It’s Always Something

If you remember the Roseanne Roseannadanna character the late Gilda Radner played on Saturday Night Live back when it was worth watching, you will recognize the phrase “It’s Always Something!”  When you decide to live and travel in an RV full-time, you just have to embrace that it will always be something and you are going to need to deal with it.  

We departed Oregon and headed east toward Idaho on a clear September day.  Along the two-lane highway we were traveling at about 60mph when I noticed in the side mirror that the rear passenger side slide had come out about 6 inches.  We pulled into a rest stop and were able to coax the hydraulic slide back in and cut a board to place on the inside of the slide as a manual lock to keep it in place. 

Rest stop repair generator provides power for tools

Well we needed routine service on the generator and AquaHot systems anyway, so I found a place in Idaho Falls, Idaho that could get us in a couple days.  In the mean time, I did some research online and contacted friends who had experienced this slide issue before.  The most common cause was a leaking hydraulic solenoid.  I checked everywhere I know to check and found no leaks or low fluid levels.   Further research revealed a note from HWH Corp. the maker of the hydraulic slide mechanism that instructs owners to hold the slide switch for 3-5 seconds after the slide is fully retracted or fully extended to ensure it is properly locked in place. This note was not in our owner’s manual, but we tried it anyway.  The next leg of our trip toward Idaho Fall was filled with curves, bumps and hills. The slide stayed in nice and tight. We concluded that this new technique worked and is now part of our checklist.  

In Idaho Falls, we set up adjacent to the “Eagle Rock RV” repair shop where they had a 50 amp plug to provide us power.  That evening we had a nice dinner downtown and walked along the river park enjoying the manmade waterfalls.  The town founders exhibited great vision in community planning and have made this a very welcoming place to live and visit.

The next morning, the Eagle Rock technicians got to work on the AquaHot and Generator and I was able to talk with the owner.  He is a retired Navy Chief and runs his business like a well-run ship.  Since we did not need them to work on the slide issue, I asked them to help track down and fix an electrical issue I had with the wiring going to the TOAD (out Jeep we tow).  This took quite a bit of time, but they stuck with it and found where a wire was grounding out causing a fuse to blow.

We left that evening and went a few miles to a city park and camped there before heading south to Utah.

Thanks for keepingupwiththejonesrv!