I am trying to move from California to Virginia for my new job in the new RV. And this trip is cursed every. step. of the. way.
First is buying the sucker. The RV loan is only for $54K and I got a partial approval. I actually needed a co-sign for the loan. That is not something I was expecting at all. I'm on really good terms with my ex-husband, we still own a house together and so on, so I ask him to co-sign. He is a tax accountant and it is tax season. So that took some back and forth to get straightened out. About four days lost. The RV dealership will not begin work on the motor home until they get paid and they need at least a week to get it ready for pickup.
I then take the RV on a maiden voyage weekend trip to break her in and find the bugs. I have 30 days to bring the RV back to the dealership and they will fix anything I find. On this maiden voyage I do the one thing I was not supposed to do, hook the water into the black tank flush without the black tank being open. I was trying to fill my fresh water tank. The RV still smells like pee. In addition, while trying to back the RV up to the spigot I ran over and semi-pulled out the main power cable. Yes I had unplugged it from the hard line. But no, I did not make sure it was clear of the tires.
On the way home the on-board GPS takes me on a 'faster' route which is a tiny, barely one lane but supposed to fit two cars, windy, hilly, back way 'scenic' route. Fucking hell. My friend figured out how to set the GPS to 'Easy, Truck' setting so hopefully that shit won't happen again. Even so, it still randomly takes me crazy places like downtown of a major city when I'm try to get through on the highway.
That Monday I take the RV back to the dealership for the list of items I would like adjusted or repaired, one of which is that it pulls to the left while driving. Mind you, I had already pointed this out during the test drive and was assured it would be taken care of during the pre-delivery inspection. The dealership has to take the RV to a tire shop for them to do the alignment. It took three days and a third trip back to the alignment shop to get 'er done. More days lost.
So I finally hit the road!!! I'm towing the Scion on the dolly hitch and I notice that it doesn't pivot very well the way I would expect it to. So I just take it easy on the turns and head to my sister's in Utah. Going through the mountains in Nevada was really hard, slow going, and crazy on the gas.
Get to my sisters and I want to show off the new RV. So I pull into a cul-de sac where it is level and push out the slide outs. Show it off. Every one loves it. Now to back out of the cul-de sac. Fuck me hard and dry. Basically it sucked dead donkey balls. And as I took control of directing from out side I can see that the dolly is not just difficult on the pivot, it isn't pivoting at fucking all. Did the dealership who sold me this thing even service it before they gave it to me?
The back up maneuver goes terrible and finally I give in to take the car off the dolly hitch. Get the straps off of the wheels and I didn't check to ensure my sister had fully removed the strap from her wheel. I back the car off the hitch, the strap hook catches on the inside of the wheel, and the bumper comes partially off of the car.
I'm too emotionally exhausted to even curse about it.
But I give it a good try.
So after some talking with my brother who showed up a little while later and looked at the dolly, I decided I don't need this shit. I don't have the inclination to get the dolly fixed just to keep this car which is a huge drag, literally. Ya I need a car when I get to Virginia, but I've been wanting to get rid of this Scion for years.
The Scion story real quick: bought it in Hawaii about 2012. When I left the island I wanted to sell it. My ex-husband wanted to keep it because it was paid off. So he paid to have the A/C fixed and then the car shipped to California. From there he cross-country drives it to Virginia. I then use the car for two years there and cross-country drive it Cali a year and half ago. I desperately want to get rid of this thing. So now I finally do. Bonus, I can now get my motorcycle!
I sell the dolly tow hitch in literally 30 minutes. That was awesome. It took two days to sell the car because both of our names, my ex and I, are on the title. Fuck fuck fuck fuck these fucking delays.
So I'm the road again. Driving with no tow. Making good time and good gas.Had an incident at the rest stop with another dog who attacked my dog. But Lockheed (Loki? Lucky? Lockheed is a stupid name...) wasn't hurt. I was feeling pretty good and getting into my road trip mode.
Tire blow out.
I called road assistance, got a guy coming out. Then called my sister and just started bawling like a little girl.
While the tire was getting changed, the RV slipped off of the jack. No one got hurt. But picture this, the bare naked brake on the bare naked axle with no tire and the RV falls onto it. Tire guy tells me that there is no damage to that and I am good to go. But lets be real here, this trip is cursed. This is totally going to bite me in the ass at some point.
Oh, and when the tire blew, the tread came off entirely. Hitting the fuel tube that runs from the outside of the RV where you fill up to the tank. It snapped at the plastic cap. The tire guy zipped tied the tube back into place but I need to get it fixed at a shop.
I head to the local RV service shop both the tire guy and my road side assistance told me about. I get there just as they are closing. No, they can't help me. They only do fifth wheels which don't have gas tanks. I find another RV service place and get there the next day just as they open. Work gets done, I write this blog, and back on the road.
After that it was all good minus some high winds and rainy weather. I am now back in Virginia safe and sound with the RV and puppy in one piece.