It took alittle doing but we have headed north about 2 hours to Ocala where we spent last night and maybe 2 more nights.
On Wed. Gene disconnected everything and was ready to go get gasoline and to fill the propane tank. After he started the motor, the steps are supposed to retract - well they didn't. Johnny and Gene did alot of troubleshooting and could not find the problem.
Fortunately we have a friend who works at Camping World repairing RV's. (They are a large national chain for RV supplies and repair!) Gene called him and after going through all the possibilities again, they finally pulled out a cotter pin and manually put the steps up. Once the steps were wired up there tight, they will stay put until, we can get them fixed. The consensus is that the motor burned out.
Fortunately we had bought a sturdy, folding 2 step step stool, just in case something like this would happen. So we were good to go.
We left on Thursday and got onto I 75 north to the 1st rest area where we planned to stop and fix lunch. While I was doing that, Gene took a look around to be sure everything was OK.
He called me to come out to look at something. I asked if it was good and he said NO. Uh oh what now?
One of the tires on the tow dolley separated and the rubber had been flopping around for awhile. It bent the metal fender over the tire and broke the lights and reflector too. He did not notice any difference driving becuase it was so minor and most of the weight was on the rear tires of the van that were on the road.
The worst part of this is that Gene replaced that tire only a few weeks ago with a used (not retread tire!) ** Lesson here - Be careful buying stuff from small independents when you are visiting someplace and they know you will be leaving and they will never see you again.
When we bought the RV they offered us a soup to nuts insurance and road service policy. We took it so we just called them and within 45 minutes not only was the guy there, it was all fixed.
As my son said last night - if that is the worst of your troubles, be grateful and he is right. We had zero problems on the way down here and we are not the type to get even the least bit upset. Stuff happens, fix it, move on. No sense getting in an uproar about it.
So today Friday our friend Jimmy and Gene are going to do what they have to do, while I visit with his wife Danna ( http://powersellingmom.com/ ) and do and talk eBay ( http://stores.ebay.com/Herbs-Crafts-Gifts) or maybe go see John Travolta's house & shop. We are also going to make stuffed cabbage for her Grandma.
Right now the weather is the biggest factor on when we continue on and which route we take!! There are thunderstorms in the south and snow in the Midwest. Not only do we not want to drive this big rig on wet roads, we have to be concerned with pipes freezing. Right now it looks like we are going to stay as far south as we can along I 10 and turn north in New Mexico onto I 25. Problem with that is it is 400 miles longer!!!
