Hey all!

	We bought a used 1990 Hitchhiker 34.5 in December in 
excellent shape.   I officially, retired from the Air Force 
1 Feb, and during terminal leave  (not dying!  - Military 
term for last leave before retirement) in January  took our 
first trip home.  The following letter outlines some possibly 
serious things that we managed to avoid.  I've edited out the 
personal parts of the following letter I sent to our "friends 
group".

Folks,
    Everyone keeps asking how retirement is going.  I think 
that's one  of those questions like "How's it going?"  The 
correct response to both questions is "Fine!"  Any real 
answer is soooooo boring to the listener.  

However, since that's never stopped me before, (both in 
person and  print) I'll answer it.

 	Our coach is great to full-time in!  (RVrs say coach 
to cover motorhome, trailer, etc.-It is better than trailer 
[visions of pop-ups  and mobile homes], and not as pretentious 
as luxury whatever)   Lynn and I have adapted to the lifestyle 
quite well.  Our pup, Bogart, took a little longer.  He's not 
spoiled-he's spoiled rotten.  He's finally adapted to  being 
left alone if we put a chair by the window for him to get up 
on to  watch out the window for us.  It took four re-screenings 
of the window screens and  many  times with no hot water (the 
electric switch for the heater is just  below the window he 
looks out . . .he kept turning it off with his paw) before we 
realized what he needed.  Now we are all happy campers!  And 
I'm no longer keeping rolls of screen material on hand.

 	The biggest change was realizing we could take very 
little with us.  Storage limitations are not the only driving 
factor; weight on the axles  is too. 

 	As far as what I do with my days, I'm as busy as before.  
Our coach  came from the East Coast of Florida, so there were 
a lot of metal parts that had corrosion and had to be refinished.  
Also we had a lot of surprises after we successfully made our 
first trip from Texas to here.  Talk  
about luck!

But because we joined  the RV consumers group (www.rv.org) and 
the Escapees RV club (www.escapees.com/website/index2.htm), 
and read every letter in rvadvice.com, we've come a long way 
fast!  We found lifetime warranties and recalls on almost 
every problem item we missed on  original purchase!  For 
example: Two days after arriving here with our rig, the diesel 
belt tensioner fell off!  I just happened to notice because the  
heat stopped and the engine temp started to climb fast.  Why that 
bolt  didn't break while towing the coach here, I'll never know.  
It was  cracked all the way across except for a 1/16-inch edge 
that was the only  thing holding it on!  Fortunately, the 
tensioner fell in the engine  compartment and was undamaged.  
Then we found that the hitch had several  cracks in the most 
critical parts, that looked like the result of being  
dropped at some time before I owned it.  It turns out that the  
manufacturer, RBW industries, has a million-mile warranty.  So 
they paid  postage and completely rebuilt the hitch-head free.  
Then we found a  letter in the Escapees magazine about Goodyear 
marathon trailer tires  blowing up on the highway!  In checking, 
I found that we had the defective tires on all four wheels and 
the spare!  One call to Goodyear confirmed the defective status 
of all of our tires.  We were told to bring the trailer in, and 
all five tires would be replaced with the new version of the 
marathon that has been completely redesigned.  There will  
be pro-rating by treadwear.  In other words - nearly free 
replacement of all our tires.  The very expensive tranny in 
the dually started acting  up in the cold weather and fearing 
the worst we brought it to  . . .THE DEALER! 

Turns out our thermostat was stuck open and the shift temperature sensor
was shifting continuously because of that.  $29.00 thermostat brought  
the operating temp up which also increased our power, and mileage (5 MPG
increase!)  However, the thermostat caused the engine to operate way too
cold for a diesel (They must run hot or power, lubrication, and mileage
suffers, as well as causing rough running, AND THE ENGINE WILL SUSTAIN
DAMAGE!)  The verdict?  No damage!  And the dually runs like a banshee!
 	To sum up:  We took our first 500-mile trip, in the middle of winter,  
in the pouring rain, through the middle of nowhere, at night, GOING 60 mph,
with a broken hitch, tires that could blow up at any moment, a severed
belt tensioner bolt, the thermostat stuck open, and to top it all off, I
later found that the trailer brakes were not working because of  
corrosion in the connectors on the truck!!!!! (remember I had no 
experience towing a large rig, or driving a diesel and the dealer 
in Texas missed the  thermostat problem) TALK ABOUT HAVING A 
GUARDIAN ANGEL!!!! (for you more secular folks read "could fall 
in a pile of **** and come out smelling like a  rose)

 	So I've been busy researching, repairing, and modifying the coach  
every day.  I wanted to take the first trip, find out any showstoppers 
for the  big trip, and do some mods to the coach to customize it for us.  
The  biggest part of that has been getting rid of the stock booth 
that seems  to come in every RV.  You know, the one with the tiny counter 
that turns  into a "bed".  And has two bench seats that the brochure 
says "seats  four".  When actually the person on the aisle has one 
cheek hanging off.  

And it took up most of the kitchen area.  So I ripped it out and  
installed a counter with an office space on one end.  It came out great!  
I used a Grey matrix Formica for the top and matched the frame with the  
rest of the coach.  It doubled the kitchen space and gave me a place to  
put the notebook, and multi-function machine.

 	I used to have a shop with compressors and table saws etc. (before we
went to Europe for seven years in 1990) that I used to remodel our house
and customize my cars.  This is the first time I've been able to build  
or remodel anything since then.  It's sooooo relaxing and a lot of fun.   
I didn't realize how much I missed building things!

 	Now I'm running out of things to prepare for the trip and 
have begun  to  set up my business.  I am a distributor for a 
company that will be providing  wireless Internet for the RV market. 
As well, we will be providing dial in numbers for the rest of you 
out there (we have 500 at this moment) for 19.95 a month that will 
give very high speed connections and more, using our proprietary
software.

 	I'm now looking at inverters and tankless hot water heater.  
It just so happens I'm in the market for both but am budget challenged.  
(OK . . .I  said it . . .I am now on a budget ....can't go out and 
pick up whatever  I want anymore!)  <[only drawback to  retirement] ;-} 
Lynn got a job at one of the casinos here so she can, as she says, 
"keep me in the manner  to which I'm accustomed."  She is having a blast.  
But we still are a long way from the "big" power mods for the diesel 
and the coach.  Just an inverter/solar or generator setup is over
Three grand.  In checking around, it seems all the CEO jobs here are  
taken,  So I'm wondering what I'd look like in those McD's hats?  
hmmmmmmm . .  .NOT!  

Leaving for a years travel in May.  OEM low-tech stuff will have to do.
 
We look forward to seeing y'all
dg and Lynn
 
: ******************* Home is where we park it! *********************

dg

Dear RVadvice,
	Glad you liked it.  Yes it was a very
"interesting" first trip.  Being the careful type, 
everything in the  letter should have been caught by 
the "experts" I hired to replace or repair as necessary 
before we left.  As for me, this is my first pickup, (we were  
van people), first diesel, first trailer.  And they are 
both in excellent  shape and look and perform like new.  
I had taken the diesel to the dealership for a complete 
inspection before purchase, including: complete disassembly
and inspection of the brakes, rear-end, tranny, engine and 
electrics.   

They found bad brake drums on rear, bad belt, and bad 
shock bushings.  All  were replaced by the seller, and in 
addition it already had new tires all around.  Beyond that 
I changed oil/filter, lubed it , K&N Air Filter,  and
ran it for two months before we bought the coach.  I 
had the coach inspected and the hitch that came with it 
installed by a "reputable" RV dealership in San Antonio 
who never mentioned the cracks in the hitch head.

I had an experienced RV friend pull the trailer around 
the loop and it was pronounced wonderful with good brakes 
and straight tracking.  He said it towed much better than 
his new Travel Supreme.

	So I was a "newbie" but took all the right steps to 
insure a safe trip.  
  
The trailer brakes I missed because I had done the research 
to match my trailer weight with the truck.  My trailer loaded 
weighed in at just over 10,600 lbs.  So the truck was able to 
stop it as if the trailer brakes were there.  The only lead 
in the umbilical that wasn't working was the  brakes -
the visible signals were OK.  I've since replaced the connectors 
and  tested from both ends.  The only thing that couldn't have 
been found before the trip was the mostly sheared bolt on the 
serpentine belt tensioner.

	So even when 'ya do all the right stuff, you can still 
get into trouble. 

	Hey does this mean that you published it?  (note: they did)

dg