Photo: Diana Leblanc
OK guys, I know some of you will think I am a little crazy, but I just bought a new RV. No, not a brand new RV. It’s a 2012 Winnebago View, but it’s new to me. After all, I am RV Nana, I would never buy new. There are too many great buys in the used market. I have loved my 2008 Roadtrek (RV NANA 2) and was not really in the market to upgrade. One day I was out on the sales lot appraising a 5th wheel as I opened the back blinds to get a little light in the RV, this View sitting there in our detail area. It was love at first sight.
I had recently gone to an RV event with my daughter and sister and the Roadtrek was just too small. We actually rented a cabin and an RV site for the 5 days to have enough room for the three of us. What’s wrong with this picture? I have loved the Roadtrek but I knew it was something for short trips and I am hoping to travel a little more this year.
The View has two slides and enough headroom to stand up and even take a shower in it. I felt like I was cheating on the Roadtrek by even looking at another RV. I guess this tells you how crazy RV Nana really is.
I was excited to make the purchase but decided to wait a couple of months to sell the Roadtrek. Now, I own two RVs. Again, what’s wrong with this picture? I had the complete demo and I was so excited. I got it home and had 24 hours of exciting, frustrating, tearful, anxious hell. A dear friend, who is also an amazing mechanic, helped me juggle all the cars home so I could start the exchange of “stuff” from one RV to the other. I had just had a brand new 30 amp outlet installed by the garage and I was eager to turn everything on and make the big move. I plugged it in and heard a loud pop. There was no electric in the RV. I immediately called the electrician and made plans for him to come out the next morning. I backed the Roadtrek in next to the View and began the transfer. Being a bit of a slow learner, I plugged the Roadtrek into the same outlet and, surprisingly, it worked great. I was puzzled. It had all worked fine at the dealership. What was I doing wrong?
Photo: Diana Leblanc
The View has a generator, but I was afraid to turn it on because none of my neighbors were in town and I was afraid of what might go wrong. I waited until m my mechanic friend came over the next morning. He was also shocked by the outlet and could not determine why I had no electricity. We started the generator and, within seconds, I smelled smoke. OMG. I was suddenly thinking I had made a huge mistake. I grabbed the fire extinguisher, he started tearing into the cabinet and we discovered that the inverter had “fried”. Not sure how or why, but it was history. All I can say now is “thank heavens for service agreements”. I am always preaching the importance of purchasing a service agreement and, of course, I had purchased one myself. There was no rhyme or reason to how or why it went out, but I am so thankful it happened in my driveway. Now, it has been replaced, I only paid $200 deductible and I am preparing g for my first adventure in the new RV NANA 2.
One small obstacle and I am now ready to start my next chapter.
See you on the road soon.