FEBRUARY 7 - 22: Good Thing We're Flexible!

After we arrived at Hamcation in Orlando, Hank discovered the Aqua-Hot system was leaking again ( a new leak in the same unit that we had repaired in December).  After talking with a local Aqua-Hot technician, and with Coachcraft by Macdonald, (who did the previous repair),  we decided we wanted Coachcraft to do the repairs again. That meant changing our plans of returning to Travelers Rest for the rest of February, which we hated to do.  Coachcraft said they'd work us in whenever we could get there.

Monday, Feb. 11 - We drove to Dade City for a previously arranged appointment to get 2 new front tires for Little House at a Pilot truck stop. The tires were purchased through the Family Motor Coach Assn.'s Michelin tire discount program, which saved us over $100 per tire!   Mid-afternoon, we were able to start heading north and spent Monday night at the Perry, FL Walmart.

Tuesday, Feb. 12 - We drove from Perry, FL to Coachcraft in Columbus, GA.  They made sure we were parked with an electric hookup and said they'd get started on our problem the next morning. Mother Nature decided to get involved and a severe thunderstorm hit, knocking out power for 8 hours but our generator enabled us to follow our usual routine.

Wednesday, Feb. 13 - Bright and early, they found the problem and repaired it (very quick service for a work-in). This second leak was in the hot water line, whereas the previous leak had been in the boiler fluid line.  Also, Coachcraft was able to do the repair without having to remove the system from it's bay which made the bill  a lot less than a Florida technician had  estimated.   We stayed there Wednesday night to make sure all was well.

Thursday, Feb. 14 - We drove to Minooka Park near Jemison, AL for a 3 week stay. Our original plan was to come here after leaving Florida at the end of February  to visit two of our daughters and attend the Birminghamfest on March 2nd, so having extra time in a place we like was a plus.

Monday, Feb. 18 - All was well until we found a much worse leak in the same Aqua-Hot area that was repaired the week before.  Hank took pictures and video and sent it to Coachcraft. The response was immediate to come back when we could and they'd take care of us.

Tuesday, Feb. 19 - It was not a fair weather day and waiting for heavy rain to let up did not happen. Hank had to take down the ham radio antenna, and do all other outside work in a deluge.  We do have ponchos that kept him a little dryer, but it was definitely the worst weather we've had for a departure.  The rain did stop after about 30 minutes on the road and we returned to Coachcraft with no problems.  The service manager and Aqua Hot specialist met us as soon as we pulled in, immediately investigated the situation, found that the factory installed "Shark Bite" connectors were  leaking and came up with a temporary fix so we could use water overnight, and a plan for the next day. The leak problem is definitely a design failure on this coach.

Wednesday, Feb. 20 - During the morning, the Shark-Bite connections were replaced with a steel flexible line.  Once again, we stayed overnight to check for leaks.  Hank was told there would be no charge for this visit.

Thursday, Feb. 21 - We said our farewells, and shared hopes of not seeing them for awhile!  Coachcraft is a family-owned business that's been around for a long time with caring personnel.  It's definitely one of our 3 top service shops and I'm sure we'll be returning for maintenance items if not repairs. Our return to Minooka Park was under mostly dry skies and we were able to get parked and set up before the rains returned in earnest.

Friday, Feb 22 - Now we're hoping we can settle down to our normal routines and we're looking forward to the rest of our stay here visiting with family and friends.