Tuesday, September 11, 2018

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Good - One of the advantages of having the R-Pod is being able to get in smaller sites at some of the federal and state campgrounds. I used USCAmpgrounds.info to find a couple of dry camping areas in north central Nevada. Pine Creek was my first stop. It was one of the most isolated places I have stayed and involved ~20 miles of dusty, dirt roads to access. It was worth it when I found a shaded site beside a babbling brook with no one else around.

The Bad - I had just finished setting up and went to hook-up my generator when I realized I did not have the right adapter for the electrical outlet on the RV. No problem, I would be fine with the 12 volt battery. Problem, right before dark, I lost battery power. It turns out that some strange things happen to a R-Pod without electricity. The refrigerator quits working, you have no heat because the fan will not run and the carbon monoxide & propane gas monitor starts beeping (I cut the wires in order to get some sleep). My next concern was how am I going to get the slide in. I dreaded the thought of trying to figure out how to do it manually. Fortunately, I had a portable charger that supplied enough power to the battery that I was able to get it in the next morning. 

I was on my way back to Vegas when I came across a NAPA store out in the middle of nowhere. The owner quickly discovered that my truck was not charging the battery and the culprit was a bad fuse in the engine compartment which he was able to replace. I was so pleased I wanted to give him all the business I could so I bought new wiper blades and an adapter for my generator cable. The total cost was $36. Clearly, clean living paid off once again.

The Ugly - Now that I felt I could continue my road trip, I headed to the Big Creek Campground outside Austin, NV. It was after I finished setting up and opened the door to the bathroom that I saw this...


The cabinet above the sink had fallen off the wall. The mirror was not broken so I may be able to re-attach it using those plastic expansion anchors. First, I am going to try and find a RV dealer to get their thoughts. All in all, it has been a mixture of fun and frustration. C'est la vie.

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