Last week we took the RV out of winter mothballs, eager to hit the road for some summertime recreation. Unfortunately, getting back on the road also means “let’s see what’s broken this winter.”
Winterization is ostensibly how owners prevent RV issues, at least theoretically. Last fall, we carefully drained, flushed and filled the pipes and holding tanks with anti-freeze. According to far more experienced travelers, that virtually guarantees a painless, surprise-free spring.
We cleaned, flushed and prepped our systems with no problems whatsoever. Everything seemed copacetic. But…based on past experience, I elected to make a solo shakedown cruise prior to taking our grandkids camping.
After electrical shocks from incorrect wiring and floods of water from broken fittings installed inside the walls, I expect surprises, not bluebird skies and rainbow sunsets.
The shakedown was a good idea, because I found the “gotcha” before everyone else arrived. Everything worked flawlessly - until I tried to shower. No hot water. $150 later, a tech told me we had a failed water flow sensor inside the hot water heater. The same heater that was the warranty replacement for the unit that didn’t work last year. Without sensing water moving, the hot water heater wouldn’t ignite the propane burner and heat water.
Replacement, I was told would be simple. That’s when the hot water heater company produced yet another new “RV gotcha” - they couldn’t ship the tech a replacement part because they were “closed for inventory.”
So..the RV is back in storage while we wait to order a replacement part. But there was an unexpected positive in the shakedown.
I overnighted at a Love’s truck stop. And it was terrific.
Love’s (www.loves.com) is a familiar site for travelers in 42 states. With 670 locations, they’re one of the one-stop shops for everything from fuel to food for casual travelers and truckers. They also offer everything from big truck repaid to freight factoring., but they’ve added a significant benefit as an outreach to RVers.
Their Love’s RV Stops now offer a (limited) number of full-service RV overnight spots at more than 120 locations in 42 states. I overnighted at their Loudon, Tennessee, location (less than two miles from my destination). At $60/night, it wasn’t overly expensive, and offered more amenities than most RV parks. After all, Love’s travel stops already feature fuel, propane, dump tank services and 24-hour food that’s actually edible. Most RV parks offer few options for late-night arrivals, early-morning departures or late night snacking.
With the addition of immaculate RV hookups, reserving a space (essential) will be something I’ll be planning if/when we get back on the road this summer. If they’d add RV repair services, they might become the premiere camping destinations across the country.
Updating stories from last week….the United States and Mexico have inaugurated a screwfly plant in Chiapas (Mexico) to continue their cross-border battle against screwworms. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and U.S. Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins attended the opening of the $50-million plant. When at full capacity, it will produce up to 100 million sterile flies weekly to suppress the wild screwworm population.
Meteorologists are predicting hotter-than-normal temperatures, including some possible records, for about 230 million of us this week. High humidity will make it seem even hotter until the weather breaks. Those extremes are making it tougher to fight Utah’s Cottonwood wildfires that has already burned more than 92,000 acres in southern Utah and is far from being contained. A a state of emergency is restricting personal fireworks through the fifth of July and Salt Lake City has issued it’s first-ever “particularly dangerous situation red flag warning.”
Finally, bankruptcy court has conditionally approved West Marine’s amended disclosure statement and reorganization plan, moving the company closer to an August confirmation hearing and continuing West’s store rationalization process. West will maintain its position as the country’s largest boating retailer with around 200 stores nationwide.
And one more bit of news worth noting…American Honda has announced a restructuring of its Power Sports & Products center, aligning power sports, power equipment and marine divisions under a unified structure. Honda says it intends to “continue evolving Power Sports towards a self-reliant North American operation.”
As always, we’ll keep you posted.
—Jim Shepherd