What Went Wrong

Well, if you’re an RVer, or even if you aren’t, you know things don’t always go as planned when you’re off on a trip.  We had a few things go wrong; thankfully nothing that couldn’t be fixed and, thankfully, nothing that caused any bodily harm.

I guess the most traumatic incident was that trip I made to the ER in Colorado Springs.  As we were driving over to the hospital, I was making a plan on how we were going to get back to Nashville after my open heart surgery.  That scare turned out to be altitude sickness so I didn’t need surgery after all.  However, that little trip to the ER and subsequent visit to the cardiologist hit the pocketbook to the tune of over $2000.  That almost caused a heart attack for sure.

This is a close runner up to the most traumatic incident--having the motor home towed from Trinidad to Colorado Springs.  That was when the oil light came on and we thought the engine was shot.  That almost caused a heart attack, too.  Turned out to be just a malfunction in the dash lights and Ford covered all expenses including the tow, labor, and hotel room while our motor home was in the shop.

I guess the next would have to be the flat tire along the Dempster Highway.  It wasn’t anything that was unexpected and we were prepared for it, but a flat tire anywhere anytime is a big deal.  At least it was on the car and not the motor home.  Once again, a great big thinks to the RCMP and the road service crew on the Dempster for being right there and taking care of us.

The water heater is finally fixed after months without hot water.  The particular incident which occurred on this trip was the mother board went out.  That probably would have happened whether we were traveling or not.  The good folks at the repair center in Wasilla took good care of us on that one.  They also looked for a leak in the shower, but couldn’t find one.  Didn’t even charge us for looking.  How great is that?  However, we did have a leak and Gene finally found it.  He applied a little extra caulking to the inside of the shower and so far so good.

Speaking of water, we still have that water leak somewhere around the bedroom slide.  Haven’t nailed that one down yet, but plan to have the rig pressurized when we get back to Nashville to find that leak.  It’s major and something we need to have fixed.  Until then, if there is rain in the forecast, we park just a little off level with the bedroom slide on the down side.  Keeps the water from running in.  We called the factory in Elkhart, Indiana, but they’re booked until November.  Forget that.  They recommended our own dealer in Nashville.  That was good to hear.

Then there was the time the furnace quit running.  That was all related to the thermostat which controls the AC and furnace.  That problem actually started in Florida last winter.  The folks in Edmonton put in a new thermostat and all is well now.  I’ve very glad, too since we’ve been using the AC everyday for a week now.

We finally broke down and bought a new car battery. We’ve had a dead battery twice. When we tow for 2 or 3 days in a row without driving the car, the battery runs down.  The Even Brake controller just drains too much of the battery.  We need to be more diligent about letting the car run at the end of a towing day for a longer period of time.

During our week in Winnipeg, Gene spent some of everyday rubbing on the motor home and car.  I am happy to report that he did not find any significant damage.  When we first got to the Yukon we got a rock chip on the windshield of the motor home which we had repaired.  We always drove with the Protect-a-Tow attached and other than a couple minor scratches on the car there is no damage.  We’ve decided to continue to use the Protect-a-Tow anytime we have the car attached.

What’s not working today--the awning doesn’t want to release on one side for some reason and the toilet bowl won’t hold water.  When we say it’s always something it really and truly is always something.

So, on a trip like this, the damage report is not so bad and in the scheme of things could have been a whole lot worse.  RV owners know that something always needs to be fixed.  That’s just the nature of the beast as frustrating as it is at times.  You can’t drive down America’s highways (or Canada’s) at 60 miles an hour and not have something come loose, fall off, or break.  After Wednesday’s drive down Manitoba route 75, I’m kinda surprised anything works at all.

That being said, it is still a bit discouraging to find the maintenance budget ($142 per month) over for the year by $1616. and this is only August.  Yikes.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for tagging along.