5 miles away for our first stop, and we didn’t leave that spot until 10 a.m. on our departure day. After emptying our wastewater tanks and stopping for coffee, we finally merged onto the highway at 11 a.m. for a potential five-plus-hour drive from Mesa, Arizona, to Page, Arizona. About an hour later, the congested cityscape gave way to expansive desert landscape, and we breathed sighs of relief. After six busy months in a metropolis, we were ready for a change of pace. The big truck that could Vast deserts turned into mountainous regions, and we enjoyed a leisurely drive. While making the last long ascent into Flagstaff, a ding sounded from our truck dashboard, signaling that the check engine light had come on. “Oh no!” we thought. We had just changed our truck’s turbo after having issues during our last travel season. “Was the root cause something else?” we wondered aloud. Slowing our pace, we kept going. The turbo continued to work all the way to Flagstaff. But while making a small climb just outside the city, and flooring the gas pedal, our speed dropped from 35 mph to 25 mph. We thought it best to find a place to stay in the area, where resources were available. Fortunately, Bob had already identified such a location as a backup plan in case we didn’t want to complete the drive to Page in one day. And that spot happened to be shortly after this hill-climbing challenge. We pulled off the main highway and turned off the truck. Bob rummaged through a bin in our basement to find his vehicle code checker to see why the truck’s check engine light had come on. The results indicated an airflow leak in the intake system. On the level We found a great spot to boondock off a fire road in the Coconino Forest, but Flagstaff is hilly. We couldn’t position our 42-foot fifth wheel to get level. Not knowing if we’d need to be in the area for a week or two to address the truck issue, we wanted to make sure we had a good setup. After two hours of trying multiple angles and parking spots, we finally got our lengthy rig level and set it up. Bob spent many hours researching the truck issue before we called it a night.  The temperature had been forecast to get down to 26 degrees, a drastic change from the 80-degree temps we had left in the Valley of the Sun. Upon waking, I crawled out of bed to turn on our propane heater. The digital thermometer inside the rig read 44 degrees. With the heat on, I clambered back into bed to snuggle under the covers for warmth. Further research indicated our truck would be OK. Our new high-performance turbo has the ability to send more air into the engine than our truck computer expects. When this happens, the computer thinks it’s an error and puts the truck into limp mode, which greatly decreases performance. Just to be sure, we wanted to drive Gulliver around, separated from the trailer. While running a few errands, the truck’s check engine light never came back on. The road less traveled Although we would have been content in Flagstaff, the weather forecast called for snow a few days later. We wanted to avoid that if possible. After a leisurely breakfast that included huevos rancheros and an egg burrito at a homey cafe, we returned to our rig to pack it up for another move. At 1:30 p.m., we hit the road and headed north. Instead of going to Page, we decided to camp on Bureau of Land Management land near Lees Ferry, southwest of Page en route to the north rim of the Grand Canyon, which hadn’t yet opened for the season. Lees Ferry, part of Glen Canyon National Park, is the only place within Glen Canyon where you can drive to the Colorado River, according to the National Park Service.  After setting up our rig for optimal views of the towering red cliffs that line Marble Canyon, we took advantage of our proximity to Lees Ferry to admire God’s beautiful creation there. Of course, we had to dip our hands in the river’s water. The magnificent panorama that comprised our front and back yards for the week cost us the price of relentless wind for a day and a half and a blanket of fine dust on every surface in our trailer. But it was all worth it for the amazing scenery, the peace and quiet, and the slow pace of living.
You might also like Exploring Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. |
AuthorThis is the travel blog of full-time RVers Bob and Lana Gates and our truck, Gulliver, and fifth wheel, Tagalong. Categories
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