More Problems- Newby RVers Please Read

9/22/09

We got back to the dealership to pick up the Nest to find that it got the oil changed, but the new water pumps that were suppose to arrive via UPS were damage during shipment. New orders were sent in and our pump would arrive tomorrow. To save some money, since we are spending so much lately on the messed up installment of the batteries, we decided to go to Wal-mart, instead of going back to the campground . It was a nice day in the 70's, so staying at Wal-Mart would be no problem. Joe had filled several gallons of water just in case something went wrong, which it did. He's a good boy scout and always plans ahead. We got to Wal-Mart and I told Joe I was going to go to Starbucks, which was about 2 miles away according to the GPS, so I could use the computer. Joe was going to go Grocery shopping at Wal-Mart while I was gone. ( He's the cook, so he always is the food shopper.) On my way to Starbucks, I noticed a police car behind me. He continued to follow me, as I drove 30 miles an hour. He must have seen me weaving a little earlier as I was trying to look at the GPS directions and drive in an unfamiliar environment and watch for streets and the traffic. He probably thought I was a drunk driver, and was watching for me to make another mistake to pull me over. After about 5 minutes of driving he turned on his lights and pulled me over. When he came to the side of my car, I said, " I'm sorry, but did I do something wrong". He said I had gone through a school zone, which was 15 miles per hour and I didn't even attempt to slow down. I apologized to him and told him I was from out of town and was trying to find the Starbucks with my GPS. He went on to tell me it is an automatic $350 fine no matter if you were from out of town. But he let me go, Praise the Lord, and he told me how to get to Starbucks. I had my sunglasses on, but I was close to tears. I still think he was following me just waiting for me to make a mistake, because he thought I was a teenager and drunk. I got to Starbucks which was in a Safeway store. The Starbucks had about 3 small tables and no plug in except behind the counter. You mean I just about got a $350 fine for no plug-ins. I knew what Joe was going to say when I told him the story, and he did. " You should have called before you went driving off." and I definitely will next time. I left Starbucks and headed back to McDonald's which was right next to Wal-Mart, and had a place to plug up too, but I didnt want to hang out at McDonald's. I got to McDonald's and spent the rest of the afternoon there blogging and checking e-mails and Facebook. When I got back to our Nest, Joe had bought a frozen pizza and was ready to put it in the oven. He tried to light the stove but it would not start. He soon found that the water heater would not kick in either. With further investigation, the refrigerator had stopped working also. He had just spent a couple of hours at Wal-Mart and filled it full of food. In and out of the RV he went, checking the propane tank off and on knobs. After trying to figure out the problem by leafing threw manuals, and not finding the answer, he sat in the chair and put his head in his hand. I said, do you want to pray. He answered yes. We prayed that God who knows all would give us the answer to our problems. Then we thanked him in advance for the results, and Praised and Glorified his Name. These are things we learned to do by going to Spirit Of Faith Family Church, our Church in Cedar Rapids. After about 5 minutes, I said to Joe, maybe you should call Jim ( our Ex RV owner/ engineer/ perfectionist). Joe picked up the phone and called Jim. After talking to Jim for a couple minutes, Joe had the answer. Praise the Lord. He's an Awesome God. While I was at McDonald's, Joe had decided to replace the light that was blown above the sink. He took an identical light fixture from the bedroom, which is not used as much and and put it in the kitchen, which we use all the time when doing the dishes and Joe prepares our meals.He had turned off the axillary batteries with a button that turns them off. When he turned them off the gas alarm monitor went off. He went over and turned it off, thinking to himself, I'll turn it back on after I am done switching lights. Well you guessed it, he forgot all about it. Come to find out by Jim, if the gas alarm monitor is turn off, the gas will not turn on. The stove, water heater, and refrigerator will not turn on without gas. But God knew the answer and he knew who could tell us, so the Holy Spirit put it in my heart to have Joe call Jim. With the problem fixed, Joe turned on the stove, and we enjoyed the rest of the evening, except that we could not turn on any water at Wal- Mart without the water pump. We had to wash our faces and brush our teeth the old fashion way. We poured water that Joe had bottle earlier that morning into the sink, and washed our face and hands with that water. This was a good reminder to be grateful for the simpler things!




9/23/09

The water pump came in so we left Wal-Mart and went to the RV dealership to get the new pump put in, and then we can hit the road again. I sat in the Nest as they install the water pump, going though my big pile of paper stuff (mail, bills, Insurance, etc.) that I never seem to have time to do. I am starting to sense something is wrong again, as I hear Joe and the worker looking for something in the RV. I hear that the water pump is installed but it is not turning on. They were searching inside and outside the bus for a relay switch that had burnt out from the wrong installation of the batteries. When they found the water pump relay, the technician said that the company that made these relays had gone out of business and he would have to call and see if the company that took over the business had one. After about an hour wait, the company called back and said they had the relay and would send it out. The part is to arrive tomorrow and hopefully that will fix the water pump. We left the repair shop and drove back to the campground we had stayed at when we fist arrived in Page. We asked if we could have site 14 again as Joe knew where it was in the park and how to park into it. After setting up Joe went to turn on his computer. It turned on but the screen was black. After reading his manual and trying different things, he called the manufacture. After attempting to fix it over the phone, they told Joe he would have to send it to the company to be looked at. His computer is about 7 months old. Yes we are having testing times. But they are just tests, and nothing more.