When my wife and I bought our motorhome the salesman was our best friend — now he doesn’t even know our name. Our new best friend is the head mechanic at the dealership. I just wanted to camp, but my wife wanted the doorbell that played a dozen different tunes, electric steps, push-button awning and a media center that is so hi-tech our toad is a Geek Squad VW with two guys in it. So far we have spent more time on the road looking for RV repair service than fishing. When things aren’t working right I find myself blaming my wife for talking me into all these expensive extras. It has caused a lot of frustration and arguing in our marriage. Am I wrong? Do I need an attitude adjustment? I hate conflict — I just want to go fishing. —Broken Down in Biloxi
Dear Broken:
Every rig has its problems. The more toys you have the more problems that come with them. I don’t think you can blame your wife. I have to assume you agreed to all the options you ended up with. She was thinking about options and you where thinking about fishing.
You have to work through every relationship problem to a conclusion. As Phyllis Diller always said, “Never go to bed mad — stay up and fight.” Clear the air and let your feelings be heard. If you would have practiced this method during the purchase phase of your new adventure you wouldn’t be having to do so much of it now.
You have two things going for you. A toad (not with two guys in it, I’m sure) and a media center. When things break down, you can easily find a repair video on YouTube, like the RV Doctor, showing you exactly how to fix it. They have everything on there from soup to nuts. Then you can get into your toad and go back to the nearest town for parts. Our motorhome is a 21-year-old Class “C” Jayco, and we have been broken down twice in the last month due to ignition problems. Instead of fighting, we worked together. We Googled up a YouTube video and watched a guy troubleshoot and explain repair procedures for both problems. We then Googled the nearest parts store, called to make sure our part was in stock, jumped in the tow car and picked it up. It was an adventure. Stopped for ice cream, made the repair, then my wife went fishin’ (with me). So turn your lemon into lemonade and start sucking the juice out of life. —Keep Smilin’, RV Shrink
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