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Borrego Springs, CA

Friday, May 21, 2010

What a day!

I'm in my new home, but not without several trials and tribulations.  After an anxious morning waiting for my afternoon appointment, I arrived at Universal for my 2:30 walk through with the RV tech.  Of course, more details were covered than I will remember, but it's not like I'm a newbie to a motorhome.  This rig does have quite a few differences from my old rig, though.  When the tech was demonstrating the auto-leveling system to me, the rear hydraulic levelers did not go down.  He said it was because we were on too great of an incline for the rig to level.  Hmmm, it didn't seem that sloped to me.  He later tried it on a more level spot, and all the levelers worked.  I talked to him about the toad breaking system, and he will take care of that on Monday when I bring both the rig and the toad in.

So, after the walk through, I went back inside the office to finish up the remaining paperwork, and finally headed back to Kasson at 5:30.  The plan was to drive the new RV in face first so that the entrance doors of both rigs would face each other so the transfer of belongings would be easier.  I had moved the Sightseer over to the other side of the driveway  before I left.  Because this rig is larger, I did have to get kind of close up and personal with a mock plum tree on the left hand side of the driveway.  :(   Okay, so I pulled in as close as possible to the garage door.  I hopped out to attach the electric, and wouldn't you know I was about two feet short of the hook-up.  There was no way I could move any closer.  So, I called Andy, who happened to be in Rochester, and asked him to pick up a 50 amp extension cord from Universal on his way home.  Of course, all they had was a 30 amp cord, but I took it just so I could plug in.

Then I tried to level the rig.  Andy's driveway is nearly level, but I wanted the stability of having the jacks down.  Well, guess what?  The jacks didn't work.  The front ones would go down, but not the back ones.  I retracted them and tried numerous more times to get them all to work, to no avail.  I tried the automatic leveling, and the manual leveling (which means I choose which jacks to lower).  They wouldn't work!  Ack!!  To put it mildly, I was not a happy camper.  :(

Since the driveway is really pretty level, I decided to proceed with the set up without the levelers.  I went outside to hook up the water, and couldn't get it to work without leaking.  In the meantime, Andy and family arrived with the 30 amp extension cord.  All right!  I had power.  Then Andy was able to tighten the water connection so it didn't leak.  I had water, but it sounded like the water was filling the tank when I had it set to the normal city hook-up.  I quickly ran inside, and groaned..  The water spigots in the bathroom sink had been left open at full force, and the plug was in the bottom of the bathroom sink!  The water was overflowing onto the floor of the rig!  I pulled the plug, turned off the faucet handles and hollered for Andy to get some towels.  Ugh!  Water was flowing down the floor towards the front of the rig.  I ran across to the old rig and grabbed what towels I could.  We got the water sopped up before it had much of a chance to soak into the carpeting, thank goodness.  What else could go wrong, I wondered.

I attached the DISH satellite cable, and Andy brought over the receiver from the old rig.  No matter what we tried, we could not get it to work.  The tech at Universal showed me where to attach everything inside (and said it was very easy), but no manor of tinkering got it to work.  I eventually figured out how to get local stations through the roof top antenna, so there is that.  Dang! what a frustrating day!  I've brought over my PJ's, and clothes for tomorrow, but the rest of the moving will wait for morning.

I'm pooped, and I still have to make up the bed tonight so I can crash.  I hope tomorrow goes a little more smoothly.  I'm excited about the new rig, but just wish things could go easy for a change.  :( ....  :) 

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later,  Judy

P.S.  Emma is sound asleep at my feet, so I guess it was an easy transition for her.  :)

10 comments:

  1. I'm sorry you're having problems right off the bat. It seems like several folks have had the same type things happen in new rigs - where is the quality control? For what you pay for those motorhomes they should work flawlessly. Hope everything is straightened out tomorrow.

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  2. Well, it sounds like a pretty normal transition so far. All the little RV Gremlins are present to trip you up at almost every turn. If you hear some giggling in the air that's what it is. It was a nasty oversight on the dealer's part to leave the taps open with the sink plug in. I would tell them about that so they can add it to their pre-sale walk through check list. But, on the up side there is nothing like a good old batch of frustrated excitement to really tire you out by the end of the day. And for Emma it was just another great doggy day in RV paradise:))

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  3. Sounds like you had an exciting introduction to your new home, but you did handle it with the experience of a seasoned RV'er so we are confidant any little problems that creep up you will be up to the challenge. It is alwaysd like that, things that work at the dealers never work once you drive out the driveway, however make sure and document that the tech had trouble initially before got the levelors down and insist on them fixing or replacing whatever the problem is, levelors are an expensive fix when it is your turn to pay for repairs.Good Luck with the new home, Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

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  4. Sure hope you have a better day today!

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  5. Oh, golly. I hope you get through all the teething problems with your new rig.
    It is great that Emma was showing her approval of it, and is quite comfy in her new digs!

    In case you are interested, they have discovered a new bird:
    http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/stories/100520.html

    Happy Trails, Penny, TX

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  6. Hang in there!! Next week it will be a distant memory. Hugs...

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  7. I guess that's why everyone talks about the "shake down" trip or time.

    It's good to know even an experienced person can have troubles. I won't feel so bad when my time comes. I will probably expect the worse!

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  8. So happy for you and Emma in your new home! It looks really nice. Hope you are having a better day today. Enjoy!

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  9. We had trouble with the jacks since the coach was new. Make them prove they are working correctly. This last round of jack problems proved to be the fault of the engine batteries being worn out.

    You may want to have them check the batteries to ensure they can be properly charged. If they are worn out, they will not hold a proper charge and will not have the necessary power to lower/raise the jacks. This was my latest problem with the jacks.

    Good luck. There are always things like this when getting an other coach.

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  10. Things will smooth out I'm sure. It does get frustrating, though, when we spend so much money on these darn things and they seem to have so many "glitches in the system". Seems like Emma has moved in just fine! Congratulations on your new home.

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