Enjoyed the weekend

Sherri and I packed up the RV and headed over to the State Park on the lake here. It is a little more than a mile over there. Not a long trip but one that brought joy to our week. We have been without the RV for over 6 weeks and then a couple of weeks here just doing our projects led us into extreme hitch itch. 
Our friends from Longview Texas have just purchased a new RV and wanted us to show them how to set it up. You know they got the run through at the dealership that goes in one ear and out the other. You don't really learn anything in those walk-through you have to actually take it out and use it for some time before it all sinks in.
The plan was for them to hook up and meet us out at the State Park around 3:00 pm. Well has things would have it those plans went out the window when they had trouble hooking up the RV. They had only hooked it up once and that was at the dealership and the Tech was doing most of the hooking up. 
They could not get the pin in the hitch so the call was made. I tried to walk them through the steps but you know as well as I do that is not possible over a telephone.
Sherri could hear the desperation in their voices and suggested we just go ahead and drive on out to Longview and help them out. I know how it is trying to do something that you never have done before.
We made the trip out there and upon arrival found Rick and Becky in their truck waiting on us. We got it hooked up in no time and they pulled in behind us and we were on our way to the lake.
We had gone ahead and placed our RV in the assigned site and had their site tagged and waiting on them. We had secured two sites one directly behind ours so that we could walk back and forth to each others RV. 
We got them backed in and then our instructions began and we soon had them understanding how things worked. I worked with Rick outside and Sherri worked with Becky inside. Even I had forgotten how much there is to learn about using an RV! Today there is so much on RV's than we started with 43 years ago! My goodness it takes some time to learn all the ropes. I know they will have to use their's several time before they become use to all the bells and whistles. 
We headed to Walmart as all RVers do. You know you have to get all the goodies and the ladies have to have everything match and color coordinate. We spent a couple of hours doing that and then headed back over to the park to eat some dinner. We were famished by this time. We threw some brots on the cooker and Sherri made some salad and we settled in for the evening. Soon it was time to go to bed and we parted company for the night.
What a wonderful fun day. We enjoyed Rick and Becky and look forward to our trip to Colorado...

Somewhere in Time

Hitch itch got the best of us

Yes Hitch Itch has taken us over! We decided yesterday to take the RV to the State Park up the road to get away just for a couple of days. We have been here in the RV port for 6 months and it is time for us to go away and enjoy our home on wheels. 
We have some friends that just bought a new RV that are going to meet us there and we are going to give them several hours of instruction on RVing. They have never owned an RV and are really in the dark on how it all works. So we will be showing them all about their new home and letting them practice using it.
These are the friends that will be accompanying us to Colorado this year. We want them to be prepared for our stay up there so they can enjoy every minuet of their time there.
Waiting so late in the week to secure a spot we could not get two sewer sites so we will be taking the non-sewer site and letting them have the sewer site. This way they wont have to use the "Grayboy" to dump their gray water. This will be another block of instruction at a later time. 
OK it is getting late and I must get dressed and head to the State Park to make sure we get some good sites. I will not have WIFI so I might not be getting back to you for a few days. I will give you the full run down later...

Somewhere in Time 

Changing Dealerships

As you know by now we had our RV in for warranty work in Cleburne Texas. They had the RV for 6 weeks and only fixed a small portion of the listed items. Well we decided to go and pick up the unfinished unit and take it home with us...with the intentions of finding a dealership closer to us that could do the work.
Yesterday we headed down to Canton Texas to Explore USA and talked with a service adviser there. He told us that they would make us an appointment and list what needed to be fixed and then order the parts and do the work. This is what Cleburne did but they never did get the correct parts in and they had the unit 6 weeks! Goodness I could build an RV in that time frame. They told us that they just had so much backlog that it was hard to get it all done. OK I'll buy that but when you have an appointment and everyone else is slid in front of you...seems to me its not that you have too much backlog it is probably the fact you don't know how to schedule your work.
Anyway to make a long story short we will be taking the RV back to the service center and leave it once again to see if we can get these items fixed.
So we will be back living in the cabin. I am glad we have the cabin now that we are having to take our home and drop it off for no telling how long. We have a roof over our heads and all the necessities to be comfortable for a period of time. 
The dealership is not but 30 minutes away so we can go visit our little home if we get to missing it...

Somewhere in Time   

Should be a beautiful day

The weather person...see how politically correct I am...said that it will be a nice warm day here in North Texas. Good I need to be outside for sure.
Our friends Rick and Becky got them a new RV yesterday and are stocking it full of all the necessities that one needs to get started. Look out Walmart here they come!
We hope to meet them at the State Park around the corner from us. They want us to help them get lined out...you know show them the ropes. I guess after 40 years and 13 RVs we could probably give them some advice...

Somewhere in Time   

Rain is falling and falling and...

I'm sitting her this morning listening to the rain coming down. It started last night around 3:00 am with a loud bang and it has not stopped as of 7:41 am. Appears to me we are in for many more inches before it decides to move on east.
I thank the good Lord that we have everything buttoned up so that we don't have to do anything else outside. Most of the remaining work to be done here is inside and that we can do at anytime.
Today I plan on finishing some of the tape and bedding in the front room of the cabin. This is where we switched the door with the window. I have about two sheets of sheetrock to float out and then spray some texture. In the back room I have some patching to do around the washer and dryer and then I should be finished with the mud work.
The next thing on my agenda is the trim work around the windows and doors. All in all I really don't have much left to do. This means I can turn my attention to doing some fishing and maybe some painting. How sweet will that be! It has been a long time since I have had a fishing pole or a brush in my hand. I look forward to doing those things...

Somewhere in Time  

Maybe I was a little hard on Forest River?

You know sometimes you expect more from your children than they really can give you. After all Forest River may not be able to perform to my standards. Not being able to get the parts I need to fix my RV might have been a little too much to ask for. And then I have to depend on Funtown RV to provide them with the correct information to get the correct parts to them. I know I sent pictures but they may not have been clear enough for the parts manager to recognize...who knows. I do know this...if they would have looked at the VIN number and checked it with the factory they would know everything that went into that unit down to the bedspread. Just saying.
We are so glad that we got our little house back. I love the cabin here but it just isn't our house. I missed my recliner and the ice maker and all the stuff we have. I think I will do as Kathy suggested and take a trip up to Indiana and get it fixed at the factory. I need to find out when the next rally is and get all my other stuff fixed. Now that would be the way to go. Mix repairs with entertainment...

Somewhere in Time 

Forest River's Service Sucks

Well after 6 weeks my house is back in it's port. We had taken it to the dealership to have some warranty work done and they had it 6 weeks and it is still not done. Now I don't normally write reviews on people places or things...but I will have to tell you that Funtown RV Service Center is the worst I have ever seen. They don't return your phone calls and they don't pay attention to detail. This makes for a very sloppy ran organization. 
I first contacted them in August of last year while I was living in Colorado. I had a list of items that needed their attention. They were clearly warranty items so I asked the Service Tech that I was speaking with what I should do to schedule an appointment to get these things done. He told me that I could come in September to have him make a list and see about getting those items fixed for us. We left Colorado in September and drove to Cleburn Texas where the Service Center is located. The gentleman went over all our needs and listed them on his work sheet. At that time I asked him how long he would have to keep the RV and when I could pick it up. He said that they would have to get an OK from Forest River for the work to be done before they could start. 
OK now maybe I am behind the times but if something is broken and it is covered under the warranty why do they have to approve it to fix it? I had a light that did not work in the bedroom and they have to approve them replacing it? I had some trim on my TV cabinet that had come unglued and they have to approve them to glue it back? My bathroom fan motor went out and they have to approve them to replace it? I could not believe my ears! I have owned more RV's than Carter has pills and never have I had to get warranty work approved.
Well OK...how long will that take? Well it could take several weeks. Weeks! For someone to say yes or no? What kind of timing is that? Sure am glad none of these items are crucial to me using the RV...I would be out of luck. 
OK then I am afraid to ask how long will it take to fix the problems. "Well if you have an appointment we should be able to get it fixed in about a weeks time," he said. Then I want an appointment for sure. He told me that once he called Forest River and got the approval and received the parts that he would call me and set me up an appointment. Good...I will wait.
I got a phone call in November! Just a little over time span that he had told me that it would have taken. Over a month later. I had almost forgot about the warranty work. He told me that they had the parts and the approval to fix the items we had talked about. Gee that was fast...I said sarcastically. He asked me if sometime in December would be alright for the appointment. I was no where close to them and would not be until January I asked him if he had a opening then. He said yest we have an opening on January the 6th at 11:00 am. Sign me up and I will be there. Well with the wrong parts ordered and them not having some of the parts in stock and the wrong color arriving...and a ton more of BS they gave me I told them to just forget about what was not done and I would pick the RV up and I would reschedule the rest of the work at a later time. 
When we arrived to pick up the RV the man I had talked to had forgot to tell them that I was coming to pick it up so you can imagine the disarray our home was in when they pulled it out for us to pick it up. Parts and crap thrown everywhere inside...nothing clean! Sherri liked to have had a run-a-way!! When all the screaming was over they had people all over the place cleaning and putting things back together...
Needless to say this will be the last time that I will be in Cleburn Texas at Funtown RV. Forest River needs to get some new management and learn how to service their customers...and after they learn how they need to educate the folks at Funtown RV.
If I never give you any advice this will be one time that I would. Don not even think about dealing with Funtown and especially their Service...and I use that term loosely...Department! I will be taking my business elsewhere...

Somewhere in Time   

I think Winter has returned

You could not have asked for better weather here. We have had days in the upper to mid 70's and I can't remember when I wore a jacket last. Of all the winters I have been in this part of the state this has to be one of the best yet.
Sherri and I had to go to the Home Depot yesterday to get some insulation and sheetrock to redo the walls where we switched to door and window out. We had one of your standard double storage shed doors in the front of the barn and we traded it out with a single door that seals up better. We traded places with the window and now we have more wall space in the cabin. It all is working out real good.
Today the weather is cool and it is raining. Like I said...can't complain it has been so nice for so long. We will finish up working inside and then latter in the week we are going to have some more good weather.
Looking so forward to returning to Colorado this summer. I have serious hitch itch.
Still don't have the RV back. Really beginning to miss my house. The cabin is OK but our RV is so much better. Hoping to get it back...

Somewhere in Time 

Something is wrong

I noticed yesterday that I can no longer get off the ground in one move? I am having to brace myself on something and use all the strength I can muster to pull my dead butt up. Every thing from the waste up is strong and does not seem to have changed any but from the waste down I think it is dying. 
Well maybe that is from the neck to the waste. Arms seem to be in good shape and I have a strong heart...according to the doctor...but from the waste down and the neck up I am losing something. 
Having worked on the cabin for the past 4 months has had a toll on my poor body. 
I am really hoping that I get finished here before my middle goes...

Somewhere in Time 

Went back to chat

For years I use to chat with all my friends on line. All the...at that time wanta be full timers would all talk over chat about wanting to full time in RV's. We were all members of RV Dreams. We all met on line through the RV Dreams Chat room. We conversed for years and then one day the RV Dreams members got together for a rally in Missouri. We all had such a good time and formed a bond that has not been broken since.
Well the other night one of the members, Dee Walters, put together their own chat room and invited me to come in and visit. It was really nice to chat with all the folks there. I will have to say I don't have a lot of time in the evening to chat but I do look forward to getting back on there and see what everyone else is up to. 
I hope to see them all again real soon...

Somewhere in Time 

Last project

The last project is about to begin and I use that term loosely..."the last." We have some good days coming up and we need good weather to take the side off of the cabin to install our new door. Can't do this if it is raining so nice sunny weather is a prerequisite to starting this.
Cutting the siding off the outside is just half the fun...you have to take out the inside too. I am trying to prepare Sherri for what a mess it is going to be so she does not freak out when I start.
Have you ever started something and your wife says, "I didn't know you had to take out the wall!" Oh yea I have been there so I try to go over all the things prior to starting so there is no melt down when the work begins.
I know you have heard this: "All we have to do." The key words here is "We" and "All." I have to carry a mouse in my pocket to cover the "We" part...you know what I am saying. 
I think the project will start Saturday so I will be keeping you up to date on what is going on...

Somewhere in Time  

Weather is working for me

Sherri and I were elated yesterday by the weather being so nice. It is so grand when you are able to work outside in comfortable climates. You can get so much done...and we did. We got the deck off the side of the shop built and just about completed. Just lack one rail and it will be a project completed.
Sherri worked with me until she worn down. I sent her inside to rest. She has so much to do taking care of me and Kris. 
We will be starting our final project for this year next week. We are moving the entry door to the west side of the cabin. This will give us access from the RV port without having to be in the weather as much. All these things we are getting done will be nice when we come in off the road and want to recoup our finances. This will give us a comfortable place to stay for an extended time.
Many of our family members have urged us to get through with all these projects and enjoy ourselves. Well this will gives a place to do just that once it is finished...

Somewhere in Time 

Today is our anniversary

Well it has been 43 years and 13 RV's 6 houses 15 cars and trucks and thousands of miles of fun. What more can a guy ask for? I thank the good Lord for all the many blessings I have had in my life...to include all my children...grandchildren and great grandchildren. 
I know I am in the fall of my life and I have no regrets for any of my decisions that I have made in the past... especially the choice of woman to spend my life with. She has been a gold nugget in my life bank that has made me the richest man on earth.
Without my best friend my life would not have been as wonderful as it has been. She has kept me grounded and busy with some of the best projects. She has supported me in all my endeavors...some good and some bad...but she was always by my side no matter what the outcome.
I love you Sherrilyn Grace Pitman forever and always...

Somewhere in Time