Will Irene get to us? Part 4 and 5

Well this weekend we left Friday afternoon and arrived at our camp within an hour of driving. The skies were blue, not a hint of a storm brewing. We have RV (three way) hookups at our camp so we always take the RV. Rick's cousin also has a perm park model on our land so we mostly use the camp for overflow company-and as our 'community centre/happy hour/meals etc '...with 100 acres -there is always lots of mowing to do-but we all pitch in and get it done. The only time we personally sleep in the camp is during the winter months-we have Rick's grandparents kitchen wood cook stove in there-and a hand pump for the winter months. Which we definitely do not plan to be doing that this winter.



































We also have the original barn on the property-this is where we store our 4-wheelers etc. it is right across the road from the camp


























Here is Ossumer getting used to his resting place !


























There was much debate between the hubby and I yesterday as to wether we should head home or stay till today. The weather was beautiful but the weather reports were a bit fearful. We don't mind the rain but we sure do not like the wind. So we chanced it and stayed and returned early this morning-and I'm so glad we did-last night after supper in the camp porch we looked up into the field and there stood the most beautiful buck that we have ever seen-I whistled him in and he came closer-he was a 4pt and in beautiful shape-I always love seeing one of god's most beautiful creations-of course the camera was in the coach-upon our return home this morning, we battened down the hatches here at the stix and bricks so come on Irene we are ready for you.
We hope and pray you are all safe and sound wherever you may be. I have been thinking about all our blog RV friends this weekend and praying for your safety.
Part 4/5
After 3 years of enjoyment and travel out in "Miss Patty Pace" in early May 2006 we thought we consider 'upgrade' discussion. It was either keep Patty until she was ready for the bone yard-or trade her up while she still had some value in her. So we started shopping. Having an aging parent with us-(Ricks mom) we could not travel far for any extended length of time. We at the time had a 2002 Chevy Silverado 1500 HD 6 L engine. So we hit the RV show that February to have a lookie look. We had discussed another MH but thought well thats quite a bit of cash to park in the driveway so we were looking at 5th wheels, considering we already had the truck to tow with. We saw quite a few at the RV show, but didn't get serious to purchase until around May-(yes in fever season). We presented at a local dealer and discussed trading the MH for a fiver. They made us an offer we couldn't refuse-and on May 16/06 we took possession of a 2007 Heartland Sundance 2800 RLS-with 2 slides; she was a pretty thing. Lots of underbelly storage etc. We liked it but I don't think we were in love with it. We had some new machine warranty issues which our salesman made sure were taken care of over the course of that summer.
The Sundance Kid


























Butch and the Sundance Kid
To be totally honest...we found it small :(..and if you had company -because of the rear living room and rear entry, you couldn't get out of the rig in the morning if they were still sleeping without crawling over top of them. We were having warranty issues with the living room chairs the springs were forever letting go. The dealer was forever changing the chairs but they were not lasting. We thought ok we did this wrong! We bought to suit the truck and should have done things vice versa so lets get serious. On April 4/07 We returned to the dealer traded that fiver for another one a 2007 Sundance by Heartland 3200 ES-mid kitchen entrance with 3 slides-and traded the truck for a 2006 chevy silverado diesel 2500 HD. Now we're cooking.







Big Butch and the Big Sundance Kid
Again we had new owner warranty issues-various things not working etc-a cut in the flooring in the livingroom, and problems with the kitchen floor, leaks on the underside of the slide during travel..things you expect for sure. But big problem was our wonderful sales rep had changed to another dealer and couldn't help us push for the repairs. It seemed to be one thing after another-and everything was a fight with the dealer. They told us to use it for the summer and come fall they would take it to their other shop 1hr from here and do all the repairs before winter. They picked it up from us in mid Oct. and I continued to call weekly as they said they would have it done in 2 weeks. There was always one excuse after another-waiting for parts etc. In November we drove up there to the shop. Here was our fiver sitting on the side of the highway parking lot, not winterized, and not fixed. They promised the repairs would be completed within a week. To make a long story short in late December we threatened legal action if the Rv was not returned to us immediately with the repairs completed. The new kitchen floor was all bumpy (Rick figures when they removed the cushion floor to replace it they didn't even bother to sweep the debris). And nothing else was fixed. And the kitchen floor was still a mess. We had them deliver it to Ricks's cousin's home as it was closer than our home. We didn't want it sitting up there in their lot with the slides out all winter.
Come next season we knew it was going to be a fight again. They avoided us at all costs. I do have to tell you~the heartland sundance was a beautiful fiver-it was minor factory problems, to be expected with a brand new rig- it was the dealer that was such a turn off. They played the avoidance game with us constantly. If we wanted cutup floors and scratches and dents-defective mirror doors- as well as buckled fascia boards and slide leaks-we would have purchased a handyman special-not a brand new rig. And when you sit and think about the situation, we were hesitant to park a motor home in the driveway but if you added up the cost of the truck and fiver there wouldn't have been much difference. And I missed the drive in- drop the jacks from inside, make a lunch, use the washroom travelling down the road features. This seemed to be a lot of work, hooking and unhooking-but we made our decision so we were willing to live with it.
After pleading for repairs (and yes we got to the fight stage)..to no avail -we finally tracked down our salesman Darrell at another dealer and approached him to see if there was any advice he could provide us on how to deal with this local dealer we purchased from -where he used to work. Apparently this was happening to numerous folks-and they were all seeking him out for advice. We had purchased this fiver in April 07 and it was now July 08 :(...is there a light at the end of this long frustrating tunnel? Stay tuned ..there possibly could be.
But most of all stay safe...till next time
Home is where you park it
Elaine
Rick Tucker and Lilly too