My New RV

My RV came in the end of May but, as you know, I was going to my sister’s place to animal sit during June so the RV dealership agreed to keep my RV until I returned home. That was very nice of them. Actually, Edmundson’s, the RV dealership in Columbus, Indiana, has been extremely kind, patient, and helpful during my entire journey. I really can’t say enough nice things about them and, especially, Josie, the salesperson who helped me during my decision making process. She deserves a medal in patience! I’m trying to learn from her example; she sets a very high bar.
The month of June was supposed to be spent living in my parents Coach so I could spend time to myself in AC and learn about living in an RV. That didn’t happen. Claudia and my Dad left on a Wednesday for Michigan and the AC, which hadn’t really been putting out cold air, stopped working on Thursday afternoon. Later I found out the breaker had simply flipped but I felt I’d broken their Coach after only a few days in it. I went in to my parent’s house, where my Mom was staying, because it was really hot that day and their house has a constant breeze even though they don’t have AC. I really didn’t want to stay there because both my Mom and I were looking forward to some alone time so I spent the night and moved back to the Coach on Friday morning. The next thing to happen was the Water Heater quit working. Again, it was the breaker flipping but I was a bit frantic because I’d lived in their RV less than 2 days and 2 items quit working. I felt I was going to have to give them my RV in order to make up for breaking theirs. The part that quit working was the electric but the propane part was still working. Whew! By Friday afternoon I was sweating with the humidity and heat but I was surviving. Then a storm blew up and I had to shut all the windows. That meant too much heat for me so I packed it in again and left for Mom’s. This time, between the AC and the water heater, I decided I had to stay with Mom; I don’t think either of us were excited.
The next morning, Mom and I talked and we decided we would not take care of each other, we would allow each other space, and we would communicate as best we could when we were feeling challenged. Mom had asked me, the day before, if there was anything she could do for me. With the heat in the Coach, I was not doing very well so I told her if she would take care of Claudia’s animals for 3 days, I would sleep and get myself back on my feet. Then we could split the shifts:  I’d take mornings when the weather was cooler and she’d take evenings when the weather was warmer. Those are temperatures each of us prefers so it would work well. I think, overall, the plan worked well and went smoothly. We had our ins/outs but I have to say this was the best visit I’ve ever experienced with my Mom. I am very grateful I got to spend the time with her. I learned a lot about myself and a bit of information about her as well.
Claudia was able to complete the ride in Michigan! Yea! Claudia and Dad came home on June 26^th. They got in really late so we didn’t see them until the 27^th. Mom and I drove out to visit but they were busy unloading the horse trailer. They did take some breaks and shared stories. I went out to pick up some food for a late lunch and, when I got back, we all sat in the Coach and Claudia and Dad told more stories. Mom and Dad went home and Claudia and I visited for a bit. I got to hear even more stories. I left so Claudia could rest and I wanted to drive home that evening. So, I went by Mom and Dad’s, picked up my vehicle, and left for home. It was good to get home!
I spent the next week preparing to pick up my RV and move it to Ceraland, an RV campground near my house. I picked up the RV on Monday, July 6^th. It took from 11AM to 3PM to get the trailer hitched and ready to go. It was just little things like the saddle for the weight distributions bars wouldn’t allow the pin to go through the holes so I could latch it. The bar we had to work as a lever on the saddles was too small in diameter; it wouldn’t fit over the levering area. We didn’t have long enough bolts for the plate for the sway bar. Then the snaps to attach the trailer chains to my hitch were not big enough to go over the metal piece where they attach. So, Jeff and I drove into town to find larger snaps, buy a larger pipe for levering the saddles, and bought longer bolts so we could properly attach the plate for the sway bar. By the time we got back to Edmundson’s they had fixed the saddle problem and Jeff and I attached the snaps and put the bolts on the sway bar plate so we were off and running. It’s easy to hitch up once we have all the pieces we need. J

When we got to Ceraland, I unhooked and went to run the electrical cord so I could run my AC. The cord wasn’t long enough. By the time I knew I needed another cord, it was 4:55PM and all the RV dealerships close at 5PM so I didn’t get to spend Monday night in my RV. The next day, I got the longer cord, got hooked up, and have spent every night since in the RV. When I was trying to put water in my holding tanks, I could not figure out how to do it. It seemed obvious but it wasn’t working correctly. I was getting water out of the faucet but I knew the tank wasn’t filling. Thankfully, Jeff had made a DVD of the walk-thru of the RV so I watched it and realized I was hooked to the city water outlet and, on the DVD, I learned where the tank input is located. I got the tank filled and the water working though the water pressure is dismal. I hope there is somewhere to change that but I haven’t had time to look into it. Next was the water heater. I tried to get it to work but no hot water. So, I found my booklet on the water heater and I was doing everything correctly. After thinking a bit, I wondered if the propane was on. It wasn’t. Once I turned it on, it worked wonderfully. Now, I want to run the water heater off the electrical which is even easier than running it off the propane.

It took me all week to get the dishes, silverware, and other utensils washed, the cupboards lined with a non-slip surface (I’m hoping to reduce movement of items), food in the refrigerator, and be able to cook my meals. The kitchen is looking fabulous! The rest of the RV is still a shambles. I have one side of the bed cleared so I can sleep on it. The bathroom looks great but there’s no room to have stuff lying about in there. I’m feeling good about my adventure so far. I like my location, I hope this next week is less busy so I can get some more stuff done, I have a lot to go through in my house and my RV since I’m going minimal, and I’m hoping to return extra items and get all the stuff from the house moved into my RV and put away. We’ll see how successful I am.