12-10 through 12-12-2018 Tiny Vacation to Seven Feathers Resort

This past summer, Mo and I traveled north to Junction City, Oregon, to visit Guaranty RV.  The MoHo needed a few things checked out, and we knew that Guaranty was probably one of the best places that we could trust to do what we needed and to do it well.

In late January we plan to embark on a nice long cross-country journey.  It would be nice to be sure that things are all working properly.  We needed an awning repair, and that turned out to be an awning replacement.  Our slide seemed to be sliding a bit off kilter, and it was determined that the pad on which it slides was worn and thin.  That needed replacing.  Leveler troubles seem to be a repeating problem, so we needed to have them checked out again.  We paid for repairs at a local shop only to have the left rear jack still refuse to extend, so hoped that Guaranty could address that problem as well.

A few minor scratches were repaired beautifully, and the awning cover was painted black instead of the original white. The rig was there for several weeks, putting a serious dent in our late summer camping plans.  Once we brought her home, it was time for a tire check, and Mo replaced 4 out of 6 tires and had new extenders installed on the real dual tires.  Seems those extenders cause repeated problems, and this time after a ton of research, she installed straight ones, with some rubber gaskets to keep them in place. 

Anyone who has visited know about all the curves on the road leading from our house to town.

After all this work, it was important to get the rig out and tested before we make any kind of long distance trip.  A trip to the Seven Feathers RV Resort and Casino in Canyonville seemed like a perfect little outing for that purpose.  Oh, and it just happens that there is a great pool and hot tub at the resort, and a very nice casino across the street.  Another benefit to this little trip is that this lovely place is just an hour north on the Interstate from our home.

More curves on our local access road.  Mattie has them memorized and knows to hold on

We packed up on Monday morning, with just a couple of days of clothing, a bit of food and a couple of swimming suits.  Easy stuff.  It was nice that I had cooked a meat loaf the day before and a hot meal of leftovers would be simple and delicious.  Bean soup from the freezer added to the stash.

Interstate 5 was fairly calm as we headed north from Grants Pass

The weather was iffy, with rain in the forecast, but once we were on the road, the skies cleared and it was a lovely drive.  Checking into the park was easy and quick, and our site was perfectly level, with top notch hookups.  We noticed that there were not only 1 but 2 sewer hookups at the site, one at each end, to accommodate either a motorhome or a fifth wheel.  Nice touch.

Quiet park on this Monday afternoon.  MoHo almost all alone at our pull through site

Settling in and hooking up includes extending the jacks.  Such a pain!  Once again the back rear jack refused to extend. We have had these things looked at and repaired so many times and still are having trouble with this one jack.  I am really hoping that the next appointment with the next repair place will solve the problem.

Yes, we need another appointment.  The rains were heavy, and we forgot the simple detail of lowering one side of the awning to let the water pour off instead of accumulating.  We heard a snap and a crash and discovered that we would have to exit the rig through the passenger door since the awning had collapsed in front of the main door, and the arm was completely bent.  Seems as though the water weight broke the little plastic thingy that holds the awning to the rig, and the arm collapsed.  When Mo attempted to straighten it, it broke completely.  Uh Oh.  New awning broken.  Hopefully we can get a new arm ordered before we have to leave for our big trip.

We spent the rest of the time at the RV park relaxing in the rig.  Watched their cable tv, used the available WiFi, and went for hot tub soaks and swims in the heated pool. 

Lots of windows in the warm clubhouse where the fitness center and the pool are located

We chose to skip the casino shuttle, simply driving the short distance from the park to the casino in the baby car.  It was much too damp, wet, and chilly to walk there.  We did walk the dog along Cow Creek a bit, enjoying the very nearly empty park and the beautiful bare birch trees and nice landscaping.

We stayed home and ate our own food except for our last meal before returning home when we enjoyed lunch at the casino with our complimentary $15 first time credit.  The fish and chips were excellent, quite a surprise for an inland establishment.

We topped off our visit with an evening drive to Roseburg to visit the Umpqua Valley Festival of Lights.  The last time we did this was in 2004, when we stayed in a local motel, before MoHo days.  The light show was charming, and the $10 entry fee was worth it to support local causes.  The hard rain was a bit of a drawback, however, since every time I rolled down the window to take photos, I got soaking wet.

The trip home was uneventful as well, with decent weather and not much traffic on the interstate.  On the spur of the moment, we stopped in at Oregon RV Outlet, just ten miles north of Grants Pass.  Joe met with us, looked at the awning, scratched his chin and asked us to find out the model, the make, and where he could order the arm.  We tried getting the information from Guaranty, but they were very little help.  The manager finally said, open up the awning and look for the serial number.  That did the trick and we called Joe back with the information.

We now have another appointment for Joe to fix the awning and repair the jacks.  The earliest we can get in is January 9th.  Crazy.  At least it is in time for the big trip.  Hopefully all will be running smoothly by the time we leave.

It was a nice little shakedown trip, with mixed but eventually good results. It is funny how such a small little getaway can feel like a real vacation.  As much as we love our home, somehow getting away like this feels great.  Just hanging out and relaxing in a way that somehow doesn’t happen at home in quite the same way.  

The MoHo

We drive a 26 foot 2006 Dynamax Isata E Series 254, on a Ford Chassis with a 450 V-10 gasoline engine.

Our first experience with Dynamax was with the small 21 foot used Dynamax Starflight that Mo bought back in 2005. Back then we thought we were so incredibly original to come up with the name “MoHo” since it was MO’s HOme.  Ah well, since then I have discovered that MoHo is often a short name for other MOtorHOmes.   It was a cute little rig, but really too small for extended travels.  We loved it, though, and discovered over the two years that we drove it that the quality of Dynamax was dependable.  Mo started looking for a newer rig and found our Dynamax Isata in New Braunfels, Texas in December of 2007.  We drove to the east coast for a cross country trip and picked up the new MoHo trading in the old one on the way back west.

She was a year old model at that time, but still new with a new vehicle warranty.  At 26 feet, she is short enough for easy travel in tight spots but big enough for us to feel comfortable for extended traveling.  Our longest trip out has been about 2 months.  With a Ford 450 V-10, we have enough power to easily pull our 2001 Chevy Tracker, usually loaded up with our Swift kayaks and our bikes. We get about 9 miles per gallon on a good day. One of our favorite features is the automatic engine downshift when in tow haul mode.  It works great for steep, mountainous western driving.

When we first bought the rig, we drove home from New Braunfels, Texas to Oregon.  It was a good opportunity to learn the rig and with the 800 number for the dealer, we had good help with small issues. Since then we have had to replace fuses now and then, replaced the relay for the inverter, and finally fixed the goofy passenger seat wiring that kept causing the fuses to blow for the seat adjustment buttons.

A bigger issue that took a bit of doing was the right side mirror, which was defective.  It took a bit of hassling to get that replaced, but it was done through the warranty at Central Point RV.  The step also had some issues and was also under warranty.  The biggest issue, however, was the manifold exhaust, which came loose on a stormy night when we were trying to get back to Oregon from my home in California.  A post about some of these initial issues is here.

We have one slide for the living area, and the bed in the rear is always down.  It’s a 3/4 bed, but we both like not having to make down a bed every night.  We also know that neither of us is young enough or agile enough to climb up into a cab over bed, which is why we weren’t interested in a Class C. Some of the newer models, with a couple more feet, actually have a bedroom slide-out with a full queen bed.  Making the bed is a bit of a pain right now and that is one feature that could tempt us to upsize someday in the far out future.

We have a comfortable leather sofa that makes down into a queen size bed but no dinette.  There is a pedestal table that we don’t use much and instead we have folding tables that we store behind the sofa and bring out when we park.  One feature we really love is that everything is accessible to us when the slide is closed, so we can stop along the road and rest, cook, get in the refrigerator, or use the bathroom with no difficulty.  Also nice for windy nights when we want to leave the slide closed anyway.

After six years, we have actually decided to replace the leather sofa with a Flexsteel leather dinette that will make into a single bed if needed.  I’ll update when that project is completed.  Countryside Interiors in Junction City, Oregon is in charge of the installation. We also replaced the original very poor mattress with a new one specially made from American Mattress in Eugene, Oregon in late summer 2013.  Much Much Better! As of October 24, we have the new dinette installed.  See my post about our upgrade here.

We both drive, although Mo tends to do more than I do.  She likes my navigating skills and hates doing that part herself.  The rig is comfortable and easy to drive, easy to park, and easy to handle in traffic, even with the towed. The rig is extremely well built, and even after several weeks on the roads in Alaska and Canada, we didn’t have any serious problems with anything breaking, rattling, or coming loose.  All the materials used in the interior are super high quality, corian sinks, leather upholstery, nice wood, a good porcelain toilet, brushed nickel faucets and shower head, that sort of thing.

We have been really blessed and with the exception of a very few minor fixes when the rig was new, she has been dependable and not prone to stuff going wrong.  Sometimes I still think of her as new, but now at six years old there are no real signs of wear or leaking.  The paint is still nearly perfect and Mo just uses the liquid waxes after she washes the rig. 

Mo replaced the house batteries last year, and our Onan generator is still working well.  We do try to start it up on a regular basis and let it run for a bit if we haven’t used it. 

One downside that Mo has discovered is that the batteries are in a very inconvenient location in one of the lower bays.  They are open to the road and get dirty and are difficult to reach when trying to check the fluid levels.  The batteries are not closed cell batteries.

In 2010, with kudos to Michelin, we replaced the tires.  While the MoHo was brand new to us in 2007, and it had very close to zero miles, the model was 2006, and the chassis was actually from 2005.  The MoHo sat in the hot Texas sun waiting for her new owner, and we then added around 18,000 miles on the rig before Mo noticed that the tires were checked and cracked, and very dangerous.  Buying six light truck e-class tires is not a cheap proposition!  Michelin to the rescue.  After reading the fine print, we found that the tires were still under warranty.  Michelin gave us an 85 percent credit toward the entire set of six!  We got brand new tires on the Michelin warranty for a little over 200 bucks.

Mo also replaced the non functioning CO2 monitor in 2011, and we have had to order door handles for both the fridge and freezer part of the Dometic refrigerator.

Folks driving a big Class A with those gorgeous huge windows might miss those open views and light.  I know I do, but with all the other features that are so convenient and useful, I’m still not willing to wish for a Class A. Since we are not full time RV’rs, we have all we need with this rig for now. 

I  received a couple of questions about what is in the upper part of the cabover in our rig, so added this photo even though it isn’t exactly blog quality! 

The photo shows that our cabover is basically empty in the forward part over the driver’s seat.  Helps a lot to keep us from feeling claustrophobic and from worrying about a TV falling on our head.

Our driver and passenger seats are very comfortable, but they do not swivel.  That would be another feature we would appreciate and may upgrade the passenger seat eventually.

Another person asked about cat litter. If you look in the hall shot  toward the bedroom, the tall scatter proof gray box travels there when we are moving and moves in front of the passenger seat when we are parked. Quarters are obviously cleaned as quickly as you might flush any other kind of toilet in your rig.

 

10-31-2010 Loading Up for our Trip

Finally! It is Sunday and we are loading up the MoHo.  Tomorrow we will be on the road again, certainly not another long jaunt, but almost two weeks of ambling down the California coast with our new kayaks. The snow melted, and even though it’s raining today, the snow level is above 6500 feet or so, higher even than our pass crossing to Medford tomorrow.  Once over the pass (I can’t believe this pass doesn’t have a real name) we will be out of snow country. Of course, rain and fog are distinct possibilities, but with a cozy home, lots of fleece, and raincoats, that isn’t a problem either.  The ocean is wonderful even in the rain, and fog just makes the redwoods more mysterious.

I guess you can tell who takes the most pictures around here.  It looks like Mo does all the work, but not really.  I am just the one with the camera.  Mo has been raking and burning to hopefully get a head start on the pine needles that will accumulate in drifts by next spring when the snow melts.  I worked all last week, but managed a few work days at home, which gives me a chance to run laundry loads in between uploading data.  I also got the house all spiffy for our return in mid-November. 

Mo is checking the tires and the air shocks while I load up the food and clothes.  She also did a bit of retrofit on the cubbyhole that holds the DVR so it would stay in place.  The little wooden fence will keep the remotes from hitting the driver on the head when the road gets too curvy!

I stood in the MoHo for a minute and couldn’t for the life of me remember just what I needed to pack.  It’s only been a month since we landed, and I cleaned everything out back then to hopefully starve the mice.  Hmmm, what has to go back in? ??  I laugh when I read about everyone packing their computer cords, batteries, computers, cameras, all that techie paraphernalia.  Someday maybe batteries will be implanted in our bodies and run everything wirelessly?  I put in the dry foods, the kayak clothes, too many shoes, and started to get back into the routine of living in the MoHo.  Only took half an hour or so to get back in the groove.

Our new kayaks are coming from Canada.  It’s been a bit worrisome because of the bad weather this week, and the trucker was trapped in Montana for a couple of days.  I have to say that the company has worked extra hard to get them to us in time for our trip.  We are meeting the driver in Medford tomorrow (on our route) mid day to finally pick them up.  It is pretty exciting.  Of course, we could have taken our old trusty boats, but since we paid for these back in September, it sure will be nice to have them with us.

I have been reading the RV blogs  more and more lately, and thanks to some prolific writers who mention mine now and then, I am actually enjoying some readers following Mo and I as well. Welcome to these  new followers.  You inspire me to take better photos and write more often.  Gail Durham looks like she is enjoying Halloween very much and  Kathy talked about how unique each person’s story is, and I so agree with her.  The only problem I am having now is trying to read everything.  The list just keeps getting bigger and bigger!  whew!  Life and work and travel might get in the way now and then, but it certainly doesn’t mean I don’t really appreciate this great group of people. Hi and welcome as well to Randy and Pam who are working on a Habitat for Humanity home, and to Loree, tucked away on beach making gorgeous afghans.  Donna found me, both here and on Facebook, and I had to tell her I had been reading her blog a long time before she and Stu got together.  Pidge and Don,  The Frugal Travelers, go to some really great out of the way places I might never find without her blog.

Happy Halloween everyone!  I am going into Klamath Falls tonight to celebrate with my daughter and her family.  They live in my home in a neighborhood known “the terrace”.  Pacific Terrace is a double boulevard with a grassy median lined on both sides of the street with old unique homes from the 40’s.  There are big beautiful trees, sidewalks for walking, and every year the entire street lights up for Halloween. 

Almost every house is decorated, and there are lights and kettle corn, and one person has outdoor scary movies projected on his garage door.  People bring their kids from all over town to trick-or-treat here. It is like we all stepped back into the 50’s when kids could be out late and there were no scary people doing scary things to the treats.  On Pacific Terrace, Halloween is still fun and fabulous.