An Interesting March

It appears that this year we get to travel from one job to another. I don't have a problem with that but we are not used to this much travelling when we are suppose to be working. Let me recap for you.

It all started on March 1st, which by the way was our payday. The gate we were at was closed down and the guys came by in the morning to pick up the equipment. The day before we made arrangements to go to the Gonzales yard and off we went. We stopped by the main office to get our check first. We pulled into Gonzales and set up. We were worried that being in Gonzales that we might not get any jobs, but that didn't last long.

On Monday the 4th we received a call that there was a gate opening up and we took it. We didn't know how long we would be there but we were working. It wasn't far from Gonzales only about 30 miles or so. It was a nice place and we were level in an area of some grass. On Friday the 8th, our service guy called to tell us that the gate was being closed. I asked him if our spot was still opened at the yard and he said it was. So we took off again back to Gonzales.

We were in Gonzales for over a week now and there isn't much to do their. It's a nice town but maybe two days and you have seen it all.  Saturday evening, the 16th, we were asked about going back to the same gate that we were just at again. Once again the day before was payday and we needed to go shopping for groceries. Our guy told us that we needed to be there the next morning so Sherry and I decided to go shopping after dinner. Sunday the 17th we were off to familiar grounds. We didn't know how long we were going to be there this time but we didn't think it was going to be long. Well we were right, Wednesday the 20th we were informed that they were closing us down again.

This time the phone call had a bit of a twist to it. The office told us that there will be a gate opening on Friday and to head to their yard in Karnes City. OK not a problem and off we went. This trip was a bit farther to get to but we made it with no problems. I talked to the service guy there and he said that he would get together with me the next day and give me the details. He never showed up Thursday evening but did show up on Friday morning. Now it's Friday the 22nd and we were packed up and ready to go by 9am. The location wasn't far, maybe 10 miles but the dirt road we had to take seemed longer, very bad bumpy road. After we got all set up I had to go back into town to the post office to set up a general delivery for our mail. As I right this, it is Saturday morning the 23rd and we think we will be here for awhile. I just have that feeling.

As you can see this month of March has been very interesting. There is one thing that we have learned is that we can break down and have the trailer hooked to the truck and ready to go in about an hour and a half. If that is any constellation.

Until Next Time............................Be Safe.

What Can You Do??

Over the past two years I have posted many items about Rv repair. Mostly about what I have done around our 5ver, toilet, air conditioner, water leaks that sort of thing. But I noticed I never told you how I was able to find the problem. So I thought in this post I would take a few problems and try to give you some kind of process that I go through.

Toilet and plumbing in general.

This can be an easy one. The first thing that I notice is usually water on the floor. Water, where it's not suppose to be, in an Rv is a killer. I found one time that there was water in the front of the toilet and none around the sides and back, conclusion, gasket that seals the toilet to the floor. Why, because if water is only in the front and nowhere else it must be the gasket. Was I 100% sure NO but its a start.

When I try to diagnose something I always use simple logic and common sense.

I have had numerous water leaks under the sinks. When travelling the connections vibrate and come loose. I turn the water off and re-tighten them or apply some "plumbers tape" around the threads and re-connect. No more leaks.

Water heaters.

The biggest problem with water heaters is that they don't produce hot water. Duh, no kidding! On mine I have a Suburban 10 gallon, with Direct Ignition and an electric heater. When I experience a problem with this heater I go outside,  pull the panel off and push the re-set buttons. On Atwood Heaters, from what I have researched there are no re-set buttons. I normally don't use the electric part of my heater just propane, but if you do check the circuit breakers first. All direct ignition means is that you don't have a pilot light to worry about. If none of this works then chances are that the circuit board took a dump or if you use the electric part only the heating element went belly up, or both.

Furnace.

Once again you turn on the furnace and no heat. There are many problems that can cause this. When this happened to me I went on the internet and started to research the unit I have. It is important to have the manufacturer's name and model number handy when you have a problem. I usually study the wiring diagram because it will tell me all the parts involved and if there may be a fuse to look for. Plus any kind of troubleshooting guide. My unit has a circuit board and when I pulled the unit out I found a fuse but it was good. Most of the time I have not had any problems with our furnace.

Electrical.

This can be a tough one. Most people don't like to mess with the electrical portion of their unit. If you don't have a clear understanding of this subject you may want to stay away from this. But some simple checks won't hurt.

To start with we will go into the 12 volt side first. My battery is dead. You need to check the batteries at least once a month for water or twice a month. If you found out that something doesn't work, like maybe some lights, locate the fuse box and check some fuses. This box would be similar to the one on your vehicle.
On the other side of the spectrum is the 120 volt, items that require you to plug into a wall socket. This system is very much like at your old house. You have a series of circuit breakers that are usually marked and labelled for you. Lets say that the microwave doesn't work. Go to the circuit breakers and see if one of them may have tripped.

This is just the tip of the iceberg but it might help solve a problem and save some cash down the road.

Until Next Time.........................Be Safe.

There's a Lot of Change Going On

I know that I haven't posted in a while but there is a reason for that. We have been kinda of busy. To start with we were let go at our last job assignment.

Last Thursday we got a call from the office that they were going to close down our location. I told them that we would not be ready to leave that afternoon and if they could close us down the next morning. The office talked to the boss and he said he was OK with that. That gave us some time to figure out what to do and where to go. We found out that there were no spaces available at the company yard where the office is at. Great now where are we going to go now.

I made some calls to find out that there was an opening at the Gonzales yard. I made contact with the person in charge and he said there was a space available and that we could have it. Good deal, now we have a place to go. It was about 125 miles to get to Gonzales, not a bad drive. We got to the yard and park the trailer just like we knew what we were doing. No problems. There is only one problem being in Gonzales and not at the main yard, "out of sight, out of mind".

Later that day I was able to talk to the person in charge and he said it was very slow around his area. I assured him that things will be picking up. What do I know, it just seemed the right thing to say at the time. Sherry and I talked about our situation and she didn't seem to be worried about it. After setting up we decided to go out for dinner, since this was payday and we haven't gone to the store yet for groceries.

We toured the main drag and there wasn't much around but a Pizza Hut. We decided to eat there for dinner. The place was empty and we had our choice of tables to sit at. The music was very loud and the employees were yelling at each other from across the room. I guess because the music was too loud. We got our food and drink, ate and we left. Probably will never go back there again. Tomorrow I guess we better go shopping.

We all slept in on Saturday, boy it felt good. We got going around 11:30 and went to lunch. After lunch we went looking around Gonzales, small town so it didn't take long. We found a large antique store and went inside to check it out. There was another one next door and we investigated that too. After that there wasn't much open so off to Wal-Mart we go. I wanted to shop for a new TV for the bedroom but no luck. We also need a new bedspread but no luck as well. We got what we needed and took off to HEB, which is a Texas grocery store. We like HEB because they have a large meat department with food sale prices.

We usually shop for two weeks since that's how we get paid, once every two weeks. We have to be careful in what we buy. We have limited freezer space even though we purchased a small fridge with a freezer. What we do is take the food out of the packaging for more room. If we need the instructions on one item we will cut them out and tape them to the inside of the cabinet door.

On Sunday we went to lunch and then went to look for some RV parks around the area. We found them but nobody was in the office to get information. We also needed to find a laundromat so we can do some washing. Bingo we found one. Now the next day we can do laundry, Oh Joy!!!

Here it is Monday now and still nothing. Again I am not worried but still waiting. I got up early this morning and drinking my coffee. I got dressed and took the dog out for his walk and came back in. Sherry is up now and so is Brianne. As I am drinking my coffee the phone rang and noticed that it was from around here. The man in charge told me of a job that came open and if we wanted it, I said yes. Yahoo we have a job. We finalized some details and we started to pack up.

The man in charge showed up at the yard and we talked about where the location was at. He didn't know but was taking the equipment out to the site and he would call me when he got there. He called us and we made final directions and we were on our way. When we got there he positioned his trailers in place and then we started to do our thing. We placed the trailer where we needed to, leveled, unhooked and BAM we are done. I helped our guy out by hooking up a few things for him and he finished up and left.

I started to check everything and found out that the water pump wasn't working. I called our guy and he returned with a new water pump, installed and works. Everything is now going good.

Tomorrow we will start to check license plates as we were told that the traffic will start in increase much more. We still don't know how long we will be here but it is a job and we like it.

Until Next Time.............................Be Safe.