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LET THE WAITING BEGIN ...

MONDAY

TRAVEL DAY
YEAR #2 - STOP #49

We arrived here at the Airstream Factory around 7:00PM without too many problems with the traffic leaving Columbus. We got set up in a camping spot and went to bed early.

First thing the next morning I went into the Service Center Lounge and got a couple of free hot chocolates, paid for two nights of camping and then searched out the Service Manager. I wanted to let him know that we decided to stay on the property and if by some miracle he had an opening in his overbooked schedule today we would be happy to fill it.

Like the blog title says, now the waiting begins!

TUESDAY - While we are waiting here at the factory we decided to make an upgrade to ROVER's appearance. When I bought our Rock Tamer ® mudflaps last year we knew there was another version available, but just couldn't justify spending an additional $150.00 to acquire them. So we saved the money and bought the version that was available on Amazon that would get the job done.


This is what the back of ROVER used to look like!

But once we arrived here I found out the more desirable name plates were available for purchase separately. So for $50.00 I was able to upgrade the appearance of ROVER's hind end to all of the other motorists on the highways. The $100 savings was basically the difference in shipping costs between Amazon ($0) and Airstream ($100).


This is what the back of ROVER looks like NOW!

WEDNESDAY - Today is the day we find out if the Airstream Factory will be able to squeeze us into their busy work load without having the highly suggested service appointment. The day started off with a beautiful sunrise, so I've got a good feeling that today will be a good day for us!

It's hard to tell but that's ROVER and THE POD centered in the background.

At 7:30AM we heard the tractor beginning to move trailers from the campsites up into the service bays. That's when I started walking the 100 yards from our campsite up to the Service Desk and Customer Lounge. I was about ten steps from the front door when my phone rang. I thought it might be Tricia calling to ask me to bring back some of the free coffee or hot chocolate from the lounge. Nope! It was the Service Manager calling.

After exchanging good mornings he asked how quickly I could get up to the Service Desk and fill out the paperwork so they could begin repairs on THE POD. I told him I could be there in 15 seconds and hung up! I pulled open the door and walked 20 feet to the Service Desk and found the Manager and several Assistants with puzzled looks on their faces.

They asked how I managed to get there so quickly and I simply explained I wanted to make sure I arrived before anything could happen to change the fact they were able to squeeze me in today. I wasn't even winded from rushing to get there!

In less than an hour the technician had removed our stove, sink and entire kitchen counter top to correct the problem we have been having with our sink falling down. This is the job that the dealership was afraid to tackle?


Repair work is well under way to resolving our problem.

In addition to just putting back the four screws and clips that originally held our sink in place the technician used a powerful adhesive to glue the sink to the bottom of the countertop. If the sink ever does require removal from the countertop that might cause a problem, but I feel it's worth the risk!

Not only did they fix the sink, they were kind enough to cut a hole in the countertop for an under-counter dish soap dispenser, something Tricia has wanted since we first started traveling. When they told us it wouldn't be a problem to install I quickly ran out to a Home Depot (22 miles away) and picked up a matching bronze dispenser. I'm glad Tricia liked the one I picked out because it was the only one they had in stock!

As if that wasn't enough, they found time to replace the burned out light inside of our door grab bar and replaced the entire awning light that hasn't worked since very early on in our trip. These two items required parts that the dealership didn't have on hand so they were unable to repair these simple tasks for us either.

So today was spent taking everything apart and setting up the glue to dry overnight. Tomorrow will be spent putting everything back together, fixing the lights and sending us on our way to our next campsite. Between everything repaired at the dealership and the factory we finally have everything working like new. In the case of the kitchen sink, better than new!

THE CUSTOMER LOUNGE AREA
AT THE AIRSTREAM FACTORY
IN JACKSON CENTER, OHIO


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EVEN AIRSTREAMS AREN'T PERFECT!

THURSDAY

TRAVEL DAY
YEAR #2 - STOP #48

Today's travels were 120 miles due west to Columbus, OH, which happens to be the state capital. We're not here to see the big city sights, instead we're here to finally get a few warranty repairs done to THE POD at Haydocy Airstream & RV.

We've been living full-time in our Airstream for over 15 months now and well, we have three semi-major issues that now require some professional attention. If you've been reading along you already know about our kitchen sink problems. I have remounted it to the bottom of the kitchen counter twice now, using the factory clips and screws. Finally I just gave up and wedged several 2x4's under it to support the weight until we can get it professionally looked at. We'll see what kind of solution they come up with to permanently keep it in place.

The second issue involves our tongue jack, it no longer holds the weight when we try to install our weight distribution/anti-sway bars between THE POD and ROVER. We have a factory installed 4,000 pound jack on the front of THE POD. It's more than capable of supporting the 700 pound tongue weight of the trailer when we are parked at a campsite. The problem arises when it's time to hook up the weight distribution/anti-sway bars for towing. In order to install the bars you must first hook the trailer to the truck, then lift them both together until they are high enough to install the bars. This means the 700 pounds of trailer and the unknown weight of the rear of the truck must be greater than the 4,000 pound limit of the jack. It used to work fine, but lately it has started slipping when the jack is at it's maximum extension. This only occurs when the campsite driveway is very slanted downwards, causing the front of the truck to be higher than the back of the truck, which means it has to lift higher to get everything level. Airstream will replace it free under our 2-year factory warranty with another identical 4,000 pound jack. If and when it begins to fail again, I'll replace it with a higher rated jack with money out of our own pocket.

The third issue involves the distribution knob between our two 30lb. propane tanks. The factory knob has a built it pressure indicator so you know which tank has gas and which is empty, so you can select the correct one to use. The knob broke off and now spins completely around which allows both tanks to be used at the same time and no longer indicates empty or full anymore. This is not covered under warranty so we're replacing it with a simple left/right switch to choose which tank to use. If the chosen tank runs empty it will begin using the second tank at a reduced flow rate until we manually switch it over. In order to choose which tank to use I purchased and installed a magnetic blue-tooth sensor under each tank that relays information to my phone on exactly what percentage the tank is at, so no more surprises of empty propane tanks.

We have a short list of other minor annoyances, but if this dealership can just get these three semi-major problems resolved we can wait until March on the rest, when we have another appointment at a different dealership just before our two year warranty runs out. Hopefully nothing needs to be added to the list between now and then!

We arrived here at Haydocy Airstream on Thursday afternoon and the Service Manager was quick to get all our issues down on paper so he could order any parts that would be needed to make the repairs. Unfortunately they won't be able to work on THE POD until Monday, but the good news is we get to camp in their parking lot, with electrical hookups, until then for FREE. Four free nights here is like saving $100 in camping fees, that will almost pay for the propane switch.

MONDAY - We have something SPECIAL planned for today! We going on a tour of the factory where THE POD was assembled. A little over an hour drive from Haydocy Airstream in Columbus is the birthplace of every new Airstream being made today, the Airstream Factory in Jackson Center, OH. The factory offers two-hour tours to see exactly how they hand build every single trailer and motorhome. Since we have to be out of THE POD so they can work on it today, it's the perfect day to go see the tour. Unfortunately, they don't permit any photography inside the factory, so we won't have any photos to share.

Just as our tour was wrapping up we got a phone call from Haydocy Airstream to update us on what repairs they were able to accomplish today. They were only able to fix two of our three major problems and a few of our small annoyances. The kitchen sink was not repaired, it was our #1 problem! They took one look at it and decided they didn't even want to attempt a repair. It was suggested that while we were here at the factory we inquire if they could squeeze us in any time soon. Usually all service appointments at the factory are scheduled 3-4 months in advance.

We spoke to the Service Manager and while he didn't make any promises, he did say maybe on Wednesday or Thursday they might be able to help us with our problem. Rather than wait until Wednesday to call him, we thought it better to just move THE POD over to their small little camping area here at the factory. We called and postponed our arrival date at the state park where we have reserved a campsite for the upcoming week.

Our normal routine is to change campsites in the late morning, after rush hour, and arrive mid-afternoon. Today would be different! Arriving back at Haydocy Airstream at 5PM we ate a quick dinner at White Castle down the street, hooked up THE POD and joined the Columbus rush hour traffic on the Interstate.

“Airstream
See the campsite circles on the right?

There are only 24 camping pads here at The Terraport, that's what Airstream calls their campground. There are 3 circular drives with 8 spokes pointing towards the center like a wagon wheel. Each spoke (i.e. camping pad) comes with electric, water and sewer hookups. The cost is just $10 a night. It's a real bargain for full hookups! Of course there are no bathhouses with showers, no fire pits or picnic tables. What you do get is free Wifi in a comfortable lounge area with free coffee, hot chocolate or tea. Even better, the campsites are free the day before, the day of and the day after your trailer is in for service.

We are going to wait right here until the weekend to see if they can squeeze us in. If not, we'll be back on Tuesday after the long Labor Day Weekend. Cross your fingers for us!


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WE MADE IT TO THE MIDWEST!

MONDAY

TRAVEL DAY
YEAR #2 - STOP #47

"The Buckeye State"
is our 22nd visited state

With another 200+ mile travel day we left the Northeast behind and arrived in The Midwest State of Ohio today.

Today's travel had us rolling through the western side of Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh, and then once inside of Ohio we followed the West Virginia border south to our next campsite. Throughout most of the day we passed by the huge smoke stacks of large coal processing plants, just pouring out white smoke into the atmosphere. It wasn't exactly a pleasant sight!

On another note, two weeks ago you may recall we traveled right past the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Today we were within visiting distance of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH. We didn't stop for a visit there either! Maybe when we are back in this area to visit The Great Lakes Region we'll find time for them.

WEDNESDAY - We are here at Barkcamp for just three days and really didn't plan on doing much. We did make it outdoors on Wednesday when it wasn't raining and I got to fly my little quadcopter for the second time since purchasing it before we even hit the road. I'm still learning to fly it before I even attempt to start sharing video from my flights, but don't worry, I'm getting better at flying and the videos will start showing up here soon.

Until then here are a few photos we took while exploring the park today.

“Barkcamp
Dock at the park's boat ramp.

“Barkcamp
Canoes and kayaks for rent.

“Barkcamp
Picnic area near the swimming beach.

“Barkcamp
Our no frills campsite we stayed in.


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WRAPPING UP THE NORTHEAST

MONDAY

TRAVEL DAY
YEAR #2 - STOP #46

With today's 200+ mile travel day from the Finger Lakes Region of New York to the northwestern corner of Pennsylvania, we wrap up our four month visit to the Northeast Region of the United States. We took the time to visit all nine states while we were here, which included a visit to Acadia National Park, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, the big cities of Philadelphia, New York and Boston, the Easternmost Point in the continental U.S., and even a quick 5-hour visit to Campobello Island in New Brunswick, Canada.

We have definitely been in what I refer to as vacation mode and it's starting to wear us down. So our next few stops involve no sightseeing, with no plans other than relax and get a little bit of work done. It doesn't mean we won't have anything to share on this blog, except what it's like to live full-time on the road in our Airstream.

Today we did take time for a short break to visit the Kinzua Dam which just so happens to be along our travel route. Like most mountainous area dams in the United States, it is a hydroelectric dam, that provides power to the surrounding area, in addition to flood control.

“Kinzua
The Kinzua Dam was finished in 1965.

“Kinzua
A look back at ROVER and THE POD in the parking lot.

“Kinzua
The hydroelectric plant next to the outflow side of the dam.

WEDNESDAY - After we were all settled in at our new home we spent a lot of time relaxing outside under our awning. This evening I noticed a couple campers going from site to site with pen and paper in hand, I knew exactly what they were up to. So many times we see campers taking note of which sites to reserve if they ever return to the campground. We did the same thing back in Florida! But now we hardly ever stay in the same place twice.

When they walked into the empty campsite next to ours to try a get a look at the little river which runs behind most of the sites I spoke out and offered them a chance to see the river from our site. It has what I believe to be the best view in the campground and even has a foot path which leads down to the water. They seemed a little surprised I knew what they were up to, but accepted my invitation anyway. We then spent the next 45 minutes getting to know each other.

We enjoyed their company so much we made plans to have them back the next night for a campfire. This time they brought chairs and all the firewood. It rained on and off most of the night and we kept moving back and forth from around the fire to under our awning. They also brought marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers (aka s'mores). We introduced them to the adult version of s'mores by offering a little Bailey's Irish Creme to dip the melted marshmallows in. Let's just say, I don't think they'll ever go camping again without at least a little bit of Bailey's onboard!

“Campsite”
All nestled in at our new home for the week.

“Campsite”
A side view of our campsite.

“Campsite”
Our pathway down to the waters edge.

“Campsite”
Downstream view from our campsite


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