Wednesday, May 16, 2007

A cross to cross

The faithful Fuso Santek has now arrived not far anymore from the Mexican-USA border.
Another 95 kilometres (60 miles) and the madness of Tijuana border crossing will be experienced once again.
For now though camp is made at Playa Saldamando, just north of Ensenada.


A weird kind of trailer park on a steep mountainside where platforms are bulldozed to serve as campsites.


The Fuso Santek is the only RV making use of this exceptional 18 USD (13,29 Euros) a night trailer park where is no water nor electricity.
A great place close to the Pacific Ocean where the sound of the waves guarantee a relaxed night of sleep.

All the preparations are made to be able to answer the questions of the USA immigration officers tomorrow.
The documents which show who is the owner of the Fuso Santek.
The document that shows that the Fuso Santek is insured.
The registration documents from South Dakota of the Fuso Santek.
The passport from the Netherlands.
American Dollars to pay for the visa they hopefully issue.
The plane ticket showing that on Sunday a flight will be taken leaving the USA.
And tomorrow morning, for a real smooth border crossing, as last preparations will be a fresh shave and a thorough tooth brushing followed by Listerine gurgling.

An appointment has been made with Kearny Mesa Truck Centre in San Diego to service the Fuso Santek.
Mitsubishi requires that after the first 2.500 miles (4.000 kilometres) the Fuso returns to a service centre for change of oil and filters and other activities.
In all a job of 6 to 7 hours, according to Ron Lucero, the adequate service manager of Kearny Mesa Truck Centre.

The Fuso Santek will return to the place where she was built, Santek Trailers in Riverside, California, on Friday and will stay there while the proud owner needs to go to Europe for three weeks.
During that time Roberto and his crew of Santek Trailers will iron out all the issues that have come to the surface on the recent expedition of 50 days to Mexico.

The good news is that the Fuso Santek is a fabulous creation.
A great expedition vehicle to travel with, to live in and to go to far away places few others can come.

Because it is custom build, obviously certain things need to be corrected.
We must be aware that, for example, the first Lazy Daze motor home had issues as well.
Having been mass-produced during years and years, by now it is possible to build and deliver a flawless Lazy Daze.
Therefore there is no surprise nor aggravation and certainly not discontent that Santek Trailers is going to work on the different things experienced on the Mexico test trip.

Certain issues have not much to do with Santek Trailers.
In a posting it has already been explained that the Thetford toilet is useless and dangerous.
The bowl is too undeep, the separate bowl shower is generously leaking and the cheap plastic seating is made for Mickey and Minnie Mouses only.

There are also questions about the current water pump.
The Lazy Daze had a fabulous water pump: it could hardly be heard and it gave a powerful and generous quantity of water.
The Fuso Santek is equipped with a Shurflo 2088-453-444 water pump and this toy is very noisy.
Besides, it works in an erratic way and the water coming out is minimal.
Santek Trailers will be proposed to install another pump: the Shurflo Extreme series with a Smart Sensor.
This Shurflo Extreme series has a pressure capacity of 65 PSI versus 45 PSI and a flow of 5.7 gallons per minute versus 3.5 gallons per minute.
On the website of Shurflo it unfortunately doesn’t say if the Extreme series is less noisy than the conventional models.
The new Shurflo should improve showering and the old pump will be kept as a reserve pump.

There are also several improvements Santek Trailers will be asked to carry out.
This concerns cabinets and storage spaces.
To make living inside the Fuso Santek even more comfortable.

But before all this can happen there is the exciting experience of crossing the Mexican-USA border waiting.
It should be a formality but we live in times that anything can happen.

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To learn more about Kearny Mesa Truck Center, click on:
http://www.kmtc1.com/KMTC_WEBSITE_0/,_Mitsubishi_x.html

To learn more about Playa Saldamando, click on:
http://playasaldamando.com/

To learn more about the two waterpumps mentioned, click on:
http://www.rvstuffusa.com/freshwaterpumpsbyshurflo.html
http://www.shurflo.com/pages/RV/rv_categories/potable_water/extreme.html







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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lazy Daze uses the Shurflow Extreme 5.7 in their current coaches. Shurflow makes a "silencing kit" for this model that reduces the noise of operation. It's available at Camping World, among other places. Best to use this when your new pump is installed.

Chip Haven

PAL said...

Make sure that your demand pump is connected with not less than 30 inches of flexible hose; this will insure quietness.

Anonymous said...

I was wondering if you have ever crossed at Tecate? It is a sleepy little town just north of San diego in the mountains. I think I would do the few extra miles just to avoid Tiajuana.The people at the border are always friendly to me in Tecate.
If you get the chance talk with Ron in sales at the San Diego Mitsubishi dealer about the New FUSO FM he is putting together for AARETEC in Wyoming, Ruf inc, Darrin has posted new images on his site.
Good-luck, Robert

Anonymous said...

Peter said it already. Most pump installs are connected to solid plastic pipe. The pulsing of the pump causes the pipes to bang against walls and the chattering is heard throughout the unit. I have about 18 inches of flexible hose and that is enough to make a world of difference in my unit.

Note: The flexible hose should be installed even with smart sensor pumps.

My experience with the Shurflo Smart Sensor was not good. I replaced the original installed demand pump with a Smart Sensor pump. That pump failed and was replaced with another. That one failed. I have now reinstalled the original demand pump. Works great! If there is a next time, I will try the Flojet brand.