Summer Visits and Motorhome Rants

For those of you who have been following our blog, you know that we left Arizona back in June and I haven’t written one damn work since then.  I just know you’ve been waiting on pins and needles to find out what we’ve been up to, so time to fill you in!

First, kudos to all you bloggers out there who stick with it.  One of the reasons I haven’t put pen to paper since we left Arizona is just lack of motivation.  At some point you just feel that it’s not worth the effort.  And as I’ve said before – as the excitement of doing something new wanes into the normal day to day, it doesn’t seem interesting to write about.  But after visiting some of you in the last few months, I’ve been told I need to get my butt in gear and write some words, so it’s because of you that the blog continues. And thanks for those comments – they are much appreciated!

Even though we did visit some fun places in the last couple months, I’m not going to write about those in this post.  This is a catch-up on motorhome life, and it starts with the battle between downsizing and having more!

When I started this blog over a year ago, I wrote about selling our Bellingham home as well as much of our belongings, and how downsizing felt like the next stage of our life.  We moved from a fairly large home to roughly 350 square feet in our 35 foot motorhome.  We are still happy with that decision, but in the last year of living on the road (except for 6 weeks in AZ), we’ve also met others enjoying our lifestyle … in just a little more space.  And that of course gave us reason to think, “Why not us”?  Last winter we were parked next to a couple in Texas who gave us a tour of their Moho which is only 6 feet longer than ours, but gives you a second bathroom and a much larger cooking area.  It also includes several upgrades like a heated floor, much more storage, and more of an all-weather system that prevents plumbing from freezing in cold temps – something we never thought about until last winter.  We absolutely loved the floor plan and actually set out on trading up back in Feb, but the price difference was too much and we gave up.  Then in June, we attended the 50th anniversary Tiffin Rally in Rock Springs, WY, where owners of Tiffin motorhomes congregated from all over the country for seminars and fellowship.  In addition, and unbeknownst to us prior to this event, Tiffin was also trying to sell new coaches!  So on day two in an attempt to escape the freezing weather (yes, it freezes in June in Rock Springs, WY), we thought we’d tour some of the new coaches.  And as they had the same model that we looked at upgrading to in Feb, we did the walk-through.  And met a couple great sales people.  And … you can figure out the rest!

You don’t know the rest though – so keep reading!  We thought we were upgrading, but there were some fixes on the new machine that needed to be made before the trade-in.  Assuming fixes wouldn’t be an issue, we canceled the east coast trip we had planned and prepared for our new two-bathroom rig which we’d pick up in Montana in a few weeks.  But it turns out even worse problems were found and that deal fell through.  The dealer had another similar model though.  “Yes!”, we said, “We’re still in”.  But alas, “No” said the motorhome gods.  After we paid for an inspection of Moho #2, we discovered too many issues to shell out more cash in any semblance of responsibility or even hope that it wouldn’t be a pile of s***, I mean, future problems.  This is really a shame, but unfortunately the truth across the industry right now is that the manufacturers are slapping these houses together with no attention to quality, rushing them out, then assuming the buyers will head straight to the factory to camp out for weeks while the things that should have originally been done are completed.  We strongly disagree with this business model and Tiffin lost a customer with the traveling Posels!  The whole ordeal cost us a trip to the East Coast and a pretty good chunk of cash to boot, but in the end turned out to be a lesson in loving what we have.  We’ve learned that with our newer motorhome, we’re actually very lucky to have had very few problems thus far.  So for now, we’re listening to those not so silent cosmic voices that have told us we don’t need anything bigger.  Even if I have to ‘hold it’ while Tami’s got the bathroom!

Most of our time this trip was spent visiting friends and family.  This started with a surprise pop-in on our kids, with the help of our daughter’s mother in law (Dedra).  The kids knew we were coming home, but we told them it would be several weeks later.  Dedra planned a dinner for our son in law’s birthday at a local restaurant.  Everyone was enjoying their appetizers in the outdoor seating area in the back of the restaurant while Dedra was in contact with Tami.  While we were parking, Dedra excused herself to go outside and meet us so she could escort us into the back and get the camera rolling.  It went off without a hitch and we watched while our kids’ jaws dropped, their faces flushed and they completely lost their ‘stuff’.  It was a classic reunion moment like the videos you’ve all seen online.  Surprises are always hard to pull off, but Dedra helped pull it off perfectly!

The rest of our time back in The ‘Ham was pretty busy.  We got caught up with doctors and dentists, made trips to visit extended family and friends we’ve missed, had maintenance and improvements done on The Enterprise, visited with Tami’s former work-mates at a nice weekend bbq, and I did some hard time in the office (both home, and physical location – the latter mostly on weekends so I could get work done). 🤓  Our tradition of weekly family dinners was revived for our time there, even if not everyone could make it each week.  Tami loves to be busy in the kitchen and we all enjoyed chowing on her creations! Some close friends put us up in their home several times while The Enterprise was in surgery for various reasons and we are super appreciative for that.  Thanks again you guys!  Lastly we had the opportunity to visit with friends we haven’t seen in at least 10 years, and made a new one in the process.  If you know us well, you know we’re not super social people and mostly keep to ourselves, but we thoroughly enjoyed our time visiting these last couple months.  We are thankful for all of you and appreciate the warm hospitality you extended to us travelers.  

Now for a couple paragraphs on technical stuff.  This may not be interesting, but if any fellow moho newbies come across this blog, this is for you!  I’m amazed that when you buy a new motorhome, there are a number of upgrades that are almost completely necessary, making me wonder why they aren’t just included from the factory.  Or at least as options.  But over the past year of traveling, we’ve learned that the upgrades we added this summer are almost always done – so if you haven’t done them yet, here’s what you need!

Due to their size, motorhomes do not handle well in the wind, or as I’ve mentioned, when semi’s come bombing up on you in the next lane.  To improve handling, there is a product called Safety Plus, which consists of a couple pistons attached to the steering system. They automatically correct for those types of conditions and help keep the rig moving in a straight line.  It will also supposedly help in a blowout situation, but I really hope we never get to test that one!  Secondly, a rear anti-sway bar continues that improvement by adding stability, especially in cornering.  And lastly, for motorhomes built on an air suspension as ours is, an absolutely terrible situation occurs, for example, when you are leaving a parking lot where you are turning and going over bumps and perhaps an uneven curb to the street.  There’s actually a term for it:  the Walmart Wobble.  The motorhome lurches from side to side, sometimes causing the drawers to fly open on their own like there’s an angry poltergeist back there.  So the answer is a set of inline valves that keeps the air in the system from flowing from one side to the other when it detects a quick movement.  All three of these have improved our driving experience and sometimes I can actually take one hand off the wheel to drink my coffee!

In the past year, our motorhome has had at least six different recalls from the chassis manufacturer – which is Freightliner.  As they are a major trucking brand, I would expect more, but in this day and age, that’s a dumb expectation. Much like expecting a new motorhome to be built with quality and care.  Of the recalls, the worst one was an issue where the digital dash goes blank!  All of our dashboard ‘instruments’ are displayed on a computer screen – there are no actual gauges. So when that screen goes out – there is no speed indicator, no fuel level, no dash information whatsoever!  Needless to say, that’s a bit of an inconvenience.  But we worked around it and drove to the Freightliner dealer in Burlington where they said – “Yep, you’ve got a problem under recall, and we’ll need to order the part.”  I had told them as much over the phone, but they really wanted us to drive the 50 miles each way twice, and leave the motorhome with them for two full days rather than one.  I was not impressed with their service whatsoever, but at least they were able to fix the problem and we can tell when we need to fill the tank again!

And now since it seems I’m turning this post into a bit of a rant, I want to talk about Starlink.  If you aren’t aware, Elon Musk is launching thousands of satellites into low orbit that are creating a new way to access the internet from anywhere on earth … as long as you buy the Starlink ‘Dishy’.  It is touted as a high-speed alternative to the other internet options and for someone on the road – it seems like a no brainer.  So I was 100% in when I found out they were releasing a mobile version for RVs!  But, as with anything else that’s too good to be true, it is.  Speeds are actually much worse (most of the time) than using my phone as a hotspot, or my cellular router.  In fact, they are so bad that many times it’s completely useless.  And as I’ve talked about before with most software that lacks testing and seems to be made by developers that are smoking more ganja than working, here’s just a quick example from the awesome app that comes with it.  It says my dish is online, but that I’m not connected to it – which is of course impossible. In order to report that it’s online, I would have to be connected to it.  Way to go developers! 

While I’m at it, here are some other random rants from motorhome life: Don’t put cones out for miles on end to take the freeway down to one lane when nobody is working. Take the ‘right lane ends’ sign down when you’re finished with the project. The windiest day of the week is the day we need to drive. Don’t put the roof gutter run-off right over the door! Pick up after your dog if they poop in a public place. And finally, if there’s an obstacle on the road you need to pass, the only oncoming vehicle for miles will go by right at the point you are going around the obstacle. Truly maddening!

I write all these to make a point. Some time over the last couple months I jotted a few lines in the notes I keep for this blog.  It said this:  “There are bumps in the road.  They shake things around when we go over them causing us to focus on the bumps, when we should be focusing on the road ahead.” We go over bumps every day, whether it’s on the road or in life. Focusing on them doesn’t help. Focusing on the road ahead helps us steer around them. Word!

We’re traveling south now and have some great stops we’re looking forward to, and hopefully some good bourbon and chocolate!  Speaking of that, if you’re in the Bellingham area, Edaleen Dairy sells frozen chocolate covered berries.  The blueberries are our fav – dipped in white, then dark chocolate.  I always try to think healthy – and since I’m eating blueberries and I know they are good for me, I try to eat as many as possible!

That about wraps up my thoughts on the subject for now. Once we’re settled in our next extended stay, I’ll try to start writing about locations again. Until then, we wish you all Happy Trails!

-Greg and Tami