Maiden Voyage—Days 5 through 7
June 25, 2016From Ohio to Michigan to Illinois
I admit it. I am a procrastinator, which makes me a poor candidate for blogging. But here, at last, is the final installment on our maiden voyage, which happened in May (but May 2016, so at least I'm in the same year).
Day Five
This was the day we discovered that Day One's rough ride was due to bad roads, not to the way an RV rides. It turns out that on smooth roads, out motorhome is nice and quiet, and, while I still wasn't hopping up and fixing a sandwich as we sailed down the highway, I could have (though not, I suspect, legally; I'm pretty sure seat-belt laws still apply).
It was a fairly long trek from Homerville, OH, to Ludington, MI—far longer than the 200 miles recommended by the "rule of two" and longer than we will generally do in a day under normal circumstances—but we really wanted to spend a little time in Ludington before Steve had to be back in the office. (He has since retired—woohoo!) We broke it up with another new experience: putting fuel in the RV—an adventure in itself.
When we got to our site in Ludington State Park, I would have happily stayed there for the rest of the summer (except for a few minor inconveniences—like the fact that the campground is booked up for the summer as of about February; Steve had to go back to work; and—oh, yes—we had a house to sell). We had probably the best site in the park, with a trailhead right next to us and a view of a small lake from our windows.
(The exit sign in the window indicates that it's—surprise!—an emergency exit. If you are seated beside it and do not wish to perform the functions required in case of an emergency, please alert your flight attendant. Actually, if you are seated beside it, please get off our bed.)
We were privileged to have two more learning experiences at Ludington.
First, our electric cord did not reach to the electric post on the site. Steve went online and found some likely local stores, so he headed off in search of an extension cord while I did something or other—probably got supper ready, but I don't remember, because, hey, it was a month ago. He came back with a 25-foot cord 30-amp extension cord (a household extension cord is 15 or 20 amps) that reached nicely. We had wanted a 30-footer, but there wasn't one in stock; we'll see whether we need the extra five feet down the road (pun intended).
Second—and far more anxiety provoking—when we lowered the leveling jacks, the monitor, instead of reading, "Success,"read, "Low voltage." This was not quite accurate, as it proved to be no voltage. Even more disturbing, the jacks would not retract (see: no voltage). Which meant that the RV was not drivable. As in, we could not drive it anywhere for service. We could not drive it home. We could not drive it, period. It is true that I would have been happy to spend the summer right there, but this was not quite what I had in mind.
I don't remember the exact sequence of things we tried, but they included pressing every button on the leveling controls, turning various electrical systems on and off, killing and restarting the engine, even reading the manual. (My assessment of the manual so far: 1. Needs CliffsNotes; 2. Not helpful.) We followed these action with calling the dealer, who had us call Winnebago, who diagnosed it and told us to call Roadside Assistance (basically AAA for RVs). Although I think that some of that happened the next day.
Day Six
A really, really, really good day.
1. We had brunch with dear friends Cindy & Ed, who were the reason we decided to go to Ludington, and got to see their Ludington home for the first time.
2. Our daughter and son-in-law came up from Grand Rapids to see us and check out our new home. Here they are with Cindy. (Alas, I failed to get a good picture of Ed.)
3. Our delightful friends Ruth & Keith came down from Beulah (that's a town in Michigan), joined us for dinner, and didn't care that the meal was mediocre and served on paper plates. As a bonus, we got to hear about Ruth's brother's appearance on the pilot of Stephen Hawking's new show, Genius, where he was featured as a worldwide expert on measuring time. And to think he once slept on our living room floor. (Ruth's brother, not Stephen Hawking. Yet.) Brushes with greatness.
4. The leveling-jacks crisis was resolved! Roadside Assistance sent out a couple of mechanics, who confirmed Winnebago's diagnosis: a blown 125-amp fuse. By this time it was after 5 p.m., and the mechanics thought it was unlikely that we/they would find a replacement anywhere, but Steve, who had been store-hopping the night before while shopping for a specialty extension cord, mentioned the NAPA Auto Parts store nearby, which did, in fact, have the needed fuse in stock. And he made sure to watch where and how the fuse was replaced so that we can do it ourselves next time. (I'm not even going to tell you about the service charges for two mechanics who drove many miles to reach us and worked until after 6 p.m.) And yes, of course we have since gotten a backup fuse to carry with us.
All in all, a mighty fine day.
Day Seven
Back to Winfield, with a stop on the way for one more new experience: weighing the rig. More on that in a later post. A successful trip through Chicagoland traffic, and a safe arrival at home. At least, home for now.
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