AMERICA IS BACK…

AND UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT…!

HAPPINESS is to have EVERYTHING,
you need.
NOT the need to have EVERYTHING.

RV and be free. We’re only HOUSELESS never HOMELESS.

03.09.2021-So much has happen this month so far.
Yesterday, the 8h, we were called up to receive our first  dose of the Maderna vaccine. The needle on TV looks much worse than it is in reality. We both woke up this morning with slight sensitivity at the injection  site but I’m sure it will pass. We go back for our second and final dose the day after Easter.

Like half the population in the country we’re hopeful for the $1400 check we should both receive sometime this month. The idea is to spend the money not bank it to help the economy.

In keeping with the “spend it” theory we’ve made plans to replace the rear tires (4) of the coach in two weeks. They still look great but the rule of thumb is to replace tires every seven years like it or not. The best way to avoid potential hazards in the future is to act responsibly in the present to avoid problems in the future. Replacing these four tires will wipe out the stimulus check even before we receive it, but we can sleep tight knowing we’re helping to stimulate the economy. To go one better we’re having the work completed by an individual whose office is his truck, yup, a small-business owner.

Not having much to do, as usual today, we took  drive to Harmer Auto Body where we had the HHR fixed after the run-in with the campground fire-pit. The fix is not complete but we’ve been patient enough. We bring the car back tomorrow for the fix to be finished.

We’re also having the portion of the coach, above the front window (as seen above,) repainted and jell-coated. This will take two-days so we’ll overnight at their shop Wednesday evening. I’m hoping they’ll have some paint left over because I do have little dings around the coach that need touching up. As you can see from the picture above the severe flaking going on with the tan and gold paint. To save money we’re going to paint the entire area the gold color. It’s not that the coach is getting old and is losing its color, this is caused by friction form air, water and dust/sand. It’s only happening in this one location and its’ not just our coach, this is very common with almost all motorhomes over ten-years old. For those reading, I apologize for this rambling, but I very little more to add to this blog.

With shots a sure thing to be completed, paint getting done and tires being replaced we now have to think about having the oil changed in the coach and having the radiator flushed as preventive medicine. Oil does not have many mile on it but it has been sitting in the engine for about one-year; so it must be changed.

All these items must be completed in preparation for us finally getting back on the road again. The schedule has not been looked at yet but should basically be concerned with visiting family in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont. I hope to be able to swing through Maine once again and enjoy the taste of Northern Maine lobsters. We have been told the lobster in Mass. and Conn., is equal to that of Maine so we might have three chances to enjoy this delicacy.

With some luck we will print our travels for 2021 in the next blog and a short version in this journal as well.

03.10.2021-Not what I expected.
Optimistically I was hoping that about this time we would be seeing new paint on the upper front of the RV. We did everything right. We got up early, got to the auto shop  on time and then watched a sad expression of the face of the person who was to perform the paint job. He told us he wasn’t expecting an RV quite as tall as we have. Most motorhomes are all about the same size. The shop does not have a hydraulic lift which is what he would need to perform the repair. So we left and came back home to wait for a call to come back and complete the repair on the HHR. He tells us he’s very experienced having had a job of painting Monaco RVs in his past. It will get done some day. 

3.25.2021
Just about 20-days ago we noticed the A/C unit in our coach was working but not doing much cooling. Our A/C unit concerns me from time to time. It still runs on Freon, a dinosaur product these days not to mention illegal as well. Second concern is the fact that it’s sixteen-years-old. My big fear has always been, once the Freon eats its way through the cooling coils we’d have to buy new. Our fans were doing a good job but not great so it was time to call Disantis A/C. Disantis sent Aaron to look over the problem. He belayed our worse fears. True the A/C was not working but now: Why! Further examination determined the control board had “passed away.” Aaron’s next concern was would there be a part available for the unit. Replacement parts are the biggest challenge in the industry. So many parts are manufactured in foreign countries. We were lucky. We got the last one on the shelf of his biggest distributor.

Yes! Scooty has her own personal fan, and she uses it generously. Carla and I envy her just lying there and soaking up all those breezes. However, we settled for enjoying our fan in our recliners. Back to the repair. The part was available and was shipped, only took five-days. It did arrive and Aaron came over and after one-hour he had the A/C unit running cold and strong. The A/C unit we have is one of the best. It’s actually a residential unit. To our relief Aaron put my fears to rest on Freon. Should the Freon fail, a modification can be done to this unit to adapt it to the Freon substitute. As always it will be expensive but much cheaper the buying a new $6000 unit.

About mid-month we began tracking down RV tires. The perfect match for our coach is a Michelin tire. The 23580R22.5 GXRV is the tire for our RV, hopefully if available. From the model number you can see it’s specific of RV use. I then was in the hospital for a couple of days with no solution on putting our hands on four of these tires. The next day, after my release, we had to acquire tires. Amazon had only eighteen left. The trouble with this model is that Michelin only make a limited supply to meet the needs of the RV industry annually. Logistically Amazon was great on price especially with free shipping. We’re having them delivered to Action Gator Tire for them to install the beginning of May. The cost of shipping was over 150 dollars a piece, so this was a big savings. Our tires still look great but the rule of thumb, for RVers, is to not push RV tires longer than seven-years.

Just after this was fixed I came down with symptoms that brought me to an Emergency care unit and they recommended that I go to the Orlando Health Hospital on the other side of town. I could do a blog on that experience by itself but it’s not worth the effort in typing it out. I was finally released and returned home thirty-six hours later. Carla and I have decided it was probably an electrolyte problem. So, it’ a little more exercise, additional banana (Vit K), iron and adding a good multi-vitamin to my diet. Hopefully I’ll be around a couple more years, God willing.

After resolving the tire problem we heard for Sam the Painter. Sam will be repainting the full cap over the front windshield. His problem is that he’s stuck in Georgia doing a big RV repaint job and it is raining every day. Sam is on hold until his schedule eases up. It should get done by May.

A small repair to the coach is needed. This is still scheduled for April 19th for weather stripping and then to ready the coach for travelling again a oil change and radiator flush.

April 5th is our date to receive our second Covid-19 shot. Then wait two weeks and pray were safe to visit and co-mingle a bit. Carla and I have received our first Covid-19 vaccine. Dennis just received his first shot. By May 1st we’ll all be fully inoculated and by May 1st we’ll start our road trips for 2021 by spending a few days with Dennis. Then travel the East coast to visit family, finishing in Vermont where we’ll visit Mary Anne, Carla’s sister for a few days. Beyond that is still up in the air.