December 3, 2013 "Thank You Patterson RV"

Slap my butt and call me Shorty. As hard as I try and stay current on our blog, it is becoming more difficult to do with so many distractions that pop up at a moment’s notice. So, daily I must choose between doing “something”, or writing about what we’re doing. With that said, I’ll try and catch up.

A little over a month ago, while in Childress, we encountered a problem with our HWH slide and leveling system. Ass CC was extending the last slide out, it abruptly stopped before fully extending. I looked at my watch and it was 3:35 pm on Friday. Both Winnebago and HWH close at 3:30, so it looks like it will be Monday before I can talk to anyone at either location.

Over the weekend, I surfed the Web for answers and narrowed it down to the motor that drives the hydraulic pump. On Monday I called the extended warranty people, and they gave me three names of people to call. When I called them, the first said I was too far away for them to drive on a service call, the second one only did RV glass repair, and the third was in Tucson, and said they would be happy to look at it, IF we brought the rig in. Right…….drive to Tucson with the slides out. NOT! Back on the web and look for a Winnebago/Itasca dealer in route to the RGV.

Patterson RV Sales in Wichita Falls, just slightly out of our way, said they could look at it Thursday morning, no sooner, BUT, we would have to retract the slides manually; easier said than done. If I had an air impact wrench, it would have been a breeze, as it were, it took about an hour for each of the two front slides. The two bedroom slides had to be pushed in from the outside with good ol’ brute force. Lucky for us, there were construction workers camped nearby, and CC sweet talked 4 of them to come over and help. Relatively easy to get in using this method, compared to the front two.

While in Childress we had a great visit with CC’s daughter, Letta and her family, and enjoyed cooking class with her preparing eggplant and chicken parmesan, CC’s favorite. I’m thinking Letta is trying to suck up to her mom???  Whatever the reason, CC loved it and we all enjoyed good meals together.

We decided to leave Childress on Wednesday, and drive the 120 miles to Wichita Falls, rather than get up at 5 am on Thursday, to make it to Paterson by 8:30 am for our scheduled appointment.

After the summer of repairs we have encountered, I was not overly optimistic as we arrived at Patterson, and commented to CC, “plan on at least a week in Wichita Falls, before we continue southward to the RGV.” 

But every once in a while, Murphy doesn’t raise his red head, and miracles can and do happen. I cannot begin to say enough good things about Patterson RV. They are in my books the best service we have experienced in almost 4 years of full-timing. They informed us every step of the way on what repair was being done, and the overall status. Our service technician was Darren, and was the best one I have ever known; bar none. He had our problem diagnosed within an hour of arrival, and 30 minutes later had the motor disassembled, and notified us the repair was a simple as new brushes. He further elated me with information that Patterson had a good relationship with a local company that specializes in rebuilding electric motors.

I now believe a good, no GREAT RV dealer can does exist. Any other RV service provider would have told us they would have to order a new motor from HWH, wait for it to arrive in about a week, and bring our rig back to install the new motor. But not Patterson, they went the extra mile, and for that we are extremely grateful. After paying our $100 deductible for the extended warranty, we were back on the road by 4 pm. Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus!

We left Wichita Falls and drove southward on US281 to our usual stop for a few days at Coffee Creek RV Park, just outside of Santo, TX. We really enjoy this place; quiet, peaceful, and a great hot tub and pool. After the last few weeks it was nice to just relax and relieve some stress soaking in the Jacuzzi.

Braunig Lake RV Park, just south of San Antonio would be our next home for a few days, as we work our way to the RGV for the winter. The weather was warm and humid, just perfect for enjoying the pool beside the lake.

Drum roll please…………………

Our travel day to the RGV was uneventful, just the way we like them, and arrived at our winter home in Weslaco, TX at Ranchero Village. It didn’t take us long to get set up and make our way to the pool. The park only had 8 other campers when we arrived, which is typical for this time of year, as most do not arrive until after Thanksgiving.

The following day CC decided a trip SOTB (south of the border) was in order. We spent the day walking around town visiting our Mexican friends; margaritas in hand. After a late light lunch of tacos, we ventured NOTB, as pool time was calling our names.

Now, after a month, we fell settled in for the winter, and back to our somewhat usual “routine”, which consists of 8 am exercise, 2 pm pool time and 4 pm happy hour. Every other hour is open to spur of the moment activities, which occur on a daily basis. We do manage to stay busy and active, and it’s hard to believe how fast the time flies.

Now that we are up to date, CC promises she will be more conscientious about updating the blog more frequently. That will happen if I can convince her that two trips SOTB per week is not “necessary”, but I will admit those $2 margaritas are a tempting persuasion.

Thanks for stopping by. Until next time, take care and stay well…………………..