Roger & Lynn

Just rolled into a CG near Woodbine, GA. It's just north of JAX and out of the rain zone. Glad we left this a.m. cuz I was standing in water past my ankles when I unplugged my electric. A bit unnerving! No rain but, the ground was totally saturated. It quit raining a bit after 10 last night and the real deluge is supposed to start at mid day today and continue till later on Sunday. Charleston already was practically shut down from flooding even before this stuff hit. Gonna toast our good fortune with Tina & Jeff shortly!

We're treading water here till the a.m. and then we're paddling out ASAP. As Bill Murray said in that epic movie Caddyshack: "I'd keep playing. I don't think the heavy stuff's gonna come down for quite awhile."!!

We're getting outta here and heading for Texas! Roger

They're calling for 18"+ here in Charleston, SC on Saturday. Pulled in about an hour or two ago and when I asked the manager if it floods here all she would tell me is that "this is the Low Country". Got to our site and even now there's mud and standing water. No concrete and grass sites. That's enough for me. We're gonna skip our week here and a week in Savannah, GA that we'd planned. Looks like we'll be spending tomorrow night with Tina & Jeff near Jacksonville, FL. Rather see them anyway! The weather guessers are saying that the farther south we go the rain really tails off. Jeri, we may see you and Terry yet in Pensacola!

Stay high and well, probably not dry. We're heading south this a.m. to Charleston, SC. Hope we get there before the deluge begins. Why am I not out in the dry West?!!!

Pretty sneaky Steve and well played!

Lee, I couldn't agree more. We should've had this talk before Lynn and I went to FL two years ago and traded in the Rooster. Not your fault...I should've asked...LOL! I've been asked by several couples recently about my opinion on my class A-. They have TT's and it's usually the husband that wants one. You should see the look on both of their faces when I tell them how much of a money pit most are. The guy is frowning and the wife is grinning!

Cloudy and rain here in the Carolinas but, dang I'm gonna take ya up on that advice anyway...LOL!

All good points Steve. After spending $48K in repairs I'm hoping that all the major bugs are gone. And yeah, there are options. Not so easy to swap horses in midstream when you full time. I'd probably lose about $30K trading it in on a MH that was similar. Maybe if we were to get a home base like some. Still haven't found the right spot yet but, looking hard now. Haven't looked at Texas yet. Perhaps we should sooner than later. I sure do miss that "Rooster" but, not a lot of living space!

Any time I can help you help me I'm all for it Lee! Not sure who I parked next to that caused all of these problems but, I hope that the contagious stage is over. Like I said, I've still got a couple other issues to deal with but, at least we're mobile again for now. The first two years of our full time adventure were the happiest time of my life. Since buying a MH it's been some of the worst. I have posted in the past only a fraction of our maladies. Hate to come across as a "whining Debbie downer". Since leaving AZ last Spring, I've noticed a steady decline in my mood and wanting to socialize which is not like me. Something has to change and soon! Roger

Thanks Steve...then it's on to the next repair...but, first a few celebratory cranberries for this one! Roger

Well, our day went from the pits to mucho better shortly after I posted my frustration! Just as I was backing the MH into our new site I received a call from the repair shop with the great news that they'd finally fixed it. Turns out that they hadn't noticed the bracket just beyond the firewall that the shift cable needed to be attached to....duh. $1100 in new parts and labor, $280 for a rental car and $80 for a tow all for a $0.40 failed plastic bushing. Gonna load up on some spare bushings for sure! This is the second time that the bushing has failed. The upside is that after seeing everything and where it is located I now know how to do it myself next time. And thank you Jeff for your support and links to the video and the Jeep Forum topic! I have them bookmarked. Next it's on to Myrtle Beach for three days where I can pick up the parts for the broken slide out awning that are there waiting for me! Roger

Congratulations Steve on your fix! Wish that ours was as easy. Pulled into a CG near Spartanburg, SC on the 14th for a week and we're still here. Went to unhook the Jeep and discovered that the transfer case shift cable had come off again. A fellow local camper suggested a shop nearby so we had it towed there. They still have it. Supposed to be done the next day but, then they discovered that they couldn't shift it into 2H. They've pulled the transfer case twice ans sent it to a tranny shop and replaced the cable. Same results. They're gonna put the tran case back on this a.m. and I'm not optimistic as they didn't find any problem. BTW, Lynn and I ran the case to the shop and back ourselves to Greenville...50 miles round trip just to save $ and time. Hopefully, it will drive in 4w and we can get it to the Jeep shop. Should of sent it there in the first place. Pouring down rain right now and we have to move to another CG today as this one is booked. Oh, and our brand new $10K Aqua-Hot unit is on the fritz for the second time in less than a year. It's still under warranty but, we have to find a qualified tech somewhere. The depression is getting worse...not sure how much longer we can take this on the road thing! Roger

That sounds like a close one Steve! Good thing that you were there to handle it...so, how does days old shrimp taste? Roger

Same here Jeff. We replaced ours with a residential while in Elkhart and really like it. The old two way was starting to cost me money and it was on shaky legs. More room and half the cost to replace. Hope that this doesn't ruin your plans for meeting up with us at the TN SKP park?!! We just rolled into Fort Boonesborough State Park near Lexington, KY for three days and then on to Raccoon Valley. Roger

We'll probably catch you guys in Knoxville and perhaps earlier than we'd planned. Sitting in a library here in Greenfield, OH so, that we could send this. We'll be moving just into WV on Thursday so that we can get that stamp for our U.S. map. Next, we have reservations at Fort Boonesborough State Park near Richmond, KY. My GPS tried to take us down a paved goat path yesterday until Lynn noticed a sign about a 7'-3" RR overpass up ahead. I'd loaded clearance alarm POI's on my GPS but, this one wasn't....whew, good eyes Lynnie! Roger

Lee, you are one bored cowpoke. Maybe time to saddle up that horse and hit the trail for awhile! We're moving further SE tomorrow and will do three day stints till we hook up with Tina & Jeff in TN. Been too long! Roger

You make a valid point there Lee. And between the three of us we seem to account for 90% of the group's mechanical woes. Hopefully, by next week that will all be in our rear view mirrors! Roger

I'd say that those Hoosiers have gotten enough skin from us Steve...time to spread the wealth! Feel your pain on the step breaking. It's been uncanny for us how things seem to break when you're trying to get something unrelated fixed. Like ya said "At least it happened here". Sometimes I wonder if they have gremlins working at those shops...LOL! Roger

I am pleased to report that as of yesterday we've been released from RV repair purgatory! Didn't get all of our wish list checked off due to extra issues popping up after they opened the can of worms. Also, we didn't want to spend the winter in Elkhart, IN. Happy to be on the road again and looking forward to some smooth sailings. Look out everybody...here we come! Roger

As tempting and (and appreciated) as that sounds Jeri we and our fellow prisoners have noticed a pattern to the "drop off and pick up later rigs". They never get work done on them until a couple days before the customer arrives. Then they join us in the waiting room and gripe session circle in the evening! Dave will like this...One guy has a brand new Allegro Bus with a list as long as your leg of things that are wrong on it. He's been here a week just waiting for them to start on anything. Bob Tiffin finally called yesterday and said to send him the entire bill! Apparently, he didn't want to go to Red Bay. I told him about your experience Steve. They're gonna start work someday on it but, his wife is leaving him and he's staying until it's done. Hope he does well in the snow...LOL! They worked on us all day yesterday replacing a slide out seal and trying to align another slide out so that it won't tear off the striker plate that keeps getting torn off when you bring it in. All done except for the three heavy duty pop rivets that are supposed to arrive this a.m. If they hold then we should be done and can finally hit the trail. Our fingers are crossed! Hope to see ya soon Tina & Jeff!! Roger

Don't I know it. Seems that the only memories that we've made is going to the annual doctor's appointments and repair parking lots. We're hopeful that all this will payoff and down the road will be better because of the repairs. Keep looking up! Roger

We feel your pain Lee. Starting week five here at Master Tech RV Repair (alias the "Hotel California") in Elkhart IN. This place must be living on it's past reputation. They have too few qualified techs and way too much business coming in. I'm getting nervous about the bill. Talked to one of my fellow cell mates this a.m. and apparently, the owner is trying to stick him with the bill for the windshield that they broke while replacing it. What universe does that make sense in? They keep telling me that we'll get out in a few days but, it never happens. It's not just me...it's also a bunch of others that are stuck here. When they took out the old refer the automatic shut off valve to the LP tank didn't work. So, they ordered a new one. They couldn't find anyone to capture the LP from the tank. They were just gonna let it blow out away in an open field so that they could replace the valve. A few days later, before they were gonna do it I decided to jiggle a few wires and bingo, the valve started working...loose contact. Waiting on a slide out seal to arrive. Turns out they just ordered it five days ago. They knew about it four weeks ago. Also, a latch bracket keeps snapping off every time they reattach it with larger pop rivets. I told 'em I think it's because the slide out is traveling in too far. What's the definition of insanity? Something about doing the same thing over and over? Gotta get outta here soon so that we can hook up with Tina & Jeff in TN and before we go insane and broke! Roger

Jeff's right...alot of things don't play well with MS Explorer. Supposed to change with Ver 10 but, I'm sticking with Chrome for now. Roger

Congratulations!!