I wake to temperatures in the low 30’s which seems to be the norm for this time of year here in the Payson, Arizona. What was I thinking? Well, for one thing, I consider it an experiment for the future. As I have been exploring, I’m also watching for a place to hang my hat when I’m unable to travel Full-time anymore.

We Keep Moving

Jagger and I’ve made the move to our next camp. Who am I kidding? It’s more of a rural RV  park. We are staying here a full month, through the Christmas holidays to be close to our family. It’s a little cramped, but a very well maintained, friendly place just outside of Payson, Arizona. From here we can rest from summer exploration and have some needed maintenance done on the Coach and Workhorse. 

As “The Retired Vagabond” guide, I’m trying to be realistic including both the excitement of traveling “Full-time” and the reality of daily living. Part of that adventure is the ongoing maintenance required, especially when you rack up the miles, something for which I wasn’t fully prepared (my bad). Pulling the Coach down the road is rough on her, not to mention the Workhorse. I like to keep them in as good of shape as I’m able and can afford. 

Workhorse Update

While on our trip this Summer the Workhorse passed the 100,000-mile mark on the odometer. He was new when I picked him up in Oregon, with only 12 miles on the odometer. Thirty thousand of those miles has been pulling the Coach. One of the first things I did on my Arizona arrival was visit ADS, my go-to place for Workhorse maintenance. 

The first visit was to change the oil and fuel filters. They told me last January my front shocks were starting to show signs of wear and they again reminded me, but now the back ones also were in need of care. Since towing safely is my number one goal, my next visit was replacing all four shocks. I chose to upgrade them to something with a little more grit than the OEM parts. A little bit stiffer ride, but hardly noticeable.

Coach’s Turn

Last week I told of the Coach’s visit to “On The Road Again” RV services. I asked Brian to have his team investigate the following list of my concerns:

• Fixing the electric rear stabilizer. Yeah, I broke the shear pin (Roll Pin) again. My fault for pulling it up too tight. It does seem this piece is a little fragile. Hopefully, this is the last time for this repair. 

• I still have a water leak. Remember last May they replaced the kitchen grey tank. It developed a crack. After they opened the under heat barrier, it turns out a different problem, the valve for the same tank was now falling apart. The part is now waiting at their facility for my next visit.

• I asked them to replace the broken vent cover over the kitchen. Remember it got a hole in it due to the hailstorm we had in Wyoming

• Finally, I asked him to carefully inspect the rubber roof to ensure there was no hail damage. There was damage but they all remarked they have never seen anything like this? It figures I have to be the first 😦

I’m now waiting for Progressive Insurance to send out a Claims Adjuster to inspect the roof for replacement reimbursement, a $5,000 project.

That’s the update for now. Check back next week for the roof update and some reflections about this past Summer adventures.

Safe Travels…Gary and Jagger

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