RV Life:  It’s the BOMB!

Our 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 plans to our reality would be akin to comparing an exotic Tahitian vacation to a backyard barbecue. (Ali says I have a low opinion of backyard barbecues.)  But let me ask, have you ever lived in a 41 ½ foot long BOMB just waiting to explode?  Well, just check that right off our bucket list, because we have!

Ali and I expected to be on the road nearly a month ago, but alas, repairs have taken over our schedule.  A few weeks back, we spent four nights and five full days living in repair facilities between Tampa and Orlando, and the two biggest issues we had with our motorhome still weren’t fixed.   While driving between towns from one repair location to the next, we received a call from our renters letting us know the exterior water spigot had broken completely away from the wall. Water flooded between the walls of the house and into the kitchen, laundry area, and living room.  Lovely.  Call in the water reparation specialists, and bring in the contractors, because dealing with insurance claims is EXACTLY what I had been hoping to do!  Said no one.  Ever.

The next day, our oldest son, Ethan, broke a tooth while playing at a trampoline park. And then he got pink eye, which he passed along to his two brothers and me.  Our daughter Grace returned from camp the sickest I have seen her in a very long time, sharing that with the family, and we received notice that some maintenance work needed to be done on our rental house in South Florida.

Finally, as we wrapped up the chaos of all but house repairs, we decided to run away to Disney’s Ft. Wilderness to escape the craziness that had been our lives.  Despite a leaky air conditioning unit that required Ali to climb up to the roof on our first morning there, it was mostly pleasant.  Wonderful, really.  Deer along our bike paths, movies under the stars, a horse farm offering rides for the littles… Disney really does feel like a whole other world.

Clogged drains on AC #3 required a quick trip to the roof while at Fort Wilderness

But there was a smell… an odd smell that got increasingly, disturbingly worse. It wasn’t a magical, Disney smell either.  Assaulting us every time we entered the motorhome, the foul odor had taunted us for weeks, lingering around and daring us to solve the puzzle of locating its source.  We deep-cleaned all the carpets, washed the bedding, scrubbed down surfaces, changed the trash twice a day, flushed holding tanks multiple times, examined all slide-outs carefully to ensure some unfortunate critter hadn’t tried to squeeze in at just the wrong time, sniffed every crevice in our main living area (where the smell was strongest) and STILL could not determine the source of the stench.  Finally, the last day we were at Disney, Ali noticed our propane tank had gone from 1/3 full to empty without having been used.  We were told we needed to refill it to do a “drop test,” whatever that is.  So after getting back to good ole’ Winter Garden, we drove up to the local Ace to have the tank filled.  Being a newbie, I wanted to see how it was done.  I got out and walked around the coach to watch a gangly teenager fill our 37.5 gallon propane tank.  And when I got there, BOOM!  I mean, not really BOOM, because that would have been bad, very bad, indeed.  But BAM, I recognized the smell and put two and two together.  I called Ali out, and he closed the regulator valve.  The smell abated.

So guess where we spent today?  That’s right!  We are back in the service department and even get to spend the night here again.  Not only did we get the freezer fixed (we think), but it turns out a botched repair at another dealership months ago caused a propane line running behind one of our sleeper sofas to get crushed a little more each time it was opened and closed, slowly leaking propane out into our living space.  We were literally living in a bomb waiting to ignite.  Thank God (truly) I never lit a candle to mask the smell and that we have an electric stove rather than a gas range.  Realizing how close our entire family was to death for a second time (the first was due to another botched repair from the same service department that melted wires and caused a severe fire hazard), I spent most of the day in a frazzled, “shaken up” state.  Someone (and by that, I mean GOD) is definitely looking out for us!  Apparently, our work for Him isn’t over yet.

Propane pipes behind the passenger side couch. The lower pipe should not be kinked!

You can clearly see the hole in the pipe that was the source of the leak

In the beginning, I was getting very frustrated by all the “setbacks” until I remembered this wasn’t my idea to begin with. I only began this journey because we felt called to it. And if I’m going to set out on a God-led “mission,” I don’t get to pick my timeline or the details that consume our days.  It’s much more peaceful now, taking it in stride.  And it’s much more pleasant, not having any mysterious, explosive smells in our little home….