Harold-the-RV Visits the Hospital
A young, healthy Harold-the-RV pulling Irving-the-Car
Lois and I love our full-time RV life. We feel privileged and blessed to have the opportunity to discover and explore a deeper side of our wonderful country. Seeking “Experiences and People, not Stuff” remains our goal as we take in amazing natural beauty and enjoy fascinating conversations with people of all sorts.
But it is not all fun and games. Real life marches on, and normal stuff happens. We still get ill and have unplanned downtime, sometimes requiring calls to the doctor, lab visits, and follow-up of various kinds. Then there are the finances. The bills keep coming, and we have a finite budget, so we must set aside time and energy to monitor our retirement savings. And germane to this blog, our important possessions need regular care and feeding — especially our home, AKA Harold-the-RV.
Come August, as our summer vacation in Maine neared its end, Lois and I were keenly aware that our Winnebago 12-month factory warranty was set to expire in September. Following the advice of others, we accumulated a healthy list of repairs and maintenance items before making time to take Harold-the-RV to a service center. Fortunately, I was able to tackle urgent problems that popped up along the way, allowing us to delay a visit to the shop until the end of our warranty period. So when we wrapped -up things in New England, it was time to head to a Winnebago service center, in this case one we chose in Bristol, Connecticut.
The Diagnosis
When I setup the appointment, I asked the shop for their best guesstimate as to how long it would take to fix our home. This meant, of course, that we had to abandon Harold-the-RV when we admitted him to the “motorhome hospital”. Pinning down the service manager regarding the duration was next to impossible, and for obvious reasons:
“It depends on the root cause of each problem.”
”We might have to order parts from Winnebago in Iowa.”
”There could be surprises along the way.”
”The shop is closed on weekends.”
”Oh, we’re closed on Labor Day, too.”
Understood.
After all was said and done, Lois and I decided we should prepare ourselves for a 2 week stop near Bristol in the surrounding Hartford, CT area. Hopefully, that would be enough to cover the worst case scenario.
For those interested, our repair punch list is shown below:
Water heater — Ignition problem
Generator — Requires 2-3 starts
Exterior compartment door - Hinge misaligned
Deadbolt — Does not catch
Monitored Coach system — Software update?
Winnebago — 2 recall notices
Kitchen table — Loose latch
Outdoor kitchen — Lift gate does not open/close smoothly
Potential roof leak near kitchen(?)
10,000 mile maintenance
What Did We Do While We Waited?
Harold-the-RV is our home, so it was no small task to vacate it for 2 weeks. We took with us nearly all of our clothes plus a few pairs of shoes — jackets and coats, too. Perishables from the fridge/freezer were dumped into an ice chest. For security’s sake, we even brought our important documents, including our bank records and passports.
Our chosen home away from home was a Hyatt House, a hotel brand that provides a small kitchen in every room. Essentially, they offer a small one bedroom apartment for as many nights as you need it. Our unit had a 2 burner stove, dishwasher, full-size fridge, and enough plates, utensils, glasses/mugs and pots/pans for four guests. Best yet, hot breakfast was provided everyday in the dining area downstairs (waffles!). The Hyatt House worked out perfectly, and it was very affordable by California standards.
While Harold-the-RV was at the service center, our plan was to do some sightseeing. But alas, bad health got in our way — oh well. We did spend an afternoon at a nearby art museum, and we also ventured out to a few restaurants including one in a Little Poland neighborhood on the other side of Hartford — pierogis, hash browns, and sausage! Lucky for Lois, we even found yet another Smoothie King where we enjoyed acai bowls once or twice during our stay.
On the Road Again
Yay! Just one week in the shop, and then Lois and I were on our way again. Did all of the issues get fixed? No…. Grrr. Unfortunately, our biggest concern was the water heater. On bad days, it is nearly impossible to get it going. Unfortunately for us, the shop was unable to reproduce the problem. Does that ever happen to you when you take your car to a mechanic? Bummer! We will try again at another service center somewhere down the road.
Now What?
When we left Connecticut the first week of September, it was just about time to head back to the West Coast for the holidays. A person in a car can push hard and get from one coast to the other in 5 days, all the easier in a smooth running comfortable car. But not so in the case of our 10 ton RV/Car behemoth. In our situation, we are doing the same trip in not 5 days, but 5 weeks! Instead of an exhausting trip, it’s a long journey for us.
In the world of RV’ing, once again the 3-3-3 rule is our friend — drive 3 hours/day, setup camp by 3:00 pm, stay 3 nights. I wonder how long a slow boat to China takes? But never mind. Lois and I are retired, have time on our hands, and continue to seek interesting experiences and people on all our journeys, near and far. We hope to be back in the Sacramento area by mid-October, just in time for trick-or-treating. 🎃🍭👻
Hope to see many of you soon!
Our route from Hartford, CT to Auburn, CA — a 5 week trip
