Saturday 4/2/11 2.5 Mile Walk, Hennepin Canal

Saturday was windy but nice out so we decided to go for a walk and see what was along this canal at the Geneseo campground.

            Come on already!                      

 

Loki running around the campground–Geneseo, IL - 4/2/11

         How far does this go??                          Loki walks ahead.

 

            Turtles everywhere!                     Property with old trucks, cool!

 

              Cool old fire truck!                      Snowmobile stuck up a tree!

 

What’s on the other side of those tunnels?  We pause to check it out.

 

        It’s a lock! How cool is that?       People were fishing, but not catching.

 

       Hennepin Canal Parkway                 We’re back to the campground.

 

Time to relax!

We’re Home, The RV Is………… NOT

I took some time to decide if I would post this tonight or at all and decided to go ahead and write it and see how it goes. It seems we own an RV that bucks the odds and simply must have problems each and every single time we take it out.  By blogging about each and every problem it seems as if that’s all that happens when it isn’t. We had a great time on Saturday going for a 2.5 mile walk and I’ll be posting about that when I compile the pictures off of our cameras. We went during a time of year when the weather isn’t very friendly and that proved to be the case for this trip. One good day out of 4.5 days isn’t much but the storm we had last night was awesome, I love lightning storms and that one delivered. I took video with my digital camera that I still have to download and see if the video turned out or not, if it did I’ll post it.

While trying to get home today and running into issues again we both sat on the side of the road and discussed if this is what we really want to do. My stress level fixing the hot water heater, then the water inlet feed in the basement compartment and also having to work on the toilet had me going for awhile there. Buying an RV was supposed to be a way to relax and unplug a bit from the daily grind and it has proven to be a lesson in RV repair and how to deal with incompetent dealers and repair centers instead of what was intended. I don’t mind fixing things, it makes me feel good that I can, what drives me insane is when I can’t fix something, like the slide topper, well, I could fix it if I had the time and the parts but not on the side of the road during a severe wind storm.

Having said the above I want to stress that in the case of our RV 95% of what has gone wrong has more to do with the dealer we bought from than the RV. Each and every item I have had to work on aside from the water pump that burnt up because of a different repair center was worked on and not done properly by the dealer we bought from including the slide topper (details about the slide topper to follow below). The salesman cut the topper with his knife during the walk through claiming he had no choice, the dealer replaced supposedly the entire unit, as I found out today they hodge podged it together and it finally fell apart.

Lesson learned and this is another point I want to stress because I know people are out there thinking about buying an RV and seeing what we are going through as something they might go through as well so might not buy because of it.

If you are very selective about the dealer and you inspect the rig you’re interested in several times you stand a much higher chance of getting a good RV. Also, and this is the most important part investigate the dealer, had we looked into the dealer we would have found they have a reputation and we would have gone elsewhere and we are now going through the process of fixing what should have been cared for by the dealer the first time. In the end with what we paid I have been willing to handle repairs as they happen since we have saved money overall.

We gave a lot of thought to me staying in Geneseo one more night and Ronda going home because the wind was blowing at a constant rate over 30mph with no apparent lull. The weather reports were showing that high winds are in effect for the next 3 days but of course they’re always wrong since they weren’t calling for high winds today, but yet here they are. If I stayed one more night we were hoping the wind would be less severe tomorrow but of course there was always the chance it could get worse. We decided to head home and drive 50mph or less if needed. Plus, the weight of the Escape should also help keep the rig stable in these high cross winds like it did on our Iowa trip.

We pulled onto Rt. 82 going East and the wind slammed up against the drivers side of the rig, WOW it was blowing hard. We immediately wonder if we made the right decision but kept going, if they are calling for 3 days of this staying an extra day wouldn’t work.

About 30 miles from the Geneseo campground after the wind felt like it was going to tip us over I heard a very loud flapping sound. I adjust my drivers mirror and sure enough I see our slide topper unraveling and blowing in the wind. I pulled over and climbed up onto the roof, which wasn’t easy with 30+mph winds and I find that thankfully the topper reeled itself back in. I check everything and I thought it looked ok but I was wrong, we try again and got up to 20mph and sure enough it unreeled again. I pulled over again and tried to figure out how we were going to get home.

We thought about going back to Geneseo where I would stay overnight and she would go home since she had to be back at work tomorrow. Either way though I had to figure out how to keep the slide topper from ripping off of the RV, this slide topper is supposed to be new. I sat there for a few minutes as the rig rocked back and forth and came up with a plan.

I broke out my tools looking for some plastic tie straps and found 6 of them. I go climb back on the roof and got up close and personal with the mechanism’s that the slide topper uses. I notice this must be the original mechanism and the dealer didn’t replace it, just the canvas even though they told us they replaced the entire thing. I’m not shocked by what I find one bit, it’s too cold and as each Semi goes by I grab onto something because the entire rig rolls like a boat on the water.

I see the mechanism works with a gear and two claws per side that pinch the gear so it doesn’t unravel while stowed. How do I get these plastic tie straps to work, none of them are long enough to wrap around the rod so I combined two of them, made a loop of another and then tied them together so they hold the claw against the gear and then I tried to unravel the slide topper and it stays locked in position. It’s not pretty and only God knows if it will hold with the wind blowing like it is but I climb down, almost get knocked off the ladder as yet another Semi goes by. Ronda was watching through the passenger mirror to see if her husband would go flying by, I’m glad she didn’t see me flapping off of the rear ladder.

We got on the road and slowly ramped up speed and it seemed to be holding, got past 30mph and it’s still holding. Up at 50 it’s still holding so we keep heading home, only now we call Collier RV and ask if anybody will be there so we can drop the rig off and get the slide topper repaired correctly. The service advisor asks me if I have an extended warranty and I tell him yes but no idea if this is covered or not. So to end this very long post as quickly as possible we dropped the tow dolly at our storage facility and then dropped the RV at Collier.

They are going to go through our warranty paperwork and decipher if the slide topper is covered and they are also going to find out of the water pump is covered if Scott’s RV refuses to fix it. I’m to call Scott’s RV and see if they will cover the water pump since they left it running after winterizing our rig so tomorrow will be a busy day as my last day of vacation.

I can’t wait for our next camping trip…

Slow Sunday, Tornado & Strong Storm Warnings

We have been waiting for this storm to hit since late last night and so far we have been lucky. Just watched the forecast though and the storm is covering about two states so we will get hit before 9:00pm tonight. It hit 82f here today so we turned on the front AC to cool things off a bit. We’re so used to it being cold and having to run the furnace!

I woke up to a toilet no longer holding water in the bowl, hey, why not right? For those of you with queasy stomachs skip to the last paragraph. I broke out my disposable sewer hose gloves and opened the ball valve and what do I see, well, what looked like a VERY full black tank. I checked out the panel and it says 2/3 full, like it did earlier in the morning. So I go dump the gray and then black tank and check the panel  and both show as empty. I open the ball valve again and it still looks full, great. I have nothing to stick in there to try and free everything up so I grab a stick and free everything up, I think. I added some chemical to clean the tank and dissolve the paper that should have dissolved near instantly.

I grab a handful of the tp and add water to it and sure enough, it falls apart. So where did this non-dissolving stuff come from? My first guess, the various shops the rig has been in over the past few months since our last camping trip, I really don’t know. On to the problem of the water not holding in the bowl, I put on the disposable gloves and “feel around” and tried to shape the gasket so the ball valve will create a seal again and it works, for about 6 hours after which I had to do it again.

I guess after 12 years this gasket has had it so I need to research how to replace the gasket and I’ll do that when I get the time. Other than the black tank issue though it was a very quiet windy day. Lots of branches hitting the roof. So tonight we will watch some bad TV on RTV “Retro TV” and relax.

Tomorrow I promised to help the owners of the campground set up their kayaks and canoes before we head back home. Unless it’s storming of course, if it is I’m guessing they won’t be taking them out until the weather clears.

We took a long walk yesterday and we’ll be posting details and pictures soon, here is a tidbit, we found a snowmobile partially up a tree and abandoned.

Saturday, Sunny Finally, Time To Get OUTSIDE!!

Got up this morning to a beautiful Saturday sunny morning. I love watching the sun come up but I didn’t this morning because I was asleep! Woohoo! I typically sleep very little when we are away from home and up until last night it was no different. Typically I snooze for a few minutes maybe get lucky enough to get an hour straight but last night I got 4 hours of straight sleep mixed in with naps so for me, an excellent night!

The past few days have been windy and rainy so we have been staying inside. We only went out to get parts to repair two different leaks which seem to be holding up for now. I’m going to hit the shower after this post so we’ll see how it does for that, it’s the only part of the water system we haven’t used since I completed repairs last night.

I know I blogged about the repair but I didn’t mention how we got the parts. Yesterday we stopped at J&J RV Sales in East Moline, IL because they had the exact part we needed to fix the hot water heater leak and they were very friendly. While there I snapped some pictures of some old rigs that I found interesting, but my wife considered them unworthy of photographing. She is telling me as I write this why she finds them uninteresting, blah blah blah blah blah… I hear her but can’t understand her words.   I can hear you typing your blog over there ya know! She is trying to beat me to posting her preemptive strike about old RV’s blah blah blah blah she is attacking those keys and cackling like a witch, more blah blah blah blah .…. she’ll explain the RV lot dance we did I’m sure. Where was I….

Here are a bunch of old rigs that I found interesting because each one has a history to tell. Some you can tell have lived rough lives and continue to do so.

One of my favorite older rigs is the Foretravel Grand Villa, at it’s time it was one of the best on the road, heck I’d still like to have one!

 

 

I honestly have no idea what this one is, but look at that face!

I remember the first motorhome I ever rode in. The President of our hockey league had a GMC motorhome from 1975 I believe, but I can’t remember which model it was. It was very much like this GMC Eleganza II.

 

Here is another strange one from Fleetwood, the “Limited”.

 

An old Tiffin “Open Road”

         Unknown, can’t make out the label.  This one is “The Executive”

 

Another unknown, this one is definitely still being used.

Here is a very nice “Barth” motorhome.

 

Finally, the “Kayot”, they had two of these there.

I don’t know why these old motorhomes fascinate me so much. Ronda calls it an obsession but I don’t agree. I just love old things, I love to look at 1930’s era tube radios with the same fascination. They all have a story to tell and by looking at them you get a sense of what those stories might have been.

Till next time… uhhh she is still typing away over there….

Leak Fixed, New One Crops Up

I rigged the original repair last night with steel pipe fittings from Farm & Fleet which gave us water and finally hot showers. I worried about the steel fittings ripping up the connections, the bypass valve being made from brass and the other one being made of plastic. My concerns were validated when I installed the new elbow fitting and it leaked again. I removed the elbow and increased the amount of white sealant tape going to the brass female end and reinstalled the elbow and so far, no leaking. 

  

While turning on the water I once again see water exiting out of the bottom of the sewer compartment and figure now is the time to try and figure out where that is coming from. Turns out the white hose we used last year that is still basically new doesn’t seal properly. It’s raining right now so after it stops I’m going to the campground store to see if they have a 25 footer to replace this one with. Hopefully everything is working as it should now, I’ll be keeping close tabs on everything the next few days and we’ll see how it goes. I’ll also respond to comments later as well.

RV Usage Side Note

When de-winterizing, flushing lines and adding a lot of water to the gray tank, dump the tank prior to jumping in the shower! Doh! Thankfully the gray tank is fresh and there is literally no smell. I still washed my feet when I got out!        Mental note, DUMP THE GRAY TANK!

On Vacation Finally, A Few Hiccups

My wife told me she blogged about our experiences so far on vacation and let it out it was my birthday yesterday so I want to say thanks for the happy birthday wishes I received, it was a pleasant surprise.  

I completely forgot to take a picture of the RV and Escape before we left, I had every intention of doing it but somehow other things were on my mind. Be prepared, this is going to be a long post! It’s raining out so might as well do something, why not blog!

I drove between 55 and 58mph, we weren’t in any hurry and it was a very smooth drive. Not having that tube TV sitting in the dash causing it to bounce and squeak was a pleasure. For folks who live in Illinois, if you ever need to take your RV or Motorhome anywhere, avoid Route 38 West of St. Charles. That road will test your rig and your kidneys, how the rebuild America program missed this road is beyond me, it has needed replacing for 2 decades. Once on Rt. 88 it was much smoother, in fact with the windows closed it was almost car like quiet.

Loki was not enjoying the trip, she had to be drugged with doggy valium, when Ronda took her out for a walk during a short break she flipped out and did the Basenji flop which is her flopping onto her back and then trying to defy gravity by flipping around in circles and looking generally insane. I can only imagine what people were thinking as they drove by.

     Here she is feeling shaky                            Finally! Asleep!

 

SpongeBob sticking his tongue out at people as we drive

We arrived at the Geneseo campground around 5:30pm

 

                   Here we are!                      They have a few cabins for rent

 

We got settled into site # 3 which is full hook up 50 amps and also has a concrete pad. I love this section of the park. I hooked up our power and sewer and prepared to de-winterize the water system. I turned off the water drains and added some 2/3 of a tank of water to the fresh water tank and went into the rig to start flushing the pink stuff.

I turned on the water pump and heard a strange weak sound, the pump is shot. I remembered when I picked up the rig from Scott’s RV in Rockford finding the water pump was left on but didn’t think anything of it. I let them know and they said it was no big deal. Well, when the pump is on and only sucking air, it will burn up the pump. I found the line into the pump was left hanging, so I re-connected the line and tried again thinking maybe the pump is ok, nope, not a drop.

So what to do, I replaced the water filter, plugged in the water hose and let her rip, I asked the wife to see if the shower leaked and everything looked good. I checked under the coach and what do I see, water coming from the sprayed insulation under the sewer and water compartment. I look at all the lines and the compartment is dry, so where is this water coming from??

I walked into the coach and turned everything that makes noise off and listened. I could hear water flowing from somewhere but couldn’t find it until I heard it getting louder and it seemed to be coming from the hot water compartment. I pulled the door off and sure enough, a water fountain is going on in the compartment. Right onto the sub-floor which is made from strand board, not plywood so you know it’s soaking it up real good. For it to pour out the bottom of the RV like it did a lot of water had to have come out of that pipe.

I removed the offending pipe and found that water had frozen inside and blown off a part of the pipe. Apparently the system wasn’t flushed of water properly, so if the pump was on they must have been in a real hurry and didn’t check everything. My brother tells me they left his pump on as well so he probably has something similar to look forward to.

Now, at 8:00pm how do I fix this?? We went to Farm & Fleet and bought a few parts to try and get it working again, even if it had to be temporary.

          Here is the broken pipe.                    Here is my leaky fix.. drip..drip

 

I took it apart twice and each time it leaked from a different place, there is a bit of stress because this new fitting is bigger forcing the line to be pushed down. So today we are going to a few RV dealers hoping to find this part.

When I flushed the lines barely any pink stuff came out, none came out of the toilet lines at all. It’s apparent that Scott’s RV did a rush job and didn’t check their work causing this mess and blowing up the water pump, lesson learned, AGAIN. How I handle this with them I don’t know, it’s been 6 months. I do know this, I will not use an RV dealer or repair center for anything going forward unless it’s something I can’t do or can’t learn how to do.

Everything else seems to be working fine, since the line just drips a little bit I put a tray down to catch the drips so we can have some hot water for showers and dishes and stuff. I cleaned the water/sewer compartment and it looks almost like new now. Today we are going to relax, go a few RV places to find the part and if we find it great, if not no biggie, I can order it.

We are bound and determined to have a good time this weekend and if anything I now fully understand our water system and feel confident I can winterize it and even replace the water heater if needed. I need to order a new water pump but that can wait for now.

Time for a hot shower and off to the RV dealers, we’ll look at stuff we can’t afford while we are there so we can dream of the future. Have a great weekend everybody.