$$$ Are Flying Out Of Our Wallet

Austin, TX (rainy, cold, 42 degrees)

We enjoy our fulltiming lifestyle and sharing some of the beautiful places we visit. RV maintenance is another part of it and the most challenging and expensive. John is very handy and can handle some of this and we also  budget for maintenance and emergencies. This time it was more than expected. It's important in Florida to schedule maintenance appointments way in advance. One place we have received good service is Cummins in Ocala Florida. 

We have a big adventure ahead of us (Alaska) and made an appointment to have a checkup with them four months ago. Filters, oils, and a grease job were completed. All went well until at checkout. We were told the exhaust manifold was leaking and they did not have time to fix it.  Our schedule did not have a lot of wiggle room and the soonest they could get us in was late February.  Good grief.  We called several surrounding Cummins locations and finally got an appointment with one in Kenner Louisiana. The only snag was we could not stay in the rig and the refrigerator had to be turned off. Oh, and it was close to Mardi Gras. Trying to find a reasonable hotel was not easy but luckily we snagged a nice room at the nearby Navy Base.  We gave all our food away at Betty's RV Park and headed back for the service appointment. 

They ordered our parts ahead of time and were very efficient and helpful to us upon arrival. The manifold was to take two days but soon they told us the exhaust needed a major repair and parts would have to be ordered.  Now we were getting very close to Mardi Gras and the price tag just doubled. After four days we were able to pick it up and scooted out of town just prior to the big crazy event. 

WW II Museum (photo from website)

During our waiting time we did visit the World War II museum in New Orleans. What an amazing museum. It took most of the day to just see the highlights. If you go be sure to pay extra ($5) to see the movie narrated by Tom Hanks. It's 4-D and took five years to complete. It's a huge museum and it takes you through each of the conflicts in a timeline as you walk through it. There are lots of testimonials you can listen to which were fascinating. 

We also visited the site of the Battle of New Orleans in Chalmette. The ranger spent a lot of time with us explaining all that had occurred at this historic site. Be sure to watch the movie. It is well done. One of the great benefits of fulltiming is visiting the places which were important to the history of our country. 

We left New Orleans and all seemed to be going well until the fuel filter light went off. We arrived late in the evening and John went out in the rain and cold to see if he could change it. The filter was hard to remove and the filter wrench he was using suddenly cut the filter and diesel fuel poured all over him. Good grief. It took forever to get him and the ground cleaned up. 

The next day we left and John even got out of the motorhome a couple of times and walked around to be sure all was OK. We arrived at the state park in Austin Texas and as we backed into the site we found the jeep, kayaks, and the inside and outside of the back of the motorhome covered in thick oil. What a mess. Oh, and again it was sleeting and so cold. We called a local mobile mechanic and he recommend calling Cummins in the morning in Austin. It took us two days to get in and  all that time to wash the jeep and motorhome. We had to stop at Walmart to get some special stuff to get the oil off and other stuff to try and remove the diesel fuel from Johns clothes from the previous day.  What a mess.

John was worried that another expensive repair was ahead of us and we had a deadline to meet in Albuquerque for doctors appointments. Luckily it turned out to be an easy fix. They found a bolt was not tightened down on the turbo which caused the big leak. The even better news was the Cummins in Kenner picked up the cost of the repair without us even having to ask. So, we are back on the road heading to Albuquerque with fingers crossed.  

Repairs and Maintenance - A Tale of Trial and Tribulation

One thing you learn very quickly as an RV owner is that "stuff happens"  Suddenly our electric water heater quit working.  Luckily it still works by using the propane so we are not without hot water.  The weather was a little warmer yesterday and easier to work outside.  We will soon be on the road again so John decided to tackle this project. 

Day One - Process of elimination

John first watched a video (water heater maintenance) that we purchased at the Escapee rally.  One of the presenters was the RV Professor and he sold a variety of "how to" video's.   They are very well done and demonstrate how to do a lot of maintenance yourself.  Having work done at a dealership is very expensive and that's if you are lucky enough to get an appointment.  After a phone call to Suburban (the water heater manufacturer) John thought it was most likely the heating element.  They recommended a local dealer for the parts.  

We also wanted to replace the anode rod due to the recommendation that this be changed every six months as a full timer.  We had the rod but not the tool to take the heating element out.  Two trips later he was ready to start the project.

In the meantime, I decided to cook some Snickerdoodle cookies as a surprise for him (they are his favorites) and to also work on dinner.  Have you ever cooked without water?   There were dishes stacked almost up to the ceiling. 

Have you ever baked cookies in a convection oven?  It will only hold one cookie sheet and baked six cookies at a time  It was a labor of love and lesson in patience.  :) However, they turned out really well and the  RV smelled like cinnamon.

John  quickly installed the rod and heating element just as it was getting dark.  He came inside and turned on the water heater and it unfortunately it still did not work.  Good Grief!



Good news - we now have a spare heating element!  That is always a handy thing to have on hand. He also was able to flush out the water tank.  The campground in Indy had very rusty water and flushing the tank will hopefully extend its life. 

Day Two - Plan B

There were more phone calls  and with the help of a very friendly & knowledgeable RV tech, John now believes it is the thermostat.  The cover was almost impossible to remove.  Upon inspection it looks like this is the problem. After many more phone calls he was able to locate the part.  Remember-its almost Christmas and a lot of places are closed. 

Part was obtained, quickly installed and ...drum roll please.....it works!  Good job John!  He is gaining more confidence and patience each day.  Have another Snickerdoodle honey!

Renovations & Maintenance

(Greenfield) We ordered some very cool shades called Magne Shades for our coach at the Escapee Rally in Goshen.  They are held to your windows by very strong magnets.  They arrived this week and they were very easy to install.  They come in a variety of colors and patterns.  You can even custom design your own.





Installing front and side shade

 


Entry door shades




Front view.  Note windshield wiper covers

They are very easy to put up and take down.  Inside our coach you can see out. However, you can not see in our coach from the outside during the day.  It dramatically decreased the temperature in our coach after installing.  This is sure to come in handy when we are in Florida and Arizona.  We really like them.

Here is a video demonstration  I found on U-Tube.

John went back to Amish country (Topeka, Indiana) to pick up my wall hugging recliner from Lambright. It fits perfectly in the living room and is very comfortable. Notice the emphases on "my" :). It takes up far less space and does not hit the wall like our previous one.

Our friend Al (see previous 5/11/10 post) came by to help John change the oil in the diesel engine and the generator.  He was able to get  the filters at a great discount for us.  It took 6 gallons of oil.  Amazing!  It was sort of a messy job but with Al's great guidance we saved a lot of money.  John said it was much easier to do than he had anticipated. 

Oops, a little oil on the top knot!

Thanks again Al for all your help!