No opportunities in disguise

November 3, 2015--Some people say that problems are opportunities in disguise. I say (at least in regard to Junior, our motorhome), they are frustrations, plain and simple.

On this trip we have experienced a couple new "challenges"-- the gas furnace hot and the hot water heater.

First, the furnace. The RV has two heating systems: An electric heat strip and a set of two gas furnaces. The furnaces are actually new (installed at no cost by the manufacturer as a beta test three years ago). We've only used them a few times, since we rarely cold-weather camp.

I think the last time we used them was when we camped in Raleigh three years ago. At that time, the temperature fell below freezing. We had attempted to use the heat strips (which work off the AC condensers), but it was too cold for them. (I believe we actually damaged the rear AC condenser at that time.) After that trip, the rear furnace blower would come on by itself occasionally; Jim had to remove the fuse.

The manufacturer of the beta furnaces sent a tech out to identify and fix the intermittent blower problem, but of course, since it was an intermittent problem, he couldn't find the cause. (We're lucky like that.) The furnaces, however, worked fine, last time we used them.

Now? They won't come on. At all.

We can't run the heat strip because it takes too much amperage (we only have 20 amp power from our complimentary plug in at Webster's). This brings us to the second part of the heating problem--our space heater.

We bought a space heater when we purchased our first RV. Although it is five years old, it has only been used a few times. On this trip, the evenings have been chilly and damp, so we needed a source of heat. Since the furnaces don't work and we can't use the electric heat strips, we plugged in the space heater. The first night we had no problem; we were toasty warm running the space heater. The next night was another story. Jim plugged the heater in, and after a few minutes, he saw it arc, then shut off. So long, space heater.

Yesterday, we found a Walmart and purchased a new ceramic space heater.

Now for our second "opportunity"--out hot water heater. It was working fine on both electric and gas power sources, then suddenly it stopped working. No hot water, using either gas or electric heating sources.

Two years ago we had a problem with the hot water heater; the thermostat had gone bad. (That happens, no big deal.) This time, however, we don't think it is the thermostat. We think it is the circuit board, because the heater won't work at all, on electric or gas power.

These are annoying problems, but I am tired of them. Enough, already!

Until later,

Your frustrated Reluctant RoVer,

Linda