It Takes A Marine!

Leave it to a Marine to come up with a solution to a problem, especially one who knows about vehicles having served as a Tank Commander from Vietnam thru Gulf War I. Other RVers discovered that if you use one of those plastic Christmas tree stands, you can support your inline water filter. That in itself is a good idea, but if you’re a Marine who knows that the storage space available in any special purpose vehicle must serve to hold as much as possible.

Watch Those Steps

For those of you who are considering purchasing a 5^th wheel trailer as your new home on wheels, whether as full or part timers, look closely at a very important aspect of the floor plan. Many models have the master bedroom up front over the fifth wheel. Just aft of that at the top of the steps is the bathroom.

Oily Experience

Ruby at the Speedco-San Antonio, TX

Our motor home was overdue for a routine servicing…lube, oil and filters. Since we’re full-timers we needed to find a place that was convenient and one that didn’t require us to find accommodations away from our home on wheels.

I’ve been reading reports on the various RVing Forums about the experiences others have had at dedicated RV dealerships and what they paid for the services provided. Some mentioned they had great service from Speedco, a quick lube place for big rigs and commercial vehicles. The idea is you get in and out quickly, so I decided to give them a try.

Stuff Happens – Flat Tire

This story is both sad and a bit funny too. The other morning I happened to look out the window at the neighbors campsite to see his pickup had a flat tire. This morning as I was outside doing my waste management duties a roadside assistance service truck from one of the local tire shops pulled in.

It didn’t take long to learn the my neighbor who I was just meeting for the first time was new to RVing and wasn’t too familiar with his new (used) pickup apparently having purchased it recently along with his new (used) 5er. He didn’t even know where or if he had the key that unlocks the spare tire or where the tool to lower the spare from under the rear was located. Good thing this wasn’t happening along the side of a busy highway!

After thorough inspection of the vehicle there was no jack, handle, owners manual or key! So the he tells the technician, go ahead and cut the lock and the cable used to hold the spare in position so it can be removed. So the tech does then rolls the spare up to the front of the truck where the flat tire is and proceeds to jack up the flat off the ground so it can be removed.

The technician removes the flat tire and asks the owner…”Do you want this fixed? If so I can do it right here.” I’m watching this and thinking…Redneck Roadside Repair. The owner responds yes go ahead and fix it, if you can do it here all the better. So we watch the technician break the tire down, remove the sizable nail that punctured the tire and patch the hole. It didn’t take much longer and the tire was remounted on the rim and the newly repaired tire back on the pickup’s axle where it had come from right next to where the spare tire still laid.

Lug nuts tightened, air pressure on both tires sharing the axle were double checked and all was good. Except, now there was no way to return the spare tire to its storage space under the truck so I asked…”Wouldn’t it have been better to ask about fixing the tire BEFORE cutting the spare out from under the truck?”

The owner’s response was…”I never even thought to ask if he could fix the tire.” The technician just went about packing up his tools and filling out the paperwork knowing he screwed this guy over because his head wasn’t on the task. Now besides the cost of the service call the owner now has to pay to purchase and have the spare tire mechanism replaced so its available when needed again.

Lessons to be learned here: First, if you’re buying a new or used vehicle make sure that the necessary safety equipment comes with the truck and you know where it is. READ the owners manual…make sure the dealer provides one (they’re not expensive). Familiarize yourself with all aspects of operating your vehicle especially the emergency items and procedures.

Ask the service technician exactly what his capabilities are…can he repair on site or will he in fact need to utilize the spare. What’s his course of action to resolve the emergency. Those unnecessary steps come at a cost and could come at a higher price than you were expecting.

Things done right: The owner had Roadside Assistance Insurance for such emergencies. He called the number and they made the arrangements to send out someone to service his tow rig. The technician did get the truck back on the road quickly and provided the owner with proper documentation he needed for his records.

Too Dark To Grill Out

Though I have a set of rope lights that I can attach to my awning, its not always practical to do so but there are times when you need some light to cook outside on the grill. Sure there are now “grill lights” that you can get that mount to your grill…but they are typically expensive and do little else to illuminate the rest of the work space or table where you plan on eating.

While cruising the seasonal clearance items at Wal-Mart one day I spotted some solar spot lights while picking up some solar accent lights. Later I saw these same solar lights being used by others to keep their US Flag illuminated throughout the night. IDEA!

Why not use them to do the same for my work area while cooking! So on my next visit to a Wal-Mart I found the same lights on sale there…for $7.00 each so I picked up two. Now I have yet to come up with a more permanent way of mounting them to the awning supports…I’m thinking flag pole bases mounted to hold the spot light posts. So far I have held them in place with some Velcro cord detanglers  which held them just fine.

If you don’t need them for your grill or table, use them for your flag or to cast a security light on the dark side of your RV or Towed. Here’s another great tip. How to keep your solar lights charged between uses while traveling. Simple place them in a window such as on the back of a couch, on your dash or anywhere they can get direct sunlight. They’ll recharge and be ready for use the first evening at your new site.