Yet, Another Problem

All tucked in last night at the Desert Diamond Casino in Tucson. (32.00747, -110.98977)

Linda serenading Lonie. She has such a beautiful voice.

The Jeep that would not shift into neutral so it could be towed was repaired in Indiana. Fast forward to Arizona and we find that the Jeep will now not shift back into drive. Big problem. How will Linda get around this summer?
We took it over to the local Jeep dealer and it was just a matter of resetting the computer. 15 minutes and all is better. Whew!

We switched to "camp" Casino del Sol because it is closer to Tucson. (32.13008, -111.08273) The casino has a nice 60' grill and I had an excellent Ruben sandwich. I am looking forward to Gem and Mineral Show that starts Thursday. I am expecting to see many wonderful things. 

365 days ago

Rolling West

Good news, Linda is feeling better and able to keep a little food down.

Lot of nothing in the Texas panhandle.

:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

Truth or Consequences, NM Walmart (33.15366, -107.25053)  Tucson tomorrow. 

Repairs and a Bath

We found a Aqua Hot repair shop in Tulsa. Tulsa RV Sales.  

The eviscerated Aqua Hot unit. 

The solution. The small white button, switch, disengages the unit when the cover is removed. The problem was that the cover had too much play and did not always engage the switch. Modification made so the cover always engages the switch. 

This 10 year old million dollar rig was in for repairs. The owner let it sit for all that time without winterizing or doing routine maintenance. It looks great but the Aqua Hot and water system is ruined, the tires shot and there is varmint damage. The repair bill so far is $20,000 and climbing.

The folks at Tulsa RV highly recommended the Semi Crazy Truck Wash down the street. 

They did a fantastic job. 

We got further west and are now hanging out at the Fort Amarillo RV Park. Linda is very sick with the flu , can't keep anything down sick. We will spend another night here. Hopefully she will feel like traveling tomorrow.  

Tough life for the park ducks. 

Better

Sunny, bright and above freezing.  Hurrah

Crossing the mighty Mississippi River. After 20 days on the road, we are now in the West.

Benjamin is fixing our generator problem by installing a new carburetor. Tonight we are at a St. Louis Walmart and the gen is running great. We are supposed to get 2 inches of snow tonight. 

Tomorrow we will go to Midwest RV Sales and have them work on the Aqua Hot. It would be nice to have hot water for bathing. 

365 days ago

Murphy is Alive and Well

Five productive days spent at the Entergra Service Center. They went through Linda's list, problems with the power shades, Aqua Hot not working, kitchen counter pulling away from the wall, roof leak, dish washer not working, and one slide that didn't like to slide. Everything working great. Hooray.

NOT  First night out  the slide would not move, the Aqua Hot, it supplies both hot water and heat, ran at about 10% capacity and the generator would not start. At 9 at night we had to leave the truck stop where we were and drive an hour and a half to a camp ground where we could hook up to 50 amps. With power, we could run the fire place, think big electric heater. It kept the inside temperature above freezing, but not toasty warm. 

Linda white knuckling it down hi-way 55 through a major snow storm. We need power for the night. How many campgrounds do you think are open this time of year? 

We found the only open campground in a 50 mile radius. The Double J Campground near Springfield, IL 

Power, wonderful power!!!

We stopped at Wal Mart and picked up several space heaters. We will be toasty tonight. 

365 day ago

The Entegra Homeworld

The birthplace of the mighty Entegra Couch.  The Spartan chassis enters one end of the assembly line.

Who knows where all these wires and pipes go?

Wiring behind the front dash. 

Walls being air lifted in

Very solid aluminum frame.

Slide outs waiting to be married to a couch.

There are 27 stations on the line. Every thing to be installed at that station is completed in an hour and forty five minutes. 

Air is applied to the orange pads and 

the rig is pushed over to the next station. Motorhome air hockey.

After the 27th station the completed couch is sent to paint, then returned for final inspection and detailing. I was very impressed with the quality of construction. 

Bundle Of Joy

Well, we are all now in a hotel. The dogs Aden and Riley, Iolani the parrot, Linda & I are now living in a hotel. We had to move out of the rig because the small leak in the bathroom turned out to be a two foot long, six inch wide opening in the roof. Someone put in the wrong screws during manufacture. They have to keep it inside until the roof is fixed and Entegra would not allow us to live in it there. :-(
The good news is that Linda has a new granddaughter, 7 lb 8 oz,  born at 1:30 am today.

Hanging In There

Peeking out

Venturing out

A better idea.

Got to love the internet.

Aden's favorite spot to hang out.

The blizzard, yes they are calling it the "Blizzard of 2014", is predicted to break this afternoon and it will be partly sunny tomorrow. We plan to leave early in the am for Middlebury, IN where the Entegra factory will make repairs.
Good News, we needed some. The part need to fix Linda's jeep so we can tow it, is on back order. 1227 people in the US are waiting for this part. Linda called Jeep dealerships around Middlebury looking for it. One had it in stock, but it was promised to a customer. Linda left her number and they call back today saying that we could have the part. It looks like Linda and will not have to drive separately all the way to AZ.

Surviving the Arctic Vortex

The morning view. We are in eye of the vortex. (42.942143, -78.715609) Snow continues to swirl around the rig. The low power problem and generator running erratically has been solved with an additive to prevent the diesel from jelling at these low temperatures. It is - 1 outside at 8 am. Wind Chill Factor?, don't ask.  We are snug with the gen running smoothly suppling all the power we need to keep warm.  

Digging Out

Digging a path for the rig to get out.

Cleaning the snow off the roof.

Why it was a good idea not to travel during the storm.

Linda's rig started loosing power because the diesel engine fluid lines were freezing. We are at the Cummins shop in Buffalo waiting for Monday morning. We will be late for our appointment at the Entegra Factory for coach repairs. It's an adventure. 

Big Storm

My second trip in four months driving from New Hampshire  to the west coast. After a wonderful Christmas with my family in sunny LA, 80 degree days, I few back to Linda's place. I was greeted by freezing temps and a warm smile. :-)  RV's say its an adventure and we did not disappoint. The tow bar for the towed was frozen,  took 20 minutes of hammering and hot water to free it up. Great ready, to go. NOT  The transfer case would not shift to neutral for towing. So rather than keeping each other company as the miles slip by, we'r  segregated.  Linda driving her motorhome and I  the Jeep. Today we are hunkered down at the Utica, NY Walmart (43.124, -75.22783) waiting out the storm. 10 degrees out right now, -4 tonight. Prediction: colder tomorrow. The travel advisory ends Friday morning and we will head for Erie, PA then.

The kayak is getting some strange looks