Back in Jersey

We left this morning at 9am and arrived at Old Cedar Campground at 2:30pm. Then it took us til 3:50pm to get leveled. The ground is very moist and soft. During the moving back and forward to get centered on the tire supports our step caught the end of the deck and bent. Not Nancy's fault who was directing. Took a Sledge hammer to it to try and get it back in position. Not perfect and will have to be replaced ($$$) but at least it goes out. 

Next, while connecting our water hose the male threaded part broke off in the connector and it took an hour to get them apart, but we now have water.

Then we noticed someone had backed into our shed and not only bent the wall but split the corner join. Nothing was missing that we could ascertain, so at least that was good.

Then we surprised Nancy's brother-in-law Jim and best friend Karen as they weren't expecting us for a few more days.

So this ends our journey this year. Over 9700 miles on the RV, another two thousand miles in the car, a small fortune in RV repairs, and ending with more repairs to do. So we now have a lot of things to work on tomorrow. We are very tired, so are calling it an early night. Night all!

Verona, VA

Left Sevierville yesterday at 8:55am. Driving wasn't too bad, just light intermittent rain. Arrived here at 2pm. The campground was packed. They had us going to a 50 amp site with water and electric for one night, then we could move to full hookup for the rest of our stay. We opted for a 30 amp full hookup for the entire stay. Why pack up and move and unpack again?

We pulled into our site, started to set up, and the trim fell again. This time it jammed between the top of the slide and the roof. It took 3 people each with long miniature golf clubs to hook behind the trim and force it out.

Went to dinner at the only restaurant in town then came back to watch TV. Fortunately they installed digital cable or we wouldn't have tv. Our dish doesn't work thru trees from the bottom of a valley.

One thing we noticed right away was the absence of the rabbits. Around 30 years ago the campground owner's kids released their tame rabbits in the campground which then bred with wild rabbits. The result was a mix of people-friendly rabbits. Normally they come up to you, let you pet them, eat rabbit food out of your hand. It was very crowded, so we thought that may have been the reason, but the staff said there are fewer rabbits since kids pick them up, which is against the rules, and they die from being squeezed. Other staff said it's because the rabbits know we are due for a strong storm today and they won't "come out to play".

No phone service or wifi here so we are pretty incognito until we leave.

Back in Eastern Time Zone

We left yesterday morning at 9:45 and arrived in Sevierville at 5pm. Of course, their pool was not open. The trim we had repaired in Red Bay fell off, so we went to Lowe's to look for some materials to fix it. We also went to the post office and did a little food shopping. Of course, not at the post office! Then went to dinner at Big Daddy's pizzeria. Fantastic!

 It rained all morning today (why not, everywhere else the bad weather followed us!), so we got a late start. We went to Knife World and priced an AR-15, walked thru the hardware outlet nearby, then went to Tony Gore's for lunch. Nancy had baby back ribs and I had chicken tenders.Delicious! 

Sunday Sevierville is supposed to have vicious storms, with scattered tornadoes and 1/4 inch hail, so we changed our reservation here and will be leaving tomorrow while there is only a slight chance of rain and will head to Virginia.

Went back to the pizza place for dinner again tonight, it was that good! Shopped for a mifi hotspot we can use in areas where our carrier doesn't have coverage but didn't purchase anything, then stopped at Lowe's and found materials to hopefully fix the trim and came back and installed it. Here's hoping it works. Sunday will be rainy in Virginia but no tornadoes, so we will feel more comfortable there.

Sayonara Red Bay

YEEHA! Everything got done today. We were at Bay Diesel at 7:30 and they corrected the steering wheel. From there went straight to Bunk House RV and they removed/replaced our broken slider stop bolt. And tonight, our hamper is now a three shelf compartment, our new shelving in the galley was delivered and installed, and the trim was repaired above the galley table.

So after 4 weeks in Red Bay, being very satisfied with all the work done, we will leave for Tennessee tomorrow morning and hope not to return to Red Bay for two more years. 

And as a means to paying for all the repairs Mark received a call from his last employer and they want him to come back to work for them. Which would allow us to pay for all the repairs within 3 months.

Glad to finally be on our way home.

Small Delay, On Purpose

On Monday we were introduced to a cabinetmaker from Tiffin Motorhomes. We wanted a table built to place next to our galley table to put our printer and a few other things on, which would free up the galley table. It evolved into a moveable cabinet, some ceiling trim being repaired, and our built-in hamper (which was never used as such) being converted into shelves for clothing. This will all get installed Wednesday evening so we are now going to leave Thursday morning.

Our itinerary has changed also. We won't be going to Nashville but Sevierville, TN. We'll stay there for a few days to avoid driving in rain, then on to Verona, Va, for a few days, then home.

Bay Diesel, Our Heros

At 6:45 this morning we headed to Bay Diesel for our final repairs. It had poured last night and we had dense fog this morning. We put on our headlights, but they didn't come on. Great, something else to be fixed.

Bay Diesel took us in right at 7am and I handed them a list of things we wanted done. They got them all done. 

The connector that went to the light switch was bad. It wouldn't stay connected, so they wired in a new connector. They did complete service on the engine, which included the oil filter, 2 fuel filters, changing the oil, greased and lubed the chassis, then did the same for the transmission, rear differential and generator, changed the air dryer, fixed a problem where the air dryer valve pressure relief would stick and stay opened, and finally got to the dash air conditioner.

It seems that when Cummins worked on it last year they greatly screwed things up. The right console panel, which should be taken off in one piece had been taken apart in two pieces. They then stapled the two parts together. They never replaced securing bolts and the drawer was barely fastened to the console. All of which Bay Diesel corrected. They found the problem with the dash air conditioner was a bad relay switch. We had them replace both relays to prevent future problems. Finally, I had them adjust the steering wheel so it was even. However, it was over adjusted and we will take it back next week.

So with all the work we've had done the past 4 months, we basically have a new RV. Many people we've met can't believe it is almost 11 years old, it looks so new. And now everything is in tip top shape. Now my job is to keep it that way!

We've decided to stay here until next Wednesday to keep our costs low as we'll get a reduced rate for the month. Then we will head to Nashville for a few days, then on to Virginia, and finally, home. Looking forward to seeing our family and friends again.

A Rainy Dreary Day

Not much going on while we wait for tomorrow's appointment. Tuesday (68°) we complained to the shop who replaced our slide toppers. One of them was holding water. We had a 6 foot puddle in the middle of it that would not drain off the sides when we pulled the slide in.  

We had come home from lunch and saw water running down the side of the slide. Upon checking we saw the topper was bowed in the center, touching the slide top, and the water was dripping thru the material.

The owner came to our site and checked it, and told us to show up at 3pm. They essentially tightened the topper by two more revolutions. Hopefully that will do the trick. Will know more after this rain.

Wednesday (73°) we drove to Walmart in Russellville and refilled a prescription. Oh yeah, the last time we were there Nancy was able to get her first of two shingrix shots.

Then one of our new doors wasn't latching correctly. I adjusted the latch and it seems to be okay now.

Nancy is making some new holders for the satellite, TV, firestick, etc, remotes, and a new cushion for the dogs when on our travels.

Hopefully, tomorrow is the last day we will need any service. More later.