The KISS

One of Bob's favorite sayings is "Keep It Super Simple" (aka: Keep It Simple Stupid--but I'm trying to be nice here). Life stopped being simple when we bought the diesel pusher.

Now I'm not complaining, I love the power, the space and the appliances that this thing has, but when you need work done on it, you must figure out who does what.

Remember, this is a 6-year-old motor coach that was very high end in it's day. It has cleaned up very well and is definitely a keeper. With that said, the previous owners did their level best to kill it by ignoring maintenance.

On our way to Texarkana last weekend, we had a leveling jack malfunction. We think it was a wet sensor since it was raining all the way here. The electrical plug in that you plug the engine heater into does not work. One of the new belts Camping World in Fort Myers put on is whistling at us and has ever since we took possession and drove it back to Texas. We had "idiot" lights and gauges on the dash that would mysteriously light up or ring/buzz and then go silent. Only to do it again sporadically as we went down the road.

Fortunately, Texarkana (Texas & Arkansas) has some very good places to get things worked on. For example, Artex Truck Center is on the Arkansas side of the state line. They are an International Truck Dealer but they are a Cummins certified repair shop as well. So we'll go there next week to have the engine checked out and that belt squeak silenced.

Next, the tires. When the new tires were installed the place that did the work did not install the extensions and supports necessary to check tire pressures on the dualies nor the tag. Friday afternoon we'll be going over to the GCR tire people to get this done, and yes, the dealership where we purchased this rig will pick up that tab since these essential parts were lost on their watch, thank you.

Next, the Hydro-Hot system. This wonderful system gives us hot water on demand... even when we're going down the road.It's also the furnace system since this is an all electric coach, no propane onboard here. Unless it's under 45 degrees, it runs well on just electric. Colder than that and it uses the diesel fuel. Luckily it sips instead of gulps. We're not sure who will be working on this but we do know it needs to be serviced faithfully every year or it will cost big $$$. That may wait till we get to Conroe, Texas in February.

On the way back to Teague we have an appointment in Longview, Texas. What's in Longview? A Spartan Chassis service center, authorized of course. That's who will take care of those pesky dash gremlins.

You may ask, if we had it to do all over again would we get rid of our simple gasoline powered rig for this complex behemoth?

You bet! For the full-time RV lifestyle, you can't beat the amenities and the power to go to the mountains without even breaking a sweat. We may decide to do more mountainous travel now. Personally, when we take our Alaska trip I'd love to take this thing up. But, Bob wants to fly. I've been to Alaska and I want to show him around. So I'll fly if it keeps him happy :-)

Till next time,

Happy Trails!

Vicky & Bob Heron (Capt. Jack & Jesse James)

How to work & live wherever and whenever you choose!

New Year -- New Beginnings

We left our home base in Teague today. We're starting the new year at a new park (to us that is). And it's another first... our first working trip in our new RV/Motor Coach (new to us that is -- again).

We had planned to be on the road by 10:00 a.m., but there were several things working against us. First, the weather. Yuck! It rained all night and as of this writing (at 2:00 pm. CST) it's still pouring. Creeks and rivers are close to spilling over their banks.

There is one good thing in our favor... it's 50 degrees outside and not FREEZING (thank goodness). Last Sunday Dallas/Ft. Worth and points east got 1+ inches of snow plus some icing on overpasses and bridges. Rain is much easier to navigate in a behemoth 42' 10" diesel pusher like ours. Truth is, we would not have attempted icy travel conditions.

Our destination today is Texarkana. Can you believe they received six inches of snow just last Sunday? What a difference a week makes!

I'm looking forward to seeing what the Arklatex area has to offer. I'll keep you posted. Glub... Glub!

Till next time...

Happy Trails,

Vicky & Bob Heron (Capt. Jack & Jesse James)

How to work & live wherever and whenever you choose!

Getting On The Road Again

This year we are starting out a bit earlier with our travels. In a few days we'll be heading to the Texarkana KOA in Texarkana, Texas. We sure hope it doesn't get too dicey weather-wise... last week they got 6" of snow!

I'm a big chicken when it comes to driving in the white stuff. And it's not so much I doubt my abilities (although it's been so long since I drove on that stuff I am definitely aftraid of it), it's the other drivers I am concerned with. In Texas we have enough trouble with rain-slick streets. Adding snow to the mix is really problematic!

Bob's brother from Las Vegas and his wife arrived here on Monday, the day after the snowfall in Dallas. North Texas weather is literally a "crap-shoot" this time of year. Fortunately, their plane was not delayed or cancelled. One day earlier hundreds of DFW flights were cancelled and that would have been a disaster for the start of their visit.

I must say, our new-to-us 2004 Travel Supreme Select diesel pusher we picked up in Florida in October is very nice in cold weather. If you're fixing to get an RV, I'd strongly suggest getting a coach with thermal pane windows. We have not had wet windows once this winter, except for the windshield. Jesse, our black & white Chihuahua, loves the Hydro-Hot heating system. We now call him a "hot dog." He puts his little hiney right up against the furnace grate and literally becomes a hot dog.

As I said earlier, we're starting out our working year early this year by going to Texarkana. It's always exciting to see what new places are like. My parents, RVing snowbirds who flock to Yuma, Arizone from Illinois every winter, have stopped by the Oaklawn Opry many times on their way through Texarkana. They loved it. So I'm going to stop by and see if I can help them get more visitors and also enjoy a good show while we are in town.

This job will be both fun and a challenge since I'll be in both Texas and Arkansas seeking advertisers.

I just hope the big guy upstairs does not think it would be a hoot to see me slippin & slidin all over the place. Wish me luck :-)

Happy Trails...

Vicky & Bob Heron (Capt. Jack & Jesse James)

How to work & live wherever and whenever you choose!

Roughing It Is Overrated

Yes, we're at our home base in Teague, Texas. Actually, we reside in an RV Park when we're here, but are near our daughter and three granddaughters. In fact, the youngest is 7 weeks old and a little darling. I think this one may actually look like her Mommy.

We got the new (to us) motorhome to Texas without any further problems. That is, once we got out of Orlando, FL. We bought this rig in Fort Myers, got as far as Tampa and spent about 4 days at Camping World/Lazy Days getting the front step fixed. We knew there was a major problem with it but the techs at Camping World in Fort Myers assured us that the strengthened it and fixed it all up. I guess the mold in the carpet should have told us to look closer. As it turns out, we almost lost the step... which would have meant an nasty fall for whoever was on it at the time.

The previous owners of this rig never fixed anything. The front door had been leaking for a long time. While we were in Fort Myers they caulked it when we saw the water coming in. Had we looked under the bottom step's rubber runner we would have seen a mass of rotted wood. And many ants had set up residence there as well.

So Camping World in Tampa was not happy that the rig was allowed to leave the shop at the other store in this condition. It was a liability for sure. So, Tampa store called Fort Myers store and Fort Myers agreed to do the right thing and pay for the step to be reengineered/rebuilt. This time they used sheet metal. Let me tell you, this is now a SOLID step!

On the way to Tampa Bob noticed that he was constantly overcorrecting with the steering. So we asked Lazy Days if they would do a front end alignment.

They said they would love to but they told us but they were covered up with Workhorse recalls. Then the service advisor told us they don't even do the alignments on their high end coaches ($400k-500k+)themselves. They actually send them to JOSAM in Orlando.

So we got to thinking, our Travel Supreme Select 42DSI was about a $500k unit when it was new so we should probably take it to the same place Lazy Days takes theirs to. Plus, we purchased 8 brand new tires and wanted to make sure they wear well.

So next stop, Orlando. Good thing too... both front tires were toeing out. No wonder Bob was constantly over correcting! The dual axle needed some alignment also and the tag axle was just fine. Now we could start out for home and not have to worry about "should we get it aligned or not."

Everything happens for a reason I always say and in this case, getting the step fixed in Tampa led us to one of the best alignment businesses in the world. Big truck owners come from all over just for the JOSAM alignment services.

Goes to show you, we can all learn something new every day.

When I met Bob on the Internet in 1997 (before eHarmony, Match.com, or anything like that) in my first email to him I told him I like to Rough It Smoothly. Since he worked for an RV dealer at that time I figured he'd know what I meant. That's also the hook that got me to answer his personal ad... he worked for an RV dealer at that time.

Little did I know that we'd eventually be living in a luxurious coach like this one. I love the washer/dryer combo unit. I did 3 small loads of laundry today. Plus, my drawer dishwasher. We purchased a Fisher/Paykel at Lowes and had Camping World install it.

It is so nice to have squeeky clean dishes again... and Bob can now recover from dishpan-hands. Yes, I do the cooking and so he does the dishes. Only now the dishwasher does them.

I know many people, my sister included, say we don't camp, we "RV." And perhaps they are right. However you want to look at it, I just love Roughing It Smoothly and I always will!

Happy & Safe Travels,

Vicky & Bob Heron (Capt. Jack & Jesse James)

How to work & live wherever and whenever you choose!

Excitement Can Be Exhausting!

It's so hard to realize that just a month ago we were in Moab, Utah. Also a month ago today our 10th grandchild was born, Lily Marie Courtney. We've only seen her for five days before we had to head down to Florida to pick up our new home.

We are full time RVers and love the lifestyle. We start to feel antsy when we've been sitting still for too long. Now as we're headed into year #3 we decided we needed bigger accommodations and more amenities. Sooooooo Bob got online and started his quest for an diesel pusher in our price range that could meet our needs for a dual living area, washer & dryer on board and a dishwasher. It did not take him long to find it!

So we set up the deal while we were in Moab. Next we came home to Texas to see our new granddaughter Lily, Corynn, and Katelyn for about five days and off we went to pick up our new home in Fort Myers, Florida.

The new rig (to us) is a beautiful 2004 Travel Supreme Select 42 foot diesel with a 500 Cummins and 6 speed 4000 series Allison transmission. Now I'm no expert on engines & things mechanical, but I do know this will handle any mountain travel we want to do with ease.

We added eight brand new tires to replace the original tires, and a drawer dishwasher. We both love this touch and will really enjoy it when we're working on park guides throughout the year. I cooked a full meal tonight and it was so nice to just wipe things off and load them into the drawer, turn it on and voila... clean dishes.

We did have to make some repairs, but that was to be expected with a six year old model. But this was a very high end coach in it's day. Unfortunately, Travel Supreme is one of the economic casualties in the RV industry.

Last Tuesday we left Camping World in Fort Myers and thought we were on the way home. Unfortunately, we made it as far as Tampa and pulled into the Camping World at the Lazy Days RV center. If you ever get the chance to be near Tampa, stop by and see the Lazy Days complex. Since we were having some repairs done, we were treated to all the ammenities offered by Lazy Days. Free breakfast & lunch, morning paper, shuttle service and very friendly & smiling faces. It was a treat.

I must say that Camping World in Fort Myers did a lot to give us a good coach. They put in two brand new inverters and 10 new batteries. Yes, this is an all electric coach so it takes a big battery bank. I especially love the large GE Profile stainless steel residential refrigerator. Finally, room to put food and I can even put it in warm without taking the fridge hours to recover. Again, what a treat. I won't miss the LP gas nor the RV refrigerators with all their problems.

Tonight we're at the Sherwood Forest Encore Resort in Kissimmee, FL. Early tomorrow morning we're going to get the wheels all aligned and the whole suspension inspected. Bob has to do a lot of correcting in the steering. Lazy Days suggested we take our rig to Josam Frame & Alignment in Orlando. Since we've spent a fortune on eight new tires we decided this would be a good idea to protect our investment. Plus, when I start driving it I want it to steer easily as does Bob.

Hopefully, we'll be headed home to Texas tomorrow afternoon. We'll keep you posted.

Vicky & Bob Heron (Capt. Jack & Jesse James)

How to work & live wherever and whenever you choose!

Holy Cow... Let Me Get Through This Alive!

That particular thought/prayer did cross my mind a couple of times Friday night. You see, we went on a guided Jeep tour in the Sand Flats Recreation Area just outside of Moab, Utah.

Our tour guide was the infamous Dan Mick. I must admit I'd seen his signature white jeep, with yellow to orange gradient striped outlines, around town and wondered what made this tall, bearded mountain-man-looking tour guide so revered in this valley community.

Over the course of the next 5 hours we discovered why his reputation was larger than life. When it comes to crawling along the rocks and fins stretching out like fingers & legs all around Moab, this guy is king!

In the picture above where I'm taking a picture through the windshield you see the black streaks on each side of the rock crevice... that would be Dan's own Hell's Gate climb. No one else can lay claim to this steep climb (as we went up I was plastered to my seat by the incline) or has the kahunas to try it!

When I saw that looming in front of us, I had a serious discussion with God!!!

The picture of the Jeep reflecting in the pond is way up high on the slickrock formation. It was getting to be sunset and the scenary was full of reds, blues, pinks and yellows. The rocks and the sky all blended together.

I've enclosed a video of Dan taking me straight up a rock ledge then turning around and going down. Then he backed up the ledge as another jeep full of onlookers cheered him on. As I said, he is a legend in these parts!

There are many good tour companies in Moab and I highly recommend you use one of them when you come to Moab. If you want a white-knuckled trip... see Dan!

Till next time,

Vicky & Bob Heron (Capt. Jack & Jesse James)

How to work & live wherever and whenever you choose!

Such A Beautiful Sight... Well Worth The Climb!

We've been in Moab, Utah since September 6th. This is our second year creating guest guides for three parks here. It's much easier the second time around. The business people recognize you and you develop a friendship.

Some get bolder and kid around with you. It certainly makes the day go faster and makes the time spent here feel more personal. It's starting to feel like a home away from home.

However, as full-time RVers, home is wherever we park, so everyplace starts to feel a bit like home.

Saturday was a beautiful day. Mid 80's so we went hiking. We went to Gear Heads a couple of weeks ago and bought Camelbaks. A red one for me and blue for Bob. They are a backpack with a water bladder in it. Ours each hold 2 liters of water. A tube comes out of it and over your shoulder. It has a mouth piece that you just put into your mouth, bit down slightly and drink. These things are essential for the high desert... like her in Moab.

So Saturday we went to Arches National Park. Last year when we came out here we went to many of the easy hiking places in Arches. We saw the Windows Arches, Turret Arch, the Three Gossips, Balancing Rock and so much more. We drove by the Fiery Furnace fins... they are awesome. You can hike down in those but they highly recommend you go with a ranger since you can easily get lost. It is a very strenuous hike also. I think we'll just admire them from a short distance.

We did not hike out to the famous Delicate Arch last year because we didn't bring enough water. They recommend a minimum of 2 liters per person (and more wouldn't be a bad idea). It's a 3-hour round trip hike and you go up over 500 feet in elevation. About half of it is walking on slick-rock formation and that is very tricky to come down on. There is no real trail once you get on the slick rock. The only guidance you have is to follow the rock cairns. We got off the trail a bit one time.

We set out with our full Camelbaks and began our quest to the famous Delicate Arch. The reason this arch is so striking is because it used to be a fin. AND IT IS HUGE! It was so funny as we were almost to the top where we could be near the arch, people on the way down kept saying "You're almost there!" They'd say, "It's just around the corner."

If you've done this trek you'd know, these people understand. By the time you get up there you are hot, tired, just plain exhausted. But just like childbirth, as soon as you see this amazing wonder, you forget all the torture you want through to get up there. Oh yes, I ran out of my 2-liters of water on the way up. (Note to self, next time bring more water!!!)

In the pictures above, if you look at the very bottom of the arch on the right you'll see two people at the base. They look like a couple of specs. The second picture is of Bob and me. We're standing on a ledge. That's why the Arch looks so much smaller. Seriously, we are about a grain of sand compared to this behemoth! It is awe-inspiring.

I'll be honest with you... I didn't know if I was going to make it all the way up. It was upper 80's to 90 and close to 5000 ft high and I'm very much a flat lander! I found that out in Ruidoso, New Mexico last year. We were also wearing our Sketcher Shape-ups shoes and they were definitely not the right shoes for this hike. (Note to self, get hiking boots before doing this again!)

Would I do it again, you bet! But next time I think we'll do it later in October when it's a bit cooler. Next year we want to hike through the Devil's Garden. That's where the huge Landscape Arch is and the fallen Wall Arch. There is so much to see in this park. If it's not on your bucket list, it should be. Both Devil's Garden and the climb to Delicate are considered strenuous hikes.

When they say that believe them!

Oh yes, the mountains you see in the back ground are the LaSal Mountains. It's a small range and one of the youngest, but Mt. Peale is a respectable 12,747 (or so) feet. We saw snow up there in those mountains just before we left last year. The picture you see here with the snow capped mountains is taken from the City Market parking lot in the Moab valley (city). It was beautiful.

I hope you enjoy these pictures. If you want to see some spectacular sights, go see the National Parks, and please included Arches National Park. And allow more than one day, it's a very large park.

If you've been to Arches, let me know your favorite thing to see!

Vicky & Bob Heron (Capt. Jack & Jesse James)

How to work & live wherever and whenever you choose!