Tue 21th April, 2009
Day 39


Whitehorse, Yukon
Whitehorse, YT
Miles: 6693
N 60.67481°
W 135.05199°



As luck would have it there was an RV parts and repair place almost immediately across the road from the RV park we stayed in last night. So just after 9:00am this morning we were in that establishment seeking parts.

  • A new hatch or door for the storage compartment where the power cable exits from the motor home; the existing one broke in the cold of Inuvik.
  • A water pump - this is getting to be an expensive habit.
  • A new converter/charger. An electrical device that charges the batteries when we are plugged into the ordinary electricity supply.

We got the first two items, and discovered that the place was an interesting store house of all kinds of RV plumbing, electrical and other types of parts. We even managed to get a 3 ft square piece of polystyrene insulation board from them.

We travelled a few km south to the next RV parts place looking for the converter. Again no luck.

Then we made a quick trip to the supermarket, and while Nina was in the store I installed the new hatch/door on the power cable storage locker.

Back at the RV park further investigation of the electrical problem revealed a blown fuse, which once replaced got the electrical system working. On the one hand this was a great find, but on the other it took me much longer than it should have to discover the real cause of the problem. My initial misdiagnosis could have costs $300 rather than the 45c that it did.

Much of the remainder of the day was spent installing the new water pump. To help this one survive the cold and rigors of the north I have put polystyrene insulation board under it and placed a new RV light near the pump to, hopefully, keep it warm.

Just to ensure the entire day was spent on RV maintenance I also shortened the power cable that extends from the RV to whatever external electrical source is available. This is a heavy duty 30 amp cable and its storage locker is small. The result - when the cable is cold and almost devoid of flexibility it is very difficult to put away. Today it lost half its length.