Motorhome Update 2012-03-16

PROGRESS

CLICK PHOTO TO GO TO ALBUM

Motorhome Repair Update and No more Mayfair

Motorhome Repair Update and No more Mayfair
Ed at Marty's claims 2 more weeks, I drought it. Drove past old Mayfair Night Club site one day the gone the next.


r0n…..










View Larger Map

Motorhome Repairs 2012-02-13

Snow Storm Day 2

 

 

Click first  photo to play Video

 

First Snow Storm

Waiting to hear from Ed at Marty’s – no call yet. Now dealing with the first real snowstorm of the year. Despite wanting to be in warm weather the pristine snow is quite beautiful!

Home Sweet Home!

From First Snow Storm 2012 -01-20

 

 

Click photo to play Video

From First Snow Storm 2012 -01-20

Jewel looking for a Place to Bury Her Squirrel!

Click photo to play Video

From First Snow Storm 2012 -01-20

Finish Emptying MH with Adeline’s Help

 

At Marty’s

 

 

 

Finally Back Home

 

Adeline was a huge help. Completely emptied the cabinets in MH and then filled the pantry at home on her own. Thanks, Addie!

Motorhome Finally Home after 11 days

Motorhome Back Home

 

 

 

 

FOOD Thawed OUT!

DA,PARTS

Captain’s Blog Day 5 January 8, 2012 HOME

 

We didn’t sleep very well last night. Too many issues rolling around in our heads. We were up early and Ron had a few moments of anxiety that passed relatively quickly.

THE PLAYOFFS GIANTS  V  FALCONS

We had a light breakfast and were on the road by 10 AM. Ron wasn’t sure how the traffic would be with the game but all turned out well. We got through NJ and the GW Bridge without incident or slow-down.

Got  a look across the Hudson at the construction of the new trade center.

 

  

We stopped along the way at Five Guys Burgers and Fries – good as usual.

Arrived home around 4:30 PM, unloaded the Jeep and settled back in. Very short trip after a tremendous amount of work but we are home safe.

 

 

 

THE END

Captain’s Blog Day 4 January 7 , 2012 Allentown, PA

 

After a long and restful  sleep we woke in a surprisingly good mood. It was sunny and around 60 degrees so would make for good traveling weather.

We left the hotel around 11 AM and headed North. Jewel was not very happy to be riding in the car and about half-way she got into her sulking mode.

She has done this in the MH when she is DONE with riding. Ron has never gotten to see her sulking so was surprised and felt soooo bad for her. When she gets like this she will not respond to our pets or look at us. She acts like this for an extended length of time  -up to one hour.

We had a little more of a problem getting a hotel for the night with Jewel. We got a dog friendly room at the  Sleep Inn, in Allentown for an extra $15.00. Jewel was happy not to be riding and very pleased with another king-size bed.

We left to eat at the Starlite Restaurant around the corner. The soup , bread and salad bar was great but the main entrée only OK.

We didn’t sleep as well because the reality of what has happened finally sunk in. Ron had a few bad moments but got through it. Tomorrow we will be home.

Captain’s Blog January 4, 2012 Day 1 Clinton, New Jersey

 

After weeks of discussion and waffling we finally came to a decision to move forward with our January RV trip. It was a hectic three days of packing and trying not to forget anything.

I had to call the Vet in advance of the trip because Jewel does not travel well anymore. She hates to ride and when put in the car or MH she shakes like an earthquake. So off to the pharmacy for her anti-anxiety medication. Since it is a human drug and a controlled substance I had to sign for it.

We left this morning around 11 am (after medicating Jewel) despite our plans to leave much sooner. Ron is always concerned about getting through NY City at rush hour. It can either be a nightmare or a breeze.

Everything appeared to be going smoothly so off we went in 13 degree weather seeking out some warmth. The ride was uneventful, and getting through NY City was a breeze. The traffic was steady with no big delays, so it worked out well.

We altered our route from I-95 to I-75 to I-81 towards New Orleans cutting out  500 miles  of the trip. We were on the NJ Turnpike for approximately 15 minutes costing us $18.00 in tolls. WOW! What would it have cost us if we traveled the entire Turnpike. We traveled that same road  the entire distance last year and it cost us about $24.00. Must have double those tolls for 2012.

Unfortunately, for Jewel her anti-anxiety med didn’t work too well so a second dose was in order.  The second dose worked well and she finally relaxed.

We travelled approx. 224 miles and stopped at the Clinton, NJ Truck Stop. It was a small truck stop and fairly quiet. 

Jewel is HAPPY to be out of the MH

After dinner we settle in for the very cold night. Haven’t found any warmth yet!!

Captain’s Blog Day 3 , Radford, Virginia Rest Stop

 

Well, after a miserable night’s sleep I was up at 4 AM. Ron woke shivering and turned the MH engine on to try to generate some heat from the dash heater.

Of course I was worried we would die from carbon monoxide poisoning so was unable to get back to sleep at all. Jewel was cuddled up in bed with Ron so she was nice and warm.

Around   7 AM I woke Ron so we could get started for the day. Washing in a cold MH with lukewarm water wasn’t much fun. We still couldn’t get the generator to start but Ron planned on working on that a little later.

Can’t quite remember how the series of phone calls went (all written in sequence in our log) but we started our calls around 8:15 AM and spoke to our agent and  the progressive agent who will be handling our claim. They were both in the dark as to how to handle the tow so our best hope was Allstate.

Sue was still not sure how to handle the tow but did recommend  that it would be better for us to get the MH towed back to Massachusetts so we could there to monitor the repair .

I called around to several repair shops in Virginia to see if they could or would handle an RV repair such as ours. None would or could so the option of having it fixed locally was put to rest.

I then called Marty’s RV in Berkley  and they said they would accept our RV for repair. They have a huge collision shop so we felt comfortable having it towed there. The best part they are only 10 minutes from our house.

Ron then called Allstate speaking to several different people. He did talk to one person who was agreeable to setting up a tow to Massachusetts. She told us James from Jolly Time Towing would be doing the job for us and would be at the rest area to get the RV in no less then 100 minutes.  Yeah, this might work after all.

Now the task of getting as much stuff into the Jeep for the ride home. Ron disconnected the Jeep and drove it on the medium to jump the coach batteries and finally got the generator to work. I was able to open the bedroom slide and grab the necessities and some valuables.

While loading the Jeep, the towing company called  saying there would be a delay because of permit issues. They would get back to us shortly. OK –so we waited and waited.

We were close to having the Jeep fully loaded when Allstate called back and said they actually couldn’t tow us past the Virginia state line. That we would have to have it towed by another towing company in each state. WHAT! Unacceptable, we wanted it towed home without us having to be there at every stop. The agent said she would call us back.

In the meantime Ron and I looked up towing companies and called around. We found Robert Young towing out of Roanoke who stated he could do the run for a mere $8,700.00 YIKES! That’s a lot of money so we figured it was out of the question.

After several more phone conversations with several different Allstate agents with no forward movement Ron decided it was time to talk to Sue again.

She agreed to call Robert Young Towing and discuss it with him and give the OK.

While waiting to hear back from Sue and Robert, James shows up with his tow truck. Who authorized that??? James told us the same story –he could tow us to exit 1 in PA and another tow truck would take us the rest of the way home. It was now 3 PM and both Ron and I on our last nerve. OK, so we’ll listen to what the agent has to say and just maybe James will be towing our MH.

Not that easy – the agent said she had no one lined up in PA and could not guarantee a tow from there  so we would have to go through the entire process again. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!!!!!!!!!!! We politely and apologetically sent James away for his troubles. Allstate assured us they were still working on getting us a full tow home and would call us back.

We then called Sue back and she told us the tow was a go and she had sent Roberts Towing a fax and they would bill Arbela directly. Finally, some results.

Around 4:15 PM the beautiful tow truck showed up and took our damaged MH away. They are waiting for permits so probably won’t get our MH on the road until Monday or Tuesday. (Please don’t let anything get in the way of this tow.) We could only take about 1/3 of our belongings and very little food in the Jeep so the rest of of stuff will be traveling in the MH.

 

After Jeff picked up our MH we went to the nearest Best Western to spend the night. It was a doggy friendly hotel so Jewel was very happy.

 

After settling in we went to the Mexican Restaurant in the motel. The food was excellent and the margarita hit like a brick. After all the stress , lack of sleep and not eating all day the effects of that one drink was very evident. I went to bed a 6:30 PM and Ron at 7 PM utterly exhausted and a little drunk. (We are such lightweights)

Captain’s Blog January 5, 2012 Radford, Virginia Rest Area

 

Had a very interesting night in the Truck Stop. We have never run our generator all night before, but pretty much had to do so because of the 24 degree weather. Since we hit the sack early (around 8 PM) we planned to get up around 3 AM and hit the road early.

Well, that plan didn’t work out so well. We were penned in by a flat bed truck  so unable to leave. Back to bed for a couple of more hours of sleep time.

We were on the road again by 8:30 AM. However couldn’t get back onto I-81 West from our location. No left turn, no right turn, no trucks straight ahead. Finally Ron had to make an illegal left hand turn over the medium strip and back to the Truck Stop. We did get directions and finally back to I-81  South. The Tom-Tom wouldn’t have helped because it doesn’t take in the fact that we are in a MH. The day was crisp but sunny so made for a good driving day. I-81 turned out be be a great travel road with very little traffic and nice scenery.

I began looking for an open campground in Pennsylvania and lucked on two that were open year-round, so I thought.  My first call was a bust with the phone disconnected. The KOA that is always open was also closed. OK then, the closing must have to do with the economy.

It was getting late and Ron was tired so our next option was a rest area on I-81 in PA. No go – again. There were no spaces available so our search continued.  Tried out two other Truck Stops but no way for us to get into a spot. All were back-ins and can’t do that while towing a car. Traveling in winter months is always an issue when trying to find a place to stop for the night. So once again back on the road.

Our next planned stop was a Flying –J,  68 miles South but we happened upon another rest area on I-81 in Radford, Virginia. We pulled in and decided it was a good place to stay. Small, quiet, well lit and only a few spaces for trucks. We pulled into the first spot off the exit . I’m always a little skittish about being in that first space because the trucks come off the highway at warp speed. Not looking to get rear-ended we would usually pull up to the next empty space so that is what I did. Something I would later regret.

We settled in, took the dog for  a walk, had dinner and decided to relax. It was 7:30 PM so we decided we would spend the night. We were discussing the 73 degree weather  in New Orleans and how great that was going to feel.  I was on the couch, Ron in the recliner and Jewel laying on the couch besides me.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see a shadow of a trailer backing up but though nothing of it. For a spit second I thought he’s moving very fast and then BAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He smashed right into us. I was thrown to the floor and Jewel slid across the couch.

I hopped up with a sore right knee and shoulder but headed out of the MH to see who the heck hit us. Ron ran out and was trying to take the numbers off the truck plate. The guy was driving away so I yelled for someone to stop him. Another trucker yelled at him and he did stop.

I asked him “What the Hell were you thinking?????????????????? He answered I was “cooking” and “put on the gas” I said YOU WERE COOKING! How could you be cooking and driving!!!!!  He was from the Middle East and did not have a good handle on English. He actually said I was crooked and put on the gas(meaning stepped on the gas). GREAT! He stepped on the gas hence he crashed into our MH causing some serious damage.

One truck driver ran over and gave us his name and phone number as a witness to the event as did a nurse who watched him crash into the MH.

Ron detained the guy while I called 911. A State Trooper pulled in and was amazed at the damage and the stupidity of the driver. After the investigation the officer told Ron that the driver was not only driving poorly but he believed he was also on his cell phone. The officer did site the guy and he was entirely at fault. Really!!!!!

After getting all the insurance information and assessing the damage the cop and Ron agreed that the MH was not safe to drive.

Now the fun begins – trying to contact insurance agents  at 9 pm.

Nice mess we were in. Looks much worse in person and definitely not drivable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the State Cop left we got busy finding the phone numbers to our Insurance company and the drivers insurance company. It was late but we did contact both agents, unfortunately no one could really help us. The five different people we spoke to had no idea as to how to get our MH towed out of there. Our agent kept asking if we had a MH towing service available to us because she was not sure what to do. Arbela is not nationwide so she had no contacts for us in Virginia.

 

 

 

As you can see – not much damage to his trailer ! Just a little ding.

 

 

 

We left it that we would talk to the Progressive agent again in the morning as well as Sue our agent. We also planned to talk with Allstate our tow service as well.

By Midnight we had exhausted ourselves and our calls and planned on getting some sleep. It was getting very cold – around 39 degrees so we hit the generator button – aaaaaand – it wouldn’t start. WHAT!!! It was working fine before the hit. Ron checked the volt meter for the house batteries and it was down to 9.2 – not generator starting numbers for sure. Must have run down after the hit for some reason so Ron started the engine to see if the coach batteries would charge because normally they do.  NOPE! Well, by now it was close to  1AM and with no hope for heat we went to bed under layers of covering and thermal socks.

HOPE TOMORROW WILL BE A BETTER DAY.

Getting ready for our next Adventure to New Orleans, Louisiana

Jewel has threatened not to go with us. What a surprise!

This is the link:


Le BLOG,
http://yankeeinneworleans.blogspot.com/

r0n.........