Our Wander Years

The best laid plans…

Posted on October 4, 2015 by Sparky

The plan for the Second Trip South (STS) was to leave for Rhode Island tomorrow (Sunday) morning. But it ain’t gonna happen.

Over the past week, I had noticed hesitation when I pressed the accelerator on the truck. It had happened just a few times. But yesterday, on the way back from Worcester, the “check engine” light came on. That had happened earlier in the summer as well and it was diagnosed as an “engine misfire” and extensive testing found nothing wrong. I chalked it up to bad fuel that time and thought it might be the same this time.

But I certainly did not feel comfortable embarking on a 2,000-mile journey towing a 15,000-pound fifth wheel with a “check engine” warning light illuminated. So, this morning at 8am, I drove 30 miles to the dealership where I had bought the truck – with only one slight acceleration hiccup along the way – and had them run some quick diagnostics. I can’t recall exactly what the computer codes (there were 2) were, but neither was “engine misfire.” The diesel guy had a theory that it involved a faulty emissions control valve and had given the valve a few taps with a hammer to see if that might loosen a possibly sticky valve. He said that it helped one “underflow” (whatever that is) measure a bit, but it remained very low. He recommended valve replacement, but was unable to do it today as I did not have an appointment and they were operating with a Saturday skeleton crew. He did say that it was highly unlikely that I would break down on the first leg of the trip, which was just 120 miles. So I made an appointment to return the truck on Tuesday (while the RV was in the shop for its scheduled repairs) and started home.

But I only got 2 miles. The valve tapping had converted the “intermittent” acceleration problem into a constant and severe acceleration problem that was accompanied by a cloud of black exhaust. It was immediately obvious that the truck would be incapable of hauling our fifth wheel 120 miles. I was uncertain that it could even haul its own smoking carcass back home. So I returned the truck to the dealership, rescheduled the repairs for Monday, called Jett to pick me up and went home to change our STS plans.

There will be no overnight stop in Rhode Island, the repairs on the RV will be pushed back to Tuesday and we will probably lose one night in NY as well.

And we had to extend our stay at Minuteman by two days, which was easier said than done. Another RV had been booked into our site for Sunday, so the owners had to juggle several reservations to allow us to stay.

But they didn’t have a lot of choice – I have no truck to move the RV.

Not a good start to the STS.

Categories: Adventures, MA, Places, STS | 2 Comments

Second Trip South (STS) plan

Posted on September 29, 2015 by Sparky

STS planned route

In 5 days we will embark on our second trip south, to Florida. This will be the first long-distance journey we have taken since getting off the road to sell our house in the fall of 2014. And our first trip in our new Big Horn. I am looking forward to it. Jett, as always, is apprehensive.

The trip will be just over 2,000 miles and will feature long (5 days or more) stays in Pennsylvania, Virginia, South Carolina and northern Florida. There will be other shorter stops along the way for a total of 41 days, including 12 travel days.

The trip will begin with a one-night stop in Rhode Island, just to add that state to our map – the only state we will add on this trip. Then 3 days in a hotel while Camping World tries to finish the repairs that they didn’t get to earlier in the summer. I can’t say I am looking forward to that – 3 days in a hotel room with dogs, especially since it now appears that those will be three rainy days.

We then spend a few days in upstate New York where we will visit Watervliet – one of Jett’s childhood stomping grounds – and, perhaps, the site of the Woodstock Festival. Then down to Pennsylvania Amish country for 5 days, a week in Virginia visiting Jett’s sons, a few days in Myrtle Beach (right on the beach!), a full week in Charleston, a few days in Greensboro, GA, visiting some old friends, and a full week at the Escapees Sumter Oaks RV Park in Bushnell, FL, where we will establish Florida residency.

Then on to North Ft Myers for 5 wonderful, warm winter months. After the brutal winter we suffered through last year, that will be a welcome change.

I will blog as we go. Stay tuned.

Categories: Routes, RV Living, STS | 3 Comments

A farewell to Cambridge

Posted on September 24, 2015 by Sparky

My breakfast spot

If you are familiar with the Boston area, you know that Boston and Cambridge, though physically adjacent (separated only by the Charles River), are miles apart in atmosphere and attitude. Often called the “People’s Republic”, Cambridge is a left-wing paradise while Boston is more blue-collar. Hence I will bid a separate farewell to each.

Though I spent very little time in Harvard Square as a student, I thoroughly enjoy the place now. After dropping Jett off at Mt Auburn Hospital for a minor medical procedure, I walked the mile to Harvard Square to have breakfast and enjoy yet another beautiful September day. I got a coffee and a chocolate croissant at the Au Bon Pain at the Holyoke Center, just across Massachusetts Avenue from the main entrance to Harvard Yard, and spent a very pleasant hour reading, accompanied by a very friendly sparrow.

Breakfast

My breakfast buddy

After breakfast I took a stroll through Harvard Yard, then through the Divinity School area and Lesley College before heading back to Mt Auburn Hospital by way of Mt Auburn Street. I snapped some shots of the striking buildings and bucolic parks in the area.

A perfect day. A very nice stroll through the People’s Republic.

Harvard Yard

Harvard dorm

Divinity School

Lesley College

Boathouse on the Charles

Categories: Commentary, MA, Places | Leave a comment

A farewell to Boston

Posted on September 24, 2015 by Sparky

Fenway, of course

We will soon be leaving the Boston area, which I have called home for 48 years, and don’t know when we will be back again. Boston’s farewell present to us has been spectacularly beautiful September weather, so when I went into Boston for a dental appointment yesterday I took the opportunity to wander around and take some photos. I have also included some photos from the family gathering in August during which – what does this mean? – I took almost no pictures of family but quite a few of Boston. The August gathering featured a trip to Fenway for a game between the Red Sox and the Mariners (won by Boston, 22-10), a lunch at Jacob Wirth and a walk through downtown Boston, Faneuil Hall Marketplace and the North End.

The walk through Boston included stops at the site of the Boston Massacre, a few moments watching break dancing near Faneuil Hall, free cannoli and champagne in the North End and a beer at a cafe near the TD Garden to cap it off. A very fine day, indeed.

Granary Burial Ground

Entering the North End

Kinsale Pub

I may as well include September 2, the day I got laid off. I celebrated my “misfortune” with a fish sandwich and beer lunch at the Kinsale Pub, near Boston’s City Hall. Another fine day in all respects.

Layoff lunch

Yesterday, before and after my dental appointment, I wandered through the Back Bay and South End neighborhoods. It was a picture-perfect day for photos and I captured some of the more dramatic buildings in Boston.

Thanks for the memories, Boston. And the nice weather.

Arlington St Church

Boston Public Library

Trinity Church

First Baptist Church

Commonwealth Avenue

Public Garden

Hancock Tower

Public Garden

Categories: Family, MA, Places | 1 Comment

Early retirement in name only

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Sparky

I was laid off on September 2. It is now September 20. So I have had 18 days to settle in to the “do nothing” lifestyle. Except that, so far, retirement has been more demanding than work. Every day has been busy from dawn to dusk. Much of my time has been devoted to transitional tasks – getting insurance set, completing my layoff paperwork, getting our investment property positioned for remote ownership and prepping for the trip to Florida.

The preparation work includes planning the route – with great attention to low clearances as our new rig is about 13′ 5″ at the highest point, which is almost 8″ taller than Patience – and booking RV parks. I also adjusted the height of the hitch. We traveled for 3 years with the old rig using the lowest (of 4) height settings on the hitch, but were never able to get it to ride level; Patience was always “nose up” which put extra weight on the rear axle. Which, in turn, contributed to the blowouts that we experienced. The new rig, on the other hand, is definitely “nose down” at the lowest setting, so I (with great trepidation) adjusted the height of the hitch. That involved removing the 4 humongous bolts that hold it together, lifting the top portion and re-bolting. The trepidation came from the knowledge that any screwup could literally be fatal, to ourselves or others. Or, if I damaged any of the bolts, I could leave the rig in an untowable state until repaired. But it turned out to be pretty straightforward. It is now at the second-from-the-top setting; the top setting was so high it prevented me from closing the top on the bed of the pickup. At this setting the rig still rides a bit nose-down, but much less so. It should be fine.

So now the truck is fully prepared for the trip and the RV is nearly so. I want to re-pack the basement to discard some unused items and to free a little storage space. And I need to check the tire pressure one more time, as I do before each trip. But then, two weeks from today, we will be on our way. 41 days (with 12 travel days) and just over 2,000 miles to Florida, to arrive November 14.

There, maybe, I will find that “do nothing” lifestyle.

Categories: Commentary, Preparation/Planning | 1 Comment

Yes, I am still alive

Posted on September 6, 2015 by Sparky

Thanks for asking.

I have not posted to my blog since July 26 – 6 weeks! But I have been busy. VERY busy. Mostly with work and our rental property, but also with planning our future.

Just to catch you up on our plans: we are heading to Florida for the winter. We will be there from mid-November to mid-April. After that… not sure, though most likely we will be back in New England somewhere. We have committed to attending the National Escapade in Essex Junction, VT, from July 24 to 29, 2016. But the rest of the summer… dunno.

This uncertainty is due to my intent to retire at the end of September which meant that being in a place where I could commute to Cambridge was no longer a requirement. I had already informed my boss of my intention but had not yet given notice. But that plan is now moot because on Tuesday, 4 weeks to the day before I expected to retire, I was laid off! Before you cry for me, Argentina, understand that this is actually a huge boon as I am receiving 9 weeks of severance, plus a cash-out of nearly 3 weeks of accumulated vacation time. I was expecting to get the vacation cash-out (though I was planning to take some vacation days this month) and also expected 4 more weeks of pay, but the layoff gives me 5 weeks of pay that I wasn’t expecting. Sweet!

I suppose it is possible that the company did this because it benefitted me, but more likely it is because it is a huge corporation that simply wasn’t aware of my intentions. Don’t know, don’t care. I will take the money and run.

It also means that I don’t have to work in September. To me this is the same as getting an additional 4 weeks of PTO – another huge boon! I have a long list of tasks that need to be completed before heading south and I was worried about finding time to do them all. I am no longer worried.

We did not sell our rental property and have not yet found tenants for the 2 empty units, so getting that situation stabilized in my most urgent concern. I will probably be spending at least 4 days on site there in September, painting, fixing, cleaning and interviewing. I also have a number of financial and RV-related chores. But I now have time for all of them.

The trip south is planned for 41 days and includes a week in Bushnell, FL, which we will use to establish Florida residency. As of early November, we will no longer be Massachusetts residents! For me that will be the end of a 48-year residency.

Categories: Commentary, MA, Places | 1 Comment

Our new Heartland BigHorn 3875FB

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Sparky

Our new 3875FB

Yes, we traded in Patience – our Open Range 399BHS – in favor of a brand spanking new Heartland Big Horn 3875FB. We plan to travel for at least 3 more years and, with the sale of the house, felt justified in upgrading to a unit that better fit our current needs. We don’t have a separate bunkhouse bedroom for guests now, which was great when the grandkids visited, but was used too seldom to justify the use of that space. We opted for a unit which provides a larger, more comfortable living space for Jett and me.

Our new home has just one bedroom, but it equipped with a king size bed and a better TV – the two things Jett needs for a good night’s sleep. It has a bath-and-a-half, as did the Open Range, but the full bath is more spacious (and is, in fact, larger than the main bath in our house) and the half bath is much more comfortable (and with more storage) than the old one. The kitchen boasts a full-size side-by-side residential refrigerator and a larger convection microwave. The living room has a full-size sofa which is great for napping, two wonderful recliners and a very nice 46″ television with Blu-Ray DVD player. There are more windows, two air conditioners, LED lighting and outlets everywhere. The storage is amazing, both in the living area and in the basement. The main slides are hydraulic (no more snapped cables!), the stabilizers are hydraulic and self-leveling and the electric umbilical is on a powered reel. Rather than wrestling with a stiff power line on a cold morning, I can now just press a button! Ah, heaven!

All-in-all, we are very happy with the layout and the general living comfort of the new RV. To see what I am talking about, view this video.

But…

The “initial quality” of the workmanship has been a disappointment. The very first time we dropped the hydraulic landing legs, one of the hydraulic pistons leaked. In the two months since that day we have encountered the following problems:

All three sinks have leaked. One leak was due to poor sealing of the under-counter sink, one was due to a faulty coupling on a cold water line and one was due to a loose drain seal. We really didn’t expect to be dealing with numerous plumbing problems in a new vehicle.
Two hinges have detached from the cabinet doors.
The rear window (by the sofa), if opened, cannot be closed without pressure from outside.
The Dyson cordless vacuum cleaner was DOA.
The LED lights over the recliners flicker.
There is a ripple in the kitchen linoleum, due, we think, to an object being caught under the main slide before it reached the dealer.

Broken hydraulic line

We are currently working on getting these issues fixed (and, in fact, are “homeless” because the new unit is back at Camping World being worked on), including the complete rupture of the hydraulic line that occurred when we lifted the landing jacks for the trip to CW. Heartland, to their credit, has been very understanding and cooperative. The service at Camping World, by comparison, has been abysmal. We have been on the receiving end of rude receptionists (“The service department looks busy right now so they probably won’t answer the phone. Call back later.”) and service staff (“I don’t have the Heartland number here. Just Google it.”). We can never get a straight story from CW. When asked about the linoleum, we were told that it was a discontinued item (hard to believe, but true) and that Heartland had recommended that they cut a patch out from under the sink (untrue; Heartland says that would never recommend such an action). We were later told the replacement linoleum had arrived. Also untrue. And when the replacement Dyson arrived, they wanted us to come down to Berkley (round trip 150 miles) to pick it up rather than spending the $20 it would cost to ship it to us. They finally relented and shipped it, but only after telling us how they were making this special effort just for us.

Gee, thanks.

Now they have received the second set of keys (the unit came with just one set) and, unbelievably, are balking at mailing them to us. A security issue, they say, at which Heartland scoffs.

Our ex-RV

When we bought the Big Horn we also purchased the optional “protection package” from CS – about $2,000 worth of coatings for the exterior paint, the interior carpets and other “soft surfaces.” But we can see no evidence that these coatings had actually been applied. When we asked what proof they could give us that the work had actually been done, they said we had the receipt. We had to explain that we know what we paid for, we just wanted to see proof that we had received what we bought. They quickly – too quickly, we think – volunteered to reapply the protection.

Jett is insisting that she be there to watch them apply the protection this “second time.”

Meanwhile, the Open Range is still available at CW Berkley. If anyone needs a well-loved and widely-towed fifth wheel, go talk to the people at Camping World.

But if they offer you a “protection package” just say no.

Categories: MA, Places, RV Living | 2 Comments

The end of our Patience

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Sparky

The Open Range, traded in

We loved our Open Range fifth wheel, a.k.a. “Patience.” But some of the reasons that made it right for us – the bunkhouse to house the grandchildren being at the top of that list – are no longer relevant. And it was relatively dark and had a number of maintenance issues – most notably the slide cable unreliability, the persistent blowouts and the leak in the bunkhouse slide – that made it a less-than-ideal place to live. With the sale of our house we felt justified in looking for an upgrade.

So what kind of RV would be better? Well, we were still committed to a fifth wheel as we believe they provide the most comfortable and economical living space of any RV type. We also needed the one-and-a-half baths; Jett would divorce me if I asked her to live in an RV with just one bath. Those were the only “must haves” but there were a lot of other desirable characteristics which could be boiled down to this: more living space. We wanted something that was more comfortable for full-time RV living than the Open Range. Something brighter and cheerier. Maybe a larger refrigerator and a ceiling fan. More storage. A real sofa on which I could nap. Comfortable seating for four in the “living room” and at the table. Better outside lighting. An automatic leveling system. Hydraulic slides (with no cables!). Two air conditioners.

Also, based on some models we had seen at an RV show, the “front bath” layout was very attractive. By putting the full bath in the front of the RV, the space wasted by the hallway was eliminated and the bathroom became much larger and more comfortable.

So I started by constructing a list of fifth wheel models with a bath and a half with the full bath up front. There were about 10 such models. I then conducted a nationwide search for used RVs from this list. And I found… nothing. Well, almost nothing. I did find some used ones in Minnesota and Oregon and maybe a few in Texas. But I wasn’t about to travel 2,000 miles to buy an RV.

One of the reasons for the dearth of used RVs of this type is that they didn’t exist prior to the 2012 model year, which meant that an owner would have to have held if for less than 3 years to be for sale used now. I suspect that the few who had these models liked them and didn’t feel like dumping them so soon.

So I looked for new 2015 models. And found… damn few in New England. But Camping World of Berkley MA had two Heartland Bighorn 3875FBs in stock. So we decided to go take a look.

Of course we fully intended that it would just be a scouting expedition, but the trip down there was over 60 miles, so we weren’t eager to make many of those trips. Between some aggressive selling and the model selling itself, we were hooked. So, in late March, while the Open Range was still buried under tons of snow, we signed the contract, trading in the Open Range for the amount we owed on it.

We took possession on May 6, hauling the Open Range down to Berkley and hauling the Bighorn back up to Littleton. And that was the end of our Patience. I hope it finds a good family.

The photo is our last view of Patience as she sat in the Camping World parking lot. I felt more emotion leaving her than I did leaving the house that I had owned for 10 years. So many memories…

I could try to describe our new RV, but I will instead suggest that you find a YouTube video (e.g., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsfkBR5lLT4). The model shown here is not identical – we have stainless steel appliances, for example – but it is very similar.

I can tell you that it is as nice as it looks.

Executing the swap was an ordeal. More on that next.

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A lifetime on a laptop

Posted on May 31, 2015 by Sparky

For those (few) readers who have noticed that I haven’t blogged lately, the reason is this: my laptop died. Yes, the Dell T5510 in which I had just invested about $100 to replace the screen and power cord decided that it was time to give up the semiconductor ghost. I used it in the morning, took it into the office but didn’t use it, and when I tried to use it that night at home it was just flat out dead. Wouldn’t turn on.

Panic.

One of the side effects of a life lived on the road, in an RV, is an increased dependence on one’s computer. Jett and I are, of necessity, nearly paperless. All of our financial records, along with emails and various supporting applications (e.g., GPS map downloads) reside on the laptop’s hard disk. Losing the use of the laptop brings many aspects of RV life to a grinding halt.

I am not a complete idiot. Of course I back up that hard disk regularly, but the most recent backup was about 10 days prior to the crash. Losing even 10 days of records is not a great option. I suspected that the problem did not involve the hard disk and that the data were probably recoverable. So while I looked for a new laptop, I asked Jett to stop in at Best Buy and see if they could transfer the disk to an external drive. But, for reasons I still don’t understand, they were either unable or unwilling to do that; instead they wanted to download subsets of files based on some utilitarian categorization. They asked questions like “what email client do you use?” I tried to get through to them that they shouldn’t care; I just wanted the entire contents of the disk transferred. They tried to patiently explain that I would need to reinstall software (which I knew) and I tried to patiently explain that I didn’t care. We never did get to a point of understanding, so I instructed Jett to walk out and I proceeded to find an independent contractor to do my bidding.

For the cost of a 2TB disk ($103) and a disk-to-disk copy job ($75) I was able to successfully recover the contents of the disk. Then the real work began: reinstalling and reconfiguring the software. Fortunately, I had the foresight to save the downloads of the most recent versions of Quicken and Thunderbird (or perhaps benefitted from my failure to clean up the Downloads directory) and was able to reinstall everything that I use regularly from the recovered disk. The hardest part was reconfiguring the folders on Thunderbird. That took some research and hard work.

All told, I probably spent over 20 hours, spread over a week, on recovering my files and getting the new laptop (a Toshiba) into a functioning state. There are probably a few things that remain to be done. For example, I just recovered the Garmin GPS update software today. But I am once again up a running and this post is proof of that.

One thing I decided to not recover was my Windows 7 operating system. The new Toshiba came with Windows 8 already installed. I probably could have overwritten it with Windows 7, but decided to get with the program and “upgrade” to Windows 8.

It isn’t much of an upgrade, folks. I had to spend several hours figuring out how to disable some of the Windows 8 “charms” which I found to be less than charming. They were so annoying that I was contemplating returning the laptop and finding one with Windows 7 instead. But now that I have de-charmed Windows 8 it is tolerable, though still very unfriendly. I am beginning to understand why Apple is so successful.

Categories: Commentary, RV Living | Leave a comment

Practically homeless

Posted on May 10, 2015 by Sparky

The Medford house, last day

We sold our house in Medford MA on Friday. Jett shed a tear as she locked the door for the last time. My eyes remained dry, but even I had to acknowledge the significance of the event: for the first time since 1978, I do not own a residence. We are now back in our RV. The plan is to stay in MA until October, then… we aren’t quite sure. But we will NOT be spending the winter in the north. We have lost all interest in shoveling snow.

Moving was more difficult than it should have been. Most of our few remaining pieces of furniture went to my son and Jett’s brother. But I was surprised that it took one 24-foot U-Haul truckload and two “Beverly Hillbillies” pickup truckloads to get the job done. Plus we have a small (5x5x8) storage unit filled chock full. For a house that felt empty, we sure had a lot of shit.

Then there was the little matter of my truck. “Big Red”, the GMC 3500 that had taken us to Florida, Oregon, California and Texas with nary a hiccup, threw a shoe a couple of weeks before the close. A bearing in the engine froze, causing the serpentine belt to snap, which in turn caused a catastrophic loss of control over steering and braking. Fortunately, this catastrophic failure occurred in our driveway, which is about the only place it could have happened without putting lives at risk. Very lucky. But the repairs were in excess of $1500.

Then, on Sunday, May 3 – five days before the closing and while I was hauling Patience to the Minuteman Campground, to prep it for the trade-in (yes, we have upgraded our rig – more on that later), the GMC threw another shoe. This time it was a brake line failure – another loss of braking, this time while towing a 14,000 lb fifth wheel. I managed to get the RV to the campground, but the truck was leaking fluid badly by the time I got there. I got some brake fluid at the nearby Citgo. The comment from the clerk: “This is your lucky day; this is our last can.” I didn’t feel lucky, though I have to admit to a modicum of relief at not killing anyone (including myself). With Jett following in the Yaris, I managed to gingerly get the GMC to the dealer’s lot – some 20 miles where I tried very hard to not use the brakes.

Cost of the second repair this month: $1,873. That is over $3,000 in truck repairs in one month. Plus I had to hire a guy to haul the Open Range down to Camping World in Berkley MA and pick up the new RV. Cost: $320.

I think I have sprung a leak in my wallet.

On the day before the closing, Jett discovered a screw in the right rear tire on the Yaris. So as she was doing the last-minute cleaning, I was with the Yaris down at the local service station, getting the tire repaired. That was only $20, but the cumulative effect was much larger. I really felt physically battered by all of the problems we had in these last two weeks.

But we got it done. We are out. We are, in practical terms, homeless.

Categories: Adventures, MA, Places, RV Living | Leave a comment