May 04, 2015
RV TV
Gosh another loco day. Even lost power for over an hour here. Always something.
RV TV…it is what bored RVers watch while in an RV Park. Often it involves watching other RV’s pull in and park. Years ago ( with friends Pat & John ) at Playa Los Glorias near Guasave we would watch the caravans come in. We were silly back then. Several of us would pull our lawn chairs up in a row and rate them as they came in. Once we saw a 5th wheel drop off the truck as it hit a tiny bump in the park. How did they ever get to where we were in one piece? Lots of damage needless to say. Later that year there was a couple in the most expensive Class A RV I have ever seen complete with remote control window blinds, etc. She never ever set foot out of the rig. Too scared to be in Mexico. In order to see the ocean she would stand on the bottom step and crane her neck to see what she could see. Her husband was a tad braver and ventured into the restaurant one day and ordered a shrimp cocktail. However the way they are made in Mexico is rather different than how they are made in the US. He was so upset that he upped and left. He and another RV took off the next morning leaving the caravan behind. They had had enough of Mexico. Good riddance we all said 🙄
Often on the Isla RV TV is provided by watching a variety of vehicles getting stuck in the sand and the efforts made to get out of their predicament. Sometimes it is watching families set up for an elaborate picnic on the beach. Basically just observing others. So here, where we live, we had an opportunity to watch some RV TV just the other day.
Friends of ours, just a few homes away, sold their 5th wheel that came with a solid deck and roof. This is how that was transported to the site of the new owner.
For new readers, the home in the background is our first park home here at Holiday Park Resort. It is just across the road from where we now live. We had a huge yard and had that tree on the left ( a purple fountain beech ) brought in on a truck from Vancouver. It is massive. We had to hire a crane to lift the tree over the hedge. I love that tree and we are so fortunate that we can just look out our street side windows and see it every day.
Next came the move of the 5th wheel.
The driver could not get the 5th wheel out of the site. Just might have something to do with the fact that the slides were still out. A new hardwood floor had been installed and a bit of work would have been required to bring the slides in. But it was the new owner’s decision to make the move with the slides out. By the way, this is the first time since 1996 that this RV has been moved. 19 years 😯
He was given tons of advice by the neighbors on the scene as well as security who also called in the maintenance crew for advice. In the end it was determined that this driver could not do the job. Not to mention that the owner of the home across the road was upset that her driveway was being used.
Great RV TV 😆
So the support legs ( don’t do 5th wheels so I have no idea of the proper term ) were put down. A few hours later a heavy duty tow truck showed up.
The driver was given more advice than he would need for the rest of his life.
I saw him leave about 30 minutes later. I later discovered that he did not charge even a penny for the effort he made. He could not do the job so he did not charge. About this time I went out to offer my friend ( the one selling the RV ) some vino. Brave soul, she declined. She felt so bad for the new owner.
That is when I saw the damage incurred by the first driver. He was doing the back & forth shimmy and took out part of the RV back side in the hedge.
The tire had a lot of pressure on it because of the way it was left mid turn. Considering that tire hasn’t moved in 19 years….amazing that it held together.
Shortly thereafter a third driver showed up. He is the fellow who transports all the RV’s for the RV dealership up the road. That is me on the right. I needed to be at ground level. So much excitement.
Always hire the most experienced guy is my motto. So many folks said that the RV needed to be taken out in this direction ( Colin included ) and finally this fellow did just that. He showed up, took the scene in within a minute and less than five minutes later he had the RV pulled out. By the way he didn’t stop to listen to any advice. He just did it.
Definitely some heavy duty damage. Apparently the inside was just fine so just structural and cosmetic.
The four of us were off for the final walk of the day. Our path crossed the new location of the 5th wheel.
Apparently that 3rd driver got it put in place on the first back in. Good luck to the new owner in putting it all back together again.
What next you ask? Why did our friends sell their 5th wheel? Long term they plan to build a park home similar to ours. Sometimes it takes a long time to sell an older unit. In this case, Bobbie listed it on a Friday on Kijiji and had the cash in her hand on Monday 😀
Meanwhile the next morning Bobbie & Dan slid their motorhome onto their site smooth as butter. Their home for the next 12 months until their new home makes an appearance next summer.
Now that folks that is RV TV. Next show will be when the new home is delivered 😎
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I will never be able to top your post tonight … that would have been worth driving thousands of miles to watch …. while drinking vino
LOL
What was interesting is all the people giving advice.
LOL… OH MY GOSH… I just couldn’t stop laughing. Considering I drive a 40 Class A towing a full size SUV, I immediately thought on the first picture they would pull it out to the left, NEVER dreamed they were going to go RIGHT. OH my, you have quite the channel to watch. The 5th bouncing of the hitch in Mexico I bet was much more damaged. Sheesh… Now, imagine for a moment, a nice big 5er with a nice big dully, they looked brand new… and it’s sunny, just a little west of Spokane headed up Rye Grass Pass. At the time, we’re traveling to Seattle in a Leisure Van… I am sort of dozing off and immediately am awaken by no tire sounds on the road. I tell the husband to SLOW down very carefully and try to NOT lose control but to grab one side of the van tires on the loose gravel on the shoulder of the road as we are on BLACK ICE. He tells me, “I am trying to get over because I have truck and camper coming up behind us. I look in the side mirror… and that truck and camper are coming alright, instead of facing west and coming west, they are facing south and coming west and the ENTIRE lanes are covered by them. The right side is a drop off enough to cause us to roll if we attempt to take the ditch. We managed to grab enough gravel to get far enough to the next approach where we SLIDE and was missed by mere inches. The nice truck and 5er, it did not fair to well. The guy driving it was …. ready…. 21 years old and had never driven that kind of setup before. He had just left the dealer’s lot that morning. Total Loss. I will never forget him telling his young little bride, ” we will never get another 5th wheel camper.
Oh my what a story, so glad you were okay. Bet you turned a few hairs grey that day.
Yes it is logical to swing left out of that site as that is how it was designed. Only thing I can think of is that the first driver was trying it to the right because of the slides 🙁
Throughly enjoyed your telling and pics of RV TV. It is a funny concept watching neighbors – I used to tell my kids “stop peeking out the curtain – if you want to look, go outside and have a proper look”.
It is not something we do on a regular basis as we have not the time but there was a lot of commotion that attracted our attention on this particular day. While RVing, things just happen and often we are just sitting outside to observe.
We always enjoy the free entertainment in the campgrounds too, always quite interesting.
Yes it is and always nice to see a seasoned RVer offer to help a newer one park.
Wow ! Love that channel……
🙂
Boat ramp watching is also great entertainment. However the pressure is on when you are launching your own boat or parking your own RV.
Never had the boat ramp experience. Always good to just concentrate on what you are doing and to heck with the others.
We have watched that channel many, many times. Even more so now that we manage a campground. Glad that they finally managed to get the 5th wheel out.
Ruth
I am certain that you would have numerous stories to tell. Both the seller and the buyer were extremely relieved.
Great entertainment!
It was at the time, fortunately it does not happen everyday. The road was blocked for over four hours.
It’s the same when you ly at anchor with your boat and watch marine TV. Two seriously obese peolple standing up in the dinghy and it flips them both out, he manages to climb into his boat but she is not strong enough to pull her own weight. I had to row over and helped him haul his wife into their boat, not a pretty sight. Next morning early they were gone…
Oh my, that would have been ackward. I had no idea you were into and might still be into boats.
Just remember though, we’ve all probably been onthat channel at some point 😉
I’m sure we have but this was somewhat extreme.
My kind of show. Of course the rig looks good after all those years. It appears Canadians have a good thing for taking care of their belongings. Second, at your park there are many beautiful homes, albeit yours is the nicest including the view. We could live there in the summers.
What a lovely compliments to all us Canadians. Gracias! I would say that most of us do try. Can you believe that it is close to a year ago that you were here. I don’t think you will go for this idea but while we are down in Mexcio during the winter you could stay here. Naw..I didn’t think so.