7/17 Can't Escape the RV Trouble

I enjoyed my week at Pacific Beach State Park and was supposed to stay until Wednesday, July 18, however, on Saturday, I put my slides out after going to dump my waste tanks, and heard a clunk.  Had grandkids taking showers at my motorhome, so needed to dump again on Sunday, but before putting the driver's side slide in on Sunday, I got down on the floor to look underneath.  Here is what I saw:

Underneath the linoleum, is junky particle board, which is why the slide roller has been pulling out.  The roller is supposed to be screwed to the floor and at 90 degrees to what is shown in this photo above. You can see that the slide is rolled over with the large screws on the side.  It has pulled out, but is not bent so it should be fine to put back in. 

My very large driver's side slide contains all of my kitchen except for the refrigerator and the sofa.  The rollers screw into the floor and support the heavy slide as it slides out and in.  It also provides support for the L-shaped cabinet containing the stove and oven as you drive. 

I got my son to help me slowly put the slide in and propped up the inside corner of the slide with some books taped to the floor.  

Some History

This same slide roller broke last December, and not only was the roller assembly bent, but the upper kitchen cabinet had started to pull away from the ceiling because I had driven with the slide not supported on the inside.  I spent $1,200 getting it temporarily fixed just before Christmas at Camping World in Bakersfield, CA. Camping World did not have a new roller assembly, but they were able to bend the one that was there and re-screw it into the floor.  They could not fix the cabinets because they could not tell what to fasten them to in the slide ceiling.  (It felt hollow when you tapped on it.)

Anyway, it was an OK fix, and I ordered a new roller assembly and made an appointment with the Fleetwood factory service facility near Eugene, Oregon for April.  I spent a very long day in their waiting room, and they installed the new roller and screwed the cabinets back into the upper part of the slide.  Cost was $1,500, which I hated to spend, but I really had no choice.  

Here is an old photo of what my kitchen should look like with the slide extended.  Notice the wide doorway to the bedroom in the back. The entire right section from the wall and including the sofa are all on one huge slide, but it makes my home on wheels feel a lot bigger than it would without the slide.  

So, right now, I am living with the slide closed.  This next photo was taken tonight, and you can see how narrow the entrance to the back of the motorhome is with the slide in.  You can also see how I have supported the slide with the stack of books so the cabinets do not droop again.  Also, while I can open the refrigerator door enough to get stuff out, I cannot open it all the way.  Another problem is that I cannot see the thermostat so I have to adjust it by feel and guess. (I use the little electric heater to save propane when it is not too chilly outside.)

Luckily, once I squeeze past the refrigerator, the back end of the motorhome is comfortable because the rear, passenger's side slide works fine. 

Here is a really old photo of my living room showing how wide it is with the slide extended. Nice and roomy, which makes having slides worthwhile.  (At that time, my recliner faced the couch, but I have since moved it so it faces the TV, which is folded into the front bunk. No satellite TV way back in 2012 when I first bought my rig.)

This photo shows how my living room looks tonight with my slide in.  My recliner is moved to face the TV, but you can see how narrow the room is with the slide in.  It would be really crowded if I were more than one person living here.

So, the earliest appointment at the Eugene Fleetwood service place is next Thursday, July 26.  I had to do a lot of schedule rearranging, but they have a parking lot which doubles as an RV park with electric hookups, so I will be doing a long drive on Wednesday to get there for the night.  There are always several big Class As staying there as they wait for service. (Most are full-timers like I am and either have no other homes or their other homes are several states away.)  

Their service hours start at 7:30 am, which means I have to have my vehicle ready and be in the office promptly at that time.  I am certain it will be another very long day in the usual uncomfortable waiting room.  If I need to, I can stay Thursday night as well, but I am hoping their complete the work in one day.  I am going to insist that put down something like a steel plate to reinforce the junky particle board, which obviously is not doing a good job of holding the roller.

Luckily, the roller broke when it did because I was one day short of the 90-day warranty period.  If I had called two days later, I would have had to pay all over again!   

Part II - Driving from Pacific Beach to Port Townsend, WA.  

 
On Monday morning, I headed out to Port Townsend, WA.  (I was originally going to head directly to the factory service place in Eugene, but could not get them to fix the slide before next week, so headed north instead because I had reservations in Fort Worden on Wednesday.  I figured I could find a place to stay for a couple of days on the way.)

Anyway, just north of Shelton, WA, I heard a horrible scraping sound as I was driving. As if I did not have enough excitement this week, I pulled over on the two-lane highway, and checked underneath my vehicle on all sides.  Finally, after laying flat on my stomach on the gravel shoulder, I found this.   

About three weeks ago, as I was driving through Wells, NV, I had hit a chuckhole and was worried about the road vibration.  Considering this was only three days after my last tire blowout and towing incident, I was pretty nervous, so I found a tire place to check my tires before I drove the long way to the next desert town. 

The elderly mechanic who crawled underneath my vehicle to check the tires showed me at that time that one of my shocks in the back was hanging down loose.  So I had them replace all four shocks and because it took about three hours longer than they had promised me, they replaced my front steering shock/stabilizer for free.  This was the steering shock hanging free and making horrible sounds on the pavement.  

I got in my vehicle and looked at my cell phone map.  Yippee!  Potlatch State Park was only two miles away.  I drove there slowly with the horrible sound, pulled in, and was thrilled they had a site available with electric.  Got set up and called CoachNet for the second time in a month.  I told them I would be there for two nights, so there was no hurry.

Spend a quiet night and the next day and night there, getting a lot of work done.  A super-helpful mechanic showed up the next morning with a new shock and replaced it in 20 minutes!  CoachNet paid for the service call, and I paid for the part and labor, which was $120, which I thought was fair.  He brought his wife along and we chatted about women driving RVs.  She drives their big 5th wheel as well as he does, she said!  I will keep their business card if I ever need help again in that area.

Whew, I am really getting tired of all the "adventure" part of my travels in the last few months.