By Monique & Barry Zander, the Never-Bored RVers
Like so many of you, now that spring has arrived we’re back on the road, shaking off many days of confinement at home. Except for taking forever to line up the hitch ball with the receiver, it has been a welcomed change of pace.
We have returned to Coronado Island by San Diego just in time to see the roads and streets lined with freshly opened, vividly-hued flowers. But this edition of the Never Bored RVers blog is not about travel or roadside beauty. It’s about one of the most appreciated elements of RVing – Our community on the road
Two months ago we bought a cabin in a small community, where there is said to be one volunteer organization for every 43 residents. Seems like everybody’s involved in at least one club or charitable group. We’ve never seen anything like it … but, wait! Isn’t that similar to what we love about our lives on the road?
Monique and I have been full-timers for four-and-a-half years. Before we ever departed for our first stop at Sequoia National Park, we did a “shake-down” cruise to a son’s high desert property in California. Boy, were we raw! With only a 45-minute walk-through at the RV dealership, we knew practically nothing. Example: we didn’t remember what our docent said about filling the fresh water tank. It was from the satellite dish installer guy who looked at us like we were probably taking on something that we weren’t ready for that we learned where to put the hose.
RVers HELPING RVers
Since then, we have crammed our heads with what seems to be “Everything There Is to Know About RVing.” But that’s not really true, because we have come to realize that no one knows it all.
Leonard and Davie had traveled for seven years in their aging 25-foot travel trailer. Delightful folks, not too curious about what they didn’t know about RV travel. One night as we were sitting around a campfire at Smoky Mountain National Park, Davie mentioned that they didn’t use their refrigerator – never had – because most of the time it didn’t work.
That night after they left, Monique asked me, “Do you think the refrigerator doesn’t work because the trailer isn’t level?” Next morning I walked over and realized that after they unhitched, they left the front of the trailer high, not lowering it to level it. I turned the crank about four turns, and, Voila! the frige kicked on.
In Death Valley last November, we weren’t getting a charge from our solar panel. I checked out the wiring, the fuse and the batteries, all to no avail. Before giving up, I walked over to the motorhome down the line with several solar panels, all designed to move with the sun. I figured, “This guy must know something.”
Paul, right, and Rod were happy to help make staying in Death Valley more comfortable
Rod and his neighbor Paul walked over and proceeded to go through the same steps I had taken of checking the lines from roof-top panel to batteries. I was ready to throw in the towel and stop at an RV repair shop on the way to our next campground, but Rod wouldn’t quit. He took the cover off of the solar regulator installed with the solar panel and immediately realized there was a wire that had come loose. Five minutes later, we were back in business.
I can’t finish this blog without mentioning Jim, one of our companions on our caravan trip to Alaska last summer. The first time I realized Jim knew a lot about mechanics was when we stopped to help him change a flat tire on his toad along a narrow road in British Columbia. I wasn’t much help, although I was willing. Jim had it under control from beginning to end.
Three times during the trip he put in hours helping our fellow travelers with mechanical problems. He never expected payment for his services. At one stop in Alaska, the man parked next to us – not in our group — asked me if I had a brake tool set, which I didn’t, but I suggested that when Jim returned, he might have the tools the neighbor needed. He did ask Jim, and Jim spent about three hours working on the problem until it was fixed. That, my friends, is helpfulness above and beyond.
YOUR TURN TO GET INVOLVED
Readers of these blogs would love to hear your tales of helping and being helped. Many of these stories, if not heroic, are reminders to us all that we are a community of people who take care of each other.
All the Adventurers on our Alaska caravan pitched in after an arduous trek on the Top of the World Highway to clean the mud off their fellow travelers' rigs
Here’s my request. If you have a short note about how you were helped, how you helped another or if it’s about someone else helping another, tell us the story in the comments section below.
If it deserved more than a few sentences, I invite you to email it to us at [email protected]. I will use it in a later blog and maybe even in a future magazine article.
I would especially like your stories about how you were helped when you were just starting out in your RV. Many beginner RVers are afraid to ask for help, not realizing that most of us are eager to be of assistance (and to show off what we know and the tools we carry with us). I think this will be a good way to make newbies comfortable asking for help. We all learned and continue to learn from others.
From the “Never-Bored RVers,” We’ll see you on down the road.
© All photos by Barry and Monique Zander. All rights reserved
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We learned the hard way too about leaving the awning out when the wind is up. We were in the Sugar Barge RV park on the California Delta and had left the awning out all night and there was quite a bit of wind that night. It wasn’t so much that it blew over or anything – but instead it bent the supports so bad that they bound and we couldn’t get the dang thing down the next day to save our life. After our neighbor saw us struggling with it for a while in the morning he came over to help. After 30 minutes of wrestling with it we still couldn’t get it and we eventually had a group of 5 guys working on it for about an hour before they finally got it un-stuck. We were still late getting home, but without their help we’d probably still be there. The RV crowd has got to be one of the most helpful one’s out there.
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These stories are great. We were camped in Utah on BLM land it was hot . The wind died down and we decided to put out our awning, just after we got settled back in the r.V. a big gust of wind blew our awning over the roof of the trailer we ran out side to see what damage had been done then we saw a car coming our way and a fellow camper helped us get the awning under control. The only damage was to the awning and the roof of our slideout. Hurray for good Samaritons on the road.
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We hear so many bad stories about truckers but last week while driving west on I-40 between Flagstaff and Williams, AZ we blew a tire and thanks to the truck driver who passed giving us 3 short horn beeps we were alerted that something was wrong. We pulled over and saw the rear left tire in shreds. Thankfully there was no other damage. We got the tire changed and were on our way.
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First time I backed our 31 class C in park w/ lots trees, my wife was trying her best. A fellow RV came over & nicely told her to sit down & he get me backed in w.o. hitting a Tree! I’ve been helped & helped many even w/ those “small things”
BOTTOM LINE : If you want to be part of the TRUE America, the way it should bewas; get an RV & go RVing. That is where you will meet & enjoy the “real Americans ( Canada to)” not this ______ now going on today in our country…
as always TX Brad
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Try this aid for hitching up to your tailer. Place a single mark bout 1/2 in wide centerline of vehicle on your back window. Place two marks centerline of trailer on the front of trailer. These two marks should be one on each side of trailer hitch. Make sure that you can see all three marks in your rearview mirror. The tops of the lines should be of equal height even at the top. Now, when you back up line up the single line on your truck window with the two lines on the trailer keeping the single line centered between the double lines. You will be directed to a smooth hookup.
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We bought our first MH in 2009, a class A. My husband wasn’t with me when I had the 2 hour walk thru. We traveled about 6 weeks after getting it and I gradually remembered how to do things except put out the awning.
We were at a Navy sub base in Georgia and were near the office and across from the park managers. He saw us trying to put up the awning and came over to help coach us. My husband had already told him we were newby’s. Less than one hour after we raised the awning, he was back helping me bring it in because of another storm. He said that two days before, he had seen 5 trailers and MHs loose their awnings due to high winds.
Each campground whether I am alone or we are together, if someone sees we are having problems, they come over to help or I have called the office with an SOS. I also look in people’s storage areas or where the water or electric is located to see how they have things set up to make life easier. Because of this, I now have a small tool chest in the water area with gloves, wet ones, pliers and anything else that might be needed. In the electric area I have anothe small tool kit with paper towels. It was something I saw others had done to be organized. I also have papertowels and old vinyl floor mats or door mats in the storage area by the front door. I also have flashlights in the tool kits, front storage and inside the door. I try to keep them whereever I think we might need them as well as keeping batteries in small rubber tool kits with extra flashlights and headlights. We have done the same in our stix and brick house in case of power outages due to weather.
Yvonne
I just got a hitch put on my Honda wagon. I’m looking to buy a Chalet or Aliner. I’m a single women who will be traveling alone. I’m so thankful that I will be less stressed if I run into highway trouble knowing that other RVer’s will see my distress. And that if I ask, RVers will also help in camping areas. Thanks and happy trails.
Metta
Thanks so much for you and those folks who commented on this issue of helping others. I am just waking up for the first time in an RV park- Ocala RV Resort, in Florida and am feeling more rested than I have for a long time. I just began my RV’ing adventure – bought my 2000 Bounder 39Z a month ago, have never RV’d before, and now I am a fulltimer heading out alone with my sweet chihuahua Molly. Just trying to hook up my toad, putting the brake buddy in was a challenge – but just at that moment another RV’r came over to me in the storage facility parking lot and asked if I needed a hand. It was 7am, he was on his way to a job somewhere, yet he willingly lent a hand and some education while doing it. So greatful to him….I didn’t even catch his name, sorry. When I arrived at the campground in Ocala I was met by 2 wonderful workampers who made me feel right at home. Donna and Russ, thank you. Russ answered many questions for me and although I felt so ignorant having to ask them he put me at ease right away telling me he was the same way when he started out. Still have a million questions but feel confident that I’ll always find helpful RV’rs along the way! Thanks for this blog!
butterbean carpenter
Howdy Barry,
As you know I ain’t much use for nothing, except the driving of our motorhome..
The very first time Joyce had to dump the tanks the ‘old’ hose split… Luckily
she had pulled the wrong handle and it was just slightly used gray water.. A
couple of really nice men jumped in’ and did the ‘dirty’ work for her… It may have
been the white hair or the fact hat my electric wheel-chair was on the back end
in the hitch hole, but we’ve never had to ask anyone to help us: they just do it..
RVrs are some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet…
Smooth roads & balmy breezes !!!!!!!!!!
Ron Hill
Traveling across New Mexico on I-40 in the ever present wind, we stopped at a rest stop for a doggie potty stop and when I opened the door, the wind grabbed the door and slammed it against the side mirror support and shattered the safety glass window. I was trying to tape the window with 1/2 inch masking tape to hold the window together when a good samaritan next to us provided me with a roll of 1 1/2 inch blue tape to use instead of the masking tape. “Here” he said, “this will work much better, Keep the whole roll.” He drove off before I could pay him or properly thank him, but I will always remember his kind assistance and will do every thing I can to help fellow travelers in need. PAY IT FORWARD!!
Dennis Foxworthy
Last summer on my way to a favorite Utah trout lake, I stopped at the Zion Harley shop. They were closed, go figure, but on my way back to my rig, i noticed an older lady who seemed quite upset, pacing around her RV. I asked if there was a problem, and she told me her husband was inside with some unusual illness. I was an Army medic for over 30 years, so i asked if i could see him. after some basic examinations, and a few pertinent questions, my fear was that he was in the middle of a heart attack. As gently as I know how i persuaded this elderly Canadian couple that more sophisticated help was needed. They were reluctant due to financial concerns, but I was adamant. After a few minutes i would not take no for an answer and dialed 911 on my cell phone. When the paramedics arrived, they reached the same conclusion, started an IV and rushed him to the hospital in St. George. A few hours later I called to inquire about his condition, and I am happy to report that he was indeed having a heart attack, and the quick work of the St. George Fire department had saved his life. Being a part of a community like Rvers makes me proud to be an American, and even more, proud to know that we can still be neighbors, and friends, even to complete strangers.
Rod Payne
Hey Barry ‘n Monique,
Thanks for the credit provided by you for the help that we, (Paul & I), were to you guys. You have it correct, helping out wherever we can, is what the RV Community is all about. Nice to have been able to help you two. Keep n “smilin”!
Rod P.
Dan
Left antenna up on our motor home and drove through downtown area before it was pointed out to us. Suggestion given to us, leave keys hanging on antenna crank as reminder to lower it. Two days later enjoyed the company of a young couple who had borrowed Dad’s motor home for first time out. Saw them driving away with antenna up! Deja vu! Stopped the wife in following car who called hubby on cell phone. Screech of brakes and soon the antenna could be seen lowering to the roof. Shared the same bit of advise we had received just two days ealier. Bet that is another couple that stores their coach keys on the antenna crank…..
Larry Koch
An angel named Jim
We were on our way from Modesto, California, to Grand Canyon towing our (new to us) 24-foot travel trailer. I glanced out the side view mirror just in time to see a cloud of white smoke coming from the trailer wheel well. I pulled off to the shoulder of I-40 and got out in the 98 degree heat to survey the damage. The left rear tire on the trailer had exploded and there were steel belts hanging off the tread. Because I had caught the tire just as it was exploding I was able to get off the road before any damage was done to the trailer.
I had my wife and the dog get into the trailer with me while I called for road service. Just as the road service woman answered there was a knock at the door and without thinking, I opened the door. There stood a man who introduced himself as Jim and asked if I needed help changing the tire. I told road service I would call them back and went outside to see what Jim and I could do.
The first problem was the jack. It would not sit up straight on the part of the road bed I was on. Jim suggested we pile up the leveling boards I had and drive the good tire up on the boards. That worked well and gave us access to the shredded tire.
Then Jim asked where the lug wrench was. I realized I had not gotten one for this trailer when I bought it recently. Again, Jim to the rescue. He asked where the lug wrench for the truck tires was. I was doubtful it would fit but it did.
Jim proceeded to change the tire, put the shredded tire on the spare tire rack, cleaned up and got everything put back in its place. I have to admit I wasn’t much help in the face of this man’s competence. I offered to pay him but he said that he likes to help people who are stranded and wouldn’t take any money. I went into the trailer to get something to write his name on so I could send him a thank-you but when I came back out he was just pulling out onto the freeway.
I often think of Jim. I would love to meet him again and thank him. He saved us from a long wait in the 98 degree heat on the side of I-40. He could have been someone with evil intentions knocking at our door but he turned out to be an angel in disguise.
Larry and Cheryl Koch
Oakdale, California