Travel Journal – January 11, 2016

[one_fifth][/one_fifth]Yesterday I enjoyed working on our Workhorse, polishing it up after all the rain we’ve had lately. At lunchtime I went inside the Coach to make my lunch and check my email. I see there is a new post from my old health insurance company, Health Net.

I’m having a heck of a time canceling the policy that I had for two years. As of January 1st I switched over to Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Montana. Health insurance is a difficult and long topic, especially for Full-Timers. This is due to all the traveling we do. I still have a doctor in California that I go to for my annual physical, but I also have one here in Mesa, Az. Occasionally I have gone to walk-ins here in Mesa and in Tennessee. Because of this I have chosen the Medicare Supplement Plan F. It’s basically a full coverage PPO, but lot’s more than an HMO, which isn’t available for what I do. If you’re interested in looking into Full-time health insurance further, Nina over at Wheeling It has done a lot of research and written several interesting blogs on the subject.

After two calls, a fax and a charge on my bank account, Health Net now says the fax wasn’t signed. Something I wasn’t told on the initial call.

I then spent over an hour trying to get my “two year old” hardly used, Epson printer to work. I needed to print the cancelation, sign it and then fax it back to Health Net. When I say hardly used, I have printed less than 150 pages. A lot, if not most of those were failed test pages. I had purchased a ream of paper when I bought the Epson and have about two thirds left. Oh, I did print about forty pictures also.

First I try replacing all the the ink cartridges just to make sure they are full and fresh. This alone is almost the cost of a printer today. Then in the printer settings, I select best quality. Finally I patiently print a copy which had faint green text. I wish I hadn’t purchased Epson, this was my second one. Both seem to have developed a printhead problem and would cost more to fix than to buy a new printer. This is sad to me, such a waste of material and expense. Next I order a Canon printer on sale from Amazon and now I wait for delivery tomorrow. Needless to say I will NEVER buy another Epson printer again.

Today the Woes Continue

Is it just because I am retired and getting older? It seems as though am I dealing with more things that need repair and more often. In the last week other than regular maintenance items; I had the plumbing leak, the printer problem and now this morning I wake to a reasonably warm bedroom, but I hear the forced air heater kick on, then off after only a few minutes never igniting.

My bedroom was kept warm by a small area heater, which is currently my electric one. I also have a Mr Buddy propane heater if I’m boondocking or dry camping. There it is again, heater on, no ignition, then off. I get up. The thermostat shows it’s 57 degrees in the living area and I have it set to come on at 60 degrees. The outside temperature is 34 degrees.

Jagger who is sleeping at the foot of my bed, looks up at me confused. I decide to get up even though it’s only 5:30 am and turn on the electric fireplace. I also turn up the temperature on my area heater in the bedroom and dress for snow 🙂 while Jagger continues to enjoy the warm bedroom.

The first thing I check after going into the living area is do I have propane? I turn on the stovetop, it ignites and continues to burn. That tells me my propane is not out. Bummer. I also test the gas side of the water heater. It works too. Last I go online to the Grand Design Owners site for some help. I see several other owners have had similar problems. My final check will be when I get ready for the day. I’ll go outside and switch over to my full propane tank to make sure there is no valve or filter  problems. I don’t think there is at this point. I haven’t had the burners on the Atwood heater cleaned yet, but I think it’s the igniter as I don’t hear it clicking at all.

Changes Coming

After completing the final check by switching my propane tanks over, I call the manufacturer, Atwood. Mark answers the phone at Customer Service. He proceeds to walk me through a reset of a “sail switch” that can get stuck. Since the access wall is still open from the plumbing problem, he walks me through climbing on my back into the basement. Hmm, I can’t see the reset switch that he was referring to and then he asks me if the heater is installed standing up. His comment, when I tell him that it standing up is “oh yeah I am familiar with the way Grand Design installs this one”. “It’s almost impossible to get to without taking something out.” I didn’t quite understand what he was saying, but the bottom line was, they will cover the cost of repair since my two year anniversary is not up until February 10th.  I hang up from my call with Mark and immediately call the RV Doctor, a mobile repairman who I have used before here in Mesa, Arizona. Hopefully he can get me back in business soon. In the meantime I will be fine with my back up plan.

Watching the Dogs Play

Playground

Park Walk

I have determined that all these repairs and expenses related are not going to wreck my day or week for that matter. So Jagger and I go for a much needed walk at our beautiful city sports park nearby. Fresh air (it’s up to 36 degrees now) good company and a beautiful day ahead. Jagger and I will be spending the afternoon with grandkids. What more could you ask for?

Until next time, Safe Travels…Gary