Gettin' it handled

When we purchased our motorhome I knew things would go wrong with it and I knew who would be the one working on it. Moi! The morning we were to leave Indiana I tried to unlock the deadbolt on the front door and the little plastic handle for the lock broke off in my hand. I was able to use a pair of pliers to open the lock so no big deal, there is another lock on the door anyway so we will just use that from now on. Last Saturday we did some running around and when we got back to the rig the door handle would not open the door! The handle felt like it was disconnected from something. Luckily we found the drivers side window unlocked so Rudee volunteered to climb through and was able to open the door from the inside. I got my tools out and took the handle apart figuring a rod had come loose. I got everything off the door and found the outside handle has a sort of "paddle" lever that hooks to the latch mechanism on the inner part of the handle. All the parts were real "loosey goosey" and no way to tighten them up so we needed a new handle. I put everything back together again since we didn't want a 4"x 4"  hole to the outside and headed in to do some research on the internet. I found some information on the iRV2  forums including the name of the manufacturer and a "do it yourself" adjustment procedure. Since it was Saturday and the manufacturer was closed I decided to try and do the adjustment to see if that worked. Back outside I was able to try the adjustment which consisted of tightening a small nut through a hole in the door jamb. I got the handle to work twice then it failed again and would not work no matter what I tried. We ended up just leaving the door unlatched so we could get in and out because Rudee didn't want to climb in the window again and we were afraid the neighbors would begin to stare and point. :-)
Monday I was able to call the manufacturer and they helped identify the handle I needed and placed my order. Friday while we were at the RV show UPS delivered the handle right to our doorstep and I got it unpacked. Since it was dark when we got back I decided to wait until Saturday morning to install it so we only had one more night "locking" the door with a bungee cord. :-)
Saturday morning I removed the old handle and the installation of the new one was pretty easy. The new one fit perfectly in the door and all the screw holes lined up! I got everything tightened down and gave it a try. IT WORKS! The handle was kind of pricey ($160.00) but this is not something you can just pick up at Home Depot either. I did save a bunch by doing the work myself and it only took some basic hand tools and I didn't even need the first aid kit that Rudee had handy, "just in case". :-)
here is the old and the new (excuse the dirty fingerprints).

I'm not sure what my next repair will be but so far I have replaced the water heater thermostat and pressure valve, replaced the hydraulic motor, replaced the door handle, repaired the sliding step cover replaced both the TV's with flat screens, replaced the day night shades and replaced the slide out awnings. Maybe I should open a mobile RV repair business ...... hmmmm. :-) I'll keep you posted.

Florida RV SuperShow Day 2

Larry and Sue arrived at our rig right at 8 am and we hopped in the Dakota to head for our second day at the show. We made a stop for breakfast at the Sunshine Eatery in Zephyrhills. Every time we pass this restaurant the parking lot is packed and we figured that was a good sign. When we arrived we got one of the last parking spots available and there were only a few empty seats in the restaurant. Breakfast did not disappoint and the servings were HUGE. Rudee and I split a meal like usual and I think all four of us could have shared our meal, it was that big!
After eating we were more then ready for a little exercise. When we arrived at the show we were pleasantly surprised to find it not as busy as yesterday. Our first stop was the Amazon booth where we caught up with the crew working there. We then made our way to the seminar tent where we attended the "Weight and Tire Safety" seminar given by the RVSEF and presented by Howard Payne.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon wandering through all the different vendors. I couldn't talk Larry and Sue into buying a new rig but they did get a sign to display in front of their motor home. :-)

We made one last pass through the last vendor building and ran into Howard and Linda Payne. We had the chance to talk with them for awhile and enjoyed being able to catch up.

Rudee and I really enjoyed our days at the show, the place really is huge and if you are seriously looking to buy a new rig this would be a great way to comparison shop. They also have factory representatives at almost every dealership who could answer all the "hard" questions. :-)

We are not sure what is in store for us the next several weeks. We are still on the hunt for part time work and have put out some feelers but no real possibilities yet. We answered an ad in Work Camper News for a job working at the Strawberry Festival next month. The job will only be for about 10 days but at least we'll be making a few $'s for some diesel fuel. I'll keep you posted.

Florida RV SuperShow Day 1

We were up fairly early so we could try and beat the crowds at the RV show today. They hold the show at the fairgrounds on the east side of Tampa and it is only about 20 miles away south of us on US 301. We made the short drive, paid the parking fee and walked to the gate where we had to pay the admission for the show. The price is $10 per person but that is good for two days so that kind of takes the "sting" out. :-)

Our first stop was one of the buildings where there were vendors set up.

We had fun seeing all the different products for sale and happened onto the Amazon booth where some of our HR people from Campbellsville were handing out literature and answering questions about work camping there. They had a flat screen TV set up showing a slideshow of different jobs and Rudee yelled "Hey, there we are!" They had included the photo of our whole group of work campers from "Single Toys, D shift nights". There was a couple there asking some questions and we helped answer some of them from the work campers point of view. :-)

As we walked around the building I saw a familiar face walking towards me. "Hi there Linda Payne". There was that second of "who is calling my name" look in her eyes before she said "Phil and Rudee!" Her and Howard are the founders of RV Dreams and were one of the first full timers we ever met in person. We had not seen them since 2007 but had emailed back and forth several times over the years. I started following their blog in 2006 and maybe they have checked in on mine a time or two as well. :-)
They are presenting a seminar here and were heading over to get things set up so we only had time for a quick "how ya been" but hopefully we can get together again before they leave.

We eventually worked our way out to the massive display of rigs. They were lined up for as far as the eye could see. There was every type and style of RV imaginable was on display.

We had a mission to find a specific toy hauler to check out for Rob and Jany back in Indiana. We found our way to the Grand Design RV display and they had two Momentum Toy Haulers. We took a few pictures for them and even talked to one of the owners of the company who invited them to the factory for a tour. He said he would show them around personally! Time for a road trip Rob!

As we were walking around we found a vendor selling name signs and decided it was time to replace ours. We sure were lucky they had one with our names on it! :-)

Actually one of the gals manning the booth hand paints the names on while you wait. They were doing a brisk business and we had to wait about 45 minutes for our sign to be ready, but it wasn't hard to kill that amount time in this place!
We toured a few rigs and kept telling each other "when we win the lottery .....!"
Tomorrow we are heading back for day 2 with Larry and Sue (Single Toys buddies!) and see of we can help them spend some of their Amazon money on a new rig. :-) I'll keep you posted.

settling in

We have been getting comfortable here in Dade City. Our park is really nice, all the roads are paved, there is a nice pool (if it warms up enough to use it!), all of our neighbors have been super nice and there is a large club house where the park hosts events.

 They have clipboards hanging inside the club house where you can sign up for different events. I decided to sign up for a golf outing for this morning. Rudee dropped me off at the golf course and I was able to hook up with a couple of the other guys. Clyde and Lee were my partners and we all three hit it off right away. I was pretty nervous since I had not played a round of golf in 15 years! The practice I have been doing at the range paid off and I really didn't do too bad. I had a couple of "blow up" holes but I also had some really good holes to make up for it. I ended up shooting a 92 so that's not super embarrassing. Besides meeting two new friends the biggest highlights of my round was a 30' putt for par and I actually birdied a hole! The course was nice and the price was a bargain at $16.00 and that included the cart, sweet!

I sent Rudee a text when we were on the 17th hole and she pulled in to pick me up as I was leaving the 18th green, perfect timing. My phone rang as we were pulling out of the parking lot and Dale and Diana Beason were just arriving in the area from Indiana and wanted to meet. We gave them directions to Doc's Bar and Grille in Dade City and met up with them for lunch. They are on their way to Bradenton where they have a place rented for a few weeks in the sunshine. :-)
We had been wanting to try this restaurant since we arrived and we were not disappointed. Rudee and I shared a burger which was the "daily special" They also had draft beer at $1.00 per mug! Oh ya, good golf followed by good friends and cold beer, life is good! :-)

We are making plans to attend the Tampa RV Supershow on Thursday and Friday. The admission of $10 per person is good for two days so we decided to take our time and see it all. I'll keep you posted.