MARION, NC: Feeling More Like Home All the Time

You thought I meant Marion, didn't you?  I meant living in our home, the American Tradition, our Little House on wheels.  However, we are becoming very familiar with Marion as we extend our stay while the rear A/C puzzle slowly gets solved.

It's hard to realize it's been almost a week since the last blog post. The days kind of blur together when you're not putting miles under you, but life is good nonetheless.  Yesterday (Wednesday) we drove 20 miles west to near Swannanoa, NC to check out a campground where some friends are gathering after July 4th. We returned to Marion and while at lunch away from the campground, we got the call that the ordered part finally arrived , and we should bring the RV to the service center as soon as we could.  By the time we finished lunch, and got Little House to the drop-off point, it was almost 3 P.M. (when we're in full camping mode, it might take an hour to get things ready to roll safely, even if it's just across the parking lot).  The work was done by 5 P.M. and it was time to test the repair,  knowing it might take some tweaking over a few days to get things set just right.  The results are very encouraging, but there will be another adjustment tomorrow.

To move yesterday, Hank had to lower the ham antenna, which ended up being a complete removal.  When we returned to the site, he started improving the antenna installation on the rear ladder, and did some more work on it today.  He also got up on the roof today  to have a look at the  rear A/C (Dale was off today), and to put some white paint on a black area on the roof that was left when the TV antenna was replaced). He's also been rearranging some of the basement area for easier access.

Over the last week, the weather has been mostly hot and humid with occasional rain and thunderstorms - typical summertime conditions for this part of NC.  We've run errands to the post office, drug store, grocery, Lowe's Home Center, Walmart, etc., just like normal folks.  We've had lots of time to spend on our computers.  The full-time RV lifestyle is not necessarily one of constant movement, but rather it's one of living in a vehicle capable of being moved.

We'll be staying here until July 6, when we're going to Swannanoa.  It didn't make sense to try to find another campground close by that might have a vacancy for a 40 footer over the upcoming holiday weekend, when we're already in one of the nicest campgrounds around. 

MARION, NC: Settling In

Wednesday evening, the A/C mystery presented itself once again, so repairs are back on the list.

Thursday morning, we delivered Little House to the service center bright and early, and reported to all concerned that the old problem had returned.  Martha, the service center manager, wants Dale to continue to work on this but he'll be away until Monday.  At least one of the ordered parts has not arrived.

The 50,000 mile transmission service was done, the large awning arm was adjusted for proper closing, the ride height on the chassis was adjusted, and the chassis was lubricated.  It was determined  that we need a new turn signal part, and that will be ordered and turned in to the extended warranty company for coverage.  It looks like we'll be staying put for at least another week, but we each have several projects to keep us busy. 

Thunderstorms moved in by mid-afternoon with two periods of very heavy rain.  Luckily, the worst weather went east and west of us.

MARION, NC; Back at TJ's

The last few days have gone by quickly.

 Monday we did a few errands on the eastern side of Raleigh.  We had dinner with Mike, and since there were internet problems at his house, he decided to stay with us until we left town.  We had a nice dinner at one of the Tripp's Restaurants in Raleigh and relaxed after dinner with our computers.

Tuesday, Hank and Selene had errands to take care of in the Fuquay-Varina area, including putting some things in the storage room and taking a few out.  Mike was able to devote time to his internet work in the coach.  Tuesday evening, we had a radio club board meeting to attend.

Wednesday morning it was time to get ready to roll again.  Selene took Mike home while Hank did the outside departure chores, and by 10:45, we were ready to head west back to Tom Johnson's (TJ's) in Marion were we arrived about 2:45.  We found out that an hour earlier there had been a lightning strike that affected two people on the property - a worker and a camper - but both appear to be okay.  The main effect for us were the nice cool temperatures that greeted us after the near 100 degree days in Raleigh.

The air conditioner problem seems to be fixed now, but we'll be here until sometime next week getting the 50,000 mile transmission service done and have a couple of other things checked out, as well as making sure the A/C continues to operate correctly. 

RALEIGH, NC: Tying Up Some Loose Ends

Yesterday (Saturday) was a busy day.  We left the RV Park about 10:15 to drive to Denton, NC about 30 miles away for a QCWA (Quarterly Century Wireless Association) meeting, which offered another chance to meet up with friends, especially Chuck and Mary Jo Littlewood.  The chapter always meets at a restaurant for lunch first, followed by the meeting.  This time we were at the Classic Restaurant in Denton........a multi-room facility that offers menu optiojns and a great down-home-cooking buffet..

We returned to the RV about 3:15 P.M. so Hank could work on a repair project.

Around 4:45. we drove east for 45 minutes to the Vista Point Campground on Jordan Lake to join the Good Sam camping chapter for a hot dog dinner.......and also another chance to catch up with friends.  We returned to the Rv about 9 P.M. after another enjoyable day.

Today (Sunday) we left the Zooland Family Campground at 11:15 to drive to Raleigh and  a campground on the hill  behind the Hunt Horse Complex at the NC State Fairgrounds.  We stayed here in April when it was only about half full.  There is a huge horse show going on at the Horse Complex and there aren't many empty sites today, but luckily we found one.  We'll be here until Wednesday visiting with Mike and taking care of some errands that will be easier to do in person.

ASHEBORO, NC; Heading East

We left Marion, NC about 1 P.M. and arrived at Zooland  Family Campground near Asheboro, NC about 4 P.M.  We've stayed here before, but this time there are a lot of families taking advantage of the many activities available.  We're in a newer section on site 130  with only water and electric hookups, but since we'll only be here two nights, we don't need the sewer hookup.  The sites seem more level in this section and a little further apart with plenty of shade trees. There was a little bit of rain earlier as some storms moved south of us, but all is calm now and the campfires are starting to appear.

 This stop is about half way between Marion and Raleigh and tomorrow we're going to a ham radio meeting that's about 30 miles from here.  We'll move Little House to Raleigh on Sunday and spend a few days there taking care of some errands as well as meeting up with Mike and seeing some friends.

MARION, NC; Ups & Downs

Today was a wonderful day!  The Allanbrooke Lane. property is no longer ours. The papers have all been signed and  the money is in the bank.  This had to be the least stressful house sale of our lives.  Our realtor - Jenny Matthews - supported us in every way, and handled every detail in our absence. No writer's cramp for us tonight as she signed every needed document with our blessing.  Our friend, Thomas Babb, kept the yard looking good.  While he was still living in the house, Mike made sure everything was running as it should.   Our home on wheels has everything we need without all those things that just weighed us down in the past.  Can you tell we're excited?

Unfortunately, overnight the A/C problem once again became apparent.  Dale, who did the work yesterday, was off today so we knew there wouldn't be any work done today.  Hank did more research on solutions and then talked with two of the service advisers this afternoon, Eric and Mike, who we've  worked with many times.  Eric has a friend who works for American Coach and got him involved via a phone call.   Hank has also contacted someone at the A/C manufacturer and we now have input from him.  So now there are new pieces to be put into the puzzle and maybe they will lead to the solution.

The weather here has turned very warm....okay make that hot. We've had a little bit of rain, but most of the afternoon and evening storms are staying east and south of us. 

MARION, NC: Good News????

Our ongoing problem involving the Energy Management System (EMS) and the rear air conditioner has continued to be handled by Crystal, the Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) coordinator at the service center, since the problem is still considered a PDI problem with a sold coach.  First thing yesterday morning, we met with her to find out her best guess as to when the new part could be installed, along with another job we needed, and she said we were on the schedule for Saturday, but she would try to work us in before that.  We were just settling down for the day in the coach when she called to say they were ready to start work!.  It took almost an hour to be ready to move since we were in long-stay mode, but by 5 P.M, the new part was in place and the coax for the ham radio had been run under the coach from the antenna in the rear to the firewall in the front as Hank had requested . However, the same problem with the EMS and the rear A/C showed up after just a few minutes back at the campsite.

This morning, before Hank could get to Crystal's office, the service center manager, Martha, ( daughter of one of the owners) stopped him to check on the status of the repair.   When she heard that not only the A/C was still shutting down, it also had stopped moving air when it was running, she said she wanted a fresh pair of eyes looking at the problem and had her assistant manager, Dale (former service tech and service writer) tackle the problem.  This time, it only took us about 30 minutes to move the coach into a bay where Dale and Hank consulted about the problem, which presented itself within minutes of turning on the A/C.  Dale quickly determined that there was indeed an air flow problem that should be resolved before they could determine any other information.  He opened up the air vents and found the cold air discharge was somehow circulating back into the return air, which was probably triggering a freeze detector to shut the A/C down.  Hank returned to the restaurant/lounge while Dale inspected the duct work.

The problem turned out to be a physical mismatch between the A/C duct on the roof and the duct in the ceiling of the coach.  The roof A/C had been replaced and the duct on the new roof unit was a different size and shape, and it had been sealed to the ceiling air duct with tape - which had come loose.  Dale fabricated a seal with sheet metal instead of tape, and by about 11:00 A.M. had the A/C running correctly.  About 1 P.M.,  he asked Hank to come "hang out" in the RV to see if the problem had been resolved while he took a lunch break.  By 3 P.M. things were still humming along just fine, and Little House once again returned to the campsite.  At 4:45 we reported to Martha and Crystal that everything was still working as it should with both A/C's on as well as the washer/dryer.  Tonight, everyone involved is keeping fingers crossed that the problem is finally solved.  We are  staying here until Friday to make sure that all is well.

Today, we spoke with Jenny, our real estate agent, and everything seems to be ready for the closing on the sale of the house tomorrow.   Selene arranged for the cancellation of power, water and propane delivery on our account. The RV problem has kept us from focusing too much on the house sale, but we're certainly ready to celebrate the completion of both!