Who do you trust?

So I called a repair person from one of the RV supply stores we recommend to our guests at the RV park. I told the man what I wanted him to look at and he arrived the next day. While I explained, he examined and asked me to write the list of items I would need.

The steps are frozen in the down position and the electrical wire to the motor was cut. He said he would order new steps.

The shower leaked under the RV and the shower head/faucet combo also leaked. He said the p-trap was disconnected (he tried to reconnect but he couldn't squeeze his arm through the small opening). He said he would order a new shower head/faucet combo.

Two of the overhead 12 volt lights aren't working, although the fuse is good. He said he would order two new lights and bring covers to replace the cracked or burned ones (along with smaller bulbs that would not burn the light covers).

The porch light shorted and he said he would order a new one.

The electronic ignition on the propane water heater works but does not ignite the propane. He said he would order a new circuit board and some kind of assembly.

The air conditioner motor ran but the fan didn't work. He said the fan was on the roof and I would need to bring it into the shop. It would take about two hours to repair.

So I wrote all this stuff down and paid the man for a $90 service call. When he returned with the parts to do the work, I wouldn't have to pay him again for the call.

Meanwhile, my friend Rick came over, the man who noticed the missing tailpipes and gas leak problem. Within an hour, he had the p-trap reconnected, the air conditioner repaired (it's amazing what happens when six wasp nests are removed), and managed to fix the rusted accelerator pedal on my old RV so it not only starts but is drivable. He removed the ignition switch and took it to the local auto supply. The man told him I would need to check at a Chevy dealer for the type of switch I need.
Tomorrow, Rick will look at the steps and water heater to see what he can do.

I believe I can have all the work done by Monday including the installation of the tailpipes and the smog certification. I'll register the RV on Tuesday and drive it locally to get a feel for how she handles. On Wednesday, July 4th, Independence Day, I will take my first long road trip in several years.

By golly, I think this is going to be a fun adventure!

In today's episode...

This is beginning to sound like a soap opera. Since I don't want to leave my readers hanging, I will tell you some good news.

I went to the DMV and told a very nice woman about what happened. The man I purchased the RV from never registered it in his own name. It had been smogged in September 2006 and the registration is good until October 2007. Whatever happened to the missing tailpipe must have occurred after the owners sold it on eBay. The woman started the paperwork and accepted everything I had downloaded and printed from their website including the bill of sale. Now I have 30 days to have the RV smogged, and return to the DMV to pay the taxes and fees. I'm leaving on July 3 or 4 so that gives me two weeks to have everything done.

The refrigerator works on electric. The water pump works. The new microwave works.

Tomorrow morning, a gentleman who owns a company with a crew who cleans and waxes RVs will remove the remains (nest, droppings) of the previous rodent residents, clean the cabinets and drawers, and shampoo the carpet. My friend Andrea and I will purchase curtains and bedding on Friday. The bedroom has three windows: one has a broken blind, one has a sheet over it and the third has neither curtain nor curtain rod. We will move everything to the new RV. Meanwhile, my friend Rick will install a new ignition switch so I don't have to worry about the only plastic key snapping off in the lock. Then I'll find a muffler/tailpipe shop that can handle an RV to install the tailpipe I need. After that, the smog inspection.

When everything necessary is completed, I will drive the RV locally to be sure the gas filter problem has been solved. It's definitely time to have some fun!

The saga continues: Part 2

I awoke Friday morning and my friend Andrea cancelled her appointment so she could be with me at 11 when the man said he would deliver the RV. She arrived and was available until 2:45 when she needed to be home. We had something to eat. The man called and said his mother was very ill, the doctor was there and he couldn't leave right away. He also said the problem was with the second gas filter and he had fixed it.

We waited. As you can imagine, I was feeling very apprehensive about this transaction. I voiced my concerns and Andrea reminded me that the man already had my money (and probably spent it). We waited.

I rounded up three friends who live in the park and asked them to be available when the man arrived with the RV. They agreed. Then I said, "What I would like you to do is look over the RV and answer this question: would you let someone you care about drive it a long distance alone?" They thought that was an excellent question. If any of them gave the slightest indication of unreliability, I was going to refuse the delivery and demand my money back.

At 2:30, he finally arrived alone. His daughter was driving to pick him up. I asked him to wait while I had my friends examine the RV. Granted, I should have brought one of them with me when I looked over the RV the first time, but they were not available.

The gas odor was still there and everyone could smell it. My friend immediately tracked it to the gas tank and looked under the RV. The tailpipe problem was obvious: there wasn't one. From the muffler to the bracket, nothing was left. No wonder the smell of gas was so strong.

In the state of California, a vehicle needs to be smogged by the seller within 90 days prior to the date of sale. He told me the previous owners who sold it to him in November had done that but he didn't have paperwork. He never transferred the title to his name so he hadn't smogged it.

So my friend asked the man, "When was this smogged and who did it? There's no way this will pass smog."

The man replied angrily, "What kind of a mechanic are you? I'm a master mechanic and I took care of the problem!"

My friend replied, "I don't care what kind of mechanic you are. I care about my friend and whether she is safe. You can't smog this as it is and it's too dangerous to drive."

More heated words were exchanged. Andrea left. The daughter arrived. When my friend threatened to call the police to show them the problem and ask them about the legality of selling a vehicle in that condition, the man backed down, turned to me, shoved the key in my hand, said, "We're gone," got into the car with his daughter and sped away.

I couldn't help it. I just looked at the key, looked at the RV I couldn't get smogged or drive, and I just cried. This was so blatantly unfair. I thought I had done all the right things. I was looking forward to spending the night in the new bed in the new RV and enjoying a hot shower in the morning.

On Monday, I will go to the DMV and have them find out when the RV was smogged last. If it was not within 90 days of the sale to the man I bought it from, the sale was not legal. If it was, where was it smogged so it would pass without proper tailpipes and a gas leak? If he didn't smog it before he sold it to me, who is liable?

There is good news: everything is repairable. First, I will replace the faulty ignition switch. Then my friend knows someone who can take care of the tailpipes. Then the gas leak will be traced (he thinks he knows where it's coming from). Once that's done, we will get it smogged.

The propane tank holds 20 gallons and doesn't seem to be leaking. I haven't checked the water heater yet because the water is not connected. My fingers are crossed that the refrigerator works on electric.

The bad news is I can't move any of my stuff into the new RV until it's been repaired. Otherwise, I will have the smell of gas permeating everything and it's not safe to sleep inside.

Ever the optimist, I will try to put a positive spin on this. I have a newer RV. The current RV will be started and driveable so it can be sold as soon as the new RV is repaired and roadworthy. I have great friends who are honest and caring and knowledgeable. And for the 10 or so miles that I drove the RV, I loved being behind the wheel again.

Positive affirmations: I will be living in my new RV very soon, traveling locally to really get a feel for how she handles in the next two weeks, and celebrate Independence Day on the road.

And the saga continues: Part 1

Flag Day dawned sunny and warm, even in Pacifica by the ocean. My friend Andrea arrived at 10 and we left to pick up my new RV. The money was in my wallet, the radio was playing and we were chatting as old friends do.

We arrived, handed over the money, the owner signed the DMV papers, he cautioned me about the tailpipes needing some work (around $125), and adjusted the ignition. The ring around the keyhole was loose and sometimes the key wouldn't turn. He took the jumper cables, attached one of the two other batteries to the starter battery, and the engine started. He said it hadn't been started for a while. The electric step wasn't working so the step was down.

I eased away from the curb and we were off. The RV was fairly easy to handle at 27 feet (26' 9") and I even made a U-turn to get to the gas station. When I stopped at the light, the driver of the school bus next to me pointed to the step. I yelled that it was frozen. She nodded and waved.

I pulled into the gas station and waited for the customer to finish so I could park by the pump near the fill cap. The gas cap was almost impossible to turn but I finally removed it. Andrea gave the attendant $300 because I wanted to fill the tank and also because no one really knew what the tank capacity is. The pump stopped and a little overflowed at 53 gallons, so I'm guessing it's a 60-gallon tank at least. $175 later (ouch), the tank was full and we began our journey home.

We were traveling down the freeway connected by walkie-talkies. The RV was warm from the 90-degree heat but I had the window open and was enjoying the ride. Occasionally, I caught a whiff of gas but I thought it was because of the spillage from the overflow.

The RV started to slow. I stepped on the accelerator and it caught briefly, sped up to 55, then slowed again. Something was starving the engine. The choke? I smelled gas and Andrea was farther behind me. We pulled off the freeway at the next offramp and I found a gas station with a smog check certification bay. I pulled in and waited to talk to the gentleman. I didn't turn the engine off. Did I mention it was now over 90 degrees and very warm in the RV? The man told me he was not allowed to look at the RV or make any kind of diagnosis. All he was permitted to do was smog checks. He directed me to another gas station across the freeway.

Andrea told me there was white smoke coming out of the tailpipe and the smell of gas was strong enough to force her to drop back. We drove off to find the other gas station. No luck. I went back on the freeway and hoped it was a temporary problem.

Three more exits and it happened again. Now I was feeling very unsafe and since I was in the middle of Sunnyvale, I was not aware of any gas stations. I was surrounded by high tech businesses and hotels. We drove through the area and I asked Andrea to stop at one of the businesses to ask about a gas station. She was directed to a place we couldn't find.

So I drove into the parking lot of a hotel right off the freeway and next to the exit. I called the previous owner and told him what happened. He said, "Give me a few minutes, I'll bring my tools and I'll make it right."

Andrea walked her dog, then brought some water and we sat in the RV and waited. We had traveled about 10 miles and it was now 2:45. The previous owner arrived and said, "Start it up and I'll follow you."

I replied, "I'm not driving this one more foot until I know it's safe. How about if you drive it, I follow in your car and Andrea follows me?"
He said, "Do you know how to drive a stick?"
"Of course," I replied.
He handed me the keys to a brand-new Corvette and we were off.

One exit, two exits and he slowed to a stop on the approach to the offramp. Andrea was behind him and I was behind her, all parked on the side of the freeway next to the offramp. Did I mention that it was still in the 90s and now we were stopped in a place that was more dangerous?

I found the key to the storage compartments and he started working on the engine. We waited. And waited. At 3:30, I finally went to Andrea and said, "Look. This is dangerous and it's stupid to sit here." She agreed.

I went to the RV, told the man we needed to get off the freeway and pull into a safe place. We started our engines, went off the freeway and turned into the Google parking lot. I gave the man his car keys and he said, "This is not right and don't say it's OK because it's not. I'm going to make it right and fix this. If I get it done soon, I'll deliver it to you tonight. If not, I'll deliver it to you tomorrow morning, OK?"

I agreed, I got into the car with Andrea and we drove away. Then I lost it and the tears came. This was not how it was supposed to be and he was right: it was not OK. He had my money and I had nothing. I was supposed to be cleaning the new RV and moving my stuff over with Andrea's help, not hot and sweaty and frustrated and in desperate need of a bathroom.

After we stopped for a pit stop, a few gallons of water and dinner, Andrea dropped me off and I was alone with my thoughts. Now what?

June 14: More than Flag Day

Finally! I will be paying for and picking up my new RV a week from tomorrow on Thursday, June 14: Flag Day. Trying to coordinate the sale of my current RV, finding an available friend to drive me to pick up the new RV and then follow me back on the same day required more logistics than the Normandy Invasion. Timing is everything.

The day after I purchase the RV, I'm off and will provide pizza and soda/beer to anyone who will help me transfer stuff from present RV to new. My vision is one person inside the current RV (yours truly) handing stuff to someone standing outside the steps, telling him/her what room it belongs in, that person handing the stuff to another person in line who will eventually hand it to the person standing outside the steps of the new RV, who will then hand the stuff to the person in the new RV with the room destination. No one has to climb up and down stairs. Meanwhile, someone in the new RV is wiping down counters and shelves, and covering them with shelf paper--after repairing the outside wall inside the cabinet where the former resident mice had a buffet. Whew!

Nice fantasy but I think it will go more like this: I grab a bunch of stuff, step down, walk to the new RV, put the stuff down on the top step and hope there is someone in the new RV to pick up the stuff off the floor to put it somewhere else.

Whatever happens next week will be exciting. Someone will have a special RV to call their own and enjoy. I will have a new RV to travel the roads and write stories about this new phase in my life. By choice or by destiny: it will be an adventure.

Always on

Now that I'll be on the road for weeks at a time, I need to stay connected to the Internet. I'm in the San Francisco Bay area and wireless connectivity is easy to find. Most of us who are not tethered to an RV park can "war drive" down a major street like Geary Blvd. in San Francisco and pick up an unsecured (not protected with a password) wi-fi signal. We stop the vehicle, log on long enough to download email and then drive away.

If you're in an RV park or campground and there is no wi-fi provided, you can sometimes locate someone else's wi-fi signal in the vicinity. Protocol states if the signal is unsecure, you can use it very briefly to download email and upload replies later. It's considered bad form to send photos or media files that take a great deal of bandwidth for transmission over someone else's wi-fi. If you can track down the owner of the wi-fi signal, it's a good idea to ask permission first.

I'll be traveling through many states and should be able to find a wi-fi signal in most of them. When I can't, I've found the days of dial-up are pretty much over. I haven't found many phone connections where a laptop can be plugged in and its modem can be used.

I just upgraded my Nokia cell phone to a Samsung Blackjack using Bluetooth technology. This allows me to create my own wi-fi connection by using my cell phone as a modem with a cable connected to my laptop. If you're familiar with the Blackberry, you'll know that you can use the very tiny keyboard to surf the web, receive and send emails, send text messages, participate in chats and more using only the phone. I can check emails wherever I am. This new phone also has a camera and plays music files. It wasn't inexpensive but I think it's worth the price.

The good news is RVers now have the ability to connect to the Internet from inside the RV. The days of looking for a phone booth or a modem for a dial-up connection are almost over. Since I will be conducting a class on Basic Self-Protection for solo women and other RVers, this new technology is definitely worth looking into. No more leaving the security of the RV in all kinds of weather or potentially dangerous situations just to stay in touch. I consider that very good news indeed.

If you have questions or need more information about this technology, I'll be happy to help.