RVing

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Troubleshooting RV Problems

This summer, I’ve felt confident enough in my RVing abilities to troubleshoot problems with other rigs. It’s nice to be able to pay forward all the help I received in my first months of RVing and to educate new RVers. RVs vary greatly, but I discovered that some causes of problems are universal and that most of these problems are minor if they are a problem at all. For example:

Black Tank Does Not Drain

Assumed cause: valve broken

Assumed solution: replace valve

Real cause: Solid waste impaction (black cone of death)

Real solution: Water. Lots of it. And driving around.

This was a rental rig and I suspected that it might have come with a black cone of death, as Miranda did, since the tiniest trickle of black water came out of the tank.

I closed the black valve, went into the rig and filled the black tank to the rim with water. Within minutes, the water level had gone down. This confirmed that there was a mess of solid waste plugging the valve. This waste absorbed the water. I told the couple to top of the tank with water again and to check the tank after driving around a bit. If the water had gone down again, they were to add water and then repeat the exercise until the water did not recede. Only then should they attempt to empty the black tank.

The next day, they called to let me know that the problem was solved. I then gave them my tips for managing the black tank.

No Hot Water

Assumed problem: water heater is broken

Assumed solution: sue the RV rental company

Real problem: there isn’t one

Real solution: explain that the RV heater won’t kick on when the water tank is full of hot water! Plus, it needs 12V power to work. See next problem.

Furnace Blowing Cold Air

Assumed problem: propane not flowing from the tank/broken propane system

Assumed solution: sue RV company

Real problem: discharged batteries

Real solution: plug in RV and educate about how long one can expect to boondock on a single 12V battery (hint: it’s less than four days). Also prove that the propane system is working fine by turning on all three burners at once.

Water Hose Leaking At Connection

Assumed problem: RV park hookup is missing an O-ring

Assumed solution: demand a refund from RV park and go somewhere else

Real problem: none, leaky connections are pretty much a fact of life, which is why teflon was invented

Real solution: add teflon to threads

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Pecuniary Shyness, or This is Real Life!

Some RVers like to talk at great length about their finances, to the point of splashing out for all to see their balance sheets. I made a decision early on to gloss over this topic because I realised early on that full-time RVing is real life. Let me repeat that: full-time RVing is a lifestyle choice, not a perpetual vacation. Everyone’s reality and circumstances are different. I don’t see any value in going into any sort of detail about my financial portrait.

This issue has come up several times over the past few days. I’ve had someone comment that I ‘owed’ it to other RVers to explain how I get by day to day financially so that they could emulate me (!). Another person was appalled that I ‘steal’ from the thrift and free stores since I’m obviously well off, with a ‘nice motorhome and recent model car.’  Another doesn’t get the difference between being ‘tight’ (choosing not to do or buy certain things in order to do or buy other things) and being ‘broke’ (not being able to do or buy anything). If I lived a mainstream life, no one would expect me to pull out my balance sheet, they would understand how someone my age living in her own home and driving a recent model car might need to be frugal in other areas of her life, and they’d understand that not being able to do it ‘all’ is normal!

So far, the financials of my RVing life have been very cyclical. I have had periods with good cashflow and periods with bad cashflow. During the good periods I get caught up and during bad periods I try not to get behind. The goal is, of course, to balance out these periods and provide a steadier cashflow instead of one with gigantic negative and positive peaks. This summer was my first taste of this ideal cashflow vision and it has been lovely, but I am now heading back into squirrel mode, especially since I have a couple of big expenses coming up.

One thing to keep in mind is that I’m single with only cats as my dependents. That gives me a lot of freedom in how I choose to allocate my money. Once the bills are paid and I’ve put money away for retirement and emergencies, there is no one to care if I decide to buy a new toy and eat beans for a month. But if I were to put all of this on a balance sheet for the world to say, I’d have to erase a lot of comments from people with different priorities and values who think they have a right to tell me how I should be managing things. I might as well save them the trouble. 😀

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Cat Food Heart Attack

I misjudged how much cat food I was going to need to finish off the season and found myself having to buy a bag here in Dawson. The best place to buy pet supplies is the Home Hardware, so that’s where I went. They carry the small bags of Whiskas, the food my cats eat.

Whiskas comes in three sizes. The small bag is normally about $7, the medium bag about $12, and the big bag about $20. I usually have several medium bags on hand, bought for $10 or less with coupons.

In Dawson, the small bag sells for $15!!! To my horror, I actually heard myself say out loud in front of staff “It’s no wonder I stock up in Whitehorse!”

This is obviously a necessary product; letting your cat starve is not an option! So, I have to wonder if that’s why the price is jacked up so high. I understand the logistics behind getting things here, but pricing up here really does not seem to have any rhyme or reason.

I have to say that much as I love Dawson the appalling grocery situation here is starting to wear on my nerves, especially after seeing how smaller towns in the Northwest Territories have proper grocery stores. I’m really looking forward to replenishing the larder in Whitehorse!

(I’m just grateful I won’t have to buy propane in Dawson this year.)

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Two Years on the Road

So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains
And we never even know we have the key. (the Eagles)

Two years on the road…

I think that if anyone knew the full story of some of the things that have happened over the past twenty-four months, they would be shocked that I have made it this far. I have survived bad employers, negative cash flow, a life threatening incident, and crushing loneliness. Why do I continue to persevere at making this life work when it is obviously so difficult?

Because it gets better every day. Because it lets me see wonderful places and meet amazing people. Because it does not leave time for boredom. Because it constantly challenges me. Because it has so much to teach. Because it gives me something to share. Because it is my calling; this is without a doubt what I am supposed to be doing with my one wild and precious life.

I thought that my second year on the road would be much more sedate than the first, but this was most certainly not the case! It started with a literal bang (of brake components failing) that taught me to slow down and be more present, paused on an island where I did my interior, took me back to the Klondike and past the Arctic Circle, before circling back to the beginning. I finally got my internet independence, made some serious progress in self-employment (the biggest of which still can’t be revealed!), and became a seasoned RVer.

My goals for year three are both general (to continue this upward trend) and specific (to add at least two more states to my list). Otherwise, I’m happy to see where the road will lead me now that I have checked so many of my expectations.

Thank you, once again, to all my wonderful readers, from those who have been with me from the start to those I picked up along the way.

Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.

and

You cannot dream yourself into a character: you must hammer and forge yourself into one.

(Henry David Thoreau)