I'm Now a Grumpy Old Man!

Oswego Lighthouse

I'm still here in Oswego over a week after the planned departure date. Still waiting on parts to fix the broken refrigerator.

I can't fault Camping World - for what ever reason, Dometic decided that even thought the techs at Camping World determined that the cooling unit was bad they sent a replacement heater.  When the techs asked why Dometic's answer is they have had problems with the heating units and they need to try that first.

So, today I hauled the trailer down to Camping World, they replaced the refrigerator's heater, and it still doesn't work.  Repair by substitute isn't all that practical when it takes a week or more to get each part! 

Now Dometic says they will send out a cooling unit either later today or on Monday.  That definitely rules out the Townsend, TN "egg" get together, and will probably shorten the number of days I can stay in New Mexico before the heat is so bad I need to move north.

There are not that many parts of the trailer I can't fix my self; in fact I probably could have replaced the cooling unit, but since it is under warranty I have to have a dealer do the work.  Am I frustrated?  You bet! Still, better here at home than on the road.  

I guess I will have to get a couple of the projects here at home done.  I kinda put them off since they would be out-of-sight for 5 months, but now that I'll be here for the better part of a week (at least) I don't have an excuse.

By the way, I did get a chance to take the trailer to the dump to get it weighed.  If nothing else, it points out the difference between "Dry Weight" (listed at 2100 lbs) and the real world.  With full propane, 1/3 fresh water, empty grey & black tanks & packed with everything except the stuff going into the refrigerator it hits the scales at 3020 lbs.  Hitch weight is 340 lbs.

Till next time - 

Cooling unit on Tuesday!

Mustard Field, Kalispell, MT

Things are looking up - Camping World tells me the replacement cooling unit will be in either Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.  If it is early enough to get have it replaced on Tuesday, I might even make part of the Tennessee Rally. Of course, things don't always go as planned, but I'm hopeful.

I'm going to weight the trailer again now that it is packed.  I checked the tongue weight - a little high, so I'm going to have to move some stuff from the front to the back.  I'll have a better idea of what I need to change after getting both weights.

Till next time -

So Much For Planning!

Pectol's Pyramid, Capitol Reef National Park, UT

I finished with doctor & dentist appointments, let "Meals of Wheels" I wouldn't be delivering for 5 months, cancelled a bunch of meetings scheduled throughout the Spring & Summer, and started packing the trailer. Since it takes a day or so for the refrigerator to get cold, I turned it on yesterday morning. I also added bleach & water to the fresh water system to sanitize it.

Then it was off for a swim, and back to the house to plan how to schedule stops between leaving Oswego & the first day of the Egg Camping Club's "5th Annual SE Spring Eggscursion April 19 - 22." Since I like to drive 200 miles or so per day & stop in early afternoon I planned my stops & left room for 4 days in Washington, DC.  I've been there a number of times since my daughter lived there up until last April, however we never spent much time in museums & I decided  to see some.  So, the schedule was set & I'm leaving on Thursday.  Yea, WAS has become the operative word.


The first thing I noticed was that the remote thermometer sensor in both the freezer & the refrigerator sections was going up, not down - sure never saw that before.  In the past it never took a full 24 hours to reach normal temperatures, if fact it was usually ready to go in 10 - 12 hours.  When I went to bed it was still 5° above the outside temperature.

This morning it was at the outside temperature - 44°F.  I did the usually wiggling of things, shaking the entire trailer to get things flowing, switched back & forth between electric & gas, etc & no change.  The chimney was getting hot on gas or electric, I could hear gurgling in the coils, so it seemed like at least part of it was working, but still no cooling.

Made a call & off we went to Camping World in Syracuse, the nearest Dometic repair facility.  The end result?  A bad cooling unit - unusual in a 12 month old trailer.  The good - it is under warranty.  Another good - Maybe the bad cooling unit is part of the problem I had this summer with erratic cooling. The bad - A call to Dometic still has not been returned after 4 hours as to the availability of a replacement.  Camping World said it would take a couple of days if it is in stock at Dometic, otherwise at least a week or two.  Rather than wait to hear on the availability, I headed home & will wait for a call when Camping World hears from Dometic. Since it isn't all that popular size (5 cu. ft.) I'm not optimistic. Oh well, at least I didn't make reservations other than the July rally in Oregon & they promise me it will be repaired by then!

I did get to try my new "Grand Areo Towing Mirrors". They took a bit of time to set up, but there is very little shake even at 60mph, and they stayed in place & in adjustment over the rough roads & wind between here & Syracuse.

So, I'm back in Oswego with a half packed, sanitized trailer but who knows when I'll be ready to go!

Till next time...

Banks! (Another non RVing Post)

Chipmunk & Peanuts

I have some advice for all of you.  DO NOT LET YOUR BANK BE SOLD!!! 

While I can't really do anything about it, my bank that I've been using for the last 25 years has decided to get out of upstate NY.  Since there isn't a branch of the new bank they sold their accounts to in Oswego, the new one with my checking & savings accounts will be in the same building with the same people as the old bank. So far, so good.

While they announced the sale almost a year ago, everything went on hold while the FTC or who ever deals with what bank can be in what part of the country decided if the deal could go through. Unfortunately, they just announced that the actual change will take place in mid May when I will be at least 2000 miles away.

1st interesting point - they sold the checking & savings accounts to one bank & the Credit Cards to another so discussing any problems means dealing with 3 banks. The next interesting problem - all current credit cards, debit cards & terminal access cards will stop working as of May 20th, as will on line access to the accounts.  Even my "high interest" (insert laughter here) on line savings account which is only indirectly connected to the old bank (I have to use the ATM to make deposits or withdrawals, not a teller) will be transferred to the new bank.

According to the old bank, no problem; the new banks will send new cards well prior to that date which can be activated after the 18th.  Since the cards must be activated before use (from your home phone) it is a bit of a problem for me.  They also announced that any automatic deposits, withdrawals  will probably stop working and on line bill paying will definitely stop working on the 20th. Since I have my retirement funds electronically deposited & pay all my bills with on line bill paying, that is going to be a problem.

Even if I could figure out where I'd be for long enough to give them an address & wait for mail, they will not send cards to a post office general delivery, so there is no practical way for me to get the new cards. The new bank is fairly local - branches in NY & PA only, so out west I don't have the ability to visit a branch.

The old bank says that's an interesting problem - talk to the new bank; the new banks say they don't have much information from the old bank so they don't know yet how smoothly the transfer will take place. They do assure me that they won't lose any of my money, however I may not be able to access any of it until I return in September.

My rather ridiculous solution is to open new accounts at a branch of the new bank located in a near by town, apply for new credit cards with the new branch, re enter all the on line bill paying information, change all the automatic payments & withdrawals to the new accounts (hoping that I remember all of them, particularly the ones I only pay every 6 months or once a year), transfer enough money to cover the expenses of the trip to the new accounts (in case I can't access the on line savings account after the 20th), & hope that when I get back I can deal with all the duplicate accounts.  My current bank tells me there will be no problem letting the replacement credit cards that will be mailed to me by May 18th sit unactivated until I get back in September. I wonder what effect all the new cards & accounts will have on my credit score?

At least the people at the new bank have been great.  Not much they can do about the unknowns, but they have been more than helpful setting up things in the short time I have before I leave. The District Manager says she can solve any problems that crop up over the phone - sure hope so!

All this makes you think about how "convenient" electronic banking has become.  Sure, you can pay bills from any place you can access the internet, withdraw money anywhere in the country, or world for that matter, but making a change sure is a lot of work!

Till next time!

Introducing the "Safari Wagon"

The "Safari Wagon"

Well, I can now call the RAV4 the "Safari Wagon" (Yes, the forsythia are in bloom & it is March.) A very strange spring for Oswego! Anyhow, while not really a trailer modification, the job is done -  (A tire cover is on order)

And, I definitely need to get started on this trip - I have too much time on my hands. I added a under sink filter to the trailer so if I hook up to or pick up some bad tasting water I can still enjoy my coffee. The first filter I tried was a Whirlpool one designed for refrigerators (there isn't enough room in the utility compartment for a standard under sink filter). While I liked the fact that you could change the Whirlpool filter with a 1/4 turn twist, it leaked at the "O" rings. I got on Whirlpool's web page, started a "Chat" session with them & they insisted that they didn't make the product (even though their trademark is on the instructions). Eventually, they gave me an 800 number to call to get help. Called, and they insisted that the refrigerator filter was a whole house filter. Eventually, they told me to go back to Loews & buy replacement "O" rings (this is for a brand new filter). Went to Lowes & they gave me a replacement cartridge to try - still leaked, so I pulled & returned it & replaced it with a standard refrigerator in line filter. More difficult to change, but for the amount of water I'll use it probably won't need to be changed more than once a year so it will work.

A photo of the filter is boring - here is one of the faucet:

The New Filtered Water Faucet

Hopefully, this is the last addition to this page, at least until I get underway heading south!