It was the best of times. It was the worse of times. It was time to test the towing experience with our rv. We decided to go to the "Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania." I was a little concerned about the five hour drive while towing as a test. I ought to pay more attention to my concerns...
The car was hooked up to the rv without much of a problem for at least 2 minutes or so. The handles on the tow bar were not in the upright and tight status. I figured that they would lock in with a little bit of movement from the rv. Gin pulled the rv up some two or three times and one side would seem to lock and then the other, but not both. When focusing on an exasperating task, I really can focus. Sometimes, it is too much and too narrow and important things get forgotten - LIKE LEAVING THE CAR IN PARK WHEN MOVING THE RV UP A FOOT OR TWO! Really, I am smarter than I look, but it could not be proven in this instance. It was eventually decided to drive the rv for a bit -without the car in park! - and then check to see that the tow bar was locked on both sides. Surely, this would happen. Or not...
After about four miles, we pulled over in a convenient spot and checked the tow bar. It appeared to be not locked on both sides. We called the dealership, got service, and as usual, got a nice person. In this case, they talked me through it. I had watched videos, seen the connections made at the dealership, and had gotten the wrong impression. The handles on the bar do not have to be in a locked position up at all. That just happens when stress is placed on the bar unevenly and presents difficulties in releasing them. The problem was solved, but it had taken about thirty minutes or so.
It was a dark and stormy night. Wait a minute, that is the beginning of the novel I'll never write or a blatant rip-off of Snoopy - can't remember which one. Anyhow, it was a somewhat sunny day, hot, and a little breezy. To refresh your memory, I was still in the process of learning how to drive our expensive dog house. With the wind and attention to the towed car (what veteran rvers call a "toad"), I was having to focus all of my attention plus more to keep the rv between the white lines. I developed a knot in my upper back that was painful and it was exhausting. Gin was enjoying her ride, but was also trying to comfort and support me. We had considered having Gin drive on a suitable stretch of road for her first experience. My discomfort and tension with the driving conditions resulted in that not happening.
We got to the camp ground after what seemed like an eternity or at the very least, better than five hours if you use the metric system. At the Stony Fork camp, the folks signing us in were nice and genuinely pleasant, something that is not always the case in our limited experience. We stopped in front of our site and unhooked the car. In doing so, I hit a knuckle hard on the tow bar, but thought little of it at the time. So far, so good. At least that is what the man said as he passed the 15th floor after jumping off the 22nd story. The toad was dead. In trying to revitalize the car, a hybrid which is still somewhat of a mystery to me, it was put in park. Interestingly, in this hybrid, once the car is put in park with a dead battery, it cannot be taken out of park and thereby, cannot be moved. Hmmm, car - an immovable one - parked in the middle of the main road through the campsite. I felt like there was a village somewhere looking for a resident idiot and furthermore, I felt highly qualified for the job.
The owner of the campground happened to be mowing nearby and graciously jumped our car. We got into our site and hooked up successfully. Had you fooled there for a moment, yeah, right. I only need glasses for seeing and was not wearing them at the time of putting the electrical connection into the power box. It seems that each campground is a little different. Some have the circuit breaker on and some off when connecting or the previous person leaves it incorrectly. Anyhow, the air conditioning in the rv was set for on and in snapping the circuiting breaker at the box off and on due to not being able to read the fine print, it caused the air conditioner to initialy operate, but then zip, zilch, nada, no way, etc. As previously mentioned, Gin is an Eskimo of sorts and I felt badly for her because of the heat in the rv, but no air.
For a brief moment, my brain operated beyond the village level and I surmised that the air had had its circuit breaker in the rv "kicked." Just a minor problem though, where in the hell is the circuit breaker box in the rv. Hell is an appropriate term here because Gin and I spent two hot, awful hours scouring the rv looking for the breaker box. The kindly owner of the campground had a good idea, but it did not pan out.
I usually turn to the internet for assistance in problematic cases and this time I did the same - except I had no idea of how to access the wireless network for the campground. I tried calling the dealership, but there was no signal where we were. I drove to higher ground near the office and did get a signal, but the dealership was closed at this time in the evening (see long drive a time spent looking for breaker box above). Once again, the owner proved to be heroic, even though he was not wearing a cape or riding a white horse. He told me how to access the internet. The second hit gave us what we needed and glory hallelujah, we had air!
Did I happen to mention that my hand via the busted knuckle was now the size of a small cantaloupe? Actually, it was not hurting too much and I was too tired to care that much either. Gin was happy with her air and we settled in for the night.
Stay tuned for part 2 of this (mis)adventure....
Friday, August 31, 2012
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
A Smidge from the Bridge
Due to the our nature of wanting to take things sloooooowwww, our next trip was two days, one to Hershey, Pennsylvania and then to nearby Lancaster the next day. We are still trying to iron out some perceived problems, real or not, and get experience.
Driving was still a concern to me. In my mind, there is the width left over in the traffic lane on either side of the rv of one of my ten year tee shirts . However, with optimism that was unwarranted and eventually unrealized, I decided that the more direct route over the Conowingo Dam Bridge was doable. Part of this bridge is narrow, which is an understatement. I do mean NARROW. With trepidation, we approached the bridge and lo and behold, the narrow part of the bridge was void of traffic. I could make it across that part by riding the middle line without being pushed toward the edge. I stepped on the gas harder as there was a car in the distance just starting on the other end of the bridge, the wider part. Please understand that rvs are not rockets, even slow ones. Please understand that cars can be. Guess what, the car coming was an evil person who was attempting to break all land speed records. I hunched over the wheel and put the petal to the metal. The evil incarnate in the car, probably some Democrat, did the same. It was a race to the end of the narrow part of the bridge or wide part depending on your perspective. I was doing at least fifty-seven and one-half miles per hour and was not going to make it the wider part of the bridge before the other car, so I moved more toward the middle of lane - TOO MUCH. As if in a Batman, episode, I saw the word cloud in front of me that said, CRUNCH!! (I heard it too.)
Do you remember what your tummy felt like after eating too much candy as a kid? Yeah, that was the feeling and from the look on my wife's face, her's felt like it too. We got to a spot to stop about a minute later and inspected the damage. The side mirror had been pushed toward the side of the rv and had a big, black mark on it. I gingerly pushed the mirror back in place, expecting it to break. Other than the black mark, there was no damage. Well, maybe the guy wasn't a Democrat after all.
We visited the Hershey chocolate factory and took the tour. We declined to take the "make your own personalized five pound chocolate bar", which was the best for our health. We camped in Elizabethtown that night down in the valley of a campground without incident (I expected to see Burt Reynolds or hear banjos at any moment) and proceeded the next day to Lancaster.
Our favorite restaurant in Lancaster was closed because it only serves lunches. We did not know that as we had only been there at lunch time before. The restaurant is in Bird-in Hand. It is near Blue Ball and Intercourse, little towns in Pennsylvania. Okay...
We shopped a little, spent the night in a Lancaster campground, and did well for the most part. We had hot water without creating a radioactive cloud or pushing global warming over the edge. The awning was put out for the first time and we are still curious about some buttons on the rv. I guess they fall in the mysteries of life category.
I managed to break the end of the sewage hose, but was able to dump successfully the next morning.
We went home without incident. We did not have to return across the NARROW bridge with any rampaging, evil, accelerating, political entities in sight.
We are enjoying our rv experience, but there are downsides too with being overwhelmed by things we are anxious about. Stay tuned.....
Driving was still a concern to me. In my mind, there is the width left over in the traffic lane on either side of the rv of one of my ten year tee shirts . However, with optimism that was unwarranted and eventually unrealized, I decided that the more direct route over the Conowingo Dam Bridge was doable. Part of this bridge is narrow, which is an understatement. I do mean NARROW. With trepidation, we approached the bridge and lo and behold, the narrow part of the bridge was void of traffic. I could make it across that part by riding the middle line without being pushed toward the edge. I stepped on the gas harder as there was a car in the distance just starting on the other end of the bridge, the wider part. Please understand that rvs are not rockets, even slow ones. Please understand that cars can be. Guess what, the car coming was an evil person who was attempting to break all land speed records. I hunched over the wheel and put the petal to the metal. The evil incarnate in the car, probably some Democrat, did the same. It was a race to the end of the narrow part of the bridge or wide part depending on your perspective. I was doing at least fifty-seven and one-half miles per hour and was not going to make it the wider part of the bridge before the other car, so I moved more toward the middle of lane - TOO MUCH. As if in a Batman, episode, I saw the word cloud in front of me that said, CRUNCH!! (I heard it too.)
Do you remember what your tummy felt like after eating too much candy as a kid? Yeah, that was the feeling and from the look on my wife's face, her's felt like it too. We got to a spot to stop about a minute later and inspected the damage. The side mirror had been pushed toward the side of the rv and had a big, black mark on it. I gingerly pushed the mirror back in place, expecting it to break. Other than the black mark, there was no damage. Well, maybe the guy wasn't a Democrat after all.
We visited the Hershey chocolate factory and took the tour. We declined to take the "make your own personalized five pound chocolate bar", which was the best for our health. We camped in Elizabethtown that night down in the valley of a campground without incident (I expected to see Burt Reynolds or hear banjos at any moment) and proceeded the next day to Lancaster.
Our favorite restaurant in Lancaster was closed because it only serves lunches. We did not know that as we had only been there at lunch time before. The restaurant is in Bird-in Hand. It is near Blue Ball and Intercourse, little towns in Pennsylvania. Okay...
We shopped a little, spent the night in a Lancaster campground, and did well for the most part. We had hot water without creating a radioactive cloud or pushing global warming over the edge. The awning was put out for the first time and we are still curious about some buttons on the rv. I guess they fall in the mysteries of life category.
I managed to break the end of the sewage hose, but was able to dump successfully the next morning.
We went home without incident. We did not have to return across the NARROW bridge with any rampaging, evil, accelerating, political entities in sight.
We are enjoying our rv experience, but there are downsides too with being overwhelmed by things we are anxious about. Stay tuned.....
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Our First Real Night in the RV
Okay, when is a night real and not real. This post speaks to the first night and related events on our own.
We were anxious to do a test trip. It was decided that some place close and no towing would be best. Elk Neck State Park is close and the grandkids were going to be camping, real camping in a tent, there, so it was a no-brainer. We invited the oldest grandchild to stay with us and that made it special too.
The road to the park is narrow and the branches that overhang need trimming. These are not opinions, but facts based on the whipping of the rv by said branches with subsequent grimaces from Gin and me and my heart rate that easily exceeded the worth of Mitt Romney in dollars on the narrow, curvy road. Remember that I was still having issues with driving on a regular road at that point.
We got there, backed in, got hooked up, and started to explore the rv in earnest for answers to questions that caused the anxiety closet door to screech open at night.
Mostly, it went well. Oh, about the hot water heater.... We had not been able to test the hot water heater at the dealership through ignorance, forgetfulness, and other traits peculiar to rv newbies that start from scratch (or maybe it is just us). After an hour of stumbling and bumbling about, removing a panel to the bottom of the hot water heater, a call to a salesman at the dealership, and severe gashes in my scalp from scratching, it was determined the vaunted check list of the service department had let us down again. Apparently, a bypass valve was on that should have been off or some such variation on the seemingly 142 valves, water lines, and radioactive cores related to the water heater. After figuring out the correct connection/valve position, the ominous words of the orientation service person were raging in the decision making center of my brain and saying that the Western Hemisphere was in danger if cold water or some such thing filled the tank while the heater elements are hot. That yellow streak down my back is not a racing stripe. Discretion is the better part of valor and so on - we did not want to devastate mankind or even womankind in any hemisphere, so it was no hot water for the trip.
In general, we had fun for the evening with the granddaughter, the dogs did well, and my heart rate receded to below one thousand or thereabouts. We slept terribly as expected. The next morning was fine and then it was time to go home. The granddaughter went to join her family.
The time had come to perform the task, that for me, is probably comparable to child birth for a woman, but thankfully there is no bundle of joy at the end. It was time to empty the BLACK WATER TANK. I dutifully got out the black water hose while given immoral support from my faithful wife of 43 years. If you have not guessed by now, this is the most intimidating and frightful task an rver can have for me. Yes, it is a somewhat minor hangup, but it is mine and approached the terror of imaginary spiders crawling over one's body that some people experience.
I unhooked the cap leading to the water drainage system on the rv and started to put the hose on the line. The hose was broken! Alas and Alack or some such profane words.... We did not tow, so we had to go to a local Walmart in the rv - down the narrow, curvy road with branches whipping us unmercifully along the way - and then back again on the same road to the park to dump the tanks. It was anticlimactic. We made the trip, bought the hose, and dumped with no problems to speak of. And there was no bundle of joy from the black water tank either.....
We were anxious to do a test trip. It was decided that some place close and no towing would be best. Elk Neck State Park is close and the grandkids were going to be camping, real camping in a tent, there, so it was a no-brainer. We invited the oldest grandchild to stay with us and that made it special too.
The road to the park is narrow and the branches that overhang need trimming. These are not opinions, but facts based on the whipping of the rv by said branches with subsequent grimaces from Gin and me and my heart rate that easily exceeded the worth of Mitt Romney in dollars on the narrow, curvy road. Remember that I was still having issues with driving on a regular road at that point.
We got there, backed in, got hooked up, and started to explore the rv in earnest for answers to questions that caused the anxiety closet door to screech open at night.
Mostly, it went well. Oh, about the hot water heater.... We had not been able to test the hot water heater at the dealership through ignorance, forgetfulness, and other traits peculiar to rv newbies that start from scratch (or maybe it is just us). After an hour of stumbling and bumbling about, removing a panel to the bottom of the hot water heater, a call to a salesman at the dealership, and severe gashes in my scalp from scratching, it was determined the vaunted check list of the service department had let us down again. Apparently, a bypass valve was on that should have been off or some such variation on the seemingly 142 valves, water lines, and radioactive cores related to the water heater. After figuring out the correct connection/valve position, the ominous words of the orientation service person were raging in the decision making center of my brain and saying that the Western Hemisphere was in danger if cold water or some such thing filled the tank while the heater elements are hot. That yellow streak down my back is not a racing stripe. Discretion is the better part of valor and so on - we did not want to devastate mankind or even womankind in any hemisphere, so it was no hot water for the trip.
In general, we had fun for the evening with the granddaughter, the dogs did well, and my heart rate receded to below one thousand or thereabouts. We slept terribly as expected. The next morning was fine and then it was time to go home. The granddaughter went to join her family.
The time had come to perform the task, that for me, is probably comparable to child birth for a woman, but thankfully there is no bundle of joy at the end. It was time to empty the BLACK WATER TANK. I dutifully got out the black water hose while given immoral support from my faithful wife of 43 years. If you have not guessed by now, this is the most intimidating and frightful task an rver can have for me. Yes, it is a somewhat minor hangup, but it is mine and approached the terror of imaginary spiders crawling over one's body that some people experience.
I unhooked the cap leading to the water drainage system on the rv and started to put the hose on the line. The hose was broken! Alas and Alack or some such profane words.... We did not tow, so we had to go to a local Walmart in the rv - down the narrow, curvy road with branches whipping us unmercifully along the way - and then back again on the same road to the park to dump the tanks. It was anticlimactic. We made the trip, bought the hose, and dumped with no problems to speak of. And there was no bundle of joy from the black water tank either.....
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Song - Learn, Learn, Learn (Sorry Turtles)
A constant in the whole rv experience for us has been learning. Thus, the title above is most appropriate.
The next morning after our first night on the back lot of the dealership, we were up and out with questions for the sales and service folks. There is just so much to learn for the truly new newbie.
The service folks were gracious and patient. They helped us at length in our next endeavor- the first towing of our car. They were meticulous in following the manual of the car and adding in their own personal knowledge and experiences.
Towing can slow an rv down to practically a snail's pace. However, in one shining moment, I threw caution to the winds and passed a dump truck going up a hill. At that point and every opportunity after that, the refrain of, "Eat my dust," has been used.
Long story short in regard to the one hour and fifteen drive, we made it nearly home and began fretting about disconnecting the towed car. At times, I had anxious moments about the unhooking and at other times, I was too blase. At any rate, we plotted a strategy that was carved in Jello and proceeded. The handles for the release of the tow bars were stuck, in hindsight, as we learned very quickly. Following the advice of the service folks and a video I had seen online, we tried several things that eventually worked. The old saying is, "The hurrier you go, the behinder you get." Well, I was not behind at the end, but between the rv and the car when the tow bars became disengaged - on a slight hill - downward toward me - with the car in NEUTRAL. Newton, a man of gravity, being the guy that he was, dictated that the car would drift toward me and catch me between the rv and car. NOT A GOOD THING! Fortunately, both Ginny and I recognized what was occurring and she jumped in the car to apply the brakes and put it in park. We had been told to do that, but in the increasingly frenetic situation of dealing with the unknown of unhooking, we forgot. Needless to say, it will not happen again - until the next time....
Our first night was a qualified success with much learning. The towing experience was the same. Because this is being written about five to six posts behind, the reader, if there are any of you out there, will find that Roger has much to learn, learn, learn, about towing. To be continued.....
The next morning after our first night on the back lot of the dealership, we were up and out with questions for the sales and service folks. There is just so much to learn for the truly new newbie.
The service folks were gracious and patient. They helped us at length in our next endeavor- the first towing of our car. They were meticulous in following the manual of the car and adding in their own personal knowledge and experiences.
Towing can slow an rv down to practically a snail's pace. However, in one shining moment, I threw caution to the winds and passed a dump truck going up a hill. At that point and every opportunity after that, the refrain of, "Eat my dust," has been used.
Long story short in regard to the one hour and fifteen drive, we made it nearly home and began fretting about disconnecting the towed car. At times, I had anxious moments about the unhooking and at other times, I was too blase. At any rate, we plotted a strategy that was carved in Jello and proceeded. The handles for the release of the tow bars were stuck, in hindsight, as we learned very quickly. Following the advice of the service folks and a video I had seen online, we tried several things that eventually worked. The old saying is, "The hurrier you go, the behinder you get." Well, I was not behind at the end, but between the rv and the car when the tow bars became disengaged - on a slight hill - downward toward me - with the car in NEUTRAL. Newton, a man of gravity, being the guy that he was, dictated that the car would drift toward me and catch me between the rv and car. NOT A GOOD THING! Fortunately, both Ginny and I recognized what was occurring and she jumped in the car to apply the brakes and put it in park. We had been told to do that, but in the increasingly frenetic situation of dealing with the unknown of unhooking, we forgot. Needless to say, it will not happen again - until the next time....
Our first night was a qualified success with much learning. The towing experience was the same. Because this is being written about five to six posts behind, the reader, if there are any of you out there, will find that Roger has much to learn, learn, learn, about towing. To be continued.....
The First Night - A Draining Experience
We settled for the rv and took advantage of the overnight offer on the back lot of the dealership - a shakedown cruise of sorts. We were smart, brilliant even, to video record the salient points of the three hour orientation given by the service specialist for that very task of breaking in newbies like us. What is the opposite of smart and brilliant? I'll let you fill in the blanks as I couldn't get the sound to function on the cheap video cam and proceeded to erase all of the videos in the process. Oh well.
We had electricity as our only hookup, but were anxious to try out the new digs, rigs, whatever. A frozen bag dinner was cooked after the first experience of lighting the oven from a long nosed lighter while bending over to what we guessed was the pilot light (see erased video above). It was cold outside in April, but we got the heat going and it was fairly toasty - toasty being a relative term for my wife, whose ancestry must have Eskimos, deeply and firmly embedded in the gene pool.
The dogs needed to be walked and being a good egg on this rare occasion, I went with them. The dogs were reluctant to take care of business and it was a good twenty minutes before we got back. As we approached the rv, there was a solid stream of water coming from the side of the rig. A fish allusion such as, "Holy mackerel," is in order here as there was certainly enough water for their survival. I rushed into the rv and a moment of awareness not consistent with my panic, turned off the water pump. We had no water and it was nearly eight o'clock at night. Wonder of wonders, the salesman who sold us the rv appeared to check up on us as he was leaving. He arranged for the second shift service folks to help. They did.
Service is an interesting concept. They were terrific in running a 300 hundred foot hose to our rv and replenished the water tank - remember, no water hookup. What caused the leak? Service had left the outside shower faucet on from the 2 million item checklist that this dealer and every other one assured us that they have. Well, 2 million may be only a slight exaggeration to what they promised. More on this later with our hot water heater.....
We slept terribly as expected, but it was our doing as opposed to any rv issue.
Next, the towing adventures the next day to go home....
We had electricity as our only hookup, but were anxious to try out the new digs, rigs, whatever. A frozen bag dinner was cooked after the first experience of lighting the oven from a long nosed lighter while bending over to what we guessed was the pilot light (see erased video above). It was cold outside in April, but we got the heat going and it was fairly toasty - toasty being a relative term for my wife, whose ancestry must have Eskimos, deeply and firmly embedded in the gene pool.
The dogs needed to be walked and being a good egg on this rare occasion, I went with them. The dogs were reluctant to take care of business and it was a good twenty minutes before we got back. As we approached the rv, there was a solid stream of water coming from the side of the rig. A fish allusion such as, "Holy mackerel," is in order here as there was certainly enough water for their survival. I rushed into the rv and a moment of awareness not consistent with my panic, turned off the water pump. We had no water and it was nearly eight o'clock at night. Wonder of wonders, the salesman who sold us the rv appeared to check up on us as he was leaving. He arranged for the second shift service folks to help. They did.
Service is an interesting concept. They were terrific in running a 300 hundred foot hose to our rv and replenished the water tank - remember, no water hookup. What caused the leak? Service had left the outside shower faucet on from the 2 million item checklist that this dealer and every other one assured us that they have. Well, 2 million may be only a slight exaggeration to what they promised. More on this later with our hot water heater.....
We slept terribly as expected, but it was our doing as opposed to any rv issue.
Next, the towing adventures the next day to go home....
The Beginning of Our RV Experience
My Goal
The major obstacle for our purchase came very late in the process. We had settled on buying a Class A, but had never driven one. Although I had had some experience with large vehicles some forty years ago, the meandering of the rv and size was a lot of work to drive - no fun at all. At one point, I was ready to give it up altogether, but eventually with the coaching of a salesperson was convinced that it could be done safely and without high levels of tension. That proved to be the case after three trips. More later about this.
The first night was interesting. Stay tuned for the next post.
I hope to use this as a record of our rv adventures. Knowing myself in that I normally start slow and then taper off, we will see if there is enough self discipline to continue over time.
The Purchase
Volumes could be written about this, but a few lines will suffice, I hope. It all occurred on a whim and result of a discussion about how to travel with the dogs being a problem to consider. They could not be left with the children for various, good reasons and a kennel was out of the question. What to do? Obviously, the dogs needed to come with us and buying them a large doghouse with wheels seemed like a good idea at the time. We started small by looking at a Class C, went through several iterations, and ended up buying a 2010 31 foot Class A.
We encountered wonderful salespeople, some good advice, and some not so good advice. We ended up being sold on the full, undivided windshield of a Class A, bunks, and a leather couch. Yes, those were the key ingredients for our expensive dog house!
We had much fun looking and traveling to the various rv stores and shows to learn. The more we went, the more we learned. I would advise anyone to not take less than a hundred hours of looking, talking to salesmen, talking to your spouse/family/whatever, and downright soul searching about what is really important to you when purchasing. We would have made a dreadful mistake had we not done this. We also have devised an exit strategy should rving not work out for us - one that will not break the bank.
The major obstacle for our purchase came very late in the process. We had settled on buying a Class A, but had never driven one. Although I had had some experience with large vehicles some forty years ago, the meandering of the rv and size was a lot of work to drive - no fun at all. At one point, I was ready to give it up altogether, but eventually with the coaching of a salesperson was convinced that it could be done safely and without high levels of tension. That proved to be the case after three trips. More later about this.
The first night was interesting. Stay tuned for the next post.
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