Codatory's Scribbles

The astute readers among you might recognize this post is a bit late for a year-end review. Unfortunately, part of owning a new RV is dealing with problems and my rig has been out of commission for about 8 weeks now due to a failure in the electrical system. Unfortunately, my repair experience will be one that, when complete, will join the horror stories you've undoubtedly heard before.

But, since that's currently a developing story, let's talk about the year I had with the rig before it cut my trip short.

Let's start with the things that are good, because I kind of need to cheer myself up to write the rest of this post.

• A Class B rig is super easy to get around in. Generally speaking, if a full-size pickup fits, I fit. With no slides, I'm barely longer than a regular parking space and if parks in my driveway at home with no drama whatsoever.
• The tanks are perfectly sized for me. I can plan on dumping and filling once a week, and it only takes a few minutes.
• The included features are quite reasonable for an entry-level Class B. The furnace is quiet and efficient, the AC is effective, the kitchen and bathroom is functional and generally speaking it's a nice place to hang out.
• I've gone on some pretty epic adventures.
• https://photos.app.goo.gl/M33xJX62gHaoRyMt7

Now, some of the changes or additions I've made over the year...

• Garmin RV GPS - Just because I can fit anywhere most trucks can doesn't mean it makes for a nice drive. A Garmin RV890 was added after my regular GPS decided to route me through a mountain pass to save 10 minutes. I spent more than 10 minutes cleaning up the mess that shaking and rattling made!
• Cradlepoint Dual modem 5G Router - Part of what makes RV travel appealing to me is the ability to be gone for a long time, but I still need to keep connected. Cradlepoint's products are the industry leaders and this thing has been an amazing addition to my rig.
• Black & Decker FlexVAC - Pretty obvious, right?
• Google Chromecast w/ Google TV - You need something to play stuff on the TV and these are really cheap...

What hasn't been so good, then?

Well, the electrical system still sucks. The Under-hood generator failed while I was on my recent trip through Texas in a relatively spectacular manner. I'll probably write up a whole post on what happened there whenever it finally gets resolved. But more importantly, the dealer support after sales has been truly horrific. My selling dealer, LazyDays of Elkhart, was perfectly happy to schedule a service appointment to drop off the rig (3 hours away) but once they had the rig in their possession refused to answer the phone, provide any sort of status update or anything else. It wasn't until I sat down and repeatedly called their number that someone accidentally answered and then basically shrugged me off and said "yeah, it's fixed, come pick it up."

When I went to pick it up, I can just say for sure it wasn't fixed. Now the coach is in worse condition than when I dropped it off and Thor warranty support has been completely unhelpful in finding a new option that might have some clue on how to work on the thing (or at the very least answer the phone).