Chasing Adventure

Shell-less Turtle

It’s been too long for us not to send out an update, but in our defense, we have been out of sorts. Can you tell what is missing here?

Yes, it’s Maverick. Maverick has been gone for 7 weeks! Pearl is missing her other half!

Back in May, we shared that Maverick needed some work done. We were hoping and praying this would be the end of the visits to the shop since he’s already been there 4-5 times. We dropped him off May 7th and went on our merry way to Florida, believing everything would get done in the 2-ish weeks we would be gone. The major repair was replacing the whole floor from when we found a leak from the manufacturer. The shop also had to replace the kitchen flooring they mangled when they forgot to unscrew the old refrigerator and just pulled it out (sigh). Also, there was a leak somewhere in the stove slide that we had to bring that slide in every time it rained. Along with a few little warranty items, the shop said they “should” have it all done in the 2-ish weeks they would have it. 

They didn’t. 

We got back to Johnson City, stayed in a hotel for a couple days, then realized it was going to be longer than they told us and had to make a decision on where to stay, now that we were essentially homeless. Thankfully, our friends in the campground still had their rig when they moved into the big house, and allowed us to stay there. Their camper wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t ours, and we were still living out of suitcases from the Florida trip. 

We figured since it was in the shop anyway, we might as well have them complete a couple of the recommended annual maintenance items, so I asked for a quote. On said quote for the roof requirements, the tech had written in about some holes and tears in the roof. 

Excuse me, what. 

After a call with the shop, we decided to put a claim into Progressive for the roof to be repaired/replaced. Remember the winds we had back in March? There are 2 trees at the back edge of our campsite that Greg trimmed so they wouldn’t hit Maverick. However, with 100+ winds, we think the branches must have love-tapped the rig to cause the damage. Progressive decided to replace the roof (apparently they can’t warranty a repair), so $12,000 and 2 weeks later, we now have a new roof. 

Summary: 

• New roof – 2 weeks
• Maintenance on water heater and propane lines – 1 day
• Warranty work – 5 weeks

Moral of the story? Although it’s great having someone else pay for repairs, if we didn’t have amazing friends with an available place to stay, that would have put us in hotels for 7 weeks! I don’t even want to think about how expensive THAT would have been. 

We got the call that Maverick was ready on a Friday, but couldn’t go get him until they had the check from Progressive…. So, last Wednesday, June 26th, we FINALLY got to pick up Maverick. We were so excited to have our home back. I got it back to the campsite and we had it parked within 15 minutes (thank you 4-wheel drive). 

We got leveled, unhooked, slides out, and I hollered over to Greg to let me know when we had power so I could turn on the ACs and get to cleaning up our home before we moved back into it. I’m checking cabinets, fixing stuff that shifted in the commute, and still nothing from Greg. I go outside to check on the power situation, and he’s digging through the compartments. 

Me: “What’s wrong?”

Greg: “They kept our power cord.”

Excuse me, what. 

Sigh. 

I called the shop to let them know I was making the hour drive back up there and to find our power cord in the shop. At this point, I can’t even be mad. I’m still riding the high of having my home back. Then Greg calls me. 

Greg: “Just pulled the tank lines. Someone pooped in our toilet.”

Excuse me, what.

Now. Now I’m mad. That’s just unacceptable. 

I pulled into the shop and they couldn’t find our cord. I wonder if it went home with another rig – lucky them. They pulled one out of a new rig on their lot and handed it over. I asked to speak with the Service Manager about all the issues. Good conversation, but nothing came of it. Whatever. 

Drove the hour back to the campground, powered up Maverick, got him cleaned and we moved back in. SO happy to sleep in our bed, on our nice sheets, with different clothes to wear, larger shower with more water pressure, just everything that is ours. 

I know, first-world problems. 

One of the full-timers here told us a story about how her friends called her a turtle when they sold their house and decided to live full-time on the road. I loved the analogy and realized that has been our issue, subconsciously, the past 7 weeks. 

We have been a shell-less turtle. 

Now that we are back on our shell, I’ll write about all the other adventures we have had during this time. 

~Katie