Thursday, October 31, 2013

Best Laid Plans – Back in Sacramento Area

WileyCoyote

So, what went wrong?  No, the cold did not get us, although it was around 17 degrees when we got up this morning.  No frozen pipes, all of that worked.  What we did not expect was for the electricity to go out on us!  At 4:00 a.m. I was laying in bed nearly asleep after getting up for the umpteenth time to check the water at the two sinks to be sure they still ran when all of the sudden I hear a couple of clicks coming from in the living area of the motorhome, and then another click near the breaker box which is under the bed on Marcia’s side.  I open my eyes and see darkness.  Which is not the norm because we leave the living area TV on all night with no sound just to give us light.  We also have two dim night lights, and they normally glow…but now just barely glimmered.

BlackOut

I figured that the lights had gone out all over town…I mean RV park.  So I got up, turned on a LED light running off the battery, along with turning on the propane heater of which the fan runs off battery too, and went back to bed.  But around 7:00 when it got light, I took the dogs out and talked to a neighbor…who said they did not have a problem.  So “WE” had a problem, not the park.  Oh My!
mystery
So we have a mystery…..  I had already tried the breakers at 4 am, but I tried again after seeing that the surge protector we use at the electrical box that we plug into outside had lights on.  Nope, not that.  Marcia suggested the GFI in the bathroom, but nope, not that either.  I tried the fan for the air conditioner, and it did not work either, so it is a full 120 volt black out.  I try to start the generator, which they don’t allow in the park but I just wanted to see if it would give us 120 electricity.  After two tries, it would not start.  I knew we needed gas, so I started the RV engine, and saw that we had 1/4 of a tank of gas…that is more than enough to run the generator too.  So I gave the generator a third try and got it going…but still no 120 electricity.  I kept the motorhome engine on with the heater going, and very soon we were warm and the propane heater was turned off.  The best decision, as hard as it was, was to head back to the valley where it was warm and there were many more resources where it could be fixed.

http://www.wholesalewarranties.com/wp-content/themes/ww2013/images/logo.png

Thank goodness we have a warranty with Wholesale Warranties on the motorhome, a service which has been highly recommended by Howard and Linda at RV-Dreams.   The “fix” should not cost more than $100.  Tomorrow I plan to test the master breaker just to be sure that it isn’t that…then we will give them a call and see where we should progress from there to get things fixed under the warranty.

1

The ride home started out a bit solemn….but quickly we saw that we needed to get the camera out, and Marcia took about 80 pictures on the way home….and if you know Marcia, then you know that she took a lot of pictures of… 

2a     2b
2c     2d
TREES!
3a

And as we got down in elevation, and with the sun to our backs, she was really able to pick some good Autumn tree shots, including this one above with the mist coming off the American River on the left side of the road.  Probably my favorite below, which she was able to take at one of the many turnouts we took to allow for cars to pass us.

3b

Yep, it was a beautiful drive home…almost made us forget that we were going to miss Yosemite and Mono Lake.  But we will figure out our problem, and we will have other opportunities to see these other California sites, probably next year.  For now, we sit in the backyard of my sister, we have two extension cords running through a window, one for the TV and the computers, the other, with a 30 amp rating, running the heater.  A battery charger is keeping our house batteries charged, on a trickle charge.  About the only thing we won’t have until we fix our problem is the microwave/oven. 

Oh, and then there are the dogs….well, they were SO HAPPY to be back on the green grass, and getting all the treats that Arny and Sandy give them, that they are crashed out for the night…and it isn’t even 9 pm yet.

4a     4b 

Question?  Do you think I will be able to get the camera back from Marcia?  She sure did a good job....perhaps we both need a Panasonic FZ60.   

5 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear about your electrical problem especially in the freezing cold night. Hope you are able to get it repaired quickly.

    One of the many advantages to this lifestyle is that you can always come back to see something you missed. Thanks goodness our "two week" vacation goes on and on with no end in sight.

    Thanks for the fabulous photos! Great job, Marcia!

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  2. I'm not sure about you two, but my first response is "OH NO - I'M NEVER GOING TO LIVE THROUGH THIS TRAGEDY." Then, I begin to calm down and start thinking - but not right away. I surely hope the problem turns out to be something easily resolved; but, if not, thank goodness for your warranty. I still need to go back and really 'bone up' on all the good information in Howard and Linda's RV Dreams blog. Thinking of you.

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    1. Marcia tends to get more upset about these things than I do. I don't "Like It", but I understand that things are going to break, and they just need to get fixed. Try to adapt the best we can, and in this case, still living in the motorhome with everything except the microwave/oven is just how it is. It could be worse....look at how long Cherie & Chris (www.technomadia.com) lived in a repair shop while their engine was rebuilt for their bus, and look how much it cost them. Or Howard and Linda last year when their truck engine blew...at least they got their 5th wheel into a park where they could live for the few weeks it took their engine to be replaced. As they say, Stuff happens.

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  3. I hope it's an easy fix!

    Marcia....you did a great job taking the pictures!

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    1. Marcia said thanks. Will be working on the electrical problem Friday...call the warranty company tomorrow or Monday, just depends upon what I find. If it is less than $100 to fix myself, might as well fix it. But I think I am going to find it is the transfer box, which if fried, will need to be covered by the warranty company.

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