Nov 08, 2019
Pushing ahead! From one RV service facility to another….
….it is not costing us a ton of money but is huge on frustration. Some have commented on how unlucky we are. I prefer to say that we have enjoyed this RV from 19 wonderful years with few incidents. Now that I am blogging and mention every single incident it seems to be a lot and it is but then we are dealing with an aging lady who needs some TLC. She has another 2o years in her.
I want to start with the Mexico updates in case you get bored reading about the que pasa of the next breakdown.
This is a brief note from Kathy of Kathy & Eric’s Travels. Click here for her post from Nogales to Navajoa. Plus this is a wee an excerpt from yesterday re travel on the Sinaloa roads “Yesterday’s travel was on Sinaloa roads and they aren’t like the new concrete Sornora ones. Some areas were repaved but a lot were rough and …lots of expensive tolls. However…we weren’t pulling the RV so it was a lot easier on us because the fifth wheel wasn’t bashing around behind us. I might also add that in the two days travel from the Mexican border we did not see even one RV. No motorhomes, no trailers or 5th wheels. Odd.”
Carol and Bill who write More Golden Years are staying in Amado and went into get their paperwork at KM 21 yesterday. Click here for a detailed write up between Nogales and KM21. There is some great advice in here. Thank you Carol, now I won’t have to write about this tomorrow. Plus you gave me some pointers about those different wave topes.
Blog reader Al sent some valuable information re manually setting up the Shaw wineguard system in the US and in Mexico. Thanks for this. I know that Pierre is ecstatic as he now has TV again.
SK-7003 Manual Point Procedure-1
In the good news department, Libby was flown back to Edmonton today. Apparently she endured the flight well and last I heard was being checked in via emergency. Likely she will be having surgery on the one arm in the next day or so.
Back to when we arrived in Quartzsite yesterday. We did all the usual like fill the propane, fill up our two fresh water five gallon jugs and head over to RV Lifestyles.
Buck made a point of explaining all the details of the Heathrite 10,000 BTU heating system.
You can get a manual or thermostat adjustment and of course the 10K size or even larger. Then you have to chose between the blue flame heater ( on the left ) which directs the heat upward or the radiant heater ( second from the left ) aka as the two brick heater. We chose the radiant heater and as they could not install it until mid next week we will wait and have them hold it for us and get it done in March on our way north. I have a question for all of you who already have one of these, which one did you chose and why? I like the idea of the heat coming directly towards me and warming me up. We then stoped at Love’s and had Alan check the tires and he agrees that we do need new ones but that these would get us the 1500 miles to and from Mazatlan. Another quick stop at Herbs Hardware for a few water parts and we were done with the errands.
We checked into the Passport America Park, Hasslers RV Park, just on the dot of five as the office was closing. A great place for $15.95 per night. A great deal neat art on site.
We parked, put the jacks down and slides out and then noticed our neighbour who lives in this small cargo van. When I opened our bedroom window which was jus a few feet away, I gasped. The smell of smoke was unbearable. Colin agreed. Plus we had no idea if he left the door open all night.
This is where our latest issue started, the rear RV airbags were not inflating. Finally we got them half full and were able to wobble to a new pull through site. Which was one site over from this gentleman. It appears that he likes to collect things.
What a cute little place just across the way from us.
We want to say a very special thank you to Sky who was managing the park for a few days. She is a Canadian from Salmon Arm and was beyond helpful. We have always dry camped in Q but with our current issues and needing shore power we had no choice. Hasslers RV park is an interesting place in many ways other than it’s neat decor and art and has some very unique people living there. It would be interesting to meet some of them . However we were beyond exhausted and needed to rest.
We ended up walking over to Silly Al’s for pizza as I was too tired to cook. This was a great bruschetta pizza with lots of fresh ‘real’ mushrooms, garlic and a good deal mozzarella cheese. Our first time there but for certain we will be going back.
There was a live band playing and they were pretty good but the sound levels were off and made the music discordant. Colin thought that the guitarist was very good. We even danced to two songs but I was ready to leave. In fact I was in bed by 9:30PM.
Colin took the photos with his iPhone. Our RV.
Love the whale on the right.
Apparently there are over 10,000 horseshoes in all these pieces of art.
This morning was the big reveal. As I showered Colin called around to find where we could get air bag repairs. He even discovered that possible the local Love’s might be able to help. We dumped and filled the fresh water tank as we had no idea if we would be leaving and if we did how far would we get or would be stuck at a truck repair chop over the weekend. Colin walked away to dispose of our garbage while I sent out a prayer to the powers that be to get us going. I then started the engine. Colin came back and put it into cruise control at 1200 RPM in order to speed up the compressor that would create a greater flow of air to the air bags. It worked and we were driving by 9:30AM.
We stopped at Freightliner in Tolleson just west of Phoenix at 11:30 PM.
They have their own RV division but were fully booked but promised to fit us in. The RV was not taken in until 12:40 and we only then learned that they only work until 3:30PM on a Friday. We really did not want to stay there until Monday. At 2PM we were told that the RV was ready. They have no idea if they fixed the problem as the problem did nor manifest itself. They only had the one part out of the two that could be the problem so they changed that. $418.00USD!!! The part cost $76.00. Ouch 😯 However we were not hooked up and driving until 2:50PM. Colin moved the RV and the Jeep and did the hooking up while I spent a full thirty minutes trying to pay the bill. Their credit card machine refused our Canadian card. We tried bypassing the PIN, etc. I called ScotiaVisa and they said that the card was fine but the machine was the problem. Finally my Mastercard worked by bypassing the PIN. Just one more thing to deal with. That half hour delay would become an issue later in the day.
It is now midnight and we are crossing into Mexico tomorrow. You will get the rest of the story in the next post. Suffice to say we are in Amado and hopefully good to go. Oh yes there was another coolant reservoir issue tonight. More on that tomorrow.
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I think you have had a really rough go this year but I also understand what you are saying about your RV and hopefully once you are through these blips she will purr on for another 20 years! We are sending prayers your way that you make is to Isla 🙂
Your prayers are appreciated. Hopefully we are on the final major problem.
Buck let his beard grow this year. We chose the Blue Flame heater as it gives off less CO2 emissions and is less likely to start a Fire like the Radiant Style. The Blue Flame has never set off our CO2 Detector while we had a smaller Radiant heater that set it off all the time,
Silly Al’s makes the best Pizza anywhere.
All RVs have the same issue. Repair are a constant but every now and again things just pile up.
Being Solar Equipped we prefer staying at La Posa South LTVA. We have everything we need nearby and it only costs us $180.00 US for the Seasonal Pass.
Be Safe and Enjoy!
It’s about time.
Thanks for you input about the Blue Flame heater. I appreciate your input. I do have to say that Naples, Italy makes the best pizza anywhere. Al’s is deferent but excellent. We shave solar as well but Mexico is where we prefer to go for the winter. We usually travel off the grid but with no generator nor batteries we are stuck.
We bought a Glow Warm propane radiant heater at Gramma’s in Quartzite 8 years ago. Never had the CO detector go off and works like a charm. Eric plumbed it to our main tank and we attach with a quick fit. Forgot to say watch out for a large new hidden tope just before Imuris past Nogales. On a blind corner you’ll see lots of rubber on the road, but no warning sign. Your motorhome is getting old repairs to it, like to us should be expected. Safe travels.
I really appreciated that tope warning. I have written it down. Sadly now we are just waiting for parts before we can try for a second run to the border. Your Eric is very talented. Thanks for the heater input.
Silly Al’s has the BEST pizza, you made my mouth water with that picture…
Our RV is the same vintage as yours and, like you, thinks happen to these old girls. We’re stuck in Statesville, NC with a sheared slide pin, awaiting a new one via FedEx. Luckily this is a fix that Dave can do once the part arrives. Such is life in an RV. Exhausting sometimes, but I wouldn’t change a thing.
Lovely to see you hear in the comment section of my blog. Sadly at this point I am considering canning the RVing part. However once we get to the Isla and relax, I will be happy again.
Looking forward to checking out your blog. Hope that your repairs goes quickly.
Hm, it’s obvious some people live fulltime in that park, it’s a wonder they don’t make people keep their stuff more contained. It would drive me bananas if I was parked there a couple of months. I guess it’s just one foot in front of the other (or wheel) at this point. The good news is you’re almost in Mexico!
Love that thought, one wheel in front of the other. Sadly we had to backtrack a bit.
Contessa,
This is just all part of the adventure, in a couple of years, you’ll be saying, remember the year we had all that trouble …… You two have had it pretty smooth going for the last, what, 19 years, id’ say that’s a great record. So sorry to read about your friend, Libby, and glad that she is back home where she can be looked after. Libby was blessed having you and Colin there, to help her along.
Your RV has been very good to you and now it is just starting to show its age. Hang in there you two, life is good.
Always reading long, Catheline
Maybe I should write a script and make a movie :). Libby is doing fine from what I hear. I think she is happy to be back in Canada. I know that you are out there reading but it is nice to hear from you.
All the years your RV has been relatively problem free are all catching up now. Just like our own bodies tend to do.
Yup, Silly Al’s is always worth a stop.
Glad to hear Libby made it home. Hope her surgery goes well.
It’s good to have friends who tell you about road conditions ahead. At least you have warnings as to whether or not you might want to reroute for part of your trip. I hope the rest of it goes smoothly.
Always lovely to hear from you Linda and your positive comments.
We have all had years like that where there is just no end to the repairs we face. Ours was on the last trip down four years ago. We ended up replacing almost all of the electrical / charging / battery system. It is all working fine now.
YEs I guess we all have those years but this one seems to be over the top.
Time for a change of fortune. Hopefully the rest of your season is somewhat uneventful.
Thank you. We can only hope.
Hi Contessa;
Thank you for the tip about the Shaw Wineguard system. It doesn’t apply to us, we are still mostly ‘satelitte-less’. Our friends had already tried this fix and unfortunately, here in LA, he can’t find any connection either. Oh well, we can all survive without tv, right? haha
As for your question about the heaters. We opted for the Blue Flame propane heater and bought it from Quartzsite at RV Lifestyles. The reason we chose this one was because of Clemson and also our own protection. The front grill/grid does not get hot so if he had touched it, he wouldn’t get burned. It sits in front of a cupboard so I’m happy to be able to move it out of the way when necessary without worrying about burning myself. It was an expensive addition, but totally worth it for the savings in propane use.
Too bad that fix did not work. It has worked for all others who have it even down in Mexico. They might want to try again.
Yes that is where we are getting ours in March. Buck talked us into the brick one but we are rethinking that decision. We no longer have dogs but we might get another some time.