July 19, 2013 - "Friends and Repairs"

Each year as CC and I begin our travel season, we decide on a theme. Last year it was “National Parks in the West”, and the year before it was “Coastal - Across the Gulf and up the Atlantic”. This year CC chose “Family and Friends” as our focus, and since our last posting, we have been busy doing just that.

While we stayed at Whispering Hills RV Park outside of Georgetown, KY, we got to know the park owners, Pat and Monica. They are good, hardworking people, and their personalities closely matched ours, so friendship was inevitable. They joined us for a few “Happy Hours” with water bottle in hand; understandably no adult beverages for them while on duty. We finally managed a dinner together off site, and had a wonderful time and got to know them better. If you’re ever in the Lexington area, we highly recommend their campground.

Wow, the fourth of July is already upon us; what happened to June? A longtime friend is on assignment working in West Virginia, and living in Pittsburg, PA. We made plans with him and his wife to meet for the holiday. Zanesville, OH was not our first choice, but since we were late in making plans, the Greenbriar Resort in WV was already booked. Oh well, we are more interested in getting together than we are about WHERE it is. We stayed at a cute little place, Wolfie’s Campground, while our friends took up residency at a nearby hotel. We had a great time with Terry and Janice, and thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent with them.

While in Zanesville, we made plans to get together with our “Winter Texan” friends from Ranchero Village, Gary and Becky, who have lived in the area all of their lives. We had lunch at a little lakeside biker bar and then they turned their attention on playing tour guide to a couple of freeloaders. Thanks, Gary and Becky; we had a great time. See ya in Weslaco!

Now where to? CC and I really have no firm travel plans this year. So, we got on Google Maps and go through our Family and Friends list, and decide to head west. The morning we left Zanesville, the front leveling jacks on the rig were not completely retracting. They were up enough to drive, but not up enough to inflate the front air bags on the chassis, which would make driving nearly impossible; definitely NOT recommended. I crawled underneath to see if I could identify any problems, cleaned the ram shafts completely with WD-40 and wiped them almost dry, leaving a fine film on each ram, thinking this would solve the problem…..It didn’t.  Finally with a little coaxing from a make-shift pry bar, I was able to get them up and silence the “jacks down” ringing bell, which sends a signal to the front air bags to inflate.

We stopped in Richmond, IN at Grandpa’s Farm Campground the first night in route to see our friends in Troy, MO, Carl and Carla, also “Winter Texans”. The following morning, same scenario with the front jacks. Living this lifestyle, we live by the mantra, “Our plans are written in the sand”. New destination HWHCorporation in Moscow, IA via Troy, MO. HWH manufactured the leveling jacks and slides for our motor home, and going directly to the factory will ensure they are repaired correctly the first time.

After another travel day we pulled into Camp Lakewood RV Park in Effingham, IN. As we move westward, the temps are definitely increasing. After we got set up, I asked CC if she wanted to go to the pool and cool off, she replied, “They have no pool; only a lake”. OK…….turn down the AC. As we prepared to depart the following morning, our jacks showed no improvement and needed “coaxing” again.

We arrived in Troy, and after some severe “jockeying”, managed to get set up at Carl’s shop; as some would refer to as his “man cave”. Our visit was short, but enjoyable, as Carl and Carla were busy shuffling grandkids from Iowa to Missouri to Kentucky and back again. CC and I both agreed with their style of grand parenting, spoil ‘em rotten, and then give ‘em back to their parents. LOL After all, isn’t that what grandparents are for? We had a great visit, and enjoyed some great food, libations and laughter; did I mention laughter? See you two in Texas, if not before.

Working with HWH in Moscow, IA, is great; they are a pleasure to do business with, and really take customer service to the next level. Too bad the majority of RV Dealers don’t follow suit, for if they did, this lifestyle would be enjoyable 100% of the time. Dealers just want to sell you something, get your money, and then say, “The hell with ya!” We called HWH on a Thursday, and set an appointment for the following Monday. We arrived about 10:30 am, and were told by the service technician that the seals were bad in both front jacks. The cost to re-build would be $311.50 each plus one hour of labor. HWH called our extended warranty provider, and they agreed to cover the cost, less our $100 deductible.

Since we are traveling on I-80, and we have a couple of issues that need to be addressed on the rig, we decided to call Leach Camper Sales of Lincoln, NE, right off I-80. By contrast with the great customer service we received at HWH, we have an appointment with Leach, from whom we purchased this rig, along with their $7,000+ “Priority Service” Extended Warranty, and were first told the earliest they could get us in would be August 6. That’s three WEEKS! Sure didn’t take ‘em that long to take our money in August 2011. “Priority Service”….my ass. They finally shuffled some things around, and said “How about July 30. Will that work?” To which I replied, “Not really, but you’ve got me by the family jewels, so you’re the one calling the shots. What about that VIP Priority Service you promised?” Long pause, and finally they responded, “Well that’s the best we can do.”

CC found a highly rated RV Park just west of Des Moines in Waukee, IA. We checked in for a week at the Timberline Campground, and after set up decided to go for a swim; finally a pool and none too soon, as the heat index is approaching the century mark.

Tonight, we have plans for pizza with Winter Texan neighbors, Dick and Judy, who spend their summers nearby. Tomorrow, more frivolity with another set of Texas neighbors, Walt and Wendy, who still maintain a Spring-Summer-Fall home about 20 miles south of the campground.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by. Until next time, take care and stay well…………….

July 8 - 16, 2011 "Murphy"

No one likes to start their trip with aggravation, but with Murphy, anything is possible. We got ready to roll and during our pre-departure light check, CC noticed a damaged wheel on her bike. I looked at it, and the only thing I could imagine was one of the too many golf carts in the campground had run into the rear wheel, so it was off to the office to file a report. After filling out the paperwork, CC got this astonished look on her face, and said to the campground ranger, “Can we take your golf cart over to our campsite?” When they returned, I got the rest of the story. It seems that while backing the Jeep out of the campsite, she backed into a lamp post. We definitely had egg on our face and offered to pay for any damages. The owner inspected the post and said, “Your bike got the worst of it. It’s no problem; we’ll just tighten the screws, and thanks for being honest.” (Click on any image to enlarge)

We departed Wauseon, Ohio for La Porte, Indiana, and decided to stop at the RV Museum and Hall of Fame located just outside of Elkhart, IN, and we’re glad we did. We’re on a tight schedule, but we decided this was one stop we just had to see, considering our chosen lifestyle. It seems ironic, that one of the largest Amish settlements is located in this part of Indiana, considering they still ride in horse drawn buggies. The irony is many of them work at the numerous RV factories located here.

We finally departed for our trip to the Amana Colonies just outside of Amana, Iowa, and also the birthplace of the Amana Corporation. This is one of those places, about 10 miles north of I-80, many people just pass up, and keep driving. We found the place fascinating. Take the time to click on the link above, and if you’re ever in the area stop by; the people are VERY friendly.

Once inside, I was in heaven. My grandfather was not only a butcher, but a German one at that. It was like being a kid again, going to work with him. Let’s see what we need. Double smoked bacon, smoked sausages (6), smoked pepper jack cheese, smoked pork chops, pickled garlic, pickled asparagus spears, horseradish jelly; yea that should just about do it.

While staying at the Amana Colonies campground, we heard the sound of barking dogs, from 7 am to about 7 pm. CC and I were out walking, and we asked if there was a dog show at the pavilion in the park. “No”, they replied, “It’s a Flyball meet”. OK, I’ll bite, what the hell is Flyball. Watch the video below to find out, but only if you need a good laugh. The owners of the dogs are sometimes funnier than the dogs themselves.

When CC and I embarked on this adventure, we were both cognizant of the fact that most likely Murphy’s Law would be a small part of our travels; whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.  Picture this, a 30,000 pound house on wheels rolling along for miles and miles, in the midst of a magnitude 3.5 earthquake.  Something’s gotta give.

Over the last 14 months of driving on America’s roads, the only real information I have is the economic stimulus plan, to fund “shovel ready” projects, has not been used on the highways, as PROMISED. (Imagine that?)……. A logical person would assume that the Interstate System would have better roads than local, state or US highways. Let me assure you, this is NOT the case. OK, I feel better now that I have that off my chest. Back to shake rattle and roll.

We are finally in Forest City, Iowa; the home of Winnebago Industries and builder of our Itasca Suncruiser. A few weeks ago, I called and tried to set up and appointment to get our list of issues/repairs taken care of. I was told no appointments were available for July due to the Winnebago-Itasca Grand National Rally, which we are attending, and the first available appointment was August 15. OK then, August 15 it is.

We arrived in Forest City on Monday, July 11, and after talking to other attendees, were informed we could get into the service center simply by going and setting up an appointment, as during July, they operate on a walk in basis, first come, first served, but limit you to just 7 items to be repaired or replaced. Not an easy task, since Monday afternoon when we pulled in the campground, and were setting up, we had an accident when extending one of the living room slides and broke the vertical trim that encases the slide. (Gotta remember to check for clearances before extending or retacting those slides.)  Add another one to the list. Remember Murphy? Hmmmm, now to go through our list of 14 and prioritize the top 7. 

We hustled over to the service center at 7 am Tuesday, and were told we could most likely get in Wednesday. Great! That was easy enough. Winnebago has a staggered service schedule. You are either assigned a 6 am or 6:30 am time slot to have your rig at the service center, and the technicians begin work at 7 am. They also have a 9:30 am and 11:30 am  “Stand By” which means they MIGHT get to your rig. Every day at 3 pm, they post the list of times for appointments for the next day. We were assigned 9:30 am. Oh well, at least we can sleep in.

Wednesday 11:00 am. Finally met with Larry our service advisor and went over our list of 7 items, and were told to be close just in case they needed to speak with us, so just hung out the day at the service center with the 30 or 40 other people in for work. At 3 pm they brought the rig around, and we went over the items they had completed. 1) Replaced weather-strip on one of the slides. 2) Remove and install window retainer ring that was improperly installed when the rig was originally built. 3) Replace electrical relay on hot water tank so it would operate on 110V. (We had been using the LP to heat water.) “What about the slide needing adjustment”, I asked Larry. To which he replied, “It’s already been adjusted to the max, so the slide may need to be replaced.” I said, “Oh yea, why is that?” He said, “I’ll have more information tomorrow.” OK, 3 out of 7 in a half a day, I thought to myself. We were told to be back at 6 am the following morning, and told we could overnight in the adjacent lot where 30 amp services were available.

Remember Murphy? Around 7 am Thursday morning Larry informed me the slide would need to be replaced with a new improved forged steel slide to replace the extruded aluminum one, to the tune of $3,500 - $4,000. When I asked him who was going to cover that cost, he told me he would check with his boss, Bernie. About 30 minutes later, Larry came out and said we were responsible for the cost of the repair since it was out of warranty. I asked to speak to Bernie, and waited patiently until 1:30 PM when Bernie emerged from his well fortified office. I proceeded to explain that I thought it was a design – engineering – manufacturing defect and that we should, at the very least, split the cost 50-50. Furthermore Winnebago must have realized there was a flaw, otherwise they wouldn’t have made the replacement stronger than the original. Again Bernie repeated, it is out of warranty. I told him he was really making it easy on us to make a positive buying decision on a new Winnebago if this was the attitude of customer service, to which he replied, “You gotta do what you gotta do”, and turned on his heels to return to his office. To say I was not happy, would be an understatement.

Around 3 pm they brought the rig out, and Larry went over the repairs of the day, less the slide. 1) Repair duct work on basement air that was partially blocked by broken/dislodged insulation.  2) Met with the Norcold  rep to determine why our refrigerator was not cooling properly. (I thought it was an intake problem, that the intake was too small for a 4 door refrigerator.) Remember Murphy? I was told it was the correct vent size and the unit was cooling “within specifications”. 3) The dash A/C needed recharging but a leak in the dryer was noticed, so it will be tomorrow when they can get the part. OK, the end of day 2, and only 3 items have been repaired. Back to the adjacent lot for the night where I replaced the 2 high rear tail lights on the back of the rig, and two door hinges damaged in the slide incident on Monday.

Friday, 6 am day 3. Larry told us the new part was to be delivered by 10 am, so I’m thinking we’ll be outta here by noon. Murphy, where are you? 11:30 am, Bernie called on my cell phone, as I don’t think he wanted another face to face with me, only to inform me the part they received, was the wrong one, and a new one won’t be available until next Wednesday. Oh, there you are Murphy. With that bit o’information, we moved back to our spot on the rally campgrounds. Can you see us in the photo below?

While here at the Rally Campground, I have arranged with Duncan Industries to repair/replace 2 windows in the rig with broken seals. (One actually has about 2” of water between the dual panes.) The replacement trim for the slide incident should be ready next week. After the rally we will be going to HWH for them to correct some leveling issues we have had with the automatic hydraulic leveling system. At this point, there is no way I want Winnebago to work on a vendored item. The wind sensor in the awning still doesn’t appear to be working properly, but I will address that with Carefree when we get to Colorado, as it is also a vendored part.

CC and I are looking forward to the rally this week and absorbing as much technical information as we can possibly soak up. We have already met some wonderful, friendly campers, and have been to several “happy hours” without Murphy. So…………………….

Until next time, take care and stay well……………………………………………

July 2 - 7, 2011 "The Bridges of Ashtabula County"

Since reading the book, The Bridges of Madison County, CC has been captivated by this architectural anomaly; each one, uniquely different. Pennsylvania boasts the most of any state, and it is reported that the Amish from that area brought the concept with them as they migrated westward. While we were staying at Kennisee Lakes just outside of Jefferson, Ohio, we discovered that Ashtabula County has a total of 17 covered bridges, and so it was, a day of exploration was a must do. (As usual, click on any image to enlarge) 

Each bridge has a “badge”,that describes the statistics of that bridge. What amazed me was the fact that there seems to be no “standards” for this type of construction. No minimum or maximum on widths, heights, clearances or lengths. It appears the bridge designer has complete artistic freedom to design in any way, shape, fashion or form he chooses.

Most of America's covered bridges were built between 1825 and 1875. By the 1870s, most bridges were covered at the time of construction. The original reason for the cover was to protect the bridge's trusses and decks from snow and rain, preventing decay and rot. The cover served other purposes also-it kept horses from being spooked by the waters underneath, it was a reprieve from weather to the weary traveler, and it was used for political rallies, religious meetings, a night's sleep for tramps, town meetings, poker parties, sweethearts' rendezvous, drunken revels, dances, and even rainy-day luncheons took place on the covered bridge. An uncovered bridge would last approximately 20 years but a covered one could last 100 years.

The Graham Road Bridge, which was built from remnants of a bridge washed downstream in the 1913 flood, now sits in a small park on the south side of the road. The 97-foot Town Truss was over the west branch of the Ashtabula River in Pierpont Township.

The people of Ashtabula County truly embrace their covered bridges, and are determined to keep the concept, and to some degree, the culture of such alive for future generations. New bridges are being built using the same design concepts and principals of the past.

We will now be making our way to the Winnebago Itasca Grand National Rally in Forest City, Iowa, that runs from July 17 – 22. I think we both just realized how far we must travel to get there, so will double up our travel plans and move at the speed of light, around 100 miles per day, which will drastically alter our sightseeing agenda. Oh well, it’s a tough lifestyle we lead, so please don’t try this if you are faint of heart.

Until next time, take care and stay well………………….