Phannie

Phannie
Photo taken near Monument Valley, Utah

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

This is Turning Out to be an Expensive Trip

At the Salt Lake City KOA...

It started in Memphis, when Phannie's big slide wouldn't retract. I had to call a mobile tech who replaced a shear bolt that I hadn't discovered. It cost me the better part of $100 to find out that tidbit of information.

In Detroit, Mae developed a problem with her throttle body for the second time. This cost $500 after having the same thing repaired in Tupelo for $700 a few months ago. A week or so after we left Detroit, Mae's throttle body (I still have no idea what that is) failed for the third time in Middleburg, Indiana. Three strikes--poor Mae was out; rest in peace, old girl, and long live the new Mae! 

The new car was doing fine, except for my tire fiascoes in Elkhart and Butte that I described in earlier posts. (It wasn't the tires at all, but a leaking tire pressure sensor.) That cost about $500 for no reason other than my non-working brain.

It was in Kalispell that Phannie's bedroom air conditioner began to give trouble. The fan motor sometimes won't start and, when it does, it makes an expensive sound like a bearing that's about to swarm.

I think it was in Island Park, Idaho that the microwave stopped working. We didn't realize how much we missed that thing until it cratered on us.  

So, here we are in Salt Lake City, where we have appointments to have a new microwave and a new air conditioner installed. But that's okay; we like it here, as we've finally found an RV park where we can get a spot for more than two or three days. To make things even better, we got an email from fellow blogger and local resident Ray of Ray and Cindy's RV Travels who invited us to have lunch with them which, of course, we eagerly accepted. We met at the Spaghetti Factory at Trolley Square in Salt Lake and enjoyed a fine lunch as we chatted about our respective adventures. They are a delightful couple--RV 'most-timers' who have a winter home in Arizona. Since we're going to be in that area next winter, we hope to meet up with them again! 



Thank you again, Ray and Cindy, for contacting us; we really enjoyed meeting you. And, of course, we will add them to our link, "RV Bloggers We Have Met." 

And while I'm talking about links, you should know that I have added several more new RV parks to our popular list, "Best of the Best RV Parks." These are identifiable with a red triangle beside each new listing.

There are some places of interest here in the area that we didn't get to see on our last trip through Salt Lake City, so we'll undoubtedly seek them out while we're waiting on our service appointments.

If you're new to RVing and you're wondering if it is normal for things to break like this, the answer is probably yes and no. An RV--especially a motorhome--is a mechanically complex part-house and part-bus whose potential for something going wrong is exacerbated by the constant beating it takes on the road. On the other hand, we count ourselves lucky because we have had few problems with Phannie and Mae up until this point. Things are going to break from time to time, however, so we try to be prepared to take them on and get them resolved. We do this by 1) keeping Phannie and Mae serviced faithfully; 2) subscribing to a roadside service (CoachNet); 3) doing frequent walkarounds, checking tires and using a tire monitoring system; 4) driving carefully and sensibly; and 5) keeping a maintenance account well funded. (We don't like extended warranties after being ripped off a few years ago.)

I'm hoping this will be the end of this string of bad luck and that everything will get back to normal. More later from Salt Lake City...


Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.

I had rather see the world and own little than to own the world and see little of it.  
--Alexander Sattler

20 comments:

  1. So nice to meet new rv friends and cheers to the end of your bad luck!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Patsy. We certainly enjoyed meeting Ray and Cindy, and we have our fingers crossed that things will get back to normal.

      Delete
  2. So nice that you met Ray and Cindy that are a supper couple we have met them a few times in the southwest over the last couple of years.
    Living in and Rv is notch different than a house we have found, things do wear out and break down, repairs and maintenance need to be done, But at least you have the freedom of travel and enjoying new places.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agree, George. These things are relatively minor, and they don't detract from our enjoyment at all.

      Delete
  3. Ray and Cindy are very special people. Say "hi" to them from us.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Jan! Yes, indeed--we are lucky to be a part of such a nice community of folks. We, too, think they're special.

      Delete
  4. It seems we all have that "one trip" that keeps us going in circles. Ours was 2015. . .so we feel your pain. Head up, chin high, marching forward.. .LOL.

    Love the quote at the end. Enjoy SLC. . .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Janice. Yes, this has not been the smoothest of trips, but our worst day fulltiming is better than our best in a S&B. Looking forward to another visit in Provo!

      Delete
  5. We really enjoy Ray and Cindy. They have been wonderful friends to us. There always seems to be something that needs fixing on these wonderful homes we have. Enjoy your stay.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are great people. Amazing how many of the RV blogger community "know" each other.

      Delete
  6. Sounds like you need a new fan motor, I just replaced one in my AC. Motor and capacitor was approx $150 took me about 45 min. Cheaper than whole new unit.
    here is some info https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doJ_oD18lZs

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Kenneth! I, too, was thinking about replacing the fan motor, but I have some physical limitations that require my hiring it done rather than crawling up onto the roof myself. I was also concerned about whether I should put any significant money into a unit that old. It's hard to know what would be the better plan. Thanks much for the input and the link to the video.

      Delete
  7. When a bearing swarms, does it get together with other bearings in a big clump? 🙂

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha! Hi, Craig; that term, 'swarm', is something I used to hear my dad say. I guess it's a rural east Texas term.

      Delete
  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sorry to here of your repair troubles. After three years of travel, I'm having a similar experience on my three year old 5th wheel. First the rear Stabilizer, now the bedroom slide gears.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Gary! I hope that didn't come across as whining. But yes, these things are going to cost some money from time to time. We've been pretty lucky so far.

      Delete
    2. Not at all, just sympathizing with you. Yes the money continues to flow.

      Delete

I appreciate comments and read every one of them. If your Blogger settings allow, I will happily respond.