Relisted and Repairs

RV Resort (site #P37)
Roanoke Rapids, NC

Well the house is back on the market.  The prospective buyers are having some major medical issues right now so we certainly don’t blame them for stepping back and taking things one step at a time.  My understanding is that she had a second surgery and may not really be out of the woods yet.  They’ve experienced a life changing episode to say the least.

We’ve been staying busy here during the past week with family time and more doctor’s appointments.  No problems here, just checking things out.  Last week when we were repacking the basement, we noticed that one of the slide topper awnings was not rolling in at all.  The material was just billowing out with no tension.  I knew we would not be able to hit the road again with it like that.  Luckily there is a mobile rv tech that services this park.  I gave him a call to see if he could fix this for us under warranty.  After I called Winnebago to check with them, he came out this morning to make the repair.

 

He took the protective wrap off, cleaned out a lot of leaves, coaxed the center bracket back into the right place, and replaced the wraps.  That seems to have fixed it.  There are some holes in the material where it was rubbing against the bracket but I can go to a Winnebago dealer to have that replaced while it’s under warranty.  After paying Rufus, I sent the invoice to Winnebago for them to reimburse me.  We’ll see how it goes.

We are enjoying some great weather here for this time of year so hopefully, we can go on a hike or a paddle or something.  We like relaxing too.

Thanks for dropping by, and enjoy each day of your life’s journey by finding beauty in the ordinary.

Wanda and 2011

Stix n Brix
Clayton, NC

Wanda didn't stay at the shop for long.  We picked her up about 24 hours after we had dropped her off.  I'm happy with Gregory Poole.  When they did the brake recall work a few weeks ago, I got the impression that they were a professional organization.  Remember that noise in the right front wheel?  Well John took her for a couple of test drives and determined that "the wheel simulator needed to be repositioned."  Translation..."the hubcap was put on wrong."  No charge for that, and the charge for the oil change was reasonable.  If we're still in the area next year, I'll go back to them for service.

I never have understood why people celebrate so much on New Year's Eve.  I know it's a time of retrospection and anticipation, but what does that have to do with over-indulging?  I like a nice quiet welcome of the New Year myself.  Other than starting this blog and solidifying our full-timing plans at the RV-Dreams Rally last April, 2010 doesn't seem that eventful.  We have taken a few baby steps towards that goal but 2011 should be a really big year if all goes as planned.  After the rally this coming April, We'll sell the waverunners, Miata, furniture, and have a couple more yard sales.  The rest will be donated or thrown away.  We hope to do all this by July.  The house will go on the market in May or June after it gets cleaned up a bit.  The biggest event planned for us in 2011 is my retirement on August 1.  Shortly thereafter, we'll hit the road and hope the house sells soon so we can put some miles under our belts.

I guess when I think about it, we do have some reasons to celebrate.  It'll just be a quiet "Happy New Year" and early to bed.  I have to get up at 4:00am to get ready for another day at work.  Let me take this time to wish everyone a Safe and Happy New Year!

Jack

Stix n Brix, NC

Welcome to all our newest followers; Mike, Gail and Rick, Judy and John.  They each have very nice blogs.  We met Gail and Rick at the RV-Dreams rally this past April.  They had just sold their house then.  They now have a great MH and Rick only has a few more days of work.  Hang in there!

This has been the busy part of my work schedule so I'm sorry for the lapse in posting.  I have a feeling that I may fall back a bit this winter too since the MH will not leave the driveway much.  I called our local Winnebago dealer a few days ago to see if the jack assembly had arrived and was surprised when he said yes.  It had been there a few days.  I thought they would have called me, but I made an appointment for today.  They replaced the whole jack under the driver's seat.  This better work.  It certainly cost enough (as usual).  At least the technician was nice enough to apologize to me this time for smashing a few of our dishes, and he cleaned up the mess.  I wasn't mad because it has happened to me before as I pulled in to a parking lot.  As a matter of fact,  I smashed some more as I left the dealership today.  I think I need to find a place that will replace our shocks at a reasonable price.  The service manager offered to give me a set of dishes that they give to everyone that buys a new rig.  I declined his offer before I got the bill ($900).  We'll be combining our kitchens soon so no worries there.  Tomorrow we'll start packing a few things for our last trip of the season.  I feel like we haven't enjoyed Wanda nearly enough this year.  I guess I'll do some dreaming and planning this winter, not to mention purging the house.

Thanks for dropping by, and enjoy each day of your life's journey by finding beauty in the ordinary.

Aleve Please

Stix n Brix, NC

Welcome to our newest follower, Margie and Roger.  They have a nice Tiffin Phaeton as their condo-on-wheels.  That is a rig that we have on our list as a possible upgrade.

We got Wanda back in the driveway yesterday!  She had been at Gregory Poole for a week to get the brake recall work done.  Three damaged rotors were replaced also.  I decided not to replace the other one after talking with a technician.  It would have cost me $200, but he said that he didn’t think that it would pull to one side much.  If it did, just using the brakes a few times would even it out.  It wasn’t any trouble driving it home.  I’m pleased with their service.  They are quite professional and will definitely return your call.  They work on all MH chassis and specialize in Caterpillar diesel engines.  If you are near Raleigh/Garner and need help, give them a call at 919-755-7050.

This is my week off but we decided that we needed to do things around here more than taking a trip.  Gin put a couple of things on Craigslist last night so it’ll be good for us to be around.  I really wanted to wash and wax the MH this week also since the weather is perfect.  After it warmed up a little this morning, I got the wash bucket out and crawled on the roof.  I’m afraid of heights but have gotten used to doing this.

Wax on…wax off.  (Gin just wanted to get my good side)

I’m using Rejex.  It should last quite a while.  We talked with Ken at the RV-Dreams rally this past April, and he used it on their MH.  It looked real good so we thought that we’d give it a try.  Gin did some things in the garage like fix a taillight and put air in the bike tires.  We had to take a break and take them for a spin through the subdivision.  It’s a bit hilly so the electric motor came in real handy.

Smudge is 13 years old and her hips are starting to bother her, but she spent the day outside as our supervisor.  I think we passed her inspection.  She is dog tired.  :)

I’m pretty tired and sore too.  I took an Aleve with supper.  Thank goodness Gin cooked a good meal.  I can hardly keep my arms up, and I still have the other half to wax later this week.

We plan to join Gin’s parents at the KOA in Wilmington, NC Monday.  We’re just going to spend the night on their couch.  Odie is there to go to tax prep classes and it’ll be nice to spend some time with Judy.  We’ll enjoy a card game later in the evening.

We’ve gotten a couple of responses on the lift chair that is on Craigslist list so it’ll probably sell tomorrow.  Sorry for the long post but I can be chatty at times.

Thanks for dropping by, and enjoy each day of your life’s journey by finding beauty in the ordinary.

Brake Recall

Stix n Brix
Clayton, NC


I worked my last night shift for a while last night.  As soon as I got home, I changed clothes and cranked up the MH.  Gin and I were going somewhere...Gregory Poole for recall repairs to the brakes.  Wanda has a Workhorse chassis and they acknowledged a problem with the calipers sticking in the brakes of their MHs about a year and a half ago.  If your rig isn't driven every few days, this may lead to problems.  They finally announced that they had a fix and had made the parts to supply to the repair shops only a month or so ago.  It seems odd to have an empty driveway.  The repairs should only take a day if there are no other problems, but since we didn't get a call saying she was ready, I'm sure they ran into other problems.  This doesn't surprise me since we had some work done on the brakes this past winter.  They have over-heated a couple of times since then this season.  When we were in Myrtle Beach, I couldn't go over 45 mph because the steering wheel was shaking so bad.  It was a bit scary.  Our ABS light stays on now so I'm sure the sensor has gone bad or something.  This should all be covered by Workhorse so we'll see how it goes.  If the brakepads have excessive wear, I would have to pay for that but I wouldn't have to pay for the labor.  We'll hear from the shop next week.

After getting a good nap, Gin and I spent the day in the garage.  She was putting an e-bike kit on my bike so that I can keep up with her.  I've ridden hers a few times and it's nice to get a boost up a hill.  I'll still pedal most of the time, but I do have bad knees.  While she was doing this, I was going through several boxes of paperwork that was in the attic.  It felt nice to thin down some things, but it makes me realize how much more we need to get done this winter.  The weather has been so nice around here that it's tempting to just play and relax but we have things to do.

Thanks for dropping by, and enjoy each day of your life's journey by finding beauty in the ordinary.

Sleep and Dinner with Friends

Stix n Brix
Clayton, NC


Hey to Pidge, our newest follower.  It's so nice to expand the RV family by enjoying others blogs.  There are a few that I frequently read even though I haven't signed in as a follower and I don't add a comment that often.  I can be quiet but I do appreciate the blogs.

It's been a busy few days.  After working my last 12 hour night, I took the MH to the dealer to have them work on the jack at 7:00am Wednesday.  No nap.  They got it a little bit better and I got home about 2:00pm.  Since that was 25 hours after my last nap, I laid down for a 3 hour snooze.  Needless to say, that was a wasted day but today wasn't.  Gin had a doctor's appointment that was short and sweet.  Yep she has MS but it doesn't have her.  We stopped at Wally World on the way home and then we went to Lone Star Steakhouse to meet some fellow bloggers and RV-Dreamers, Jim and Dee.  They are in the area for a couple of weeks while they visit family and friends.  We forgot our camera so we don't have any evidence, but that may be a good thing.  We visited with them a little longer in their very nice 5er.  There are pros and cons to rving in a 5er or a MH.  Neither is better than the other but one will generally work better for your personal preferences than the other.  It was a very nice visit but it sure makes us itch even more.  I know our time will come sooner than we think so we need to do a few craigslist things and such to make a smooth transition next summer.  I can hardly wait.

I gotta go to work early tomorrow so I need to get some beauty sleep (I need more than one night for that).  This is the long part of work, 3 days on, 1 off,  then 3 nights(12 hour shifts).  It just gets me closer to the next rv trip so it's all good.

Thanks for dropping by, and enjoy each day of your life's journey by finding beauty in the ordinary.

Mundane between trips

Stix n Brix, NC

I've been busy with work the past few days, but I did get a chance to take the MH to the dealer to finally get a new set of springs on the lazy jack on Wednesday.  I had called them in early April and was told that they would have the springs ready for us when we got back from our trip to the RV-Dreams rally.  The leveling jack was not coming up at all and we had to manually pull it up.  It didn't stop us from going to the rally or to Cedar Point though.  ;)  Well I was pleasantly surprised when it was installed in only about 30 minutes and he didn't charge me.  He said the jack was still slow so we needed to work it a few cycles to see if it helps.  It may need a new solenoid.  I'm sure that'll take a few days and it won't be free.  If that's the case, we might wait until winter to get it fixed.

I spent Wednesday afternoon doing some yard work.  The grass sure needed to be cut and I trimmed the rose bushes back.  It's rained a lot since then so the grass will need it again soon.  I won't miss that vicious cycle when we hit the road next fall.  After working an off-duty job Wednesday night, I took Gin to her doctor's office Thursday afternoon for her IV treatment.  She had prior approval from her new HMO doctor this time so we don't have to go through delays now.  That has taken a bit out of her but today her energy level has improved.

I worked day shift this week end and threw in a extra job on Saturday evening.  These extra jobs are a nice way to bring home a little more cash now and in the future.  It adds to my retirement income also.  It's basically based on the highest four years of income.

We are planning to visit with our folks tomorrow and then I have three night shifts ahead of me.  Memorial Day week end is coming up and I know a lot of people are looking forward to a vacation.  We are too, but it'll be right after Memorial Day.  We are going to the NC mountains and we can hardly wait!  Until then, let's all stay safe.

Treatment and catching up

Stix n Brix

Gin is resting now after her treatment. I have sneaked in a little nap also. It's not any fun for me to change from night shift to day shift all the time but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it's not a train! I think it's... a motorhome!

Speaking of MH, the spring to fix the lazy jack has not arrived at the dealer yet. I was a little upset but what can ya do. I wonder how upset and disenchanted I will be when we full-time and it's time for service. I know the world doesn't revolve around us, but when we called the service department in early April, he said he was going to order the spring so he could fix it on April 21. He now says it's on back order and MAY be in on the 27th. Somehow I think he waited a few days to order it. Thankfully it isn't absolutely necessary to have it fixed to still go rving.

On a much lighter note, I got buzzed this morning by a hummingbird. He fussed at me some. He must remember our feeder from last year. I pulled it out of the pantry and put out some fresh nectar for our tiny feathered friends. It's the kind of feeder that suctions to the window. I put it right at the breakfast nook so we'll have visitors while we eat our meals.

Yesterday, Gin put the hullavators together and we put them on the Suki. It looks like a moose now with the racks on top but it will be easier for us to put the yaks up there after a few hours of paddling. We adjusted it and tried it out. My arms are a little bruised because I was trying to lift the boat totally wrong. We had a gentle rain so I'm sure that the weed n feed is working good on the lawn. I guess I'll have to cut the grass more often now. What was I thinking.

Well it's gonna be a long week end of work for me but it's only about 15 months left. I know how quickly the past year has gone so I know the time will fly by. And yes we have so much to do...yard sales, paint the house, power wash the fence, craigslist a few things, and almost forgot...enjoy life. ;)

Tweaking and Rambling

Stix n Brix; Clayton NC

I just did a little bit of tweaking to the blog set-up. I want to say thanks to those of you that have come to check it out. If you only knew how much of a challenge a computer is to me. Maybe some day next week, I'll adventure out and try to get a photo or two in here. I don't know if my brain can handle that...brain strain...I don't think it's deadly.

We had a little bit of work done on Wanda (the MH) last month and we just got it back a few days ago.  We had the oil changed and a new awning put on along with new slide toppers. It stays in our driveway and we are so ready to get it cleaned up and ready for a trip. Why is it that the folks servicing your rig rarely treat it with the respect that it deserves? A couple of our bowls are gone (Corelle does shatter), and the dinette leg mount is pulled out of the floor. We don't let that bother us because we have more bowls and screws and glue will fix the mount.

Over the next couple of weeks, I plan to post some notes from our RV trips from last year. I had contemplated a blog at that time, but just put it off. My parents had taken a couple of cross-country trips in their Pace Arrow back in the mid '80s and my mom had jotted a few things down on a notepad. This, of course, was way back before home computers were even dreamed of and a laptop was only something that Santa had for the kids to sit in.

Until later...put a smile on your face. It wouldn't look good anywhere else.