Repairs and Whatnot

We packed up last Monday and attempted to head to Houston for RV repairs and some well earned time off. We typically ask and are allowed to take a day to get packed up, so we didn't hit the road till Tuesday. Notice I say attempted. Missy and I have a well organized system we follow and, when it came time, the &*&^% kitchen and living slideouts would not come in. We set a approximate time of departure of 10 a.m. on travel days. We do not like to rush, especially when we're hauling 40 feet of toyhauler down the road. Well, the slideouts come in when everything else is done because you can't move around the house when they're stowed. So, it was well after nine when this debacle occurred. We have been RVing for a while, so we know how to assess and troubleshoot most problems. First thought was to attempt to bring the slides in manually. I know that, in most cases, the motors have to be disengaged from the tracks. Some systems have a simple lever you use to accomplish this and some require the removal of the motor. Well, I saw no way to disengage the motor(s), plus the wrench provided for the job could not be used in the tight space (you don't suppose they checked that out at the factory, do you?). On to further trouble shooting. Did I mention it was getting hotter by the minute and that we were rolling around in gravel and dirt? No voltage to the motors, voltage at the circuit board, but no voltage at the fuses, continuity check showed fuses checked good, all connections seemed tight-WTF? Finally decided to disconnect the motors and jump them directly with a battery charger. Apparently there was not enough oomph to make things happen. What to do? We finally jumped the motors with our faithful Ford pickup. At least they were stowed and we could get headed down the road. There is nothing I hate more than hopping in the truck all sweaty, dirty and frustrated. Fair warning to all you noobs out there; RVing rarely comes off smoothly. For those of you not bored to death; it turned out that the circuit board itself had failed. The fairly simple fix was to move the wires to an opening on the board. We were really glad to have had the option of a bedroom slide as it gave us a place to stay for the night. The following morning we headed out in the morning rush hour to get to the repair facility. If you want a test of your driving abilities, try towing a 40 foot toyhauler through Houston during rush hour. Some of my dear readers have posed the question of how we handle our pets in these situations. It's never easy and the heat makes it doubly so. We were forced to idle and keep the pets in the truck, till we figured out an alternative. One alternative would have been to use one of the dealers trailers to stay in, but that never happened. Then we tried hotels, which proved difficult, because we wanted to stay in the area and had to find one that was pet friendly. We finally found a hotel, but they couldn't get us checked in till early afternoon. Sometimes the stars just do not align for you. We spent about a day and a half chasing after the mechanics and their supervisors, trying to get as many things as we could repaired. We finally left around lunchtime and started a search for a RV park. Let me tell you something; RV parks may be in abundance near Houston, but try finding a space. We spent three days in a small RV park in the country and satisfied Missy's shopping bug. We also got her ring repaired, which is near impossible to do in the oil patch. Now we are ensconced at Hidden Valley, one of our favorite RV parks, near San Antonio. Missy leaves Thursday to spend a few days in Las Vegas with some of her gal friends and we're scheduled to head back to work the Tuesday following her return. All in all, we'll have gotten a lot done and; more importantly, relaxed a bit.