Everything is broken! Well, either broken, about to break, or potentially broken. Yes, we’re still in Winter Garden. We’re taking it in stride and are in good spirits, but man, has a lot of stuff been going on! Wasn’t this supposed to be glamorous? A life full of travel and adventure? Oh wait, we did travel… to Hudson, Florida. But only to get a window fixed. But hey, we got out of our zipcode. Yay!
Why am I so complainy? I’ll run down the list below. Keep in mind, we’ve only been living in the coach a little over a month!
Before I get to the list, let me say it has also been fun. We hang out with the kids a lot more, and working from home has given me a lot more time to see all the cute and crazy things I would normally miss out on being in an office cubicle.
The kids like “peeling” this tree. I’ve seen them spend 15 minutes going round and round
It’s also cute (a.k.a. scary and interesting) when the kids come out to help me with my latest project. Especially Grace, who tries to toss things up to me when I’m on the roof of the RV but just ends up throwing them over the coach and then going to other side and repeating the process over and over. That alone has led to several giggle fits!
Ok, so the list is below. I should also give fair warning to brace yourselves and note it’s been a few days now without any “new issues” cropping up, so I think we’re at the end of the prep period.
In Progress
- Water heater – electrical burning smell
- Fridge – auto defrost not functioning; broken shelf clip
- Freezer needs light
- Ice maker – not making ice
- Driver’s side windshield wiper – not making full contact with glass (Newmar sells windshield wiper springs for $71 a pair! NAPA auto parts had the same sprints for $4.99).
The fridge had to be removed and placed inside the coach for repairs
Fixed
- Awning main pin coming out
- Bedroom closet door not shutting: replaced door catch
- Leaking bathroom sink
- Leaking kitchen sink
- Leaking passenger window (plugged weeper holes)
- Foggy driver’s window
- Broken shelving clips
- Stuck drawer rail mechanisms (on 5 drawers!)
- Fried central vacuum relay board
- Cleaned all roof A/C units and removed the hive of all hives!
- All bolts were rusted, requiring channel-locks to remove 12 Phillips head screws
- Ended up having to weld part of the A/C steel cover back together, because weld broke during bolt removal
- Bonus: I now own a propane torch (campfires are going to be easier to light!)
- Replaced all Phillips head screwdrivers with hex bolts
- Leaking dishwasher that led to floor (and dishwasher) replacement
- Fallen passenger slide weather stripping
- External television – only one speaker working
- Electrical Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) buzzing
- Automatic Transfer Switch LCD needed to be replaced to be compatible with new ATS
- Broken variable water pressure valve
- Broken wall-mounted soap dispenser in shower
- Bedroom door stop – not screwed down in place
- Cabinet doors: stripped screws and cracked wood on two cabinets
- Hallway trim piece: fell down during a drive
- Fallen slide trim piece
- Loose trim in bedroom
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- Massive wasp’s net in our AC
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- What the AC unit looks like after the hive was removed
Ancillary projects:
- Assembled 70+ lb six-bike rack
- Installed towing baseplate on van
- Installed SMI Air Force One air assisted proportional braking system on van
- Replaced Carpeting on retractable entry steps
- Replaced home theater receiver
- Replaced all home theater speakers
- Replaced and wired in subwoofer (old one was not compatible with home receiver)
- Installed PS4
- Installed wireless printer and set up internal wifi
- Installed WeBoost 4G-M Cellular amplifier
- Made modifications to radio to allow iPhone to work with in-dash system
- Cleaned all A/C filters
- Perform maintenance on roof seals
- Lube collapsible antenna
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- Had to remove the front end of Jenni’s car to install the towing baseplate
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- The Air Force one brake operating unit with hoses spliced into the van’s brake booster
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- Wiring up the van’s lights so they illuminate when Galactica’s brake pedal is depressed
The Potentials – this category is dedicated to things that could soon break/need to be addressed
- External faucet in water compartment is producing a mist if not completely shut off
- Install AppleTV in bedroom so Jenni and I can stream video after kids go to bed
- Replace DVD home theater in bedroom with one capable of play Blu-Rays and has an HDMI input
So when do you leave?
Man, are our friends anxious to get us to leave the state, hahah! The answer is soon (maybe)! The fridge and water heater are slated to be repaired this week. I suspect the water heater issue is going to require replacing the wires from the fuse box to the water heater. This isn’t as big an issue as it sounds, as they are a mere seven feet away from one another.
Once repairs are complete, we still have to sell my Mustang (shameless link to my Craigslist ad) and add a few things to storage. We also need to sell our iMac (at 27”, it’s just too big to take along). We can also sell that on eBay from anywhere, though, so no big deal. Also, the Mustang will end up at CarMax if it has to.
We’re thinking just a couple more weeks. Unless something breaks that is!
Note from Jenni: He’s LYING!!! We will be here forever, because the house flooded when a pipe attached to an exterior spigot broke and poured water between the walls. Now the kitchen, living room, and laundry area need repairs!
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21 Comments
Sounds like you are almost on your way for your grand adventure……almost!
almost there!
You guys are amazing! Hope there are no more bumps in the road! Oh and drive that mustang down to Michigan. The Strubes will be glad to watch it for you!!!
Maybe we can hook the Mustang up to the back of the van and tow it up to you guys! That would be something. Hope we can see you guys (and the whole gang) when we make it on up!
Well, we have enjoyed still having you all around. The kids got to attend some church events they would have missed (I know they are happy about that). Its great that all these things are done now and you should be in good shape. God’s timing is right but not always what we want. I know it will be even better when you can take a sigh of relief and hit the road. I am really sorry that all this has happened though especially the water in the house; that’s got to be expensive. Praying for you!!!!
I love the way you write! I can help… Put the kids on a train to Indianapolis for a week!!!! Or two.
And the wiper… Reminds me of the movie RV where the Park owner sold the gas bomb for $78 (or something like that) and the rain ponchos for $35 each.
Lol!!!
Everyone wants to make a million.
I’ll risk my cover in the witness protection program and comment here.
Ali, hello, Jennifer, hello,
INSANITY! One thing at a time, bros.
haha, your secret is out! We’ll survive. I’m looking at this like I would launching any complex system: there will be complications in the initial launch period. It is what it is. That said: ARRGGHH!! Make it stop!!!
I can see a great message on brokenness from this story, and glad to hear you are almost ready to take off. Blessings to Jen.
Definitely “broken”ness 😀 Every indicator light is showing brokenness hahaha. Ok, kidding aside: it’s a matter of perseverance. Imagine how much more fun everything is going to be in contrast to all the early difficulties!
You guys will be fine. You’ve got Troy and Nicole just down the street. They will help with anything. Just ask.
Thanks guys! This will be behind soon. Hopefully you guys are still up for a caravan down to Key West! By the way, does your coach have a CB? I’ve been considering getting one…hmmm
Oh this made me laugh. I so needed this today. What fun adventures. 7 people and a RV! You just need a dog to make it complete.
I’m glad you’re enjoying my suffering, you suck! hahaha. Hey we still have to do dinner or something sometime. Maybe when we move our aircraft carrier to Clermont????? You can make lobster 😀
Wow, I know that God has plans for you. Being patient and waiting for God’s timing. I would be questioning my 6 year old RV. Better to do these repairs now where you can afford to do repairs rather than on the road and it costs so much more. At least you can get the house repaired while you are still in town.
We now know how to pray for you all.
It’s definitely good things are breaking here. Just 5 minutes away from us is one of the best facilities in the country. Also, the best alignment shop in the country happens to also be in Orlando.
If things are going to break: let be Orlando!
Yes we need to get with you all for dinner. Love you all!
that would be awesome! things are starting to settle down on the the RV side of things though we do have issues at the house now. Maybe in a couple of weeks? Maybe we can camp close to you as we head north? Who knows? We’ll figure it out!
are you planning on being in Winter Garden? That would work too
[…] adventure is turning out to be a little different than expected. Okay, a LOT different. It’s pretty much the least glamorous adventure EVER. Comparing our […]
Was this a brand new Newmar? We are considering buying a Newmar to start our adventure in a few months but reading this has scared me.
Hey tina, ours was not a new newmar. When we bought it, it was a used fleetwood with just about 12,000 miles on it. Whoever owned it before us had let it sit. RVs do not fair well when they are just left to sit.
It needed a good amount of TLC to get ship shape.
Newmar is a great brand by the way. There is a good network of dealers for you and you should get excellent service from them.
Hope that puts your mind at ease! What Newmar are you getting?
one more thing. In RV life something is always broken. You’ll have a bunch of minor issues that need to be addressed all the time. Basically, you’ll be living in house that vibrates at 50+ miles per hour on a regular basis. Something will always be broken/need adjustment/require some attention. Don’t let this scare you. You’ll be ok. Besides: your’e going new so you’ll have a warranty 🙂