Dean & Linda Stock
Well-known member
I want to thank all of you who gave us suggestions for our Fall trip along the Atlantic Coast. I will do a log if and when we get there. We have had "challenges".
First, our freezer door on our side-by-side Amana had a short in it. On July 23, Dean ordered a new door from the Whirlpool (WP) parts dealer ($339) because you can't just unscrew a faceplate--it's more like prying open a can--and, like Humpty Dumpty, it's almost impossible to put back together again. We were given 6 different delivery dates, and Dean finally got exasperated and gave up. He put the door back together. The features in the door don't function, which is a problem we can live with. We were supposed to leave on September 1, and the supplier kept giving us new delivery dates, each a week later than the previous. Dean has talked with WP numerous times, and we have filed a complaint with the CA Atty. Gen. I guess the next step is to consult a lawyer. WP has bought up the world--Maytag, Jenn-Air, Kitchen Aid, Amana, and a half-dozen others, and they are supposed to continue to supply parts. Isn't there a law about monopolies?
On the day before we left, our rear slide failed, necessitating a detour to the Airstream Factory in the village of Jackson Center, OH.
The first day traveling, the inverter failed! This means that we have to run the generator 24/7, making it impossible for us to use RV camps.
The second day traveling, the other rear slide froze--would not go in or out--and we had to drive the rest of the way to OH with it protruding a bit--truck drivers would drive by us and honk to let us know we had a problem.
We tried to make up time by traveling 500+ miles/day, arriving at the factory on Thurs. night, with an appointment at 7 AM Friday. They got right to work, but it took several hours. Interestingly, the rear slide that had frozen worked like a charm--no problem at all, but....for how long?
The inverter repairman (3 hours away in Indiana) said he would wait for us to come. Repairs at Airstream took longer than we hoped, and Dean rushed to get the car hooked up. Meanwhile, the trashman came with a tractor to pick up the trash bin near us. It made a loud clanking noise as he put it on the fork, following by a loud dinging as he backed up. Sherlock, our cat, shot under the dashboard and then inside it. Bad News--lots of wires up there. Good News--everything still works. Bad News--Despite Dean contorting every which way trying to reach the cat, he couldn't contact even one strand of fur. He coaxed; we rustled the bag of treats; Dean tried to scare him out by banging on the dash; all our efforts were to no avail. We had to just wait and call him. About 15 minutes later, he strolled out, but at this point we couldn't arrive at the inverter place until after 6:30 PM, so we called and postponed until Monday.
We had a great day today. We visited the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory in Fort Wayne, IN. It was an excellent attraction, and I learned a lot. Dean has gone to bed now, but I will try to post a couple of pictures and interesting things we learned. The AAA gem-rated Lincoln Museum has folded. We went to see the movie "Reds" (very good!) at the Bones Theatre in Columbia, IN, and had a great lunner at New China Restaurant, next to Wal-Mart. They served authentic Chinese food, and the portions were huge--mine will make 3 meals. For $7.70, dinners came with tea, soup, rice, cookie.
We will be going on to visit with relatives for about a week, and then I will start a log of the part of the Atlantic Coast trip we are able to take. We will have to skip a lot, including a Caribbean cruise that we have put $500 (non-refundable) into. We will keep the store of suggestions we received for another trip, probably next year. We hope the tide has turned. Today was our first good day--hopefully the first of many good days.
First, our freezer door on our side-by-side Amana had a short in it. On July 23, Dean ordered a new door from the Whirlpool (WP) parts dealer ($339) because you can't just unscrew a faceplate--it's more like prying open a can--and, like Humpty Dumpty, it's almost impossible to put back together again. We were given 6 different delivery dates, and Dean finally got exasperated and gave up. He put the door back together. The features in the door don't function, which is a problem we can live with. We were supposed to leave on September 1, and the supplier kept giving us new delivery dates, each a week later than the previous. Dean has talked with WP numerous times, and we have filed a complaint with the CA Atty. Gen. I guess the next step is to consult a lawyer. WP has bought up the world--Maytag, Jenn-Air, Kitchen Aid, Amana, and a half-dozen others, and they are supposed to continue to supply parts. Isn't there a law about monopolies?
On the day before we left, our rear slide failed, necessitating a detour to the Airstream Factory in the village of Jackson Center, OH.
The first day traveling, the inverter failed! This means that we have to run the generator 24/7, making it impossible for us to use RV camps.
The second day traveling, the other rear slide froze--would not go in or out--and we had to drive the rest of the way to OH with it protruding a bit--truck drivers would drive by us and honk to let us know we had a problem.
We tried to make up time by traveling 500+ miles/day, arriving at the factory on Thurs. night, with an appointment at 7 AM Friday. They got right to work, but it took several hours. Interestingly, the rear slide that had frozen worked like a charm--no problem at all, but....for how long?
The inverter repairman (3 hours away in Indiana) said he would wait for us to come. Repairs at Airstream took longer than we hoped, and Dean rushed to get the car hooked up. Meanwhile, the trashman came with a tractor to pick up the trash bin near us. It made a loud clanking noise as he put it on the fork, following by a loud dinging as he backed up. Sherlock, our cat, shot under the dashboard and then inside it. Bad News--lots of wires up there. Good News--everything still works. Bad News--Despite Dean contorting every which way trying to reach the cat, he couldn't contact even one strand of fur. He coaxed; we rustled the bag of treats; Dean tried to scare him out by banging on the dash; all our efforts were to no avail. We had to just wait and call him. About 15 minutes later, he strolled out, but at this point we couldn't arrive at the inverter place until after 6:30 PM, so we called and postponed until Monday.
We had a great day today. We visited the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory in Fort Wayne, IN. It was an excellent attraction, and I learned a lot. Dean has gone to bed now, but I will try to post a couple of pictures and interesting things we learned. The AAA gem-rated Lincoln Museum has folded. We went to see the movie "Reds" (very good!) at the Bones Theatre in Columbia, IN, and had a great lunner at New China Restaurant, next to Wal-Mart. They served authentic Chinese food, and the portions were huge--mine will make 3 meals. For $7.70, dinners came with tea, soup, rice, cookie.
We will be going on to visit with relatives for about a week, and then I will start a log of the part of the Atlantic Coast trip we are able to take. We will have to skip a lot, including a Caribbean cruise that we have put $500 (non-refundable) into. We will keep the store of suggestions we received for another trip, probably next year. We hope the tide has turned. Today was our first good day--hopefully the first of many good days.