First trip off to a bad start.

[Fl-diamond8312]

Originally Posted by TheSasks

Sorry to hear of your troubles. As to your remote, there is a button labeled genesis or ZX800 or GT-3.0 beside the volume buttons on the remote. Try pushing that button, then any of the others on the remote.

Thanks that worked perfect! I've been missing some simple things after all these problems.

[rattleNsmoke]

Wow, Diamond. You def had that black cloud over you that day. Pickup a copy of Robin Williams in "RV", crack a cold beverage and have a good laugh. It'll make you feel a lot better.

[Herk7769]

Lucy Arnez (I love Lucy fame) in "the long trailer" is also a classic.
Available on Netflix (streaming or DVD).

Desi tows a HUGE camper with his Caddy sedan convertible.

[Fl-diamond8312]

Next on the list is our Disney park tickets didn't work. But they made good by giving us a unlimited fast pass and we need it today.

[B47]

Originally Posted by Fl-diamond8312

Our thermostat is on the inside of the fridge by the freezer.

We may have a different model outdoor refrig as ours doesn't have a freezer section. I don't have our model number here at the moment, but it is simply one that is suitable for use in dorms and offices.

[Fl-diamond8312]

Ok I really hope this is the last if the bad news. On our last day of camping, our vet called and said our dog of 14 years passed away while boarding. I'm not sure how much more my family can take. We are waiting to tell the kids until we get home. I'm a firefighter and see bad stuff everyday but its so hard to see your kids upset. Thanks for all the comments and tips.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Fl-diamond8312

Ok I really hope this is the last if the bad news. On our last day of camping, our vet called and said our dog of 14 years passed away while boarding. I'm not sure how much more my family can take. We are waiting to tell the kids until we get home. I'm a firefighter and see bad stuff everyday but its so hard to see your kids upset. Thanks for all the comments and tips.

we just went through almost the same thing!
i'm a firefighter, also and we were planning to leave our 14 year-old golden, with a sitter, to go to Washington State for Christmas.
at the last minute our sitter cancelled, so we took her with us.
sadly, 5 days into the trip, she got very sick and there was nothing we could do. we had to put her to sleep while on our trip and came home without her.

we do feel fortunate that we were with her to the last, instead of far away.
it was and still is devastating for us. our home is very empty and the silence is deafening.

sorry, Brother, that you've gone through all this on what's supposed to be a happy time. i know what you mean about seeing worse but this hits too close to home. our prayers are with you and your family.

[Triguy]

Dan,
I'm really sorry to hear that about Zoe.

[dwaynerz]

Desi tows a HUGE camper with his Caddy sedan convertible

i believe he used a mercury, 1953 it looks like to me.

[speedcat]

Very sorry to hear of your bad fortune. The material things we can fix and laugh about later. The passing of a beloved pet is difficult, especially with the young ones..

I have also had the same experience with the outside fridge. Nothing like a cold one hitting the ground and/or your shoeless foot!! I use good ole reliable duct tape!! Works like a charm, except for sticky residue left behind. I have a new unit on order (36qbok) with an outside kitchen. Anyone know if the fridge in that unit has a secure strap or where the temp gauge is?

We also usually put cold drinks in a cooler and load the outside fridge when we get to our destination, especially during the summer months.

Hope your future trips are less eventful.

[trudinator]

Originally Posted by Fl-diamond8312

Ok I really hope this is the last if the bad news. On our last day of camping, our vet called and said our dog of 14 years passed away while boarding. I'm not sure how much more my family can take. We are waiting to tell the kids until we get home. I'm a firefighter and see bad stuff everyday but its so hard to see your kids upset. Thanks for all the comments and tips.

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. You have my deepest condolences. When you've had them that long they're a member of the family. Life has a way of sneaking up on you and smacking you right in the middle of the forehead when you're away from home. Good luck with telling your kids.

And to solve the refrigerator problem - get yourself some refrigerator bars from Camping World or a cheap telescoping curtain rod from Wal Mart. They work wonders to keep your stuff in place.

[asquared]

Originally Posted by trudinator

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. You have my deepest condolences. When you've had them that long they're a member of the family. Life has a way of sneaking up on you and smacking you right in the middle of the forehead when you're away from home. Good luck with telling your kids.

And to solve the refrigerator problem - get yourself some refrigerator bars from Camping World or a cheap telescoping curtain rod from Wal Mart. They work wonders to keep your stuff in place.

X2 on the cheap curtain rods. I use them in my medicine cabinet and they work wonders.


The loss of a pet is always difficult, even more so when you are away. I lost a cat the day before I flew home from spending a whole summer away. I still miss her and feel bad about it over a decade later. I am nervous about boarding my older senile dog when we go to disney in August but I'm hoping for the best.

The other stuff you really will laugh about someday. You won't now but I promise you it does eventually get funny to you. Also these are the trips that create memories. In the first few trips out in our TT i think we tried really hard to destroy it. We spent our first trip in feb cold with no hot water because we couldn't figure out how to dewinterize things or turn the knobs properly on the water heater.

On the second trip we had someone from a neighboring campsite offer to help us out. As they get everything flipped and the hot water heater is filling, dh and I decide we need to know its filling but didn't know how to check. So we get a really bright idea and before the neighbor can stop us, dh is loosening the drain cap to the hot water heater. Yup, some tuff trickled out so he tried to tighten it and couldn't. So he takes it off. The thing shoots across the campsite, the water soaks dh and sends chairs flying. Oh did I mention the city water was still filling it. The neighbor sprinted to turn it off. The best part was I then had to convince his wife that this was my DH's idea and not her dh's idea.

Next mishap, I decide to switch from drop ins for the black tank to a version of the geo method that involves occasionally using bleach. This is 10pm at night in a storage lot in the middle of nowhere 30 min from home. No water or electric hook ups at all. I carefully dumped in my tide detergent, calgon water softener and bleach. Then a fine mist like gas comes up from the toilet. The drop ins did not list formaldehyde as an ingredient but I was still worried that it could be a chlorine gas. I freak out, leave the TT windows open and run home to get dh. We are supposed to be leaving on a trip first thing in the morning. We decide to dilute it down. I load all kinds of buckets of water (include a big muck tub) and stick them in the back of my armada. I very impatiently drove slowly and carefully back to the trailer. Dilute it down and decide to check it again in the morning. In the am no gas, we drive to the campground dump the tank. All is well just stressed out.

Next trip was a 3hr ride to myrtle beach in the nc summer heat. Dh hooked the battery up the night before to get the fridge cold. Come out next day and its not cold. Not even working. Mutter a few cuss words and then decide to leave food packed in cooler til we get there and run it off of electric. Start the trip. Almost miss a turn, make the turn a lot faster and sharper than we wanted but survive the turn. Get to our destination. Go into the TT and our drink cabinet came open with the sharp turn spilling our entire liquor cabinet onto the floor from the top shelf. Several bottles broke leaving broken glass and sticky alcohol everywhere. Great. Go buy a mop since I had pulled the usual one out and forgotten to put it back. $5 and super cheap mop later I'm struggling to clean the mess up. While dh is setting things up. Find out the fridge doesn't work on electric either. Oh and the ac is out, most of the outlets aren't working and neither is the fridge. Some outlets did work. Great. It's 96 degrees and humid and no ac. It is almost 5pm on a Friday. We call the local camping world who can't get a tech out til mon. Post a desperate post to rv.net forums and get an answer quickly. Yup you guessed it, dh hooked the battery up backwards. This blew some fuses but luckily not the converter. Spent the entire day the next day looking for fuses. Everyone was out. Camping world called everywhere for us as well. In the end we gave up and tried an autozone out of desperation. They had it! Fixed the fuses. Trailer now operational and first 2 days of the trip ruined. Had a good stiff drink with what we old salvage of the liquor and all was good again. After that we only disconnect 1 side of the battery unless trickle charging in the winter.

My point is you will have many things go wrong. Eventually you will learn to laugh at them and yourself. You will learn from each one and chalk it up to experience gained. You won't ever repeat the same mistake twice. You have also had your share of bad luck on this trip. That happens too. We've been there done that and it is really hard to salvage those kind of trips but if you can make lemonade out of lemons, then you can make this work too. I hope you are finished with your bad luck and have gotten it all out of the way so that future trips go better.

[Fl-diamond8312]

Originally Posted by bikendan

we just went through almost the same thing!
i'm a firefighter, also and we were planning to leave our 14 year-old golden, with a sitter, to go to Washington State for Christmas.
at the last minute our sitter cancelled, so we took her with us.
sadly, 5 days into the trip, she got very sick and there was nothing we could do. we had to put her to sleep while on our trip and came home without her.

we do feel fortunate that we were with her to the last, instead of far away.
it was and still is devastating for us. our home is very empty and the silence is deafening.

sorry, Brother, that you've gone through all this on what's supposed to be a happy time. i know what you mean about seeing worse but this hits too close to home. our prayers are with you and your family.

Thanks brother!

[Herk7769]

Our deepest condolences on your loss. Having your beloved pet pass while you are traveling makes your loss so much worse.

Laura and I feel your grief. Bella is our 4th dog in 40 years of marriage.
Our home has never been without one for more than a year in all that time.
Losing a friend is never easy. We have found the best way to assuage that grief is another new friend as soon as your sadness makes it possible.

With time, a puppy will help your family cope.
Herk

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Triguy

Dan,
I'm really sorry to hear that about Zoe.

thanx, man, appreciate it.

[Jtant]

The loss of a pet is a true tragedy. The other stuff is just stuff but pets are family. Sorry JT

[MillerTime]

Fl-diamond, man....I feel so bad for y'all , you need a beer for sure. Best of luck on the rest of the trip!!!

[FloridaPhil]

Well glad to hear you made it to Disney! I hope the rest of your trip goes well!

On the sliding pantry shelves - GREAT IDEA!

[Fl-diamond8312]

Originally Posted by herk7769

Our deepest condolences on your loss. Having your beloved pet pass while you are traveling makes your loss so much worse.

Laura and I feel your grief. Bella is our 4th dog in 40 years of marriage.
Our home has never been without one for more than a year in all that time.
Losing a friend is never easy. We have found the best way to assuage that grief is another new friend as soon as your sadness makes it possible.

With time, a puppy will help your family cope.
Herk

Thank you.

[mm29]

It can only get better,stay positive