Saturday, June 22, 2013

Between a Rock and a Cool Place

I have chronicled our travails with Jesabel (our motorhome) ad nauseam, especially the air conditioners. We have invested thousands of dollars trying to get our basement heat pumps to run. Missy finally said no mas about six months ago and we have been exploring alternatives since. Thanks to moderate winter temps we have survived with a small window unit which we supplemented with a portable unit as things warmed up. We have already experienced temps in the high nineties and probably closer to one hundred degrees of late. When it gets that hot and you're RV is exposed to the elements, you really need air conditioning. After an exhausting investigation I finally called Family RV Center, which I found on Craigslist. Like everything else in the oil patch, finding honest, ethical and knowledgeable folks when you need something done is nigh impossible. When you pay good money that you labored for and get inferior service it is especially hurtful. It  affects your opinion of every service person you deal with down here. This place is a lot like the aftermath of a natural disaster when shysters descend like locusts on folks desperately needing help. But I digress-sorry. The folks at Family RV Center showed up on time, did what they said they would and delivered a quality product at the price they originally quoted. That is exceedingly rare in the oil patch. If you own a RV and need service in South Texas call Paul - http://www.familyrvcenter.net/. The service call will cost you, but I think they are worth it. BTW-the Advent roof air will literally drive you out of our 35 foot motorhome. We had the 15000 BTU unit installed and it has a larger than standard fan enabling it to equal the output of a 16500 BTU model. Now that we addressed that issue, I resumed my search for a newer coach to replace Jesabel. As much as I love this coach I cannot justify continuing to spend the money we have been spending on upkeep and repairs. Complicating the process is the fact that my credit suffered after my cardiac problems. I again found someone on Craigslist that was willing to work with me and we ended up making a deal, Again I feel we were fortunate. If you want to drive me away from making a deal, start applying pressure or try talking me into something I don't want. We had wanted to change from a Class A to a 5th wheel; but not having a truck kind of complicates that. We also had the elephant in the room-we needed to sell Jesabel. Each of these complications that I threw at the salesperson were met with a solution and a can do attitude. He came up with a truck and 5th wheel package and we traded the motorhome, our car and some cash. By the 15th of next month we should be in our new home. Yeah, I know-what about the new air conditioner we just bought? I guess you could say we were between a rock and a cool place-no one wants an RV without air conditioning; especially down here. I'll also take solace in that it will be the last major expense spent on Jesabel.

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