With all the "excitement" of our purchase we looked forward to our first outing with both anticipation and trepidation. I mean face it... things have not actually gone that smoothly to date.
The big weekend was fast approaching and in the spirit of that "hey we really are not that intelligent" attitude that has gotten us into this situation. our first camp will be a dry camping experience near the roots of our journey in a suburb of Chicago. Our daughter's first equestrian event of the season came at a time when none of the state parks were open for the season yet and the horse park did not have hookups available. No problem!
The weekend prior to the event we de-winterize the beast and take it for a test drive. We fill up with diesel, which at $4.00 a gallon was not pleasant and weigh the rig for the first time. That was kind of cool. 21000 lbs approximately in a mostly unloaded state.
We then proceed to have a "redneck" picnic by parking next to the semi's and popping the slide out and proceeding to relax at the lovely truck stop for the next hour while we enjoy our sandwiches and the wonderful concrete parking lot view. Oh yeah, did I mention in earlier blogs that one of the hydraulic levelers is leaking fluid? Repair estimates are around $800 I believe to replace it. $800 buys a lot of hydraulic fluid.
The big day comes around. We spend a few hours basically moving out of our house and into the RV and finally hit the road for the 4 hour drive at about 1:30. We have to stop for propane first and top off the tanks. As we go to hit the road we of course realize we had forgotten critical items so have to back track. Again, true to form, over an hour into our 4 hour drive we are still 4 hours away from our destination.
Seeing that I work from a home office, I set up shop at the dining table in the beast while my wife sets out. I have to say the Android application pdanet is fantastic. By tethering my phone to my laptop I can virtually work anywhere including the interstate at 70mph. Of course this is easier said than done.
As we head down the interstate the wind and weather continue to worsen. Wind gusts at 30 to 40mph are of course hitting the side of the RV like a sail and causing us to waddle down the interstate like a drunken goose. This seesawing action creates havoc on my ability to work in my portable office not to mention the stress it puts on Mary as the current captain of our rig. You know it must be bad when you stop to get gas at a truck stop and see the truckers muttering together in a cold sweat about the wind.
We press on and finally arrive at the horse park around 8:00. We are met by my daughter and her trainer who had arrived earlier that day and are escorted to our mud puddle, er I mean campsite. We setup, level the beast, pop the slide out and go about settling in. After numerous debates about how level the rv is we finally determine that our 21000lb rig is slowly settling into the mud. Eventually I guess we hit bedrock as we finally did get level and more or less stayed that way.
Oh yeah, it is really really cold out. We intermittently get pelted with sleet, rain or snow along with the wind. We go to bed, and being newby's decide it might not be a good idea to run the generator all night in order to get heat so we heat things up to something rivaling the surface of the sun, turn it all off and settle in for the night. Of course the sound of 4 sets of chattering teeth along with 3 dogs hogging all the blankets finally wake me up a few hours later to reheat the rig. And yes... I now know you don't have to run the generator to have heat.... who knew??? heh...
Saturday comes bright and early with a worsening of the weather. We spend the day outside watching our daughter and her friend ride in brutal weather conditions. They did great and I have to say having the RV was
everything we had hoped for. It was fantastic having a place to get out of the weather and relax and get something to eat.
Saturday afternoon we discovered that evidently we didn't reach bed rock the day before and with the steadily worsening mud hole under and beside the beast we pack up and move across the parking lot to higher and hopefully more stable ground.
Saturday evening we host a small party in the RV and have 6 adults 2 teenagers and 4 dogs. Surprisingly it was not too crowded.
Sunday comes and we discover that the shower is not draining. Evidently the grey tank is now completely full. How is this even possible? I can only hope that when it was dewinterized they did not fully empty the tank. We now go in search of a dump station... No such luck... yuck... I don't get my shower... The scene from Christmas Vacation comes to mind here, where is cousin Eddie when you need him?
Other than me being somewhat smelly, Sunday goes very smoothly all in all. The horse events were amazing and the girls did great!
The trip home was fairly uneventful with the exception of having to dodge an entire wheel that flew off a semi in front of me and proceeded to race down the interstate before crashing into a mud puddle like a bomb had gone off. I tell you that beats the heck out of a shot of espresso for waking you up!
This leads me to what I have been dreading since the beginning. The dreaded dump station... I had discovered that the hoses I had purchased were not complete and had to spend 30 minutes or so finagling it to work. We pull up, park and I proceed to hook up with major trepidation and visions of a sewer hose going wild and bouncing around like an out of control fire hose. I open the black tank and indeed the hose does pulse like something grotesquely alive but thankfully avoid the major poop storm of my fears. I then flush the tank with the grey water. Surprisingly this process is going flawlessly, until I hear my wife screaming for help on the other side of the rig. Evidently she was walking the dogs when they decided to bolt causing her to go flying face and hip first into the street and traffic while the dogs go pelting for the interstate. I of course look like a demented evil doctor or something as I come running round the rv with my rubber gloves pulled almost up to my elbows to find out what happened. Mary climbs out of the street, traffic resumes and we finally catch the dogs. I unhook, stow the hoses and drive home...
Our first camping trip was a success... Next one in 2 weeks 9 hours away but we at least have electrical at this one...
Oh yeah..the black tank still shows 3/4 full?? I can only surmise that "something" must be stuck in the tank... Ugh. now what?
The Beast
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Preparing
Well the dealer came through and reimbursed me for the alternator. I am very happy with them and will make an effort to return to shop with them in the future. Camping World out of Waukonda IL. I highly recommend them. Excellent service department as well. Jon Murphy was our Sales guy so ask for him if you go there and tell him I recommended him.
We have all the "stuff" ready to organize in "The Beast" and just need the weather to warm up a bit. I think our first foray will be to a state park 30 minutes from home... I know... kind of a wimpy distance but hey if it goes like our trip home did it will still take us 2 hours to get there. We have a 17 hour trip planned for this summer so I need as much practice as possible between now and then....
Check List:
RV for Dummy's read - Check!
Idiots Guide to RV'ing read -- Check!
Woodall's RV Owners Handbook ready for reference -- Check!
Camping Grill -- Check
Propane tanks filled -- Check
Sewer hose - Check
Rubber Gloves - Check
Water Hose - Check...
Power adapters - Check
Backing up practice --- nah... I'll wing it...
Still looking for some type of portable fence for the dogs. I think I like the one at Pet Smart.
Ready to hit the road!
We have all the "stuff" ready to organize in "The Beast" and just need the weather to warm up a bit. I think our first foray will be to a state park 30 minutes from home... I know... kind of a wimpy distance but hey if it goes like our trip home did it will still take us 2 hours to get there. We have a 17 hour trip planned for this summer so I need as much practice as possible between now and then....
Check List:
RV for Dummy's read - Check!
Idiots Guide to RV'ing read -- Check!
Woodall's RV Owners Handbook ready for reference -- Check!
Camping Grill -- Check
Propane tanks filled -- Check
Sewer hose - Check
Rubber Gloves - Check
Water Hose - Check...
Power adapters - Check
Backing up practice --- nah... I'll wing it...
Still looking for some type of portable fence for the dogs. I think I like the one at Pet Smart.
Ready to hit the road!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Patron Saint of Camping and Hiking
A friend was kind enough to inform me that St George is actually the patron saint of camping and hiking. In addition he is know for the slaying of a dragon. All of which may come in handy with our future camping plans.
Hmmm... this does make me wonder whether I should have chosen the Georgie Boy over the Fleetwood.... Perhaps instead of "The Beast" I should now start referring to my RV as "The Dragon" in the hopes that my problems have now been slain?...
Compliments of Lord Robert Baden-Powell who founded the Scouts and made St George the patron saint of the scouting movement. I found his poem to be very appropriate for our new found hobby.
My warmest good wishes I am sending to you
And hoping that the winter is through
You will start out afresh to follow the lead
Of our Patron Saint George and his spirited steed;
Not only to tackle what ever may befall,
But also successfully to win through it all
And then may you have an enjoyable spell
Of hiking, and jolly good camping as well.
Hmmm... this does make me wonder whether I should have chosen the Georgie Boy over the Fleetwood.... Perhaps instead of "The Beast" I should now start referring to my RV as "The Dragon" in the hopes that my problems have now been slain?...
Compliments of Lord Robert Baden-Powell who founded the Scouts and made St George the patron saint of the scouting movement. I found his poem to be very appropriate for our new found hobby.
My warmest good wishes I am sending to you
And hoping that the winter is through
You will start out afresh to follow the lead
Of our Patron Saint George and his spirited steed;
Not only to tackle what ever may befall,
But also successfully to win through it all
And then may you have an enjoyable spell
Of hiking, and jolly good camping as well.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
The Verdict
So the problem with the Beast has been resolved although not without some comedy of it's own. I took it to Wholesale Repair in Marion Iowa. Fantastic place if you ever need some work done, I highly recommend them and they handle semi trucks so any size RV is not a problem.
The problem was due to a bad alternator, so several hundred dollars later we are back on the road to gather more material for what has become my therapy. They were very surprised that we were able to make it home from Chicago as we were running solely on batteries evidently... Beginners luck? or maybe nervous energy works as a type of alternator? hmmm.... I may be able to test this theory the first time I let Mary drive.
The comedic part of the situation is that evidently the mechanic could not get the door to unlock to enter the coach. To gain entry they had to climb a ladder and maneuver through the drivers side window which I had fortunately left unlocked. I sure wish I had been there to take pictures of that...
On the way home from the shop, we did pull into a church parking lot and played camper by leveling the rig and putting out the slide... Stayed just long enough to make the people inside worry we were settling in for the night....
Which brings me to wonder if there is a patron saint of RV's? I should check....
The problem was due to a bad alternator, so several hundred dollars later we are back on the road to gather more material for what has become my therapy. They were very surprised that we were able to make it home from Chicago as we were running solely on batteries evidently... Beginners luck? or maybe nervous energy works as a type of alternator? hmmm.... I may be able to test this theory the first time I let Mary drive.
The comedic part of the situation is that evidently the mechanic could not get the door to unlock to enter the coach. To gain entry they had to climb a ladder and maneuver through the drivers side window which I had fortunately left unlocked. I sure wish I had been there to take pictures of that...
On the way home from the shop, we did pull into a church parking lot and played camper by leveling the rig and putting out the slide... Stayed just long enough to make the people inside worry we were settling in for the night....
Which brings me to wonder if there is a patron saint of RV's? I should check....
Now What?
So sitting around in the RV in the front of our house has worn a bit thin, although still quite cool mind you... I decided that the prudent thing to do was to get the thing checked out by a mechanic. On the way to the shop, I did remember to try out the air horn which had me laughing hysterically each time I honked it. Memories of riding down the road as a kid on the way to family vacations giving the honk signal to truckers kept coming to mind. I am sure the local residents felt equally as thrilled as I was. I think it may be time to shop for a cool musical horn now as well.... My daughter of course was thrilled with this idea, at least I think that was what the eye roll signified.
Not to be daunted by the RV mechanical woes, we of course press on and continue shopping for all manner of "essential" gear. 3 hours and several stores later, we now have a plethora of collapsible Kitchen gadgets, organizers, tupperware, small travel ironing board and iron, vacuum cleaner, egg poacher... you name it! I think the national economy will recover just based on our support of the RV Dealers, shops, and the local stores. Mind you, we still don't have an RV to put this stuff in, so for now it is all stacked proudly in the middle of the living room floor!
I must say that I find this camping thing to be great fun so far!
Not to be daunted by the RV mechanical woes, we of course press on and continue shopping for all manner of "essential" gear. 3 hours and several stores later, we now have a plethora of collapsible Kitchen gadgets, organizers, tupperware, small travel ironing board and iron, vacuum cleaner, egg poacher... you name it! I think the national economy will recover just based on our support of the RV Dealers, shops, and the local stores. Mind you, we still don't have an RV to put this stuff in, so for now it is all stacked proudly in the middle of the living room floor!
I must say that I find this camping thing to be great fun so far!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Day 3
Day 3 finds us hanging out in "The Rig" , we really need to name this thing, outside the house. Kind of like mini camping... We fix coffee in the house, head out to the rig and just relax and wave at the neighbors as they head of to church wondering what in the hell the Smart's are doing now?... I realize I kind of like camping!
Finally, after we fully wake up, I decide I better see what the heck is going on with this thing. I phone up my pal Ricki, power up the monster and head over to his place to have him check it out.
Ricki proceeds to analyze the issue and narrows down the problem to 1. the chassis batteries, 2 a voltage regulator or 3 the alternator. All bets are on the alternator at this point... Ricki was great and manages to convince us that our purchase was not in vain and that the unit is great and with minor repairs we will be happy as clams.
I crank up the beast, and pay Ricki back by getting stuck in his yard backing up and plowing 2 beautiful ruts in his lovely landscaped yard on my way home....
What's camping without a little mud?
Finally, after we fully wake up, I decide I better see what the heck is going on with this thing. I phone up my pal Ricki, power up the monster and head over to his place to have him check it out.
Ricki proceeds to analyze the issue and narrows down the problem to 1. the chassis batteries, 2 a voltage regulator or 3 the alternator. All bets are on the alternator at this point... Ricki was great and manages to convince us that our purchase was not in vain and that the unit is great and with minor repairs we will be happy as clams.
I crank up the beast, and pay Ricki back by getting stuck in his yard backing up and plowing 2 beautiful ruts in his lovely landscaped yard on my way home....
What's camping without a little mud?
The One... part 2 or maybe I should say Number 2....
Throughout the week, we talk back and forth with the dealer, actually call Fleetwood and research the water damage.... The dealer addresses all our issues, reseals and checks the water damage and drops another $1000 of the price... It's a go...
We arrange to meet at the dealership at 11:00 the next Saturday....
We arrive at 10:30 and spend 1/2 hour looking through the unit to inspect the work.... All appears great.... 11:00 arrives and they are not ready for us for some reason... Remember we woke up at 5:00 am and jumped in the car... I eat an apple for breakfast and Mary has nothing... We are excited and get moving....
We shop... not a good idea....
Finally around noon they call us in and we sign our life away and yes do buy the add on roadside assistance....what the hell.. its only money....
Around 1:00 we are the owners of a 37 foot monstrosity... and start our demo...
This takes several hours as we are complete newbys.... We quickly glaze over with all their is too learn but press on...
It's now 3:00 and the demo is done... but hey --- what about the tow dolly? no one seems to know anything about it... 30 minutes later it is sorted out and brought in from the back lot completely frozen....
They sort it out, we hook up the car and tie it down.... I get about a 10 minute overview of how the thing works... How hard could it be?
It's 4:00, and while I was working on the dolly, Mary finishes shopping... $600 worth of accessories later we are loaded up and ready to start the big adventure.... Climb in the coach and wait, the steps are not retracting now? Is it user error? ummm no.... it's apparently a grounding issue. The tech comes out, climbs up under the rig and starts troubleshooting. By the way, it is like 20 degrees outside....
About an hour of this, they decide they need to pull the unit back into their repair bay to resolve it. A tech gets in, drives us off the lot to turn it around and suddenly a loud beeping noise starts! What the heck; I ask.... Evidently the system thinks the hydraulic jacks are down.... We are now maybe 4 hours into the joys of owning an RV....
We get back into the shop... the beeping is evidently just a fluid level issue quickly fixed....
The steps... a 5 hour hunt for a grounding issue which results in a new brain board, new wiring and grounds for the steps... No charge to us and I must say the Techs were Great and very accommodating having wasted their Saturday evening getting us going....
It's roughly 9:00pm... I have had an apple an a small yogurt since 5:00 am, Mary just a yogurt... but hey it's an adventure....
We set out.... a 4 hour tour, or I mean trip home...
Things start out good.... until we hit Lake Griswold... Yes I don't fail to see the irony... No can do Clark....
I turn to my wife and ask? Were we supposed to put the car in neutral to tow? Yes...I should have never opened my big mouth... Now we both start to freak out that her Lexus will be a total piece of junk by now.... We have to drive in total anxiousness for another 30 minutes just to find a spot to stop....
We get out... go look at the car... but what the hell do we know??? Should it be? We do the typical snap at each other stress response for 15 minutes and then leave it all the way it was and press on....
Next we hear a metallic jingling sound... What is that? I finally find a road to turn off onto, oops it's a class 2 road? Is that a problem? we have no idea... I stop on this residential street, get out and go look around for what is causing the noise....
Crap... one of the straps holding the car wheel to the tow dolly has come off completely and is wedged behind the tire... Did I mention that it is 20 degrees, pitch black, we have no flashlight, I am wearing my nice wool coat and I am on a narrow residential street?
So... armed with a flashlight app on our android phone, I climb under the car with my legs sticking into traffic while Mary tries to shine the "phone" up under the car.... It takes 30 minutes, but I finally get the strap unstuck and back on the tire....
Get back into the RV... turn the key... nothing.... Wait, didn't the tech say something about an aux battery start? I find the button, push it and crank... It starts!!!
We press on....
And get 2 blocks away, now Check Trans light comes on and I can't get out of 3rd gear....
Are you freaking kidding me????
I run a stop sign, least of our worries... turn down a no truck street, who cares??? Stop the rig, crap can't get it into Neutral.... Power it off.... use Aux Batteries again starts up... Things seem normal...
We press on....
Fuel Light comes on.... REALLY? REALLY? We find the Interstate... And drive, and drive, and drive, where is a diesel place??? Lunch? Dinner??? A stiff shot of whiskey???
What time is it now??? I think 11:00 pm? We finally see a truck stop... Pull off and pull into the diesel bay next to a big semi... Hey.. This is cool I think.... Fuel door is on the right side of the rig. Get out go the pump, looks kind of different from the gas pump, but what do we know....no dials or anything....
Hook up the hose and it won't pump. Maybe you have to prepay? Mary goes in with a credit card. Lady says it is on... Still nothing... Thankfully the nice semi driver takes pity on us and says... um you are in backwards.... Evidently there are 2 pumps for big rigs to fill faster.. The one on the other side is the control pump... So... I go over to it, pull it out, turn it on and just lay it down.... Now the other side pumps. So as I watch the meter, I keep yelling over the rig to Mary to let her know when to shut it off... Yes.... It was a ridiculous looking as it sounds but hey... we are way past the point of being bothered by embarrassing.... We are finally getting fuel and just want to get home.... and something to eat...
We finish fueling - $160 by the way get us 3/4 full.... We get a free cup of coffee! Is our luck changing?
What does this truck stop have to eat at 11:30? Evidently 3 day old Chicken Tender jerky and french fries... The lady takes pity on Mary and gives us like 10 lbs of it for $10 ... yummy... I think I need to see a dentist now... But Hey... here we are having our first meal in our new RV! Romantic huh? It would be if the alarm for the transmission didn't start sounding again.....
Stuck in 4th gear... batteries dieing... I once again have to power it down to try to reset it....
It starts, but it took 2 tries.... by the way, the tire straps were loose again.... I tightened them....
We press on....
3 hours into this 4 hour trip home we are still 3 hours away from home....
Things go smoother.... but wait, do the headlights seem to get brighter, then dimmer then brighter to you? I asked Mary....
Hmm... yeah... that's odd.
Oh well, we press on...
Does the radio work? Let's try? Yes or wait no, or wait yes... Hmmm... it also seems to cycle on and off....
Weird....
Check Trans!!! Crap!!!.... pull off..... reset.... Press on.....
5 hours into this 4 hour tour.... Do the lights seem dimmer to you? ummm... I can barely see the dash guages.... CHECK TRANS!!!!! 4th gear...... 40 miles per hour on the Interstate.... We pull off.....
Reset....
Press on.....
I can't tell you how many times this continues to happen.... Finally 3:00 am, 22 hours after starting this adventure we pull up to our house.... Park and the rig with car takes up darn near our entire street front...
But hey... We are home, and we are the proud owners of a 37 foot Motorhome....
We press on.....
We arrange to meet at the dealership at 11:00 the next Saturday....
We arrive at 10:30 and spend 1/2 hour looking through the unit to inspect the work.... All appears great.... 11:00 arrives and they are not ready for us for some reason... Remember we woke up at 5:00 am and jumped in the car... I eat an apple for breakfast and Mary has nothing... We are excited and get moving....
We shop... not a good idea....
Finally around noon they call us in and we sign our life away and yes do buy the add on roadside assistance....what the hell.. its only money....
Around 1:00 we are the owners of a 37 foot monstrosity... and start our demo...
This takes several hours as we are complete newbys.... We quickly glaze over with all their is too learn but press on...
It's now 3:00 and the demo is done... but hey --- what about the tow dolly? no one seems to know anything about it... 30 minutes later it is sorted out and brought in from the back lot completely frozen....
They sort it out, we hook up the car and tie it down.... I get about a 10 minute overview of how the thing works... How hard could it be?
It's 4:00, and while I was working on the dolly, Mary finishes shopping... $600 worth of accessories later we are loaded up and ready to start the big adventure.... Climb in the coach and wait, the steps are not retracting now? Is it user error? ummm no.... it's apparently a grounding issue. The tech comes out, climbs up under the rig and starts troubleshooting. By the way, it is like 20 degrees outside....
About an hour of this, they decide they need to pull the unit back into their repair bay to resolve it. A tech gets in, drives us off the lot to turn it around and suddenly a loud beeping noise starts! What the heck; I ask.... Evidently the system thinks the hydraulic jacks are down.... We are now maybe 4 hours into the joys of owning an RV....
We get back into the shop... the beeping is evidently just a fluid level issue quickly fixed....
The steps... a 5 hour hunt for a grounding issue which results in a new brain board, new wiring and grounds for the steps... No charge to us and I must say the Techs were Great and very accommodating having wasted their Saturday evening getting us going....
It's roughly 9:00pm... I have had an apple an a small yogurt since 5:00 am, Mary just a yogurt... but hey it's an adventure....
We set out.... a 4 hour tour, or I mean trip home...
Things start out good.... until we hit Lake Griswold... Yes I don't fail to see the irony... No can do Clark....
I turn to my wife and ask? Were we supposed to put the car in neutral to tow? Yes...I should have never opened my big mouth... Now we both start to freak out that her Lexus will be a total piece of junk by now.... We have to drive in total anxiousness for another 30 minutes just to find a spot to stop....
We get out... go look at the car... but what the hell do we know??? Should it be? We do the typical snap at each other stress response for 15 minutes and then leave it all the way it was and press on....
Next we hear a metallic jingling sound... What is that? I finally find a road to turn off onto, oops it's a class 2 road? Is that a problem? we have no idea... I stop on this residential street, get out and go look around for what is causing the noise....
Crap... one of the straps holding the car wheel to the tow dolly has come off completely and is wedged behind the tire... Did I mention that it is 20 degrees, pitch black, we have no flashlight, I am wearing my nice wool coat and I am on a narrow residential street?
So... armed with a flashlight app on our android phone, I climb under the car with my legs sticking into traffic while Mary tries to shine the "phone" up under the car.... It takes 30 minutes, but I finally get the strap unstuck and back on the tire....
Get back into the RV... turn the key... nothing.... Wait, didn't the tech say something about an aux battery start? I find the button, push it and crank... It starts!!!
We press on....
And get 2 blocks away, now Check Trans light comes on and I can't get out of 3rd gear....
Are you freaking kidding me????
I run a stop sign, least of our worries... turn down a no truck street, who cares??? Stop the rig, crap can't get it into Neutral.... Power it off.... use Aux Batteries again starts up... Things seem normal...
We press on....
Fuel Light comes on.... REALLY? REALLY? We find the Interstate... And drive, and drive, and drive, where is a diesel place??? Lunch? Dinner??? A stiff shot of whiskey???
What time is it now??? I think 11:00 pm? We finally see a truck stop... Pull off and pull into the diesel bay next to a big semi... Hey.. This is cool I think.... Fuel door is on the right side of the rig. Get out go the pump, looks kind of different from the gas pump, but what do we know....no dials or anything....
Hook up the hose and it won't pump. Maybe you have to prepay? Mary goes in with a credit card. Lady says it is on... Still nothing... Thankfully the nice semi driver takes pity on us and says... um you are in backwards.... Evidently there are 2 pumps for big rigs to fill faster.. The one on the other side is the control pump... So... I go over to it, pull it out, turn it on and just lay it down.... Now the other side pumps. So as I watch the meter, I keep yelling over the rig to Mary to let her know when to shut it off... Yes.... It was a ridiculous looking as it sounds but hey... we are way past the point of being bothered by embarrassing.... We are finally getting fuel and just want to get home.... and something to eat...
We finish fueling - $160 by the way get us 3/4 full.... We get a free cup of coffee! Is our luck changing?
What does this truck stop have to eat at 11:30? Evidently 3 day old Chicken Tender jerky and french fries... The lady takes pity on Mary and gives us like 10 lbs of it for $10 ... yummy... I think I need to see a dentist now... But Hey... here we are having our first meal in our new RV! Romantic huh? It would be if the alarm for the transmission didn't start sounding again.....
Stuck in 4th gear... batteries dieing... I once again have to power it down to try to reset it....
It starts, but it took 2 tries.... by the way, the tire straps were loose again.... I tightened them....
We press on....
3 hours into this 4 hour trip home we are still 3 hours away from home....
Things go smoother.... but wait, do the headlights seem to get brighter, then dimmer then brighter to you? I asked Mary....
Hmm... yeah... that's odd.
Oh well, we press on...
Does the radio work? Let's try? Yes or wait no, or wait yes... Hmmm... it also seems to cycle on and off....
Weird....
Check Trans!!! Crap!!!.... pull off..... reset.... Press on.....
5 hours into this 4 hour tour.... Do the lights seem dimmer to you? ummm... I can barely see the dash guages.... CHECK TRANS!!!!! 4th gear...... 40 miles per hour on the Interstate.... We pull off.....
Reset....
Press on.....
I can't tell you how many times this continues to happen.... Finally 3:00 am, 22 hours after starting this adventure we pull up to our house.... Park and the rig with car takes up darn near our entire street front...
But hey... We are home, and we are the proud owners of a 37 foot Motorhome....
We press on.....
The One....
After weeks of online searching, attending RV shows, talking to Dealers and corresponding with private sellers we finally find "The One".... It is a 1998 Fleetwood 37 Diesel Pusher located 4 hours from us near Chicago at a dealer.
Since it is so far and our weekends are very busy, we negotiate from a distance contingent on our inspection for a price. If we drive 4 hours and like it, we want to take it that day to avoid making the trip twice. Deal seemed great! $4000 under NADA, has all the options AND they are throwing in a used tow dolly... Yes... I said a tow dolly, it is not enough that we will be driving a 37 foot monstrosity with absolutely no experience, WE have to add another 13 feet or so to the dang thing making something like a 50 foot train going down the road... I never said we were intelligent....
So... we drive to the dealer last Saturday... The salesmen neglects to tell us until 3 hours into our trip, even though we have spoken first thing that morning, that the unit is actually not going to be ready that day as they have to replace some part... Of course we are not thrilled, but since we are 3 hours into the trip we push on...
The unit is supposed to be Pristine!
We inspect it and indeed it is in a very clean condition... Being very thorough researches we come armed with a checklist of things to inspect. We spend 2 hours or so going over the unit from wheels to roof. We find, some rust which is to be expected, some seals on the roof that were a bit old and worn and more alarming was a bulging ridge running vertically to the left of the window by the door... This was coupled with some mild water damage evidence inside at the same location. This was obviously concerning.
But we take it in stride and press on... We inspect the interior... very clean. Minor issue with the dinette table.
We drive it... No issues, huge but we survived, however it took my wife and the salesmen to pry my fingers from the armrest after Mary finishes her test drive.... Why are we doing this? Because we started it and hey, we always finish what we start....
We leave with a list of issues that we want checked out, chief of which is an explanation of the water issue...
13 hour day.... and a Saturday gone forever....
Since it is so far and our weekends are very busy, we negotiate from a distance contingent on our inspection for a price. If we drive 4 hours and like it, we want to take it that day to avoid making the trip twice. Deal seemed great! $4000 under NADA, has all the options AND they are throwing in a used tow dolly... Yes... I said a tow dolly, it is not enough that we will be driving a 37 foot monstrosity with absolutely no experience, WE have to add another 13 feet or so to the dang thing making something like a 50 foot train going down the road... I never said we were intelligent....
So... we drive to the dealer last Saturday... The salesmen neglects to tell us until 3 hours into our trip, even though we have spoken first thing that morning, that the unit is actually not going to be ready that day as they have to replace some part... Of course we are not thrilled, but since we are 3 hours into the trip we push on...
The unit is supposed to be Pristine!
We inspect it and indeed it is in a very clean condition... Being very thorough researches we come armed with a checklist of things to inspect. We spend 2 hours or so going over the unit from wheels to roof. We find, some rust which is to be expected, some seals on the roof that were a bit old and worn and more alarming was a bulging ridge running vertically to the left of the window by the door... This was coupled with some mild water damage evidence inside at the same location. This was obviously concerning.
But we take it in stride and press on... We inspect the interior... very clean. Minor issue with the dinette table.
We drive it... No issues, huge but we survived, however it took my wife and the salesmen to pry my fingers from the armrest after Mary finishes her test drive.... Why are we doing this? Because we started it and hey, we always finish what we start....
We leave with a list of issues that we want checked out, chief of which is an explanation of the water issue...
13 hour day.... and a Saturday gone forever....
The Hunt for our RV
Over the past few years we have considered buying an RV for a variety of reasons. Our daughter is very big into horses and is traveling around the Midwest going to 3-day eventing shows throughout the spring and summer. Since these shows are often in remote areas we decided it would be nice to have a small RV to be able to get out of the weather, cook, have a clean bathroom and a place to keep our dogs. We also thought "hey camping might be fun"....
Being new to this, we figured the smaller the RV is the better, so we started looking at class B van types. Since we pull a horse trailer it quickly became apparent that these units were too underpowered to handle the weight. Ok... so Class C's....
No... they also were not powerful enough.... Now we are at the Class A... And everything indicates -- Diesel as they are much more powerful...
So, the hunt rapidly and radically changed from 12 feet to 24 feet to Holy Crap 35 feet or more.... At this point, normal people would have decided screw it... whats wrong with sitting out in the weather with no place to go to the bathroom or cook? Not us... Yesterday we became the "proud?" owners of a 37 Foot 12 year old Class A Diesel Pusher.... Have we ever driven anything this big? nooooooo, do we have a clue how the unit works? nooooooo
Read on for our experiences....
Being new to this, we figured the smaller the RV is the better, so we started looking at class B van types. Since we pull a horse trailer it quickly became apparent that these units were too underpowered to handle the weight. Ok... so Class C's....
No... they also were not powerful enough.... Now we are at the Class A... And everything indicates -- Diesel as they are much more powerful...
So, the hunt rapidly and radically changed from 12 feet to 24 feet to Holy Crap 35 feet or more.... At this point, normal people would have decided screw it... whats wrong with sitting out in the weather with no place to go to the bathroom or cook? Not us... Yesterday we became the "proud?" owners of a 37 Foot 12 year old Class A Diesel Pusher.... Have we ever driven anything this big? nooooooo, do we have a clue how the unit works? nooooooo
Read on for our experiences....
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