I moved out!

That’s right!  I moved out of Ruff Road.  We had scheduled some warranty work to be done at Tampa Lazy Days on November 4th.  Our list of needed repairs were the leaking AC in the rain, refrigerator not cooling and freezing up, toilet ring would not keep water in the bowl even though we had used the lubricant, our antennae handle just fell off, possible air leak in the brakes, and our propane tank gauge did not work.  So the girls, Phoebe, Terra, and Luna, and I moved out into the “big house” while Gary headed south to Tampa for our appointment.  Lazy Days allowed him to stay in the RV at night.  This should have been simple but we learned that the refrigeration tech only comes once a week on Tuesday.  The scheduling department scheduled us for Wednesday so that delayed the refrigerator even being looked at for one week.  All in all, Gary was gone November 1st – November 17th.  While we loved the buying experience at Lazy Days, we didn’t love the service there.  They did repair the items on our list and our warranty was effective in keeping these costs down.  Some things that had to be fixed weren’t covered.  It didn’t cover the roof reseal, AC gaskets, or the AC fan motor.  It did cover all the other items so all in all, not bad.

Lesson learned

• Before you go to a repair shop, make sure your pantry is fully stocked.  We intended to shop but ran out of time.  Gary was stuck there without a car.  There was a gas station nearby, Cracker Barrel, and Lazy Days restaurants.  He wished he had food in the pantry.
• Plan on it taking longer than you expect.  That seems to be the norm from what others have said.  I’m sure there are exceptions and it depends on what needs to be fixed.  I’ve also heard nightmare stories of it taking weeks or months to have repairs completed.
• Don’t expect buyer loyalty.  We did and when Gary arrived, he was just another person.  We emailed with no response.  We did let the service manager know our concerns regarding the service.  Of course, you never complain without a solution.  Here are ours:

If the service volume is high, extend the service hours.

Have a plan for repairs.

Don’t allow outside vendors to dictate their work schedule.

Overnight parts

It wasn’t all bad.

Gary had electric, water, and dump access while there.  Lazy Days is a beautiful RV Park and RV dealership.  Gary walked the grounds and even did some RV shopping.  He is loving those 5th wheels.  I’m glad they finished the repairs or he might have traded Ruff Road for a 5th wheel!  Another bonus is he attended several RV seminars while there and learned about RV tanks and electrical systems.

Happy Holidays are coming!

While he was away, my granddaughters and I decorated the “big house” for Christmas.  We also had a sweet sixteen birthday party for my granddaughter.  All of this was so much fun and I enjoyed not stressing about work and just enjoying this time with family.

Tips:

• Walmart battery operated lights are inexpensive and have a timer.  This works great for RVs.

• Don’t leave your vents open if you don’t have a vent cover.  It rained.  It poured.  It flooded.  Good thing I had my camping towel to mop it up.

When are we EVER going to leave?

You may be wondering when and if we are ever going to “hit the road”.  There have been a couple of hiccups that delayed us leaving.  The major one is it took a long time to get rid of our stuff.  Once October passed, neither one of us really wanted to venture north of where we are.  We love the warmer weather, plus we wanted to be home for the holidays.  We do have some trips planned for 2018.  We are looking forward to venturing away for awhile.  So stay tuned, it’s in the works.

Do you have any RV repair stories?  Comment and share what you learned from the process.