Still Waiting To Get Our Coach Back - Slide Lock Problem

What to think about our repair guy?

He originally promised to have our coach repaired last Thursday. Then it was Friday. He called Friday afternoon and told me that he had isolated the problem and that he was confident that the living room slide would be working by late afternoon or at the latest Saturday afternoon.

We didn't receive a call on Friday nor on Saturday. Very frustrating.

It is now Sunday and no coach. I am not going to name the company yet, but he is dangerously close to being on my s__t list. Thankfully we don't need the coach right now but I have things that I want to fix and or modify and the weather is going to be warmer for the next few days.

Martha says I am impatient but this guy is racking up a lot of hours working on my dime. This needs to get done.  Ugh.

Starting To Get Answers About Our Room Slide Problems - Maybe

I got a call from our repair guy this morning. He stated that he has the kitchen slide operating and locking now. He also said that the living room slide is now working but only the front locking mechanism is engaging.  He is still working on that one.

He told me that he found some wiring issues that had to be repaired (broken wires). He also said that a solenoid was bad and replaced it.  Further some of the pin connectors on my Intelitech controllers were badly corroded. He made the repairs and now they are working.

I've my doubts about the solenoid. I have looked over the schematics for these slides and their control mechanisms and I don't find one on the schematic. I think I will have to ask for the old solenoid and have him show me where it's located to insure he isn't "blowing smoke."

Stay tuned.

What's Next For Us? - Selling 26 Years Worth Of Stuff

Since our return from our first stellar extended trip I have been mulling over what needs to be done next before our full time departure of June 1st.  We have a house full of furniture and a garage full of stored stuff. What to do with it all?

My son is living with us at the moment and we've got his stuff stored here too.  What a conundrum, he is actively looking for work but with the holidays just ending people haven't filling jobs so he has been stuck in limbo.  A crucial piece of the puzzle is we need his stuff gone so we can sort through ours.

The first step - The one year test

We all have those things in the house that we use on rare occasions, they cost us money and we only use them occasionally. My approach on this is going to be if we haven't used the item, tool or a appliance in over a year, it gets sent to the sell pile.

Determine If There Are Things Friends Or Family Might Want - Give Aways

This could be almost anything you own. But to effectively be rid of stuff we will need to be ruthless.

Determining When To Sell Stuff - A Delicate Balancing Act

If we sell stuff too early then we risk spending the rest of our time here in lawn chairs listening to NPR on the radio. If we wait until a month before will there be enough time to sell stuff?

Garage Sales - Craigslist - Estate Sales - Auction Services - Oh my!

What techniques do we choose to get rid of our stuff.  We could advertise in the local newspaper about garage sales but do people even read the newspaper anymore?  We don't.

How about Craigslist? Ok, but should we endure the endless "will you take $xxx dollars instead of your asking price" and is this the tactic (in reverse) that will be employed by us eventually to get rid of stuff?

Should we have an estate sale?  How about putting the stuff we want in storage and have an entire house estate sale?  Sounds like it my be feasible right?

Or maybe an auction service?  Let them sell our "lot" of stuff for a fee?  Am I asking for trouble here?

Stay posted as all will be revealed as it unfolds.

Coach Problems - The Kitchen Slide Won't Go Out And The Living Room Slide Won't Lock

When we arrived home from our Florida trip we had to hustle to get unloaded and to quickly winterize the coach ahead of a strong cold front that ultimately has produced sub-zero wind chills. .

All went as planned until I got to the point of winterizing freezer ice maker.  The plan was to empty the ice bin and soak up the water in the ice maker and then winterize the water line.  But, when I tried to move the slide it wouldn't move out or in.  When engaging the switch, the controller gave it's canned "The lockouts are unlocking, please move all persons and items from the path of the slide out." Then nothing. It wouldn't budge.

As an aside, our last night at my brother in laws in Rio Vista, TX brought a severe thunderstorm and a power outage.  Our coffee pot definitely took a surge as it smells of burnt circuit board.  I am guessing that this slide also took a hit to the controller.

As luck would have it, three weeks earlier our surge protector (12 years old) took a dump on us and I had to wire around it. I think we've now paid the price for not repairing it quickly.

Additionally, our living room slide has quit locking into place when pulled in.  As a result I have taken the coach to a local RV repair shop for evaluation and probably repair.

So, instead of being able to clean the outside of the RV and put it in storage it sits at an RV repair shop awaiting diagnosis.  Ugh.

We're Leaving Rio Vista, TX - Our Thoughts After Five Weeks Of RV Living

Camping in Rio Vista - In my brother in laws driveway

Dan went to the trouble and expense to install a 50 amp service for our visits. He already had a sewer clean out available and a hose bib nearby.  He rocks!

Since this trip was only a test run for our full time adventure I think it might be appropriate to do an analysis of the trip to help learn what we liked and didn't like. And finally, what we think needs changing as soon as financially possible

What we liked

The freedom from the same environment everyday
Being near the Ocean (this trip)
Our kingbed (very comfortable)
The amount of room in the living area
The amount of room in the bedroom
Placement of appliances in the kitchen
Carpet in the bedroom
The refrigerator and freezer are very large so storage is not an issue
The freezer has an ice maker
Having a 39' RV makes for adequate living space
Rides well
Large shower
Gobs of storage
Easy set up and leveling
Tows our car easily
Has lots of torque
Comfortable driver and passenger seats

What we didn't like

Carpet in the living area
Lack of comfortable seating (the jackknife coach and the leather coach)
Water pressure varies with each camping venue. Sometimes very good, others inadequate
Convection Microwave, but this is due to a lack of understanding proper operation
Not enough room for two people to work in the kitchen
The three burner stove burners are sometimes too close to each other depending on the size of pots
Problems with sewage tank clean out, I think the water line leading to the sprayer is broken
Very slow fresh water tank filling
No tire pressure monitoring (this is the first mechanical modification required)
Drivers position has no cup holder (missing from the mounting hole)
Lack of bluetooth connection to the dashboard radio so we can hear gps turn by turn announcements and have the ability to play music from our phones.
No recliners
Walk through bathroom
Taking short showers when we don't have full hookups
Fuel costs
Low MPG (8.1 at the moment which is average for older motorhomes)
Fuel inefficient but we knew that going in
It's an old coach so we are constantly fixing small things

What we will likely change

Carpet to another type of surface
Purchase a footstool
Remove one couch and add two Euro-Recliners

Our overall assessment toward a live of full time living in our RV

This going to work for us. After several conversations over the course of the month we both feel that living behind sticks and bricks is not only feasible but we are anxious to get on with it.

If you are inclined to do this, I can tell you that in our opinion you should just do it and don't second guess yourself.

For us, we did this prior to our home lease termination so it stretched us as far as we can go financially.  If you have the means to retire debt prior to going full time you will be much better off.

Today Is The Day - We Leave Sunny Florida

Today is the day. We pack up the "Golden Goose" and start the wending trek northward. On this trip we've enjoyed Texas Hill Country in Fredricksburg and Luckenbach, the surreal surf of Santa Rosa Island and Pensacola Beach, the Thunderbird's putting on an awesome show while practicing over our RV, and the laid back 50's atmosphere of Carrabelle. We learned how to co-habitat in a small space without killing one another and I learned to enjoy reading again. We also dropped our stress levels from about 10 to a 2. Wind, sun and surf have a way of coaxing relaxation out of a person.

Next we head to Rio Vista, Tx. for a late family Christmas and then New Years and back home in time to see our dear friends Tim and Wendy while they are in Fayetteville.

Stay tuned because once we get to reliable internet I will be posting photos from this trip.

Carrabelle, Florida - The Fifties Called And Wants You To Visit

We made it to Carrabelle, Florida on Monday afternoon.  We are staying at Carrabelle Beach RV Resort. $243 for the week, Monthly is much cheaper but we don't have the time to do a month this year.  Sigh.  The Resort is really nice but sadly there isn't a hot tub.

The sun has been missing since last Sunday the eighteenth.  Martha and I both will be glad to see it later today.  We are off to explore the area and to sample craft beers in a pub located in Apalachicola at lunchtime today.  I am looking forward to exploring.  More later.

"And The Minnow Would Be Lost" - Ship/Boat Wreck Washed Ashore On Pensacola Beach

This came ashore about a week ago. No word on the circumstance, and no visible markings on her hull. A ghost ship?  Perhaps.

Seventy Five And Sunny - Need I Say More?

Well today I woke to a brilliant sun showing in a cloudless sky. This my friends is why I wanted an RV.  We plan an afternoon at the beach. Sadly our days in Florida will end a week from this coming Monday.

But for now, I am enjoying this immensely.

No pictures yet this morning but this one was taken yesterday in a sunless sky at 50*.  Somehow it still conveys the serenity and awesome power of the ocean.

And yesterday in 76* weather 

Enjoying Life At The Beach - Wandering "Toes In The Water, Ass In The Sand" - Ain't Life Grand!

We've been adjusting to life in the RV. Living on the road comes with learning to relax into it and doing things our way, on our schedule.

Life is different when you are in a new location. It's sort of like moving someplace permanently but not really.  It's sort of a "gotcha" moment.  When you reside someplace permanently you want to learn about the place, the things it offers, the best and most affordable restaurants, cool things to do and about the people that live there.  But when you are a nomad (we're nomad interns) you know you are going to eventually move on at some point.  When you realize this you find yourself (maybe just I do this?) not wanting the whole story because you want to leave something to discover for the next time you are in that location.

You end up finding yourself doing things in "vacation" mode.  You try to cram in everything you can and want to do in a short period of time. Typically in the past it's been a vacation for "two weeks." 

Hey, we don't have to do that anymore, right?

It's weird but after our first eleven days in the RV I still find myself in "vacation" mode.  I've not yet relaxed into having time on my hands.  I haven't reached the point of being bored enough to find something fun to do. In fairness to myself the RV has had a series of small problems that had to be investigated, repaired or resolved. Each of the eleven days I have tackled one of these problems and have solved many of them.  However I still have a few to go.  My goal is to put them behind me by getting the repairs done so I don't have an excuse not to relax. I'm beginning to wonder if that will ever really happen.

We continue to learn the whole "unwinding" thing.  Martha is better at enjoying life than I am. She has had a daily walk on the beach and has nearly finished a book that she has carried around and not read for nearly a year.



Hey, I read a magazine yesterday and sat still nearly an hour to do it. That's progress right?
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As far as RV repairs this is what I have repaired, investigated and solved so far:

1. Freshwater tank wouldn't fill. It fills now albeit slowly. I found one slightly restricted hose.
2. I checked the battery compartment and found all of the house batteries low on electrolyte. While I was at it I took every cable off, cleaned and polished them, replaced them, cleaned the battery surfaces off and topped off each cell.
3. The toilet and the entire toilet room smells of urine. I think the previous owner must have had the "stand closer sweetie, it's shorter than you think" syndrome.  Despite repeated cleanings of the floor, underneath the plastic surround at the base of the toilet the smell remains.  I will pull the toilet next to see how bad the seal is and clean the area thoroughly.
4. Install a Chromecast on the main TV. Sound easy right? Not.  I had to take the overhead TV cabinet apart to gain access to the HDMI ports, snake the power cord through an impossibly full wire chase. and then put things back together.
5. Water pressure/flow was low at all faucets, toilet and shower. This resulted in my chasing the water lines from the city water hookup to each of the water outlets on the coach.  I found a deteriorated black rubber washer in the city water hookup. I was absolutely disintegrated. The pieces were distributed first in the fresh water whole house water filter. I removed the filter and put the housing back on. Next I took the screens off each faucet, and shower and ran water until all of the black washer particles quit coming out of the outlets.  I ran the toilet flushing system to do the same and then cleaned each faucet screen with vinegar to insure they were clean and flowing. That seems to have cured the low water flow issues.
6. The coaches fantastic fan controls are intermittent, I took the controls apart and tried to clean the push pin contactors. I need fine grit sandpaper to do it one more time. However, the controls now work with repeated pushing.
7. I checked all engine and transmissions fluids and found them all fine.
6. I've checked the tire pressure and filled as required.

I still haven't finished checking systems and will keep tabs as I complete tasks.

Cold Day Today - We Drove To Opal And Navarre Beach

It only got into the mid-fifties today. Not cold you say?  Try 54 degrees with a 22 knot wind. We decided to take a drive to Opal and Navarre Beaches.  Both stunning places to sea watch.

Tonight we are expected to drop below freezing so I have the basement heat on in the RV.  It's only supposed to be below freezing for a couple of hours but, better safe than sorry.

Still Getting Used To New Noises - Hyper-vigilance Is A Curse.

What a night

I slept well initially.  As older folks tend to do, I had get up and use the facilities in the wee hours of the night. Upon returning to bed I dozed off and was just about, to sleep when I heard a "bang." Instead of getting up and checking what it might be, I just laid there wondering in the warmth of the bed. Evidently this is the wrong answer when one is hyper-vigilant.

The result was keeping Martha (and myself) awake until the early morning hours tossing and turning and trying to regain some sense of calm and composure. I think I finally fell asleep around 3:00 am.

When I awoke this morning I found that the bang was a "command hook" that failed under the weight of my wife's purse.

So, now I sit and sip coffee and marvel at how stupid I am and what possesses some of my neighbors to be as stupid as they are, all while nodding off doing so.

This guy sat outside all evening lighting one stinky cheap cigar off the last.  He made my life stinky too. Damn I hate smokers.  And yes, I know he has a right to smoke outside and that it's my problem not his but I sure wish the wind had changed directions and blew the smoke back into his face.

Martha checking emails and making journal entries

Some more photos from yesterdays trip to the beach

We Walked Over To The Beach Today - It's A Wondrous Place

No words required

Sunset on the Dunes of Pensacola Beach

Water Woes - Part Deux

I posted earlier about our fresh water tank not filling. After many Google searches and posting on iRV2 in the Newmar forum and on the Escapees discussion board I decided to start my up close and personal checks of tanks and hoses.  I started on the curbside tanks which are accessed behind the peg board bay.

Once I took all the parts out and checked things I found there are no problems on this side of the coach. I did however find that the all three tanks (fresh, black and grey) had level sensors loose from the tanks. I temporarily repaired them using "fix anything tape."  I will now need to tackle the roadside wet bay to inspect things.  This is going to be a huge pain in the butt. However, it is required to find the leak, kink or missing parts.

In the mean time we are on Santa Rosa Island at Pensacola beach in the Fort Pickens Camground at the Gulf Shores National Seashore.

In a word "beautiful."

Rain, Rain Go Away

Today we made it to Biloxi some eighty three miles from yesterdays stay in Madisionville, La.  Today we had good conditions for travel but it started raining raing about 1pm and still hasn't stopped.  We are at the Boomtown Casino RV Park.

It's a nice place with concrete slabs that are too small width wise. Our RV parked all the way to the driverside for hook ups yielded about a foot of excess slab on the curbside. The plus is that all sites are a full hook ups.  A bonus is that the site we've got is a pull through site, easy peasy.

Tomorrow checkout is 12 pm. We hope to sleep in.  After waking we will be moving to Ft. Pickens, Florida for 14 days on the beach.  I will add photos of Boomtown RV Park tomorrow.

Camping In A Swamp - Or, Rub A Dub, Dub There's An RV In The Tub

Good grief, first water problems in the RV (still not solved). Then water problems at our Louisiana campground.

We stayed in Fairview Riverside State Park, Madisonville, Louisiana for the last two days.  It is one of our favorite places to camp. Live Oaks and River Oaks dripping with Spanish moss, the beautiful Tchefuncte (Cha Funk Ta) River on the West side of the park and running water, everywhere.

The first day and evening were great. We got set up, went for a walk, cooked dinner and made a campfire to have a few drinks by.  About 8:30 I went to stoke the fire and stepped in water that had not been there previously, WTF?

Fairview is built in a low lying area and is surround by swamp that borders the river. About the same time I was discovering the water a ranger stopped by the RV. He told us that the river was backing up because of strong winds at the mouth of it forcing the water back up river. He said it wasn't critical and we would be ok.  Right.

This morning I awoke to a newly formed moat. That's not rainwater folks, that is rising water in a swamp.  The kicker was it was before coffee.

We've Left On Our First Of Many Adventures - On The Way To Ft. Pickens

Well we've done it. We are on the road for a month preparing ourselves and our coach for full timing starting in June of 2017.  We rented a tow dolly to see how it worked with towing Martha's car. So far so good but mounting the car on the dolly is truly a pain in the ass.

Our 9:30 departure from Fayetteville was delayed by nearly an hour by a leveling jack that refused to retract. I had to manually release it using the solenoid valve under the hood.  Once that was solved we got the tow dolly from UHaul and started south.  We are currently in the Harrow's Casino parking lot just across the Mississippi in Greenville, MS.

We had a somewhat dissatisfying dinner and gambled away $20 total but hey, we're boondocking for free. This place has truck parking and a large parking lot that you can pull your coach into. They (security) suggest the truck lot on busy nights.

The next stop for us is at Fairview Riverside Park in Madisonville, Louisiana and our favorite restaurant on the planet "Mortons Seafood" on the Tchefuncte River.  We are there for two nights and then head to Biloxi, Ms.for a night and finally to Ft. Pickens. Florida for two weeks. I will do my best to take some photos tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Chasing RV System Problems or "Water War's"

Yep, water woes.  Lets start with the black water system.  I noticed while we were in Fredricksburg, Texas that my black water outlet had sewage backed up against the cap. I got a sewage shower when I took the cap off. In a word, YUCK!

So, yesterday I took the blade valve out and noticed that the seals were fine on one side but the other had been pinched and deformed on installation.  I did my best to work out the deformity and put the valve back into place.  I need a complete new valve or new seals.  So, before leaving on the 4th I will purchase one or the other and install them when we get to warmer climes.

Next up is the fresh water tank.  We want some water in the tank for quick showers and toilet use when we leave for Florida.  The old water was "funky" or as my son said "It tastes like ass."  I'm afraid to ask him how he knows that.....

Today I tried to fill the fresh water tank and thought things were goings "swimmingly" until water started to seep out of the floor above my wet bay.  I knew that wasn't supposed to happen so I shut the water off and scrambled inside to find water under my bathroom vanity.  Again, it's not supposed to do that, right?

In our coach's wet bay there is a valve that you change to use city water or water from the fresh water tank.  I switched it counter clockwise as shown to allow the tank to fill, after a few minutes the water came through the floor.  I turned off the pump and went inside and then the pump wouldn't prime. A V-8 moment came after reading the directions in our RV's manual (do real men read directions?).

So, I went back out the coach and switched the valve back to the clockwise position LIKE THE MANUAL said to do. Voila! Water came from the faucets.

Now the mysterious part. I ran the water to fill the tank for maybe 10 minutes. I go to the information panel and check the levels and the water tank is almost empty. So, where did the water go?

It's dark outside now and it's cold. But off I will go to inspect the basement bays and see if that's where the water went. Wish me luck.

First Camp Out In Our New RV - Fredricksburg, Tx.

We departed Fayetteville Saturday evening to be in Rio Vista, Tx.  We left the following morning from my brother in laws house and headed to Fredricksburg, Tx.  The coach handled pretty well in Texas Hill Country but was a handful in cross winds.

We arrived at Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park in Fredricksburg about 4:30 in the afternoon and immediately set out for downtown, dinner and a beer (or six).  Our campsite is adjacent to the city airfield. The park is old but well cared for, with clean bathrooms and showers. Costs are $40 nightly with full hook ups.  If you are a stickler for absolute quite you will find it difficult to stay here. There is a medium sized city airport next to the park and aircraft of all shapes and sizes take off from here at all hours of the day and night. I will qualify this statement by saying that the traffic dies down after 10 pm.

Our RV camping spot in Fredricksburg, Texas

We camped with my brother in law and his girls. The two girls slept in the RV with us and my son Brad and my B.I.L. slept in tents outside.  We even had time for a trip to Luckenbach, Tx. to visit Waylon, Willie and the boys.

It was a hopping place. They even had chickens!

On the plus side they did have ice cold beer.

First Trip In The Class A - Driving from Alvarado, TX. to Fayetteville, AR.

Well we took possession of our coach and drove away from Alvarado, Tx. on Thursday afternoon the 17th.  I left around 3:40 pm in time for monumental traffic jams, extremely narrow chicane type construction diversions, 2.5 hour slow downs due to wrecks and extreme winds in the Lake Eufala area.  So, what should have been a 7 hour drive turned into an 10.5 hour drive.

The scariest part was the construction diversions and wind gusting to 50 mph at Lake Eufala from my right side. Down right miserable driving. The coach was doing involuntary lane changes, drifting all over the road and I could not let my guard down for a second. I did seven stops along the way to relax.

When I got home I virtually collapsed in a tired heap.