Viking Funeral

Coast Guard gives WWII vet a Viking funeral at sea

Check out the link, great article!

http://www.navytimes.com/article/20141002/NEWS03/310020066/Coast-Guard-gives-WWII-vet-Viking-funeral-sea

Hunting Hawk

While going for a walk today at the campground a hawk dropped out of the sky and scooped up a chipmunk. It happened maybe about 10ft away. I just happened to be looking in the right direction when the hawk landed and took off again. We could hear the chipmunks cries as the hawk took off.

Ronda was horrified while I was in awe of of it. I watched the hawk fly off with the chipmunk in its talons and while I know the chipmunk met its end I couldn’t help but admire the hawk. It was a perfect weekend, well, except for the Bears losing…

MSI Computer Corp… Never Again…..

I bought a very expensive video card 2 years ago, it came with a 3 year replacement or repair it warranty… it died, MSI has had it for over a month and then I get this response tonight. $56.00 doesn’t buy squat and they honestly believe that I believe that they don’t have a suitable replacement in a company that size…

Oy vey… guess which company I won’t be buying from in the future? Hmmmmm

Life & RV Update

On May 15th I was notified my employment would end at the company I was working for. Considering I was originally only supposed to be there for two weeks back in September of 2002 I am happy to have made it 12 years.

I had a job interview yesterday and received an official offer today so my 3.5 month run of unemployment is officially over!

We are at the campground for our yearly vacation which ends this Sunday, perfect timing.

I start the new job on Monday. There are 5 sites I’ll be managing and it will be challenging and rewarding.

I can’t wait!!

RV Update, the RV goes in on October 15th to have the final 2 warranty items repaired and to find out where the water is coming from that is laying on the belly of the RV. It’s a cover that seals the under-carriage and one side has water in it, there are no leaks so I think this was left over from when they had the tank open to repair the seal. We’ll see, until then we are enjoying what’s left of the season!

RV Update

Got home from the RV delivery today. They dropped the idea of charging me for warranty work. We had a very extensive discussion, I explained they were wrong and kept explaining until they agreed. I can be persuasive when I need to be. To be fair, I told them to explain this policy so I understand it because I wasn't trying to get away with free work, they agreed I have never abused the warranty so... they will weigh that going forward. I hope they do for other people as well.

Well, the warranty has expired so aside from the two items left everything will be charged going forward. I'm not sure if I would buy from them again, we'll have to see how it goes from here on out. I don’t like sneaky, I’m honest with people, it’s not too much to ask they do the same.

I get into the rig after helping the driver place the rig in our spot and find they didn't fix the LED's, they forgot, they also left the toilet filled with water so when the rig was delivered the water went all over the bathroom. Had fun cleaning that up for a good 10 minutes.

The new counter top looks nice and the automatic jacks seem to function properly. I'm going to fix the LED's myself and the rig goes back October 15th so they will replace the storage door and pocket door at that point. The good part is they are nice people, the drivers who deliver the RV are fantastic and always go above and beyond so I do appreciate good work when it's done.

We have family coming this weekend, our nephew Tyler is coming back from the Navy for a short leave so Friday and Saturday I need to get the site cleaned up, get wood stacked and then clean the RV. This time I plan on taking pictures! I'll post some next week.

Warranty Doesn’t Cover Warranty….

We have our Montana 3725RL Fifth Wheel in the shop for the warranty work to be completed because officially the warranty ended on July 2nd. We had our list together and in before that date because the dealer couldn’t fit us in until after that date. They assured us the warranty will cover our concerns.

We brought it in 3 weeks ago for getting the counter top replaced in the kitchen slide because it cracked, fix the black tank valve that wouldn’t close properly and also prevented proper flushing, to repair a pocket door that was falling apart, to repair a power issue in our kitchen island, to repair a popping sound the auto-leveling system was making and to repair a storage bay door and check the roof. We bought a high end Montana to ensure the best quality.

That’s hogwash, sure, you get better cabinets, fancier lighting etc.. etc.. etc.. what you don’t get is a better build. They all are built pretty much the same, bull you say? It’s a fact, unfortunately so yes, it has a better frame, fully welded and it has a better suspension and fully insulated walls and roof and fancy AC units that are quiet and can freeze a mouses nads on the hottest days but the actual build quality is still staples and screws and the same guys who build the cheap ones do the same mistakes on the expensive ones.

So, where was I? I got a call from the dealer today, the rig is finally ready, no wait, they are waiting for two parts, the pocket door and one outside compartment door. The rest is done, what happened next had my jaw on the floor. The item they couldn’t repair because they couldn’t duplicate the problem, THEY ARE CHARGING US FOR THE TIME because the power didn’t fail in the kitchen island for the 20 minutes they spent trying to duplicate the problem, how did they duplicate the problem, by sitting there waiting to see if it would pop!!!! Did they actually test anything? NO!!!! But they are sure going to charge me for it!

Yes, you read that right, because they didn’t find a problem they can’t charge Keystone for their time under the warranty so they will charge me. They almost charged me for the black tank test but feel their “wording” on the warranty claim will get it paid by Keystone. Now mind you, they had to replace the black tank valve which was preventing me from flushing the tank properly so I guess I should thank my lucky stars that this was covered?!?!?

They wonder why the RV industry has a bad reputation? We give a list of issues the RV has, that the warranty covers, they never tell us oh, by the way, if nothing is found to be wrong we’re going to charge YOU for it. Well shit fire and save the matches I guess I should have broken the item to ensure it was covered?!?!?

I am going to the owners office tomorrow and I can guarantee you when I am done, if there are customers in the showroom they won’t be buying because I’m going to tell all of them this is what you can expect if you buy from this dealer. Unless of course the owner decides to not charge us for doing what they are supposed to do. I can tell you this, he will wish he never tried.

Imagine buying a new car and taking it in during it’s full warranty because sometimes it has issues starting and they tell you they can’t duplicate the problem so they are charging you book time for their efforts. You’d laugh in their face!

Keep in mind, we had the rig in before for this power issue, nothing was found and yet there was no charge, why the change? We’ll see tomorrow when I confront them. Tomorrow is going to be a make it or break it day for ever doing business with them again.

What The?

I used to read and comment on Margie and Roger’s blog but apparently they made it private? Have any of you been able to talk to them?

 

Motorcycle Update

I decided to relocate the turn signals to the license plate housing. I wanted to install saddlebags and unfortunately the turn signals were in the way.

Here is the bike with the Viking Bags installed and the turn signals relocated. A comment about the Viking Bags, the bags themselves are nice enough for the money spent, however the bolts they ship are soft and break easily, they also break easily because they are the wrong kind of thread so if you buy from Viking Bags, DO NOT use their bolts, get Grade 8 or Stainless bolts designed for your bike. Honda of course uses a specific thread type which eludes me right this minute.

The bike turned out nice, I am contemplating putting the rear seat back on, maybe I’ll do that tomorrow just to see how it looks. We’ll see.

RV Update

We received a new clock for the RV last weekend.

We also had the RV picked up by Collier to run through our final warranty repairs since the warranty expires this month.

Hopefully we get it back this month! Crossing our fingers.

5th Wheel Cleaning

My project for this past weekend was to clean the roof. Mother nature had other plans, it dropped a branch almost as big as a tree onto our roof and it landed in our neighbors yard. In fact several branches bounced off of the roof and apparently no damage was done. AMAZING.

I had the roof and RV washed at the end of last year. He charged me $150.00, which for out here is CHEAP. This year, no way I’m paying that twice! So, I got my bucket, Dawn dishwashing liquid and started at the front and worked my way back.

The previous person did an ok job, the rig was clean but the important places like the caulk lines were still dirty and the glass was all spotted. Doing it myself it gets done right and I save good money.

Unfortunately my arms gave out so I stopped and took a break. I’ll be heading up there this weekend and completing the job. The slide tops are impossible to clean so I’m bringing my power washer to help. You have to be careful with them because there are seams that can be pulled apart if you’re not careful.

Why didn’t I use a power washer this weekend? I didn’t have it with me and when I get it into my head to do something I start no matter what.   It was a great work out!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

2005 Honda Shadow Aero

 

My best friend bought a motorcycle last year. A beautiful 2007 mint condition Honda Shadow that he has modified a bit and well, it's awesome. So, a few days ago he sends me a few pictures of a motorcycle he's looking at and I respond... what are you going to do sell yours?

He doesn't respond, he sends me more pictures of another cruiser and asks me what I think of the new pictures. I respond it looks friggin sweet! We talk today and he asks if I would like to go look at it, oh ya of course! So we jump into his car and head out about an our away and get there and the bike is dirty but beautiful.

It's a 2005 Honda Shadow Aero 750 with shaft drive, 1970 miles and darn near in new condition. So we all talk about it and the negotiating begins and he is able to get a great deal on the bike and so I ask if he is going to be selling his bike on eBay or Craigslist and he says Craigslist, makes sense.

A deal is made and when the seller asks Roland what name to put on the receipt Roland says Erik Andersen. I look over and tell the guy he's messing with you, his name is Roland and then Roland cuts me off and says, seriously dude, what do I need another motorcycle for? You love the cruisers and this bike suits you, it's yours.

My jaw basically hits the ground, what do you honestly say to somebody who just 3 months ago was released from his company and started his own business and then buys you a motorcycle???? I was in tears, I shook his hand and said thank you, no words can say how much this means to me.

I drove his car to my house and he drove the bike, he said it rides awesome! After we got it home we washed it down and detailed it a bit together and then I took some pictures and then he took it for another ride. I then took it for a short ride since I need to get my license and after he left I stared at it in disbelief.

So here is the bike my best friend of 30 years bought me, I hope to make it up to him some day.

 

My bike on the left, his bike on the right.

New Cabin Home

I WISH!!! I found this on Facebook, thought I would share, this house is simply amazing. One can dream right?

Comcast – Brilliant At Sales, Not So Much At Fixing Their Chit

We have the “Triple Play” package, Internet, Phone and TV. Awesome right? Call them to add a service and you get through on one call right away, they can do everything on that call and they are so friendly and so prepared.

You want to get something fixed? Like a sudden loss of internet connection, loss of phone and tv? Well, that works a little bit differently, you call and get an IVR, that IVR bounces you around a bit, then after you’re done bouncing they get you in line for a minimum of 20 minutes and then somebody who can barely form an English sentence comes on the line and you now try to explain the problem.

The prepared straight from the script answer “Your modem is bad” to which I respond everything is down, not just the internet connection, tv is down as well. “Your modem is bad”, we go back and forth and he sends me to another department where I explain this all over again and then click, the transfer “hang up”.

I get back to “support” and end up with the “Your modem is bad” and they schedule a visit to my house. I try to explain that Comcast was outside burying my neighbors cable, is it possible they cut my line? NO.

Comcast shows up the next day “we accidentally cut your line”, I gathered that so they lay line number 3 down on top of the lawn, see, they have done this before so now I have yet another line to be buried.

AT&T is worse, I could explain how while down at my Dad’s house last week his U-Verse box decided it belonged somewhere else so deactivated itself. That was another call to support hell.

Now Comcast is merging with yet another large company, you think they’ll get better as a larger monopoly? Of course not but being a monopoly we are stuck with them….

New Toy

Just got a new to me 1995 Yamaha Virago 1100 it’s awesome, my legs hurt and I ate a zillion bugs on the way home. No longer hungry, oy vey.

D-Day June 6th, 1944

It’s impossible to say how many died on D-Day, estimates say between 2,500 to more than 5,000 allied dead and 6,036 American casualties including wounded and missing. The Heritage Foundation in Washington estimates 4,900 dead. It’s hard to wrap your mind around that many dying and even to this day they still find the occasional body but consider the whole picture.

19,000 civilians died in Normandy before and after D-Day to soften up German defenses, Allied air forces lost nearly 12,000 men in April and May 1944 in operations ahead of the invasion. 160,000 men invaded Nazi occupied France in the first wave, the invasion fleet had more than 5,000 ships and landing craft. Winston Churchill said to his wife he was afraid more than 20,000 would be dead by the time they woke up.

More than 425,000 Allied and German troops were killed, wounded or went missing the D-Day museum says. The American cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach has the remains of 9,383 servicemen and four women.

War has a terrible cost, the cost of not fighting one can be far worse.

Check out the US Army’s webpage for D-Day http://www.army.mil/d-day/ 

US Army slideshow - http://www.army.mil/d-day/slideshow.html 

      

Power Washing The Deck

The old deck we purchased was getting covered in moss and grime and it was time to try and clean it up. I removed the center section so we could sit on the deck and see out into the campground while sitting on the deck. Here it is from two weeks back.

Here is what it looked like as I started to power wash. Unfortunately the campground water pressure isn’t the best so it took 4 hours to complete.

Finally, it’s done!

New Retro Winnebago Brave

Winnebago has released a new retro look Brave on May 22nd. I’m mixed on the look, I think they could have captured the retro look better than this, what do you guys think?

More info here - http://www.gowinnebago.com/products/2015/brave/ 

Happy Memorial Day

Thank you to all who served, without your sacrifice we wouldn’t have the freedom’s we enjoy.

           

It’s Dead Jim

Go to turn on the AC, nothing, nada zip zilch zippo… open the disconnect box, the plug was stolen. Who steals a disconnect plug from 1994? Cost to replace $5.95, who has one? Nobody, cost to replace entire box and have new one re-wired $175.00. When cane they come out and do it? Maybe tomorrow, maybe by June 6th.

Yeah, it’s that kind’a day. Thankfully we leave for the RV tomorrow so we’ll have two monster AC units to keep us chilled.

 

Hey, it could look like it did on Feb 12th!