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Borrego Springs, CA

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Good news, bad news, and a shower?

Most of my news today is good.  The folks at Rush Trucking got the new water pump and new belt installed, gave the rig a good workout, and no more overheating!  Hoorah!  The price of all those hours of repair time about made me faint, but I’ve got rolling wheels again.  I knew the delivery of the belt wouldn’t happen until around noon, so I left the motel room shortly after nine and headed for Nampa, ID.  I had several errands to run, and I was familiar with Nampa from my week’s stay in Marsing in August.  I definitely wanted to visit the fresh fruit and vegetable stand again, and I did.  I purchased something I’ve never heard of before.  I bought two Pluots.  They are a fruit that is a cross between a plum and an apricot.  Sounded interesting, so I’ll try a couple.  I also got one of those English cucumbers that are usually a couple of bucks each for 50 cents, and added a tomato, and a purple plum for a total of $1.80!  I wish there was a way to have these fresh tasty items year round.

On the way back to Rush Trucking, I checked out the Camping World lot where I will have the hydraulic lifts fixed.  I’m not too crazy about Camping World doing the repairs, but this is the location that the manufacturer of the levelers recommended.  They do have overnight accommodations for customers on a first come first served basis, so I wanted to check out if there were any sites available and exactly where they were located.  By the time everything got finished and sorted out at Rush, it was 4:30 and right in the middle of rush hour before I could leave and head for Camping World.  Luckily, it was only a 15 mile drive through lots of construction.
IMG_5916I was able to get one of the two sites that had a picnic table.  I chose this site so I could put Emma outside tethered to the table.  Despite the 89* temperature, and the stop and go slow traffic,  the engine heat gauge stayed where it was supposed to.  What a relief that was!
 IMG_5918There are ten sites, and seven of them are filled tonight.  The quarters are tight, but it’s free.  I was sweating bullets by the time I finished unhooking the toad and getting set up.  There are no water hookups, but I do have 50 amps electric tonight so the AC is humming away!
 
So now for the bad news.  It turns out the cost of my night in the motel was not $99, but $134!  I guess I’ve been out of touch with motel rates.  Besides the $20 for Emma, I had to pay two bed use taxes…one for her and one for me!  I guess I should have let her sleep on the second bed!  There were several other taxes besides.  Personally, I think that’s a ridiculous amount of money for a night with a bed and a TV.

The second frustration of the day was dealing with my extended warranty people.  I could just wring their necks!  I did everything according to Hoyle, but they threw up every kind of roadblock you can think of.  I won’t go into the details, but suffice it to say I’m not looking forward to dealing with them tomorrow about the malfunctioning levelers.  :(

After three nerve wracking days, I took out my rocker and sat on the luscious green grass in back of the rig with Emma.  Because we were in back of the rig, it was shady there, and I was able to enjoy this relaxing time until…the automatic sprinklers came on!  OMG!  That water was cold and blasted me full in the face!  All I could do was shout out loud and start laughing uncontrollably!  What a Chinese Fire Drill as I tried to collapse the chair and get Emma and myself out of the multiple cold water jets.  I know I was in need of a shower, but really!  By the time we maneuvered to safety, Emma, I and the chair were dripping wet.  It was a great tension reliever!  :)

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

27 comments:

  1. Thanks for the great laugh ☺ In my mind's eye I could see you scramble to safety. Very funny to me because I was not in the line of fire, hmmmm, water. I hope your insurance dealings will be better. I cannot believe you drive that monster of a MH. My hat off to you.

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  2. What a couple of days you have had! The way you tell about it does make me laugh, but I'm sure it wasn't a laughing matter for you. The unexpected shower just capped your day, I'll bet. But you and Emma are safe and sound, so that's the main thing. Things have got to look up from here!

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  3. My daughter sometimes buys pluots at the farmer's market, but I haven't ever tried them.

    Your getting in the line of fire from the ubiquitous sprinklers found all over the west reminds me of my recent run-in while walking Lady. About all you can do is laugh.

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  4. My daughter sometimes buys pluots at the farmer's market, but I haven't ever tried them.

    Your getting in the line of fire from the ubiquitous sprinklers found all over the west reminds me of my recent run-in while walking Lady. About all you can do is laugh.

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  5. OMG that is so funny. The shower thing not the hotel bill thing. Hope all goes well at CW. Good luck.

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  6. That was such a funny picture, and certainly the cap to your day! Glad you were able to laugh about it and let off some tension! I hope you get everything worked ouut quickly!

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  7. What an end to the day! The high cost of even modest motels is part of why I would like to take up the RV lifestyle. We haven't traveled much and there is so much to see.

    Does Emma know she missed a sleep in a people bed?

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  8. Sure glad the first repairs went well now will keep all our fingers and toes crossed that your jacks go well too.

    The shower story is to funny hopefully it was a little stress reliever.

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  9. OMG Girl that made me laugh out loud and I'm so glad it did the same for you! It simply seems like the icing on the cake for an awful few days for you doesn't it? I just hope you don't get bedbugs from that darn over priced motel... you don't know about that going on now, don't you? jk... I'm sure they're only back east!!

    Super happy trails tomorrow into the garage at CW and then on to wherever you're headed after that! I've kinda lost track since this uproar!

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  10. Being able to laugh at the less than good things that happen is a great quality. I have yet to hear anyone say good tings about an extended warranty.

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  11. Like the others have said, the thought of you scrambling out of the way is pretty funny alright! Hope you get the problems with the warranty company all sorted out. It's just too bad that folks who sell insurance are so difficult to deal with when they are required to 'pay up'.

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  12. Have never heard a lot of positive things about those 'extended warranty' scams so many companies force on people. Whenever buying electronic equipment etc we always refuse that extended warranty pitch!! Not surprised by the ridiculous added 'bed use' type charge at the Motel. It just seems to be the way of our money grubbing society these days. And getting caught in an unexpected lawn sprinkling shower....geeezzzz, some people have all the fun:))

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  13. After all you went thru this week and then add getting all wet I guess all you can do is laugh about it. Better then crying.

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  14. I'm glad they were able to solve your problems with the motor home. We also had an extended warranty and also had trouble trying to get the generator repaired a few years back. We made sure we knew exactly what needed doing and then READ the warranty contract, especially the exclusions. They tried to deny the claim, but I argued because I didn't think their exclusion fit our problem. The wording was they key. It was escalated up and they finally covered it! It was a $1500 bill, so I was glad. In my previous career I was a claims adjuster, so I knew to read the contract and exclusions and I won. A bad belt and water pump likely wouldn't be covered, unless something else caused them to fail, but read your warranty contract carefully and argue if you think you are right. Good luck.

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  15. I am keeping the fingers crossed Camping World does right for your repair job!
    And go 'em with the Extended Warranty people!
    Don't you feel like an oral surgeon trying to get something covered? (It's like pulling teeth!)
    They must have forgotten to tell you about the "Happy Hour Spritzers"!
    Best of luck!
    Kathy
    aka Birdingrvers.com

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  16. PS Meant to say: GO GET 'EM! LOL

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  17. Never did care much for extended warranties, although on something as complex as a truck or MH you really have to have it, it's just like Karen and Al said they will try everything to get out of meeting their half of the bargain, keep a stiff upper lip and hit em head on. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

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  18. So glad that part is now fixed... and you are on to the next repair that should go smoothly too. You go get em girl on the warranty stuff. We are pullin for ya!

    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    Karen and Steve
    (Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/

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  19. No wonder you get your wine by the case!!! These past few days are good for at least a bottle a day!! I laughed outloud about the sprinklers,,sorry...but I could envision myself in the same situation...Actually I'll bet that was the first laugh you had in 3 days!!! Good Luck with the warranty people..and have a glass of wine for me!

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  20. My Mammow always said that trouble "comes in 3s", so maybe the unanticipated rain shower will be the last surprise for awhile!

    Love your attitude - you are always so positive and upbeat, but something tells me the warranty folks are going to have their hands full when they encounter you! :-)

    Hope you get it all worked out and are back to your peaceful life very soon!

    Kerri in AL :-)

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  21. Too bad no one was there to make a video of the sprinklers spraying you! Might have gotten the $10,000 prize.

    Hope you have good luck at Camping World.

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  22. Did you check out your ins. for repayment of your motel room? Our ins. will pay $750.00 on motel/hotel, while getting our RV worked on. Of course it was a claim that they were working on, so not sure about your situation.. Stay safe..

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  23. I'd definitely check into the reimbursement of the motel expense. Ours has that clause but the rig has to essentially be non-drivable, which sounds like was the case with your situation. If the warranty folks (or anyone, for that matter) give you a hard time, tell 'em you'll come after them with your coal tongs! >:o As for the sprinkles, hey, look at the water you saved by not taking a shower inside! >:)

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  24. That should have been sprinLERS not sprinkLES. Sprinkles sounds like a hot fudge sundae! Yoinks!

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  25. I love pluots. Hope you enjoy yours. We haven't had to fight for coverage under the extended warranty yet but I'm sure our time wil come. Just don't give in or up.

    I would have loved to seen the look on your face and Emma's when those sprinklers came on. That must have been priceless.

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  26. Congratulation on the water pump and belt repairs. The Labor cost per hour is always out of line. Good luck on the hydraulic lifts.

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