New! .... and improved.

Purchasing something new doesn't always mean purchasing something perfect. In fact, we've learned with our 2021 Columbus Compass series that there's a _reason_ the manufacturer gives you a 2 year bumper-to-bumper warranty; you're going to use it.  In fact, so far, the bumper might be the only thing we haven't had to put the rig back in the shop for!  

So, to help those who might be coming behind us in purchasing a new camper - just to give you a little insight, this is the list of items that we've had to return for service work within the first 3 months.

Things that needed fixing on the new camper:

• Warped bedroom door
• Leaking shower surround
• Gray water tank not closing
• Basement door not locking/latching
• Water leak in basement (twice) (um, three times)
• Hydraulic fluid rupture
• Hot water tank not heating (again)
• Status lights for tank levels not working
• Emergency exit back window won’t fully latch and lock closed
• Insulation hanging out from underbelly where cuts were made for other repairs 
• Closet doors not opening smoothly
• Fault on gas for water heater
• Fixed bedroom door not hitting it's latch to close
• Water leak in the bathroom sinks (twice)
• Heater not working properly
• Screws from the shower surround puncturing thru the fiberglass wall

So, what I can say, is how important is is to buy from a respectable dealer who has a GREAT SERVICE DEPARTMENT, otherwise, you might find yourself sitting at home with your camper in the shop more often than sitting with your camper at a camp ground.

Once again, we're huge fans of Ron Hoover in Katy, TX - though our relationship with them got off to a rocky start, they have made up for it in spades with getting our rig into the shop between camping trips and working on the laundry list of items above.

Now, if we could just get the leaky faucet situation fixed.... 

If it Weren't for Bad Luck....

...we'd have no luck at all.

So, with Hurricane Hanna upon us, and our camper parked in the driveway getting ready for a week long trip to Colorado with KD & the Vowels, we discovered the very thing we were trying to avoid when we Cut Bait only two weeks ago - we have water issues.

And not just water issues, but a HOLE in the roof - and who knows how long it's been there?!  Well, actually we know it's been there long enough, at least, for the water that was pooling inside the LED light over the bed to be GREEN - as in MOLD green.

M. O. L. D.  Again.

We'll take it back to Ron Hoover tomorrow morning, and see where we go from here.

Beauty and the Beast

Hi.

It's been a while, I know.

Don't think I haven't thought about it - you know, run away and live in the woods. Every post I read back thru after we've had a big gap in camping trips admonishes me the same way: I say over and over again how much I love camping, how it brings me back to center, how it calms the deep currents running thru my soul.

(This is the point where I normally would say "But....." and give some reason about life and work and trying to balance things, etc, etc. Ehn.  Let's just not and say we did. Cool? Ok.)

I think RDB and I realized pretty quickly that the Rubicon wasn't our best set-up for camping. Yes, we loved having the bike with us, and yes, it fit a need - but we weren't camping.  When you're sleeping in separate bunks, and not using the shower, well, we needed a change.

So, we did a thing (you knew this was coming, right?!)

Say hello to Beauty and the BEAST.

Ahhh, new truck smell.

I'll save the "How We Saved $5000 on the RAM by Driving 350 Miles" saga for some time around the campfire and get right to the story of our new, beautiful 30' Forest River Wildcat.  

Once again, we used PPL for the purchase, and really appreciate the way they're set up: go online, find a unit you'd like to look at, show up on the lot and spend as much time as you want hanging out inspecting it, then get paired up with a sales person who will walk you thru the paperwork.  I think it was less than two weeks from start to finish.

Only, y'all, we ain't no where near finished yet.  That was February.

Now....?

(Sorry - gotta keep laughing or I'm gonna cry.) We've not slept one. single. night. in our new-to-us camper.  Mind you, yes, there IS a global pandemic going on, but THAT actually isn't the problem.

Let's start back the beginning again:

So, we used PPL for the purchase - knowing it was a used camper, and that the prior owner disclosed that the living room slide had "issues" and the gray tank value was leaking.  Ok, we thought, that's doable; the floor plan of the unit was what we wanted, we can have those two items fixed. 

We didn't even take possession of the camper the day we closed - we just went straight from sales over to service at PPL and left them the keys to work out those issues.  Four (or was it five?) weeks, and several thousands of dollars later, we finally took possession of our camper - with the slide still broken.  When the service guy tells you to come pick it up at 5pm on a Friday, and you find out from his colleagues that he leaves at 4:30, that's probably your first clue that you've been swindled.  (When the service manager never returns your calls, that's probably the second clue...)

RDB started poking around underneath the slide that weekend trying to determine the cause - and y'all, in less than 30 minutes, he'd undone this and detached that and found a gear that had missing teeth which was likely what was making the awful banging noise when the slide went in and out.  (When it takes your hubby only 30 MINUTES to find what the likely problem was, that's probably clue #3 that you've been hosed.  Three strikes, PPL. You're out!!)

Running down random parts for the underbelly of a '15 Forest River Wildcat is its own story y'all.  I'll just leave it here that RDB is INCREDIBLY PATIENT. 

Ok, so, while he was working on the outside, I had big plans for the inside.  I've never re-decor'd any of our campers - but this one? I couldn't wait to paint walls, replace furnishings, and really make it the retreat that we'll enjoy for the next decade of our camping adventures.

A little pre-view of my vision for the Beauty.

So, Diesel and I began a bit of prep work - clearing out the old and making way for the new. With painting, I wanted to make sure I prepped it correctly (there are a lot of horror stories of peeling paint and worse!). Needless to say, Diesel likes "his spot" in the new place already!

Speaking of spots.... notice the kinda rough looking wallpaper there by Rich's elbow?  Well, before I painted, I wanted to make sure that random texture like that - it was on that wall by the slide and then over the top of the kitchen slide as well - wouldn't show up with the new paint job, so, I pulled a little bit back to see what was causing the rumpling in the wallpaper beneath.

The more experienced camper owner at this point knows the music in the back ground has just turned ominous; for the, well, less in-tuned (ahem, me) you'll be just as surprised as I was to find....

MOLD.

With a capital OLD.  This was no recent one-time incident.  This stuff had been there for a while, and likely? The past owners knew about it. Knew about it, and sold it as-is, with no disclosure.  

So, I'm gonna stop the story there for a while.  Because that's exactly what happen - we just.... stopped.  

Our Beauty had turned, rightly so, into a beast.

...to be continued...

(Are you one of those who likes to flip ahead to the end of the story? Then go here.)

Shame, Shame, Shame

Pardon me, I need to rant for a moment.

prej·u·dice/ˈprejədəs/

noun: Preconceived opinion not based on reason or experience 

I'll be the first one to admit that I was prejudice.  Having never had any personal experience with them, I thought they were mean-spirited, easily agitated, and fierce.  Just their appearance gave the impression that they were bad, vicious, and violent.  All you have to do is mention their name and people suck in air, gasp, or get squeamish:

Doberman

Picture courtesy: Randy W.

Yep, I had a "preconceived opinion not based on reason or experience" about the very breed of dog that is now such an integral part of my life.  Of my family.  (Please, note, I'm not one of those "the dog is my kid" people - but we have made Diesel a part of our everyday lives now, including our camping).

And that's what brings us to this rant.  I booked a site for this weekend, last minute, since we missed out on last weekend with the rain.  Just one night - and since I had wanted to visit Lake Texana earlier (such a lovely park!) I thought I'd give them call and book.

So, the booking was no problem.

Getting to reserve a specific site - no problem!

You guys allow dogs on-leash - no problem!

Well, until you read the fine print.  I received my confirmation email and get to the second to last paragraph, and find this:

Pet Policies:

PETS are to be kept quiet and secured by a leash of six (6') feet or less, OR confined. Pets may not be left unattended. Please clean up after them.  Pets other than seeing-eye dogs are NOT PERMITTED in the buildings.

AGGRESSIVE PET BREEDS such as Doberman, Rottweiler, Pit Bull or any mix of these breeds will not be allowed in any part of the Recreation Complex. If a pet demonstrates aggressive behavior, regardless of breed, it may be asked to leave the Complex.

(The emphasis, by the way, is all theirs.)

So, I called back within less than 10 minutes to cancel my reservation.  I get it, you don't.  You don't understand that just because a dog is, or looks like, a certain breed does not automatically make it a raving mad rabid lunatic of a creature that is hell bent on death and destruction.  You don't understand that it's more about the owner (and their choice to train and teach and nurture), than it is about the type of dog (or the nature of that dog).  You don't get it.  And I understand.

I expected that I would be refunded for the booking as I paid the deposit over the phone.  And they willingly did - minus a $5 cancellation fee.  I get penalized because of their lack of communication regarding breed specific restrictions? (I had asked if it was ok that I brought a dog along, they simply said, yes.)

So, here I am - ranting over $5, right?  No.  I'm ranting over the injustice of judging my dog simply by the breed type on his AKC registration.

Shame on them for being closed-minded.
Shame on them for being uneducated.
Shame on them for being prejudiced.

Shame, shame, shame.




Picture courtesy: Randy W.